Shining New Hope (Pre-Despair!SDR2xReader)

The Most Painful Goodbye Is The One That You Don't Know Is The Last...

Running is all you can do. The classrooms fly past, almost completely blurred as you make it to the school's entrance. Your chest is heaving, but you don't have time to calm your erratic heartbeat. Instead you continue to charge forwards; the adrenaline really kicking in. That, and the thought of Hajime being hurt, is enough for you to keep going; hoping that you will make it in time to save your friend from any further pain.

You make it to the gates where the guard looms over Hajime's battered form. Despite all the punches that he has taken, he remains standing and you can't help but feel a tiny bit proud of him. Although, once he's fully recovered, you are going to beat the crap out of him for doing something so stupidly reckless. You watch as the security guard goes in for another punch, a calculated and cold look on his face. You can't stand it; Hajime looking so broken. You can feel your hands start to shake in anger as your friend coughs up some blood due to a strong punch to the stomach.

"Stop it!" You shout, diving in front of Hajime with your arms spread out wide; just in time to prevent a blow to Hajime's face. In this moment you manage to get a good long look at the guard. His eyes are locked on you, wide in surprise as his fist gets closer and closer to your face, but he makes no attempt to stop it. You remain strong as the punch collides with your left cheek, putting as much of your weight on your feet so that you don't go flying back. You curse to yourself as you realise that this means you now have another bruise to cover up, however, its better that you take it than Hajime.

"What the hell are you doing!?" The guard yells, glaring down at you with a menacing grimace. He probably knows that harming a Main Course Student carries hefty consequences, especially when it's his job to protect them. You remain silent, arms still spread out to make sure that Hajime won't suffer any more attacks. The guard cracks his knuckles, moving closer to you; his eyes carrying threatening vibes. "Get out of the way." He orders, not taking it too well when you remain still.

"(Y-Y/N)..." Hajime mumbles, still recovering from the previous barrage of punches. You can hear him shuffle behind you; almost as if he is trying to stand up. You turn your focus back onto the guard, just in time to duck under another punch as he throws all his body weight onto one leg. Instinctively your dominant leg flies out, knocking the guard over backwards. He lands with a loud thump, his hands flying backwards as he attempts to brace for the worst of the impact. This gives you enough time to rush over to Hajime's side and help the teen to rise shakily to his feet. He leans his whole body weight on you, trying to stop himself from falling over again. He looks up at you with a weak smile on his face but this fades when his eyes land on your cheek and narrow.

"I should have been stronger..." He mumbles, turning his gaze to the ground as you frown at him.

Unfortunately you don't have time to respond as the guard is up on his feet and moving towards you at a rapid pace. Instinctively, you try and take a step back but forget that Hajime is latched to you and so you find yourself stumbling.

"Why are you helping him? He was breaking the school rules." You don't know what to say, but you find yourself pulling Hajime closer to you in concern. You can feel him try to struggle out of your grip but you remain strong, slowly moving back another step. "If you aren't going give me an answer, then I guess I'll just have to force one out of you." He cracks his knuckles again before pulling his arm back. You clench your eyes shut as the fist comes flying back.

When you don't feel the impact, you hesitantly open your eyes; only to find the familiar, soft brown hair of your teacher as she blocks the punch. You are unsure of how to react so you stay still; almost afraid that any movement will leave you and Hajime in danger.