Chapter 10

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It was already morning, and Nagito hadn't spoken a word to the brunet. He never questioned Hajime's wound, and so Hajime returned the favor. All he had done was pick him up by the waist to carry him as they soared upward into the world of the living.

He did keep his promise, huh.

But Nagito wasn't necessarily acting cold toward the brunet. He wasn't mirroring his actions or giving him the cold shoulder. The albino simply... had a lack of emotion. He didn't have a joyful face that Hajime had seen since he'd arrived at Hell. Instead, he had a calm and poised expression that rested over his features.

Hajime didn't dare to ask him where they were going, but only because he was sure it would anger Nagito again.

The albino's wing beats thundered in his ears as they arrived on the roof of a building. They landed on the edge, facing the myriad roads and streets of the city.

"We're in Hokkaido," Nagito spoke up, breaking the silence that blanketed the two people. "There will be two deaths, and as your job as the Grim Reaper's apprentice, you must establish them before their time of death. That's your task for today."

"How do you expect me to find two people who are about to die out of the thousands on these streets?" Hajime narrowed his eyes as he motioned to the congested city below him.

Nagito kept quiet, merely shrugging as an acknowledgment to Hajime's question.

Hajime clicked his tongue before settling himself at the edge of the rooftop.

Who were the victims? How was he even supposed to even find them? Everyone looked like ants on the ground, crawling and moving in groups. It was nearly impossible to locate two individuals in this mess.

Suddenly, his ears perked up. A faint yet piercing siren reached his ears, drawing his eyes to a particular road in the city.

A fire truck was rushing down the road, which would seem common to some people, but to Hajime, it wasn't.

First of all, the truck was definitely traveling too fast. Way too fast.

Secondly, there was a shape on top of the vehicle. Hajime almost didn't believe it at first, but he was positive that there was a human being that lay face-down on the roof of the car.

Instantly, the brunet knew who was going to die, and the shuffling next to him indicated that 

Nagito had also noticed.

"Well then, Hajime," Nagito spread his wings. "I see that you've realized who the next victims are. Lead me to them. If you fail, well, I might ask Junko to reassign you."

Was Nagito blackmailing him? The albino had the audacity to threaten him?

But then again, he was dead, and Nagito was his superior, as much as he hated it. There was nothing that could change that now. The gun Nagito had given him yesterday felt heavy in his back pocket, and his hand itched to hold it as a sign of reassurance. He seriously wanted to shoot something out of rage, but he had promised not to take it out until necessary.

Bottling up his frustration, Hajime let Nagito wrap his slender arms around his abdomen while he directed him to the victims.

"The girl in the pink hoodie on the sidewalk," he said, pointing to the person he was mentioning. "And the person on the back of the fire truck."

"Good job," Nagito mused. "Someone hijacked the fire truck, but I'm pretty sure you've already determined that with your analytical skills."

Hajime overlooked the praise. He wasn't a child anymore. He didn't need praises or rewards to motivate him. He would do what he willed, and that was that.

The screeching of tires against concrete brought the brunet back to reality as the scene unfolded before his eyes.

The duo was close enough to the accident that Hajime could see every single detail of what was transpiring.

With a great jolt of the vehicle, the man inside the truck attempted to brake before he hit the young girl crossing the road, but he had acted too gradual.

The girl's body flew backward, the impact of the car against her body flinging her onto the jammed streets.

Hajime felt a shiver slide down his back as the girl collapsed, dead. But it wasn't over yet.

The figure on top of the truck flew off the roof due to inertia and dived right into a tree. One of the branches jutting out speared the figure through the neck, and they too went limp, now a corpse.

A gale of wind hit the brunet in his face as they descended to the crime scene.

Two translucent figures rose out from the bodies of the victims, stumbling absentmindedly over their feet. The girl in the pink hoodie was patting herself down, utterly confused at why and how she was uninjured. The figure who had flown from the truck, a girl with her hair in a ponytail, was sitting on top of the branch which had sent her to her death. Her face was blank, but Hajime could feel bewilderment radiating from her.

Nagito stepped toward the souls with his blade outstretched, prepared to collect them. Just when he was about to claim the dead, some sort of barrier formed around the two girls, blocking the weapon from reaching them.

The Grim Reaper's eyes widened the scantiest of a fraction before the scythe in his hand dissolved into dust.

"Komaeda...?" Hajime started. "Aren't you going to collect them?"

"They're a different case, Hajime," Nagito responded, stepping toward the two girls.

The gears in Hajime's mind turned as he endeavored to process the male's statement.

"They have unfinished business here, therefore they cannot travel to the Afterlife."

The girl in the pink hoodie looked at Hajime and Nagito, then at the female on top of the tree.

"Am... Am I dead?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Dang right." The girl on the branch muttered, chuckling imperceptibly.

"Aren't you supposed to be more shocked about dying?" Hajime inquired.

The girl with the ponytail (the one on the tree) laughed.

"Oh, wait. I'm actually dead?" She gasped. "Oh frick."

A laugh escaped her lips as she bent over to contain her giggling.

The girl with an instrument case on her back stepped forward, joining the discussion.

"I've been waiting for this day." She placed her hands on her hips in alacrity. "Although... I do have one last wish to fulfill."

"Well then, what is it?" Nagito sighed, folding his wings.

The two girls glanced at one another, a wicked smile starting to crawl up their faces.

"Chicken nuggets!" They shouted in unison, pumping their fists up in the air. They proceeded to high-five each other.

Hajime didn't know whether to express concern or disturbance. 

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The first three drafts felt really off to me, so I rewrote it again and again, and I finally got it right. 

:')

Welcome the sisters of chicken nuggets~

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