Chapter Text
Many people crave to be born lucky. Many watch with envy as those gifted with excessive amounts of luck climb corporate ladders or win lotteries.
Komaeda hopes that no one comes to envy him and his luck. From his short seventeen years of life, he has come to learn one valuable lesson.
Luck is unpredictable.
Even those who are born with supernatural amounts of prosperity, will never, not one, be able to ever understand the streams of chance that flow through their veins and beats in their hearts.
Those favored or hated by the infamous Lady Of Luck were marked from day one. Their fate was to live in her shadow, for their every choice was orchestrated by Luck. Every sin and every virtue were designed by her hands.
Perhaps he broke a mold. Perhaps the rumored Lady Of Luck was taking pity on him. As of right now and where he stands - Komaeda Nagito feels like the luckiest person alive. He does not know if this conclusion is good or bad. He's never been one hundred percent certain when matters concerned his luck.
The boy doted on by the goddess yawns, driving has always made him tired. In the back of his car, five defenseless bodies lay motionless in comparison to his sloppy break job. Their limp figures sway with each lane switch he makes.
Komaeda pulls up to a red light. His stop is sloppy and choppy - his foot stays on the break once he's close enough to the light. He looks up to the rearview mirror and feels slightly uneasy once the unnatural silence hits him. He's surprised he didn't notice it sooner. Their car rides are normally filled with arguing and trying not to die; never has he heard the AC hum it's tune instead of the usual loud shouting which is typically covered by even louder shouting.
Komaeda shuts the AC down. He frowns once the offending sets of snores finally reach his ears; they had been previously tuned out by him because of the AC's out-of-tune song. His eyes linger on his passengers. Reflected in the rearview mirror are five sleeping children. Little Nagisa-Kun has his arms positioned protectively around a copy of 'I Am A Cat'. The corners of the book dug deep into the boy's primed and ironed uniform. Next to the scholarly boy sat Utsugi Kotoko. The young girl has her head resting on top of Nagisa's. Her flowing pink hair falls down Nagisa-Kun's head, causing long pink locks to stick onto the boy's drool drenched face. Unlike those two, Monaca sat to the side, secluded from the rest. She had foreseen her tiredness and had reclined her seat back the moment they left the school. Her school jacket was bundled into a pillow-like shape while Kotoko's blazer covered her legs. He guessed that it couldn't be helped, he reaches over the seat and fixes the slipping blazer so it was no longer hanging onto Monaca by a thread.
Seated behind those three are Jataro and Masaru. The pair lean towards the window for support. They use Jataros' giant hoodie as a makeshift blanket that swallows them whole.
Once Komaeda makes it out of the complicated inner city and its scary big roads, he makes sure to drive slowly so as not to wake them. It would be unlucky if someone as lowly as he ended up waking those kids from their peaceful slumbers. He decides to risk rolling down the passenger window—the cool air hits his face and lets a bird in. The bird chirps. It tries to eat his legs while he drives past Kyoto station. As the bird kept trying to capture Komaeda's attention its chirps and flapping grew louder and more vexing. Komaeda frowns, he tries to hush the bird with his finger in a pitiful attempt of control, but the bird must be disgusted that trash like him had the audacity to silence it. It gives Komaeda one last clipped chirp before jumping from the still-open window. Komaeda quickly shuts it close.
When he finally reached the rusted gates of his estate Komaeda turned the car off and yawned. It appeared that the sleepy spell also seemed to want to come after him. He shook his legs, still throbbing in pain from the bird's sharp beak. Fixing the view of the rearview mirror the white-haired teen considered how he should wake the children up. But with how tired the Warriors seemed there was no way Komaeda could do that. It would be distasteful of him.
"How unlucky." He yawns while reclining his seat back. He figured if he kept the AC on it would be fine. The car was top quality: with car seats made of a sturdy foam cushion and finished with fine leather, they were very comfortable. The windows had a shade slider since window tint was illegal — bulletproof glass and a structure that was reinforced to ensure the safety of its passengers to the fullest extent also accompanied the car. The set of car and booster seats he spent hours agonizing over were also the best quality one could find. Overall his car was an ideal car to live in—minus the fact it sadly didn't include a bathroom.
Komaeda was content with his decision. In the many books he's read about child care and development almost - if not all, had cited sleep as a necessary part of child growth and nourishment. But then he considers how uncomfortable Nagisa must be, and Masaru-Kun too! The boy's poor little face must be cold from leaning against the window for so long. Nagisa would most definitely have a sore neck from the way Kotoko was using him as a pillow. And Jataros' face would have the imprint of his car seat engraved onto his skin; that would surely hurt!
Biting his lip, a sigh of defeat escaped Komaeda as he reclined his seat forward. Turning the car back on he slowly drove his vehicle into the home's garage. He's sure the speed he was going at was illegal. A turtle would have beaten scum like him in a race.
That didn't matter. Instead of wasting his time thinking about a turtle walking past him, Komaeda focused his attention back on the sleeping children seated behind him.
Carefully Komaeda unbuckled his seatbelt and slowly pried his car door open. As the black rubber line outlining the interior of his car door finally detached itself the door swung open with a vengeance. A loud clang echoed in the garage. He paused for a moment and sighed with relief; the sound thankfully didn't wake the Warriors up. He repeated his slow process of prying the car's door open. With every minute that passed Komaeda would wait to see if the children would stir and then quickly return to work as their tiny snores continued to fill the air.
Pop!
Finally, the car door opens.
Reaching over and unbuckling Nagisa-Kun, Komaeda struggled to get a good grip on the boy. He poked around the Lil' Ultimates booster seat in an attempt to find a way to pick Nagisa up without waking the boy. When Nagisa began to stir, softly whispering a set of math equations, Komaeda quickly slipped his hands around Nagisa's neck and legs. The older teen struggled to keep a good grip on Nagisa as the boy kept hugging his book, which stabbed Komaeda in an uncomfortable manner. Moments like these make him wish his home had an elevator instead of a dumbwaiter. Luckily all it takes is a light kick from his foot for the front door to open.
Like a slug Komaeda shimmied past the genkan.
Lady Luck must be on his side because all the doors Komaeda needs to go through also open with a light kick. His real struggle was walking up the stairs. Normally the child is awake and choking him while he walks up or down the stairs. Today that was not the case. Nagisa is the second tallest kid, making his long limbs hard to operate or see through.
Komaeda made it up in one piece though; he tucked Nagisa into his hammock and lingered behind. Content the boy wouldn't fall off, the white-haired teen walked back downstairs. A new fire burning in his soul.
One literal trip down the stairs later Komaeda is carefully waking Kotoko up. He tries not to gag when his hands brush past her drool-stricken hair. Kotoko stirred, too tired to care about her unadorbs state. The pink-haired girl leaned against the car while Komaeda brought Monaca's seat forward and freed the little robotics genius from her car seat.
"You have to keep your eyes open Kotoko-Hime. If you slip and fall, you would probably break your neck on impact. It would be a very despairing and unadorbs look." He diligently escorted the two girls up to their room. He carried Monaca in an all-too-familiar fashion; the Lil' Homeroom's hands instinctively wrapped around his neck. Since he was able to support Monaca's weight in one hand Komaeda made sure his free hand was there to catch the former actresse if she were to slip and fall on the stairs. In Kotoko's sleepy state, he also paid attention to her space; his hand hovering just centimeters from her frame.
"Hey, Mister.Servant...??" Kotoko asks when Komaeda struggles to open the bedroom door.
"Hm?"
In her sleep-driven state, Kotoko is groggy. Swaying slightly the girl yawns. "Your hair is pretty. I wish I had ice cream-shaped hair too..."
"Ah. Uhm. Thank you?"
Dropping off the girls, Komaeda carried Jataro followed by Masaru up the stairs after shutting his car off. Too tired to make another trip downstairs, Komaeda figured their school bags could stay seated in the car. Call it a lucky guess; he's certain they've all done their homework and that there was nothing new for him or their worker to sign off on.
Exiting the children's room Komaeda is careful when he shuts the door behind him. Komaeda travels downstairs to warm himself a cup of black tea. According to his backup backup backup phone, Chiaki-Chan should be stopping by to drop off something he forgot at school recently. He's not sure what it is but it must be important, given how many texts he was sent in the last two hours. Pulling out his computer from his school bag, Komaeda checked and was pleased to see that Sensei did not publish any last-minute homework assignments like usual. He stretched and yawned, frowning when he noticed that one of his sticky notes had a crinkled edge. Komaeda was surprised by how tired he was: It wasn't even six o'clock yet. He pondered if he should make dinner, then checked the fridge to see a few containers of food from his aunt were still there and ready to be reheated via microwave.
That covers dinner then, he smiles and makes his way back to his room. Checking once more to see that the kids were still sleeping (and to make sure they were still breathing!) Komaeda can finally lie down and get some well-deserved sleep after being forced to stay up with Masaru to watch the game last night. Forgetting about his medication—something his friend will definitely scold him for, Komaeda finally gives in and falls under the dark cloak of sleep.
The darkness that surrounded him was infinite. Komaeda didn't dream much but when he did it was always a curse. He's lucky his medicine somehow has an effect to block out his dreams. Oh wait, did he even take his pills? Oh well, his sleeping self doesn't care enough to wake up. Sleep always feels welcoming. Especially for someone like him who seems to lack it. Komaeda is at peace; time is non-existent here. He slept for what felt like minutes but was really hours. The next time Komaeda opened his eyes, the clocks on the drawer beside him simultaneously read in bright red letters, 7:56 PM. It was rather early, considering at this time they would be showering and getting ready for their bedtime at 8:30 pm.
Komaeda wonders if the children have woken up yet. He tugs his socks off in favor of slipping into the slippers Kotoko insisted she decorate. Komaeda was about to slide the paper Shoji door open when he heard the bell above his room ring.
Huh. Why would someone be knocking at this time?
Scratch that.
Who would be knocking on his door of all doors? Were they insane?
Curiosity killed the cat as they say, and Komaeda, who was always called a curious child, found nothing wrong with skipping downstairs and opening the door with eyes full of wonder.
"I hate to be an inconvenience but I do believe you have the wrong house. Now, unless you're the guy from the alleyway. I don't have your blue ram, sorry! Haha."
A beat of silence passed, with the person on the other side of the door looking dumbfounded before saying:
"Errmmm. Komaeda-San. It's just me, Hinata." The man waved. Instantly Komaeda's eyes were hooked onto what the man across from him was holding; something that resembled a shopping bag. "Nanami sent me, she said you could help me with my homework?" He sounded very unsure, and it took Komaeda a moment to react accordingly to the not-so-unfamiliar face before him.
"Hi-na-ta-Kun." He spoke the name, testing the way each syllable felt in his mouth. Komaeda smiled once he correctly remembered who the man was. "Ah! You're the reverse course student who got beat up by the head of security during his first year! What does a brute reverse course student like you need from me? Ah! Are you here to pick a fight with me too? I apologize but I'm not much of a fighter." Komaeda smiled apologetically while Hinata looked as if he was holding himself back from shutting him up.
"W-what?! First of all, I did not get beat up by that jerk! And I'm definitely not here to beat you up either." When Komaeda moves to make a self-degrading joke, the man shakes his head. Almost in disbelief. "Dammit. Nanami-Senpai said…..." Hinata grumbles while squeezing the handle of his shopping bag. Almost as if he forgot its presence, Hinata jolts up and hands the white and pink bag to Komaeda with a frown still present on his face. "Nanami said you left this in the school's gaming room. She left for Shibuya-shi about an hour ago for a gaming torment later this week."
Curious Komaeda peeked inside and smiled when he saw what was inside the bag. It was the jacket Kotoko and Monaca had taken the liberty to decorate with scribbles. He's lucky Chiaki-chan found it. If the two girls found out he had lost their 'masterpiece' he's sure he would've been sleeping in his car for a week, if they were feeling merciful that is.
"Chiaki-Chan is great." Komaeda declares while pulling the jacket out. "I suppose if she sent you," He arched his eyebrow. "Then I have no choice but to repay the favor. Come in, Hinata-Kun. I'll lend you my wisdom for your lowly Reverse Course homework!"
Unwillingly, Hinata complied. "Geez. Thanks."
"Haha, no problem. If someone with a vague Ultimate like I can help you then it's nothing." He shrugged truthfully while leading the other to his guest room. Sliding the door open Komaeda revealed a traditional style Japanese room built in with modern appliances to his guest. He waved his hand to a free cushion and turned on the electric kettle to warm up some water.
"Geez. Thanks." Hinata repeats, super enthusiastic.
"You're just a Reverse Course Student, it doesn't add up to much in the grand scheme of things." He continues on, holding up a finger while ignoring the fact he'll be tutoring someone at 8:10 pm—not that it particularly bothered him. Komaeda was barely what one would consider an Ultimate, but Chiaki seemed to think otherwise.
Even if she did send a Reverse Course Student to his doorstep.
"Wha-"
"You're the gum that sticks under the polished shoes of an Ultimate. There is nothing to be done because people will always spit their gum out on the sidewalk." He makes a face; Komaeda hates when his shoes stick to the hot Kyoto sidewalks. "Ordinary people will always try to be what they can never achieve. So it is a fruitless endeavor."
Hinata flinched back and made a face. "Yeah… Not to intrude or anything like that but is there something wrong with being a reverse course student? We pay money to be a part of the academy, we receive a good education and most of us almost make the cut to be fully established as Ultimates."
Komaeda thought about it and shrugged. "I guess I'm not one to judge, at least. Not anymore. Don't get me wrong. It's still a waste for people like you to want to become an Ultimate but," Komaeda hummed as he thought back to his therapist's advice. "It's your life, and as a piece of trash I have no say in how you waste your money."
Hinata seemed to choke on a rebuttal but Komaeda simply ignored that. He watched as the countdown on his kettle went from 3:59 to 2:37. He should have a nice cup of tea soon!
Ignoring the fact he will share a said cup of tea with a leech, Komaeda is jumping with joy. Sensing Hinata's already puny scale of hope dim with each second that passes, Komaeda sincerely tries not to laugh. Was this really what Hope's Peak spent their extra funds dabbling in?
A forsakenly long pause. "You-" Hinata began to say.
Hearing the on switch turn off, Komaeda smiled as he poured two cups of water. His aunt was right, electric kettles were amazing. He placed the kettle back and pulled a box from a drawer. Komaeda sat back down at the table happily, unlike his guest who was very much still offended.
"Does Reverse Course-Kun have a tea preference?" He piped up in interest.
"My name's Hinata Hajime." Said Reverse Course Student did not take kindly to the nickname. Rubbing his temples Hinata sighed. "How many times do I have to remind you not to call me that? It's rude and annoying." He emphasizes.
Sympathetically, Komaeda nods while placing a random tea bag in the cup of the reverse course student. How unlucky, he's run out of his favorite tea. "I'm sure you've told me multiple times, Hinata. But you should stop complaining and show me your homework. It's not something we want to circle around, right?"
Pressing his lips together. Hajime wonders why Nanami sent him over to the house of a man who he's pretty sure hates him the most — as an errand boy nonetheless! Yet looking down at his math packets; the ones he was instructed to complete before his break finished. He has no choice but to hand over his unfinished work and fidget while Komaeda reads over each problem.
Looking over Hinata's rather large packet, Komaeda flipped through each page. He's always been smart—or so that's what he's been told. And recently he's been solving some college-level material for Nagisa-Kun. So Highschool algebra shouldn't be too hard. Taking note of what Hinata struggles with wasn't daunting. The reverse course student kept erasing his work over and over—almost to the point of a tear. Which did bother him, it gave the page an ugly texture.
"It seems you still can't find the area of a triangle or triangular prism." He notes while flipping to another page. "As for these other problems—they're wrong because you rushed. Here," He points to where seven remained the same. "You forgot to multiply -9 by 7. That's why when you divided your numbers the answer was completely wrong." He moved on to another page.
Then circled a problem that read: 37x<76x-7(9)
"You started off great, for a reverse course student that is. But you forgot to change values since you wrote -76x as a positive rather than a negative, I'll assume you forgot to flip the greater than or less than sign. When dealing with inequalities the sign flips when dividing by a negative number. The rest of the problem is done well but your answer should have been x=21/13." Komaeda explained. Mimicking what he would do with Nagisa on the rare occurrence that the boy couldn't get an answer right after his second try. Writing down the steps in green ink Komaeda made sure he explained it as best he could. If Nagisa could figure it out, so could a Reverse Course Student.
"Right!" Hinata smacked his head. "It's so obvious now... I haven't done math like this since junior high .."
It continued on like that. Komaeda would review the problems Hinata couldn't understand and provide an explanation for what was done wrong. He would watch Hinata attempt the problem again, and then he'd circle around the area that needed fixing. Komaeda gulped when he realized these were just warm-ups. Hinata still had a binder with more work to be done. The math ranged from many subjects. From basic Algebra to Algebra ll, from distribution to solving the area of unusual 3-D shapes to data analysis, statistics, and even to financial GDP. All these subjects are impressively cramped into a large binder. Briefly, Komaeda wonders what they're really teaching in that run-down building.
Hinata coughs. Pencil shaking in his hands. "R-right. So, triangles are…."
Komaeda sighs as he takes his third cup of tea up to his lips. "I thought Reverse Course students had some sense. A=½ x base x height. Say the height of a triangle is seven and the base ten, that produces seventy, and when we divide that it sums up to thirty-five."
"R-right. Thanks."
"Your welcome, Reverse Course-kun!"
While Komaeda had as much fun as he could: sipping tea and explaining how many sides each shape had to a chest-nut-haired guy. On the second floor of the home, Towa Monaca finally began to stir awake. Stretching her arms and muffling a yawn in her hand she looked at the octopus clock and frowned. It read 9:48 pm. Her stomach growled demanding to be fed. She sighed, not wanting to leave the comfort of her bed. Sadly, Monaca would have to stand up and fetch her favorite Servant so he could make her some food.
Today's exam really took it out on us huh… she thought while staring at the other sleeping kids. Even Nagisa-kun is sleepy! She smiled gleefully.
Monaca walked past her Warriors and towards the shoji door. Thankfully the hatch wasn't turned so she easily slipped through into her Servant's room. The Servant's room was small compared to the one the Warriors of Hope occupied. The Servant's room had a bed too big for one demon. Next to it was a nightstand where three clocks sat side by side. Monaca waltzed inside. Her bare feet wiggled against the soft white circle-ish rug that extends from her Servant's bed.
"Nagito-san," whispered Monaca. "Monaca is hungry." She makes sure her pout can be heard in her voice, but the Servant doesn't appear or spawn anywhere in his room. Monaca's pout turns into a frown. She crosses her arms and huffs. As a kid she thought her Servant was a fairy; appearing as soon as she called him. Sometimes he would appear right as the thought about summoning him approached her. He always knew when to appear, when to speak, and when to listen.
Least to say, Monaca was disappointed her Servant was nowhere to be found.
"If you don't spawn right now- Monaca is gonna go through all your stuff!" She speaks loud enough so the noise would be heard if Servant were hiding. Yet Monaca is mindful. Her tone was soft enough so it wouldn't bother her Warriors in the other room.
Sadly. Such threats do not summon her favorite Servant.
"Monaca-chan warned you." She huffs. Already pacing herself towards the vanity and drawer chest that were lined up against each other. The vanity came with a seat. Which Monaca sat on as she clawed her way through his things. All there was in the big drawer were stacks upon stacks of boring paperwork. Some of which included court dates and others which were hazily clipped together police reports. The small drawers occupied lame things like makeup and hair ties. The drawer chest was filled with Servant's folded clothes; things he would wear outside of school. The other closest, the one that was built into the wall, had copies of Servant's school and former work uniform lined up, all wrinkle-free. A giant chest and numerous small boxes filled the bottom of the closet. Monaca already knew what hid inside them. She reached for the newer box, the one that definitely hid Servant's newest diary. "Servant!" Monaca hissed when she bumped her toe against one of those boxes.
The little girl huffed. Insulted by the boxes she turned and threw herself down on the rug while pouting dramatically. This was so unfair! There is no way Monaca was going to walk all the way downstairs and look for Servant herself! This house was huge! He never even looked for her back then—he would just know where to go because of his luck.
And sue Monaca if you must! She's lazy!
Then it hit her. Monaca had her ultra trusty remote! A few clicks and she would be able to locate the Servant thanks to all those nanny cams they've installed.
Thrilled by her genius idea Monaca hops up from the floor and rushes back to her room. The idea of finding Servant's newest diary vacates her thoughts.
Searching around and under her sofa bed for her toy remote Monaca came up empty-handed. She sighed. Her feet already ached from all her walking. Now, how can Monaca call for her Servant without waking the rest of the Warriors up… she could yell of course. The servant could always tell he was needed when she yelled. But the thing was… he got pretty upset last time. No, it's best not to make him upset again.
"Ko-to-ko~" She sang.
No response.
"Ko-to-Ko~"
When she is yet to receive a response Monaca isn't unnerved. The third time's the charm.
"Ko-to-ko-Chan wake up~!" Monaca repeated once more. Chanting Kotoko's name a couple more times caused said girl to finally begin to stir. Her pink hair had been released from the usual high pigtails she fancies and was instead loosely tied by a scrunchie. Kotoko wiped away some loose strands of hair from her face and yawned as she tried to ignore the unwelcome chants from her neighbor.
"Monaca….." Kotoko groans. The need to stay in bed and sleep overpowered her love for the green-haired girl. "Shut up."
"Wah?!" Monaca cried. "Kotoko-Chan is so mean." She huffed. "Monaca needs Kotoko to look for her remote so she can call Servant! I'm super hungry and it would be bad if Kotoko let Monaca starve to death, nya~"
Knowing that her friend wouldn't stop bothering her until she did what the girl wanted, Kotoko threw her bed sheets off and rolled out of bed. Literally.
"Ow. Monaca thinks that's got to hurt."
"It does. 1/10 don't recommend it. Anyway, I swept your remote under my bed, I think." Kotoko yawned while stretching her arms under the bed. Sticking her arm out she felt around until something that felt red finally gazed at her hands. "Here!'' said Kotoko and tossed the thing over her head and onto the bed. Resting her face against the warm fluffy carpet Kotoko began to feel her eyelids drop and her body slowly fall back to sleep.
Hearing a small gasp from above her Kotoko sighed knowing she wouldn't be back in candy land anytime soon.
"Oh! Koko-Chan, there's a stranger in the house."
"Oh yeah…?" Kotoko asked, face slowly peeling from the floor. Monaca aggressively shook her head and threw the remote right back at Kotoko.
"He's a guy!" Monaca whispers, as if it was some sort of crime—which yeah, Kotoko could understand. But! Kotoko was sleepy! She wanted to scream and beg Monaca to let her go back to candy land. Yet having known the green-haired girl for the past couple of years; Kotoko is prepared for this situation. She knew what this was. Kotoko knew what was to come and prepared herself for it.
"He's probs sups unadorbs." She comments while sitting up. Snatching the remote from the floor Kotoko opens the app and examines what Monaca had been so focused on. Featuring in the middle of the screen was Servant in his PJ's while taking a sip of tea. Sitting there beside him in the guest room was an unfamiliar man with hair the same shade as an un-peeled chestnut. His eyes were colored green, and he had a stupid antenna sticking up from the middle of his head. Overall he looked like a normal Demon. His face was something that almost played forgettable; He would be great as an extra in a film. That's for sure. "Yep, see. Tots ugly demon." She yawned, handing the remote back. Climbing back into bed and snuggling deeper into her sheets, Kotoko yawns once more before smiling at her friend. "Good night Monaca-Chan, see you tomorrow. Kotoko loves you."
Monaca didn't reply. And Kotoko wouldn't know that seeing as she fell back to sleep right away.
The young girl, who had blue light illuminating her pale face didn't blink or look away when she began to hear those small snores fill the room again. Instead, Monaca stared daggers at the man who kept forgetting a formula. Something not unfamiliar twisted in her stomach. Her throat had an itchy feeling one might get before throwing up. She chewed her lip while her eyes followed each of the moments made by the unwelcome guest.
"Nghh!!! You're a real jerk Komaeda-San. You know that?" The man whined. Resting his head against the workbook.
Komaeda smiled, pleased with himself as he checked off everything done wrong in the math problems laid in front of him. "I've been told so before." He giggles. "I thought Hinata was supposed to be very smart. Then again, if all you have to do is pay to be in the reverse course department, it's no wonder they let you in!"
'Hinata' frowned as he rolled up his math sheet. "I swear to God I will smack you with this."
"Yabai!" Komaeda exclaimed, laughing as he held up his hands in false surrender. "Please don't," He begged, "I'd have to report you for being a brute to the head of security if you did hehe."
As if caught in a trace, Monaca sat there dazed. She watched for a bit more. Everything that she saw went in one way and out the other. She knew this feeling. She didn't like it. She did her best to stomp it out, but it was fruitless. It was always a ludicrous feeling, fleeting and misplaced. But she couldn't help it. Shutting off the remote Monaca laid back in bed. The metal box sat flat on her chest as she waited for Servant to depart from the door. Fluttering her eyes shut her stomach growled again, reminding her why she had been so desperate for the remote. As Monaca fumbled to turn her device back on, her legs mentally preparing for the walk, the door swung open.
"Hmm… oh!" Exclaimed a soft, almost dry voice. "Monaca-San, you're up." Servant smiled. His eyes looked so warm and welcoming to her. She smiled back, her eyes losing their black ink as she spoke.
"Monaca is hungry." She complained.
"Oh," Servant frowns. "We can't have that. Let's go warm up some food, hmm?" He hums. Extending the door open for her to follow him.
Walking down the stairs in mutual silence the two entered the kitchen. Servant sat her down on a counter chair where she watched from as he popped some food into the microwave. The warm light illuminates the otherwise dark room. Across the kitchen the oven clock read in green letters 10:25. It was late. Especially so for eating dinner. The Servant didn't seem to mind the hour though, so Monaca wouldn't either.
"Did Miss. Monaca enjoy her nap?" He asks.
"It was okay, Monaca had a boring dream."
Servant sighed. "How dreadful."
"I know right?! Monaca hates boring dreams. She wishes Monaca had dreamed about cool robots and yummy food."
Her Servant nods sympathetically. "How was school?" He asks while looking at the clock. "You guys were knocked out rather fast." The Servant pulls a pair of heatproof gloves over his hands. The timer on the microwave is slowly decreasing.
"Exam." She shrugs. "Our last unit is going to end on Monday. Our Math teacher wanted to get it done with—even Nagisa-Kun was sweating when she began to pass out the test. It took soooo long! Monaca was like, the seventh person done!" She crossed her arms.
"Ah. How unlucky. It's a shame." Servant sighs. He's dramatic like always. Monaca can't help but smile at his antics. "I should have looked into the curriculum to prepare you all. I hope it wasn't too stressful... Hm. It would be a pity to despair over it; as Warriors of Hope, battles like these are to prepare you for adulthood. You never know what the world will throw at you. Regret is something that will stick with you for a long time—which is why small things like these shouldn't make one despair. You'll face bigger challenges sooner or later. So Monaca-San better not worry over her grade." There's a moment of silence. She can almost hear the gears turn in Servant's head as he adds, "Maybe we can go and get some milkshakes on Monday."
Monaca rolled her eyes. "Monaca-chan isn't worried." She's quick to clarify. "Her grade is high enough so the exam wouldn't really affect her. Monaca read the syllabus with Nagisa-Kun. Those unit tests are only seven percent of our grade, and there are only like... five units. I did the math during lunch and the lowest Monaca-Chan could get was a fifty-five and I could still pass the class—of course, Monaca wouldn't get such a low grade so Servant has nothing to worry about."
The microwave beeped to life.
Servant smiled. His glove caught itself on the hook of the microwave. "I- Is that so?" Servant struggles against the microwave. "I know how smart Monaca-Chan is. I just worry you'll despair over a meaningless test."
"Nope! Never." She smiled. Giggling when the glove tore itself in half. "Hey, Mister. Servant." Monaca broke and rolled her disposable chopsticks against each other once the food was placed in front of her. "Pop quiz. What is the former capital of Japan?"
"Ah, that's easy! Kyoto-Shi."
"Servant is very smart." Monaca nods. "Next! Who is one of five of Monaca's favorite saints?"
The Servant is quick to reply, "Dymphna." as he tries to cool down her food. "Monaca likes her story because of the saint's patronage."
"Yayy! Servant has a super good memory!"
"A-ah. Thank you." He shuffled towards a seat.
Monaca loved her pop quizzes. They originated years ago, back when she lived inside a big big house with no one to laugh alongside her. Her pop quizzes were and are a fun way to share her super duper cool fun facts with Servant and her Warriors. She's found that games have made things more fun and a little less boring for everyone around.
"Oki! Time for a double Jeopardy question~ Servant-san, does God love his angels?"
Seated across from her, Servant drummed his rubbery fingers against the cold table. The upper half of his left glove swung from the microwave's door. What was left looked like a poorly made bracelet. Patiently Monaca ate her food. She savors the rich rice and the still juicy meat Servant's aunt had packed for them.
"Hmm. That's a tough one Miss. Moanca," Servant finally answered. That's what Monaca can appreciate about his person. He's honest, considerate, and obedient. "I suppose… from what Miss. Monaca has taught me, I'd have to answer no. Angels in the bible are mere servants like me. We are stepping stones for the hope of humanity. Tools to be used."
"Servant thinks so?" Placing her chopsticks down, Monaca grabs a napkin and wipes the corners of her mouth clean. If this is the best answer Servant can give her, clearly Monaca-Chan has to take it upon herself to right this blatant wrong. "Monaca-Chan loves angels. They're reeeeeeally important you know!" She giggles. "Though they are not in the same circle as us sinners, without them there would be no plot in the bible. So the bible would be a boring-ass book filled with nothing."
She offered the last bites of her food to her Servant. He smiled but declined.
"Huh. I suppose you're right in that sense. Where would God be without his tools…" Servant replied. Picking up her finished dish he drops them into the sink after giving them a quick rinse under the faucet. "Let's go wait for the food to digest, shall we? It would be a shame if Monaca-San exploded from laying like a pig!"
Monaca smiled. "Silly Servant! That only applies when you go swimming!"
"Oh?" He asked, trying hard to hold back his laughter. He looked up to the ceiling. His eyes shut as he smiled. "Haha, excuse my incompetence then Monaca-San. Let's go read a book though. It's still bad to sleep with a full stomach."
"Okay!" She replies. Taking his hand she reassures herself that whatever that feeling was—it was gone.
Monaca was a smart, competent girl. She didn't have time for such silly emotions. Yet the thought of asking about the demon crosses her mind. Between her and her Servant, there were no secrets. None that weren't major or impotent. Logically, Monaca knows that if she were to ask her Servant about the demon, he would leave no detail out for her. "Hey, Servant…" She starts. That overwhelming pang in her chest makes it hard to look her Servant in the eye. "Servant, Monaca-"
But instead of asking what could appear as an innocent inquiry, Monaca breaks into a camera-worthy smile.
"Will …give Nagito-Servant the best presentation of The Amazing Peach Boy. One filled with sooo much hope it will be super duper contagious and hopeful!"
The Servant is very affable. Enthusiastically he claps his hands together; already talking about how blessed he is. His enthusiasm is hopeful and contagious. Monaca finds herself giggling as she fetches the book. When she returns to the couch Servant is already seated on the floor with his legs crossed. He's attentive, like always.
Monaca opens the vintage book to the first page. Instantly her giggly expression darkens. The very first page with handwritten kanji is hastily taped over. The pages look as if they were put together during an earthquake; the master of this attempted repair must have been shaking with how uneven the final result is. The kanji borders unreadable; if Monaca hadn't had this book read to her religiously as a toddler, she would have stayed seated there; guessing what each kanji attempted to say.
Thankfully the first page of the book has stayed the same minus the poor taping attempt, it still reads: To Nagito, our little Momotarō.
Her face scrunches up, but Monaca doesn't look over the old pages. She doesn't need to; there's no need to see the Servant's guilty face to know he's seen hers.
But when she thinks about The Servant's face. Monaca thinks back to the way he looked at the Demon. There was nothing notable about it, but still… Monaca saw…
Ugh! That was super unfair of her genius mind: utter betrayal!
As if sensing her dimming mood. Servant poked her furrowed brow. His eyes glitter with glee since he had caught her off guard.
"Saitei. Monaca-San shouldn't despair."
Monaca pouts, she bites back a taunt. Turning to the next page Monaca began to read aloud. In a clear voice, she read: Once upon a time, in a small village in the kingdom of Japan…
Like butterflies; Monaca allowed the events of today to flutter away like the words from her mouth.
The only coherent thought that rings inside of her genius brain was: Demon Demon Demon Demon!
The Servant is entranced. Meanwhile, Monaca smiles, her genius brain working overdrive in the background.