On the Beach at Night [Nagito x Reader]

Chapter 7: Sick

Those lazy days on the beach with Nagito seemed like a distant dream after everything that has happened since. The third island was accessible, Fuyuhiko was returned from Monokuma's care only to slice open his own stomach the next day, and Akane tried to fight Monokuma, causing Nekomaru to take a bazooka to the chest defending her. He survived the hit, but now was under Monokuma's care. Another classmate taken away. Everyone was on edge, waiting to know his fate.

(Y/N) woke up to the sound of the morning announcement. She was restless all night, passing out only after she had no energy left at all. Nagito had spent the night in her cabin again. It was becoming a regular thing for the two of them. He'd even moved some of his stuff to her place for convenience. Nobody had noticed yet; they were careful when leaving at the same time. Not that they had anything to hide, but there was always going to be judgement from the others.

Most of them were still uncomfortable around Nagito, and now she was lumped in with him. Sometimes they received disapproving glances when they were holding hands in public, but it didn't bother (Y/N) so much. She was happy, and so was Nagito...most of the time. Despite them being more open and affectionate towards with other, he never seemed one-hundred percent happy. He still made self-loathing remarks any chance he got. Nothing (Y/N) ever said to him could make him feel better about himself, so she had taken to just showing him physical affection in response. Sometimes something as simple as a hand on his shoulder would make him calm down a bit, but it was only a short-term fix.

After the grogginess of waking up wore off, (Y/N) noticed the bed next to her was empty. Nagito was nowhere in sight. Where could he be? she thought, maybe he went to breakfast early? It was unusual for him to leave without her. She quickly got dressed and made her way to the restaurant. When she finally got there, just as suspected, she found Nagito.

"Hey, Nagito. What are you doing here early? You left without me..." she asked, sounding mildly concerned.

"Oh, it's you, (Y/N). I really wish you weren't here right now." he said blatantly.

"W-what do you mean? Why would you-" her voice trembled.

"Nobody really wants you around, they all told me that. They said you're annoying, and honestly, I agree."

"Th-they really said that?" (Y/N) squeaked.

"Yes. Actually, one person told me about their plan to murder you. Can you guess who? Personally, I can't wait for that!" he grinned at her as he spoke. His words felt like a punch in the gut. Why was he saying all this? Is it really true? she asked herself. She couldn't say another word, she felt so betrayed, hurt, and confused. With tears in her eyes, she quickly exited the restaurant. Not paying attention to where she was going, she ran into Hajime.

"S-sorry," she stuttered.

"It's fine. (Y/N) are you crying?" he asked when he finally got a glimpse of her face.

"Don't worry about it." she tried to keep walking, but he gently grabbed her forearm to stop her.

"What's going on?" he demanded. Hajime had always been there for (Y/N) when she was upset. She remembered when he helped her up from the floor of the trial grounds or forced her to get out of bed and eat. Although they didn't know each other well, she felt like he was someone that she could rely on. Maybe it was the way he led all the class trials so well, but he was definitely one of the more level-headed people in her class. She decided to be honest with him; she didn't have much else to lose.

"It's N-Nagito," she sniffled. "He said some really hurtful things...I don't know what I did wrong." she was now crying harder than she'd like to have been in front of Hajime, but she couldn't help it. Nagito's words were still echoing in her mind.

"Stay here. I'll talk to him." he lightly squeezed her arm that he was still holding and made his way up to the restaurant. She wiped away her tears and waited outside. Others started arriving as well. After a short wait, Hajime returned.

"(Y/N), come quick. I think Nagito is sick." They both rushed back upstairs. As soon as he was in sight, she made his way over to him.

"Nagito, is everything okay?" she forgot about everything he said to her earlier. None of it mattered anymore. She pressed her hand to his forehead. "You're burning up!"

"Thaaaaat's right!" Monokuma chimed in. "Nagito, Ibuki, and Akane have all been infected with the Despair Disease as your next motive. It affects all of them differently. For example, Nagito here has been infected with the lying disease!"

Lying Disease... so everything he said earlier was a lie? She felt momentary relief from the thought, but immediately went back to worrying about the feverish boy in front of her.

"How do you feel?" she asked him.

"Maaaaan! I feel so great today! This Despair Disease is awesome! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair! Despair!" he chanted. His eyes became shrouded with darkness again.

More lies...

"You should all get it," he continued, "We're all done for! There's no such thing as hope! We all have to die from this Despair Disease..." he was hysterical now. He suddenly started pulling at his hair and sweating, like he was conflicted and trying to fight against it.

"That's...the...o...nly...way..." he choked out, struggling to breathe. And just like that, he collapsed.

"Nagito!" (Y/N) screamed and immediately dropped to his side. "Nagito, please." The room felt like it was spinning now, everything in her vision was blurry aside from Nagito. It looked as if he was suffocating, gasping for air and reaching out to her. She grabbed his hand and held it close to her chest. His eyes began to roll back into his head and he started foaming at the mouth.

"Help him, please!" she sobbed.

"W-we have to g-get him to the hospital. Please hurry!" Mikan squeaked. Kazuichi and Gundham moved quickly to carry him out. (Y/N) held on to his hand for as long as she could until he was out of her reach. She remained on the floor, still in shock to everything that just happened. Hajime and Chiaki each grabbed on to either one of her arms and carefully helped her off the ground.

"We should follow them." Chiaki suggested. She wrapped an arm around (Y/N)'s waist; Hajime followed her lead and placed his arm around (Y/N)'s shoulders. Together, the three of them made their way to the hospital on the third island.

--
(Y/N) immediately rushed to the room where Nagito was being held once they arrived at the hospital. Only Mikan was in the room, tending to him the best she could.

"How is he?" (Y/N) asked.

"N-not so good. He's barely breathing, and his pulse is low," she yelped. "He's almost entering critical condition." (Y/N) rushed over to his bedside and sat next to him. He looked like he was in terrible pain; he was drenched in sweat and his skin had a bluish tint to it.

"C-careful," Mikan warned. "Monokuma said the disease might be contagious..."

(Y/N) ignored her and stayed seated next to him. She gently brushed his hair out of his face. It was matted to his forehead with sweat. She felt the heat of his skin burning against her fingers.

"Nagito..." she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed on his shirt. It almost sounded like he was trying to speak between struggled breaths. She leaned in closer until her ear was almost touching his lips.

"(Y/N) ..." he breathed.

"I'm here." She continued combing through his hair with her fingertips.

"Please...leave me..." his voice was so faint she almost missed his words. Right, he's lying. I have to remember that, she reminded herself.

"I'm not going anywhere, Nagito. I won't leave you." she said reassuringly.

"I..."

"Shh, it's okay." She was afraid he was going to strain himself if he continued talking. He gasped a few more times, trying to get the words out.

"...hate you."