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Naegi Makoto put on his hoodie and blazer, zipped up his pants, and hastily put on his shoes. He had just finished swimming with his friends and was the last to leave the pool.
Today, they had planned to have a fun day, earlier they had played some silly party games, just went swimming, and now they were to have dinner.
"Ahhh... If Souda-kun hadn't thrown me into the pool, I'd probably be the first one there!"
He had taken his time showering, but as a result, he was now going to be the last one there.
Naegi was running down the halls, something Ishimaru would detest, before hearing a faint crying noise coming from one of the rooms. Stopping in his tracks, he perked his ears and wondered.
"Why would anyone be crying...? I'm pretty sure we invited both classes so we could bond..." However, that wasn't the case now.
Perhaps they forgot the event was today and slept in...?
Maybe something embarrassing had happened at the swimming pool when he wasn't looking... Casting those thoughts aside, he followed the noises to a girl's room.
The room labeled, "Tsumiki Mikan". Odd. He'd never seen her here before, much less meet. Sure, it was only the second week of the two classes living here together, but he managed to introduce himself to most of the other class by then...
In particular, he remembered Kuzuryuu, he was really... Er... Scary, as Naegi remembered. But... Tsumiki was a new name to him. The crying continued, and Naegi stood there awkwardly, ,before ringing her up.
It was a few moments before a faint voice answered his request.
"Y-yes...? Wh-who is this...? O-oh! Nanami-san, is this you, is the dinner already over, d-did you bring me food?"
Naegi didn't know what to think. Nanami-san... she was the Super High School Level Gamer... But what appalled him the most was the line, "Did you bring me food?"
Had she not eaten, was she too shy to come out to the dinner?
"H-hello... N-nanami-san?"
The voice called out.
Naegi replied,
"N-no... This is Naegi. Naegi Makoto. I... I heard you crying, I think... I-is everything okay...?"
Tsumiki began to cry again, complaining,
"Uuuu... I t-thought you were somebody else... H-how rude of me... Everything is f-fine. G-go to your dinner..."
What was wrong... Had somebody bullied her?! But everyone seemed to get along so well... He called out,
"Come on, we invited everyone! That means you too!"
For a few moments, there was no reply.
"J-just go... Uuuu.. I'll wait for Nanami-san..."
"I'll wait outside for you, it's okay."
Naegi says, sliding down the wall, getting comfortable.
He had the feeling this would likely take a while, he thought, before falling asleep.
Five... Ten... Twenty, and finally thirty minutes pass before she calls out again.
"... A-are you still there...?"
Hastily, Naegi wakes up and replies,
"Y-yes!"
Tsumiki is extremely surprised, and calls out to Naegi,
"J-just a moment...!"
The door opens and Naegi is greeted by a girl he'd never seen before. Her hair seemed to be a mess, although it might be her style. Nonetheless, it suited her timid face, which he could immediately read as, "Please don't hurt me."
"...N-name..." she whispered out. "C-come again?" He replied. "Y-your name-!"
This time she had yelped it out, desperate to say it.
"That's a bit rude... I've been waiting out here all this time and you ask me first...?"
Naegi was about to throw out a big smile and laugh, telling her it as a joke before she began crying.
"Uuuu... Y-you're right! I'm so sorry... H-how rude and pa-pathetic of me..."
She began crying instantly.
Naegi started waving his arms around nervously.
"A-ah! I- I was joking! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I promise!"
At last, she stopped crying after some more failed attempts to comfort her from Naegi. He gave a nervous smile, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "R-really. I meant it as a joke."
He then hastily introduced himself, "I'm Naegi Makoto. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Nervously, he thrust out his hand, smiling again.
With an equal amount of nervousness, Tsumiki took it, introducing herself at the same time.
"I-I'm Tsumiki Mikan... Th-thank you fo-for your concern, that-that's very kind of you, Naegi-san..."
"So... Uh... Why aren't you with the everyone else at the dinner? I didn't see you at the pool or anywhere the past two weeks either!"
Naegi asked. He really wanted to get along with everybody.
"I- I didn't want to ruin anybody's time... S-so for the time I've been here, I decided to stick inside my room... B-besides... S-saionji-san told me she'd hate to see me at all, s-so I'm only complying with her w-wishes."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and before she could start crying, Naegi patted her on the head, giving her a heart warming smile.
"I-I'm sure she doesn't mean it, Tsumiki-san! Don't worry about it, I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you!"
Naegi reassured her.
Although, Tsumiki stayed back,
"Y-you can go... I-I'll just wait for Nanami-san to bring me f-food again..."
Now he was really concerned. Naegi hadn't seen someone so uncomfortable with other people since Togami...
"I... I can keep you company if you want...?" He asks, his voice giving off a tinge of nervousness.
"R-really...? W-would you stay with me until they're done eating, Naegi-san...?"
She asks nervously, however, she's turned a slight pink, she was really happy actually.
"Of course! I don't mind at all."
Naegi says, giving another smile before Tsumiki drags him into her room.
The first thing he noticed, was the strong smell of... Girl.
"It smells... Nice. Is this what Tsumiki-san smells like...?" He thought to himself.
Quickly, he shook the thought out of his head, as Tsumiki sat down on her bed, patting an open spot next to her.
"P-please, Naegi-san, s-sit."
Naegi shuffled over, uneasy, he offered to keep her company yes... But what would they do to pass an hour or two...?
He sighed a tiny bit, and sat next to her. He decided to start the conversation with a simple question.
"So, uh, what's your talent, Tsumiki-san?"
Immediately, Tsumiki's eyes perk up, and she gives a nervous, but heart warming smile as she turns a light shade of red again. She was really glad someone took an interest in her.
"I-I'm a nurse. I- I like to help others who can't help themselves when they're sick... I-it makes me feel a lot better, that they put their faith in me to help them get better..."
Naegi smiles, admiring of such a talent and reason.
"O-oh! Y-you just asked f-for my t-talent and I began rambling off on my o-own... I-I'm sorry..."
"N-no, no! I-it's okay, really! That's a really admirable reason... I wish I could have a talent like that, haha..."
Naegi looked down, smiling a little wryly now.
"N-Naegi-san... I-if you don't mind me asking... W-what's your talent...?"
Groaning a little bit, he managed a meek answer.
"... I don't have one... I was lucky and got picked to go here. So they call me the Super High School Level "Luckster"..."
Tsumiki instantly apologized.
"Uuu... I-I'm sorry to bring up anything bad by asking that... I-I just thought I'd be able to make conversation but instead I made you angry at me..."
"No, no! Tsumiki-san, it's fine! Hahaha, I'm glad I got lucky and went to this school. I got lucky to meet such great people...! I'm lucky I got to meet and make friends with you today, too."
He says, blushing a tad bit. Did he just make an attempt at flirting...? No, he was only comforting her, assuring he she was a nice person who shouldn't be so doubtful of herself.
Naegi met her eyes as he looked up and was greeted by an equally red Tsumiki. They both turned away, fumbling for words.
"A-ah, Tsumiki-san, I-"
"N-Naegi-san, that's- U-uh..."
For a minute, there was complete silence, but to Naegi, it seemed like a decade.
Finally, Mikan broke the silence.
"...Th-thank you, Naegi-san. It me-means a lot to me that you'd say that to ch-cheer me up."
"Cheer.. you up? Nononono!"
He waved his hands and shook his head.
"I re-really mean it, Tsumiki-san! To meet such fantastic people like yourself must mean my luck really is working, hahaha...!"
He laughed nervously before looking to her again, once more meeting her eyes.
"I really do mean it though..."
He says, almost in a whisper.
"... Th-thank you, Naegi-san."
"...P-please-! C-call me by my first name! Makoto... I mean, if you'd like that is... Ahaha..."
At that instant, Nanami knocks on the door, calling out to Tsumiki.
"Mikan-chan... Everyone is done eating dinner, you can go eat whenever you want nooow."
Naegi is about to call out before Tsumiki covers his mouth and replies to her.
"T-thank you, Nanami-san-! I-I'll go eat shortly."
The sound of Nanami's foot steps can be heard as she walks to her room.
Tsumiki almost forgets that she's holding Naegi and immediately releases him.
"Why didn't you let me talk to Nanami-san...?"
He asks, confused.
Tsumiki is looking down and doesn't answer.
"W-well... Let's go eat, yeah? I'm sure you're hungry, Tsumiki-san."
As Naegi stands up, Tsumiki grabs his hand and Tsumiki looks up, their eyes meeting. Both of them blush but neither looks away.
"M-maybe we could talk some more... Be-before eating... If that's okay w-with you, Nae-... Ma-Makoto-kun."