Souda sat in the abandoned cafeteria, tinkering with spare parts. He looked up briefly when Hinata walked in, then resumed his work. The hotel on the first island had been fully renovated, but nobody seemed comfortable going in it yet. The combination of the fully furnished lobby and absence of Hiyoko's alter were still a little too much to handle.
"Ever since Tanaka-kun hit the 12 hour mark, Miss Sonia's been sitting in his room staring at him." He told Hinata. "I thought about going in too, but it would just be weird with her there." They were never were what one would consider friends, but he missed the odd, if somewhat questionable, rivalry they had. "I think he was still butt hurt that we left him out during the beach party." Hinata nodded in agreement, remembering the passive aggressive way he would talk to his hamsters even days after the fact. "I wanted to make it up to him."
"We still can." Hinata said. "He might not understand the 'why', but I'm sure he'd appreciate it." Souda set down his wrench and finally made eye contact with Hinata.
"It's been 20 hours since we injected him and nothing's changed. How much longer do we wait until we give up?" He held his head in his good hand. "She spent days searching the amusement park for those hamsters. I don't think she can handle watching him go like that again." He sighed. "Seeing me will just make things worse, but do you think you could check on her for me? Make sure she's eating and stuff." He knew Sonia thought of him as more of an obstacle than a friend, but he hoped that one day he could change her mind. Today just wouldn't be that day.
"I'll tell her to go outside and get some fresh air for a bit." Hinata agreed. "Between Akane and Peko's new appetite, I'm sure she'll be encouraged to eat something. Tanaka-san's a fighter, he wouldn't let something like this keep him down." Souda sighed with relief.
"Well he better wake up soon." Souda grumbled. "I don't want to win Miss Sonia's heart because Sleeping Beauty decided to take an extra long dirt nap." With some of his worries quelled, Kazuichi was free to geek out about the modifications he was making to his prosthetic. "Finally, I'll be able to hold a damn spoon steady.
Akane had appeared to adjust to their situation on the island quickly. In hindsight, Kuzuryuu thought, it was probably her adaptability that kept her alive during the killing game. After much belligering on Akane's part, Fuyuhiko had agreed to join her outside. They had come to the beach, presumably to swim, but it seemed she had other ideas in mind.
"Take a swing at me." She said as she cracked her knuckles.
"Woah, what the hell?" Kuzuryuu asked.
"I need someone to spar with and every time I ask Hinata, he makes this face." She mimicked the flash of terror Hinata got at the prospect of violence. "You're not dressed up like usual, so come at me bro."
"What makes you think I want to fight you?" Kuzuryuu frowned. Sure he was pissed off about their situation, but he wasn't going to take it out on Akane.
"Just go ahead and take a swing." Akane motioned towards her. "I gotta' know what I'm dealing with so I don't knock you out with one punch."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kuzuryuu grimaced.
"Means you blow a lot of air like you're hot shit; but you're too much of a wimp to do anything about it." He wasn't doing what she wanted, so she employed a tactic that worked on her younger brothers. "Aww, is little wussy boy too scared to fight a girl?" She imitated a chicken just to get under his skin.
"Damn it Owari!" So he took the bait, she was literally asking for it. It wasn't like either had never been in a fight before, they were just fighting in different bodies. The number of hits he was missing was embarrassing, but Akane had lost a lot of her strength as well.
Peko watched the stumbling altercation from a distance. It was fitting that even after their memory loss, that the two still got along. She remembered the pictures Junko had shown her of her old master and her replacement. Though she claimed that it didn't matter, she couldn't help but feel little jealous and betrayed. She was drawn out of her thoughts when Sonia sat beside her.
"Normally Owari-san would be fighting with Nidai-san. It seems Kuzuryuu-kun is an exception." Sonia commented. She could tell she was encroaching on a sensitive topic and changed the subject. "I found something today that I think you will find interesting." She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a grey, robo-dwarf hamster. "I found him, or her I'm not sure, in the hotel washroom." She cupped her hands so the rodent couldn't escape and held it out to Peko. Too apprehensive to hold the creature, Peko instead carefully stroked it's back. "I think he was attracted to the water. When I went in to use the bathroom, he came right out and waited patiently to be picked up." She set the hamster on her lap and tiny feet scurried this way and that. "You know, I never would have found him if I hadn't gone into the hotel. I know nobody else has... They don't want to face that what they knew is gone." She cradled her pet. "I'm the same way, but if I hadn't gone in there, this little guy could have starved."
"It is strange," Peko said as she watched the creature doze in Sonia's hands, "being attached to something that has been erased." She returned to watching the fist fight. "I know it's petty to hold a grudge against someone who doesn't exist anymore." She grimaced as Kuzuryuu hit the sand. "Especially when they can't defend themselves, but I can't help feeling... bitter."
"It's not petty." Sonia countered. "What happened to you was real, and it won't go away just because some find it inconvenient. We don't want to trivialize what happened to you as. Similarly, what happened to us was real. We are just fortunate enough to have been given a second chance. Moving toward the future isn't about ignoring the past, it's about dealing with what life has given us," she stroked her pet's back, "and finding the light."
Akane stretched her arms as she entered the cafeteria with Fuyuhiko.
"Man's there's nothing like a good sparring to work up an appetite!" She grinned.
"Speak for yourself." Kuzuryuu grumbled, the clear loser. During their fight, he quickly found out his depth perception was as good as gone. It made it very difficult to figure out where to punch if she moved too fast. Which was, of course, the whole time. He could feel the bruises manifest under his skin and he definitely messed up his wrist when he fell.
"Quit your whining, I'll get you some ice." Akane said as she disappeared into the kitchen. When Sonia and Peko joined them, Kuzuryuu was fumbling with an ace bandage.
"How do you manage to do anything?" He asked of Kazuichi. Even though the brace fastened with Velcro, he couldn't hold the free end without his hand hurting.
"Well, it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park," Kazuichi theorized, "but I found cursing a lot helps."
"No shit." Kuzuryuu grumbled.
"Owari-chan," Hinata scolded as he stormed towards the kitchen, "what made you think this was a good idea?"
"You don't fight with your head Hinata, you fight with your fists." Owari retorted. Now three years wasn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but Fuyuhiko figured by now he should at least know how to bandage himself without looking ridiculous.
"You're doing it wrong." Peko stated. She sat down next to him and took his arm. Later she would blame second nature, but at the time, she didn't find it strange to wrap up Kuzuryuu's arm. "If you wrap it too tight, you'll just hurt yourself more." She became increasingly aware of the stares she was getting and let go of his arm.
"Thanks Peko." Kuzuryuu said quietly. He brought his arm close to his stomach for comfort. As soon as Akane returned, Peko left with a sudden excuse.
"Here you go bro." Akane said, giving him a ziplock bag full of ice.
"Who said I was your bro?" Kuzuryuu said, scrunching up his face.
"Well Hinata agreed to be my new little brother." Akane explained. "And if you and Hinata are brothers, that makes you my brother too." She nodded in agreement with herself.
"By that logic, wouldn't I be your brother too?" Souda asked, equally confused.
"Sure, why not?" Akane shrugged.
"Hinata!" Fuyuhiko shouted at the kitchen. "What did you get me into?"
"Sonia too." Akane suggested.
"Oh how wonderful, I always wanted to have siblings." She agreed with a smile.
"I mean, you guys are probably the only family I have left." Akane said with a dry chuckle. "So we gotta' stick together no madder what. Even if some of us are whiny wusses." She couldn't help but laugh when both boys took offense to the comment.
"Don't be ridiculous Owari-chan." Kazuichi said as he reattached him arm. "Of course we'll stick together. Just because I promised my heart to Miss Sonia, doesn't mean I'll stop caring about you guys."
"Alas," Sonia said in mock revere, "now that we are brother and sister, such a relationship would be inappropriate. You simply must find another to shower with your affection." Souda digested this, his face molded by terror.
"Wait a minute, I changed my mind!" Souda shrieked.
"Too late man!" Fuyuhiko grinned. "You're stuck with us now."
"Hinata-kun!" Souda gasped. "You gotta' help me outta' this one. Hinata-kun!"
Night had long since fallen on the island. Hinata found himself pouring over medical files and resources. Tanaka hadn't woken up yet and they had past the twenty-four hour mark. If something didn't happen soon, they would be coming to him for answers. After finding Tanaka's file, he paused. Why were there only fourteen files?
He checked the ground, and nearby surfaces for the missing chart. It was doubly concerning that Peko's file was the one that went missing. Finally, he came to the garbage can, and found it was full of shredded paper.
"I thought you weren't going to look at my information without my permission." Peko stated coldly from the doorway. Hinata hit his head on the desk as he came up.
"I wasn't," he hissed in pain, "I wanted to check the doctor's report on the adrenaline research." Peko stiffened, her lips pulled into a defensive frown.
"I apologize, but that file contained some rather unflattering facets of my life. I couldn't risk the chance that he would see them." She avoided making eye contact
"Kuzuryuu-kun is in charge of the charts." Hinata concluded. He ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "You didn't have to do that, I can't imagine there would be anything in there that would make him think less of you."
"You'd be wrong." She sighed. "Besides, what good would those files do you, you're just an ordinary high school student." She noticed him flinch.
"Not exactly. I was," his red eyes focused on something far away, "but I managed to mess that up too. It weirds everybody out if I start using my talent in front of them. Souda's cool with it, but even he gets wary sometimes." He looked down at his hands. "If I can get everyone out of this, it may not make up for what I did, but it's a start."
"You remember what happened before the program?" Peko asked.
"Not really. I just keep having nightmares about it." He shrugged. "It's probably just brain garbage... Thank you, for listening I mean." Peko wasn't used to being thanked. She studied the floor under the heat of his gaze. "Was there something you wanted from me?"
'Yes," she coughed, "clothes. For me and the others. After finishing physical therapy, some of us might not fit in the standard attire that was given to us."
"That's a good point." Hinata nodded. "I'm not sure anything we have here will fit Togami-san anyway. I'll talk with Sonia-san about it in the morning." Pekoyama nodded and left without another word.
It wasn't until the middle of the night that Tanaka finally woke up. He was used to waking up in strange places, provided he was near some source of food. It briefly crossed his mind that he was not in his usual attire as he stumbled down the hall, following the fork and knife signs.
Once he had raided the cupboard, he took the time to consider his surroundings. No eminent danger was in the air, he was without an animal entourage and no one else in the building was awake. Odd, there should at least be night personnel out and about: not that he would actually engage with them.
"Tanaka-san?" Holy hell fire, who was that!? And how did they manage to sneak up on him? He turned to peer at the feminine shadow in the hallway. "Tanaka-san, you're really awake!" She cried. It was foreign to hear someone say his birth name, especially with such fondness. When she ran towards him he flinched.
"Oh, you probably don't want me touching you." She said sadly, as if remembering something. "My name is Sonia." She paused. "I'm just so glad you're okay. If I could just listen to your heartbeat, I'm sure I wouldn't be poisoned. Please, allow me..."
Definitely odd that a creature such as herself would know that about him. He didn't decline the offer. Perhaps it was one of Lady Junko's tests. No madder, he would not break the vow he made to Enoshima. He would remain voiceless until his dying breath, regardless of this temptress's wishes.
Sonia took slow, careful steps towards him and rested an ear against his back. He felt the thunderous roar beneath his chest, but no snide comment left her lips. They stood like this in the darkness for what felt like hours. Her tears soaked through his thin cotton shirt without a sound. It took every ounce of his being to not ask 'why'.
