Chapter Text
“Hinata-san…”
Her voice is thin and reedy, only a bit clearer than your own. She sits close enough to touch, with posture befitting that of — well — a princess.
It’s been a full month since you’d woken up, and not much progress had been made. Which meant you had a very big decision laid out in front of you — one you weren’t sure you were ready to make.
“What is it, Sonia?”
Sonia Nevermind’s appearance is startlingly different than how you remember her from the simulation. Her long golden hair has been cropped to her chin, and she has nasty burn marks marring her once-perfect porcelain skin. But even more noticeable is how worn and haggard she seems — the bright spark in her eyes has dimmed.
Although it hasn’t gone out entirely.
Now, she takes a deep breath and rests her hand on your shoulder. “I… wish I could do more to help you. Unfortunately, I do not know what the correct choice would be.”
“Thanks…” You shift in your seat, uncomfortable with the weight of the matter hovering over your heads. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, though. I don’t think anyone would know what the ‘correct’ choice would be. Not when it comes to something like this.”
The silence between you stretches.
“Either you risk becoming him and hurting the people around you, or we risk losing all of our friends for good…” Sonia murmurs to herself. “Why must we choose to risk losing anyone at all?”
You offer her a small smile. “Whatever happens, I know you and everyone else will be doing the right thing.”
She smiles back at you, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. “I am sure you will do the right thing too, Hinata.”
“Hey… are you alright?” you don’t bother masking your concern.
She pauses and chooses her words carefully. “I am merely… concerned. I do not wish to risk losing you. But the others…”
“I know.”
The whir of the fans above distract you, and you pause for a moment. The hotel lounge is dirtier than it was in the simulation, but you’d managed to get it clean enough. You almost expect to glance over and see Nanami working on one of the arcade games — but, of course, when you turn your head there’s nothing there.
You really do miss her… but you can’t do anything to bring her back right now.
A voice in the back of your head whispers, ‘ but you can bring the others back…’
And it was as simple as that.
“Sonia?”
“Hm?”
“I’m going to do it. At least, I’m gonna try.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah.”
She clasps her hands together, but nods. “Alright, Hinata. We’ll do anything we can to help. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” Your first real smile of the day appears. “I know”.
“You’re going to WHAT now?!”
You don’t bother holding in your sigh of exasperation. This is the part you were least looking forward to. “Calm down, Souda. I know it’s risky, but —”
“Yeah, it’s risky, man!” Souda whines, clutching his head. “You’re gonna go back to being him! ”
“It’s Hinata .” Owari rolls her eyes. “He went back to normal when we woke up, right?”
“Yeah, shut the hell up, Souda. This could be our only shot.”
“You don’t know that! What if he — a teeny gangster like you —”
“What the FUCK did you just call me?!”
The five survivors are gathered in the hotel’s cafeteria to discuss their plans. Together, you make a strange-looking group — Sonia isn’t the only one to have changed, after all.
Kuzuryuu is the least different out of everyone, especially since everyone had grown used to seeing him with an eyepatch. The only big differences were his height — he’d grown a full two inches — and his apparel; he’d ditched his pinstriped jacket for a white button-up. Other than that, it was refreshing that he was so unchanged.
Owari and Souda, on the other hand, are startlingly different. Owari is thin . Her skin has lost its once-healthy glow, and her hair is damaged and dry. Her muscles, too, have atrophied somewhat during the last few years, so ever since she’d woken up she’d made a huge effort to regain her weight — and her strength.
Souda had… Well. What could you say about Souda.
His hair had been dyed half white and half black, and when he’d woken up he’d been wearing — you guessed it —a black and a red contact. It’s a good thing he’d ditched them as soon as he’d looked in a mirror, because it was easily one of the creepiest things you’d ever seen. His hair was still Monokuma-style, but his black roots were coming in, so hopefully that wouldn’t last much longer.
All of you seemed to have aged much more than the actual amount of time that had gone by. You had plenty of reason to feel and look older than you were.
Since you’d woken up, you’d all moved from the Future Foundation’s building in the park to your own cabins at Hotel Mirai, and the comatose students had been moved to the hospital on the third island. From the Future Foundation, Naegi, kirigiri, and Togami had visited many times — and they’d stayed in a few cabins that had been home to your friends in the simulation. Naegi usually took Komaeda’s cabin, Kirigiri stayed in Pekoyama’s cabin, and Togami (funnily enough) had chosen to reside in the cabin of the SHSL Imposter, claiming it was “not as disappointingly barren as the other cabins”.
It had been a long month — the five of you had spent practically every waking moment researching comas, the brain, the nervous system, and so on — anything you could think of that might have something to do with awakening your friends. Souda had even spent some time checking into programming. And yet, according to your collective research, it simply couldn’t be done. The books agreed that there was no hope for your friends.
Not that that would stop any of you.
It had become painfully clear that if you wanted to save your friends, you would have to tap into the knowledge and talents of your alter ego. And doing so could have deadly consequences. But you couldn’t just let the comatose students go. You had to convince your friends that you were making the right choice.
“Alright, fucker, if you think you can —”
“EEP!”
“Oi, pipe down, or I’ll make you —”
“Please, everyone, don’t —”
“EEEEEEEEP!!”
“GUYS.” You cut in. They freeze and look over at you with guilty expressions. “Can you all chill for a second? You’re giving me a headache.”
“Right.”
“My apologies.”
“Our bad.”
“Tch.”
“Anyway,” you continue, rubbing your temples, “I appreciate your concern, but this really isn’t your decision to make. I’m sure the Future Foundation will keep you safe if things get — if I— well… anyway. I can’t just leave them alone, you know? It’s been a full month… I don’t want to wait any longer. I don’t want us to run out of time.”
Kuzuryuu nods. “I get that it’s your decision, Hinata. I’m just concerned for your sake. Can you handle this?”
You hesitate. “Well… I suppose we’ll find out.”
“When will you be making the attempt, Hinata-san?” asks Sonia.
“Well, probably as soon as Naegi says it’s okay. Which should be today, since I already gave him a heads-up.
Souda squeaks. “That soon??”
“That soon.”
“So… should we accompany you to the hospital? Or should we stay here?”
“You should probably come, to keep an eye on m— the situation.”
“Then lead the way, Hinata!” Owari cracks her knuckles. “We’re right behind you.”
Your heart is beating much, much too fast.
You stand in the middle of the hospital room, eyeing the patients lined up against the wall. They all look peaceful enough — but still. Much, much too still. If it weren’t for the ventilators, they could be mistaken for statues.
Your friends are waiting outside the door. You can feel them watching you, but you can’t turn to look at them. You’re too nervous.
That part of you — where his talents, knowledge, and personality (or lack thereof) reside — is deliberately closed off. In your mind’s eye, it’s like there’s a locked closet in the back of your brain. You know you have the key, and it should be accessible, but you really don’t like the aura emanating from the door. Like you’re a kid afraid of a monster in your closet again. Only this time, the monster is real, and a part of you.
You can only hope that you can control whatever it is you’re going to let out.
You shut your eyes tightly, your breathing uneven. This is it. The phrase ‘the moment you’ve all been waiting for’ floats around your mind, making you snort. You’re probably making this a much bigger deal than it is. All that’s going to happen is you’ll access his talents and figure out how to save your friends.
Probably.
You take a deep breath. And another.
And another.
In… Out.
In… Out.
In… Out.
And you fling his door wide open.