Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1: Unfortunate Upbringing
Hajime was six when Rufus – his Russell Terrier – was ruthlessly run over by a car due to Hajime unceremonially tripping on the little cracks on the sidewalk, which made him fall face-first into the cold, hard asphalt which caused him to let go of the leash placed on Rufus’ neck. The dog automatically taking that as a sign of encouragement didn’t waste a second rushing towards the street where his fate was sealed.
Hajime still remembered the vague memory of sobbing at the unmoving corpse that used to be his friend. His face, knees, and hands full of scraps, his tears mixing with the blood running down his nostrils did not make for a flattering sight. Though at the time Hajime couldn’t have cared less.
Rufus had been his birthday present. Hajime wasn’t too fond of his birthdate – January 1st – it was lame to be celebrating his birthday when everyone else had something else to celebrate. But being presented with Rufus was one of his most joyful memories, the dog was so tiny that Hajime could easily pick him up with his two hands. He couldn’t wipe off the smile that etched itself in his face for the days afterward, he felt as if helium was running through his bloodstream, making himself lighter and content, utterly happy.
His parents normally overworked themselves raw to earn the right amount of money to support themselves. They weren’t neglectful by any means, they just didn’t have much time for him when they came back home bone-tired. He never held it against them, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel lonely in their home.
Rufus was the best company he could’ve asked for, he could play all day with his furry companion throughout the house. Rufus lived until his seven months of life, by that point the dog had had a growth spurt, and Hajime found himself having a hard time trying to lift the dog.
Losing his dog had hurt, way more than the few scrapes and bruises from the fall ever could’ve. Those healed away after a few days, the first week was the roughest, mainly because Hajime couldn’t help but feel that it was his fault. His parents made their best attempt at consoling him, but ultimately it was futile, he was inconsolable, and would stay that way for weeks to come. The wound in his heart was far deeper and gruesome than the scrapes.
It was just so unlucky. If he just had had a tighter grip. If he just hadn’t tripped. If there just wasn’t a crack on the sidewalk. If...
It was just so... Unlucky.
Hajime didn’t consider himself a fatalist. To believe that fate existed and that everything was already set in stone, that reality unfolded at destiny’s whim, was merely ludicrous. To believe in fate, was to believe life had no meaning whatsoever. Or that’s what Hajime thought.
Though the concept of destiny seemed far too unrealistic to him, the concept of luck was a different matter.
It was around that time that Hajime became aware that luck was not always good, and that even good luck could lead to something bad. And for some unknown reason, Hajime constantly found himself in the middle of unfortunate events. Similar as if he was the eye of the storm itself. From minor things such as forgetting his keys, getting caught in sudden weather changes, clumsily faltering on the steps, getting sprayed with murky water from a passing car.
To major things like the time his bus collided with a car at high speed which killed the car’s driver instantly and left him with a broken arm from the impact, or the time he was mugged by a petty burglar that stole the phone that had required months of savings, or the time he had to rush to the hospital due to an inflamed appendix just when an unexpected downpour started, the news had said earlier that day that it would’ve been sunny with barely any chance of precipitation.
But for all the bad luck that transpired in Hajime’s life, weirdly enough, it was always – some times - followed by something good. When he was getting his arm plastered he ended up meeting Lisa, a girl whose friendship was good while it lasted, she ended up moving away a few years later. As for the burglar, a couple of seconds after escaping with his phone he was dramatically run over by a police cruiser, his phone was broken in the process, though Hajime couldn’t help but feel the wicked wave of satisfaction when the mugger was arrested. Ultimately, Hajime had to go through an appendicectomy, but he was none the wiser at the time, that during the surgery the doctors discovered a tiny tumor located close to his colon, according to the doctors it was highly unlikely for such a tumor to be found in that area, but fortunately enough they managed to extract the tumor without any complications. With the biopsy was confirmed that it was actually a malignant tumor, but due to the fast diagnosis, Hajime didn’t spend too much time with treatment. Though it never escaped his mind that the cancer, as short-lived as it was, could come back someday.
Hajime never saw anything good come out of Rufus’ death.
As he grew older it became clear to him that his bad luck was somewhat tangible, not something he could control, no, but certainly something he could count on. Not in a good way though. Playing any type of game showed to be quite boring, his luck affected the cards he got, the numbers of the dice, the places where his opponent would play a piece, it wasn’t impossible to win per se, but it became downright excruciating. Bingo, Mahjong? Forget it. And as a result, Hajime found himself indulging in books and novels since apparently reading wasn’t affected by his bad luck.
Nonetheless, Hajime quite enjoyed keeping to himself and going through his books, it was comfortable and peaceful in the way it was predictable. It was in his control.
His parents never bought the bad luck thing, always saying that he was imagining things or that his bad luck existed because he believed in it.
That he was superstitious.
Hajime could understand if said luck wasn’t so prominent in his life, as it was, his parents’ disbelief mostly annoyed him. Thankfully they never happened to be on the receiving end of his bad luck – that they knew of – Hajime still had an inkling that it was his fault that both his parents lost their jobs at the same time a few years back. Fortunately, his stroke of good luck showed itself in the form of them finding new jobs, better jobs. Though jobs that kept them even more away from home.
Unlucky. That was the word that could summarize Hajime Hinata.
Even so, it came as a surprise when he received the letter.
Hope’s Peak Academy was a government-sanctioned high school located in the center of the city. In a school whose purpose was to the development and research of talents of exceptional youngsters, only the most talented students in various areas of knowledge were selected to become students there. The students instead of taking an entrance exam were scouted by the school itself, the school received a lot of prestige as well as funds, so much so that every student that successfully graduated from Hope’s Peak was guaranteed to have high positions in whichever professional area. The school’s reputation precedes it. Everyone wished or dreamed to be scouted in order to partake in the world of opportunities and prestige that the school would surely provide.
Hajime never gave it much thought. To hope that he of all people would be scouted was something to laugh at. Entertaining those kinds of thoughts would only lead him into a road full of disappointment and regret. Hajime wasn’t talented, at all. Even if he tried to learn or to be good at something, his bad luck was always there accompanying him every step of the way, making sure to crush those childish dreams and aspirations.
Hajime kinda wished that more things weren’t influenced by his luck. By the way things were going, he would become the self-entitled Ultimate Reader. He was seriously considering the idea of applying for a part-time job at the local book store a few blocks. That way he could indulge himself in as many books as he pleased. Though he was unsure if it was a good idea, with his luck, it was likely the entire book store would be caught on fire on his first day, and he would be banned from ever frequenting it again.
And still, he received the letter.
Mr. Hajime Hinata
Greetings, Student!
It’s with great honor and hope for the future that we compose this letter.
We recently held a reverse lottery to select one ordinary student to attend our school.
As a result, you have been selected, and we invite you to join us as the Ultimate Unlucky Student.
Included is an orientation guide of Hope’s Peak Academy.
To accept this invitation to become part of the Hope’s Peak Academy 77th class, please fill out the attached enrollment forms in their entirety, sign the enrollment contract, and return all documents within the next month. Enclosed is an addressed, pre-postmarked envelope for the administrative branch of our campus.
Upon delivery of the aforementioned documents, your enrollment will be complete, and travel arrangements will be made for you - you and your family need not worry about a single detail.
Please, don’t hesitate to call: (XX) 99XX-XX02, for any doubts you may have.
Congratulations.
We excitedly await your reply.
Sincerely,
Hope’s Peak Academy Office of Admissions and Enrollment
Hajime at first had thought it to be a prank, a bad joke of some sort. That line of logic became more and more flawed as he went through the forms and enrollment contract. He felt numb, the pads on his fingers must’ve frozen over, it felt like someone alien was controlling his body as he read the letter over again.
When he read it for the fifth time the prospect that the letter was official was sinking deeper by second. A mix of confusion, hope, and suspicion reigned in his mind as he tried to assimilate what it all meant.
How could someone like him do you Hope’s Peak to start with? "If the letter is indeed official" a small voice in his mind said.
Ordinary Student...?
Ultimate Unlucky Student.
As Hajime recorded the title addressed to him, he couldn’t contain the regal laugher that came with it. It was indeed ironic. Hilarious, even. Selected via a reverse lottery. What did that even mean? Did they randomly draw every single student’s name from the country except for his? Yes, hilarious indeed.
Hajime was still skeptical about it, but when he showed the letter to his parents, they didn’t question it at all, rather, they jumped at the conclusion that the letter was legitimate right away, Hajime couldn’t remember the last time he had seen them so happy and excited for him. For some reason, the vision of them proud of him for something that was so out of his control, something he hadn’t accomplished by any merit, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He felt bad to feel that way, he knew that his parents did not mean it in a bad way, but he couldn’t help but feel that way.
Hajime ended up accepting the invitation. Reluctant as it was.
He had many calls with Hope’s Peak’s Office of Admissions and Enrollment. They assured him that the invitation was official, and when he questioned about the Unlucky Student status, they responded saying that they truly believe in something as abstract as luck and that they’d be pleased to have him join their school.
When asked about the reverse lottery, the man on the phone gave a hard laugh before telling him what transpired during his selection. Apparently, they had had two lotteries, on the first one, a girl was selected as the Ultimate Unlucky Student, but for some unknown reason, the letter that the girl was supposed to receive ended up getting damaged after a convoluted chain of events that included the theft of the mail man’s byke that gave way to a car crash where one of the cars exploded due to gas leaking. The letter was destroyed during the explosion according to the man, he said that their department was so intrigued by the turn of events that they decided to have another lottery that selected Hajime as the new Unlucky Student.
Hajime was left with even more doubts than when he started the phone call. He wasn’t entirely sure if he believed in the story the man had told him, but being a prime witness of his luck’s antics throughout his entire life he found himself inclined to believe.
And that’s how he finds himself in front of Hope’s Peak now. Soaking wet due to the unforeseen pouring rain that chose the most convenient time to get Hajime – who hadn’t brought an umbrella - drenched. He wasn’t amused, at all.
The towering structure of Hope’s Peak seemed to look down upon him, the gates that had no right to be that tal loomed over him as a forewarning for him not to dare go past them. As he made his way through the eerie gates he felt as if at any second someone would pop up and tell him that it was all a mistake and he wasn’t desired in such a place that clearly wasn’t made for him.
Nothing of the sort happened. Hajime wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or not.
“Are you okay?” A smooth voice asked in front of his face. “...You seem pretty out of it.”
Hajime couldn’t place a face to the voice, but the lack of answer didn’t seem to bother whoever was talking.
“To be honest, I’m also... No, everyone else feels the same, too.” The voice gave a little pause before continuing. “Since we suddenly... got put in this weird situation.”
Another pause.
“...Hey, are you listening?” Hajime hadn’t realized, but at some point, his eyes had unconsciously opened at their own accord. He was also lying on the ground for some reason. As his vision became clearer he noticed the owner of the voice looking quizzically at him. It was a boy with light hair and pale complexion, his eyes a weird hazel tone with subtle tints of grey.
“W-Wha-...?” Hajime mouthed. His tongue felt heavy and sluggish inside his mouth, his eyelids now open were burning, similar to when he spend the night away trying and failing to fall asleep. “Where...?”
Hajime slowly got himself up still feeling dizzy and the prickly sensation of the blood running around his body once again, his head still felt a bit foggy but he made an effort of blinking the black spots from his vision.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” The boy asked looking concerned for his state, Hajime suspected that he wasn’t looking at his best at the moment.
The first thing that Hajime’s brain registered was how bright everything was, he was blinded for a few seconds at the too-bright rays of the sun. He could feel the white sand underneath his shoes, right at that moment a soft breeze of tropical air oozed through them. It quickly became clear of their location. A tropical beach, of all places. Hajime remembered something about an island, and... a rabbit.
“The rabbit...?” Hajime muttered under his breath. “...tropical island...?”
“Oh, Usami you mean?” The boy asked calmly. “Yeah, she said we’re on a tropical island. I understand why you would be so nervous.”
“W-Who are you...?” Hajime forced from his lips. The boy was still eyeing him worriedly but seemed to decide to go along with his questions.
“Oh, I supposed we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, right?” The boy said conversationally. “...I’m Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you.”
The boy – Nagito – gave Hajime an enthusiastic salute as he beamed at him. Personally, Hajime didn’t know how someone could be so calm in a situation like this.
“Ah, along with my introduction. I guess I’ll also tell you about my talent so you know why Hope’s Peak Academy chose me.” Nagito said serenely. He gave a soft sign as if deflating disappointed. “Well, even if I tell you, in my case, it’s a pretty disappointing talent...”
“A disappointing talent...? What do you mean?”
“I’m lucky.” Nagito explained.
“W-What...?” Hajime wasn’t expecting ‘lucky’ to be the boy’s response, whatever that meant anyway.
“It’s not a joke or anything...” Nagito quickly assured him taking his tone as offended. “That’s my actual talent. I’m the Ultimate Lucky Student, or at least that’s what I’m called anyway.”
“Ultimate... Lucky Student?” Hajime couldn’t stop himself from prying.
“Through a country-wide lottery, apparently only one ordinary student is selected to attend Hope’s Peak Academy as the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Nagito explained patiently to Hajime. “And that lucky winner just so happens to be me.”
Hajime fell silent.
Ultimate Lucky Student? Was Nagito really ‘lucky’? He spoke about it to Hajime without a care in the world. Maybe if Nagito was talking to someone else the other counterpart would’ve reacted differently at something such as luck. But for Hajime, the concept of luck was too real and frightening to brush off. If Nagito really was who he claimed to be, what did that meant? That he was the opposite of Hajime? It was just weird.
Hajime’s silence must’ve been too long, for Nagito’s eyes creased a small bit.
“You seem troubled.” Nagito commented.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I’m not troubled, it’s just...” Hajime didn’t know exactly what he was feeling either.
“No, it’s fine. I have mixed feelings about this, too.” Nagito quickly reassured him. “I declined at first, I didn’t think I deserved it, but they said they really wanted me to attend. Apparently, this so-called ‘luck’ of mine is a talent that even the school doesn’t fully understand...”
Hajime couldn’t take his eyes off Nagito while he babbled about how amazing Hope’s Peak was. Scrutinizing the boy in an attempt to see through any lies he might’ve been telling. But Nagito didn’t strike him as a bad guy. His appearance was scruffy, what with the wild almost-white locks all around his head and the long, dark forest-green coat hanging loosely on his shoulders, his tall, gangly frame made so that he was a bit hunched. But his posture indicated he was pretty comfortable, even though they found themselves on a tropical island apparently.
“And what about you?” Nagito asked gently.
“Oh, I’m...” Hajime felt a bit embarrassed at being called out on the absence of his introduction but quickly recomposed himself. “I’m Hajime Hinata. And well... Weirdly enough, I’m the Ultimate Unlucky Student, I guess.” Hajime involuntarily scratched his neck at the awkwardness of revealing his ‘talent’.
From the way Nagito’s eyebrows disappeared into his wild curls, Hajime suspected that ‘unlucky’ was the last thing he was expecting to hear.
At that very moment, a small ripple of water unforeseen by the boys splashed all over Hajime’s shoes, the salty water quickly leaving his socks soaking wet and dooming the rest of his afternoon.
“Crap!” Hajime exclaimed frustrated. “S-See... Case in point.”
Nagito still hadn’t taken his eyes off Hajime but opened a big smile at his display. “Wow Hajime, how lucky I am to be meeting the Ultimate Unlucky Student.”
Hajime huffed but didn’t manage to hide the small smile on his lips. Taking their circumstances, it was ironic to think that they would meet. “Likewise.”
Nagito seemed intrigued by his talent, but decided not to pry as they made their way around the beach. It was far bigger than he would’ve expected it to be. It was accommodating a hotel, cottages, a restaurant, an airport, a supermarket, and a ranch, of all things. It was large, too large. Even though they were in the open it felt oppressing somehow.
Hajime had a vague memory of meeting up with the other students minutes prior to the rabbit – Usami – entering the classroom and explaining their situation. Hajime wasn’t sure how to feel about the rabbit, it was undeniably suspicious that something of the sort would happen. It seemed too good to be true, Hajime was certain that Usami was scheming something, what that was, he didn’t know.
The e-handbooks were quite informative and advanced in Hajime’s opinion. Containing information about the island and the other students, what he was skeptical about was the ‘rules’ of the said “School Trip”, they seemed... normal. But with Hajime’s luck, something bad was certainly bound to go awry, most likely on his account.
The other students were... okay. All with their distinct personalities, mannerisms, and talents. They appeared to be nice enough, most of them at least, Hajime wasn’t sure how to feel about the foul-mouthed yakuza guy. When he introduced himself as the Ultimate Unlucky Student he was pretty sure that most of them thought he was joking or something, Hajime didn’t bother correcting them, it was best to leave them to assume whatever they wanted.
“It’s good to have you here, Hajime.” Nagito said as they walked back to the restaurant. “I confess, I was feeling a bit out of place, what with my talent and all. But I’m glad someone such as yourself appeared.”
Hajime found himself sharing the sentiment.
Nagito was easygoing and to have someone that was there in similar circumstances was a relief in itself. Though he was still surprised to have met the Ultimate Lucky Student; he didn’t give much thought about why Hope’s Peak would want someone like him to attend, but if they wanted someone unlucky to deepen their research, it would make some amount of sense to have the opposite too.
Hajime was curious if Nagito was really lucky. If so, was it the complete opposite of his bad luck? Did it work differently? Was it even real? Hajime’s head was filled with questions, but instead, he decided to retribute the politeness and kept quiet about his rambling thoughts.
As they approached the beach, one of the monitors spread all around the island starting displaying a recording of Usami smiling jovially while sitting on an armchair. The rabbit confessed her happiness due to everyone meeting each other and requesting everyone to return to the beach. Nagito didn’t seem fazed at all, but Hajime felt the exact opposite. It was unsettling, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that his luck would make an appearance and screw with everything. He started questioning if he was just being paranoid. The other students didn’t appear to be as pessimistic as him, but he just couldn’t help it. It was his nature.
As they gathered in preparation for whatever Usami had in mind for them, they started discussing what they’d found around the island. According to the musician – (Ibuki), Hajime made an effort to remember the girl’s name – the island was divided into other small islands, which made it an archipelago. Hajime mostly kept to himself, it wasn’t as if he had something to contribute to the discussion anyway.
When Usami finally showed herself it was to deliver the Usami Strap, a little strap with a plushie of Usami, if you squeezed her tummy it talked.
“I’m Usami... Magical Miracle Girl ★ Usami. I’m an itty bitty girl who’s sweet like milk”
Everyone was pretty underwhelmed by the rabbit’s special present. Usami gave one to each student, but the majority just threw it away at the ocean once Usami turned her back. Hajime didn’t see a reason to throw away the present, he was curious if there was something else to it, so he just strapped it to his pocket for the time being.
Usami seemed pretty upset about their disinterest in the strap, but ultimately conceded to reveal the other special present. A party. On the beach. His classmates were excited by the prospect of swimming, most of them anyway.
Hajime was far from eager to get close to the sea, much less to go swimming. Thankfully, his feelings were shared by some of his classmates, the Byakuya guy simply stating his distaste for ocean water, while the gamer-girl appeared to be falling asleep on the spot. Hajime didn’t bother to question the reason behind why the yakuza wasn’t joining the others.
Hajime felt like a complete stranger, even to himself. He thought he would like to join the others and act without a care in the world, but he was scared of what his luck would entail. He probably would’ve just ruined everyone’s fun, so it was best for him to stay away.
“Won’t you join us, Hajime?” Nagito asked, already changed into his swimsuit.
“I don’t know... It’s best if I don’t.”
“Well, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to, but I’d be glad if you had fun with us.” Nagito reassured. Hajime wanted to, he was aware of that, the only thing holding him back was his luck. After pondering about it for a couple of seconds he agreed to stay close to the chore, where the most the waves could do was to soak him.
He should’ve expected.
It was always like that, without fail. After Hajime took off his shoes and politely asked for the gamer girl – Chiaki – to watch his long-sleeve shirt, the blinding blue sky suddenly turned into the darkest shade of grey. In mere seconds. Without any explanation whatsoever.
The cheerful mood quickly bled out in a matter of seconds. No one quite comprehended what was happening. Hajime’s own mood became bitter. Of course, something like that would happen, why wouldn’t it? He knew it would happen and still did it. It was just so unfair it made his teeth ache.
“The hell’s happening?!” The gymnast girl asked looking wary.
More yells were shouted quizzically at the sudden change of the environment. Usami appeared to be just as shocked, with her tiny black eyes creasing worriedly. It made Hajime feel even worse with the knowledge that wasn’t Usami messing with them. The only explanation was his luck had meddled with the weather in order to ruin their plans.
Behind him, the monitor close to the coconut palm turned on and started displaying a dark silhouette. Hajime couldn’t make out any resemblance to a human form from the silhouette. Whoever, or whatever it was, commanded them to go straight to the Jabberwock Park. The laidback and gleeful voice was so out of place that it started unsettling Hajime to his core, maybe it was just a bad omen, but the cheerful voice creeped him out.
Still not fully aware of what was going on, the students had no other choice but to follow the command. Usami was unusually quiet, whatever was on Jabberwock Park seemed to disturb her greatly, and even though Hajime still suspected of the rabbit’s intentions, he wasn’t eager to meet whatever awaited them.
The bear. Robot? Plushie? The self-proclaimed Monokuma came as a surprise for Hajime. Usurping Usami’s role of teacher – headmaster for Monokuma’s case – the bear announced the start of the “killing school trip”, whatever that meant. Hajime stopped paying attention, he only wanted to get out of there, to wake up from that terrible nightmare on his sheet rumpled bed, not very comfortable, but safe.
The bear continued tormenting Usami as he explained the “rules” of their predicament. Seeing Usami’s – now Monomi’s – tearful face made Hajime feel bad for the rabbit. Monokuma whatever it was, was without an ounce of doubt was their enemy. Stimulating them to start killing one another and mocking them for being afraid, taking amusement out of their misery, out of their despair.
Hajime couldn’t comprehend how such a thing was possible, to start with. Usam-Monomi’s existence in itself was, at the very least farfetched, edging towards unrealistic. Hajime couldn’t come up with a logical explanation for some of the things the rabbit apparently was capable of. And now, faced with Monokuma and his Mono-Beasts, the situation they found themselves in seemed to come out of a fantasy book.
That only proved to Hajime that he could not underestimate his luck.