Chapter Text
It started out with a normal day at the Future Foundation Headquarters on Jabberwock Island.
Or at least, as normal as it could possibly be, with the fifteen Remnants roaming around.
Naegi was simply minding his own business, walking toward the room in the facility where his fifteen upperclassmen were currently housed.
The luckster stopped in the doorway, seeing the one closest to him was Hinata. He looked at his face, and saw that his heterochromatic eyes were staring out into the room, filled with slight amusement. To the right of the taller boy, Komaeda was leaning against the wall, gray eyes darting around the room.
Before Naegi could make his presence known, someone called out to him, the sound bouncing off of the walls and ceiling.
"Hey, Makoto-chan!" Mioda exclaimed, waving her arm in the air.
Similar greetings resounded around the group, Hinata turning to face him.
"So, what are you here for?" The taller asked.
"Just stopping by for a bit."
"Well, that's nice to know." Komaeda smiled from behind Hinata.
"Hey, Naegi." Hinata attracted his attention again. "Komaeda and I wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"
The green-eyed boy nodded, seeing Hinata smile softly. The rest of the group had already returned to their own hobbies and activities, leaving Naegi to be grabbed by the wrist and half-dragged into another room.
"So, what did you need me for?"
The other two glanced toward each other. Hinata was the first to speak up.
"Well, just to talk, I guess." The answer was short and simple, much to Naegi's confusion.
"Talk about what...?" He responded hesitantly.
Komaeda chuckled under his breath. "Calm down, Naegi-kun. We aren't going to ask you anything that would bend fate."
Naegi laughed half-heartedly. "Right."
"Hey, didn't you have friends before... Monokuma showed up?" He spat out the name as if it were poisoned.
Naegi didn't blame him.
"Well, yeah. I had other classmates. But, besides Kirigiri, Togami, Asahina, and Hagakure, they're all dead. It's kind of sad now that I'm thinking about it, but it's all in the past." He reported.
Hinata nodded, eyes partially out of focus.
Komaeda glanced at Hinata for a moment, then turned back to him with a kind smile. "Well, that can't be all you have to say about them."
"Well, there actually were some amusing similarities between them and you guys." Komaeda nodded, Hinata's eyes still distant. "For example, both groups had gang leaders. Kuzuryuu, of course, and Oowada Mondo, former leader of the largest biker gang in Japan. There was also Mioda, and Maizono Sayaka, the SHSL Idol. She was the leader of a girl's pop group before she came to Hope's Peak. And there's Owari and Nidai being so similar to Asahina and Oogami Sakura. Both pairs had strong connections with both each other and athletic stuff. That's all I can think of right now."
Hinata snapped out of his daze with his hand slamming against the table dividing them. His eyes were bright as he looked up to Naegi.
"I have an idea. But I need... three things from you." He said.
"What would that be?"
"I would need permission for two things and the other one is a physical item. Well, items."
"Go on..."
"All I need is permission to access the code of the Neo World Program, permission to create some new Artificial Intelligence in the Program, and if you have it, the profiles of your classmates."
Naegi was taken back. "Wait, you really want to...?"
"You know I can do it."
"I know that, but are you sure? I mean, it would probably take a pretty big portion of your time."
"As long as I have those three things, I can definitely do it."
Naegi sighed. "If you brought Nanami back, you can do this too. I'll get the profiles."
After what seemed like days of work and moral support from the group, Hinata's programming was successful.
Naegi was the first to be able to see if the new additions to the Program were functioning correctly.
There wasn't anything to feel when going into the Neo World Program. To him, it was as if he had fallen asleep then woke up in a strange, tropical dream.
The first thing he saw was the clear blue sky, sun shining and ocean waves crashing up against the shore.
Then he heard a very familiar voice.
"Naegi-kun? What are you doing here?" He looked around before seeing the pink-haired girl. Nanami yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, you might have already noticed, but we added some of my old classmates to the Program. I'm the first to see them, and I need to make sure they're working right."
Nanami nodded. "I saw one of them. I didn't talk to them, though."
"Well, do you know if Usami's approached them yet?"
"She hasn't... I think."
"Well, let's go find them. Come on." He motioned for her to follow him, leading the way to Jabberwock Park.
When they arrived, Naegi heard and saw nothing.
"Huh... Usually they come to the park first, since it's the center of the central island... I think." Nanami commented.
"Well, that's what your classmates did. Then they parted ways, partially because they needed to explore the island and because Hinata-kun was still unconscious on the beach." He chuckled.
She laughed. "It was nice."
Naegi was about to respond before a voice cut him off. "Naegi-kun?!"
"Oh, hey, someone recognizes you." Nanami mentioned.
"Oh, really? I didn't notice." He laughed, turning toward the voice's source. He was met with the sight of none other than the former Moral Compass, accompanied by the former Biker Gang Leader. Ishimaru was the one who had yelled, apparently, as he looked shocked.
"Hi." Naegi greeted simply.
"You look... different." Ishimaru commented, hand on his chin.
He isn't as... upright as usual. Maybe I could get Hinata to look at that. He thought. "Well, I kind of... matured, since we last saw each other." He commented.
"Also, just a question - what happened? I thought that Kyoudai... died. I died." The black-haired boy asked.
"Well, this is called the Neo World Program. I'm Nanami Chiaki. Nice to meet you." The gamer introduced herself from Naegi's side.
"What?" Oowada asked, confused.
"Well, let's just say a lot happened after you guys died, and now it's been at least a year and a half." Another voice explained. Naegi turned to see Hinata himself.
Nanami gasped quietly, walking over to him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, burying his face in her hair.
"So, who's he?" Oowada asked.
"His name is Hinata Hajime. He and his classmates were put into this Program with their memories wiped, where the plan was to make the group get along and become... hopeful. That was ruined by someone, who put an AI of Enoshima into the Program, causing Monokuma to appear and the group to begin what he called the 'killing school trip.'"
"Wait, Enoshima? As in Enoshima Junko?"
"Yes. She was the mastermind behind the deaths of you and our classmates, and it turns out she kind of caused the apocalypse." Naegi explained. "Her title was SHSL Despair, and she wasn't the only one." He added, glancing back at Hinata and Nanami. The taller of the two looked at him, and seemingly told Nanami to go over there with him. She complied, and the two joined the three's conversation.
"I'm Hinata Hajime. Pleased to meet you." The boy introduced himself.
Oowada seemed to study him before speaking. "Is your eye okay?"
Ishimaru gasped. "You don't simply ask someone that!" He exclaimed, obviously preparing to scold him.
Hinata chuckled. "It's fine. Really, it is. You don't really see two eye colors every day." He added.
"So, were you just born with the red eye?" Oowada asked.
Hinata hesitated, glancing toward Naegi. The shorter quickly took their attention away from the subject. "So, have you two seen any of our other classmates?"
"Besides Kirigiri, Togami, Asahina, Hagakure, or Fukawa." Nanami added.
"Um, no. We haven't, actually..." Oowada replied, a suspicious tone entering his voice.
"Well, let's go look for them." Naegi suggested.
"Hey, Naegi." Hinata said. "We're going to go look for Usami. She might have seen someone."
Naegi nodded. "Try to go around the islands and find her and anyone else you can. We can meet back here."
"Or we could meet at Hotel Mirai." Nanami suggested.
"Okay, then. Hotel Mirai it is." He nodded, leaving the two to depart into the distance.
"Who's Usami?"
Once Hinata and Nanami had made it to the fourth island, Hinata saw a small white figure.
"Nanami." He got her attention, pointing to the small shape.
"Usami!" She called. The rabbit spun around, lighting up when she saw the two.
Usami rushed over to them, smiling brightly. "Hello, Nanami-san! Hello, Hinata-kun!" She greeted.
"Hey, Usami. There's some new faces around the island. Have you seen any of them?" Hinata asked.
"I have, in fact! Three of them were near here, around the funhouse entrance!"
Hinata's eyes widened. "The last time someone visited the funhouse, it didn't end well." He commented.
"Well, the rollercoaster isn't working, so they won't be able to go in there."
"Good." He said, relieved.
"Can you lead us to them?" Nanami asked.
"Of course!" She chirped.
The rabbit led the two to the rollercoaster, where three figures were standing around, seemingly lost.
"Hello!" Usami chirped a greeting. They looked toward the rabbit, then eyes began to look toward Hinata and Nanami.
"Who are you?" The first asked, voice heavily accented. Hinata recognized the girl as Celestia Ludenburg, the former SHSL Gambler.
"I'm Nanami Chiaki. Nice to meet you."
"My name is Hinata Hajime. Pleased to meet you."
"I am Magical Miracle Girl Usami!"
"Well, I am Celestia Ludenburg. But I prefer to be called Celes." The twin-drilled girl introduced.
"I'm Fujisaki Chihiro." The smaller girl introduced. "Nice to meet you."
"My name is Yamada Hifumi. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The third, a glasses-wearing boy, greeted.
"Well, apparently there are more people on its island that you might know. We're trying to find all of you and bring you to the central island. Can you come with us?" Usami asked politely.
The three agreed and followed them to the fifth island. There, they found a muscular girl named Oogami and a blue-haired girl named Maizono. The eight returned to the central island, where Hinata, Nanami, and Usami led the five to the Hotel Mirai.
"Is there anyone here? After all, this isnt all of our classmates." Maizono asked.
"Well, since we found most of you, I'm assuming that they're already here or on their way here." Hinata commented.
"Who?" Fujisaki asked.
"Hey, Hinata-kun! We found two, but the rest-"
"The rest are with us! We also found Usami!" Hinata cut off the voice.
Naegi came around the corner, with the rest of his classmates behind him.
"Naegi?!" Someone exclaimed from behind him.
"That's my name." He responded. "So, you... eight have already met Nanami-san and Hinata-kun, right?"
"Wait... Hinata?" Someone from behind Naegi asked.
"Yes?"
A figure stepped out from behind Naegi, freezing when she and Hinata met eyes.
"Ikusaba."
"Kamukura."
Naegi sighed. "This is what I worried about." He muttered.
"Huh? Ikusaba? Kamukura?" Maizono questioned.
"Okay, you two. All three of us know that those days are over. So you can stop being rivals and get along." Naegi attempted to get the two to stop staring each other down, ultimately failing.
"What did you do?" Ikusaba, still disguised as Enoshima, asked.
Hinata's eyes were cold. "She's dead. And for good reason." He said, turning to leave.
Hinata left the hotel before Nanami and Usami rushed to follow him.
"What was that about?" Kuwata asked.
"Well, the Enoshima that we first met at Hope's Peak was not Enoshima. It was her twin sister, Ikusaba Mukuro, SHSL Soldier. The real Enoshima was the one behind the killing. The one controlling Monokuma." Naegi explained.
"And what about Hinata?"
"Hinata... He was a student of Hope's Peak. However, he was part of the Reserve Course." He continued. "He had no talent, until the school offered him a chance to have talent. Enough talent to be called 'SHSL Hope'. His name became Kamukura Izuru, and soon, the title of SHSL Hope became SHSL Despair, under the influence of Enoshima.
"As Kamukura, he was bored of the world. There was nothing he couldn't do. There wasn't anything to bring him hope, as he was seen as hope. Enoshima convinced him that despair would be so much more entertaining than his lifestyle, and he fell into despair. Nanami was the class rep of Class 77-B of Hope's Peak. She was killed by Enoshima, plummeting her class into despair. She was recreated as an AI used to help the Remnants of SHSL Despair come out of despair and stop worshipping Enoshima."
"Wait, so Hope's Peak experimented on a person?" Ishimaru asked.
"More than that. They shoved Hinata's personality to the back of his mind and replaced a lot of his personality with talent. They created the perfect symbol of hope... but their plan had a single flaw that caused the end of the world."
"Whoa. I never knew..." Oowada trailed off.
"That's because the Reserve Course... shut down before we arrived."
"Why'd it shut down?" Kuwata asked.
"After the Tragedy... Kamukura was blamed for every death of the Student Council. And the Reserve Course protested. And then..."
"Then they were gone. Every single one of them." Three pairs of footsteps drew the group's attention to Hinata. "After the protesting didn't work, they committed mass suicide." He said.
"Wow..." Yamada breathed.
"I may have looked up to Hope's Peak, but... sometimes, admiration can lead to tragedy." He said. He then looked to Ikusaba.
"I apologize, Hinata." She said.
"I'm sorry, as well. For everything." He replied.
"So, why are we on an island?"
"And that's why we're on an island, and why you aren't dead, and why some people aren't here." Naegi concluded.
Hinata nodded, then gasped. "Naegi! Komaeda forgot to ask something!"
"What is it?"
"Did we take... it out?" He asked.
"...I don't think we did..." His eyes widened.
"What happened?" Nanami asked. Hinata pulled her off to the side, telling her about the problem. "Oh no... This is bad."
"Wait, what?" Usami asked, then received the same treatment from Nanami as she did from Hinata. "Ha-wa-wa! That's a big no-no!"
"I know! Which is why it's bad!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Wait, Hinata, did you put someone on watch?" Naegi asked.
He thought for a moment before nodding. "Probably the worst pair I possibly could've put there... Souda most likely left... But I know someone who definitely didn't!"
"Who?"
"Well, Komaeda. I really hope this works so I don't look like a maniac." He steeled himself. "Komaeda! Open the capsule!" He shouted to the sky. After a few moments, nothing happened. "Thanks, Komaeda. Now I look like-" He was cut off by his own disappearance.
A gasp resounded around the room. "Don't worry, he'll find the thing easily. Then he just has to take it and destroy it, ultimately ending this cycle." Usami reassured.
"How are you so sure?" Celes demanded.
"Kamukura was the one who put it in there. Hinata can get it out." Nanami said.
"If you think so." Oogami said.
"I don't think so. I know he can do it." Naegi stated, a determined look on his face.
"Are you sure the kid can do it?" Oowada asked.
"Yes. And actually, Oowada, Hinata and Nanami are older than us."
"What?"
"He said we're older than you." Nanami yawned.
"By how much?"
"When I died, I was a year older than you. Hinata is a year older than you."
"An entire year... Huh." Kuwata scratched his head.
"I have returned." Hinata declared as he stepped out of he capsule. Nidai helped him out of the green casing, Komaeda laughing sheepishly.
"I think you forgot something, Hinata-kun. I'm not strong enough to open the capsule." He smiled.
"That's why it took so long to actually get you out of there." Nidai chuckled.
"Well, thanks." Hinata said, rushing toward the main control panel.
"Hey, what's got you so panicked?" Nidai asked.
"We - Naegi and I - forgot to take out and destroy the Enoshima AI." He reported, finding the chip and throwing it to the ground. He was quick to crush the despair-bringing chip under his shoe, shaking the small pieces off of the sole.
"So, what would've happened if you hadn't remembered?" Nidai inquired.
"To be honest, Monokuma probably would've come back and made whoever in there - and me - go through mutual killing again." He said.
Komaeda winced. "I wouldn't want to go through that again." He shook his head.
"None of us would." Nidai agreed. The tallest of the three shook his head, seemingly attempting to clear the memories from his mind. Komaeda also looked troubled.
"Well, as long as we're here and together, we have nothing to worry about." Hinata reassured. "I have to go back in and tell them that everything's fine. And to help Naegi and Nanami."
Kuwata yelped as Hinata materialized in front of him.
"Hi. I fixed it, Naegi. It's now a small pile of dust on the pavement." He reported.
"Good. By the way, do you guys want a tour of the island?" Naegi asked. The group agreed, and Naegi and Nanami led the way toward the bridge leading to the first island.
Hinata hesitated, mumbling to himself.
"Are you okay, Hinata-kun?" A soft voice made him spin on his heel. Usami was at his feet, looking at him with a worried expression. "You look... distressed. What's wrong, Hinata-kun?"
He sighed, scratching his head. "I just..." He paused.
"Take your time. There's no rush." The bunny reassured.
"I'm just... worried. I guess." He looked unsure.
"You seem unsure."
"I don't think I used the right words for that."
"Um... Is it because of the memories?" Usami asked tentatively.
Hinata was silent.
"It's okay. A lot of terrifying things happened here. Nanami-san and I don't blame you for anything." She reassured.
He took a deep breath, smiling softly. "Thank you, Usami." He said farewell to the rabbit before running to catch up with Naegi.