Kusamochi Lover

A new year might’ve arrived, but he was no closer to figuring out how to get out of this city.

However! This was not what was on his mind today! What was on his mind instead, was the fact that he was a day late. He hadn’t forgotten, he swears- but the thing he was looking for was nowhere to be found, and to show up empty-handed was in extremely poor taste. As he couldn’t find anything to give yesterday, he figured it would be best to arrive a day late with something instead.

Thankfully, today he was able to find what he’d been looking for, so with the gift neatly wrapped in a decorative cloth, he knocked on the door in front of him until it opened.

“… I’m a day late, but, happy birthday, Hinata,” he held out the gift he’d been trying so hard to find, a box of, hopefully, good quality kusamochi, “you probably get this a lot so sorry for the uncreativity, but I hope it’s good anyways.”

“I swear I hadn’t forgotten, by the way! But it was impossible to find this yesterday, which is fucking ridiculous! And showing up without anything just looks pathetic, right?!”

“Can I open this?” Hajime asked just to be polite. Not that he needed to open his gift to know what Kuzuryuu had given him. This kusamochi smelled really good. 

At Kuzuryuu’s outburst, Hajime changed his attitude as well. He channelled his inner drama queen before giving the performance of his life.

“I have been so lonely without you. In my every waking moment I was thinking of you, waiting for you. My dearest... My dearest friend. You were in my thoughts the whole time, and yet you didn’t come. How I wished to see you.”

As if a switch had been flipped, Hajime suddenly changed back to his “normal” self.

It was good that Fuyuhiko hadn’t caught the sheep looking, because that might’ve turned into an argument that may or may not have ruined at least Hinata’s day. To Fuyuhiko it would’ve been business as normal, but, you know, maybe getting sent out of rides and the like wasn’t a usual happening for Hinata.

He’d gotten pretty excited thinking about the prospect of going on all the rollercoaster rides available, so it took him a moment to register what Hinata had said.

“Wait what do you mean ‘no promises’-” the car was launched off at great speed before he could finish his sentence, however, so instead he had to try and recover as quickly as he could before they went through the first loop.

He managed somehow, and even he couldn’t help but laugh a little at the end of the ride over the fact they had launched off with so little warning. He’d caught his breath at least before the harnesses released again, looking at Hinata.

“Huh, look at that. No vomit from the entire car, even so early in the morning! That’s something, you know.”

He’d seen plenty of people going on rides right away even when they couldn’t stomach them from the times Natsumi forced him along throughout entire amusement parks. Pretty gross- but kinda funny at times, too, when it’s someone else.

“Let’s not celebrate too early,” Hajime laughed as he rose to his feet and stepped out of the rollercoaster car. He offered Kuzuryuu a hand and smiled. “This was our first of the many rollercoaster rides we’re doing today. Better to not jinx it.”

And they sure did ride many rollercoasters. Stella World had plenty of them. Hajime thought all of them were fun, but his favourite remained the first rollercoaster ride because of how fast that one was. 

They had gone into every rollercoaster ride Stella World had to offer at least once by the time they decided it was time for a lunch break. The food here was overpriced, but seeing as they had used free tickets to get into the park Hajime couldn’t say he minded it too much. Still, all the choices were a bit overwhelming. 

Today had been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Nagito Komaeda. With evening fully have settled in a long time ago, he wormed a way through the woods of Stella City as he searched for many things to help him cope with his current predicament. Freshly picked mushrooms were carried in his coat as he waded his way through the river to get across, and with the cold currently numbing his legs, he felt like a part had died with him along the way.

“How beautiful…” He breathed to himself as he watched the sheep by the roads nuzzle into each other for sleep, lit by the moonlight that came piercing through the clouds. If his emotions hadn’t been torn to pieces and crushed to smithereens prior to this moment, he may have thought it was the photo copy of Hope he was gazing upon right now. Instead he felt a hollow emptiness, which he sought to fill with whatever he could get his hands on right now.

And just when he had wished upon that, he stumbled upon a familiar figure not too long after. He approached Hajime in a tired pace, wet ends of his jeans slowing him down, but he eventually managed to reach the brunet and drew a cold breath. It was cold enough for himself to see it, too, and he suddenly realized that it must be nearing winter right now, which was a massive change compared to the tropical life he had gotten used to before this. He supposed he wasn’t even lucky enough to arrive in the right season of the year.

Just as he had decided he would stay outside in this nice and quiet spot for a little while longer, his peace was disrupted. From out of the shadows and into the street light stepped a familiar face. Hajime wasn’t quite sure why Komaeda had suddenly appeared in Stella City recently, but that didn’t stop him from waving back. 

“Hi,” Hajime stoically returned Komaeda’s greeting. “It’s alright. Come sit with me.”

Being away from Komaeda for almost a year had helped Hajime a lot with figuring out how he felt about the lucky student. Hajime couldn’t say he had forgiven Nagito for his actions concerning the first murder that had taken place on the island, but his presence had become a lot more bearable and perhaps even slightly desirable. If anything Hajime wanted to get to know Komaeda better now that they weren’t in a life-threatening situation which brought out the worst in him. 

“Lucky you indeed.”

He wonders momentarily if this joke was obvious enough, or if the intent would be misinterpreted. However, this was Hinata, so either way… It wouldn’t really matter, right? Because it’d be fine.

Ah, that didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed at being dragged around, however. Don’t misunderstand. There is, however, a rollercoaster ride in front of him, and the car is right there- so he’s more than willing to put that aside for now. Thrill rides like these… Really were the way to go, you know? Once Hinata sat down and strapped himself in, Fuyuhiko got in the seat next to him.

“Well, of course it is, you idiot.”

“It’s a rollercoaster ride, after all! If this isn’t one of the things you go to in an amusement park, then what the hell are you even doing?”

They really are the best part, you know? He pretends for a little while like he doesn’t notice his own excitement, but it’s no use- he’s actually… Looking forward to this. He sits back as the sheep behind the control panel gets up to check on everyone’s harness- it wouldn’t do if it just came loose during the ride, after all.

“… If you gotta vomit, at least turn away from me, though. These shoes probably cost more than your entire wardrobe. At least we’ll have a laugh if you hit anyone standing below.”

For someone who pretended to not care a whole lot about amusement parks, Kuzuryuu seemed to be enjoying himself a lot. This was perhaps the happiest Hajime had ever seen his best friend. Hajime would tease him about it later. After everything they had been through together, Kuzuryuu deserved to have a good time without him ruining the moment just once. 

“So we are doing all the rollercoaster rides first. Noted.” 

Hajime caught the sheep who was checking everyone’s harness shooting a glance at Kuzuryuu, then at the 'You must be at least this tall to get on this ride' board they had passed earlier and then back at Kuzuryuu. There was a moment of hesitation before the sheep nodded and stepped away to push the button which would start the ride. 

“Here it comes! I will try to not vomit on you, but no promises.”

Tut, tut, tut. It took a little more effort to fool Kokichi, you know? He knew the other knew just as much about himself as he did of Hajime. Therefore, it would take some time for either of them to gather the information about each other that they needed. Which was fine, really. Kokichi just had to make sure to gather the information faster than Hajime could.

“You don’t remember? Oh… senpai. I know that amount of alcohol is not enough to make you lose your way.” There was a snicker under Kokichi’s breath, as he made sure to time his comeback rather well.

“Unless my presence intoxicated you? In that case, you should just track me down and visit me~ You already are keeping me up late as it is.”

Damn. Seemed like Hajime had to do better if he wanted to get any actual information from not Stella. He was anything but experienced in lies and deceit so he would be having a hard time keeping up this act. Still, he was willing to keep trying if it meant he could learn something about his... whatever this person was to him 

Hajime shook his head before he picked up the pace again. The sight of Hummingbird Hotel in the distance was a big relief. He couldn’t wait to be safely and warmly inside his room. 

“You want us to have pet names now? Of the sheep who are in power?” Kokichi laughed at that, but he didn’t mind. If anything, using a fake name as such was much easier on him than something like Maki’s name. He licked his lips before he continued his trail of lies.

“Ne, ne, are you that interested in me?” He rolled over his bed and carefully ate another spoonful of ice cream. Maybe he ought to put it back in the freezer though, so he eventually got up and proceeded to do so. Tummy aches coming up, and all. Tragedy. “That’s a wild move of you, senpai. But I don’t mind indulging you, you know?”

His hands moved to place the dessert in the freezer and he simply continued, keeping the phone lovingly to his ear. “There’s nothing special about me, though? Finding you was a fortunate side effect from hacking into a certain database. To be honest, I didn’t even plan on this outcome. I had just planned to slip you some of my love potion instead.”

Kokichi slammed his hand on the blender he had been fiddling with much earlier, from way before this conversation started. A loud noise was created in the background as he was… mixing Doritos and cola. This was just a horror drink he was going to feed to someone tomorrow. Luckily that someone was not Hajime. An evil villain always had to be prepared for whoever, you know?

“And making love potions takes a certain amount of dedication, too, you know? I finally perfected my recipe. Did you know the recent mushrooms work really well to attract people? It’s true! There’s a purple one with green that’s just perfect for the job.” Was he talking about the Stellashroom? The one mushroom that apparently had no side effects whatsoever? Yes, he was.

“But enough about me. I know I don’t have to ask, but what are you up to now that you are calling with me? Are you enjoying yourself?” He could tell that Hajime had been walking, so he dared to ask; “When are you coming home?”

The things Stella was telling him over the phone, as well as the loud noises in the background, did little to soothe Hajime’s nerves. He unwittingly had started to walk even faster. There wasn’t a lot more he could handle until he would be running again.

“You’re not making any sense.” Hacking databases? Making love potions? How was Hajime to believe any of that to be true? “I’m calling you because I demand an explanation.”

Hajime froze at Stella’s last question. Being asked such a thing made him highly uncomfortable, even if he knew this was a prank and nothing more. This would have been a good time to hang up on Stella and Hajime would have if it hadn’t been for the idea which suddenly came to mind. 

“How do I get home again? I might not be fully sober.”

The last part wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t consumed anything during his shift, but the fumes coming from the drinks he had been pouring all night were enough to make him slightly intoxicated. 

      “ Ah! “

      The sound forces itself from her upon reaching the first floor of the building. A familiar face! Her heart races a little from the surprise and a small smile makes its way onto her lips. Every step filled with both relief and excitement, the female rapidly walks towards the male ( her friend? ) and politely greets him, like she remembers.

What was surprising, however, was the fact that Hajime had woken up at 8 in the morning today. He had attempted to rest some more, but for some reason or another, he hadn’t been able to fall back asleep. Admitting his defeat, he had rolled out of bed and then hopped into the shower to start the day. 

Feeling refreshed yet still a bit woozy after that shower, Hajime headed out of his room to get some breakfast. He had been mid-yawn when a familiar voice reached his ears. He turned to face his classmate but found himself unable to say anything for a few moments. When he did finally reply, he was calm and collected.

“Good morning,” Hajime replied while rubbing his eye. “It seems I’m not fully awake yet, so give me just a moment.”

He took one step closer to his door, placed both of his hands on it and then slammed his head against it. The pain he felt proved that he was awake, but at a great cost. Holding his head he growled something unintelligible. His eyes were wide in disbelief when he turned to face Tsumiki again. 

There really wasn’t any timespan in which Fuyuhiko could’ve protested to being dragged along like he were a sack of potatoes or whatever. Hinata might’ve tried to be considerate in his running speed, too, but their size difference made it so Fuyuhiko had no time to protest there either since he was too busy trying not to be pulled over and slam face-first into the ground.

It wasn’t until Hinata had reached his goal - the rollercoaster - that Fuyuhiko could take a moment to try and combat his outburst.

“…”

Breathe in, breathe out. He’s doing his best here to not tear Hinata apart in the middle of an amusement park.

“Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with you.”

That’s putting it mildly, actually. There’s a lot of times Hinata does or says things that Fuyuhiko just can’t figure out. It’s not… Necessarily a bad thing, but it’s still a thing, you know. He’s going to let it slide, as he does so often nowadays. He knows there’s no malicious intent, so… It’s fine.

“Just give me a fucking warning beforehand next time. If I’d fallen, you would not have made it through the day, let me assure you.”

At least they’re at the rollercoaster. If there’s any decent attraction to be found then it’s definitely the rollercoaster. The ones that go really fast are… Kinda fun, you know. He can’t help but try and take a look at the course of the rollercoaster, to see if there’s any loops in there. That’d be pretty cool.

Kuzuryuu was mad at him, Hajime could tell as much. He supposed Kuzuryuu’s anger was justified. Usually, it was Hajime who had to deal with being shoved from pillar to post by others, so he understood how Kuzuryuu felt. Even so, Hajime thought it was alright to push Kuzuryuu a little bit if it meant he could give him a good time.

“I will give you a warning next time. You didn’t fall so that means I get to live! Lucky me.”

The sheep behind the control panel got to work and a roller coaster car arrived at the station for them. Hajime jumped into one of the front seats as soon as the gates opened. There was a wide grin on his face as he pulled down the shoulder harness. 

Oh? This person was so desperate to find out who was haunting him, but Kokichi wouldn’t allow him that pleasure. Knowing fully well that the one who asks the questions is the person who controls the conversation, Kokichi set out to ask Hajime many in return and to turn the tables to drop them both in a personal Hell he had customized for his victim.

“Heeeeeeh? You are that eager to learn about a girl? Just because I took some little interest in you? Tch, tch… such bold actions. Senpai, I really don’t know what to think of you anymore!” He was clearly having too much fun with this. “For the record: you called me. This could be considered as some kind of harassment, you know.”

Resisting a fit of giggles, Kokichi casually continued. “But you may call me… Maki-chan. My name’s Maki Harukawa.”

Hoping this action wouldn’t get him murdered later, Kokichi betted his life on an apology he would offer Maki later for this trouble.

Maki Harukawa... Hajime doubted that was the real name of whatever prankster he was on the phone with right now. The cool night air did help to calm Hajime down a bit before he continued the conversation. 

“Sure, and my name is Aries. What do you need, Stella?” 

As he spoke he started walking again. His stalker, or whomever this was, didn’t seem to be following him that moment, so he might as well try to get home before the clock would strike an unholy hour.