Lucky You

The next day, I sit down and wait for Komaeda to show up. He doesn't. I even made him lunch again. I eat it alone.

The day after that, I sit down and wait for Komaeda to show up. He doesn't. I eat our lunch. Looks like I'm alone again.

Why do I keep coming here? I know he's not going to show up. I could be eating with Maizono or Kirigiri. Hell, even eating with Celes would be better than this. Actually, I take that back. I definitely take that back.

It's hard to describe how happy I am to see that white fluff again. It's strange, really. He just calls us normal and trash, but I know he's not a bad person. He just has an…interesting…way of seeing things. He's too negative. Even Komaru's told me that my only good trait is being an optimist. I have to take pride in that.

Strangely enough, Komaeda has a cast around his arm.

"Ah, sorry about being gone the past couple days. I got hit by a truck."

"Hit by a truck?!"

"Well, I'm sure you of all people would know best."

"Know what?"

"The luck cycle."

"Luck cycle?"

He puts his palm to his face. "What? You don't have it? And here I thought there was someone like me."

I give him a confused stare in response. He relaxes and sighs.

"For everything that happens, there's an equal and opposite reaction. If something good happens, then something bad will happen later to balance it out."

He looks at me to see if I get it. Evidently, I don't.

"Okay, let's say you're on an airplane and a terrorist hijacks it. That's bad luck, right? But then a meteor comes crashing down and kills the terrorist. That's good luck. But the meteor makes the whole plane crash killing everyone, even your parents. Bad luck. Oh look, you're alive. Good luck."

"That's…quite the example." Unless…No…"Did that…happen to you?"

"Did it? I can't seem to remember."

I stare at him, my mouth agape. I feel horrible for him, but he doesn't even seem to be bothered by it. I shouldn't dwell on it.

"Actually, there was a time when something like that happened to me."

"Really?"

"Well, just once. It's a long story, but a bunch of bad things happened like getting stuck on a bus with a criminal, but by the end of the day, I got a letter telling me that I was supposed to go to Hope's Peak."

"I see. The repercussion from that was probably meeting me. Two lowly bugs sitting side-by-side eating lunch together. How sad."

"Uh…I don't think that's it…"

"Now that you mention it, after I met you, absolutely horrible things have been happening to me! Perhaps I should be grateful that I met someone so insignificant as myself!"

He laughs using the thick of his throat.

"Then…isn't that a good thing, then?"

"Hm?"

"If bad things have been happening, then even if I'm as average as you say I am, then that must mean you like eating here together with me."

He pauses, looking me right in the eyes. His eyelids close shut for a blink, blocking the sun from reflecting against the pastel grey. A smile, smaller, more subtle than all the rest creeps onto his face.

"I guess I do."

I look at his hand. It's a bit shriveled and worn.

"Komaeda-kun. How did you hurt your arm?"

"What do you mean? I told you."

"You don't get burn marks from getting hit by a truck. It's not like you to lie, so I know something is off."

He waits just a second, then places his free hand onto his head.

"You caught me."

He laughs something so fake I feel like I can reach forwards and pull the guise right off his face.

"What really happened?"

"I don't know, Naegi-kun. Figure it out yourself. If you really think anyone can do anything if they 'try hard enough', then even you should be able to figure it out. If that's your Hope, if it's effort, then show it to me, Naegi-kun. Show me how your Hope can overcome Despair."

A surge wells up inside me. He's taunting me, but I can't give in here. My chance is now. Maybe, just maybe, I can make him a better person.

I close my eyes and give it a long thought. What clues has he given me? Why would he lie about something like this? How would I be able to know something impossible?

"You're wrong!" I shout.

"A-About what?" He's obviously startled. He smiles. "Did you find out how I broke my arm? I doubted that such an average person could hold such Ho—"

"Komaeda-kun. Where's your lunch?"

He pauses, stalling for time.

"I didn't bring one."

"Why?"

"Didn't I tell you to figure it out yourself?"

"No. I know how it all happened."

"Hm? You know? Tell me then, Naegi."

Ugh. He dropped the honorific again. I collect myself. I hesitate to spit it out, as the answer is rather embarrassing.

"You broke it making lunch for me, starting a fire. You must have burnt yourself in the process."

Komaeda's scorning stops in an instance, leaving only an empty expression one would one have after seeing death itself. His nose and lips begin to twitch and he stands up. Looking up, I see his mouth start to part, his face start to contort, forming a smirk that crosses from cheek to cheek. I hear a chuckle, like a laugh is breaking loose from it's chains. Then, a scream echoes throughout the small hill we were on. His cackle so intense his eyes begin to swirl in grey, in green, in blue, in black.

"Oh, Naegi-kun. How I'd love to have your Hope."

He walked away, nothing more.

The next day, I eat lunch with the trio. The trio being Ishimaru, Fujisaki, and Oowada. I thought maybe they'd clear my mind. We eat in the cafeteria, Ishimaru's idea, evidently, and I look down at the lunch I made for myself. It's getting better, at least. I even have some fish this time.

I can't help but think about what Komaeda did. Why did he try to hide getting hurt cooking? Did he burn down his entire house or something? I hope he has a place to stay.

…Why did he start laughing like that? What did I do? How I'd love to have your Hope? What does that mean? Didn't he say that normal people like us couldn't have our own Hope? Maybe that was it…Did I shatter his beliefs? Was it too much for him?…Or was he always like that? I should go tomorrow. I should ask him why. Then, maybe then, I could understand him a bit better.

"Naegi-kun! What is the issue?! You look distraught! You must keep a good mood in order to keep up with your studies!"

"Who gives a flying f—"

"Would you two quit yelling please?"

Ishimaru coughs rather quietly and rather fakely.

"I apologize profusely Fujisaki-kun."

"Yeah f—"

"Oowada! What did I say about cursing?! This is a school en—"

"Uwa! Quit yelling!"

What was I expecting? At least it's more calming then…well…whatever happened yesterday. And, ironically, just as loud.

The next day, I go to that tree. It still parts into two large branches, and I still arrive first. I wonder if he came here yesterday, expecting me. I made both of us lunch. Komaru asked about it, but I told her it was for a friend. I hope she doesn't get the wrong impression. I made sure not to put rice in Komaeda's portion.

Sure enough, a moment after I sit down, he arrives. He doesn't speak, only a smile and a wave. He doesn't sit right next to me, like usual. He makes a gap between us, but still less than a meter or so. He's wearing some different clothing today. White shirt, green jacket. He still has his cast, though. I hold my lunch out to him.

"It's for you."

"Ah, Naegi-kun. I don't need anything."

Hm? This is a first.

"Why not?"

"I can't take anything from someone as amazing as you."

What. What? What? Did Komaeda just praise me?

I tilt myself and look at him in the face. It's a smile. One I now know is faker than a con-artist selling you toilet paper.

"Komaeda? What's gotten into you?"

He seems surprised about something. "I see you've dropped the honorific. If you want to call me something else, I recommend Trash, Failure, Useless, Fu—"

"Komaeda! What's wrong?!"

I abruptly stand, leaving the lunchbox at my feet. He stares at me so that the faint color of his eyes blends with the sun behind his head. My throat stings. I hardly raise my voice like that. He closes his eyes. He pauses for a while, letting the dust sit, letting everything settle down. But I wait, I will wait. I have to hear what he's going to say. Why he's acting this way.

"May I ask you a question," He tilts his head upwards, opening his eyes, "Naegi-kun?"

"You don't need to ask permission for that." I plop back down onto the ground.

"To me, Hope is absolute good. People have their own forms of Hope, any kind of desire. As a person without any true talent, I must help those who have the ability to act upon the Hope that they feel is true. Whether that is encouragement or Despair, I must become the foundation for that Hope. So let me ask you again." As he spoke, he crept closer to me until his face was right up next to mine. I feel his breath on the soft hairs on my mouth and a shiver spikes up my spine. His large, greyish-green eyes pierce through my head, asking and asking, "Say, what is Hope to you?"

I lean back, unsure how to answer the question I had previously brushed off. One wrong word here could result in rage, or even worse, that painful laugh, etched into my ears like nails against a chalkboard.

"My Hope is everyone's Hope. I share it with them. Their kindness, their pain, their love, all of it. It is ours to overcome, it is ours to love. The Hope that everyone can be good, the Hope that even the worst of all people can be redeemed, you just have to reach for it. That is my Hope, Komaeda."

As I spoke, Komaeda's jaw gradually started to lower. Now, drool slides over the side of his lips. A droplet falls onto my uniform's pants leg.

"…Komaeda?"

"Hm?"

He notices what he's doing and leans back, wiping his face. He stares at me, as if I were some kind of natural wonder created only to be gawked at.

"Komaeda?"

He blinks. He blinks again. Now it's rapidly.

"I'm…Sorry…"

"About what?" The drool?

"Hope's Peak…was wrong." He puts his working hand on my shoulder and smiles with an open mouth. "You're not the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

"Eh?"

The swirls begin to reform in his eyes.

"You're the Ultimate Hope."