A/N: Here's Chapter Three of "The Hajimaru Chronicles", resulting from an ask by Moiloru. Please read, review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: The Hajimaru Chronicles!
Chapter Three: Going to Chiaki's Grave!
"…Are you two sure about this?" Makoto asked has he, his sister, and her boyfriend stood at the door to the sealed cemetery. "Visiting the cemetery here seems kinda morbid for a date."
"I-It's not a date, Makoto!" Komaru stammered while Hajime nodded.
"More to the point, we talked about this beforehand. Morbid or not, Chiaki and her demise are part of my history. I couldn't separate myself from her even if I wanted to. Since I'm dating your sister now, it's only right that I share all of myself with her."
Makoto smiled in grim admiration. "If that's how you feel, then I won't stop you."
With the press of a button, the doors groaned while opening, revealing the serene, grassy fields beyond the industrial complex. Makoto stepped aside, allowing them to pass.
"I'll stay outside to give you two some privacy. Take as much time as you need."
With a grateful nod towards her brother, Komaru took Hajime's hand, allowing him to guide her through the fields to their reason for coming.
"So, this is Chiaki's grave?" Komaru inquired, her eyes focused on the single, gray tombstone that symbolized the one casualty of Class 77-B. "I was so focused on Yuta when we were first here, I never got to see her grave when Makoto first unveiled it to us."
Hajime nodded somberly, his emotional side unrestrained by Izuru's bored, analytical personality. "Chiaki was…the best thing that ever happened to me at Hope's Peak Academy. She always tried to encourage me; she told me that it was okay to not be an Ultimate…" Hajime let out a sad chuckle and shook his head. "The way she talked, you'd think being an Ultimate was more of a curse than a blessing…though considering how I turned out, I guess it's not that far off."
Komaru frowned in slight disapproval. "…I don't think you're a curse, and I'm sure she'd say the same thing if she was here right now."
"…Yeah…she'd probably be scolding me for being so pessimistic, just like she always did…" Hajime sighed. "Honestly, I don't think I'll ever stop holding myself responsible for her death. If I had just listened to her, and Yukizome, and Tengan, I never would have gone through the Steering Committee's experiments, and Junko never would have had the muscle to carry out her plans. All I can do is accept my responsibility and try to atone for it."
"Hajime…" Komaru wondered. "Do you…not feel like you deserve to be happy…?"
"…Sometimes…" Hajime admitted. "Sometimes I look at you, see your smiling face, and wonder what I did to deserve having someone to care about me like she did again."
"…Everyone deserves to be happy." Hajime tuned to look into Komaru's defiant, yet compassionate eyes. "No matter what kind of past you had, no matter what trauma you endured…you deserve to feel happy. Anyone who tries to say otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about."
"Komaru…"
"So stop feeling like you owe the world your life several times over, okay? You don't need to atone for being taken advantage of by corrupt adults when you were a teenager. We all made stupid mistakes when we were younger, some greater than others, but we don't need to have our joy and happiness stolen from us for the rest of our lives just because we were stupid once. Live with it, learn from it, but let it go, okay?"
Hajime took a deep breath, feeling a burden lifted from his shoulders as he let the air flow from his lips. He showed her a genuine smile, free from pain and sorrow and guilt.
"You're right…I'll try my best to move forward instead of looking back at the past. Like I told Junko back then, our futures are ours! I won't let anyone take them!"
"That's the spirit!" Komaru grinned, gleeful now that Hajime had regained his sense of self-worth. "So…" Her gaze shifted to the tombstone concealing the former Ultimate Gamer's bones. "…Would you tell me more about your ex-girlfriend? We got so distracted with your self-esteem issues, we got kinda sidetracked."
Nodding, Hajime kneeled in front of the grave, Komaru following suit. "Let's see…well, she could beat any of us at gaming. Izuru might have been able to give her a run for her money, but we never got to test that theory, what with the whole Tragedy thing. What else? Oh, she was also really good at taking naps, though that didn't stop her from being able to kick butt. She told me one time about how she uppercutted Teruteru when he got too handsy…"
Komaru listened intently and Hajime sang Chiaki's praises. When he took a moment to catch his breath, Komaru's gaze shifted to the tombstone bearing Chiaki's name.
Chiaki…I'm sorry about what happened to you, that you never got to spend the life with Hajime that you deserved. But I promise, I'll make sure he never feels unloved in your stead!
Chiaki's cheeks flushed pink, showing her minor embarrassment from the tales Hajime was relaying to his new love. Despite her blushing state, though, she was happy that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and that he looked visibly happier.
"That really was some uppercut." Her teacher remarked, smiling at the screen. "You definitely surprised me with how powerful you were back then. Who know you learned martial arts just from playing a beat-em-up?"
Chiaki smiled, her grudge against Chisa Yukizome for her forced betrayal having faded long ago. "You'd be surprised what you can learn from games…though they can't help with everything." She shook the thought away. "I'm just glad Hajime's finally allowing himself to feel happy again."
Chisa nodded. "He's no rotten orange anymore…he's matured into a fine, young man. Though…" Chisa turned to Chiaki with a curious brow. "…Are you sure you're not gonna feel jealous about him dating someone else?"
Without missing a beat, Chiaki shook her head. "Even if I wanted to, there's no point. I'm dead, and there's no 1-Up or Fairy to bring me back to life. It'd be cruel to ask Hajime to remain celibate just to stay faithful to a corpse. I'd rather he move on and make new, happy memories."
Chisa nodded in approval. "So kind, so selfless…as expected of our Class Representative."
Chiaki stood up, turning away from her teacher. "Let's go, Yukizome-sensei. It's time to leave the living to live their own lives."
"So, did everything go alright?" Makoto inquired as the door closed behind them.
Komaru nodded. "Yeah, Hajime told me so many interesting things about Chiaki! I had no idea she was so cool! I've seriously gotta up my game if I'm gonna compete with her!"
Hajime and Makoto sweatdropped. "Ano, Komaru…it's not a competition-"
"Nope, my mind's made up! I'm gonna make sure I'm the best girlfriend ever to Hajime!"
Makoto chuckled, awkwardly scratching his cheek as he turned to Hajime. "Apologies for Komaru's competitiveness."
Hajime shook his head. "It's okay. It's actually kind of endearing. Her determination is something I admire in her." Shaking away his embarrassment, Hajime took a deep breath. "Well, we should get back to our duties. Thanks for allowing us this time to visit Chiaki."
Makoto nodded with empathy. He had lost count of the number of times he and Kyoko had visited Jin and Koichi Kizakura's graves, so he completely understood the need for Hajime to revisit his lost love and properly introduce her to his new one. Without another word, the trio walked away, all thoughts of sorrow locked behind the sturdy metal gate as they walked with joy towards a brighter future.
