The Ultimates

Nine

"I'm really sorry again," Makoto apologized as he walked away from my classroom door.

I wasn't too worried about him not eating with me today. It was nice of him to have been eating with me since I arrived at this school, but he didn't need to be worried over whether or not I would be alone at lunch every day. I had more friends now. Surely one of them wouldn't mind me joining them today.

"Hajime," Nagito questioned as he walked up to my desk. "Is everything alright?"

Turning back to face him, I smiled. "Oh, yeah. Makoto is going off campus with Byakuya for lunch today, so he was letting me know."

"You normally eat with him, don't you?"

"Every day."

"Well, I'm no Makoto, but would it be alright if I joined you for lunch today?"

"Absolutely," I beamed. Grabbing my lunch, I pointed for the door. "Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

Leading Nagito up to the roof, I was surprised by how many people greeted me. Ever since I started shadowing Makoto and began to make myself known as an Ultimate, even classmates I didn't know were greeting me. In an instant, I was one of the popular students on campus, just like Makoto. It was a weird feeling.

Nagito chuckled as I opened the door leading to the rooftop. "You sure have become popular fast."

"I know," I sighed. "It's weird."

"Once you fly solo, I know you're going to get a lot clients." Looking out over the edge of the roof, Nagito gasped, staring at the campus in awe. "I never knew it was so pretty up here."

"Makoto used to come here a lot when he first came to this school. He said it made him feel less nervous. We eat up here every day the weather lets us."

"Is it okay for me to be here, then? This is yours and Makoto's spot."

"Of course. I mean, this is school property. It's accessible to everyone. You're just as welcome to be up here as anyone else."

Nagito smiled as he sat next to me on the bench. "You're very sweet. It's no wonder you've become so popular already."

"Don't tell me you only like me because I'm popular," I teased.

"I liked you way before you were popular," he replied.

"Really?"

"Of course. I remember when I first met you, I thought you seemed like a nice person. You were always nice to everyone in our class, even Gundham and myself. I thought most of our classmates would find us weird and off-putting, but you greeted us the same as everyone else. I instantly knew then that you were a good person, and I wanted to get to know you better," he confessed. "Now that you're an Ultimate, I have an excuse to actually get to know you better."

"I would have wanted to get to know you better, too. Regardless of me being an Ultimate," I admitted. "If you walked up to me and asked to talk, I would have been happy to."

Nagito smiled as he stared at his lap, shaking his head. "It's not that easy. I grew up alone, I think I told you that. Sonia was the one who first started talking to me. Gundham, too. Any other time I tried to make friends, they all turned their backs on me. Eventually, I stopped trying to approach people, because I was afraid they'd turn their backs on me."

"I wouldn't have turned my back on you."

"I know that now," Nagito said, gazing up at me. "You really are an amazing friend, Hajime. Thank you."

Turning away from his eyes, I chuckled. "Don't make me cry before next period."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry you had to live through your childhood all alone like that. Those kids all sucked."

"Thanks." He sighed. "It's funny. So many people wish they had all the money in the world, and they would do anything for it. They'd be willing to give up their family and loved ones for wealth, but what they don't tell you is how alone you feel when that's all you have. I would give anything to have grown up having a normal childhood. Living with my parents, going to an everyday school, making friends with the other kids in my neighborhood."

Nagito smiled at me. "Than again, if I did have a normal childhood, I never would have met you, Sonia, or anyone else in the Ultimate Club. I'm pretty lucky to have met you all now."

"I'm glad I got to meet you as well." Blushing, I scratched my cheek and said, "Speaking of meeting, I thought you might like to come over to my house this weekend. You can meet my best friends, Kazuichi and Chiaki. You can have a normal night with normal people."

Instantly, Nagito's eyes lit up, and a smile overtook his face as he folded his hands. "Really?"

I nodded.

Cupping his cheeks, he giggled. "I've never been to a sleepover before. I've never done normal things like this before. Oh, my gosh, I need to figure out what to say. What do normal people talk about at sleepovers? Have you seen the new Reddit? I'm selling a chair on e-bay."

Clamping my hand over my mouth, I tried hard not to laugh. Nagito was so cute while rambling, I couldn't help but giggle. When he glanced back at me, he blushed and quickly looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"S-sorry about that. I didn't mean to get all...crazy, or anything."

"It's alright," I assured him, placing my hand on his shoulder. "It was super adorable."

Sucking in his lips, Nagito glanced back at me, flashing a sheepish smile. "I'm just nervous."

"Don't worry. My friends will love you. Just be yourself."

Nagito folded his hands in his lap and gazed up at me, smiling softly. "Thank you, Hajime."

Gazing back, I blushed and smiled, too.

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