Beta Memories One-Shots (Completed)

Beta! Nagito Komaeda: Part of Me

Having split personalities was a stepping stone in despair for Nagito. Some say that he got that after the tragedy of his parents's death. Others say was it was due to abuse from foster homes or maybe even drugs. Of course, he would refute them all; calling them out for having nothing better to do with their lives.

After Jabberwock Island, Hajime offered him to stay at an apartment he rented out. He agreed as he had no other options, and because he didn't want to stay with the Future Foundation.

"It bothers me that they are still investigating me." Nagito explained one night. "I mean, I wasn't the one responsible for this to happen. My bad luck got in the way."

"Too true." Hajime agreed as he sipped his tea. "At least you have some luck." He placed his right foot on the table to reveal an ankle monitor. "Call it paranoia on the world's part."

Nagito felt his heart weigh in guilt. He and everyone else began this whole mess thanks to Junko; however, he had no memories of it. Perhaps...his sadistic other half did all of those horrible things. It was a similar case like Toko Fukawa: the nervous Ultimate Writing Prodigy that would turn into Genocide Jack by the sight of blood.

"I am meeting up with the Foundation tomorrow." Nagito said. "Final clearance check before I am considered 'cured'."

"Isn't this your fourth clearance check this month?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah. They were having trouble assessing me. During the interviews, I have been blacking out. Apparently there are some trigger words that cause my...other half to appear." He explained. "It wasn't like that in Jabberwock Island."

"Why is that?"

"They figured Izuru had something to do with the programming." Nagito sighed. "Having me flip out like a fucking psycho would've been perfect to cause despair."

"Didn't that happen much later in the trip, though?"

"You have the bastard in your head! Ask him!" Nagito snapped before he shook his head in disarray. He cursed himself under his breath, holding his head in his hands.

"Hey..." Hajime tried to reassure him. "If they managed to figure out how to revive everyone in the virtual world, this should be a cakewalk for them."

"You are too naive, Hinata." Nagito said grimly while chuckling. "They are probably looking for an excuse to kill me."

"Jesus, have some hope, you killjoy."

Hajime stood up and took his dirty cup to the kitchen. Nagito laid back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. 'At least killjoys take pleasure in shooting hope down...'
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It was six am the next morning when Nagito exited his apartment. The sky was bleak in grey with the streets covered in fog. He could feel the spin chilling cold soak through his bones. Winter sucked, with or without snow. As he walked on the sidewalk, he placed his hands in his thick coat pockets. He kept to himself, staring out into nothingness. He would give a little nod if someone acknowledged him, but his mind was not in the best of moods.

Minutes later, he waited at the bus stop as a black car parked in front of him. As the black tinted window rolled down, he saw the face of Byakuya Togami. He remembered a similar student in the virtual world, but it turned out to be an imposter.

"Good morning, Komaeda. I trust you slept well?" Togami greeted with not a single smile on his face. Nagito didn't say anything expect shrug as he opened the back door and climbed into the warm vehicle.

As they drove off, Nagito shivered as the heat overtook his body. He didn't notice Makoto Naegi sitting next to him until the latter spoke.

"Good morning, Nagito." He said calmly. "I have some good news: we are able to do the tests successfully without any body switching."

"It's a theory, Makoto." Byakuya interrupted. "Just because the math is correct, doesn't mean it would actually work on a human test subject."

"What are you talking about?" Nagito asked in annoyance. "First off, I am not a fucking guinea pig and secondly, if you plan on doing something hostile to me..."

"No, no. It's nothing like that at all." Makoto waved his hands in self-defence. "You have to trust me."

"Hmm." Nagito looked away and stared out the window. "If you knew anything about me, you would know better than to trust me, Naegi."
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At the compound, Nagito did the routine: medical check-up, psychological assessment, and the interview. Every time, the problems began at the last test: shortness of breath, uncontrollable despair inducing laughing, dizziness, and loss of memory. That in itself would make anyone nervous and Nagito was no exception. It didn't help that Kyoko Kirigiri was handling the questions as a Former Ultimate Detective.

He found himself sitting in a large room that used to be an operating room where doctors can watch from above. He sat on a cold metal chair which made uncomfortable while sensing the tense glares from his supposed evaluators. The double doors slammed open, the noise echoing loudly. Ms. Kirigiri walked in with her tapping heels and cold demeanour.

"Thank you for your patience, Mr. Komaeda." She greeted as she pulled her own chair back, causing it to grind on the floor. "I assume the tests went well this time around?"

"For the most part, yes." Nagito admitted. Kyoko nodded in response before sitting down and placing her file folder on the table. She pressed a button on a tape recorder that sat in the middle of the table.

"Date is the 7th of November. Kyoko Kirigiri of the Future Foundation is now interviewing Subject 7 of Class 77-B, Nagito Komaeda." She calmly said, not taking her eyes off him. "This is the fourth attempt in our clearance check due to some unseen circumstances that had rendered the subject incapacitated."

She began the interview pretty straight forward with personal stuff like birthdate, family, student records before Hope's Peak. It was around that time where he would've shown any symptoms, but he held his breath. However, when she closed her folder and pushed it aside, he was taken aback.

"We have to reason to believe that during the early stages of the Tragedy, Enoshima may have administered some trigger words to some
of her loyal subjects." Kyoko explained, placing her hands on her desk. "For this reason alone, I cannot continue the interview."

"Bullshit!" Nagito screamed, slamming down his own fists. "Listen, I do not want to come back here for a fifth run!"

"We do not know what will cause the switch of your personalities." Kyoko said. "I know that you want your freedom as much as everyone else, but you may contain crucial information and as long as your other half continues to block it-"

"But I don't remember anything!" He said. "It is all a blur! The last thing I remember is Ms. Owari being executed. Everything else during then...he knows. He knows, and you are too scared to accept it!"

Nagito's heart shattered into a million pieces as he realized what he was saying: sacrifice himself for the sake of hope. He probably won't survive the extreme hostility of his other half taking over.

"We want to prevent that in any way possible." Kyoko reassured him. "We have ways to extract information without resorting to self-harm."

Tears were falling down his face as her words began to fade out. All that he can think about was his friends he had met: Hajime and Chiaki. They were the only ones that kept him on the ground when no one else did.

"Kyoko..." He muttered, catching the detective off guard. "Please...promise me something."

"What is it?"

"If something bad happens...if I end up dead...tell Hajime and Chiaki...they were the greatest friends I can ask for." He begged, wiping the tears away.

Kyoko looked up to Makoto and Byakuya, who were watching, with dismay. This was not what they wanted to do, but Nagito had a point. In order to gain what they needed...they must make a sacrifice.
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To Be Continued...

A/N: Yes, I made it grim...sorry. I plan to continue this in "Deepest Despair" which is coming soon.