Chapter Text
Hajime sighed as he slowly walked toward the old building. Really, he was way too nice. His skin crawled as he thought about what was in there, what he was about to confront. "You'd better be grateful Mahiru" he muttered as he pushed the doors open and went inside. The place had been completely cleaned since their investigation, but the air still felt suffocating. He could remember walking through these halls, talking and exchanging theories with Nagito. He had seemed so different then, before the trial. Now he seemed to almost radiate darkness as if anyone who dared venture close enough could be infected. As Hajime reached the doors to the dining hall he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come.
Inside the nearly pitch black room Nagito laid waiting for Mahiru to come back, his only source of light being the bare minimum seeping through the floorboards. His stomach felt like it was being turned inside out and crawling up his throat, he was so hungry. But he deserved this. It was okay, after all, he'd let the Ultimates go through so much despair and every time they looked at him he'd just fill them with more. It would've been better if someone ass worthless as the earthworm he was had just died instead of Byakuya. The other had been so hopeful into the very end to save everyone. He was truly nothing compared to a person as amazing as the ultimate.
He squirmed to turn sides, his blood circulation to his arm was being cut off and his nausea wasn't getting any better from it. Nagito sighed as he battled the urge to throw up from hunger. Mahiru probably wouldn't come back, she'd just leave him there to starve. It's what he deserved after all.
"H-hey Nagito? Are you here?" Hajime squinted against the pitch blackness. Had Nagito really spent an entire day in this darkness? A stream of light from the opened door illuminated what Hajime presumed to be Nagito, lying on his side with his arms tied behind his back and chains tying his legs together. Honestly, the number of bindings seemed- excessive to say the least. "Hey, Nagito! Answer me." Hajime really did not want to be anywhere close to Nagito, not after what he'd done to them- To Teruteru and Byakuya. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
"-nata-kun!" Nagito looked over his shoulder at him, his voice breaking from not having used them in a while. "I see Mahiru dumped feeding duty on you." he chuckled. "What did you get me? Honestly, I'd eat anything you gave me if you wanted me to. You didn't have to go through this nuisance for someone as pathetic as me. You probably have much better things to do."
Hajime swallowed thickly. Nagito's voice was just like the one he'd used in the trial. Dark, maniacal and a far cry from the cheerful tone he'd used when he'd showed Hajime around the island that first day. "Listen, I didn't come here to talk to you. I'm just delivering this." He placed the plate of toast and the bottle of milk on the ground in front of Nagito. "That's all, I'm leaving now." He crossed his arms, stubbornly looking away from the pale boy on the floor in front of him.
"Hinata-kun, wait!" Nagito called, squirming to try to get himself in an upright position but to no avail. "I can't eat this." he pointed out, face smushed into the ground from his attempt, just a few feet away from where Byakuya had been stabbed repeatedly.
"Okay, hang on" Hajime crouched down and unscrewed the lid from the bottle of milk. Remembering what Monomi had urged him earlier "Don't forget to tell him to chew before he swallows" He broke the toast into smaller pieces, and lined them up on the plate. It would be bad if Nagito choked on it after all. "There, I'm leaving now," He said curtly. Truth be told, seeing Nagito so... helpless, was almost more unsettling than seeing him in the trial had been. Especially when he smiled that serene smile, like nothing in the world was wrong. Hajime shuddered.
"Thank you, this is more than I could ever ask for." he smiled Cheshire-like, and made another attempt to sit up, this time succeeding a bit better with only a hiccup of nausea escaping his lips with along with a grunt. He inched himself closer to the tray and bent down to pick a piece of bread up with his mouth. "What are you still doing here wasting your time on an imbecile like me? You ultimates really are amazing."
Hajime watched Nagito trying to swallow the piece of bread for all of two seconds before he intervened. "Oh- No stop that- that's horrible." The other boy regarded him with surprise as Hajime slowly hooked his arms around his body, moving him into a sitting position with his back leaning against a table. Hajime was surprised at how light the other was, much lighter than a boy in his age should be, but he didn't mention it. "H-here, that should make it easier." He mumbled, avoiding Nagito's awestruck gaze.
"Wow, you're so kind." Nagito said in pure amazement. "It fills me up with so much hope for the future to see that you're working so hard for someone as horrible as me," he said gratefully, shifting his arms being his back to get comfortable. The uncomfortable silence that followed was soon cut short by his stomach growling. Nagito decided to ignore it.
"H-hey, aren't you going to eat?" Hajime said, then immediately regretted his words because no, of course, Nagito couldn't eat, his hands were tied behind his back. Hajime lifted the plate and held it up in front of Nagito's face "Here." He said shortly. He knew full well he was avoiding the actual problem, but his fight or flight instincts were working at 100% just from the proximity, and they were telling him to stay as far away from this white-haired lunatic as possible.
"Thank you." he smiled. "I can manage from here," he said, bending over the plate and maneuvered a piece of toast into his mouth. "Well they say hunger is the best spice," he said after finishing chewing. "You really are too kind, Hinata-kun."
Hinata cringed at those words.
"You know what Komaeda, shut up and eat." He didn't need Nagito's self-deprecation distracting him on top of everything else that occupied his mind. Not to mention that strange game... Could something like that really be a motive?
The boy shut up immediately, obeying Hajime immediately and fumbled with another piece of toast. Once finished with that too he opened his mouth to speak but went for a third bread piece instead. The only sound filling the room was Nagito's quiet chewing and the chains rustling at the slightest shift in pose.
They sat there on the floor for quite some time, until Nagito had finished the entire piece of toast. Only now did Hajime realize that he'd forgotten the butter and jam that Mahiru had brought along with it, but Nagito hadn't complained so he guessed it was fine. "Are you thirsty, Komaeda?" He asked, reaching for the bottle of milk.
Nagito nodded, wanting to thank him again but didn't want to bother, so instead, he just waited and hoped Hajime's eyes had adjusted well enough to the darkness to be able to see his actions.
Hajime lifted the bottle of milk to Nagito's parted lips, tilting it slowly allow the other boy to drink. When Nagito had drained about half of the bottle, he was overcome by a sudden coughing fit, and Hajime had to remove the bottle. Nagito coughed and wheezed, milk dripping down his cheeks and staining Hajime's shirt. Hajime gripped his shoulders tightly. "What the hell?" he demanded harshly. "Dammit, you got milk all over my shirt!"
The white-haired boy gasped for air after his coughing fit. "I'm so sorry Hinata-kun, I'm sorry, let me clean it up! But you probably don't want that either, I can't do anything right not even drink milk or keep quiet when told." he sighed biting his lip and going back to being selectively mute and inched back against the wall to let the last coughs escape.
Hajime sighed. "Don't worry about it" Nagito's self-deprecation soliloquies always unsettled him, in part because they cause him to feel somewhat sorry for the other. "Anyway, I'm going to go now. Do you want me to turn the light on before I go?" He spoke quickly, wanting to just be done with it as soon as possible. This encounter had left him with a lot on his mind, which was exactly what he'd been afraid of. He didn't want to give Nagito any more time to worm himself into his head.
"Whichever you prefer~" Nagito grinned. "After all, you're the Ultimate. Just let hope guide your heart to the answer," he said, muting his coughs as much as possible. "But if you want to kill me later it might be better if you left the lights on for now so that I can dry up as much milk as possible for you."
Hajime growled in frustration. This. This was exactly the reason why he'd wanted to leave. "No. No way. Not doing this with you, no way in hell." He walked over to the light switch and punched it, perhaps with a little more force than strictly necessary. "There. Don't expect me to come back" He said sharply and walked to the exit.
"Hinata-kun! Wait, if you're going to do that at least let me help!" Nagito exclaimed, quickly closing his eyes at the sudden sharp light. "You don't want to keep me here if you're gonna leave me to starve, it'd be better if you found a cave by the beach or somewhere. That way the body won't be found for long!" he hollered after him, his eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room.
Hajime sighed in exasperation. "For the last fucking time Komaeda, nobody is going to kill you. You're not going to starve, stop being so dramatic." Hajime could feel his voice rising higher in frustration, and he could feel the tidings of a headache. Why was Nagito so, so- He couldn't even think of a proper adjective. "Listen, I'm not saying nobody will bring you food, okay? I'm sure there are plenty of people on the island who'd be willing to help you. You're not going to die, nobody else will. Not anymore, since you can't orchestrate another murder." He hissed the last part through gritted teeth.
"Ah, out of everyone here I hoped that you'd get it, Hinata. I see I was wrong," he said with a disappointed sigh.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hajime spat. He was very quickly losing the last scraps of his patience, but he had to know what Nagito meant. Maybe he had a plan that would end with somebody dead again, Hajime wouldn't put it past him to try to manipulate someone else the way he'd done Teruteru.
"I just want to see you all embodying hope as ultimates, and what better way to show off your shimmering hope other than to put you through despair?" Nagito said, the deranged smile of his from the class trial coming back.
The words made Hajime's skin crawl, and the gleeful expression on Nagito's face made it even worse. His deranged gaze captured Hajime's and he dared not look away from those dark eyes, swirling with mania and despair. Hajime swallowed thickly, feeling a rising panic in his chest. "You- You're crazy. Absolutely insane" He stammered, pressing himself against the door. His fear was irrational since Nagito was tied up and in no physical condition to hurt him in any way, but that didn't cause Hajime's heart to stop hammering in his chest. "Someone will be by with lunch and dinner for you," He said hurriedly as he exited the room, falling to his knees and catching his breath once on the other side.
As soon as Hajime left, Nagito decided to fall to the floor and just wait. The harsh light shine into his eyes and so he decided to inchworm his way under the table to sleep.
Hajime left the old building with Nagito's words echoing through his mind. He kept busy the entire day, spending time with many of his classmates. But in between talking about fluffy animals with Peko and learning how to headbang with Ibuki, he couldn't forget Nagito, lying on the ground in the old building. "I just want to see you all embodying hope as ultimates!" Hajime had been playing their conversation back in his head all day, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He'd told Nagito that he wouldn't be back anymore, but he was feeling tempted to go back and demand some answers. The Monokuma announcement had played not long ago, so Hajime knew that the time was around 22:00. He hadn't talked to anyone else about his conversation with Nagito, and he suddenly wondered if he'd even gotten any more food that day. Suddenly, Hajime became worried. Nagito had been frighteningly light to carry, maybe that was because of malnutrition? He had promised himself to not go back, but he couldn't let Nagito starve either. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door to his cottage, intending to stop by the supermarket and then bring some food to the old building.
By now Nagito really had to go. The little milk he'd had this morning had passed right through and he /really/ had to go. On top of that he was bored so by now he laid trying to inch his way out of the dining room towards the bathroom, hoping the chains wouldn't get stuck on something. His hunger had surpassed the painful phase by now and now he just felt hollow
Hajime pushed the door to the old building open with his elbow, narrowly avoiding dropping the items he cradled in his arms. He'd brought a bag of oranges, as well as more bread (This time he'd also remembered to bring butter and jam) and a bottle of water. He'd wanted to bring something more filling, but had reasoned that it would probably be too difficult for Nagito to consume since he couldn't use his hands. The hallways in the old buildings were dark, but harsh light was streaming out from the dining hall door. Maybe turning on the lights had been a bad idea, how was Nagito supposed to sleep like that? Hajime, once again had to elbow the doors to the dining hall open. He pushed them open and stumbled inside, a muffled cry of pain sounding out as he did. "Nagito?" He said into the empty room. He was nowhere near where Hajime had left him. Had Nagito somehow escaped?
"Present..." He groaned from behind the door, rattling his chains as he rolled over to his other side. "Hinata-kun? What a pleasant surprise."
"N-Nagito?" Hajime gasped. "What were you doing?" He took in the other's appearance. His disheveled white hair was tangled and dirty, and his clothes were way dustier than before. Almost as if Nagito had been rubbing up against something dirty. "What happened to you?"
"Bathroom." he whimpered and sat up with much struggle. "But I see that would've been impossible since the doors sway this way." he laughed.
The expression on Nagito's face was a far cry for what he'd been wearing last time Hajime left the old building. His inviting smile seemed forced and his eyes were tired. "H-have you gotten any more food today?" Hajime asked slowly, crouching down to place the items he was holding on the floor.
"Ah no, but it's okay. You guys were probably very busy." he grinned. "I don't even feel hungry anymore. I do really need to use the bathroom, so I don't think you want to be here."
Hajime recoiled in shock. "You mean, you haven't eaten anything more than a toast all day? And you don't feel hungry?" That sounded really bad. Hajime wasn't exactly a health expert, but he knew enough to realize the serious implications of Nagito's words. This couldn't go on, even if Nagito had tempted Teruteru to murder. This was far too cruel a punishment, even for something like that.
"And half a bottle of milk. Did you wash your shirt?" he asked, holding his breath between his sentences. "I really need to go Hinata-kun, so you probably want to go, unless you're into that."
What. "What the actual--you know what, that doesn't even matter. Hang on." Hajime walked around Nagito, moving to untie his arms. "I'm only untying you to go to the bathroom, got it?" He said firmly.
"Whatever you say." he smiled, relieved to finally get his hands untied. After spending almost 24 hours with his arms behind his back his shoulders hurt quite a bit.
Hajime moved down and struggled to unwrap the chains around Nagito's lower half. They were wrapped so firmly, Hajime was certain they had left bruises. "Okay, here we go. Can you stand?" He asked, backing up as he spoke. Nagito was certainly in no state to attack him, but Hajime wasn't taken any chances.
"Yeah, one second, sorry to be such an inconvenience," he said, getting up slowly to not faint.
Hajime watched Nagito try to get up but quickly intervened. He grabbed the other by the wrists, pulling him into a standing position and steadying him with an arm around his waist. Nagito leaned heavily on Hajime, who supported him without any trouble. "Okay, come on" He muttered, supporting the other as they slowly made their way towards the exit.
Nagito was unusually quiet on his way to the toilet, limping ever so slightly from his bruised ankles.
By the time they'd reached the bathroom, Hajime was practically carrying Nagito, who was muttering quietly, presumably self-deprecating nonsense. While Hajime would have been annoyed at this before, that had long since been abandoned in favor of concern, Nagito really was way to light, and the fact that he hadn't once tried to exclaim something about Hajime's "grand kindness as an Ultimate" or whatever, was even more concerning.
"I can manage myself from here." Nagito said, reaching down a foot to go to the bathroom alone.
Hajime was reluctant to let him stand alone, but he was also not willingly entering a bathroom with Nagito Freaking Komaeda. "Okay, but you can't lock the door- oh and call if you-uh need me."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't kill myself. Unless you wanted it, of course." he smiled and shut the door after himself.
"That is so not what I meant" Hajime muttered. He leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door and waited, distracting himself with his thoughts.
A while later Nagito re-emerged from the bathroom. "Let's go back and chain me up? I would want you getting in trouble over someone like me."
Hajime cringed at the cheerful delivery. Nagito looked better than before, but he was still leaning against the wall, his skin paler than usual. "Hey Nagito, are you sure you're--you know, okay? When was the last time you ate properly?"
"Oh? Are you worried about me? That's so kind of you." he smiled. "But to answer your question, the last meal I ate was at breakfast. You were so kind to feed me, remember?" Nagito said sweetly, slowly making his way to the dining hall."
"Yeah, I meant actual food, more than a toast and half a bottle of milk," Hajime countered, quickly walking after the other, preparing to catch him if needed.
"Are you claiming that toast isn't food?" he chuckled. "We'll now we know your talent isn't intelligence. If it's edible it's food." he joked.
"Stop avoiding the question." Hajime grabbed ahold of the back of Nagito's hoodie and turned him around so that they were standing face to face. "Look at yourself" He demanded. "You can barely stay upright, you're obviously not alright, and chances are if you die one of our classmates will be held accountable!" Hajime's voice rose with his frustration. "Now tell me, when was the last time, other than this morning, that you had a proper meal?"
"Probably the morning before Byakuya stupidly got himself killed, even though I'd gone through all of that work," he said, growling the last through gritted teeth.
Hajime blinked. "T-that was THREE days ago! Are you telling me you haven't eaten more than a toast for three whole days? What the hell is wrong with you Komaeda?!" Hajime nearly screamed, fear and frustration intermingling in his gut.
Nagito winced slowly at the raised voice, waiting out Hajime's initial shock. "I've had a few snacks here and there which Soda left me. Plus there are all of the leftovers from Teruteru's meal in the fridge in the kitchen here."
Right then, Hajime made a decision. He released Nagito's hoodie, but hooked his arm over his shoulders instead. "Right, come on then. I'm making you some actual food." He headed towards the exit, dragging Nagito with him.
"Hinata-kun! Wait, are you absolutely sure you want to risk being seen with me?" Nagito asked worried, following along either way.
"Nagito, do me a favor and shut the hell up please, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure." Hajime hissed through gritted teeth, pushing the exit door Open and stumbling out into the frigid air with Nagito in tow.
"Hinata - wait, slow down, I can't keep up." he said, stumbling over his feet every now and then.
"R-right, sorry" Hajime stopped, allowing Nagito to regain his footing. "Anyway," He continued somewhat sheepishly, "What do you want to eat?"
"I'll be grateful for whatever you decide to serve." he smiled sweetly and caught up to Hajime.
"Great, you'll be having fried egg with rice then," Hajime said, ushering Nagito into the hotel lobby. "You think you can handle walking up stairs?" "Oh and don't say yes just to not be a bother, you'll be a bigger burden if I have to treat you because you fell down the stairs."
"Yeah I can get up, just give me enough time and I'll be there." he smiled, clinging to the railing.
Hajime eyed him dubiously but went ahead up the stairs. He gathered all the necessary ingredients, suppressing a pang if sadness as he remembered how excited Teruteru had been about the kitchen, and set the stove. As he prepared the ingredients, he wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now? Did he make small talk? What the hell was he supposed to talk about with Nagito Komaeda?
"Can I help out?" Nagito asked when he came up to the kitchen by the restaurant. "You probably don't want any help from someone as useless as me, I'll only be in the way, but if there's anything I can do, please let me know."
"Yeah sure, you can rinse this," Hajime mumbled distractedly, pushing a bag of rice into Nagito's arms. His mind was racing, trying to make the situation less awkward.
"Roger that." he smiled, and took the rice sack and placed it on a countertop and dug through the cabinets for an inomata to wash the rice in. "Hinata-kun, look! They have a clay one!" he exclaimed excitedly as he found the inomata.
"Huh, would you look at that." Hajime commented. "Whoever set this stuff up must care about keeping it traditional, even if its more difficult to use." Once again, his mind drifted to Teruteru, wondering if he used this inomata to prepare the party dishes for Byakuya's party. He decided to try something." I'm sure Teruteru would have loved this" He said airily, gauging Nagito's reaction.
"I guess so. It's a shame he had to go, but a necessary tragedy," he said with a solemn smile. "I wish I could have been the one to go instead so that such an amazing person as Teruteru got to stay alive and amaze us with how he overcame despair. On the other hand, I'm immensely grateful to get to see you all work so hard together." he went on, washing the rice against the ridges of the bowl.
Hajime looked up, suddenly. "You don't get to say that." He started, an accusatory glare meeting Nagito's bright eyes. "Nobody gets to say that they should have died in someone else's stead, that's just going to make it worse. The unsaid words hung in the air between them." That's going to lead to another killing. "
"It's the truth and you know it. Teruteru was out to kill me and my useless talent decided to make itself present. I should have been the one to die there and you know it, Hajime." he said curtly, pausing his washing while he spoke, just to resume it to fill the silence that followed.
What? No that couldn't be right. Nagito had manipulated Byakuya too get him killed. "What do you mean you were *supposed* to die? Nobody was supposed to die, not until you interfered in the first place!" Hajime hissed, trying and failing to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.
Nagito chose not to answer to that and kept washing the rice until the grains came out of their shells. "I'm done."
Dammit. Hajime had only heard Nagito use that cold tone once before, during the trial when he'd asked why he'd betrayed them. That tone meant the conversation was over, and Hajime didn't want Nagito shutting himself off like that again. "That was uncalled for. Why don't you sit down? The food is almost ready. " He said slowly, taking the rice from Nagito's hands and pouring it into the already heated water on the stove. It was as close to an apology as he was going to give, and a desperate attempt to change the subject.
"Anything else I can help with?" he asked, his genuine smile reappearing as he watched Hinata work.
What? Oh, I guess you could set the table...or something" Hajime answered, taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. A moment ago Nagito had been in full crazy mode, raving about hope and talent and whatever else, but now his serene expression and cheerful tone were back. Hajime really had no idea what the guy was thinking, and that made him very uncomfortable.
Komaeda went over to once again dig through the pantry and reappeared later with two plates and then went in search for cutlery and glasses, setting a table in the restaurant as he deemed fit.
A little while later Hajime arrived, carrying the prepared food in his arms. He blinked in confusion when he saw the set table. "Why are there two plates?" He asked. "I only made enough food for you, and nobody else is up."
"Ah, I'm sorry for assuming that someone so special as you would ever want to eat with a lowly human like me." he said, chuckling for himself. "Of course you wouldn't eat with scum like me, how stupid of me. I should be grateful enough that someone as generous as you would even think of feeding me. I'm so happy I could cry." he said, clenching his fist as he waited and hoped to be served.
Hajime sighed. "Listen, I had dinner less than an hour ago. I'm not hungry, and I made this especially for you." He explained slowly, hoping that might make it easier for Nagito to understand. "I don't understand why you need to make everything I do into something negative." He muttered, half hoping Nagito would overhear and get angry. Anything would be preferable to the glowing smile he was wearing right now.
"Thank you for the food." he smiled, ignoring the muttering from Hajime. There was bound to be displeasure from having to feed trash like himself. He'd already had to carry him all the way here even though he was even more disgusting than usual, not having showered in a while.
Hajime stood in awkward silence as Nagito ate. His head was spinning, the conversation from before having resurfaced some unwanted memories from before. It was a stark reminder that the Nagito Hajime had known before the first trial was well and truly gone. The happy, funny, caring person who'd stayed behind to wait for Hajime to wake up, simply because he'd looked pale. That person had been nothing more than an illusion. Hadn't it? Truth be told, Hajime was having trouble accepting that fact. He still saw that person sometimes, if only through fleeting glimpses, but it was probably only his imagination. "Hey Komaeda. His voice had uttered the words without his permission. "Why- why did you do it? I don't mean the murder, but why pretend? Why try to trick everyone? I don't see what you gained from it."
"Why trick everyone? I didn't trick anyone though, I just withheld a small part of the ugly truth." He said, pausing his eating. "This was really good, Hinata-kun! As expected of an Ultimate. Maybe your talent is Ultimate Jack-of-all-trades." He joked, trying to once again steer away from the topic. "Besides, it''s not like the reason why matters. I'm just a pathetic human being with a talent as worthless as luck."
"B-but I want to know." Hajime said dejectedly. Now that he'd started thinking about the issue, he couldn't let it go. "Komaeda, you were the first person I met on this island. I trusted you, I thought we could be friends. Don't you understand that at all?"
"Really? That's amazing, I might drown from the undeserved honor of someone like you wanting to call me a friend." He said, voice giddy and trembling from joy and he took a shaky spoonful of rice as his heart raced.
"Just like I thought. You don't understand." Hajime looked into the other's eyes, finding no malice or trickery. Nagito wasn't screwing with him, he really didn't understand. Komaeda, what happened to you? What made you like this? He wanted to ask, but he couldn't. Instead, he changed the subject. "Have- have you ever had a friend before, Komaeda?"
"Yeah. Back in elementary school I had lots of friends. One day a school shooter came and killed them all though. But it's okay. After that happened I got shot too but I survived and got a huge compensation from the killer. My parents and I went to San Cristóbal after that."
Hajime had expected the answer to be awful, maybe something along the lines of him never having had any friends or having been abandoned but holy shit. Just the thought of something like that happening to him made Hajime nauseous. Sure, he hadn't exactly had the best elementary school experience either, but no matter how much he'd disliked his classmates, the thought of something like that occurring made his blood run cold. "Holy shit Nagito, I had no idea- I'm so sorry." He breathed, looking at the other with sympathy.
"It's okay. I had a great time there with my parents." he smiled. "So I guess in the end everything evened out." Nagito shrugged unfazed.
"W-what? It doesn't bother you at all?" Hajime asked confused. He looked at the boy across from him, eating the food on his plate as if he hadn't a care in the world. And he'd been in elementary school too. Something like that happening, well it was bound to leave someone a bit messed up, right? A wave of great relief washed over Hajime, suddenly making him more relaxed. He finally felt like he understood a small part of the wrapped Riddle that was Nagito Komaeda. Maybe brushing it off was just his way of coping. It didn't seem very healthy, but after going through something like that, who was Hajime to judge. His lips quirked upwards in a small smile. "Hey- thanks for telling me. I feel like I can understand you a bit better now."
Nagito sat there silently for a while. "I don't think you do." He said curtly and stood up with his plate to clean it up. "Let's go back to the dining hall and lock me up again. Wouldn't want to get caught in the wrath of the other ultimates. That way an unplanned and unnecessary murder might happen."
"What?" Hajime exclaimed. "What the hell Komaeda?" They'd been having a moment, right? Hajime studied the other, wondering what he'd done wrong. Had he been too forward? Had he scared Nagito away? He'd thought they'd established a connection, hadn't they? Hajime had confessed that he wanted to know more, and Nagito had- rejected him. That really stung for some reason. "Why do you always do this?" He continued, the stinging pain of rejection fueling his irritation. "Whenever I try to talk to you, you just shut me off and start rambling about hope or whatever- why?"
The cloud-haired boy remained silent as he made his way, still limping ever so slightly from his bruised ankles, into the kitchen, mumbling about how they needed to go back to prevent anything bad from happening.
"Hey! Why won't you answer!" Hajime shouted after him, feeling his throat tighten and the warmth of- tears? What the hell, why was he crying? He wiped his eyes and ran after Nagito before he could leave the hotel building. Right then, he didn't want to see the other again, not until he'd calmed down. But he knew that he had to take him back and tie him up, having Nagito on the loose- unsupervised, was far too dangerous.
"It's not important, it'd just waste time. It's after 10 pm right? You should head to bed, not take care of someone as selfish as me." He said, gripping the railing of the stairs as he walked.
"Fine" Hajime relented. He didn't have the energy to argue or to do anything really. Suddenly, and inexplicably, he'd become really tired. They completed the walk to the old building in silence, Hajime supporting Nagito with an arm around his waist like before. As they came closer, Hajime could feel Nagito tensing up, but he was too tired to comment. When they entered the hallway, Hajime saw the bag of oranges and bread that he'd brought with him earlier that evening. It felt like a lifetime had passed between then and now.
"Do you think you could do me a favor and tie my hands in front of me this time?" he asked as they entered, masking the anxiety in his voice as a cough.
Hajime shrugged but complied, binding Nagito's wrists considerably lighter than before. He cringed at the sight of the red rope burns around his wrists, a stark contrast to Nagito's pale skin. He also got rid of the chains, opting to instead bind his ankles with more rope. At Nagito's questioning look he explained that he was too tired to bother with the heavy chains, a poor excuse, but Nagito didn't question it
After he was rebound, Nagito laid down on the floor and turned away from Hajime. "Good night Hinata-san. Sleep tight."
"G-good night, I guess" Hajime replied. He flicked off the light switch as he left, feeling an immense weight lift off his chest as he stepped out of the old building, into the tenebrous night. He contemplated the bizarre evening all the way to his cabin, turning Nagito's words up and down inside his mind in a futile attempt to make sense of them. He had trouble falling asleep that night, and when he did he dreamt about the first trial, and Nagito's unsettling words.