The Ultimates

Ten

As much as I loved Kazuichi, he could be a real pain in the ass at times. I knew he was just teasing me, hoping to ease my nervousness by having me poke fun at myself as well, but after what Nagito told me about wishing he could have had a normal childhood, I wanted to give him an amazing sleepover experience. I wanted my friends to become his friends, too, so he could have more normal teenage experiences.

While Makoto could also be considered normal, he was also part of the Ultimate Club. I wanted to help Nagito make friends with people who didn't attend Hope's Peak Academy and didn't make him think they were only friends with him because he had money.

Chiaki and Kazuichi were my most average friends. They attended normal high schools, had normal jobs and ambitions, despite the fact Chiaki was a gaming goddess and Kazuichi was a genius mechanic. Compared to Ibuki, Sakura, and Aoi, though, they were the most average, so they would be the perfect people to give him a normal experience tonight. Another day, I planned to introduce him to Ibuki, most likely taking him to one of her concerts, and Sakura and Aoi.

Tonight, he'd meet Chiaki and Kazuichi. After all, not only were they the most average of all my friends, they were also my closest friends. I wanted Nagito to meet them the most, because I knew the three of them would get along great. If things went well tonight, he might have even been able to join our little friend group, which would be amazing. I enjoyed spending time with him, so seeing him even more would be wonderful

Kazuichi knew I was excited to spend more time with Nagito, so of course he decided to tease me about it. Normally, I would have pouted and retaliated, but I was too nervous to even do that. For Nagito's sake, I desperately wanted tonight to go well.

"You know, Chiaki, you should model a character after Hajime right now," he chuckled. "A nervous boy wanting to make a great first impression on his future boyfriend."

While I glared at him, Chiaki hit him upside the head. "Of course, there will be LGBTQ+ characters. My game will be incredibly inclusive and diverse. All good games should be, after all." Plopping onto my couch beside me, she grabbed my hand and smiled. "Tonight is going to be fine. We're just going to play games, eat pizza, and watch a movie. All perfectly normal things to do at a sleepover. Nagito is going to have a great time tonight. We'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Chiaki."

Glancing over her shoulder, she said, "See? That's how you actually comfort a friend."

"Dude, so long as he likes Hajime, he's going to have a great time. It's not like he would have agreed to come tonight if he didn't like him as at least a friend." He smiled at me. "It is sweet that you're trying to go above and beyond to make this night special for him, but so long as he's hanging out with you, it's going to be special."

"You think?"

"I mean," he smirked, "he did send you a heart emoji."

Laughing, I threw a pillow at his head, which he easily caught.

"Kazuichi is right, though," Chiaki said. "Since he gets to spend the night with you, he's already going to have an exciting night."

"You're making it sound scandalous," I chuckled. "I can assure you, nothing like that will be happening tonight."

"Imagine if it did, though," Kazuichi gasped. "Admit it, you wouldn't hate it."

"Tonight is supposed to be about normal sleepover experiences with friends. Those sort of sleepovers happen between partners."

"Which you want to be with him."

"Kazuichi," Chiaki groaned.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Really. I'll stop."

As annoying as he was, at least I knew he supported me.

Looking out the window, I spotted Nagito pull up in front of my house. Ignoring Kazuichi and Chiaki, I quickly ran outside the greet him. As Nagito exited his car, he smiled when he saw me and leaned in for a hug, catching me off guard. "Hi, Hajime."

"Hey, Nagito," I greeted, happily hugging him back.

"Thanks again for inviting me. I'm super excited!" he squealed.

"Me too. My friends are inside right now, and they're both excited to meet you."

Looking up at my house, Nagito gawked in awe. "You have such a beautiful house."

"Oh, thank you." It was just a simple two story house with a wide front porch, a front garden my mom tended to, and a decent sized backyard. The house itself was a pale blue with white accents. It looked like the kind of house one would see in the opening credits on a nineties sitcom.

"I always dreamed of living in a house like this," he hummed. "Raising my family in a nice neighborhood with my husband." He chuckled. "I know it's a simple dream, but-"

"You want to give your children the childhood you never had," I whispered.

"Yeah," he nodded, scratching his cheek.

"I'm sure your future husband will want the same thing. I mean, why marry someone who wouldn't want the same future?"

"You'd be surprised," he sighed.

Not wanting to depress him anymore, I tried to lead him to my house to get started on the fun. Before I could, Makoto's door opened, and he and Komaru exited the house. "Hi, Hajime," she greeted, waving at us once she spotted us.

Makoto looked over at us, smirking when he saw Nagito. "Hey, Hajime. Nagito."

"Hi, Makoto," he waved.

"Who's your friend?" Komaru asked.

"This is my friend Nagito from the Ultimate Club," I introduced.

"Nagito, I want to introduce you to my sister, Komaru."

"It's nice to meet you," he smiled, shaking her hand.

"Wow," she awed. "You're very attractive. It's no wonder you're an Ultimate."

"Oh, I'm just a server."

"Really? What a waste."

"Komaru," Makoto scolded. "We're heading out to meet our parents for dinner. What about you guys?"

"Oh, Nagito is spending the night," I replied.

"Oh?" Makoto smirked, and I glared back at him. "Have fun you two."

"Good luck," Komaru winked at me, causing me to blush.

"Good luck?" Nagito questioned.

"Oh, uh- She knows that I wanted to give you a normal sleepover experience, so she's just wishing me luck." I quickly laughed. "Don't worry. Tonight is going to be great. I promise."

"Honestly, I'm just happy to hang out with you," Nagito giggled.

"Really?"

Staring at the ground, he said, "It's always better to be with friends than home alone."

Smiling, I grabbed Nagito's hand and led him inside. "I couldn't agree more."

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