Chapter Text
Silence. That is what Hajime Hinata and the fellow survivors of the Island killing game heard as they watched over the comatose bodies of their friends. Another day of eerie silence. Hajime had been working day and night to reawaken them, using the knowledge he had obtained from his time as Izuru Kamukura to try to salvage the erased data from the system - admittedly pulling several all-nighters, much to Fuyuhiko's annoyance.
"What the fuck are you doing up at five in the morning? Overworking yourself won't accomplish anything." is what Fuyuhiko said the last time as he pretty much dragged Hajime's weak body out of the room to the nearest bed. Fuyuhiko was a good friend. Looking back on it, it seemed like such a long time ago when he was a rude and antagonistic stranger.
Despite his friends' complaints, Hajime couldn't rest. He would never rest until his friends were saved. He had to save them. The fellow survivors were counting on him to succeed in bringing their loved ones back. His comatose friends were counting on him.
But most importantly, he was counting on them. He had promised them all that they would get off the island together. HE was counting on Izuru - no - on himself to get them out. He wanted nothing more than to talk with the Ultimate Impostor, take pictures with Mahiru, eat Teruteru's cooking, watch Hiyoko gracefully dance, hear Gundham speak nonsensical dramatics, to build Mikan's self-confidence, to train with Nekomaru, to form a band with Ibuki, and even to hear Nagito ramble about hope. He was tired of seeing their bodies behind these green-tinted glass pods.
However, soon, those days would be over. Normally, manually restoring lost data for an average programmer would be impossible. But from the knowledge he had gained as Izuru Kamukura, filling the data, while being a slow process, was a certainty. His fingers hammered at the keys, each key emitting a furious klacking sound. Almost there. He was close. He had been working almost non-stop for seven days - only taking at most a few hours of time to sleep.
When he woke up, he had retained his memory and talents as Izuru. Despite that, he also retained his personality as Hajime. He was essentially both at once. His eye colors - red and green - reminded him of this.
He remembered the sacrifice Chiaki had made to try to protect them. She had wanted them all to survive the killing game together. But despite her greatest effort, they had failed her once...They killed each other, each death creating despair and grief in its wake.
They were once Ultimate Despairs. Perhaps this was karma? Perhaps this was the universe’s way of judging them. But that did not matter to Hajime. He was determined to defy the will of fate and save his friends. He had vowed to see Chiaki’s greatest wish done.
What’s more...He could not forget...Not only what Chiaki had done for him, but also what Ibuki, the Ultimate Impostor, Mahiru, Gundham, Nekomaru and everyone else who had fought to the very end to fight the killing game. He would save them. He was almost finished. Almost ready. He knew he was close.
Almost…
Almost…
With a few quick final strokes, before his brain could even fully register that he had finished, he had started the newly completed command for Alter Ego: Bring them back by convincing the comatose students’ brains that they still lived. The goal was to confuse the brain by uploading contradicting information to the victims’ brains - hopefully ‘convincing’ them that they were, in fact, still alive.
This talent was once a curse to Hajime. It had helped cause the suffering of billions of people. Chiaki died right in front of him - yet he did nothing. Never again. He will never stand by and let his friends die ever again. He will save them.
“So...no matter what happens from this point forward, never ever give up. It's a promise!” Those words echoed in his mind as he initiated the program. Ibuki had told him back on the island...The day before she contracted Despair Disease.
Ibuki’s death cut him deep. He still remembered taking her lifeless body down from the noose. It once belonged to a person full of life - nothing more than an empty, lifeless shell. He had shed many tears the night after the class trial. Ibuki had done nothing but try to help lift everyone’s spirits. Perhaps Junko targeted her because of that trait. They had promised to be bandmates for life. It was too soon to back out. Too soon to give up on hope. Too soon to give up on his future with his friend. Too soon fo-
Darkness was enclosing his vision. The abyss of sleep had finally caught up at the worst of possible times. No matter how hard he fought, even he, with all his determination, couldn’t fight his fifty hours without sleep. He thought he heard Kazuichi call out for him. He was falling out of his chair and into the blackness of sleep. Back into the realm of nightmares.
He hated dreaming. Dreaming meant revisiting old memories. Bad memories. Three memories in particular kept flashing through his mind over and over.
He dreamed of Chiaki as she desperately crawled forward, her body rapidly losing blood from multiple pierce wounds. “Once more...I wanted to play games...with you.” She told him before she drew her final breath. Yet he never even moved to save her.
He dreamed of Ibuki’s body hanging lifelessly from the light fixtures in the Titty Typhoon. A body belonging to a person who had tried so hard to help everyone had died such a cruel death. His precious band member was dead before his eyes. If only he were faster...if only he could’ve saved her.
He dreamed of Chiaki’s second death. As Nagito’s scheme was revealed, he watched helplessly as Chiaki was dragged away before he even had the time to thank her. He couldn’t save her...not once, but twice. He was powerless...to do anything.
“It’s your fault.” said a voice behind him. He turned, and his dead classmates were standing there, Ibuki and Chiaki in front.
“You should’ve saved us…” Chiaki said. “You should’ve saved us...Why didn’t you save us?”
“I...I’m sorry!” Hajime choked.
“So weak...you have no right to be Ibuki’s band member.” Said Ibuki.
“It should’ve been you.” Both spoke now. “Why did we die instead of you?”
“No...NO!” Screamed Hajime, feeling something cold tickle his cheeks. He reached a hand up, a desperate attempt at wiping away his tears. “Please! I-”
“Pathetic.” Said Chiaki, looking at the boy with disgust.“ To think we died for a person as pathetic as you.” Hajime couldn’t hold back his fear anymore. He let out a bellowing scream, waking him out of his nightmare and bolting upright straight out of his bed.
His bed? How did he get here…?
“H-Hajime!” Cried out a distressed Kazuichi, standing near his bedside. He must've found Hajime and helped carry him back to his room. Kazuichi was a good friend." Are you okay?!"
Hajime, putting a nervous hand on the back of his head, let out a giggle. "Yeah. Sorry, Kazuichi. Had a nightmare, that's all." Kazuichi let out a sigh. "You nearly gave me a damn heart-attack." He said.
"Was it about...you know?" Hajime nodded slowly. He had told Kazuichi about his nightmares after a similar incident a few days ago. "Hajime. It definitely wasn't your fault. I'm sure nobody would blame you for their deaths, especially not Chiaki."
"I know...I know...but even so, there's this nagging feeling in the back of my head that keeps telling me it's my fault. I was there, Kazuichi. I was right in front of Chiaki as I let her die in front of me. And I still chose to do nothing."
"Hajime, stop! That wasn't you. That was just some talent-obsessed weirdo!" Kazuichi said, crossing his arms. “Sheesh. Alright, look, before you keep going with this, I’ve gotta tell you something.” He said, a serious look in his eyes. “Hajime, you’ve been asleep for two days.”
Hajime’s eyes widened. “Two...days?” He asked, his face growing pale. “Wh-what about...the others? I ran the program, Kazuichi. I told Alter Ego to save them. Did...did it…”
Kazuichi looked away. It looked like he was desperately trying to hide his face. Hajime, eyes widening, stood. He had to confirm for himself. He needed to see with his own eyes. Stumbling out of his bed, he immediately sprinted to the door.
“No...no! I was so sure it would-”
He was suddenly, upon opening the door, slammed with a massive impact to the chest, his vision blurring from the hit. As soon as the impact hit, it was immediately followed by a crushing sensation around his rib cage. And to top it off, a high-pitched female screech echoed from the source of the impact, his ears ringing from the deafening sound.
"Oof! Wh-what the...I can't...breathe?!" He struggled to speak over the energetic squealing and giggling.
Wait. He recognized that voice. His vision focused, and his eyes fixed on a girl with a wild black, blue, and pink hairstyle giving him probably the biggest bear-hug of his life.
"Wait...Ibuki?!"
"Good nom nom nomming, Hajime-chan!" Said Ibuki, loosening her grip, but only slightly. "Ibuki heard you've been working really hard to save her life! Ibuki's pleased to tell you that it worked! Ibuki Mioda is back from the dead! Guess this makes you a necromancer, Hajime-chan!" Her smile widened. Hajime could barely hold back his tears. But once he looked up, such effort proved to be futile.
Standing before him was everyone who had died in the killing game. The Ultimate Impostor, Teruteru, Mahiru, Peko, Hiyoko, Mikan, Nekomaru, Gundham and Nagito all stood before him, flanked by his fellow survivors. All were smiling at him. He had done it. He had saved his friends.
Behind Hajime, Kazuichi was letting out a hearty laugh. "Surprise! Everyone woke up between yesterday and the day before. We figured it'd be a nice surprise for you after you woke up. Though, we kinda didn't realize you'd be asleep for so long!"
Hajime couldn't hold back his joy-filled tears." E-everyone...this isn't a dream, right? You're all actually...here, right?"
"Geez, Hajime! I know it's hard for you, but at least try not to be so dense!" Said Hiyoko, who was noticeably taller than Hajime remembered from the Island Killing Game.
This comment was met by Mahiru giving a light bop to the back of the impish blonde's head. "We're all here, Hajime." said the Ultimate Impostor. "You did it. Well done."
"Who's Ibuki's favorite band member in the world? That's right! It's Hajime Hinata!" Said Ibuki, giving a cheerful grin to her savior. Ibuki was still clinging onto Hajime like her life depended on it. Hajime didn't mind. He met her hug, tears now rolling down his face.
"Everyone...everyone...I'm...I'm sorry I couldn't save you! I let you all down! I should've tried harder! I was so useless! I should've-"
"No, that's wrong!" Exclaimed an enthusiastic Nekomaru. "Hehe. Always wanted to say that."
"Hajime nobody here blames you. Nobody here blames ANYONE for what happened. This was all Monokuma's fault." He continued. "Akane told me about what happened when I died. And SHIT! YOU! WERE! BADASS!"
"Hell yeah, he was! We would never would’ve beat that despair-obsessed bitch without him! And he even managed to get everyone up and walkin' again! This guy's a certified badass!" Said Akane enthusiastically, giving Hajime a thumbs-up.
Ibuki finally released her grip. "Hajime-chan, Ibuki couldn't ask for a better band member. You did what Ibuki could never do.." She held a finger up to his nose, a serious expression crossing her face. "Ibuki doesn't like it when you say lies like that about yourself. You aren't useless. You are Ibuki's precious band member!"
"Everyone…"
Looking up, his gaze was met with warm smiles from his friends. There was no more holding back. He broke down crying, reaching for the nearest person, Ibuki, and hugging her as tightly as she could, an action she instantaneously and eagerly returned, giggling with delight. "Thank you...thank you so much!" Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Looking down, he saw Ibuki chomping her teeth down on him.
“GAAAAAHHHH!!! I-Ibuki stop!”
Ibuki shrugged, giving him a coy smile. “Ibuki couldn’t help but want to take a bite out of you, Hajime-chan! Also, haven’t you been holding Ibuki for too long? Ibuki might think you want something else.”
The remainder of the day was filled with laughter and chatter as everyone mingled. There were apologies, long conversations, and even two love confessions that day. Even Hiyoko, after some stern convincing from Mahiru and Kazuichi (the latter of whom only joined in because somebody else spoke first), told Mikan that the nurse was forgiven. This day marked the death of the remnants of despair and the resurrection of the former class of 77-B.
Chiaki...I hope you're watching us...I hope you know that...We are going to choose our own path from here. Thank you...for everything.