Hinata's sketchbook began getting filled with more and more drawings of Komaeda and some of Kenichi.
"This is the place," Hinata said to Kirigiri.
"Alright. And I'm supposed to talk to one of the caretakers?"
"Yes,"
"Well then, let's go." Krigiri rang the doorbell and Yukizome opened it.
"Oh my! Are you here for one of the children?"
"Not exactly," Kirigiri said, chuckling. "I'm looking for someone named-" he pulled out a notebook. "-Komaeda Nagito,"
"Oh," she said and then laughed sadly. "You're a bit late for that, aren't you?"
Hinata didn't get what she meant. Komaeda wasn't telling him a lot about his backstory. Hinata only knew that Komaeda had always wanted to meet Kirigiri.
The three of them went into the playroom where Komaeda was watching over the children.
"Komaeda-san!" Yukizome said happily. "You have a visitor,"
Komaeda turned around an gasped. "K-kirigiri Jin?!"
"It's nice to meet you." He shook the pale man's hand. Komaeda just stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face.
Then, he said something similar to what Yukizome said before. "You're a bit late,"
"I know, I usually only visit children, but Hinata-san here asked me to visit you. He said you always wanted me to come help you out,"
"I did, yes... uhm..." he hugged himself. "I really... don't want to talk about this here. I would prefer to talk in private if that's okay,"
"Of course." Kirigiri nodded, smiling kindly. They went into a different room together.
Komaeda sat down, refusing to look Kirigiri into the eyes. "I always begged Yukizome-san to call you and get you to help me," he said, laughing slightly. "She tried many times, but you were always busy. I understand. There were lots of other kids to help, so I'm not mad at you," he explained. "B-but I was sad... really sad... I don't even know what I would've wished for if you did come to help me. Maybe just a pat on the head. Maybe just someone to comfort me... maybe nothing at all. Just knowing that you took time out of your day to come talk to me would have been enough," he said honestly.
Kirigiri sat down next to him. "I'm sorry, Komaeda-san. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I would love to help every child on this planet, but-"
"-there's too many to count. I know..." he looked down at the ground. "Uhm, don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that you're here! I'm very happy, infact. It's just a bit conflicting, you know?" Then, he finally looked at Kirigiri's face. "Thank you for coming here,"
Kirigiri raised his hand and pat Komaeda's head.
Hinata stood outside of the room, not hearing what they were saying, when Komaeda suddenly broke out into sobs. For an eternity, that's all that could be heard. Then, the two men left the room, smiling.
"You okay?" Hinata asked Komaeda.
"Thank you, Hinata-kun!" He hugged him. "You're the best!"
The brunet turned red. "Uh... no problem? Why were you crying?"
"No reason,"