Authors note: hey guys, Fire Slash here welcoming you to another chapter of Healing Wounds. First off, thank you guys sooo much for all of the support I've been getting. 30 faves, 44 followers, and 10 reviews. You're all awesome. Anyways, it's come to my attention that the despair arc of Danganronpa has come out. Since I'be written the first two chapters before I've seen the anime, just note that most events in the story won't come from the anime. After all, this is an alternative universe. However, some events will be similar, such as this chapter. Well, review and enjoy :-).

0000

"So, how do you like Hopes Peak?" Hinata asked Tsumiki as the two walked home together. Unfortunately, the first five minutes of the walk were spent with an awkward silence. Neither of them were able to initiate a conversation, Hinata not knowing what to say while Tsumiki was nearly paralyzed from nervousness, not wanting to do anything to anger Hinata. Eventually, Hinata decided to ask the girl about Hopes Peak, wanting to know what one of their students has to say about the school.

"It's a nice school" Tsumiki quietly said. "T-the teachers are nice and there's a lot of great facilities, but…"

"But?" Hinata asked, curious about why Tsumiki suddenly stopped speaking.

"…Nothing" Tsumiki answered, looking away from Hinata. Even without seeing her face, he could tell he upset her somehow. Quickly thinking of a way to cheer her up, Hinata decided to ask her another question.

"Um, so…do you like being a nurse?"

"It's nice" Tsumiki said, a small smile forming on her face. "It's great knowing that someone may actually need your help. When someone's hurt, they listen to everything I say and they aren't mean to me, even though they usually are once they get better. B-being a nurse makes me feel like I'm needed, like I'm useful for something. It's a great feeling." Upon hearing that response, a little frown crept upon Hinata's face. In his eyes, someone like her should not be treated the way she was. After all, based on what she said, Tsumiki went out of her way to help her tormentors only for them to bully her once they have recovered from their sickness and/or wounds.

"D-did I do something wrong?" Tsumiki asked once she saw Hinata's frown. "If you'd like, I'll take off my clothes for you."

"What! No!" Hinata shouted in surprise. "There's no need for that."

"You d-don't want to see me naked? Ok, then how about you take my money. Please don't hate me!" Tears began flowing from the young girl's face, scared to see what he was going to say next.

"Listen, I don't hate you" Hinata said, trying to calm Tsumiki down. "I'm just upset that you're treated with such disrespect. From what I've seen, you're a great person who would help out anyone in need of medical attention. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be treated with such abuse. I swear, if I ever catch anyone picking on you, I'll kick their asses."

"…" Tsumiki was struck silent by Hinata's mini speech. This was the second time he's commented on the way others treated her. To her, others bullied her because she did something to anger them. However, the boy next to her was denying any reasonings as to why others should treat her the way they usually did. For someone to stand up for her, for someone to want to defend her, was a foreign concept to the nurse. As such, the girl began smiling, which in turn caused Hinata to smile, happy that he managed to cheer her up.

"T-thank you" Tsumiki meekly said.

"No problem" Hinata said with a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, this caused Tsumiki to flinch and apologize again for an unknown reason, which in turn caused Hinata to spend the rest of the walk trying to calm her down.

0000

The next day, Hinata wasted no time in getting ready for school. Today was his first day attending Hopes Peak with a class of talented students. Part of him was very excited, seeing as he will be associated as one of them from now on. He was also quite curious about what talents his peers will have, which caused him to become more excited. However, despite the excitement felt by the young boy, Hinata was also a bit nervous. There was always the chance of him being outcasted by the other students. After all, they have known each other for almost two months, which was certainly enough time to create some strong bonds with one another.

Forcing these thoughts away, Hinata immediately scarfed down his breakfast, washed himself up, changed his cloths, and packed his book bag before bolting out of his house, eager to start his day.

0000

When Hinata arrived at the school, he immediately took out his schedule so he could find where his homeroom was located. Scanning the paper for a bit, he eventually found the room, classroom 2-A. Putting the paper back into his bag, Hinata made his way to the second floor, remembering that he passed by classroom 2-A when he was moved to the library. With very little difficulty, Hinata eventually managed to find the classroom.

Upon arriving, Hinata spent a few seconds standing in front of the door, trying to get rid of all the anxiety that was boiling up inside him. Eventually managing to calm himself down, he gently opened the doors to the classroom. When he did, he was greeted by the sight of four students who were each sitting quietly in the classroom.

"Hello" one of the students said as Hinata entered the room. "Are you the new student who will be joining our class?"

"Yea, I am" Hinata replied before analyzing the student's physical appearance. The student was a female with extremely light skin and silver blond hair which matched her skin almost perfectly. She also had light green eyes which seemed to sparkle when hit by the small amount of sun light that was able to enter the room. Lastly, she wore a brown headband with a flower decal on the left side of the accessory.

"Splendid!" The girl said, her eyes shining with excitement. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sonia Nevermind, the ultimate princess. I come from a small country in Europe known as the Novoselic kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks" Hinata said, trying his best to stay calm. The last thing he wanted to do was look like an idiot in front of the ultimate princess. Based on her title and the way she conducted herself, the girl in front of him was certainty from a royal family. "I'm Hajime Hinata."

"So you actually came" another girl said, causing both Hinata and Sonia to direct their attention towards her. Unlike the ultimate princess, the girl who spoke had short, red hair and emerald green eyes. The girl also had light skin which was even more pale than Sonia's. Lastly, she had several freckles visible on her cheeks. "To be honest, I thought you would skip school."

"Skip school?" Hinata asked, a confused expression forming on his face. "Why would I do that? It's my first day here."

"Wait, you don't know?" the girl said upon hearing his reply. "Attending classes here isn't mandatory. As long as you pass some big exam at the end of the year, you're allowed to do whatever you want."

"Really?"

"Yep, but don't even think about skipping now! You're already here so you might as well stay."

"I-I don't plan on leaving" Hinata said, surprised by the girl's forceful tone.

"Good. Anyways I'm Mahiru Koizumi, the ultimate photographer" the girl greeted. "And the girl next to me is the ultimate traditional dancer, Hiyoko Saionji."

"Yep! I'm Hiyoko Saionji" the girl next to Koizumi stated in a childish voice. Like Koizumi and Sonia, Saionji had light skin. However, instead of green eyes she had light gold ones. She also had long blond hair that was tied into two banana shaped ponytails. She was almost a foot shorter than both Sonia and Koizumi. Lastly, instead of the brown Hopes Peak uniforms, Saionji wore an orange kimono with a green obi sash tied around her waist.

"Hi" Hinata greeted. "I'm Hajime Hinata."

"Hm…you seem like a good target" Saionji said with an evil grin. "You'll be fun to play with."

"Saionji, please leave the new student alone" Koizumi said, releasing a small sigh. "We don't need anymore incidents."

"Aw…fine" Saionji said with a pout. Upon hearing that, Hinata immediately made a mental note to stay away from the girl.

"Tch. You say that every time, yet you still go on to do something fucking stupid" a light skinned boy said from the back of the room. Like Saionji, he had blond hair and gold eyes. There was also a set of freckles on top of his nose. Lastly, there were a set of natural blush on his cheeks. "Oh, and new kid, the name's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu. I'm the ultimate Yakuza. Don't fuck with me and you'll be able to keep all of your fingers by the end of the year."

"G-got it" Hinata nervously said before taking as seat in one of the desks located in the front of the room. He's only met four students so far and he could already see the diversity of his class.

0000

The next five minutes were spent in silence. Sonia read a book, Kuzuryuu took a small nap, Hinata stared into space, and Koizumi shared a snack with Saionji. Eventually, the silence was broken when a girl with pink hair barged into the classroom.

"Hello everybody, I'm Chisa Yukizome, your new homeroom teacher" the woman excitedly exclaimed before looking around the room. "Wait, there's only five of you?"

"Where's Mister Kizakura?" Kuzuryuu asked, a bit grumpy that his nap was disturbed.

"Well…lets just say he had too much to drink" Yukizome said. "So I'll be taking over from now on."

"Wait…staff members are allowed to drink during the school week?" Hinata asked. From what Hinata could remember, one of the main rules for teachers at the reserve course was you were not allowed to drink during the school week. Granted it was a dumb rule, but he was still curious as to whether or not the rule applied to every teacher from Hopes Peak.

"Yep!" Yukizome cheerfully explained. "You might not think so, but we are human beings, just like you guys. Anyways, only five of you guys? This will not do, not at all!"

"Pft. She seems easy to break" Saionji said with a small giggle. "I give her three days tops before she winds up in the hospital."

"Don't worry, your teacher has many health insurance plans" Yukizome said said, not fazed by Saionji's comment.

"I must commemorate you on that" Sonia stated, impressed.

"Are they all needed?" Hinata asked. "I think one is enough. It's not like you're going to war or something."

"You can never be too safe" Yukizome said with a proud huff. She was about to say something else when the classroom doors flew open, a familiar purple haired girl dashing inside the classroom.

"I-I'm sorry that I'm late" Tsumiki said, gasping for air. "I was…Gah! Hinata?! W-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey Tsumiki" Hinata greeted, slightly surprised by the fact she was here. To be honest, he did not expect for her to be one of his classmates. "Well, it seems like I'm part of your class now."

"Really? That's nice" Tsumiki said, a hint of excitement in her voice. However, her demeanor quickly changed, Tsumiki quickly becoming nervous. "U-um, if you don't mind, may I sit next to you?"

"Sure" Hinata shrugged as the girl began to sit down. However, as she did so, she tripped over one of the desks, causing her to land in a very…lewd position.

"Gah…please don't look!" Tsumiki shouted as she tried to stand up. However, she was unsuccessful.

"How did that even happen?" Hinata asked before giving Tsumiki his hand, the girl quickly grabbing onto it.

"Again?!" Saionji said with a snicker. "This is the twenty seventh time this month. Geez, you really are clumsy."

"I'm sorry" Tsumiki said before sitting in her seat.

"Accidents happen" Yukizome stated, catching everyone's attention. "But moving on, something very drastic has come to my attention."

"What is it?" Kuzuryuu asked with a scowl.

"That you are all a batch of rotten oranges!" Yukizome shouted in a triumphant attitude, earning her several confused looks.

"I don't think that's a good thing" Koizumi deadpanned.

"It's not, which is why I plan on freshening you up" Yukizome explained. "Right now, we need to find the rest of your classmates. The first step to ripening you all is to strengthen your friendships."

"And why do I have to act all buddy buddy with everyone?" Kuzuryuu asked, clearly annoyed by the concept. In response to his outburst, Yukizome tossed a knife towards him, nailing a piece of the wall behind him. This action greatly shocked everyone on the room, especially the boy closest to the knife.

"It's to strengthen your resolve, which is your hope" Yukizome said with a smile. Still bitter about having a knife thrown at him, Kuzuryuu grabbed the collar of her shirt.

"You must have some balls, throwing a knife at me" he growled. However, Yukizome was not intimidated by him, instead wearing an innocent looking smile.

"Well, it did get your attention" she said with a smile. After staring at her for a few seconds, Kuzuryuu smirked.

"I like you" he said. "Fine, I'll help you with your friendship thing."

"Good" Yukizome said with a smile. "Now, do you all know where your classmates are?"

"I think so" Koizumi said, still a bit shaken by the thrown knife. "They usually hang out in the same areas every day."

"Good, then everyone split into groups of two and let's find everyone!" Yukizome excitedly exclaimed before everyone began to split up. In less than a minute, the pairs were formed. Saionji immediately grabbed onto Koizumi before anyone else could take her. Sonia did the same with Kuzuryuu, much to the boy's dismay. However, it was not caused by any negative feelings felt towards the princess, but the fact she was squeezing him way too hard due to sheer excitement. With those two groups formed, Hinata and Tsumiki made up the third one, Hinata initiating the invitation. Eventually, everyone left the room in search for their classmates, each group given three specific students to chase after.

0000

"So, you said she should be here right?" Hinata asked Tsumiki as the two approached the middle of the school's campus. Looking around, Hinata could not help but admire the scenery. Along with the main school building, there were several well buildings in the campus.

"Yes" Tsumiki stated. "The only thing is, how are we going to catch her?"

"Catch her?"

"A-Akane Owari is the ultimate Gymnast" Tsumiki informed him. "She's always training around here. Koizumi is always trying to bring her to class, but Owari always runs away from her."

"Oh" Hinata said. "This may pose a problem. For now we should focus on finding her. When we do, we'll figure out a way to bring her back to class."

"I-I think I found her" Tsumiki said, pointing to a shadow of a person. Glancing up, Hinata was greatly shocked to see a tan skinned girl running on top of the school building before jumping down. Doing a few flips and using a nearby tree to slow her fall, the girl managed to land in front of the two safely.

"Well that was quick" Hinata whispered to himself as the girl walked up to them.

"Yo! Didn't know I had an audience" Owari said before glancing at Hinata. "Uh, who are you?"

"I'm Hinata, your new classmate."

"Oh, right" Owari said before rubbing her head. "I forgot that we were getting a new kid. Let me guess, you're here to bring me back to class, right?"

"How did you know that?" Hinata asked, somewhat impressed by the fact she knew what they were here for.

"Gut feeling" she responded, shrugging her shoulders. "But anyways, the only way I'm coming back to class is if you catch me."

"Wait wh-" Hinata said before being cut off by the sight of Owari running off into the distance. "Great, she's gone."

"W-what now?" Tsumiki quietly asked him, glancing at the direction where Owari ran off.

"I guess I'll have to catch her" Hinata groaned before turning his attention to the nurse. "Stay here, I'll be back." Hinata then immediately ran off towards the direction Owari ran off to, eager to catch her.

0000

Flying past a group of people, Owari let loose a small grin. Having been used to people trying to bring her back to class, the girl always made them chase her. Why? Well, because it was fun seeing others try to match her speed and agility. After all, she was the ultimate gymnast meaning very few people could even keep up with her. However, this time may be different.

Hinata was slowly catching up to her and much to Owari's surprise, he wasn't tired yet. Normally, those who chased her would quit by now, but the boy wasn't backing down. Letting out a small chuckle of excitement, the girl knew she needed to step up her game if she was going to loose Hinata. Spotting a nearby lamppost, Owari jumped forwards before clinging onto the metal pipe. Quickly climbing up the pole, she then pounced off it, catching onto the ledge of a nearby building. Scaling up the building, Owari glanced back and was surprised to see that Hinata was able to copy all of her actions perfectly.

"Thank gosh for advanced learning capabilities" Hinata said as he mimicked Owari's actions. The operation was the only reason why he was able to keep up with her.

When she got to the top of the building, she waited for Hinata, flashing him a smile when he made it up the building in less than a second after her.

"Hey, you've got some skill" Owari said, wiping away some sweat which was forming on her head.

"Thanks" Hinata said, his voice shaky from the fact he was literally on top of a building. Granted he was impressed by the fact the operation enhanced his physical abilities enough to allowed him to keep up with the gymnast, but he was a bit nervous. After all, who wouldn't be in his position. He wasn't used to doing anything this extreme. "Now, can we please go back to class."

"No way, you still haven't caught me yet" Owari said before turning around. She was about to jump down when she felt something grab her wrist. Looking behind her, she was surprised to see Hinata gripping her wrist.

"You shouldn't have turned around" Hinata told the athlete as she tried to escape the genetically altered boy's grip. However, as hard as she tried, she was unable to escape. Eventually she gave up.

"Fine…you win" Owari said with a pout. "I'll come back to class with you."

"Good" Hinata said, releasing the girl. "Now quick question, how the hell do we get down?"

0000

Eventually managing to find a way off the building, Hinata and Owari met up with Tsumiki and the began to track down the second student they needed to bring to class, a boy named Nekomaru Nidi. Under Owari's lead, the three made their way to one of the boys bathrooms where the boy was supposedly residing.

"Really…" Hinata groaned. "Among all of the places he could possibly be, he's in here?"

"Yep" Owari said. "Old man Nidi is always taking a dump every chance he gets."

"Old man?"

"That's just a nickname I call him" Owari casually said.

"S-so what do we do now?" Tsumiki asked. "W-we could wait for him, but k-knowing Nidi, that might take awhile."

"I'll go in and talk to him" Hinata said. "Maybe I could convince him to come back to class once he's done."

"Ok. G-good luck" Tsumiki nervously said before Hinata entered the boys bathroom.

0000

When Hinata entered the bathroom, he was greeted by a very foul stench. Immediately covering his nose, he then began checking all of the bathroom stalls to see if they were locked, managing to only find one that actually was. He was about to knock on the door when the floor began vibrating. Panicking, Hinata immediately jumped back, stepping far away from the closed stall. A few seconds later, a loud grunting noise was emitted from the stall.

"GRAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What the hell?" Hinata said as the grunting died down, followed by the flush of a toilet. A few seconds later, a tall, muscular male emerged from the stall, making his way to the sink.

"U-um excuse me" Hinata said, a bit intimidated by the boy's appearance. Sure he had become much stonger due to the Hope Cultivation Program but this dude was unbelievably muscular. "Are you Nekomaru Nidi?"

"Yes, that's me" the boy said with a grunt. "I AM NEKOMARU NIDI, THE ULTIMATE TEAM MANAGER!"

"I-I'm Hajime Hinata" Hinata greeted after recovering from the loud booming noise emitted from the muscular teen. He sure was loud…

"Your voice is too soft!" Nidi stated. "Try again."

"I'm Hajime Hinata."

"LOUDER!"

"I'M HAJIME HINATA!" Hinata shouted, hospitals hat Nidi wouldn't make him repeat himself again.

"That's better" Nidi stated before letting out a satisfied laugh. "Anyways, what do you need from me?"

"Um, I'm here to bring you back to class" Hinata said. "Apparently you guys have a new homeroom teacher who's been trying to gather everyone back to class to 'strengthen our hope.'"

"Very well then, I will accompany you!" Nidi exclaimed.

"Really?" Hinata asked, glad to see that Nidi was not going to make him do anything stupid like Owari did.

"Yep. To be honest, I was going to go to class, but then my body decided it was time to take a shit!" Nidi exclaimed.

0000

After grabbing Nidi, Hinata and Tsumiki made their way towards a nearby bending machine. According to Tsumiki, the last student they were hunting down, a boy named Nagito Komaeda, often spends his time there.

"Why does he hang out here?" Hinata asked the nurse. "Seems like a strange place to be."

"H-he's always testing his luck there" Tsumiki stated. "Sometimes the machine gives you two cans instead of one. I'm sorry for not knowing much!"

"It's fine" Hinata said, still not used to her sudden outbursts. This time he didn't even do anything to cause the nurse to apologize. Shrugging his shoulders, Hinata began to approach the bending machine, noticed that a boy with wild white hair was currently trying to buy a drink.

"Seems I'm not lucky" the boy said with a small sigh before inserting another coin into the machine. Unfortunately, all the machine did next was shake, not spitting anything out.

"…I don't think that machine works" Hinata said as he approached the boy.

"No, it works" the boy said, turning around to face Hinata. "It's just that sometimes the machines choose not to give you anything. And I'm supposed to be the ultimate lucky student."

"Are you Nagito Komaeda?" Hinata asked the boy, knowing from Tsumiki that the boy they were looking for did hold the title of ultimate lucky student. However, he knew from countless hours of research on Hopes Peak that there can be more than one ultimate lucky student. Each year, Hopes Peak held a raffle to determine which non talented high schooler gets the honor of attending Hopes Peak as the ultimate lucky student.

"Why yes I am" the boy calmly responded. "Though I wonder what you could possibly want from trash like me."

"Great, another pessimist" Hinata thought to himself before speaking. "Well, I'm supposed to bring you back to class."

"Ah. But I've never seen you in class before" Komaeda said.

"Well that's cause I'm new…"

"Wait, you're the new student we were informed about" Komaeda said, his eyes beginning to gleam. "Tell me, what is your talent?"

"…I can't tell you" Hinata responded.

"Oh…" Komaeda nodded, a bit disappointed. "Well then, I'll come back to class with you." As Komaeda began to turn around, the front of his foot gently tapped the bending machine, causing it to light up and spew out nearly fifty cans.

"Well, seems I'm lucky after all" Komaeda said with a smile. While the boy appeared to be a calm individual, Hinata could sense that something was very off about him. Shrugging those feelings aside, he helped Komaeda bring his cans back to class.