Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Growing Pains
The moment that Hisao Komaeda brought his son home, was the day that he learned that there was something…off about the boy.
While he was aware each child is different, his son was apparently a bit too different for his liking.
The only time he had ever truly cried was when he was born. After that day though, he merely kept a quiet disposition. Only making any sound whenever he was hungry. Other then that, he kept to himself by sleeping most of his early months away.
Rika was relieved. She knew all too well the sheer amount of trouble a newborn can cause, and Nagito himself was perfectly healthy in terms of health.
But Hisao couldn't help but wish his son cry a little bit more to alleviate his worries somewhat.
When you have the body of a newly birthed baby, unsurprisingly, the limits of what can you do is high. He had to sleep most of my first couple of months away because it was nightmare connecting my adult mind with my infant body. The headaches he had were so big that it took a full year before he recovered. It was also then that his muscles developed enough for him to move anywhere he wanted.
Compared to most ten-month old who still rely on their parents to move them, Nagito immediately started crawling at the earliest possible age. It was a contrast to his lethargic days as he suddenly was injected with a large amount of energy.
His wife Rika found it adorable, he found it just a little bit unsettling.
When he realized his headache was gone, and his muscles were developed enough to allow his arms to move his body, he felt like crying. But he persisted and started to practice. Having spent nine months unable to move is a nightmare on the human psyche. Crawling to every single direction he could was almost euphoric to his infantile body.
Though his new father was giving him a strange look, his mother was delighted by his rapid progress.
(On a side-note, it turns out Nagito's real hair color is black)
"Look Hisao!" Rika stated with an ecstatic expression as she motioned her husband to their son. "Listen to Nagito!"
Hisao looked down at the infant in the crib. The infant waved his stubby hand at him and gurgled. "To! Ka!" After that, the infant started to gurgle various noises that sound a lot like words.
The father raised an eyebrow. "He's…starting to talk?"
Rika clapped her hand. "I know! I was worried about him when he practically said nothing in the beginning, but he's already learning!"
It was strange. While a baby his age was bound to pick up a few words, they shouldn't be as…coherent as Nagito was sprouting.
Something told Hisao that if Nagito had his proper teeth now, he could carry a full conversation with the child.
He shook his head. Nagito was simply an early bloomer. Nothing more, nothing less.
It was a bit disconcerting, knowing you the words but lacking the ability to articulate them. The moment his teeth started to grow, he gabbered and jibbered away, determined to create words.
He succeeded, but barely enough to form any coherent sentences. But that didn't stop him. He was determined to carry a conversation with these people…no, his parents.
Nagito didn't mention much about his parents, only that they were destined to die on a hijacking incident.
He doesn't know when it will happen…but the fear of when these perfectly caring people will leave him will be with him for the rest of his childhood.
"Good job Nagito!" Hisao cheered as the child slowly but surely made his way down the stairs.
The Komaeda family was quite wealthy due to their long heritage in history. His job as a criminal lawyer and his wife as a doctor certainly aided matter. As such, their home was quite large. Though right now the only family members living here was him, his wife, and his son.
Them and a few couple of servants who cooked and generally kept up the household. Now they added babysitters to their long list of duties.
In any case, Nagito has graduated from crawling to walking, and the boy aimed to walk every single area he could reach.
Not to mention, he had become more coherent with his words, and it was easy to identify the boy's meaning. Not bad for an eighteen month old.
His wife stated that their son was advanced for his age. It was rare, but it was possible.
He can't help but wonder that's just her not wanting to admit her son is not…normal.
Nagito it seems certainly acts like a young adult earlier then expected. Not just intelligence, but there is a certain maturity in his eyes that Hisao just can't place.
But at least now he can walk.
His mother was happy that he wasn't a particularly problematic child. His father on the other hand seems a little bothered that he wasn't.
But he was just a lawyer. Reincarnation will never come to his mind simply because the very idea of it would be ludicrous.
Unless this was Ace Attorney, but he knew that he just wasn't that lucky. No, he got into the world with the psychotic fashionista disguised as a monochromatic teddy bear that ended the world.
Rika smiled at the sight of seeing her son go through all the picture books she bought recently. As well as him painting his own name on a pastel.
She was well aware that her husband is a little wary of Nagito's early development. Honestly speaking, she herself was a little bothered by it.
These types of children who mature quickly in the world are in a very small handful. They are the kids who often grow up to be a prodigy. The fact that he was already learning how to read was proof of that.
She sincerely hoped Nagito doesn't isolate himself from other children. Prodigies have a tendency to do that.
As long as he grew up to be a good boy, Rika was content on seeing her son's rapid progress.
Alright, time to learn how to read and write again
He memorized Japanese in his past life.
As an anime fan with the ability to learn, it seemed like the right thing to do. Even with the perfect memory, it was a giant pain in the ass. He blessed anybody who didn't have cheat code but still learn the damn language.
He also learned how to write in Japanese now. It was a pain, but one step at a time he learned.
But now his new mother was giving him a worried glance. Even she was starting to see that her son was not of the right mind.
He didn't mind. Let them draw their own conclusion. They were decent enough people to accept him nonetheless.
Besides…it's not like they will be long for this world…he immediately ended that train of thought before it could collapse on him.
He was horrible for feeling the apathy of their potential death. But what can a young baby boy do?
He resolved to wait. His memory told him it was a hijack on a plane from the Galapagos.
Yeah…maybe if he played along…they would be able to survive. He didn't want to lose the people who gave him life in the new world.
Even if the life in question is cursed.
"Are you sure about this?" Hisao asked his wife with a tired expression as the two drove him in his car. She was currently carrying a shaking box.
Rika humped. "You know we can't conceive another child. And I thought Nagito might be lonely in that big house with only the servants for company."
"But…a dog…?"
"If he doesn't like it, we can just return it." Rika pointed out.
"I guess that's fair." But Hisao got the feeling that Nagito doesn't particularly mind his loneliness. In fact he takes it disturbingly well. According to his caretakers, Nagito spends most of his time reading, writing, and generally trying to learn.
He could understand if the boy was simply an introvert, but Nagito just seems apathetic to the lack of appearance of his parents.
Maybe this dog can properly show just how much empathy Nagito had.
The way Nagito acted sometime was like how a child should act, but never how he really feels. It was like he was preparing for the right reaction.
Hisao didn't want to think the worst of his own son, but a criminal lawyer like himself dealt with his fair shares of sociopath.
High intelligence and chronic isolation during childhood is often a bad sign. And it would explain Nagito's sometimes rehearsed reaction to things…
He shook his head to rid himself of the negative thought. Nagito simply could be a child with a disorder. He may not be normal, but it's not like he's a criminal.
At least that is what he hopes.
Nagito Komaeda was now five years old and his parent gave him a puppy.
The dark-haired boy merely smiled and patted the dog on the head. Most kids his age would usually react in awe or go back in fear.
But not Nagito.
He didn't care much for animals. His slight laziness and his neat-freak tendencies in his past life made pets a low desire for a guy like him.
And this dog was going to die.
He could've whined, cried, or begged his parents to take the dog away. But he decided to slap a collar on him and name it Shiro.
Why?
Maybe he wanted companionship, someone he could talk to without risk of sounding like a loon.
Or maybe he truly wanted to see just how the unnatural luck of his new body will play out.
But all in all, he just couldn't bring it in himself to spare this dog's life. It was as if an unnatural feeling took control of his body and forced him to wait.
And that terrified him most of all.
The incident happened on a Friday night.
Hisao Komaeda practically rushed out of the court room the moment he learned that his son got caught in a speeding truck incident.
The streets were alight with sirens and the works. A pair of paramedics were surrounding a surprisingly calm Nagito, and the lawyer went up to the nearest one.
"Is Nagito alright?" Hisao practically demanded keeping a close eye on his son.
The paramedics nodded. "The boy sustained no visible injuries, however the dog he was with ended up dying in the process."
The father was relieved to hear his son had survived. But the dog dying was not something he foreseen.
That explained the bloody remains of the animal he saw earlier. Though he was unsettled by the way Nagito's eyes just remained on the dog.
Nagito knew he should've stopped his pace the moment he saw a truck.
If he was still who he used to be, he would've stopped immediately with Shiro's leash in his hand.
But his mind and body were separate as he kept on running.
Everybody screamed at the sight of the boy and his dog being in the way of a speeding truck.
Said truck immediately tried to break, but it was too late. Some people turned away at the sight of seeing a potential child victim.
When the truck came though, the dog let out a howl and pushed him out of the way. He was bruised and battered by the large strike, but he survived.
Shiro of course, didn't make it and the dog whimpered as the upcoming truck completed its impact.
Someone called the police. Someone called the ambulance. Someone went to him to try to apply some basic first aid…
But all Nagito could think about was how his body stopped listening to his mind and forced him to keep on going.
Was that it? Was he cursed to live out the tragedy that had damaged Nagito's already fragile psyche? Did that mean his parents will…?
Nagito vow to keep the memory of Shiro alive. He only had him for two months, but those two month are more then enough for someone with his perfect memory. He knew the dog deserved a long life. Not a short one with a curse man like him.
He sincerely hopes that he wouldn't have to do the same thing in regards to Hisao and Rika.
They deserve better then whatever fate his luck can come up with.
"Wow!" Nagito shouted in awe.
It was a rare vacation day for both Hisao and Rika. Nagito didn't particularly mind that his parents don't spend too much time with him. They are the reason that money keeps flowing into the household. Plus it made being around them less awkward.
Nagito half-expected to see it be a copy of Nezumi castle, but he figured that would just be an infringement on Disney land.
Besides, they didn't live anywhere near Tokyo.
Not to say that this park was bad, because it wasn't. It has all the essentials. Stalls with people selling highly fatty food. The tall Ferris wheels. Confusing fun houses (He suppressed that twinge of fear). And of course…
"KYAAAHHH!"
Twisting and turning rollercoaster with all the infamous loop de loops.
He heard the screams of the people on the ride and gulped.
Even in his past life, he always hated roller coasters, and paled at the idea of even thinking about being in one. He grabbed his father's hand and squeezed tightly.
He got a surprised glance for his actions, but most of him was focused on: Do not go on the screaming metal death-trip.
Hisao really shouldn't be relieved by the fact that his son was acting like a child his age. But after so long, he couldn't help but wonder. Especially after the boy's somewhat apathetic reaction to Shiro's death.
It affected him, that Hisao could believe, but how cold he was during it just worried him a bit.
In any case, his wife suggested going to an amusement park since they had a rare vacation day. Nagito seemed to like the idea, so he decided to go along with it.
It was a regular day at the park, with a fair amount of children and others generally having fun at the amusement park.
On the way to the park, a man in the park uniform walked up and stated that they will get a lottery ticket.
"What is this lotto supposed to mean?" Hisao asked the obvious question.
The salesman shrugged. "It's a raffle we're doing. Anybody who wins will end up getting a free consoles. The latest in the industry. It's popular with the kids."
"I like to try!" Nagito stated with a cheer. Really this shouldn't be the first time he saw Nagito smile right? Surely this was not the first time since his son's birth.
"Well why not?" Hisao admitted. Rich or not, free is still free.
A merry-go-round…it was a long time since he ever actually went on one. His parents never really cared for amusement parks. His own dislike of roller coasters just added to the reasons not to go.
"Want to go Nagito?" His mother stated with a small smile.
Why not? For nostalgia's sake, it would be a nice thing to do. Especially once he gotten too old for it.
It was fine at first. The classical music playing in the background, the horses going up and down, the other normal kids were playing around. Overall…it was a good time.
Too bad it had to end soon.
The operator turned to the controls and raised an eyebrow. For some reason, they were blinking erratically. As he worked to check it out, the controls sparked.
The merry-go-round jerked to a halt causing everyone to move. Some kids at most hit their head against the moving pole. Except for one.
Nagito completely slipped off his. The reason for that seems to do something with the fact that his seat belt utterly broke.
As Nagito fell off the fake horse, he can't help but wonder. 'Is this the curse of my luck?'
"Nagito!" Rika yelled in alarm as she quickly ran up to her son. The boy was moaning in pain, but was mostly stone-faced as he gripped his left arm. Rika took down his sleeves and paled.
"He fractured his arm!" The doctor called out as some employees came up with medical supply.
"Are you alright Nagito?"
"I'll survive…" The boy groaned. "I'm just grateful it's not my writing hand."
Hisao gave the operator a deadpan glare. The man was sweating heavily at the sight of the angered man.
"How?" Was all he asked. That's all he needed to say.
"I-I don't know s-sir!" The operator managed to stumble out. "The ride was working fine! T-the moment the k-kid came on the controls started to get wonky! We didn't know his belt would break"
"That kid is my son." Hisao pointed out. "And I am a lawyer." This wasn't his field of specialization, but it still pays to intimidate people.
"We're very sorry, sir!" The operator bowed.
"Just be grateful he didn't experience any permanent injury." Was Hisao's final statement.
It was strange though. When the ride broke, why did it happen to Nagito's particular horse? And out of all the kids, why did Nagito's belt broke?
All he could call it was a string of bad luck.
"Congrats kid! You are our lucky guesser! You win the prize of your choosing." The head stated in a cheerful voice. It was an hour after the merry-go-round incident, and the couple decided it was an unexpected accident.
They decided to stay to see the results of the raffle. And surprise, the winner was Nagito Komaeda.
When Nagito started to laugh, Rika and spectator laugh thought it was one of joy.
But Hisao caught the tiredness in it. Like the sense of inevitability a criminal feels when they are given the death penalty.
"So how is Nagito in school?" Rika asked the question to her son's teacher. An elderly women.
The geriatric cleaned her glasses and sighed. "As a student? He's on top of his class. As a kid? He's distant from the rest of his classes"
Rika sighed. "I was afraid of that." Though she certainly saw it coming.
"That's a problem intelligent children have." The teacher admitted. "They have a hard time seeing the kids with them as their equals, and thus they become the loner and barely interact with them."
"We're going on a vacation!" Rika cheered. "A two way tickets straight to the Galapagos islands!"
When Nagito felt a complete and utter sense of dread, he hastily opened his mouth, but his eyes started to darken.
Nagito felt himself lose to the darkness. He wanted to shriek. He wanted to scream. He wanted to beg his new parents to not go on that cursed vacation. But like when Shiro died, the feeling of darkness overcame his body and forced his body not to listen to his mind.
His vision blacked out and he felt like sobbing.
"That was a fun vacation!" Rika cheered, cradling a sleeping Nagito. The boy had his hood over his head and had a small bandage around his face.
Hisao smirked. "I suppose. Doesn't beat our honeymoon though..."
"Hisao!" Rika scolded with flushed cheeks. "I don't want Nagito to hear this in his sleep!"
"Fine, fine…" He stated dismissively. "I'm just surprised Nagito went out. He's usually stuck inside most of the time."
Rika shrugged. "It pays to go outside…though I didn't realize he was allergic to lobster."
Hisao shuddered. "And he was having such a good day too. I didn't think it was possible for someone to swell that much."
"Trust me dear, there are people who have it much worse."
Before the husband could retort, the couple heard a disquieting sound.
BOOM!
Nagito's eyes opened up at the sound of the gun and his small body jumped up in fear. He turned to see his parents talking to a masked man.
"You got the fattest pockets?" The hijacker asked while cocking his gun.
Hisao sweated, but nodded as an answer. "I'll give you every piece of money I have if you let us leave here alive."
"Not just you…" The criminal growled. He started to bark out orders. "LISTEN UP! I HAVE THIS BAG! NOW PUT EVERY SINGLE CENT YOU GOT INTO THIS BAG LEST I SHOOT YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!"
The stewards, the other passengers, even the nearby pilots hastily removed their wallets from their possession and took out ever piece of cash they got. Before they could go, a strange sound was heard.
CRUSH!
The hijacker, Hisao and Rika all turned their heads toward the roof of the plane. It was glowing a unique color as the roof almost looks like it was melting…
...
...
...
CRASH!
Nagito could only scream at the sight of the meteor crashing into the roof and into the three unfortunate souls.
This was a sight that will forever be indented into his memory for the rest of his life, even if his wasn't as good as it was.
Nagito was deaf to the voice of the people surrounding him calling to get help. He slowly but surely went to the three victims. Two: The hijacker and his mother were dead. His father was struggling, but the blood (Which was red instead of pink) flowing freely out of his body was proof that he was not long for the world.
The reincarnated boy got up and cradled his father's arm in his hand, numb to the pain of losing his parents again.
His eyes met Hisao Komaeda and the two, father and son, stared at each other.
Hisao saw his son's eyes as the boy grasped his arm. He could practically feel Rika's skin fading alongside her life.
"I'm so sorry…You didn't deserve this…" His son said in a voice that was far too old for his child body. He wasn't crying, but the grief in his eyes was undeniable.
"It's okay…you couldn't have prevented this…" and he completely lost his sight at that moment. If he didn't, he would've caught the immense regret in his son's eyes.
"I love you dad." And something told Hisao that he meant what he said.
"Love you two Nagito…love you too…" Because no matter how suspicious Hisao got, he never once felt any ill will towards his son. No matter how he turned out Hisao knew he would always care for him and vice-versa.
Too bad he will never find out.
When Hisao died, he realized he never found out what happened to his son. Why his son was so coherent since his birth and why he never acted as much as most children did.
Something told him that was irrelevant considering the fact that he was not long for this world.
At least the bastard hijacker is getting his comeuppance. Let's hope he burns in the fiery pits.
But he was happy that his and Rika son still cared for them, no matter how little they knew about him.
He whispered goodbye and lay still. And his final prayer is that Nagito will make it in the world.
Nagito Komaeda was now an orphan. He will survive on his own with the money his parents left behind. He has no other relatives alive.
He didn't cry at the funeral…
He only cried when he was really happy. When he was sad all he felt was cold apathy. It as something that happened in his old life, now it is here in his new one.
And a taste of despair. Let's not forget that.
If it didn't freak people out Nagito would've laughed. Laughed at his own inaction. Laughed at letting people who were close to him die. Laughed at his own freakish devotion to a script.
He didn't lose hope though. He can't lose it. If he still wants to cling to his sanity…he couldn't lose his hope.
He looked up at the gray sky and wondered…if he was unable to prevent the death of his dog and his parents…can he prevent ultimate despair altogether?
If not, can he prevent Dangan Island in general?
That's a question that won't be answered for a couple of years.
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