I know this topic has probably been done before, but I wanted to have a go writing it myself. Having recently played the game myself, I've tried to keep the characters as, well, in-character as possible. This means lots of pauses, exclamations, dialogue heavy lines, Hajime giving annoyingly short responses (seriously, outside trials he barely talks?), and as much as it hurt, no sassy Hajime or anything overly romantic. Probably. Maybe. Anyway, enjoy!
Hajime Hinata felt strange. There was no other word for it. He had awoken at the Monokuma announcement that morning, gone to the restaurant for breakfast and returned to his cottage. He had gone for a walk, and chatted with Komaeda and Gundam. Absolutely nothing of importance had happened at all. And yet the feeling lingered.
I'm probably just being paranoid.
After all, they were supposedly stuck in a Killing game. Perhaps it wasn't so much that something had happened, than it was nothing at all had happened, that caused his stomach to roil in unrest. Really, what made him feel so sick was
Monokuma has been too quiet.
The thought popped into his brain uninvited. He tried to dismiss it, but couldn't. It was true. The group hadn't seen much of Monokuma at all since the reveal of the last motive. It had been in the form of an arcade machine, and although he still wasn't sure exactly what happened, he knew that it had caused tensions between Kuzuryuu and the rest of the group.
Particularly Mahiru. I noted. He never stopped glaring at her, and she had started sticking close to Akane and the rest of the boys as much as possible. But that didn't mean he had killed anyone. Just made things awkward.
Maybe Monokuma's sulking? After all, it's been two weeks and not even a single person has killed anyone…
His train of thought was interrupted by the evening Monokuma announcement. Yawning, he crawled into bed.
I'm just overthinking things….
Hajime woke with a start. Glancing at his window, soft morning sunlight filtered through, much too early for 7:00am.
Huh, I must've woken early…I don't think I'll bother getting up so early. It's not like there's anything to do…
And not paying any attention to the reason he awoke in the first place, Hajime Hinata went back to sleep.
*Ding Dong Bing Bong* Goooood morning everyone! It's another tropical day in paradise!
As the alarm droned in the background Hajime came to, his mind fuzzy.
Another day, huh? Wonder if that crazy bear'll try to interfere again…
Hajime went to sit up, and found that to be very difficult.
What?
Opening his eyes, he rolled to his side, propping himself up on his arms. He felt something thick and soft around his neck and stopped in confusion.
A scarf? Why would I…?
And then the world stopped when he looked down at his hands. Or, apparently, paws.
"W-What is this?!"
Frozen in shock, it took several second before he tried to leap up, only to become tangled in the sheets, and fall to the ground.
"Oof!"
Legs splayed in all directions, one very confused and now very furry Hajime Hajime lay flat on the floor of his cottage. After several minutes of figuring out how to walk, he moved himself to the bathroom. Hopping up on his hind legs, he was able to look himself in the mirror. Thick, unruly brown-grey fur spilled from the top of his head around his neck like a lion's mane, ending in front of his shoulders. His muzzle and body were of a light stone grey and the fur lay short and flat, except for his short, sharp ears and fluffy tail, where it became thicker. His eyes, he noted, remained the same green colour, and unfortunately, he noticed with some remorse, his ahoge remained present.
I-I'm a dog?! No, I mean I'm pretty big and I've got a mane so I'm probably a wolf, Gundam said something about that yesterday and-
WHY AM I A WOLF?
Hajime sat there for another few minutes in disbelief before trying to settle on a course of action.
"Has this happened- to everyone?"
If it had, he mused, then everyone was in trouble. If it hadn't well… It was going to be trouble for just him. If they believed him when he claimed who he was, anyway.
Waiting around isn't going to solve anything, I suppose.
Making his way to a door, Hajime encountered his first problem. The doorknob was round. Looking around the room, his eyes alighted on the window beside it. Lifting the shutter, he raised it as high as possible, before wriggling his way out.
Once outside, he fell yet again in a rather unagile manner. Dragging himself upright, Hajime looked around and with a sinking feeling found the area deserted. Deciding there was no point in hiding his condition, he headed to the restaurant with cautious, measured steps, and tried his best not to fall over. It was then Hajime encountered his second problem. Stairs. Glaring at them with open hostility, he decided to try the small stairs in front of the foyer first, before attempting to go up into the restaurant. Carefully making his way up, he pushed open the doors to the foyer with his shoulder and stepped inside. Waiting inside, however, he was met with a strange sight. On the left sat a very large cat with golden fur. It was…chubby to say the least. It had no mane, and looked perhaps like a mountain lion. Despite its chubbiness, it sat next to the counter with an air that oozed narcissism and wealth. A small pair of glasses lay perched on its nose.
Could that be… Byakuya?
On the right sat a small lavender cat perched atop a tabletop video game machine. It wore a grey and pink jacket, with a hood with pointed ears. It was very familiar. The cat was engrossed in the video game, batting the joystick left and right and tapping buttons.
How does that even work? A cat playing video games… now I've seen it all.
But wait, that jacket was very familiar, and video games? It couldn't be…
"Chiaki?" Hajime felt the question slip before he could stop himself. At this, the golden puma noticed him for the first time. The little lavender cat didn't budge at all.
"And who might you be? No, wait, don't answer that. You're that boy Hajime Hinata, are you not? At least your hairstyle is iconic. Else you commoners all look the same. Anyway, you're late. Explain yourself."
That's…definitely Byakuya.
"Errr… you're Byakuya, right? I was kind of distracted." Hajime admitted.
"Distracted, hmm? I hope it was important, because the others were here hours ago!"
"H-Hours?"
"Yes. Now what were you doing during that time?"
"I was sleeping…"
"Sleeping?! Were you not woken early this morning by this weird transformation?!"
Now that I think about it… Was that why I woke up? I just figured I had had a dream or something and went back to sleep but if this is why…
"I must've slept through it."
"Slept through it? I see." At this, the puma…Byakuya huffed. "Well you're here now at least. At least you managed to escape your cottage on your own. We had to break some of the other's out."
"Break them out? Wait, then why didn't someone wake me up?"
Byakuya gazed at me like I was a simpleton. "Tell me, Hajime, how would you have reacted if a specimen such as myself was staring through your window, or even breaking it? Would you have remained calm?"
"I-I suppose not…"
"Now then, everyone else should be waiting upstairs. I suggest you go meet them."
"What about you Byakuya? Aren't you coming too?"
"M-Me?! I'll be along shortly. No need to wait for me."
Hajime was taken aback by the cat's rushed response, and froze in confusion for a moment, until the answer drifted into his mind.
Is he…having trouble with the stairs?
Hajime decided to leaving sleeping dogs lie and padded over to where Chiaki was playing what looked to be an old version of space invaders. It wasn't until Hajime stood directly behind her though, that he realised how small she was. Hajime had stood at a similar height to Byakuya, but found the small purple cat maybe half the size of his head. Did that mean she was very small? Or that he was very big?
Chiaki's ship was hit by a missile and exploded into hundreds of tiny pixels, and a flashing red 'Game Over' screen filled the game space. Hajime jumped at the chance.
"Chiaki? Hey, Chiaki!"
Slowly, the cat twisted until it was looking behind and up into Hajime's face. It froze for several seconds, blinking slowly three times.
"Ah. Hajime." Chiaki smiled. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
In the last two weeks or so since coming to the island, Hajime had slowly learnt about his strange and eccentric classmates, even becoming somewhat friends with a few of them. In this case, Chiaki, with her strange sleeping patterns and delayed response time, was one of them.
"Hey, do you know what's going on? I just kind of…woke up like this. Is everyone like this?"
"Mm," Chiaki confirmed. "Everyone seems to have been turned into some kind of animal. I don't really understand the reasoning behind some of the transformations, but everyone seems to have undergone one."
"I see." Hajime muttered.
I wonder why she still has her jacket? It's probably Monokuma's weird reasoning. Wait, it was Monokuma, right?
"Do you think Monokuma did this?" Hajime asked seriously.
"Yeah, I think so. He took responsibility for it early this morning."
Hajime knew there wasn't much else to ask and glanced at the stairs. They did not look fun to climb…
"So everyone is waiting upstairs?" he asked, stalling for time.
"Yeah, everyone should be back now. They went out looking for a couple of people who were missing."
"Missing?" Hajime echoed dumbly.
"Tsumiki and Gundam were both missing. I'm sure they're back now, since I heard everyone else come back."
You actually hear things while playing video games? That's a first. Hajime had the comment on the tip of is tongue but he kept quiet. No point antagonising people for no reason.
"Well I'm going upstairs then. Are you coming Chiaki? Byakyua said he'd catch up."
Chiaki stared at him for a moment, humming, her lithe lavender tails flicking from side to side.
"…Alright." And with that, she sprung on top of his head.
"H-Hey! Chiaki! What are you-!"
"Oh, sorry Hajime. Did I scare you?" Chiaki yawned. "I'm not very good with stairs, and it looked so fluffy up here, I decided to come along this way. That's okay? Right?"
If nobody is good with stairs, why are we meeting in one of the few second storey buildings on the island?
"Y-Yeah, just give me more notice next time…"
Gentle snoring came from above.
Did she fall asleep on my head?! How though? And how is she always so calm? Maybe she needs to see a doctor. Or sleep more…
Hoping that Chiaki was holding on despite her napping, Hajime approached the stairs. He found that he needed two empty stairs between his front foot and his farthest hind foot. Slowly step by wobbly step, he travelled upwards. After what felt like an eternity, (but was really only about 25 steps) he reached the top, blinking in the bright light.
"KYAAAAA! IT'S A MONSTER, COME TO EAT US ALL!" a girly voice screamed.
"AHHHHHH!" another voice, a male one joined in.
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" the voice of a third, angry boy chimed it.
Blinking in the light, Hajime was able to see who the screaming speakers were. The first was a small fluffy spaniel, one with long black fur and a white muzzle. White purple and blue streaks were woven throughout her fur, and several piercing remained on her muzzle.
That voice, those colours, that level of volume… That's Ibuki.
The second speaker was… a ferret? Or maybe a badger? Hajime didn't know, but it was hot pink and wore a beanie, so it wasn't hard to guess who it was. Of course it was Kazuichi. It was then that he realised the others were still talking.
"Could it be? The Seventh Circle of Hell has sent the Black Dog of Death to retrieve me? Mwhahaha, fool! You efforts shall be in vain for I, the Overlord of Ice and Darkness shall not fall at the hands of such a weak familiar. Hear me, for I am GUNDAM TANAKA, and as soon as I regain my form, I shall defeat thee, demon!"
That…sounds like Gundam. But where is he?
"Black dog? I have heard of that legend! Has he truly come to reap our souls and take us to hell?" A pale gold fox, about the size of a German Shepard, spoke these words, her fur shimmering and long. She sat, sphinx-like, her blue eyes meeting mine, wide but unwavering.
Maybe, that could be Sonia?
It was then that Hajime noticed a small ball of black fur nestled between Sonia's paws. It was a hamster. But…it didn't look like any of the Dark Devas. In fact, with a white streak and a tiny purple scarf it looked like…
"Gundam?!" Hajime yelped in disbelief.
"The fiend speaks!" The hamster looked shocked, bristling.
"I SAID SHUT UP. Idiots." Off to the said sat a tiger, his fur a deep gold with deep black stripes twisting in complex patterns. A small black tuft of fur sat between his ears. He wasn't that big maybe the size of Sonia, but the menacing aura that radiated off him was unmistakable.
I see. That'd be Fuyuhiko.
Behind him sat another fox (why were there so many foxes? There were like four in one room?), this one larger than him and a deep silver colour. Red eyes and a sword bag slung across her back, she watched silently.
And of course, there's Peko. But why does she need her sword? She can't use it…
A small whimper came from his left, and a small purple rabbit with white ears sat curled in a ball shaking.
"Please don't hurt me…"
A tiny mustard coloured fox jumped out of nowhere, landing on the poor creature.
"Shut up, you Easter reject!"
Mikan and Saionji, I think.
"IMPRESSIVE BUILD THERE. BUT YOU'RE SLOUCHING. PUSH THOSE SHOULDERS BACK. CHEST OUT. WALK WITH PRIDDDDEEEEE!"
"Oo-hoo, I agree with you there, he does have a rather nice build indeed~"
Hajime automatically straightened in surprise, before turning to the first speaker, and had to remind himself to keep his mouth closed. A massive blue and black lion covered with chains was chuckling in a deep voice.
That's Nekomaru for sure. He's huge! I mean he was bigger than me before, but size doesn't seem to translate proportionally, at least if you look at Gundam.
The pig sitting next to the lion had a red scarf and a creepy look in his eye. It sounded like the second, somewhat sexual comment had come from that direction. Hajime decided on his ideity rather quickly.
And there's Teruteru. Of course.
Who's left? Hajime wondered, looking around.
Akane, Mahiru and-
"Ah, Hajime. Glad you could make it." A voice to his right prompted him to turn quickly, almost making him spill the tiny lavender cat sleeping on his head.
"Nagito!"
"Ah, did I scare you? Sorry about that, I suppose someone like me can be easy to miss in such an interesting crowd."
Nagito had started out as one of the few people who had approached Hajime off the bat. They were still friends but sometimes, Nagito's way of speaking and self-depreciation could…get kind of creepy.
"I was just looking for you actually. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now though." Hajime admitted.
"Ah, you don't have to lie to me, Hajime. No way someone like you was looking for me. But I appreciate the thought."
Nagito was the last of the foxes in the room. He was larger than any of the others, and in fact stood at an almost identical height to Hajime. His fur was white and mimicked his normal hair in the slightly off-colour ends and long unruliness. He was fluffy enough that he looked right, proportionally, but Hajime had the feeling he was skinnier than he should have been. Unlike many of the other creatures in the room, he had no accessories.
"And, uh, Hajime, quick question but…is that Chiaki on your head?"
Hajime felt his face heat in embarrassment and hoped his new fur was at least useful for hiding it.
"Yeah, I met her downstairs playing videogames. I asked her if she wanted to come upstairs with me, and she accepted, but then she…well.."
"She jumped on her head, huh?" Nagito let out his trademark chuckle. "Ultimates sure are eccentric, huh?"
"Y-Yeah," Hajime agreed.
"Wait, that's you, Hajime? What are you doing, being so late? As I thought, you're so unreliable."
A small red cat began winding her way through the crowd, and sat haughtily a few meters in front of him.
"You're supposed to be setting a good example! We met up hours ago. Geez, what were you doing anyway?"
"I was sleeping," Hajime replied lamely. It sounded weak even to his own ears.
Hang on, why am I in trouble? I was just doing exactly what I was supposed to! And this cat…definitely familiar. I'm going to say this is Mahiru.
"Mfffhfhf! Hey, Hajime! If you don't hurry up, all the grub'll be gone!" A medium, well built brown dog with a small mane of fur and big eyes sat on a chair, inhaling a pile of what looked like bacon. The smell wafted over and Hajime felt his mouth water.
I'll grab breakfast in a bit. By the way that dog is inhaling food, and process of elimination…That's definitely Akane.
Despite Fuyuhiko's best efforts, conversation exploded in the room, everyone wanting to talk to him at once. Nagito planted himself next to Hajime, at a distance he felt was maybe a bit too close. Or maybe that's just because fur makes it feel like you're closer…
Eventually, after conversation quieted down, Hajime was able to finally make his way to the breakfast table. He then realised that, with no hands, he was going to have to just take bites off the plate. After pretty much inhaling some bacon (apparently he couldn't chew very well either), he decided that, with Byakuya downstairs, holding meetings in the restaurant was both stupid and annoying. After some conversation with the rest of the Ultimates, they agreed to the move the meeting spot to the old hotel next door. After the rest of the group haphazardly made their way downstairs, Hajime was left upstairs with Chiaki and Nagito. Instead of heading outside straight away, Hajime decided to make his way to the foyer, to tell Byakuya the good news. Except Chiaki was still asleep on his head and frankly, it was getting kind of annoying.
"Hey Nagito, can you do me a favour?"
"Hmm, a favour? Of course!" Nagito responded brightly. Normally, he would raise and hand and smile, but as a fox, he had no hands. And so Hajime found himself staring at a white fox tilting its head and almost kinda squinting. It was actually kind of cute. Definitely too cute for someone like Nagito. Though he supposed it was going to be like that for everyone now.
"Could you please wake Chiaki up? I don't want her to slide off when I'm going down the stairs. I haven't actually done this before.
"Oh? That's right, you just woke up, didn't you Hajime? You haven't had any time to practice yet. Well that's fine. If you could just lower your head a little…"
"Lower my head…?"
"So I can nudge her, of course! I'm not going to yell at her, Hajime. That'd be mean."
"No, well, look, fine." Hajime decided not to try and convince Nagito that he wasn't planning on doing that at all, and lowered his head. Nagito stepped forward, his chest pushed against Hajime's shoulder as he leaned forward. Suddenly, he made a sound of surprise and started chuckling.
"Huh? Nagito, what is it?"
"N-Nothing. Chiaki has just fallen asleep in a rather strange position. It's kind of cute actually."
"Cute?"
"Anyway, give me a moment."
Nagito leaned forward just a little farther (Was he doing that on purpose?) and nudged Chiaki with his nose. A couple more pokes and she yawned and shifted.
"Mhmf? What's…going…on?" she mumbled.
"Sorry to disturb you," Nagito laughed. "But I think Hajime wants you to move."
"Move? Hajime?" the cat yawned. "Oh. Right. Sorry Hajime." She stretched and Hajime winced as small sharp claws pricked his forward, before she leapt forward onto the ground.
"Huh? Where's everyone gone?" she asked slowly.
"We're meeting up at the old hotel," Nagito told her.
"I'm going downstairs to tell Byakuya first, though," I added.
"I see," said Chaiki, smiling. "Then I'll meet you at the hotel." With this she turned and strolled out the door.
Trouble with stairs my ass…
Having his own problems with stairs, Hajime eyed the stairwell uncomfortably, before taking a breath and making his own attempt. Nagito claimed he would be too slow if he went first, and asked to go second, to Hajime's annoyance. Having made his way down the step, Hajime stepped off the last step. He was clear. Or at least he thought he was. Farther up the stairwell came a yelp and a white shape came flying down, tackling Hajime to the ground.
Owww…What the hell?! Nagito?!
"Sorry, Hajime. I tripped on a stair on my way down. Bad luck on my part."
"That's great and all, but you're still lying on me…"
Hajime was flat against the ground on his stomach, while Nagito had landed across him. The slim fox looked surprised, if not a little amused for a moment, before sliding off.
"On the bright side, your fur's really soft, Hajime! Who knows, I might've been seriously hurt if I hadn't had such a soft landing."
"Just…be more careful okay?" Hajime groaned as he pulled himself off the floor.
"Have you two quite finished your comedy act?" A clipped voice droned.
Byakuya sat in a similar spot as before, not having made any attempt to climb the stairs. He looked unamused, if slightly flustered for some reason.
Maybe we surprised him?
"We actually came down here to tell you something, Byakuya." Nagito said smoothly. "We've changed the meeting place to the old hotel next door. Everyone was tired of climbing all the stairs."
Way to take the spotlight.
"I see." Byakuya huffed. "Well then, I shall be on my way." His tailed moved lazily side to side as he exited the foyer.
Not even a thank you.
"That's so Byakuya." Hajime sighed.
"Well, we better make our own way over, Hajime. Else you'll get scolded for being late again."
"But I wasn't-" Hajime protested. Slowly, the two walked side by side out of the foyer after Byakuya, and made their way to the hotel.
What do we do now? Hajime wondered.