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Nagito Komaeda sighed heavily as he rested his head on the locker behind him. Currently he was sitting on the floor of a hallway with his legs stretched out in front of him, eyes closed. School had been out for hours and yet he was still here, alone. Today had been yet another in a string of bad days, each seeming longer than the last. These days his life seemed like a blur of doctors appointments, classes, and mistakes. He tried to be an optimist, it's the least a talentless nobody like him could do, but every comment seemed to leave the people around him annoyed and angry. Nothing he did was right. He only brought despair. Why couldn't he help the people who provided him with hope? Why did he never do anything right?
Nagito's downward spiral of thoughts was interrupted by a sharp pain in his ankle, a small scream, and a loud thud. He opened his eyes to see Mikan Tsumiki sprawled out in front of him, dazed. Luckily she hadn't landed in one of her infamously provocative poses so Nagito quickly stood to help her up, ignoring the shooting pain his ankle and knelt to turn her onto her back.
"O-oh!" Mikan seemed to snap out of her haze and sat up quickly, "I'm so sorry! I was running and I didn't see you! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention a-and I should've been looking a-and-"
Nagito cut her off, "It's not your fault Mikan. It's because of my hope cycle that got such a talented person like you hurt." He chuckled lightly, "Heh, I guess I really am good for nothing. I hope you didn't get hurt."
"Your hope cycle? Oh, right. But that's not your fault, please don't blame yourself! I'm so sorry!"
"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself Mikan, please accept my deepest apologies. I shouldn't have been sitting like that in a hallway."
"Nobody's here, you shouldn't feel bad! It's my fault. Should I take off my clothes to make up for it?" Nagito paused for a moment, surprised at the comment. This conversation was going nowhere.
"That's not necessary. Let me help you up." He took her hands in his. Immediately he noticed how warm they were. Not hot or sweaty, but warm. Nagito had naturally cold hands so over he'd learned to appreciate things like this. But he knew that right now he couldn't focus on things like that. He was about to stand when she spoke again.
"I'm sorry, you probably don't want to see someone as ugly as me naked."
Nagito stopped, still holding her hands, repressing any thoughts about this. He looked at her, perplexed. "It's nothing like that, Mikan. You're a very beautiful girl, you shouldn't feel the need to make up something so small with something so extreme."
Mikan finally made eye contact, "B-beautiful girl!?" Her whole face turned red and she could only squeak. Before she could send herself into another apologetic spiral Nagito quickly stood, using Mikan's hands to pull her up as well. The quick action seemed to break her out of her stupor and she stood easily. Nagito mentally thanked his luck at she was unhurt. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same. The second he put weight on his right foot, a sharp pain was sent through his ankle. Nagito stumbled backwards in surprised, hissing in pain. Luckily the lockers stopped his fall and Nagito slid down them until he was right back where he started, sitting on the floor.
"N-nagito! Are you alright?" Mikan knelt next to him, concern evident on her face.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. My ankle is just a little sore." That was a lie. His ankle felt like it was going to fall off "It might be bruised a bit but that's it."
"Which ankle is it?" Mikan asked. Nagito told her which one and she reached over to roll up his pant leg. Nagito shivered at her touch. As embarrassing as it was, Nagito didn't have the opportunity to touch people very often, so having someone touch him so openly was new. Of course he had held Mikan's hands earlier but in the moment he'd tried to brush the memory of how soft her skin was and how warm his hands had felt in his. She'd fit perfectly into him, like a puzzle being connected to the last piece. Nagito was brought back to reality when Mikan asked: "Does it hurt when I do this?" Before twisting his foot which sent a violent pain up his leg. The boy tried to cover up his grunt of pain with a cough, which half failed.
"Y-yes." Nagito could barely squeak out. Mikan seemed unperturbed by his obvious discomfort and Nagito couldn't help but notice how much more confident and comfortable she seemed when she was doing her work. It made since, she was the Super High School Level Nurse. And Nagito was the Super High School Level Lucky Student. The thought of his talent reminded Nagito of his thoughts from earlier. It reminded him of what he was thinking. Of who he was.
"Oh, you don't have to worry, Mikan. I wouldn't want to bother someone as hopeful and talented as you with someone lowly as me." He began to softly push her away. Mikan took her hands off him and Nagito felt a little sad as the warmth left his body.
Mikan seemed to relapse into her earlier mindset, "I-I'm sorry, I started working without you saying anything. Please don't be mad!" She seemed genuinely distressed over her attempt at helping Nagito.
"You didn't do anything wrong. It's me who's wasting the time and talent of a hopeful person like you."
"Oh." Mikan seemed unsure of what to make of that, "B-but I went to far, I started touching you. I'm sorry!" Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill. Nagito started to panic. Wasting the time of someone like her was bad but making her cry was even worse.
"I-it's okay! Don't worry!
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!" Tears began to slip down to Mikan's chin and she buried her face in her hands, "I'm s-so sorry! Please forgive me!" Nagito froze as he saw Mikan sob and his brain went into panic mode.
"No it's fine! I'd love for you to help me!" He blurted out, regretting what he said the moment it help his lips. How dare he think he could use the talents of someone like Mikan?
Mikan however, looked up, her sobs quieted. "Really?" Nagito took one look at her face, still dewey from the tears and nodded vigorously. How could he say no to a girl that glowed even after crying?
Mikan quickly stood, her professional demeanor was back, "I'm going to get crutches so you can get to the infirmary, I'll be right back." Before he could respond she ran off as quickly as she came and Nagito was left alone with his thoughts.
"It's not like I can go anywhere." He muttered to the empty hallways. He found himself missing Mikan mere seconds after she left. Nagito had always known he'd had a special appreciation for Mikan but he'd never been able to narrow it down to why. But now he realized he missed the warmth of her hands and her shy glances. He knew he shouldn't be thinking such things, especially about a Hope's Peak student. Nagito had always tried to repress his "appreciation" for Mikan. He knew what it meant. It meant blushes, awkward moments, and offbeat comments. A crush. He was already a weirdo, why make it worse? Mikan shouldn't have to bother with trash like him.
As if she heard her name Mikan came bounding into view again, this time managing to avoid Nagito's legs and instead trip over a loose bandage and plant face first into hard ground. Nagito winced at the loud smack she made but before he could take action she sat up.
"I'm okay!" She said between heavy breaths. She held up her hands which Nagito could now see was holding a pair of crutches.
"Uh, thanks Mikan." Nagito said, still a little bewildered by the fall. Mikan was unconcerned. 'She must be used to it.' Thought Nagito. He took the crutches from Mikan and awkwardly pulled himself up until they rested under him armpits. He gave Mikan a thin-lipped smile that read both thanks and stress. Then, they both started the walk to the infirmary.
Luckily, the infirmary was close to the scene of the accident, so it wasn't much of a walk. Plus the crutches took any weight off of Nagito's ankle and they arrived shortly. Nagito plopped down onto the nearest bed and exhaled. He jumped slightly as Mikan picked up his legs and swung them so his whole body turned and he was sitting on the bed properly. Carefully, she set them down so softly that Nagito didn't feel any pain.
Mikan rustled through a drawer of random medical supplies before pulling out a white tube and a box.
"This," She gestured to the tube, "is going to keep the swelling down. It's more effective than ice." She sat down on the edge of the bed and rolled his pant leg up before squeezing the clear liquid out. She rubbed her hands together and then after a second placed them on Nagito's ankle and began to rub the salve in. He had to suppress the urge to sigh contently, he didn't want to make this weird. Mikan's hands were still very warm, a nice alternative to the cold hallway.
After a moment Nagito noticed Mikan shiver. The room was rather warm so he was confused for a second before he realize how cold his skin must feel.
"I'm sorry, am I making you cold?" He asked.
Mikan looked up from her work, "A-a little bit. But don't worry! This room is really hot so it's nice."
"Hot?' Nagito frowned, "Is it hot in here?"
Mikan looked down again, "Maybe. I'm always shaking so I guess I'm just naturally warmer. I never say anything because I know Teruteru will make it into something weird." She scrunched up her face in disgust and Nagito chuckled. Their conversation died down after that because of how focused she was on her work. After a minute of fixing the salve she opened the box to reveal bandages. Then, with hands that had clearly done this a thousand times, she wrapped Nagito's ankle in the bandage. The boy marveled at her work. It wasn't too tight or to loose and was actually kind of comfortable.
"Thank you so much! I can't believe someone as hopeful as you has taken the time to help me." Nagito beamed at the nurse but she seemed confused.
"What do you mean?"
Now Nagito was confused, "What do I mean what?"
"You keep saying that I'm hopeful. I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean." Mikan frowned, avoiding eye contact as usual.
"Oh! W-well," Nagito paused for a moment, searching his brain for the right words to describe was he was saying. No one had ever asked him what he meant, usually they just scoffed at him or gave him a weird look. "You inspire hope. You're hopeful."
"Oh." Mikan seemed unsure of something, "That's not something I would say about myself."
"Really?" Nagito was always surprised that someone like Mikan could be so helpful and still think so lowly of herself, "I would. You're unique and your talent is so beautiful. You help people and fix them. You get to create cures, study illnesses, and save lives. There's people in the world who're only alive because of you. You're one of the most hopeful people here!"
Mikan's frown deepened, "You say that about everybody."
Nagito blinked in surprise, "No I don't." He paused, considering the statement, "Well, maybe I do, but it's different with you."
"Different? What do you mean?" Mikan finally looked up at him. For the first time, Nagito got to study the deep purple of her eyes. Damn, he really was going to have to tell her, huh?
"Well, the others inspire hope in me, but you inspire other things. Other feelings. Just being with you makes me calm, but you also makes me fearful at the same time." He paused for a moment and licked his lips, "It makes me sad that you think so badly of yourself." Nagito broke their eye contact and started at the ground fixating on a tiny crack in the floor, "I think it bothers me so much because it's similar to the way I think about myself, and that's not something I would wish on other people. Especially not someone like you." Nagito felt tears well in his eyes, "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you." He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes for moment. After a second he felt the tears receded and looked up. Mikan was still looking at him, but now she had tears in her eyes.
"Nagito." She whispered breathlessly before lurching forwards and wrapping her arms around him tightly. Nagito stiffened for a moment at the sudden connection, but after a second he relaxed and hugged her back. burying his face in her neck. They stayed like that for a long time. Nagito appreciating Mikan's warmth and Mikan savoring Nagito's cold. They were both pieces of a puzzle who had not yet found their place but at least they knew they connected with each other.