Hope's Peak Academy | Hajime Hinata x Reader

Chap. 5

"Hey, [Last name]? Have you ever heard of the...'K-Kamakura Project'?"

"Eh? The what?" You looked up at Hajime who was shakily putting a cup of ramen down on the coffee table in front of you, confused.

"The...." He trailed off, shaking his head slowly, "Nevermind. It's nothing big!"

You eyed him suspiciously, having only heard the name Kamakura once before, and it was from Chisa, who accidentally let it slip when she was talking about the Reserve Course.

"If you have a problem, you could talk to me about it." You squinted at him as you closed all your books, making him choke.

"I said it's nothing big! I'm fine!" His voice began to crack and become less convincing with each word, "I'm...fine..."

***

You anxiously strode through the student packed corridors of the Reserve Course, still not used to all the piercing glares. You came on a daily basis, and soon everybody there knew your name. They always jeered at you, nudging you as you curled your hands into fists.

You finally came to the classroom that seemed to get further and further away every day, pulling at the back of your blazer as someone tried to grab hold of it. You quickly stepped inside, noticing the lack of your brunet companion.

"Hey, hey! It's my dear [Name]-chan who's come to visit me again!" Natsumi's voice blasted through the silence, making you wince. She always used your given name even though you had barely said two words to her, much to your distaste.

"K-Kuzuryuu." You nodded slowly, slipping through the horde of students to get to her desk, occasionally glancing back at Hajime's empty desk.

"I said you can call me Natsumi! We are friends, and all!" She stated, leaning back of her chair, "Have you come to give me an update on anyone in your class? One that might've died? A specific annoying red-head?"

"Hey!" A girl who you remembered to be called Sato kicked the back of Natsumi's chair, making her fall forwards to sit up properly, "She would never bring you anything like that! You better not be planning anything weird!"

"W-Weird?" You took a step back from the purplenette who was pointing an accusatory finger at you, "I-I would never hurt Mahiru!"

Natsumi gave a sigh, standing up from her chair to stand in front of you protectively, "Why? If Mahiru dies, then I could fill in her space as the Ultimate Little Sister!"

"You're just as talentless as the rest of us!" Sato yelled, making the blonde grit her teeth and raise her fist. You quickly dodged in between them both, trying to stop them both from fighting.

Unfortunately, Natsumi didn't react quick enough to pull her arm back, and she ended up punching you as hard as she could. You stumbled backwards into Sato, knocking you both to the floor as she tried to catch you.

As you wiped your hand across your face, your hand came back tinted bright pink.

Great, my lip is bleeding.

"What are you all doing?!" You heard a voice snap from the doorway, and you turned to see Hajime and Fuyuhiko, their expressions polar opposites. Fuyuhiko looked livid and ready to shoot a man, whereas Hajime looked frightened for your own safety.

Both boys quickly yanked you up, Hajime wiping your bottom lip as it bled freely while Fuyuhiko glared across at his sister and the other you had just crushed as you fell. Without a moments hesitation, Hajime had grabbed your wrist and pulled you out of the classroom, past all of his staring classmates.

When you had both found an empty corridor, you both sat on the floor, his eyes scanning your face, "That boy was worried about where you had gone to, [Last name]. He isn't...your boyfriend, by any chance?"

"As if." You sniffed as he began rooting through his bag, trying to find something to clean you up with, "Fuyuhiko is just a friend. How did he know I came here?"

"I told him, because I heard him say your name." He huffed, pulling his water bottle out and pouring some onto a tissue, "He didn't want to talk to me, either."

"Because he's stubborn." You lied, wincing as he pressed the tissue to your cut, knowing that Fuyuhiko disliked anyone from the Reserve Course in general, "And where were you?"

"Talking to..." He trailed off, his eyes wavering, "Tengan. Old headmaster."

"And why were you talking to the old head-?"

"It's not important. Don't worry." He immediately cut you off, making you fall quiet and not pry any further. After your cut had finally stopped bleeding, he stood up, holding his hand out to you, "Come on, don't you have class?"

You slowly nodded, letting Hajime carefully lead you out of the school, though you both stopped short when you saw Natsumi and Sato having another confrontation. You barely picked up anything expect for Natsumi maliciously muttering a death threat.

Hajime gently tugged you towards the schools entrance, nodding to as if to say he's sort their argument out. You wished you could stay with him, but you knew that you really did have to leave.

He watched you worriedly scamper down the corridor, sighing softly to himself.

***

When you both got home, Hajime treat your lip properly, since he said he did a 'crap job' of it earlier. You both sat together on the sofa, watching some game show, but you could tell by the look on Hajime's face that he wasn't paying attention, but then again, neither were you.

"Do you think Kuzu- Natsumi will be okay?" You mumbled, breaking the silence and knocking him out of his daze, "She seemed really angry..."

"She'll be fine, I hope." He muttered, clenching his fists as he recalled their last conversation. The thought of him being talentless banged on in his head, making him want to burst into tears, "I..."

No, he could change that. He could change him being talentless if only he could meet the school board again, and say yes to their-

"H-Hinata!" You gabbled, making him blink at you in shock, "H-Hinata, are you o-okay?!"

He didn't have the slightest clue what you were talking about, until he realised hot tears were slipping down his cheeks. He put a hand to his face, struggling to hold back an overflow.

Talentless.

He grabbed you by your forearm and pulled you into a tight hug, burying his face into your shoulder. You stayed quiet in worry, anxiously patting his back as you felt him start to silently cry against your neck.

"Don't...Don't lose hope yet, Hajime." You murmured, and his breathing hitched as you used his given name, "Don't give up. Not yet."

Later on, even after he had stopped crying an apologised for his childishness, you both fell asleep together in a heap on the sofa. Everything seemed so perfect.

And then Natsumi was proclaimed dead barely hours later.

***