Chapter Text
A harsh, infuriatingly cheery ringing was the first thing Nagito registered as he faded into consciousness. He had never changed his ringtone from the default singsong shrieking that, for the most part, was completely bearable so long as you weren't waking up to it. Or so long as you didn't still have Xanax in your system.
He sat up with a groan, running his hands over his bed as he looked for his phone and waited for his eyes to start working. Once he found it, he ripped it out from a pile of blankets and quickly answered it before the last ring, not even bothering to check who the caller could have been before holding the phone to his ear. "H-Hello..?" He managed to croak out, his voice rough.
"NAGITO KOMAEDA!" Was what greeted him, making him recoil from the booming shriek. Well, at least now he knew that it was Gundham. "How might you be on this gloom filled day?!"
Nagito paused. Well, he zoned out. It was too early for this. He could tell from the light coming through his blinds that Gundam was right; It was cloudy and probably dark outside. "Ah... Fine. I just woke up." He replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a short sigh.
"I could tell! You're lacking in your usual unnerving enthusiasm," Gundam chuckled with a strange smugness. Nagito could hear it through the phone. "But I've called you for a reason! I need your assistance with something. I have this sofa in my attic that needs to be... Relocated." He drew out the end of the word 'relocated' like it was a euphemism for something. But ignoring that part, even the basis of the request was strange.
"...Huh? Why me? I don't mind helping out, but there are surely stronger people for the job. I'm very frail, weak and useless for something like this compared to someone like Akane or Nekomaru," He remarked, cutting himself off before he went into another 'everyone is better than me and I suck' tangent. "I have their numbers, I could give them to you. I'm sure Akane wouldn't mind moving everything in your house if you threw in a free lunch."
"No! That's quite alright. I've overheard from certain sources that they are both currently occupied with important matters. Interrupting would be unacceptable," Gundam explained. Nagito thought that was silly considering the fact he had just woken him up for this conversation, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Alright. Well, if they're busy I have other contacts," Nagito offered. "I wouldn't want the process to be slowed by someone like me. But, if you're set on me coming over, I'll-"
"PERFECT! It's been decided! You will be here by noon of today," Gundam declared, cutting Nagito off before he finished his sentence and effectively locking him into an agreement. "We eagerly await your arrival." Beep!
As soon as Gundham hung up Nagito dropped his phone and fell back onto his bed, putting his hands over his face. He hadn't wanted to do anything today, let alone anything that required physical labor. But maybe getting out of your room would be good for you! He thought, pretending like he was doing this for himself. He slowly got out of his bed, shuffling over to his dresser. He threw on whatever shirt, he threw on whatever jeans, he threw on the wrinkled coat laid out in his bed and he threw on the shoes that had been almost tossed across the room from the door. He didn't brush his teeth, he didn't brush his hair. Well, he never brushed his hair, but that's besides the point. With that, he opened the door to his apartment and made his way down to the parking lot.
-
Driving while as tired as he was probably wasn't a good idea, but he didn't want to wait for a bus. Plus, driving to Gundham's exact address would be easier than getting off at a stop and walking the rest of the way there considering how humid it was outside. Once he got to Gundhams house, he stepped out of the car (as you do) and took a moment to ground himself in preparation. Gundham's house was technically Sonia's house; he'd moved in with her a few months after they got together which was most likely why it looked so proper. It was an older house with ivy covering nearly half of the outside walls, but it still appeared to be in good condition. Charming, even. He walked up the steps to the entrance and rang the doorbell right before the door itself flung open in his face.
"Hello!" Sonia greeted him with a bright smile. Gundham must have told her he was coming. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm glad to see you!" Without warning, she dove in and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.
Nagito patted her back with one hand and an awkward smile. He wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, just surprised she was happy to see him. He was always under the impression she didn't necessarily like him. "Thank you, it's nice to see you too," Was all he said in response.
"HAS HE ARRIVED?!" Gundham shouted from inside the house followed by the sound of someone barreling down the stairs. Sonia let go of Nagito and stepped to his side, putting her hand on his shoulder and almost presenting him to Gundham. "Wonderful! Thank you, my Dark Queen! Now, Nagito, I shall show you where your assistance is needed."
Nagito was quickly led upstairs by his hand. Gundham seemed very excited to move furniture with him, which made his mind wander to any possible ulterior motives he may have had. Was Gundham about to feed Nagito to a really, really big snake in his attic? Was he about to be sacrificed and thrown into the middle of a pentagram made of his own blood? That would explain why Sonia was so happy to see him…
"Here we are," Gundham's voice cut through Nagito's thoughts as he unfolded a step ladder that came from the attic hatch. A slight bit of dust scattered as it hit the ground. "After you."
Despite having his reservations, Nagito reluctantly climbed the steps and found himself in the attic. Looking around he saw nothing unusual. Well, for Gundham and Sonia's house. A tower of magazines and books on freemasonry, a few unused hamster and bird cages and of course the sofa that he'd come to move. The sofa was a middle toned beige color and had a variety of scratch and bite marks all along the armrests, cushions and backrests. Compared to the rest of the room, it was remarkably lacking in dust.
Gundham joined him in the attic shortly after Nagito had finished looking around. "Ah! I see you've spotted the subject of your visitation," Gundham delivered the line in an almost evil fashion. He made every sentence of his sound ominous, truly. "Well! Let us begin." He made his way over to the left end of the couch, signaling for Nagito to join him with a nod. Nagito shuffled over to the right and with a countdown of three they both lifted their respective sides.
"Alright, so where do you need me to put this?" Nagito panted, somehow already out of breath. "How are we going to make it downstairs, too?"
"Tell me, are you fond of animals, Nagito?" Gundham asked him in response, ignoring his questions.
Nagito paused, thinking about the question. "I… Had a pet dog when I was younger. He had a really nice white coat… He got hit by a car when he ran out into traffic, and-"
Gundham cut him off once more. "Are you perhaps fond of… Amphibious creatures?" He rephrased his question, staring Nagito in the eyes. "Frogs, specifically?"
There was another longer, quieter pause. Having this conversation was weird and it was somehow even weirder while you and the person you're talking to are having it while carrying a sofa. This whole situation was bizarre. I should have stayed home.
"... I'm neutral on them," He replied at last, straining as he tried to keep his hold on the couch. It's worth noting that they hadn't moved at all since picking it up. "They're… cool, I guess."
"So you'd say that you are more leaning towards 'like' on a scale of your opinions of frogs?" Gundham clarified. This time he didn't get a verbal response; Nagito just gave him a nod as he put all his energy into not letting the couch crush him. "Glorious! Truly! Now, follow me once more. I have something new to show you." And with that, Gundham abruptly let go of the couch, causing Nagito to drop his side of the sofa and jump back, hitting his head on a wooden beam. And once again, as his head ached and his ears buzzed, those words repeated in his head; I should have stayed home.
Nagito followed Gundham down from the attic and into a side room full of aquatic tanks. The atmosphere in the room was soothing, illuminated by soft artificial light with the gentle trickle of filtered water as white noise. He took a look around the room at its occupants; mostly fish, a couple small turtles and most notably a variety of aquatic frogs. He stepped towards a tank that particularly caught his interest; it was full of vegetation, enrichments and several very, very dense looking frogs. They looked healthy upon further inspection, but Nagito could have sworn they were all dead until he saw them move. Their eyes were on-top of their heads and almost slumping towards the sides giving them a thoughtless wall-eyed gaze. It was unnerving. He'd never felt this unnerved by a frog and while the bar was low it was still an accomplishment.
"Ah, I see you've taken an interest in them," Gundham cackled, coming up from behind him. Nagito had forgotten he was there, but wasn't too startled when he began to speak. "They just so happen to be the reason that you're here."
Nagito averted his gaze from the tank and stared at Gundham without speaking. He was confused. He came here to help with moving furniture, but when he recalled how absolutely bizarre the interaction had been, it was suddenly very plausible that it had been a front. "...Huh?" He groaned, attempting to mask the annoyance in his voice to no avail.
"It's the truth! The promise of couch relocation was nothing but a ruse!" Gundham's smugness implied that he felt proud of himself for fooling Nagito into… Looking at a bunch of frogs, from what it appeared. "I've been breeding African Dwarf frogs for a little while now. I've obtained three very… Special variants. BEHOLD!" He suddenly pointed directly at a certain part of the tank. There floated a frog just like any other, save for the fact it was devoid of pigment. It looked insane. It looked like it would start grinning at Nagito any second now with a pair of sharp human teeth before it stole his soul and possessed him, or something. Gundham's shriek snapped him out of his unease. "BEELZEBUB! There are 3 more, but they all seem to be resting at the moment. They go by the names of Achlys, Dantalion and Minecraft Steve!"
"... Minecraft Steve?" Nagito repeated, still fixated on the frog. Did it have asscheeks? It looked like it had asscheeks…
"Named by the Dark Queen herself. Chiaki Nanami and her have been playing many different video games lately," Gundham explained with an undeniable pride in his voice. "But I've rambled on for too long! These frogs are now yours!" That surprised Nagito, for sure.
"Ahahaha, um… I don't… I can't own frogs. I don't have the nessecary tanks or products and such-" Nagito was, for the 3rd or 4th time today, cut off.
"Nonsense! I'll provide you with such materials. I even have a notebook full of tips and tricks for care of these beasts. Sonia! I'll need your help with moving the tank!" Gundham yelled out the door of the room, earning a loud 'Okay!' back from downstairs. "I'll pack them up for you. I am sure they'll take well to you, Nagito. You have nothing to worry about!" He had already begun putting the frogs into transportation cups, gently scooping them up with a net by the tank and placing them inside. There was a lot of packaging involved. There was a lot of everything involved. From what Gundham had been saying, he'd been planning this for a little while. Why? Nagito had never shown interest in owning frogs. The thought of outright denying to take them after someone like him had put so much effort into gifting them to bim, no matter how strange of a gift it was, made premature guilt pool in Nagito's stomach.
And, with his silence, Gundham and Sonia got everything ready. Gundham packed up the frogs with care and placed what Nagito would need to start off with into the tank. Sonia helped him carry it down the stairs and into the trunk of Nagito's car. Nagito simply followed and watched. He felt like a burden on them, he hated when people did things for him. Maybe it was made worse by the fact he didn't even want this done for him. He just stood infront of the aquarium in his trunk, looking down at it. A symbol of effort people had put into him, if he really thought about it.
"Hello again!" A familiar cadance filled voice sung. Sonia joined him by his side, looking down at the tank and idly moving its contents around in a way that they wouldn't shift during travel. "Those frogs remind me of you, in a way. They're cute!" There was something hidden in her smile. Nagito couldn't tell what it was.
"Aha, thank you. I find them a little unnerving." Nagito responded, flashing her a tired smile before staring back at the tank, following her hands until they suddenly stopped. She didn't say anything, so neither did he. They stood there in silence.
"... We're all very worried about you, Nagito," She didn't look at him, but he could hear the smile melting off of her face. "Forgive me if I'm overstepping any boundaries, but it's the truth. Gundham confided in me that you didn't seem to be doing too well, and I have to agree."
More silence, nothing but silence.
"If it comes to the point where you can't live for yourself, maybe try living for these frogs. I know it sounds silly, but they might be able to bring you a lot of happiness if you treat them right!" She mused. He could tell she was straining her voice, trying to make it sound happier than she felt. "...We're all here for you, if you need anything. I know I might not have been the kindest to you in the past, but… I'm willing to try and make up for that."
Nagito was about to respond before Gundham arrived with the packaged frogs, eagerly placing them in the tank with an ice pack. Well, they were all ready to go. Everything was ready to go. Sonia and Gundham both hugged him as a goodbye, and all he could do was smile awkwardly and pat their arms. He had too much on his mind for heartfelt actions.
Soon, he had left. He had acquired a lot to think about, four albino African Dwarf frogs, and a deep and gnawing feeling of guilt. Among the thoughts racing around his skull, five words repeated over and over, louder than they'd been the entire day;
I should have stayed home.