Not much is known about Hinata Ren outside Team Phoenix beyond the fact that he is the one person who can tame 5 S-Class Espers. To many, he is an enigma - a subject of curiosity. He is, too, to Takao.
To Takao's knowledge, Guides are meant to present calmness and security. They're never too close to a battlefield unless in a situation of crisis. Even then, a Guide would normally be rendered useless when their environment is too stressful. Hence, you don't typically see Guides fighting alongside you.
Yet here Takao is watching Hinata Ren putting on their battle gear with such expertise; all with the right speed and the right order. To put on their equipment that quick with minimal error requires training and experience. Takao is reminded once again that this is not just another Guide. He's been together with the Country's strongest youths for at least 2 years. That would surely take him somewhere.
Suddenly, Hinata Ren falters in his pace as he tries to put on the face mask that covers their face from nose down. Being a tech device, it contains an intricate mechanism to put on. "Do you need help with that?" Takao says, but his hands are already moving to help the Guide put on the clasp of the mask to the back of his ears.
"Thanks," he hears Hinata saying from under the mask, "Sorry, my usual mask is built differently".
"Ah - yeah, no problem," Takao answers. Honestly, for the Guide to gear up on his own is already a feat. He is sure everyone in the vicinity would agree to that and, like Takao, they probably also find it mindboggling.
And yet, no one dares to turn their head and look.
Everyone knows this Guide is Sora's and his cronies'. You don't just come up to him and ogle.
And Takao has heard many things; of how protective the Phoenixes are of their Guide - how possessive and how incredulously smitten. Takao was expecting them to throw more fuss over having to let their Guide enter this infected building technically alone with someone so below their level.
Yet, to his surprise, they didn't - at least, at a glimpse.
Kikuya Rika stands a distance away from the tent he and Hinata Ren are in. She is speaking with a researcher and one of the Garuda's leaders; perhaps discussing the latest status of what is happening inside the school, especially the current whereabouts of Abe Koukichi. The bespectacled Phoenix, last Takao heard, is currently stuck on the fourth floor of the school. The school has warped its hallways into a maze and the 21-year-old esper is trying to find his way out. This stunt is not unheard of in this school. It's known to play creepy pranks on the espers that enter. It may not be dangerous, but it can seriously push them back, especially in urgent times such as this.
What is interesting is that, while having this discussion with the researcher and the fellow esper, Kikuya Rika's gaze does not stray from her guide. She keeps her eyes trained on their tent, although she sometimes gestures and turns toward the two people next to her.
Segawa Hide, on the other hand, has blended himself with the shadows of one of the school's abandoned buildings. He's just standing there, smoking cigarettes, watching from afar. Whenever Takao forgets he's there, he starts sensing the icy glare directed toward the back of his head. It's scary how Segawa Hide can pose such a threat without lifting a single finger or raising his voice.
"Batch 2 disembarking in 2 minutes, everyone be ready by the entrance to Zone 1," is the announcement made through their comm line. "All right," Takao answers before turning to the guide, who is sitting on a bench to tie up his boots. "Guide Hinata, it's time," Takao informs.
The Guide gives a light stomp to the ground and then stands up. They then leave the tent to walk to the small crowd in front of the taped main entrance. It is then that Takao feels the expectant stares directed at him from many directions. Here he is, the humble Falcon who is chosen by The Guide himself, put into the position of bearing the burden of protecting him. If this Guide perishes under his watch, then he'll be subjected to the fury of the 5 greatest Espers of their generation. Obviously, Takao is no one great enough to handle such responsibility.
Come on, you Great Espers who are smitten, Takao silently calls as he braves himself to meet the eyes of Segawa Hide, who returns the look with one so sharp. Come and stop your Guide. You can't just let him enter this building with this Falcon. Stop him. Stop us!!
For a split second, he thinks he saw Segawa Hide's eyes move before the S-Class Esper finally looks away, to which Takao is taken aback. What would stop Segawa Hide from pulling his Guide away from this haunted building? Then Takao notices that Hinata Ren is staring at Segawa Hide too, and whatever is being communicated through their eye contact, manages to push the esper back.
Ugh, really?? That's it? Takao groans mentally. Their behavior is far from what Takao imagined 'possessive' and 'protective' would be whenever he hears those pesky rumors. Perhaps it is just that; an unbased overblown workplace rumor.
But here they come walking close enough toward Kikuya Rika, who still has her eyes to her guide. And Guide Hinata seems equally attentive, head following where she is. Soon, the guide slows down and pushes a button on his mask to unmask himself. In return, Kikuya Rika takes a step closer and bends her head. Maybe this is it; this is where Guide Hinata tells his Esper something that will change everyone's mind.
But what happens instead is a kiss - full-blown tongue action in front of everyone that got Takao almost tripping on his own feet and choking on his spit. What is even crazier, no one seems surprised by this; the researcher and the esper behind Kikuya Rika do not even pause in their discussion, and the guys near the tape covering the school's main entrance do not give a single reaction.
No, it's more like they, who are mostly Garuda's, are used to this sight. After all, they have been working so closely with Team Phoenix.
The kiss ends with a smack (that Takao is horrified to find he can hear clearly through the open comm line between him and the guide) and he hears those two sharing a short whispered exchange; something along the lines of, "I'll see you later".
It's private, it's intimate, and it's everything Takao does not want to hear. The Guide puts the face cover of his helmet back on and returns to walking next to Takao without a word. Soon, they're met by the Second-in-command's mournful groan as they get closer to the school's main entrance.
"Oh my God," the Garuda commander shakes his head in front of Segawa Felix, "I'm just glad this school building would have swallowed me whole before I have to deal with the aftermath of this clusterfuck".
Takao doesn't have to ask what causes his despair because he can see with his own eyes how Segawa Felix just stands there without any gear but the whole-face mask on. Otherwise, he's clad in what he wore when he first arrived; a large graphic t-shirt, loose pajama pants, and unbuttoned flannel button-ups that make him appear grungy. The thing is, he is also wearing sandals, which is not standard anywhere near Zone 1.
Now, you might agree with the commander; but Takao has always considered Segawa Felix's antics hilarious. Has he mentioned that the guy had a habit of calling random people stupid so condescendingly back then, which leads to the Headquarters banning words such as 'stupid', 'idiot', 'moron', and 'disabled' for a whole year?
So, yes, Segawa Felix will always be unbothered that even in the face of the complaining commander, all he does is tilt his head a the sight of his guide. Segawa Felix then says, "You done?" The S-Class mentalist reaches out, which Hinata Ren welcomes with one hand. "Let's not dilly dally anymore and get this over with".
The blonde lifts the tape and bends under it, keeping the tape up for his guide before letting go in the face of the second-in-command. Takao watches as their commander inhales and exhales heavily before he opens the tape properly for all of them with a grumble.
In the meantime, The S-Class Esper walks ahead of them, holding hands like two kindergarteners with his Guide.
**
"Of course, the scout is coming to our class, bro! This is the only class in Shun-En with a Class S student!" The blonde slaps Shuu in the upper arm with such vigor that it awakes Shuu from whatever daydream he has been having. Or maybe he fell asleep and had this strangely realistic dream of scouring the school at nighttime like it was some sort of a dare. How he managed to fall asleep in the middle of school is beyond him. He's not the type to not pay attention, and there's still that difficult math homework that he hasn't finished.
The blonde slides open the door to the class, revealing dozens of students loitering about with a book in hand. One guy, a curly-haired boy with glasses, raised his hand to get their attention, "Oi, Tetsu, did you do that math homework?"
The blond walking next to Shuu laughs, "Nah! I figured that if the scout is coming, Mori-Sensei's class would probably canceled, hehe," he goofily answers. The curly-haired guy sighs in clear disappointment at them.
"Some people never change - and, hey, that blonde hair will get you in trouble with the teachers for the hundredth time. Don't make me report you again, Tetsuya".
Tetsu, short for Tetsuya, the blonde teen, laughs even louder, "Well, they can't kick out the star of the basketball team from school right? What will you all do without me?" When the Class-rep starts glowering, he continues, "Chill it, Class-rep! Today I'll be untouchable, because the moment that Scout sees me, I'll be out of the door with him and leave all of you losers behind!" He puffs his chest, hands on his hips as he poses like a superhero. Those cocky remarks are, if you know him well, a joke. Tetsuya is loud, but he's not arrogant. A lot of it is for show, and everyone in the room understands that well.
The Class-rep, however, doesn't look impressed. "Again with the scout? Isn't that just a rumor?" The bespectacled boy looks at the guys sitting around his desk, all of whom are writing into their books, probably in the middle of doing said math homework. One of the boys perks up and answers, "I heard from the next class that the principal office is hosting a meeting with a guy dressed neatly in a black suit at the moment".
"And you're saying that's an esper scout??" The Class rep exclaims, now also sounding excited. The guy who gave him the news shrugs, looking like he cares very little.
"See? I told you, Tohya, today might be the day that I finally leave this school, and for a good reason," Tetsuya grins, making Tohya, the Class-rep, sigh in defeat. Tohya. That is his name. Shuu knows that but somehow in his mind he was imagining a longer name with a -chi at the end, like Kouichi or something similar. It's like he knows someone with a similar appearance and with that kind of name.
"It better be for that instead of being expulsed because of that hair, Tetsu," Tohya plops back to his seat, "Remember, you already got your last warning from the principal".
Tetsuya simply chuckles and hooks one arm around Shuu's neck. "That Tohya never gives us a break huh," he mutters to Shuu as they both now walk to Shuu's desk; the one on the very back row next to a window.
"He has a point. And there's still that math homework to worry about," once Shuu reaches his own desk, he immediately grabs his math homework from his bag. He too hasn't finished that unnecessarily difficult assignment.
Tetsu, on the other hand, drops himself to his desk right next to Shuu's. "You too? Dude, out of anyone in this school, you're probably the one who is definitely going to get scouted! I mean, you're a Class S!!" The blonde claims, "If more than one, then perhaps it's you, me, and Yukiko-chan right there. That's it. There's no one else in this school".
Shuu takes a good look around and true to Tetsu's words, everyone in this class does not exude much energy except for himself, Tetsu, and a girl with long dark hair who is sitting in the front row, the latter two most likely being A-Class. The rest of the students are probably Class C or lower.
... which is weird because wasn't Shuu going to a mostly A-Class school?
He shakes his head. No, of course not. He goes to Shun-En. What is he even thinking?
"I really really want to leave this hell hole for good," Shuu hears Tetsuya murmuring as he tips his chair on its hind legs, "I want to do great things, not be imprisoned in this room doing homework". Shuu guesses that for someone like Tetsuya, who is talented but easily misunderstood, leaving school where he's constantly being reprimanded and doing something that will gain the recognition he has always wanted is important. "Oi, if the scout only calls for you, you'd tell him about me, right?"
Shuu turns to his right to look at Tetsu. The pair of dark eyes looking back at him are bare of emotion, but Shuu senses the desperation. "You won't leave me behind, right, Hajime?"
... Ha... jime?
"Don't burden him with things you want to make happen, Tetsuya".
A familiar voice remarks. He turns his neck slowly to the seat in front of him. There's a familiar tuff of short brown hair atop an equally familiar slender neck. There he is; in full Shun-En school uniform and a somewhat younger appearance; Hinata Ren twists his torso around so he can frown at his childhood friend.
"Here you go again, cornering people into doing whatever you like. Now you're doing it to Hajime," Ren growls.
That name again. Hajime. Perhaps it is the right name. It sure sounds right coming from his mouth.
Once he thinks of Ren's mouth, he can't stop himself from tracing the lines of those tiny lips; to the slender jaw, then the button nose, the round dark orbs that look deep into your eyes. His heart - Hajime's heart - drums as his eyes meet Ren's.
"Don't bother listening to him, Hajime," Ren tells him.
It's always something similar. Any interaction he has with Ren is always related to Tetsuya. It is unfortunate, but Tetsuya is the childhood friend, and Hajime is the current best friend of that childhood friend. Otherwise, Hajime's relationship with Hinata is close to nothing. Tetsuya sure is lucky.
"Reeennnnn~," He hears Tetsuya whine - an exchange that he has witnessed many times in the time they know these two. As per usual, that whine will start a whole series of bickering that even Hajime cannot meddle, that is until Ren concedes. Tetsu, on the other hand, will never concede.
Even now, as these two start arguing about the cursed math assignment, Hajime silently stays in the background; watching - sometimes fantasizing about being a part of what they have, other times just watching Ren's lips move. This time, he resorts to watching Ren's slim fingers; the one resting at the tip of his desk as the brown-haired teen scolds Tetsu for not even doing his homework.
"But Reeeennn~~," Tetsuya whines in the same exact tone that he uses to call Ren, "That's why you're here, to help us with the homework!"
"Ordering me around too, aren't you?"
"No, it's not that! I'm just suggesting that we put all our brains together! Three brains are better than one, isn't that right, Hajime?" Tetsu winks, but Ren frowns suspiciously. The doting childhood friend he is cannot go against Tetsuya's wishes. Soon, Ren turns his chair around and drops his homework book onto Hajime's desk. As he settles down, his hand brushes against Hajime's own, to which he apologizes.
"I-it's okay," Hajime stutters his response quite embarrassingly.
And just like that, the three of them have their heads bent over Hajime's desk; boring holes into their assignments. Hajime can't get his head over the fact that his hand is only centimeters away from Ren's own thanks to the latter being left-handed. Tetsuya ends up copying the answers to his own book, which earns him another scowl from his childhood friend.
"Oh hush it, Ren. I really thought the scout would be here by the time it's math," Tetsuya defends himself.
"Which is why it's dumb. You realize that most espers finish high school before going through their training right?" Ren continues copying formulas from his notes to his homework problem. "We can't always be so selfish, Tetsu. Most people will have to follow the rules before they can be somewhere they want to be. How many people get scouted to be an esper at our age? It's not like we see many teenage espers - and don't you dare use Sora as an example. Sora is a rare case".
"There are other young espers!! You read the news from a month ago? Those two espers with Sora? The girl and the one in the robot suit? Those two are confirmed to be about Sora's age!" Tetsuya rebuts.
"Pff, right," Ren snorts, "And you think you're next in line to be a part of them?"
"Maybe! If this rumor about a scout coming is true!" Tetsuya huffs, "And you say that, but you'll be happy if I become an esper, right? It will be nice to have an Esper as a friend when you're trying to work for the Ministry of Esper Conducts. I'll tell them great things about you!"
That piques Hajime's interest. "you want to work for the Ministry of Esper Conduct?" He suddenly asks the brunet. The apples of Ren's cheeks redden.
"Y-yeah," Ren hurriedly looks down at his homework again, "I'm a Class F. It's not like I can be an esper, but that doesn't mean I cannot help through other means".
"Class... F?" He gasps.
Class S is rare, but Class F is even rarer. That implies zero super potential in them, even lower than Class E. "Not that it matters. You'll see. Ren will make it to the ministry with brain power alone!" Tetsuya retorts without a pause in copying the homework, "Because he's smart, unlike me".
Hajime hums, but sneaks a peek at Ren yet again. "So, you'll work in the esper industry too one day?"
"That's the goal," Ren answers before he stops mid-writing to give him a small smile, "It's not like someone will appear out of nowhere just to scout me, right?"
The smile is teasing, but good-natured; probably because the rumored scout is probably there to pick Hajime up. Being an S-Class, everyone naturally assumes you'd be an esper. After all, there are many rewards for being an esper as an S-Class.
But Hajime actually planned to refuse the offer. He doesn't see the merit of leaving if it means no longer seeing Ren every day in class.
Yet, if Ren works with him one day, it will probably be worth it.
Funny that he changes his mind now. Last night he was wishing for school days like this to last forever - just so that he could watch the back of Ren's head from his seat. It does sound nice, isn't it? To be in school..., forever.
The bell rings signaling the start of the second period, alerting the wandering students to scurry back to their designated seats. Mori-Sensei enters the classroom with the dreaded order for the Class Rep to collect everyone's homework.
"Thank goodness I finished copying before the bell rang," Hajime hears Tetsuya saying. Hajime hands his homework book to Tohya, who, weirdly enough, winks at him before going to the next row.
It is then that Hajime notices a piece of paper scrunched up into a ball on the edge of his desk. He takes the paper and lays it flat in front of him. There's a message written in it.
"About what we discussed, are we still doing it?"
Without much thought, as though he knows what the message is about, Hajime writes down, "Yea. Meet me in the Gym at lunch break". He balls up the paper and throws it somewhere. A hand catches it, and he doesn't even pay attention who it is.
Hence, after that torturous math class ends and going through an hour of Biology, the bell rings yet again, this time signaling Hajime to leave the classroom and go. Go to the gym, he tells himself. He doesn't put much thought into the why and the who; he simply knows he has to.
He stands from his seat and walks to the class exit without a word. The hallway is bright as usual, and he has to go to the gym while everyone is having lunch. Now. He has to go now.
He walks past students, taking a turn to go to the stairs, or wherever his feet is taking him - to the Gym, surely. He's about to land one foot on the first step when he greets him from the middle of the stairway. "You," Hajime says, then realizing how weird that sounds.
Hinata Ren looks up at him. His mouth opens just a bit before he closes it. Perhaps Hajime creeps him out with that 'You' comment. "Huh, I thought you were still in class just now," Hajime hurriedly adds, not that it concerns him. Maybe Ren exited the class before everyone else, went downstairs to grab lunch before the Cafeteria got too crowded, and ran back to class.
"Hi," Ren says, "Where are you going?"
"Hmm?" Hajime's gut is telling him to not say anything, but this is Ren. It should be okay to tell him. "To the gym".
"The gym?" If anything, Ren looks slightly taken aback. His brows meet, and then slowly, he asks Hajime, "Why? What's in the gym?"
Yeah, that's a good question, isn't it? What's in the Gym? Hajime shakes his head. Of course, he knows why. "Something I have to do," he shrugs. He'd like to talk to Ren some more, but this is no time for that. He needs to go to the gym now. "I don't want to be late, I have to get there quickly".
He half-skips down the stairs, but as he passes Ren, the shorter teen stops him with a grab on his elbow. "Why? Is someone expecting you there?"
Oh, that's an interesting question too, but before he rakes his mind who exactly that someone is, his mouth just blurts out, "Yeah".
"You won't find anyone there".
"What? What do you mean?"
"They closed the Gym".
"That's not true!" He insists, "Tetsu would've said something if that's the case. He's the basketball team vice-captain!"
"... Tetsu?" If anything, Ren looks even more surprised, "How do you - who are you?"
"Uh," is it possible for Ren to not know his name? Well, it happens, right? Hajime has spoken to many girls for an extended period of time without knowing their names. But that doesn't sound right either. Didn't Ren say his name in class just a couple of hours ago? "It's Hajime," right?
The grip on Hajime's elbow tightens. "That's not true. You're not".
Okay. What kind of prank are Tetsu and Ren playing right now? It is in Tetsu's taste, but Ren? Not so much.
And as he thinks of Tetsu, the guy just appears next to Ren as though he has always been there (has he always been there?). He has the same concerned look on his face.
"If you are, then tell me what happened in the gym - or, what would happen in the gym if you go there," Ren asks.
"I don't know! I'm not there yet, am I?" He answers ridiculously, looking between Ren and Tetsu to see which one of the two would crack into laughter first.
But they continue to look stern. "Yeah, or what!? What's there!?" This time it's Tetsu, and he sure plays this prank well.
"I don't know!! Why are you two cornering me like this!? Quit it, it's not funny anymore! I have to go!"
Ren takes a deep breath and then asks him calmly, "Let me ask you this; do you even know your name?"
"It's Hajime".
"Yeah, what's your family name?"
What kind of prank is this? He rolls his eyes, and as he does so, his eyes catch the sight of the bathroom alcove on their floor which is located right across from the stairs. There's a yellow police tape covering it. Strange. Has it always been there?
"It's Narukami," he answers tiredly, hoping they will end this useless banter.
Ren smiles. "Narukami? Like, the Great Esper?"
"Yea, Narukami Ryuu".
"So, you're related to him?"
"Ye...ah," he falters. Is he?
"Narukami Hajme?"
Hajime frowns. No, that does not sound right. There is no Narukami Hajime. But in his mind, he can see the old man, Narukami Ryuu, playing shogi with him, talking to him, calling him by another name.
"Because you're not Hajime; Todohara Hajime," Ren points at his chest, "You're Narukami Shuu".
"Narukami... Shuu?" That feels right, more right than Hajime will ever be on himself. He slowly turns his gaze to Tetsu, only to realize it is never Tetsu to begin with. "Takao... Senpai?"
Takao releases a held breath like he's glad to see him regain his senses. "Oh, thank goodness," The Falcon mutters under his breath.
Shuu looks around and realizes that even though it's the lunch break, no one passes them by to get to the first floor where the Cafeteria is. The whole place has been empty all along. Wait, where are the students?
"Are you back with us?" Takao voices, "Shuu, you're in the middle of patrolling Portal 293, located in Shun-En High School. You went missing at 11.30 pm after walking too close to Classroom 2-2, also known as Zone 0".
Everything is coming back slowly; driving here with Koukichi, trying on his gear, entering the school, and then entering the second floor. And he's an Esper; an Esper trainee.
Heart racing, someone is trying to hold him up as he feels his knees going weak. In the background, he hears Takao announcing, "We've found him!" many times as the sounds of footsteps start coming closer and closer. Afterward, there are many hands taking his weak body, carrying him through the hallways and out of the building. Once out in the open, more people come running toward him. One of them, to his surprise, is Segawa Hide.
The next time he opens his eyes, he is on a stretcher in a medical tent. There are people around him, and he silently names them one by one. Starting from his left, there's Rika-Senpai, then Koukichi-Senpai, then near his feet, Hinata-Senpai, right next to Segawa Felix, who crosses his arms as he looks down on him, and on his right is, surprise, surprise, Segawa Hide. "Oh my God, Shuu! Thank goodness you're all right!" That is Koukichi, holding Shuu's hand as he continues to thank whatever God out there for his safety. There's a woman's voice in the background telling them that Shuu is fine but needs some rest.
He stops following the conversation once his eyelids grow too heavy.
When he opens his eyes once again, he's strapped to the seat of a car. Koukichi's car, he reckons. His neck is cramping from being positioned this way, but he's glad to not wake up in the medical ward. If he's in the car, that means they're allowing him to go home, which is brilliant.
"He said his name was Hajime".
Says someone from outside the car. Shu doesn't have the strength to move his head yet to see who it is. He can only move his neck as far as allowing him to see the dashboard. The time on the digital clock says 4.25 am.
"Oh," now, he knows this voice. It's Koukichi. "I'm so sorry you have to go through that. Must be hard hearing that name again after all this time".
"That's not everything. He also said he was going to the gym".
"Fuck. I'm so sorry, Ren".
So it is Hinata Ren who is talking to Koukichi.
Koukichi continues, "Did he do anything to you?"
"No. Thankfully not".
Wait, do what?
"Oh, thank goodness. That's eerie, knowing what he did to you in that gym," Koukichi says.
Shuu can't help wanting to know what happened in that Gym - what Hajime did.
He hears Ren chuckling blandly. "It's weird, the way he behaved, it's just like those times. Not a sign at all that he'd do that. You know, I thought we were friends".
They were, weren't they? Shuu still has a hazy memory of Hajime's thoughts on Ren. That boy adores him.
"Kou, to this day I still wonder," Ren mulls, "Why he tried to kill me that day and did all this to our friends".
Hajime... tried to kill Ren?
"I'm sorry, Ren. I really am," in a classic Koukichi fashion, he apologizes. For a moment, Shuu hears nothing from the two. He imagines Koukichi comforting his guide with a hug, or maybe something more. A moment later, he hears Koukichi saying, "I have to go. I'm responsible for Shuu and I messed up, so I have to take him to his parents and talk to them".
"Sounds rough. Sora?"
"Dealing with the press... and the Ministry".
"Urgh".
"I know. Anyhow, I'll probably be back a little late. I have to bare my soul to Narukami Ryuu's family," Koukichi forces a laugh, "Wish me luck, Ren".
"I will. Make sure he's all right".
Koukichi enters the car silently, not knowing Shuu's awake the whole time. He puts his hand on Shuu's forehead, probably to check for his temperature, before turning on the car. They have probably not gone far from school when Shuu feels his consciousness slipping once again. And while there are things to worry about, like his mother's reaction, his Grandpa's, and the fact that he may not be able to go back to the Headquarters for a while, there's one thought that lingers the longest before everything goes black.
**
To be Continued