A/N: Here's Chapter Three of "Class 77's Recovery!" Please read, review, and enjoy!

Class 77's Recovery!

Chapter Three: Therapy Begins!

Chiaki's eyes opened and she shot up in her bed. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she gasped for breath. Once her panic subsided, she winced at the shot of pain and groaned. Lying back down, she took a quick glance from her position and sighed in relief.

"I'm in my room…I think." Her lips tugged into a frown as the execution Junko planned for her replayed in her mind. "That's right…I…dreamed about that again. It…it felt so real…way more real than any of those VR games I played…"

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. Falling back into an uneasy sleep, she could help but lament about how empty her room felt…and how alone it made her feel.

It was easier to forget about it when Hajime and everyone were sleeping over. Maybe I should have suggested another one…I think…


"Alright, Chi-Nanami-chan…" Hajime muttered as he and Sonia helped Chiaki to walk down the hallway, withering under the glare from Nagito.

Sonia returned fire with a scolding glare of her own. She then softened her eyes and turned back to Hajime with an assuring smile.

"Pay Nagito no mind, Hinata-kun. We can all see how close you and Chiaki are. You will hear no complaints from us if you refer to her so familiarly."

Chiaki weakly smiled. "She's right…I think…"

That…isn't very reassuring, Chiaki… Hajime deadpanned, though he smiled awkwardly at the two girls and nodded. "Let's just…get to the therapy room."


Everyone stared at the empty room. Seventeen chairs sat in a circle, one of them being occupied by a familiar boy with short, blond hair that hung just above his shoulders. The boy clasped his hands together, fiddling with his fingers as his eyes bore down into his lap.

"…Mitarai-kun?" The Ultimate Imposter gently broached, causing Ryota to cringe.

His head shot up, his eyes widening at the sight of his classmates staring at him. He began to shake in nervous fear at their faces.

"E-Everyone…!" Tears welled in his eyes, causing the Imposter to run up to him. "I…I'm sorry…" He cried, his shoulders shaking with sobs. "I-It's all my fault! My anime…Enoshima used it to…to brainwash you all. I didn't want to…I really didn't! But she…she threatened you all if I didn't help her. If I had…if I had known she would do that to you anyway…I wouldn't have helped her! I swear I-"

"Do not blame yourself." The Ultimate Imposter's voice was calm and soothing as they gently wrapped their arms around the Ultimate Animator. "As you said, Enoshima forced you into helping her. You would not have created that video for her if you were given an out. You were a victim just as much as we were. We're fine now, Nanami-chan is fine, we're all on the road to recovery. So, let's leave the past in the past and focus on healing from our shared trauma together."

"M-Mitarai-kun…" Mikan's stutter caused him to look over the Ultimate Imposter's shoulder as the Ultimate Nurse tepidly approached. "A-Are you well? D-Do you need any medical treatment? Are you in danger of passing out again?"

Blushing at the memory of the young nurse treating him after one of his starvation episodes, Ryota muttered "…No, I'm…alright, I guess…"

With that, the Ultimate Imposter nodded and released him. After the two Ultimates stepped aside, Ryota got a clearer picture of the other Ultimates. His heart clenched at Chiaki's pained smile, though his brow furrowed with confusion at Hajime's unfamiliar face.

"S-Sumimasen, but…who are you…?"

"Just some Reserve Course Student who enabled Enoshima's rampage." Nagito spat before Hajime could introduce himself.

"That's enough, Komaeda!" Mahiru pointed angrily at the Ultimate Lucky Student. "You've been verbally assaulting Hinata-kun ever since we broke free from Enoshima's hypnosis!"

Nagito shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth."

As Mahiru opened her mouth to argue, Peko's hard voice cut through their tempers. "Silence, all of you. This isn't helping matters."

Gundham nodded. "Like it or not, Hinata-kun is part of our tribe now."

Nekomaru hummed. "Yeah, it's not gonna do us any good if some of our athletes pick fights with each other."

"Anyway, can we get this therapy and stuff over with?" Akane twisted her pinky in her ear, complaining, "I'm hungry!"

Everyone sweatdropped before Ryota hesitantly looked Hajime in the eye. "…Wait…you do look familiar…" His eyes widened in shock as the memories came rushing back. "You were with Enoshima and Ikusaba when Nanami and Komaeda came in!"

Hajime bit his lip, the reminder of his past actions halting his explanation in his throat. Chiaki chose to spare him the pressure and introduced him instead.

"This is Hajime Hinata. He was experimented on by the Steering Committee until Enoshima found him. She manipulated him just like she did with you. But he broke free from the experiments' effects on him and he's part of our class now."

"I…I see…" Conflict danced in Ryota's eyes as he averted his gaze. "Forgive me…this is…a lot to take in…"

"Think about how we feel!" Hiyoko impatiently exclaimed. "We're the ones who were brainwashed, after all!"

"That's why you're all here!" A bright, cheery voice echoed in their ears as a wheelchair rolled forward.

Sitting in it was a young woman with short, blue-gray hair and a red scarf wrapped around her mouth. Sitting on her lap was a laptop connected to a large external monitor that currently displayed a white stuffed bunny rabbit with wings, a fluffy pink tutu, and a scepter with mirroring hearts in the shape of an hourglass at the tip.

"Oh my…" Teruteru's eyes widened in surprise. "I've seen tons of girls in my life, but I gotta say, you're definitely the most…unique…"

The woman nodded as she typed away at her keyboard. To their surprise, the virtual rabbit began to speak.

"Nice to meet you, Hanamura-kun. My name is Usami, and my controller here is Miaya Gekkogahara, the former Ultimate Therapist! She's just a little shy, so she's having me speak for her as her avatar!"

Everyone sweatdropped before Ibuki commented, "Ooh, I see, I see! This would definitely make for an interesting song, like…The Therapy Bunny!"

Usami giggled. "I'm sure that sounds like a lovely song, especially if it's named after me! Alright, let's get your therapy started-"

"Hey, wait!" Fuyuhiko looked around, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Where's Yukizome-sensei? Isn't she supposed to be doing therapy with us? She got the fuckin' worst of the brainwashing, after all."

"Hey!" Usami pointed her scepter at Fuyuhiko. "That kind of language is a huge no-no, Kuzuryu-kun!" Once she calmed down, she explained "Anyway, Yukizome-san has some specialized treatment to undergo before she can join our general therapy. You see, because she got the worst of the hypnosis, she needs to undergo a special therapy called the Neo World Program…"


To any outside observers, Chisa Yukizome appeared as if she was sleeping. In fact, the way her prone form lay inside the bod was very evocative of Snow White in her coffin waiting for true love's first kiss to awaken her.

But fairy tales won't aid in Chisa's recovery… Kyosuke mused, watching as Chihiro typed away at his keyboard, with Yasuke Matsuda monitoring the teacher's condition.

"This is all my fault…" Juzo muttered, a shameful frown stretching across his lips. "If I had just taken care of Enoshima instead of letting her go…this wouldn't have happened…"

"…I won't tell you not to let it sting…" Kyosuke laid a hand on Juzo's shoulder, smiling reassuringly at him. "Regardless, it just goes to show how manipulative she could be. What's done is done. There's no point in dwelling on the matter. The important thing is she's alive and receiving treatment."

"The Neo World Program appears stable." Chihiro called out. "How's Yukizome-sensei's condition?"

Yasuke nodded. "No issues here, all her brainwaves and vitals are functioning as normally as expected. All that's left is for her to complete the Neo World Program and collect the Hope Fragments."

Kyosuke and Juzo silently prayed that this experimental treatment would work as planned. They hoped that she would emerge from her therapy free of despair's influence, and all that would be left would be processing her trauma with her students.


"Are you kidding me?!" Kazuichi's eyes shone as he grinned like a little kid. "I gotta take apart that machine when it's done and see what makes it tick!"

Everyone sweatdropped before Usami cleared her throat. "Anyway, we need to move on and decide on therapy. Now, we have two types of therapy for you all. You all need emotional therapy to process your emotions associated with the trauma, but Nanami-chan also needs physical therapy to complete her body's recovery."

"Oh, that's right!" Mikan exclaimed. "Being stabbed by all those…spears weakened her to the brink of death!"

"In that case, Chiaki's recovery takes priority!" Sonia declared. "We can hold off on our trauma as long as we need, but Chiaki needs immediate attention to stand on her own two feet."

Chiaki blushed in embarrassment, unable to refute Sonia's claim as her knees were constantly wobbling. "Nana-chiaki, are you okay?" Hajime asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah…my legs are just tired…I think…"

"Quickly, let's get her into one of the chairs!" Sonia ordered.

The two teenagers quickly helped her into a nearby chair and sat on either side of her. The Ultimate Gamer sighed in relief, allowing her muscles to relax now that they didn't have to support her weight.

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say Chiaki's physical recovery takes priority." Nekomaru nodded. "Before we can all bond as athletes, we all need to not be worried about our physical states."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, causing Usami to grin. "Alright then, we'll start with physical therapy, then. Oh, you can all help, too. Assisting her with physical therapy may act as a partial emotional therapy, too."

"I…I'll do w…whatever I c…can!" Mikan stammered.

"Very well." Peko agreed. "Just tell us what to do and we'll do our best."

"Very well! In that case, first we need…"


"C'mon, Chiaki! You can do it!" Hajime cheered as he held his arms out in front of him.

With wobbly steps, Chiaki continued to walk towards her crush. The other students stood in two parallel lines, ready to catch the Ultimate Gamer if she fell. At first, she stumbled a couple times, but her friends had been there to catch her. The farther she got, the more she found she could walk on her own as Hajime waited for her. With one last step, she finally grabbed Hajime's hands, gripping his hands for support.

"YAY!" Usami clapped. "Congrats, Chiaki! I knew you could do it, as long as you and your friends worked together!"

Chiaki smiled and nodded. "Yeah…I did…I think…"

Mikan and Miaya had spent the beginning of the session gently testing Chiaki's range of physical motion. They found that despite her grave injuries, none of her muscles had been damaged beyond repair. The combination of the pain from her wounds and being bedridden had merely weakened them. At that point, Miaya had diagnosed that Chiaki merely needed to safely practice regularly using them again.

With that in mind, they began various light physical exercises to accomplish that specific goal. Everyone helped as best they could, supporting Chiaki so she didn't inadvertently injure herself. Everything culminated to the walking exercise she had just completed, and her achievement caused her and her classmates to smile.

"Okay, I think that should do for our first therapy session." Usami announced. "We'll open our subsequent sessions with that same walking exercise until you feel you can walk without assistance, then we'll begin the emotional component of your therapy. Be sure to be here right after breakfast tomorrow!"

Chiaki nodded in gratitude as Hajime adjusted to have one arm supporting her from behind. Sonia ran over, pride twinkling in her eyes.

"Chiaki, I'm so proud of your progress! Let's celebrate with a granb feast!"

"…That's grand feast, Sonia…" Chiaki deadpanned, though she concurred "That sounds nice though…I am kinda hungry."

Sonia clapped her hands together. "Excellent, then let's go!"

With Hajime supporting her and Sonia on standby, Chiaki followed the others out of the room and towards the Dining Hall. After everything she had been through, Chiaki was looking forward to something akin to normalcy again.