"For the future." - Chapter two
"So… I'll be plugged into the Neo World Program, and Alter Ego will render all of our classmates as NPCs, including you and the rest of the surviving class. It'll be just like they entered Hope's Peak for the first time?" Aoi asked. She felt strange about interacting with NPCs of people who are currently alive. Perhaps it was the idea of meeting them over again,
"Yes. I will be monitoring you from the outside alongside the class of 77-B. I will get into contact with Hajime Hinata to create arrangements with the help of Kazuichi Souda's abilities as a mechanic."
I suppose it comes with the territory… I hope it's not weird for Byakuya to watch me interact with his knock-off. "What kind of arrangements are ya thinking? I hope you don't change Jabberwock Island, I think it's kinda nice. I need a vacation."
"No, nothing like that. These arrangements will ensure you are safe for the duration of your time in the Neo World Program. No weaponry or attacks will harm you so nobody can do anything to you. All traces of Junko Enoshima will be removed. Power outages will result in an instant wake. The Forced Shutdown will only need to be activated by you. My NPC will have the Observer Role, and there will be 3 Observers in the game which include Usami, Chiaki and myself. It is essentially fool-proof. You will be safe."
"I hope you're right about that." She believed in his intelligence. She hoped that he would believe in her intelligence, even when she didn't. She looked down at her feet, somewhat nervous to talk to Makoto about a big idea for the Future Foundation she came up with. Even if Byakuya came up 70% of the plan, it seemingly came down to Hina. "Byakuya… I know we had been talking about it for a while, and the plan was for me to talk to Makoto… But um… Maybe it'll be better if you did it."
He wasn't surprised to see Hina nervous. "Hina, do you believe I'm making you do this?"
"No! Not at all. I think you're just assigning things like you usually do. I just know it would be super easy for you, that's all."
"Delegating is a part of my job. I have been pulling my weight here and as such, my words carry weight. If I were to suggest it, I have no doubt I would get the clearance." Byakuya stated matter-of-factually.
Again with the weight pulling thing? Jeez… He's such a dick. Hina felt infinitely more intimidated by whatever he had to say next. She expected some sort of 'just do it, idiot,' or maybe even, 'are you simple? I made the plans, you get the approval'. "S-So… Why don't you then?" Hina sighed, hoping that whatever he said next made her sound less hopeless then what she had in mind. Bring it on, Byakuya. I'm ready.
Byakuya raised his brow, concerned for her defeatist attitude before they had even begun. He could not place when it had started. "Like I said, you are determined when you put your mind to something. Before you came to me for my help, I'm guessing you were ecstatic. You had a good idea, and no one to share it with but me. I approved and helped you out which is exactly what you wanted. Except you didn't want help from me. I psyched you out of truly believing in your idea with a fancy explanation that you had to think about to understand… And you believed that was an indication of your intelligence. It's not."
"No…! I-I didn't believe-" She stopped herself, since she knew what he said about her blaming her deficiencies on him was true. She did partially blame her insecurity in her idea on him. "I never said that I didn't want your help…"
"I inferred it. We already talked about this at the beginning of our conversation." He massaged the temple on his skull.
He seemed to know every response to every word I could say. Ugh. She was left with no more arguments. She tried, but she couldn't find one within herself. She hated admitting defeat, but she felt like she had to. "You're right. I think it's just… Sorta easy to blame you for making me feel dumb. Sorry." She admitted. Both had changed since the killing game but one thing had remained between them; they are both stubborn. Neither of them want to confess that they want or need help, neither want to admit defeat or fault. Both were working on improving, despite their own minds and patterns of behaviour working against them. "You've changed… Maybe. I dunno when it happened, but it happened. I wish I noticed or maybe I'd talk to you more. You're less of an asshole."
Byakuya rolled his eyes at her last statement, ignoring it completely in his response to her. "We've barely spoken over the last few months. I had been preoccupied with the Future Foundation, and you had been preoccupied in your own self pity."
Ugh. I hate that he's right. I… Hate that he's right. I don't want to do that anymore. Hina, pull yourself together. Hina tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear again, and cracked her knuckles. "I won't do that anymore. I'll do my best... For the future."
"You can do great things on behalf of the Future Foundation beyond what you have shown us. Your role in the Future Foundation has an impact on the world." He stood up, indicating the conversation was over. He glanced over. "Think about what I say."
"Thanks, Byakuya." She said as he walked out of the room. He didn't regard her last comment, but Hina felt satisfied at least saying it to him. She briefly replayed all of the talking points Byakuya brought up in her head. Satisfied, she stood up. She quickly glanced at the clock above the door. They did not require much time together. They were together for an hour or so. It felt longer in her mind. Her mind rationalised the long hour as Byakuya's uppity attitude domineering the conversation. Still; she didn't find herself hating the conversation, unlike many others she has had in the past with him. She made her way through the halls of the Future Foundation dormitories to her room. All she needed to do was talk to Makoto in the morning. Hina stressed herself to sleep.
Ever since Hope's Peak, she hasn't had many good nights. The world seemed to make less sense as time went on, but the senseless world doesn't stop. She went on. With her eyes still closed and her head on her pillow, started feeling around her desk for her cell phone. Feeling the phone in the dark, she lifts it to her face and adjusts to the bright light, finding Makoto's name in her contacts.
The dial tone rung out for a few moments, then Makoto answered. "Hey Hina! What's up?" Makoto was so casual with his friends, despite being a superior.
"Hey Makoto… Um, I've never like, set a meeting with you before." Aoi still sounded drowsy from her sleep. Aoi and Makoto were very similar.
"You don't have to set a meeting to hang out, Hina. That's for Future Foundation stuff. We're friends."
"Yeah, I know. I did wanna talk about Future Foundation stuff. Hanging out sounds nice, but I'll get in trouble if I talk business during a hang sesh."
"Oh! My bad for assuming, haha. Lemme check my schedule for this kinda stuff..." Makoto was quick to apologise, he quickly continued, "if you want to come around… In an hour or so?" Sliding out of bed, she prepped herself for a swim, then a meeting with Makoto Naegi.
"Thanks, Makoto. I'll see you soon then." She hung up and begun her morning stretch.
Most of her prep was psychological. Hyping herself up to do the work she put in the justice it deserved. Repeating ideas and concepts in her head was foreign to Hina. She trusted her gut instead of her mind. Still, she did the work and put in the effort. She practised mindfulness as she stretched, as she walked to the pool and as she changed into her swimsuit.
While she swam her laps, she also used the time to practice what she really wanted to say in her head. It slowed her down significantly, but she found it quite… Nice to truly slow down and know what she wants to say.
She wanted to believe it was all her. She really, really wanted it to be all her… But she couldn't truly take responsibility for her shift in motivation. She would never admit it, though. She pushes those feelings of acknowledgement into the depths of her mind and pulls herself out of the pool. Hina had to meet up with Makoto on the new Hope's Peak Academy campus.
A/N: Thanks for reading my fanfic! I really wanted to make this chapter longer but I didn't know whether readers would like longer chapters from me. I also had a bit of writer's block writing this chapter hehe. I did major research so I could accurately write both Byakuya and Aoi, but honestly they're sort of amalgamations of canon and my own headcanons of them. In my headcanon, they're both stubborn and bullheaded but in different ways. Like, two sides of the same coin. Aoi is stubborn when it comes to her friends and feelings, while Byakuya is stubborn when it comes to himself and his perception of reality.