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Nagito ran into a busy street to save a stray puppy, racing toward it before he even realized what he was doing.
They were walking through the Fifth Island factory district. His eyes caught something out of place, a small dog, just as a truck barreling toward it. He immediately dashed forward, snatching the puppy from the road.
A moment passed, Nagito finally registered what had happened. They are alive.
Nagito had never seen Hajime this angry and it was not the kind of anger that he would dare to push further. He weakly told Hajime not to worry because he still has his luck, but to Hajime, that was not the point at all.
When their relationship began, Hajime had vowed to protect people from the fallout of Nagitoās luck. He failed this time and might have directed that anger to Nagito. Thankfully when the truck swerved it didnāt hit anything, but what Nagito did was selfish, endangering others and himself yet he still had the gall to smile, oblivious to how close he was to disappear forever.
What Nagito also did not notice was that Hajime actually tried to use his strength to save him, only to crash to the ground. Disoriented, Hajime looked up to see a truck drove toward Nagito in what he felt like a slow motion. Had his body begun to fail again?
Nagito interrupted Hajimeās thoughts and asked him if they can adopt the puppy that was still trembling in his arms. Hajime firmly said no. Theyāre both busy, and they will be away for a big mission a few days. Leave it with Gundham, and we can visit once in a while, he said.
<aside> <img src="notion://custom_emoji/db5a8e2e-02e9-49e7-890c-28660b8a5308/164421b7-7243-807b-a09b-007abd26a5ad" alt="notion://custom_emoji/db5a8e2e-02e9-49e7-890c-28660b8a5308/164421b7-7243-807b-a09b-007abd26a5ad" width="40px" />
Nagito has not told Hajime the details about his childhood dog and its death.
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<aside> <img src="notion://custom_emoji/db5a8e2e-02e9-49e7-890c-28660b8a5308/164421b7-7243-8084-80c1-007abd5af3db" alt="notion://custom_emoji/db5a8e2e-02e9-49e7-890c-28660b8a5308/164421b7-7243-8084-80c1-007abd5af3db" width="40px" />
The last time his body broke down was after he left Hopeās Peak, almost seven years ago. He disappeared for a year to fix his body on his own before finally returned to retrieve AI Junko from Shirokuma and Kurokuma.
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Things were still tense when they got deployed for the mission.
Hajime's body finally broke down during a critical time. It was such a catastrophic failure that Nagito believed that Hajime had died. Nagito, perhaps as a way for his mind to cope, felt ecstatic. The last thing Hajime saw before losing consciousness was Nagito laughing and spewing nonsense about Hope and how he had became a stepping stone, a disturbingly familiar scene from the past.
After a short while, Nagito was stunned for a moment before snapping out of his psychosis. He rushed to Hajimeās side.
August 18, 2018 Hajime was out of commission for the rest of the mission, which ended in a failure. In order to save his life, the machines in his body that had been the source of his superhuman abilities were removed.
Hajime gained consciousness after a week. Nagito who was worried sick was overjoyed, but Hajime did not want to see him. Hajime only saw Nagito when he was cheering as he lay dying, and he didnāt see how he rushed to him in tears, and how he stayed by his side afterward. He was too hurt to process Nagitoās reaction rationally.
Without the machines, his body returned to a normal human capacity. He was still a lot stronger and intelligent than the average adult, but now his analytical and reaction time were lower than they used to be, and his vast knowledge may deteriorate if left unused. He was terrified that he might not be able to do his job anymore.
He also had scars all over his body where the machines were removed. They needed to crack open his skull again, but other than that, they were just small incision scars.
Hajime was out two months later after intense treatments and physiotherapy. Nagito kept trying to apologize and to be there for Hajime to during his recovery, but Hajime refused him every time. Wanting to be left alone, Hajime said hurtful things to Nagito.
"I used to think you were beautiful, but now I donāt know why I ever saw you that way. Iām just an ordinary person now, go away. Donāt approach me anymore".
One of Hajimeās insecurity, deep down he thought that Nagito is only with him because of his Ultimate Talent. He also told Nagito to take his engagement ring off.
Nagito was unkempt with sunken eyes and was severely thin. Even Kazuichi became worried and tried to mediate but stopped as Hajimeās expression darken. In the end, Nagito accepted it and left Hajime alone. He was confused and afraid of pushing Hajime further and making him even angrier.
Hajime was extremely stressed out and humiliated for causing the mission to fail and losing his talents. He overworked himself even more and slowly began to forget about Nagito.