Chapter Text
Hajime was in class, in the back of the room with his friend, Nagito. Nagito and him have been incredibly close since they first met in the first week of freshman year. The two had just.. clicked.
However, recently a new kid had joined the school, but she wasn’t very new to Hajime. The two had been friends since elementary, and had been separated two years prior to joining this school. Now, they only seem closer than ever…
…And Nagito didn’t like that.
Hajime now sat at his desk in one of the classes he didn’t share with Chiaki. He was focused on the school book while the teacher read aloud. Nagito looked over at him, not paying attention to the class.
Nagito leaned closer to Hajime, “Hey, Hajime, do you think it’d be okay if I stay at your place tonight? Like a sleepover.”
“Ah, sorry, I’m sleeping over at Chiaki’s tonight. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so we’re still catching up.” Hajime apologized, and smiled when he mentioned Chiaki.
Nagito did not.
“Oh, okay.” He leaned back over and looked at the book lying open on his desk, opened on the wrong page.
“Why do you ask? Are you not able to stay at your place?” Now that he’s thinking about it, Hajime had never been to Nagito’s house. He knew little about his life out of school, Nagito never brought it up.
“No, no, it’s fine. I just wanted to hang out.”
“Okay, we can another time, I promise.”
Nagito looked away.
. . .
The bell rang, and Hajime left the school with Chiaki. Usually he walks home with Nagito, but he figured it’d be good to spend some time with Chiaki now that she’s moved into town. He’d likely walk with Nagito tomorrow anyway.
Nagito wasn’t very appreciative of the idea of not walking with Hajime.
He was quiet all day. That bothered Hajime, as usually Nagito was the more talkative of the two, he always had something to say. But even at lunch, when they were allowed to talk, he was quieter than usual.
“What are you thinking about?” Chiaki noticed the troubled expression on his face.
Hajime smiled and looked over at Chiaki, “Oh, nothing, just thinking about Nagito,”
“Komaeda?” Chiaki tilted her head slightly.
“Yeah, he seemed off today… I guess I’m just worried.” Hajime sighed.
Chiaki took a second to think, “... I don’t know him as well as you do, but I’m sure he’ll be okay. Maybe he just had a bad day. You could give him a call today?”
Hajime nodded. Chiaki moved slightly closer to him and held his hand, “I’m happy I’m here with you finally.”
Hajime’s face flushed and he turned his head away from her. But, as he did, something caught his eye, and he stopped.
Something, or someone, seemed to be watching the two, but quickly hid behind a tree when he looked over.
Chiaki stopped when she noticed he did and looked behind her at him. They were still holding hands, but she was a few steps ahead of him, “Hajime?”
Hajime shook his head and looked back in front of him, stepping forward to be next to her again, “Sorry, I guess I just thought I saw something.”
Chiaki leaned her head on him, and they continued to walk.
The two split off once they reached the block Hajime lived in, and Hajime headed home. All he did while home was get ready to head to Chiaki’s, and his dad drove him over.
Chiaki had just moved in, so her house wasn’t very decorated and there were still a lot of boxes around the house. That was expected. Chiaki greeted him at the door with a hug, and her parents also seemed happy to see him.
Chiaki’s little siblings walked up too and greeted him as well, they seemed the exact same as they were the last time he saw them, but he still commented on how big they were now.
Once they were done with greetings, Chiaki led him to her room. The room also wasn’t very decorated, but the walls were painted pink and her bed and the furniture was built.
“Do you want to help me set things up?” Chiaki asked with an unmoveable smile plastered on her face.
Hajime agreed. Chiaki put on some music on her speakers, and the two spent their time until dinner decorating.
Then, dinner came. Everyone sat at the table.
“I’m so glad we’re back here again, it's amazing to see you, Hajime!” Chiaki’s mom said with a smile.
“I’m glad you guys are too, I missed Chiaki a lot…” Hajime held her hand under the table.
“I hope we didn’t miss a lot. How are Kyoko and Makoto?” Chiaki’s dad asked. Kyoko and Makoto are his parents, so it made sense that he’d ask.
“Ah, my parents are the same, nothing new… Though, dad got hired at a new place, really good pay, too.” Hajime replied.
“That’s amazing! I’m glad you guys are doing well!”
The rest of dinner consisted of normal family chatter. I mean, they were like family to him, so he fit right in.
After dinner Hajime and Chiaki left for their room and watched a movie before going to bed.
Hajime felt like he was being watched.
. . .
April 3rd, A Monday in April, 2017, at 3:00 PM.
That’s when he was going to confess. Under the cherry tree in the school yard. It was so perfect, perfect weather, perfect place, perfect time of day… And then she came into the picture.
He couldn’t confess with her still getting in the way. He saw how she acted with his beloved. And how he responded in return. It pains him to see them together…
So the solution is simple. He just has to get rid of her.
Nagito finished wrapping the bandage around his arm, and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. He smiled big and returned to his room, he sighed as he looked at the picture frame on his bedside table. In it, a picture of his best friend in the whole world. Hajime.
He then left his empty house and headed to school.
He went to class and had to think about how exactly he would.. ‘Get rid of’ Chiaki. If he had just killed her, it would definitely be something everyone would talk about. It would be investigated until he got caught. It could also go wrong in too many ways. He could get caught on camera, someone could see him, or he could be too suspicious as her friend’s best friend. He could slip up while being questioned.
He had to think of another way to get her away from him.
And he had to do it soon.
. . .
A few hours pass and Nagito is headed to the nurses office. On his way, he finds himself passing by Chiaki. She’s on the phone, so he decides to listen in…
“... I know, I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing I could do…”
“I tried, but- I did try! It’s not like your stupid code was gonna work anyways, nothing could salvage it!”
“Hey, don’t say that…”
“What..? No, that can’t be…”
“You can’t do that!”
“The prize money is going to go towards helping my family, please!”
Beep… beep… beep…
“Sigh… What am I going to do… I’m going to lose, and all of the money I promised my parents… Nothing will go to them…” Chiaki backed up against a wall and sat down, shoving her head in her arms.
Prize? Was she joining some sort of contest? She seems to be upset… He could ask her about it.
So he did. Of course, he didn't care about her, maybe he was just trying to get her trust.
He left the corner and approached her.
“Nanami, may I ask what that call was about?” Nagito knelt down, “Are you okay?”
She looked up and wiped her tears, “Komaeda…? Yeah, yeah… I’m fine… I had started to learn coding from my dad and joined a competition with a really high prize price, I figured I could use it for my family… We aren’t doing too well when it comes to money, and my mom has a really important upcoming surgery, we don’t have the right funds…”
Nagito thought for a second, “I’m so sorry… Are you not able to participate in the competition anymore?”
“A guy I got into an argument with deleted all my work, and the deadline is tomorrow…”
Nagito got an idea.
“I’m really sorry… I wish I could help, but I don’t necessarily know how to code, and I’m not doing well financially either.
Chiaki sighed.
“I have to head to the nurse now, sorry Nanami…”
Nagito then got up and left, heading to the nurse.
. . .
He’s had this idea for days. Ever since he heard that phone call from Chiaki. But today was the day. The results got posted this morning. Chiaki didn’t even place.
But, conveniently, a letter was found in her locker.
‘Meet me at the school rooftop today during lunch. We need to talk about the coding competition.’
And as he approached the area he told her to meet him at, he saw she was already there, waiting for him.
And so he slowly approached her, making sure his footsteps made no sound… and right as he got right behind her… He grabbed her by the legs, flipped her over the railing, and slipped her shoes off right before she fell.
Then, he placed her shoes on the ground next to the railing, placed a forged note next to the shoes, stepped back a bit, and screamed.