AN: I'm studying as a nursing student, so I will do my best to make everything as medically accurate as possible.
"It's safe to come in." Peko told her visitor. "The hospital staff took away any potential weapons, even the curtain rod." Hinata took this as an invitation and sat by her bedside. Since her escape, security had increased on the third floor and visits had to be tape recorded.
"You were in critical condition before you woke up, it gave us all quite a scare." Hinata began. "What happened?" Peko stared back at him hollowly.
"Couldn't you get that information from my numerous sitters?" She asked.
"I'd rather have your permission first." Hinata explained. "No one willing divulge information before, and it would be an invasion of privacy if I looked at your chart."
"Is that all you want from me?" She asked.
"The Future Foundation probably refused to give you any information that would answer your questions. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here. Otherwise our visit will be a little short. "
"...You've changed." Peko observed. "I have had the misfortune of meeting many selfish individuals in my lifetime, and the only time we met, I knew you were one of them. However, you do not behave like the individual I met."
"Well, this is who I was before the tragedy, mostly." Hinata sighed. "The psycho therapy wasn't a complete success. Thanks to Kamukura, only a handful of us were able to leave the Neo World Program without our memories of Hope's Peak Academy."
"So you really are a different person." She frowned. "Yet you do not find it alarming how a single program erased your existence and replaced it with one that would work alongside the Future Foundation?"
"I chose this path on my own. The world is better off without Kamukura in it."
"That's easy for you to say, there was no one in the real world waiting for him to return." She clutched the chest restraint that held her to the bed.
"We're all waiting for you to get better so you can explore the central island with us. The sooner we find out why you woke up, the sooner we can help the others." Hinata was a self proclaimed king of avoiding uncomfortable topics. They didn't have access to any of the profiles on the Remnants of Despair. Frankly, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the details of what went on during those two and a half years.
"Are you sure you want the others to wake?" Peko asked. "They will be strangers to you, as you are to me. I doubt any of them will willingly cooperate with you."
"We'll worry about that later." A knock indicated he had to leave. "One of us will be by again tomorrow." He surveyed the sterile room. "Do you still like cloth dolls and rabbits?" We should be able to get you something as long as it's small." He couldn't help but smile at her disbelief.
"I am more partial to cats nowadays." She corrected lamely.
"Cats, got it." He beamed and left. Peko numbly flipped through the TV channels. There was nowhere to go back to and Junko's empty promises failed to fill the void. She shouldn't think about that now. It would be better to feign complacency until they let her go. Then she could let her despair consume her. A fair punishment, she supposed, for hoping she could escape the cycle of despair.
~o~
The enormous, grey building in the heart of Jabberwok Park made walks around the island less scenic. However, Kuzuryuu would go stir crazy if he stayed inside for too long. He often found himself taking walks with Sonia. Even if it was only digital, the fun house had left a lasting effect on Sonia.
"They still won't let me in to see Peko. The doctor thinks I'll set her off again and Hinata agrees with him!" He kicked at the dirt with a growl. "If she's in such bad shape, I should be there for her. You should have seen her Sonia, she acted like I was a stranger."
"It is not a preferable situation," Sonia agreed, "but she is awake and recovering quickly I've heard." Birds chirped in the trees as they orbited the building. "What about you?" She gestured to her own eye with a shrug.
"I went ahead and had them take the damn thing out." He cricked his neck. "No complications. Which is good, Owari's giving them hell in physical therapy. They asked me to keep her out of trouble, like that's going to do anything."
"Kazuichi-kun's right arm was taken away. After his recent outburst they decided to check it for weapons, so he's been having difficulties with basic tasks." She giggled. "I'm worried though. There's so much that has changed in the world, and I'm not entirely sure I want to know what happened. Is that wrong?"
"Well, I'm not the best judge of character myself, but I think it's perfectly normal to feel how you do. The world got fucked up, bad, but we can fix what's in front of us here."
"It's just, I requested to have some decedents of Tanaka's empire for the island. I wasn't even thinking, I just wanted this place to feel more like home. However, I was told they couldn't acquire any of them." Her voice grew quiet. "The Humane Society shut them down years ago." He couldn't bring himself to say anything. He wasn't Hinata, he couldn't pull motivational speeches out of his ass at the drop of a hat. A few ideas came to mind, but nothing worth trying. They continued to walk in silence.
~o~
Owari continued to spar with the punching bag in the gym, regardless of her therapist's warnings. Though Hinata and Kuzuryuu were more entertained by Souda's difficulties with his new prosthetic.
"My robotic prosthetic was wired into my nervous system." He reminisced. "It was just like having a real arm, only cooler. But nooo, you have one little firearm hidden between the drill and the cooling system and suddenly you get a glorified Pick Stick strapped to your shoulder."
"Just grab the ball." Hinata laughed. Fuyuhiko lolled his head back to look at Akane from the spectator bench.
"I don't know why you dragged me here if all you're going to do is punch sand." He said.
"Pekoyama asked me to." She said with a shrug.
"Pekoyama-san talked to you about Kuzuryuu-kun?" Hinata asked.
"Eh, kinda?" Owari jabbed at the sand bag. "I went in to talk to her, cause I figured she was bored, and she started yelling at me. Apparently I'm failing in my duties or something. Anyway, I got the feeling she'd blame me if something happened to you. We gotta' look out for each other anyway and if it makes her feel better to use me as the go between, I'm fine with that. Gives me an excuse to punch people." Hinata and Kuzuryuu shared a worried look.
"Owari-chan, I think it would be best if you didn't see Pekoyama-san for a while. She's still adjusting." Hinata suggested.
"She can't adjust if we lock out everything that freaks her out. Just give me twenty minutes and I can have this sorted out." Fuyuhiko began.
"It's not that simple." Hinata sighed.
"I know Peko. Once she realizes that we are both safe, she'll calm down and-"
"She's not the same person Kuzuryuu!" Hinata shouted. "Talking to her now will just make the Future Foundation upset."
"This is bullshit." Fuyuhiko muttered.
"Kuzuryuu-kun." Owari frowned as Fuyuhiko collected his things to leave.
"No need to get up, I'm only going to my room." He spat. "I'm just sick and tired of this shit." The door to the therapy room slammed shut behind him. Souda nervously looked around the room and tried to break the tension.
"Guys, do you think Miss Sonia's trying to avoid me?"
~o~
The next meal they shared was spent in silence. Even Souda's difficulties with his cutlery failed to inspire playful jabbing. As dinner time wrapped up to a close, Akane slammed her fist into the table.
"This is stupid," She snorted, "why isn't anybody talking?"
"Owari-san, now might not be the time for this altercation." Sonia soothed.
"We've been through worse together, I don't see why this is a big deal." She said.
"You wouldn't be saying that if Nidai was in there." Kuzuryu growled.
"If Coach Nidai was in there, I would have punched Hinata in the face and seen him anyway, but that's now what you're doing. You're sitting on your ass, giving us the silent treatment."
"Everyone, please, we are trying to keep a low profile. Fighting amongst ourselves accomplishes nothing." Sonia declared.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Fuyuhiko hissed under his breath. "Hinata's right, we can't recklessly piss off the Future Foundation and there's nothing we can do to change their minds."
"The people here are afraid of letting us use our talents." Kazuichi pointed out. "Without them, or anything else to do, we're sitting ducks."
"Well then, we simply must think of a project then." Sonia suggested. "Something productive to keep our minds off of things. And perhaps, we could all write Pekoyama-san letters since some of us will be unable to visit her for some time." She looked to Hinata for approval.
"It couldn't hurt to ask." He agreed. "In the meantime, we should see if they need help with the reconstruction of the first island. Refugees have been told to stay on the third island, so I bet the Future Foundation could use some man power." It was a small step, but at least it was in the right direction.
