Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stuck in a killing game with apparently a chunk of your memories deleted was not how you expected to spend the year 2022. If you were even in the year 2022. Then again, it's not like you expected anything at all when your talent earned you the title of ultimate and made you travel to the other side of the globe to attend the most prestigious high school you knew of.

Moving far from your chaotic but familiar country wasn't as easy as you expected it to be. Being the only one with roots so distant somehow intensified that patriotism; the one that showed the most when you weren't thinking about all those economic and political messes in your country.

Sure, Sonia Nevermind was also an exception amongst your Japanese classmates. But she was also an european princess, so the difference wasn't noticeable. The anxiety of being part of a completely different social context wasn't as strong as the anxiety of partaking in a death game, though. The overwhelming circumstances almost made you forget the nostalgia in your heart. Almost.

When the ultimate chef made those churrascos and you had a pleasant conversation about South America food, you felt that maybe your culture could be used to make stronger bonds with everyone here. Even if a bear is telling you all to kill yourselves, there's always time to enjoy the cultural differences, right?

Well no, the chef had to go and kill the leader. And then the swords woman pretended to be a serial killer from a Spanish speaking country you knew all too well. Even if that killer was from Spain, you had heard enough to know that Pekoyama Peko was just tripping.

Trial after trial, island after island, you were forgetting about your previous life and becoming more used to the uncertainty of murders! It practically replaced the uncertainty of what the politician in turn said to mess everything up.

In short: You were losing your Argentinian shimmer. Your priorities were all over the place! You had to be the representation of your country, just like Messi, goddammit!

So after the research on the third island came with a bit of information, you did your best to keep an upright position in your seat, ready to collaborate with any theory that came to mind.

Until that bear appeared, earning a few surprised screams. “Puhuhuhuhu! Was the tour through the new island fun? I don't care! I come here with huge news!”

“A new motive?! So soon?! This must be some kind of record, yikes!” Mioda screamed to your left. Even she wanted some days of rest from Monokuma. Ironic to want holidays from the island resort you were living in.

“No, no, no! My motives take time to cook! One so soon would just be boring! Like your face!” The bear raised his paws, his annoying voice screeching every word. “I have come with something almost as good, though!” He coughed before continuing, his tone more controlled. “You see… No one wants to buy the merch for my movie… Making movies isn't cheap, don't you ungrateful brats know that?!” And there it went, his controlled voice. Nice while it lasted.

Hajime answered to his anger, a slight annoyance dripping from his voice “I heard that movie is seriously boring though, and you were only selling one overpriced sticker that you broke… Seriously, it's mostly your fault, isn't it?” You giggle under your hand, remembering the moment Monokuma had tried to sell you and Hajime the sticker only for it to get stuck in one of his paws.

Obviously, the insane teddy bear didn't agree. “Not at all! And none of your pathetic opinions matter for me! What's truly important is that… now that you all have access to televisions and CDs, I know another way to fund my art!” He then throws a bunch of CD cases all over the restaurant table, earning a few sighs from your classmates. “TA-DAH! Imported goods! Each CD at just the small price of one million dollars! Of course, you can pay when you leave the island, so don't worry about not having your credit card right now!”

“Foolish monochromatic beast! Mere compact discs won't be enough for me to grant you even a broken penny from my hellish fortune!” You saw Sonia nod to Tanaka's words, probably agreeing with whatever he said. Honestly, the guy challenged your Japanese lessons every time he opened his mouth.

“One million dollars… Most of our credit cards wouldn't be able to pay that, I think.” Chiaki spoke softly from across the table, looking at one of the cases that seemed to contain a cheeky romantic movie. You hummed in agreement as you looked at the options, sure that there would never be anything worth getting in such a debt. “Everyone, I don't think we should give Monokuma money, even if it's for later… there might be a trap in here, and nothing of this is-”

Okay. You loved Chiaki. One of the best classmates definitely. You would usually hate to interrupt her! She always helped the group out of issues, so she had earned your full respect.

Having said that, your eyes widen and your hands shoot themselves to one of the cases that was slightly to your right, giving Mikan a small scare. “IS THAT A RECORDING OF EVERY GAME THE ARGENTINIAN FOOTBALL SELECTION HAD DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP OF 2022 WITH ORIGINAL COMMENTARY FROM ARGENTINA SUBTITLED TO JAPANESE?!”

Your scream wasn't even an exaggeration: in the middle of the case the words ‘Recording of every game the Argentinian football selection had during the FIFA world cup of 2022 with original commentary from Argentina subtitled to japanese’ had called your attention and almost gave you a small heart attack.

Saionji probably said something mean about your scream, you honestly didn't care though. You hugged the CD to your chest like a baby koala to it's mom, nodding to Monokuma when he mentioned something about an agreement being done. Honestly, you couldn't even care anymore, a turmoil of thoughts was going on in your head: ‘Did they do it? Did Messi finally win it? Scaloni definitely proved everyone wrong, right?! They must have won! There's no way they didn't! Monokuma wouldn't be cruel enough to just sell this if they had lost, right?!’.

You turned to your classmates and noticed a few disappointed glances and sighs. Honestly, even if what you had done was probably a bit stupid, your body was shaking with excitement. The only one that seemed to agree with your decision was Nekomaru, who gave you a smile. “Ah, what a good choice! I was myself very excited to watch that for myself at the end of the year! You will have to lend me that at some point, OKAY?!” His loud voice ringed through the restaurant, your reply just a nod with a smile of appreciation to his comprehension.

Suddenly, Hajime stood up from his chair, a strong realization in his expression. “Wait, at the end of the year? That tournament happened at the end of the year? Then… that could help us to measure a minimum of how much we have forgotten!”

Silence was complete in the room, the awkward realization that your memories of at least an entire year were gone. You felt bad in your heart, knowing that you probably saw the world cup with people who understood your excitement… hell, if you had won, you were sure you would have travelled back to your country for the celebrations!

Now was your chance of knowing, right? You could find out if Messi had done it, if your whole country got to celebrate as you had always dreamed.

You shake your head to erase any sad thoughts and turn to Kazuichi, seriousness covering your tone. “Soda, you found any CD player? I need to watch this ASAP!”

He just nodded awkwardly, a hand brushing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I left one on my cottage. I can bring it and put it in the lobby, though I will go back to the third island immediately after that. I still want to check some stuff over there.”

You give him a smile, thankful for his help and turn to scan the rest of your class. Technically, you could watch all this on your own, but where was the fun in that? Sure, no one would understand the passion as much as you, but being alone was a mood killer in such grand times!

Your eyes fall on Nekomaru, who says he would love to but he really wants to check on Akane, who would be your second option if she wasn't missing. You sigh, and keep going over your mental list. Hajime seemed way too serious, and probably wouldn't be able to keep up with emotional changes. Chiaki was a calm presence that you would always appreciate, but honestly? That's not what you needed for a world cup.

Sonia was a good option, but Gundham had already taken her with him to talk about who knows what. Mioda seemed to have followed behind, excited to keep exploring the music venue. Kazuichi already gave you an excuse, and Kuzuryu, Saionji and Mikan were obviously not options.

You had one clear option. Your eyes narrow. He is sitting peacefully at the other end of the table, probably thinking of what to do next. You would need to sell this plan, though. “Komaeda. You are obsessed with hope, aren't you?”

He is taken aback by your sudden question, taking a short second to answer. “Well, yes, of course. Hope is the most beautiful thing in the world… it can shine bright even amongst the deepest despair.”

You grin, knowing you have him a bit interested at least. “Hope… have you ever heard of how much does football mean for Argentina? It had a huge role during historical moments. Even in the darkest dictatorship of ours, our national football team was a light of hope amongst all the fear covering the streets! In times where our country feels on the edge and we can't find strength to fight it, football reminds everyone why we love our country so much! No matter the economic crisis, just remembering the hand of god by Maradona in the 86 makes us full of pride!”

The classmates that had stayed back at the restaurant were staring at you with a weirded out expression, but Nagito seemed genuinely intrigued “That does sound fascinating… Is it truly possible for such a strong hope to be born from a tournament? So strong to unite an entire country?”

He is exactly where you wanted him, your passionate speech definitely convincing (it came from your heart, after all) “Yes! And maybe, just maybe, during the 2022 world cup that hope was born again! In times of need, after so much time without winning, and being the last chance for Messi and other important players, everyone has been clinging to belief and hope even more!”

He seemed to think over your words, clearly captivated, so you decide to finally jump in, knowing he is the least likely to reject you anyways. “So! Knowing you would enjoy such a scene, I'm inviting you to watch this with me! Experiment the biggest Argentinian hope with me!” You stretch your hand forward, part of you genuinely moved by your own words.

You hear Hajime sigh as he stands up, clearly not glad you are indulging in Nagito's weirdness, but you maintain strong eye contact with the lucky student. He pointed at himself, surprised by your invitation. “Really? Me? If having a pest like me nearby won't make the experience worse, then I would really enjoy getting to see this hope you are talking about…”

Your smile is impossible to contain as you run over to him and grab him by the wrist, some joyful giggles leaving your mouth out of excitement. “Let's go right now!!! I can't wait, oh my god, I'm way too thrilled!”

Nagito just smiled at how you were practically vibing with emotion, your eyes brimming with the hope he loved so much, and just allowed your hand to pull him down the stairs to the lobby, where Kazuichi had just finished prepping the CD player.

As you ran to your cottage to get something before starting, he stared at your back with some excitement of his own.

Was this going to be as great as you had described? Would he get to see your eyes full of hope or despair depending on what the outcome would be? Just thinking about it made his heartbeat go up.

He mentally made a note of being careful of his bad luck later, after all, he was very lucky you had chosen him out of all people to experience this moment you would most likely always remember.

Chapter Text

As you step back in the lobby, you see Nagito on the couch, checking the case of the CD once more. You stand behind him with a mischievous smile before throwing over him what you were holding in your hands: a gloriously large Argentinian flag! You practically crushed him with it, excitedly messing his hair a bit.

He looked at the cloth curiously before raising his eyes to you, his usual smile on his face having a bit of amusement to it. “I thought for a second someone had finally taken my offer to kill me.”

Him looking so optimistic at the idea and then even a little disappointed at being wrong would be unnerving in any other moment, but right now? You feel like you could tolerate absolutely anything. “Not today, my friend! I am not allowing you to die until we figure out if Messi brought her home!” You do know he probably doesn't get those small comments (his eyes practically spell “who is she and why did he have to take her home???”), but still, it is nice having someone nodding along to them.

Part of you especially appreciates that not only is he nodding along, not really questioning your enthusiasm or weird wording, but he also seems at least a bit excited as well! Getting someone to accompany you wasn't difficult on the island, of course, but that usually meant agreeing with whatever you said just to indulge you. He seemed actually intrigued in what made you excited!

His finger points at your clothes for a moment as you sit down next to him on the couch, already inspecting the remote control to figure out how to get it started. “You changed your clothing as well? Should I wear something different too?”

You shake your head, a huge grin making its way through your face. Honestly, your cheeks were already starting to hurt from so much smiling! “I found this in store the other day and couldn't contain myself!” Because of course you were not going to watch a world cup without a football T-shirt! If you weren't so excited to start watching it in that same second, you would have gone to the store and gotten one for him too, but for now he would have to be satisfied with the flag that was in your cottage for some reason.

You lean a bit closer to him on the couch, grabbing the other end of the flag and pulling it over your back, already trembling out of excitement. After a small struggle with the controls, the tape starts! Immediately, your eyes go to the reproduction settings but… “No progress bar…? And no timer of how long it is either…?”

Nagito hums beside you, a hand on his chin as he observes the screen as well. “Monokuma most likely didn't want you to figure out the results by just looking at it… After all, the longer it is, the farther they reached, right?. I'm a bit surprised he decided to be so petty about something like this though.”

A few mumbles leave your mouth, partially mad at Monokuma for leaving you on edge while also glad you didn't get spoiled by something like that. You shake those thoughts out of your mind, finally starting the video.

A small sigh of relief fills you as you see the first rival. “Saudi Arabia… Nothing too crazy, it should be something easy to start with… Ah, I don't want to jinx it! Though does it count if it already happened…? Still…!” You smile while you mumble, your hands are already shaking. Nagito notices and grins to himself, somehow amazed by how much excitement is running through your body suddenly, contrasting with how done with everything you seemed that same morning.

“I don't really know much about football, so I won't be able to notice that kind of detail… But even if it is a relaxing first match, I will do my best to look closely and understand what is happening.” You nod to Nagito, pushing yourself closer so you are both fully under the flag.

“I will answer any doubts you get, so don't be afraid to ask!”

—

Okay. Nagito is definitely not going to ask a lot of questions at the moment.

Within the first 2 minutes, Messi had already done a shot goal started by a pass from Di Maria that had you jumping in your seat like crazy. “SO FREAKING CLOSE!!! THEY JUST STARTED AND OH GOD SO CLOSE!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FIDEO PLEASE!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAAAASE!!!???”

You lean towards the TV with all your body, your fists shaking in front of you as you mumble words he can't really catch or fully understand. Still, he is already kind of understanding what you meant earlier by a sport that brought hope.

He didn't really catch exactly what happened then; he did notice that one of the arabs players injured one of your players. The subtitles said he was Lautaro Martínez, but you then started screaming something about a bull, so who is he to question that?

Anyways, the match barely started a few minutes ago and that small incident already had you screaming some of the nastiest names he ever heard to the screen. He notices Hiyoko passing by and giving you a judging look at some point, but he chooses not to mention it, not wanting to stop you from enjoying yourself.

—

Something happened during a corner? And now Argentina had to do a penalty? Honestly, he is kind of struggling between reading the subtitles or just looking at your suddenly overly expressive face. Your presence by his side is loud enough that he wouldn't ever dare to call it a distraction, more like an entire show on itself.

Still, you immediately go to hold onto his arm as soon as Messi starts getting ready to take the penalty, jumping in your place as you mumble lots of “PLEASE!!!” and “OH GOD MESSI, MESSIAH, I BELIEVE IN YOU!!”. Your grip on his arm is nearly painful, but he guesses that’s why you wanted to see the recording accompanied so badly: the anxiety is so consuming you need someone to wear it down.

Not like he is against fulfilling that role anyways! Your wide eyes filled with excitement and hope were making it fully worth it.

As soon as Messi made that penalty and scored the first goal of the match, you jumped from your seat and started to scream all kinds of stuff. “I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT MESSI!! DID YOU SEE THAT?? HE KICKED IT SO SOFTLY- GOSH IT WAS SO PERFECT!!!” After a high pitched scream you turn around to see him, your eyes wide with emotion.

He can only nod, his own smile widening. He clearly isn't understanding all of it, but the excitement is definitely contagious, and he has a single thought when looking at your smile: so hopeful!

—

That certainly didn't last!

Some missed goals after, you still are a ball of excitement, but slightly more subdued. After all, the other team is just being annoying, but there’s no way Argentina could ever lose against Saudi Arabia, right? Especially not the Scaloneta.

“ANOTHER OFF-SIDE??? LAUTARO, MY BULL, WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?? WHAT KIND OF CURSE ARE YOU CARRYING AROUND??? DID YOU ANGER THE WRONG PEOPLE???”

Argentina is still winning, but the amount of off-sides is getting ridiculous. Even Nagito started thinking so, and he has no idea of what an off-side is in the first place! He even started to understand that the spanish speaking commentarist said “GOAL, GOAL, GOAL, goal, no, no, no, no, no…” with a disappointed tone every single time one of those happened.

Nagito notices your leg hopping in place anxiously as your eyes stay glued to the TV, causing a small chuckle to leave his mouth as he decides to fulfil his task a bit more intentionally.

He moves a bit closer, something he usually wouldn't dare to do as around an ultimate like you, but you did ask him to accompany you and seem to really need it right now. He moves a hand behind your back and caresses there softly, a bit unused to being a comforting presence but still doing his best “There, there, it's just the first match and we are not even in the second half, right?”

Your eyes linger on him for a few seconds before softening and finally making you nod, taking some deep breaths to lower the growing tension on your chest. “Yes, that's true. It's still too early to be afraid, and it's not an important rival anyways so I shouldn't get too worked up over this yet!”

—

“OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD???? THIS TAPE HAS TO BE FAKE, THERE'S NO OTHER EXPLANATION. MONOKUMA FUCKING SCAMMED ME!!!! I'M GOING TO GET HIS ASS AND MAKE A METALLIC-”

Your cursing went on and on barely a few minutes after the second half started. The first Saudi Arab goal had paralyzed you, a loud gasp leaving your mouth. As soon as you started to pull yourself together again though, it happened again.

“MONOKUMA!!! COME HERE AND GIVE ME MONEY BACK!!!!” Your hands claw in your hair as you scream with all your might. You said something about it being to negotiate, but anyone passing by notices with just a look at your face that you're going to jump him as soon as he appears.

Nagito, of course, does not want to see you executed for something like that, so he carefully stands up to take place by your side, his hand going back to your shoulder. “I don't think it's a fake, maybe we should finish the whole recording before accusing Monokuma, okay? That way we will have more proof and you will get your money back.”

Not like you had actually spent any money on it, but still. You stare at him for some seconds before sighing and nodding, slamming your back against the couch while you keep looking at the match. “God did that bitch just make a backflip-” Obviously, your mumbling and cursing doesn't stop, but it is better than your previous screams.

He sits down next to you again, satisfied with his small intervention. You instinctively move closer to him again, the tension in your bones making you feel the need to lean on someone at the moment.

—

“Literally HOW!?” Those were the only words you could repeat through the remaining time of the match. You genuinely started to doubt your sanity. Maybe the killing game had made you go insane and hallucinate? How else could you explain Argentina losing in such a terrible way to Saudi Arabia?

And you had just flexed about how easy it would be to Nagito. You turn to him, your frown now also slightly embarrassed “That just made no sense. None at all! But…! But as my friends used to say, a stumble is not a fall!!!” Your hands grab to the flag, still shaking a bit, though you do feel a lot less energy. “That was just the first match of the group phase! There are still 2 more… I don't know how the other countries did, but it is very likely we still have a chance to keep going!”

Nagito leans against the couch. Just looking at you practically exploding through the entire room for the last 90 minutes was enough to exhaust him as well. He laughs a bit at your words though. Even if he doesn't understand as much as you do, it would be a lie to say he isn't having a great time. “Oh, I see. Then you still haven't been disqualified? Maybe this is just the despair the team had to go through to do better against the following rivals.”

You nod, already allowing your excitement and hype to form again. Sure, if you had actually seen it live you would've gotten depressed for a bunch of days, but having it all in a recording means you are just going to immediately watch the next match, so you can just raise your hopes again and again!

He can only smile victoriously as he notices the joy building up again in you, almost as if you already decided that that loss meant nothing