oh man i really wasn't expecting a sequel of Death's Harvest if yall want me to be honest with you lol

sorry for the super long hiatus;;; I uh- went to another fandom and started participating in events there and got carried away

also sorry in advance for the short chapter; I wanted to get it out before I make longer ones so that you guys actually have something to read (also I changed the tenses so-)

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"A cup of coffee?" Nagito echoes back, forcing his voice not to stutter in shock. 

"I mean," Hajime rubs the back of his neck, "if you want to." 

The streetlight across from them turns a bright red, and the pedestrian light blinks a vivid green. People rush past the two in a stream, crossing the road hastily before the traffic light can turn green again. Nagito doesn't follow the crowd. His feet are rooted to the ground, his limbs paralyzed. 

"O-Of course!" Nagito stammers then clears his throat. His face burns with the embarrassment of having acted dumbfounded in front of a stranger he'd just met. 

"Great!" Hajime continues without pause. "I know a coffee shop down the road. We can get there in several minutes." 

Nagito flashes a smile toward Hajime just as the traffic light turns green. Cars rush down the road with a rumbling of their engines as a crowd makes their way around the front of the crosswalk. 

"So what school do you go to?" Hajime inquires, adjusting his schoolbag over his shoulder. 

"Hope's Peak Academy." 

Hajime's eyebrows shoot up, and Nagito panics, wondering if he's said something wrong. 

"The Hope's Peak Academy?" Hajime parrots. "Whoa." 

"There's really nothing to 'whoa' about." Nagito lets out a dry laugh. "I don't deserve to be there anyway. Only talented students should go, which excludes me. If you want me to be honest, I don't know why they accepted such a student like me. I'm not talented; I don't shine brighter than anyone there." 

"That's wrong." 

Nagito's eyes swivel to Hajime's face. His lips are twisted into a frown and his eyebrows are creased. 

"If you were accepted to Hope's Peak Academy, then you are a talented student who excels above all over people. They accepted you for a reason. You're probably a far more gifted person than who you think you are." 

Nagito's suddenly at a loss for words, his mouth gaping open like a fish on land. He closes it, opens it, and closes it again, but nothing manages to come out. His words cling to the walls of his throat, and he swallows thickly. 

A far more gifted person than he thinks he is? Certainly, Hajime is joking. There's nothing special about him for everyone at his school outshone him in a myriad of ways in which he couldn't even dream of doing. 

Before Nagito can form a proper response, the light turns green once more, and people file past them. Hajime takes Nagito's wrist as they're swept onto the crosswalk. They cross the street and turn the corner. 

"What school do you go to, if you don't mind me asking?" Nagito questions Hajime this time. 

Hajime shakes his head, black side bangs swishing with the movement. His lips turn upward into a smile that hints sadness. "Nothing that can be compared to Hope's Peak." 

Nagito's mouth clamps shut. Did that mean that Hajime wasn't talented nor special? Then what is Nagito possibly doing with the likes of him? 

"Oh, hey, do you know my friend, Chiaki Nanami? She goes to Hope's Peak, actually. Well, to be fair, most of my friends go to Hope's Peak." 

Chiaki? The gamer girl who spent hours on her video game console yet managed to ace every test and keep up with her work?

"Yeah, I do. She's in my class."

"Oh, good, then you've already met her. She runs the coffee shop we're going to!" Hajime chirps. "Here we are!" 

The name of the coffee shop is imprinted in pink cursive words that spells out, "Pink Rabbit". 

"Hello, welcome to the Pink Rabbit where we serve fresh coffee daily- Oh, Hajime?" The eyes of the girl at the counter widened once she saw Hajime.

Nagito's never seen Chiaki this awake before; she was usually asleep at her desk whenever it was lunch or break. Her eyelids were always drooping, even when she was gaming. 

"Hi, Chiaki!" Hajime beams, taking a seat and motioning for Nagito to do the same. 

"Hello," she says sleepily. Her eyes rake over to Nagito, and the faint silhouette of a grimace flashes across her face faster than Nagito can blink. "Hi, Komaeda." 

"Hello," Nagito replies smoothly, disregarding the frown he saw on her face earlier. "I didn't know you opened a coffee shop here. It must be hard balancing both school work and working part-time. Only the most gifted students can have such an astounding work schedule, of course." 

Chiaki stands upright, sliding menus across the counter. "Not really." 

Nagito's smile falters slightly. Luckily, Hajime doesn't seem to have seen it. 

"Our daily is our iced coffee or our flat white. Take your time before ordering. I'll be right back." Chiaki disappears into the red curtain at the side of all the machines. 

"What do you want, Komaeda? I'll pay." 

Nagito nearly falls off his chair (the poor soul). "You don't need to pay for me! I can pay myself-" 

"No, I insist. My treat, alright?" 

Nagito caves in at the end, agreeing to the deal. Chiaki comes back at the right moment as if summoned. Nagito places down his order, and so does Hajime, who hands back the menus with a cheeky smile on his face. Chiaki continues to eye Nagito suspiciously. 

"Do you have any hobbies?" Hajime says once Chiaki busies herself among the coffee machines, the sounds of whirring and blending filling the empty shop. 

"Not much. Just reading. You?" 

"I do some Kyūdō. Started learning a couple years ago." 

"He's really good at it, too, despite what he says," Chiaki chimes in, placing Nagito's iced drink in front of him. He mumbles a 'thanks'. 

Hajime lets out a peal of laughter and Chiaki quirks a smile. 

"No, no, I'm not that good. It's just a hobby I picked up." 

"I recommended him to do it. And he doesn't regret it." 

"Yeah, I'll have to admit, I don't regret it. It's actually pretty fun once you know the fundamentals." Hajime takes a sip of his iced coffee.  

"Hey, you should go watch him some time," Chiaki muses. 

Hajime flushes, his ears turning red at the tips. "You really shouldn't- I'm not that good at it yet." 

"Says the guy who-" 

"Chiaki," Hajime warns, low and deep. Chiaki merely flashes him a soft smile before taking out her gaming counsel. She props her elbows up on the counter and starts playing Tetris, Nagito infers from the sounds that come out of the device. 

Hajime finishes his drink before Nagito does, and Nagito's pretty certain that Chiaki's completed several rounds already in the duration of them finishing their drinks. 

"Well," Hajime stands up, fumbling for cash in his wallet as he pays for him and Nagito. "See you tomorrow, Chiaki!" 

"You, too." She waves to him. 

Hajime walks out of the store, pausing outside to wait for Nagito. 

"Hey," Chiaki whispers, so light that Nagito almost doesn't catch her words. Nagito stops midstep, returning to the counter. 

"Here's the address to the Kyūdō place where Hajime goes to." She slides a slip of paper across to Nagito, who hesitantly places it into his pocket. If someone walks in on them right now, it would look as if they were trading drugs of some sort. The thought of it makes Nagito crack a small smile. 

"Have a nice day!" Chiaki then shouts (which really, is the cue for Nagito to leave). 

The cool evening air kisses Nagito's cheeks as he descends down the shop's stairs, the wind ruffling his hair. 

"I can take you back to the dorms if you want. It's getting pretty late, anyway. It would be kind of dangerous to travel by yourself during this time," Hajime offers, running a hand through his wind-swept hair. 

"Sure." Nagito breathes, eyes moving from Hajime to the sinking sun behind the rooftops of houses. 

The two walk in silence while the sky melds from a light blue to brushes of orange and rose pink that paint the horizon as the sun sets slowly. Eventually, the street lights turn on, flicking a mellow yellow when it buzzes to life. Nagito's breath appears in a faint white puff the moment he lets out an exhale. 

"I guess I'll see you soon?" Hajime smiles as they neared the dorm gates. Nagito blinks at him before reciprocating the smile. 

"Yeah, see you, Hajime." Nagito's words are nothing short of the truth. He's in possession of Hajime's Kyūdō address, so he will indeed see Hajime soon. 

"Here's my phone number if you ever need it." Hajime hastily scribbles down ten digits in pen onto a post-it he pulled out from his bag. He places it into Nagito's outstretched palm. "There. Don't hesitate to contact me, alright?" 

Nagito can only jerk his head in a nod, the paper turning warm in his hand, like a fluttering heart. 

"Night!" Hajime calls once Nagito's behind the gates. 

"Good night!" 

Nagito watches while Hajime's figure disappears into the darkness behind the gate, away from the illumination of the streetlights. Then, he too returns to his dorm room, still clutching the paper in his hand. 

~

Hot white pain splits into his back, scorching as it makes its way down his back. It was as if talons of fire are raking themselves down Nagito's back, drawing thin, shredded lines that are spiked with agony. It burns a blemish into his body, diving deep into his muscles, sinking into the marrow of his bones. 

He opens his mouth to scream, to shout, to alert anyone of the torture he is in. But nothing comes out of his agape mouth. His screams are nonexistent like he didn't have a vocal box to begin with. 

Just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it disappears. There is no more fire, no more fantom claws dragging themselves over him. 

There is, however, a blur of black and red, swirling together. A cackle rips through the area in which he's encased in, piercing his soul like an arrow. 

A woman (or so Nagito thinks; his thoughts are too muddy and his eyesight is at the worst it can be) sits herself upon a throne of some sort, two people at her sides. Their heads are bowed so that Nagito can't see who they are. 

Speech is muffled, but Nagito is able to make out the forms of many people kneeling on the ground, prostrating themselves in rows. A bright orange flickers in the far distance, pulling Nagito's attention toward the movement. 

Before he's able to register what's happening, there's a deafening bellow in the room, one that shakes Nagito to the core. All the figures on the ground turn their heads toward them, and their eyes are empty - so empty - to the extent where Nagito can only see darkness past their eye sockets. They all leap toward him at once, mouths made of black snapping at him, lunging for his neck, his arms, his legs. And-

Nagito sits upright in his bed, heart thundering a bruise within his chest. He gasps for air, chest heaving while he tries to steady himself.

What. The fuck. Was that? 

It's probably a nightmare, his brain tells him, but the images lingering in Nagito's mind beg to differ. They all seemed so real, too real even, for it to be a nightmare. He shudders. 

The clock at the far end of his room point to 6:30 AM. Light filters through the curtains in dappled spots. 

There's no other option than to wake up now, Nagito thinks. His nightclothes is already soaked with sweat and there's no way he's going to fall asleep anytime soon. 

As he eats his breakfast, he tells himself it's fine, it was just a nightmare and nothing more. Nothing is out there to get him - nothing with empty eye sockets and mouths devoid of teeth and tongue, that is. 

Nagito forces himself to swallow down the last of his oatmeal, throwing on his jacket before he leaves the dorm for a short walk outside. 

Maybe it'll help clear his mind for a while, sweep away all those thoughts from last night and allow himself to indulge in some peace and quiet. 

Maybe. 

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I would have made this longer but like- I'm kinda unsatisfied with the way I wrote this and I forgot the plot, so I'll have to look back at my notes (problem is, idk where they went)

anyway

yay! updated! :D first time in four months! (*readers boo in the background and I bow my head in shame*)

(totally did not write this in two hours while drinking tea-)