Nagito growled, angrily slamming his hands down onto the sink in the bathroom. He lifted his head and glared at his reflection. Why? Why was a Reserve Course student making him feel this way? It wasn't even inferiority - or it wasn't just the feeling of inferiority - there was something else... something about Haji - the Reserve Course student...

Flashes of the past shone in his head...the Reserve Course shouldn't even be attending this school in the first place - and... that boy... was no exception! Nagito was sure that he was just like the rest of those garbage students.

But then again... when they were playing that video game together...

Nagito shook his head. No! He was just like the rest of them. He had to be. He... had to be...

Nagito remembered the conversation he had with him a few days ago, in the bathroom. He... he seemed like he cared then? And he, Nagito... he... was what he said true?

"I hate the Reserve COURSE - not YOU!"

... was that true?

Nagito sighed, and turned on the taps, reaching his hands under the cold water. There's not much point in thinking about it right now... he thought to himself, as he brought his hands up to his face, dousing it in the refreshing liquid. After repeating the action a couple times to try and calm down, he turned off the taps, and reached for the nearby towel to dry off.

And the towel wasn't there.

Nagito sighed once again. Just my luck... should've paid more attention...

As he grabbed a multitude of small squares of toilet roll to dry his face with, he wondered what good luck would be substituted. Maybe the bagels at his favourite store would go on sale again? That would be nice...

Mind fully distracted, he didn't realise someone was knocking at the door until they started shouting.

"N - Nagito? Are you in there?"

"Ah - H - Hajime!" Nagito spluttered, frantically trying to finish wiping his face with the small squares of thin paper. He quickly threw them in the bathroom bin and swung open the door. "Sorry for keeping the bathroom occupied for so long, I-"

"... Have you been crying?"

"What? No! I was cleaning my face by the sink." And while what Nagito said was true, Hajime didn't seem to believe him.

"Look, I just wanted to see if you were okay...." Hajime muttered, awkwardly scratching at his cheek, which had a light dusting of pink. "And also to warn you about Chiaki. I... I think I stopped her but... she's not happy."

Nagito felt his heart drop. "Shit." He groaned, slapping his face with his hand in an exasperated manner. "Well, as long as you attend my funeral, I'll die happy." He retorted, grinning. As Hajime's face got brighter red - Nagito wasn't exactly sure why, maybe Hajime had a sort of illness? - Nagito wondered what he was doing. Why was he cracking jokes and having fun with someone from the Reserve Course? There really must be something wrong with him.

But right now, it felt so right... and so fun...

Hajime laughed at his joke and Nagito felt his heart lift. Just a little bit longer... he pleaded to himself. Let me stay like this... for just a little bit longer...

Hajime's phone buzzed. Hajime quickly reached his hand into his pocket and checked it. Once he realised what it was, he sighed. "Sorry but I have to go. My parents don't like me staying out late if I'm not staying overnight."

"Oh, do you live with your parents?" Nagito asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"N - No... but I don't like upsetting them, and I'm a terrible liar." He laughed again. "Well I'm glad you're okay now. I should probably get going though..."

As Nagito followed Hajime into the living room, he tried to control his conflicting thoughts. He knew he shouldn't stop Hajime from leaving - aside from it being Hajime's (when did he start feeling comfortable with saying Hajime's name in his thoughts?) choice whether to leave or not, less Reserve Course students to deal with should be better... right?

But as Hajime moved to leave, having said goodbye to Chiaki and Kazuichi in the living room, a large gaping hole started to form in Nagito's chest. It felt like the world was crumbling in on itself. It felt like if he left things as they were now... he may never see Hajime ever again... and for some reason...

... that was the last thing Nagito wanted.

"H - Hajime!" Nagito called out, not entirely sure what he was doing. Hajime turned back around, and the hole that was inside Nagito's chest started filling in. Nagito felt warm and happy - but didn't know what to say. "I... uhh..."

Hajime paused. "Hey, do you want to stay over at my house tonight?" He asked awkwardly, scratching at his cheek again, the pink flush returning - maybe the pink was a reaction to the scratching? "I, uhh... we could stop by the supermarket on the way home and I could pick up something for us to eat..."

"What about us - OW!" Kazuichi almost interrupted, Chiaki elbowing him sharply in the side.

"That sounds like a great idea, Hajime!" She chirruped. "I'll stay here with Kazuichi though, he promised to help me with this game I was playing."

"I did? Oh I DID!" Kazuichi yelled when Chiaki glared at him again. "Looks like it'll just be you two!" As Nagito thought it over, he could faintly hear Kazuichi mutter: "Why don't you ever do anything like this for me?" - whatever that meant.

He... he wanted to go. He really wanted to go. But to a Reserve Course Student's house? Him? Was such a thing even allowed? What would a Reserve Course student's house even look like? Maybe it was all gold... No, that was too much stereotyping.

"Nagito? Would you like to join me?"

"I... Uhh..." A million thoughts raced through Nagito's head, and he found himself unable to respond. As the seconds of silence continued, Hajime's face slowly fell, and Chiaki slowly got angrier.

"Ah, okay. I guess you just don't want to upset me. It's okay, I understand." Hajime mumbled, before adjusting the bag on his back, and beginning to step out of the house and walk down the driveway.

"I need to choose now..." Nagito muttered to himself. "I need to... choose..."

After a few seconds, he raced to the front of the house, quickly put on his shoes and coat, grabbed his bag, and ran out of the house. "Bye Chiaki! Bye Kazuichi!" He yelled as he left. "Hajime! Wait up!"

Hajime jumped slightly, and turned around, hope shining bright in his eyes. "N - Nagito!" He yelled. "Y - You made it? You wanna join me?"

"Y - Yeah, I do..." Nagito muttered. "Umm, I need to grab clothes from my house though."

"Of course! Do you know where Jillies is?" Hajime asked.

"Oh, that's my favourite bakery!"

"Mine too!"

Nagito and Hajime smiled widely at each other for a minute, before jumping back. "Ah!" Hajime stumbled through his words. "I mean, how about you grab some clothes, and meet me there? We can grab some food to eat for dinner from there, and maybe some breakfast too."

Nagito nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan, Hajime!"

New chapter is out! I seem to be able to update every day, but I don't know if that will continue throughout the entire book, I guess we'll see.

So Nagito is finally starting to learn that Hajime is more than a simple Reserve Course student lol - and the next chapter will be about Hajime and Nagito's sleepover!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all again soon.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊