Hello again, everyone! First, all chapters preceding this one have been updated, and I'd recommend rereading Chapter 7 if you haven't since the update. The response to it has really been overwhelming, and I'm really thankful for everything you've pointed out to me. I hope what I've done still satisfies everyone, and that I don't get a big head. I'm just really happy you guys all like this. (Edit as of 2016: For context, I ended up heavily revising Chapter 7 in order to make Sonia's behavior more in-character. I'm not sure if I have the original anymore.)

Also I know some of you are following Oren's translation exclusively, but if you want to remain unspoiled for the rest of the game, as of this chapter that will no longer be possible. (Edit as of 2016: This certainly is a relic of its time.)

TWs: Slurs courtesy of Saionji.


Chapter Three, Part One

It was mid-afternoon when Hinata woke.

He'd been dreaming, though he couldn't remember now what kind of a dream it had been. He remembered the remnants of speech, and a vague sensation of movement. He remembered Pekoyama, but he wasn't sure if that was his dream or just his own memories bubbling up from his subconscious. Soon, as more memories came, it was clear that the latter was the case. The fire. Pekoyama. The trial. Sonia.

He was nowhere near fully rested, but his thoughts wouldn't let him shut his eyes. He was sure everyone else was thinking about the same things he was. Sonia, who'd seemed so noble and kind. Pekoyama, who'd seemed so loyal and strong. There was a pattern developing, one of trusted friends acting one way and thinking another. It's all Monobear's fault, he'd tried to think, but with every death it was becoming harder and harder.

It was getting uncomfortably hot under the covers, so he got up and entered the bathroom, moving robotically through his morning routine. It took him much longer than usual, and once he was fully dressed he stood staring aimlessly out his window for a time before he could work up the motivation to step outside.

He hadn't expected to see anyone, and when he looked in the direction of the girls' cottages he didn't, but then he heard a loud banging noise from his right. He turned his head to see Owari by Tanaka's cottage, banging hard on his door.

"Hey," she yelled, "are you awake?" When she got no response, she lowered herself into the water by his cottage, moved around the side, and hoisted herself up to look into his window. "Hey!" she yelled again. "Hey!"

"Uh…" Hinata hesitated, but only briefly before he found himself running toward Tanaka's cottage. "Owari?"

"Hinata!" Owari waded back to the edge of the boardwalk and lifted herself up. "There you are! You didn't answer a second ago."

"I was in the shower, sorry," Hinata admitted. "Are you waking everyone up?"

"Well, not really. More like I'm trying to see if anyone's up already." Owari smoothed her skirt, then stretched her arms up over her head. "Mioda and Nanami are already at the restaurant. We were gonna eat, if you wanna come."

"Sure, alright." Hinata shrugged. "Anyone else awake?"

"Souda's coming, and old man Nidai's still asleep." Owari pointed across the aisle, where Souda, Kuzuryuu, Nidai, and Hanamura's cottages sat. "But...I dunno about Kuzuryuu."

With all the yelling she's doing, I'm surprised there are people asleep at all, Hinata thought, but kept it to himself. "Did you…check?" he said.

"Yeah," Owari said. "I think I heard something inside, but he didn't answer. Well, fine by me. If he doesn't want to come out then he doesn't want to come out. And this guy…" Owari's eyes narrowed as she looked back at Tanaka's cottage. "I hate this," she said suddenly. "I hate Monobear. I hate this island. I don't care what he says about rules or punishments. Next time I see him he's getting the stuffing kicked out of him!"

Hinata wished he'd been able to blame everything on Monobear with as much ease. "I get where you're coming from," he said. "I do. But I don't know if that'll change anything."

"So?" Owari grunted. "Ugh…whatever. I'm not thinking about this anymore." She looked past Komaeda's cottage. "Think old man Togami's awake?"

"I wouldn't know," Hinata said. Owari didn't answer – she walked down the row of cottages until she reached his. Hinata followed her, and reached Togami's cottage in time to see her do the same as she did with Tanaka – she banged on his door and peered into his window. "Hey, Togami!" she yelled. "Up yet?"

She waited a few seconds, but there was no response. She shook her head, then turned to Hinata. "Maybe if he hears you he'll come out," she said.

Is this what I'm known for? Hinata thought. Still, she had a point – so he approached Togami's door and knocked on it. "Togami?" he said. "It's Hinata! We're, uh, heading to breakfast…I mean…not breakfast, you know what I mean…"

There was still no response. Owari jumped into the water again; Hinata could hear her splashing around the sides. "All the curtains are shut," she said.

"That sounds like asleep to me," Hinata said, though in the back of his mind he felt uncertain. "Or…"

"Or he ran off again?" Owari hopped out the other side, her skirt sopping wet.

"We don't know that." Hinata looked over at the other side of the cottages. "Did you try all the girls?"

"Not the others, so let's get them next." Owari grabbed Hinata by the wrist. "C'mon, we've got work to do."

Once again volunteered against his will, Hinata followed Owari around the girls' side. There was no response from Tsumiki or Saionji, and Hinata felt a chill run down his spine as they passed the ruins of Pekoyama's cottage. From there they went to Koizumi's cottage, and were quite surprised when Saionji answered the door. Through the entryway they could see Koizumi sitting on her bed, her arms around her knees. Saionji demanded to know who else was awake before agreeing to come to eat, then insisted on a shower first, so the door was shut in their faces with a promise to "be there whenever."

Hinata and Owari shrugged to each other and headed back up the boardwalk only to find Togami walking down the boys' side to the center path. Owari called out and ran to meet him; Hinata followed her at a somewhat slower clip.

He hardly reacted to their arrival, beyond a greeting and a wave that did not extend to a smile. Owari asked him why he hadn't answered the door, and he said he hadn't heard her knock, though Hinata found this doubtful unless he'd woken and gotten ready in under five minutes. But then, given the state of his hair and clothes, that may not have been too far off the mark. Hinata found himself reminded of how Togami had looked when he'd found him near the diner, but without the bags under the eyes.

A hundred questions rose in his head, but he forced himself to swallow them – he wasn't sure whether they'd make everything worse, let alone whether he'd get any answers at this point. So he invited Togami to the restaurant meeting instead, and Togami agreed to join them with a slight nod of his head and followed them as they left the cottage area.

He didn't speak the whole way to the restaurant. Hinata tried to make some light conversation – "Kinda weird going to breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, huh?" – but while Owari agreed, Togami nodded but did not respond. Hinata didn't know what else to say, so he smiled instead. Togami smiled back, but only briefly before facing forward again, his arms folded and his expression blank.


Hinata had expected a very quiet, very awkward meal. He'd thought people then would trickle in, share half-hearted assurances that mutual killing would never again occur, not after this. And then Monomi might come in and tell them about a new island they would get to explore as their reward for not dying. Perhaps Togami would make a speech, or perhaps he wouldn't. Hinata had no way of predicting his behavior.

But he couldn't make any more assumptions before Owari threw the hotel lobby door open, and a loud yelp told them she'd slammed it right into Mioda's face. They all ran inside to survey the damage; Mioda stumbled away from the door with her hand on her nose, but none of them saw any blood.

"Whoa, shit, didn't see you," Owari said anyway. "You okay, Mioda?"

"Ibuki's fine, Ibuki's fine!" Mioda hopped back several steps, shook her head, and moved her hands down her face. "Ibuki would say she was shocked – but she was actually waiting down here to tell Byakuya-chan and Akane-chan and Hajime-chan about an even bigger shock!"

"A bigger shock?" Hinata didn't know where to begin imagining what Mioda might mean. He could see Togami tensing up next to him. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The things Ibuki's seen…" Mioda turned to look over at the restaurant stairs. "There are horrors upstairs not meant for mortal eyes! Whoa, did Ibuki really just say that?! Ibuki didn't mean to emulate Gundam-chan but in this situation she felt that word choice was necessary!"

"Spare us the pedantics, Mioda," Togami said, his voice oddly rough. "What's going on up there?"

"Pedantics?" For a moment Mioda looked uncertain, but then she jumped back, her expression restored. "Never mind - even Ibuki's words can't describe this! Quick! Follow Ibuki!"

Mioda ran for the restaurant stairs, and the rest of them followed after. Togami quickly outpaced her, but when he got to the top of the stairs he stopped cold - and the rest of them stopped after him when they entered the restaurant and happened to have a look around.

A large assortment of junk had been piled on the far wall of the room, just past the food tables. A massive, fully lit chandelier lay sideways across several stacked tables, and the wax from its candles dripped to the floor. In front of this display sat another – an upended white divan sofa, which held the top half of a vanity drawer. A large number of flowers had been placed around two of the vanity's mirrors, and a piece of paper was taped to the center mirror, though whatever was on it, if anything at all, Hinata could not see from that distance.

"What is this…?" Togami said. Hinata turned to find him staring wide-eyed at the display. "Where did all this furniture come from?"

"Don't ask me," Hianta replied. "I can't even think of why it'd be here."

"Maybe it's a trap? There could be a bomb in there or something!" Owari pounded her fists together. "Only one way to find out –"

"Wait, no, Ibuki doesn't hear any ticking noises!" Mioda held an arm in front of Owari to stop her from charging ahead. "But if she had that would probably just make it less creepy. And not all bombs tick anyway, do they…?!"

"I don't know if we should assume it's dangerous," Nanami said. Hinata did a double-take – he hadn't seen her, though she had been standing past Togami the entire time. "It might be here for some other kind of purpose."

"Yeah, maybe." Hinata's skin prickled at the sound of Souda's voice, and he turned his head sharply to his right. Souda was standing at the top of the stairs, casually leaning over the rail. He looked fairly calm, and a sharp-toothed grin had spread across his face. "Looks like you guys got here before me. Well, can't really say I'm surprised!"

"Me…either." Hinata looked over at the others, who looked about as unnerved as he felt. Mioda bit her lip, Owari folded her arms, and Togami and Nanami stood still, their expressions unchanged. "Hey, are you…doing okay?"

"Huh?" Souda rocked back and forth on the rail. "What do you mean?"

"You fainted this morning," Nanami said, though it was only a small part of what Hinata had meant. "We were worried."

"Oh…that?" Souda froze briefly, giving Hinata a clear view of the circles under his eyes, and then resumed his rocking. "That's…that wasn't anything." He looked back over at the pile of furniture, and an odd expression crossed his face. "So, kinda weird, huh? All that stuff just appearing where everyone can see it?"

"Yeah, we just said that several times," Hinata said.

"But there's gotta be a purpose to it, right?" Souda pushed himself off the rail, then walked around them, sat at a table, and leaned the chair back as far as it could go. "I mean, it's got some kind of structural harmony. All that stuff, and the way it's arranged, and the flowers…" He leaned forward again, and leaned his chin into his shaking hands. "It kinda looks like a shrine, doesn't it?"

"A shrine?" Togami looked back and forth between Souda and the pile of junk, and a deeply troubled look crossed his face. "Souda, what are you implying –"

"Well, I guess it's not really a shrine," Souda went on, ignoring Togami. "It's not just honoring a memory…it's got more of a statement than that. You know what I mean, right? Lies, injustice, the cruelty of the world against the most defenseless and innocent…it's all here, isn't it?" Souda stood from his chair, pressing his hands against the table. "And isn't that something we should remember?"

"Maybe it's just me, but I have no idea where you're getting any of this at all." Owari raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… I know you said you're okay, Souda, but –" Hinata stopped when, in a flash, he remembered that he'd seen the furniture before – and from the looks on Nanami and Mioda's faces, they'd just realized the same thing he had. "Wait a minute." His eyes went very wide. "Are those from Sonia's cottage?!"

"Huh? Sonia-san's cottage?" Souda laughed, but the laugh didn't last long. "Kinda looks like they could be, couldn't they? But how could anyone get in there –"

Souda was cut off when, after racing past everyone else at breakneck speed, Togami slammed his hand down on the table where Souda sat, making a tremendous noise. Hinata jumped slightly; he couldn't see the look on Togami's face, but from the look on Souda's he was sure it wasn't anything good. "What is this?" he could hear him growl. "What are you trying to pull?"

"P-pull?" An uncertain grin spread across Souda's face. "T-that's not the right word at all – and hey, why are you saying I did it, anyway –?!"

"I want this dismantled immediately," Togami interrupted. "I don't care what you do with it – throw it away, keep it in your room, just don't leave it anywhere we can see it."

"Whoa, Byakuya-chan got really scary all of a sudden…!" Mioda put both of her thumbs in her mouth and bit down hard. She looked uncertainly at Togami, and Hinata followed her lead. "But Ibuki can't say she's surprised, at least not at this," she mumbled. "Or is she? Ibuki doesn't know…"

"I mean, I can understand, but…" Hinata took another look at the shrine. On closer inspection he could make out a picture drawn on the paper taped to the mirror – a crude human face, with too-large eyes and the vague impression of a ponytail. "You did make this, right?" he said. "You're not going to deny that or anything?"

Souda's smile vanished, and tears swam in his eyes. "H-h-h-huh? T-that's…I…s-s-so what if I did, huh? Is that so w-w-wrong?"

"I said I wanted this dismantled," Togami thundered. "When I said immediately, I meant immediately. Why aren't you doing it?"

"You don't understand at all!" Souda shouted with renewed vigor. "S-S-Sonia-san…she's all alone…I'm the only one who hasn't turned against h-h-her-!"

His voice cracked under the force of his next sob. Hinata felt a hollow pit in his stomach, and he couldn't form any words while it was there. Togami and Mioda were just the same, but Owari had no such restraint. "I think I have good reason to," she said. "Did you miss the part where she was totally fine with killing all of us or something?"

"Souda-kun, we know how you might feel," Nanami said, moving quickly to cut Owari's bluntness. "And we can't forget that, in the end, Monobear is really the one responsible… But you know the situation, and you really should understand that keeping this here is going to be stressful for a lot of people…"

"But you're right! You've gotten right to the heart of it!" Souda jumped up from his seat, toppling the chair in the process. "If Monobear's the one responsible, how do we know it isn't just a trick? Sonia-san's a noble, golden-hearted princess! She c-c-c-couldn't possibly kill anyone! And that's why…" He froze, trembling, then went on. "That's why we have to stand by her and expose the truth! Monobear's just – just keeping the real killer alive to –"

"Souda, if Sonia hadn't killed Pekoyama Monobear wouldn't have executed her," Togami said. "There is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind anything you're telling me. And if you really thought that Sonia couldn't possibly kill then I would say I've never met anyone less qualified to build anything to honor her." Togami turned and pointed towards the shrine. Hinata had expected to see anger on his face, but what was there didn't look like any deliberate expression. It was more like unrefined emotion without any particular direction. "Dismantled. Now."

Souda narrowed his eyes at Togami, but did not respond. He looked over at the rest of them. Mioda looked startled, Owari ready for battle, Nanami still calm, and Hinata shocked – and worried, certainly, but unable to comprehend his behavior. Souda looked askance for a moment, still silent, then actually turned towards the shrine, but couldn't take a step before –

"Huh? Why's Mr. Porkfeet shouting?" Hinata turned to see Saionji and Koizumi standing at the top of the steps – or rather, Saionji standing at the top of the steps and Koizumi standing several steps back. "Is someone in trouble?"

"Saionji, Koizumi…" Togami's mouth hardened into a thin line as he looked down at them, and Hinata followed suit. Saionji looked perfectly energetic as far as Hinata could tell, but Koizumi's arms were crossed tightly across her chest, and she was staring resolutely at the steps. "Everything's fine," he said. "There's no trouble at all. We were just about to eat."

"No, you were definitely yelling at someone. Now spill the beans or I'll pinch you on the gut –" Saionji's eyes slid over to the shrine, and she turned away to give it a better look. "Wait, what's that pile of junk?"

"It's kind of a long story," Hinata began, but before he could think of a way to explain things Souda spotted the new arrivals. "Hey, Koizumi!" He ducked around Togami and approached the stairs, his hands folded casually behind his head. Hinata was shocked at just how quickly his mood had whiplashed. "Just the girl I wanted to see! D'you happen to have any pictures of Sonia-san? I'm not that great an artist, and I thought we could add them to the shrine –"

"Shrine…?!" Saionji did a double-take back at the pile of furniture, and Koizumi joined her. Koizumi's eyes went very wide, but she did not move or speak; Saionji, on the other hand, looked positively enraged. Before Hinata could comprehend what was happening she grabbed at Souda's jumpsuit with such a fury that Hinata was half-sure she would knock him over. "Are you delusional? Are you completely out of your mind?!"

"Hey – let go – get off me –!" Souda tried to push Saionji off him, but to no avail, and he swung back into the wall. "Help! Someone help!"

"Ibuki's not getting in the way of that!" Mioda gritted her teeth. "M-Mahiru-chan…?"

Koizumi looked over at Mioda, then at the shrine, then away again, back at Souda. She regarded all she saw with silence, but saved her coldest stare for Souda as he stumbled across the restaurant with Saionji clinging to his chest. "That dirty bitch foreigner doesn't deserve to be remembered at all!" she screamed all the while. "She killed Big Sis Pekoyama, she tried to kill everyone else, and she made Big Sis Koizumi cry! Did you want her to cry? Is that why you did this? I won't let go til you say it! Look at me and say that you wanted Big Sis Koizumi to cry!"

"That's not – you don't – she isn't –!" Souda looked around wildly, sweat beading on his forehead, then cried out in desperation. "Togami! Togami, she's attacking me! Why aren't you helping?!"

When Togami didn't immediately answer, Hinata looked back over at him, noticing on the way that Mioda was looking at him too, with genuine trepidation. Togami stood stiffly, and his eyes were locked on Souda and Saionji. He looked concerned, and his lip trembled slightly, as if the slightest further provocation could open it.

"Could you get any stupider?" Saionji shouted over the pause. "Mr. Porkfeet's not going to side with you! He hates her as much as I do –"

"I don't hate her!" Togami shouted.

Everyone fell silent, but not in a way that suggested peace. Koizumi's eyes went very wide, Mioda's eyebrows flew into her hair, and Hinata wondered if he looked as confused as he felt. He remembered the look that Togami had given Sonia during the trial, one similar to the one he wore now, and between his face and his words he didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Wait…you don't?" Saionji looked even more confused than Hinata did. "You said she insulted us. You called her selfish. Don't tell me this stupid side character changed your mind!"

"Hey, stop calling me that!" Souda shouted. "And who cares what he said before, right? He knows the truth now!"

"I haven't changed my mind about anything," Togami said. "I've never hated Sonia. I've never hated any of them, or any of you –"

"H-howaa! Fighting alweady?"

Togami's entire body stiffened at the sound of Monomi's voice. Hinata looked down to see that she had just appeared at his feet, clutching her head in her paws.

"Holy cow," Mioda said, staring down at her in bewilderment. "Can we give out an award for worst timing ever?"

"W-weally?" Monomi rubbed her paws together and looked nervously at the ground. "Ohh, I wish you wewen't fighting, but there weally is nothing I can do, is there…Saionji-san, you, you can't hurt Souda-kun, he's your fwend –"

"Hey, fuck off," Saionji interrupted.

"You're here to tell us there's a new island open, right?" Hinata said. "If that's the case, we've figured it out."

"Ohhhh…the students are all getting ahead of their old teacher…" Monomi looked briefly in Nanami's direction, then mumbled to herself a little more before vanishing.

"So, you were saying?" Hinata didn't realize that it was Koizumi who had spoken at first - her voice, which usually had so much force behind it, sounded small and still. She'd moved away from the stairs, and now stood much closer to Togami, though she was still looking at the ground.

"Saying? What else does he need to say?" Saionji hopped down from Souda's chest, and Souda took the opportunity to scramble behind Hinata. "He already took Big Bro Souda's side!"

"I don't think that's what he meant at all, Hiyoko-chan." Koizumi turned to face Togami. "Go on, explain yourself. Clearly your opinion matters to them."

Togami returned her glance with hesitation. "Koizumi, you're-"

"I'm fine," Koizumi said. "You're avoiding the topic. Answer their question."

"I wasn't avoiding the topic." Togami turned back to face the rest, who were all now regarding him with curiosity. "I don't mean to say I excuse Sonia's actions or anyone else's. But I can't understand why you're treating her like she's the source of all these problems. Her actions don't exist in a vacuum. Without Monobear's influence –"

"Then you're saying that any of us could have done the same thing in her place?" Koizumi interrupted.

"I can't know that. Monobear is playing to our weaknesses, our connections, our ideas of justice…that's the point of his motives, that they all affect us differently." Togami's eyes narrowed. "That's why it was my duty to make sure those affectations were either interrupted or didn't occur at all. To let you know that killing wasn't the answer. That Monobear isn't the most powerful or most influential presence on this island..."

"Kupiiiii! Byakuya-chan always says exactly what we need to think!" Mioda swung her arms back and forth. "Alright, now who wants dinner-breakfast –"

"But he got to them in ways I couldn't. I didn't have to agree to that eating contest. I didn't have to let Kuzuryuu watch the game. I didn't have to loan Sonia that god-forsaken book." His brow furrowed in anger, and his voice fell to a mumble. "If I'd been more vigilant, if I could have predicted this –"

"Whoa, slow down, old man," Owari said. "The eating contest was my idea in the first place..."

"And we can't just keep looking at little things we didn't know would make a difference," Hinata said. "It could have been anything."

"Anything I could have stopped as much as this!" Togami thundered. "As a leader, aren't I supposed to be vigilant? Isn't it my duty to keep my promises? Shouldn't I be held responsible for the things I haven't been able to prevent?"

"Wait, what's going on?" Souda mumbled from behind Hinata's ear. "I thought we were talking about Sonia-san…"

"Togami-kun, you really didn't do anything wrong," Nanami said. "It's okay, it really is."

"Byakuya-chan always tries his hardest and everyone can see that he does!" Mioda ran past Hinata and stopped at Togami's side, grabbing his hand as she went. "Even if bad things happen, that doesn't mean Byakuya-chan isn't still our leader and that you don't help us as much as you can –"

"But how much does trying matter, if I don't have anything to show for it?" Togami gave Mioda a pained look, then, with a snap of his wrist, pulled his hand out of hers, and turned away from her blanching face. "You see it now, don't you? I don't even have to say it. You already know. I say time and time again that there won't be a single victim and I still expect you to believe me even as you're dropping like flies…"

He chuckled weakly. "The perfect heir, Byakuya Togami," he mumbled. "But what does a name mean, anyway? Does it mean I can really live up to that name? Does it mean that name is invincible? That's right…I was a fool to think I could be more powerful than Monobear, wasn't I? You're following his leadership more than you're following mine...but isn't his more satisfying?"

"Togami…" Hinata didn't know what to say, and from the looks on everyone else's faces, none of them did either. He wasn't shocked by Togami's behavior – he'd seen it before, the first time around – but he hadn't expected anything like this. He desperately wanted to say something, but he knew he was in over his head. What could he say? What was everyone else thinking? Had they even known that Togami could be like this?

"No…that's not…yes? No, I don't…" Togami gripped his jacket tightly with both hands, shook his head, then suddenly relaxed and straightened again, as if the last minute had never occurred. "I'm sorry, Mioda. I'm afraid I'm not particularly hungry." He turned for the stairs. "And I think I'll stay in my cottage for the evening, actually."

"Wait, hold on! You can't just walk out like that!" Koizumi jumped up, looking more energetic than she had all day, and attempted to make a grab for Togami's shoulder, but he sidestepped her and raced down the stairs at top speed, his footfalls loud and heavy. Mioda was after him like a shot, yelling his name again and again, but with a slam of the front door her yells died out entirely.

Hinata realized that his mouth was open and shut it – but this made him the exception to the rule. Even Saionji looked shocked, and not even in a menacing way. "What just happened?" she said.

"I just wanted him to explain himself." Koizumi looked white as a sheet. "I didn't think he'd react like that…"

"I'm not that surprised, actually," Owari said. "Isn't this just like what happened after the first trial?"

"It's exactly like what happened after the first trial," Hinata said. "We should go after him –"

"It may be best if we leave this to Mioda-san," Nanami said. "She'll know what to do. I think."

"Y-yeah, that's all taken care of!" Souda leaned unexpectedly against Hinata's shoulder, his grin rather wider than it had been before. "So, Hinata, how about that dinner-breakfast –"

"Oh no you don't. Either you have it in your room or you don't have it at all." Saionji rounded on Souda, her expression menacing. "And actually, I don't ever want to see you anywhere near Big Sis Koizumi again. Got it?"

"Hiyoko-chan, it's…" Koizumi began, then shook her head and let her voice trail off. "Never mind."

She stepped forward, took Saionji's hand, and led her towards the food tables. Souda grin fell into a scowl. Hinata was fully expecting another outburst from him, but then his expression softened, and he walked away from the rest of them, toward the back window. He waited until Koizumi and Saionji had gotten their food before getting a share for himself, taking a long, wistful look at the shrine, and then leaving the restaurant with his food, dragging his feet behind him.

The rest of them retrieved their food and sat down at their places. Hinata feared another silent meal, but to his relief, Nanami broke the tension after a few bites. "Ah, I did want to give the third island a look a little later," she said. "If anyone wants to come with me, I'd really like it."

"Sure, why not." Owari swallowed loudly. "Gives me something to do."

"Alright, good," Nanami said. "Anyone else?"

"Not really, no," Saionji said, stirring her food around her plate.

"Are you sure?" Koizumi said. "I thought it might be an interesting distraction…"

"Oh! In that case, I'm going to walk around with Big Sis Koizumi!" Saionji leapt from her seat and hugged Koizumi round the middle. "The rest of you can walk somewhere else."

"Well, I wouldn't mind staying with everyone, Hiyoko-chan. Actually, I'd really prefer it." Koizumi smiled down at Saionji, who shrugged her shoulders as best she could, then looked back up at Nanami. "Are we getting anyone else?"

"We can go around the cottages and see if anyone else is up to going," Nanami said. "But we can still all go as a group tomorrow, so it's not too big a deal if the group is small."

"And you-know-who's not answering his door," Owari said. "Just so you know."

"Right." Koizumi's eyes slid askance for a moment, but then she shook her head and returned to reality. "Are we going, then?"

"Just a minute." Nanami stood and turned to face Hinata. "Hinata-kun, are you coming?"

"Oh, well…" As much as Hinata liked the thought of going around the third island with Nanami, his legs felt like lead, and his mind felt too full to absorb anything else. "I would, but…I dunno. I don't really feel up to it."

"Oh…" Nanami stared blankly at him for a moment, but then smiled sweetly. "If you're looking for anything to do, the games are right downstairs."

"Well, games aren't really my thing as much…" Hinata scratched at his head. "But I could give them a look, just to pass the time."

"Well…do whatever you need to," Nanami said.

"I think I'll head back to the cottages for now, actually," Hinata said. "So I can come with you guys, if you're headed that way."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Owari said. "Come on, guys, we've got sleepyheads to wake up."

They found Mioda in front of Togami's cottage, knocking and trying to talk through the door but getting no response either way. They made their offer to her, but she didn't seem especially interested. Hinata did manage to convince her that Togami probably just needed some time to himself – they both knew it was an understatement, but what else could they do? – and she returned peacefully to her cottage. Hinata bid them goodbye after that, and returned to his own.

After ten minutes of pacing back and forth, Hinata left again and headed back to the hotel lobby. The island party was just leaving when he arrived, now including Nidai and Tsumiki with toast in their hands. They exchanged brief greetings before they headed for the central island. He started up one of the game consoles and began to play, but after several false starts tried his patience he gave up and returned to the cottages.

Instead of entering his own he wandered up and down the aisles. All of the curtains in all of the windows were drawn, and there was no sign of Mioda, Souda, Tanaka, Kuzuryuu, or Togami. He tried to avert his eyes whenever he passed an uninhabited dwelling, but given that Sonia had lived right across from Pekoyama he found it difficult. Eventually he knew it was now or never – he approached Togami's cottage, knocked, and loudly yelled his name, but Togami's silence was as resolute as ever. Maybe he isn't even here, Hinata thought, but at this point it didn't really matter one way or the other.

He didn't know what else to do with his day, or who else to do anything with. It was too late to join the island party, and in any case he didn't feel like he had the energy. Eventually he decided on a walk around the island, but that took less time than he thought it would. Momentarily he considered knocking on the doors of the people he knew might be there, but felt he wouldn't have any more luck than anyone else.

The sun sank lower in the sky as Hinata headed back to his cottage. The Monobear announcement hadn't even gone off yet, but he felt so dull with himself that all he could do was throw himself down on his bed. After a few minutes he did get up and remove his clothes, then got back under the covers. His mind cycled through everything that it had to think about – lost memories, Monobear, mutual killing, Sonia, Pekoyama, Hanamura, Komaeda, Souda, Kuzuryuu, Koizumi, Togami, Togami, Togami. His distressed face was fixed in his mind, and Hinata could hardly describe the feeling it brought, not at first.

But soon enough, he had a word. Despair, he thought. Perhaps it's despair. Once it entered his mind it didn't leave, no matter how Hinata tossed and turned. He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, or if he ever even felt as though he were asleep at all, but at some point he felt, if only momentarily, as though he were losing control of his own thoughts, and then his awareness was gone altogether.


"Oh, it's tewwible, weawwy vewy tewwible…"

"It's okay," Nanami said. "It really is okay. Everything's going to be alright, you know it is."

"I know, I know…but…but…"

"But? You can say it, Monomi-chan, I'm here to help."

"Ohhh…I wish I was as sure as I say…" Monomi's head hung almost to her knees. "All this despair…and nothing I can do about it…"

"Monomi-chan, no." Nanami reached over to stroke her sister's fur, and smiled down at her when she lifted her face. "You know not everything's lost. It won't be, not ever."

"It's easy to say, and easy to think," Monomi said. "But I can't get to the outside, not without my Magical Stick, and I don't even know if they're there anymowe…"

"They are," Nanami said. "They have to be. They're struggling as much as we are." She hung her head down as well - not in defeat, but with determination. "We have to try and carry out the original mission as much as we can. If we can do that…we might be able to buy them some time."

"She'll hear you," Monomi whispered.

"She's already heard everything. The best we can do is try." Nanami held her chin in her hands. "We can't expect them to be as strong as they claim in the group. We know the dangers of that, and we know how powerful she can be. We have to do what they can't. We have to use what we know."

"But we don't weally know what they're feeling," Monomi said. "Not deep down inside."

"We know how she got to them the first time," Nanami said. "And I know them now, and I've seen how they are. I wish you could know them, too."

"I'm their teacher," Monomi said. "I'm supposed to know them better than anyone."

"You will. When all this is over, I can introduce you, I'm sure." Nanami turned and smiled at her sister. "I don't think there's anything we need to do for Nidai-kun or Owari-san directly. They have fortitude. They work well with the group. We just need to make sure the group is there to work well for them. And Tsumiki-san, too, although for different reasons."

"Are you sure?" Monomi rocked back and forth on the edge of the television on which she sat.

"I'm very sure." Nanami faced forward again, looking directly into the semidarkness of the electronics store opposite them. "But they're not the ones I'm most concerned about. Souda-kun's grief is setting him at odds with everyone else, Tanaka-kun won't leave his cottage, and Kuzuryuu-kun, Koizumi-san, and Saionji-san…" Nanami shook her head.

"They need support and direction," Monomi said. "I should be the one giving to them, but…you can do that, can't you?"

"I could…but they need to find the resolve to go directly to each other. I can only do so much." Nanami shook her head. "I can make suggestions, but it's up to them to act on them."

She stood, stretched, and looked up into the sky, where the same stars sparkled on the same black backdrop each and every night. "And I'm going to need their help, too. Hinata-kun and Mioda-san, in particular. They're the closest to that person, after all."

"That person?" Monomi's eyes went very wide. "Nanami-chan, you're not going to –?"

"Never." Nanami folded her arms. "But…I can tell it's weighing heavily on them, and the pressure of keeping it secret is holding them back from everything they want to do. But they haven't recognized that yet." Nanami nodded to herself. "So what I have in mind may be the first step. And after that…the rest may not seem so impossible."

She looked from side to side, across all the displays in all the stores. The first rays of moonlight reflected beautifully across the cell phone screens, creating an illusion of illumination, as if they could be picked up and used to call for help. Nanami only wished that were the case. "It's almost ten," she said. "They'll be looking for me. I should get back."

"Be careful," Monomi said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't. I promise." Nanami looked back and smiled at her sister. "I love you, Monomi-chan."

"And Monomi-chan wuvs you too." Monomi returned her sister's smile, and nodded her goodbye. Nanami turned and headed back to where her friends were waiting for her.


komaeda theater

I'm lost.

"How lost?"

Lost like everyone else. We all want to help, but not as much as we want to be helped. Everyone's hurting. Everyone's falling.

"It's nothing to fear, Hinata-kun. It's merely a stepping stone for the shining things to come."

They say they can give us freedom. But they also say they can wipe memories from our minds. If they can remove my talent they can remove everything else.

"It's not your privilege to leave adversity behind. I'm hurt, Hinata-kun. You've hurt me more deeply than death ever did."

Are you talking about my talent?

"Hajime Hinata, shining above the shining stars. Super High School Level Endless Creative Potential in the body of anyone who could otherwise have been ordinary."

Whatever it is, it's not helping me now. If I do have a talent, then what could it be?

"You can tell yourself your talents are those things at which you're really just mediocre. Like smiling, or careful speaking, or being a loyal student or brother or son."

As a child you're told to help people in trouble. But they never expect just what kind of trouble you'll get into when you grow up, or just how much you can actually do.

"This must be such an odd experience for you. One so loved by talent they had to wipe it from your mind, living without that talent for the first time. I wonder what the world was like for you, before they took your talent away."

Things were ordinary, then. But it's almost as though the moment I became ordinary was when everything started going wrong.

"That's what I feel every day, Hinata-kun. That my complete and utter uselessness brought about my own destruction."

But is this what I want? How much does it matter to me anymore? If this could be undone, then what happens next?

"Hope, Hinata-kun. Hope is what you want."

Despair is the beginning and the end.

"Hope exists beyond beginnings and endings. It persists beyond both and winds itself around infinity."

Despair will be with me forever. Not as long as I live will I ever be freed.

"But from where does hope come?"

Despair.

"And from where will I take you?"

Despair.

"And from where shall you shine when you rise to confront the demons you leave behind?"

Everything that's been taken from me and everything I have yet to find.

"It is now 10 pm. Please rest peacefully, along with the soothing sound of the waves. Well then, pleasant dreams. Goodnight, Hinata-kun."


I hope to have another chapter out by Christmas, so stay tuned!

- Carth