#komahinaweek2017

[freakysandra1995]

KomaHina Week: Day 3 - confession

I have lost a day worth of drawing, so I’m a bit late as of now with the prompts, I’m sorry ;-;

[akito666us]

KomaHina Week: Day 7: Free time

[serahne]

Komahina Week 2017 - Day 3 : “Confession“

Title : Jumping from the bridge

Rating : T. There is honestly nothing upsetting, just the stuff about Tsumiki being a little squicky, but once again, nothing your average Danganronpa fan isn’t familiar with.

Words : 2500

Ao3 link : TBD

Summary : “It’s not that Hinata doesn’t want to chat with Komaeda or anything, but this doesn’t seem to be a life-or-death situation, and his brain is starting to get sleepy again. So he smiles encouragingly at the other boy, a nice way to say ‘out with it’, and he waits. Nightmare ? Existential crisis ? One particularly nasty memory coming back ? He is unfortunately becoming good at dealing with these type of crisis. Komaeda never came to him for that, but he can adapt.

Except that it’s not what Komaeda is here for, for he takes a deep breath before finally looking straight at Hinata, a determined light in his eyes.

“I’m in love with you, Hinata.”

A/N : This is late, and I don’t have any excuse beside the fact that it went way out of hands. I just really enjoyed this little setting, and I hope you do too ~

The last time someone knocked at Hinata’s door in the middle of the night, Tsumiki was in the process of ripping her fingernails, one by one, and a distressed Mioda has rushed toward his cabin hoping that he would find a way to calm her down. It was months ago, of course, and everyone is now trying to live with their own demons, but the memory is still so vivid that when he hears the knock, at three in the morning, he opens his eyes without delay, perfectly awake and ready to act if needed.

His brain thinks about so many possibilities during the few seconds he needs to open the door that one part of him isn’t entirely surprised to see Komaeda in front of his cabin, absolutely drenched by the pouring rain outside, his eyes wide and a little crazy looking somewhere over Hinata’s shoulder.

“Komaeda ?” He says with caution. “Is everything alright ?”

This is a stupid question, - does everything seem alright to you, a mocking little voice whispers in his ears - but he blames it on the fact that it’s three in the morning.

Komaeda barely moves, just look briefly at Hinata before going back to looking at the wall in front of him.

“Do you want to come in ?” Hinata decides to try again, a little worried by Komaeda’s state right now.

Sure, he isn’t dying anymore. But that’s hardly a reason to walk around completely wet. He is at least good for a cold, maybe even a pneumonia.

“Ah… no.” The white-haired boy replies, and Hinata is distracted by Komaeda’s hands.

He is pulling on his fingers in an unconscious gesture, and without thinking, Hinata puts his hand on the other boy’s.

“Don’t do that, it’s going to ruin your knuckles.” He explains, when he hears how Komaeda’s breath catches up in his throat.

“... Thank you, I didn’t notice.” He mumbles in return.

It’s not that Hinata doesn’t want to chat with Komaeda or anything, but this doesn’t seem to be a life-or-death situation, and his brain is starting to get sleepy again. So he smiles encouragingly at the other boy, a nice way to say ‘out with it’, and he waits. Nightmare ? Existential crisis ? One particularly nasty memory coming back ? He is unfortunately becoming good at dealing with these type of crisis. Komaeda never came to him for that, but he can adapt.

Except that it’s not what Komaeda is here for, for he takes a deep breath before finally looking straight at Hinata, a determined light in his eyes.

“I’m in love with you, Hinata.”

*

“Komaeda said what ?!”

Hinata looks nervously around - he made sure that Kazuichi and him were the only one in the cafeteria, but were they ever alone on this island ? - before answering his friend. He feels a little guilty, gossiping this way about Komaeda’s feelings for him, but what is he supposed to do ? At least he picked someone he trusts.

Well, he trusts Kazuichi, but he also knows that him and Komaeda have this weird ‘non-aggression pact’ thing going on where they are supposed to stay as far away from the other as possible. As lame as it sounds, he needs someone on his side.

“Shhh !” Hinata hisses over his cup of tea. “I told you. That he was in love with me.”

Kazuichi frowns.

“What ? But why ?” He seems so confused that it’s almost insulting.

“Thanks. I feel the love.” Hinata replies, not entirely serious.

“You know what I mean. Are you guys even friends ?”

This is rich coming from a guy who spent so much time going after a girl he barely considered as a human being, but Hinata can see his point. He squirms uncomfortably on his chair.

“I mean, yeah, kind of ? We talk, sometimes.”

Well, Hinata talks and Komaeda listens, most of the time. The only thing Komaeda really loves to discuss are the books he is reading, and each time Hinata smiles at the rambling, and the light in his friend’s - yes, because they are friends in a way, why not after all - eyes. He picked up the habit to check the books the other seems the most fond of : at first trying to understand Komaeda a little better, but now because he realized that the white-haired boy’s tastes are actually pretty good, and reading is a good way to waste time.

“Wow” Kazuichi says, rolling his eyes. “What a passionate relationship. You bet that he needed to scream his love for you at 3 o’clock.”

“Shut up.”

Hinata takes a sip of his darjeeling - it’s still a little hot, but he can drink it without burning his tongue.

“He doesn’t love me. It’s the same thing all over again.”

He can’t help the bitterness to pierce through his tone. One of the weirdest things after waking-up was… well, people thinking they were in love with him ? Though ‘that they needeed him’ is more accurate. One of Future Foundation’s therapist explained it to a bewildered Hinata one day : many people on the island woke up feeling very lost and in a weakened mental state, and saw a strength in Hinata that they wanted to cling onto for their own mental stability. Thus their brain turning the whole thing in a pseudo-affection for him.

Hinata could understand the theory, but he was a mess, and had a hard time thinking he could be seen as a reassuring person. Yet there was no other explanation to Sonia’s pleads to persuade him to come with her when she’ll come back to the Novoselic Kingdom. Or to Koizumi’s bushing cheeks and stumbling words whenever he was around. Both these situation had been resolved by a simple discussion, and their ‘love’ had quickly died down, even if Koizumi was still a little harsher toward him than anyone else.

And then there was Tsumiki. It had been terrible but beneficial in the worst way possible, since the incident with her nails has been the clear indication that she would not get better alone, and needed an important professional help to deal with her co-dependency.

And here he was again, with Komaeda this time. He isn’t really happy about it.

He sighs, and starts to sip his cup of tea to keep the annoyance away. It’s not Komaeda’s fault. It still pisses him off.

“Whatever” He says, almost more to himself than Kazuichi. “I said that I would talk to him later. Let’s hope he won’t be too stubborn about it.”

He tries to ignore Kazuichi ‘Yeah, right, good luck with that’, and lets his mind wander, thinking about his future conversation with Komaeda.

*

He is so sure that Komaeda is going to try and avoid him that he looks everywhere except where he is usually. He ends up finding him at the beach, which is in the Top 3 of his favorite place to hang out, with the library and his own cabin. The boy is looking at the sea, but his eyes are far away, lost in whatever he is thinking about.

Hinata watches him for a whole minute, for afar, trying to understand what’s going on inside his complicated brain, noting how a fleeting thought will twist his lips into a shadow of a smile, or will make him frown, in this weird, childish way that he can’t remember seeing Komaeda make in front of other people.

Komaeda can be really lovely, when no one is watching.

Then he realizes that he is being a little creepy, stalking his friend like that, and that he probably should say something.

“Huh, Komaeda. Can we talk ?”

Komaeda turns his head toward him and a bright smile appears on his lips, and even if it’s wide and more open than the ones he had when lost in thoughts, Hinata doesn’t feel the same warmth in his chest.

“Of course Hinata ! Come sit with me !” He says.

He moves a little on the left, as if to give a place to Hinata by his side, as if he didn’t have the whole beach to sit on. Hinata smiles a little at that and decides to be nice, for he is about to reject him in a polite, but brutal way. He didn’t think about what he is going to say - he remembers his conversation with Sonia and Koizumi ( he doesn’t want to remember the one with Tsumiki ). The we don’t really know each others, I don’t have to be with you to support you, I’m not well enough to enter a relationship. The key is to not lie, to be as sincere as possible, because they deserve it.

“I just wanted to talk about what you said to me this morning.” Hinata starts, keeping his smile to show that it’s okay, i’m not angry because Komaeda can be a pain in the ass when he thinks he did something wrong.

“Ah. Alright.”

Komaeda blinks, and Hinata is so close that he notices how long and white his eyelashes is, and then mentally punches himself in the face, because is there a worst time to start thinking about Komaeda’s eyelashes ? Probably not.

“I just…” Hinata says, ready to unleash the whole ‘it’s not you it’s me’ speech on his friend. But then he just sees something in Komaeda’s eyes, something that is not hope, and that’s weird, right ? When you confess to someone, you have some hope that the person will like you back, right ? He catches his tongue before any more word can come out and says, instead : “Why do you love me ?”

Komaeda’s eyes go wide, and he is sure he wasn’t expecting this question.

“... Why ?” He repeats, and it’s like he wasn’t sure of the meaning of the word.

“Yeah.” Hinata replies. “I mean, how did you think damn, I love him, better go wake him up at 3 in the morning to tell him ?”

He is a little harsh, but he has a hunch, and Komaeda is crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive gesture, all trace of his glorious smile gone, and Hinata is not backpedaling on this one.

“I…” Komaeda says. “I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”

Holy shit, Hinata thinks, impressed in spite of himself. And then he laughs because that’s ridiculous. Komaeda doesn’t seem very happy with the reaction, especially when Hinata doesn’t seem to stop, shaking under his fits of laughter.

“Was my answer inadequate ?” Komaeda says “It’s to be expected from someone like…”

But Hinata is laughing so much that his vision is starting to get blurry because of the tears.

“What the fuck Komaeda ! Did you really feed me Jane Eyre right now ?”

Komaeda’s face goes from white to red in a blind of an eye.

“Uh” he says, without looking at Hinata. “I guess I did.I didn’t know you read it ?”

“I read it recently. You told me you really enjoyed this book, so I’ve decided to check it out for myself.” He explains, though he still has the hardest time containing himself. “A little corny for my tastes, but it was great.”

“It’s not corny, Hinata.” The other says, clearly unhappy with his judgement.

“Well, we’ll have to talk about it later I guess ?” Hinata smiles - and it’s ridiculous but he feels so much better now that he knows that it’s Komaeda and not another episode of Hinata being a jerk and rejecting people.

He is so tired of rejecting people.

“In the meantime, care to explain what this is all about ? The whole ‘I love you business’ ? You’re not the kind of person who will just mess with someone like that for fun, right ?”

Komaeda mumbles something he doesn’t understand. His cheeks are still flaming red, and Hinata has the urge to touch one, just to feel the heat radiating from them. He doesn’t, of course. That would be weird.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that” He says. “Talk to me and not to the sand, maybe ?”

Komaeda sighs and while he still isn’t looking at Hinata, it’s easier to hear him when he talks.

“It’s just that we have been spending so much time together lately… I’m just not used to it.” Komaeda admits, starting to do this thing where he pulls on his fingers again.

“So… you told me you loved me to keep me away ?” Hinata snorts. “You had better plans in the past, you know.”

“Well, it happened with Sonia and Koizumi ( he doesn’t talk about Tsumiki and Hinata is grateful for it, because after all the work he did to convince himself that it’s not his fault, Komaeda talking about her would have been terrible ). You are… very stubborn but I don’t think you are able to handle love very well.”

Yeah Pot, I’m a Kettle and I’m scared of love, he huffs quietly.

“You know that if you don’t want to hang out with me, you don’t have to, right ? I’m never forcing you to do anything.” Hinata says.

“But I want to.” Komaeda snaps. “That’s the whole point. I really like spending time with you. I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t want to.”

Silence. The white-haired boy is shaking by his side, and Hinata licks his suddenly-very-dry lips.

“Uh… that’s great. I mean, I like hanging out with you too.” He says.

Komaeda doesn’t answer, doesn’t even look at him, and is still trying to tear off the fingers from his real hand. It’s still not an habit, but Hinata doesn’t hesitate to wrap his hand around Komaeda’s robotic hand, stopping him quietly.

“... thanks” The other boy says, letting his hands fall on the ground. “Thanks” he repeats, though Hinata is not sure if he talking about his fingers right now.

“You’re welcome.” Hinata gets up, doing his best to brush off the sand on his pants. “ I got to go, but please promise me something : if you ever decide to try and bomb our relationship again, don’t wake me up in the middle of the night. Deal ?”

Komaeda blushes but nods.

“Deal.”

He nods back, satisfied, and starts going back to the hotel, his heart just a little bit lighter. Overwhelmed by a sudden inspiration, he turns around, surprised to see that Komaeda is observing him while he is walking away.

“Hey, Komaeda.” He takes a deep breath. “Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own : in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still.” Then : “See, I can do it too.”

Komaeda laughs at that.

“That was very corny, Hinata. I expected better from you.”

“See ?” He replies, triumphantly. “Told you so !”

[komahinaweek]

Welcome to KomaHina Week!

The very first fan week celebrating the relationship between Hinata Hajime and Komaeda Nagito! This event will be taking place between August 11th and August 17th. With the following being the prompts:

Day 1 ( August 11th) — first / hinata centric Day 2 (August 12th)  — past Day 3 (August 13th) — confession Day 4 (August 14th)— gift Day 5 (August 15th) — awake / komaeda centric Day 6 (August 16th) — future Day 7 (August 17th) — free time (event)

For further information, visit the pages listed at the bottom of the post to find out more (like posting guidelines), and find answers to questions you may have. If none of them are answered though, feel free to send an ask!

[How to join] | [Rules] | [Prompts] | [Q&A] 

[magioftheseas]

The Rabbit of an Endless Day

KomaHina Week: Day 1 - first / hinata centric  or KomaHina Week: Day 2 - past  Full Title: The Shroud, First Love, and The Rabbit of an Endless Day Rating: T+ Length: ~4.8K Warnings: This is a weird fic, with mental instability and a likely very confusing presentation with how all over the place it is. There’s a scene related to Chapter 2′s bondage? Not to mention there are some unhealthy-ish themes... Honestly I don’t know what I should list the warnings as, sorry. ;;  Summary:  The Komaeda Retrieval Project is still going underway. Post-SDR2, Island Mode AU. Guest-starring Kamukura Izuru. Additional Notes: I kind of did this idea already but this attempt is definite more...of a thing. Sure is. I included Kamukura as a kind of observer who Hinata interacts with, but all in all, it’s still a minor-ish role. Ahhh, I’m so upset this is late for day 1 but it kiiiiind of fits for day 2 so, uh, I combined them because that’s okay, right? :’D **Alternate Ao3 Link** 

He’s just another one of them. (Worthless. Dull. Uninteresting.)

He’s just another face. (He doesn’t stick out that much. Not really.)

He’s bright, like the rest of them. (Putrid and poisonous, just like all the rest.)

He’s... (Boring.)

Calming. (Boring.)

(What is it about him?)

Shouldn’t it be obvious?

--

“Hey, can you hear me?”

Sounds of the sea and the seagulls. Blinding sunlight.

“Ah, I understand... It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?”

This person is bright and dazzling under the sun, and they are also washed-out and ashen.

“I should introduce myself.” He holds out his hand, and that blinding smile almost overwhelms his fragile face. “And you are?”

“...I’m...”

(This is the 15255th time.)

All the same, he takes that frail hand and squeezes it tight.

--

(You really are a failure in every way.) “You’re so amazing, Hinata-kun!”

(Just give up already.) “Eh, not...really.”

(Are you even listening?) “You really are! You really, truly are!”

Komaeda’s eyes are sparkling with promise and certainty. Hinata swallows a lump in his throat.

(42 in-game days, 10 in-game hours, 43 in-game minutes, and 33 in-game seconds remain for this session. In reality, the remaining time is—)

“Alright, that should be enough gathering for the day.”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be cleaning, Komaeda?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!”

It’s not fine, Hinata thought achingly. How many more times is it going to take?

He scoffed.

“Koizumi-san and Saionji-san took up cleaning today,” Komaeda explained. “And Saionji-san said I’d only be in the way and that she didn’t want to see my face, so...”

“She’s just trying to monopolize Koizumi,” Hinata huffed back. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Saionji-san does really like her,” he hummed. “When you really like someone, I guess other people would seem in the way, huh?”

Komaeda gave that carefree laugh.

“Don’t you think that’s bratty, Komaeda?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know,” Komaeda said easily. “I can’t imagine being so close to someone that I like them that much.”

“...We’re close, aren’t we?”

(Oh. Is that it?)

Shut up. Shut up.

“Eh?” Komaeda blushed at that. “W-What are you saying?! S-Someone like you really shouldn’t be saying something like that to someone like me! Is it a joke?! Are you joking, Hinata-kun?!!?!”

“If you start overheating, you’re going to faint again,” Hinata snapped at him, getting him to stop.

“Ah... Right... I don’t want to trouble you like that again... Ehehe...” Sheepishly, Komaeda rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sorry, Hinata-kuuun...”

In the beginning, you wouldn’t have gotten flustered by a comment like that at all. So that, at least, has changed.

“It’s not really that big of a deal, is it?” he asked. “Saying that we’re close? I spend more time with you than anyone else, and you spend more time with me than anyone else... You’d call that close, right?”

“Ah...” Komaeda quiets for a bit. “I suppose. Although I do wonder why you do spend more time with someone like me... Helping you find your way around is one thing...but you really should have befriended the other worthwhile talented people by now rather than wasting your time with a mite with the worthless not-quite talent of luck...”

They’re not a concern. (Have they ever been?)

“I find you calming,” he answered. “Everyone else is a bit too...loud, I guess.”

“Nanami-san and Sonia-san aren’t that loud,” Komaeda pointed out.

“Not usually, no, but when it comes to talking about their passions, they can be.”

“I have passions, too, Hinata-kun!” Komaeda huffed out, puffing out his cheeks. “I’m not that boring!”

Hinata snorted a bit. “If there’s one thing you’re not it’s boring, Komaeda.”

Komaeda flustered at that, face reddening more and more.

“I just said not to overheat, Komaeda.”

“H-How can I not when you said something so nice that I might just burst into tears?”

“It wasn’t that nice,” Hinata sighed. “Please don’t burst into tears, Komaeda.”

Shakily, Komaeda nodded a few times. He kept his word and didn’t cry, at least. Even if he looked close to it.

Oh, he’s cute.

He didn’t say anything to that, at least.

--

“You shouldn’t lose hope, Hinata-kun! I’m sure someone like you has an amazing talent!”

“...Do you really think so?”

“Really!” Komaeda’s eyes were positively sparkling. “I really do!”

(He was the first person to be that reassuring, wasn’t he?)

Not the first, no.

“Ah, Hinata-kun, you still look pale...”

“I’m fine, I’m fine... You’re pale too, you know.”

“Ah, but this is how I always look, so it’s not really a concern, Hinata-kun.”

They’re walking together. There’s so little distance between then that Hinata can almost feel the radiating warmth in spite of how considerably cold it was.

“...So you say...”

“I do say, Hinata-kun!”

“Mm...”

Hinata can’t help but shiver, arms wrapping around himself. Again, Komaeda gave him that doe-eyed look of worry, and Hinata speaks up before he can really think about it.

“Hey, Komaeda... Do you think we’ll get out of here alright?”

Komaeda blinked at him, and he answered without hesitation. “Of course I do.”

Hinata swallowed.

“Hinata-kun,” Komaeda goes on. “You are all not just talented individuals but Ultimates. Some ridiculous toy couldn’t possibly gain the upper hand over people who are meant to carry on the world’s hope. We have Togami-kun to lead us, how could we ever lose?”

“I don’t remember what my talent is, Komaeda,” he grumbled. “Hard to be assured in my talent when I don’t remember it at all.”

“Mm, that is troublesome, but...” Komaeda smiled at him so easily. “I know just from looking at you that you’re something special, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata stiffened, and his heart skipped a beat.

(Oh, right, he was the first person to call you special.)

There’s more to it than that.

“You really think so?”

“I know so!”

Komaeda has sparkling assurance within his gaze, the kind that’s stunning and consuming. Hinata took it in, soaked it in, really, and he tried his best to smile back as he nodded.

“Thanks, Komaeda.”

--

Just like that time before, they’re walking together. This time their sides are brushing against one another.

“The breeze feels really nice,” Komaeda sighed. “Even with how drearily boring the peaceful days are, there’s a pleasance to them, don’t you think?”

“I guess,” Hinata said, stretching out with a yawn. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Komaeda gave a cheerful nod.

“That’s good, at least.”

Komaeda laughed, the sound light like the breeze. Hinata’s stare narrows a bit, and then, Komaeda turned back to him.

“In a book I read, this is the part where I say I wish days like this could last forever, but,” he pouted. “That’s too underwhelming and carefree! Grander things need to happen, otherwise what’s the point?!”

Hinata hummed noncommittedly.

“Don’t you think so?!” Komaeda demanded, almost impatiently. “If everything just remained as it were until the end, that really would be just the worst luck, Hinata-kun! I’d die so bitter!”

Another hum.

“Aah, but,” Komaeda went on, and gave him a cheeky grin. “Maybe spending the rest of my life with Hinata-kun isn’t so bad. Just kidding! I’d never wish for you to get stuck with someone like me.”

(How ironic.)

“You’re not that bad,” Hinata huffed and ruffled his hair. “It’s not like I don’t enjoy our time together, too, Komaeda.”

Komaeda giggled even as he playfully smacked Hinata’s hand away. “That’s just flattery to collect hope shards.” He stuck his tongue out. “You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that.”

With that, Komaeda skipped up ahead, humming as he did and arms swaying. Hinata watched him, smile twitching before his lips pulled into a straight line.

Try harder, huh?

(Hmm.)

--

Actually, it wouldn’t be a lie to suggest that Komaeda was the first person he’d been vulnerable with.

“...Komaeda.”

His grip on the other’s wrist was tight and unyielding. He was trembling, just a bit, and Komaeda was blinking those wide eyes back at him.

“Hinata-kun?”

“Let’s...” Hinata swallowed and then, “Let’s spend the night, just tonight. It’s safer this way, isn’t it?”

“Safer?” Komaeda blinked a few times and then softly laughed. “Hinata-kun, are you going to kill me?”

Hinata flinched, but he scowled.

“We’re going back to my cabin. Do you expect me to just stuff your corpse under my bed or something? Drag it out somewhere? That’s way too risky.”

“You thought it through,” Komaeda murmured, making him get flustered.

“I-I’m just trying to be reasonable in a completely unreasonable situation!” Hinata exclaimed and his voice proceeded to rise in hysteria. “Kill each other to leave?! What even the hell is that about?!”

“Who knows,” Komaeda hummed easily, so infuriatingly calmly that Hinata wanted to scream and then Komaeda gave him that usual smile of his. “But you can’t lose yourself now, Hinata-kun! You’re one of the Ultimates, representing the hope of the world—what does that bear have?!”

“Robots,” Hinata replied bluntly. “With guns. Machine guns. We all saw what happened to Usami.”

“Ah, right,” Komaeda agreed, quieting. “We did...” And then he perked right back up. “Still, wit and capability will go a long way! Hope and goodness will win in the end! It has to!”

“What do you think this is, a video game?” he asked, hopelessly irritated.

“It’s...definitely a kind of challenge, don’t you think?” Komaeda asked right back. “One that I know you’ll triumph in, Hinata-kun.”

Oh my god.

“How can you know?”

“Because,” Komaeda said, eyes shining. “I believe in all of you, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata backed off, breath catching, and then...

(Your heart skipped a beat. Weak. Boring.)

Shut up.

“...Let’s go to my cabin,” he ended up saying, squeezing Komaeda’s wrist. All this time and he hadn’t let it go. “It’s...not just safer... But, if you really believe in me that much...” He runs his fingers through his hair, blushing. “I should...at least make sure nothing happens to you.”

“Eh, Hinata-kun...” Komaeda blinked a few times. “Oh, but, if you want to kill me to get off this island, I don’t mind...”

“There’s no way in hell I’m doing that,” Hinata hissed. “Didn’t you just hear me? I just said I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you, Komaeda!”

Komaeda blinked a few more times. His head tilted to the side.

“...That’s impossible.”

“S-Shut up! Aren’t you supposed to be saying something like thank you or how cool?!”

“How cool!” Komaeda exclaimed, eyes sparkling again.

Hinata flustered, and then, he yanked him along.

“C-Come on... We’re definitely going to attract some attention at this rate...”

“Uwah, Hinata-kun’s so cool!!”

“You...don’t need to keep saying it, Komaeda...”

“But, Hinata-kun,” Komaeda chirped, eyes twinkling like the stars with such a blinding smile. “You really are cool, you know?”

Hinata blushed darkly and vividly.

(Boring.)

“Thanks, Komaeda.”

--

“Eh? Me again?”

“Is that a problem?” He used to hesitate a lot more, but at this point, the words are so commonplace they might as well be instinctive. He knows, regardless, that Komaeda will pluck that pink ticket from his hand as he always does. “I was thinking... Beach or the amusement park, what are you in the mood for? Or maybe the library? I wouldn’t be surprised if you just wanted to relax someplace quiet. Maybe even the park... We can try pushing at the statue to see if there’s a secret entrance.”

“Like to treasure?” Komaeda asked curiously. “Or to Hell?”

“Yeah,” Hinata answered, smile easy. “Something like that.”

Komaeda continued to blink at him, grip still on the broom’s handle. It really was a cute sight, the handkerchief tying his hair back, the handkerchief around his neck, having been pulled down from when it was wrapped around his face.

“Hinata-kun,” Komaeda said, smile strained. “Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with you, but... Don’t you get tired of me? Shouldn’t you hang out with the other Ultimates? Wouldn’t someone like Souda-kun or Nanami-san be better?”

“If I wanted it to be either of them, or anyone else,” he replied, without missing a beat. “I’d be asking them, Komaeda.”

“Ah, I guess...” Komaeda still looked so uncertain. “I’m afraid I’m just too stupid to understand. Do you really want my hope shards that badly? If that’s the case, you don’t have to force yourself, you can just have them, Hinata-kun.”

(Boring. He really is so boring.)

“Oi, who’s the one forcing himself now?” Hinata asked with a light laugh. “Didn’t Usami say hope shards have to come naturally? Didn’t you say it wouldn’t be that easy? I asked you if we could hang out because I wanted to hang out with you. Is it really that hard to believe I like you for your company, Komaeda?”

“Yes,” Komaeda said bluntly. “My personality is terrible; I don’t understand your taste at all.”

“It’s not terrible, Komaeda...”

“It is,” he insisted. “It’s definitely terrible!”

“Komaeda,” he sighed and shook his head. “You’re really too hard on yourself. Listen, I swear it’s true. I do like you...”

(If you like him so much, why don’t you just take him?)

Hinata stiffened for a moment.

“Hinata-kun?”

(It would not be that hard. You desire him, after all.)

Shut up.

“Ah, sorry,” he laughed again, rubbing at his temple. “Ah, where were we?”

Komaeda hesitated, and then, he took the pink ticket from him.

“I wouldn’t mind a quiet day at the library,” he said softly. “I apologize if it’s boring, though, but you’re the one who insisted, Hinata-kun. So if you complain, I’ll be really hurt.”

“I won’t complain,” he promised. “So let’s just going.”

(You’re so boring, Hinata Hajime.)

Shut up, shut up.

--

“I can sleep on the floor; it’s no problem at all! None whatsoever! Don’t even mind me, Hinata-kun, it’s alright even if I get stepped on!!”

“Komaeda, just get on the bed. There’s plenty of room.”

“...You don’t kick, do you, Hinata-kun?” A soft laugh. “I don’t mind getting kicked out of the bed, but, mm, for something like that to happen in the middle of the night when I’m trying to sleep is just a bit...”

“I-I don’t kick! Don’t worry about that!”

“Ehehe, okay, okay...”

Komaeda crawls under the covers while Hinata’s back is turned. It’s not until the sheets have started rustling that he sees that Komaeda’s turned away from him and all he can see is curly, wild white strands sticking out in all sorts of places.

...Cute.

He almost wants to reach out, to brush his fingers through the unruly strands. Would it be soft? It looked soft.

(It is soft. You know this now.)

“Mm... Hinata-kun?”

Hinata flinched and hurriedly turned back over.

“Ah... Yeah...?”

“Do you really feel safe like this...?” Komaeda sounds even breathier than usual, almost like the words are puffs in the air that dissipate before long. Hinata felt his face heat up, and he swallowed before answering.

“Do you...?”

(He likely did. Must you dwell over such obvious questions?)

“I’m still jittery, if that’s what you mean,” he said.

“Well, I guess even like this, it’s difficult to relax,” Hinata muttered. “Sorry. There’s not much I can do there.”

“It’s okay!” Komaeda exclaimed it so brightly that it was easy to believe, in spite of how very not okay the situation was. “At the end of this, you’ll come out a shining hero, I’m sure of it, Hinata-kun!”

Hinata snorted at that. “Now I know you’re getting ahead of yourself.”

Still, Komaeda had such sincerity to him that even if he, logically speaking, couldn’t believe that happening at all, he still couldn’t help but feel...just a little hopeful.

(This may have also been one of the first times in which you felt as though you could accomplish something great. How also boring.)

“I really do believe it, Hinata-kun,” Komaeda insisted.

“Mm...”

“Hinata-kun,” Komaeda states so sweetly. “You really are something special. Something incredible.”

Hinata flinched at that, eyes going wide.

Ah, wait—

“You’re amazing,” Komaeda goes on, those eyes sparkling, and then, those thin fingers entwining with his own. “So wonderful. So cool...”

This isn’t how the memory went—

“Hinata-kun,” Komaeda said, and then, “You know I believe in you, right? More than anything?”

“...Yeah.” He squeezed back, swallowing as he did. “Of course I do.”

You can stop now. Just... Just stop.

(Is this not what you wanted?)

You’ve made this into nothing more than a fantasy. That’s...not what I want.

(So you say as if you have not been replaying the same fantasies over and over again.)

That’s not the same thing.

(You are right. You lost control here. I suppose that’s the difference. How expectable of you.)

...Just stop.

--

Another rush of the waves, another lap at the sand, and their castle was once again gone.

“This really is despairingly hopeless,” Komaeda sighed, but he kept smiling. “Hinata-kun, you must be getting bored of this, right? Let’s try fishing or something instead.”

“All you ever catch are boots, Komaeda,” he pointed out.

“I might catch a sandal this time!”

...You’re so cute.

“Wouldn’t you rather a sneaker?” he asked, smile twitching a bit.

Komaeda just shook his head. “I don’t particularly like sneakers.”

Hinata looked down at his red sneakers, and then frowned at the other.

“A-Ah, but they definitely look good on you, Hinata-kun!” he hurriedly exclaimed. “But for someone like me, they’re just not to my tastes!”

“I see how it is,” Hinata said coolly. Komaeda stuck his older lip out.

“Let’s go fish for sneakers,” he sighed simply, and went to retrieve his shoes to carry with him as he walked. His footsteps left behind imprinted in the sand were slighter than Hinata’s own; his feet were thin, pale, and delicate. Just like the rest of him. “Eh, Hinata-kun?”

He immediately snapped out of it, shaking his head. “Ah, yeah, let’s go.”

They walk together, like always, and then sit at the dock to fish. He’s cross-legged, but Komaeda has his feet dangling over the edge, legs folded.

It isn’t long before Komaeda’s amassed a pile of boots while Hinata hasn’t had so much as a nibble. In one of the boots, Komaeda found an oyster.

“...Oh dear.”

“Huh?”

The next wave was high enough to nearly knock them both off the pier and left them both soaking wet and sputtering.

“S-Sorry, Hinata-kun...!”

“I-It’s alright, it’s alright!!!” He coughed out more seawater. He’s pretty sure his throat’s clogged with salt right now, but he’s fine. All things considered, it wasn’t that bad.

But Komaeda’s sniffling, and neither of them have any idea where the fishing poles are. A considerable amount of the boots are missing, but, honestly, he could care less about that. And Komaeda’s grip is still clenched around the oyster.

And then, Komaeda flings it into his hand.

“T-Thank you for hanging out with me today.”

“Oi, Komae...” Komaeda had already scrambled off, rushing in the direction of the cabins. And, really, Hinata couldn’t be surprised.

Instead, he sighed as he pried the oyster open, and was just as unsurprised by the sight of the pearl inside, shining and glimmering in the sunlight.

“...He’s really not that bad, you know,” he said softly. “Honestly, sometimes I don’t get why you aren’t crazy about him, too.”

(You know why.)

“...I guess...” He pocketed the pearl, and tossed the oyster back into the sea.

(23 in-game days, 12 in-game hours, 45 in-game minutes, and 38 in-game seconds remaining in this session. In reality, the remaining time is...)

--

(It is painfully obvious that you are someone who has a difficult time letting go. It is boring and it is inconvenient.)

It’s always been that way, too.

Yes, he knew that. He knew.

“I’m glad it was you,” he said once upon a time. “I’m glad it was your voice I woke up to, Komaeda.”

“Ehehe.” That bright, blinding, calming smile. “I’m glad, too, Hinata-kun.”

He probably knew from the beginning.

“I thought you of all people would understand, I thought that if anyone would understand, it’d be you.” A sigh, and Komaeda really does look so dismayed. It hurts, it hurts, and yet, Komaeda just crossed his arms. “I was too presumptuous, wasn’t I?”

“What... What even the hell are you saying?!”

“Ahaha...” Komaeda laughed like it was nothing. Carefree like always, but, in a dark place like this, the brightness of that smile only served to make everything even darker. Darkness upon darkness, to the point where it glowed—“You really don’t get it at all, do you?”

He didn’t. At all.

(Your first love and this was how it turned out.)

It wasn’t boring, but it was inconvenient. He knew that. Still. Still.

“Hinata-kun, I know you have an amazing talent!”

“Hinata-kun, let’s do our best!”

“Hinata-kun, are you alright?”

“Hinata-kun, hang in there!”

“Hinata-kun!”

...

“Hey, can you hear me?”

...Still.

--

Komaeda is resting against his shoulder and drooling on it. It’s familiar and as exasperating as it is endearing. All the same, Hinata smiles at him tenderly, and runs his fingers through the strands with the utmost care.

“...I don’t mind being like this,” Hinata said after a while. Komaeda didn’t so much as stir. “You’re right. There’s a selfishness to all this, too.”

(Of course.)

“But you do get it, don’t you,” he couldn’t help but huff. “Why wouldn’t you, I mean... You’ve spent so much time in my head... I don’t think you’re the kind of guy who stays willfully ignorant to this kind of thing. Unless you are.”

No answer.

“You wouldn’t keep harassing me about this if you didn’t have some investment in this. You wouldn’t keep commenting if you weren’t curious. And it’s fine. I get it.” But. That said. “Komaeda is...”

He hesitated.

“Komaeda...”

Komaeda hummed so softly in his sleep, and then, thoughtlessly, he nuzzled against Hinata’s shoulder. And, of course, his chest ached even as his heart swelled.

“...Komaeda...”

--

Of course, he had definitely been nervous and apprehensive at the time, but...

(Still.)

Komaeda’s smile was bright and carefree as always, but that hadn’t been the case with his words, or, even, really, with his gaze. In this heavy atmosphere, the lodge feels even more suffocating. In a moment’s notice, both of them could have been crushed.

He wanted to leave.

The more Komaeda spoke, the more he wanted to leave.

And yet, he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

Why? Just because this might just be the first guy who treated me like I was special...

“Eh, Hinata-kun?” Komaeda blinked up at him with those bright eyes. “Hinata-kun, is something wrong?”

Should you really be the one asking that?

Komaeda was the one tied up, rendered so utterly helpless that he couldn’t even wiggle away if he had to escape somewhere. The chains, rope, the shackles... It was overkill, really, for someone this frail.

Still, Komaeda had proven how dangerous he could be...

And, yet.

“Hinata-kun, are you feeling alright?” Komaeda’s as worried for him now as he was worried when they were just on the beach together. “Hinata-kun...?”

It’s almost like nothing changed except for...everything surrounding them. The tray in his hands, an empty dining hall, the table where underneath someone had died.

Komaeda wiggled a bit, and it looked awkward. It looked painful. It had been...so...long since he was like this. He hadn’t eaten, drank, or...even gone to the bathroom since, has he...? Komaeda was dangerous. Komaeda needed to reflect on what happened.

But Komaeda looked up at him worriedly, head tilted...and shadows under his eyes.

I can’t take this. With a sigh, Hinata set the tray down. And with that, even when Komaeda looked confused, he went over behind him.

“Hi...nata-kun...?”

“What even the fuck is this, Souda?” he grumbled, disgusted with the sight of the chained up stock. “Isn’t this inhumane?”

“H-Hinata-kun...!”

Without another word on the matter, Hinata broke the lock and unraveled the chains. He popped open the stock, and let Komaeda pull his hands free. Komaeda was rubbing at his wrists, and before the other could say anything, he went to cutting and undoing the rope around his legs.

“Hinata-kun...” Komaeda trailed off. “I don’t understand. Are you going to kill me, or...?”

“I’m releasing you because this is bullshit,” he hissed. “You’re crazy and dangerous and a liability but even wild animals don’t deserve this. Don’t look too deeply into it.”

“...I... Oh... The others are going to be mad.”

“I don’t care,” Hinata huffed. Then, he ran his fingers through his hair with a grumble. “Hey... Komaeda... You need to use the bathroom, right? And...you need to eat, right...? I’ll accompany you, stay a while, and then I’ll leave Monomi in here to keep an eye on you. You can’t leave but...staying like this...just isn’t alright, either.”

Komaeda blinked once, twice, and then he nodded brightly.

“Okay!”

Hinata’s face twisted up, but all the same, he nodded back.

“...Alright.”

I had known how hopeless I was from the start.

He did as he said he would, he accompanied Komaeda to the bathroom, waited, and he dragged Komaeda back and proceeded to watch him eat after the other had sent the typical prayer. Komaeda had this weird habit of tearing his bread into bite-sized pieces and dabbing at his mouth with a napkin.

“Ah, thank you for the meal!!”

“It’s just milk and bread,” Hinata muttered, chin digging into his palm and elbow digging into his lap. “That’s not really a meal.”

“Still,” Komaeda huffed, almost like he was offended. Offended, on everyone else’s behalf. “It’s more than I deserve!”

You really sound so sure about that...

Hinata rolled his eyes, humming noncommittedly.

And then, Komaeda spoke up again.

“Ah, Hinata-kun...?”

He perked up, and just like that, Komaeda flashed that dazzling smile of his.

“You really are so kind! So amazing! You really are someone special! Someone wonderful!”

His heart skipped a beat.

And it was just like that.

“...J-Just finish eating. And drinking. You can...stretch your legs a bit... But if you seriously leave this room... I’ll be pissed.”

“Yes!” Komaeda nodded happily. “I won’t let you down, Hinata-kun!”

Do you understand?

“Mmgh...”

Do you get it?

Hinata stood up, and dusted himself off.

“Goodbye, Komaeda.”

“Bye-bye, Hinata-kun!”

How many times do I have to show you before you understand?

--

(30 in-game minutes and 55 in-game seconds remaining in this session.)

So we’re at the end of another session already.

And they’re on this beach where they met, and Komaeda is talking as he always does. Komaeda is fidgeting with his fingers, looking tense and unsure.

“Good luck, or bad luck...” Komaeda mumbled, looking frustrated. “Which is it, Hinata-kun?”

“Bad luck, right?”

“Right!” Komaeda exclaimed immediately, like he was expecting this answer just as much as Hinata had been. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? “It’s such bad luck! I didn’t even get to die or anything!”

(As if you would have allowed even an attempt.)

“All this time, I...”

(What are you hoping for, this time?)

“But now, it’s different...”

(Ah, but the answer is obvious.)

“The time we spent together...”

(What you want...)

“That’s why... I want to say...”

(...is for Nagito to finally say...)

“Hinata-kun...”

(“I love you.”)

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Ah. Hinata stiffened for a moment, he stilled, and he’s sure...everything else stilled, too.

(Until the moment Nagito says those words, will you remain unsatisfied with how things are?)

That’s not true. I’m selfish enough to want more than just that.

“Of course we are,” he said. He takes Komaeda’s hand, squeezed, and he takes in that dazzling smile on Komaeda’s face. Hinata smiled back broadly.

And just like that, the system was prepped for a restart.

--

Just hearing the words isn’t going to be enough. I want to hear them, but...more than anything, I want his eyes to open and for him to say them to me in the despairing world outside of this carefree island.

Of course you do.

I can’t just hear them. I need... I need to see him.

Of course.

I have to do this, over and over, until he wakes up. I have to do this...for him...

Just for him? Because he’s the first person who looked at you with twinkling eyes?

He’s the only one who’d put me through this much trouble; who’d make this much of a hassle.

Love is such a despairing thing, isn’t it?

It is. Oh, God... It...

Hinata could have laughed until he cried, even as the other remained unmoved.

It really, really is.

--

“Hey, can you hear me?”

Sounds of the waves and the crying seagulls. Blinding sunlight.

“Ah, I understand... It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?”

This person is glowing and dazzling under the sun, and they are also washed-out and pallid.

“I should introduce myself.” He holds out his hand, and that striking smile almost overwhelms his fragile face. “And you are?”

“...I’m...”

Before he can even finish, he takes that frail hand and squeezed it painfully tight.

[freakysandra1995]

KomaHina Week: Day 1 - first / hinata centric

This was inspired by this sdr2 stage play moment. Komaeda and Hinata had a conversation involving their first meeting twice in the play- which to this day is one of my favorite moments.  It is very simple, but I unfortunalty didn’t had much time to prepare for a more detailed picture. I still like it

[akito666us]

KomaHina Week: Day 3: Confession

I kinda wanted to let it open, if Hinata accepts Komaeda’s feelings or not. So I came up with Komaeda writting a love letter and asking Hinata to meet him at the fountain.

[akito666us]

KomaHina Week: Day 2: Past

[freakysandra1995]

KomaHina Week: Day 2 - past

I honestly don’t have much to say except that I wanted to draw them as toddlers with their mothers for a while now. 

[akito666us]

KomaHina Week: Day 4: Gift

[serahne]

Komahina Week 2017 - Day 1 : “First - Hinata-centric“

Title : Unexplored territories

Rating : T, nothing that Danganronpa fans aren’t familiar with.

Words : 1650

Ao3 link : TBD

Summary : “He is the first one to wake up, he thinks. He isn’t sure if it’s logical or ironic, or both. He just knows that him being the first doesn’t mean anything if he ends up being the last one to open his eyes.“

A/N : So this is technically not Komahina, since it happens before Komaeda wakes up but it lays out the foundation for the next days, since I’ve decided to have all the prompts co-exist in the same universe. Hope this is okay, but if it’s not I still enjoyed writing it.

Hinata wakes up first, in a crowded, overheated room, with unknown faces smiling at him and talking to him in a language his brain doesn’t immediately understand - even when he finally manages to decide that the language is japanese and that he has been using it for his entire life, it’s like words don’t really reach him. It’s just noise, useless rattle, and he just wants to sleep.

So he does. He closes his eyes, and goes back to the darkness, which is so much easier and comfortable than being awake.

When he wakes up again, the room is a lot more silent and the only person with him is somehow familiar : Makoto Naegi, Ultimate Hope, member of Future Foundation, the person he probably wouldn’t be alive without, his brain provides. These considerations don’t provoke the slightest emotion in him.

“Good morning, Hajime” Naegi says, smiling.

He is tired - the dark circles under his eyes are the proof that he didn’t sleep a lot these last few days, but his smile is genuine, Hinata thinks. Naegi is the kind of person who is always sincere when he smiles.

He nods in the other’s direction, to acknowledge his presence, without putting his voice to the test. Naegi’s smile widens a little.

“I thought you would enjoy being transferred in the hospital yard. The wake-up room is… not the quietest place on the island, especially with you being the first to regain consciousness.”

The first, Hinata thinks, with some surprise. He doesn’t know how to feel about it.

“What about…” his voice makes him cringe. It’s gravelly and hurts his throat on its way out. “What about the others ? Owari and ( once again, he has the frustrating feeling that his brain is letting him down, and the names he is looking for escape his tongue )... the others ?”

Naegi notices his hesitation but doesn’t say anything about it.

“At first we thought Souda Kazuichui would be the one to come back to us - he showed a cerebral activity very early. But it seems that they need more time.” He explains patiently.

“But… even if it takes more time… they’ll come back, right ?”

The other’s smile turns tense.

“I hope so.”

Hinata wants to snort at the answer, but he doesn’t have the energy. So he just nods, listening absent-mindedly Naegi telling him about the doctors, and the therapy sessions, and how because he is the first, his participation to tests will be absolutely necessary for the well-being of the others. Hinata says yes to everything and promises to help as much as he can, anything to make Naegi leaves as soon as possible.

“Ah, Hajime” he says before leaving “I don’t know if that’s the best idea Byakuya ever had, but he thinks that giving you the recording of everything that happened on the island could help. Not now, obviously, but whenever you’re ready.”

“Sure”

And then he is gone, and Hinata is left alone, and he lets out a relieved sigh.

He is the first one to wake up, he thinks. He isn’t sure if it’s logical or ironic, or both. He just knows that him being the first doesn’t mean anything if he ends up being the last one to open his eyes.

*

Therapy sessions go as well as expected : the doctor Mikage is nice and competent and patient, and she doesn’t treat him as child, which he appreciates. But he isn’t sure where she is trying to take him. He doesn’t mind talking about the killing game, or the Tragedy, or anything else, but he can see in the doctor’s eyes that he still isn’t doing what he is supposed to do.

“What do you feel when you think about it ?” she asks him, one day, when he is talking about Pekoyama’s execution, and Kuzuryu’s tears.

He remembers this trial more clearly than the others. He doesn’t have any ‘black hole’ in his memory, as far as he can tell, but some moments are clearer than others, without discernable reason. Tsumiki’s trial, for example, is like a big, blurry thing, like a movie he saw, once, when he was half-asleep already, with the sounds too loud and a plot he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to. For these moments, the videos helped a lot.

“I don’t know” Hinata replies honestly. “It was sad, I guess.”

“You guess ?”

Mikage looks at him, a thoughtful look on her face, her pen tapping against her notebook, as always when she is trying to understand what’s going on inside his head - he wishes her good luck with that, himself doesn’t know how his brain works most of the time.

“I don’t… feel connected to that ?” he tries to explain. “Does that make sense ? Maybe because I know that it was all fake, anyway, but even if I remember what happened or even how I felt then… it just doesn’t translate in my brain”

“It does make sense, don’t worry Hinata.”

She writes something on her notebook.

“Is it normal ?” He asks, and he can’t help but sound anxious.

She smiles at the question, as if to say it’s a silly one, and Hinata relaxes just a little at the gesture.

“First, I have to tell you that I’m not working with you with my usual tools. You went through so much that it’s a mystery how your psyche managed to not collapse on itself, and you did it by yourself. But to answer your question : Yes, it’s perfectly normal. You just woke up, Hinata. You’re the first one. Give yourself some time.”

You’re the first one.

He nods and Mikage starts talking about the videos.

“Did you watch them ?” She inquires. “It’s alright if you didn’t, by the way. I actually think it may be a little early for you, but if you did watch them, I would like to talk to you about them.”

Hinata stays silent for a while.

“Some of them ?” He says. “The ones where I’m in it, just to be sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything. It would just be weird to spy on everyone else.”

He almost did, the first day. The first video he watched was inside the Funhouse, the moment where Komaeda entered the Final Dead Room, and for one second, curiosity almost got him. It didn’t, though. He would show some respect to his sleeping comrades, even Komaeda. Who was the only one who had shown absolutely no cerebral activity in the two months he had been awake.

He felt something fall into his stomach.

You’re the first one.

“So, no one else ?” She smiles, starting to write in her notebook again.

“No. Well, Nanami.” He admits, avoiding the doctor’s eyes. “It’s just, I knew her from before the Tragedy, so I thought watching her would help me.”

It was the truth, but not the entire truth. He knew Nanami from before the Tragedy, sure, but the clearest memory he has from his time as Izuru Kamukura has her in it, and it is a memory full of surprise. It is Kamukura's tears, in front of this dying girl he didn’t know. These tears were the only link between Hinata and Kamukura at this time, as if Kamukura had suddenly realized that one part of his existence didn’t entirely belong to him.

It has been… earth-shattering. Enough to have the image of Chiaki Nanami’s corpse permanently printed on his brain. Bless Izuru Kamukura’s perfect memory.

“So, did it help ?” Mikage asks, bringing him back to their current discussion.

“No” Hinata admits with a shrug. “I didn’t learn anything about her either. When we weren’t around, she was just… not doing anything. I don’t know what I expected.”

“Answers, maybe ?” the doctor says. “No one is going to give them to you, so you might as well look for them yourself. You are doing very well, Hinata. Believe me, I was a little anxious to take this job, you know. I wasn’t sure I would be able to help you, if you had woken up as Izuru Kamukura - I know what you are thinking Hinata, let me say it. Especially since you are the first one, it was really a shot in the dark. But you are doing well, even if you can’t see it.”

Hinata doesn’t know what to say.

“Thank you” he replies. “It’s just not easy. Being the first one. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t, and that I just had to follow a pre-established path instead of trying to make my own through the forest.”

“That’s a nice metaphor” the doctor laughs a little. “A accurate one, I would say. But all things considered, I’m glad you are my partner in this adventure. You are not the worst person to work with on building our own path.”

The atmosphere is lighter than before, he notices. The session is almost over, and Mikage isn’t taking notes anymore. He doesn’t mind her doing her job, but he likes this idea of partnership too.

“Well, I guess” he says, laughing too. “You got the normal one, huh ? What if Tanaka has woken up first ? Or Owari ? Or Komaeda ?”

The therapist is shaking with laughter, now, hiding her mouth behind her hand. She is probably imagining herself, walking through the forest while Komaeda is making his best to have them both eaten by whatever creature lives here.

“I can’t even imagine. But I would lie if I said that one part of me isn’t impatient to work with them. I hope they’ll wake up soon.”

“Yeah” Hinata says. “I can’t wait to really being the first one instead of the only one.”

When he meets the doctor eyes after that, she is watching him with something that looks like pride, and it’s an unusual feeling for him.

“You are doing very well, Hajime Hinata” she says.

And for the first time in two months, he can actually believe it.