Chapter Text
Hajime Hinata did not want to be at Hope’s Peak Summer Camp. That was really all anyone needed to know about him, because there was no way he would willingly spend time in a place like that.
He stared out the bus window, passing trees and the occasional river, smiling lightly when he saw a wild animal. The boy sitting next to him was fiddling with a Rubik’s cube excitedly, and Hinata didn’t feel any overwhelming urge to talk to him. Someone behind him kicked his seat, laughing mischievously when they hit it. He ignored them.
“Hey!” The person who was kicking his seat reached over and flicked his forehead. He whipped his head around to see a girl who looked much younger than him, with blonde pigtails and a wide grin on her face. Hajime glared at her.
“What do you want?” He unplugged one of his headphones from his ears. She blew a raspberry at him.
“None of your business!” She giggled behind her hand, and Hajime groaned.
“Whatever. Leave me alone.”
The girl sighed sadly and went back to kicking his seat.
***
The campsite was surprisingly well managed, a shining lake in the middle of the property, surrounded by many cabins and miscellaneous buildings scattered across the area. The bus stopped in front of what Hajime assumed was the dining hall, the driver opening the doors and pushing all the kids out with their luggage. Hajime slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the vehicle, crowding around the front of the building with the others. The girl who was kicking his seat earlier scurried away when he stared at her, hiding behind another kid (which was easy, considering she was so small).
A woman with an orange ponytail walked out the doors, her sweater tied around her waist. Hajime tried to pay attention to her as she spoke.
“Good afternoon, campers!” She said, smiling widely. “From this very moment to the day you depart, you are officially a CHP Resident! Some of you are here for the first time, and some of you are veterans. But you’re all welcome and will be treated with the utmost respect from your fellow campers and counsellors! My name is Chisa Yukizome, but you can just call me Chisa. Please check in at the front desk and get your rooming assignments once I’m done talking. You may go to your room and deposit your belongings, where you’ll be met with another counsellor and your roommates. Go ahead and introduce yourself, and meet in the dining hall for dinner at six. That’s all for now, I hope you have a great summer here!”
Some of the campers clapped, others rushed over to greet her. Hajime just walked inside the building and stood at the front desk, where a woman was typing on her laptop. Hajime cleared his throat, and she looked down at him.
“Hi, we were told to go here for rooming assignments?” He said, looking around the room at the fans blowing and the log roof. The woman clicked her tongue, staring at him.
“Name?”
“Hajime Hinata.”
She nodded, typing it into her computer. Hajime stood awkwardly as she pulled up his file on the screen and handed him a slip of paper with a handwritten number on it. He took it, staring at the writing.
“Cabin seven.” The woman explained. “The numbers go in clockwise order, the boys’ cabins are on the left side of the lake. Get there early and you might get the top bunk.”
“Thanks, have a nice day.”
“Mhm.”
Hajime walked out of line as the next person came up to the woman at the desk. He pushed open the doors and walked outside into the heat, sighing as it hit his skin. Chisa came up to him, the blonde girl from earlier clinging to her like a barnacle.
“Hello, I don’t think I got your name!” She smiled, and Hajime forced a smile back.
“Hajime Hinata. Do you know where cabin seven is?”
“Yep!” She pointed to the second-farthest cabin from the middle of the campsite, on the other side of the lake. Hajime internally screamed. “Right there, Hajime. Oh, you’re so lucky, you got the cabin with the least residents! Enjoy that extra space!”
“Cool, thanks.”
Hajime nodded and began walking in the direction she was pointing.
***
Hajime knocked at the door to cabin seven, standing awkwardly on the porch step. There was a porch swing that looked unsafe and a doorbell marked “DO NOT USE”. The building itself seemed safe, though.
The door swung open, a small boy with short blonde hair glaring at him. Hajime had to look down to see his face.
“Who th’ hell are you?” The boy asked, and Hajime raised his eyebrows.
“My name’s Hajime Hinata, and this is my room assignment.” Hajime explained. The boy sighed and turned around.
“HEY BASTARDS!” He shouted. Hajime heard a whine from behind him.
“Come meet the new guy!” He moved out of the way for Hajime to walk in, nodding in his direction. “Welcome, I guess. Take any bunk that doesn’t have shit on it. Name’s Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, by the way.”
“Hajime Hinata.”
“Yeah, I know. You already said that.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Hajime looked around the room. There were four bunk beds in different corners, only two looked like they were in use. The bathroom door was wide open, a metal band poster taped on the wall next to it. On the bottom bunk on the left side of the room was an assortment of Playboy magazines and metal scraps, coupled with a two liter bottle of cola. On top of it was what Hajime assumed was Fuyuhiko’s bed, cleanly made with white sheets. A boy with neon-pink hair tied in a low ponytail sat on the messy bed tinkering with a toy robot. He looked up and flashed Hajime a sharp-toothed smile.
On the other side of the room was a bunk with only the bottom bed occupied. Books were stacked in the corner neatly, the ceiling of the bunk adorned with white fairy-lights. A boy was sat there, his pale blonde hair fluffing out around him and obscuring his face. He sipped an anti-energy drink and flipped a page of the book he was reading. Hajime walked over to him.
“What are you reading?” He asked the boy, who jumped slightly in surprise and shut his book.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
The boy shook his head.
“No, it’s fine.” He looked up at Hajime. “The Shining by Stephen King.”
“Oh, wow. No wonder you got scared. I couldn’t get through that movie, it freaked me out so much.” Hajime chuckled. “My name’s Hajime Hinata, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Nagito Komaeda.” He stared at Hajime blankly. “You can sleep up there, if you want. No pressure, I don’t want to freak you out.”
“What, ‘cause you read horror books?” Hajime laughed. “It’s fine, really.”
“Well, alright. You can always change your mind.”
“Uh…”
“Ignore the weirdo, man!” The pink-haired boy shouted. Nagito opened back up his book. Hajime felt bad for him. “The name’s Kazuichi Souda!”
“Hajime Hinata.” Hajime said. Kazuichi whistled. “And Nagito isn’t bothering me at all.”
“Just ignore him, dude! C’mon, wanna look at some naked babes?” He smiled, holding up his Playboy magazine. “Oh, and if you’re gay, I have one of naked guys, too! Not that I’m gay, though, ‘cause I’m not. But, like, if you are, that’s cool-”
“Uh, maybe some other time.”
Nagito snorted quietly under his breath, a smile playing on his face. Hajime grinned at him.
“Suit yourself, bro.” Kazuichi shrugged as Hajime climbed up the top bunk and laid out his things.
A computer, his headphones, and journal, as well as his wallet and first aid kit. The only other things of note were his clothes and bedsheets. And, for some reason, a volume of his sister’s favorite Magical Girl manga. He smiled at it, shaking his head and tucking it back in his duffel bag.
“Okay, Haji-man!” Kazuichi shouted. Hajime closed his eyes and pursed his lips.
“Yeah?”
“All my magazines are mine, and you can’t touch them without permission!”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Okay… anyways, since you’re a freshie, you can use the shower last after it gets cold. And you’re on bathroom cleaning duty all of this week!”
“No, he’s not, dumbass.” Fuyuhiko groaned. “You’re on cleaning duty for three weeks because of the stunt you pulled, don’t try to push it onto him.”
“It wasn’t even a big deal!” Kazuichi whined.
“Yeah, alright. And by the way, you have to mop all the floors or else I’ll tell Chisa to extend your punishment.”
Kazuichi groaned loudly and walked into the bathroom. Fuyuhiko chuckled under his breath and went back to texting something on his phone.
***
Hajime was easily acquainted with all of Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko’s friends at dinner, including Hiyoko Saionji, the little blonde girl who kicked his seat on the way to camp. She reluctantly apologized by giving him a singular gummy bear that she swore she didn’t find on the floor (leading Hajime to believe that was exactly what happened.) Among the people he met, Hajime ended up making friends with Chiaki Nanami, an unenthusiastic girl who was enthusiastic about video games, and Sonia Nevermind, Kazuichi’s one-sided crush.
Nagito didn’t sit with anyone, just taking his food and leaving back to the cabin. Kazuichi shrugged it off as “Typical Nagito Behavior” and piled his plate with food.
“Hey, do you know Gala Omega?” Chiaki asked, staring at him with large pink eyes.
“Um, I know of it, I guess. I’ve never played, though.”
Chiaki huffed discontentedly and turned to Sonia, who was tying her hair up.
“Do you know Gala Omega?”
“Of course!” Sonia giggled. “Though I’m probably no good.”
“Do you wanna play?”
“Oh, I would love to!”
Chiaki scooted over towards her and tilted her console so that Sonia could see the screen clearly. Sonia leaned over and stared as Chiaki gave her basic instructions on how to play the game correctly. She gasped excitedly every time Chiaki hit one of the ships, clapping her hands together. Hajime smiled, finishing up his food and tossing the garbage into the trash can.
***
Kazuichi, despite his self-proclaimed “ability” to stay up for nights without sleeping, passed out on his bed as soon as the lights went out. Fuyuhiko was sleeping, too, his loud snoring indicative of that fact. Hajime was still awake, his eyes fixated on his phone screen. He was trying to quickly scroll through his favorite webcomic, which had updated when he was at dinner.
“Finally…” He whispered, laughing lightly. Finally the main characters had kissed- Hajime had been waiting for months until something of note happened.
“Finally what?”
Hajime jumped, the bed shaking. Nagito had peeked his head out from his bunk and was staring up at the light illuminating Hajime’s face.
“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up.” Hajime shut off his phone and slid it under his pillow.
“No need to apologize, I have problems sleeping, anyways.” Nagito shrugged. “You seemed excited, so I wanted to see what happened.”
“Oh, um.” Hajime blushed, reminded of what he was smiling at. “It’s nothing.”
“I grossed you out, didn’t I?” Nagito sighed. “I’m such a worthless idiot…”
“Hey, man, it’s not a big deal.” Hajime sighed and leaned over the railing, staring down at Nagito. “I just got kind of embarrassed, is all.”
“Embarrassed? How come?” Nagito stared up at him, and he laughed awkwardly.
“Uh, how do I put this…? I like to read romance comics sometimes. Okay, all the time. This one I really like- well, I’ll spare the details, but the main characters finally kissed after, like, forty chapters.”
“That’s really cool, Hajime.” Nagito smiled. “I like romance novels, but my foster mom doesn’t let me read them, so I just settle for regular novels with romantic subtext.”
“Why can’t you read romance?”
“I’m supposed to read only classical books.” He sighed. “I’ve always wanted to read a manga, though.”
Hajime got an idea, smiling brightly and flicking on his phone flashlight.
“C’mere, let me show you something.”
Nagito obliged, climbing up the ladder and seating himself next to Hajime on the top bunk. Hajime pulled his sister’s book out from his duffel bag and shined his flashlight on the cover. It was obnoxiously pink, glitter and ribbons illustrated all over the soft cover. The title read Sparkle! Magic Kitty Girls, which made Hajime grimace.
“Sorry, it’s really dumb…”
“No, it’s amazing!” Nagito grabbed the volume and stared at it, flipping it open and observing the illustrations. He stared back up at Hajime with wide eyes. “Where did you get this?”
“It’s my sister’s. She also left me these.” He pulled out a few more volumes from his backpack, thankful for his sister for once. He spread out the books, the different titles and colors visible.
“What’s this one?” Nagito pointed to a certain book.
“Oh, this is mine.” Hajime smiled and picked it up. “It’s about a prince and a commoner who fall in love. Kind of dumb, I know, but I like romance.” He admitted.
“The commoner is a boy?” Nagito squinted at the cover.
“Yeah, uh… they’re both boys.” He shrugged and handed the volume to Nagito.
Nagito smiled, grabbing the book and flipping it open.
“He looks like you.” He pointed at the prince, who had wavy dark hair and freckles. Hajime smiled awkwardly.
“Jeez, you think? I don’t know…”
“No, he definitely looks like you.” Nagito laughed. “That’s a compliment, you know. He’s handsome.”
“Oh, thanks, I guess.” He smiled. “You can borrow these, if you want. Just make sure to give them back.”
“Thank you, I’ll take good care of them!” Nagito held the books up to his chest protectively. Hajime laughed lightly, nodding.
“I know you will.”
Nagito grinned crookedly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hajime.” He said, climbing down the ladder with the books in hand. Hajime waved goodbye, shutting off his phone flashlight and covering himself with the bedsheets.
“Night.”
“Goodnight.”
***