Sleeping Hope

(Note before you start: The characters' reasons for specific things may differ from canon, because I can't bother to remember things 😎.)

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"Ah, you got a high-level card again. At this point, you'd be the better gamer than me, Nagito."
A half-asleep voice that belonged to Chiaki spoke, the voice directing to Nagito, who was sitting next to her.

"You think so, Chiaki? Ahaha, quit teasing me! I can never beat you in what you're good at. For someone like me to hear those words...I'm just not worthy."
Nagito continued to laugh softly, albeit nervously.

In a plain afternoon, Chiaki had asked Nagito for him and his Ultimate luck to help her with a game. Being the carefree person that he was, he agreed, simply because he had nothing better to do.
And, to his surprise, the straightforward gameplay was actually fun. He understood why the gamer girl would indulge in something like video games if it was always this addicting.

They had been sitting on a bench, pressing buttons on the console nonchalantly as time passed by them like it was a tumbleweed flowing with the dry wind in a desert.

Pausing the game, Chiaki looked directly at Nagito, her blank expression knowing no bounds as it faced the white haired man.
"Nagito...in your opinion, what exactly do you think is 'worthy'? Who exactly do you think is 'worthy'? Because to me, what I'm saying is normal, I think."
She tilted her head to the side. It was always a habit of hers when asking a question.

Nagito paused, staring at Chiaki, dumbfounded. He didn't expect that kind of question popping up at this time.
His confused frown slowly turned into a smile brimming with enthusiasm. With this, he cheerfully replied.
"Anyone who has a talent like yours, of course! People should be bowing down to you and the other Ultimates for being a gift to mankind. Excluding my talent...it's not even anything interesting. That's why I think I'm worth nothing compared to you, or Hajime, or the others!"

The hoarse voiced man continued to go on and on about how grateful he is to have the chance to speak to so many Ultimates, and repetitively adding in self-deprecating remarks to prove his point even further.

The woman adorning a backpack let out a sigh, making the other person stop their rant.
"Huh? Oh, have you gotten tired of me and my talk about you guys? I expected that, sorry to annoy you about it. You don't deserve this treatment–"
Nagito's sentence ended abruptly as soon as he saw Chiaki's glare. It wasn't a death glare, though. It looked determined more than anything.

"Hey, Nagito. I get that..you have this mindset that you can't be compared to us, and that we're the 'symbols of hope' to you...I want to ask. How did you even think this way in the first place?"
By the look on her face, it was clear she hoped for a good answer.

Because of that, Nagito couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.
"I'm glad you want to take more time out of your day to listen to trash like me speak about themselves, as if they don't know their place. Well...if you really wanna know, I'll tell you."

After getting a confident nod from the short-haired girl, he began to part his lips to tell a story.
"There was this boy who's life aaalll fell into 'luck's' hands. Many and maybe even all of the events throughout his life were based off of 'luck'. Because he had no control over it, he lived out his life as careless as ever. When a good thing happened, a bad thing happened. When a bad thing happened, a good thing happened. Despite all of these ups and downs, he didn't see what kind of purpose he had to offer to the world. But then, one day, he won a lottery to enter this prestigious school named Hope's Peak Academy. He was then given the title, "The Ultimate Lucky Student". To this, he felt like something inside of him was guilty of having such a title. I mean, what kind of talent is luck when you can't even control it? It was useless, unlike the other students who enrolled into the school because they truly did have a talent."

After telling the story, Nagito breathed in, a more somber smile forming on his face.
"As you might've guessed, that boy was me. And...even if it was selfish, I accepted the enrollment into Hope's Peak Academy. That's why I think so highly of you guys. My talent was given to me...by luck!...Hahah, how silly is that? To be picked by luck...it's not something to praise at all."

Hearing Nagito's story, Chiaki casually adjusted her position, her entire body facing more towards Nagito's direction. She carefully tilted her head up to the taller person, their eyes locking.
"Even if you were picked purely out of luck, I'm..really glad you're here, talking with me."

"Ah- huh-..?"
Nagito was more than glad to admit he must've been hallucinating.
Surely, he must've been.
"Chiaki, you must be mistaken! You're talking to the scum of the earth! Nagito Komaeda, a person who's Ultimate talent is just boring old luck-! I'm..confused, really. Why are you glad?"

Once the jacket-wearing student lowered his voice down, Chiaki answered softly.
"Because, Nagito..."
She slowly placed her hand on top of Nagito's, who's hand was on his lap.
"...You're a part of Hope's Peak Academy, too. With the rest of us."
Those words alone put Nagito in a state of shock, and before he could even intervene, Chiaki spoke again.
"If luck picked you, that in and of itself is a sign of hope. And, you like that, right? It's unfair to think of everyone else as symbols of hope if you can't even include yourself."

"...."
Nagito was left speechless, but then managed to move the ends of his lips upwards, looking at the girl in front of him in awe.
"Chiaki...your words are..a bit hard for me to process right now, ahaha..."
He awkwardly rubbed the side of his head with his free hand.
But slowly, Nagito let his hand that was under Chiaki's intertwine with hers, as his smile turned more sweet and genuine.
"Though, for some strange reason, your words give me hope. Maybe I'll never be able to be as bright as everyone else is, but, I think I can try if it's the hope you believe in."

Chiaki reciprocated the smile, happy that Nagito was willing to believe in himself for once instead of pushing his beliefs onto the other Ultimates.
"I'm happy I convinced you."
She then looked at the situation she was in, and how it'd look to an outsider. As much as she wouldn't like to say it out loud, that would be embarrassing to explain, even for her.
And, as if she got flustered, Chiaki spoke up.

"..So...can we go back to playing games now?"
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(Note: Hi I hope you liked the fanfic
If you did you're very poggers)