[it's not my fault]

 Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting. Komaeda was intimately familiar with the sensation, and yet, somehow, he never got used to it. Like his entire body wanted to violently reject the reality it was exposed to. He wanted, desperately wanted, to have nothing to do with this boy in front of him. Did he hate him? He did, didn’t he? How odd. An insignificant stranger, he should have no thoughts about him at all. 

He shouldn’t even be disgusted. And yet he was, visceral, down to his bones, at every word this boy said. So much so that for a moment he actually entertained the blasphemous thought that this person really did have some kind of talent to elicit such a reaction. Komaeda had spent his entire life differentiating the world into talented and untalented, but for the first time a fleeting thought, like a shadow over the moon, crossed the craters of his mind, only for a second. Could there be a different opposite to talent than untalented? Could talent itself be turned inside out? Inverted? But the thought is gone just as fast. “What a worthless stepping stone, being stepped on by just anyone, leading no place at all.” The words spilled out before he could register forming them. At the first signs of affection, even fake, Komaeda’s words turned to ice without him even meaning to. At this point it was just a reflex.

“Ahah… to have attracted such a bothersome and rude insect, what bad luck.” He smiled back at the smiling boy, a smile as empty as Kumagawa’s was full, as full as Kumgawa’s was empty. “Really, what terrible luck.”

If Kumagawa was not used to everyone he met immediately hating him, he might have been offended at a stranger insulting him. 

『Then meeting you must have been good luck for me, new best friend.』

Kumagawa just smiled. He looked mildly amused. A little bored. He would give the stranger’s insults a 3/10. If he wanted to hurt Kumagawa’s feelings he should immediately try to kill him the moment he said hi. That had not happened in awhile, Kumagawa might actually be surprised. 

White. White. White. The stranger was so white. It was like somebody had taken his image in the mirror and inverted the colors. He forgot about what he was thinking about a moment ago, and just continued to stare at Komaeda. He was like a dog who was puzzling at his reflection in the mirror. He looked with wide, innocent, childish eyes as if he truly did not grasp the concept.

Then he reached forward and put his hands on Komaeda’s face. 

『Are you hurt?』 

It was probably a dumb question to ask the boy who looked like he was already on death’s door in front of him. However, Kumagawa’s concern was genuine. By the way, Kumagawa was currently bleeding, but he seemed to be ignoring that in favor of checking Komaeda for injuries. 

Himiko relaxed, watching Kumagawa like a child that was waiting for their favorite show to begin. The other teenager was just as equally entertaining in Himiko’s mind, as she oft viewed others in how amusing they would be. Her allies were hardly an exception; at least, on a superficial level.

So, when Kumagawa fell, Himiko laughed. It was funny, and she had nearly been expecting it. Much like a comedy act, Kumagawa’s slap-stick style tendencies earned a laugh. The so-called sweater he produced was even more hilarious.

“Ahhhahahahaa!”

“You’re so funny!”

She laughed, giggled, unable to control herself. She did not even care about the attention she drew with such a boisterous reaction. Despite her initial reaction, Himiko did lean in amid her bout of giggling. She took a handkerchief out of her jacket pocket, and as she continued to snicker and chuckle, Himiko began wiping the blood away from Kumagawa’s face, a soft blush forming on her cheeks.

Himiko hated to be wasteful when it came to blood, after all.

Kumagawa’s body froze up when he was touched. Whenever someone came close to him, his muscles always locked into place. It was like he was always bracing himself, he expected to be hit. When someone came that close only to touch him gently he had no idea what to do. 

『Hey, hey, why are you treating my wound? It’s like you have sympathy for my pain, how disgusting.』

Kumagawa said with the same smile on his face as always. His eyes flickered, and he tried to look away. It was embarrassing having someone be this close, or maybe he was just unused to the feeling. 

He was completely shameless, and yet he was shy at the same time. He was loud and in your face always, and yet he shrank away and had no presence in the room. Kumagawa quietly asked her a question, changing the subject. 

“I can, so it’s fine.”

She played off of his self-derogatory comments quite easily; their banter almost seemed akin to a practiced routine, perhaps it was due to the fact that they were both oddities. Each one of them was so unique, so removed from the norm created by others, that it seemed that their strange wavelengths were surprisingly capable of overlapping with one another.

They were two weirdos whose weirdness made them compatible as friends, and that was more than enough for them both.

Her eyes were immediately caught by the purple outfit Kumagawa spoke of. His words made her laugh, as if he had told a hilarious joke. He was right, of course; Shigaraki might actually try to kill her if she forced him in such a horrendous outfit, and that was why she found it so humorous.

“Wahaha!”

“He would, ahaha… so, let’s get it.”

They could at least play it as a joke and have some fun, or so Himiko thought.

“Me next, pick something for me now!”

Kumagawa walked over a few racks and started to browse. Himiko had placed such high expectations on him, expectations he would inevitably disappoint, but Kumagawa wanted to try his best regardless. 

Kumagawa knew absolutely nothing about fashion. He had five copies of the same school uniform at home. Characaters in shonen manga never had to change their outfits because it would be too much effort for the artist to constantly have to draw new clothes for them. Kumagawa did not want to cause trouble for the artist. 

Kumagawa fell forward and hit his head on the ground. When he stood up once more he was covered in his own blood from his bleeding forehead, but kept on talking like nothing went wrong. 

『I’ve got it! If you wear this outfit you’ll be able to kill Tomura-chan for sure!』

He just wanted a normal walk. That’s all he wanted out of life right now. After the whole, weird fiasco that happened with the city during the Halloween season, just one bit of normal seemed like it was too much to ask now. 

However, the last thing he expected to happen was finding a strange kid at his feet after just being thrown into the air by a damn car. Who was he? A retaliative of the protozoan? He had to be.. –Then again, this city was full of people from other ‘worlds’. 

                                           “Cruel? Me? –Maybe.” 

The informant laughed, placing his hands in his pockets before leaning towards the boy. A full look of amusement taking over his expression after listening to what it was the other was spewing out of his mouth. Especially the fact the other called himself cute, which was a laugh on its own. Maybe he’s that kind of stupid cute humans seem to be affected by? He’ll have to see. 

          “Why do bad things happen? Hmm… That’s an           interesting question actually. Usually humans           ask the question of why bad things happen to           good people, but never bad. –Perhaps it’s           because society in itself has to put fault on           someone they dub the villain in hopes to keep           whatever illusion of balance and sanity afloat,            keep what those in power fear most at bay.”

Long answer, but he seems to have a point.

『Thank you, wikipedia.』

Kumagawa  noticed the man in front of him liked to hear himself talk. His dialogue sounded way cooler, as well! And that sense of style, that fur coat! There was no way Kumagawa could ever compete with this person on the character popularity polls. 

He could feel his intensity as a human being draining away just by being next to this person. he raised his head and met the man’s eyes. Those eyes were, oddly sincere, loving even. 

『You think there’s an answer for every question don’t you? That’s very human of you.』

Kumagawa said with a smile. He cupped his chin with his hand like he had just said something smart. He was not smart at all, he was just good at bluffing. He hoped this man would not be able to see through him. He knew nothing about philosophy! He was just a philosophical idiot! 

The fact that someone knew how  o got into his place, made him freak out on the inside. Did one of his roommates leave the door open? What idiots did he even share this apartment with? Sneaking into other places while lock picking was his thing. He wasn’t supposed to be a victim of this. Though it was pretty obvious that the other didn’t got inside here as gracefully as a phantom thief. Either way, he didn’t like it, at all. His living space was his privacy. It just was good that he broke into the kitchen, instead of his own room. 

“Ahh, you visited me cuz you wanted to hang out? That’s so nice of you!” He faked a sweet tone, even if he was kind of disgusted. What a weirdo! But maybe this was interesting enough to entertain himself a little. 

“That’s totally mean, I would never stop being you friend, just cuz you broke into here! But maybe they didn’t want to keep being friends with you, cuz you’re a freakin bad liar!~”

It couldn’t be more obvious who the soda thief was, but hey, he could play along with his game nad be just as weird back to him. “Sooo, which window did you ruin to get inside of here? I hope you’re ready to not only clean up all of that, but to pay up for it as well! But don’t worry, I’ll help with the cleaning!” With that meaning, he would just watch and order him around…

『It wasn’t me!』

Kumagawa said as he reached up to extract a particularly long piece of glass from his skin. It’s clear surface was entirely painted over read in his blood. It had dug in pretty deep. Kumagawa did not seem to mind the pain of extraction at all. Even as his blood seeped downwards and covered his face, his smile did not change. 

『Why would I break your window? There’s no way I’d ever break a friend’s window. You shouldn’t accuse friends of doing things they didn’t do, that’s mean! . I have no idea how I got into this apartment I just woke up in here. My head related injuries have given me amnesia. I wonder how I could have hurt my head this badly?』

Kumagawa told a very bad lie. It was bad, as in the fact that it was such a poorly told lie that nobody would even believe it. It was difficult to tell if Kumagawa himself even believed that his lie worked, or he was just fooling around on purpose. 

There was a difference between the two boys. One of them lied artfully. He had narrowed his eyes and watched Kumagawa closely, and told his lie to conceal something else. Kumagawa lied compulsively. He told lie after lie, and it was all just nonsense. 

It was like he didn’t even understand what the truth was anymore. 

“Huh? No, it’s not you.”

Her response was brief, and was perhaps one of Himiko’s few moments of true, grounded in reality, clarity. Of course, such a moment could only be fleeting when it came to the blonde villain. 

In the same vein, Himiko was unable to focus too much time on the exchange, either; she didn’t read too much into it, as she surmised it just another aspect of the other teenager’s odd personality. While she could recognize Kumagawa as someone ‘abnormal’ by traditional standards, he was someone perfectly suited to be a friend of her’s. That was all Himiko cared about.

As they walked in (or rather, as Himiko walked and dragged Kumagawa in behind her), Himiko was all smiles. Kumagawa’s suggestion was clearly well received, though Himiko seemed to not hear any of the boy’s self-deprecating remarks.

“Totally! We’ll get cute clothes for you, me, and Tomura-kun too. That way no one’s left out.”

And just like that, she was already off to peruse through the store’s wares, expecting Kumagawa to follow her around.

『I can’t imagine myself looking cute in anything, but okay.』

Their conversations were odd. They were both in their own little worlds and they seemed to be talking to themselves mostly, and yet at the same time Kumagawa was listening to her. He followed her along the same way a timid child might follow their older sister. 

As they reached the clothing system Kumagawa  immediately noticed the brightest colored clothing. It seemed like a contradiction because Kumagawa preferred to dress himself in all black. 

He ran forward and snatched a bright purple  『Don’t you think Tomura-chan would look so cute you could die in this outfit? I mean literally, you could die, he would really kill you.』Kumagawa said with a wink. 

Kumagawa looked both ways before crossing the road-

Only for a car to immediately plow into him. He was sent flying, his whole body thrown and colliding into the wall of a nearby building in a way that he only thought was possible in cartoons. Kumagawa was slowly peeled off the wall by gravity and fell on his back, right in front of Izaya’s feet. 

Then, without even missing a beat he stood up and smiled as always. As if the car crashing into him had never even happened. As if he did not feel any pain. He just sat there smiling, ignoring it all. 

『You’re a pretty cruel person aren’t you? You just sit there and smile when a cute and innocent child like me gets hit by a car.』

Kumagawa did not look very mad contrary to his words. 

『Oh well. I probably deserved it anyway. Hey, stranger, why do bad things happen to bad people?』

The sounds of the break in were not subtle at all, as if the thief made no attempt to hide what he was doing. There was the sound of glass breaking, the sound of several things being knocked off shelves, heavy footsteps, and then the fridge opening. All of that left a messy trail to follow, and at the end of it was grandmother’s house, and the wolf who broke in. 

Kumagawa Misogi smiled, the same as always. 

『Hey, Kokichi-chan. Let’s be friends. Friends hang out at each other’s houses, right? I don’t know, I’ve never had any friends. I dunno why. Everyone stops wanting to be friends with me when I break into their houses.』

Kumagawa sat in a chair he stole from the kitchen perfectly comfortable. There were glass shards in his head, and red blood was spilling from the top of his head all over his face He did not even seem to notice, even as the blood reached his lips. 

There were open bottles of Panta on the floor. Komaeda’s own lips were purple. He burped, and actual bubbles came out of his mouth.  『Hey, somebody drank all your panta. I beat him up and chased him away, that’s where all this blood is from, yeah... that’s what happened.』

@perfectminus​

   Walking around the Mermaid Cove Mall seemed to fit Rise– All the different types of fashion and accessories certainly caught the idol’s attention. She couldn’t really buy much given she was new and all, though.. For now, she’d have to resort to window shopping. Still, all the walking around could make anyone hungry. As she neared the food court, she couldn’t help and notice one of the food places seemed to be burning their food. At least, that’s what it smelled like to Rise.

   She huffed a little, merely speaking to herself as she uttered, “Overcooked pizza? Are there at least some nice toppings on it..?” A mere mumble as she noticed someone else was listening to her little rant. “Sorry, sorry! I’m not a cooking expert myself, so I guess I shouldn’t be talking. Haha, anyways.. Ignore that!”

The one who Rise was talking to actually worked there. He just happened to be on a fifteen minute break. At her criticism he just smiled, like she had complimented him instead. 

『Pizza tastes best when it’s as black as my heart.』

He told her as he walked behind the counter. Kumagawa put an apron over his black uniform. Behind him, more smoke was rising from one of the ovens. Apparently he was not even supposed to be on break at the moment. He looked like he was having a hard time. With life in general. 

At that moment a man in a hat came by and pulled Kumagawa aside to whisper into his ear. When he let go, Kumagawa took his apron off and walked right in front of the girl.  『Ah, interesting. Looks like I’ve been fired.』He said with the same smile as always, he did not seem particularly bothered.  『My name is Kumagawa Misogi. I may look like your below average everyday loser, but the real me is really cool, smart, and attractive. I’m just pretending to be this ugly and unlikable. It’s the mask I wear in my everyday life. How about you?』Oh, and he just started talking to her. He did not seem too mad that her complaint just got him fired. Instead he was looking at her with the same childish excitement one might look at a new friend. 

Himiko laughed, as if Kumagawa had told a hilarious joke. In her opinion, he simply had done just that. He was so funny, she thought, a real comedian.

The two continued, and Himiko could see the shop she had mentioned despite the terrible weather. Yet, it seemed someone was intent on getting in her way. Frowning, Himiko stared at the individual trying to separate her from her dear friend Kumagawa Misogi.

“Don’t be fucking rude.” That was all Himiko said before hitting the stranger with her umbrella, smacking them quite sufficiently. The surprise of being hit with an umbrella did well enough to make the person back away, a moment Himiko used to drag Kumagawa away.

“Some people can be just so annoying,” she huffed. 

『Huh? Who was it? Was it me? Was I being the annoying one?』

Kumagawa genuinely did not seem to get it. He let himself get dragged away by Himiko. Kumagawa’s life was always like that, he let himself get dragged along by the river current. He did not know how to swim. one day he would drown. That thought brought a smile to his face. 

He did not notice Himiko’s kind gesture at all. Perhaps he just did not get kindness. Like he could not perceive it. Like he was blind to people’s good sides. What an idiotic villain. He let himself get dragged along a little more as they walked in front of the windows of a clothing store. 

『Should I try out some clothes too, Himiko-chan? Oh, but we should be careful we don’t want to break any mirrors with my ugly face. Maybe I don’t need to wear clothes, I can start wearing trash bags around everywhere. That would be more honest.』

“Woah, really?” Himiko leaned in, looking at Kumagawa more closely. With her free hand, she picked at his attire, noting how terrible it actually looked. “Huh, wow. You’re pretty durable, aren’t you?”

She continued to walk on, other wise brushing off his comments. She matched his pace easily, walking beside him as she held the umbrella over both of their heads. At his suggestion, she smiled once more.

“That’s a great idea!” She began, ideas already pouring into her mind. “Let’s get some stuff for you, too.”

“Oh, oh, and an outfit for Tomura-kun! We can get matching ones! How cute would that be?”

Himiko was the only person who would probably find such an idea ‘cute’, but that was all that mattered. Even if Kumagawa suddenly disagreed with her, she would have continued with the idea anyway, and would have spent far too much money on clothes (again).

“There’s a cool shop a few blocks from here, let’s go there first.” And, just like that, she was off, expecting Kumagawa to stay at her side.

『I may be trash, but I’m at least non-burnable trash. The kind that’s difficult to throw away.』 Kumagawa sounded like he was bragging. it was a strange thing to take pride in. 

Kumagawa’s clothes were torn apart from the car that had hit him earlier, but he had not even thought about buying something for himself. He thought he would just follow around Himiko and carry her bags. 

Kumagawa smiled at the small amount of kindness she was showing him. She really was a considerate person after all. He really thought that. Even if she acted as if she did not notice that other people existed. 

Himiko was late. She knew it, if only because she realized that she had actually made plans roughly ten minutes before the time she was supposed to have met up with Kumagawa. She had no excuse, but would not have made any regardless.

When she finally did arrive, Himiko blinked. She was actually surprised to see Kumagawa waiting for her. He was soaking wet, had he really been waiting in the rain for her? He was so weird!

Himiko beamed.

“Woah, Misogi-chan-senpai! You look awful!” She laughed, stepping close enough so that the two of them were no under her umbrella. “You look like a sad puppy. It’s adorable.”

Thankfully for both of them, Himiko was just as weird as Kumagawa. After all, she had stabbed him on their first meeting, and here he was waiting to meet her again. She could have made an excuse, she could have lied, she could have even told him the truth. Instead, she just changed the subject.

“Where should we go first?”

『I’m not sad at all. In fact it was a good day, I was only hit by a car twice on my way here.』

Kumagawa said wearing his best smile. There were tire treads on his black uniform, and his hair was a bit messy but otherwise he looked completely unharmed. He was pretty sure Himiko would just laugh off his remark, and that was better that way. He did not want to make a cute girl cry over somebody as worthless as him. 

『I thought we could go shopping for cute clothes and I could hold all the bags for you.』

Kumagawa, hands in his pockets started to walk ahead of her. He seemed to have the word ‘friend confused with the word ‘lacky’. Anybody else would wonder what exactly Kumagawa had been through to have that kind of attitude.

Kumagawa kind of knew already, Himiko would not care at all. But that was kind of refreshing in its own way. He was always so wrapped up in his own problems. It was nice to see somebody to who they were no big deal at all. 

Kumagawa Misogi stood in complete blackness. The only thing that could be made out of his face were his eyes, like two empty sockets, two moons in the sky, and his smile that looked like one large gaping wound carved into his face.

He looked like someone who had never seen the light, not once in his life. He took a step forward and he had a face, eyes, a nose, mouth, but none of those human features seemed to fit him as well as the shadows that hid his face in the low light had a moment ago. It was like he had simply put on a mask to speak with the person in front of him. 

Kumagawa could tell, the boy in front of him was loved more than the darkness than he was. He almost got jealous. There was a strange aura coming off of him.  『Hey you, it looks like you’re weird and meand and nobody likes you.』

Kumagawa Misogi looked so gloomy that he might have been the cause of the rain that was relentlessly pouring in the city right now. His eyes were the same color as every dark cloud in the sky. Despite that, he had a cheerful smile on his face that disagreed with those eyes. 

He noticed somebody standing alone in that rain the same as he was and walked over to them. Kumagawa immediately opened an umbrella over their head and tried to say hello.  『What a coincidence we meet here. It’s like running intro a transfer student the first day of class, I’m glad I could help-』

A boy stood at the corner of a certain intersection attracting the stares of others. Kumagawa himself had no idea why they were staring. After all he was so minor a character, and so insignificant an existence he was hardly worth noticing. He was the kind of background character that the author would forget to draw his face. He could be easily mistaken for a smear of black paint.

But anyway enough of that, he was waiting to hang out with someone. A friend. Though it was hard to believe that anybody would call Kumagawa a friend. When she finally appeared he smiled at the sight of her. 

She was over an hour late. It was raining. Kumagawa had been sitting there cold and alone in the rain the entire time, but it did not show on his face at all. 

『Ah, I’m so happy to see Himiko-chan. I was so worried that a car had hit you, and you died after being dragged across the pavement and having all your guts spill out.』 

He was so gloomy it was like he summoned the rain itself. 

Himiko stopped after getting in a few more stabs, if only because Shigaraki said something. She didn’t hear exactly what he had said, but registered that his voice had spoken. She had been too swept up in stabbing Kumagawa, like a child that had been enamored with its new doll. Perhaps that was how she viewed the other teenager, like a toy that she wanted to play with until it broke.

“Oh, you mean like making little cuts in certain areas of the body? I know a lot about that already.”

She smiled at him, beaming like an innocent school girl, if it weren’t for the blood now staining her person and the knife in her hand, that is.

Himiko paused when her head was patted, unfamiliar with the gesture. It took her a moment to come back, her mind having wandered unintentionally. A school uniform– yes, she was wearing one…

“I’m seventeen. Are you really older than me? You don’t look like it.”

Even if he was, she would still likely call him ‘Misogi-chan’. 

Unlike Himiko who saw fit to treat him as a toy Kumagawa already decided. He would treat Himiko like a normal girl. No matter how violent she became, or how much she smiled when covered in blood. HImiko is just a normal girl. When he made up his mind about something like that it was impossible to change it.

『That’s just because of my cute face. I’m eighteen.』

Kumagawa said when she mentioned how young he looked. Some people could even describe him as innocent looking, though he was anything but. It was those eyes of his, so wide, such a pure blue.  It was hard to believe such childish eyes belonged to such a wicked person. 

Her grin widened, allowing even more of her sharp teeth to be visible. Himiko’s natural blush increased, which would have made her appear feverish if it weren’t for her terrible smile. Turning over, her fingers cradled her cheeks, and finally she spoke.

“That’s awesome.”

“You’re like, totally perfect.”

Without warning, Himiko lurched forward, easily closing the gap between herself and Kumagawa. The blade was already in her hand by the time she grew close enough to pierce his abdomen with it, letting more tears in both his skin and attire open up. Blood spilled out, much to Himiko’s delight, as evident by the series of giggles that poured forth from her mouth.

As she stabbed him relentlessly, Himiko was ecstatic; this was the first time someone had been so welcoming of her particular habits, much less encouraging. A friend that didn’t die, or mind, regardless of how often she stabbed them– it was the absolute best!

"Himiko, tell that guy to stop getting his blood on my carpet.” 

『I’m sorry. It’s my fault for bleeding so much after you stabbed me. I’ll apologize.』

Kumagawa looked the same as ever, like he was a doll that did not feel any pain. He kept smiling, just at the sight of Himiko enjoying herself. Until she tired herself out from stabbing him. 

His only reaction was a slight widening of his smile. 

『Actually, Himiko-chan human beings can survive even cases of 100 stabbings or more as long as no vital arteries or veins are severed. You should learn more about human anatomy so you can have more fun without killing your victims.』