A/N: And now, the conclusion of the wedding.

Hinata woke up in an unfamiliar room. The drapes over the window were closed, and a thick blanket covered him; pulled the blanket off and observed that he was dressed in a gray suit.

"Thank God you're awake."

Hinata looked around the room, but it was almost completely dark. One of the drapes shifted, letting in sunlight, revealing Minako Masaru. "Mina…" Hinata said, slowly. He picked himself up out of bed. "Explosions at the wedding…"

"The only explosions were the 12-gun salute," Mina said. "As soon you started screaming, Sonia-san had them cut it off. You're in a room converted for one of the royal witnesses right now." She walked over to the bed and sat on the end of it. "What did you see?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Hinata said. He walked, weakly, over to the drapes, and looked outside: a beautiful courtyard devoid of human life greeted him.

"I was 'Ultimate Psychiatrist', Hajime-kun," Mina said flatly. "I can help."

"I don't need a shrink."

"Yes, you do. What did you see?"

Hinata bit his lip. He realized that he was sweaty, and then said, "Why am I-"

"Tell. Me." He heard a click in the darkness and the door opened a sliver.

"Ah, Hajime," Komaeda said, rushing forward, Sonia right behind him, "you're alright!"

"We didn't know what happened," Sonia added. Sonia and Komaeda hugged Hinata tightly, but they backed off when he groaned. "Sorry."

"If I'd known you'd act like that, I would never've asked you to be best man," Komaeda said.

"How long have you two been waiting?" Hinata said.

"Half an hour," Sonia replied.

"Go to your reception, I'll clear things up with Masaru-san." Then he smiled a little, fake, smile. "This is your special day, not mine!"

"Alright, Hajime, but you be alright, okay?" Komaeda said. Then, taking Sonia's hand, he exited the room with her.

But the door did not click shut, since the Kuzuryuu, his blonde sister, and Peko Pekoyama entered the room. "Better, man?" Kuzuryuu said.

"What's with the sudden concern?" Hinata snapped. He turned his back on the gangster.

"What, are we gangsters not allowed to help others!?" demanded Kuzuryuu's little sister- Hinata didn't know her name.

"More like you wanted a policeman in your debt," Pekoyama pointed out stonily.

"Look, thanks for the assistance," Hinata said. "Now, please leave. The reception's starting soon."

He heard the Kuzuryuus and Pekoyama shuffle out of their room. At the last minute, Kuzuryuu called in, "Feel better, Hinata-kun, 'cuz you're gonna need an appointment with Dr. Otonashi!"

The door clicked shut again, and Hinata glanced at his sister. She was frowning. "What is she planning?" she muttered, seemingly to herself.

"Who?"

"Ryouko Otonashi, Yasuke Matsuda's girlfriend," Mina said. She straightened up and added, "the red-haired one."

"I got that, thanks," Hinata growled. He looked out on the grounds again and saw that it was still unchanged. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, to be honest.

The door clicked open again, and Hinata whirled around and yelled, "What am I, a trainwreck-"

He stopped when he saw that he'd just startled Nanami.

"I-I was just getting a drink of water-" she said, "I didn't know you'd woken up-"

"How long was I out?" Hinata said grumpily as she entered the room.

"Half an hour, like Sonia-san said," Mina said, and she observed, "but generally the amnesia is of the event itself, so if you'd please tell me what you remember?"

Hinata opened his mouth to issue an angry retort, but he stopped when Nanami grabbed his hand. "Please," she said. "Please talk."

Hinata's mouth dried up, and he let Nanami guide him over to the bed. "Well," Mina said, watching them both with a blank face.

"I…I…" he glanced at Nanami, and then back at Mina. He took a deep breath, and said, "it all goes back to the Kirigiri's wedding…"

And he explained about the nightmares he used to have. They didn't stop until about a week after he left Nanami, about three weeks after the near-assassination of Makoto Kirigiri, when he heard that his boss' husband had left the hospital; for the last three years, they'd popped up before, but it became easy to ignore them. By the time he returned to Japan, the nightmares were gone.

"And what did you see during the salute?" Mina said. She's started taking notes on her tablet computer.

Nanami squeezed his hand, and Hinata began, "I saw blood…"

"Blood? On who?"

"Everyone. Sonia-san, Komaeda-kun, the Kuzuryuus, Chiaki-san… and myself." He shuddered as the moment replayed in his mind.

"Anything else?"

"I… I heard Mukuro Ikusaba yelling about bombs, too," Hinata said, "but there's no way that she could be here…"

Mina and Nanami traded glances, and then Mina clicked her tablet shut. "I see," she said. "Hajime-san, please come to my apartment tomorrow. For now, just rest a little, and then come to the reception. I'll keep an eye on you."

Mina left the room and let the door swinging shut, leaving Hinata in the room with Nanami, alone, a single stripe of light running on the ground.

"Hajime," she whispered, "I'll stay here until you want to go to the reception."

"Y-you know how to get there, Chiaki?"

"It's just down the hall from the wedding area," she said, her voice more normal. She leaned into him. "Hajime, you don't have problems around guns, do you?"

Hinata shook his head. "I guess it's the sound in the right setting," Hinata said. He squeezed her hand. "Forgive me for asking this, but didn't you say that-"

"Yeah," Nanami said, and her voice lost its… bounce, becoming very flat. "That first night you showed up, I dreamed about waking up in that hospital after I nearly killed myself in Chihiro-kun's apartment…"

She trailed off and seemed to stare off into space. "C-chiaki, I'm sorry," Hinata said softly, "but I thought-"

Nanami smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry, Hajime-kun, I forgot that we tried to put this all past us," she said, and she put her head on Hinata's shoulder. "It's just, well…"

"We've really only been friends for a week," Hinata said.

"No, friends for six years and a week," she chided. "But if you insist…" She sat up again.

"No, I-, ah-" he could see Nanami smile slightly and lean back into him.

They sat in silence together. His earlier panic with the blood-stained wedding dress was gone; now he was left with a sort-of… quiet contentment. Hinata noticed suddenly that Nanami's eyes were closed, and her breathing rhythmic- she was sleeping. Carefully, he began to put his arm around her-

-and stopped when the door banged open and Koizumi, tailed by Hiyoko Saionji, stormed in. "Hinata-kun!" Koizumi barked, "You're not taking advantage of Chiaki-chan, are you!?"

"I- no, of course not!" Hinata sputtered.

Nanami awoke, glanced at Koizumi and then at Hinata, and said, "don't worry, Mahiru-chan. I started it." She stood up and held out her hand to Hinata. "Ready to go to the reception?"

"Yeah." Hinata took her hand, and she pulled him up.

"Awh, how sweet," Saionji said in a sugary-sweet tone. Then she giggled devilishly. "You're missing the dancing, though."

Koizumi frowned and elbowed her somewhat immature friend. "I know, I know," Saoinji said, "sorry, big sis."

Koizumi and Saonji trooped out, followed by Hinata and Nanami.

It only took them five minutes to reach the reception area, where the dancing had already begun. They could see Komaeda and Sonia whirling about the dance floor to a fast song in Novoselician; other couples had also taken to the dance floor, such as the Masarus, the Togamis, and the king and queen.

As for the rest of the reception area, circling the dance floor were numerous (gray) tables, with dozens of chairs to each table; a large buffet, attended to by Hanamura and his chefs, was along the far wall, all next to a two-tiered wedding cake. A small mountain of presents, all boxes that looked suspiciously like microwave and toaster-oven containers, was on another table by a couple of royal guards. Finally, most of the guests were sitting at the tables, sipping champagne and eating buffet food, or standing in a throng and watching the dancers. Of course, a steady amount of people were joining the floor as well.

Koizumi and Saionji nodded to Nanami and then left for a table. Meanwhile, the song ended. Nanami and Hinata watched as the music shifted to a slow Novoselician song and more people flocked to the floor to slow-dance, while Komaeda and Sonia, at the center of it all, began to slowly dance whilst looking into each other's eyes.

"I'm feeling nauseous," Hinata muttered, "and it's not because of any psychiatric issues."

Nanami giggled, and then said, "let's go get a table, Hajime."

They sat down at the table with the Kirigiris, both of whom were still looking pale. "Oh, good," Kyouko said when she saw Hinata sit down, "I was worried, but I couldn't leave Makoto-"

"I told you, you should've checked on him-" Makoto said wearily, but with a single look from his wife he shut up.

"Anyway, what did Masaru say?" Kyouko said.

"She just wanted me to see her as a shrink," Hinata said. "But seeing as she's in Despair-"

"So is Otonashi," Kyouko said quickly and quietly, "honestly, I'd trust Masaru more than Otonashi. At least Masaru's so low-key in the medical world that I can get her to treat you in a KDL office. Not Otonashi."

Hinata glanced quickly at Nanami, who looked vaguely startled, but decided not to tell the Kirigiris about her suggestions to see Otonashi. "So I should go see her?"

"Yes," Kyouko said. "But only with KDL supervision."

Hinata watched the dancers again. He had half a mind to sweep Nanami off her seat and start dancing with her, but he decided against it. As for Nanami, she stood up and walked off towards the buffet.

"Hinata-san," Makoto said, "you are okay, right?"

"I'm fine, sir," Hinata said stiffly. "I've just had a little shock…"

"The nightmares might return," Kyouko said. Hinata wondered briefly how she knew about them, but he brushed it off. "Hinata-san, you're not the only one with a negative reaction-"

"I know, sir," Hinata said.

Nanami returned to the table, carefully holding four drinks filled with champagne. "Here you go, some drinks," she declared, and placed them all on the table. "I wonder how many people from Hope's Peak there are…"

"I recognize quite a few of them from my days on the selection committee," Kyouko said. "For instance, that's the 'Super High School Level Storyteller', Ma-"

"Wait, sir."

"Yes, Hinata-san?"

"What do you know about Hiroshi Nakejawa?"

Kyouko and Makoto both blinked. Nanami choked on her champagne. "H-hajime," she gasped, "he's just our neighbor-"

"Nakejawa was on the Selection Committee for a year after I joined," Kyouko said. "He was on it until his wife died back during my high-profile corruption scandal."

"And he has a connection to Despair?" Hinata prompted.

Kyouko and Makoto glanced at each other. Then, Makoto said, "We think so, like I told you last night. He used to have contact with Junko Enoshima all the time- he was planning something with her. But she disappeared and he fell from grace…"

"Then why wouldn't Masaru talk about him, when he was willing to talk about organization and such of the Minato cell?" Hinata said.

"He was only telling you things we already knew, I bet," Makoto said.

Hinata nodded. "That was probably it…"

"So, why are you sharing all this with a non-KDL agent?" Nanami asked.

Kyouko simply smiled and said nothing. Then, a quick, catchy Japanese tune came on. "Oh, Kyouko!" Makoto said excitedly, his face coloring in more, "Remember how we used to dance to this-"

"Don't worry, Makoto," Kyouko said, a smile on her lips, "I remember." She stood up, and with one gloved hand she pulled Makoto up and lead him to the dance floor, leaving their champagne untouched and Hinata alone with Nanami again.

"How rude," Nanami huffed, "and after I went through all the trouble, too…"

Fujisaki walked up to the table and sat down. "Hello, Chiaki-san."

"Hello, Chihiro-kun," Nanami said, "but you know I'm not here alone."

Fujisaki sighed. "I know, I know," he said, and he glanced at Hinata. "Hello, Hinata-san."

"Hello, Fujisaki-san."

The two men stared at each other, and then Fujisaki resumed his stare at Nanami. "Thanks for letting me use your shower last night," he said. "Have you seen Tsuji-kun?"

"Saul or Iyatso?" Hinata said.

"Iyatso."

"He's over by the buffet," Nanami said. "Why-"

But Fujisaki was already gone. "Hajime," Nanami said, "please don't blame him, but he said-"

"I know, I know, he confused me with his ex-fiancé," Hinata said. Nanami nodded.

"He hasn't been the same since," she said, staring down into her glass.

Hinata watched her for a moment, and then Kuzuryuu, now by himself, returned. He pulled out a chair next to Hinata and groaned, "I hate plain' the messenger."

"For who?" Nanami said.

"Dr. Otonashi," Kuzuryuu said. "You really should go talk to her, Hinata-kun, it'll do wonders for ya." He put his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Trust me, she'll change your entire viewpoint."

Then he stood up again and wandered off. "Why does he keep doing that?" Nanami said. "I thought you two-"

"He's trying to warn me, I think," Hinata said. The song switched to another slow dance, and he stood up.

"How do you know?" Nanami said, and she stood up as well and offered her hand out. He took it, and together they walked to the dance floor.

"It's not like Kuzuryuu to use honorifics when talking to me, and it's not like him to be concerned about me," Hinata said. They began dancing, albeit somewhat poorly considering the last time they'd danced together was three years ago. At least they got the "one arm on waist, one arm on the shoulder, awkwardly sway" thing down. "I feel like a schoolkid," Hinata commented, as he looked into Nanami's pink eyes.

"We're not the only ones," Nanami said, and she broke contact with Hinata and nodded towards Nidai and Owari dancing equally as slowly, "although that's probably the hangover."

"How does a hangover-"

"Too much alcohol does funny things to people, Hajime," Nanami told him. "You should know that, after-"

"The incident with Ikusaba-san in 2nd year?"

"Yeah, that one. When you started making out with Koizumi because you thought that she was me and Ikusaba-san was so drunk she tried to pull-"

"I don't wanna know," Hinata said quickly. "It's not even relevant, I bet."

Gradually, their dancing improved. They had once danced together for fun, learning for the Kirigiri's wedding, before the incident, and for some reason as the dance continued Hinata felt more confident and more able to actually… dance, turning the two of them at least into a more sweeping kind of waltz by the end of the second dance.

"Hajime-kun," Hinata heard, and he realized that he and Nanami had wound up next to Sonia and Komaeda. "You know that you can't dance with the same person the whole time!" Sonia chided. The song ended, and Sonia and Komaeda split apart. "Here, come dance with me."

Nanami let go of Hinata and took Komaeda's arm. "It's a tradition for the groom to dance with his witnesses and their significant others, you know, Hajime," Komaeda said, and he winked. "I look forward to it."

Hinata sighed, but he began dancing with Sonia. Naturally, she lead. "Wow, Hajime-kun," Sonia said, and Hinata noticed that she had eyes almost the same shade as her dress, "you're doing really well! They teach you dance lessons at the KDL?"

"No, no," Hinata said. He smiled at the compliment. "I guess I'm just a natural."

"Don't let Hiyo-chan hear you saying that!" Sonia said.

They danced a circle around Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama. "So, what're you guys doing for the honeymoon?" Hinata said.

"Off to Novoselic, it's tradition," Sonia said, with a bit of a sour face. Then she brightened up again and said, "but we'll be coming back to Japan after two weeks there, and then we'll spend one week in Hokkaido, and then we'll come back to Tokyo!"

"Well, have fun," Hinata said.

"Don't worry. I will," Sonia said cheerfully.

"And what about… them?" Hinata said. He gestured with his head towards Matsuda, who was spinning in circles with Otonashi. Sonia's smile turned into a frown.

"Austria will probably take charge," Sonia said. "Why?"

"Why are you in Despair?" Hinata pressed.

Sonia's smile looked like it was made of wax. "Hajime-kun," she said, "it's none of your business why."

They song ended, and Sonia pulled away and grabbed the royal female witness to begin dancing. "Oh, excellent!" Komaeda said, and he pushed his way past Taeko Togami and Aoi Asahina, "time for the same-sex dance!" Behind him, Hinata saw Nanami bow slightly to Koizumi.

Komaeda grabbed Hinata's arms, positioned them, and then the two began to dance to a quick, upbeat tune (in Novoselician, of course). For having never danced with another man before, Hinata was doing surprisingly well. "So, Hajime, how do you like the wedding?" Komaeda said.

"I didn't like the collapsing in the aisle, but the reception's not bad so far," Hinata said.

"You're just saying that because you got to dance with Chiaki-san, right?"

Hinata sighed. "You know me too well, Komaeda-kun."

"Please, Hajime. It's Nagito to you," Komaeda told him. Out of the corner of his eye, Hinata could see Saionji dancing with Mina and Nidai dancing with Kuzuryuu. Hinata glanced over Komaeda's shoulder and saw Fujisaki dancing with Tanaka. "Something wrong, Hajime?"

"Do you and Sonia know that 'Iyatso Tsuji' is actually Gundam Tanaka?" Hinata said.

Komaeda nodded. "In case you're wondering, Sonia moved past him," he said, "it really disappointed Tanaka-san, but he's willing to do anything, even defy Despair, for her. And his Dark Gods of Destruction, but they're yet to resurrect."

"And Saul Tsuji-"

"Kiyotaka Ishimaru, although I haven't seen him all day," Komaeda said. He frowned. "Could you ask Kirigiri-san to search for him?"

"…maybe."

"Thanks. Anything else, or should we gaze into each other's eyes-"

"You know I'm not interested in you."

Komaeda's smile broadened. "Don't worry, Hajime, I love Sonia more than I love you."

"Yeah, well, thank God for that." Hinata considered a question- any question- and then asked, "you call Nanami-san Number Four, but not around me?"

Komaeda smiled. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to talk about that," he said pompously, with the faintest touch of amusement, "so sorry. Next question."

Hinata frowned. Who would be ordering him…? "How about Hiroshi Nakejawa?"

"He's not really allied with me or Masaru-san," Komaeda said. "I don't think she's even really trying to get him on her side, because I know-"

"Wait. She?"

"Yes, she. Minako Masaru, number two of Despair in the Minato ward, alias Austria," Komaeda said dismissively. "I thought you already knew that?"

But Hinata's blood had run cold. Masaru had acted as if he was number two, but it was Mina who had the gun, and if she was number two, then… "We've been letting her slip away since I started work here-" Hinata whispered.

Komaeda's smile widened. "Don't you understand your real job now, Hajime? I certainly do. Those Monoscopes are so useful-"

"Because those Monobears let you see everything, right?" Hinata said.

Komaeda nodded.

"Then what about Nakejawa?"

"He's called Netherlands, but he's kind of a wild card when it comes to Despair politics. Austria's got Owari and Masaru pretty firm in her pocket, and I have my lovely wife and the 'Tsuji's on my side, so I'm not worried."

The song stopped, and Hinata let go of Komaeda. He had to go find his boss. "Wait, Hajime, you shouldn't rush off-"

But Hinata was off the dance floor in seconds, scanning the crowd for Kyouko Kirigiri's distinctive purple hair. He found her sitting at a table with Togami. "But Romney does owe me a favor, maybe he'll overlook more nuclear weapons…" Togami was saying when Hinata arrived and sat down next to Kyouko.

"I don't think the Americans will let you have more nuclear weapons, Togami-kun," Kyouko said. She looked at Hinata. "Yes, Hinata-san?"

"Did you know that the second-in-command of Minato is my sister, not Ryotsa Masaru?" Hinata demanded.

Kyouko nodded. "Then why didn't you…" And then, all at once, he realized why: by watching the apartment, he would give the impression that KDL was ignorant of Mina's role. They would make Masaru out to be a bigger threat than he really was and let her go about her business, unimpeded by KDL and also by Despair.

He was protecting Mina on accident.

"Sir," he said, standing up, "I-I need to think-"

"Everything I do has a reason, Hinata-san," Kyouko said as he walked away, "remember that."

And if he was protecting Mina, then that meant that the traitor was also Mina. Which, of course, meant that her warning about Otonashi could probably be trusted. He stalked through the crowd, but halted when someone put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hajime, this is Dr. Otonashi," Nanami said. Behind her stood the red-haired woman who was with Matsuda, who had a very large smile plastered on her face. "She wanted to see you-"

And then Mina emerged from the crowd. "Sorry, doctor, but I'm treating my brother, not you," she said aggressively. She grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, forcing him into a dance. "That woman's pure poison," she said, "everything she says leads into despair in some way." She leveled a stare at Hinata and said, "and I wouldn't trust Nanami-san either. If she was willing to bring Otonashi to you, there's a good chance she's in Despair too."

Hinata felt as if Mina'd slapped him. He pulled away from her. "Thank you for the concern-" he began to say, when Mina pulled him back in again.

"Listen up," she hissed, "they've already noticed what I am. I'm leaving with Ryo tonight. Please, just distract Nanami and Nakejawa. I know the latter's in Despair, and the former probably is too. Also, watch out for Germany: once I'm gone, he's in charge. And whoever he is, he has a lot of power with the bosses."

Mina deposited Hinata at the edge of the dance floor and then she reentered the crowd. Hinata looked around, and then headed for the restroom.

He was washing his hands when he heard the door creak open. He glanced up and saw Matsuda. "Kamukura-san," Matsuda said, letting the door swing shut, "I see you're starting to emerge again."

"You must be mistaken," Hinata said stonily, "my name is Hajime Hinata."

He pushed past Matsuda and left the restroom. "Oh, I know, Hinata-san," Matsuda called after him, "but the process has already begun!" And then he began to laugh.

Matsuda's ringing laughter stayed with Hinata long after he exited the restroom, and lasted through the rest of the reception. The usual wedding stuff happened, and by the end of the night, the Prince-Consort and Princess Nevermind were now the proud owners of thirty microwave ovens, a television, three cribs, sixteen vacuum cleaners, and a waffle iron; the cake was delicious, as expected from Hanamura's cooking; and the reception ended with Hinata and Nanami sitting at a table with the Masarus, Nanami asleep on Hinata's shoulder, her mouth hanging open ever-so-slightly.

"Thank you, everyone, and my apologies to the young man who collapsed from the salute!" the king said. People began to pick up their jackets and sweaters, and left, generally talking amongst themselves, some slightly drunk, others dead tired. The Masarus gave a curt goodbye to Hinata and Nanami, and Hinata roused Nanami from her slumber.

"Are we going now, Hajime?" Nanami said, and she stretched, yawned, and put her head back on Hinata's shoulder as the two of them watched the Masarus walk away.

"Yeah, I think so," Hinata said.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes."

They got up and left the reception area, hand in hand, said their goodbyes to Sonia and Komaeda at the door, and left for the apartment.

Hinata was out on the balcony of the apartment, watching the city. Rain was falling. He had changed out of his suit into bedclothes, and was just waiting for Nakejawa to emerge for his nightly smoke.

Nakejawa's door opened. "Hinata-kun," he drawled, "so nice to see ya 'gain."

Hinata glanced at Nakejawa, who held up a gun that glinted in the artificial light. "Too bad command's been screwed up." He took a step forward, and then another. "First Britain and France leave on their honeymoon, now Austria and Spain are traitors. And Germany- no one knows what's up with Germany. Point is, command's really confused, so if a protected person mysteriously dies in the crossfire, oh well."

He was now only about a meter away from Hinata. "Hinata-kun, I really regret making you a member of the 79th class," Nakejawa said, "and I'm afraid Xiong Nu's given the order. Goodnight… Izuru Kamukura."

A/N: And welcome to the next act. As always, post a review for any questions or comments!