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Naegi wasn’t really the type to get failing grades. He was just rather average—always have been ever since, but it’s not like he has overly deep issues with it—and he's pretty contented because at least he gets the job done. It’s true that sometimes he feels inferior, especially surrounded by people with talents (not just talents, Super High School Level Talents, even), but he never really wallows about it. Of course, accompanying the fact that he's not really the type to get failing grades because he's actually average is the reality that he isn’t really the type to get exemplary grades either. He usually was just a couple of points higher than the passing grade, five points if he's extra lucky, but surely never a hundred. He has been so used to actually passing that he never really guessed what he would feel if he fails. And even if he actually had a guess, he knows that whatever he felt when it happened wasn’t it. For lack of better words, he felt upset. And that was something that he didn’t understand because he wasn’t really that grade-conscious. He firmly believed that grades are just numbers, that they don’t measure intellect, that in the long run, they won’t really matter that much— He still believes those words until now, but that still doesn’t change the fact that he did feel upset. He still felt upset even if he wasn’t like Celes who says and believes that she was born to win. He still felt upset even if he wasn’t like Kirigiri who actually has a perfect record to maintain. He still felt upset even if he wasn’t like Togami who was chosen for greatness and apparently stands in a completely differently superior world compared to all of them. Maybe it’s because he actually studied. He actually spent an extra couple of hours compared to his usual studying time because he hadn’t understood the topics right away during class. He even decided to join a group study with Fujisaki, Oowada, and Ishimaru, and that proved to be a bad choice because they ended up not even studying at all. He had to stay up until past midnight just to feel like he already made up for the time that he lost, wake up with one of the worst headaches that he has had, feel like he's going to get punched by a fever anytime soon, and yet, despite all of these, he still failed. The next exam for the same subject is in a few days, and he's trying hard again because if he gets another unpleasant grade on the next, then he’d probably fail the entire subject already. His parents were so happy when they found out that he got accepted in Hope’s Peak… so he doesn’t want to let them down by having a failing grade in his record. He's pretty sure that they’ll understand it if he's having a difficult time though, but he doesn’t want to go out without a fight. That’s right—he believes that he can do this if he tries hard enough. There's no way that he’ll allow something like this to bring him down! “It’s good that libraries are so quiet, isn’t it?” Komaeda’s voice interrupts his thoughts. “I personally like quiet places… they really put my mind at ease.” “Ah, right…” Naegi just nods as he decides to continue sifting through his notes now. “…I agree with Komaeda-kun.” Naegi admits that he has been focusing so much on studying recently that he hasn’t really been conversing with Komaeda and trying to understand what he's saying properly anymore. Naegi usually just nods, emitting a low sound of agreement, or mumbles a couple of words that support whatever Komaeda said. He hasn’t visited Inu too for a week (Inu is their co-owned dog, a shiba inu—Komaeda thought it was pretty symbolic buying one of the most common breeds in Japan and giving it a rather common name too, considering that the two of them, as he most kindly said, ‘are too common, too mass-produced... it wouldn’t be surprising if no one notices when we disappear!’), and Naegi's feeling like a really bad friend, if he were to be honest. Komaeda is a really understanding person, and really kind too despite his usually scathing comments about themselves, but still, Naegi decides to make it up to him once this is all over. Nobody deserves to get treated this way, after all. “To be honest, haha…” He hears Komaeda. “…I'm feeling kind of nervous being in a quiet place with you.” Naegi nods as he continues reading. “Me too, Komaeda-kun.” “Really now…?” Komaeda sounded a bit surprised. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that, Naegi-kun… but now, I'm just feeling even more embarrassed.” “Same with me.” Naegi nods again. “O-Oh… Haha, I'm finding it really difficult to calm down now…” “Me too…” “Naegi-kun…” Komaeda pauses for a while before he continues speaking. “I recognize that this is a rather impertinent question to ask—I mean, I already told you last time. Yes, we are both Super High School Level Good Lucks, and I understand I usually call you average and normal… but I told you, right…? That you're capable of embodying absolute hope… that’s why I hope you forgive me for even thinking that it’s okay to ask this—but can it be… that you… someone like me…” Naegi nods. “I agree.” There was a long silence after that. “…Naegi-kun. You're not really listening, are you?” Those magical words are what snap Naegi back to reality. He looks up from his book, seeing Komaeda staring at him. Komaeda was biting his lower lip, his eyebrows slightly furrowed—it’s that face that he makes whenever he's upset, that face that makes Naegi think of an upset puppy… …Not in a bad way, of course, it’s actually really cute. “Yeah, I'm sorry, Komaeda-kun…” Naegi says. He's already caught in the act, and besides, he was never really fond of lying anyway. “…Can you repeat what you said? I’ll pay attention this time.” There was a long pause again before Komaeda shakes his head, closing the book that he's holding. “I think I should just tell you next time, Naegi-kun. You already have a lot of things in your mind, you seem down compared to your usual self… even I noticed that recently. I don’t want to stress you out even more. After all, average people like us can only take on few things at a time.” “Ah, I'm really sorry, Komaeda-kun…” Naegi’s feeling really guilty now. Komaeda must have been telling him about something important. “I promise I’ll do something for you after all this.” “You don’t have to, but if you insist, then I won’t refuse…” Komaeda nods. “I guess it’s best if I get going for now, however. I think that will help Naegi-kun concentrate more.” Komaeda stands up from his seat, giving Naegi a small smile as he puts his hand inside his pocket. When he takes it out, he briefly places it on Naegi’s open notebook, leaving in its place a candy wrapped with red wrapper. He remembers the candy that Komaeda gave him for his birthday—that one has the same wrapper and also cherry flavor like this one—but knowing this particular kind of candy, this must have a different message written on it, still. As Komaeda walks away, Naegi turns around the candy, and he was right to expect that it carried a different message. ‘Cheer up’, it said. Despite those words, Naegi just felt even guiltier. He closes his notebook, stands up as fast as he can, and makes sure to catch up with Komaeda. “I'm sorry, Komaeda-kun. I mean it… Please don’t leave.” “Ah,” Komaeda stops, blinking. “Well, I was under the impression that I was bothering you… Are you sure you want me to stay?” Naegi nods and waves the candy at him. “You told me to cheer up… and I can’t cheer up without you, Komaeda-kun.” Komaeda blinks one more time—there was the familiar shade of pink on his cheeks again—and he slowly nods, his hands fumbling with his book. “A-Alright then, Naegi-kun… I’ll stay with you if that’s what you want.” “Thank you.” Naegi says as they sit back down on their previous positions. “After all this… Please do tell me what you were talking about earlier, okay?” Komaeda chuckles, his hand lightly covering his mouth. “I promise I’ll tell you someday, Naegi-kun.” Naegi hopes he’ll know soon.