Designs were based off the fake Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode leaks.
The medium-sized room was dim as the lights were off. The only reason he could see was due to the sunlight coming through the thin window curtains on the back wall. Collapsible beds lined the west and east walls as if the room was quickly repurposed to be a hospital room. Sitting on the edge of their own respectable bed were his two friends, Sonia and Kuzuryuu.
Their bodies were facing one another indicating that they were conversing before Hinata opened the door. Kuzuryuu had his back towards the entrance while Sonia could easily see the door past her friend's shoulders. As soon as Hinata opened the door, the room's occupants snapped their heads towards his direction, curious to see who it was. They were greeted with the sight of Hinata awkwardly staring at them from the doorway. Hinata was overjoyed to see them, so much so that he started tearing up a little on the spot. He would have ran towards them and pulled both of them into an embrace but his fear of what they thought of him was holding him back.
"Hinata-san, is that you?" Sonia asked as she slowly stood from her bed after a few seconds of dead silence. She wore a solid black lace dress that reached a few inches past her knees. Matching stockings and opera length gloves made her entire outfit complete as the darkness of it all contrasted her white skin. Her golden hair was a little longer compared to what Hinata saw in the simulation and it was curly as if she recently took her hair down from a bun.
"Yeah….It's me" Hinata responded softly with a smile as his tears began to pour down his face. At the sound of this, Kuzuryuu jumped to his feet and fully turned towards him. The blonde was wearing a suit in which every aspect of it was a dull shade of gray. It looked a bit plain compared to the pinstripe suit he wore in the simulation. The one thing that stood out from the simple suit was the dragon design that snaked across his left sleeve. It was only a few tones lighter than the rest of his suit, but its uniqueness made it jump out. Unfortunately, just like in the game, his right eye was covered. This time, a thin white piece of cloth was fashioned to become a simple eye patch which made it the lightest thing on his person.
"Seriously? You better not be fucking with us!" Kuzuryuu shouted with a menacing tone but it was clear on his face that Kuzuryuu was excited to see Hinata as he was to see him. Hinata knew that the yakuza was just putting up a front so that he wouldn't be crushed if it wasn't who he expected it to be.
Before Hinata could respond to Kuzuryuu, Sonia had quickly walked towards him and pulled the long haired friend into a tight embrace. Despite the many layers of his suit, he could already feel her tears wetting his chest. Hinata paid no heed to it as he returned her embrace with his own and silently cried with her. Not long after did Hinata feel an arm go across his shoulder as Kuzuryuu gave him a tight one-armed hug. His other hand was too preoccupied wiping the tears away from his single eye to give Hinata a proper hug.
Together they stood entangled in each other's arms as they enjoyed one another's presence. It seemed as if years passed by until Sonia broker her embrace prompting the other two to end their own.
"Oh my, I've been so overwhelmed seeing you that I had forgot to ask. Are you feeling well Hinata-san?" Sonia asked as she wiped away the remaining tears off her face. "I recall that I was exhausted within the first few minutes of leaving those pods, would you want to sit down?" Hinata's legs were only slightly fatigued but he accepted her offer regardless.
"Yes, I would like that." Hinata responded as Sonia happily but gently pulled Hinata's arm towards the beds. He decided to sit alone on the side of the bed Kuzuryuu was previously sitting on while the other two sat on one side of Sonia's bed.
"So…uh.." Kuzuryuu started as he stared at the ground. He rubbed the back of his head before he continued. "You obviously remember the island by the way you acted when you saw us but….do you remember anything else?" The blond said the last part of sternly as he stared into Hinata's eyes as if he was searching for a long-awaited answer.
"Yes I remember everything. No, 'everything' wouldn't be the right word to use. I have a general idea of everything that happened but it's not at all crystal clear. I do remember how everything fell apart, but it's like trying to remember a movie from years ago." Hinata replied, expecting them to be disappointed but to his surprise, Kuzuryuu smirked at his response.
"Hey, that's a whole lot better than us. The only memories we have are from the island." Kuzuryuu replied as Sonia nodded her head in agreement.
"That is correct. Kuzuryuu-san and I were worried that we would never learn the truth. It's amazing how you remember so much Hinata-san! Please, enlighten us about what happened." Sonia said as she and Kuzuryuu edged closer off the bed as they were eager to listen to his recollections. Hinata stared at his friends' faces as he couldn't help but study them. He would be lying if he said that they looked exactly the same from the game as subtle differences subtle differences jumped out at him. Small scars, weary eyes, and slight depressions in their cheeks plagued the carefree faces they once wore. Hinata swallowed as he prepared to tell them the suffering they received and the suffering they had delivered.
"Okay this is what happened, it all-" Hinata started but immediately stopped when he heard the door open. Just like before, all the room's occupants stared at the entrance as they awaited the newcomer to show themselves.
The door opened just enough for the person to stick their head inside. "He-Hello? Why is it so dark in here?" The newcomer nervously said as they attempted to scan the room. Everyone instantly recognized who that newcomer was. It was Kazuichi Souda. He was wearing an olive long sleeve shirt with black welding pants that had a strip of dark purple running down the side of his legs. In one of his arms was a short sleeve jacket that seemed to match the color scheme of his pants. His hair was almost entirely black except for the tips, making it apparent that he was trying to grow out the dye from his hair. The back half of his hair was tied into a loose ponytail while the top portion seemed to be poorly spiked due to the lack of care they received while Souda was in the game. This gave it a disheveled look as strands of hair flew in all directions.
The three in the room instantly got on their feet to greet him but they were too slow as Souda acted first when he recognized them. He threw the door wide open and ran inside towards the small group with his arms wide open. Tears were already streaming down his face as he neared his friends.
"Sonia-san! Kuzuryuu! It so good to see- ARGHHHHH!" Souda suddenly screamed and stopped dead in his tracks as he laid his eyes on Hinata. "WHO THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"Hey you bastard! That's Hinata you dimwit!" Kuzuryuu countered as he stomped his way towards Souda who had slowly started backing away.
"Yes, he is our beloved friend Hinata-san!" Sonia chimed in as she too made her way towards the mechanic. Hinata decided to stay where he was standing near the beds to prevent causing more fear to Souda.
"You sure? He looks kinda….demonic. Especially those glowing red eyes of his…" Souda said sheepishly as he eyed Hinata up and down.
"That hurts Souda, I thought we were closer than that." Hinata replied, acting a little more insulted than what he really felt.
"I was just thinking, if the scientists at Hope's Peak were trying to make you into the Super High School Level Hope, I figured they'd make you look like a god or something! Not an evil villain!" Souda yelled defensively as he put a foot down.
"That's not his fault! You don't have to treat him like a fucking monster because of it!" Kuzuryuu yelled at Souda's face, causing him to hesitate for a quick second before he opened his mouth to defend his actions. Unfortunately for him, Souda was interrupted before he was able to get a single word out.
"What's all this racquet about?" A harsh voice asked from the still-open doorway. A sophisticated-looking young man stood at the entrance of the room. He wore a black suit similar to the one Naegi wore and white framed glasses. The look of disapproval was so clear on his face that the other party could easily see it despite the bright lights from the hallway. The room grew quiet as they were all surprised to see him; none of them hearing him approach. The young man continued to stand there with his arms crossed waiting for an answer, his patience already running thin.
"It's nothing Togami-san. We were all just overjoyed to see one another again. I hope we didn't cause you any problems." Sonia apologized for the group, remembering his name from the simulation. Togami simply sneered before he walked away.
"This is all your fault dumbass." Kuzuryuu grumbled towards Souda as soon as the sound of Togami's footsteps faded away. Sonia walked past the two to close the door as to not cause more alarm for the members of the Future Foundation.
"My fault?! I've been awake for about five minutes and I'm already being accused for something." Souda replied with a hurt look on his face as he put his hands on top of his head.
"Make no mistake Souda-san, we are all very happy to see you are alive and well. However, you must not insult Hinata-san like you did. He has been through a lot more than us and despite our different appearances, we are still dear friends." Sonia chided Souda softly causing the mechanic to look down in guilt.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for causing a ruckus. It's just hard for me to believe you're you, you know? I want to believe you, I really do but you have to give proof that you're the Hajime Hinata that I know." Souda declared as he faced Hinata with a stern face. However, Hinata could see his friend's eyes wavering as they didn't want to doubt him.
"Souda, I am still the same person you met on the island. I remember that you once told me that you had a best friend in middle school who left you when you were both put in an uncomfortable position. But I'm not like that Souda, we're not like that! We stayed together as friends throughout all those murders, after learning about being despair, even after we thought everything was pointless! We were together there, and we are all going to be together here." Hinata said proudly as he clasped a hand on Souda shoulder.
"Goddamn it Hinata, you really know how to talk to a man's heart. I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry." Tears were streaming down Souda's face he mumbled those words between his sobs. He attempted wiping away his tears with his sleeve but the vast amount of them made it impossible. As Hinata comforted Souda who was deeply touched by Hinata's words, Sonia and Kuzuryuu began their own conversation on the side. They too were touched by their friend's words but they were able to keep their composure as his words weren't personally directed to them. This allowed them focus on their current position.
"Obviously Souda doesn't remember anything more than the island." Kuzuryuu mumbled as he mindlessly kicked the ground.
"It is unfortunate, but as long as we have Hinata-san, it shouldn't be a problem." Sonia replied with a smile on her face. "However, I do hope Owari-san remembers something to fill in the gaps in Hinata-san's memory." The smile on her face faded away as she thought of the possibility of what she said actually occurring.
"Where is Owari anyways? Shouldn't she be up by now?" Kuzuryuu said as he looked towards the door, expecting her to come busting in at any second.
"The Future Foundation did say that the survivors should be all waking up today. Give her some time Kuzuryuu-san." Sonia reassured her friend who still felt a little uneasy.
The four friends sat near one another on the beds as they discussed happy memories during their time in the island in an attempt to liven up the atmosphere and lift their spirits. Hinata had decided to hold off on telling his friends his memories until Owari joined them. However, hours passed with no sign of Owari, causing the uneasiness they had attempted to keep at bay to come creeping back.
"Ahh! I can't take it anymore! Why don't we just ask on of the Future Foundations about her?" Souda asked as he felt anxious to do something.
"I bet they're already working on it. We'll just bother them if we nag them about it." Hinata reasoned despite feeling anxious as well.
Minutes passed in silence as their anxiety had taken all their ability to speak. Suddenly, the door opened, causing everyone to jump to their feet and head towards the entrance even before the door fully opened. Instead of seeing their friend, they were greeted by a pink-haired lady in black suit. Her face was serious as she stared at the group.
"We need to talk." Kirigiri said.