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"Oh, you can't possibly mean that, but thank you, Naegi-kun..." Komaeda smiles even more. "It means a lot... coming from you."
Yeah, Naegi doesn't mean it, but is Komaeda sharp or just insecure?
Probably the latter.
"I do mean it." Naegi offers him a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Komaeda-kun."
"The pleasure is really mine... Naegi-kun." Komaeda's hand was smooth. “And ah, I hate to be rude, but I have to go now. I really look forward to talking more with you, if that’s not too impertinent to say!”
Komaeda bows his head and immediately runs off as if to escape from the situation. Maybe in another setting, Naegi would have been offended, but this time, he actually understands. Komaeda probably didn’t expect this whole thing. Even Naegi admits that suddenly just greeting Komaeda was surprising.
“What a cute senpai we have. Think he’d be a good asset to my evil organization?”
Naegi hears an unfamiliar voice. He hasn’t seen yet who the person was, but there was a charge in the air. It’s hardly his first half of a year in this school. He's always had his guard up, but he can’t believe that as early as now, he's already feeling that he has to be extra careful.
Sure, he felt that way too around Enoshima, but this one… felt a little different.
He turns around. He sees a boy shorter than him—pretty notable since he admits that someone like that is rare—with purple hair and eyes. Reminds him of Kirigiri, though this person’s shade of purple was definitely darker than hers.
Naegi knows this guy. This year, Hope’s Peak decided to recruit two groups of talented students instead of one. Naegi’s class is Class 78-A while this guy is from 78-B. And although Naegi only really bothered to pay attention to the talents, he couldn’t forget this person’s name too because he's the Super High School Level Supreme Leader, Ouma Kokichi.
And that talent immediately caught Naegi’s attention because of obvious reasons.
“Haha, I agree he is cute, but I'm not sure about the evil organization part. He looks really nice, so that definitely won’t be my first thought upon seeing him.”
Why would Hope’s Peak recruit a supreme leader? And aren’t supreme leaders supposed to be shrouded in mystery anyway? This way, Ouma's just being an obvious target. Naegi could kill him now, and no one would even know.
“Oh, really now. You know, your class is really on a roll. It has so many liars in it, though by far, you look like the biggest one.”
Ouma said that with such a blank expression, the previously sly look on his face completely gone without a trace. The lack of subtlety in that attack was almost too surreal that Naegi couldn’t register it in his head right away.
“Hah, that’s a lie!” Ouma grins again before Naegi could react. “Eh, there's no way that the Super High School Level Hope would lie since he's not like a big and bad supreme leader like me! Or maybe that’s the truth, after all? Who knows? Definitely not me!”
“Haha, you're really full of energy, Ouma-kun. I'm flattered that you know me.”
“Huh, you already know my name!” Ouma grits his teeth, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. “You didn’t even let me deliver a cool introduction! Naegi-chan, you meanie!”
He's loosely reminding Naegi of Enoshima, and it’s really annoying. “Sorry, Ouma-kun. But I guess that makes us fair, right? Since it seems you know my name too, after all.”
“I really wanted to do a cool introduction though! That’s the truth! Or maybe that’s a lie since I knew to expect that you would know everyooone around you! After all, I really love you, Naegi-chan, so I’d know that you're that type of person!”
“Oh, you shouldn’t joke about things like that, Ouma-kun.”
“Aw, sooorry! It just comes with the territory, y’know? Being a supreme leader, I'm too used to charming everyone off their pants. But I do love you!”
“You keep on saying ‘supreme leader’, so I'm curious… Exactly what kind of organization do you lead, Ouma-kun?”
“Oiii, Naegi-chan! Just asking that question already halved your lifespan! Right now, my subordinates all received the signal to research on you. It’s only gonna be a matter of time before you get taken out, so you should enjoy your final days.”
Naegi actually laughs at that. “That’s a fair warning, Ouma-kun. I’ll definitely be more careful.”
“You should. Even if that’s a lie! Listen, you seem awfully unsurprised at receiving a death threat. If you keep this up, it would seem like you're used to it!”
“Ah, of course I'm not. It’s just that since I'm talking to a supreme leader, I thought I should expect something like this to come up.”
“Heh, yeah, right.” Ouma grins. It was different from Enoshima’s grins, but it definitely had a bit of similarity in such a way that they both make Naegi want to peel their faces off with a knife until they're nothing but unrecognizable patches of meat. “But the truth is you are used to hearing death threats, aren’t you? Since I'm a liar, I'm really good at spotting others like me.”
“People don’t really send death threats to me.” Naegi smiles. “That’s the truth.”
“That just makes things worse, you know.” Ouma tilts his head. “It can mean you're used to being the one who says them or listening to other people send death threats to others.”
“Or as I said, I just expected that you'd say something like that.” Naegi chuckles. “Is that really such an unbelievable concept?”
“Nishishi, I guess not.”
“That’s good. Anyway, it’s nice meeting you, Ouma-kun, but I have to leave now.” Naegi bows his head. “Let’s talk again some more next time.”
“Wow, of course! Since I'm definitely charmed by you, Super High School Level Hope!” Ouma’s eyes seemed like they're sparkling, but Naegi could still feel the charge in the air.
So Naegi just smiles before turning around, and he hears Ouma’s voice as he walks away.
“I'm a liar, but that doesn’t mean I like liars, Naegi-chan. Especially if they're lying to hurt others.”
“You can say whatever you want.” Naegi turns around at that, smiling. He just had to. “But no one will believe you because, haha, you're a liar, after all, Ouma-kun.”
--
“Should I talk to her?” Naegi sounded worried, causing Komaeda to shake his head as a response. “I didn’t want her to talk to you actually. She might tell you some things. Not to speak ill of Enoshima-san or anything, I mean, we’re classmates, so of course I'm fond of her, but still, she gets a little… problematic sometimes.”
“No, it’s okay. I'm sure she was just joking.” Komaeda’s discomfort starts to ease out. “Please do tell me if you feel like I'm being an inadequate partner, by the way. Naegi-kun is too nice, so he might just feel like doting on me, so please don’t…”
“Uwaa, I spy some lovey-dovey lovebirds!”
Komaeda hears a familiar voice. Familiar in such a way that he always hears this person causing trouble in public, but not because of personal interaction. The person who owns this voice is obviously none other than Ouma Kokichi, the Super High School Level Supreme Leader.
Komaeda could have sworn he saw an uncharacteristically empty look in Naegi’s eyes before the two of them turn around and face—Ouma, as Komaeda expected.
That look…
Must have been a product of Komaeda’s imagination. Such a cold look doesn’t belong in the eyes of someone as warm as Naegi.
“Ah, if it isn’t Ouma-kun.” Naegi greets. “It’s been a while since we’ve last talked.”
“Hallo, Naegi-chan! Yeah, how long has it been? Last time, we were just discussing how cute Komaeda-chan is! Wow, you really move fast, don’t you? Teach me how to be a Casanova, Naegi-chan!”
“Haha, that’s a lie, isn’t it? I mean, I'm no Casanova…” Naegi turns to Komaeda. “Komaeda-kun, have you two met already? He's Ouma Kokichi-kun, the Super High School Level Supreme Leader.”
“Oh, we haven’t yet, but I did check their class’s discussion board too.” Komaeda smiles at Ouma. “Nice to meet you, Ouma-kun. I'm Komaeda Nagito. My talent is nowhere as cool-sounding as yours, but I'm the Super High School Level Good Luck.”
“Of course I already know your talent, Komaeda-chan! Since I'm the leader of a super evil organization, I looked at all the discussion boards I could find. I have to look for people I could recruit, you know? And boy, Super High School Level Good Luck sounds really useful!”
Komaeda chuckles. “Now that’s surely a lie, isn’t it? I mean, I do agree that good luck has its perks, but I'm sure that it should be really lame compared to all the talents you saw.”
“Nishishi. The first thought of anyone who wants to conquer the world would be to recruit someone as lucky as you. Isn’t that right, Naegi-chan?”
“Oh, have you been listening to Enoshima-san earlier somehow? It’s not like I want to conquer the world. That ‘master of the world’ nickname is just an inside joke.” Naegi smiles again. “So Ouma-kun, what brings you to this side of the hall? There's nothing here but our classroom.”
“That’s just a polite way of telling me to leave, isn’t it!? Waaahh, Naegi-chan is sooooo mean!” Komaeda was actually a bit amazed. Even Saionji’s crocodile tears weren’t this topnotch. “I just wanted to be nice and friendly! Waaahh! I can’t believe this!”
Before either Naegi or Komaeda could react, Ouma stops on his own. “Oh, well, I'm over it. Anyway, I can go wherever I want. That’s one of the things that make non-tyranny government appealing.”
It was pretty ironic that a supreme leader would talk about non-tyranny government. Truth be told, Komaeda was curious about what kind of organization Ouma leads. With Kuzuryuu, it was pretty easy to learn more, considering his name was already a big clue. But with Ouma, even with Komaeda’s luck, there really was nothing.
Almost as if it doesn’t exist…
“Haha, I didn’t expect you of all people to talk about that!” Naegi points out as if reading Komaeda’s mind. “Anyway, it’s not like I'm telling you that you can’t go here. I just asked so that I could assist you if you have business with any of my classmates.”
“That was a lie! Did you really think I’d be as rude as to snap like that to the Super High School Level Hope? Oh, no, I would never! Or maybe I can, after all? Since I just did, I mean!”
“Haha, Ouma-kun, you can get really confusing. So do you not need anything from my classmates, after all?”
“Nah, if anything, I went here because I saw Komaeda-chan!” Ouma grins at Komaeda. Komaeda smiles back, but he didn’t expect that. Maybe that was another lie. “I mean, Komaeda-chan, I really want to talk to you. That’s the truth! I'm really, really worried about you, you know? After all, I love you so much!”
Komaeda chuckles. “I know that’s a lie, Ouma-kun.”
“I am worried though. That’s true.” Ouma had a really serious look on his face for a second that Komaeda almost believed him. Of course, right away, Ouma’s grin is back the second after. “Nishishi. Oh, well, maybe I’ll talk to you some other time, Komaeda-chan. Always, always be careful of everyoneee around you! I need you safe and whole for my organization, okay?”
Ouma waves and skips away. Komaeda feels Naegi’s tight hold on his arm as Naegi smiles, “Let’s go.”
--
“Hinata, man, it’s been a while since we last hung out at night! Not like I'm complaining, of course.” Souda says as they walk together, grinning. “Finally decided to get rid of the books, I see. So what do you say we have a soul friends’ night out? Just you and me… and maybe some girls. Or guys, if that’s what you want.”
“You know I'm not interested.” Hinata abruptly replies, his disinterest evident in his features. “Just to hang out. That’s all I'm here for.”
“Yeah, that’s right! Souda-chan, you should take a leaf from Hinata-chan’s book! Loyalty is important! That’s why Sonia-chan will never notice you!”
That was undoubtedly the voice of that notorious kid from one of the classes below. Hinata isn’t really familiar with a lot of people outside his class, but this guy rings a bell because a lot of his classmates have already been on the unfortunate end of his pranks. Actually, even Souda wasn’t safe. Hinata remembers Souda telling him that this guy replaced all of the colas in his fridge with soy sauce.
Souda immediately glares. “Yeah? Isn’t it past your bedtime? Your mom’s probably looking for you.”
“Shocks, that’s no way to speak to a supreme leader, you know, Souda-chan? One more offense, and my subordinates will dispose of you in your sleep.”
“I-I can call the cops on you now! You won’t scare me!”
“Nishishi. Anyway, Hinata-chan, it’s great to finally meet you! I'm Ouma Kokichi, though you probably already know that. Since I'm a supreme leader, I'm the type to get famous, you know?”
Ah, right, Ouma. That was his name. “Yeah. What do you want?”
“I wanted to invite you to hang out with me just the two of us. Just ditch Souda-chan and join me instead! He's an idiot anyway!”
“H-Hey! Who are you calling an idiot!?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Yeah, exactly! Fuck off, fucker! I'm Hinata’s soul friend, so he’ll choose me over anyone any day!”
Ouma grins. “Well, well, maybe I have something to talk about regarding Komaeda-chan. I think he's in danger, and if things go on, he might end up completely losing himself, you knooow? But oh, well, if you want to continue with your soul friends’ night out, I won’t be able to stop you.”
“What the fuck?” Hinata says. He doesn’t realize right away that Souda said the same thing. “That’s not a funny thing to lie about.”
“Yeah! I mean, he’d choose me over anyone… except for Komaeda, so that’s cheating, asshole!”
“I'm saying the truth.” Ouma pouts. “Or maybe not? You'll never know unless you come with me. And hey, I may be not Hinata-chan’s ‘soul friend’, but I at least know that he’ll rather get scammed than risk Komaeda-chan’s safety.”
“You just admitted it’s a scam, fucker!”
“Well, whatever.” Ouma grins and offers Hinata a hand. “The decision is yours, Hinata-chan. What do you think?”
First of all, why does this guy know how important Komaeda is to him? Second, isn’t the reason why Hinata is outside right now in the first place is because he wants to get away from Komaeda and the thought of him? Third—
Hinata shook Ouma’s hand. “If this is a prank, I’m punching you.”
—Third, Ouma’s right. He really rather be fooled than ignore the possibility that Komaeda’s unsafe.
Ouma nods. “Great choice, Hinata-chan! Well, then, let’s go. Tonight, we’re gonna start writing the story of the downfall of a tyrant! That doesn’t sound boring, does it?”
What is Ouma talking about? Hinata doesn’t understand.
But he would.
If it concerns Komaeda’s safety, he would.
He should.