Chapter One- Cerulean Skies and Cotton Candy Clouds

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"HmmhmhmmHmmm~" Hajime hums to himself, uncharacteristically happy. He'd be in this mood for at least the next hour- and he knew from months of experience.

He'd been regularly meeting up with a fluffy white-haired boy by the name of Komaeda Nagito, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't really enjoy talking with him. By that statement, let it be known that he did lie. A lot. To Komaeda and himself.

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It'd started with a series of coincidences- Hajime had been sitting by a stream he liked to go to, and Komaeda was also there. The first couple times, they ignored each other, though Hajime could swear that he caught Komaeda looking at him. No, he would not acknowledge that that meant he was looking at the pale boy in the first place.

Then, Komaeda talked. "It's a pretty stream, isn't it?"

"Huh?...Yeah..." Hajime had responded, focusing on the small ripples he was making with his finger.

"It would be some terrible bad luck if I were to dirty it with my pathetic self being drowned in it, right?" Komaeda giggles a bit, as if what he'd said wasn't completely morbid.

"...uh, yeah?" Hajime eventually responded, scared.

"Well, I've gotta go. See you!" Komaeda said, waving to Hajime as he walked away. Hajime ignored him, more out of confusion than dislike.

The next time, Hajime started the conversation. "Hey, what was with that drowning thing?"

"Hm? Oh, that. Well, it could very well happen, so I was just saying."

"Of course it could happen- but why were you thinking about it?" Hajime questioned, a little annoyed by the smile of Komaeda's.

Komaeda blinks, as if Hajime was asking the most obvious thing ever. "It's only natural for someone with my luck to think about these things."

"Your...luck?" Hajime stands, walking to where Komaeda was sitting. "But didn't you say that would be bad luck?"

Komaeda laughs now, and Hajime was a little taken aback by how crystal clear it sounded.

"Ahaha~ My luck is a strange thing, isn't it." Komaeda nods to himself, as if affirming his statement.

"Okaaay...?" Hajime circles his hand, prompting Komaeda to explain. The white-haired boy only smiles and stands himself, taking Hajime's hand in his.

"I'm Komaeda Nagito."

"...Hinata Hajime."

"Nice to meet you, Hinata-kun." Komaeda drops Hajime's hand and turns away, waving like he did last time. "See you!" And he's gone, leaving Hajime with a hovering hand and even more questions.

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Eventually, they started purposely going to the stream at the same time. It took a while, but conversation after conversation gave Hajime insight on Komaeda's luck situation, his personality, and his deal with-

"Hope? All you want in life...is hope?"

"Yes! Hope is all that matters- hope can overcome any despair!"

"Uh..." Hajime couldn't say that he didn't understand why Komaeda felt that way, but it was a little weird.

"Isn't there something in your life that you'd give up everything and anything for?" Komaeda prompts, leaning a little bit towards Hajime.

"Mmmm...no, not really." Hajime throws a pebble he'd been messing with into the stream, watching it intently.

"Ah...such a shame." Komaeda leans back, before just lying on the ground completely. "I believe you have great potential for hope in you, Hinata-kun!"

"Huh...? What's that supposed to mean?" Hinata asks, lightly throwing a pebble at Komaeda. He misses, as usual, and Komaeda laughs.

"I mean, you could be a very hope-filled presence for people- if you wanted to be."

Hajime sighs, before flopping on his back next to Komaeda, propping his head up with his arms. "I guess...I wouldn't know."

"Well, I would!" Komaeda sits up violently, surprising Hajime. "And I think you have wonderful hope sleeping inside you! Of course, coming from trash like me that means nothing..."

"Uh...thanks...I think." Hajime laughs awkwardly, not sure how to continue the conversation.

Komaeda layed back down with a small smile on his face, sighing contently. A warm breeze blew at the moment, ruffling through his hair. He squinted a little bit, brushing his hair away with his hand.

Hajime caught himself staring at the boy, then quickly moved his gaze elsewhere. He ended up looking at the cerulean spring sky, small cotton candy-like clouds dusting it.

"Like Komaeda..." He mumbles.

"Huh?" Komaeda turns to Hajime, who startles.

"No!? What? I just-"

"I'm honored that you'd compare a disgusting being such as myself to something as pretty as a cloud, Hinata-kun!"

"No, I was just-"

"Oh! Of course, you couldn't do that! I'm truly sorry that trash like me assumed something like that."

"No, Komaeda, that's still wrong- nevermind." Hajime picks up a larger pebble and sits up, skipping it across the stream. "One, two, three...ah." The stone sinks, and Komaeda laughs.

"Only three? I definitely thought you could do better than that, Hinata-kun."

"Hey, shut it-" Hajime shuts up himself as Komaeda stands up and throws a stone, watching intently.

"One, two, three four, five, six-" Komaeda yawns, smirking at Hajime. "Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Ah, one of my worse ones." Komaeda sits back down, holding back a laugh at Hajime's bewildered expression.

"You- it's cus of your bullshit luck, not actual skill!" Hajime fumes, turning away. Komaeda laughs, patting Hajime on the back as if he were a small child.

"There, there," He mock consoled, and Hajime smacks his arm away. "Heyyyy, Hajimeeee!" Komaeda whines.

"Since when do you use my first name?" Hajime asks, just out of curiosity. And it was also the unnerving sense of deja vu he was getting from the phrase of Komaeda's.

"Ah...I'm not sure. That was a little strange. Sorry, Hinata-kun," Komaeda replies, looking just as confused as Hajime.

"...Well, whatever." Hajime stands, brushing off his legs. "See you, Komaeda." He starts walking away but not fast enough to miss Komaeda's cheerful "See you, Hinata-kun!"

Hajime smiles to himself before quickly covering it with his hand, and forcing himself to stop. Not that it worked for long...

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Hajime smiled as he thought about his encounters with the boy. He'd recently started to see him at school, too. Hajime was shocked that he'd missed the pale boy's presence for so long- now he was seeing him everywhere.

He got out his phone to text said boy, but was hit with a shocking revelation.

"I don't have his number!?" Hajime borderline shouted, gaining him some strange looks from people on the street.

He blushes in embarrassment, but makes a decision.

"Next time I see him, I'm gonna get Komaeda's number."

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