Just Lucky

Nagito leans forward in his seat, watching as Miu prepares the cards. I lean a little closer to him. If he can somehow take all five hundred of Miu's staked votes then Celestia will just have to play against him and surely he can beat her! And then this gloomy despair cast over our school life can finally be over!

Miu is serving as dealer and Nagito is guessing. And with that astonishing good luck of his, we're sure to win here! The game is in our favor as well; with each correct guess from Nagito we get three times his bet, remember?!

"Hajime, you're practically glowing." Nagito remarks with a slight smile as he glances over at me, "you look quite hopeful."

I smile. "I'm just feeling optimistic." I respond happily. He nods slightly, eyes twinkling, before focusing back on Miu.

Miu carefully shuffles the cards and lays them out in front of Nagito. "Make your first bet, Nagi-hoe." She sniffs.

"Nagihoe?" He mumbles to himself.

I roll my eyes. "Just ignore it and place your bet." I mutter.

Komaeda smiles. "Okay. All in."

I lightly slap the back of his head. "You're not betting it all on the first round!" I scold.

"Such a buzzkill, Hajime," He whines, "Fine. Fifty votes then."

And as he says that he counts out fifty of his chips and lays them on the table. Miu nods her head, giving the three cards one last shuffle.

"Alright! Where's Hit?" She demands. Kaede pulls up a chair next to her and rests her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

Nagito strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps. . .on my right?" He answers.

Miu flips it over and snorts. "Ha! That's fifty more for me!" She cheers, sliding the chips towards herself.

I frown, earning a concerned look from Nagito. "Don't despair, darling, I'll win it all back with ease." He assures me.

"Alright Marshmallow-Hair, what'll it be now?" Miu demands.

"I believe one-hundred of my votes will suffice this round." Nagito replies.

I grit my teeth. I can't believe I love this reckless boy-this reckless boy's hope, that is! Yeah that's it. But seriously, he's going to lose everything he's been working for for the past month. But then again if he wins he'll bring back three-hundred, hmm. . .

"One-hundred!" Miu barks back, shuffling the cards once again, "Okay, where?"

"Middle?" He guesses. Miu flips it over with a wide grin. It's a miss.

So far Nagito has lost one-hundred and fifty votes. So much for that luck of his.

"Oh dear, how troubling. . ," Nagito sighs casually, "I've already lost more than I've planned. Even if I bet it all, all I'll gain is five-hundred. But then again this game isn't fair from the start. . ."

I place my head in my hands. This idiot is about to bet it all, isn't he. . .

"Alright, one more round. I'm betting all of my remaining funds." Komaeda declares, earning an eye roll from Shuichi.

Miu laughs. "Ha! What an idiotic move! I'm going to enjoy taking all of your remaining chips." She barks. Nagito smiles easily.

"Whatever you say, Miss Miu."

Nagito then pulls out his remaining funds and dumps them all on the table. Miu snickers, shuffling the cards for a final time.

"Where's Hit?"

Nagito turns to Shuichi. "You pick, Shuichi." He tells him. Shuichi flinches.

"W-What?! Me?! I don't want to make such an important decision," He stammers back, "I couldn't possibly."

Komaeda's gaze doesn't waver. "Pick, Shuichi. I trust you." He insists calmly.

"I can't!"

"Do it."

"A-Ah! Fine, the middle!" He panics. Nagito relaxes, smiling.

"Thank you, Shu," He replies, turning back to Miu, "middle then."

Miu rolls her eyes and flips it open. Sure enough it's Hit. Not that it's surprising at this point. Komaeda always wins in the end and he probably always will.

"Huh? You won?!' She exclaims fearfully, "No! If I lose five-hundred of my votes, then-"

Nagito slams his hands on the table, making Miu flinch violently. He narrows his eyes, staring her down, making her automatically shy away.

"Quit your yapping, it's annoying. Seriously, I expected more from the person in second place. Wait, that's not right I'm ahead of you now. You. Lost." He huffs, irritated.

"Nagito Komaeda has won back all of his betted votes and all of Miu's risked funds in accordance with the rules." Kirumi announces, sounding quite bored.

Miu's face goes red. "Ah, okay fine! Fine! Here, take your votes and leave!" She squeals, practically shoving the votes in Komaeda's face. He scoops them up with ease and stores them away.

"Let's get going now." He says to us. With a heavy sigh I stand, Shuichi following suit. "Thank you." He says to them before turning to leave, both of us flanking him.

-

The twenty-fourth day of the Election. Six days until the Election comes to an end, five until the school dance.

Nagito is in second place now, not that far behind Celestia. He may be a gambling god but I never really expected him to get this far.

He says he plans to publicly challenge Celestia at lunch today. But I think that just means he's going to walk up to her table and demand a match or something. Either way it will be interesting to see.

Yep, everything seems to be coming along smoothly.

"Hajime, you listening?" Shuichi asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nod back vigorously, trying to refocus on him and Sonia.

"Yes, I am, sorry." I offer back. Shuichi sighs.

"Well anyways, I was just wondering if I could invite my friend to lunch today." He asks shyly, cheeks going a little pink. Sonia lights up.

"That Kokichi boy? Yes, anything for love!" She gushes, grabbing Shuichi's arm, startling him. His cheeks darken.

"I wouldn't call it love." He mumbles, embarrassed. Sonia rolls her eyes.

"Nonsense, of course it is love! And I am tired of seeing you two flirt around all day without actually doing anything! For Heaven's sake, just kiss already!" She cries.

"What? No, that's not going to happen!" Shuichi whines back now.

"You fool, you, Shuichi! First Hajime and Nagito and now you two, ugh, I cannot catch a break," The blonde huffs, "I'll have to work on you two too. But at least after this we'll all be matched up."

"It-It's not like that!" Shuichi insists.

"The more you deny it the more likely it is," I can't help but chime in, "you two are definitely infatuated with each other."

Shuichi flashes me a look of betrayal and I merely shrug back at him. "Anyways, I'm going to head to class. Bye guys." I sigh, moving past them.

Well, lunch will be even more interesting now.

-

"Open up, Shumai, I wanna feed you!" The purple-haired boy whines, trying to shove an apple slice in the raven-haired boy's face. Shuichi squeezes his eyes shut, cheeks a deep pink.

"Kokichi, stop!" Shuichi seems to manage through his embarrassment.

Trying to ignore it, I sit down next to Chiaki. "They've been doing this for five minutes now." Chiaki yawns, picking at her fries.

". . .And we're just going to let this happen?" I question. She shrugs.

"Shuichi is the only one who seems to be able to control him. If he really wanted him to stop, he would." Sonia decides. I glance at Nagito who's sitting next to him, happily peeling an orange, ignoring the fighting mutually-pinning individuals beside him.

I lean forward in my seat. "So Nagito, when are you going over to Celestia's table?" I ask. He shrugs.

"Once I finish eating, I suppose I'll head over." He responds idly. I nod back, stabbing into a piece of lettuce.

Kokichi suddenly stops shoving apples at Shuichi's face and stares hard at me. I flinch but find myself unable to turn away from his piercing gaze.

"Uh. . .can I help you?" I ask hesitantly.

"You're Nagito's boyfriend!" He declares suddenly. My cheeks go red.

"I mean, yeah, I guess. What of it?"

The lids of his eyes fall down slightly. "How'd you win the favor of one of the most dangerous guys in the school?" He asks curiously.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Nagito protests.

"Still, I'm curious." Kokichi persists in a casual tone.

"I. . .I'm not sure exactly how. I guess I was just lucky."

Kokichi gasps. "Oh my god and that's the title of this fanfiction. Look at everything slowly coming together!" He responds enthusiastically.

I just roll my eyes at him.

-

"Well, I'm going to see Celestia now," Nagito announces, "Hajime, want to come with?"

I shrug. "Yeah, should be interesting. And you should have some support." I agree. Both of us then stand up and step away from the table. He then takes my hand in his and we begin making our way over to the table of the Student Council.

"A moment of your time, Miss President." Nagito asks coolly. Celestia turns away from her conversation with Kyoko and stares at us.

"Hello, Nagito Komaeda," She greets him, "I heard you overtook Miu Iruma for second place. Congratulations."

"Indeed I did," He agrees, "and now I'm ready to gamble with you, President."

"With me? I see," She hums, sipping at her milk tea, "and if I don't want to?"

"Then I suppose you would be seen as a coward, not gambling against someone who has a chance at beating you. What would that say about yourself and your reputation?" Komaeda points out.

Celestia sighs loudly. "You do have a point, I guess," She allows, narrowing her eyes, "but it will be when I decide. I can't allow you to have full control."

Nagito smiles easily. "No problem. As long as it takes place before next Wednesday."

She takes another sip. "Naturally."

Komaeda squeezes my hand. "Thank you Miss President. I look forward to it. We'll leave you be now. Come along, Hajime." He replies, effectively ending the conversation. He then turns and begins walking back to our table, tugging me along with him.

"Well?" Chiaki asks as we both retake our seats. Nagito grins.

"She agreed to gamble with me. We have yet to set a date, but, it's going to happen." He informs our table.

Kokichi's eyes widen. "You really think you can beat her? 'Cause I've watched her gamble lots of times and I don't think you're up to the challenge."

Nagito chuckles. "Probably not," He agrees dreamily, "but I've been wanting to gamble with Celestia Ludenberg for such a long time now."

"Well, I think you have a shot. You're very good at gambling." I chime in. He smiles at me.

"Aww, thanks sweetheart. I'll try not to let you down." Komaeda promises warmly. I blush slightly.

"Okay, enough boring political talk," Kokichi huffs, "now, I've dug around and gathered some Shuichi blackmail I'd like to share."

"Wait, what?!"

"Just kidding!"

-

It was nice to have a normal day without much of the stress of gambling today. It was actually kind of enjoyable but now I've got to head home and start making supper.

Placing my last book in my locker I shut the door, only to find myself face-to-face with Kyoko and Celestia. I let out a cry of shock, stumbling back slightly.

"Hello, Hajime Hinata," The President greets me, "if I could borrow a moment of your time?"

I hug my backpack close to my chest. ". . .I guess." I mumble. She nods curtly.

"I've come to ask a favor of you, Hinata. Now, you're close with Nagito Komaeda right? I believe you two are dating. . ?" She questions.

I nod slowly. "Okay. So?"

She smiles. "I can't have Komaeda win this election, I can't allow it," Her face darkens, "One way or another he'll be removed from my path. If you wish to keep him. . .out of harm's way, you'll sabotage him in whatever way you can to keep him from gambling with me."

My body goes rigid. "What?! You plan to hurt him?!" I exclaim.

"Not if you keep him out of my way," She hums, "and in exchange I'll grant you any favor you can dream up. If not something. . .bad may befall him. Please consider my generosity. I did not have to offer you this at all."

But. . .me and the others were the ones who urged him to do this in the first place. Is it really fair for me to do this to him? No, I can't! But. . .if I don't Nagito could get seriously injured and it would all be my fault-uh. . .

Celestia taps her foot impatiently. "Well?" She demands.

"It's an evil little plan you have going on here." I mutter darkly.

She leans in closer. "That wasn't an answer." She presses.

I glare back at her.

"President. . ."