'Huh… who…?' Hajime slowly regained consciousness, and the first thing he saw when he woke was someone leaning over him.
"Are you alright? That guy you were with said you'd be fine but… you look exhausted… to be honest, I'm also… no, everyone's the same way, all things considered. Hey… are you listening?" The boy above him asked. Hajime slowly sat up, putting a hand to his throbbing head.
"Hajime." His head turned to see his brother walking towards him. Izuru knelt down next to his brother.
"What… happened?" Hajime asked. However, he knew what happened, he just didn't want to believe it. Something this insane happening… it couldn't be real. But, he was still on that beach…
"Hajime, you know what happened." Izuru said firmly. Hajime sighed and stood up, and Izuru did the same.
"Hey um… sorry to interrupt but you are OK right?" The pale, white haired boy asked, concern laced in his voice.
"I… I'm fine. Just leave me alone." Hajime groaned.
"No way, you still look really pale… and so does he." The boy said looking at Izuru. Said boy narrowed his eyes.
"I'm always this pale."
"That… thing said we're on an island right?" Hajime asked nervously.
"It seems so. From what I can tell it's in the southern hemisphere due to the temperature and the flora." Izuru said matter of factly. Hajime looked around and saw that Izuru was right, the palm trees and a few flowers certainly looked tropical. He also saw a camera and a monitor on one of the trees.
"Are… we being watched?" Hajime asked.
"I suppose. It's probably to make sure we don't get into any danger. But… I can see why you'd be worried." Fluffy said.
'This guy is so carefree… it's… suspicious.' Izuru thought to himself.
"Anyway, are you feeling any better?" Fluffy asked Hajime. "And I know you're probably still a little messed up right now, but don't you think it'd be good if we introduced ourselves since we didn't get to before, and he was too busy worrying about you."
"Yeah. That's a good idea." Hajime replied while Izuru merely gave a small nod.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Nagito Komaeda." Fluffy, or Nagito as Izuru now knew, said cheerfully. "Oh, and since we're introducing ourselves, I should probably tell you my talent, though, it's not that impressive." He said while looking a little disappointed.
"Why would it not be impressive?" Hajime questioned. He thought that since he was accepted to Hope's Peak, then it had to be really interesting and exciting.
"Well… I'm lucky." Nagito said. This made both brothers confused.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hajime seemed to be the most curious, but Izuru was too, how was good luck a talent?
"My official title is 'Super High School Level Good Luck.' I won a lottery according to my invitation."
'Good Luck? Is that even a talent?' Hajime thought skeptically.
"You look like you're not really sure what to make of this…" Nagito said, sounding a little disappointed again.
"N-no, that's not it at all…" Hajime tried to comfort.
"It's OK, I feel the same. I'm just an ordinary high school student with no talent. When I got the invitation I tried to refuse but they insisted. Apparently Luck is something that Hope's Peak doesn't really understand, and so for the sake of research they hold that lottery every year. It sure is amazing that they research something as trivial as luck so intensely. I'm glad they made it possible for nobodies such as me to enter. But on the other hand I feel a little out of place."
Nagito seemed to realize that he was rambling and went a little red. "A-ah, sorry, sometimes I can't help myself but get negative sometimes, it's a bad habit… but, that's all for my introduction." Nagito finally finished. Izuru made a mental note to keep an on eye on him, since Nagito seemed to be a bit too carefree in this environment. "Now it's your turn."
"I'm Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you."
"... Izuru Hinata."
"Huh? You have the same last name? Well, I guess it's not an uncommon name but…"
"We're twins." Izuru explained.
"But you two look nothing alike… well, I guess that's not too unsurprising but still." Nagito gave a small laugh.
"We used to look really similar, except for our eyes, but Izuru got tired of people mistaking us and grew his hair out and dyed it black." Hajime said. Nagito hummed and looked at the two, most likely checking out the similarities.
"Well, nice to meet you both. Now, I'm wondering, what's your talents?" Nagito asked after a few moments.
"It's… um…" Hajime tried to say but… nothing came to his mind. The more he tried to remember, the harder it became. Izuru tried to remember as well but… it only made his head hurt.
"It's uh… um…" Hajime was shivering a little from discomfort and Izuru put a hand on his shoulder.
"Huh, is something wrong?" Nagito asked.
"It's nothing… I guess we're still a little disoriented." Hajime said, mostly to himself.
"It's still odd that both of us are having the same issue." Izuru mumbled, his feeling of dread only growing.
"You guys can't remember? That's strange… But I suppose after everything that's happened it's understandable. I'm sure it's just shock, so try not to worry too much! I'm not sure what's going on, but I hope we can be friends." As Nagito said that, a small chime sounded out, making Hajime jump.
"What was that? It came from…" Hajime dug into his pocket and pulled out a small tablet. "What is this?"
"Usami gave it to us, you don't remember?"
"He was kind of in the middle of passing out when it happened." Izuru said with slight disdain in his voice.
"Oh yeah… I kind of remember something like that... what is it?" Hajime asked. Suddenly, the white rabbit appeared in front of them, making Hajime let out a yelp of surprise.
"It's an e-Handbook!" She yelled.
"Agh! Where did you come from?!" Hajime yelled.
"I'm sorry, did I startle you? I'm so sorry! But isn't that thing amazing, it's an important part of this school trip, so please don't lose it." Usami warned.
"This… is important?" Hajime asked.
"When she explained it to us earlier, she said that we use them to keep track of the 'Hope Shards' that we gather." Izuru explained.
"Hope Shards?"
"When you deepen your bonds with your classmates, you will gain 'Hope Shards'. The more you build a friendship, the more shards you will get! I want you all to gather as many of them as you can!" With that, the rabbit disappeared, and all of them wondered how in the hell she moved so fast.
"Why does she want us to gather these things? Does she think this is a game?" Hajime yelled angrily.
"If this was a game, I'd be relieved, because that means we aren't in any danger." Nagito said in an attempt to calm Hajime down. Hajime sighed.
"I guess you're right…"
"Anyway, neither of you guys know anything about the other's right? I think we should go introduce you guys to them. They're all exploring the island, so we can kill two birds with one stone by meeting them and exploring!" Nagito chimed happily. Izuru nearly groaned. This was the part he was dreading. He hated interacting with people, but he was lucky enough to have Hajime there to help him out…
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's go then." Hajime took out his e-Handbook and saw a map with everyone's location displayed on it. It was a little unnerving to know that his location could be tracked but he decided not to think about it too much.
"So… where do you guys wanna go first?" Nagito asked.
"Why not the airport? Maybe they have a plan there that we can use?" Hajime said hopefully.
"I doubt it's that easy but… OK." Izuru said with a small sigh. With that the three of them walked to to the airport, when they entered, they saw two people standing there, Shark Week, and a guy with a long scarf and one red eye.
"Airplanes! Does this mean we can get off?" Hajime asked excitedly.
"Nah, those things aren't going nowhere. If they were just broken I could fix 'em, and we'd already be out of here by now." Shark week said.
"So… what's the problem?"
"They're empty. The engines have been completely taken out, they're pretty much just for show now." Shark week said scratching his cheek thoughtfully. Hajime seemed to deflate a little. It was cruel. Showing off the planes but not having them be of any use, it was like whoever put them here was taunting them.
"Ah, sorry, didn't mean to start talking shop when we've only just met, and since we've only just met… Name's Kazuichi Souda, Super High School Level Mechanic, nice to meetcha!" Izuru stared at the man for a few moments to read him. He seemed somewhat decent, if a bit odd with the hair and teeth choice.
"Just like his title says, Kazuichi's a wizard with machine's, if he says the planes can't be fixed, they really can't." Nagito explained excitedly.
"Bad stuff happens to engines you know, happens all the time, sad but true. But a grounded plane, with nothing else wrong but a missing engine, that's intentional. Someone really wants us to stay here." Kazuichi sounded a little nervous as he spoke but he quickly cheered up. "Ah well, this is unnatural but it's nothing we can't handle. We're trapped here yeah but we're not in any kind of danger, they're not forcing us to do anything weird, take a look at the rules." Hajime blinked and took out the small tablet in his pocket and looked at the rules that were displayed.
Rule 1: Extreme violence is prohibited. Let's live peacefully together here.'
Rule 2: Gather Hope Shards and deepen bonds with your classmates Rule 3: Littering and damaging the environment is forbidden. Let's live in harmony with nature on this beautiful island.
Rule 4: The supervising teacher will not interfere directly with student activities, unless any rules are broken.
"The rules are pretty much like any other field trip's really." Despite that, Izuru still had a bad feeling, and wasn't planning on letting his guard down at all.
"No violence, no littering… looks like they really do want us to live peacefully here." Nagito pondered.
"But, can we really trust what Usami said? She kidnapped us!" Hajime yelled. He was getting annoyed with how carefree these people were being.
"Don't be so pessimistic Hajime. A hopeful outlook is indispensable part of the human condition!" Nagito said. Izuru could only mentally agree with his brother, seeing as how suspicious this whole situation was.
"I say we take it easy and see how things play out, y'know? Until something happens, just treat it like a vacation! Heh heh! Even that weird bunny is kinda cute once you take a good look at her!" Kazuichi cheered. Hajime was jealous of how lightly Kazuichi was taking this whole thing.
The twins heard a chime from their e-Handbooks and when they looked they saw they'd collected another Hope Shard. If it was this easy to get them then they'd be out of here in no time! The twins and Nagito bid Kazuichi a farewell and made their way over to the other boy but suddenly:
"Come no closer fiends, if you value your life." The guy with the scarf warned. Hajime blinked a few times in confusion, while Izuru stared.
"Excuse me?" Hajime asked.
"Hmph, even though you were warned you still persist, your courage is at least commendable." The other commented.
'What's with this guy?' Hajime thought.
"Fuhahaha, tell me courageous ones, would you like to know my name? Do you believe yourselves worthy of hearing it?" This guy was getting more and more insane by the second, and truthfully… Izuru was quite interested. "I must admit, your show of bravado has amused me, very well, I shall tell you my name, may you never forget it even in HELL! My name is Gundam Tanaka, it is the name that shall one day rule this world!" The twins couldn't help but stare at Gundam.
'Rule this world huh? Good luck with that buddy. I have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of ruling the world.' Izuru thought to himself sarcastically.
"Now tell me, who's master are you?" Gundam asked seriously. Hajime was extremely confused now.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Answer me! Which tribe have you made your pact with?" Gundam's tone was threatening, like he was losing his patience.
"Pact? What are you talking about?" Hajime was getting a little worried now. He had no idea how to answer.
"Answer me! Answer now for I shall destroy you once I do!" Gundam seemed to be getting angrier by the second.
"Then isn't better if we don't answer?" Izuru commented. He was getting bored by this guy's antics, it was charming at first, but now it was becoming ridiculous.
"H-he's probably asking if you guys have a pet." Nagito explained.
"Pet? No… the only pet we've had was a hermit crab back in elementary school…" Hajime nervously answered.
"There was that one time we found a baby raccoon that had gotten hurt and we nursed it back to health." Izuru reminded. It was a fond memory for him though. The raccoon was very tiny, and barely had any strength left. It had most likely been attacked by a dog so it had a few cuts and a broken arm. The brothers had wrapped up the cuts and put a makeshift cast on the broken bone. They fed it and gave it water until their parents had made them take it to the vet when the broken arm hadn't gotten any better. The vet had taken it in and then had released it back to the wild. Though the raccoon had come back to their house a few times.
"So, you made a contract with a masked demon. Impressive! You two may not be simple humans after all! Fuahahaha!" Suddenly, something came out of Gundam's scarf. Izuru had to look closer and suddenly he understood what it was.
"Hamsters?" Izuru was stunned. How had this guy gotten the hamsters to be so calm…
"Truly this is the secret art of the Tanaka empire! By using my own body as a bed I have tamed their evil spirits!" This guy… let the hamsters sleep in his scarf and clothes?
"He's pretty much his own Dr. Dolittle. He truly deserves the title Super High School Level Animal Breeder." Nagito praised. Animal Breeder? So that explains the hamsters, it doesn't explain his attitude though.
"Hear what "Mirage Silver Falcon" Jum-P, one of my Four Dark Devas of Destruction, has to say: "We will show no mercy, do not make us angry." You should heed his warning." Izuru highly doubted that the hamster had actually spoke, but he wasn't about to say it out loud. Gundam gave a final, almost maniacal laugh. A chime came from their e-Handbooks so somehow this interaction had given them a Hope Shard.
"A-anyway, he may be a bit odd but he's really talented when it comes to animals. He saved several species from the brink of extinction, and there's even a rumor that he can talk to animals." Nagito explained excitedly. Hajime considered the possibility of Gundam actually being able to talk to animals, but he quickly threw that thought away.
Suddenly, one of Gundam's hamsters, the chubby one, lept from his place on Gundam's shoulder and onto Izuru's. The long haired male let out a yelp of shock and tensed up a bit. The small animal gave a few squeaks of happiness and tried to burrow his way into Izuru's shirt.
"N-no, bad hamster!" Izuru cried out.
"Ch-Cham-P! What are you doing? Could it be… are you an incarnation of a previous Dark Knight? Incredible!" Gundam shouted, but Izuru wasn't really listening. He grabbed the hamster, Cham-P, and handed him back to Gundam.
Izuru quickly walked away, a bit embarrassed from the incident, with Hajime and Nagito in tow.
"You OK?" Hajime asked his brother.
"I'm fine…" Izuru wasn't really that fine, she was was incredibly embarrassed for reacting the way he did.
"It was pretty cute though! Animals must really like you Izuru!" Nagito chimed in, making Izuru go slightly red.
"Shut up, Nagito." Izuru mumbled, making Hajime laugh a little. It'd been awhile since he'd seen his brother get genuinely embarrassed, and it made him happy. He suddenly felt something hit his head and he saw Izuru glaring at him. He looked down and saw that Izuru had literally thrown a coconut at his head.
"Is that how you wanna play?" Hajime threatened. Izuru merely smirked.
"Bring it on." Hajime picked up the coconut and threw it with all his might… but Izuru merely dodged, making Hajime let out a yell and tackle his brother to the ground.
"No, no! No fighting!" Usami yelled… until she saw what Hajime was actually doing.
"H-Hajime don't you fucking-! Y-y-you ass!" Izuru was laughing. Usami saw that Hajime's fingers were dug into Izuru's sides and stomach. "Wh-wh-what are you?! F-f-five?!" Izuru was laughing his butt off, and Hajime had an evil grin on his face.
Nagito merely stared at the two, wondering if all siblings were like this or if it was only these two. When Hajime felt that Izuru had enough he stepped back, dodging the hit that Izuru threw at him. Hajime had a shit eating grin on his face, while Izuru was bright red in embarrassment.
"I hate you so much."
"Love you too bro."