Here's your promised chapter, I'mma head to bed directly after this…

I realized that it's been 3 chapters since Hajime actually got to use the talent I gave him, y'know… the main point of this fic? Not one bartending scene... yeah I gotta fix that. I also ret-conned an error in the last chapter where I stated that they only had one period in the afternoon for Talents. You'll see why.

[-x-]

A few days have passed since the pretty mild first day( for his class' standard). Apart from Komaeda's early class wreckage, nothing significantly damaging has happened lately. Under the supervision of Yukizome, they've been quite behaved.

Well, at least outside of classes. The gymnasium and pool periods were another story.

Now though, Hajime was enjoying the peace and calm of the cafeteria kitchen. The smell of fresh ingredients permeated the vicinity, as well as a mouth-watering cooking of another Ultimate.

"Hinata-kun, could you be a dear and pass up some fresh tomatoes from the refrigerator?" Teruteru Hanamura requested from his spot across the kitchen.

"Would you stop calling me dear?!" he yelled back, slamming his hands on his counter, "I swear to god I'll hurt you one day!"

"Oh you don't have to hold back against me~." the cook swooned, "I know you like it~."

"No I don't, you unbearable prick," he stomped towards the fridge, "I've said the same thing for the past three days!"

The bartender forced the fridge open, luckily not a single item spilled on top of him. He pulled the crisper drawer and picked up some glossy red tomatoes by the vine. Closing the appliance, the boy then trod to his classmate.

"Here's your damn tomatoes…" he handed over the requested fruit.

"Aw~ how sweet of you. C'mere, I'll give you a hug as a reward." the plump boy sprung to pounce on Hinata.

But a quick chop on the head halted the action, "Do you want me to throw you out again?" the bartender threatened indifferently. This wasn't his first rodeo against touchy customers.

Usually, he'd have his much stronger Boss handle them; but in a few close calls that she wasn't there for, he had to scramble around trying to find something to defend himself with. His two co-workers decided to just laugh at his misfortune like the pricks they are.

So, he decided to sink some time learning some basic martial arts from Dana. It was definitely worth it, especially right now. Though, the way she taught them was a bit unconventional. She made him stay still while he tried his best to defend himself against a fucking professional wrestler.

It took him awhile but he eventually got the hang of it. She said that she made him train his reflexes first before any proper techniques, justifying herself by saying that fights mostly consisted of on-the-spot thinking. She wasn't wrong, but what was he supposed to defend himself with without moves?

He decided not to question her too much, he wasn't the expert after all.

But why was he placed in these positions? Man… was working with creeps a permanent curse cast upon him?

The chef, the title Hanamura prefered to be called as, rubbed his injured cranium. His hand reached out to his pockets and pulled out his signature white comb that he brought everywhere. Then straightening the ruffled part.

"You didn't have to hit me you know?" Hanamura huffed, "But if you like to take it that way, I don't mind~."

"That's it!" he lifted the chef by his double-breasted jacket but immediately dropped him. "Damn, I already did this yesterday. Whoo, maybe I'm just tired…"

"Oooh, where are you taking me Hinata-kun?" The chef got up and latched onto the bartender's right leg, "Your dorm room perha-" another chop aimed at the neck did the trick to get some peace of mind.

Hanamura collapsed onto the floor, his beady eyes, marginally different.

"This school can never give me a five minute break." he sighed and dragged the other boy to the kitchen exit. Then, raising Hanamura and placing him in one of the many cafeteria tables.

'He should be awake by the next period starts, I hope… I don't wanna drag this bastard upstairs."

Well, he still had a couple minutes left of practice before… lunch started…

Hajime turned his head back to the unconscious boy in front of him and uttered his regret.

"Fuck."

In a totally non-panicked way, he began shaking the chef violently in hopes of regaining consciousness, "Wake up! Wake up!" but to no avail. He ran back into the kitchen to check the food currently cooking.

Since him and his classmate started honing their talents in the school cafeteria, they had been tasked to make the meals and drinks for certain days of the week for the entire school. It just so happened to be Thursday, one of the days included.

He noticed some diced onions and garlic by the counter that was supposed to be added to the boiling pot sitting on top of the oven. His hand reached for the knob and turned the fire off.

The teen needed to think of a solution and fast.

He couldn't cancel today's lunch, that would be an absolute disaster, especially to those who relied on the school to supply them sustenance.

He had to try or else he'd have to deal with a horde of screaming, hungry and most-likely rabid high-schoolers who relied on the cafeteria for their lunch. That included one of his frightening classmates, Akane Owari.

Making his own lunch was out of the picture. He doesn't have enough time or the skill to prepare lunch to a population of more than fifty. Not adding the fact that he could barely make himself his own lunch!

His face lit up immediately. He knew one way to do it instantaneously, but it would involve a specific ingredient that he wasn't sure the school even had.

He got going, booting up his map and scrolling through the entire area.

[-x-]

Hajime knocked on the doors of one of the Research Labs. A nameplate was attached to the door revealing the owner: Seiko Kimura, Ultimate Pharmacist. If he was to find this component, this was his best bet. Fifteen minutes remaining on the clock.

The brown-haired boy stood still waiting for an answer but none came his way. Naturally, because of his rush, he pulled open the door himself.

"DON'T DISTURB ME!" a shriek, clearly from a girl, was the response he got.

He promptly shut the door close as he rested his back on the door in order to calm his nerves. Two minutes passed according to his E-Handbook and the wooden frame started to budge.

The bartender moved out of the way, revealing a mess of gray hair from the small gap of the entrance until it fully displayed the entire person.

From what he assumed, this was Seiko Kimura. She sported the Hope's Peak Academy uniform and had a respiratory face mask covering her face. Her complexion seemed far paler compared to the ordinary person, he speculated she was sickly.

Her hairstyle somewhat reminded him of Nanami's and from the girl's exposed features, no not that, she looked to be a senior of his.

"What were you interrupting me for?! I would've been seriously hurt if I messed up the amount I put in that test tube!" she berated him for his actions, clearly irate.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he held up his hands in surrender, "I promised I didn't mean to! I was just in a rush!"

"Didn't anyone tell you not to burst in people's places?!" she continued her chastising.

"Yeah, I get it! I learned my lesson." The boy slumped his shoulders, scared shitless of what the girl would do.

"Oh.. good good." completely calming down in that instance, she seemed to regret her outburst, "I apologize for shouting at you." bowing as a gesture.

'Such a 180. She's a reserved person for sure.'

"It's fine, don't worry too much about it. I deserved it anyways, I was in the wrong." he admitted, trying to appease her as much as he could.

"O-Oh… no one's done that to me before," surprised that he even acknowledged his mistake, "M-Moving on… what were you here for?"

"Umm, I was going to ask you if you had any compressed/caffeinated Adelhyde in your Research Lab." he crossed his fingers behind his back.

"I do..." Hinata nearly jumped in joy, "but… what do you need 'Hyper Sugar' for?" calling it by the common name.

"Sweet, no pun intended. Uh, I was gonna take a few grams of it to wake someone up." 'That I knocked out…' he left that unsaid.

"Sounds awfully suspicious." she narrowed her eyes and slightly closed the door.

"Yeah, and I just realized that." scratching his head. "I can't really do anything about your distrust right now. So lemme introduce myself to you, my name is Hajime Hinata and I'm the Ultimate Bartender of Class 77-B.'' holding out a hand.

"Seiko Kimura, Class 76th's Ultimate Pharmacist." her shaking felt weak, confirming his theory.

"Kimura-senpai, I know you don't trust me right now but that Adelhyde badly." still trying to cover up his embarrassment.

His senior looked on the fence. Did he honestly look like the person to abuse drugs? Well... to be fair, he's looked like a zombie since Monday.

"Can I atleast get an idea of why you want something that can make someone run five kilometers at top speed?" she insisted.

"Alright, I'll tell ya what happened…" he recounted his stupidity to a total stranger. Her reaction somewhat surprised him, she was pretty accepting of his actions, even managing to sneak in a giggle when he told her about his regret.

"Fine, I believe you. It's at the top shelf in the third cabinet at the right side. The container has a red and brown striped label with the sticker of its name. You can't miss it." pointing towards the direction of the cabinet.

"Thanks alot."

He finally entered her Research Lab.

An abundance of chemistry equipment was lined up neatly on top of a long counter in the back end of the room. His eyes went into the middle of the room where a large serpentine table was. It had slightly messy cups of what he thought to be drugs were right next to a stand with a tube placed in and a bolted chair, placed directly in front of it.

He turned his head towards his right side of the room. He noticed several cabinets were paralleled to the left side cabinets. Four cabinets per side and placed right next to each other.

Pacing towards his objective, he looked downwards to the tiled floor. It was so shiny and clean that his shoes alone made marks on it. Though, his face turned sullen to see that her floor was more reflective than his mirror at home.

Reaching up and pulling the door open, he looked up to notice a bunch of other energizing drugs were all labeled and lined up depending on their sizes. He identified a red and brown-striped hiding behind the left hand side.

Grabbing it and taking it out to confirm that it was the correct bottle. Once he read the label, he walked towards his senpai to show her.

"Is this the right one?" Hinata asked.

"Lemme see." she swiped it away from his hands and inspected it. "Yeah, seems like the right one."

He tried getting it back from her but she hid the drugs behind her back. "First things first, do not drop it, even a quick sniff of this drug can get someone drowsy awake in seconds. Dropping it and letting the powder circulate in the air is potentially disastrous, even outdoors."

"After the dosage you require is taken out. Seal it back up properly." she finally handed him the container now inside a metallic case.

"Also, sign this paper. It ensures that the people that request or take some of my personal inventory don't go unnoticed." she extended her hand that had a pen.

"Alright." he took it and signed the paper with his name, homeroom and title. "Here."

"All done. Remember to give it back by the end of today, I don't like being disorganized and losing fatal substances from my sight. I'll be sure to notify you by private messaging in the HPA chats."

"Thanks alot!" opening the door and waving goodbye at the pharmacist.

That was a good five minutes time down the drain. He had to hurry back down but decided against it. Kimura-senpai trusted him enough to grant access to a precarious drug, so he wouldn't do anything to break that.

She mentioned something about private messaging. So he fired up his E-Handbook and checked his icons. Lo and behold, a private app that had Hope's Peak logo slapped on top of it. He tapped his finger and opened the program.

His eyes laid on the multiple selection screens. One was a Student section, another was a Staff section, the third was a Groups section and the final was a search bar.

'No messages. Figures.'

No one has messaged him yet since he was still new and who would even do that? Well, some of his classmates would but that was besides the point. He typed in Seiko Kimura on the search engine. A few seconds of loading time later, her face popped up with her general info that Hope's Peak took.

'Likes: Mixing medicine; Dislikes: Loud noises… yikes, no wonder she got on my case." he grimaced.

He clicked on the mail button and a conversation tab opened on the Student's section. Tapping on it, he made a quick greeting and promised to return it back.

She sent a bunch of kaomojis and a thumbs up as a response. That took him by surprise that he only managed to send a smile back.

"Huh, I guess she's a lot more expressive in text." he shrugged off telling himself that he's seen far odder behavior from other people.

[-x-]

Getting back in the kitchen, he got down to business. Emptying his sole shaker and washing it off with the tap, he readied the other ingredients needed to make a souped up cocktail.

'A Sparkle Star for our chef… starting with the aged Powdered Delta, two grams of that...Then, a full ounce of aged Adelhyde. Finally, adding one scoop of amplified Adelhyde to the mix. Don't forget to close it.'

He shook it as efficiently as he could until he felt like the drink was ready. Slapping the cap open with a satisfying pop when new air rushed in the container, he open-poured it into a poco grande glass. A red-orange liquid flowed and crashed down.

With five minutes left, he reignited the stove and headed outside to his classmate.

Hanamura was currently drooling and dreaming certainly about something sexual. From his past confrontations with him, every single one managed to be ended with a sexual innuendo. That was a hard and impressive record to beat, be it a bit crude.

He could only hope no one surpasses the chef in terms of sexual insinuations, it was already painful enough as is to be a bartender at a semi-popular bar filled with weirdos.

Hinata raised his chin up and poured the drink inside Hanamura's mouth. Slowly but surely emptying the glass, the plump boy started to agitate til the drink was over.

"Ahhh~, that was a delicious dream… huh?" he noticed his surroundings, "Why are we in the seating area, Hinata-kun? Did something happen? I have so much stamina right now. Why do I feel like I can last forever in be-"

"Before you finish that last sentence up, lemme explain. I knocked you out because you wouldn't stop making sex jokes and it got on my nerves. Then, I realized we both had to make lunch today so I rushed upstairs to find something that'll wake you up."

"Someone upstairs lent me some of their produced drugs, safe to consume of course-"

"Hold on, hold on." the other boy interrupted him now, "Are you saying that you drugged me?"

"...Yes but for a good reason."

"Oh what a bad boy you are, Hinata-kun~. Next time you might even roofie my drink~."

"Dude no! Stop! Don't give me another reason to knock you out cold again. Plus we have a job to finish and we only have a little less than five minutes left."

"Right! Let's get back to work. We can make this happen!" the shorter of the two threw his right fist into the air.

'Second surprise of the day, Hanamura being serious. Then again, his enthusiasm for food is genuine.'

"Yes we can." he happily cheered back.

They barely managed to finish their tasks in time. Gruelling, but they were both up to the challenge.

[-x-]

Hajime was drinking his orange juice when the cafeteria request bell rang. They already served most of their servings to the students so this one might've been caught up in something. Hanamura took his break so he would be the only one to respond.

He got off his chair and walked out.

"Oh, Hinata it's you." a voice he recognized called out.

"Koizumi. What brings you here? Don't you usually make your own lunches?" he brushed his hands on his worn apron.

"I do but my friend forgot to pack hers and the food already ran out in their sector." she put her hands on her hips.

'Their sector…? Ah…" he picked up on the wording.

"You mean it's your friend from the Reserve Course?"

"Yeah, she said it's fine if she didn't eat today but I insisted." her face scrunched a teeny bit. "And the lunches of Main Course students are free. So it's not costing me anything."

"Damn, didn't realize you were that close to her." he genuinely stated.

"Been this close since Middle School. The only way you can separate us is by force." she smiled gleefully.

'Big backstory they have going here.'

"Which meal would you wanna give to her? We have soup, pizza, spring rolls and sushi today. Don't worry about the quality since Hanamura made it with 'love'... supposedly."

"Do you have Harumakis? She likes that the best." tapping on her chin.

"We only have three pieces left, would that be enough?" grabbing the serving tongs and handing it out in a brown paper bag.

"Yeah, she doesn't eat a whole lot which reflects on her health a little bit."

"Maybe I can make her a drink that'll have extra nutrients that she needs?" he jerked his thumb towards the kitchen door.

"You can do that?" she looked content to see someone offer her friend some help. But then raised an eyebrow. "Wait, but aren't you a bartender? Don't you only serve mixed alcohol?"

"Well, most of the drinks I serve have alcohol but I have non-alcoholic beverages in my catalogue. If I don't, what kind of lousy bartender would I be?" he squinted.

"Woah, didn't mean to offend ya. I was just wondering." she pulled up her hands.

"Nah, it's all good," he grinned, "I gotta defend my pride and passion a little bit. Don't wanna look like some pushover in front of my clients."

"Got it. I think everyone Ultimate here has some form of pride about their talent…" but then remembered a certain trainwreck of a human. "...with a few exceptions."

"Yeah… I'll mix up the drink in the back," turning around, "you can come watch if you want. I'm not gonna put anything weird in it, I promise."

"I kinda wanna see you in action so I'll come." walking into the kitchen with him.

They went to Hajime's station in the room. "You can wait there, I'm just gonna get a few more ingredients." He opened some cabinets to find the elements he wanted to add in.

A few more seconds of scrambling around, he looked back to see Koizumi messing around with the camera she brought everywhere and anywhere. Seriously, he never saw her without that thing, even in gym class.

"Okay, I found what I need. So I'm gonna start the mixing process now."

'A Fluffy Dream with some vitamins extracted from the vegetables.'

He grabbed a bottle of aged Adelhyde and poured one and a half ounces in his jigger, flicking his index smoothly to transition the liquid into the shaker. Three teaspoons of aged Powdered Delta to balance out the immense sweetness of the Adelhyde. He closed off his boston shaker by pouring the liquid on the bigger cup and locking the two cups together.

Shaking it up in a tempo that the drink necessitated, he started slow and gradually went faster and faster till his hands were a mere blur to the naked eye. After a few moments, his shaking stopped in an instant and he smacked the shaker to release the pressure built up inside.

A cold hiss resonated and a light green liquid was gently filtered into a funnel connected to a metallic bottle. He sprinkled the crushed vitamins inside the funnel to ensure that he didn't waste any and continued pouring.

"Wow." the sound of a whistle came to his right where the photographer was positioned. He noticed that she had her camera out aimed at his direction. "If this place didn't have such poor lighting, that could've been one of my best pieces to date."

"Here," handing out the container, "You can give it back anytime you want, preferably today though, I only have a limited amount of bottles."

"Thanks." Placing the drink inside her lunch bag. "I'll give it to you after lunch."

"Gotcha. Tell her not to drink too much at one time." he warned. "I don't want her to choke, I've already seen a fair amount of those. All of them come from my dad."

He looked back at the many times his old man tried downing a whole drink with added supplements and almost being sent to the hospital once again for his carelessness. Hinata really only wanted to add some nutrients to his parent's otherwise unhealthy diet.

"That stuff can hook someone after only one serving-" shoving one of his hands into his apron pocket before being interrupted.

"Then why didn't you tell me so!" she chided. "I don't want my friend addicted to this!"

"Hey, hey. I don't serve to get people obsessed with my drinks!" he started backing up as soon as she leaned in.

"Then what makes you think I'll give this to her now?" pointing her finger at his face.

"I was about to say that the sensation won't last longer than the given time to drink the whole thing." he gently explained to the irate redhead.

She backed up right away and coughed. "Heh… sorry about that."

"No worries, I'm used to customer complaints." he shrugged. "Helps me grow y'know?"

"No, no. I'm clearly in the wrong here. I apologize for screaming at you like that. It's just that... the mention of addiction kinda hits home." guiltily looking down on the floor, "literally."

"Don't get yourself in a twist. I didn't think much about it." Patting the photographer on her shoulder. "But hey, shouldn't you leave now? There's only 45 minutes left till lunch is over."

"I should. But I still feel bad for doing that," then her face brightened up when an idea formed in her head. "Tell you what, why don't I invite you to meet her? It should be enough time for me to formally apologize."

"It's fine reall-"

"It wasn't an offer, Hinata." she smiled with a hint of jest. "You're coming with me or I'm dragging you there to meet my best friend."

"Is it really the best idea to make up by inviting me there?"

"No, but it's the quickest one I can think of right now. Hurry up or we won't have enough time."

She walked out of the kitchen, fully expecting him to follow suit. Well it wasn't like he had any more business there anyways… aside from operating it and handing out lunches. Eh, Hanamura'll come back eventually.

'Plus, do I really have a choice in this at all?'

The answer was a no. When the hell was it ever a yes?

[-x-]

"Man, why does this place look so drab…?" he asked out of curiosity and distaste.

"Yeah… even I can't say anything notable about this place. It's basically impossible to compliment." she voiced out. "Her homeroom's on the sixth floor, so that's where we're going."

They both stared down the monotonous face of the building they were facing. Not having anything else to do, they walked in.

The immediate stares came rushing in as they set foot inside the hallways. Reserve Course students whispering to each other about their unwelcome presence. At least that was what he got from those offended or intimidated facial reactions.

The two of them unconsciously inched closer to each other.

His mind went back to the article he read a few days ago. These paying students are essentially judging him for barging in their territory. He didn't think the jealousy towards the Main Course was this bad. Well, he hasn't really seen this side of the Academy yet so this was a surprise.

More judgemental stares continue to engulf their visions. He had to break the silence.

"So… you have to deal with this every time you wanna eat with your friend?" he questioned her, confused as to why she wouldn't simply invite her friend outside in the humongous park between the two academic buildings. There were even benches near that fountain.

"Yeah, at this point, this doesn't really bother me." she shrugged.

'How?! You have nerves of steel, woman!' Hinata's jaw was barely hanging in there, imitating his pink-haired classmate's face.

"Your face is screaming 'How?' so I'll answer. I've experienced and seen this staring schtick since Middle School. This is just an amplified version of that." the redhead looked into the distance.

"What were they staring at you for?" curiously raising an eyebrow.

"I was outed as the weirdo who carried a camera everywhere." responding as curt and ambiguous as she could.

"Huh. Guess we have more in common." an honest look developed on the bartender's face.

"You were too?"

"Like I told you at Orientation, most Ultimates have their fair share of hardships. Some more extreme than others but that's besides the point. People back in my old highschool generally didn't like hanging out with me cuz of my usual drowsy slash dead appearance, calling me names and shit when they felt like it." he confided, chuckling at his past.

"...Glad to know I'm not alone." her smile was enough to give him the message.

They stepped out of the long flight of stairs and entered another hallway of critical eyes. Every time he glanced at one of the Reserve Course students, they either looked away to pretend being busy or expressed even more caution.

There wasn't any point in continuing this silent feud with these people so he decided to simply appreciate the wooden carving of the floors until they reached their destination.

Koizumi went forward to one of the doors and slid it open. Her demeanor lightened when she identified a clutter of distinct dark-green hair. The other girl did the same until her irises landed on him. She scrutinized the bartender like a dog would to a stranger in their property. Luckily, no one was in the class to witness his unease.

"Don't worry, he's harmless." the photographer announced.

'The hell? Harmless...? Since when was I a threat?' Hajime thanked his self-control for not saying that out loud. The two Ultimates arrived in front of her desk and the girl stood up, silently analyzing the boy.

"Hinata, this is Sato Amami, my best friend. Sato-chan, this is Hajime Hinata, a classmate of mine." they silently shook hands, as stiff as it was. Both looked wary of each other, not breaking their eye contact.

"You better not mess with her, alright? Or else you'll have to deal with me…" she loomed over him like a predator.

"Hehehe, n-no worries, I won't." This woman matched a livid Dana in terms of intimidation.

A streak of sweat slid down his back when a smack came and knocked him out of his thoughts. He looked to his right and spotted a chuckling Koizumi. Another bout of laughter came from the other girl.

"Mahiru, you never told me he was a scaredy-cat." Amami snorted, holding on to her abdomen.

"We got you good, Hinata, didn't we?" The redhead grinned like a menace, the greenette jumped on the bandwagon.

"Wait, what's going on?" he said, confused, afraid even.

"Oh, it's just tradition for us to mess with new people we both meet." the grin still plastered on her damn face.

"It's fun to see people's reaction." the Reserve Course student rested a fist on her hip. "Everyone says that I can look pretty menacing, especially near Mahiru-chan around other strangers. So we decided that we could mess with people and get them spooked."

"She can be overprotective at times so we used that to our advantage," smiling at the bartender, "Alright! If we don't start eating now, we're never gonna finish it."

"You're legit not gonna wait for a response about the shit that you guys pulled?"

"Nope." Koizumi said.

"Alright then" his shoulders slumped, "I already ate lunch though." he pointed out.

"Doesn't matter, I can share some of my bento." she dismissed him.

The photographer rotated the desk ahead of the normal student and connected it together while the bartender dragged the chair and placed it in between.

"Sato-chan, here's your lunch I got from the cafeteria." she placed the lunchbox in the middle. "Hinata here actually made you a drink, it's inside the bottle."

"Oooh, Harumaki, finally something other than sandwiches." her eyes glowed in delight. She took the first bite and her visage turned dreamy. "Oh god, this is so good!"

"Our classmate Hanamura made that. Despite his… attitude around everyone, he's a pretty competent cook." Koizumi complimented.

"Chef. He prefers being called 'chef.'" he pointed out.

"Why does it matter?" the green-haired girl asked.

"I've been working with him in the kitchen for the past week and he kept bugging me about it. It just became a habit now."

"Couldn't imagine working with someone that unbearable." the photographer expressed.

"He isn't that bad once you've been exposed to some of his antics for more than a day." 'Very hypocritical coming from a guy who knocked him out for the same antic.' he bit his tongue from saying that.

"Let's just see where he'll be after a month. If he doesn't change, we'll make him." Koizumi casually threatened, biting into an octopus hot dog.

"That'd be fun to see. Keep me updated on it." the other girl requested while finishing up her first spring roll.

"Don't worry, it's not easy to forget about the guy." Crossing his legs. "Even if everyone in our class stands out, he's one of the more sneaky ones which ironically... makes him stick out more."

"I heard from her," pointing at her friend, "that you guys almost destroyed the gym yesterday."

"Yeah… you can blame Saionji for riling up the two brawniest people in the class. In a volleyball game yesterday, she basically told Nidai and Owari that they aren't trying hard enough and that they sucked at the game, even though her team was losing by a huge margin." he narrated.

"After that, those two just went ham," the photographer continued, "Those two double-teamed the opposing group, destroyed the other team and cracked parts of the floors. The losing side didn't even try, they just let the ball hit the ground."

"How bad were the damages?" she said after swallowing the second Harumaki.

"Mild compared to some. But an average person would never get to witness a one-sided match between insane Ultimates and the floorboards." the bartender replied.

"I'd pay to see that. It'd make for a great TV show."

"I can almost see it," he moved his hands in an arcing motion, "Class 77-B, Insanity Above Comprehension."

"And I can't believe both of you are still sane." her eyes shifted to him then her best friend. "Those classmates of yours sound like they should be locked up in a mental asylum away civilization that they can damage."

"That's not the worst part, I think this is just the start of the descent." he scratched his cheeks. "It'll get progressively more deranged as time goes on."

"Then why not get someone who can spearhead you guys into some form of structure." she suggested.

"If we're talking about that, then Yukizome-sensei can help out." her friend placed her chopsticks on top of her container. "But only if it fits her agenda. Most of the time, she just ignores the wreckage."

"Have you guys nominated a Class Representative yet?" the Reserve Course student asked.

"No, not yet." Koizumi responded.

"And I don't think we'll have one in the near future. None of us so far are viable candidates." he added. "I'm too tired to handle that damn class, so leave me out of it."

"I can do it… but I'm hesitant. I'm not very charismatic nor do I hold back on my scoldings. I can't really remain impartial, especially towards boys." the photographer stated.

"You do give us a lot flak fo- ow!" someone stepped on his foot, his head turned towards the greenette.

"Well, I think you'll do well once you get the hang of it." putting her hand on top of the redhead's and ignoring Hinata.

"That's not unbiased at all… Ow!" he got stepped on again for that remark.

"Still, I don't think I have the patience to manage that 'rat's nest' of a class." even she expressed her dislike for the anarchy.

"That's the real problem here. Having enough willingness to endure." he affirmed. "How 'bout we deal with that obstacle once we get there, I don't wanna think too hard on this right now."

"Yeah, you're right," she pushed her bento box towards him and Amami, "Here, you guys can have the rest, I'm full."

"I don't think I can finish that. I still have to drink the juice this guy made." she pointed towards him.

"I have a name y'know?" he quipped.

"Hinata, do you want the rest?" she offered.

"Eh fine since no one'll eat it," he dragged it towards him, "Did you bring another pair of chopsticks?"

"No, I forgot to get another one in the cafeteria earlier."

"Uhhh, isn't this… hehe… a bit weird then?" chuckling nervously.

"What is?" apparently oblivious to the fact until... "Oh."

The girl's face turned as red as her hair as she immediately dragged backed her bento and shoved it in her bag. She looked bashful and avoided looking in his general direction. He was just questioning how she never realized it.

"So… Amami, wanna try the drink I whipped out for you?" he started to spark up another subject.

"Y-Yeah, you should try it. I took some pictures of this guy while he made it, one of the few times Hinata didn't look dead or half-asleep, hehe..."

'Wow, thanks for the compliment…'

"Okay...? I'll try it now then I guess," she brought out the canister and twisted the cap open, "Here goes."

He could pinpoint the exact moment the liquid hit her tongue, it was when she went wide-eyed. Surprise and delight came attacking her taste buds, bombarding them with the perfect blend of sweet and tart.

She only reverted to reality once she swallowed the final driblet.

"Damn, that was it?" shaking and wobbling the bottle to verify, she then turned to him with pleading puppy eyes, "Hinata, can you make me some more of this stuff? This is the best drink I've ever tasted in my life!"

"Heh, it's nothing much," playing with his cowlick, "I can, but on one condition."

"Shoot." she confidently urged him.

"You can only receive this drink once a week, maximum." he announced.

"Only one?" looking slightly deranged and offended, "Can you maybe bump it up to four…?"

"Nope," he shook his head, "I'm not trying to get you dependent on this."

She shot up and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up slightly from the ground.

"Sato-chan! What are you doing?!" the redhead got up and tried prying off her currently delirious friend.

"Make it four or I'll use anything other than-" a strong flick between her eyes got the bartender free from her grasp.

"Ow!" she caressed the afflicted spot, her eyes reverting back to their neutral state. "Hinata! What was that for? Wait, what happened?"

"You don't remember?" her worried friend asked, "You tried to attack him to get some more juice. Speaking of that… Hinata!" she turned to him, "You told me that the effect only lasts a few seconds! That was almost a full minute!"

'Hm, she's a lot more susceptible to the drink which means that she has a very low grade of tolerance against a dopamine attack, especially from my drinks.' he rubbed his chin.

"Oi! Answer me now, Hinata!" Koizumi demanded.

"Oh, uh, I think the effect lasted longer cuz she never really felt that much dopamine from a drink before and a spike of it didn't help her logical thinking. Tell me, Amami, have you ever felt a rush that high before?"

"This isn't time to treat my friend like a lab experiment y'know!" the photographer voiced out but the Reserve Course student responded anyways.

"No, I don't think I have."

"That explains it," he nodded, "I usually only mix these for my old man and I know damn well that his tolerance is insanely high. I should've realized that so, I'm sorry for making you crazy for a bit there."

"Nah, it's fine really. I didn't mind it aside from the being insane part." she brushed it off so casually. "This isn't the worst thing that happened to me, I don't think you can ever beat my brother on that."

"If you want, I can make you a less druggy version of this, like, a way lesser version." he emphasized.

"Eh sure. What's the worst that could happen?" she grinned and left her hand up for a high five.

"I dunno, this again?" he chuckled and clapped her hand.

"Are you guys done ignoring me?" a tired voice asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, we didn't forget about the only other person inside this classroom." Amami jested and patted the head of Koizumi.

"Hey!" she swatted it off while the other two laughed. Seemed like he gained another friend and a partner in crime at the same time.

'Not a bad impression for once… aside from drugging someone and making them batshit part. I still gotta test this out and ask the people to rename this drink, Fluffy Dream, my ass.'

They all sat back down and chatted/teased the photographer until the two Ultimates had to leave.

"Alright, nice meeting you, Hinata." she conveyed her contentment with a smirk."Sadly, you guys have to go back now."

"Such tragedy being separated from your best friend huh?" he grinned.

"Nah, I see this flat chest everyday so not really." teasing the redhead and pointing at her bust.

"Would you guys stop?" she deadpanned while the two retained their devious expression. "This is harassment y'know?"

"Oh we do." the girl continued. "But really though, if you guys don't leave now, you'll be late. Not that there's really any repercussions for that."

"There is. Yukizome-sensei's foreboding acts of violence that she calls lessons." he dragged the chair back while Koizumi rearranged the tables. Koizumi gave her a goodbye hug. "See ya another time!" he waved as his classmate followed him out.

"Bye!" she waved back just as he slid the door closed.

[-x-]

"Well, that was something…" he remarked.

"Yeah, I didn't think she could get that friendly to someone that quickly," sounding relieved that the lunch went well as it did, "Not gonna lie, you do have a certain charm on you that I can't put my finger on."

"Are you saying that you're starting to fall for me?" he said out of reflex but also as a test.

"What?!" caught off guard by the question, "O-Of course not! Why would I be? We just met!"

'Yep, that's a tsundere reaction if I've ever seen one.'

"Calm down there bud, it was a joke." holding his hands up in surrender.

"O-Oh," realizing her outburst, "Yeah, sorry about that." she was trying to cover up her tomato tinted face, then her attention got caught by someone in the distance. "Huh? I-Is that Nanami-chan?" she most likely said as a diversion.

He spotted the mentioned student sitting at the same bench he first saw her at. As usual, she had her GameGirl in hand, too fixated on her screen to see anyone in her peripheral vision, perhaps even recognize the short amount of time before they come in late.

The two walked closer and closer until they were touching distance. The girl noticed shadows hovering her portable console and paused her game to see what was up.

"Hey hey," she nonchalantly greeted them, "What are you guys doing out here?"

"We were walking back from the Reserve Course after lunch with a friend of mine." the redhead explained.

"Huh? Why was Hinata there then? Did you invite him to do his route?" she asked, making the bartender blush and the photographer confused.

"What do you mean by his rou-"

"No no, she wasn't, Nanami." He cut her off before she can make her face turn into her hair color again. "I just completed a quest she requested."

"Ahh, okay. That makes more sense now." she nodded, it seemed that the analogy worked, "What did you do for her then?"

"Make her friend a drink and deliver it there." he said, hiding the fact that Koizumi invited him there in the first place.

"That's great then, I hope you got a lot of exp." She ended the conversation by going back into her game, not noticing that she ended it preemptively and left the other two hanging.

"Care to explain what you guys talked about?" She did her signature move and laid her hand on her hip.

"Just explained what we did in the Reserve Course building in gamer language." he was silently thanking that she hasn't understood any of that. "Nothing much."

He hoped that wouldn't pry anymore. Having to deal with a bumbling mess for a second time didn't seem too appealing for his current state. That being half-asleep trying his hardest to pretend fully awake. Thankfully, she didn't.

"Oh okay." she tapped the gamer on her shoulders, "Nanami-chan, we should get back to class now or we're gonna be late." the pink-haired girl silently nodded and walked while mashing buttons to near-destruction. The other pair followed silently.

Up until Koizumi decided to look up what those terms meant and turned all tomato once again.

[-x-]

"Oi oi, Hinata." his pink-haired friend called out. "Can you stop flexing that you hang out with women? You're making the rest of us jealous here."

The mechanic was standing above him while he was seated on his spot.

"Okay, aside from you and Hanamura, I don't think 'the rest of us' applies." he countered, "And even then, I was just hanging out with Koizumi while we just crossed Nanami on the way here."

"Hanging out huh? Are you sure that's all you did?" a shark-toothed grin materialized.

"Yes, keep your dirty-minded thoughts away from me please. I've had enough of those to last the week." The bartender was straight-faced.

"Oh c'mon. Lighten up! I was kidding… kinda. Your entrance still looked suspicious as hell, Koizumi was blushing man! Blushing!" Soda threw his hands up.

"What? You've never seen a girl blush before?" he curiously asked.

"Nope." 'that's kinda sad…' "Oi! Knock that pitying face off. I can tell what you're thinking!"

"Hehe, fine…" he chuckled while his friend remained annoyed.

"By the way, didn't you promise me some conversation lessons on Orientation day? You better hold your end of the deal. I need those right now to woo Sonia-san." Soda implored.

"Oh damn, I kinda forgot about that." Hinata buried his hand in his spiky mess. 'I don't think you'll ever get close to wooing her.'

"Of course you did…" the mechanic looked despondent.

"Look man, you can't blame me. I didn't see you for like... two months," he shrugged off while making excuses, "Don't worry though, just come on Saturday at my bar and I'll teach you some basics.

"Even if any normal person should know them already..." Hinata muttered, 'wait, why am I thinking anyone's normal inside this classroom?'

"Aight, you better not forget this time. Where is it?" pulling out his Handbook.

"I won't, I won't. Central Street, it's between a karaoke bar and a Big Bang Burger. You can't miss it."

"Got it. What time's your shift that night?" he asked.

"Around seven. It doesn't matter if you're late, I'll be there overnight, just don't be too early."

"Why? Cuz you won't be there?" raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, cuz there's a bunch of lowlives hanging around the area before my Boss clears them up."

"Can't you just call up some cops?"

"You think we haven't done that before?" laying his elbows on his desk. "They just come back and flock that alleyway for some reason."

"Then how does your boss do anything to 'em? Beat 'em up or some shit?" crossing his arms.

"Sorta? I've never seen her actually do what she does to make them scram, but I don't wanna know either."

"Man… how scary is he?" mistaking her gender.

"She. My Boss is a she. Did I ever tell you she was the Former Ultimate Wrestler?"

"Oh shit… yeah, not messing with her… ever." he shook his head while making a 'X' with both his arms.

"Don't ever underestimate her, it'll be your head. I've already seen some poor schmuck get clotheslined off the chair and lay on the floor till the medics picked him up."

"Holy- okay stop. You're making me shit scared to go there now!" biting his fingernails and pulling down his hat.

"Hehehe, don't worry. You're pretty safe unless you try something dumb; like flirt with my co-worker or destroy property."

"Aight, gotcha."

"Everyone! Get back to your places, we're starting Free Reign!" Yukizome-sensei announced.

"See ya there." his friend saluted with his fingers.

"Yeah, I will." he saluted back

Such a taxing day for Hajime, more than usual at least. Maybe he should ask to lessen those gruelling work hours... On second thought he will, his survival was more important than money at the moment.

He remembered he had to give back the Hyper Sugar, a whiff of that sounded far too tempting since Hajime desperately needed a second wind if he was to do his shift tonight. Oh god, this class was going to be the death of him.

[-x-]

Seiko deserved better. Fight me. That girl got so cucked because of that bitch Ruruka.

I overhauled Sato's character into this a devious person, but still slightly obsessive because well… she was so fucking one-dimensional. An obsessive friend? C'mon, the writers could've made her so much more interesting. Sad that Kodaka wasn't a full time writer for DR3, he would've made it a masterpiece. Or at least comparable to V3 and DR2.

Man, I'm sad that N1RV Ann-A was delayed. I was honestly waiting for more cocktails to add to the list. ;-;

Question, should I get an actual beta-reader? Or should I continue on with my one-man team?