"Nagito-kun, what's with you?!"
"This isn't like you at all! Talk to me, please....!"
"Why are you acting like this? I don't understand!"
He can only step back at stare at that bone chilling smirk that he receives in return. Those pale orbs that used to stare at him so fondly and with all the adoration in the world now hold only emptiness. As if they're mocking him. And he doesn't understand why. It makes it all the more disturbing to admit that this isn't a new development. Rather, over the course of the last few weeks, Naegi's noticed the older teen getting relatively more distant. Less interested. Growing colder and crueler. But it isn't even just his boyfriend being impacted by this entire thing.
"C-can't we just talk about this?!"
The younger boy tries not to flinch as the cool chuckle that pierces the atmosphere. This...creature is not the same Nagito Komaeda. He almost refuses to believe they're one in the same being. Because the Komaeda he knows could never act so harshly. So unforgiving. So...much like he's given up on the world. The entirety of the senior class had begun acting similarly. At first, nobody wanted to believe it. After all, this was Hope's Peak Academy--the finest establishment of its kind. To think that something like this could occur here was uncanny.
Makoto had been part of the masses to refuse to believe this was some sort of conspiracy in the making. Hell, rumors had been tossed all over the place, throwing down ridiculous theories as to why all fourteen of the upperclassmen had become shells of their former selves. Some argued it was a mere coincidence, others that maybe they were just imagining things. But as much as he didn't want to come to terms with the fact that something was very, very, wrong, it was moments like this that made him realize that whatever 'this' was...wasn't going away anytime soon.
Even as he watched Komaeda turn and walk away without so much as an added word, he stood there. Watching. Worrying. Hoping that there was still a chance for things to get better. But this wasn't the time for worrying. Many of their teachers said that, in spite of everything, the best thing they could do was continue to focus on their studies and keep that hope alive. However, they all knew what weighed in the backs of their mind. It was written all over everyone's faces the moment the brunet forlornly entered the classroom. It was as if they were all thinking the same thing, sharing the same expression. ...Except for one of the sixteen.
Emerald hues drifted over to the strawberry blonde, only to temporarily be redirected by a familiar voice as he reclaimed his seat in the center of the classroom. He offered a gentle smile as the teen idol approached him, admiring her ability to try and keep spirits up. However, even as they chattered back and forth, his eyes kept wandering back over, up until his friend returned to her own seat.
Junko Enoshima...how did she do it? Manage to act as if nothing had changed while the paranoia seemed to be infecting everyone else like a plague? He couldn't help but wonder.