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This day… was strange.
From the very morning, Hiyoko suggested tying up Nagito, and Akane cried over Nekomaru's condition, blaming herself for everything. Then Ibuki came along and started believing everything she was told. All of that, combined with Nagito's lies, created a very bizarre mixture. So bizarre that Hajime started feeling nauseous just three minutes after being in the same building as them.
Then Monokuma said they had what was called the "Despair Disease," and each of them had their own symptoms.
As it turned out, all three of them had a terrible fever. And it wasn't just them. Mikan also had it, who — coincidentally — had forgotten how to treat even a mild fever.
"Trust," "Guilt," "Lies," and "Loss of Talent"…
On top of all that, Nagito nearly fainted, so Hajime had to lead him to the hospital building, supporting him by the shoulders, while the other sick students walked on their own.
***
Upon arriving at the hospital, Nagito was the first to be sat down on the couch, even though he kicked up a fuss and kept insisting that he was fine.
"So…" — Sonia broke the silence first — "what are we going to do?"
"We need someone to look after the sick" — Kazuichi leaned on the register counter — "Mikan usually handled things like this, but…"
"I-I'm sorry… I'll try my best…" — Mikan clasped her hands together to stop them from trembling — "E-even if I'm useless, I still have to…"
"There's no need for that" — Chiaki gently patted her shoulder, soothing her — "you're just as sick as they are, and you need treatment too. I think it would be better if one healthy person looks after one sick person instead."
"Well, two people can look after Mikan and Ibuki together. After all, they'll be easy to handle."
"I'll stay with them." — Fuyuhiko glanced over the two of them — "My life isn't worth anything anyway, so if I catch a deadly Despair symptom, it won't be much of a loss."
No one objected. Fuyuhiko needed time to come to terms with the fact that he had survived.
"I'll stay with Akane" — Chiaki let go of Mikan's hand
"Then I'll stay with Na-"
"Absolutely not, Miss Sonia! For a princess like you, staying with the sick, and especially with… Nagito… commoner's sickness would be fatal!"
"Then" — Hiyoko finally spoke up — "it's obvious to everyone that Hajime absolutely has to stay!"
"Huh? Why me?"
"Because you've touched the sick patients the most, stupid!"
"Wait—!"
"Then it's settled" — Fuyuhiko sighed — "the three of us will stay and look after each of the sick patients."
"…Ugh." — Hajime gave up and leaned back against the couch, flinching when he made contact with Nagito — "Fine."
***
Chiaki, as the only girl there, took Ibuki, Mikan, and Akane to get changed, while Nagito took Hajime. Chiaki got lucky — the girls were in a stable physical condition, so she didn't have to change them herself. She just handed them their clothes and stepped out.
Hajime got much, much less lucky. Because Nagito's condition had become so destabilized due to the disease, Hinata had to change Komaeda almost entirely by himself.
"Ugh. How unpleasant. You haven't even remembered your own talent yet, and you think you have the right to change my clothes."
"Just shut up. I'm doing this for your own good."
"You could have just given me a lump of coal and I would have committed suicide. No need to go through all this trouble."
Hajime just let out a heavy sigh, tying the loops of the robe on Nagito's back. This was going to be the toughest motive yet.
***
The changing room door slammed shut. Nagito and Hajime came out of it. Komaeda continued loudly protesting that he didn't want Hajime fussing over him, while the latter held him by the shoulders and led him down the stairs.
On the first floor, Chiaki was calming Akane down, trying to get her to go into the hospital room.
"Chiaki, can we definitely not switch?"
"Yeah. I would definitely prefer Nanami-san looking after me over Hinata-kun."
"Sorry, Hajime. Not even I could handle him."
Hajime exhaled loudly and nodded, leading Nagito into the hospital room. Hinata sat Komaeda down on the bed and finally let go of his shoulders. Only now did he realize how cold his own hands felt. Better not to think about it.
"Stay here. I'll go get a bucket in case you suddenly feel unwell."
"Better yet, don't come back."
As he left the room, Hajime slammed the door. Akane and Chiaki had already left.
On the way to get the bucket and back, his thoughts were completely consumed by Nagito's words. This strange feeling was somewhat reminiscent of the first few days after the first trial. Back then, Hajime had spent nearly a week replaying every word Nagito had said before he'd shown his true self, lying awake at night analyzing them and the boy's behavior. He had seemed like a terrifying enigma. An enigma that was impossible to solve, so his mind had jumped to the conclusion that Nagito was crazy, and crazy people should just be avoided. That was easy to do while Nagito lay tied up. But once Monomi had untied him, Hajime had needed at least three more nights to convince himself that getting involved with Nagito again would just be a waste of time and would only raise more questions.
But now that he had to be face to face with Nagito again, alone, so intimately close… That awful desire to solve all of Komaeda's riddles was growing with every second. Hajime tried very, very hard to ignore thoughts like that, but the path there had been terribly quiet. No one distracted him, no one talked to him, because Fuyuhiko and Chiaki were already fully occupied taking care of their own sick patients.
That guy… he had… lied. He had lied about hating Hajime, lied about not wanting him to come back, lied, lied, lied… But if he was lying…
No. No. No. No. Thinking about it was bad. Nagito was just a psycho. And Hajime just needed to wait this out until the sickness passed.
***
The door slammed. Maybe even too loudly. Hajime regretted it immediately. The sick patients surely had bad headaches from the fever and heightened sensitivity to sound. That was so stupid.
"You came back after all. You're so annoying, Hinata-kun."
Hajime sighed — probably for the tenth time in the last hour. He walked over to the bed and placed the plastic sanitary bucket on the floor by the pillow.
Nagito was still sitting there with his legs stretched out.
"Aren't you hot?"
"Nope. I'm actually cold."
"So you are hot."
"Are you even listening to me? I never lie, so I'm cold."
Hajime silently touched Nagito's forehead. Just as expected, it was burning hot. Hinata took a mercury thermometer from the first aid kit, which had been left on the nightstand in advance, and handed it to Komaeda.
"There's no point in this. I'm perfectly fine."
Nevertheless, Nagito took the thermometer and fumbled with his clothes for a moment before finally slipping it under his arm.
Hajime straightened up a bit, towering over Nagito. He generally slouched somewhat, but Hinata caught Nagito's gaze on him. Grey-blue eyes peeked out from behind thick bangs and looked straight into his soul. Something about that sight made Hajime swallow the lump in his throat and look away. Don't think about it. Psycho. Psycho. Psycho.
Why did that psycho keep looking at him?
"Do you need anything else?"
"No. Just leave already."
"Great. I'll do just that once I know your temperature."
"You'd better hurry up, then."
Nagito pulled the thermometer from under his arm and handed it over. Hajime glanced at the result.
38°C
Without saying a word, Hinata shook down the thermometer and put it back in the first aid kit, then hurriedly left the hospital room.
Hajime rushed toward the hospital exit, but Fuyuhiko was standing in the main hall.
"Hey, Hajime! Look what Kazuichi brought."
Hajime looked over Fuyuhiko's shoulder at the register counter and noticed a camera and a monitor there.
"What's that?"
"A communication device. So we can share updates. Kazuichi brought this. Though the signal still only reaches as far as the hotel."
"What if we need to contact them?"
"We agreed to call each other 30 minutes after the morning announcement and after curfew."
Hajime nodded and continued past him toward the door, about to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"To the pharmacy on the second island. To get some fever reducer. Nagito has a high fever, so…"
"Hurry up. Curfew is in 20 minutes."
"Okay."
Hajime left the hospital and headed for the pharmacy, furiously trying to drown out all the noise in his head concerning Nagito. Psycho, psycho, psycho, psycho…
…this was stupid. It was stupid to agree to be Nagito's babysitter. He should have fought to take Akane, or Ibuki and Mikan, for that matter. Why did he have to be the one looking after goddamn Nagito Komaeda?! Out of all the people on this island, he had to be the one drowning out his thoughts about that utterly insane psycho. It was so irritating.
***
The cellophane bag from Rocket Punch banged against his legs, drowning out his cyclical thoughts with its rustling.
Hajime divided the fruit into four bags and delivered them to each hospital room himself, leaving Nagito's for last. But now that three of the four bags were already sitting on the nightstands, he had no choice but to just go in.
When Hajime opened the door, Nagito was already lying on the bed, having kicked off his blanket. He was sleeping peacefully, mumbling something under his breath.
All in all, it was an ordinary sight. Ibuki had already gone to sleep too, same as Mikan — only Akane was crying into her pillow. But somehow, the sight of Nagito sleeping made his heartbeat calm down and his shoulders relax.
Hajime tried to quietly walk over to the nightstand and put the bag down without disturbing the scene. For a second, he even froze, looking at Nagito's slightly parted lips. No. No. Psycho, psycho, psycho.
He tried to leave the room as carefully as possible, though truth be told, he did it rather quickly. Hinata felt blood rush to his face.
He wanted to run back to his cottage, hide there, scream into his pillow, maybe hit himself a couple of times — but the curfew notification was already playing on the monitor. He needed to contact the others… Fuyuhiko and Chiaki would have managed on their own, but Hajime would need to come up with a reason for leaving, so… he just had to do it. Something deep inside him screamed that he needed to stop being this weak. It was just a psycho — not even worth thinking about.
But then why was he thinking about him?
Hajime walked out into the hall. Chiaki and Fuyuhiko were already talking about something between themselves, but they stopped when they noticed him.
"…Hajime?"
"Are you okay?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Your face… Ah, never mind."
Hinata wanted to slap himself. Of course his face was red, of course it was. That was the last fucking thing he needed.
***
After the conference call, Monokuma was kind enough to allow the three of them to stay overnight at the hospital. Chiaki went to sleep in the staff office, Fuyuhiko on the couch in the hall, and Hajime stayed in the conference room.
Probably, at that moment, everyone was asleep. Everyone except Hajime.
In the silence of the night, the most hidden thoughts always come — the ones we're afraid to voice in the light of day. And Hinata was no exception. His entire mind was focused on a single name:
Nagito Komaeda.
"Hinata-kun."
Only one person on this island called him that. That person was Nagito Komaeda. That person was a psycho.
Why did that psycho look at him so often…
Why did that psycho talk to him all the time…
Because he's a psycho. An enigma that's impossible to solve, no matter how hard you try. The longer you think about him, the more you fall into his trap.
"Why are you thinking about him, Hajime?"
"Why."
But something answered these thoughts very loudly.
"Because you're in love with Nagito Komaeda."
And at that thought, he wanted to beat that part of his brain that could even come up with it into a pulp — beat it into mush so it would shut up forever. That was insane. Who could possibly fall in love with a completely insane psycho? Certainly not Hajime. That was… that was just curiosity. Like when you're afraid of a spider but you keep watching it, because if it disappears from your field of vision, it becomes even scarier.
Yeah. That was exactly it. No other reasons.
Hajime managed to fall asleep.
In his dream, he was hugging someone, but he couldn't tell who. The face was hidden by white, wavy hair. Hinata didn't want to know who it was. He pulled the person closer to himself, as if that would allow him to feel warmth through the dream. Even if it had been scalding boiling water, Hajime would have welcomed it.
"Hinata-kun. Don't let me go."
That name made him wake up.
Nagito, Nagito, Nagito.
He couldn't manage to get any more sleep for the rest of the night. An hour and a half later, the announcement for the new day played, and Hajime had to get up. If he hadn't come out, it would have raised even more questions. Better to pretend everything was fine until he could figure out how to answer.
***
Walking down the hallway, he tried to ignore the intrusive thought of checking in on Nagito. But after the three of them had contacted the outside world, he ended up having to check on Komaeda anyway.
Nagito was lying on the bed, blinking lazily at the ceiling. Hearing the click of the door, he turned his head, and a barely noticeable hint of a smile appeared on his lips.
"Hinata-kun."
Hajime swallowed. No. No.
"I was hoping you wouldn't come back. Your talent must be Ultimate Pest."
Hinata stood by the door for probably a minute, trying to stop his trembling. Why was he even nervous? Those thoughts from last night were just the result of nighttime delirium, right?
"…Well. It's my duty. To look after you until you get better."
Hajime stepped closer and took out the fruit, a bottle of water, and a pack of medicine from the bag. Nagito slowly sat up, leaning his back against the pillow.
"How are you feeling?"
"Couldn't be better. Though it got worse when you walked in."
"I'll leave soon, don't worry."
Trying not to show that he was nervous, Hajime put his hand to Nagito's forehead — and immediately pulled it back in shock.
"Ah! Y-you're so…"
He swallowed the word and immediately regretted it. The word "hot" in this context would have been perfectly acceptable — but not for Hajime, who was still tormented by his own thoughts.
Hinata just opened the pack of fever reducer and the water, then handed one tablet and the bottle to Komaeda.
"Take this. You should feel better after it… probably."
"I hate the way you show your concern. It's so clumsy."
"I told you to shut up."
Nagito took the tablet and set the bottle back on the nightstand.
"You've fulfilled your pathetic duty. Now leave, please."
Hajime sighed and turned to go, but he felt terribly hot fingers touch his hand.
"Hinata-kun, I told you to leave…"
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing."
"Yes… You understand me so well. I told you to leave, so you're leaving. Like an obedient little dog. Huh…"
Hajime just wanted to leave already. Nagito was so weak he hadn't even fully grabbed his hand, so Hinata could easily have left… He could have, but instead, for some reason, he stood there, looking at Nagito over his shoulder. Those eyes were looking at him again without blinking.
What the hell was wrong with this psycho?!
"What do you want from me?"
"For you to leave and never come back. I hate you."
"You'd better recover from this creepy disease as soon as possible and say it to my face."
"I'm already saying it straight. If you're so stupid, Hinata-kun, that you can't understand that…"
Nagito stopped mid-sentence. His eyes went blank in an instant, and he closed them, fainting.
***
Outside, it had already gotten dark. Nagito had fainted and still hadn't woken up, which was starting to make Hajime nervous. What had he been about to say?
Hajime had been sitting beside him this whole time. At most, he'd left the room about three hours ago to check on the others and report on Nagito's condition.
Komaeda was lying in bed. Hinata had thrown a blanket over him, but the boy kept whispering in his sleep, "Cold… cold…" which, translated into healthy terms, meant he was burning up with fever.
Hajime sighed and left the room, trying to close the door as quietly as possible.
In the hallway, he ran into Chiaki.
"There you are."
"Huh?"
"Monokuma already announced the end of the day. We need to contact Kazuichi soon."
"Right…"
The hospital rooms didn't have monitors. They were one of the few places on the entire island without monitors. Probably so as not to disturb the sick… How thoughtful of that stupid organization.
The conference call was no different from the others. The people at the hotel didn't have much to report, while the other three shared news about the patients' conditions.
Akane was still crying loudly and was practically refusing to eat. Mikan was very nervous, occasionally coming out of her room to check on the others, but remained just as useless when it came to medicine — even more useless than Chiaki, Fuyuhiko, and Hajime. And Ibuki seemed to be feeling the best out of everyone.
***
The next few days felt like Groundhog Day. Hajime would go to Nagito's room first thing in the morning and sit beside him for long stretches of time.
He felt guilty that he couldn't do anything, but on the other hand, he understood that this was the most rational approach. His knowledge of medicine was only enough to cure a mild cold, but the Despair Disease wasn't something that could be described in a similar way — especially when you were stuck with a patient who lay around all day sleeping and muttering all kinds of nonsense.
The endless stream of thoughts about Nagito repeated over and over, day after day. It was so irritating he wanted to scream.
Damn Komaeda to hell for choosing, out of all the people on this island, the completely unremarkable Hajime, who couldn't even remember his own talent. And because of that whole period of friendliness, Hinata now had to struggle with conflicting feelings every single day, every time he saw even the slightest hint that Nagito was still alive and hadn't floated away from the island.
For a while, Hajime even avoided Nagito's room. It hurt to be in the same room with him, especially now, in the silence. But it turned out that not seeing him at all was even more painful. How stupid.
Hinata stood up from the chair and headed outside. He needed to get some fresh air. He must have caught the Despair Disease himself from spending so much time around the sick. Probably his symptom was dependence on psychos… no, on one psycho in particular.
But when he stepped into the lobby, he noticed that the button on the communication monitor was lit. Strange. It was still a long time until the morning announcement…
Hinata pressed the button and saw something he definitely did not want to see.
***
"…And I even brought people from their hospital!"
"From the hospital…?"
Hajime turned around and saw Mikan, Akane, and Nagito.
"Oh… what a pity. While I was lying sick, a murder happened, and I couldn't even help…"
Hinata felt his heart clench.
Why did it have to be that guy?
When the investigation began, Hajime accidentally ended up alone with Nagito in the warehouse. Accidentally, because he truly hadn't planned it — but it happened anyway, because deep down, he had wanted it.
"Hinata-kun."
"Yeah…?"
"I caused you a lot of trouble while I was sick, didn't I?"
"I… um…"
"Ha… I really didn't deserve your care. There's no way you had to put up with my terrible behavior. I must have been even more irritating than usual…"
"We need to focus on the investigation."
"If you're capable of that."
"…Huh?"
"Ha-ha… Nothing… Just thinking out loud. You don't have to listen to a lowlife like me, Hinata-kun. You're right — we need to conduct the investigation. But…" — Nagito took Hajime's hand — "…I just hope we can talk after the trial…"
"Wh…what? Talk about what? I, um… We have nothing to talk about."
"Is that so?"
That look again. Hajime was allowing himself to look at that psycho again. So irritating.
"Hinata-kun… Just… if you ever decide to come… you can always knock."
Nagito let go of his hand so abruptly that Hajime nearly grabbed it again, but he managed to stop himself.
"Wh-where are you going?"
"To continue the investigation. Now isn't the time for small talk, is it?"
"…No."
Nagito left the warehouse, slamming the doors loudly behind him, leaving Hajime alone with the feeling of blood rushing to his face.