Author's Note: HURRAYYY! ANOTHER CHAPTER! :DDD I'm really happy to see reviews and stuff so dw abt annoying me or smth and just go for it! 333 Thank you for supporting this fic, enjoy! 33
Warning: Swearing, simping LMAO
Disclaimer: Bruh, I don't own Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, all rights go to Spike!
Continued...
Her joy warmed my heart and genuinely made me feel like I did something helpful, that I did the right thing. It gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to provide those amazing feelings to everyone else I befriend on this...soon-to-be killing school trip.
'Yeah...Yeah! I'm gonna do my best on this damn game, and I'll be there for Nagito!' With hope in my heart and a small ding! sound coming from my e-handbook, I knew I was off to a great start. Although, the small aches creeping into the seams of my heart began to bother me...
Eventually, as the ruckus quieted down, everyone began to move out and do their own exploring whilst I remained on the floor with an unconscious Hajime in my lap, reassuring Mikan I'd come get her if anything happened to either of us after she worried about leaving him alone. She reluctantly nodded before wandering off to join the others in their exploration.
I watched longingly as Nagito ran after Kazuichi, probably off to introduce himself to everyone. Sighing to myself, I looked down at Hajime, looking over his features now that I got the chance to really see him up close. Light brown hair, peachy skin, slim boyish features...
I had to admit, he was pretty attractive, and- WOAH ARE THOSE MOHOMMONA-KNOCKERS ON HIS CHEST REAL? HOLD THE DAMN PHONE MUFUCKA, HAJIME GOT SOME TIG, OL' BIDDIES.
Ahem, Hajitiddies aside, most boys who are tall and thin are usually the first ones to catch my eye. Not that I wouldn't date plumper or shorter boys! I do have an attraction towards Twogami, and Makoto, and Fuyuhiko, and- you get it!
Giving myself a slight slap to the cheek as I rambled on in my head, I shook off my nonsensical thinking and kept an eye on the boy below me, snoozing away.
God, it was so...bright. We are in direct sunlight after all on a beach of all places.
"Damn, I don't know if this bitch's body can even move him. Sheesh, I'll try I guess," I muttered to myself, spotting a nearby palm tree to provide us with shade. Huffing, I carefully lifted Hajime's head off of my lap and scooted backwards, placing his head on the sand. I let out a groan as my legs were finally free from the uncomfortable position I was sitting in, a slight ache in my calves as I stood up.
"Well," I muttered to myself, looking down at Hajime. "Let's get this over with, I guess."
Surprisingly, I was able to drag Hajime's body over to the shade without even a stir from him. Success! I guess probably carrying around flower pots and bags of soil helped miss thing get some gains! Let's go!
After resuming our previous position, although this time my legs were spread on both sides of Hajime's body, I began to speak aloud to him, needing an outlet for my fleeting thoughts.
"How long is Nagito gonna take introducing himself? I hope he comes back soon and then- we'll start talking and stuff and- and, he'll like me, and we'll be friends and-!" I rambled, a smile spreading across my face as my face heated up from my embarrassing confessions. "Ohhhh myyy gosssshhh!" I quietly squealed, squeezing my eyes shut and smushing the palms of my hands into my cheeks, feeling how warm they were.
"This is so embarrassing but- goddammit, this is really how it feels like to be in lub and to see the mufuckas you're in lub with in real life! Don't ya dare tell him, ya 'lil snitch!" I giggled to myself, despite knowing Hajime wouldn't respond to my rambles. "Teehee, he'll come back though, because he's gonna check up on you! Lucky bastard! Damn, Hajime, when you wake up knock me the fuck OUT so I can see Nagito standing over me, too!" I cackled to myself, shaking my head and flapping my hands joyfully.
About 20 minutes passed as I continued to ramble on and cackle to myself like a hyena, Hajime still unconscious. Although I was in the middle of blabbering on of how excited I was to possibly make a band with Ibuki in the future, my eyes immediately flickered to the white, unruly mane of hair approaching us from the distance.
'Oh my god, OH MY GOD! IT'S HAPPENING!' I internally screamed, knowing my face was turning redder and redder by every step the Ultimate Lucky Studenttook.
"Don'tfreakoutdon'tfreakoutactnormal- H-hey! Welcome back!" I stuttered, shortly after panicking under my breath when Nagito finally reached a good proximity near us.
The white-haired boy gave me a friendly smile, and I swore my heart skipped a beat.
"Hello there! I'm Nagito Komaeda, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, introducing himself as he stood above us.
I fumbled with my words, frantic uh's and uhm's slipping from my lips like a waterfall. It took a moment to be able to finally clear my throat and choke out an introduction.
"I-I'm, uh, Nnnoyonaa Ningyo! A-and, please, the pleasure is all mine, heh..." I said, smiling awkwardly. 'BRUH, YOU FUCKED THAT BITCH UP TO HELL, DUMBASSSSS!' I screamed in my head, feeling humiliation flood my chest. As I mentally berated myself, I watched with wide eyes as Nagito chuckled, his warm voice sending pleasured shivers down my spine.
"Wow, I can tell how kind of a person you are just from that introduction alone! I look forward to getting to know you on this...heart-throbbing school trip." Nagito's smile changed to an unsure, flat line, his gaze moving to the side in thought. "...Although, I still think it's rather odd that a stuffed rabbit brought us all to this island. I'm not sure why Hope's Peak would ever do that to the students on the first day..." He trailed off, crossing his arms.
"W-well, um, as long as we're not in any danger I don't see anything to really worry about!" I chuckled nervously, still feeling butterflies rampage in my stomach just from staring at him, let alone from talking to him!
Nagito's smile returned to his lips, his eyes crinkling at the corners as his cheekbones lifted. "I see. You're right, Noyona! That bright, hopeful attitude of yours makes me feel really relieved! So, I suppose I don't really need to worry about this whole thing for now."
'I'm gonna THROW UP!'
My heart and head felt like they were pounding in sync as my heart caught in my throat. Nagito's simple praise...gave me such a euphoric feeling. It felt like my body became heavier, although I felt my hands starting to tremble with restrained happiness. "O-oh! I'm really, really happy to hear that, Nagito!" Even saying calling him by his name felt so good! Jesus christ am I such a SIMP!
'Ew, I sound so gross and creepy! Goddamn,' I mentally cringed, a bit disturbed at how easily my feelings of affection overtook my body and clouded my mind.
"-So I suppose he's been unconscious this whole time? Your legs must be tired from the weight, right?" Nagito questioned, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see him glancing down at Hajime's slumbering form, a tilt to his head.
"Yeah, he hasn't moved at all. But, I mean, I'm not mad about it. I'm happy to stick around and help someone!" I reassured him, using a single finger to flick at Hajime's ahoge. I felt his body give a little jolt at the action, but he remained asleep. I giggled, amused by this. "But I guess I actually really wanna explore the island. I've never been to one before- since y'know, I'm poor!" I said jokingly, snorting. Nagito smiled as he replied, "I see. Well, if you'd like, I can watch over our fellow classmate while you go explore, I'm sure you're eager to go talk to our other classmates."
I blinked at him before quickly shaking my head in protest. "No, no! I mean-! How about this, we can wait together for Ha- him to wake up and then we can, um, go explore together? I mean, if you want to, that is!" I exclaimed, stumbling over my words nervously. My lips squeezed in a wobbly line as I finished speaking, hoping I hadn't made too big a fool of myself.
The luckster paused before his eyes gleamed with joy. "You'd really like to spend time with someone like me? Of course, I'd love to! How exceptionally kind of you!" He then murmured under his breath, though it was too low for me to hear. "To treat trash like me with such kindness, looking at me with such a warm gaze...How it fills me with hope!"
My brows furrowed for a second in concern at his mutterings, though I quickly adopted a relieved smile on my face as he looked back up to meet my gaze. I figured to store that small scene in my memory for a later time, worry prickling at my heart, but now was not the time!
"Someone like you? I- I think you're pretty cool! I can tell we're gonna be good friends, so don't worry about all that stuff!" I smiled, waving a dismissive hand at him. I held in an excited gasp as I watched a light pink flush form on Nagito's pale skin, standing out amongst the light shades of his features.
'I made Nagito blush? I MADE NAGITO KOMAEDA BLUSH?! AYOO?' I cheered in my head, imagining mini-me's running out and screaming their little hearts out. These emotions were only spurred on as I heard a faint ding! come from the e-handbook I shoved into my corset, and I knew I just gained my first hope fragment from Nagito!
"Yay! I got a Hope Fragment! Anyways, why don'tcha sit down with me? The sand isn't too bad, me thinks," I giggled, patting the loose sand next to me. Just as Nagito was about to make his move to sit next to me, I let out a small, "Oh!" as I felt Hajime shift in my lap, a small groan reaching my ears.
Nagito and I looked over at the boy, although I merely leaned over to watch him. Hajime twitched as he slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of me looking right down at him.
"Hey, you good? Are you alright homie?" I asked him before he quickly pushed himself off of my lap, letting out an oof! as he plopped onto the sand. "Damn, rude. But I guess I'll let it slide," I said teasingly before my face warped into a worried expression at the sight of his skin growing pale again.
"Hey, are you alright?" Nagito repeated for me now that Hajime sat himself up. "..." Hajime remained silent for a moment, rubbing at his head. "...Leave me alone," was all he muttered to us.
'Ouch,' I winced, feeling slightly offended by his wariness. But I guess I couldn't blame him, he doesn't know what's going on.
"Th-there's no way I can leave someone alone when they look that pale..." Nagito said in concern. I got up and dusted the sand off of myself, Hajime following my actions and getting up from the sand. We watched as Hajime looked around for a moment before speaking.
"That rabbit thing said we're...on a tropical island."
"Yeah, it's kinda wild, isn't it?" I said with a shrug while Hajime gave me a weird look. His eyes drifted over to the yellow camera standing in the sand. "Is that...a surveillance camera? Are- are we being monitored?!"
"I wouldn't say we're being monitored..." Nagito commented with a look of indifference. "I think we're just being watched for our safety." He suddenly gave us a carefree smile and waved his hand. "Well, it's a waste of time to think about it. Best not to worry!"
For a moment, I thought I saw Nagito's gaze flicker over to me for a second as he said that. I hoped that my mind wasn't tricking me, because then that'd mean...he really took my words for account.
A smile formed on my lips and I nodded, agreeing with Nagito. "Hey, I noticed that you were kinda out of it after Mo- Usami told us about the heart-throbbing school trip, and I wanted to let you know that she gave us all e-handbooks. I think you put yours in your pocket earlier," I suggested, motioning towards Hajime's pants.
He looked down and stuck his hand into his pocket before pulling out the small tablet. "Wh-what the hell is this?" Hajime questioned. "It's like a PDA or a smartphone..." "Ding! Di-ding ding!" A cutesy voice sang from out of nowhere, and we all turned to see Usami jump out from one of the palm trees. How did she even hide behind that thin tree what the hell?-
"Like Noyona said, it's an e-handbook!" The white rabbit chirped. "What the...?! Where'd you come from?" Hajime exclaimed, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"Oh, did I startle you? I'm terribly sorry!" Usami said apologetically, but also pointedly avoiding his question. "Teehee! I know how to apologize like a good girl!"
'Da-dan-ganronpa, da-dan-ganronpa- Gonna make you dance, dance, DAANCE, he-hey, he-hey, HEY!' That fuckin' song played in my head as soon as I saw Usami, and I could practically hear the funky song playing nearby. Or was that just my imagination?
"Anyway, don't you think it's cool?" Usami asked Hajime, referring to his e-handbook. "That handbook is absolutely vital for this school trip, so make sure you don't lose it!"
"Th-this device is that important?" Hajime inquired in doubt. Usami threw her arms up, wand in hand. "I've asked everyone to use their e-handbook to gather all of the Hope Fragments!" She suddenly relaxed, lowering her arms. "Um, on this island, you'll obtain Hope Fragments as you get along with your classmates. As your relationship with everyone improves, you'll be able to gather more and more Hope Fragments!" Usami cheered before continuing, "Gather Hope Fragments so that the flower of hope achieves it's full bloom. Truly, that is...the main purpose of this school trip!"
I waved goodbye as she finished with a sweet, "Love, love!" and ran off, leaving the three of us still standing around on the beach. "H-hey!" Hajime called out in frustration, to no avail as Usami was already gone.
Turning to the other two boys, I smiled, "So, now that that's done...You guys wanna go explore the island?" "Wait a moment Noyona, I think our classmate over here might still be a bit confused," Nagito interjected politely, sending me a reassuring smile after noticing that my grin wavered from his response. "Oh! Yeah, okay!" I nodded understandingly, turning to Hajime.
"Well, first off...I'm Noyona Ningyo, nice to meet ya!" I chirped, sending him a smile. "And I'm Nagito Komaeda, nice to meet you as well," the white-haired luckster added in a friendly tone. "Oh, and along with our introductions, I think we should tell him our talents so he knows why Hope's Peak Academy chose students like us," Nagito said, turning to me.
"Oh, sure! Sounds good," I agreed, nodding. "My talent is the Ultimate Florist. Uhhh, I can't really elaborate on what specifically that details, but I'm sure you'll see over time," I told Hajime with a chuckle, smiling nervously. 'That's right, I don't even know what my talent means for me. I mean, I know florists mainly arrange flowers and stuff but...I guess I didn't do a lot of research while I was designing Noyona,' I thought to myself.
"I'm sure we'll see the fruits- or in this case, flowers of your magnificent talent bloom beautifully during our time here on the island! Good decision to show us and not tell. That's the true flamboyancy that an Ultimate such as yourself should exhibit!" Nagito praised gleefully, a wide smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes as he gazed at me in admiration.
I flushed at his nonstop praise, and grew even redder at the unabashed expression on his face he was showing to not only myself, but to Hajime as well.
"Ohhh my gosh-!" I blurted, holding my heated face in my hands. "Nagito, please just tell him your talent already!" I pleaded with a squeak.
"There's no need to be so embarrassed, Noyona! It's my pleasure to remind you Ultimate's of your worth!" Nagito laughed before his face dropped and he sighed, crossing his arms. "...As for myself, I'd say I have a rather disappointing talent, not nearly as amazing or creative as Noyona's..."
My racing heart calmed down at his words, which instead sent a sorrowful ache to my chest. The heat left my face and a frown appeared instead. "A disappointing talent...? What do you mean?" Hajime asked him, a confused look on his face.
Nagito gave him a small smile. "...I'm lucky."
'Oh, Nagito...' I thought somberly, giving him a look of pity as I recalled his horrible luck cycle that caused the deaths of not only his parents, but his dog as well. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. 'No, don't think about it...I don't like thinking about that stuff.'
I reopened my eyes as I heard Hajime question him, "...What are you talking about?"
Nagito chuckled humorlessly, "It's not a joke or anything...That's my actual talent. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student, or at least, that's what I'm called anyway."
"Ultimate Lucky Student?" Hajime questioned again.
"Through a country-wide lottery, apparently only one ordinary student is selected at random to attend Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Lucky Student. And that lucky winner just so happened to be me," Nagito explained before he noticed something. Looking between me and Hajime, Nagito tilted his head. "Your faces look...troubled."
Hajime jumped in first, shaking his head. "Oh, no...I'm not troubled or anything."
I pursed my lips before showing him a smile, shaking my head dismissively. "Same here, don't worry about it dawg!"
Nagito chuckled and rose his hands reassuringly, "No, it's fine. I have mixed feelings about this, too." His eyes suddenly turned downcast again, and he lowered one hand whilst looking down at the other close to his face. And I think we all know what's gonna happen when he does that.
"I never thought that an average, talentless high school student like me would ever enter Hope's Peak Academy..." Although he sounded rather nonchalant about it, you can hear the self-depreciation in his voice.
...And it made my heart ache.
Nagito continued, "At first, I declined...I told them I didn't deserve it, but they told me they really wanted me to attend. Apparently, this so-called luck of mine is a talent that even the school doesn't fully understand. So to research it, they school picks the ultimate lucky student every year through an annual lottery."
A cheery smile returned to his face as he shrugged off his previous somber attitude. "Hope's Peak Academy is amazing if they can actually research something as vague as 'luck'. And, thanks to that luck, a guy like me was able to attend Hope's Peak Academy, so for that I'm grateful!" He then resumed his previous downcast look, the smile still on his face. "...But on the other hand, I feel a little out of place here."
Hajime and I remained silent during the duration of Nagito's explanation, not sure when or even if to say something. But the two of us were growing uncomfortable at the hints of how Nagito viewed his talent- well, maybe I wasn't uncomfortable, per say, but I was certainly growing more and more saddened at the words that left Nagito's mouth. All I wanted to do was hug him, reassure him, make him feel safe, love him, but I couldn't. At least, not at the moment. Not this early on...
"Ah, sorry," Nagito chuckled nervously, snapping out of his haze. "I have a bad habit of viewing most things through a pessimistic lens. But, um, yeah. I guess that's it for my introduction."
My heart squeezed in my chest, and I refrained with all my might to hold his hand that was just about two feet away from mine. Fingers twitching, I opted to wring my hands to keep myself busy and as a nervous habit.
"Now then, it's your turn," Nagito urged Hajime kindly. Hajime sputtered for a moment and collected himself. "Yeah...I'm Hajime Hinata." "Nice to meet you, Hajime!" I chimed, giving him a smile. He hesitated before returning the smile, giving me a curt nod. 'Yes!' I thought, a little more happier than I was a moment ago. 'Hajime is slowly warming up to me! HOORAY!'
"I agree. Well then, let me ask you a question; what is your Ultimate talent?" Nagito inquired, placing his finger to his chin.
At this, Hajime paused and furrowed his brows as he delved into his thoughts. "Um, I..." I watched worriedly as Hajime stuttered. Nagito and I glanced at each other, equally as concerned before Hajime began to shudder rather vigorously, alarming us.
"Hajime, are you okay?! Are you in pain?" I asked worriedly, feeling a little frightened at his sudden movements.
Hajime noticed this and quickly shook his head, his body relaxing. "I-I'm fine...I guess...I'm still pretty confused about all this. I'm...having trouble remembering some things."
"..." Nagito paused while I sighed in relief, although concern was still clear as day on my face.
"I understand how your memory might be confused after suddenly getting into a situation like this..." Nagito hummed, his face appearing rather flat before a smile lit up his expression. "But I'm sure you'll remember soon once you've settled down." "Mhm! I'll help ya try to remember your talent, Hajime!" I added cheerfully, despite knowing that my words were only full of promised lies.
Promised lies...
"You're...right." Hajime slowly nodded before looking up and giving me a small smile. "And...thank you for the offer, Noyona. I appreciate it."
I chuckled airily and waved my hand dismissively, "No problem!"
As I said that, a small ding! came from Hajime's pocket, causing him to yelp at the unexpected noise. "Wh-what the hell was that?"
"Your e-handbook!" I snorted lightheartedly. "That sound means you got a hope fragment!" I suddenly gasped, "Awe, Hajime! We're gonna be really good friends, I just know it!"
Hajime looked up from his e-handbook after viewing the hope fragment and nodded, giving me another tiny smile that told me he acknowledged my wish. 'OOO, YOU WANNA BE FRIENDS WITH MEEEE, YOU WANNA BE MY FRIEND SO BADLY, I JUST KNOW IT!' I cackled in my mind, but I genuinely felt happy that I had a chance to get close to Hajime!
"Now that introductions are over..." Nagito stated. "...Even though I don't know what's going on, I hope we can get along." As he said this he alternated looking in between me and Hajime, letting me know he was more open to the idea of befriending me. Point scored!
As if reading my thoughts, another ding! came from Hajime's pants.
"Hooray! Another point for the Nagiyona- or Komaegyo duo! Hajime's definitely gonna be our friend, isn't that right, Nagito?" I squealed happily, moving my fists up and down excitedly to convey my joy.
"Nagiyona? Komae-what?" Hajime questioned. 'The ship names!' I mentally answered. "I think it's a combination of mine and Noyona's na-" Nagito started before I interrupted, eagerly clapping my hands. "Anyways, you guys wanna go explore now? I wanna go see the entire island! Oh man, I bet it's HUUUUGE!" I gasped loudly, drawing their attention. "OOOO, DO YA THINK THEY HAVE PINA COLADAS!? EVEN BETTER IF WE GOT CAUGHT IN RAIN!"
"Alright, alright. While I'm pretty sure it won't rain anytime soon- well, actually, knowing my luck it might, but I'm sure we'll find plenty of things you'll be interested in," Nagito laughed, sending another fit of butterflies in my stomach and causing my smile to be a bit more dopier. "Well Hajime, I'm sure you'd like to meet the others as well! I already introduced myself to them, but I can go with you guys."
Nagito chuckled, "But to be honest, before I arrived at this school, I did some research about everyone on the internet. I haven't learned everything about everyone, but...I'm pretty sure I can give you some helpful info."
Hajime gaped at him whilst I got lost in my own thoughts.
'Does that mean he found me- well, Noyona on there? Maybe she does have like a hella long chain of flower shops like I imagined, or maybe something different? I could ask him what'd he find, but wouldn't it just be weird if I asked about myself despite being the very same person I'm asking information about? Or...maybe I'm overthinking this, after all, it's only natural that someone would wanna learn about what people are saying about them on the internet, right? So I guess I could ask him, but...' I looked over at the two as Nagito explained that message boards discussing about Hope's Peak's very students exist to Hajime. 'I guess I'll just drop it. If I get asked about my life before the island, I'll just lie or something and hopefully Nagito doesn't see too many contradictory statements...Man, am I horrendous at lying sometimes.' I shivered, coming back to reality as soon as Nagito placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Well then, shall we get going, Noyona?" He smiled at me, reminding me just how eager I was to explore the island.
I nodded, a smile lighting up my features as the three of us headed out of the beach and onto the dirt roads guiding a path around the island. And although I am actually excited to walk around the island, I knew that the white-haired boy walking beside me was guilty for being the one to cause my heart to pound so heavily in my chest.
...To be continued...