Chiaki has no idea how much time has passed since she saw that video.
She remembers most, if not every last detail about it, to the point that she can't erase it from her mind, no matter what. If anything, it feels like it keeps playing over and over at the back of her mind, almost like she doesn't want to forget what she just saw, at least on a subconscious level.
In any case, she hates how she feels so helpless about it. 'What do I do now?'
"Good morning, everyone! Looks like today is going to be another perfectly tropical day! Now then, let's give it all we've got for today!"
Monokuma's irritating morning announcement did more than enough to snap herself out of it.
She takes a deep breath, before finally getting herself off the bed, no matter how numb and heavy her body feels.
As she sets off to meet with the others back at Hotel Mirai's lobby, she notices that everyone's already there. No one's in a good mood at all, and aside from those who are muttering (or squeaking and whimpering in Tsumiki's case), everyone's eerily quiet for the most part.
She can feel her fingers twitching again at the realization. 'Monokuma sent them similar videos too, didn't he? Just how low can you get?'
"Nanami, there you are." Komaeda calls out as he approaches her. "I've been getting worried about you."
"Sorry about that." She lowers her head to the ground, avoiding his gaze.
He sighs. "You know, you shouldn't apologize for that at all. I'm sure you have your reasons for arriving late here, especially with the new motive Monokuma sent to us." A frown makes its way on his face. "Speaking of which, I know it's not exactly my place to say this, but Hinata's been really worried about you too."
"He is?" She frowns as well.
"Yes," Komaeda sadly nods. "If you don't mind, I can take you to him right now."
"It's okay," She replies with a slight nod. "I want to see him too."
With that, Komaeda takes her by the hand, and she follows along with him. It didn't take long before he brings her in front of Hinata, and it's just like what he said. Hinata looks like he's completely out of it, and his face has turned pale all over.
Komaeda taps on the other boy's shoulder. "Hinata?"
Hinata blinks, turning to face Komaeda with a somewhat annoyed look. "What is it?"
"Nanami's fine." Komaeda points out as he presents her in front of him. "See? Nothing bad happened to her."
After hearing that, Hinata's annoyed expression quickly melts away into a more shocked one. Eyes wide, mouth agape. He's gone quiet again, not saying or doing anything other than to stare at her. Not to mention, his face looks even paler than before.
It's all so concerning.
"Hinata, are you okay?" She asks, her voice soft and shaky.
After a second or so passes by, Hinata seems to have snapped out from the trance he's been having just now. He looks away from her for a moment while forcing a smile. "Y…Yeah, I'm doing fine." His voice is a lot quieter too. So much shakier than how he usually sounds like.
'You don't look like you're doing fine.' Despite her better judgment, she then asks him in a firm tone, "It's about the video that Monokuma sent us, isn't it?"
He sighs in defeat, turning to face her. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. That bastard's really fucked up in the head, you know. In any case, I'm glad you're here." He earnestly tells her as he relaxes, though only for a bit. It's clear that shoulders still look rather tense.
A moment passes by, and the unmistakable sound of someone's footsteps entering the area resonates in the room.
Out of curiosity, Chiaki turns to take a look on who it might be. Her stomach immediately twists upon itself once she sees it's none other than Alter Ego. 'Why is he here?'
The others are also echoing similar statements. Even when they're quiet about it, it's clear that they're not too fond of him either, since they'd shy away from him or even avoid looking at him altogether.
Judging by the way Alter Ego winced for a moment, he must've noticed everyone's hostility and wariness against him. Though unlike before, he stands his ground somewhat and continues walking on until he's right in front of everyone's view.
"Um, hello, everyone," He starts off, his voice sounding rather nervous. "I know that you must all be so unnerved, especially with new motive that Monokuma sent to everyone. And, I also know that I haven't been of much help lately, but if it's okay, I still want to try and help you all—"
"Excuse me?" Koizumi suddenly cuts in, glaring at him as she puts her hands over her hips. "You don't have the right to talk to about wanting to help us, especially not after what you did."
Alter Ego flinches at that. "You're right, I really don't. But, even so," He puts a hand over his chest. "I can't just stand there and do nothing. As your TA, I must ensure that—"
"Enough with that shit!" Saionji yells at him. "You're not our TA, you understand? Even if it's true you're not working with Monokuma, you're still so goddamn useless. What the hell have you been doing for these past days, huh?"
He makes a quiet squeak at that. "I swear, I've been trying to find for a way to help you all."
"Helps us? Help us?" Koizumi repeats those words, her tone laced with discrete bitterness and anger as she throws those words back at him. "If you really want to help us, then get us off this island. That's one way for you to prove that you really mean well as our so-called TA, and that you're not working with Monokuma at all. So why won't you?"
"I…" Alter Ego sadly shakes his head. "I'm afraid that's one thing I can't do…I'm truly sorry."
"Hmph, that's what I thought so," Saionji huffs, crossing her arms and turning away from him. "God, you really are so weak and pathetic, aren't you?"
This time, Alter Ego doesn't say anything back to her.
Koizumi puts a hand over her forehead as she sighs, having calmed down a bit after that. "But yeah, the new motive that Monokuma sent to us is rather troublesome."
"That's a huge understatement, and you know that." Kuzuryu sarcastically remarks. "I mean, the bomb is one thing, but threatening our personal lives now? It's only a matter of time before someone dies today."
Koizumi immediately turns her attention towards. "Kuzuryu, you shouldn't be talking about that so casually—"
Hinata cuts in, stepping forward and getting everyone's attention onto him. "No one's going to kill anyone for this. Not even with the new…" He swallows; he's clearly still uneasy with how the situation has turned out, and then he breathes out. "The new motive Monokuma prepared for us."
Komaeda chuckles. "Of course. I know that all of your combined hopes will be so much stronger than whatever Monokuma would be capable of. You're all Ultimates, after all."
"Tch, whatever." Kuzuryu simply says, turning away with a huff and crossing her arms. She's clearly annoyed by how he cut her off just like that, but other than that, didn't make any more aggressive moves.
"Of course a man like him would cut in just like that." Koizumi mutters.
Chiaki can't help but frown upon hearing that from her. 'What does that have to do with it? He's just trying to help.' As much as she wants to voice that out, she had a feeling she'll only cause more trouble for everyone, and so, she keeps quiet about it for now, no matter how sick it made her.
"You know, we still have the motive videos to worry about." Souda points out with a grimace, palming at the back of his head.
"About that, I know that this might sound crazy for me to say, but," Hinata's gaze hardens. For a moment, he looks so unusually serious for a student. "I think it's best if we talk about the content in the videos Monokuma sent to us."
Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, Kuzuryu storms closer to him. Her face is practically mere inches away from Hinata's when she yells at him, "Are you out of your fucking mind? It's none of your damned business!"
Hinata nearly jumps back from sudden it was, being so taken aback and confused by her sudden change in demeanor. "Kuzuryu, I'm not going to just—"
"Oh, I see now what you're about." Kuzuryu cuts him off with a dark chuckle. "You're trying to take control of everything with your talent as the Ultimate Counselor, aren't you?" She gestures to everyone else present in there. "I mean, look, everyone's clearly distraught about the new motive that bear gave us, so of course they're going to want someone to distract them from it. And now that you've got this golden opportunity, of course you wouldn't waste this big chance to get everyone under your thumb."
Pure horror comes over his face, like he's internally processed what she implied. He shakes his head, and as calmly and firmly as he can, he rebuts her. "Look, my Ultimate title has nothing to do with me wanting to help everyone here—"
"Shut the fuck up!" Kuzuryu raises an index finger against him. "I know for a fact that no one ever helps anyone for the sake of it. I know that you're going to make us feel like we owe you just because you tell us what we want to hear."
Hinata's throat hitches, his wide eyes staring at the finger that's been pointed towards him. It's clear that those words have gotten to him. Yet, he didn't raise his voice at her, not even a bit, when he replies to her with, "That's not how it is..."
"That's what they all say. You're all just the same." Kuzuryu grunts, rolling her eyes before turning her back on everyone. "Hmph, forget it. I'm not going to waste any more of my time with this bullshit." She gestures towards her companion. "Come on, Peko. Let's get out of here."
Pekoyama simply nods at that, following by Kuzuryu's side without saying even a single word.
No one did anything at that moment, aside from watching the two of them leave the area without so much as looking back.
Once they're both truly gone, Sonia voices out, "Is it truly okay for us to allow them to do that? Ever since our situation has started, Kuzuryu has been heavily uncooperative with everyone."
Mitarai shrugs. "We shouldn't bother going after them. If she doesn't want to cooperate, then that's on her. Not to mention, she did try to kill everyone yesterday. It'd be too much trouble to go after her, and Pekoyama by extension, mind you, by yourself."
"Yes, I suppose you are right with that." Sonia replies with a heavy sigh. "Despite that, I still can't help but worry about her, even a bit. She and Pekoyama are still our classmates, after all."
Komaeda suddenly cuts through the awkward silence that's about to form. "You know, I've been wondering."
"Oh, what is it, Komaeda?" Chiaki asks, turning to face him with a curious look.
"Based from what happened just now, I think that the motive is meant to divide the class. Monokuma isn't just holding our personal lives hostage, but also to create bigger rift between everyone, and so, make it easier for murder to happen," He pauses, putting a finger on his chin as he muses, "Ah, but that's just what I'm feeling right now."
Souda makes a face. "So you're saying that if we want to keep that from happening, then we might have to follow with Hinata's suggestion on sharing what happened in our motive videos."
Komaeda shrugs with a smile. "I guess so."
"Okay, then I'll start with what happened in mine." Hinata swallows. "I remember in that video, it…" He grits his teeth. "It…showed one of my old high school friends…I..."
Souda frowns in concern, before putting a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to force yourself to say if it's too much."
Hinata smiles and shakes his head. "Thanks, but it's okay. I have to. I did suggest sharing our motive videos, after all. Okay, so," He pauses, taking several deep breathes, and then his hand curls into a fist. "That damned video showed one of my old high school friends. I remember seeing them tied down to a chair, and there's someone else with them. I couldn't see the other person's face, but I know that they were holding a scalpel."
Chiaki can barely hold back a wince. 'I think I now understand why Hinata looks so shaken up a while ago.'
"The video went black before I could see anything else, and when I tried to make it play again, it deleted itself." Hinata finishes, breathing out as he puts a hand over his chest. "That's all I saw from it."
'It's just like what happened to my motive video.' Her brow furrows, eyes facing to the ground.
"Now that I've said what mine's about," He turns to face them all with a serious look. "I know that I suggested sharing what happened in our motive videos, but I won't force any of you to share yours if you really don't want to."
"Hey, uh, is it okay if I talk about mine?" Chiaki speaks up, and though she's still kinda hesitant about it, she doesn't want him to bear this alone.
Hinata faces her, his eyebrows scrunched up like he's thinking about it. After a few seconds pass by, he nods at her and gently smiles at her. "Yeah, it's okay. But again, you don't have to force yourself."
Chiaki shakes her head. "It's fine with me, really." At that confirmation, she takes a deep breath to relax herself as much as she can."Okay, here's how it went." While summarizing it as best as she can, her mind becomes vivid in recalling the video she's seen.
She remembers the video showing a view of her house, her parents looking physically fine yet so ragged together. It looks like they're being pursued by someone, but who or what it was, she had no idea. The video ended up cutting off to black before she can see what happened to them, and then finally, the video deleting itself once it was over.
"Monokuma, you bastard…" Hinata furiously mutters.
It didn't take long for the others to start sharing what happened in their motive videos as well.
Hanamura's the next one to share the details in his motive video. His usual pervy self isn't there, and instead, he seems to look and feel a lot more timid. "It's my mom…I saw her looking so scared. It hurt so much, I think I sorta blanked out on the rest of it, and before I knew it, the video's gone. Even when I tried to look for the video, I couldn't find it anywhere."
It's not hard to feel bad for him at that moment, even if it's someone like him.
"I saw my parents trying their best to control a frenzied mob. It's all utter chaos. I remember seeing one of them throw something at them, though I'm afraid it happened too quickly for me to see exactly what it was. And then the video ended right there. Just like what happened with the others mentioned so far, mine deleted itself too." As composed as Sonia looks on the outside, it's clear that she's rather shaken up by it.
"It's my old man." Souda begins with a wince. "Not a lot happened in it, but I remember him yelling at someone, and then he got punched in the face. He got thrown so far by it too. And then the video got cut off when that happened."
"One of my co-workers." Mitarai quietly says. He doesn't elaborate any more than that, and no one felt like forcing him to say anything more.
Ibuki's turn came in, and to say she looks so strained would be a huge understatement. "I saw my old bandmates. They're performing in a stadium, or at least, it looks like a stadium. There's nothing super wrong with how the place looks, but since they all look so tense, I'm thinking they're forced to be there." She then quietly whispers to herself, "I know that we've had our differences, but I really hope they're okay."
Owari's teeth grit against each other. "I just saw all of my kid brothers and sisters huddling together in some corner. The youngest ones were crying so much, and, I…" Her hands clench into shaking fists. "Some big sister I am…"
The others immediately go quiet at that, horrified at that they've heard.
'Going after our loved ones is one thing, but kids too? Even really young ones, at that?' Chiaki can feel her anger at the bear flare up even more. 'And here I thought Monokuma couldn't get any lower than this.'
"Mine is a bit similar to Ibuki's." Nidai begins. "It's the team of trainee cooks I've been watching over for almost a year now. It looks like they're all working in the kitchen, business as usual, but I can see they're troubled by it too."
Koizumi's face scrunches, like she's hesitating for a bit before finally forcing herself to reveal her motive video too. "...I saw my…my father. That's all I'm going to say." She breathes out at the end of that, likely relieved she got that over with.
"I saw a saggy old hag cursing at someone." Saionji snorts, only for her face to soften a bit as she continues, "Then I saw my dad. I don't know what's going on in there, but he looked so sad and worried, and…"
At that moment, Koizumi didn't hesitate to squeeze Saonji's hand in comfort. "It's okay."
Saionji didn't say anything else after that, opting to go quiet as she buries her face into her friend's chest. Koizumi immediately wraps her arms around the smaller girl, soothing her in a warm embrace.
"In my case, it's the woman who brought me into this world." Tanaka's bombastic voice has been lowered as he reveals that, all while he's pulling his scarf up to hide more of his face. "She's...in great distress, pursued by unknown attackers. It was dark, so I was unable to see what exactly they are, but from what little I could make out, they're similar to the bear who trapped us."
"Wait," Souda cuts in. "So you're saying there are more Monokumas out there?"
"As I've said, I did not see exactly what they are, not with the dark surroundings of that video," Tanaka huffs. "But I wouldn't rule out that possibility."
"U-Um…" Tsumiki stutters. "M-My video, it...it…." Not even a minute after that, she bursts into uncontrollable tears. "It's so horrible! T-There's so many dead bodies, a-and…"
"It's okay." Hinata interrupts as he calmly approaches her. His hand is reaching out to her, but other than that, he didn't make any other moves, possibly to keep her from panicking even more. "You don't have to say anything more if it's that bad."
"R-Really?" She faces him with a tiny gasp, tears still dripping from the corners of her eyes.
"Yeah," Hinata nods. "I mean it when I said that I won't force anyone to talk about their motive videos."
There's a slight red tint on Tsumiki's face as she says, "O-Oh, okay t-then."
"It looks like I'm the only one left with this." Komaeda's begins, fully acknowledging that it's his turn now. His smile looks so forced, so strained, as he shares his."I saw my parents…they're smiling and waving, and they were leaving on a plane and…there's the destruction of…"
No one's able to hear what he said after that; the way he talked has slowly devolved into incomprehensible and barely audible ramblings. At that moment, his usually relaxed and somewhat cheerful self isn't there. With the way he slightly trembles and how his face is so eerily unreadable, he looks and feels like a different person. He doesn't even finish what he's about to say, as he goes completely quiet, rather worryingly too.
Chiaki's frowns in concern. "Hey, Komaeda?" She calls out to him.
At that moment, he blinks, like he's snapped himself out of a trance of some sort. "Ah, I apologize for that. But I'm afraid that I didn't see anything more than that. I'm truly sorry I couldn't be of more help with it." He sheepishly chuckles, looking like he's back to his usual self.
"In any case, I believe that's about everyone, now." Sonia muses.
"So, what do we do now?" Souda asks, heavy concern in his voice. "Aside from a few people, almost everyone told what their motive video's all about."
Hinata scratches the back of his head. "I think we'll still have to keep our guards up, just in case. As much as I want to hope it won't be the case, anything can still happen, even when no one tries to commit murder for these motive videos."
"Yeah, you do have a point there. If this motive doesn't work, then Monokuma's going to throw another one at us, no doubt about that. It's just like that bomb he rigged the Central Island with." Souda's teeth grind against each other. "Damn it, just how long can we put up with this?"
Komaeda only smiles at that. "I'm sure that you'll all find a way to rise above Monokuma's despair. It's just like what I've said before." Facing everyone, he spreads his arms around as he says, "You're all Ultimates here, and with all of your hopes combined together, you'll always be so much stronger than anyone can imagine."
"Oh god." Saionji irritably groans at him. "Can you please shut it with your blabbering about hope and Ultimates already? I swear, I'm already getting sick of you repeating that over and over again."
Chiaki can't keep quiet about it this time, and before she knows it, she suddenly finds herself snapping at the smaller girl. "Hey, you don't have to be so rude about it. I don't really get it either, but he's just trying to cheer us up in his own way."
'It's one thing if you do it to me, I know I can take it. But you didn't have to go out of your way to be so mean to him because of something as simple as that.'
"Ahh, Nanami. You don't have to go out of your way to defend someone like me." Komaeda weakly protests, slightly shaking his head and putting his hands up.
"I'm not going to stand by and let her pick on you just like that." Chiaki insists, even sticking closer by his side in order to emphasize her point. She pretends that the stares she's getting from the others doesn't bother her at all.
"Hmph, looks like we've got someone with a big hero complex here." Saionji snorts. Other than that, she doesn't make any further comments about this anymore.
It's honestly relieving.
From out of nowhere, a loud growl echoes in the area.
"Woops…" Ibuki sheepishly chuckles as she puts a hand over her head. "Ibuki hasn't eaten breakfast yet."
"That's okay. I'm sure no one in here has eaten either." Koizumi reassures with a slight laugh.
With the discussion of their motive videos done with, the abrupt meeting almost everyone had just now comes to an end. And since they nearly ended up skipping breakfast during it, Nidai went ahead and worked fast to make up for it.
So in the meantime, aside from two missing classmates, everyone's seated in the dining area to await their meals.
Despite that, Chiaki keeps thinking back on the discussion they've all had. Even if they managed to overcome this new motive like they did with the bomb at the Central Island, nothing much will change, not as long as everyone's still trapped here.
Either way, the only thing she can do for now is to wish for no one to die because of this.
Late afternoon has come, and though the day has been mostly normal, even with the recent motive, Hinata has gone really quiet since Kuzuryu and Pekoyama left the group. He still talks to the others when they speak to him, but he's a bit more reserved about it.
It's almost like what Kuzuryu accused him of is still sticking really close to him. What she said back then obviously isn't true, but it doesn't change the fact that it hurt him so much.
Chiaki wanted to talk to him after that, but once she saw how he isn't really up for it, even turning down Souda's invitation with hanging out together at some point. And so, she decided it's best for her to give him his space for now.
And then there's how Kuzuryu and Pekoyama have been. Even when it's been hours since breakfast, and more recently, lunchtime, they still didn't turn up for either of those. It only became even more worrying when no one saw them show up for the rest of the day. It's like those two have decided to stay in their cottages, and considering how…temperamental Kuzuryu is, to put it nicely, no one felt like coming there to check on them.
It's probably for the best, but at the same time, Chiaki still can't help but feel a little concerned for them. Everyone's current situation is still rather dangerous, after all.
So now, it's just her at the beach, sitting on the warm sand. Since the sun is going to set soon, it's not scorching hot right now like it was during the day. And so, she figures that now is the perfect time to relax in here, even if she's not anywhere near the waves.
Then again, she prefers it that way anyway. It's a lot more relaxing, and she doesn't have to worry about getting splashed by those waves.
"Hey, Nanami."
"Hmm?" She turns around, lifting her head up in order to see who called her, and then she immediately relaxes once she sees who it is. "Oh, hey hey, Komaeda. I didn't expect to see you here."
"I could say the same thing." Komaeda replies with a soft laugh. "Though, is it okay if I spend some time with you here?" As soon as he said that, he immediately backtracks and puts his hands up. "Ah, but of course, you don't have to accept if you really don't want to."
Chiaki can't help but smile a bit at that. "Sure, I don't mind at all."
"You know, you're far too kind for someone like me." He exclaims, looking sheepish and bashful, at least at first. But as soon as he takes a seat next to her, he looks a lot more excited and ecstatic for some reason.
She supposes she gets that kind of feeling too. It is a pretty exciting thing, though she isn't sure why he'd want to hang out with her, of all people.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Komaeda suddenly says, his voice sounding surprisingly hurt. "If so, then I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't be bothering you any longer than I already did."
'Wait, what do you mean by that?' As she turns to look at his direction, she sees that he's already standing up, and probably about to leave too. Her mind scrambles itself, trying to find a reason why he suddenly said that, and as soon as the realization hits her…
'Oh, did I say that out loud?'
Before she even realizes, she stands from her spot too as she calls out for him. "Komaeda, no, wait!"
"Nanami?" He turns his head back to face her, looking so confused by it.
She shakes her head. "I swear, it's nothing like that at all, really. It's just that, you know, everyone else in the class are so much more interesting. Compared to them, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be good at."
Komaeda's lips curl into a smile. "I won't deny that everyone else in the class are amazing, a lot more than someone like me. And while it's true we don't know what your talent is, it doesn't mean you're any lesser than them. Do you want to know why?"
Chiaki isn't sure where this is heading. "I don't know."
He chuckles, not even giving her the chance to deflect that as he puts his index finger on top of her lips, making her go quiet. "It's because I know you're a wonderful person."
'H…Huh?' She slowly blinks, letting those words sink into her mind. Once she sees him step back, she weakly protests, "But I haven't done anything to earn that."
"And I think you don't really have to." Komaeda affirms with another gentle smile. "Just because you don't see yourself as that, it doesn't mean it's not true. I know that even someone like me can see just how wonderful you are."
"But, I…"
"Didn't you promise that you'd learn to take other people's compliments?" Komaeda's face still looks soft, but there's also something about his eyes that feels a lot sterner compared to how he usually is.
'Oh, I didn't think you'd actually remember that.' She looks away from him, staring into the ground again as she always does. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry about that. I guess this is just another bad habit of mine."
"Hmm, really?" Komaeda's eyes soften. "In that case, then I guess I can't really fault you for that. Though, even so, I still stand by what I've said before. I know you're a wonderful person, and nothing can ever change that."
She bites the inner part of her cheek, completely unsure on how she's supposed to respond to that. "Do you really think so?"
Komaeda's smile doesn't waver as he shakes his head. "No, I know so. And don't ever let anything make you think otherwise, okay?"
"I'll try." She tells him, managing to make herself smile back at him. 'But I don't know if I can make any promises about that.'
And with that, she can faintly hear the jingle from her e-Handbook again, no doubt notifying her about the latest Hope Fragment she's got. She'll take a look at it later, but for now, she didn't take it out of her bag.
Komaeda lifts his head, taking a look at the sky above them. "Ah, I think we should get going now, Nanami. It looks like it's about to get dark here soon."
She takes a look at the sky too, and sure enough, it's just like what he said. "Yeah, that's true. I guess I'll be seeing you then."
He chuckles, in the good nature kind of way. "I'll be seeing you too, and I'm looking forward for the next time we can talk like this." He goes quiet for a moment, and then hurriedly adds, "Oh, but only if it's alright with you, of course."
"Yeah, I think I can say the same thing." She says with a soft giggle.
After parting ways with him, she wastes no time getting back inside her cottage. And then, once she's safely inside, she takes her e-Handbook to check on it, and sure enough, her Hope Fragments with Komaeda has been updated.
Chiaki thinks back on the talk she had with him just now. She isn't sure why, but everything feels a lot warmer now.
'I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but it looks like he really is a good guy.'
A/N: Not gonna lie, I did not expect to write so much dialogue here haha, and with practically almost every character in here too. That said, the next part should be a bit lighter in tone, at least compared to this one. Maybe.
