I'm back! I noticed this story didn't get much traction but that's okay, I enjoyed writing it so I wanted to continue anyway. I have so many running jokes and little things going on that I wanted to reveal more and more. I've written out so much about roommates and majors and stuff so I'm really excited to keep on.

Chapter 2: Gaming Buddies

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-

Chiaki Nanami reached out of her warm cocoon of blankets to shut off the alarm. Well, more accurately, to press the snooze button. In the second or two her arm was exposed, she felt goosebumps shoot up and down her skin.

"Mmmmf," Chiaki groaned, pulling her blankets over her head and retracting her now cold arm back into her burrow.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Hadn't she just turned that off? Chiaki rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock next to her bed. Slowly, the numbers came into view. 9:07 am. Approximately three hours before she felt fully awake. Her class wouldn't start until 11 am. Sure, she could sleep some more, but she had no idea where her class was located and, for once, she wanted breakfast.

She dragged herself out of bed, feeling like she weighed an extra hundred pounds. She was barely conscious as she used the bathroom, brushed her hair and teeth, and washed her face. Before walking downstairs, she grabbed a bagel from a bag next to her room and stuck it in her mouth. She hadn't even taken a full bite before she entered the elevator.

For a moment, she stopped and looked up. She had to look up because the guy on the elevator had to be over half a foot taller than her. He smiled jovially, fingers clasped on the handle of a steaming mug of coffee that he raised, almost like he was toasting her. But that wasn't the thing that concerned Chiaki, not really. She knew she that the floor above her was the boys' dorms. It was this guy in particular. Friendly though he may look, she had never met anyone her age with almost completely white hair before. Well, she supposed he was a bit older than her, but even so, he couldn't be older than 25.

"Hey," said the guy. His voice was higher than she expected. "Going for a look?" He nodded to the bagel protruding from her mouth.

Chiaki reached up and took the bagel from her mouth. There were teeth marks on its smooth surface in a perfect little circular shape, a product of the year and a half of braces she'd endured in high school.

"Hello," Chiaki said. She didn't feel like talking.

"I don't think we've met," the guy continued. "I'm Nagito Komaeda." He took a sip of coffee. The smell of it was beginning to give Chiaki a stomachache.

Not wanting to be rude, Chiaki gave him a small, fully false smile. "I'm Chiaki Nanami," she said without further comment.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Chiaki made a beeline to the kitchenette, where she immediately opened the cabinet, having placed a small stock of teabags there the day before, as a kind gesture. The box was unopened when she reached it and she pulled one out. She shut the cabinet door, turned around…

"So where are you off to?" Nagito asked casually, leaning against the wall right behind her.

Chiaki gasped in surprise, staring at this strange guy. Was he hitting on her? The unbroken eye contact was really disconcerting. Sure, guys had shown interest in her but they usually backed off when they actually got to know her…

"I… class." Chiaki filled the kettle with water, giving herself an excuse to turn away from Nagito. "Just class."

"You look tired," Nagito said. His tone was pleasant, which gave Chiaki little comfort.

"I'm not a morning person," Chiaki admitted, placing the kettle on the stove.

When she turned back around, Nagito still stood there, sipping his coffee. Did he know he was being weird? Did he care? The kitchen was pretty open, so it wasn't like Nagito could try anything creepy with dozens of witnesses, but this whole thing made Chiaki feel very uneasy. She wished she'd brought a book or her 3DS so she could zone out and ignore him.

"First day?" Nagito asked.

"Isn't it everyone's first day of classes?" Chiaki countered.

"I never go to class on Mondays."

"Why not?"

Nagito gave her a look that said plainly that he was sort of sizing her up before deciding whether or not to answer. He seemed to decide against it, smiling warmly instead and taking another sip of coffee. Chiaki felt a pang of unease as the kettle began to whistle.

"That's probably too hot to drink," Nagito said most unhelpfully as Chiaki removed the kettle from the stove and poured the hot water into a mug.

"I wasn't planning to drink it this hot." Chiaki said, more to her cup than to Nagito.

After pouring the hot water over her teabag, Chiaki went to the refrigerator to get a carton of milk.

"Why add stuff?"

"What?"

"To your tea." Nagito nodded to her steeping tea. "It's best fresh."

"You mean unflavored?"

"Milk and sugar, no one needs those." Nagito shook his head emphatically. "Nothing wakes you up more than fresh coffee or tea with no additives."

"Well to each their own, I guess." Chiaki added the milk to her tea, determined not to be dissuaded. "Besides, this should cool it down."

"At what cost, Chiaki? At what cost?" Nagito broke his eye contact with her at last in favor of closing his eyes dramatically.

"You seem really passionate about this." Chiaki grasped a canister of sugar and tipped a large quantity into her mug. "But it's my tea, not yours."

"Nagito, what are you doing?"

Someone else had spoken this time, thankfully breaking off the completely pointless conversation about hot drinks. Another guy, someone closer to Chiaki's own age, stood there with his arms crossed, staring at Nagito with an almost judgmental expression.

"I'm making conversation, Hajime." Nagito gestured to Chiaki. "What's wrong with that?"

"Is he following you?" The guy named Hajime aimed this question at Chiaki.

"Maybe a little," Chiaki said honestly.

"See?" Hajime sighed. "I told you you can't follow people around and interrogate them."

"I wasn't interrogating anyone." Nagito looked like a child in the midst of being admonished. Even his bottom lip began to stick out a bit. "I'm not allowed to make friends?"

The way Hajime was talking to Nagito, Chiaki was almost under the impression the two of them had known each other for a long time. It did give her some small comfort that she wasn't the only person Nagito had, evidently innocently, followed around.

"She looks tired, Nagito." Hajime tapped his foot in an impatient sort of way. "If you want to talk to her later, you can talk to her when she's more awake."

Nagito shrugged noncommittally and walked off. Chiaki turned to Hajime.

"Is this something he always does?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Hajime. "I met him two days ago."

"Then how could you tell he was following me?"

Hajime smiled. "Well, he spent the first two days following me, so..." He shrugged held out his hand. "Hajime Hinata. Listen, if Nagito gets weird again, just let me know. His roommate's a family friend."

Chiaki shook his hand, smiling warmly at him and telling him her name.

"Well I'll let you know, then," she said. "Thanks. Though he really wasn't too bad."

"Give him an inch, he'll take a whole mile." Hajime shook his head. "But I felt kinda bad for him too. Kaito, his roommate, says he doesn't really have any friends."

"Oh." Chiaki looked over and spotted Nagito talking to Ibuki. "Well don't be too hard on him then."

"I just want to make sure he makes friends, not creeps people out." Hajime smiled at her. "Anyway, let me know if he bugs anyone. Me or Kaito. Kaito's the guy with the purple hair."

"I thought that was Kokichi."

"Ah yeah." Hajime rolled his eyes. "Kaito's the sane guy with purple hair. Anyway, I guess I'll see you around, Chiaki."

"I guess you will," Chiaki said warmly as Hajime walked away.

She returned to her warm, sweet cup of tea, feeling much more awake. Nagito was definitely more effective than an alarm clock, that was for sure.

Hajime Hinata hadn't expected to spend his very first two days in college being followed around by what had to be the friendliest stalker ever. Nagito had peppered him with questions about his major (Law, at least that was Hajime's intended major), his family, his friends at home, his home, his pets, his love life (Hajime had declined to provide this information), his shoe size…

Maybe Nagito didn't have the faintest idea how he was coming across. That certainly seemed to be the case. He'd definitely given off a weird vibe, but not a creepy weird vibe. Just a very honest, insatiably curious weird vibe. Regardless, telling Nagito to talk to someone else had clearly backfired, if the uncomfortable expression on Chiaki's face had been any indication.

Hajme glanced over at Chiaki again, who smiled at him when their eyes met. She was pretty cute. If Nagito was hitting on her…

He looked at Nagito, now engaged in conversation with Ibuki. At least she was responding to him with enthusiasm. Crisis averted, right?

He hoped so.

His English 101 class would be meeting in two hours so he had some time to kill. Maybe he could call his mom? No, he'd only been gone for three days. That would come off as really childish. Besides, she had enough to do at work.

"Hey, are you 21?"

Hajime turned around to face Kokichi, looking hopeful. "No," he said. "And even if I were, I'm not buying you booze, that's illegal."

"It's only illegal," Kokichi put the word in air quotes, "if you get caught."

"I'm pretty sure it's illegal whether anyone catches you or not."

Kokichi glared at him. "Fine. But don't ask me for some when I get it."

"I really wasn't going to." Hajime walked in the opposite direction, very keen on escaping this conversation. "He's not 21 either," he said when he saw Kokichi approach Kaito out of the corner of his eye.

So this was college life. He'd seen the movies but he hadn't thought they would be realistic. No wild parties with drunk people dancing on tables (admittedly, that seemed to be more of a fraternity thing), just tired people goofing off in the common areas. He was expecting the emotional breakdowns once the workload got intense, but as it was the first day, few of his fellow students had even stepped into a classroom yet. He knew he would need to leave early to figure out how to get to his own first class, but not this early.

"You there!" Someone's loud voice pierced the low murmurs of voices in the common room.

Hajime turned around and spotted someone walking over to him, his form so erect that he looked like he was wearing some kind of brace, his thick eyebrows crossed low over his eyes. Hajime had never seen anyone like him before, and he was already feeling slightly intimidated when this strange person finally reached him.

"I'm sorry that I didn't introduce myself to you last night," the stranger extended his hand. Hajime took it and immediately had his hand thrust up and down in what had to be the firmest handshake he'd ever gotten. "My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but you may call me Taka. I'm one of your RAs. I must have missed you yesterday while I was helping everyone move in." Taka continued to shake his hand as he spoke, staring into Hajime's eyes unblinkingly.

"Uhh, hi," Hajime said in a tone he hoped wouldn't come across as timid or nervous. "I'm Hajime Hinata. I'm in room-"

"304B!" Taka finished his sentence, bellowing far louder than anyone else in the room. "I recognize your name. Did you move in all right? Do you still need help getting situated?"

"Uhh… no." Hajime was relieved when Taka finally let go of his hand. "I'm all situated, thanks."

Taka immediately thrust a pamphlet into Hajime's chest. "Be sure to read this thoroughly and follow everything, and we should all have a wonderful year!"

Hajime looked down at the pamphlet, which appeared to have the rules neatly typed onto it. "Are you… carrying these around?"

"Of course!" Taka pointed at him, his finger an inch from his nose. "We can't have a productive year if no one knows how to behave in the dorms and on campus! As RA, it is my duty to make sure everyone is aware of the expectations the faculty has imposed upon them!"

"Oh," Hajime scanned the list, which contained 48 items. "Right, yeah."

"If you have any questions about life at Hope's Peak University, how to find your classes, or any other concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!" Taka smiled widely. "I want to make sure that I am always approachable and always available to help you with anything you need, however we do have a second RA, Byakuya Togami. So if you can't locate me, look for him!"

"I met him, actually," Hajime said.

"Excellent! Well, if you will excuse me, I will seek out everyone to whom I haven't spoken. It was nice to meet you, Hajime!"

Hajime gave him a weak smile. As Taka walked past, he clapped Hajime on the back, causing him to stumble forward in surprise.

"You there!" Taka bellowed, his attention now on Nagito. "I don't believe we've met!"

Hajime decided not to hang around and watch Taka attempt to figure out Nagito's deal, so he decided to take a walk outside in the warm summer air. It wouldn't last very long, he was sure of that, so he wanted to soak in as much of the nice weather as possible.

He opened the door, took one step forward, and nearly bumped into a short blonde girl in pigtails. The girl huffed.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, pushing past him and entering the dorm.

"Uhh… sorry," Hajime called back, but the girl made no indication that she'd heard him.

Hajime had grown up in a small town, so going to a university of this size was already a difficult adjustment. He already knew he wouldn't be a partier; that just wasn't in his nature. But still… what sort of niche would he fit in?

"Hey hey," came a voice from behind him.

Hajime turned around to find Chiaki hurrying over with a thermos in one hand and a bagel in the other.

"Sorry, I just saw you walking out and I thought it would be harder to figure out where I am on campus without someone to walk with," Chiaki said, smiling warmly at him. "Unless you'd rather be alone."

"No, I don't mind," Hajime said quite truthfully. "It'd be nice to get lost with someone."

They walked in silence for a while, simply enjoying the companionship. It was a bit early for the courtyard to be filled with people, but they saw a few people tossing frisbees here and there. The large buildings, seemingly containing their classrooms, loomed overhead, but Hajime wasn't worried. He'd been an honor student in high school.

"So where are you from?" Chiaki asked after a few quiet moments.

"Near Denver," Hajime replied. "It was a long drive."

"I've never been that far out before," Chiaki said, taking a sip of tea out of her thermos. "What's it like?"

It felt nice to tell Chiaki about his hometown. Hajime felt at ease talking to her. He told her about his mother, his old school, his favorite hangouts. It was enough to make him miss it a bit. Not too much, but a little bit. Then again, it was his decision to move east for college.

"What about you?" Hajime said finally as they were walking into the main campus area. "Where are you from?"

"Virginia," Chiaki said simply. "Not too far south. But it still took Chihiro and me an hour to get here."

"Chihiro?"

"My little brother." Chiaki smiled fondly. "He's three years younger but we've been in the same grade since middle school."

"Sounds rough," Hajime said.

Chiaki thought about this for a second. "Maybe a little. Yes, I guess it's not always fun to have to share my accomplishments, but I figure it's similar to having a twin. Besides, he and I are really close."

They stopped talking for a moment to look around at their surroundings. Now, the campus was starting to get crowded. Students walked to and fro, trying not to bump into each other. The freshmen looked incredibly confused, and older students weren't too accommodating. Chiaki and Hajime peered around at the buildings. There was one for PE right next to them, and a large building that seemed to be labeled as some sort of science center. They wished they'd paid better attention to the layout.

"Well," Chiaki said, sounding a bit timid, "I think I'm a little early. But there's some outdoor seating and I have my laptop with me. When is your class?"

"Eleven," Hajime replied.

"Oh, then…" Chiaki gestured to an empty table across the street, "do you want to play Overwatch?"

Hajime looked at the table. It was definitely tempting.

"Uhh," he shrugged. "Okay. How do you play?"

Chiaki's eyes seemed to light up. "Oh, I can show you!" She just about hopped across the street in her excitement, reaching the table well before Hajime caught up and yanked her laptop out of her bag.

Hajime put his things down next to him on the bench and watched as Chiaki opened her laptop, turned it on, and extricated a controller from her bag. Then, as she was entering her password, her face fell slightly.

"Actually," she said slowly, "I don't want to make you do anything. So you don't have to play. If you'd rather just get to your class. It's okay."

It took a moment for Hajime to realize why Chiaki's demeanor had changed, and his heart sank. Games were clearly a major interest for her, and it seemed she'd had to deal with people who were less than enthusiastic. Had they complained to her?

"I definitely want to play," he said firmly. "It sounds awesome. Besides, we're in the same dorm, right? I might as well get to know as many people as I can." He sat down on the bench. "So give me the rundown. What's Overwatch about?"

Chiaki's face lit up again and she began to excitedly explain the mechanics, story, and characters. Hajime wasn't much of a gamer, though he did have a few games he liked at home, but Chiaki's excitement for them made him think that, perhaps, he hadn't given them a fair shot.

Or maybe it was simply Chiaki's pretty smile that drew him in. Regardless, he had never found games more interesting.

So I actually sent a way later chapter of this fic to be reviewed by my creative writing class, a fic involving Hajime, Chiaki, and Nagito sometime during the winter. They loved it! So I'm definitely going to be adding it to this as it goes on.

I also just changed the category because I realized that the Danganronpa fics were mostly concentrated to this particular category. So I hope more people will find it!

Don't forget to leave a review!

~Katie