Work Text:
Hajime has been through this about three times now, he had already been through three of his classmates. The Ultimate Gamer, the Ultimate Princess and the Ultimate Team Manager.
Thankfully, he was able to fulfill their fantasies to a T. All the while learning new things about his classmates, which was a bit awkward, to say the least. But hey, at least it was a fun experience.
Hajime wonders who it could be this time. Could it be Nagito? Akane? Fuyuhiko?
Hajime silently prayed it wasn't Nagito, not yet anyways. He wasn't mentally prepared for whatever fantasy he had, but he thinks it would absolutely have some themes of hope in it.
Hajime took a deep breath as he turned the knob, pushing the door open.
There he saw Kazuichi Souda. The Ultimate Mechanic. His Soulfriend.
Oh.
Hajime already had an idea of what the fantasy would be like.
It was probably some cliche, white knight in shining armor story with the damsel in distress in need of saving, and maybe Kazuichi would just be outright and probably namedrop Sonia's name in the middle of it.
Or maybe it would be a forbidden love story fantasy between a poor mechanic and the royal, gorgeous princess?
Hajime couldn't wait, as he proceeded to walk towards the mechanic, who looked rather skittish. No biggie for the protagonist though, he figured he was nervous because his ideal (not Hajime) is literally standing right in front of him.
"Hello, Kazuichi."
"A-Ah, you used my first name-!"
That's already weird.
"I don't?"
Kazuichi looked a bit puzzled, but not as puzzled as Hajime.
"S-Sorry! You usually called me by whatever nicknames you come up with. Like, uhhh, what was it?"
Hajime looked on, not answering.
"Ah, Tamer of Automations! Or Sharp-Toothed One! I think..?"
... Why did that sound so familiar all of a sudden? Who was the one who would call Kazuichi that? It definitely wasn't Sonia!
He was gonna answer his own question later, or maybe let Kazuichi do it for him as the fantasy went on.
"I apologize then, Tamer of Automations."
Seriously, that speech pattern really felt familiar-
"Well, anyways, I'm so glad you agreed to meet me. It's been awhile, right? Since we graduated?"
Oh. So whoever his ideal was went to school with him. Could it be a childhood friend of Kazuichi's with a bizzare speaking pattern?
"Yeah, It has been awhile, hasn't it? Work has been keeping me busy all these years." Hajime replied coolly.
He hoped this could end like a fluffy, childhood friends to lovers story. His soulfriend deserved one, honestly, and as long as he isn't gonna act like a pervert, he wasn't gonna slap him in the face.
"Yeah! It's been like, what? 5 years?"
"Yeah, been awhile, haha."
"Anyways, what have you been doing? I heard your animal shelter and veterinary clinic are a huge success!"
Oh? His ideal owned an animal shelter AND a veterinary clinic? Damn, whoever this ideal person is sure is determined to help animals-
...
Wait a second-
Was he- did he- seriously?!
No wonder those nicknames he listed down and his ideal's sweet care for animals sounded so familiar.
His ideal was Gundham fucking Tanaka, The Ultimate Breeder!
Then again, Hajime should've known almost immediately it was him. The nickname and the fact that he just now remembered when Gundham told him at one point that he wanted to own a veterinary clinic in the future to go with the animal shelter he created.
These Ultimates were something...
Part of Hajime was happy that he wasn't all about Sonia and that this explained the weird behavior he exhibited while he was with Gundham, but partly mad because he kept this secret from him.
But he shrugged it off, rationalizing that he probably wouldn't be supportive of his crush or would be made fun of if he told him. Hajime knew how that felt.
"Uhm, dude? You okay? You're starting to freak me out with that look.."
Oh, crap. Hajime didn't notice he had spaced out after that realization.
Hajime muttered an apology, and gave him a proper reply.
"Sorry, sorry. Yeah, my.. uh, animal shelter is doing pretty well, it's quite the experience to take care and help so many animals, no matter the size."
Should Hajime start speaking like Gundham, and do his dramatic hand movements too?
"Man, you must've met so many cool animals! You should introduce me to some of 'em, I'm trying to familiarize myself with the ones in the wild, but I guess NatGeo Wild ain't doing it for me."
Hajime couldn't help but chuckle, the mechanic tried watching educational shows about animals to try and understand them and maybe impress the breeder. That's a cute attempt.
"Pfft, you tried watching NatGeo Wild?"
Kazuichi pouted, looking at him as if taking offense to that response.
"H-Hey, i-in my defense, I tried to listen! But..."
Kazuichi trailed off, and suddenly went silent as he blushed.
"But?"
"But... It wasn't the same."
Hajime stayed silent, urging him to explain further.
"Listening to ya spit out facts about any animals when we were hanging out together back in Hope's Peak was so much better than hearing some random ass narrator reading a script on TV."
"When I hear your voice explain it to me, I heard the enthusiasm in your voice and it always made me happy how passionate you are about animals and helping them. I like that part about you."
Hajime couldn't help but blush himself, he knew he wasn't the ideal Kazuichi was talking about, but he liked how he opened up to him about the breeder, as sappy as it was.
"Well, I'm glad you found my animals facts amusing, Tamer of Automations."
Hajime was getting used to calling him that already.
"Hm, how about you then? Where has your journey after Hope's Peak lead you? Hopefully not in the darkest corners this.. uh, mortal realm had to offer?"
How Gundham always kept a straight face after speaking like that? Hajime had no clue.
And how expanded is Gundham's vocabulary? Jeez.
He noticed Kazuichi fumbling a little before giving him a straight answer.
"A-Ah, well.. Ya know the workshop my old man owned? Well, after he passed, I got to own it and made some, uh, readjusments!"
Hajime slightly frowned at the mention of Kazuichi's dad. Kazuichi didn't like to talk about his family life when they conversed about their private lives, and it was understandable.
But one eventful day, Kazuichi was venting to Hajime about his dad and how much he sucked and Hajime could not be more pissed at the mechanic's father for being a piece of shit to his son.
As much as he despised his soulfriend's dad, he however, had other business to attend to.
"And? What happened?"
"After I upgraded the workshop, the business became a huge success! It was so awesome! I even hired a few new people to help out, like Miu!"
That foul-mouthed, inappropriate-at-all-times Ultimate Inventor from the other class?
Hajime guessed Kazuichi would know her, he'd see them both talk to eachother more than once, mostly about the mechanic wanting to study Kiibo's body personally by picking him apart. Of course, Miu would have a problem with that, she was close to Kiibo and in charge of his maintenance duty, after all.
"That's great, I'm proud of you, truly."
Hajime was proud of his best friend to have a successful career, even if it's just in this fantasy.
Kazuichi seemed satisfied with his answer, smiling and blushing from the praise given.
"T-Thanks, man. I appreciate your support... And, hey! If ya ever need some machines or vehicles fixed, you can always come to me, right?"
"Yes, I understand. I'll call if the need arises."
Kazuichi smiled once more, maybe wider this time after the response he gave him.
"Anyways.. This wasn't the entire reason I wanted to hang out with ya today.."
Oh, boy! Here it comes!
"Oh? Then do tell, what is your true purpose of seeing me?"
Hajime wanted to stay slightly in character, just to give Kazuichi the feel he was actually talking to Gundham.
Kazuichi fiddled with his thumbs, looking down as he blushed profusely. Hajime knew his mannerisms by now and knew this was shown most when he was nervous.
Hajime thought he needed some encouragement to move towards the part he wanted to hear. So he gently put a reassuring hand on the mechanic's shoulder.
Kazuichi reacted, and calmed down when he felt Hajime gently touch him.
"Take your time, I'll be here for you when you're ready to talk, alright?"
Kazuichi seemed to calm down completely to those words, and also appeared to have gained confidence as he started to speak.
"W-Well... Ya see, I wanna say.. you mean a lot to me."
Hajime smiled once more as let his shoulder go, it was fine if he wanted to take this confession slow.
"You mean a lot to me too, Sharp-Toothed One."
"And not only that, but I also feel, erm, strongly towards you. Like you make my heart s-skip a beat every time you talk about... well, anything."
Hajime waited for those magic words as he listened patiently to Kazuichi's confession.
"When you talk about your powers as the 'Overlord of Ice', your devas and other animals...The more I hear your voice and watch you do the stuff that makes you happy... it just makes me fall in love with you more, y'know?"
Kazuichi took a deep breath, before mouthing the words:
"Well, what I mean is... I love you, Gundham Tanaka."
Oh fuck yeah, there it is!
The mechanic fell silent after that, now blushing until he was as red as a tomato as he no longer had the courage to face his ideal. It appears Kazuichi was waiting for a response, either a rejection or acceptance.
Hajime wasn't gonna let him wait.
"Kazuichi..."
Kazuichi flinched as he felt two arms suddenly wrap around him, hugging him closely.
"Kazuichi, do you really want to know how I feel about you too?"
"I love you too, Kazuichi Souda. I fell for you for the same reasons. Your passion for all things machinery and your unique talent for fixing such machines never ceased to fascinate me."
With those words out of his ideal's mouth, Kazuichi started to tremble, hugging Hajime closely, as if he didn't, he would be out of sight, never to be seen again.
————
The entire fantasy after that was a blur, but the next morning, all Hajime knew was that he managed to fulfill yet another fantasy of his classmate's.
He was happy that Kazuichi got his happy ending with the breeder in his fantasy, but Hajime worried about the reality of it all.
What if that fantasy just stayed like that, a mere fantasy? With no point of it becoming a reality?
He knew Kazuichi wasn't new to rejection, he had faced it before when he was attracted to Sonia and even before Hope's Peak, but what if this drew the line for the mechanic?
Suddenly, he heard a pair of footsteps approach him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked in front of him and saw the mechanic looking all giddy with a happy grin on his face.
"What's got you so happy?" Hajime asked him.
"I think... this is it! I'm gonna do it!" Kazuichi answered, that's... pretty vague for an answer. But Hajime thought he had a clue on what he was gonna do.
"Do... what?"
"I'm gonna confess my love for Tanaka!"
Hajime feigned shock, of course he knew that fact but Kazuichi never told him directly outside of the Love Hotel fantasy.
"Oh shit, right! You didn't know- umm, sorry for keeping it a secret..!" Kazuichi apologized to Hajime for not telling him about his crush sooner, but little did he know, he didn't actually need it.
"Nah, it's okay, Kaz. I don't mind if you kept a secret or two from me." Hajime reassured him, accompanied by a playful wink.
"Just know I'll always support you," Hajime told him, "and if he rejects you, don't expect me for a rebound." He joked.
Both Hajime and Kazuichi let out a chuckle as he nudged his arm for the joke.
"Anyways, what's with the sudden confidence to confess?" Hajime suddenly asked him again, he knew the mechanic was the type to charge his confidence meter much slower, but this time it seemed like it he was filled with confidence overnight.
"I'm not sure myself, to be honest. But I guess it's because of the dream I had last night, I'll tell ya the details later!" Kazuichi explained, Hajime nodded.
"Okay dude. But if you potentially need a tub of strawberry ice cream to eat and a shoulder to cry on, I'll be there." Hajime told him jokingly, or maybe half-jokingly.
There is always a chance the breeder wouldn't feel the same as the mechanic, after all.