This ended up being more form Hajime's POV, despite the ask being called 'MY' self esteem, but i think it flows better this way. I tried it from Nagito's POV but it just didn't work the same.

This ones a little longer than the others, but it had to be to make the plot i had in mind work.

I'm using the Australian school system for my descriptions, because i live there and it's the only system I'm familiar with. This applies to any future chapters that involve school.

Also, i consistently get confused as to wether Souda is his first or last name, cause honestly it could work either way.

Enjoy :)

START OF CHAPTER:

Hajime had heard of Nagito Komaeda, even before they went to high school together. The boy had gone to a neighbouring primary school, and apparently was quite infamous there.

Apparently strange things happened around him. No-one had died, thankfully, just some weird occurrences. People spoke of him like some mythical harbinger of good or bad luck, and Hajime just didn't believe in that bullshit.

He had always been a skeptical person, so when he started at Hope's Peak High along with Nagito, he wasn't the least bit concerned.

Unlike his best friend, Souda Kazuichi.

"Ahhh! What if he curses us?!"

He fixed his friend with a blank stare.

"Curses are bullshit Kazuichi."

"But what if he bumps me and i never get a date with miss Sonia?!"

His blank stare turned into a glare.

"Curses are bullshit, and even if they weren't, they don't come from just touching people."

"But-"

"Don't go treating him like a contagious disease Souda!" It annoyed him that people could talk like that about someone they had never met.

Souda, knowing his friends patience levels, said nothing further.

The first time they encountered each other was in the hallways a few days later.

There was a commotion a few meters in front of him, and people were parting around whatever happened. Hajime couldn't see due to the line of students blocking his view. When Hajime finally got there, he was surprised.

He expected a spill or something broken. But what he actually found was a stunning young man sprawled on the floor, various books scattered around him. The boy had wavy white hair that stuck out in all directions, yet it seemed to suit him. He was quite pale too.

Something about the other boy compelled Hajime to stop and kneel next to him. He ignored the stares from students passing around him.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

The pale boy whipped his head to look at Hajime, eyes wide and startled. He was briefly mesmerised by the pale green shade of the others eyes.

"Are… are you sure?"

Holy shit, this boy had a cute voice too.

"Why wouldn't i be?" Hajime asked, confused.

The other turned back to picking up his books with a sad expression, which didn't help Hajime's confusion.

"You don't know who i am do you?"

"No i don't. Why does that matter?"

The pale boy averted his gaze, gathering another book.

"I'm Nagito Komaeda."

Hajime paused, hand holding a book in mid air.

"Nagito huh?"

So this was the infamous Nagito Komaeda huh? He grinned at the other, pleasantly surprised to find out he was actually rather cute in person.

"That's a nice name."

Nagito looked at him, shocked.

"You… haven't you heard of me? I'm cursed."

"No, I've heard of you."

"Then… why are you helping me?"

Hajime snorted.

"Curses are bullshit, that's why."

Finally gathering up all the books, Hajime stood up, while Nagito gathered them all into a neat pile. He extended a hand to the other, again ignoring the shock of fellow students passing through.

"You… you shouldn't." Nagito protested. "You could get hurt."

Hajime rolled his eyes and extended his arm, grabbing the others hand and pulling him up. The deer-in-the-headlights look would've almost been funny if the other didn't look so terrified.

"You… you touched me." Nagito murmered, examining the hand that Hajime had grabbed.

"So…?" Hajime tilted his head.

"You're not afraid? I'm sure you've heard of my reputation, so… why?"

Hajime scoffed, and looked at the other with a fond smile.

"I told you, i think curses are a load of crap."

The bell for next lesson rang, and Hajime knew it was time to go.

"See you around Nagito."

He turned around and started to leave, when the albino boy realised something.

"Wait!" He called out. "I never got your name."

The brunette turned around.

"Hajime." He smiled. "My name is Hajime Hinata."

With that he left, he didn't see Nagito looking after him.

"Wow." His face spread into a small smile. "He was so nice."

The next time they met, he found Nagito being bullied by some students in the year above them. They were calling him names and laughing, and Hajime instantly saw red.

"Hey!" He called, walking to stand next to Nagito. "Leave him alone."

"Oh, look, his boyfriends come to defend him." One laughed, prompting the others to as well.

"You must be so weak."

All laughter screeched to a halt. Students also in the hallway had stopped to listen, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a scowling red head girl walking off in another direction.

"Excuse me?!"

"You must be so weak, relying on bullying just to prove your tough. I guess your just that desperate huh?"

He could hear a faint 'Hajime, stop' from Nagito next to him, but he ignored it. The bully, however, was not so easy to ignore.

"I'll show you weak, brat!"

He grabbed Hajime by the shirt collar, and the brunette readied himself for a fight, when something happened.

The glass dome of a ceiling light exploded, shattering only a few meters away from them. Both Hajime and Nagito were unharmed, but a shard of glass landed in the bully's forearm, making him let go of Hajime in a hurry.

"I won't forget this, freak!" With a scowl at Nagito, the bully left, taking his cronies with him.

Now that the incident was over, he turned his attention to Nagito.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but…"

"But..?"

"You shouldn't have defended me."

Hajime blinked, surprised.

"And why not?"

"… i'm not worth defending."

"E…excuse me?"

"Just what i said, trash like me isn't worth defending. You saw what happened with the light, things like that happen around me all the time, you were lucky that you didn't get hit by any glass yourself."

Wait what?

Nagito must have seen his confused expression.

"It's okay Hajime, I've long accepted that I'm ultimately worthless. You're a nice person, but such a brilliant student shouldn't be anywhere near someone like me."

Hajime didn't like the look on Nagito's face when he said that, he looked so… sad, so broken.

How far had this boy's self esteem dropped for him to believe something like that?

From then on, whenever he saw Nagito, he'd try to make friends with him, only for the other to reject him. Not out of spite or to be mean, he kept saying things like 'he didn't deserve friends' and 'trash like me deserves to be alone'.

Hajime, being the stubborn person he was, kept trying. He didn't think Nagito deserved to be alone, no one should be abandoned like that.

Souda, though meaning well, could be a bit of an idiot sometimes. At lunch he sat with Hajime in an empty classroom, and began to speak.

Neither noticing the boy at the door.

"Dude, I'm worried for you."

"Why?"

"You keep hanging around Nagito, why is that?"

"Cause he doesn't have anyone."

"But dude he's freaky!"

"Don't start this again Souda."

"Some chick fell down the stairs because of him!"

"She was running in heels, Souda. What idiot does that in heels of all things?"

"But what about the kid that got locked in the gym shed?"

"The idiot should have propped the door open." Hajime huffed. "I've told you time and time again that curses are bullshit!"

"But dude-"

"No!" Hajime interrupted. "How would you like it if people treated you like that?"

He knew what to say next.

"How would you like it if Sonia treated you like that? Like you were some infection disease?"

Souda said nothing, only gaping at him with wide eyes.

"You get it then, don't you? Just because someone doesn't act or think like you, it doesn't make them any less of a person."

Hajime stood up, and went to exit the classroom. Just outside the doorway, he found the boy the had just been talking about.

"Nagito?"

The pale boy was looking at him with wide, teary eyes.

"Did you… did you really mean that?"

"What?"

"What you said, to your friend, you can't have meant that right?"

"You heard that huh?" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

Then…

"Wait, what do you mean 'can't have' meant that?"

"…"

"Nagito, why would i lie?"

"Because… because no-one could possibly want anything to do with a cursed pile of trash like me."

"I do."

"What?!"

"I do." Hajime repeated. "Do you think i want to be friends with you for fun?"

"Well-"

"Never mind that, forgot who i was talking to. My point is Nagito, that i really do want to be friends with you. I care about you, and no-one should have to be alone."

Nagito looked down, bangs covering his eyes.

"…Nagito?"

More silence. Then he noticed that the others shoulders were shaking slightly, which worried him a little.

"Nagi-"

Then, a green and white blur collided with his chest. He didn't even have to look to know what it was.

Then he felt drops on his shoulder.

"Nagito, are you okay?"

Arms tightened around his waist. It felt a little awkward, but if it helped the other boy feel better, then Hajime didn't really mind.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" It was slightly muffled in his shirt, but he understood what Nagito was saying. "Someone… someone actually cares? This is absurd! I-i can't tell you what this means to me."

Wow, Nagito really didn't have much self esteem did he?

Well thats okay…

Cause Hajime would be there for him, no matter what.

END OF CHAPTER:

I don't think i put enough emphasis on the 'self esteem' requirement, but by the time i realised, i was past the point of no return… oops haha.

Was Nagito a tad out of character? I think he might have been right at the end, but i tried.

Cya next chapter :)

Tairulz