On the Beach at Night [Nagito x Reader]

Chapter 10: Fire

Once again, Nagito was a threat to everyone. When the remaining  students met at breakfast the following morning, they debated over what  to do about him. Kazuichi was the first to suggest a plan.

"I say we just tie him up again. I'll be the commander of this  operation. Akane and Fuyuhiko, you guys will be the ones to apprehend  him, and (Y/N), you can be the one to lure him to our trap."

"No." (Y/N) said without hesitation.

"Whaaa! C'mon. He's your boyfriend or whatever. He'll listen to you." Kazuichi argued back.

"How do we even know she's not in on that crazy bastard's plan  anyways? They were just kissing yesterday" Fuyuhiko said furiously.

"Hey, hey." Chiaki spoke up. "Leave (Y/N) alone. I'll take her spot in the plan."

"Okay, then it's settled. Chiaki will lure Nagito to the hotel lobby tonight and then we'll stop this maniac once and for all."

--

For the rest of the day, (Y/N) spent time investigating the  ancient ruins with Hajime and Sonia. After they finished, they headed  back to the hotel to await tonight's plan. (Y/N) decided the best way  to pass the time was to try to take a nap. Not realizing how exhausted  she really was, she drifted to sleep shortly after her head hit the  pillow.

She was awakened by a knock on her cabin door. It's probably just Hajime or Sonia, she thought. Although she reassured herself it was just one of them, for some reason her heart was pounding.

"Hello there, (Y/N)." Nagito greeted her when she opened the  door. Without asking, he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with obvious fear in her voice.

"...You sure ask weird questions." Nagito smiled at her cheerfully. "I mean, you guys all have business with me, right?"

"Huh?"

"Chiaki invited me to the lobby. She said she had something she wanted to talk to me about. Everyone put her up to that, right?"

(Y/N) didn't know how to respond. Her eyes widened at his question.

"I guess that's a bingo..." he crossed his arms. "It's good timing  though, I have some business with all of you guys too. But first I want  to talk to just you." his smug expression faded.

"Go on."

"I want to thank you, (Y/N). For never giving up on me, no matter  how worthless I've been. You haven't given up on me yet, right?"

"N-no." she said nervously.

"Good. That's exactly why I'm doing all of this. You put your  hope in me and now I can't disappoint everyone. I will rid this island  of despair, no matter what."

"But why are you taking this upon yourself. If you have  information about how to stop the despair, why not let us help you?"  involuntarily, she stepped closer to him as she spoke. He copied her  movements and closed more of the distance between them.

"You'll find out the truth soon enough. Everything will all be  clear. But I just had to make sure I thanked you first." He reached out  and took her hand. "And there's one other thing I wanted to tell you."

"Okay." her voice was barely a whisper now.

"I love you."

She was speechless. Her heart was beating a million times a minute and she suddenly felt very lightheaded.

"...Why?" was the only word that would escape her mouth.

"Do you really want me to list off the reasons why I love-"

"Why are you doing this to me?" she interrupted him. "If you love  me, than why are you making me, no, all of us all suffer?!" she was  yelling now. She released his hand and took a step away from him.

"Don't worry, (Y/N)." he kept moving towards her, trying to get  close again. Eventually her back was against the wall. "If everything  goes according to my plan, you won't suffer ever again." He placed his  hand on the wall above her and moved his face close to hers. Her  instincts told her to be nervous, but somehow his closeness felt  calming.

"I just want to know one thing." he continued. "Do you love me too?"

She paused for a moment and looked up into his eyes. She  remembered the way they sparkled in the sunlight when she first woke up  on the beach and how those same eyes gazed at her in admiration while  she played the piano. She remembered how even in the darkness of her  bedroom, those silvery-green eyes would illuminate under the moonlight  that peeked through the curtains. The most beautiful stars in the sky  didn't compare to the way his eyes looked when he was happy. All she  wanted was to make him happy, so she could see that infectious smile one  more time.

"Yes, Nagito." she paused for a moment. "I love you."

Without another word, he kissed her. He was soft at first, gently  caressing his lips against hers. She reached up and wrapped her arms  around his neck, pulling him close so there was no more space between  them. He reached down and placed his hands under the back of her thighs,  lifting her up against the wall and allowing her to wrap her legs  around his waist. They continued for moment before he carried her away  from the wall and placed her down on the bed. He was now above her, with  his arms on either side of her, holding himself up.

"I've always wanted this," he breathed, "to be loved."

"I love you, Nagito." she said it one more time before their lips met once more.

--

It was back to reality now as (Y/N) and Nagito headed for the  hotel lobby, where everyone was expecting him. They both knew it was a  trap, but for some reason, Nagito still wanted to go. When they reached  the door, (Y/N) hesitated.

"Oh, I see. You need me to go in first." he smiled reassuringly.  She still felt uneasy about the whole plan, but she convinced herself it  was necessary. Once he opened the door, Akane was quick to pounce at  him. Her arm was around his neck as she quickly held him against the  ground.

"I've got him!" she yelled. Nagito didn't put up a struggle.

"Hurry and tie him up!" Kazuichi commanded.

"You guys are really disappointing...how long are you going to continue behaving so shortsightedly?" Nagito asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?!" Fuyuhiko yelled.

"It's fine if you don't understand...you can just see the end  without knowing. Now then, let's begin!" Nagito raised his voice, "The  beginning of the end of Jabberwock Island!"

Suddenly, there was a blinding light coming from the corner of  the lobby. The air shook, and darkness took over. Everything was black.

(Y/N) finally opened her eyes after a minute; her ears still ringing from the sound of the explosion.

Wh-what's...going...on?

Her hearing hadn't fully come back yet, but her vision was clear  enough to see him standing there in the middle of the room, surrounded  by the flames. He was saying something, but she couldn't understand the  words. All she saw was the dark, twisted look in his murky-green eyes  and the frenzied smile that was plastered across his face. 

The Nagito that she loved was gone.