Chapter 1: Awake

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"Hey...can you hear me? Are you okay?"

Nagito Komaeda's was the first face she saw after waking up on the beach. His hair was a pale white color, but in the sunlight, it almost looked like there was a hint of pink. His silvery-green eyes were wide with concern as he gazed down at her.

"...you seem pretty out of it. To be honest, I'm also...no, everyone else feels the same too. Ever since we got put in this weird situation"

She blinked a few times; his face finally came into focus. His skin was so pale, it almost looked like he was made of porcelain. Something about seeing his face in this moment brought her a surprising amount of comfort, even though he was just a stranger.

He extended his hand and offered to help her up off the sandy shore. He introduced himself as the Ultimate Lucky Student, a talent only given to the student who gains admission to Hope's Peak Academy via lottery. In return, she introduced herself.

"I'm (Y/N), the Ultimate Composer. I compose everything from songs you hear on the radio, to symphonies performed by entire orchestras. The songs are inside of me and I just write them down on paper." She proudly declared.

"Amazing" he replied genuinely, "so you must be world famous!"

"Well, actually..." She paused for a moment, looking down at her feet. "The great artists who perform my songs are the real famous ones. I mostly just stay in the shadows with little recognition. But as long as the world gets to hear my songs... my stories... then I'll always be happy"

"I'd love to hear them. I can't even begin to imagine all the hope they must bring to everyone who is lucky enough to hear them" He smiled at her "But for now we should find the others"

She agreed with him and began to follow behind, not realizing how limp her legs still were. She lost her footing on the uneven sand, but Nagito was quick to grab onto her hand before she could fall any further.

"Are you okay to walk? I could carry you." He offered.

"No that's okay, I—" but before she could finish her sentence, he hoisted her up on his back with little effort and continued trekking through the sand. She wanted to refuse and be defiant, but she remembered how frail she still felt after waking up. How long was I passed out? Was I drugged? she thought. How did I get here? Where am I? the more she tried to remember how she got in this current situation, the more disoriented she felt. She decided to just relax her head against this strange boy who was currently carrying her on his back across what seemed to be a tropical island.

Maybe it's just a dream?

--

It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare. (Y/N) and all her other classmates were told they were going to be participating in a killing game. Monokuma, the Monobeasts, everything felt like it was a scene from a terrible horror movie. Everybody had already retired to their cabins for the night, including (Y/N). The cabin was just one small room with a few furnishings, but she took no time to inspect it. She immediately made her way to the bed against the wall, where she slammed herself down face-first.

Why? She thought. Why me? Why us? A killing game? I can't trust anyone here...

So why couldn't she stop thinking of him?

Before she could let her inner thoughts get in the way, she lifted herself off the bed and let her legs carry her towards the exit.

--

Nagito was startled by a sudden knock on his door. He wasn't quite asleep yet, but he had started to drift off before the knocking started. It was nearly midnight; the moonlight was peeking through a crack in the curtains. Before he could fully get out of bed, the knocking stopped. Regardless, he decided to open the door.

"(Y/N)?" he whispered when he saw her. She had started to walk in the opposite direction from his cabin.

"Nagito, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I shouldn't have knocked...it's late...and I—" she struggled to formulate a full sentence, but he still understood what she was trying to say.

"It's okay," he flashed her a quick smile, but he could sense something was bothering her "Or is it okay? Are you okay, (Y/N)? Did something happen?" his voice was full of concern.

"Yes, well, yes and no..." she responded. "I'm not hurt or anything if that's what you're worried about. I just couldn't sleep is all. And I'm scared to be alone right now ever since this "game" has started"

"I think we all feel that way. Do you want to stay here tonight?" he asked calmly.

"Is that allowed?" she squeaked nervously, trying to find a reason to decline. As much his company would make her feel at ease, she was afraid of what everyone else would think if they found out she was sleeping in his room.

"I saw nothing in the e-handbook about it. You can sleep on the bed if you'd like, and I'll take the floor."

She never vocally accepted the offer, but instead answered by stepping into the cabin and closing the door behind them.

"I'll take the floor." She demanded. "This is your room."

After a bit of back and forth about the subject, they came up with a compromise. So now they were both lying on the bed, staring at the canopy above them. He finally decided to break the silence.

"So why did you choose to come here when you were scared? You trust me not to murder you?" He turned on his side to face her and propped himself up with his elbow.

"I don't." she replied, still lying on her back. "Maybe I was just willing to take the risk."

"You have so much hope, (Y/N). I expect nothing less from an Ultimate student like you." He sighed quietly.

"But you're an Ultimate student too."

"With a useless talent. I'm useless trash compared to all of you." He yawned and sunk back down onto his pillow, still facing her.

"You're not useless to me right now. You helped me on the beach, you're letting me sleep with you..." she couldn't help but blush at the phrasing of her words.

"(Y/N) ..." he mumbled. She turned to face him, only to see him fast asleep. She wasn't far behind him; the quiet lull of his snores sent her into a deep, comfortable sleep.

--

Nagito woke up to find himself bound by limbs, wrapped tightly around his torso. (Y/N) was still asleep, but she had entangled herself around him during the night. He tried to carefully slip out of her grasp while avoiding waking her up, but it was no use. He was stuck.

"Good morning," he whispered. She let out a small moan as she came to her senses.

"G'mor'in" she mumbled. When she realized how she was positioned, she immediately let go of him. "Nagito! I'm sorry! I'm so used to sleeping with a stuffed animal..." she apologized quickly.

"It's fine." His smile was just as cheerful even in the early morning hours. "You didn't have to stop, to be honest...it was cute," before she could respond, he reached out and tucked a loose strand of her messy (H/C) hair behind her ear and chuckled softly. "I think I'm going to go take a shower now. You're more than welcome to sleep in if you'd like."

"I think I'll go back to my cabin and do the same. Thank you for letting me stay, Nagito"

"Anytime, I mean it."

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