Chapter Text
"My name is Hajime Hinata."
"My name is Hajime Hinata and I..."
"My name is… Hajime Hinata."
No. It didn't sound right. No matter how many times he said it. How could something so simple be so hard? If he couldn't even properly introduce himself, then…
The boy who called himself Hajime Hinata turned his head to the left, allowing the side of his face to push into his pillow. Right now, that was a welcome comfort. It eased the stress from his current task. Practicing something like this was downright embarrassing. But introducing himself like that still felt wrong, awkward and…boring. Though, that only motivated him to keep practicing until he got it 'right'.
Tomorrow, he will be attending the school of his dreams. Hope's peak academy. That prestigious dream of his was a government funded high school that only the privileged elite could attend. You had to be invited within its halls, you couldn’t apply or pay your way in at all.
It goes something like this. You must meet two criteria in order to be invited and study as an Ultimate at that school. One, you must already be attending High school. And two, you must be the absolute best at what you do. If you meet those requirements, get invited, and you then manage to graduate… they say you're set for life. It was no exaggeration, either. It was true. That’s why Hope’s peak truly lives up to its name. It’s a real beacon of hope.
However, Hajime met only one of the requirements. Just one of the two. And that was the source of all of his problems. He wouldn't attend Hope's peak in the way he hoped, as an Ultimate, but he would attend via the Reserve Course. A section of the school open to and funded by the public. The requirements were decent test scores and cash. Hajime technically had both. But that's simply not what mattered to him.
To be an Ultimate is to be talented. And Hajime Hinata was not talented. He is not, and never will be Ultimate.
So, the reserve course… was as close to the sun as he could get. It was the next best thing. And yet it felt so hollow. As he laid in his bed, he began to have second thoughts about all of this. It was too late now, though. He wondered what would even be the point of it? But he had to go through with it. Hajime wasn’t sure if it was even worth the effort. However, there was simply no going back.
He closed his eyes, as if shutting them would make the doubt that clouded his mind disappear. “My name is…” He murmured. “No... I am… I am Hajime Hin-”
“I know.”
Hajime’s eyes shot open, and he leaned up to stare at the source of the voice. And once he laid eyes on them, he subtly relaxed. Though, he was apprehensive about this sudden visit.
“Hajime-Chan.” His mother stood at his door, cracking the door just slightly enough to peek into the room, just half of her face visible. She had a serene smile on as she hummed, however Hajime did not return it. “I named you… didn’t I? Thanks for the reminder, though.”
“...I wasn’t talking to you.” He sighed, sitting up fully from his comfortable position.
“Oh? But I really thought yo-”
“No, no. I wasn’t.” Hajime’s expression changed again, to that of confusion and annoyance. “Did you have anything to say, or were you just going out of your way to make fun of me.”
Tame Hinata. That was the name of his mother. There were many things that could be said about her, but the woman is best summarized in that she was hopelessly carefree, meaning the difference between her and her son was astronomical. “Oh, I wasn’t making fun of you. It’s just playful banter, dear!”
Hajime did not vocalize a reply, he merely hunched his shoulders, and gave a grunt that barely passed as acknowledgement.
“Well! If you must know, dinner is ready. And has been for a while now. Wait any longer and it'll get cold.” She tisked, sticking her arm through the small gap in the door and showing off her watch. Naturally, she was too far away for him to actually read it- but he got the picture.
“Yeah… alright. I’ll be down in a bit.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was the result of his own negligence. He’d skipped out on family dinner a few times in a row this week. All for the same reason. They wanted to talk about Hope’s peak. Or rather, they wanted to talk about what Hajime expected out of Hope’s peak. Hajime couldn’t see it as anything more than a bother to explain himself to them, though.
“You would never get me with that one four times in a row.” She tisked, opening the door fully. “I told your father I would bring you in, never specified dead or alive…”
“...”
“I'm only kidding! Come on, let’s just go down and eat. Quick and easy.”
“...fine.” Hajime turned away from her, Tame smiling wider with his cooperation. He hadn’t undressed himself, so it wasn’t a hassle. He could be thankful for that, at least. He got out of bed, but his mother didn’t budge at all. He knew she was going to make sure he went. So Hajime promptly buried any hope of escape, and followed her down stairs.
Renjiro Hinata was waiting for them. Hajime looked to his father as he awkwardly descended. Renjiro was not often at home, but not for a lack of trying. He was a busy man. His father was, in his eyes, on the same level as the Ultimates he revered so greatly. Just looking at him reminded him of that fact, and caused him to shift his gaze down to the ground as soon as Renjiro looked back. “Hey.” A dry greeting.
“Hey.” The man’s expression was stoic, yet determined. The oddity in that was the fact he was doing nothing more than eating. His eyes also moved down- to the plate. Renjiro took everything so seriously…
“Thanks for waiting for us.” Tame grumbled. Her husband blinked, and looked up at her. He realized his mistake at a delay, and set his utensils aside.
“I didn’t think he’d come, that’s all.”
“Well, I did.” Hajime sighed. He knew that his father wasn’t being hostile at all with those words. If anything, he sounded glad. But Hajime himself wasn't sure if he could be glad himself. He held no dislike for his parents- but he never enjoyed being around them. They were wonderful people, who accomplished fantastic things back in their day. As he grew up he saw them, Renjiro especially, as bonafide heroes. Symbols of hope in their own way. Though, as their son, Hajime wanted nothing more to measure up to them. In his eyes, he failed to do that. The proof of such was his failure to discover a Talent.
Because of all of that, Hajime found it an ordeal to even look his parents in the eyes. He was beneath them. He took a seat at the table, his mother following and doing the same. However, an awkward silence took over the family- and no one moved or said anything for long enough to question if time had stopped.
“Please, son. Eat.” Renjiro sighed loud enough to cut through just some of the tension. He was aware of how Hajime felt. Yet nothing would soothe him- even getting the chance to go to Hope’s peak. Perhaps not in the way he wanted to, but wasn’t it close enough?
“I… will. I’m just thinking.”
“Thinking about tomorrow?” Tame questioned with a tilt of her head.
“I guess. That’s not all there is to it. But it’s… nothing. So. Don’t worry about it.”
“Please, son. Tell us what’s wrong. You needn't bear the burden alone.” Tame huffed.
“...”
“...Are you mocking me?” Renjiro blinked at her.
She could barely hide the smile attempting to creep onto her face. “No- not really. I just thought it was… interesting, how you called him that earlier. That’s not the point, the point is…”
“So- you were mocking me.”
“Not exactly!”
“We’re trying to be serious here.”
“Yeah, Yeah. I get it…” Tame murmured. She fell silent for just a moment, and so did the table. Until. “...My dear husband, is it so that we shan’t talk to our son without this quarrel?” She cooed.
Hajime’s silverware clanked as he stood up from the table. They could play their game, or whatever, but he wasn’t just going to sit and watch. He wasn’t in the mood to talk anyways. “I’ll eat in my room.” He murmured.
His parents turned away from each other and looked at him as he started to leave. Neither said anything to stop him. But once he was gone… Tame sighed. “You shouldn’t have got me joking like that.”
“I… don’t see how that is my fault, at all.” He shook his head. “Though… I am glad he came down.”
“Huhh. Look at you- looking on the bright side. Yeah, I guess that’s… good progress, for one night.” She poked at her food, and finally made her move on the plate.
“We didn’t get to talk about the surprise.” He cleared his throat.
Tame ate, and Renjiro cleared his throat again. Louder, this time. She looked up and her eyes widened. “Ooooooshght.”
“...Don’t worry about it. The deadline is far off. Give him some time to adjust to this situation, then we can bring it up.” He shook his head at Tame’s manners and began to eat himself. After chewing and swallowing properly, he finished his thought. “Let’s chalk it up to good luck we held off on it.”
His family’s conversation gradually moved away from Hajime after that- when Tame could not hold her laughter over her own earlier jokes for any longer. Hajime would hear his mother’s laughter all the way from his room, as he lazily poked at his steak. Did it make him feel sad, to hear them having fun? Not exactly. He chose to leave- he didn’t regret it either. Rather, he still longed for his self image to match up with theirs.
It bothered him often. How they both acted like nothing was wrong. Both of his parents said they didn’t mind Hajime as he was- talent or no. But how could that be true? When both of them were on a completely different level? When Renjiro was considered one of the best? How could they be satisfied with… him? It bothered him more than they could ever imagine.
However, he attempted to push all of those thoughts aside as he savored his meal. It was good. It was made with love. They both probably worked together to make it- so that’s probably why.
He’d have to at least thank them for that, some day. For the steak, that is.