Kirigiri could barely put one foot in front of the other as she walked into the school Monday morning. On the outside her face remained the perfect doll like mask it always was but inside her emotions were a storm. She still hadn't replied to Enoshima's message on Saturday. She'd kept off her laptop all Sunday, trying to lose herself in her books instead, but every time she got close to forgetting her thoughts would spiral back to Naegi.

She wasn't really thinking when she went along with Enoshima's plan. Just nod and shrug, keep quiet and agree, that was her rule. Never get on anyone's bad side. When she'd asked Naegi out she was hoping he'd turn her down. She had no idea he liked her. She was still struggling to wrap her head around it. She even managed to have a good time with him on their date. Which left her in a very difficult situation. She didn't want to get on Enoshima's bad side and ruin the calm quiet life she'd built for herself at school, but at the same time, she didn't want to hurt Naegi. She went to her locker and slowly got her books out on muscle memory. Her mind was a million miles away. So much so she actually jumped when her locker was slammed shut. Enoshima leered over her with a grin that made Kirigiri anxious on the inside. Outside she schooled her expression back to her usually blankness.

"So, how was your date? I have to say I was disappointed you didn't answer my message, must have been pretty boring hmm… since you hadn't much to say." She stared at Kirigiri challengingly.

"As you say, it was pretty boring. We drank coffee and talked about books."

"Ugh." Enoshima gags. "Always knew Naegi was a major wet blanket."

"Not to mention a total doormat." Celeste laughed.

"He does spend a lot of time in the library, probably needs to have books for friends seeing as he hasn't any real ones." Said Ikusaba. The others all laughed. Kirigiri felt anger well up inside her. If anyone spent all their time reading books because they didn't have friends it was her. These people she spent time with were not her friends. She was only ever with them to ensure they didn't bully her like they did everyone else in this school.

"Well, you better take him out again. He needs to be absolutely infatuated with him so do whatever you have to, to romance him." Enoshima ordered. Kirigiri fought the urge to roll her eyes. Who did Enoshima think she was treating Kirigiri like a slave. The answer was the Ultimate Despair of course. Kirigiri really hoped she didn't win the battle against the ultimate hope. Natural given she was hope herself but she felt certain she would feel this way even if she was a despair. Their gathering was interrupted as the bell rang. Kirigiri and the rest of the group hurried off to their classes but Enoshima hung back for a moment, seemed like she'd noticed something but Kirigiri didn't care enough to check what it was, she just wanted to get away.

Enoshima's eyes narrowed as she saw Komaeda's face suddenly light up with a bright smile. She followed his line of sight and saw that annoying newbie Hinata waving him over. Komaeda ran to walk with Hinata to their homeroom, both smiling happily as they talked. Her eyes narrowed, watching them until they were completely out of sight. Komaeda was the person she hated most after Naegi. She couldn't stand seeing that happy smile on his face. One way or another, she would break him until he was back to his miserable existence.

Naegi was still buzzing from his date as he sat in his homeroom. Well, tried to sit. He couldn't keep still, he kept fidgeting around thinking about Kirigiri. The way her face lit up when talked about following the mystery in a book, the way her beautiful lilac hair wafted softly in the evening breeze. He practically swooned and ended up slipping forward and hitting his head on the desk with a bang. He raised his head and blushed as everyone in the class laughed at him and he was scolded for being disruptive.

He didn't have any classes with Kirigiri in the morning so he didn't see her until lunch. She was sat at the cool table as normal. Naegi didn't have the confidence to approach her, not surrounded by the kids who always bully him. He looked around and saw there weren't any free tables but one table just had Hinata and Komaeda so he decided it was probably safe to sit with them. All outcasts together.

"Hi, uh, can I sit with you guys?" He asked, hovering by their table nervously.

"Of course Naegi." Komaeda smiled.

"Yeah." Hinata nodded, just as enthusiastically. Naegi sighed softly in relief. Even though he knew Komaeda and Hinata were kind people there was always a part of him that feared rejection and bullying any time he spoke to someone.

"Thanks." He slide into a seat and soon all three of them were talking and laughing happily. Hinata carried the conversation a lot for his more socially awkward friends but Komaeda had strong opinions and Naegi was so optimistic, their personalities made for some interesting conversations.

Enoshima looked over at them with disdain on her face which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of her group.

"Should we go over and mess with them a bit." Ikusaba suggested.

"No." They all looked at her in surprise. Enoshima had never been one to turn down the chance to bully someone. "As much as it pains me to see those losers so happy, I want to see them fall into complete despair, which can't happen unless they're happy first. I want to build them up so I can break them down."

Some of the group felt uncomfortable by what she said. As they often did when Enoshima's most sadistic nature showed but they didn't say anything. No one had the courage to speak against her. Enoshima wasn't stupid. Far from it, she was actually one of the most observant and intelligent people in the school. She knew most of the people who hung out with her didn't like her, they were scared of her. This didn't bother her. If anything, it made her feel euphoric to know she had that much power over people. "Speaking of which, you are going to invite Naegi out again, aren't you Kirigiri?"

The girl in question felt her eyes widen just a fraction, startled at being addressed, but hid it quickly.

"Mm." She hummed, nodding her head.

"Good. See that you do it before the end of the day, okay?" Enoshima said, leaning forward threateningly. Kirigiri nodded again and continued to stare off into space but anyone observant enough would have noticed she didn't eat the rest of her lunch.

After lunch Naegi had English, unfortunately he sat in front of Leon in this class. In their first year of high school Leon had developed a big crush on Maizono and when he found out the two went to the same middle school he saw Naegi as a threat. Didn't matter to him that they'd rarely spoken. Enoshima went to their middle school too. In fact, the three of them had always been in school together since kindergarten. Thanks to Enoshima's bullying Naegi had always been isolated. He was lucky he could sort of consider Komaeda and Hinata friends.

As he was sitting in English he suddenly felt something cold and wet pour all down his back. He shrieked, very high pitched, which caused the rest of the class to laugh. Naegi blushed, embarrassed.

"Is everything okay Naegi?" His teacher asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine." He mumbled. Everyone else snickered and the teacher looked like she didn't really believe him. She came over and got a better look and was able to see something dripping from Naegi's hoodie.

"Leon…" She glared at the boy behind him.

"Yes miss?" He asked innocently. "See me after class. Naegi would you like to go to the nurse and get cleaned up?"

"I'm okay, really." Naegi said, bowing his head. He'd learned over time it was better to just take things like this and not do anything that might aggravate the situation. Who knows what they might do to him depending on Leon's punishment. He spent the rest of the class shuffling awkwardly, unable to get comfortable thanks to the soggy gross feeling in his back, there was a horrible smell too and he was trying really hard not to imagine what it might be. When the bell finally went he gather his things to go but was stopped by Leon and some of the other boys in the class.

"Might wanna take a shower when you get home loser, girls aren't going to be impressed by a guy who stinks of piss." Naegi stared at him in horror. He'd poured pee down his back. Gross. Naegi shivered in disgust.

For the rest of his afternoon classes he couldn't ignore the disgusting smell of ammonia. Neither could anyone else it seemed, given how they were scooching their desks away and holding their noses whilst laughing at him. He kept his head down and felt his cheeks burning with shame the entire time.

When the school day finally ended he rushed to get to the bus only to be stopped by a hand on his wrist as he got out the door.

"Wah?" He turned, only to see Kirigiri. "Kirigiri! Uh! Hey, hey, how are you?" He stammered.

"I'm okay." She said. She stepped closer, then grimaced slightly. Naegi noticed of course. He noticed everything about Kirigiri. He flushed and bit his lip, feeling more humiliated than ever. He was stood in front of the girl he liked stinking of piss. How could this get any worse? He turned to run but Kirigiri stopped him. "Wait! I… I was wondering if you'd like to go out for dinner tomorrow?"

"What?" He whispered. Not believing what he was hearing.

"Well, if you're busy…" She said, secretly hoping he would turn her down. But also secretly hoping he wouldn't.

"No! No! I-I mean yes. I want to go out to dinner with you. Absolutely, it would be a dream come true. Please stop talking." He said that last part to himself. Dammit, he's standing before Kirigiri, the most amazing person in the world, smelling of urine and stammering like a desperate idiot. What could a girl like her possibly see in him?

Kirigiri saw someone who was sweet, smart, observant, dedicated. So many things. Yet faced so much persecution from the people she hung around with. She had no doubt it was one of them who covered him in piss. Probably Leon. Easy to deduce for someone like her.

"I can swing by your house at five then?" She asked.

"Sure!" He said, smiling even though his face was still scarlet. "See you then. Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow first but uh… You know. Well, have a good night." Naegi dashed off to the bus stop before he could make even more a fool of himself. If that was possible. As he was heading over though he caught sight of two people hobbling, one supporting the other. He paused to get a better look and realised it was his friends and Hinata looked to be badly hurt.

"Oh my goodness!" Naegi cried, running up to them. He pushed himself under Hinata's other shoulder to help ease some of the weight for Komaeda. "What happened?"

"Just some jerks, not got enough going on in their lives so they decide to try and ruin my afternoon." Hinata said.

"It was my fault." Komaeda cried. "They attacked him because we had lunch together." Naegi frowned. It was an unfortunate crutch of being considered a loser in high school. Anyone who hangs out with you is bullied by association. Naegi suffered from it just as much as Komaeda so he knew exactly how he felt right now. Even though he wanted to say something, tell Komaeda it wasn't his fault or assure him that he and Hinata should still be friends, he couldn't. That would make him a hypocrite.

"No they attacked me because they're horrible people who can't mind their own business. It's none of their business who I choose to be friends with." Hinata continued.

"So should we head to the school nurse or something?" Naegi asked.

"No, to Komaeda's house." Hinata told him.

"That's good then, we get the same bus." Naegi grinned at them both. He helped Komaeda get Hinata onto the bus and the three of them sat at the front together. It was fun, they chatted about all kinds of nonsense, books, movies, music. Naegi felt a warmth inside him at being able to have a friendly conversation with people for once. It had been happening more often. Ever since Hinata came to school and Kirigiri asked him out things had changed. Suddenly he had friends. He felt himself laughing in genuine happiness for what felt like the first time in years. Then the moment was ruined. He gasped loudly as he felt cold liquid suddenly splash against his head and drip down into his clothes. He saw Enoshima walk forward past him, completely indifferent, acting as though she hadn't just dumped strawberry milk on his head. Everyone else on the bus, bar Komaeda and Hinata began laughing their heads off, making Naegi sink into his disgusting hoodie, eyes down, cheeks red.

"What was that for?!" He heard Hinata yell. Suddenly, Enoshima grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head up to her eye-line. She leered down at him with a cruel smirk, as though he was nothing but a bug under her shoe.

"Just reminding Naegi of his place. Can't have you feeling happy too often." She spat, right in his face.

"Back off." Hinata said, Naegi saw him push Enoshima away and position himself in between the two of them. Naegi shamefully shrank down. He knew he should help, he shouldn't be so selfish as to let Hinata fight his battles for him but he just couldn't seem to make his feet listen when he told them to stand up. He opened his mouth to try and say something to Enoshima. He wasn't sure what, demand an apology? Tell her off? Insult her? Whatever it was he couldn't get it out.

"Hinata…" Komaeda whimpered from his seat.

"Enough."

Naegi peered around Hinata and saw the bus driver glaring at them.

"You're not hanging around your lockers anymore, this is a bus, I have a schedule to keep, now those of you getting off move it!"

Enoshima and Ikusaba stepped around Hinata and headed for the door. Naegi knew he was going to miss his chance if he didn't say something now. He opened his mouth but all he could muster was some incoherent wheezing. He blushed horribly in shame and hid his face in his hands. He was such a damn coward!

"Sit down." He heard the bus driver say. He felt the bus pull away again and relaxed slightly, Enoshima was off the bus now.

"You okay?" Hinata asked him. Naegi smiled at him as he placed a comforting hand on his knee.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal." His voice wavered, betraying him. He cringed when he saw Hinata frown. He clearly wasn't fooling anyone. Naegi always tried to look on the bright side of everything but it wasn't always easy. He was quite fond of the jumper he was wearing. He hoped it would be possible to get it clean given it now had dried pee and fresh milk on it. "Oh, we've reached my stop." Naegi said, seeing the bakery down the hill from him that the bus always stopped near. Sometimes he liked to go in a grab a pastry to eat on the way up. Naegi stood up and bowed lightly to Hinata and Komaeda. "Thanks for everything guys. And, uh, thanks for standing up for me back there Hinata."

"Don't mention it. You know—" Hinata was cut off as the people Naegi was blocking complained.

"Move it loser!"

"Yeah I want to go home."

"Asshole."

Naegi gave a hesitant wave to his friends and left. As he was getting off the bus the driver stopped him.

"Hey kid." He turned back to him, surprised to see him looking worried about him. "I was gonna snack on this when my shift was over, but you look like you could really use it right now." He took out a galaxy bar and held it out to him.

"Oh I couldn't, but thank you." Naegi said.

"Please, you'd be doing me a favour, last thing I really need is more chocolate." He chuckled. Naegi blushed and hesitantly took the galaxy. He cradled it close to his chest feeling something warm inside him. He waved to Hinata and Komaeda as they left and felt reminded that not everyone in the world was against him. He began the trek up the hill to his house, slowly eating the chocolate as he walked. He tried to ignore the cold sogginess in his hair and down his back but it wasn't easy. He felt so relieved when he finally reached his front door, knowing he could take a show and get rid of all traces of milk and pee.

"Hi, I'm home." He called, walking inside and taking his shoes off.

"Hi honey." His mom called from the kitchen. Naegi padded up the stairs and headed to his room to grab some clothes to change into.

"Hi big brother." His sister called as he past her room, she was sat on a beanbag playing a game on a handheld console.

"Hey Komaru," Naegi smiled at her.

"Wanna multiplayer?" She asked.

"Sure, I just need to take a quick shower then I'll join you." He waved happily and continued to his room. One lovely hot shower later and a fresh pair of shorts and a t-shirt and he was sitting on his own beanbag, which he'd dragged into his sister's room, losing to her at Mario Kart.

"Yeah! I win again!" Komaru shouted as Yoshi crossed the finish line.

"Man… I really suck at this." Naegi laughed.

"Yeah, you do."

They both laughed together. Naegi's heart felt a lot lighter, getting to enjoy this time with his sister helped him forget about the humiliations he'd suffered that day. Later that night however, after they'd all enjoyed a lovely pasta together, he found himself unable to fall asleep. He couldn't stop cringing as he remembered the way Kirigiri recoiled from him. He groaned and rolled over. He grabbed his pillow and shoved his face into it. To think he'd actually been stood in front of the girl he'd had a crush on for forever, and who had recently, miraculously, hung out with, whilst covered in dry pee. Kirigiri still asked him to go out again though. He shot up as it suddenly hit him that she was going out to dinner with him tomorrow night. He'd been so excited that she was still willing to go out with him again, even though he must have stunk of piss, that he hadn't registered how soon the date was. He suddenly became filled with anxious thoughts. What should he wear? Did he need to pick a restaurant or did she already have one in mind? Was she supposed to decide because she asked him out? Or did he do it because he was the man? Was that sexist? He shook his head and flopped back down, exasperated. Why was he tormenting himself like this to begin with? Kirigiri was so out of his league. Whatever this was, he knew it couldn't last. Sooner or later she would realise she could do better.

"Come on!" He slapped his cheeks. "Just focus, tomorrow's going to be amazing." He repeated that to himself several times until he finally believed it, if only a little. He resolved that whatever Enoshima did at school tomorrow, he'd shake it off because he knew this date was going to be amazing.

He went to bed that night, so excited he found himself tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He knew he was going to be tired the next day but the honest truth was, he didn't care.