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"Did it reboot successfully?" Hajime Hinata asked, sounding more like Izuru than his normal self, but he was tired...so very tired... It had been a few months since the incident at the Future Foundation's headquarters, but that one day had drained them more than just about everything that happened in the Neo World Program.
"I believe so, Hinata-san," Sonia Nevermind responded, reading the display on the screen. A few feet away, Kazuichi Souda was stalking around a lit pod, somewhere in the bowels of Jabberwok Island's central island.
It had taken every talent the possessed by the fusion of Hajime and Izuru Kamukura and every string Makoto Naegi could pull, but here they were. They'd been able to get her body, which had lay forgotten in a hospital in a vegetative state for years now, tended only by some Despairs ordered by Izuru to do so. (At the time, even Izuru himself had had no idea why he was even giving the order in the first place. He'd still been trying to figure out his feelings when Chiaki had caused him to feel something for the first time in his life.) There were flickers of neurological activity, even beyond what was required to keep her breathing, but in the chaos of the Tragedy, Chiaki Nanami's parents had not survived, meaning there wasn't really anyone alive with the legal authority to make decisions about her care, let alone to try and actually help her.
Mikan Tsumiki was checking the various tubes for feeding and hydration, and everything looked normal. Even the formerly-SHSL nurse wasn't sure why Chiaki was able to be alive but unconscious like this. Could hope alone keep a body functioning? "Y-you did everything y-you could a-a-as Kamukura-san, Hinata-san. W-we all owe him i-in a way."
"Kamukura did his part; it's time for me to do mine. Even if her digital counterpart wasn't insisting on helping, I would still do everything in my power." To whom was Hajime even trying to justify himself? To that highly-logical part of his brain that still remained after exiting the Neo World Program? He'd pulled off one miracle, in even waking the others from their comas. Was his luck strong enough for a second miracle? If anything, it argued that his plan might just work after all. Hajime walked to an adjacent pod and sat down in it, putting the helmet on his head. "I wonder what Kamukura thought as he was doing this," mumbled the former Reserve Course student.
"B-bo-both sets of vi-vita-vital signs a-are stable," Mikan reported. Behind her, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu was pacing so much it was a surprise he hadn't worn a path in the floor yet. Peko Pekoyama quietly whispered to him that perhaps he needed fresh air. The former yakuza grunting his agreement, the two left. There was literally less than nothing that the could do to help matters. Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai were already out there sparring to work off their nervous energy. Ryouta Mitarai...who knew where he was? He blamed himself more than anyone else for what had happened to Chiaki. He was getting better about it, but it would probably take years for him to fully and completely forgive himself. No one was surprised he wasn't ready to face Chiaki again.
"AND NOW!" boomed Gundam Tanaka as he lowered the lid on Hajime's pod, "the CHOSEN OFFSPRING OF A HYDRA shall enter the netherworld to bring back the soul of the dead!" Luckily, the helmet prevented Gundam from seeing just how far back into his head Hajime's eyes were rolling. "Lady Hecate!" Gundam bellowed, "Draw the first blood!" Translation: start the program.
"R-right..." Sonia said with a smile and a nervous chuckle. She cared for Gundam, but sometimes his sense of "the right time" still needed work... Hajime had set up everything, so all Sonia had to do was press a key. Mikan had fit another helmet onto Chiaki's head. Finishing this, she took her place behind Sonia to monitor the vitals of the two being thrown into a digital Jabberwok.
"The student observer AI has attached to the simulation process," Sonia read aloud from the screen. It wasn't that she totally understood what that sentence meant, but that sounded right. The AI incarnation of Chiaki had been salvaged by Hajime, (SHSL data forensics, much?) and when she'd learned that her human part's body was still alive, the AI's first response had been to ask if there was any, ANY kind of data processing she could do that might help the human awaken. That had been the beginning of this crazy idea.
A few minutes later, another monitor flashed to life. Hajime was standing there looking as he did the first time he had been in the program, (though this time it was on purpose,) and the AI version of Chiaki looked just as she always had. She smiled warmly and gave a friend-hug to Hajime, "I'm glad to be able to help like this, Hinata-kun! I wasn't able to save anyone in the program, but if I can help now, I don't mind anything that happens to me. It's time to begin...I think..."
The AI joined hands with Hajime. This would be interesting; Hajime had made several changes to her configuration files, since as-written she had no power whatsoever. From where their hands joined, a bright light shone forth. It almost blinded even the people watching via monitor. AI Chiaki herself seemed to fade out of existence, but something was still holding Hajime's hand. One person who was only part of the game, one who was not, to save a third who had never set foot in it. "Okay, I'm linking to her helmet...I think..."
"This is not the time to express uncertainty, Nanami-san!" Sonia cried out at the screen, even though neither Hajime or the AI would hear her. Looking towards where the human Chiaki lay, the lights on her helmet WERE starting to blink more.
"A-all vitals are still within n-normal parameters o-on b-both of them," Mikan provided by way of status update. "Hinata's h-heartbeat is a bit faster, b-but th-that makes s-sense."
Blind and deaf to either world lay the formerly-SHSL Gamer, the one real friend Hajime had the day he chose to become Izuru Kamukura. Junko had staged her "execution" to bring her entire class into despair, but Junko had also allowed the SHSL EMT access to her dying body. It was supposed to break Izuru's spirit. So much for that! Chiaki's spirit, on the other hand... It was not that Chiaki had fallen into despair, but the only person there as she had taken what she thought would be her last breath didn't even recognize her, even though she knew his face and voice so very well and had cherished the time spent with Hajime as her most treasured, precious memories.
What flicker of Chiaki's "self," her will, whatever it was that remained, had no sense of what time had passed, having remained in a state beyond even hibernation. Huh? Was that...a voice? Who was saying, "Wake up, Nanami-san," and how? Chiaki's mind's eye figuratively squinted and it was like waking up in a dream. Standing before her was...herself??? What in the world?! "There you are," a gentle voice greeted her. Was that really what she sounded like?
"Wh-what's going on here? Where am I?" the human self asked, a bit frightened.
"I guess...you're halfway between the game and the couch, in a way? I thought you were really gone...maybe... I'm so glad that I was able to find you in here! Hinata-kun and the others will be so happy!" Chiaki's AI mirror smiled, clearly pleased with how things were working out so far.
"I don't lie, even to myself...I think... Hinata-kun is...gone..." Chiaki winced as she allowed herself to acknowledge that. "It's Kamukura-kun now, right?"
"...That's a really, really, really long story..." the AI laughed nervously with a blush. "Hinata-kun is in the game. Do...you want to see him? That might help us learn if you can wake up in the real world...I think...?"
"But how!? I want to see the real Hinata-kun and play games with him again! A fake NPC is worse than anything!" Chiaki protested.
"...You have to let me help you...I think..." the AI answered. This was the uncertain part. A bit louder, she said, "Hinata-kun, can the Program construct another Chiaki avatar yet?" She frowned at what appeared to be a negative reply. The hand that Hajime was still holding looked like a bright light to Chiaki, and it was Hajime's link to more NWP data than he could've gotten standing outside with the others.
Holding out her other hand to the real Chiaki, she asked, "Please...come back to us..." Chiaki swallowed, nodded, and took her digital self's offered hand. The AI asked Hajime again, "Now?" Chiaki's "self" was still too weak. "I might...have to take a more direct approach..." The AI's eyes fluttered closed briefly. Apparently, Hajime was protesting. At least, that was Chiaki's guess. "I'm aware it might cost me...everything... But this is the real Chiaki; I'm just one created from memories from you and the rest of 77B. If I have to give up my artificial existence to bring about her real one...that's as it should be...I think... I want her to be as much a part of the future you all create as she can be."
"Wh-what's going on? Nanami-san's h-helmet is lighting up l-like an airport runway!" Tsumiki reported. "N-n-n-neurological activity is s-spiking!"
"The system's power use is also increasing dramatically!" Sonia noted as the lights started to flicker. "If the power blows, we do not know what will happen to Hinata or to either Nanami!"
The AI was running every which way through Chiaki's brain, sparking activity once more. "WAKE UP!!!" it called out as it ran through every memory, every sensation, every thought, ever piece of the cortex. The AI knew she had a heart, because when she ran through Chiaki's memories of Hajime disappearing, her own heart broke right along with Chiaki's. In addition, wherever she could find spare places in Chiaki's memory, the AI left her own memories, of the game, of the Neo World Program, of everything that had happened to Chiaki's classmates. The AI felt that Chiaki deserved to know what had happened, what the others had been through. It also filled in the gaps of what Chiaki had missed since her failed execution.
The helmet lights died down as the AI solidified once more. "NOW, Hinata-kun?" Her face lit up like Christmas, "Nanami-san, do you want to see him now or go straight to trying to wake up in the real world?"
"...I've always wanted to be in a game...I think..." Chiaki's face lit up in return. The AI judged that this might be for the best, before Chiaki saw everyone's drastically-altered appearances in the real world. "Hinata-kun..." The AI knew Hajime would know what to do. A bright light flashed and Chiaki found herself...on a beach? She supposed that was a standard enough setting for some games. As her avatar's eyes adjusted to the sun, she realized her clone had not been lying or confused. "HINATA-KUN!!!!" she cried out, breaking out into a full run towards him. Her avatar was in her old high school uniform, and running at a speed that would have put to shame the SHSL track star! Reaching Hajime, she threw her arms around him. "You're back! You're back!!!!!! Thank goodness! I missed you so much!!!" Tears were openly flowing down her face.
"N-Nanami-san's pulse is going far too quickly! Something's wrong!" Mikan was starting to freak out until the Impostor, undisguised at the moment, put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pointed to the monitor on which the fake Jabberwok was displayed. "Oh...th-that would do it..."
Hajime didn't say a word, at first, and just wrapped his arms around Chiaki, a few tears of his own falling down. Whatever pride he may have had before about crying, he'd been through enough hell by now that he didn't even care anymore. He'd "lost" her twice already and held her as tightly as could be expected when he was determined never to lose her again! When he spoke, his voice was quiet. The AI by her nature knew what he was saying, but otherwise his words were just for Chiaki. "I'm...sorry...I'm so...sorry...for everything... Thank goodness Kamukura was able to stop you from dying from my stupidity. Please...forgive me...Nanami-san. I'll never abandon you again, promise."
"I'm not mad at you Hinata-kun. I never was. I...died, at least I thought I did, just wanting to play video games again with you." Chiaki replied just as quietly. Pulling away just a bit, keeping one arm around Hajime and wiping her eyes with the other, she asked, "Since we're in a game...can we do something game-like?!?!?!?!"
There was that excited smile Hajime had missed so much! He laughed awkwardly as he nodded, "Y-yeah...I apparently still have my Monocoins somehow? Or we could go swimming, surfing, something..."
The AI stood off to the side, smiling softly. They weren't Monocoins, darnit! They were Usami tokens! She had her hands in the system enough to do some of what Usami could have done.
"But...I don't have a swimsuit...I think..." The words were barely out of Chiaki's mouth when a one-piece suit and trunks materialized right between Chiaki and Hajime. The latter looked to where the AI Chaiki was standing and she just grinned, tilting her head to the side. Was...it his imagination...or was she getting fainter? He made a mental note to ask her later if she was okay. "...Or I do, I guess. Video games like to give you loot like this at the last second before it does you any good...usually..." A few feet away, twin changing tents spawned. Now the AI was just being a bit silly.
The pair swam until it grew dark. Was time even flowing in Jabberwok like it did in the real world? Who knew? The AI Chiaki wanted them to have a day of peace before Chiaki had to deal with the state the world was in. Being as alike as they were, the AI knew that Chiaki would refuse any fate besides shouldering the burdens of hope and despair with her classmates.
As Chiaki and Hajime exited the water, a bonfire appeared, both for light and heat. "When...do you want to go back?" Hajime asked, an arm around Chiaki as he watched the flames dance. Naturally, they were being controlled by computer code, so an RNG, (random number generator.) Spotting regularities in irregularities just proved he'd fused with Izuru, but whereas Izuru would have quickly grown bored, Hajime could've just stayed there forever. It was tempting.
"...Are we sure I can? What...what state is my body in?" Chiaki asked, not bothering to hide the trepidation in her voice.
"Tsumiki-san is monitoring us both in the real world, and she's been making sure your feeding tubs and such are working ever since we...uh...got custody of you, I guess? How much were you told about what happened after Junko nearly killed you?"
"...I...she showed me everything...I think...everything that she could. I feel like...she left a part of herself in my memory, so I would never forget what transpired here the first time...maybe..." Chiaki was admittedly putting off on processing everything for now. Her head still felt a bit foggy, though the pieces had begun to reassemble herself while she swam.
"A part of herself...? That might explain why..." Hajime started before taking Chiaki's hand and looking by the light of the fire and moon for Chiaki's AI self. She had faded to almost nothing! Pulling Chiaki with him, he ran to the fading AI. "What's happening to you?"
"...I...I'm not very sure myself...I think... It might be..." the AI mused, "it might be...that...since I was created from your memories, once I gave those memories to the real Chiaki Nanami...there's...less to me now? I couldn't just make a copy...I think...I have to give her everything...or nothing... If I give her nothing...she'll never wake up, beyond this program...probably... Her brain needs the jump-start with synapses and stuff...that's all...I hope..."
"Why?! Why does it have to be like this? We can still use your help so much!" Hajime protested. Beside him, Chiaki looked equal parts confused and upset.
"It's okay, Hinata-kun. When this program shut down the first time, I meant what I said: even if you forgot me entirely, as long as you all work towards the future you help create, I have no regrets! You've already began to do so...I think..." With that, what was left of the AI wrapped her arms around Chiaki in a final embrace. "If I have to choose between everything and nothing, I'll choose everything, every time...I think..." The two avatars seemed to fuse, visually, and Hajime and Chiaki were left alone on the beach, silent except for the sounds of waves and a crackling fire.
Both were surprised to find their faces wet again. "Guess I have big shoes to fill on supporting you guys, huh?" Chiaki commented, trying to sound casual, if not optimistic.
"You've both fought and given everything you could for hope, for us... We'll never forget that." Hajime replied as he wiped his eyes out again. Holding Chiaki's hand and walking over to the camera, he tapped its lense. "Hey, Nevermind-san! Let us out!"
"Right away!" Sonia said in reply, even though it made no difference. Her fingers furiously worked the keyboard, typing in exactly the instructions Hajime had written down ahead of time. "Souda-san, please watch the screen to make sure that I do not make a typographical error!" Souda nodded and did as requested.
"I'll go round up the others," the Impostor called over his shoulder, giving a quick wave before heading outside.
Hajime felt a bit awkward watching a digital world shut down around him for the second time. It would be the same procedure to return Chiaki's avatar to her body as it was for him, hopefully. He'd find out in a few minutes, wouldn't he?
"The burdens of hope and despair...that's what she said to me at the end...I think..." Chiaki took both of Hajime's fading hands into her own. "I'll carry it with you for the rest of my days. We're friends, aren't we? Friends and classmates! I want to see the future we all create together!"
"Can we carry the weight?" Hajime whispered aloud.
In the real world, they awoke. Chiaki looked to Hajime's pod, beaming widely and nodded in reply. "We can. Full weight."