Izuru Kamukura was well-known for being perfect at everything. Sports, academics, and games were no match for his intelligence and prowess. Never in his life had Izuru encountered such a problem that he could not solve, until now...
"Psst!"
This annoyance just would not leave him alone.
"Izuru!"
Perhaps if he ignored it...
"Over here!"
Would it go away?
"Hey, Izuru!"
Izuru continued to ignore the annoying voice as he put his textbooks in his locker.
"Can you hear me?"
The noise is getting closer...
"Izuru!"
Izuru felt a tug on one his long dark strands of hair. He looked over his shoulder and saw his twin run back and hide behind the staircase. Hajime gestured him to come over as Izuru cautiously inched his way over.
"We have to go now."
"There is class to attend, Hajime."
"Oh please," Hajime rolled his eyes, "You don't even like class. Just yesterday, you practically forced the teacher to quit!"
Izuru scoffed and tossed his hair, "It is not my fault if a teacher is unqualified to fulfil the duties of their own occupation."
"Don't act like you don't know why he quit, Izuru!" Hajime glared at him, "Also, I know you ate my kusamochi yesterday!"
"I do not understand how you can be upset with me over a simple sweet," Izuru sighed and closed his locker, "A normal person would have realized by now that they ate- "
"I didn't! There's a certain way to eat kusamochi to get the best experience and I noticed..."
Izuru quickly put his plan into motion. Slowly backing away without making any sudden movements, he sprinted down the hallway. He was just about to reach the classroom door when...
THUMP
"Leave me alone," Izuru said attempting to crawl out from his brother's hold.
Hajime got up and began to pull Izuru up, "No way am I leaving without you, Izuru."
Hajime struggled to hold his brother's weight, "Izuru, pull yourself up."
Izuru gave no indication of helping Hajime anytime soon, "Okay, then I'll have to drag you all the way there. Do you really want that?"
No response was given to Hajime.
"Don't blame me if we look weird going all the way to the parking lot."
About 10 minutes later...
CLICK
Seatbelts were put on as the car began to start, "You really do look sick, dear."
Hajime panted heavily, "It was all Izuru's fault."
"Izuru?" a hand came up to adjust the rear-view mirror, "I don't remember him catching a cold..."
"Do not be so quick to blame everything on me. I was the one, after all, to be forcibly taken hostage."
"Hostage?" olive green eyes narrowed at Hajime through the mirror, "Hajime, what did you do to your brother?"
"Wha-?" Hajime put a hand over his heart, "Mom, why would you think I did anything wrong to Izuru. You know I love him with all my heart and I would never want any harm to come to- "
"Liar," Izuru looked out the car window, "I am glad I ate your kusamochi."
"I hate you!"
"The same goes for you."
"You don't even like kusamochi!"
"I may not, but you do."
"Screw you!"
"We do however have sakuramochi in the refrigerator," Izuru paused, "Oh, I forgot. You don't like sakuramochi that much, do you?
"Asshole!"
"Hajime Hinata! Language!"
"But- "
"Izuru Kamukura! Stop being cruel to your brother!
"It was not- "
"You two! Apologize! Now!"
"But, I'm not the one who- "
"Apologize now or both of you can walk home!"
"Sorry."
"I apologize."
The car began to drive towards their destination. The next few minutes were filled with silence.
"Hajime, would you like to explain why you pretended to be sick to get me to drive you home? Or would you like to start by explaining why you literally dragged your brother out of class? Or maybe you would like to tell me why you have leaves and grass stains all over the uniform I just washed last night?"
"It wasn't my fault this time, Mom! I had to protect Izuru from the horrible lies they were telling him!"
"I'm pretty certain the teachers aren't lying to your brother in his history class."
"You've got that wrong! Not the teachers, the students! They're all out to get me!"
"Stop being dramatic."
"I happened to overhear an interesting conversation as I approached my classroom before Hajime decided to throw himself onto me."
"I did not throw myself at you!"
"According to my schoolmates, Hajime tried to commit suicide by jumping out a classroom window."
Ms. Hinata's worried eyes studied Hajime's reflection in the rear-view mirror, "Hajime..."
"I wasn't trying to kill myself! I was being chased!"
"By who?"
"Nagito."
"That cute friend of yours? And you decided to jump out a window?"
"It really wasn't that high up! It was the first floor!"
"And get your uniform dirty?"
"It's just a uniform," Hajime whines as the car pulled into the driveway.
SLAM
The three got out of car and Hajime used his copy of the keys to unlock the door, "Then you can wash it tonight. Since it's just another uniform."
"But that's not my only-" Hajime immediately shut up at his mother's glare.
"You should take better care of your things like your brother-"
Izuru stuck his tongue at Hajime from behind his mother, only for Hajime to retaliate in the same fashion.
SMACK
"Ow!"
Ms. Hinata glared at Hajime who was rubbing the back of his head and continued, "- so Izuru will help you clean your uniform."
"Mother- "
"Izuru, sweetie, I've told you so many times to stop calling me that," she put a hand on his shoulder, "You know it makes me feel old when you say that instead of 'Mom'..."
"You are not young either."
"Izuru," Ms. Hinata's smile strained, "please help your brother when you finish your science assignment."
"Headmaster Kirigiri announced over the loudspeaker today that our teacher was retiring," Izuru informed her.
"Again?" Ms. Hinata rubbed her temple, "You two, get started on cleaning that uniform. And Izuru, please stop sassing your teachers."
"Why must I be blamed for everyone's incompetence?"
After hearing the boys go downstairs, Ms. Hinata sighed and mumbled underneath her breath, "That makes three already this month. I'm not ready for another parent-teacher conference..."
After dinner (Around 9 pm) ...
Hajime began to think back to what had happened just a few hours earlier.
Flashback
It was warm and sunny that spring day with just a slight breeze here and there. The cherry blossoms had begun to bloom as the air around them was filled with their sweet aroma. Hajime had been looking at the flowers so intently that he happened to trip over something.
'Damn, I should really watch where I'm going,' Hajime thought rubbing his eyes, 'What the hell did I fall over.'
His eyes adjusted as he was opening them. Looking down, Hajime realized he bumped into someone and brought them crashing down along with him.
"Nagito!" Hajime cried out in shock, "I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going and... I literally bumped into you... Sorry."
Nagito gave his usual carefree laugh, "I'm glad it was you, Hajime. I was actually planning on meeting with you. My luck has once again brought us together."
"I'm still guilty of not paying attention though."
"Then, meet me at the first-floor classroom that's near the vending machine around lunch. There's-" Nagito played with the hem of his red and green striped sweater, "-something important you have to hear."
End of Flashback
Hajime closed his eyes and was about approach a light sleep before he felt an additional weight on his bed. Deducing who the culprit was, Hajime chose not to open his eyes.
"I'm still not talking to you."
"That does not concern me at the moment."
"Go away."
"I recall asking you to do the same for myself earlier today."
"Why are you here? You have your own room for a reason."
"Bored."
"So, you decided to bother me instead?"
"That was not my intention."
"Um, okay. I guess..."
"You bore me as well."
"Geez, thanks a lot, Izuru."
"You are welcome."
"At least I'm not named after some old geezer."
"The old geezer you speak of is our great-grandfather, the founder of Hope's Peak Academy. You should respect your elders."
Hajime scoffed, "I was born first and you don't respect me."
"I am more mature than you."
"Whatever."
Izuru heard a small chirping noise coming around his side of the bed. Reaching underneath the pillow, he found the object in which he was searching for.
"Hajime, your phone has been constantly going off since your suicide attempt."
"It wasn't a suicide attempt!"
"Did Nagito push you out the window?"
"Well," Hajime rubbed the back of his head, "No."
Flashback
Hajime had done exactly as Nagito had asked and waited for him near the classroom by vending machine at the time he specified.
Nagito had walked into the classroom with a nervous expression on his face.
"Nagito, are you okay?"
Nagito gave a small uneasy smile, "If I'm being truthful, I don't know."
Hajime looked concerned at his unusually timid friend.
"There's something I need to get off my chest and I need you to listen to everything I say before you respond, is that alright with you?"
"I guess so..."
Nagito began to speak, "What I'm about to say may sound very selfish. But, these words are ones that must be spoken."
He took a deep breath, "Hajime, ever since we met I felt a deep connection to you. You were so kind to have talked to me when no one else would. Thanks to you, I've regained my confidence and started to get along with my classmates. I cherish all the memories we've created together. But, I want to create a different set of memories, a set of romantic memories."
Nagito nervously looked at Hajime with rosy cheeks, "Hajime Hinata, I need to know if you're willing to create these new sets of memories with me."
End of Flashback
"What occurred next?"
Hajime sat up and looked at his twin, "You know what happened, I left through the window and had to drag you all the way to the car."
"That is not what I meant," Izuru corrected him, "What did you tell Nagito?"
"I sort of... just left him there..."
"Have you attempted to communicate with him since then?"
"Why did you think the phone was under there?"
"That appears to be very insensitive."
"Be quiet," Hajime softly said, "You don't know anything."
"How will you respond?"
"I just... I just need to tell him that we're better off as friends."
"Friends? You and Nagito appear to be mutually attracted to each other. Why remain as friends?"
Hajime had a crestfallen look on his face, "Because things won't work out, okay?"
"I cannot possibly fathom why you refuse to- "
"Look, it's late. Shouldn't you get going?"
Izuru walked out of the room with a "goodnight" and headed back to his room.
All Hajime could think about that night was about how he'd break Nagito's heart the next day.
The Next Day (7:41 am)
Hajime coughed, "I think I'm too sick to go to school today. Maybe I should stay home to be on the safe side."
Bedsheets were hastily thrown off Hajime a few seconds, "Mother requested that I inform you that she does not care."
"Hajime! Izuru!" Their mother called from the kitchen, "We're late! Get your butts down to the car!"
Around 20 minutes later...
BEEP BEEP
"Isn't it a bit too early for traffic?"
Izuru crossed his arms, "Had you not feign illness, we would have been punctual."
"Looks like we're going to be stuck for a while," Ms. Hinata turned around in her driver's seat to face her son, "Would you care to explain why you keep trying to get out of school?"
"I-"
"Hajime refuses to admit his feelings."
"For Nagito?"
"N-no," Hajime blushed and looked away.
"He claims it will not work out."
Ms. Hinata sadly smiled, "I guess this is partially my fault then."
Hajime began to protest, "It's not- "
Ms. Hinata raised a hand to cut him off, "When your father and I met, we fell head over heels for each other. But as time went on, we realized that we just weren't meant to be. You two were about three years old at the time and parenting books don't exactly cover an easy way to explain it to toddlers."
She fondly smiled at her sons, "I remember when we separated, we also tried to separate you two. Both of you kept crying for the other, unwilling to risk losing each other. I know you rarely show it, but I know you to love each other very much."
"I do love Izuru, even if he's a jerk."
"I would not want to live without Hajime either."
"Aww," Hajime swung an arm around his brother's shoulder, "You love me!"
Izuru rolled his eyes, "Your stupidity amuses me, that is all."
"You can't hide your feelings from me forever! We make up two parts of a soul!"
"You may keep your half."
"I love you too!"
"Love is a beautiful thing, you know. It may not last long, but it's something one must learn to embrace. You should never let the fear of the future stop you from living and loving those around you. I can't tell you if your relationship with Nagito will last long or whether you'll break up, but I can guarantee you will look back on the moments you've shared with him and continue to feel the warmth of your love through them."
"Y-you don't know if it's Nagito..."
She ruffled Hajime's chestnut brown hair, "Everyone in town knows, dear."
"Am I really that obvious?"
"It'd be nice to see two lovebirds as a couple. Then I'd finally have something to brag about to my friends!"
"We aren't lovebirds! And don't go talking about me to random strangers!"
Traffic began to clear as the car drove closer to the high school, "Strangers? Are you implying I don't have friends? How rude! I gave you good love advice."
"Mother, that love advice sounds centuries old."
"Maybe I should invite Nagito over sometime. His manners would be a good influence on the both of you."
"However, he has a Dr. Hopper soda addiction," Izuru informed her.
Ms. Hinata laughed, "So I've heard..."
"It's not really an addiction..."
"Apparently, he cleared out a whole Dr. Hopper vending machine in one day."
"He has many wonderful traits. I heard he babysits elementary children. That'd be good the future, don't you think?"
"Mom!"
"We're here! Be sure to come back home with a boyfriend, Hajime! You too, Izuru!"
"As if anyone in this school is worthy."
Lunch (12:30pm)
Earlier that day, Hajime had asked Chiaki to pass a message along to Nagito on where to meet him. It was the same exact spot at the same exact time as yesterday.
KNOCK KNOCK
Nagito tapped on the classroom's door, "Hajime?"
"In here!"
The door slid open, "I-I wasn't sure you were going to show after what happened yesterday..."
Hajime bowed his head, "Nagito, I'd like to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry for running off without thinking about how your feelings."
"Hajime," Nagito started, "I understand you don't want to be in any sort of relationship with me and that's fine, but- "
"I like you, too."
"-I really hope we can stay as friends at the very..." Nagito's eyes widened, "W-what did you say?"
"I like you, too." Hajime blushed, "A lot, actually."
Hajime looked at Nagito's shaking form, "Nagito, what's wrong?"
"I'm just so happy," Nagito tearfully said, "I truly am lucky."
Hajime sighed in relief, "You really scared me there."
Hajime wrapped his arms around Nagito and rubbed the back of the happily sobbing boy.