Byakuya Togami had taken responsibility for all of their lives. When Monokuma had jovially announced they were trapped on this island and would be forced into being contestants of a killing game, Monomi, their 'teacher' had tried to fight him off, but ended up getting brutally beaten up instead, destroying her 'magic stick' in the process.
Monokuma had forcefully given her some kind of a dreadful makeover, imitating his half and half design on her, making her half pink and half white.
Without even asking anyone else for consent, Togami appointed himself the leader, despite the presence of Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager. It was uncalled for, but it was reassuring, even if a tiny bit.
They were given seventeen cottages to live in with a single room and a bathroom. They were located west of the beach with the hotel restaurant straight up ahead. Komaeda walked you over to yours, searching for your name on the doors. None of you spoke before at last he found the room you would be living in.
"Thanks for walking me here," you told him. "See you...in the morning."
Komaeda looked straight towards the pool, the moon's reflection rippling on the surface of the water. Was he thinking about the killing game too? Had his usual bright demeanour faded a little with what horror Monokuma had greeted them with?
"I can feel..." he finally spoke, his voice so low it could have been a whisper of the wind brushing against the coconut leaves. "I can feel your hope...diminish."
You looked at him, uncertain of what he meant. "Before...your eyes were brimming to the top with hope despite you holding some kind of sadness which makes you value yourself less being the Ultimate Poet, but now that hope is fading. I wonder if you'll ever plunge into despair...if you know what I mean."
In that moment, your heart seared. Not because at that moment in the lowly illuminated night, he looked absolutely beautiful, his hair swaying in and out of his fair, sculpture-chiselled face, or because his dream-like orbs stared right at you unblinkingly, but because he was truly the most fascinating person you had met. It was absolutely impossible to interpret his thoughts, like a piece of poetry in another language, so ancient and so difficult to understand, you couldn't decode it if you wanted to, your entire life.
You would keep him beside you, close to you forever, until you could understand exactly what kind of an amazing work of art he was.
"No. I won't plunge into despair."
Komaeda's half open eyes widened in pleasant surprise. You were both leaning on either sides of the door frame in your cottage and there was not a soul in sight. He moved closer, until he was only an inch away from your face. You could count every eyelash, every small light reflected in his eyes. He had eye bags on closer inspection, what did he spend his nights doing?
After that last thought, you couldn't look him in the face as your own blossomed a deep scarlet, thankfully obscured by the darkness.
"Well that's just...wonderful. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear that..." His mouth was so close to yours, you felt a foreign feeling tingle your insides sending goosebumps over your entire body.
He leaned in closer, lips brushing against yours as he pulled you into your cottage so no one would catch a glimpse of the both of you. His tender lips caressed yours his hands reaching down to your waist.
Komaeda's tall slim body pressed into you, fitting into your curves perfectly. He held you against him like this for quite a while, caressing your lips, but it still felt so deep. He tasted a little of bread, you thought. Bread and coffee.
"Well...goodnight." Komaeda said, once he broke away from you. "I'll see you tomorrow...at breakfast."
"Goodnight, Komaeda," you said giving him a small smile, "See you."
"Komaeda? Just...call me Nagito. And I'll call you Y\N. Okay?
"Okay."
The intense series of bizarre events which had taken place throughout the entire day made you sleepy as soon as your tired head hit your soft cotton pillow. The screen ahead of your bed lit up, revealing Monokuma holding a cocktail in his right paw. He said something about it being night time but his voice faded away as you fell into slumber, soon enough.
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The morning announcement woke you up. It took you a while to remember where you were, as the impossibility of this being a dream crashed upon you. This all *was* real after all.
A short, sleepy- looking girl with a Nintendo was the first to greet you, although she wasn't looking at you, but focusing on her game entirely while still talking to you. She had pale mauve colored short hair and half opened pink eyes.
"Hi...my name is Chiaki Nanami, the others told me to bring you to breakfast-" she stifled a yawn "I don't think we've met before. I'm the Ultimate Gamer."
You wished her good morning and introduced herself too. The Ultimate Princess walked towards the both of you. Everything about her- was absolutely perfect. Not a strand of golden hair out of place, her ironed pine-green dress glided along with her as she approached you. Her beauty seemed to behold a radiant light as she beamed and greeted you, her large grey eyes twinkling in the morning sun. Her name: Sonia Nevermind.
"It is so nice meeting the both of you this early in the morning! Come, let us have breakfast together. Mahiru will be joining us shortly."
Mahiru Koizumi, a strict-looking redhead walked towards the three. She had a camera slung over her neck, accompanied by the short childish looking blond girl with an orange kimono munching on a fist full of gummy bears, getting chided by Koizumi about how eating those the first thing in the morning was unhealthy. She was Hiyoko Saiyonji, the Ultimate Traditional dancer.
At the breakfast table, Togami announced something very unexpected, that he was going to throw a party and everyone must attend it. Kuzuryu stormed out immediately, spitting about how he had better things to do.
Nagito ended up having to clean the party venue as it had been unclean and unused. His luck was on its bad cycle, but he refused when you offered him help.
When the preparations for Togami's party were finally over with, he insisted patting everyone down to ensure no one was carrying weapons, ignoring accusations from Sayonji, ("just admit you're a pervert, ham hands!")
Platters of food piled high up almost to the ceiling, and it was much cleaner than it had been before. There were even some decorative lights and furniture, Nagito had outdone himself.
Everyone except for the gangster flooded in one by on, starting on the food, especially a feisty, gluttonous woman called Akane Owari, given a run for her money by Togami. It was almost like they were contesting who could swallow the most food the quickest.
You started eating too, starting on a chicken leg. Hinata poured himself a glass of orange juice. Koizumi took pictures of everyone, asking them to smile. Nagito stood away from everyone else, close to a lamp switch for some reason. Maybe he disliked crowds. You picked up some food to give to him as he was not eating anything at all. He worked hard so it was wrong for him to get excluded, of all people.
You were going to walk towards Nagito, holding a platter full of food when suddenly-
The lights went off. The room erupted with panic as boys and girls tried to find their way around in the dark, running into each other in confusion and annoyance.When the lights were finally on, you sighed in relief, managing to stay on your feet and not running into anyone during the black out.
Then the sight before you made you drop the platter to the ground, scattering in a dozen pieces as it broke. Someone else noticed too, and a few screams pierced through your ears.
Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny lay dead on the ground in a pool of fresh blood.
The killing game had begun.
Even after the investigation, your mind drew a blank. Why? They had finally started to become friends, agreed to work together to have a good time and live in harmony. Togami had taken it upon himself, resorting to extreme measures to keep everyone safe. He might have been strict, constantly in a state of annoyance, but he was a good natured person. You had recognised this the very first time you had been acquainted. You had assisted Tsumiki with the autopsy, bringing her tools and whatever else she needed as your talent offered little help in crime scenes. The class trial went on for more than an hour. They kept picking up leads and kept dropping them over and over again. Hinata was trying his best too, and in conclusion asked Koizumi to draw a map analysing where everyone was standing during the party. The person who had caused the black out was obviously standing close to the switch of the lights, making their move in the dark.
Hinata stared at the map and his eyes widened in shock.
"No way... this can't be...Nagito?
"Wha-What, me? Are you serious, Hajime? Me standing next to the plug was just an coincidence! I would never really murder someone!"
"Maybe it is a coincidence," Chiaki spoke, "But there are too many of these for us to still believe you. You were the one who hid the knife under the table. You had the opportunity to do so while cleaning. You caused the black out. Just give up."
Nagito kept denying these evidences, until he couldn't anymore. He went blue in the face and started chuckling softly. And then suddenly-
He burst into laughter. It felt for an instant that your heart paused its beating. But yet, it was crashing against the walls of your chest, your mind flooded with despair, but not because Nagito Komaeda had betrayed you. It was the consequence of betrayal. If he was the killer then...you did not care. What you did care about was...
He would be executed. In the brief time you had known him, his smile, his mesmerising grey eyes, his indescribable personality had claimed your heart like no one before. You felt motivated, almost obliged to help him out no matter what.
"No..." you said gaining confidence now, for the first time since you came here. "NO! THAT'S WRONG!"
Your voice clashed through the class trial, bursting through Chiaki's words like a bullet. You held a finger in front of your face in protest, your eyebrows furrowed, determined to prove Nagito innocent even though you knew...he wasn't really innocent.
But he had not killed. That truth was enough, to save him from certain death.
"I helped Tsumiki perform the autopsy. Isn't that right?" To your left the meek woman nodded in agreement, the tips of her index fingers pressed together nervously.
"She determined that Togami's stab wounds were inflicted on him by weapon of diameter approximately 2mm. We have agreed with the fact that Nagito murdered him with a knife. So that means, the knife he hid under the table wasn't the murder weapon at all. It was someone else who knew about his plans, and decided to meddle with them."
"Thus," you said loudly for everyone to hear "Nagito Komaeda is NOT the blackened!" Pointing a finger straight at him. In that moment, no one cut through your words. You looked at Nagito and what you saw made you gasp softly.
His lips were stretched into the widest of smiles you had ever heard anyone bear, his hands wrapped around himself, he bit his bottom lip like something pained him. A dark scarlet crept up his cheeks, and took his breaths and long shallow gasps, like he had been running. But he wasn't hurting.
He had found true hope, and it wasn't just for others.
This was his very own, and it aroused and excited him more than anything ever had. It belonged just to him, and had managed to save his life right now.
At that moment, someone like him knew what it was like to desire and need something.
A hope that resisted despair more than anything else, glistened brighter than anything else and shone it's light upon justice...
Nagito Komaeda had discovered what it was like to fall head first in love.