"Do you have any questions for us?" Kirigiri asked as she finished writing one last note on her tablet.
Hinata threw his water bottle towards the trashcan next to his pod, watching as it dropped perfectly down the center of the basket with the rest of its brethren. He tried to think of something to ask, but anything that crossed his mind seemed to be immediately answered for him before the thought could fully form. The voice at the back of his head quietly whispered how they'd been in the simulator for a little over three weeks, how Enoshima Junko was well and truly defeated and had no chance to be revived in his comatose friends, and how if the Future Foundation found out that Naegi and the other survivors of their game were harboring the remaining Remnants of Despair on Jabberwock Island, they would be in serious trouble and undoubtedly tried for treason. All of this he was told, but there was still one question neither he nor the voice in the back of his head could answer.
"What should we do now?" He wasn't sure whether it was him or Kamukura who asked the question, but he realized it didn't matter much.
Kirigiri looked at him with a stoic expression, though her eyes seemed to soften up her cold gaze just a little. "Undoubtedly, the five of you will need to work hard to get your health back up after staying in those pods for so long. We made sure your muscles didn't deteriorate too much during the simulation, and we've provided you with the necessary caloric, vitamin, and mineral intake you needed during that time. Nonetheless, it would be best if you go through some physical therapy during your recovery here."
"I'm sure the gymnast can think up of something for that," he heard himself saying in a monotonous voice.
Dammit, Kamukura, Hinata thought, if you wanted to speak at least give a me heads up first!
If Kirigiri had noticed his sudden shift in behavior, she made no indication to show that it had affected her. Instead, she merely nodded, though Hinata thought he could see something akin to a smile tugging at her lips. "Then I leave their recovery up to you," she said, and Hinata wondered if she meant not just the recovery of the survivors, but also that of those who were still in their pods. A couple seconds of silence passed between them, and Kirigiri said, "If you have no more questions, then I believe we'r done here."
She motioned to Togami and Naegi, and the three of them began gathering up what materials they had brought into the room with them. Before they left, however, Naegi quickly made his way over to Hinata, a friendly smile on his face. "Ah, Kirigiri-san, do you mind if I speak to Hinata-senpai for a bit?"
Kirigiri stared at Naegi for a while, and Hinata saw something pass between them: a thought, an emotion, maybe even a warning. "Go ahead," she finally said, standing up from her seat. "But do be quick about it. We don't want anyone else to notice we've been missing for too long." She nodded at Togami, and the two of them walked out of the room quietly, giving Hinata and Naegi some space.
Naegi bashfully smiled again when he turned towards Hinata. "I don't think Kirigiri-san or Togami-kun would really approve of me telling you this, but since you were the one who ultimately got us all out of there, I think you deserve to know," he began nervously. He took a deep breath. "The thing is, you're the only one who remembers… well, everything. Not only do you still have your memories of your time as Kamukura Izuru, you also retain your memories of the time before then as a Reserve Course Student at the Academy, and even of the time you spent in the simulation. And that's a miracle, honestly."
Hinata already knew where this was going, but he had to confirm for himself what Naegi was hinting at. "So… the others, Kuzuryuu, Sonia, Owari, and Souda, what exactly can they remember, then?"
"They remember… well, they remember everything that happened when they were at the Academy," Naegi began. "They also remember their time as Ultimate Despair, though it seems like all four of them have broken out of the brainwashing Enoshima-san had put them through. However, they'll definitely face a lot of difficulty as they try to adjust back into their daily lives, and they'll need someone to look out for them. And the three of us can't do that, not now, anyways," he said sadly.
Hinata let that knowledge sink in, and he could tell that the other person sharing his body with him was mulling over it as well. When his mouth opened, he let Kamukura do the talking this time. "The three of you seem to be okay with shoving all this responsibility onto us, Naegi Makoto."
Naegi laughed apologetically. "Sorry about that, Hinata-senpai, Kamukura-san. If I had any other options, this would've been different, but…"
"No, it's alright." Hinata smiled at Naegi. "We share the same goal, anyways. I want to help my friends however I can, and… I think Kamukura does, as well."
Naegi sighed, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "That's a relief to hear." He glanced down at his tablet, and said, "There's one thing that does surprise me, however, that I think you guys should know."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the thing is… they all remember you. They don't necessarily remember the time they spent with you in the simulation, but all four of them identified you as Hinata Hajime first, and only acknowledged that you were Kamukura Izuru because of the experiments you went through afterwards."
Hinata blinked, and he felt Kamukura's own feeling of disbelief in the back of his mind as they tried to process that information. None of them should even know who Hinata Hajime was, let alone that he was connected to the Kamukura Project. There was absolutely no reason why they should call him Hinata instead of Kamukura. It just made no sense! Before either of them could come up with a logical explanation as to how this was possible, Naegi was already straightening himself back up, tablet and pen tucked away into his jacket.
Naegi stood back up and, with a friendly smile, he said, "Then can I leave the rest to you?"
Hinata nodded. "We'll do our best," he said. Damn, these Future Foundation people really expect a lot from us, don't they? Naegi seemed to be satisfied with that answer, nodding once back at Hinata before making his way towards the door.
Before he left, however, he gestured towards the back of the room, where a line of mattresses and a box of non-perishable food items were laid out. "We knew you guys probably wouldn't have enough energy for the next couple of days to leave here," he said, "so Kirigiri-san, Togami-kun, and I brought in some beds and food for you. It's not the best, but I hope it can get you guys started on your way to recovery. There's also a toilet and sink on the other side of the wall, though you're going to have to share it between the five of you."
He waved at everyone and said a final good-bye before going through the same exit Kirigiri and Togami had left through, the others echoing their own good-byes back to him as he closed the door behind him.
Hinata threw his water bottle towards the trashcan next to his pod, watching as it dropped perfectly down the center of the basket with the rest of its brethren. He tried to think of something to ask, but anything that crossed his mind seemed to be immediately answered for him before the thought could fully form. The voice at the back of his head quietly whispered how they'd been in the simulator for a little over three weeks, how Enoshima Junko was well and truly defeated and had no chance to be revived in his comatose friends, and how if the Future Foundation found out that Naegi and the other survivors of their game were harboring the remaining Remnants of Despair on Jabberwock Island, they would be in serious trouble and undoubtedly tried for treason. All of this he was told, but there was still one question neither he nor the voice in the back of his head could answer.
"What should we do now?" He wasn't sure whether it was him or Kamukura who asked the question, but he realized it didn't matter much.
Kirigiri looked at him with a stoic expression, though her eyes seemed to soften up her cold gaze just a little. "Undoubtedly, the five of you will need to work hard to get your health back up after staying in those pods for so long. We made sure your muscles didn't deteriorate too much during the simulation, and we've provided you with the necessary caloric, vitamin, and mineral intake you needed during that time. Nonetheless, it would be best if you go through some physical therapy during your recovery here."
"I'm sure the gymnast can think up of something for that," he heard himself saying in a monotonous voice.
Dammit, Kamukura, Hinata thought, if you wanted to speak at least give a me heads up first!
If Kirigiri had noticed his sudden shift in behavior, she made no indication to show that it had affected her. Instead, she merely nodded, though Hinata thought he could see something akin to a smile tugging at her lips. "Then I leave their recovery up to you," she said, and Hinata wondered if she meant not just the recovery of the survivors, but also that of those who were still in their pods. A couple seconds of silence passed between them, and Kirigiri said, "If you have no more questions, then I believe we'r done here."
She motioned to Togami and Naegi, and the three of them began gathering up what materials they had brought into the room with them. Before they left, however, Naegi quickly made his way over to Hinata, a friendly smile on his face. "Ah, Kirigiri-san, do you mind if I speak to Hinata-senpai for a bit?"
Kirigiri stared at Naegi for a while, and Hinata saw something pass between them: a thought, an emotion, maybe even a warning. "Go ahead," she finally said, standing up from her seat. "But do be quick about it. We don't want anyone else to notice we've been missing for too long." She nodded at Togami, and the two of them walked out of the room quietly, giving Hinata and Naegi some space.
Naegi bashfully smiled again when he turned towards Hinata. "I don't think Kirigiri-san or Togami-kun would really approve of me telling you this, but since you were the one who ultimately got us all out of there, I think you deserve to know," he began nervously. He took a deep breath. "The thing is, you're the only one who remembers… well, everything. Not only do you still have your memories of your time as Kamukura Izuru, you also retain your memories of the time before then as a Reserve Course Student at the Academy, and even of the time you spent in the simulation. And that's a miracle, honestly."
Hinata already knew where this was going, but he had to confirm for himself what Naegi was hinting at. "So… the others, Kuzuryuu, Sonia, Owari, and Souda, what exactly can they remember, then?"
"They remember… well, they remember everything that happened when they were at the Academy," Naegi began. "They also remember their time as Ultimate Despair, though it seems like all four of them have broken out of the brainwashing Enoshima-san had put them through. However, they'll definitely face a lot of difficulty as they try to adjust back into their daily lives, and they'll need someone to look out for them. And the three of us can't do that, not now, anyways," he said sadly.
Hinata let that knowledge sink in, and he could tell that the other person sharing his body with him was mulling over it as well. When his mouth opened, he let Kamukura do the talking this time. "The three of you seem to be okay with shoving all this responsibility onto us, Naegi Makoto."
Naegi laughed apologetically. "Sorry about that, Hinata-senpai, Kamukura-san. If I had any other options, this would've been different, but…"
"No, it's alright." Hinata smiled at Naegi. "We share the same goal, anyways. I want to help my friends however I can, and… I think Kamukura does, as well."
Naegi sighed, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "That's a relief to hear." He glanced down at his tablet, and said, "There's one thing that does surprise me, however, that I think you guys should know."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the thing is… they all remember you. They don't necessarily remember the time they spent with you in the simulation, but all four of them identified you as Hinata Hajime first, and only acknowledged that you were Kamukura Izuru because of the experiments you went through afterwards."
Hinata blinked, and he felt Kamukura's own feeling of disbelief in the back of his mind as they tried to process that information. None of them should even know who Hinata Hajime was, let alone that he was connected to the Kamukura Project. There was absolutely no reason why they should call him Hinata instead of Kamukura. It just made no sense! Before either of them could come up with a logical explanation as to how this was possible, Naegi was already straightening himself back up, tablet and pen tucked away into his jacket.
Naegi stood back up and, with a friendly smile, he said, "Then can I leave the rest to you?"
Hinata nodded. "We'll do our best," he said. Damn, these Future Foundation people really expect a lot from us, don't they? Naegi seemed to be satisfied with that answer, nodding once back at Hinata before making his way towards the door.
Before he left, however, he gestured towards the back of the room, where a line of mattresses and a box of non-perishable food items were laid out. "We knew you guys probably wouldn't have enough energy for the next couple of days to leave here," he said, "so Kirigiri-san, Togami-kun, and I brought in some beds and food for you. It's not the best, but I hope it can get you guys started on your way to recovery. There's also a toilet and sink on the other side of the wall, though you're going to have to share it between the five of you."
He waved at everyone and said a final good-bye before going through the same exit Kirigiri and Togami had left through, the others echoing their own good-byes back to him as he closed the door behind him.