悪夢で終わります

And Ends With a Nightmare.

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Only a few days following the murder of the Naegi patriarch, Nagito was called to attend the reading of his will.

Last Will and Testament of

Naegi Takashi

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS:

That, I, Naegi Takshi, of Towa City, , Country of

Japan, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, and not acting under duress, menace, fraud or the undue influence of any person whomsoever, do make, publish and declare this my Last Will and Testament.

Article I

I hereby declare that my family consists of:

Naegi Aiko (neè Fujimori)

Naegi Komaru

Naegi Makoto

Hinata Nagito (neè Komaeda)

Hinata Hajime

Komaeda Ishizu (neè Naegi)

Naegi Aoi

Naegi Yuujirou

Naegi Samekichi

Article II.

I hereby direct and order that all just debts for which proper claims are filed against my estate, and the expenses of my last illness and funeral, be paid by my executor as soon after my death is practicable, provided, however, that this direction shall not authorize any creditors to require payment of any debt or obligation prior to its normal maturity in due course.

Article III.

I direct that all estate expenses, inheritance, and other taxes and interest or penalties thereon imposed by reason of my death, whether or not attributable to property passing under this Will and whether or not the same would otherwise be payable by my estate or by a recipient of any such property, to be paid and discharged by my personal representative out of the residue of my estate with no right of reimbursement for the Recipients named in the residuary clause of the Will.

Article IV.

I give, devise and bequeath unto:

Hinata Nagito (neè Komaeda): Vault 657 of Towa Local Bank, thirty per cent (30%) stock and shares in Teru-Teller's Sweets, one (1) house on Sakura-Oka Street

Article V.

I hereby nominate and appoint Kirigiri Jin, executor of this my Last Will and Testament, to act without bond. In the event that the aforementioned executor is for any reason unable or unwilling to act as executor hereof, I nominate and appoint Ikusaba Mukuro to act as executor, also without bond.

If it be necessary to appoint a guardian for my children upon my death, I appoint Hinata Nagito (neè Komaeda), and if he/she is unable or unwilling to act, I appoint Kirigiri Jin as an alternate guardian.

Article VI.

I further direct that my estate be settled without the intervention of any court, except to the extent required by law, and that my executor settle my estate in such a manner as shall seem best and most conveniently to him/her, and I hereby empower my executor to mortgage, lease, sell, exchange and convey the personal and real property of my estate without an order of court for that purpose and without notice, approval or confirmation and in all other respects to administer and settle my estate without the intervention of the court.

Article VII.

Should any of the bequests, gifts or devises in Article IV fail due to circumstances that cannot be reconciled with the terms herein or my express wishes, I give, devise and bequeath such, in the alternative, to my residuary estate.

I give my residuary estate to:

Hinata Hajime

Article VIII.

I hereby revoke any and all former Wills and Codicils thereto made by me and declare this my Last Will

and Testament. In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of

August, 20XX.

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By the time he came out of the lawyer's office, Nagito was exhausted. He could just barely wrap his head around the fact that his cousin had left just about all his property to him, and, not to mention, his children.

Speaking of said children, Makoto had woken all of them up every night so far with a nightmare- not that he could blame him. It'd be a traumatic thing for anyone, to witness the murder of their only parent, so for a baby boy just a few months away from his second birthday, it would be especially so.

Except he dreamed about more than that. According to Komaru, who'd tried to calm him every night before he and Hajime could be woken up, Makoto had nightmares frequently of a black and white teddy bear, and lots of people who, in these dreams, would suddenly 'turn red and take a nap'.

Nagito found them unsettling, for obvious reasons, but he was sure that was nothing compared to how his little cousin (once removed) felt actually seeing them. And Hajime...well, he was busy looking into the murder, trying to investigate with the help of their colleague and friend, Munakata Kyosuke

Which reminded him, he'd be returning to work soon, as well. He'd been given the last few days off to mourn, and before that he was on sick leave for a minor illness (which had conveniently cleared up just before Hajime called him that fateful day).

He worked as a teacher at Kibougamine Gakuen and took pride in it, having been a former student himself (and the Ultimate Lucky Student, at that!), and now that he had two children to look after, he found himself hoping they'd be able to attend his classes one day. But even with his employment there and his uncanny luck, such a thing would never be guaranteed. What a shame.

He unlocked the door and stepped into his home. It was a nice two-story house with three bedrooms (one of them was a master bedroom), two and a half bathrooms, a living room, dining room, office, and even a room specifically for the washer and dryer, so their laundry didn't take up any excess space. There were two storage closets, each with their own trap doors and ladders. The one on the ground floor led into the basement, where there was a recreational room, and the one up on the second floo1q1 led to the attic where they kept all the old things that still had sentimental value.

In the living room, Komaru was playing Peek-A-Boo with Makoto-

"No! No Pee-a-Boo!"

-or, trying to anyway.

Komaru sighed in exasperation and threw her hands up in the air.

"Mou! Makoto, what is it? You used to love Peek-A-Boo!"

"Papa Pee-a-boo..." Makoto said softly.

"Ohh..." said Komaru, just as softly, her voice sad.

Nagito took this as his cue to lighten the mood.

"I'm home!" He announced, his voice light as he considered the impending news.

"You two didn't set anything on fire, did you?"

Komaru shook her head. "Nooo."

Nagito smiled, satisfied, and sat down cross-legged beside her. Makoto crawled into his lap and began playing with his hair. Nagito let him, not minding at all.

"Thank you for helping with him, Komaru-chan. Now, I have some good news for both of you- and I'll tell Haji when he gets home, too."

"Good news?" Komaru looked up at him curiously as he nodded.

"Mm. Starting today, I and Hajime get to take care of you and Makoto-kun, and raise you as if we were your actual parents."

Komaru smiled faintly. This was good news. She and Makoto wouldn't be separated, and they wouldn't be staying with total strangers.

"That's good," she said eventually.

Nagito nodded and put his hands on Makoto's shoulders, pushing him to sit down in his lap.

"I've also looked into it and have found that your school is close by, so you wouldn't have to change schools. But if you want to, there's another school, close to the one I work at."

Unbidden, Komaru recalled a day when her father picked her up from school. She shook her head to clear it and blinked away tears that threatened to spill forth.

"No...I...I want to switch schools, please."

Nagito nodded his head.

""Okay then. But just to make sure you really want this, I think it'd be best if you went and observed one of the classes. Maybe tomorrow, since it's Saturday, and that should give the administration enough time to process everything if you decide you'd like to enroll."

Komaru smiled. "Yes! I'll do it tomorrow!"

"Good girl. I'll make sure to wake you up early so we have enough time to get ready."

"Okay!"

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The next day, Nagito took Komaru into the primary section of Kibougamine. It was close to the section for the Reserved Course students, and, much like it, one didn't have to have an ultimate talent to enter. They did, however, have to have a lot of money- money which Nagito could afford to pay, since the board valued all of the school's teachers and automatically assumed the children of said teachers would be attending school at Kibougamine as well.

After assuring Komaru that he'd be back around 16:00 to pick her up, and then reminding her (again) that her lunch money was safely tucked away in the inner pocket of her school bag, Nagito left to drop Makoto off at the daycare section.

This area of campus was meant for a) the children of Kibougamine staff, and b) the younger relatives of Kibougamine students. It was run by Miss Usami- a forty-something year old woman with strawberry blonde hair and perpetually jovial sky-blue eyes- and her assistants, both current and former Ultimate Teachers, Nurses, and Babysitters. Apparently, according to Usami, her older sister Monomi (who looked much like her but with whiter hair and pink eyes) ran the classroom Komaru was in. What a strange coincidence!

In the meantime, Makoto caught sight of two familiar heads through the window on the classroom door, and was squirming to get down.

"Looks like someone's weady to make some new fwiends!" Usami cooed, taking him from Nagito. The pale-skinned man went to slide the door open for her, and paused.

"Before I place him in your undoubtedly capable hands, I feel I really should warn you- Makoto-kun suffers from very violent and terrible nightmares whenever he goes to sleep. This happens even at naptime- I really hope this isn't too much of a problem for you!"

Usami only chuckled.

"Don't you fret Komaeda-kun! Actually, there a few here who also seem to have that problem, but it seems to help if we place them together: so then they can help each other and those big bad bears won't hurt them again!" She cooed this last bit, looking down at Makoto and then again at Nagito.

"Now, go on to class, Hinata-sensei. I'll keep widdle Makoto-kyun safe and sound!"

Assured now, Nagito left to begin teaching his students, hearing the door to the daycare classroom slide open.

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"Good morning friends!" Usami chirped as she opened the door. Her number one assistant Yukizome Chisa-san was already cleaning up breakfast (which was fine, since Komaeda-kun- no, Hinata-san, she reminded herself, since he wasn't a student anymore- had already fed Makoto-kun right before he left) and Tsumiki Mikan-san was reading a story to the kids. Even though all children between infancy and six years old were welcome, there were rarely more than ten on any given day.

"Miss Tsumiki, could I interrupt for juuust a moment?" Usami asked politely.

"O-oh yes, of course!" The Ultimate Nurse stammered out loudly, noticing the squirming bundle of brown in the older woman's arms.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down on a large beanbag.

"Now, today, friends, we have a new friend who's going to join us!"

Kyouko- the headmaster's daughter- and Byakuya- the son of a very generous benefactor- had always been the most curious, quietest, and cautious of the bunch, so when the two toddlers climbed up next to her to better see their new friend, she let them and went on.

"Friends, this is Makoto! Can you all say hi? Say 'hello' to Makoto!"

There was a chorus of high pitched greetings that kind of sounded like 'haiya-ho", and Usami set Makoto down onto the floor. Then, she stood and carefully stepped between the other children. She stood by and watched to see how little Makoto would take to the other kiddos- and vice versa.

The boy was confused for a moment before he looked around and saw the same lavender pigtails he'd glimpsed earlier.

"'Kou-chan!"

"Makoto-kun."

Makoto clumsily hugged Kyouko and didn't mind at all that it took her a moment to return the gesture. She smiled toothily and then pointed to where Byakuya sat on the other side of the brunet. Makoto's eyes lit up as he pulled Byakuya into a hug as well. The blond heir huffed and then, with a tiny smile, reached a hand up to ruffle Makoto's hair.

From her place at the counter, Usami watched them, puzzled.