"Kam-u-ku-ra Sen-paiiiiii!"
My eyes slowly opened, still groggy from sleep. What time was it...
My back ached a bit from sleeping on hard metal. It was a dull pain, but it didn't matter to me. I had more important things to consider. I gradually pulled myself up and looked out into the sky. The sun was barely visible, which meant that it was about five in the morning. Calling this early...
I smirked a bit. Calling this early shows dedication. Has Monaca made progress already?
The radio was blaring next to me, with Monaca desperately trying to get my attention. I slowly turned over to her, still not entirely awake.
"Kamu- Kura- Sen- pai- Notice- Monaca-"
When I made eye contact with her through the radio's screen, her pout-like face grew into a smile.
"Monaca's disguise is ready! You wanna see?"
Already... All of the various thoughts in my head instantly vanished, to be replaced with only anticipation and gratitude. I did not expect her to be this efficient... Especially because of all the incompetency I've been around in the past couple days... Maybe Monaca Towa was someone I could trust...
Obviously, I would need to see the disguise myself, to ensure it would actually get the job done. Blindly trusting anyone was not something I liked to do...
"Show me." I said
"Ok!"
Monaca's eyes twinkled as she pressed a button on her control board. The image on my radio display instantly shifted to an entirely different one, showing a much darker room. From the time stamps in the corner of the image, I could tell it was a recording camera. The room was undecorated and windowless, with a small bed attached to the wall.
Despite the room's size, there was only one person in it. There was a small woman in a wheelchair, sitting in the corner. Her dull blue hair and brown coat contrasted with the massive red scarf that was wrapped around her neck. There was a computer screen sitting on her lap, but it was turned off. She was shrunk back in her wheelchair as far as she could be, shivering and twitching seemingly beyond control. I then looked into her light blue eyes.
Shaking. Scared. In complete Despair.
Visions of the first Killing Game at Hope's Peak Academy came back to me, and I had to turn away for a moment, closing my eyes quickly.
This was not Monaca's disguise. This was Miaya Gekkogahara, a member of the Future Foundation, as scared as a mouse in a cat's presence.
Did Monaca capture her, and throw her in this jail cell?
"Monaca. You recently captured this woman?"
"Mhm!"
Monaca nodded her head in a childish manner.
Capturing a Future Foundation Member was not an easy task. But if you had access to an almost limitless amount of Monokumas, overwhelming anyone became infinitely easier. The only surprising thing was that Miaya was all by herself.
I could see where she was going with this... But I would have preferred to see the actual disguise instead.
"This is Miaya Gekkogahara, the Ultimate Therapist. This is not your disguise."
Monaca took a second to respond. It seemed like she did not know this woman's name, because she began repeating it silently to herself.
"You're right! Monaca is Monaca, not Miaya. But Miaya will be Monaca's disguise!"
"Show me." I said again.
Monaca then turned off the camera display, and as the video focused on her, she took a couple steps away from her computer. Her body was directed towards the entrance to her room, yet her face was still looking at me. Over a couple seconds, Monaca pulled her arms close to her body, and then stretched them out towards the door.
"Ta daaaa!"
Monaca's face displayed eagerness, excitement, and joy, all at once. I chuckled a bit. I forget the last time I saw an expression like that...
After a second, a robot began rolling its way into the room, slowly. A robot that looked exactly like Miaya Gekkogahara.
Now, making a robot like this is not particularly difficult. I could do it in half the time, if I had access to all the parts. But I've grown to expect this level of detail from myself only. It was shocking to see someone like Monaca create such a robot...
Even though I expected my eyes to widen in amazement, they did not budge.
"Monaca is good at building robots, so she built a robot as a disguise!"
"I see..."
Monaca rushed back over to her control panel, and started mashing at the keyboard. Her eyes were looking down intently, with determination. Her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth slightly as she typed more.
Then, she slammed the enter button and looked behind her at the robot. A pink rabbit, almost built like Monokuma, appeared on robot Miaya's computer screen and began speaking. For some reason, that rabbit felt strangely familiar...
"Kamukura Senpai has a girlfriend!" the rabbit spoke, causing me to smirk. Monaca smiled in response. It's been awhile since anyone toyed with me. It was quite refreshing.
"Monaca will talk to everyone through the computer, so Monaca's disguise would be a secret!"
Yes. Miaya Gekkogahara doesn't speak very much... She was the perfect target for Monaca.
That, and Monaca already has plenty of experience with wheelchairs.
"Monaca also hid weapons on the robot just in case!"
She pressed a button on her control panel, and the robot transformed, growing legs and extending out arms made of sharp metal. Monaca quickly pressed the button again to revert it.
Monaca did think of everything... All that experience building combat Monokumas must have been helpful...
As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was impressed. This robot would not be detected by the Future Foundation, and it had the power to protect both Kyoko Kirigiri and itself.
Monaca's eyes shimmered, waiting for my response. I nodded in acceptance.
"Good job. Now, listen closely. There will be a boat arriving at Towa City any day now, with Future Foundation members on board. I want you to make sure this robot gets on that boat, because it will be going directly to the Future Foundation's Headquarters."
"Monaca will drive her robot to the dock and wait patiently!"
"Make sure to have it behave like a human would. Do not blow your cover this early."
I had to confirm this with her, after she irrationally hung up on me earlier. There was no room for error. I felt like a parent guiding their child, continually reassuring the same old rules just in case they were forgotten. I barely felt like this anymore; it has always been simpler to do things myself than to trust someone else to do it correctly and waste time explaining to them exactly how it should be done. But I can't really do this by myself...
Hmpf. Having someone else do something for me was certainly different... Maybe it's good for me after all...
I smirked. It certainly meant that I would be bored less of the time.
"Of course, silly! Monaca will get going now! Bye, Kamukura Senpai!"
She ended the call with a stiff but courteous hand wave and a large smile.
I sat there, with nothing to do again. I slept for a couple hours, considering how Monaca woke me up quite early. Then, I looked for some food in the jungle, because there was nothing else worth doing. I brought six dead chickens back to the metal encased room, hiding them just in case the Remnants came to visit. I made sure they did not see me while I was searching, because I was supposed to be working on the Neo World Program...
Hm... What of the Neo World Program... I turned to the containment cells in the room.
How much longer can I hold up the lie that I'm actually helping Despair? How much time will the Remnants take until they realize that I'm not really working on the Neo World Program? And what will they do when they find out?
As I began thinking about this, I heard a familiar voice on the radio. I swiftly picked it up.
"Monaca's boat has just arrived!"
Monaca gave me a thumbs-up and a wink through the screen. I had to see it to believe it, however.
"Show me."
"Monaca will connect your display to Miaya's camera right away!"
With a couple keyboard strokes and some mouse clicking, Monaca's face shrunk to the bottom left corner of the screen, and a new image instantly appeared in the empty space on the display.
I could tell from the image that Miaya was indeed at the docks. In the background was the same large Future Foundation ship that left Jabberwock Island a couple days ago.
But I could not see much else, because there was something blocking my view.
There was a figure in the middle of the display, that took up about two thirds of the screen. It was the lower half of a woman, centered on her hips. The woman's tight, black skirt accentuated her slight curves, only reaching a few inches down her legs. Even without the long, beautiful purple hair blowing in the wind behind her, I knew exactly who she was.
I was staring at Kyoko Kirigiri's torso.
Almost like a switch was turned on in my mind, my temperament changed. I became more focused on the video, all of my senses devoted to that screen. If anything happened to her...
Even so, the fact that my eyes were fixated on Kyoko's lower body got to me. My face grew red.
Monaca did this on purpose, didn't she?
"Monaca, tilt the camera up."
Monaca displayed a mischievous smile, "Monaca thinks it's fine where it is."
"Monaca, just do it."
Monaca pouted a bit, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel's. She reluctantly agreed.
"Ok, fine..."
"Wait up!"
A voice shouted from the radio. The voice of Makoto Naegi. From one side of the screen, I noticed him running to catch up to Kyoko and Miaya. Even though he is the Ultimate Hope, he does act like a kid sometimes.
Monaca began tilting the camera upwards as he was running. Kyoko was wearing a small black jacket to go over her formal, white shirt. She also had on her classic dark gloves.
My eyes widened as the camera rose past Kyoko's chest and reached her face. Her light purple eyes, her unblemished face... She was more stunning than the last time I saw her. Kyoko was staring intriguingly at Miaya, not sure what to make of her appearance here on the docks.
I chuckled. She's cute when she's suspecting. Hopefully she didn't see through Monaca's disguise...
As Makoto approached the robot, Monaca began typing quickly. She pressed enter, and Miaya's computer talked.
"Am I glad to see you two!"
Not exactly what I would have said... I guess it wasn't too bad, but we can't afford to mess anything up. Not with Kyoko's life on the line.
"Monaca, only have Miaya talk when I tell you what to say. We cannot risk anything."
Monaca looked at me angrily.
"But Monaca can do it!"
"Miaya Gekkogahara? What are you doing here?"
Makoto's voice sounded through the radio display.
Monaca started typing instantly, but I couldn't let her respond on her own.
"Tell them that you received a summons from Tengan, and that you have to report to the Future Foundation's Headquarters as soon as possible."
"Monaca- Can- Do- It- Herself."
Monaca began another one of her temper tantrums, stopping her typing.
"Monaca, if you say something suspicious, our cover could be blown. And then our plan would fail."
"Don't you trust Monaca?"
Monaca's eyes were shaking a bit, and she was trembling as well.
Trust... It always came down to trust... Being perfect at everything, trusting anyone else never was easy. I was trying to control as much of the situation as I could... I felt the tension building up in my head...
Maybe I needed to step back and let Monaca handle things... Besides, she built the robot. And she was most recently in contact with Miaya Gekkogahara.
Time was running out. Kyoko and Makoto were expecting a response soon, Kyoko's eyes reflecting her impatience. So, I said the simplest answer to get Monaca typing again.
"Yes."
Monaca then calmed down and continued typing. I held my breath. I was nervous at what she would have Miaya say.
"Tengan summoned me, and I need to get to Headquarters as soon as possible! Are you two heading there as well?"
I exhaled quickly. She took my advice...
"Oh, he summoned you too? He told us to head back after we got to Towa City. You should come with us!" Makoto said, in his typical happy-go-lucky voice.
"I hope everything's all right..." Kyoko said, as her head shifted to face the ocean. The sound of her voice soothed me, and I forgot about everything else.
I knew where she was looking. She was looking in the direction of Jabberwock Island. I lifted my head and stared into the dark red sky, staring at where Towa City would be. Trying vainly to meet Kyoko's eyes...
In the meantime, Monaca typed another response.
"I'm sure everything is fine!"
"Yeah, let's not lose hope now. We should get to Headquarters as fast as we can." Makoto said, as he turned around and started walking back towards the ship.
Kyoko followed him, and after a couple seconds Monaca started moving Miaya in their direction as well.
She tilted the camera downwards, presumably to watch where she was going, but I soon realized what she was doing.
She focused the camera on Kyoko's rear, making sure to stay on target as she moved.
My face grew red again as I stared. Monaca then started zooming the camera in.
"Monaca, please..." I said, growing impatient.
Monaca giggled a bit, and then shifted her camera back to normal.
"Miaya will be sleeping on the boat. And Monaca will be, too." Monaca said
"Fine." I said. That shouldn't be a problem. Besides, Monaca does need her sleep too...
"Good night, Kamukura Senpai!"
"Good night." I nodded, and then turned the radio off.
I would need my sleep as well... Even though I've decided to trust Monaca, it still didn't hurt to observe her actions and help her whenever she needed it...
My stomach instinctively grumbled, and I turned towards my pile of chicken. It was around dinnertime...
I used some of the sticks outside to build a small fire to cook one of the chickens. I ate it slowly, pondering today's events. And once I finished, there was nothing else to do, so I decided to sleep earlier than usual.
I laid down, closed my eyes, and began dreaming of Kyoko Kirigiri. After waiting countless days, she was right there... Right there on my display. If only I could reach through it and pull her out...
My mind tried hard to preserve the images I saw today, but it ended up exhausting itself and I eventually fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning, pretty early as expected. I sat up slowly, turning towards the radio next to me.
The radio was silent.
I watched the sun rise gradually over the horizon. The same reddish yellow as always.
I checked the radio again.
No signal. Hm...
I picked up the radio and called Monaca. Hopefully she'd pick up and let me see what's happening...
After a minute of static, the connection was lost.
I started to get angry, but then I remembered. I was trusting Monaca.
So, I took a deep breath and shrugged. I placed the radio inside my jacket, next to Kyoko's book, and started to walk outside. Looks like I'd be talking another leisurely stroll outside today, and catching any unfortunate chickens that dared cross my path...
I took a couple steps outside before I heard a sound coming from the mountain path. It was...
A Remnant?
I turned and looked down the path, and my suspicions were confirmed. Sonia Nevermind was walking, albeit slowly, up to the Neo World Program. She looked very tired; her feet were dragging in the dirt, and her arms were dangling down, almost limp. Her head was facing towards the ground, and it seemed like she didn't have the energy to lift it up.
She took some more steps, but then she collapsed to the ground, creating a small cloud of sandy dirt around her.
Well, I couldn't just leave her there... That would blow my cover pretty quickly...
I ran over to her, picked her up, and ran back towards the room. Once we got there, I laid her down on the ground and started to feed her small bits of the chicken I had laying around until she could focus for more than a couple seconds.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes... Thank you..." Sonia gave me a weak smile. It was all she could muster, but it worked just as well as her regular one would.
A stern expression crossed my face as I turned away from her.
"You should not make the trek up this mountain if you don't think you can finish it."
"But... I needed to."
Sonia tried to sit up, but she fell back to the ground. I positioned her next to the wall, so something could support her back. I then sat next to her, just in case she fell down again.
"Why?" I asked
"Because... Nothing is working... Ever since you left, we have not been catching enough food, no matter how hard we try. We are always hungry. We have began to wonder how much longer we can survive like this. How much more we can endure before our friends are set free... Some of us are ready to give up, and some of us are losing our patience."
Sonia's eyes began wavering, and tears started to form. However, I showed no sign of emotion, and this was probably the reason that Sonia burst into tears. Her head laid to rest on my shoulder, shaking convulsively. Tears began trickling down my sleeve and dropping on my left hand.
"We need your help, Hajime. I cannot stand this any longer. I want Gundham back... I want my friends back... And I do not want to die..."
I cringed again at the mention of my former name, but I ignored it this time. I let Sonia have her moment. After a minute or so, she lifted her head and spoke again.
"When will the necessary parts arrive? I must know."
As much as I wanted to just lie again, and tell her they would be here soon, it felt wrong. There was something about Sonia's utmost sincerity that made me tell her the truth.
And maybe, if I tell the Remnants the truth, they will finally understand... They will finally understand my situation... And why I'm doing this...
"I never ordered any parts. I do not care about the Remnants."
There's only one thing I care about, and she's an ocean away. I quickly glanced at the radio in my pocket to ensure Monaca wasn't calling me.
Sonia was taken aback by my bluntness. With a few sniffles, she managed to regain her composure and speak.
"You do not wish to save them, and bring them back? They are our friends!"
"No. They're your friends." I barked, "The Remnants and I are vastly different. You all were in the same class, and I was not."
"That does not matter! We would treat you like one of us! We would make you belong."
Sonia choked a bit as she started crying again, but I understood what she was saying. I continued to tell her the truth.
"Really? You four have been treating me like one of you? I beg to differ... You all sent me up here because I was not like you, correct?"
Sonia's eyes widened a bit, and she shrunk back. Maybe she didn't expect me to be this blunt, or maybe she didn't expect me to have heard that conversation. Either way, I needed to elaborate. Otherwise, she wouldn't understand, and our talk would be a waste of both of our times.
"Besides, as much as you could pretend that I fit in, something would still feel wrong. I would still feel like the odd one out... Because I am. I am not Hajime Hinata. I am Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Ultimate. I am different from everyone else in the world. And there is nothing anyone can do to change that. There is no reason for me to belong with you all."
Sonia calmed down a little, my monologue evoking sympathy. Her eyes displayed compassion, and yet a little sadness. She looked away for a second.
"So you are not on our side?"
"I am not on anyone's side. I just want to be left alone."
Sonia paused a bit before her response.
"So you lied to us so you could be alone... What have you been doing, all this time?"
"I have been setting up my future. My future in Ambivalence."
"Ambivalence?"
Something instantly clicked in my head. Maybe the way that I would deal with these Remnants, would be to convert them to Ambivalence. Hopefully, I could convert Sonia, and then she could spread my influence to the other Remnants. Maybe then I can stand to be around them...
And it's what they deserve anyways. They deserve to be rid of Despair. I'm not saying I feel obligated to help... but being one of the only ones who can...
"Yes. Neither Hope nor Despair." I answered
Sonia displayed a look of contemplation, so I continued.
"Tell me, what is the thing that you want most in the world?"
Sonia closed her eyes and held her hand close to her heart.
"That Gundham... And the rest of my friends... Could be revived and brought back to life."
"You want that over anything else?"
"Absolutely. Knowing that they are stuck there, while we are out here... "
"Would you give up everything else, including Despair, in order to have your friends back?"
After a couple seconds, Sonia responded.
"Yes.", she nodded confidently.
I nodded. Exactly as I expected...
"I would consider doing that. Only focusing on what is important, and giving up on the rest."
"But what if I cannot help with what I am focusing on?"
Her eyes were yearning, staring at me.
"Then focus on surviving until someone else will." I answered. It was the only thing to do, after all. Because she knew nothing about the Neo World Program.
"But when will that happen?" Sonia asked.
It all comes down to this, again... I did not want to work on that program... But seeing how much Sonia cared about them...
No. Not now. I had bigger things to worry about...
"I do not know. But you should be ready whenever it does."
I nodded at Sonia, who still felt like she was missing something from the conversation. I started to stand up and walk off, but I told Sonia one last thing.
"Please relay this to the other Remnants."
"Of course." Sonia nodded.
I walked to the corner of the room to check on the radio that I had underneath my shirt.
Still no communication...
I turned back around to monitor Sonia on her way out. She attempted to stand up, but she began shaking a bit. After a couple seconds, she managed to find her way onto her two feet, with her right hand using the wall as a guide. She took a couple steps out back onto the mountain path, and I stepped outside also to watch.
It was not long before Sonia started wobbling again, and she took another fall soon after.
I rolled my eyes... She could have at least asked for help...
I turned back to the room I was living in. I saw the chickens I had piled up in the corner of the room, and I smirked.
I guess I'm feeling particularly generous today...
I grabbed all the chicken, and Sonia, and started walking down the mountain. Once I got to the campsite, I ensured no one was there before entering. They all would be searching for food, anyways.
I laid Sonia down by the logs near the fire. After I started the fire, I began to cook the chickens I caught yesterday, continually checking my radio for any message from Monaca.
Still nothing. Monaca... Why aren't you calling me...
By the time I was finished, it was getting late. Grabbing some small twigs from the firewood pile, I proceeded to line them up in the sand in a particular pattern. Once I was finished, I took a step back, admiring my work. It read:
Do not bother me
I nodded, and then walked back to the fire. Taking one of the cooked chickens with me, I made my first steps back up the mountain. Once I was halfway up, I turned back, watching the other three Remnants as they headed back to the campsite. Kazuichi was quick to shake Sonia to make sure she was still alive. Sonia regained her consciousness, and flinched at the sight of him. Once she realized where she was, and what I left for them, her eyes travelled upwards along the path. But I was too far away for her imperfect vision to see me. I turned around and continued walking. Once I got back to the Neo World Program, I stared at it for a while.
The radio started buzzing, and I hurriedly picked it up. It seems Monaca finally called me...
I saw Monaca at her usual desk, but something changed about the room since the last time I saw it. There were cases of Red Bear energy drink and various snack foods sitting in the back of the room. There were three empty containers of the drink on Monaca's computer desk already, with some empty bags tossed on the floor here and there.
"Kamukura Senpai!"
"Monaca, why haven't you called all day?"
"Monaca doesn't need your help, remember?"
I grumbled at her response, "But I have the right to know what is happening. It is my plan, too."
"Hmpf..."
"How is the plan going?" I asked, nervous of the possibilities for failure.
Monaca turned on Miaya's camera. My eyes widened at the image.
The boat was approaching a tall, cylindrical building, floating on the ocean. A building that I have seen before many, many times...
The Headquarters of the Future Foundation
"We're here!" Monaca cheered