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It was Sonia who rounded everyone up at the beach. Not much of a surprise, to be frank, but the students all arrived. The sun had just set, and Owari and Nidai were lighting a bonfire in what looked like some sort of competition. Hinata followed Sonia’s footsteps in the sand as she waved him over.
“Hello! We’re just getting started, so you’re right on time!” To be honest, Hinata didn’t want to come in the first place, but when Sonia gave him that sad look, he knew it would be wrong to refuse. He waved politely in the princess’ direction and made his way over to the blanket set up on the sand. Mioda sat next to him, her legs crossed. Her eyes lit up when she saw Hinata had taken the seat next to her.
“Sorry, is someone sitting here?” He asked. Mioda shook her head rapidly.
“No, of course not! Ibuki just wants to know why Hinata-kun would sit with her!” She grabbed his shoulders tightly and shook him. “Are you that in love with me?”
“No! I mean—sorry. I just wanted to sit here. That’s all.” Mioda nodded furiously. “Right, uh, Ibuki. Do you have any idea why Sonia set this up?”
“Ha-ha, nope! Ibuki is just as clueless as the rest of you.”
“Ah, so nobody knows?” Hinata put a hand to his chin, thinking.
“Nobody except Sonia!” Mioda smiled wide, falling back on the blanket. “Look at the stars, Hinata-kun! They didn’t have stars like this in the simulation.”
Hinata agreed. Everything felt more real here, more alive. As realistic as the Neo-World Program was, it couldn’t replicate the smell of the ocean and the feeling of sand in your hair. That might have been better off, though.
“Hey, uglies!” A shrill, squeaky voice yelled. Mioda sat up to see Saionji sprinting towards them, gripping Koizumi’s hand. Behind them were Souda and Tanaka, who Sonia embraced tightly. Hinata found it funny how Sonia and Gundham had stayed together, even after the simulation had ended. He wondered if Nanami was there, would she have embraced him like that? He shook the thought away. As much as he missed her, she was long gone. Relationships were tough in their friend group. They’d all been through so much that if felt unnatural to just date someone here. Even if it wasn’t strange, Hinata didn’t take much romantic liking to any of the other girls. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with them, but he just didn’t feel that way about them. The closest thing he had to a romantic bond with any of the girls was with Mioda, who was loud and hyper and probably not even into guys based on how she talked about the other women on the island.
Next to join the group were Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu, who seemed to be doing better. Hinata supposed things must have been awkward between them after she had literally sacrificed her life for him in the simulation.
After them was Hanamura, Tsumiki, and the Imposter. They made a strange trio, but then again, their whole lives were strange. The three of them seemed to be deep in conversation as they took their seats.
“All right!” Sonia clapped her hands together. “Now that everyone’s here—”
“What about Komaeda?” Hinata asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Oh! Well…”
“I’m sorry I’m late!” Komaeda yelled, jogging towards them. His hair was a mess and his knees were scraped and bloody.
“I thought you weren’t coming!” Sonia said, shocked. She ran to the boy, pulling him into a hug.
“I wasn’t, but you were so nice that I couldn’t say no.” He smiled at her.
“I’m so happy! Now we’re all together! When was the last time we…” She trailed off. Everyone seemed to be looking down at our feet. Hinata surveyed the faces of everyone there. He found it funny how different they looked from their avatars in the program. While the most notable changes like Saionji’s height or Komaeda’s missing hand were strange, Hinata found the smaller things even stranger. Everyone looked older—their jawlines more defined and their expressions hardened. Even Sonia looked different. Older. Her hair was cut down to her shoulders, and she looked thinner around her waist and arms.
Sonia cleared her throat.
“Well!” She said as Komaeda sat down on a towel. “I guess I should tell you all why I brought you here.” She smiled her signature smile, and the atmosphere seemed a little less tense.
“It occurred to me last week when I was bathing.” Hanamura looked up, likely interested to hear about Sonia’s personal endeavors. “Though we all live together, we barely know each other! Isn’t that funny?”
Hinata didn’t know if funny was the right word to describe it.
“Think about it!” Sonia continued. “We’ve all been through so much together, but I don’t even know Tsumiki-san’s favorite color!”
All eyes were on Tsumiki as she fiddled her fingers together and trembled.
“U-um. My f-favorite color is w-white. B-because it reminds me o-of a h-hospital.” She said. Her voice was so low, it was almost a whisper.
“Of course it is.” Saionji mumbled under her breath. Though she was trying to be nicer to Tsumiki, Saionji still disliked her.
“I thought that maybe we could have some sort of fun bonding experience together. You guys are my best friends, after all!” Sonia looked nervous about her idea.
“I think that sounds wonderful, Sonia-san.” Komaeda looked up at her. She smiled.
“Yeah, me too.” Koizumi said. Sonia nodded.
“My idea was to play a game where we can ask our friends questions that will help us understand them better.” Sonia explained. “I have recently learned of a game that you play here known as Spin the Bottle…”
“Excuse me?” Saionji interjected. “I’m not kissing any of you gross pigs! Never ever!”
“No, no!” Sonia looked horrified. “The idea is that the person who spins the bottle gets to ask the person it lands on any question they like. No kissing involved!” Hanamura and Souda looked disappointed, but Saionji seemed relieved.
“That’s why you have arranged us in a circle.” Tanaka said. “I assumed we were performing a summoning of sorts, but this is alright with me as well.”
“Lovely!” Sonia clapped her hands and took a seat right in between Tanaka and Pekoyama, placing an empty soda bottle in the middle of the circle. Hinata wondered where she got it.
“I’ll go first!” Owari yelled. “Alphabetical, you know?”
She spun the bottle with all her might as it slowly came to a stop on Komaeda. She looked a bit disappointed but bounced right back.
“Alright! Hmm…” She sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking. “Oh, I’ve got it! What’s your favorite food, Komaeda-kun?”
Komaeda smiled. “That’s an awfully tame question. I was expecting something more personal. Oh well.” He thought about it for a bit before answering. “I like breakfast food. Maybe pancakes? I don’t eat much.”
Shocker. Hinata thought.
Owari seemed pleased with his answer. It was Komaeda’s turn to spin the bottle, landing on Saionji.
“Oh, how lucky! I actually had a question for Saionji-chan today!” He smiled. “You and Koizumi-san are quite close friends. Would it be wrong to assume that you two are romantic partners as well?”
Saionji was not happy.
“That’s none of your business, you smelly bastard!” She yelled, standing up to lunge at Komaeda. “Why would you even ask that? How would you like it if I asked why your parents are dead, huh? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Low blow.”
“Saionji, please.” Koizumi said, grabbing the blonde girl’s arm.
“I refuse to answer that. You ruin everything, you nasty cow! I hope you choke on a di—”
“Hiyoko!” The redhead yelled this time, bringing Saionji down. “Please relax, okay?” Koizumi ran her fingers through the dancer’s long hair. She pouted.
Koizumi glared at Komaeda. If Hinata didn’t know better, he would have said Komaeda looked scared.
“Please refrain from asking those sorts of questions.” She said sternly. “Jeez. Boys should know how to be polite. Did your parents never teach you manners?”
Koizumi covered her mouth, realizing her mistake.
“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.”
“Nice one, Mahiru!” Saionji yelled, patting Koizumi on the back. “I didn’t think you had it in you!”
Koizumi continued apologizing fervently while Saionji spun the bottle, giggling like a schoolgirl. It landed on Tsumiki, who whimpered at the sudden silence.
“Ugh, seriously?” Saionji muttered. “Whatever. Hey, Tsumiki, I’ve got a question! Have you ever had a crush on anyone here?” She snorted, covering her mouth.
Tsumiki looked absolutely mortified, and Hinata almost felt bad for her.
“U-um. I s-suppose I m-may have had f-feelings for s-someone here d-during our time as f-friends…” She said, almost whispering. Hinata was surprised. He had guessed that Mikan hated all of them after the simulation, as she never wanted to spend her free time with them.
“Well? Spit it out!” Saionji said loudly. Tsumiki shrunk back, quivering.
“D-do I have t-to?” She looked at Sonia, who was deep in thought.
“If it really upsets you, you can refuse the question.” Sonia declared. “But please try to answer truthfully. We’re all friends here, and there will be no judging!”
Tsumiki glanced over to where Hinata and Mioda were sitting. She sighed.
“I g-guess it c-couldn’t hurt.” She said, steadying her words. “W-while I was working in the h-hospital during the game, I r-really enjoyed caring for Mioda-san.” Mioda smiled and crossed her arms.
“Ibuki knew it!” Tsumiki looked relieved.
“No offense, Tsumiki-san, but I think the question was about romantic feelings.” Souda interrupted.
“I-I know that.” Tsumiki said. Souda looked confused, switching his gaze between Mioda and Tsumiki rapidly.
“Is Mioda-san not a girl?” Souda asked. Mioda looked down at her chest.
“Last time she checked, Ibuki was still a lady!” She said proudly.
“But Tsumiki-san is a girl as well?” Tsumiki nodded. “I’m sorry, I need a moment to think.” Souda mumbled, counting his fingers.
Tsumiki spun the bottle. She looked a lot happier that Mioda wasn’t mad about her half-confession, and Hinata was just glad she hadn’t brought up her weird obsession with Enoshima. The bottle slowed to a stop in front of Sonia, who smiled excitedly.
“U-um. Sonia-san.” Tsumiki said quietly. “What’s in the b-big cooler you brought?” She pointed to a large plastic cooler sitting next to the blonde.
“You did not need to waste a turn on a silly thing like that! But if you are so curious, I brought snacks and refreshments. Since we are all officially of age, I also made sure to stock up on alcohol!”
“Miss Sonia!”
Hanamura smiled mischievously. A few of Hinata’s classmates shot each other glances.
“Have I made a mistake?” Sonia looked nervous.
“No, just the opposite! This really feels like a high-school party.” Said Owari. Sonia went back to smiling.
“Then I will ‘crack open a cold one’, as they say!” She got up from her seat to retrieve the drinks.
Sonia tossed the bottles into the center of the circle, covering them in wet sand. Hinata picked up a random one, dusting it off to read the label. He twisted off the cap and drank.
Hinata didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. He spit behind him, gagging.
“Ugh!” Said Koizumi, following his lead. “You guys like that?”
“Koizumi-chan and Hinata-kun have never drank before?” Owari wondered.
“Have you?” Hinata said defensively.
“Well, yeah! We would party at school.” Kuzuryuu explained.
“Hinata-kun wouldn’t know. After all, Reserve Students don’t have any friends to celebrate with!” Komaeda chirped.
Hinata was already in a bad mood, but that comment really threw him off. Luckily, Saionji’s ruthlessness had no exceptions.
“You’re one to talk! I don’t think we invited you to a single party in all our years at Hope’s Peak!” She spit, downing another beer. “I mean, nobody even liked you!”
That last remark was a bit uncalled for, but Komaeda smiled at her.
Saionji hiccupped. How many drinks had she consumed?
“Drinking is bad for my condition. But, as Sonia-san said, we need to make up for lost time somehow!” Komaeda opened a can of something, fiddling with the metal tab before taking a drink.
“Y-you really s-shouldn’t do t-that!” Tsumiki whimpered.
“Aww, lighten up! Ibuki will take care of you!” Mioda scooted over to the nurse, putting her arm around the other girl’s shoulder in an extremely exaggerated yawn.
“My turn to spin, correct?” Sonia took the bottle into her hands. “In my country, we have a saying that goes: ‘the one who the wheel lands on may be courted!’”
They all looked at her, confused.
“It means that the person who it lands on will be asked on a date. Like catching the bouquet at a wedding!”
The bottle stopped on Hanamura.
“I won’t answer any questions! Instead, you will have to play by the traditional rules.” He looked expectantly at Sonia, puckering his lips.
“No, thank you.” She smiled.
They all learned a bit about each other over the course of the night. Saionji listens to punk-rock in her free time, Tanaka is scared of rats, Sonia can’t tie her own shoelaces, and so on.
Hinata let his bad mood from earlier wear away as he opened what must have been his sixth drink. Something he found funny was how different people are when they get drunk.
“It’s getting late.” Koizumi announced, standing up. “Hiyoko and I are going back to the cabins.”
Saionji grabbed the photographer’s hand and the two of them left the beach. The rest followed suit, the group dispersing slowly.
Left by themselves were Komaeda, Hinata, Mioda, and Tsumiki. Tsumiki had fallen asleep on Mioda’s chest, the musician humming a lullaby to her partner.
“We should leave them alone.” Hinata observed, eyeing the other boy. His eyes were half-closed, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. “Komaeda, do you want me to walk you back?”
He nodded, smiling wide. Hinata held out his hand, and Komaeda took it after a few missed tries.
Hinata tried to squeeze his hand free from Komaeda’s grasp, but to no avail. Eventually, he gave up and began walking hand-in-hand with the taller boy. He must have really been a lightweight because the brunet found himself steadying Komaeda’s balance multiple times on their walk back.
“You can let go now…” Hinata suggested. They had arrived at Komaeda’s cabin and stood in front of the door idly.
“But Hinata-kun, you have to stay-- I’m sick. What kind of man would you be to leave a sick person all alone?”
“You’re not sick, just drunk. Lie down.”
“I need your help, Hinata-kun…”
His speech was slurred. Hinata concluded that getting him into bed wouldn’t hurt. He pushed the door handle open, turning to flick on the light switch. Komaeda put a hand over his, shaking his head.
“Keep it off.”
Hinata had moved over to Komaeda’s bed, arranging the pillows in a comfortable position when he was pushed back onto the mattress. He couldn’t say he didn’t see this coming, of course, but it was still a bit of a shock.
Komaeda stroked his cheek, moving his mechanical hand down to Hinata’s chest. He began to unbutton his shirt, pressing a kiss onto his jawline. Hinata could feel the other’s breath against his neck. Komaeda kissed him again, this time directly on the lips. He tasted like alcohol.
Despite Hinata’s better interest, he decided to kiss back. Komaeda drew a shaky breath, running his good hand up against the other’s waist gently. Hinata’s mind was reeling, thoughts varying from “I should not be making out with this incredibly sick person on his bed while he’s under the influence” to “This isn’t so bad for a first kiss”.
First kiss. It was strange—no matter how often he fantasized about it, Hinata never expected something like this. He had never kissed anyone before, but he wasn’t worried about looking experienced at the moment anyways.
“Hinata-kun…” Komaeda whispered as he finished unbuttoning Hinata’s dress shirt. Long white eyelashes fluttered, looking up at him. In that moment, it became clear just how easy it would be to pretend Komaeda was a girl.
I shouldn’t do that.
It was true, though. His features were soft and feminine, and his build was small enough. If he just closed his eyes, he could almost see Nanami’s pale face looking up at him, wide eyes pleading.
“You… can do whatever you want to me. Use my body for whatever pleasure you need to relieve.” Komaeda said, nearly breathless. “Sir.” He added.
“Okay, that’s enough!”
Hinata pushed him away, slipping his button-down back over his shoulders. He stood up, leaving Komaeda a trembling mess on the bed.
“Did I do something wrong?” He looked panicked, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “I should have known better than to push myself on you like that, Hinata-kun! I’m no better than her, forcing you into a situation you’re uncomfortable with—”
“Stop it.” He sighed. Hinata began to button his shirt again. He looked down at his companion, who was still breathing heavily.
“We do need to talk, though.” Hinata flicked the light on.
He sat down next to Komaeda, resting a hand over his mouth while he planned out what to say.
“First things first, you didn’t do anything wrong. So I don’t want to hear any of that.”
“Alright, second—the whole “do anything you want to me” bit? I don’t know if that’s something you’re into, but it sounds non-consensual when you phrase it like that. Third—"
“I don’t understand, Hinata-kun. I thought you wanted to use me.”
“No!”
“So you were… just pretending to like it?”
“No, Komaeda! I want you to enjoy it too, you know.” He sighed. “I don’t want to do anything without your consent.”
“But you have my consent! I already said you could use my body!”
“But do you want to?"
“I…”
“What do you want?”
“I want… whatever Hinata-kun wants.”
“But what do you want?”
“I’m… not sure.”
“How about this, then?” Hinata wrapped his arms around Komaeda, pulling him into a tight embrace. Komaeda was sure the whole island could hear his heartbeat.
“Is that okay?”
Komaeda nodded against him.
“I want you to…” He trailed off.
“What did you say?” Asked Hinata.
“I want to sleep with you…”
“I--!”
“N-not like that! I just want to… you know…”
Hinata chuckled, lying down on the mattress. Komaeda cautiously dropped his head onto the boy’s chest.
“You smell like daisies.” He observed.
“Thank you?”
“I want you to stroke my hair.”
Hinata nodded, placing a warm hand on his head and combing through his messy hair gently.
“This is dangerous…” Komaeda whispered. “I could fall in love like this…”
“Just focus right now on falling asleep.”
When Komaeda woke up, the windows were opened. Cool air blew onto his pale face, sun shining through onto the cabin floor. He shivered, pulling the collar of Hinata’s shirt over his face. He gasped.
Sometime when he was asleep, Hinata must have changed him out of his day clothes. That meant…
Hinata had seen all his gross scars. And now he was gone. That had to be why.
He had ruined his chance. An extra chance, given to him by Hinata. He wasted it, like he always does, and now he’s alone and Hinata’s never going to come back, not after seeing what he did to himself. Komaeda felt his eyes sting. When was the last time he cried? Well, it didn’t matter. No one was going to see him anyways.
“I thought you might be hungry, so I brought breakfast--”
“Hinata-kun?” Komaeda wiped his eyes quickly, covering his body with a blanket.
“H-hey, what’s wrong?” He set down the mug and plate on Komaeda’s table, sitting down on the bed.
“You came back…”
“Of course I came back. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you saw me…” He gestured down to his own body, which was still covered. “And I looked so disgusting…”
Hinata pulled the blanket off him, running his tan hands over Komaeda’s thighs where Genocide Jack had cut him all that time ago.
“Hey, if I thought that, I’d be a hypocrite.” He chuckled, taking Komaeda’s hand and pressing it against the back of his head. “See? I’ve got scars, too. So don’t worry.”
This time, he didn’t hold back his tears.
“Did I say something?”
“N-no, of course not.” He looked up at the brunet. Hinata-kun. Kamukura. The Ultimate Hope. The Reserve Course Student. The boy he fell in love with.
“You’re just so amazing, Hajime Hinata.”