#kamukomanami

--

The library at Hope’s Peak has just about everything. Novels, anthologies, textbooks, guides, magazines, even things that would probably be banned elsewhere. A lot of people come here to chat and can be rowdy, but it’s not that difficult finding a place where the atmosphere is calm and relaxing.

Komaeda’s favorite spot is on the highest floor where few others dare to venture and by the windows that give an admittedly beautiful view of the campus. It’s quiet, it’s quaint, and already Nanami feels sleepy.

But with Kamukura lurking in Komaeda’s shadow, she must stay alert.

“Ah, Nanami-san, what genres do you like?” She perks up at the question and finds herself fixated by the bright, inquisitive smile on Komaeda’s face. “I might be able to offer some recommendations! I’ve read a lot of books here and I remember where they are!”

I don’t really read a lot of books, but... Her grip clenches around her shoulder bag’s strap. Komaeda-kun’s favorite genre is...

“Do you know any good...mystery novels, maybe?”

Komaeda’s eyes lit up. “Plenty! You like mystery too, Nanami-san?!”

Kamukura shot her a look. She did her best not to glare back and kept her tone steady, her smile easy. “I really like mystery games, especially with the horror element added. Even though some of the steps are particular about what you do and when you do it, it’s a lot of fun investigating and theorizing alongside the characters. So I think I’d enjoy a good mystery novel. I trust your recommendation, Komaeda-kun.”

“Ah, well, I’m not exactly a fan of horrors and mysteries because they tend to, mm, involve serial killers...” Komaeda trails off, twirling around his hair and so insecure that Nanami’s smile fades just a bit. Thankfully, he brightens back up. “But! If that’s okay with you, I know a good fantasy mystery! It’s very fascinating and though there are extra things to keep in mind because of the world-building—well, I’m sure you can keep up, Nanami-san! As the Ultimate Gamer, it’s probably easier for you to keep many things in mind at once compared to someone like me...”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not just gamers who have that capability after all,” Nanami points out. “Komaeda-kun, I think you’re better at a lot of puzzles than I am.”

“Oh, no!” he exclaims, waving his hands frantically. “Absolutely not! You’re just way too nice! Now who’s being hard on themselves? Haha!”

“She is right,” Kamukura speaks up, to their surprise. His tone is cool and impassive. His eyes give nothing away. “In spite of your condition, you have a sharp perception, Komaeda-kun.”

Komaeda reddens. Nanami frowns.

“A-Aah... If even Kamukura-kun feels that way... I-I guess I can’t argue?” He seemed to be in such a daze before a dreamy smile overcame his features. Her chest felt tight, but she still immediately smiled when Komaeda turned back to her, giggling. “Nanami-san, I’ll get you your book, okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees with a firm nod. He’s quick to head off, though there’s a bit of a sway to his step.

Biting her lip, she huffed and went to go seat herself. Kamukura, at some point, was seated across from her, and she pointedly ignored him, setting her bag between them.

What was to be Komaeda’s seat was also between them. So she scooted closer to it. Kamukura’s chair, too, was closer even if it didn’t make the same scraping sounds as hers did.

That was fine.

And then both of them were as close to Komaeda’s chair as they could get while still pointedly ignoring each other.

Komaeda, bless his heart, didn’t even comment on it when he returned, carrying a stack of books in one hand while waving one book in the other.

“Nanami-san! I found it! What a lucky find!”

“Thank you, Komaeda-kun,” she replied, smiling up at him and taking the book. He set down the rest of the stack, making her head tilt curiously. “Are you reading all those others?”

“Ah, yes, some of these are old favorites...and others are new so I’m going to see if I like them.” Remembering, he turned to Kamukura, bright and expectant. “Kamukura-kun, what are you going to read?”

“I’ve already read everything here,” Kamukura said, simple and almost curt.

“Oh,” Komaeda replies, faltering a bit. “Ah, as expected—do you, er, have any favorites?”

“No.”

“So you’re just going to do nothing, Kamukura-kun?” Nanami asks, raising a brow and glaring. “I think that’d get boring.”

“It’ll be boring if I read something I already know everything about as well,” Kamukura said.

“I guess it was a mistake inviting you, huh?” Komaeda asks with a sad laugh. “I’m sorry, Kamukura-kun, I wasn’t thinking...”

“You did nothing wrong,” Kamukura quickly cut him off. Nanami’s grip on her book tightened as he went on. “If I did not wish to spend time with you, I would’ve declined your offer. I’m fine as long as I can observe you, Komaeda-kun.”

“Oh no, that’d be really boring,” Komaeda says, smile straining. “You’re really strange, Kamukura-kun. Feel free to leave when it inevitably gets too dull around here.”

“Time spent with Komaeda-kun is never dull,” Nanami spoke up. “Even if it’s in silence doing nothing, I’m happy to spend time with you, Komaeda-kun.”

Komaeda gets flustered. “You’re really too nice. But, surely, Kamukura-kun doesn’t feel the sa—”

“I feel the same,” Kamukura says flatly, and Nanami meets his cold stare with one of her own.

“Oh...” Komaeda looks between them and settles into his seat with a soft little titter that catches both of their gazes. “Alright then, if you two really feel that way... I don’t understand it at all... It’s almost like I’m in the middle of a strange love triangle, but that could never happen, ehehehe...”

They trade one last look.

--

The novel Komaeda recommended to her was actually...really, really interesting. Despite its fantastical nature, it had a fairly grounded setting. Magic was surprisingly simplistic and so naturally woven into the narrative that it almost felt mundane. The characters were dramatic at times and certainly eccentric, but they still felt...like people.

It was definitely a novel she’d expect Komaeda to recommend and enjoy.

There was a lull in the story right now so she stole a look at Komaeda beside her, caught in his own reading. His expression was...a bit pinched up and rather pensive. She wondered if that meant good or not so good things for the novel.

Looking at the title, with its cover depicting some unfamiliar place, she wasn’t sure what its contents could be. For some reason, she doubted it was a mystery—maybe a drama? A coming of age story?

If she had to guess, it seemed to take place in some far-off country. That had to be interesting on at least some level, but Komaeda did look a bit frustrated, so maybe there was just something about it that was disappointing—?

Komaeda flinched suddenly. He quickly settled back down as though that never happened. Was it the book?

Kamukura met her stare. His expression was unreadable but almost...expectant?

For some reason, Nanami felt the urge to look down—so she did, and her eyes promptly went wide.

At some point Kamukura had placed his hand on Komaeda’s chair. At some point his fingers drifted upwards to Komaeda’s thigh. Right before her eyes, Kamukura gave a gentle squeeze to Komaeda’s hip.

When she looked, Komaeda...looked like he was at a bit of a loss, like the situation just wasn’t registering to him. He shifted a bit away from Kamukura’s touch, and then Kamukura tugged on the edge of his blazer and—

Kamukura immediately caught the book Nanami had thrown.

“Your reflexes are impressive, Kamukura-kun,” Komaeda noted. He turned to her, almost looking relieved. “Wasn’t that impressive, Nanami-san?”

“It was,” she admits blankly. “Especially considering the proximity.”

“It was a matter of predicting your actions, Nanami-san,” Kamukura replies smoothly. He sets the book beside the stack rather than returning it to the top. “And being prepared for such.”

“Is that so,” she says coolly. “You really are something, aren’t you, Kamukura-kun?”

The look Kamukura gives her suggested he returned the sentiment.

“That said,” Komaeda cuts in. “Nanami-san, why did you throw that book in the first place? Were you really just testing his reflexes?”

Nanami gave him a look.

“You’re so strange, Nanami-san,” he says, brightly and cheerfully. “You’re still saving your spot in the book I recommended you.”

That she was, what with her finger stuck between the book where she stopped reading. Her face feels hot at him noticing that.

“It’s a good book thus far,” she mumbles, feeling her cheeks dye a pink to match her hair. She opens back to her place. “Really, Komaeda-kun, thank you.”

“It’s really nothing. Kamukura-kun, are you sure you don’t want to read as well?”

Kamukura shakes his head. Komaeda seems to accept it with a shrug, and doesn’t notice the glare Nanami shoots Kamukura, and how said glare sharpens, the implied warning clear and doubtless.

Kamukura’s returning glance is little more than a meaningless, passing flicker of acknowledgment.

When Komaeda returns to reading, so does Nanami.

The book engrosses her again soon enough.

--

That said, there comes a point when she notices Kamukura’s hand ghosting along Komaeda’s leg again. And just like before, he immediately catches the book thrown at him.

And the second.

And the third, for good measure.

This happens more than a few times, with how many books Komaeda had in that stack.

And it happens again and again until—

“Ah, maybe...” Komaeda was laughing, easily and seemingly without any worries. “Maybe we shouldn’t throw the library’s books around...? We might actually get into trouble.”

“Probably,” Nanami agrees, but she’s still glaring at Kamukura. “It’s getting disruptive. This is a library after all. It wouldn’t do good to act inappropriate, I think.”

Kamukura’s cold, unaffected stare persisted.

“Still,” he comments coolly. “It’s doubtful anyone’s going to see anything, much less say anything. This is a remote area.”

“Still I’d rather not risk it with my bad luck,” Komaeda says. “Ah, of course, Kamukura-kun could overcome that easily but I worry about Nanami-san...”

Nanami did shrink back, just a little.

“You’re...” She licked her lips and then, “You’re not at fault, Komaeda-kun.”

“Nanami-san, you really needn’t insist on such things. You really are too kind.” Komaeda smiled at her, wide and cheery, but it just made her feel worse. “I really, really do worry about you.”

“Then, should... Should we go somewhere else?” she asks. “I’m sorry, Komaeda-kun, I know you wanted to come here but...”

“Oh, no! Don’t worry about me! Honestly, though...” Komaeda thought it over, humming. “Maybe...somewhere a bit more private would have been better from the start? After all, I don’t want Nanami-san and Kamukura-kun’s reputations damaged because they were seen with a measly worm like me.”

Kamukura scoffs, and Nanami, in fact, huffs.

“It’s not like you’re a villainous mastermind or something, Komaeda-kun,” she mutters. “There’s nothing wrong with being on an outing with my friend and classmate.”

Komaeda flinched as though he’d been electrocuted and then, he was mumbling almost to himself, “Maybe I should throw myself down the stairs first... To think I’d even consider...”

Nanami immediately takes his hand, meeting his wide-eyed gaze with firm, stern eyes.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Her grip tightens. “No matter what the reason, never, ever hurt yourself on purpose, Komaeda-kun. Do you understand me?”

“Ah, Nanami-san...?” He blinked a few times.

“Can you promise me, at least?” she asks, just barely keeping her voice from shaking. Her stare, for what it’s worth, doesn’t falter once. “Promise? Please?”

“...I... I suppose I’ll promise...” Komaeda says, swallowing and averting his gaze almost bashfully. “I can’t exactly resist when Nanami-san’s gaze is so...intense... You really are an Ultimate...”

Nanami pulls back, not even hiding her sigh of relief. It was then she did notice Kamukura’s boring stare and how for once there seemed to be a sense of...contemplation. Just as her brow furrowed, he spoke up.

“If I had to guess... Komaeda-kun, you were thinking of inviting us to your home off-campus, weren’t you?”

Both she and Komaeda almost jumped at that.

...Komaeda-kun’s home...?

“Ah, well, because... It’s not that far from here...” Komaeda was actually stammering a bit, undoubtedly flustered. The way he couldn’t look at either of them seemed to suggest shame. “But, well! That’s just so impertinent of me to ask! That I’d even consider it just showcasing how lowly, how, ah, imprudent I am...! So... Well...”

“It’d certainly be more private,” Nanami found herself saying. “If you’ll have me, Komaeda-kun, I don’t mind coming over at all, I think. I don’t even care if it’s messy.”

“It’s not going to be a mess... If nothing else, I’m good at cleaning...” Komaeda trails off. “If it’s surprisingly okay with Nanami-san, then...”

“I’ll go, too,” Kamukura says. Komaeda stiffens but slumps right back.

“Right... Of course... Alright, Kamukura-kun... Let’s go...”

Nanami shoots Kamukura a look—he returns it. Her eyes narrow as she considers the implications.

It’s Komaeda-kun’s home. If he’s interested in that, then...

Then, what? What was she going to do?

I’ll protect him. She decides, and she tightens her grip on the book Komaeda lent her—the one she hadn’t let go of all this time. I’ll definitely protect Komaeda-kun. Komaeda-kun is my precious classmate. Komaeda-kun is my precious friend.

...

Komaeda-kun is mine.

--

She checks out the book. She’ll definitely finish it. But for now, she keeps up with Komaeda and Kamukura. She keeps a close eye on both of them. Kamukura innocuously trails after Komaeda as he usually does.

But she doesn’t let down her guard for a moment. Not on the walk, not on the train, and certainly not on the second walk.

She is, however, a bit taken aback by Komaeda’s home. It was...larger than normal but not overwhelmingly so. There was almost a pristine quality to just the outside look alone—it almost reminded her of a doll’s house.

There was something off about it, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

When Komaeda invited them inside—and every single bit was sparkling clean, it struck her as...lonely.

Komaeda’s personal quirks were scattered throughout in the form of trinkets and paintings but the place didn’t seem much lived in. Strangely, Komaeda himself seemed to feel out of place as he showed them around. Almost as though he’d had visitors only rarely, if ever.

As the host, Komaeda seemed...uncomfortable.

“I’m not a very good host, am I?” he even asks at one point with a pained, self-deprecating laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, Komaeda-kun,” she said.

He smiled a bit more, but he still seemed so sullen.

Thankfully he did brighten up when he showed them the bookshelf in the living room.

“I collect a lot of novels myself—it’s almost like its own miniature library!” he chirped, even as he immediately followed up with, “Of course, compared to Hope’s Peak, it’s obviously...”

“You have quite the impressive collection, Komaeda-kun,” Nanami noted before he could go on further. Kamukura was humming and scanning each title—he probably read all of these too.

“Ah, well, there are more elsewhere... Reading’s one of my favorite pastimes after all...” He shrugged. “I don’t have the same affinity for books as Nanami-san for video games, of course, but still...”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Komaeda-kun,” she said simply. He simply hummed in thought in return.

Then, realizing, he clapped with an exclamation of, “Oh! Since I’m the host! I should prepare something to eat...! Right, how could I forget?!”

“Your kitchen’s largely unused,” Kamukura noted, still scanning the bookshelf. “Komaeda-kun, you don’t often cook here, do you?”

“It’s not like I can’t cook at all!” Komaeda shot back, cheeks puffed out even as he thoughtfully folded his arms. “But, ah, what a dilemma... If I cook now, with both Nanami-san and Kamukura-kun... There’s surely going to be a devastating explosion from any attempts I make...”

“Devastating?” she questions right before Kamukura offers,

“I’ll cook, then. That way nothing will happen.”

“Oh Kamukura-kun, I could never...!”

“I insist,” Kamukura says, cutting him off. “I’ll cook.”

“Okay.” Komaeda immediately stops his protesting, the corner of his smile twitching. “If, uh, Kamukura-kun insists, then it’d be...impudent of me to...argue.”

Come to think of it. Nanami perks up. Cooking for someone could be considered...

“Can I help?”

“That’s unnecessary,” Kamukura immediately states, eyes narrowed as Komaeda looks at her with surprise. “I don’t need any assistance.”

“One time, I made a meal that got full points and won the blue ribbon at the contest. The judge thought it was so good that he fell in love with me,” Nanami muttered, puffy and irritated. “Even if I haven’t got the talent for it like Kamukura-kun, it’s not like my help will be a burden either, I think.”

“Nanami-san won a contest? And won the judge’s affections in addition to the ribbon?” Komaeda wondered curiously before he clapped his hands with a bright laugh. “Nanami-san, you really are incredible!”

“She’s obviously referring to a video game,” Kamukura pointed out, grumbling almost.

“Still! She’s willing to improve her cooking skills, which can help with all future cooking games to come! That brightness! That hope—Kamukura-kun!!” Komaeda spun around, eyes sparkling with expectancy. “Won’t you help her?! As the Ultimate Hope, it’s your—your duty to spread greatness in every way you can, no matter how roundabout and indirect!!”

“It’s your duty, Kamukura-kun,” Nanami repeats, with considerably less enthusiasm.

“I suppose,” Kamukura answers just as unenthusiastically, though there is some...sharpness with the way he returns Komaeda’s ecstatic stare. “If you insist, Komaeda-kun.”

“Oh...! Oh, no!!” Komaeda immediately snaps back, flustered and protesting with rapid shakes of his head. “I don’t mean to FORCE you into anything, Kamukura-kun! Even if it is as I said! Really, there’s even more to it! You and Nanami-san, strangely enough, don’t get along as well as you should!! So that Nanami-san seeks your guidance—it’s such an improvement on how things usually are that the last thing I’d want is to let it all go to—!”

“Komaeda-kun.” Before she knew it, she had stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Komaeda’s arm.

Kamukura, of course, had a hand on his shoulder. “Breathe.”

Komaeda inhaled sharply, trembled under both their touches, and laughed until his stomach growled. Blushing then, he wrapped his arm around himself and kept his eyes down.

Fondly, Nanami patted his arm with a giggle, Kamukura squeezed his shoulder before pulling away, and the two headed off. Nanami’s smile soon faded as she stared down Kamukura’s back and profile as she hurried to keep up with his long strides.

Kamukura didn’t exactly look happy either if that quick, dismissive flicker of a glance in her direction was any indication.

--

“Since you probably know what you’re doing,” Nanami began, pouring in the rice. “I guess I’ll have to follow your lead...?”

“That much should have been obvious,” Kamukura responded, thoroughly washing the vegetables. He already took off his blazer, rolled up his sleeves, and even donned one of Komaeda’s aprons. It was, unfortunately, a better fit for him than the one on her.

They both hung up their blazers on the same chair. But Nanami also hung up her hoodie, so it’s not as though the sides were balanced.

“You also wanted to talk.” Kamukura doesn’t even miss a beat. He states it all so simply, too. “There’s no need. I already understand your concerns. They’re expectable enough.”

“Is that so,” she muses, skimming off the rice that rose past the scoop’s edges before pouring in another cup. “Do you just not care, then, Kamukura-kun? That’s cruel, I think.”

There was a pause. Kamukura noted that the tomato in his hand was probably sourer than the others. He kept that in mind.

And then, he said, “I was going to ask Komaeda-kun. Even with you here, he’ll consent. You know he will.”

Nanami froze up. She swallowed.

“It may be a bit tasteless if you stick around, making sure things don’t go however you consider ‘too far’—but I do wonder...” Kamukura hums, and asks, almost curiously, “How noisy do you think he’ll be, Nanami-san?”

Nanami’s nails practically screech against metal as she grips the edges of the pot. She’s barely thinking—but somehow, she doesn’t spill anything.

“I won’t,” she says, only for the words to twist up with everything as she repeats, seething. “I won’t—!”

I won’t lose to this guy!

“He’ll consent to you as well, you know.”

Nanami stilled for a moment, thoughts pausing in place.

“That’s...” she trails off, biting hard on her lower lip.

“That’s why you came here as well, right? You certainly considered it.”

“I wanted to see Komaeda-kun’s home,” she said sharply, and she takes the pot to the sink. She shoved up her sleeves. “And I wanted to protect him from you.”

“Is that so?” he asked coolly. “Is that for his sake? Or your own?”

“What kind of question is that?” She rinses out the rice. “You’d just take advantage of him. Komaeda-kun would only consent because he felt pressured to. So, it’d be for...his sake.”

His sake. Nothing else.

Not even her racing pulse and thoughts.

“Inform me when you change your mind,” Kamukura says. “I will make the arrangements once you do.”

As if it’s already set in stone. The kind of situation you can’t prematurely quit, much less start over.

As Nanami sets the cooker, she already feels a vicious bubbling in her gut.

It boils over and then—

She turns on her heel. Without another word, she hurries.

--

“Oh, Nanami-san! Is cooking already done?”

As usual, Komaeda is all smiles and cheer.

“As expected of the collaborative efforts of two Ultimates!” he exclaims, pink-cheeked with relief.

He worried about us, she realized. He looks happy enough to cry.

What face would he make if he knew what we were discussing? What we were considering?

...scary.

She didn’t think that liking someone could be so, so unpleasant. Where did things go so wrong?

If Hinata-kun were still here...

She wouldn’t be this close to Komaeda in the first place. Kamukura Izuru wouldn’t exist. She’d just be off playing games with Hinata without care. Laughing and smiling and basking in his attention while Komaeda would be...

In this lovely, lonely house, she thinks. All by himself.

...

I have to protect him.

“I was just checking up on you,” she said, and she steps forward to take his hands and squeeze. Komaeda’s face colors a little more. He stares at her with wonder and confusion. A moment like this would be a romance flag, and that only made her feel unsteadier. Despite that, she gripped his hands tightly.

She’ll do whatever it takes to protect him.