Hinata was giggling. It was choked and shallow, sending shivers racing down Komaeda's spine. This… this wasn't right. This wasn't the Hinata he knew. The one he admired, the real Hinata, was the kind boy with the serious eyes. The one who took point in class trials with confidence and logic, and whose sudden and unexpectedly warm smiles never failed to make his heart to skip a beat. No, this wasn't his Hinata hanging off his arm, eyes glazed, and skin slicked with sweat. The Despair Disease, huh? A strange motive, but one that he had no doubts the Ultimates would overcome with ease. He hoped it would be soon. This Hinata was weird and made him uncomfortable.

It was really was bad luck he had to take care of him…

-48 hours earlier-

Hinata woke up with a start, the soft sunlight of dawn filtering through his drawn curtains.

Cold…It's so cold…

Bolting upright, he scrabbled at the blanket and covers tossed off the end of the bed. In the summer heat, he'd discarded them almost immediately when he'd arrived, but now he reached for them, encasing himself tightly. Curled up in his cocoon, he shivered, his eyes drifting closed. Again he dozed off, spending almost an hour tossing and turning. After some time, he threw the acquired covers off violently, panting, sweat beading on his forehead.

Was it morning already? Had the announcement gone off? Maybe I ate something funky at the party last night. Thoughts tumbled erratically through his mind as he crawled out of bed.

Looking to the sky outside, he noticed the sun had risen.

I'm going to be late, he thought, and stumbled his way to the shower. Now shivering, he turned the shower to hot and dreamily watched the steam rise and fog up the mirror. After stepping out and changing, he stumbled his way to the mirror, observing his reflection in the clearing bathroom. His eyes had dark bags and a pink flush stood out from pale and clammy skin. Even that one strand of hair that always refused to settle seemed to droop. Hinata brushed it down, only for it to pop up. He tried the opposite, brushing it upright; it didn't do much either, besides mussing up the hair around it. He looked like an idiot. Already stuck with naturally unruly hair, now he looked like he had an angry hedgehog on his head. Glaring at his reflection, Hinata realised something very important.

It was hilarious.

He began to laugh. He looked so stupid, and he couldn't stop imagining a hedgehog riding around on his head. What would other people look like with hedgehogs in their heads? he wondered. Would anyone put hedgehogs on their heads? Would Tanaka? Would he have hedgehogs here? Speaking of weird hair, he wondered if anyone had told Komaeda how his hair looks like clouds. Or maybe cotton candy? Oooh, did the Rocketmarket stock that? Maybe he should get some? Maybe Hiyoko would have some? She liked sweet stuff!

Caught in his daze like state of whirling thoughts, he stepped back from the mirror, bad hair day forgotten, and stumbled his way outside. Looking around, he realised there was no one in sight. Disappointment weighing on his stomach, he felt it rumble, and he frowned.

"Hungry…" he mumbled, turning and making his way to the restaurant. The stairs felt like they took and eternity to climb, and the handrail felt slippery to grip. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, a rational portion of Hinata remained, telling him that something was very wrong, that his thoughts weren't right, he wasn't right. He ignored it, pushing open the door and blinking around the room. The clock on the wall said the time was 6:15am, but there was a surprising amount of people in the restaurant. Hinata spotted Mikan fussing over what looked like a depressed Nekomaru. Komaeda sat in his usual corner. Akane stood up against the wall, a worried look plastered across her face as she watched the nurse. Souda sat with a plate of scrambled eggs on the opposite side of the room, and Gundham sat nearby eating some sort of fried vegetable.

Who did he want to talk to? Not Komaeda, he was still angry at him for the last couple of trials. Komaeda was nothing but a two-faced bully, not doubt about it! Nekomaru and Mikan caught his eye, and his curiosity drove him, edging forward, step by step.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"Eeeeehhyyyaaaaaa!" Mikan screamed, whirling in surprise. "H-Hinata ! I d-didn't see you there! I'm so-sorry for screaming. You shouldn't have to listen to something like that so early in the morning. I'm sorry for being so useless!" she cried.

"Wow! You're really loud Mikan!" Hinata laughed. "You shouldn't cry so much though, I'm not angry at all!"

"S-so, you forgive me?" she sniffled.

"Of course!" Hinata grinned, a small chuckle making its way up his throat. "Hey, so what's happening? Why're so many people here? I came here because I was outside looking for Hiyoko, because I thought she might have some cotton candy, but I didn't see her, and then I was hungry, but then I had to climb all the stairs, and now I'm tired so I'm thinking I might take a nap. What do you think, Mikan?"

"I, uh, what?" she asked, clearly confused. But Hinata was already staring at Nekomaru, frowning.

"Oi, Nekomaru, what's wrong with you? You look all depressed and stuff. Ooooooo, wait, no way, did Akane actually beat you?" he chattered away.

"Wrong…" Nekomaru whispered. Even Hinata paused at that; Nekomaru whispered. But then he brushed it off.

"Speak louder," Hinata complained.

"H-Hinata-," Mikan looked shocked.

"Useless. Everything is useless. I'm useless. You're useless. Life is pointless," the coach rumbled. He placed his head in his hands. "There's no point in anything. Why even try to be the best? Someone will eventually come along and break every record you've ever set. If you're even able to set any, that is."

"So that's what you're sad about?" Hinata asked.

"Indeed," Nekomaru confirmed.

Hinata frowned for a few seconds, eyes closed and finger tapping against his face pensively. Suddenly, he looked up, a twinkle as he came to a conclusion.

"You should have some kusomochi!" he said. "Eating it always makes me feel better!" He grinned broadly.

From the side, Mikan observed as Hinata giggled and gestured wildly, talking about the delights of kusomochi, a blush settled on his cheeks. Or maybe not blushing, the nurse realised. She'd been so caught up with checking Nekomaru and dealing with Hinata 's arrival, she hadn't thought that other people might have this same mysterious sickness that was making the coach so depressed.

"Hinata," she ordered, suddenly sounding serious. "Let me feel your forehead."

"Huh?" he sounded unsure, his eyes blinking lazily, but eventually shrugged, standing still. Mikan quickly darted forward and stood on her toes, testing his temperature through touch. She all but gasped at the heat of the fever, and getting closer, she could also see the strange glazed look that Nekomaru had been brought in with. Suddenly, she found herself in the air as Hinata grabbed her by the waist and lifted her upwards.

"Whoopee!" he laughed.

"H-Hinata, please p-put me down!" she shrieked, her voice a strange and conflicting mix of both timid and authoritative. Hinata just laughed again, before gently lowering her to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" Souda shouted. Hinata's head rang with the sound, but all it did was make him laugh. He began to notice how much everything hurt. It… it hurt so much, but all he could do was giggle. Because it was funny…wasn't…it…?

"It would seem Hinata is also ill," Mikan fretted. "This is not good, we need to get both of them to a hospital, r-right away!"

"Hinata is sick?" inquired Komaeda, only to be yelled over by Souda.

"You don't think they're contagious, do ya?"

"I don't know," Mikan admitted. "I just know that they're both behaving abnormally, have a high fever, and seem to exhibit dull and glazed eyes."

"Should we wait for the others to arrive?" Komaeda wondered. "I mean, we don't know how long they'll take getting here, but if we leave, we might miss someone else with the disease."

"I agree with the pale one!" Gundham cut into the conversation. "I believe it to be best if we retrieve our comrades ourselves in a timely manner. We will likely have an easier time trapping and vanquishing this curse if we contain the infected." He declared darkly.

"All right then, I guess its settled. Mikan, Akane, can you stay here and look after Hinata and Nekomaru? There's only five people to find, so the three of us shouldn't take long." Komaeda suggested quietly.

"T-That's fine. Please h-hurry though, I want to get these two to the h-hospital on the third island," worried the nurse.

"Oi, why are we listening to the psycho over there! You can't trust him!" Souda accused, pointing. He looked ruffled, his eyes narrowing. All eyes turned to the sickly boy, memories of the betrayal and his ravings darkening gazes.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea?" the other boy drawled in reply. Silence fell in the restaurants as the two had a silent battle of wills, Souda's face twisted in frustration and distrust as Komaeda staring silently.

"Fine!" Souda finally yelled. "I get dibs on grabbing Miss Sonia though, ya hear?!"

"Perfectly," Komaeda smiled.

The three boys shuffled out of the restaurant, in search of the other five. Akane watched as Mikan darted back and forth between the two boys. Neither of them looked well; Nekomaru sat with his head in his hands, body trembling as he squeezed himself into a ball. Hinata gazed out the window, bouncing on the balls of his feet, singing some sort of tune to himself.

"Akane! C-could you maybe keep lookout for the others, please? Oh! But before that, p-please fetch me some damp cloths? I need to bring down their fever, before it gets any worse. T-there might be some in the kitchen." The gymnast blinked back to reality at the nurse's request.

"I'm on it!" She yelled, pumping her fist. Ignoring the short distance, she sprinted across the restaurant, leaping over any tables in her way. Stopping, she slid through the double doors of the kitchen, and gave the room a once over. Quickly spotting the hand towels hung over the oven handle, she grabbed them, before running them under the tap. Walking away, she found water dripping from the now-soaking cloths, and she hesitated.

"Damp…?" she muttered. Damp meant…wet, but not really wet, right? So, she needed to get rid of some of the water! Quickly turning back and wringing the towels, she could hear the door of the restaurant opening. Akane sprung out through the kitchen doors, spotting a small, blonde head, one attached to a black pinstripe suit.

"Yo, baby gangsta, what's up? Out of the hospital already?" she grinned as he entered the restaurant, tossing the towels across the room. The nurse shrieked is surprise as it slapped her in the face.

"I…you…what did you…I will fucking kill you!" he roared as the nurse blubbered in the background.

"P-Please be quiet!" Mikan screamed loudly, tears forming in her eyes as she applied the towels.

"You're even louder than I am…" he grumbled, folding his arms. "I got bored in the hospital, and I feel fine. What's going on?" he asked, noticing the nurse's flushed expression and Nekomaru's hunched form.

"I-It's some sort of sickness," Mikan answered timidly.

"Sickness?" Kuzuryuu looked surprised.

"Mm-hm. So far Hinata and old man Nekomaru are the only ones. Souda, Gundham and that weirdo Komaeda have gone out the fetch everyone." Akane mused.

"What's wrong with them?" he asked, approaching.

"S-so far, it's characterised by a fever, sweating a-and glazed eyes, as well as u-unusual behaviour." Mikan explained.

"What exactly constitutes 'unusual behaviour'?"

Just then, Hinata seemed to register the small yakuza's presence, and turned towards him with a smile. Kuzuryuu nearly jumped back in shock. From a distance, the boy had looked fine, but closer, it could clearly be seen how he was in bad shape. Before he could react, he found himself wrapped in a big bear hug, and he froze with shock.

"Let go of me!" he screamed, squirming. Hinata may be sick, but his grip was unyielding, and Kuzuryuu found that the boy had a deceiving amount of muscle. Eventually, the giggling male released the blonde, who staggered back in shock.

"Kuzuryuu is back!" Hinata cried happily. He turned to Mikan. "Hey, do you see, its Kuzuryuu! Kuzuryuu is back! It's Kuzuryuu, Kuzuryuu, Kuzuryuu!" he rambled.

"What the fuck…" he whispered, horrified. Hinata wasn't exactly what he could call a chatterbox under normal circumstances. Perhaps it was because it was hard to get a word in with all the weirdoes in the group, but outside of calming his friends or panicking himself, Hinata always seemed to more of a listener, offering only the occasional remark or advice.

The word to describe Hinata? Serious. Sometimes too serious, like when they'd first arrived on the island (ignoring the fact that he'd be right.) He definitely smiled occasionally, if not as often as everybody else, but this strange grin was too much. What was this extreme turnabout?

Now Hinata was singing, or at least he thought so. He didn't have the best singing voice. Was that… 'pop goes the weasel'?

"SHUT UPPPPPP!" Nekomaru suddenly yelled, causing everyone inside to jump. It was the first time he'd said anything outside of a whisper since he first entered the restaurant that morning, sick. Suddenly, he whirled around to face them, his face a mask of anger.

"YOU!" Nekomaru yelled, pointing at Hinata. "Your singing sucks! You could work at it for a hundred years and it wouldn't yet any better!"

"YOU!" he turned to Mikan. "You're nothing but a wimp and a cry-baby! Satan himself could drag you to hell and you'd apologise! I'd say toughen up, but I'd have better luck encouraging a MARSHMALLOW!"

Mikan promptly burst into tears, full of whimpers and apologies.

"AND YOU!" he turned to the door, where Akane leaned inside, watching aghast. "You're the worst of the lot! You're undisciplined, unfocused, and have so little upper body strength that you couldn't even take down a TODDLER in a fist fight! I don't know why I ever bothered training with you! You're sluggish, weak and completely uninteresting! I never want to see your face on this island again, YOU, HEAR ME?!" he roared the last part, having risen from his chair and approached the gymnast, sweat dripping down his forehead as his eyes swirled messily.

Akane looked positively shocked, pressed against the doorframe with her mouth hanging open. Mikan wept as she begged him to sit down, and Hinata sniffled in a corner.

"Oi!" Kuzuryuu yelled. "Everyone, calm the fuck down! You!" he pointed at Akane. "Concentrate on keeping lookout at the entrance. You!" he turned to Mikan. "Are there any first aid kits supplied here or something? Anything?"

"T-there might be something in the kitchen!" she yelped.

"Go check and take a breather," he told her. Ignoring Hinata, he turned to the behemoth of a coach. "And you, fucking SIT DOWN and calm yourself!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" he roared in response.

"Why the fuck would you even say those things? Is there any point in attacking them like that? They just want to help you, dumbass!" Kuzuryuu growled. Electricity seemed to spark between the two as a battle of wills fought out silently. Finally, the coach broke.

"NO POINT!? No point!? No point, no point, no point…?" the coach calmed down alarmingly quickly, growling quietly, before landing heavily in a chair and curling up.

"Huh? Well that was easier than expected…"

"Is something wrong? I am sure that I heard yelling!" Kuzuryuu turned to the door blinking as sunlight reflected off beautiful golden hair as the beautiful princess leaned in the doorway. To her left stood the mysterious breeder.

"Is someone throwing a tantrum? You guys really are nothing but a bunch of babies. Hey, where's the pig barf? The weirdo here said she was supposed to be here." Another high-pitched voice joined the two, though the individual themselves couldn't be seen.

"Oi! Akane! Lookout means you tell us when people arrive! Well, it looks like you three are okay. That's a relief, I guess…" the yakuza sighed.

"H-hey, is big bro Hinata…crying?!" Hiyoko seemed shocked.

"Yeah, he's sick, and Nekomaru said some mean things about his singing…" Kuzuryuu muttered in response.

"I'm sorry Kuzuryuu, but I am afraid that does not provide a sufficient explanation. There was singing?" Sonia tilted her head in confusion.

"I-It doesn't matter, okay?" Now we just have'ta wait for Mioda, Souda, Komaeda and Chiaki, right?"

"Y-Yes!" Mikan appeared from the kitchen. "I have found the f-first aid kit! The only useful thing here w-was some painkillers, though…"

"Well, uh, just do your best, alright?" Kuzuryuu grumbled awkwardly.

"I-I will!" she exclaimed.

More voices came from outside.

"Oi!" Akane called. "Souda and Mioda are here!"

"Miss Sonia! I was wondering where you were! You weren't in your cabin!" Souda's eyes lit up at the sight of the princess, and he dashed inside, ignoring everything and everyone else.

"Alright, everyone, it's time to get the party started because Mioda is here! Yeeha!" Mioda screamed, jumping in the air.

"P-PLEASE BE QUIET!" Mikan screamed again.

The ten students chattered and mingled as they waited for the last two to arrive. Mikan and Akane offered explanations, including how Nekomaru hadn't turned up for his morning sparring session, and how Akane had to tempt him out of his cabin with the promise of food and painkillers for his headache.

"I mean, I dunno how effective the food offer was, but he definitely said he had a killer headache, so I used that to get him to the restaurant."

"Why the restaurant? Why not the pharmacy or something?"

"Cause I was hungry, duh!"

"Mioda likes the way you think!"

"Hinata, are you okay? Would you like something to eat? How about a glass of orange juice? You seem to enjoy that most mornings." Sonia offered kindly.

"Yes…please…" Hinata sniffled.

Another ten minutes passed before heavy steps could be heard coming up the stairs, along with the sound of screaming.

"What is that?" Sonia gasped.

"Someone's being murdered!" Souda screamed. Kuzuryuu swore at him, before kicking him in the leg.

The door opened to Komaeda, looking red and out of breath. Slung over one shoulder was… Chiaki?

"Let me go!" she screamed. "I will fucking wreck you, you scrub!"

"Could some," *pant* "one," *pant* "help me?" Komaeda puffed, as Chiaki's fists bounced off his back.

"What the fuck are you doing! You can't hold a woman like that!" Kuzuryuu yelled.

"Oohoo, fanservice time!" Mioda screamed.

Komaeda set the lavender haired gamer girl to the ground, where she immediately sunk to the floor, legs crossed and face red in anger.

"Do you know who I am? Who the fuck do you think you are? I've beaten more games than your age and IQ combined! You dare touch me? I will fuck your shit up!" she ranted, as the restaurant watched in silence.

"So, I guess that makes three sick, huh?" Komaeda the first to comment.

"Finally, everyone's here!" an obnoxiously squeaky voice filled the small space, and a black and white plush bear popped out of the floor. "Now, I can finally introduce the new motive!"

The appearance was met with short screams of surprise.

"Motive?" Mikan whispered.

"Yep! I suppose I forgot to tell you, but these islands are covered in thousands of tiny, microscopic bugs! And these bugs carry a special disease, only found here, on Jabberwock Island. The Despair Disease!"

"The…Despair Disease?" Komaeda whispered, going still.

"That's what I just said dumbass, are you slow or something?! Anyway, there are different strains of the Despair Disease. For example, Chiaki there has the 'Rage' Disease!"

"What do you mean by 'Rage'?" Sonia ventured.

"Oh, you know, tantrums, screaming, anger, pretty much everything you just saw. Then of course, Nekomaru has the 'Giving Up' Disease!"

"'Giving Up'? Isn't that what despair is anyway?" scoffed Kuzuryuu.

"Pu-lease! Figures only an idiot like you would think despair is something as simple and stupid as that! Anyway, and of course, Mr Serious over here has what I like to call the 'Childish' Disease! And before you ask, if you don't understand what childish means, you will soon enough. Good luck. Oh, right I almost forgot! The disease is extreeee-emely infectious and is sometimes airborne! Have fun with that… Upupupupu…" And with that, he disappeared.

"Motherfucker…"

"What shall we do now?"

"Evil fiend…"

"We need t-to take them to the hospital. They need rest, until I can figure out h-how to help more…" Mikan declared with surprising resolution.

"Oh look, pig shit thinks she can take charge now!" Hiyoko taunted, pulling on the nurse's hair.

"I'm sorrrrrrryyyyyyy!" she wailed.

"Hiyoko!" Souda snapped.

"What? Oh fine, whatever. I suppose that's…an okay idea. But more than that we need to get them someone far away from everyone else!"

"What do'ya mean?" Akane demanded.

"I believe Hiyoko means that, since the infected are infectious, they should be kept away from the rest of us so that the disease does not spread." Sonia explained calmly.

"Like, a quarantine, you mean?" Komaeda inquired.

"Exactly!" Hiyoko declared.

"I agree with Miss Sonia," Souda added, pulling beanie down over his eyes.

"Hmm, Mioda doesn't like the idea of doing something so mean to her friends…" the musician said slowly, looking unsure.

"Yeah! And what about old man Nekomaru! I can't just leave him all alone!" Akane argued.

"We wouldn't be leaving them alone, dumbass. Obviously, we'd have to have people stationed at the hospital to look after 'em. Man, why couldn't we have gotten some quieter diseases?" Kuzuryuu muttered to himself.

"Ah, fine. Then I'll go with and keep watch over old man Nekomaru!" she yelled.

"Hmm," hummed Komaeda. "Akane, can I ask you something? When you brought Nekomaru in this morning, did you touch him at all? Did you spend long with him?"

"Huh?" Akane looked sceptical. "Not really…I spent most of the time arguing through a door, and even then he really didn't seem to want me near him. It was hard enough convincing him to come here."

"I see. Then, I suppose you'd say that you'd had minimal contact with him, correct?" he questioned further.

"Y-Yeah! So?" Akane looked restless, a scowl forming on her face as she danced from foot to foot.

"Well, I just don't think you coming to the hospital with us is a great idea, is all."

"What! Why'd say that!" she roared.

"Simply put, the whole point of a quarantine is to minimise the number of infected people, correct? The hospital only has three patient rooms, one for each of the sick, plus an on-call and conference room if I recall correctly. Bringing too many people in might cause a crowding issue, and make everything worse. Not to mention, there are people here at higher risk than you are, so it makes sense to make them the carers, right?"

"Bastard's got a point," Kuzuryuu sighed. "But what do you mean, 'higher risk', exactly?"

"I'm talking about everyone who spent an extended amount of time close to, or in contact with the infected. I think Akane's probably fine, because, although she was in the restaurant, she spent a lot of time as a lookout, and never even touched Nekomaru. Therefore, I think you and Mikan, Kuzuryuu, can be safely said to be 'high risk', since you both touched the infected directly, and remained in close proximity."

"Eww, you touched them? Gross!" Hiyoko giggled.

"S-Shut up! Oi, Komaeda, you carried Chiaki here. That's direct contact, right? Aren't you high risk too?"

"W-well that's-, I mean, I suppose. And I don't have the best immune system, so I guess so. Unlucky me. I really should've been more careful." Komaeda looked sheepish.

The group continued to bicker for several minutes, before the agreement was made. Komaeda, Mikan and Kuzuryuu would look after the sick, and everyone else would stay at the motel near the hospital. Souda promised to rig up a two-way communication device using parts in Electric Avenue. Eventually, everyone filtered out, just leaving those on hospital duty and the sick. Stepping back, they tried to figure out how to get everyone to the hospital.

"You know," grumbled the short blonde. "Maybe bringing Akane along might've been a good idea after all. What the hell are we gonna do if Nekomaru doesn't move?"

"I-I'm sorry, but there isn't really a lot of room at the h-hospital!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Hey, Komaeda, you mind taking Hinata? You two seemed pretty close a while back."

Komaeda looked uncomfortable, which was unusual to say the least. Often he would hide behind his fake smile and bittersweet flattery, never dropping the façade unless necessary.

"A-Are you sure you don't want me to take Chiaki? She's pretty verbally abusive, I'm not sure how Mikan's self-esteem's going to handle…"

Kuzuryuu snorted. "Let's see how Godzilla is gonna act first, okay? Oi! Old man! You gonna be a pain in the ass, or cooperate so we can get you some more painkillers?"

"There is no point in resisting," Nekomaru whispered, pulling himself to his feet. He swayed for several seconds, before straightening, blinking groggily.

"That's good. Hey, Mikan, you take the old man, he's pretty quiet. I'll grab Chiaki."

"H-Hey wait, you sure you don't want to take Hinata?"

"Christ, Komaeda, what are afraid of?"

"I just don't think Hinata would want someone like me touching him. But if you're absolutely sure…"

"That's what it is? He'll be fine! For fuck's sake, he's the only one that even bothers to check if you're still alive. And yeah, I'm sure. That guy's already hugged me once, I'm not letting him do it again."

"Is it because you're short?" Hinata giggled cheekily.

"WHAT? FUCK, NO, shit," Kuzuryuu swore, denial colouring his every word. "I mean, y-yeah, it makes him leaning on me a little awkward, BUT ONLY BECAUSE HE'S TALLER. BEING SMALLER THAN SOMEONE DOESN'T MAKE YOU SHORT."

"C-Can we please go?" Mikan whimpered.

"Yes, Let's go. Now." His response was short and harsh.

The six made their way out of the hotel, a strange sight. Nekomaru was led by the hand by Mikan, who hummed softly despite the dire situation. Chiaki was being half carried-half dragged along by Kuzuryuu, both looking red enough to burst a blood vessel. And finally, Hinata was dragging Komaeda along, who was desperately trying to hold on to the boy's shirt sleeve as he darted and ran about, investigating and poking at every plant and insect in their path. Eventually the six made it to the hospital, where they set up the patient rooms. Mikan busied herself collecting and setting up equipment while the two boys settled down in the chairs in the lobby, exhausted. Twenty minutes later, the nurse appeared, looking worn out herself.

"How is everyone?" Komaeda asked pleasantly.

"E-Everyone is resting in their rooms. I g-gave everyone a strong p-painkiller and sedative, so they should stay unconscious for a few hours. "

"Thank fucking god." Kuzuryuu groaned. "Why did they have to be so god damn difficult? Couldn't we have, I dunno, gotten someone easier, like 'Do whatever you tell me to', or 'Unconscious the whole time' disease?"

"I don't think those are real things, Kuzuryuu."

"You know what I mean, Komaeda. Instead, we have Chiaki swearing and screaming her head off, and Hinata running around like the fucking energizer bunny. Not to mention, even if Chiaki doesn't say much, those two are like our main point getters in the class trials! If they're still sick during an investigation; hell, if someone KILLS one of them while they're like this…"

Kuzuryuu goes quiet for a moment.

"I'm going to check on them."

Komaeda was suddenly alone in the lobby with his thoughts, and a very sore arm. He sat back and mused on the current situation. Things were dire, sure. But he was sure everything would be fine! After all, such symbols of Hope such as the Ultimates would be able to overcome such a simple obstacle, even if it ended in someone's death. In fact, perhaps it could even bolster the radiance that would be produced? He could attempt another murder…although he'd much rather be killed himself. He wasn't sure he'd be able to reasonably get away with it though; not with Kuzuryuu watching. It wasn't that he actually wanted to get away with it; it's just that he didn't believe the Ultimates deserved such half ass work.

Kuzuryuu though…He'd certainly changed since Peko's death just a few days ago. Before, he wouldn't've given half a rat's ass if someone was killed, let alone sick. Considering how Hinata and Chiaki were also to blame for seeing through Mahiru's murder, he was surprised to find the yakuza didn't blame them more. Perhaps Hinata had spoken to him while he was recovering? That seemed more than likely. He seemed to have a positive effect on people, even Komaeda himself. He supposed it was a combination of persistence, good listening and honest opinions. Mostly honest, anyway. Komaeda still didn't believe that Hinata wouldn't hate someone like him. The sick trio in general were hard to hate, though Komaeda wasn't sure it would stop a murderer. After all, killing someone and getting away with it is the same as killing everyone, so logically, the initial victim shouldn't matter at all.

He would sit back and wait this one out, he decided. While it wouldn't be impossible to sneak away, he didn't have nearly enough preparation time to make an interesting case.

Eventually, both the nurse and the gangster returned, and the three made a schedule for the coming night. They couldn't sleep in the hospital, so they would sleep in the cabins back at the hotel. Komaeda headed off first, leaving the other two behind.

A knock on the hospital door came an hour later, and opening it revealed a camera and a monitor. Hooking it up, the screen blinked on to reveal a certain shark-tooth mechanic.

"Testing, testing, testing. Heya, how's it all going?" he grinned toothily.

"Fine so far. Mikan put Hinata out with a sedative she picked up from the pharmacy earlier. It's kind of hard to tend to him if he's constantly wandering about and playing with things." Kuzuryuu sighed.

"That bad, huh? Anyway, so I was thinking we could make a check in schedule?"

The two eventually agreed upon a schedule where the quarantined would check in after and before the morning and night-time announcements.

While Komaeda slept peacefully in anticipation of a night shift, Mikan fussed and Kuzuryuu stood guard, fate began to wave its cruel strings around them all.