Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
"Psst. Did you hear? Kuwata scored another homerun. He ought to compete for the Olympics this year."
"Again? Eh, what's new. He is the Ultimate Baseball Player."
Hinata can't help but overhear his classmates gossips. He turned his attention back to the book in his hands, the words not even registering in his head.
"Not only that. Since he is an alumni of Hope's Peak, the school is going to throw a celebration for him. And of course, we students must plan it all..."
"Ehhh?! That's too tiring. We have exams coming up, not to mention extracurriculars." Hinata can hear a faint slap from a few seats behind him.
"Stop complaining. The Ultimates have it way worse than us."
"Worse how? All they do is show up in school and wham! Perfect grades."
"How do you even know that? It's not like you have friends from the Main Course. Do you even have friends in the first place...?"
The rest of the conversation turned into banters and jokes. Hinata took this as a sign to stop the eavesdrop and focus on his book, when the bell rang. Hinata sighed in relief. He leaned back on his chair, sunlight filtering through the window next to him, his gaze resting upon a building that is much taller, bigger, and grandiose than the one he's in now.
There are two types of people in this world: the talented and the common. The talented are the ones who rule the world, who has something to offer, and is worth than all the common combined. They are our presidents, our CEOs, our artists, the ones who made the world go round. They do not only possess a 'talent', but they are the very best of it. Hence, the name 'Ultimate', as what Hope's Peak calls it. The building Hinata is eyeing right now is the place where the talented are. A complete opposite to where he is sitting right now.
There was a sound of feet shuffling, and as Hinata looked out longingly, it stopped just right beside him.
"H-Hinata..." The brunette turned to look at his classmate.
"What is it?"
"K-Kuzuryuu... she..."
Oh no.
Hinata quickly got up and followed his classmate, and was greeted with a crowd. He pushed through it, and saw Natsumi squaring up a tall girl with glasses; a redhead hiding behind the latter.
"You're just jealous because she's an Ultimate, and you are not!" the girl with glasses shouted.
"What does that have to do with this?! Talented or not, it doesn't change the fact that that bitch cheated on her way to the top!" Natsumi spat, her green eyes flaming with anger.
"How dare you!" Just as the taller was about to slap her, the redhead caught her hand on time.
"S-Sato... just leave it be..."
"No, Mahiru! I will not stand here and let this blonde bimbo ruin your name like that!"
"The fuck did you just say?!" Natsumi looked like she will beat the shit out of Sato, and knowing her, she most definitely will. So Hinata shoved the person beside him and gripped Natsumi's wrists firmly.
"Natsumi. Don't. We don't want a repeat of what happened last time." Hinata warned.
"Let me go, Hajime! I will put this bitch right in her place!"
"Oh, who is this? Your little untalented boyfriend? Come to rescue the helpless princess?" That was the breaking point. Despite Hinata's iron clad grip, her wrist managed to slip through his hand and before Hinata can process what just happened, he heard a deafening slap, along with a sharp yelp. Among the commotion, Hinata can see the blonde balling her hand into a fist, and so he wrapped his arms around her stomach and hoisted her up to stop the incoming punch.
It was a mess to say the least. The slap was so hard that the tall girl fell down, and her glasses flew; her once flawless and fair skin now has an imprint of a hand over her cheek. Mahiru was sobbing uncontrollably behind.
"Aaaah! Let me go! Let me go! I will beat her shit up! Let me goooo!" Natsumi thrashed around wildly.
"What's going on here?!" A deep voice boomed amidst the chaos. As if on cue, the crowd dispersed all at once, leaving Hinata, Natsumi, Mahiru, and Sato at the scene.
"S-Sir, Sato has nothing to do with this-" Mahiru attempted to explain.
"The three of you." The man looked at Hinata, Natsumi, and Sato, his gaze drifting down to their badges; the words 'Reserve Course' surrounding the school logo. Hinata didn't miss the slight grimace on his wrinkled face.
"Office. Now."
---
Hinata sat on the bench just beside the office's door. His hands clasped together in a silent prayer. Whether it is inner peace for Natsumi or for the principal to make the punishment less severe, he isn't sure. He just wants this all to blow over.
The door opened and Sato came walking out. The imprint of Natsumi's hand is starting to fade, yet her eyes appear even more swollen and red than before. Hinata lowkey wonders if Natsumi lost control and continued beating her in the office. Sato eyed Hinata for seconds, before walking off in the hallway.
A few minutes has passed before he saw blond locks pass by him. He remained seated as he looked at Natsumi right in the eye. The girl huffed before walking away, with Hinata trailing behind.
"What the hell was that?" Hinata scolded.
"What?! The bitch started it! All I did was ask Yuck-hiro to meet me so we can talk about her cheating. The fucker had the audacity to bring her minion..."
"Cheating?"
"Remember the Art Exhibit a week ago?" Hinata nodded. "Her photo won 1st place."
"She is the Ultimate Photographer after all..." Natsumi groaned at his reply.
"Ugh, there you go again with the 'Ultimate' thing. Did you even see her picture? Cause I did. Let me tell you: it is a worn off sweater. A sweater. A sweater won first place. Like, what's so special about a fucking sweater?! Mine was so much better." Hinata shook his head.
"This is the third time you got into a fight with Sato-"
"Please don't say her name. I might puke all over these oh-so-holy Main Course halls." Natsumi scrunched her nose in disgust. Hinata knew Natsumi like he knows his own mind. The girl won't listen to any sorts of advice - so he bit back the urge to tell her to grow up and talk things out with Sato, and simply sighed.
"So. What did the principal say?"
"Which one do you wanna hear: the part where he talks about respecting the main course students or his speech about talent?" Natsumi spared him a glance.
"The part where he talks about what should we do next." He bit back.
"Hmph. Nothing much. Thanks to my awesome persuasion skills and my brother being an Ultimate, they gave us a lighter punishment."
"...which is?"
"Helping the preparations for Kuwata's return to the school."
"Huh? What do you mean? Everyone is already required to help with this event." Natsumi shook her head.
"Not true. This one is so big and special that only the Main Course students are allowed to help. The selected reserve course aka us, will simply be the ones to carry out their orders." Hinata doesn't know what to think. Despite the fact that most of them don't like the Ultimates, they'll certainly feel at least a bit honored to be around them - Hinata himself included.
As the two of them walked out of the front doors, Hinata found himself looking back. The Main Course building stood before him - towering, shining, making Hinata feel small. But then again, he always felt like that when it comes to anything related to talents.
Natsumi called out his name, and together they walk back.
--
"I'm home." Hinata called out as he opened the door. He took off his shoes and walked towards the kitchen, where a middle aged woman is seen washing the dishes.
"Welcome home, Hajime." she smiled at him, eyes crinkling. Hinata bowed his head in respect before grabbing a glass of water. In front of him is a window that shows the front of their neighbor's house, specifically the porch. To his surprise, their door is filled with stashed envelopes, some falling down onto their fuzzy doormat.
"Mr. Amami hasn't arrived home yet?"
"Nope. It's been almost two weeks since his so called 'business trip'. Honestly, I'd be more surprised if he came back." Hinata frowned as he brought the glass to his lips.
"You counted?"
"Try being a housewife, son. I bet you'll even start memorizing everyone's jogging hours because of extreme boredom."
"How much would you bet?" The woman stared incredulously at Hinata before throwing a towel, making Hinata bring his hands up, covering his face but not his laughters.
"Shut up. Go and set the table will you? Your father will be here in an hour."
---
A day has passed. And another. And another, and before Hinata knew it, it's already Friday. Hinata flopped down his bed, eyes rereading Natsumi's text over and over again.
"Tomorrow is d first day. Be there @ 8." A quick scroll up of their convo can show that it takes roughly three days to prep the gym. Normally, the school will give a two weeks or a month for usual events, along with everyone lending a helping hand, but this is Ultimates they're talking about. They can finish everything in a day, although that'd be fit for a case of child labor. Natsumi's older brother, Fuyuhiko, revealed that their class advisor asked for a total of seven days instead of three, with four days being the class' rest days. And it was approved. The reserve course students, however, will leave after the third day. The reason being a bit too clear to enumerate.
A pit of worry started to form in Hinata's stomach. He's not the anxious type, but he can't help but feel like something is bound to happen tomorrow...
Ah, whatever. He'll deal with it when the day will actually arrive, he thought, as he pulled the blankets towards him.
---
Hinata eyed the gym doors with determination, before stealing a glance at his watch. 9:01 a.m. When Natsumi said to show up at 8, she was referring to the time that is most ideal to wake up to. What she actually means is that you should arrive at 9. It's a weird, unwritten rule between the two of them. As he looked at the gym one more time, Hinata heard a yawn behind him.
"Right on time." Natsumi's hand slapped the taller's shoulder, manicured fingers hanging limply as they both walked in.
The gym itself is massive, with a basketball court on one side, and a volleyball court on the other. Navy blue seats surround the entire place like tall fences, the double doors that Hinata entered being the gateway. A wooden platform stood in the far end of the two, as if it is an umpire of both courts. Hinata has been to the gym before, in compliance of attending major school events so he has a faint outline of what to expect when he walks in. They pushed the doors open...
"Heads up!" a rowdy girl with a blessed chest hollered as she passed what looks to be a ball made of styrofoam, to the muscular man covered in a leather jacket and chains.
"AAAAAAAAAH!" the man screamed before jumping up and slamming the ball with so much force, the moment the ball hit the floor, it was reduced to bits. Styrofoam fell around the courts like snow, with some landing on Hinata's hair.
"Owari! Nidai! What did I tell you about playing with the decorations?!" Hinata patted the styro from the top of his head and turned to look at the voice. Piercing silver eyes. Platinum blonde hair. Porcelain skin. Hinata is reminded of that ruler he once read of a fantasy novel.
"Hehe, sorry Sonia. It's too ball-y to not play with!" The tanned girl scratched her head in embarassment, to which Sonia frowned disapprovingly. A rather short girl with light pink hair tugged Sonia's sleeve; her other hand holding a clipboard.
"Hah. You two remind me of my precious hellhounds back home, but instead of artificial snow, they rip apart nasty rodents and shadowy demons that roam in our land!" a man with purple highlights and black eyeshadow laughed maniacally; a poodle-shaped balloon in the palm of his hands.
"Woah, that's so cool! 'instead of artificial snow, they rip apart nasty rodents and shadowy demons that roam our land'... Mmhm, Ibuki thinks that is definitely lyric material!" a girl with lip piercings and spiky bracelets cheered, waving a hotdog balloon in the air. A girl with silver braids and glasses sat quietly next to her, her fingers skillfully tying another balloon into a different figure.
"Aaaah! Oh no... t-the strings..." a petite woman in a purple dress lifted a long piece of aluminum foil.
"Shut up bitch! It's just a bunch of styrofoams. You can pluck it out with your icky little fingers, you stupid pig!" a small child (?) mocked, her blonde pigtails swinging side by side as she spoke.
"Hiyoko! What did we say about cursing?" A voice Hinata is too familiar with scolded. His head snapped to the source of the voice: her red hair complimenting her dull green eyes - which turned round as soon as he saw Hinata. Hinata instinctively looked for his warfreak of a friend, and to his relief (and alarm) she is nowhere to be seen. He looked back at Koizumi, and she appears to share the same sentiment. He then, remembered why he was here in the first place and thought of going towards the freckled girl. His idea was squashed the moment she looked away and continued pumping deflated balloons, as if he was never there.
It's not even a minute and this is already so awkward. Hinata thought.