Dating the Yakuza, Or: How the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History was Averted Through Disgustingly Sweet Romance

Hinata has no idea how he ended up on the skywalk, trying to comfort Kuzuryuu Natsumi.

It's absurd, really. She could have him trussed up in a body bag and thrown into the ocean before the sun even sets, and here he is, risking his life saying things that might just upset her even more. He doesn't even believe the things coming out of his mouth. He'd sure like to. When he's with Nanami, hearing her say those same words to him, he believes for a split second that he's worth something even without talent; but the instant they part ways, doubt creeps back into the crevices left in her absence. Maybe that's why he's here. If he can convince Kuzuryuu, maybe he can believe it too.

But he seriously might die, so just to be safe, Hinata quickly runs through flashbacks of his life – pretty pathetic stuff – and says a mental goodbye to his mom.

"You love your brother, right? Even if you have no talent, you can stay with him and make memories together."

"Talentless people have no right to be with my brother!" Kuzuryuu stops and looks down, biting the inside of her mouth. Hinata has seen her tears already, but their reappearance doesn't surprise him any less. "I want something to be proud of. Not to always look up to him. I want to stand by his side! If they'll recognize me as an Ultimate Little Sister, I can be with my brother."

Hinata's tempted to leave. Really, he doesn't know what to say—Nanami hasn't prepared him for this. And Kuzuryuu's sentiments are his exact thoughts so he can hardly say that they're unfounded. Her feelings are the insecurities he feels around Nanami, the insecurities that are relieved and yet amplified every time she comforts him. Because she's just so much better than him. He's never done anything but complain, and even though Nanami tells him that he doesn't need talent…

How can he believe that when Nanami, beloved by talent, is the one saying it?

Kuzuryuu turns to him after the silence drags on, and she sneers. "You're just like the rest of those idiots. You might be happy to rot here, but I'm not. So just…leave me alone, you talentless loser."

There's no strength behind her insults. She doesn't sound condescending, not like her introduction to the class, doesn't sound venomous, doesn't even manage to be spiteful. Just tired. Like she's been keeping herself going on a breath of air she's held for days, and now that's bled out through her tears.

"I'm not leaving," Hinata says, and Kuzuryuu doesn't argue so Hinata also leans down on the railing. Neither of them look at each other; Kuzuryuu keeps her eyes trained on her arms, and Hinata stares at Hope's Peak standing like a monolith on the opposite side of the school grounds. The Reserve Course students live, literally, in its shadow. Every day, they're reminded of how worthless they are in comparison.

"…Why?" Kuzuryuu finally asks.

"Tell me about your brother," Hinata says.

Hinata chances a quick glance over at Kuzuryuu, and she's furrowing her eyebrows as the bottom half of her face emerges from the cover of her arms.

"…He's a punk."

"Huh?"

"Tch, he always makes fun of me when I need help with something," Kuzuryuu says, but she's snickering now. "Although that's probably because I'm the one making fun of him…any other time. It's so easy to rile him up. Besides! He always ends up doing what I say, so I probably shouldn't complain. Like this one time, I was…experimenting…and he ended up in a pit of snakes. Had to fend them off with a fork."

Yikes, Hinata thought, feeling a strong surge of sympathy.

"Big Brother is…kind," Kuzuryuu continues, her voice dropping to a murmur that Hinata barely hears. "Too kind to be a yakuza. Kinder than I probably deserve."

Hinata feels almost like he's taking advantage of how lost she must be feeling right now, because he's sure that otherwise, she would never share all this with him. But still, she's trusted him with this much. He has to say something back. He owes her that much.

"Do you think he feels that way?" Hinata asks.

"What?" Kuzuryuu frowns, but she looks more confused than upset.

"Well, you said that talentless people have no right to be with him. But after what you've told me about him," Hinata says, "I don't think he would think that. I don't think that your brother, who you told me will do anything for you, would feel like you need a talent to stand at his side."

Kuzuryuu just curls up into herself, even tighter than before, until her hair spills over her arms and hides her face. But Hinata sees that her shoulders are shaking, and he keeps talking because he's suddenly convinced. He's convinced that this girl, and him, are worth something.

"Who cares what Hope's Peak thinks of us?" Hinata takes another look at the school he's admired for so long, and he realizes that it's much closer than he has ever imagined it. For the first time, he also sees it for what it is—not a shrine, not a temple, but just a building. It's brick and mortar just like anything else. "Even if they don't recognize you as the Ultimate Little Sister—I believe—I know—that your brother recognizes it. To him, you've always been the Ultimate Little Sister. Isn't that enough?"

"Stop… Stop talking. Just—"

"It's not about having a right to stand next to someone. It's about whether or not they want you there, so just tell me one thing: Do you honestly think your brother doesn't already want you at his side?"

"Shut up!"

Hinata does. He's finished talking anyway, and he doesn't really want to start babbling and ruin it all because he's proud of what he's just said. He's proud of himself, and of Kuzuryuu. Kuzuryuu had lifted her head to yell at him, and he sees that she's crying. Not just holding tears in her eyes and refusing to let them fall, but actually crying, not a single, dramatic tear, but lots of them. Her eyes are red and so is the tip of her nose, but she still manages to glare at him for a solid ten seconds before she turns away and wipes her tears away. Hinata waits.

"You…" Kuzuryuu clears her throat and fixes her hair, nearly slapping Hinata in the face when she flips her hair out from under her collar. "You're not bad at this. Maybe you can be the Ultimate Counselor."

"I'd…really rather not," Hinata says, because this work is absolutely draining. Although maybe that wouldn't be too bad. He hasn't magically stopped wanting to attend Hope's Peak, just…maybe less fanatically. At least he'd have more opportunities to see Nanami.

"Shut up and take the compliment. Don't make me beat you up."

"S…ure?" Hinata scrambles upright when Kuzuryuu starts walking off. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Like I'd tell you. Don't even think about following me, pervert."

"Wow."

Kuzuryuu turns, and Hinata sees a genuine smile on her face.

"See you tomorrow, idiot."

Hinata does.

Kuzuryuu comes into class the next day, and she stares at Satou—Hinata expects an argument or a fight, but instead, the two exchange curt nods and he wonders what the hell happened. Dear God, had Kuzuryuu actually managed to apologize? Now he wishes he had followed her—

She better not have managed to read his mind. Hinata swallows and prepares for impending death when she stalks towards him, but she instead stops at his poor neighbor.

"Hey, get out of my seat," Kuzuryuu says, slamming her things down on the boy's desk so hard that the legs rattle. He instantly runs away, trips and falls flat on his face, but he doesn't even stop—he just continues crawling away to the opposite side of the room. Damn, he's blue in the face. Like, really blue. He must have been scared out of his mind. Hinata stares as Kuzuryuu slides into the seat next to him.

"Uhh…" Hinata closes his mouth when he realizes he's not sounding very intelligent.

"What, do you not want me here?" Kuzuryuu demands.

"No, just…surprised."

Kuzuryuu smiles again, and Hinata's just even more confused.

Today's the last day for him to make his decision about the Kamukura Project.

"You're more airheaded than usual today," Kuzuryuu says.

"I'm…preoccupied," Hinata says, tearing his eyes off Hope's Peak.

"By what, exactly?"

"It's complicated."

Kuzuryuu frowns, but she seems to sense from his tone that this isn't a joking matter and she drops her brusque tone. "Tell me about it. You don't have to be specific, but just tell me."

"I…have to make a decision about something, and today is the deadline." Hinata sighs. Against his will, he's looking out the window at Hope's Peak again. "It's…I'm conflicted about it. At first, I was almost certain that I wanted to do it, but now…I'm not so sure."

It's strange that he's not sure, because he remembers when the school had first approached him about the project. He had almost agreed on the spot. For so long, it had been his dream to join Hope's Peak. To be offered a chance to do just that—to do more than that, to become Hope—Hinata had thought that was everything he would ever want in life.

But he hadn't agreed on the spot. Looking back, he can't remember what made him tell the scouters that he needed a few days to think. Maybe he had been unsure, even then. Maybe he hadn't told his parents because he already knew they wouldn't agree with it. That they wouldn't think their son needed to become anything else to be worthwhile. Nonsense, he'd thought.

Hinata's not so they're wrong anymore.

"Then don't do it," Kuzuryuu says.

So simple.

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is," Kuzuryuu insists, surprising Hinata with the confidence in her voice. "Just trust your instincts. If you think something isn't a good idea, then you're probably right."

"But…I can't be sure that I'm right."

"Well, I'd trust your instincts." Kuzuryuu looks vaguely embarrassed, but she soldiers on with a nonchalant shrug. "You're…acceptable. What you told me that day…about being worth something…that applies to you too, you know. So stop doubting yourself and just go with your gut."

Hinata resumes looking out the window.

After class, he turns down the project.

Hinata thinks they're friends now, but he can never be too sure with Kuzuryuu. They hang out even when class isn't in session, so that seems like a good sign—Kuzuryuu has started dragging him out to have lunch at the picnic tables. But she also routinely punches his arm when he says something stupid, which happens unfortunately often, and she insists that she's only spending time with him because he brings the best lunches—which she steals—so honestly…he has no idea.

But he'll take it.

One day when class ends, Kuzuryuu snags his wrist with a grip that is honestly way too strong for someone of her size. "Where do you keep going when class ends?" Kuzuryuu asks.

"Are you stalking me?"

"Hah! Like you're worthy of that." Kuzuryuu waves it off before Hinata can say that she's not denying it. She still doesn't let go of him. "Just tell me already, Ultimate Ahoge."

Hinata shrugs. "I meet up with Nanami to play video games."

Kuzuryuu's cheeks puff up, and Hinata swears that her eyes are literally spitting flames. "You haven't invited me? What kind of a friend—"

Huh, confirmation.

"You wanna hang out?" Hinata asks quickly, because he's already become accustomed to her incredibly convincing tirades. She hadn't been lying when she said she could get her brother to do anything. She's already gotten him to buy a ridiculous number of hand-towels that she randomly whips out of her bag.

"If you insist!"

"Hey, Nanami!"

Hinata's forced to stop in his tracks when his view of the gamer is blocked by an angry Kuzuryuu, who has her arms crossed and one foot tapping the ground.

"That's Nanami?" Kuzuryuu demands. She turns around and scrutinizes Nanami, earning a confused, sleepy stare in return, before she looks back at Hinata with narrowed eyes. "You didn't tell me."

"Tell you what, exactly…?" Hinata shrugs helplessly.

Kuzuryuu doesn't respond. Instead, she stomps towards Nanami – Hinata follows behind with apprehension – but she only sticks out her hand. "Kuzuryuu Natsumi. Are you dating this idiot?"

Hinata stops in his tracks and wonders if he can dive into the nearby garbage can without them noticing. Or maybe he can channel that Ultimate Animator and just run.

"…No," Nanami says. "Although I wouldn't mind it…I think."

Hinata reddens.

Kuzuryuu, oddly, looks like she's about to explode.

"But no, that'd be too weird…" Nanami thinks for a moment with her head raised, and almost a full minute passes before Hinata notices that her eyes have closed and she's most likely napping.

Hinata clears his throat, and Nanami wakes up.

"Anyway, it's…nice to meet you, Kuzuryuu-chan. I'm Nanami Chiaki," Nanami says, once she sees Hinata gesturing from behind Kuzuryuu that she ought to introduce herself too. Anything to get the conversation moving to any other topic. "Kuzuryuu… Oh. Your brother is in my class."

Kuzuryuu whirls around.

"I didn't know," Hinata says.

When Hinata tries to sit down beside Nanami, Kuzuryuu plops herself down in the middle and pushes him away to the far side of the bench.

Nanami blinks.

"Are you a fan of video games, Kuzuryuu-chan?" Nanami asks. "Kuzuryuu-kun pretends like he doesn't like them, but he was pretty into it when we had our class tournament. We can play versus mode."

"I wouldn't recommend that," Hinata warns, because he's tried, and beating Nanami is basically impossible unless you have six thumbs and the reaction time of a mongoose. "Nanami's really good—"

"I'll beat you, no problem," Kuzuryuu announces, snatching the second console away and managing to hold it upside down.

Hinata has no idea what is going on.

"Oi, Kuzuryuu, give me my homework back—"

"God, that sounds like you're talking to my brother," Kuzuryuu says, rolling her eyes as she continues copying. "Just call me Natsumi. Don't try to add any suffixes. Call me Natsumi-chan, and I'll kill you."

"Sure thing," Hinata says. At this point, he's immune to death threats. "Wait, does that mean you'll start calling me Hajime, because I really don't think I'm ready for that—"

"Don't be gross."

"You know," Hinata says, "I don't mean to doubt you, but I've been thinking about this for a while. Does Little Sister really count as a talent?"

"Hinata," Natsumi says, giving him a baleful stare that's practically oozing disappointment, "Hope's Peak takes Ultimate Lucky Students and Ultimate Brother Complexes. I'm pretty sure Little Sister counts."

Hinata nods.

After a moment he adds, "Are you sure you aren't the Ultimate Brother Complex—"

Natsumi throws a binder at his head.

Natsumi is absent from class for three days because of a cold virus released by the Ultimate Epidemiologist, and on the day of her return, Hinata quietly slides a folder onto her desk.

"Notes," Hinata says.

"O-Oh."

"Also, I packed soup." Hinata pulls out a second lunch and sets it next to the notes. "You probably shouldn't steal mine, I don't think tempura's good for your stomach right now."

"…Thanks," Natsumi says, and for some reason, she pulls the lunch box so close that she's practically hugging it. Maybe she's still sick, Hinata thinks. "How'd you know I would be coming back today?"

"I didn't, I've just been bringing soup every day." At the odd look on Natsumi's face, Hinata adds, "Hey, I haven't been bringing the same soup. I switch it out."

"That's not what I…" Natsumi trails off, and Hinata is increasingly confused because Natsumi never stutters and she never leaves her sentences unfinished. "Umm…I mean…"

"Is everything all right?" Hinata asks.

Natsumi smiles.

"I've missed you, Hinata."

On Valentine's Day, Natsumi drops a box of chocolates on Hinata's desk and leaves class so fast that he barely has time to realize she was ever there.

Slowly, he unwraps the package and tries one.

It's really terrible.

"You accidentally used salt instead of sugar," Hinata tells Natsumi, when she finally returns to class the next day. Natsumi reddens, and she opens her mouth to say something when Hinata smiles and shows her the emptied box. "But I ate them all anyway. Thanks, Natsumi."

"…How did you know I didn't do that on purpose?"

"Please, they'd be a lot worse if you were trying to prank me."

Hinata is about to beat his personal best at Gala-Omega when Nanami suddenly says, her voice so flat that she might as well have been talking about the weather: "Kuzuryuu-chan likes you."

"Sure."

"Romantically."

His plane burns, and the ashes dissipate into the blackness of space.

"It's really obvious," Nanami continues, now on her eighth run of Gala-Omega as Hinata sits there with his mouth open. His brain's long since shut down into a raging blue screen of death. "Almost as obvious as the puzzles in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess."

"Wh…at."

"Yeah, I finished that game in less than a day," Nanami says, sighing. "I had been looking forward to it for so long, too. And the Wii motion controls were so clunky."

"No! I meant about Natsumi!"

Nanami shrugs. "Sorry, Hinata-kun. I'm no good at dating sims, so you'll have to figure it out."

"You can't just drop something like that on me!" Hinata says. He realizes that he's yelling a lot but he has no control over his vocal cords. It's like a ghost is trying to escape from his belly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tell you about the dating sim problem. It's really, really bothering me, though. I just can't seem to get all the relationship paths, and I usually end up with the Bad Ending—I got stabbed by a yandere the last three times. In a different place every time, too."

…Damn it, he's curious.

"Stabbed in a different part of your body, or stabbed while at a different location?"

Nanami looks him dead in the eye.

"Both."

Hinata throws his hands up and leaves.

"Don't worry!" Nanami calls after him. "Kuzuryuu-chan is more of a tsundere!"

Hinata is now officially dating Natsumi.

When he had asked her to go out with him, she had instinctively punched him in the jaw before hugging him and reluctantly apologizing. Her excuse was that she just hadn't known how else to react.

Hinata decides to be careful when surprising her with anything.

Their first kiss is extremely awkward, because Hinata refuses to admit he has no idea what he's doing, and Natsumi also refuses to admit she has no idea what she's doing, so they bump noses and hit each other with their teeth.

"We are going to get this right," Natsumi growls.

She's beautiful when she's flustered, Hinata thinks.

And also dangerous.

Hinata is reading in the courtyard, Natsumi lying down with her head on his lap, when she suddenly drops a bombshell on him.

"My brother wants to meet you," Natsumi says.

"Well, I guess I'll be changing my name and leaving the country now."

It's a testament to her persuasiveness when she manages to drag him to the main campus, where the Ultimate Students are also having lunch. They'll probably be late for their next class, but it wouldn't be for the first time since they'd started dating, and Hinata has long since stopped caring. Now that they've perfected their technique, spontaneous makeout sessions in some empty classroom – or a closet, or a bathroom, or just one of the tall lockers – really are quite fun.

Do not think about that right before meeting her brother.

"Don't mention anything about his height, don't look down at him, don't talk about his baby face, don't let him know I told you that he likes milk, and you'll be fine!"

"I hadn't known about that milk thing."

Unfortunately for Hinata, he can't banish the thought of milk before Kuzuryuu notices them. He…looks a lot like Natsumi, actually, except he's shorter and he looks like he's ready to murder Hinata.

"So," Kuzuryuu says, his hands thumbing something in his pocket that Hinata hopes isn't a knife, "I've heard a lot about you, Hinata. All good things."

"Thanks, I've also heard—" Hinata remembers Natsumi's advice. "I've heard almost nothing about you, definitely nothing potentially embarrassing."

"…Uh-huh." Kuzuryuu turns towards Natsumi, who's busy watching them with a wicked grin. "Go away, Hinata and I are gonna have a conversation."

Natsumi leaves with a wink and a smile. Hinata wonders if she's trying to get him killed.

Kuzuryuu doesn't say anything, just stares at him.

Hinata meets his eyes, making sure to lean back so he's not obviously looking down at the shorter boy.

Finally, Kuzuryuu cracks a small smile. "Heh, good to know you have some guts. So, Hinata. You treatin' my sister right? Because if not, no one's gonna find your body."

Hinata looks over at Natsumi, who's laughing at something said by a girl with horns and blue-and-pink thigh-highs. She sees him looking, and she waves—her smirk is gone, replaced by an encouraging smile. Hinata smiles back before turning to Kuzuryuu.

"Yeah," Hinata answers. "I mean, I hope so. I can't imagine not treating her right."

Kuzuryuu laughs and slaps him on the arm. "Ha! Just messing with you. She's told me enough about you that I'm not worried, I just wanted to meet you. Keep making her happy, you hear me?"

"Of course."

Hinata's never been more sure of anything.

"You seriously need to be more prepared when you meet our dad, though," Kuzuryuu says. "Or he will throw you into the Pacific."

Natsumi is approached by Hope's Peak to join as the Ultimate Little Sister, and Hinata is both ecstatic because that's been her goal since the day they met, and also…surprisingly, not jealous. Maybe he really has moved past his obsession with Hope's Peak, because instead, all he feels is a dull pang at the thought that he won't be able to see Natsumi as much anymore.

"I'm not going," Natsumi says.

"It's not a huge deal, seeing as we can still meet up for lunch, and there's after class, too," Hinata says, before his brain catches up and he realizes what she said. "Wait, what do you mean you're not going?"

"I'm going to turn them down." Natsumi shrugs. "I'd rather stay here with you."

"This is Hope's Peak. It's your dream."

"Yeah, but…I don't want to leave you behind." Natsumi frowns and shrugs the way she does whenever she's actually torn about something. "Seriously, I've made up my mind."

"If you're worried about me…then don't be."

Hinata knows what she's thinking, and he appreciates it, he really does, but—

"I'm not going to start thinking I'm inferior or anything like that," Hinata says, and he's happy to find that he's telling the truth. "Trust me, I'll be fine right here. But if you turn down your dream just because you don't want me to feel bad—I really will feel bad about myself. Do what makes you happy."

Natsumi hugs him.

She only comes up to his chin, but she can build up a lot of momentum very, very quickly. Hinata has trouble staying on his feet when Natsumi all but cannonballs into him, but he can't help smiling; he holds her just as tightly as she does him. It's rare for her to be so affectionate.

In Nanami's words, total tsundere.

"Thanks, Hinata," Natsumi murmurs.

"Of course. I don't want your brother coming after me."

Natsumi groans. "You ruined the moment." She looks up, and she's smiling now but her eyes are still worried. "Are you really sure, though?"

"Absolutely. And I'm not giving up," Hinata says. "I still want to join Hope's Peak. I want to join you, but…"

Hinata doesn't finish the sentence, but Natsumi nods. They both know that even if Hope's Peak doesn't give him some title, Natsumi isn't going to leave him behind. He trusts her enough to know that.

He is Hinata Hajime, and his life is perfect the way it is now.