Chapter Text
“You sure look like you’re having a fun time.”
Hajime looks up, trying to quickly hide his surprise at the sudden interaction. Standing in front of him is Mahiru, smiling sympathetically.
He shrugs, letting out a small laugh. “Yeah. I guess I’m not huge on parties, but that was pretty obvious.”
She nods and leans against the wall next to him, her head tilted up at the ceiling. He can see the reflection of the glittering chandelier in her blown-out pupils.
“I get that. Like, I feel a little out of place too, you know?” She says. “I’m a journalist, so I’m just supposed to be writing reviews of the service and things like that. But everyone else is pretty high-status. Even Hiyoko, despite how she acts.”
“That’s not completely true,” Hajime contends. “I mean, I’m just a lawyer. Nagito’s the one with all the money.”
Speaking of Nagito…
He’s still gone.
God, this is so stupid. He’s probably somewhere right outside the hall, and I still miss him.
“Yeah, a lawyer from Hope’s Peak, ” Mahiru responds, rolling her eyes. “You say that like you’re nobody.”
“That’s because I basically am.”
“After that crazy first case of yours? No way.”
He scratches the back of his neck. She’s not wrong—that case got quite a bit of publicity. “Well, regardless, you had the confidence to pursue your passion. That’s admirable enough on its own, wouldn’t you agree?”
Mahiru looks to the ground, and he swears he sees her face turn a little red. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere, Hinata.”
Hajime chuckles. “Seriously, though. It’s impressive.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I… I guess. But it’s not really my passion, you know? I mean, I like journalism… but I’ve always wanted to be a photographer instead.”
“That’s pretty cool,” he remarks, recalling how she was wearing a camera around her neck at the dock. “Have you taken any photos so far?”
“Yeah, actually! I clicked a ton of the horizon, the sunset, and—!”
Suddenly, Mahiru’s words are interrupted by the sound of champagne glasses falling to the floor and shattering.
Hajime quickly backs away to avoid the pool of spilled champagne on the ground and shards of glass. He then looks up and sees a very surprised-looking Rantaro with an empty tray in hand, standing right in front of them.
“Holy shit, I’m so sorry,” Rantaro apologizes immediately. “Are you guys alright?”
“Um…” Mahiru is looking down at her leg, where a small shard of glass is lodged. Her face is pale like she’s just had a brush with death.
Rantaro frowns, visibly concerned. “Oh, god… I can help you with that if you’d like.”
“It’s alright, I think you should clean this up first,” Mahiru responds. She then turns to Hajime. “Hey, Hinata, do you mind helping me get this out?”
“Of course,” Hajime agrees.
“I remember there was a first aid kit in my room, so we can go there,” she adds.
As they leave, Hajime vaguely wonders if their leaving together would arouse any suspicion from the others.
I wouldn’t blame them, though. I mean… leaving unannounced is a little weird.
He also feels a weird sense of guilt, almost like he’s cheating on Nagito by getting so close to Mahiru. Especially when Nagito’s probably right outside this room.
No… I’m just being friendly, that’s all.
Plus, that’s far from my priority right now. Mahiru’s hurt, and I have to help her.
“This one,” Mahiru says once they arrive at a door at the very end of the hallway. She slips a key card out of the pocket of her dress and holds it up to the scanner below the doorknob. It produces an annoying BEEP and a bright green light to indicate the door has been successfully unlocked.
She opens the door and they both enter. The room is essentially the same as Hajime’s, with the only difference being the large window on the right wall. Through it, he sees the night sky peppered by stars and a nearly-unnoticeable crescent moon.
“You should sit down,” Hajime suggests. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.”
Mahiru nods and takes a seat on the edge of the bed.
He looks through the drawers for a little while before finding the first-aid kit. He pops it open and removes a small pair of metal tweezers, a band-aid, and some rubbing alcohol.
Okay… so I’m guessing I should just use these to pull the glass out, clean the wound, and then put a band-aid on top. Shouldn’t be too hard.
Carefully, he begins.
“Tell me if it hurts too much, okay?” he says. Dealing with clients every day makes it not too difficult for him to play the role of a doctor.
“Okay.”
It’s a relatively quick ordeal, though he suspects that it might have felt longer for her.
Must have been pretty painful.
“Does it feel okay?” Hajime finally asks.
“Yeah… it just stings a bit, but that’s all,” Mahiru assures.
There’s a long pause that follows, and Hajime decides to break it.
“So… should we go back now?”
She shrugs. “Honestly? I don’t really want to. But you can go ahead if you want.”
“Nah,” he declines. “I don’t want to either, actually. I don’t even know what I’d do there.”
Suddenly, a look of excitement lights up Mahiru’s face. “Oh! I should show you the pictures I’ve taken!”
Before he could object—not that he planned to, anyway—she gets up from the bed and grabs her camera from its spot on the nightstand. She begins flipping through the photos, and he leans over to take a look.
Immediately, he’s impressed.
Somehow, she managed to click a photo of something totally mundane—Rantaro talking to Miu—and make it look like a Renaissance painting.
The next one, a picture of Hiyoko standing beneath one of the ornate chandeliers, is practically radiant.
“Holy shit,” he can’t help but say, once she flips to a breathtaking picture of the sunset. “You’re incredible at this.”
Mahiru blushes, but doesn’t try to hide it. “Thanks. I’ve been doing it for a while, so I have a lot of experience.”
“Wow. Well, if you don’t become a photographer at some point, I think the world would be missing out.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not that easy, just taking a huge risk like that. Just ‘cause it worked out for you doesn’t mean it’ll work out for everyone,” she contends.
“You’re right,” he concedes. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t try. Just try taking it step-by-step, like learning how to ride a bike.”
“Yeah, right. That sounds like something someone who’s never fallen over on a bike would say,” Mahiru teases.
There’s some more silence.
“Wait… you have ridden a bike before, right?” she says.
“Okay, then. So, how about we make a pact?” Hajime suggests. “Once we get off this ship, I’ll learn how to ride a bike, and you’ll become a famous photographer.”
Mahiru chuckles. “I mean, I can promise you that I’ll try !”
“But you do promise, right?”
“Sure, whatever ,” she replies flippantly. “I promise.”
For those few seconds, Hajime’s heart feels light. It’s just like that feeling he got once he finally solved the Maizono murder case all those years ago.
He’s smiling, she’s smiling, and he swears it looks like the moon’s smiling too.
And that’s when the room is plunged into complete darkness.