So I wrote another Hinanami fanfic. Wanted to write something with a bit more emotion. I'd appreciate any feedback. I haven't written fanfiction in a LONG time. I am not the perfect writer, so please let me know if there are parts that could have been better or if there were any grammar errors.

Hope you enjoy!

~YogurtPanda

"Let's not meet anymore." Chiaki said, suddenly.

"Eh?"

It took Hajime a moment to process what Chiaki had just said, but even then, he still couldn't believe it.

"Not meet…? I don't understand."

Chiaki didn't say anything as she arose from the bench, picking up her school bag and putting it over her shoulder. She did not make eye contact with Hajime, which made her seem cold.

"I had fun playing games with you, Hinata-kun. See you around."

Chiaki began to walk away, leaving a confused and hurt Hajime behind. He quickly arose from the bench, chasing after her. He grabbed her by the wrist, preventing her from going any further.

"Hinata-kun, let go." Chiaki said, not bothering to look at him.

"Why…? Why can't we meet anymore?" Hajime still couldn't understand why this was happening.

"Please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"…Is it me?" He slowly let go of her wrist, his hand dropping back to his side. "Are you ashamed to be with me?"

Chiaki turned her head slightly to look at Hajime. She could see a hurt look in his eyes, which made her feel guilty for treating him like this.

"Even though I'm just a lowly Reserve Course student, you invited me to hang out with you. You waited for me every day after class by the gate." "For the first time… I felt like I was someone when I was with you, Nanami."

"Hinata-kun…" Chiaki was speechless.

Hajime then pulled Chiaki into a small embrace, surprising her.

"Please, Nanami." His voice was starting to break. She could feel him trembling. "I don't want to lose you."

A part of Chiaki wanted to hold Hajime and comfort him, but after a few moments, she removed herself from Hajime, immediately turning her back to him. Hajime reached out his hand towards her, but then Chiaki started to move.

"…It was nice knowing you" was the last thing she said to him.

Hajime watched as Chiaki walked away, growing further and further away from him until he could barely make her out. He wanted to go after her, but his feet stood planted as if they were rooted to the ground. Even if he chased after her, nothing would change. A sharp pain surged in his chest. He gripped the black tie around his neck, clenching his teeth in anger.

Was it really okay to let things end like this?

Two weeks had passed since Hajime and Chiaki last met to play video games together. Her fellow classmates noticed that she wasn't her usual self, but Chiaki lied and told them that it was nothing to worry about. She didn't want to worry her friends. Her teacher, Chisa Yukizome, however, could tell that something was wrong. Concerned, Chisa asked Chiaki to stay after class so they could talk.

"You wanted to see me, Yukizome-sensei?"

"Ah Nanami-san, just the person I wanted to see! Are you free?"

Chiaki nodded. "I don't have anything planned today."

"Great! Let's go somewhere and have a nice girl talk."

Chiaki was confused by what Chisa meant, but she decided to follow her. She ended up taking Chiaki to the fountain, located in the courtyard, which surprised her. This is where she would go with Hajime to play games together. A weird feeling started to emerge in Chiaki's chest, but she ignored it.

"Ah, Hinata-kun!"

Chiaki immediately froze when she heard Hajime's name. Her attention moved over towards the fountain where Hajime was standing. He noticed the two as they approached him.

"It's been a while! Are you waiting for someone?" Chisa asked.

"I was, but…" His attention shifted to Chiaki, who looked away to avoid his gaze. Hajime's eyes narrowed, slightly, but he looked back towards Chisa. "They didn't like hanging out with me it seems." He gave a laugh as he placed the back of his hand against his head.

"I see…" Chisa said. "Well, don't get down over one person. There are plenty of people out there for you to form connections with!"

"You're right." Hajime said, giving her a small smile. His attention shifted back towards Chiaki again, who continued to avoid his gaze. She could feel his eyes on her. It was like he was staring straight through her.

What Hajime said next was something that Chisa didn't hear, but Chiaki did.

"I can't just move on so easily." "She's important to me."

Chiaki gasped and turned her attention turned towards Hajime. His green eyes looked distant. She could see slight bags under his eyes. Was he not resting properly? He also looked like he had not been eating much.

"Well, see you later, Yukizome-sensei." He paused and then spoke again. "Nanami."

Hajime walked passed them, not bothering to make eye contact with Chiaki as her eyes followed him.

"See you later, Hinata-kun!" Chisa yelled, waving goodbye. She looked over to Chiaki and noticed the way she was looking at Hajime.

"Nanami-san?"

Chiaki snapped out of her daze and turned her attention her instructor. "S-Sorry…"

Chisa smiled. "It seems the fountain is vacant now. Let's have our girl talk."

Chiaki nodded and took a seat at one of the benches next to Chisa.

"Nanami, have you been feeling well lately?" Chisa asked.

"I think so…" Chiaki responded.

"Getting proper rest? Eating decently?"

"I forget sometimes, but I've been making an effort to remember to rest and eat."

"Good, good." Chisa paused for a bit but then continued. "…Did something happened between you and Hinata-kun?"

"…." Chiaki remained silent.

"So I hit a bullseye, huh?" "Did you two have a fight?"

"Sort of…" Chiaki responded.

"Did you make up?"

Chiaki shook her head from side to side.

"That's no good! Friends should make up quickly." "Otherwise, there will be regrets. It'll be too late to make up if you just leave things as they are."

Chiaki's eyes sadden. "It was my fault, Yukizome-sensei. I told Hinata-kun that we shouldn't meet after school anymore."

"Why? Did he do something to hurt you?"

"It's nothing like that." It's just… whenever I'm around him, I start to feel strange."

Chisa was confused. "Strange? How so?"

Chiaki placed a hand on her chest. "Well, my chest gets a weird feeling. Sometimes my heart will beat fast." "Then sometimes I'll feel all warm." "I've never had these strange sensations before. Maybe I'm getting a fever."

Chisa started to burst out laughing, which Chiaki didn't understand. "That's no fever, Nanami-san!"

"Eh?" "Yukizome-sensei, you know what this is?"

Chisa calmed herself down. "Really, you had me extremely worried!" "Those feelings, those sensations, it means you like Hinata-kun."

Chiaki looked at her teacher with a confused expression. "Of course, I like Hinata-kun. He's my friend."

"Not like as in friendship. You have feelings for him."

Chiaki's eyes widened. "What…?"

"I'm surprised you didn't realize that…" "Is this your first time developing a crush on someone?"

"Crush…?" "No, that's not possible. I haven't seen the flags yet."

Chisa stared at Chiaki with a blank look. "Flags…?"

"Then again, I'm not sure what the correct choices would be for Hinata-kun's route."

"Route…?"

"I'm not good at these kinds of things. This is why I got the bad ending."

"Bad ending…?" "Nanami-san, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but these feelings have nothing to do with video games." "All girls experience this, even boys." "It's perfectly natural." "Is that why you decided not to meet anymore?"

Chiaki nodded. "I like playing games with Hinata-kun. I don't want to lose that."

Chisa smiled, genuinely. "I wouldn't worry. Hinata-kun is a good boy." "I'm sure he'll understand."

Chiaki looked to her. "But…"

Chisa placed her hands on Chiaki's shoulders. "Do you want things to end like this?"

"…." Chiaki went silent as she thought about the potential risks. If she told him, there was a chance that things would become awkward between them and that they couldn't be friends. If she didn't, they would never meet each other again.

"I don't want that."

Chisa smiled and hugged Chiaki. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah…" Chiaki replied.

The next day after school, Chiaki waited by the gate outside of the Reserve Course building. She leaned against the brick wall, playing "Gala Omega" on her Game Girl Advance. Although she seemed calm and collected on the outside, inside she was nervous, her heart beating wildly within her chest. She hadn't spoken to Hajime in two weeks. Would she be able to talk to him? Would he ever acknowledge her presence? Even after the day that Chiaki said that they should stop meeting, all she could think about was him. He was always on her mind. It was rare for her to get a game over in video games, but she couldn't play at her best or concentrate.

Chiaki heard footsteps approach her. She hesitated to look up, but when she finally did, she saw Hajime standing there, his attention on her. Chiaki wanted to say something, but she found herself unable to say anything. She wanted to apologize for that day. She wanted to tell him her feelings.

Feeling as though she would never be able to make up with him, Chiaki began to leave.

"…Gala Omega, right?"

Chiaki stopped once she heard Hajime's voice. Her eyes couldn't help but weld up with tears. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve to avoid Hajime from noticing. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"You know it?" Chiaki turned towards him. "It's a classic, don't you think?"

Hajime gave a slight nod. "I once played it five times in a row."

Chiaki crossed her arms. "Really? I find that quite hard to believe."

Hajime gave a small laugh. "It's the truth. Cross my heart."

Chiaki moved closer towards Hajime. "Ten times is my limit."

"That's more impressive than mine." Hajime said, going towards her.

"Still… I've never met anyone who played it that much other than me."

Hajime and Chiaki stopped once they were close enough to each other. Their gazes were focused on each other. There were other people around them, but they seemed nonexistent. Both had so much they wanted to say to the other, but their voices felt as if they were trapped at the bottom of their throats, like a heavy object that's trapped in the deepest depths of the ocean. Even without words, a desire was clearly shown in their eyes. It could ruin the one thing they didn't want to lose, but the feelings they had for each other was building up inside their hearts to the point it became hard to breathe. Hajime finally broke the silence.

"Nanami… can I ask you something?"

"S-Sure." Chiaki said, barely able to get the word out.

"Do you regret hanging out with someone like me?"

Chiaki shook her head from side to side. "I don't regret it." She placed her hand over her heart as she gave Hajime a smile. "Even though the time we spend together is not very long, I enjoy every moment of it."

Hajime sighed of relief. "I'm glad. I was worried that me being you was becoming a bother."

Chiaki gripped her chest, slightly. "…Can I ask you something too?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"…." Chiaki went silent as a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She turned her head so Hajime couldn't see.

"…Nanami? What's wrong?" Hajime tilted her chin so that he could see her face. When he saw her flustered face, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat. He had never seen her in a state like this before.

Chiaki finally spoke after a while. "When you said that you felt like someone when you were with me… did you mean that?"

Hajime gently held the sides of Chiaki's face in his hands. He slowly closed the distance between their faces, his lips meeting Chiaki's in a gentle kiss. He felt Chiaki hold onto him and moved his hands to where he was holding her by the arms.

When he broke away, his cheeks were already flushed bright red. "D-Does that answer your question?"

Chiaki looked at Hajime, awestruck from the kiss. She had never been kissed before so her mind was racing with thoughts. Her body felt all tingly.

"That felt like a scene in one of those dating sim games."

"Did I do it wrong?" Hajime asked, worried that he had ruined it.

"I don't know. That was my first…"

Hajime smiled genuinely at Chiaki. "Mine too…"

Chiaki smiled, warmly, at Hajime. The two entered into a warm embrace before walking together. They went back to their usual routine of playing games at the fountain, but also started to go on dates whenever they were free. Their bond grew stronger and they learned new things about each other. The future of their relationship was looking hopeful.