Chapter Text
“I’m sorry, but I think we should break up!”
Hinata hated this, she really did. Not so much the parting really, she felt she was pretty good at goodbyes. No, what she hated was being broken up with. It felt like losing, like having her bluff called. The feeling obviously wasn’t rational, but she tried very hard to avoid it. She’d had the sense for a little while now that her relationship with Yoshiro didn’t have much gas left, but she had also thought she still had a couple weeks at least to figure out what came next.
Clearly Hinata had miscalculated. More than anything, that was what she hated. It made her feel like her mom, waxing hopelessly about how she was going to marry the newest guy she’d brought home from the bar.
“Yoshiro, w-”
“I just don’t think this is working. Whenever I talk about myself you just …seem so disinterested. I think we should try and find people we connect with a little more.”
Hinata grimaced. She hadn’t given it much thought, but Yoshiro wasn’t exactly wrong. In terms of interests, experience, or even their basic outlooks on life, she’d found nothing she could connect with. Nothing besides that very simple desire not to be alone for a little while. Still, she certainly felt like she had been trying.
She needed to calm down. There was no reason to take it so personally. She just needed some way to play it off and get out of there with her pride intact.
“Well I-” she put on her best conciliatory smile “I’ve been thinking the same thing, honestly. I was actually planning to tell you we should break up! In fact-”
It was time for a little quick thinking. She moved to wrap herself around the arm of the first decent-looking boy within reach before Yoshiro or this guy could question it. Hopefully having a girl clinging to him like this would be enough to make him play along for at least a few minutes.
“I’ve already found someone new!”
“Wha-” her lucky new date practically squealed.
“Come on, let’s go!”
She yanked on his arm with force enough to get them both moving in the same direction, and he went stumbling after. Sparing a brief glance back at Yoshiro, he had an utterly dumbfounded look on his face. It was an expression that spoke more to incredulity than envy, but there was no time to think about that now.
As soon as they’d turned a few corners, she released her grip and they both got the chance to catch their breath.
“Wow, you’ve huff…got a strong grip…”
“Thanks, I guess. Look, let’s just never speak of-”
After getting a closer look at him, she realized who exactly she’d just kidnapped. Rentarou Aijou had already been the subject of her curiosity. Word was he’d made his way through literal dozens of hookups since the school year began, with some particularly spicy rumors going around that a few of his flings had been…especially unorthodox. He certainly had her beat in terms of putting himself out there, and that was no small thing. Maybe she could-
ZING
That thought hadn’t gotten far. Rentarou had lifted his head up, and the moment they locked eyes it had hit Hinata all at once. God, how to even describe it? It was pins and needles all over her body. It was the gentlest summer breeze she had ever felt. It was a deep shame threatening to crush her whole being. It was all the boundless energy of herself as a kid. It was air refusing to move through her lungs and the feeling of being so excited for the future that it hurt.
And as soon as it had come, it was gone.
“So what was that all about? Hey, are you all right?”
Hinata was a little surprised to find she was still on her feet after…whatever that had been. But sure enough there she was, still very much standing and still locking eyes with Rentarou Aijou.
God, has he always looked like that?
For a moment she stood there, fishing for what she had been saying a moment ago, but it was well and truly gone. Only one thing came to mind now.
“Well, I just thought you might be interested.”
“Interested in what exactly?”
“Going out with me.”
♡ ♡ ♡
Rentarou Aijou went quiet for a moment, still rooted to the spot he had been standing when the shock had hit both of them. The girl still looked a little shaken up. It wasn’t the most intense response he had seen, but it was definitely up there.
The question she had asked lingered in the air. For a moment, his new soulmate and recent kidnapper looked almost perplexed at the words she had spoken. But after a moment, she kind of shrugged before returning her attention to him with a firmer expression. He thought he might have even detected a little impatience. It wasn’t something he knew how to respond to.
“I mean- I’m not saying no, but-”
“Of course you aren’t.”
“...But I still don’t even know your name, or why you dragged me over here.”
“Hinata Hara” she responded without missing a beat “and I needed a boyfriend, obviously.”
“What kind of answer is that!?”
“Look, I just needed a quick way out of there”
“I still don’t-”
“And now that we’re here, I figure why not.”
Rentarou was, once again, unsure of how to react. She spoke about the possibility of their relationship with such…nonchalance. Entering into a relationship with someone was always a big step, even with how quickly the early parts tended to go in his case. Yet even after how she had reacted to that first time their eyes met, Hinata acted as though she had asked him out on a whim. That attitude didn’t sit well with him.
Hinata Hara…he hadn’t paid much attention to her looks while she was dragging him off. Now that they were face to face he could at least see why she thought she could get away with that. She clearly paid plenty of attention to her appearance. Her eyes were a bright blue, and she had long, silver hair that reminded him of Nano. Though her’s was a shade lighter still, and styled just a bit more…deliberately might be the word.
Above all, it was Nano that this whole encounter reminded him of. Her and Hinata didn’t seem to have much in common (for all he knew of Hinata so far), but that relationship had started off on a similarly awkward note. As soon as he made the connection, he couldn’t help but scold himself for how he had handled thr conversation so far. With a deep breath, his smile returned.
“Well there’s nothing wrong with giving it a try, right? My name is-”
“Rentarou Aijou?”
“Eh? Well, yeah…how did you…?”
“When it comes to people like you and me, names get around.”
“People like…you and me?”
Hinata winked like it was a joke he was supposed to be in on “So Aijou, how about we meet up here again after classes end? I know a couple places we can go.”
“Right, sounds good…”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re about.” With a soft giggle, she spun on her heels and began to walk off. He had been talking with Karane and Kishika before Hinata had pulled him away, and it was just as she was out of sight that they caught up with him.
Karane was first to reach him, and needed a moment to catch her breath “Oh so this is where you ended up. What the hell was that all about?”
Rentarou scratched behind his head, blushing ever so slightly “Honestly I’m still not sure I know…”
“As long as you’re safe, all is well.” Kishika remarked.
Rentarou found himself still staring at the hallway Hinata had disappeared down. He still didn’t feel like they had reached an understanding. He had to make sure tonight brought some real progress.