Luck of the Draw [Daniel/Nagito]

It was just another day attending class in Hope's Peak Academy. So far things had been surprisingly mellow. Names were being called to partner two people together for an assignment. Nagito was looking forward for the chance to work with an Ultimate but at the same time felt a little bad for whoever would be stuck with him.

As more and more people got partners he wondered who he would have the good fortune of working with.

"And the last pair is Daniel Saotome and Nagito Komaeda."

Daniel Saotome huh? Just the other day he had been thinking about him. What sort of hope would an Ultimate Procrastinator unleash? His thinking was so limited he was unable to think of a way it could be used. Working together with him would be the perfect way of seeing him in action. Or, as the case may be. not in action. Regardless Nagito would do his best on the project.

"Hello Saotome-kun, I am Nagito Komaeda, SHSL Lucky Student. I am sorry that you got stuck with me instead of someone with a better talent. Still I will work as hard as I can to make this assignment a success. " Nagito said, in his normal cheerful and friendly tone. 

Ah of course. The assignment. Hope vs Despair.

Ultimately that was what the entire world was about. Conflict. Hope vs Despair. Hope vs Hope. Hope vs Apathy. The entire world was a war of wills. A chessboard of black and white and grey. 

"To stage a debate on Hope vs Despair...yes I have a few ideas on this subject. Perhaps I may be of some use to this project after all. Of course if you find my ideas stupid, or come up with good ones of you own, feel free to shoot my ideas down. You don't have to hold back, you can be as honestly critical as you like. "  Nagito said.

"Anyway. The best way that comes to mind is for one of us to play someone filled with Hope trying to lure the other back to the light. Meanwhile the other plays someone filled with Despair trying to tempt the Hopeful person into the shadows with him. I know it is a bit melodramatic...but it's an ok idea right?" Nagito said. He did think it was a pretty good idea, even coming from the likes of himself. 

When Daniel said he would take the side of Despair Nagito was honestly confused. Whoever would take the side of something as petty and useless as despair anyway? Especially when they could choose otherwise. Then Nagito began to understand. Daniel seemed to be a nice person. It was probably the case that he gave Nagito the easier task so that he wouldn't completely humiliate him or so the lucky student wouldn't feel bad about being so much less bright than the procrastinator. It had to be something like that.

"I see.  You really are a good person Daniel. I shall take Hope. I will do my best to try and do it justice." Komaeda said with a smile. It would be interesting to see if Hope could truly prevail even when championed by someone as utterly worthless as himself. 

Not overly black and white huh? But that was exactly how it was wasn't it? Black Despair clashed against White Hope everyday. Still maybe he was looking at it from a different perspective. Nagito needed to try as best he could to see things from different angles, even though it was difficult for him.

Wait, perhaps that was it. Saying it was a black and white conflict would picture them as being opposites but also equals. Which of course wasn't quite right. Hope was all powerful, a force that could overcome everything. Meanwhile despair by it's very nature was failure. An inability to comprehend your place in the universe. Despair could only "win" by feeding off of weak hope or goals that were tinged with itself or it's brother apathy. Hope could win in many ways. Whether by crushing Despair completely, or using it as a stepping stone to make itself stronger. Yes in the latter way Hope could become stronger by testing itself against Despair. 

Daniel was probably thinking something like that. Perhaps even reasoning that since Despair could fuel Hope, in that one function it was not pure "black". Perhaps through a method like that complexity could be added? 

"I see Saotome-kun. That is something to keep in mind." Nagito said with a pleasant smile. 

"Of course that's solid reasoning! Since so much more depends on the antagonistic viewpoint having a good actor you took it over yourself. Since Hope is by far the superior force you could leave that much to someone like me. I understand completely. An amazingly efficient notion, as expected of the Ultimate Procrastinator." Nagito said with fawning praise. Daniel had already exceeded expectations. What sort of hope could this bright young man unleash?

"Yes, you heard correctly. I have spent much of my life clinging to Hope. Especially that Hope represented by this academy. I guess you could call me an SHSL Ultimate Fanatic." Nagito said, he said it lightly, as if dismissing his own feelings. However in his eyes it was clear that he meant every word of it. 

It was clear Daniel was buying time, and Nagito decided to let him. He wanted to see his talent in action after all. 

It was odd for a conversation to go so well for Nagito. Many people were instantly put off by his lacking personality or his self-righteous beliefs. But Daniel was acting so friendly. It felt a little strange honestly, and gave him tingles of anxious anticipation. Nothing too bad had happened to him this morning so he was sure to get in trouble for this. Bad luck would be headed his way. Would it be a physical injury,he wondered. The descent of some ill mood? Would he say the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time and get someone important to hate him? A minor lingering illness would fit into this kind of good luck as well.  

It would all be worth it though, because there was always a promise of good luck after it had passed.

Even more then Daniel's friendly mood, Nagito had noticed something strange about the boy. Most people at this school, even otherwise ordinary seeming people like Koizumi-san or Soda-kun, had an aura of talent. A visceral emotional feeling about them that told Nagito they were special. These were the kind of people who would be noticed everywhere. Daniel though had barely an ounce of this. In most respects he seemed like an "ordinary bystander". Almost no different from the reserve course students. 

While Nagito certainly enjoyed his meetings with the more extraordinary students, the presence of a more low key talent like Daniel's was comforting. In fact he reminded him of a certain someone-

But no. He shouldn't compare reserve course students to Ultimates. No matter how much hope he felt present in the former individual. It wasn't really fair to either of them. 

"Ha ha. You're very welcome Daniel, but please you don't need to thank me. Your talent may not seem quite as impressive as others but I am sure it can unleash a splendid hope for this world. Honestly it would be my honor if I could encourage you even a little bit." Nagito said. 

"A book or movie huh? Yes I think that's a great idea. I may not be as talented or knowledgeable in those fields as the likes of Fukawa-san, Eins-san, or Nakazawa-san but I am pretty passionate about literature and cinema. I will try my best to take a dramatic approach to this to really drive our point home and give our project boost. Er...I apologize if that sounded like boasting. Really I will simply try and not fall too far behind. The last thing I would want is to drag your grade down with mine."Nagito said, ending his flurry of words with self-deprecating laughter.  There was no way he was as bright as Daniel. Even without that intimidating aura of talent, Nagito couldn't compete with another Ultimate. Most clever mundane people would be out of his league.

However he would have to trust in the power of hope and his luck to get him through this. The Ultimate Lucky student would focus and try his best to argue for the thing he truly believed in. 

"You've heard about my behavior huh? Most people who have heard of me consider me a suspicious person or a nuisance. It seems like you don't feel that way?" Nagito said.

"Surely not! Don't say such a thing! It is an assignment for Hope's Peak Academy. I am sure they have some greater reason for this that isn't expelling students merely completing their project. It might be to get students to understand the perspective of Despair objectively so they don't fall prey to it as easily." Nagito said, seeming to genuinely worry about Daniel misunderstanding HPA's intentions. 

"Please allow me to gather a few minutes to compose myself.  I should have an introduction ready in a few moments." Nagito said. With that he closed his eyes and searched his mind for the words he could use to describe the wonder of hope.