Investigating the first island had been quite interesting for Hinata. Especially since it was with that boy Komaeda, who seemed to marvel at every student he met. A couple of times, Hinata swore he thought Komaeda would get down to one knee and swear his loyalty to them. But, he guesses that he's just not wanting to appear rude at the people they were just meeting, right?

Nothing was strange, even though Hinata tried his hardest to point out something wrong other than the fact that they were flashed here. And when they ended up at the hotel again, Komaeda said he was going to go check the supply closet for anything like radios.

"Radio? Like, a normal radio that plays music?"

Komaeda had smiled at him. Though, now that he thought about it, it had never gone away in the first place. "Yep! What, do you not like music, Hinata-kun?"

"Oh, it's just...I was hoping you meant an emergency radio contact thingy..."

Komaeda laughed, "Come now, Hinata-kun. We've told you a million times, there's nothing to be afraid of here. Now, I'll be back in a moment."

Komaeda ran off, leaving Hinata to stand there in the lobby with Nanami and Pekoyama. He waved at the two awkwardly before looking out the big glass windows. The sky was still a clear and beautiful blue, with not a trace of clouds in sight.

Hinata had never seen such skies before, and was mesmerized for a few moments at the natural beauty of this place. Like the ocean. He had never been to the ocean before, and the smell of salt sure was strong, almost so strong he could taste it. But he loved it.

He slumped his shoulders, relaxing his tension.

Are we...really safe here? Is everything really okay?

They must be. Because if someone wanted to hurt them, why bring them to a beautiful tropical resort? Why not stow them away somewhere more...ominous. Plus, by the looks of Usami, how could he not feel the bit of joy she tried to spread?

"Hinata-kun, you'll never believe what I found!" Komaeda sprinted back towards him, and Hinata quickly noticed the plastic containers in his arms. Komaeda stopped just inches from him, out of breath and obviously excited. He held out his arms far enough for him not to drop the boxes, and for Hinata to look inside of them.

Chalk. Brightly colored chalk. All of them worn down and some sort of dull from constantly use, but someone could still use them.
"I thought you were looking for a radio?" Komaeda's smile grew bigger, almost like a Cheshire Cat. "I found no raidos...shame. But this is equally exciting!"

"Y-Yeah...sure." Hinata muttered. "What, are you wanting to color with the chalk?"

Komaeda's smile quivered a bit with that question, as if he were disappointed, but didn't want to show it. He was really eager to please, even if it meant he wasn't to enjoy himself. "Oh, well if you don't want to, Hinata-kun, I can always put them back." His chipper tone was forced, and if Hinata were a bit duller, he would have saw it as a normal statement.

He didn't want to be an asshole and disappoint Komaeda just because he didn't want to, but...

"Ahaha...no, it's fine. Right by the pool? On the concrete?"

Komaeda's eyes widen for a moment - just a mere moment - and his perky self lit right back up. "Do you really want to? Great! By the pool is fantastic!" Komaeda headed towards the door, skipping just the slightest bit. Hinata followed, trying not to laugh about just how happy Komaeda was.

Guy must still be really young at heart.

And so, when the arrived at the pools concrete side, they sat on their knees. Komaeda looked at the many colors of the chalk, looking deep in thought as he plucked out a green one and examined it. "What should we draw, Hinata-kun?"

"Eh? You want to draw a picture together? I thought we were just gonna doodle..." Komaeda got that gloomy look again, and Hinata, not wanting to face that strange aura, quickly fixed it. "But that sounds cool too." And just like that, he seemed happy again.

"Hmm...what to draw, what to draw..." Komaeda muttered. Hinata let him think and looked to the skies again, admiring the clear, clear and pretty blue. And then the ocean's blue, and the paleness of the sand, bright and lush palm trees...

"Hey, I know. How about we draw the beach?"

Komaeda looked to the beach, taking a moment before looking to the chalk boxes again. "Yes! What a wonderful idea, Hinata-kun! Something I'd expect from a hope filled person like you!"

There he goes...with those strange comments...maybe...maybe he's like me, worried something's wrong here, and...he's not wanting to loose hope?

Maybe that's why he talks about it non-stop.

For what seemed like two hours, but in reality was five minutes, they kept reaching their hands into the plastic containers and picked out colors that seemed closest to the beach. Keep in mind neither of them were artists, so the palm trees looked like sticks painted green and brown, ocean a bunch of swirls of different blues, and the clear, clear skies ended up just being a blue mess.

But he loved it. He loved...being this close to Komaeda. It felt strange, honestly. Almost as strange as everything around him. But this sort of strange is the kind of strange he wanted to dive into and accept. It was a weird feeling, and it would spark a little more every time their hands brushed together to get a different color.

Komaeda laughed softly, a child-like tone in his voice when he spoke. "I like it. Do you, Hinata-kun?"
Hinata looked at the silly drawing, and then at Komaeda, who stared at him with equal interest. He felt soothed under those gray eyes.

"I love it."

xxx

These babies, omg.
Guys.
Guys I can't stop writing them.
They're just so PERFECT to write.