Btw, short n/a here:

the staircase that Hajime traveled on is based on the structure of the Dutch artist, M.C. Escher's lithograph print, Relativity.

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The whirlwind of cards blinded Nagito's vision temporarily as they transported him to the throne room, which wasn't guarded. Well, it wasn't like the Queen really needed protection; she could handle things on her own, without anyone's help. 

The cold metal warmed up against Nagito's palm as it granted him access into the main room of the castle. With a groan, the grand doors opened and the suffocating aroma of flowers - roses - hit Nagito's face like a brick. He wrinkled his nose in disgust but made it as inconspicuous as possible. 

Behind the throne was a mosaic of red and black stained glass - the red glass was centered in the middle, forming an eye-like shape. Around the mosaic grew white roses - the exact same ones as the ones in the forests of Happy Havoc. However, as beautiful as they were, the white roses grew thorns, as did every other kind of its brethren. 

"My Queen," Nagito said, avoiding the thorns that protruded from the stems lining the ground as he went down on one.

The black-haired woman on the seat of the throne wore an imperial outfit; the suit was pitch black with white buttons adorning the middle as well as shoulder pads of the same color. Her skirt was checker styled - black and white - whereas her shoes were black combat boots, polished and clean. 

The Queen had short, cropped black hair with constellations of freckled adorning her cheekbones. Her eyes glowed with a silver-gray hue. 

"Rise," her voice was light, but it echoed around the room nonetheless, "You're late again, I see." Amusement dripped off her sentence, and Nagito merely smiled lightly.

Nagito readjusted his hat when he stood up, careful not to make direct eye contact with the monarch of Happy Havoc.

"My sincerest apologies, m'lady. I ran into some... problems along the way."

"As you always do."

"What have you summoned me here for?"

"I have heard of an uprising starting at the edges of this town. Do you know anything about it?" The Queen's eyes narrowed in a glare that could chill the marrow in the bones of even the strongest of men.

Nagito, however, was unfazed, his head still bowed though he could feel her eyes boring into his soul.

"Unfortunately, I know nothing, Your Majesty."

"Then would you mind telling me why you were late again?"

"I assure you, Your Majesty, it was nothing much, just a simple hassle-"

"Nagito Komaeda," the Queen interrupted, her voice deadly calm.

"It was merely a simple scuffle between one of the townspeople and a seller. Nothing much."

"Oh," the Queen mused, crossing her legs, "I never knew you would help one of the townspeople, Nagito." His name rolled off her tongue in a taunting manner - a bit too harshly for Nagito's comfort.

"I will always help my people in their times of need."

"Loyal as always, I see."

"Loyal to you, and you only, My Queen."

A flicker of a smile danced across the Queen's lips before it faded away, replaced by a nonchalant expression.

"Well, Mikan said that she found you in the Wandering Woods. What were you doing there?"

A lump rose in Nagito's throat, but he did nothing to betray his nervousness.

"I was gathering mushrooms and flowers for my tea time, Your Majesty. Perhaps you would take my offer to have tea with me one day?" Nagito replied smoothly, taking his hat off and reaching into it. His hand came into contact with a teacup, which he offered to the Queen.

"The curse is still active, no?" The Queen stated, ignoring the teacup.

Nagito's hand flew to his head, feeling the soft, white rabbit ears protruding from his hair.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good."

If there was one thing that every inhabitant knew in Happy Havoc, it was that every official who worked under the Queen - who were the closest to the Queen - had a curse implanted on them. This curse bonded them to the monarchy as a sign of loyalty and allegiance to the crown.

And, of course, everyone hated the Queen for the laws she had passed, for the taxes she had placed.

Due to this, the officials who worked for the Queen, in this case, Mikan, Nagito, and the Clocksmaster - who's name no one ever dares utter - are shamed upon and hated for (their rabbit ears make it relatively easier to spot them on the streets).

But it wasn't like anyone could do anything about it. The officials, or the Red Clovers, as they have become known as overtime, had the most power right before the Queen. Defying any one of them would mean certain death.

A sudden explosion shook the building, and a cluster of shouts erupted from outside the castle.

"Seems you have another visitor today," Nagito mused, sipping the tea from the cup that the teapot had filled seconds ago.

Ironically, in a land blossoming with magic, one would be certain that the Queen herself would have magic. Per contra, the townspeople on the streets, the ones with the most audacity - mainly the ones who work in the Black Market - had told rumors of the Queen being powerless.

"Would you like me to take care of them? Or would you prefer to deal with them yourself?"

Raids like these happened often, thanks to those hastily tossed rumors that people had passed around in town. The raiders think they can kill the Queen when in reality, not one person had ever touched even a hair on her head.

Her Majesty rose from her throne, and Nagito instantly disappeared into the shadows, watching from the sidelines.

The only people who knew why the Queen was untouchable were the Red Clovers. They could testify for the rumors, could say that yes, the townspeople were indeed right about their Queen's lack of power.

The masked intruder (how stupid of him, Nagito snorted to himself, to travel alone like this was suicide) burst through the doors, creating a plume of smoke around them.

Her Majesty didn't have any guards either. Why? Because she didn't need any. They were only a burden to her, as the Queen had stated before.

The intruder wielded the most recent type of sword, the Moondust, which could absorb elemental powers (common to the townspeople, but the Red Clover's abilities were more advanced and complicated than that).

The Queen pulled out a katana - a regular, metal-made katana. The Queen always loved trying a new weapon on the raiders every time they came.

"This is about to get interesting, isn't it, Kokichi?" Nagito asked the dormouse who was sitting on the rim of his top hat.

Kokichi didn't respond, though Nagito knew he was interested in the slightest.

The intruder leaped from the ground using his elemental power (wind, Nagito noted) and brought the blade down on the Queen.

Her Majesty dodged swiftly, her katana still idle in her hand.

"What?" The intruder mocked, their voice masked by their mask, "Too weak to use your abilities? Or maybe... It's because you don't have one. Isn't that right?"

Bad idea, Nagito thought. Taunting the Queen would just shorten your life.

Before the intruder could make another move, Her Majesty was behind them in a blink of an eye, the silver blade of her katana traveling through the raider's neck; the sword sliced through tendon and bone until-

The head rolled off the raider's shoulders, the body collapsing on the marble floor in a heap of ruby red blood.

"Well done, Your Majesty." Nagito emerged from the corner of the room, clapping slowly in appreciation.

The reason why no one dared to go against the Queen despite the lack of power or ability was because-

The Queen had the head in her hand, her regal attire splattered with blood.

"Nagito," she started, tossing the blade on the ground.

"Your Majesty?"

Her eyes moved from the decapitated head to Nagito's eyes, staring directly into them.

"If you find any rebels," she drawled, running her fingertips over the raider's cheek, "I want you to kill them. Understood?"

Nagito forced a smile onto his lips, then took off his hat and bowed.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Because Mukuro Ikusaba, the current Queen of Happy Havoc, was a natural-born killer who had the strength of a thousand armies.

~

When Nagito had finished cleaning up the remnants of the intruder's body, he teleported back to his mansion.

He landed in the same place as before - in the living room.

"What's the time?" Nagito brushed off invisible dust from his coat.

"It's five thirty-one, sir," The grandfather clock replied in a deep voice.

Good. He still had time before the others came.

"Say, do you know where Hajime went?"

"Out the corridor to the left," the clock drawled again.

"Thank you."

Nagito readjusted his hat, proceeding down the hallway. He frowned as he remembered what was at the end of the corridor. Had he forgotten to remind Hajime not to ascend the stairs? Oh, dear. Now that was a problem.

The evening sky painted the room at the end of the hall with pink and yellow hues.

"Hajime? Are you up there?"

Had Hajime found the way out already? Nagito's chest swelled with pride. Perhaps he did choose the right person. Perhaps Hajime had conquered this piece of despair with his blinding hope.

Having traveled up and down these flight of stairs more than once before, Nagito knew the right turns and pathways.

Out of the corner of his eye when he was halfway up, Nagito noticed a body on one of the flights of stairs.

Nagito leaped from his position to the staircase in which Hajime was lying on.

Thankfully, Hajime wasn't dead (because that would have been a total waste of Nagito's time).

Nagito's heart dropped in disappointment. How could Hajime not have conquered this despair of loneliness with his hope? Where was that ecstatic feeling of hope Nagito had felt when he first met him?

Frowning, Nagito picked up the sleeping man, carrying him bridal style. He proceeded up the flight of stairs, sighing as he exited the staircase.

The door to one of the bedrooms opened on Nagito's demand. The blankets and pillows readjusted themselves when Nagito entered the room, the lights automatically dimming when the curtains were pulled closed.

Up close, Hajime seemed like a normal person, not a vessel of hope, but more like one of the powerless townspeople that Nagito passed by every day.

Maybe Hiyoko was right. Maybe he had chosen the wrong person. But then that would mean failure for the whole group...

A headache prodded at Nagito's temples. All these doubts, these conflicting feelings, that mysterious connection he felt between him and Hajime.

"God, I need a cup of tea." With one hand rubbing his temple, Nagito summoned a dish of scones and tea with a snap of his fingers.

"Oh, hey, Kokichi," Nagito said as the dormouse materialized with the platter, "You've always been a good listener. Am I doing the right thing? By betraying my country, my Queen?"

The dormouse's nose twitched, his head shaking side to side.

Nagito chuckled. "Are you sure? Ever since I've felt hope briefly, I feel as if I belong there, as if everyone should have it. This barren land is filled with despair. It... It disgusts me, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Kokichi's tail whipped behind him as he sat down, urging Nagito to go on.

"Sometimes I doubt if I'm doing the right thing. No one appreciates my presence, so maybe I should die. But dying would only disrupt the balance of power in this world. And this stupid curse- Huh? Hajime? No. No. Never. He can never know about it. If he does, he's probably going to turn on me as everyone else does. But I'll be fine with that. I think. I mean, I'm trash, so..." Nagito trailed off, hit by a thought.

Why did he care about what Hajime thought of him? He never cared about what the townspeople thought, of what everyone else thought. He was the Mad Carder. He was supposed to be mad. He was supposed to ignore everyone's opinions on his actions because he was probably the most insane person in this world.

Then why - out of all people - did he care about Hajime's opinion on his personality?

The bed creaked as Hajime sat up, causing Nagito to clear his throat.

"You're awake."

"Wha-? How'd I get here?"

"I carried you back to the rooms," Nagito stated.

"What the hell was that thing?"

"You mean the stairs? That was a request from the Queen, though it was more of a command then a request," Nagito chuckled, taking another sip of his tea.

"What do you mean?"

"It served as a test for you, but its main purpose in his household is to inflict despair. It's used so that when someone falls victim to its complex structure, they'd fall into despair since they can't find an exit. This is called the Land of Despair after all."

"The Land of Despair? A test? What are you saying?"

Hajime clenched at the bedsheets, his eyebrows creased.

"I might explain later when the others arrive."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Nothing much. You've disappointed me. That's all."

"Disappointed?"

Nagito ignored Hajime, snapping his fingers again, this time sending the silver platter away.

"Time?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Nagito, I demand to know-"

"Five forty-five, sir," the voice of the grandfather clock echoed throughout the room.

"Holy- What the hell was that?" Hajime stiffened, his eyes darting around the room.

"It was the grandfather clock."

"What?"

"The one in the living room? Remember? You haven't hit your head on the stairs, have you?"

"Stop taunting me," Hajime growled.

Taunting? He certainly wasn't taunting Hajime. He had no idea if Hajime had hit his head or not since he'd found him on the staircase. Anything could have happened. But really, did he actually sound taunting?

Nagito frowned.

"I apologize," Nagito said as if he had meant to gibe Hajime. "I'll be taking my leave now, then." Nagito reached for the door handle.

"Wait."

Nagito paused.

"Yes?"

"I want to make a deal with you."

"Oh," Nagito's lips flitted into a smile. What an interesting turn of events. "What kind of deal?"

"I want you to take me home. We'll seal the deal using whatever method your world uses. But this time, you have to swear to take me back home."

"Well then, Nagito crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall. "What kind of card game do you want to play?"

"Card game?"

"The one who proposes the deal gets to choose the type of game they want to play to seal the promise."

"Big Two, then."

"Very well."

With a snap of his fingers, Nagito transported himself and Hajime to a courtroom, on which the floor was a checkerboard and the two were standing behind a curved wooden gate.

"Isn't this... a bit too sparkly? Why'd you change my clothes anyway?" Hajime asked, tugging at the cuffs of his suit.

He was wearing a black tuxedo with a red bowtie, the cuffs at the end of his sleeves white. The black dress pants he now wore fell to his ankles and proper dress shoes fit his feet.

"You're in Happy Havoc now, Hajime. You have to dress properly or people will be suspicious of you."

"But the townspeople don't dress like this."

"You want to be like those ordinary people? I think not."

"What's up with you and ordinary people?"

A large screen materialized in front of Nagito, separating him from Hajime.

"Here are the ground rules," Nagito started off as a deck of cards started shuffling themselves, "No showing your cards to your opponent, obviously. The same rules apply to the game of Big Two. And finally, the penalty for cheating is death."

"Death?" echoed Hajime, "Isn't that a bit too cruel?"

"This world is cruel. You should know that by know. Let us begin now, shall we?"

A screen flickers to life in front of Nagito, as well as Hajime.

"On this screen will be your cards. You don't need to touch it, just hover your finger above the selected card it will move."

Hajime nodded, swiping right to assemble his cards.

"Seems like you start first," Nagito prompted.

Hajime placed a full house of threes down on the screen. And thus, the game began.

It was quick and simple; Hajime clearly had more skill in playing Big Two than Nagito did; his strength in card games was never Big Two but Blackjack.

Alas, Nagito had Lady Luck on his side, and the victory was his.

"Good game," Nagito offered his hand as the game room dissolved into particles when the game finished.

"H-How?"

"Pure luck, I guess," Nagito smiled. It was supposed to be a light smile, one that was supposed to ease the nerves of the brunet.

"There you go taunting me again."

Nagito's smile faltered and his heart dropped. "My apologies once again."

"Now what do we do if you win?"

"Huh?"

Hajime collapsed on the bed, his fingers pulling at the bowtie.

"What do we do if you win?" Hajime repeated again, though his voice was laced with annoyance this time.

"Oh. I get to improvise the deal."

Hajime raised an eyebrow.

"Which means that I get to add another part to the deal. Yours was originally to send you home, right? So, my additional part to the promise is that I'll send you home after this whole ordeal is finished."

"Ordeal? Why are you sending me home after whatever this ordeal is? You're not telling me anything and you're expecting me to stay here in this twisted world?" Hajime fumed, standing up abruptly from the bed, his eyes gleaming with hatred.

"Oh, no, no, no," Nagito chuckled lightly, brushing off Hajime's anger like a speck of dust, "Of course you'll be informed of everything. Just not right now. What kind of person would I be to let my guest wander around Happy Havoc uninformed?"

Hajime clicked his tongue, shoving his hands in his pant pockets.

"Well, here's a little bit of information just so I can get you to regain my trust." Nagito pointed at his cheekbone, the place where the red clover mark was embedded into the skin. "Happy Havoc is separated into five ranks. The lowest one, for commoners, is the diamond, which is black, unlike the suits on a deck of cards. The second to lowest is the clubs, exactly the same shape as the clover, but dyed black. These represent the servants who work for the monarchy.
The third to lowest is the heart, which the nobles have. The second to highest, the one I have, are for people who work directly under the Queen-" Nagito paused for a split second, his thoughts racing in his head. How could he explain it to Hajime without leaking the fact that he was an Official?

He feigned a cough, then cleared his throat and resumed.

"So the ones with the red clovers are the ones who work directly under the orders of the Queen. Though we haven't met her," Nagito hastily added, "And finally, the highest-ranking is the spade, which can be black or white depending on the degree. Any questions?"

"Are you born with the mark or...?"

"Most people are born with the mark, yes, but one can also attain a different marking, either higher or lower, depending on the Queen."

Hajime's mouth twisted into an 'o' shape.

"It's six o'clock, sir." The sudden deep voice of the grandfather clock caused Hajime to stiffen in surprise (Nagito was used to it by now, though it was partially his fault. But what can you say? Just one person in an enormous mansion like this would evidently be lonely.)

"It's time to meet the others now, come along," Nagito hooked a finger under Hajime's loose bow tie, tugging him along.

"In you go," Nagito cheerfully said as he pushed Hajime into the emerald portal that he had created in the wall.

Nagito jumped in after the brunet, laughing as he heard Hajime spit profanities that were not so colorful.

"How the hell do you live like this? Can't you be a civilized person and just use elevators or something?" Hajime waved his arms in the air in exasperation.

"Elevators? What are those?" Nagito tilted his head. Although he had been to Hajime's world, he never understood how anything worked (like, how was it possible that someone could possibly stick to the ground all day? It felt foreign to his usual routine of floating around endlessly and regretting his life decisions.)

"It's like his metal box-" Hajime gestured wildly with his hands, forming somewhat of a rectangular box shape. "Ugh, you know what, never mind."

"Settle down, Hajime. The others will be here soon and all your questions will be answered." Nagito took a seat in one of the wooden chairs, summoning a plate of sweets on the table in front of him.

"What the heck is this place? The basement? It looks too comfortable for a basement, honestly."

"It is the basement. It's our hiding place for our meetings."

Before Hajime could reply, a blonde girl materialized in the room with a pop.

"Nagito," she dipped her head. Nagito reciprocated the action, beckoning her to take a seat.

"Wait, why is Hiyoko here?"

Hiyoko snorted, flipping open her decorated fan to hide her mouth. "Is there a problem with blessing you with my presence?"

Hajime cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm older than you, too. You should respect your elders."

"You... don't look older than me-"

"Of course I don't. I'm immortal, unlike you plebeian," she stuck her nose up in the air.

"Now, now, Hiyoko, there's no need to be so rude to our guest from the other world." With a pop, a blond man with dark bags under his eyes appeared in the room. He was wearing a brown robe that fell to his ankles, accompanied by sandals of the same color.

"Mitarai," Nagito smiled, "Glad you could join us today."

"The library had me on a tight schedule, but I managed to make it."

"A man of culture, I see." Another blond man materialized in the room, but he was fatter, with glasses on the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a light blue yukata and was carrying a book by his side.

"Oh, hello, Twogami," Mitarai shook the other's hand.

"Helloooo world!" A female with pink hair and blue eyes popped into the room. "Who wants some sugar?" Unlike the others, her outfit was embedded with diamonds, the back of her collar lined with white fluff as well as the cuff of her sleeves. The attire was made of a pink-colored lightweight material, so it hugged her hips with a pink bow encircled her waist, the bow resting idly at her side. Her heels were white with a jewel at the front.

"Ruruka, don't be too loud," the dirty blond-haired man who had his arm hooked with Ruruka's stated in a low voice. His attire was all black and red; a hood pooled at the back of his neck while the outfit served more as a jacket than clothing. A black belt encircled his waist - the ends of the belt falling behind him. His shoes were dark brown, leather, and polished.

"Izayoi, don't be such a party pooper," Ruruka giggled, pulling out a bag of confectionary.

"Here's your order by the way. I did my best to infuse your potion into the sweets."

"Ah, thank you so much. Kokichi will love them," Nagito pocketed it before flashing her a smile.

"Okay, sorry to interrupt your reunion- Who the hell are you people?" Hajime cut in.

"Is he the one you found? He's rather rude if I must say," Ruruka chided.

"Uh, Miss Ando, please don't commit an act of prejudice just yet-" Mitarai faltered under her gaze.

"Shall I introduce you all to Hajime over there?" Nagito supplied. "Hajime, this is Ruruka, Mitarai, Twogami, Izayoi, and of course, Hiyoko." Nagito gestured to the group. "And this is Hajime Hinata, twenty-three years old and the one I've chosen."

"Ruruka is the Sugar Que, her title in Happy Havoc. She creates confectionary with her magic and can infuse potions or spells into them.

Izayoi is Ruruka's soulmate. He's the royal blacksmith- the Metal Manipulator - and a part-time assassin for the Queen. With his magic, he can summon weapons made of metal according to will.

Mitarai is the May Hare, who is in charge of the libraries in Happy Havoc. His ability lets him split into multiple versions of himself; or simply, his ability is to clone.

Twogami is the Blue Cattepilar, who is the wisest. He is in charge of the knowledge in Happy Havoc. His ability lets him browse through the books he's read and find the information needed.

Hiyoko is the Cheshire Kat - a noble in this world. Her ability is invisibility.

And as of me, my ability is to summon cards during combat."

"Hey, what about your ha-" Nagito silenced Ruruka with a glare.

"His what?"

"Nevermind that. We have important matters at hand. I chose you, Hajime, for a specific reason. You were taken here out of all the people in your world, to assist us in a rebellion."

"A rebellion?"

"We want to escape to the Hope side."

"You see, Happy Havoc is divided into two sections, Despair and Hope. We are currently in the Land of Despair," Twogami stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Then why can't you just escape? Why do you need me?"

"I'll leave the explaining to you guys, if that's fine," Nagito excused himself from the conversation, taking a seat at the farther end of the room.

"In order to get to the Hope side - to pass through the veil dividing the two sections, we need a piece of hope itself. That's why we need you. You, according to Nagito, have the most amount of hope out of all your people," Izayoi commented.

"And we really, really, really want to get out of this place!" Ruruka wailed, "It's horrible! The Queen's horrible - keeping Izayoi away from me for a long time and placing all those laws that restrain us."

"Everyone's an idiot here. I just want to leave this place," Hiyoko scoffed, "But if you want me to be honest about my departure, it's because of the executions. I'm sick of them. There are too many in such a short time span."

"I'm simply a guide who wants to leave. This act - leaving the Land of Despair - is seen as a revolt, a rebellion. So without my help, or Twogami's for that matter, you would be all captured and killed within a week," Mitarai said, his voice airy and soft.

"How bad... How bad are the executions?" Hajime spoke in a raspy voice.

"It's not just the executions. Everyone in Happy Havoc is hell-bent on climbing up the ranks, trying to gain the favor of the Queen or to behead her for the throne. Everyone's fighting a war they can't win, whether it be for money or reputation. It's escalated so badly to the extent that there have been reports of massacres in the Black Market. The Queen's not doing anything either. She believes it's for the sake of inducing more despair," Hiyoko explained.

"I can show you... if you want," Mitarai stepped forward hesitantly.

Nagito saw Hajime swallow thickly before he gave a curt nod.

Mitarai placed his index fingers on Hajime's temples, emitting a white light. The room was bathed in silence while Mitarai showed Hajime what this world had been reduced to.

"If you don't want to help us, we can have Nagito send you back in a jiffy," Mitarai sighed once he had finished, "Thinking about it now, maybe we got our expectations too high."

The table fell silent.

"You can't just give up now!" Hajime slammed his hands onto the table, "You have to believe in yourself! Believe that you can do it!"

There was that feeling again. That blissful, ecstatic feeling that Nagito felt when he touched Hajime for the first time.

Hope.

By the looks of it, everyone in the room could feel it radiating off of Hajime.

"I will help you get out of this wretched place, even if it costs me my life!"

The room flooded with the sense of hope, chasing away even the darkest of despairs.

Now, this - this was what Nagito wanted to see from Hajime. From the very first moment he laid eyes on him, Nagito knew Hajime was perfect for the role.

His heart swelled in happiness. Who knew bathing in hope could feel so euphoric. It was heavenly, better than the suffocating feeling of despair and death.

"Nagito," Hiyoko stated, her mouth agape at the sensation, "I think you did something right for once."

"That's flattering of you to say, Hiyoko," Nagito mused.

"Whoa, can I touch you?" Ruruka ran her fingers through Hajime's hair.

"Wha- Why?"

"I've never felt anything so entrancing before. What's it called?"

"Uh... what are you talking about?" Hajime's face flushed in embarrassment.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nagito pipped up from the back of the room, "What you've just experienced is called 'hope'. This is what we've been sacrificing to obtain." Nagito stood up from his seat, readjusting his hat (a habit he can't quite get rid of, especially not now that Hajime is here) and his jacket.

"So," Nagito threw a deck of cards onto the center of the wooden table, "are you ready to pledge yourselves to this rebellion?"