→ 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 (𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢)

i. the beginning

byakuya togami had the world at his fingertips.

he had everything there was to have in life, in terms of material possessions. his father was the owner of one of the biggest technology companies in japan, the infamous togami corporation, which of course made his family filthy rich. the family itself was huge. togami had grown up with multiple siblings and cousins, all fighting for the coveted spot at the top of the company; the head honcho. currently togami's father's position. years of ruthless training and beating sense into the space between his ears caused togami's exterior to harden to the point of impenetrability. nobody had ever seen him smile in years.

togami had grown a reputation of being cold and emotionless, and although the people at his elite private school, hope's peak academy, tried to befriend him, he brushed them away with ease, claiming that these plebeians weren't worth an ounce of his precious time. he surrounded himself instead with books, spending most of his free time holed up in the library with a mug of black coffee next to him. this was togami's daily routine. come to school, ignore his peers and indulge in books, then go home and study to become the next head of the company.

this trend continued for togami all the way up through middle school until he finally graduated to the high school portion of hope's peak. word was spreading around the halls that a new student would be joining their ranks in the next couple weeks. an ultimate trickster, or some other silly "talent" so he had heard. togami was widely disinterested in this new face, and he disregarded any rumors that floated around about them. it wasn't until the day of his arrival, words of excitement buzzing around the halls, that togami had even thought of this person.

until he arrived.

it was early one morning, and the classroom was practically vibrating with anticipation. everyone was talking about the new student, what their ultimate may be, and how they would interact with the other students. togami overheard a conversation between two or three girls about this poor soul.

"ogami, what do you think the new person is gonna be like?" asked one of the girls, aoi asahina, in a chipper, high-pitched voice. togami had heard she was the ultimate swimmer. "i really hope they're friendly. we need some new faces around here, it's been a while since someone new came in." the girl giggled as her other friend the ultimate pop sensation, sayaka maizono teased her about having a crush on the possible boy. "oh, please, maizono! we all know you're the boy-crazy one here—" the girls both laughed with each other. the larger one, sakura ogami, the ultimate martial artist that the big-busted swimmer girl was talking to, remained quiet with a soft smile playing her masculine features.

"i heard from enoshima that they're coming in today," said asahina, loud enough for the class to hear. this created another wave of commotion at which togami rolled his eyes and buried his head deeper into the book he was reading. this useless chatter continued for the duration of class, although our poor teacher was trying to get our attention nobody took the bait. togami did have to admit that this commotion surrounding the rumored boy was impressive. he had to wonder what he would be like.

          the teacher clapped a couple times, bringing togami's attention to a freckled face at the front of the classroom, standing at the teacher's shoulder. he was talking, saying something about ultimate luck, but togami wasn't interested. he was more interested however, in this creature standing next to the teacher. this boy had dusty brown hair that fell into his face every once in a while, obscuring round, green, hopeful eyes with a naïve glow to them like togami had never seen. this one was going to be a problem. togami had always despised the optimist type, and this boy was a glaring slap in the face.

togami had barely realized he had zoned out until the teacher spoke his name. "... togami. togami, would you raise your hand so naegi knows where to sit?" togami suddenly snapped to attention, making eye contact with this... naegi. why did his chest squeeze like a damn sponge? never mind that. togami raised his hand quickly and sharply, putting it down once naegi sat down next to him. togami stole a glance at the new boy, averting his gaze when it was met with his eyes.

"hi," naegi said quietly, giving a tiny wave. togami merely nodded in response. "my name's naegi. makoto naegi." the boy stuck out his hand for togami to shake, awkwardly putting it in his lap when togami simply stared at it in disdain. "uh... what's your name?" naegi asked in a desperate attempt to create conversation.

"byakuya togami. togami to you." togami refused to look into naegi's eyes again. he instead observed the reactions of the other ultimates to this new face. asahina was chattering with sayaka, who was blushing madly. kyoto kirigiri, the ultimate detective, was looking curiously over naegi's person, analyzing him discreetly. togami's eyes narrowed down to icy blue slits as naegi laughed nervously.

          "so, um—" naegi stammered, scrabbling for a topic of conversation. "uh— how are you? i—"

          "hi!" naegi was interrupted by a cheerful voice next to him. as the boys both turned to look at the owner, togami realized that it was maizono. she smiled, holding something behind her back. "naegi, right? it's maizono, from middle school!"

          naegi smiled, blushing. "oh! maizono! thank god there's a familiar face here. everyone is so talented, it's intimidating!" naegi joked with maizono like old friends would. maizono simply laughed, bringing out a piece of paper.

          "i'm having a party this weekend, at the country club. you should come, the rest of the class is gonna be there too!" maizono slid the piece of paper across the table toward naegi with a smile, directions and information written on it in neat, bubbly handwriting. "i'll see you there," maizono said, waving and going back to sit with asahina. naegi watched after her, blushing. he then turned to me, a sickeningly sweet smile on his face. "she's great, isn't she?"

          togami rolled his eyes. "lovely," he spat into his book, scooting his chair further away from naegi. first, this boy comes in with vigor and excitement, then claims to be childhood friends with of all people, the most popular girl at hope's peak? togami could tell this was going to be a rough year.

maybe he would go to that party. it might be fun to see how this pleb interacted with the others.

                                             •

a/n: hello all, welcome to the story!! meant to be is a naegami fanfic set in a non-despair!au where hope's peak is functioning as a normal school. the main ship is naegami, but there are gonna be some other relationships too! thanks so much for reading!! <3