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Chapter Text

Gods are often born out of necessity or convenience, generally having sufficient worshippers aware of their existence. To sustain the faith, a priest spread the doctrines for the followers to adhere to and practice. Paladins have become a mandatory requirement to persecute the word of god, removing heretics among the ranks...

Using that analogy before Hope's Peak Academy (HPA), Hinata Hajime associates the school administrators and teachers to take on the helm of clergy, with security taking the position of the inquisition. Everyone else is a devout follower of talent, with some unable to escape the skewed system. Those with talent are considered blessed figures, symbols of hope for the rest of humanity, regardless of the heinous crimes committed.

Hajime actually found HPA quite convincing, enrolling in the educational institution in hopes of finding some purpose in his boring life. Fortunately, he got his answer by befriending the Ultimate Gamer. Hajime planned on graduating from this school at the same time as Class 77-B, ready to separate from his superiors and help whatever Nanami Chiaki planned on doing once she leaves the premises.

It's quite bothersome that his superiors suddenly gave instructions to kill the rumoured god disclosed in the email. Hajime honestly thought the state would want to capture the successful test subject. Kamukura Izuru, the embodiment of hope, possesses numerous talents known to man. It sounds really good in theory...?

...

"Is this how Hope's Peak treats their god?" Hajime remarked, placing a hand on his hips. The teenage mercenary stared down at the restrained deity, almost finding pity on the pitiful existence hidden in the abandoned School building. Almost is the word, considering the creature is surrounded by the bodies of Hajime's fallen comrades for today's mission. "Strange. It's awfully pale for a god."

"Why do you remind me of something?" Hajime cupped his chin, tilting his head. No. The deathly complexion must be due to the isolation imposed by the school on this individual. He has to focus. How could someone tied up manage to kill the rest of the unit? His seniors were on the floor, reminiscent of dead pigeons. Hajime thought to himself. "If they can't kill you, what can someone like me do?"

'Should I just file a report and wait for backup?' Hajime pondered, scanning the bare room to avoid overanalyzing the threat dressed in sheep's clothing. In the end, Hajime's eyes return to stare at the wounded creature. "Huh?"

"Did you just try to charm me?" Hajime swore the so-called Ultimate Hope gave him that particular look. If he were to follow his best friend's logic, this creature used glamour. Hajime had a high tolerance to psychological breakdowns and physiological trauma. Then again, Hajime hasn't been charmed in so long..?

'He did it again.' Hajime stepped back, wary and confused about the other party's purpose. He needed to look away from those crimson eyes. His mind is screaming the answer, but his ears picked up something hoarse and foreign uttered by someone-

...

"???" Hajime opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor with a stake stabbed against his right arm. The chimera was also resting on top of him, nuzzling his neck. The mercenary has no idea how long he was out, but that was enough time for the chimera to manipulate his actions and free itself. 'But why is it still here?'

"Get off," Hajime tried to get up, but lacked the strength to push this human experiment off him. Hajime figured out how all of these adults died, dying from each other's attacks. Since Hajime entered the area alone, he increased his survival rate at the risk of releasing this thing.

'Please tell me this isn't a vampire. Vampires aren't gods, damn it!' Hajime prayed he was wrong, raising his left arm to try to pull out the thing holding him in place. The last time Hajime met a vampire was several years ago. The pain helps clear his head, dizzy from blood loss. 'Almost there...?'

"?!" Hajime cringed when he felt the thing bite him. Alright. The man-made god is a domesticated vampire. Hajime did walk into the room without holding his weapon in the air. Hajime wants to ask the school why they gave this thing the smoothest hair known to man. Hajime can't tug the tick off him! He grabbed the thing's neck, but it bit harder.

"S-stop!" Hajime wasn't prepared for a vampire encounter. He also realized his left thigh had a stake on it, raising his right leg to nudge this bloodsucker off him. Hajime's already lightheaded, going to faint if this continues. This thing was even humming like a bastard! Hajime muttered his last words before returning to the darkness of his mind. "Son of a..."

[RESTART]

"How many times do I have to tell you not to waste food?" The voice that was Matsuda Yasuke woke Hajime from his slumber. Hajime sat up, rubbing his temple because of this terrible headache. "Picky motherfucker. Despite all the talents at your disposal, you decided to trash the place..."

"How the hell are you alive?" The Ultimate Neurologist asked a troublesome question. Hajime glanced down to see that he was sitting on a crate with the corpses of his allies, turning his head to face the stunned ultimate and sedated vampire.

"Before that, did Hope's Peak turn someone into a vampire?" Hajime needed to get out of the rolling crate. The good news is that Izuru wouldn't hunt him down in that state. The bad news is that there's a legit vampire. He's going to need to make a couple of things to protect Chiaki.

"..." Yasuke's silence is telling. Maybe Hope's Peak Academy converted their experiment into a vampire to maintain peak performance? Now it makes sense why the state refused to take it. The last incident involving vampires was a disaster.

"Well... The short answer is that I can't die yet..." Hajime got out, taking a break as Yasuke inched close, and sprinted straight to the elevator. Hajime will file his report before hiding in Chiaki's room for the rest of the months before graduation.

Chapter Text

Despite Hajime's attempt to hide amid chaos, even sharing his immortality with Chiaki and Yasuke, he still wound up facing the bothersome false god after half a year.

"It's nice to meet you, Kamukura-kun." Chiaki clapped her hands, slightly wary of the vampire sucker. She hasn't forgotten Hajime's tales back in Hope's Peak Academy. "I hope we get along."

'This is awkward,' Hajime shouldn't have ignored his gut feeling, but Chiaki was new to the immortality gimmick. Right now, Chiaki knows Hajime saved her at the verge of death. She doesn't know that she can never die until she bears an offspring to pass the curse.

"..." The last time Hajime broke the news, he watched the neurologist kill himself a couple of times before accepting the fact with a calculating expression. Hajime wasn't sure how male immortals die, but it must have something to do with their significant other. 'Let's focus on the present.'

"Psst. Hinata," Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko made Hajime lean close to the Ultimate Yakuza. "You think we can trust that guy with Komaeda?"

"I mean, Komaeda is happy..." Hajime answered, pursing his lips as Komaeda Nagito spoke with Souda Kazuichi and Chiaki about the Former Ultimate Hope. Nagito stumbled across the vampire in Towa City, somehow discovering the broken hope within this ultimate. Hajime wasn't paying attention, but Nagito believed Izuru experienced a despair horizon like the rest of Class 77-B. Hajime muttered, "If this person can tolerate Komaeda's luck, I say we let them be friends."

"Hmm... Fair," Fuyuhiko agreed, so Hajime resumed listening to the others. Enoshima Junko used the faith harnessed by Hope's Peak to twist cemented beliefs, plunging the world worshipping talent into an era of chaos. It'll take a year before everyone adapts to the new norm.

...

"Komaeda. Let's talk in private for a bit," Barely an hour, and Fuyuhiko wants to talk to Nagito personally. He's that worried for the guy. Standing up, Fuyuhiko warned his friends. "Don't go anywhere."

"Alright," Nagito agreed, following the yakuza. Hajime sipped the cocktail in front of him, reminding himself that they're in a fancy nightclub. He's technically the oldest at the table, so he needs to watch over everyone. Surely, Nagito fed Izuru before coming here... Right?

"Did you know there's a cult worshipping you, Kamukura? Not the average fan club, but with the blood sacrifice and shit. Tough luck, man." The Former Ultimate Mechanic struggled to hold his cocktail. That's the mechanic's third drink...?

"Cult?" Chiaki repeated, convincing Hajime to take her drink. Chiaki was the one who told Hajime about the cult revolving around the vampire. Hajime wasn't sure why the members were Hope's Peak Alumni, but they believed in salvation. Hajime helped Chiaki lean against the chair. "Does a god really exist?"

"Such an answer relies on one's perception of faith and belief," Izuru replied, but the voice is closer than Hajime had hoped. Hajime instinctively offered a cocktail, but the ultimate grabbed his wrist.

"So what makes you a god?" Chiaki yawned, unaware that Hajime was weighing his options. Hajime glanced at Kazuichi, but the guy was staring at the table.

"Desperation," Izuru stated, yanking the brunette's head to gain access to the latter's neck.

"Damn. Was I left with lightweights?" Hajime grimaced, wishing he had worn a scarf for this occasion. Hajime noticed the vampire bites along the albino's neck, but Nagito showed no signs of turning into a vampire. Honestly, Hajime wondered if Izuru knew how to do such a thing. Domesticated vampires needed to learn things from scratch instead of those born in a coven. "Couldn't you have waited for Komaeda?"

"W-we ain't no lightweight..." Kazuichi argued, but wasn't even looking at him. Hajime wished immortality gave other buffs, feeling the cold breath against his skin. "Komaeda's built differently."

"That's not..." Hajime learned that the vampire gained a new trait, losing control over his body seconds after Izuru bit his neck. Izuru didn't remove his fangs, wrapping their arms around Hajime's waist and tugging the body towards their lap before resuming. Well. Fuyuhiko needs to call Peko later.