Inspired by the movie 'Happy Death Day'. Heavily based on the movie, but deviates partly and is not an exact retelling of the movie.
Because before i started writing this, i had never seen any of it beyond trailers. So all i have is the plot i read online and the 'CinemaSins' Video.
Also, you may or may not guess who the killer is ahead of time. I tried for mystery, but i hope i wasn't too obvious about it. Although those of you that have seen the movie may know.
WARNING BEFORE YOU READ: Constant death scenes. Blood. Murder and stuff.
(i mean duh, the movie it's based on should already give you a clue)
This is gonna be a LONG ride, folks, i hope you find it worth the read.
Anyway, i own nothing. Enjoy :)
START OF CHAPTER:
"Good morning, silly~"
"Ugh… my head…"
"Come on Nagito! Wake up!"
Nagito Komaeda was not in the best shape on the morning of his birthday. He had a massive headache, and couldn't remember anything from the night before. Going to a party at his college was a stupid idea.
"Come ooooon! It's almost noon sleepybug!"
"Fine…"
The first thing that met his bleary eyes, was blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
He rubbed his eyes, groaning.
"Junko, what are you doing in my dorm?"
His cousin scoffed, placing her hand over her heart in mock offence.
"Well i never! I'll have you know that it is you that is currently in my dorm!"
He rubbed his face.
"Why am i-"
"Here? Looking half dead?" Nagito pouted at that, but Junko continued on. "Well sugar, both questions have the same answer! You went to a party last night, and you got suuuuuper wasted. So naturally, being the generous cousin i am, let you crash in my room until you woke up."
Nagito went to reply to that, but a knock on the door came before the words could leave his mouth.
Junko's voice rang throughout the room.
"Ugh, sis! I can smell you're rank-ass B.O from the other side of the door!"
The door opened, and a very unhappy Mukuro Ikusaba entered the room.
"I wouldn't be able to tell. You're obnoxious perfume makes it hard to smell anything else for miles."
"Waaaaah! 'Sook'-uro's being mean to me!"
Rolling her eyes, the soldier turned towards Nagito instead.
"Happy birthday Nagito."
He smiled.
"Thank you, Mukuro."
Her lips twitched upwards slightly.
"What are your plans for today?"
At the word 'plans', Junko immediately stopped her 'sulking'.
"Plans?! Oh my god, do you have any?! We totally have to throw you a party!"
"Aha, Junko, that's not-" Nagito tried to protest.
"Nonsense! It's not everyday your favourite cousin turns eighteen!"
"I'm your only cousin."
"That's not the point!"
Laughing, Nagito slowly got out of the bed. He stopped short when he head his phone beep.
He smiled as he read who it was from.
"Well, you two have fun, i'm going to go see Hajime now."
"Oooooh, getting a little birthday loving from the boyfriend, eh?"
"J-junko, no!"
"Remember to take a condom with you!"
"Junko!"
His face flared red, as he hurried away from his cousins laughter.
Returning to his own room a few doors down, he was greeted by the lovely sight of his boyfriend, nervously waiting by the door.
"Hey, Hajime. I got your text."
The brunette jumped slightly, but smiled as soon as he caught sight of Nagito.
"Hey." Nagito was pulled into a kiss. "Happy birthday."
He smiled back at his boyfriend.
"So… an arm went around his waist. "Any plans for tonight?"
"Well, not really… but, Junko wants to throw a massive birthday party for me tonight."
Hajime stroked his chin thoughtfully with his free hand.
"A party, eh? Sounds just like her."
Fast forward to that night.
All was going well, Junko had to no-ones surprise managed to pull of a massive party, and yet had also managed to hold it in the massive dining hall (She had cackled something about having an arrangement with the head of security when asked).
Usually, Nagito wouldn't be one to touch alcohol willingly, but since he had already done it the previous night, and today was his birthday, then who was he to hold back?
So the conclusion? He didn't.
From then on the night was a blur, he danced with Hajime, he drank, he laughed, and just had fun.
For the most part, the party had been a huge success, almost everyone had wished him a happy birthday, wether they knew each other or not.
"Hey, Nagito, can i talk to you?"
Being already tipsy at this point of the night, Nagito hadn't questioned how this person knew his name. Seeing as the person was wearing a hood, Nagito's intoxicated mind had only held onto the glass of water Hajime had previously shoved in his hands, and followed the other person with a silly grin on his face.
"Hey, so…" He'd been sipping the water as they walked, and was slowly starting to sober up. Not by much, but enough to start questioning this decision. "Where are we going?"
Alarm bells started to ring as the hooded person gave no answer.
"Ex…cuse me…? Didn't you say you wanted to talk?"
Faster then lightning, Nagito couldn't have seen what came next.
"Agggghrk….!"
An excruciating pain was the next thing he'd registered. A steel blade was removed from it's target, and Nagito's eyes widened when it came back covered in blood.
His blood.
Oh… my god. He was dying, he was actually going to die. All because his half-drunken mind decided to follow a stranger from a party.
On shaky legs, he'd tried to make a run for it. Desperately, he tried to remember which way he'd come from, but to his frustration all he could hear was… footsteps?
Was he saved?!
Holding a hand over his wound, he ran a little faster, well, fast as he could with a stab wound. But as he ran, a chilling realisation occurred to him.
The footsteps were coming from behind… that meant…
Oh god!
He tried, he really did. But there was only so fast you could go when you were bleeding out from a stab wound.
He could still hear them.
No… no!
"Ah!"
A sharp sting to the back of his knees sent him sprawling to the ground.
—
…
"Good morning, silly~"
"Wha-"
Nagito bolted up from his laying position, gasping.
He looked down at his chest. No blood stain? No crazy hooded person cackling as he slowly bled out?
Scratch all that, why was he still in Junko's room? Hadn't he left there? And shouldn't he be in a hospital?
"Ugh… Junko, my birthday was yesterday, why are you here?"
"Uh, hello? Dopey cousin of mine? You're birthday's today stupid."
He looked at her, eyes wide.
"What's the date?"
Junko looked at him as if he'd dropped from another planet.
"It's the 24th of April, dumbass. You know, as in your birthday?"
He ran a hand over his chest absentmindedly. Had it all been a dream? It had felt so real though…
….
"Good morning, silly~"
He tried everything. Running to the hospital, getting himself arrested, even running headfirst through a forest fire, goddamit.
He usually opted to talk Junko out of holding the party, not that it helped. Wether he was in a crowded area or not, the killer always managed to find him.
Nothing ever seemed to work. The killer always found him, always managed to kill him no matter how much he tried to run or hide.
This particular time around, he was tired, he was alone, and he was hungry. Thankfully, this time around, he'd brought the cupcake from the nightstand, green icing a little squished from the small bag he'd hurriedly put it in.
Raising the cupcake to his lips, he took a bite. Smiling at the fact he had food, he swallowed.
And immediately wished he hadn't.
"Gah…!"
Something was wrong. His heart was beating faster, and his throat felt like it was on fire.
Coughing, he clawed at his throat, but the pain only continued to get worse. His vision was blurring now.
'The cupcake… was… poisoned?!"
Oh god… it couldn't be Junko, right?
Right?!
It hurt so much!
'H… help me…!'
His world went black.
….
"Good morning, silly~"
"Gah!"
Immediately, he leapt up, backing away from the edge of the bed his cousin perched on.
"Jeez, rude!"
Sure enough, she was holding that damn cupcake on a plate. The green icing mocking him, he rubbed his throat at the memory.
"What? You hungry? That mean you want this-"
"No!"
"Wow, Nagito, rude! It's just a tiny cupcake."
"Did you make that?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did you?!"
Sensing the urgency in his voice, Junko frowned.
"Uh, no? It was left outside my door."
She handed him a little note, it read 'Happy Birthday'.
It was Nagito's turn to frown.
"It was outside my door this morning, but it had this little note, yeah? So i figure it's someone's birthday gift to you."
"It…" Nagito gulped. So it wasn't his cousin? "It definitely isn't a happy present Junko."
"Pfft what? You think it's a prank? You're not gonna tell me you think you smell mint toothpaste or some shit, right?"
"…"
Surely Junko would help, right? She was his cousin, she wouldn't think he was crazy, right?
It was worth a shot, he guessed.
"… seriously, Nagito? Time loops triggered by some mysterious cloaked figure murdering you? Are you sure it's not like an elaborate dream or something?"
He sighed. Or maybe not.
"I wish it were that simple, Junko."
Her eyes narrowed. The cupcake laid forgotten on the bedside table.
"You're serious about this, aren't you?"
"Yes. And in fact, i can prove it."
The model raised an eyebrow.
"Really now? And how exactly are you going to prove this?"
"Okay, look." Nagito began. "Say this set of specific words when you hear a knock on the door. Then when it opens to reveal your sister, i can tell you the exact response, word for word."
The eyebrow raised higher.
"… okay, you're on."
Cut to a few minutes later:
"-hard to smell anything else for miles."
Junko turned to Nagito, gaping.
"Holy… shit… you, you were actually right!" She immediately tossed the cupcake onto the floor, looking at it in disgust.
"Junko, what-"
"Shut your trap sis! It seems we have a murder to prevent."
"…murder?"
It took moments for the two cousins to bring Mukuro up to speed.
"I see… then we definitely have to stop Nagito's killer."
"No duh! I don't want our precious cousin to be some fucker's road kill!"
Junko leapt off the bed, dragging Mukuro with her towards the door.
"To the investigation, my dear watson!"
A squishing sound sounded from under the blonde's boot.
"Ew! Goddamn i forgot about this stupid cupcake!"
Mukuro knelt down, inspecting the crushed treat.
"Sis! What are you doing? You know Nagito said that was poisoned right?"
The blackette turned to Nagito.
"You said you only ate the cupcake once, correct?"
Nagito nodded.
"Then i want to eliminate the possibility of the cupcake being poisoned for good, without risking any of our lives tasting it."
He frowned.
"And on the off chance that you are correct, and someone is trying to poison you, as well as murder you should they fail… Then it turns into evidence doesn't it?"
That… that actually made sense, provided he actually survived this time. He simply nodded again.
With no further objections voiced, Mukuro knelt, gathering the cupcake and storing it in a little plastic makeup bag handed to her by Junko.
With that, the sisters left the room, leaving Nagito to try and survive the day on his own.
This time, he decided to try hiding again, only different. He'd stay completely secluded for a long period of time, then immediately dash to the next location, locking himself away again.
This continued for some hours, hiding and hiding, location after location throughout the college.
That night, he'd ended up back in his room. But as he'd headed down the hallway…
"NAGITO!"
Hearing the alarmed shout, Nagito whirled around, only to see his cousin charging towards him, looking unnaturally frightened.
"Junko, what's-"
"Poison!"
"Wha-"
"Shut up and listen." Her eyes were wide and terrified. "You were right, the cupcake's been poisoned."
"How did you find out?"
"Mukuro's a soldier, right? After you're crazy story i sent her to Mikan to analyse the cupcake. Then i get two texts! One was a report saying everything that was in the cupcake, and guess what? One of the ingredients was a high level poison!"
She stopped, eyes watering slightly.
"And then… and then, a picture of of Mikan and Mukuro, both of them were shot dead! And that's not the worst part!"
"Junko what could be-"
"The caption read 'Nagito Komaeda will die, and so will anyone that gets in my way'."
She shook her papers cousins shoulders.
"Someone's seriously after you Nagito! You can't stay here!"
Nagito frowned.
"But if i do that-"
'BEEP!'
Both cousins froze at the sound of the blonde's phone going off. They looked at her screen, which contained a simple, yet chilling message.
'YOU'RE NEXT.'
"What the hell?! See Nagito? I told you it wasn't safe to-"
'BANG!'
—
"Good morning, silly~"
No! No this couldn't be happening.
Not again.
Why?
Why did he have to go through this hell?
WHY?!
He just… he didn't want to do this anymore. Makoto would come for him. He would die. He just knew it.
More silent then usual, he sent Junko and her sister off. Sent the message that he wouldn't be coming to class today to Hajime. He told both parties that he felt ill.
Which, well… wouldn't be a complete lie.
He was exhausted.
Going through time loop after time loop, dying again and again, it'd really taken a toll on him.
When he heard a key scraping the door, it awoke him from his nap that he'd been taking. He wasn't sure who to believe it was anymore. Ordinarily, he would just assume it was Junko or her boyfriend, but now? He didn't want to be so paranoid, but this hellish nightmare loop of death was heightening his paranoia.
He'd tried to dash for the wardrobe, but he was moments too late.
Just as he'd been reaching for the doorknob, another force crashed into him, then he felt pressure on his neck.
He could only just manage the strength to struggle a little bit, and even then, all he'd managed to accomplish was that now he got to face his attacker.
Makoto had once joked he was jealous of Nagito's eye colour, despite them both having various shades of green. His were more pale, while Makoto's were closer to blades of grass in the summer sunshine.
But looking into them now, those blades of grass, instead of being warmed by the sun, had instead been frozen by a cold, heartless ice. It was unnerving, to say the least.
But the pressure had increased on his neck, vastly changing his focus. He struggled, he clawed at the hands surrounding his windpipe. But unfortunately for him, Nagito had never been the most physically capable person around.
So now, as black spots appeared in his vision, his grip was slowly weakening. He couldn't call for help, couldn't get away.
He was helpless.
His legs were about to give out, he could barely see anything past that haunting twisted smirk.
"Nagi…- NAGITO!"
Abruptly, the pressure on his neck was released. He slumped against the wardrobe, only faintly registering the hands that came into contact with his face moments later.
"Nagito! Hey, Nagito! Are you okay?!"
He… he knew that voice.
"H… ha.. haji-"
He coughed, neck still to sore to speak much.
"Shh, don't speak."
He felt himself crushed against a warm and firm chest. A weak smile appeared on his face.
"Jesus christ Nagito, that terrified me! You don't know how much it scared me too see that happen to you."
"Why… why are you-"
He felt a gentle tap on his head, and huffed out a small laugh through his nose.
"Don't speak, you almost just got choked to death! I was worried about you, and when neither me or Junko saw or heard anything else from you for the rest of the day… well, i got worried."
Hajime glanced away from him, and Nagito didn't even need to ask what he was looking at.
"And i'm so glad i did! I almost lost you… i don't know what i would have done if i… if i hadn't…"
Feeling his chest start to rise more rapidly, Nagito slowly reached for one of his tan hands, and weakly squeezed it.
"I… i can't believe it. Makoto? I just… i thought he got along with you?"
Nagito huffed out his nose again. "App… parently… too much."
He rubbed his throat with his free hand. Makoto had a stronger grip then he would have thought.
"How… how did you get him off?"
Hajime paused, then glanced away from him guiltily.
Nagito, curious, struggled to turn his body, despite his boyfriend's protest. His gaze fell over the scene with tired eyes.
Makoto laid completely still, facing away from them, arms still outstretched as if still reaching for the neck he was gripping. More interesting though, was the pool of blood that seemed to originate from his head, spilling out over the plush carpet of Junko's dorm room.
And beside him, was a bloody baseball bat.
Putting the pieces together, he glanced up at Hajime questioningly. The other, catching his stare, averted his golden brown eyes.
"I… you know what happened… don't you?"
He sounded small, ashamed. He nodded while gripping a tan hand slightly tighter.
A sigh left Hajime's mouth.
"I just…" Nagito was pulled into an even tighter embrace. "I just got so scared, Nagito, seeing you like that. So i… so i… saw the bat on the ground just inside the door, and i…"
Both of them looked back at Makoto, who still had yet to move a muscle.
"Call the police." Nagito muttered quietly.
"What…?"
"Trust me Hajime. If he's dead, then it was self defence because he was trying to kill me, right? If he's not, then he'll go to jail for attempted murder."
Hajime ran a hand down his back, and Nagito smiled at the comforting gesture.
"You're… you're awfully calm for someone who almost just got choked to death. He… he wasn't threatening you, was he?"
"No, at least, not in the way you think."
Hajime raised an eyebrow.
"So… he was? How? What happened?"
Instead of answering, Nagito leaned in and kissed his boyfriend, nose huffing in amusement at the surprised noise that escaped the brunette.
"Nagito…?"
"It's a very long and bizarre story Hajime. Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course Nagito, i care about you."
He smiled, he just couldn't help smiling ever so wide at the sight of his boyfriends face.
This was it, it was finally over.
For good.
(For years, those that knew him would wonder why he screamed when greeted with a cupcake on his birthday. Only him and Hajime would ever know the truth.)
END OF CHAPTER:
I've been looking for an excuse to use that 'blades of grass' metaphor i came up with for forrreeever.
For once, i do not treat Junko like a massive bitch. She's actually really pretty, but goddamnit she's the most evil-est creature in the history of existence.
So hey, for once she's actually helpful.
Althought I hate Tsumugi WAY more now, because holy fuck I cannot express my hate for the ending of V3 enough.
Anyway, no lie, i came up with the idea to do this while on the bus to my course a while ago.
Truth be told, my original 'plan', such as it were, involved Hajime actually being the killer, and it was gonna be some yandere twist right at the end.
But i've never seen the movie, only trailers when the movie first came out. So when i went and read the plot online, i got a way better idea. So that's how i ended up with the version you've just read.
I know, i know, not much Komahina, right? I do realise the deviation from the movie, so the two will have to get together in another way, right? So i just put in the established relationship. That's okay, right? Ehe lol.
Cya next chapter :)
Tairulz