Set at the beginning of @theamityelf's debate club au because I really enjoy Ishimaru being the one to bring him into things. In a normal school year setting he's the perfect one to encourage this if he's already noticed Naegi's hidden aptitude.
Komaeda was declared the winner of their debate today, and Ishimaru feels thoroughly trounced. He knows that there were flaws in his upperclassman's argument, but attempting to address them in the moment had eluded Ishimaru today, unable to satisfyingly counter one before Komaeda redirected the conversation to another (wrong) argument. If he wants to win tomorrow, he needs not only to better prepare his own case, but a new strategy entirely.
He asks Naegi to come to the debate club's next meeting. "Not to argue!" Ishimaru assures him. "I would like your assistance in my upcoming debate against Komaeda on Friday, and to better prepare, you must study the opponent with your own eyes. There's nothing more reliable than a primary source when researching!"
Naegi reluctantly attends the Wednesday debate. Komaeda and Koizumi are against each other first, and Naegi mostly pays attention. He might let his mind wander and doodle in the margins in the middle there, but debate for the sake of it just isn't really his wheelhouse. Then, it is Ishimaru's turn to debate Komaeda and Naegi witnesses a car crash. They're supposed to be talking about the effectiveness of national vs local environmental policy to combat deforestation--how on earth did they get to arguing over whether efforts can ever surpass born talent???
At first, Naegi only feels uncomfortable in a vaguely insecure way. Then Komaeda just keeps talking and he forgets to take any notes entirely because he's completely flabbergasted. The school has to know he acts like this, right? Why are they letting him walk around like this? After club is over Ishimaru asks what he thought of Komaeda's presentation and Naegi can only say, "Healthy people don't talk about other people like that. Do you think Hope's Peak would pay for therapy? Because that guy needs it."
"I will bring your concerns up to the staff at a more appropriate hour! However, I insist we return to the topic at hand. Perhaps crushing his arguments will be enough to change his despicable mindset!"
Naegi doesn't think it likely. He follows Ishimaru to the library anyway to compare notes. Mostly, Ishimaru shoves his own extensive notes at Naegi, every argument Komaeda made in frenzied handwriting on page. "How would you refute this first argument, Naegi?"
Ishimaru really wants this, Naegi thinks. This matters to Ishimaru more than he realized. He doesn't really get it, the drive his classmates all share to win, but he's never needed to understand to lend them a hand. Naegi musters up the energy to really attack this.
"First off, your strategy of taking down one point at a time would actually be better served if you start by pointing how none of these arguments make any sense together."
Makoto points to the first bullet point, and then somewhere halfway down the page points to another argument. "These two things don't belong in the same conversation, let alone a coherent argument. Let Komaeda make his points, as many as he thinks he needs to, and then find the ones that don't make any sense together. Press him on it, make him justify why those two things aren't contradictory. They are, so whatever he comes up with will be nonsense. Use that reason to frame all of these, and they'll all come up short by his own reasoning."
"It appears I was missing the forest for the trees. I was so focused on how contradictory his statements were to my own beliefs that I didn't notice how contradictory they were to his own previous words." Ishimaru looks over the arguments list more closely, and points to five eleven and twelve. "Not all of them are, though. These two work quite well together, and strengthen his previous argument here. He is not an incompetent opponent, so how would you dismantle this reasoning?"
They talk it over. Ishimaru rarely gets to see Naegi like this. He'd asked for his help specifically based on previous averted disasters where Naegi has successfully talked his classmates out of foolish behavior, but he hadn't anticipated that Naegi would go all out for this challenge.
Ishimaru loves it when his classmates give their all to something. It's both motivating and reassuring when his peers show the initiative needed to be upstanding citizens. He himself will need to be his best to keep up with them, and more personally, he enjoys taking note of what they're passionate about. However, Naegi doesn't often show passion for things. It's somewhat disappointing, but Ishimaru can admit that his willingness to never take anything too personally is a boon in their class of eclectic and often headstrong personalities. He's honored, in that light, that his classmate took Ishimaru's request for assistance so seriously.
Ishimaru utterly destroys Komaeda on Friday. He knew Naegi was the right person to ask about this, the look on the club members faces when putting into practice this alternative style he'd studied is very, very satisfying. Arguing with his rival usually feels like attempting to walk uphill in a landslide, but today Ishimaru has felt more in control of of conversation than ever.
Komaeda compliments him on his victory. "I'm glad that I was able to push you to new heights. It only makes sense that I was thoroughly beaten today."
"Yes! This is the power of effort, you know. I studied Naegi's strategy for hours in preparation for this moment, and such hard work paid off!"
"Naegi Makoto, Class 78's own lottery winner. He is very persuasive when he feels the need to be, and I requested his advice on how to better reject your ridiculous world view. He was very helpful!"
Komaeda would like to debate with Naegi directly. Naegi would prefer that not to happen, but since when does that ever mean anything?
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