Chapter Text
tap tap tap tap tap tap
Hinata taps his pen against the table as he watches the clock above the whiteboard count down to the end of the day. His teacher continues to drone on and on about the lesson Hinata has paid zero attention to. Even if he wanted to, the sunlight beaming through the locked windows reflected off the whiteboard at just the right angle to make whatever was on there illegible. The clock ticked over time and Hinata began to pack his things and leave without waiting for the teacher's okay. Oh, yeah, he thinks to himself as he approaches the staircase, that clock was ten minutes fast, wasn't it? Well it's too late now.
He takes the stairs several at a time, walks quickly through the needlessly complicated labyrinth of corridoors between here and the exit in record time, and swipes his student handbook to leave the building just as the bell rings and the doors behind him release a swarm of students. He cuts across the small patch of grass allowed to the Reserve Course students and spies his two favourite people in the world just outside the large metal gate.
"Ah, Hinata," Nanami says, glancing away from her handhold for a moment, "You're early, I think."
"It's only natural that a lowly Reserve Course Student like him would want to spend as much time basking in Nanami-san's glory as he could." Komaeda states, as if it were common sense.
"No, that's not, just, nevermind... What about you two? Any more news about tonight?"
"Yukizome-sensei said we should be in the main hall by six this evening, the exchange students should be arriving shortly after that." Nanami says.
"I wonder what students there are in a school that Hope's Peak would accept for an exchange problem. They probably don't meet up to you Ultimates at all, Nanami-san."
Hinata isn't sure if he should point out that Komaeda is also an Ultmate, but decided not to since he is getting better.
"But it will be interesting to see how they compare to trash like me and Hinata-kun."
And there it is. He gives Komaeda a look which goes unnoticed. "Well, do you two want to go get something to eat before you go to meet them?"
Nanami looked up at him in confusion. "Are you not coming with us?"
"Am I even allowed to?" Hinata asks.
"If anyone says anything we can talk to Yukizome-sensei, right Komaeda?"
"Okay! But you'll have to leave your handbook at home, Hinata-kun. The alarm that goes off if it detects one is really loud and irritating. Reminds me of that time I was at the airport and forgot about a penny I'd picked up and set off the metal detector, which seemed like it was bad luck. Oh! But I heard the plane had to make an emergency landing barely halfway to its destination so maybe that was good luck?"
They stare at him silently. Hinata would like to know what Komaeda was thinking, trying to get on another plane after last time.
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Waiting in the main hall with half of Class 77, Hinata takes a moment to observe the facilities that the Main Course students get access to on a daily basis. The windows here were even open, which seems like it'd do wonders to the usual muggy classroom feeling. Komaeda's gaze seems fixated on the door Yukizome-sensei had passed through not five minutes prior while his hand loosly grips Hinata's. Nanami is completely focused on her game, leaning back into him slightly for support.
"Guys, you said these students were from...?"
"Thors Military Academy." They answer in union.
"A military academy, right. Do you think they'd be okay with, well, us? I mean , I've heard that such places can be strict to say the least."
Komaeda tilts his head to the side, considering. "Are you suggesting we pretend we're just friends?"
"We don't have to pretend, I think. Even if they don't understand at first, they'll be here for a while. We can try to explain." Nanami says without lifting her head for her game.
"I'm done with hiding." Hinata says, "But at the same time I don't want to make things weird for you guys."
"You think we're weird?" Nanami asks, slightly concerned.
"Of course we're weird! To think an Ultimate student as amazing as Nanami-san would like trash like me, nevermind Hinata-kun." Komaeda says.
Hinata gives him a look. "That wasn't even what we were talking about."
Komaeda looks away from the door to stare at Hinata. "It isn't?" He asks, genuinely confused, "Wait, then what's weird?"
"Uh, well-" Hinata's response is cut off by the sound of the doors to the main hall opening.
Yukizome-sensei comes in excitedly followed several students about their own age. "Guys! These are your exchange partners! I've got a list around here somewhere with your assigned partners on them..." Komaeda and Nanami move closer to meet their exchange partners, but Hinata decides to himself that he'll wait a little away from the crowd.
A few hectic moments later, Komaeda and Nanami approach accompanied by a laid back guy with white hair held back with a bandana and a short girl with a large blue bow. They don't look like the kind of people who'd be at a military academy of all places.
"Hinata, this is Towa-san and Crow-san, I think." Nanami attempts to introduce the two.
"I told ya, Nami, just Crow is fine." The guy says with a large, easy-going grin on his face.
"I'm fine with being just Towa, too." The cheery girl adds, "Oh! Unless you guys would prefer to call me Towa-san? I hope we all get along."
"Touwa-san, huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Monaca-chan, would you?" Hinata asks.
"Monica? I think there's a girl with that name at our school, but I'm not related to her." She responds.
"So you're Hinata...?" The guy, Crow, leans to his side a little more.
"Oh, sorry. Hinata Hajime, nice to meet you."
"Hinata-kun is even worse trash than me because he's part of the Reserve Course."
The two new students stare at Komaeda with concern clear on their faces.
"Don't mind Komaeda, he's kinda odd but we love him anyways." Hinata tries to reassure them.
"Somethin' tells me you're even more of an oddball than our Rean." Crow laughs.
"Crow! Don't say that. Rean's a sweetie and you know it. I'm sure your very sweet as well Komada-kun." The girl, Towa, scolds him.
"Rean is the guy you were talking to before Yukizome-sensei introduced you, I think?" Nanami asked her.
"Huh? Oh, no." Towa glances over at the two yellow jumpsuit wearing guys on the other side of the hall. "That's George. Rean is our boyfriend, but he's in the year below so he's not on the exchange, unfortunately."
"We promised him we'd keep in contact with our ARCUS' though." Crow says, pulling out a large mobile device from one of his jacket pockets.
Hinata breathes a mental sigh of relief at this news while Nanami smiles serenely, and Komaeda just looks confusedly at their reactions. Maybe we'll have more in common with these exchange students than I thought.