When Hajime warned them he didn't know when on the first day they would 'wake up', Fuyuhiko still thought it would be in their old classroom. The fact he opened his eye (eyes) to the beach, with everyone panicking, and Hajime passed the fuck out was not great. He even took a step to check and make sure that idiot didn't break his already scrammed head, but stop.
We need to avoid changing things unnecessarily. Fuyuhiko remember, and cursed before turning around.
Hajime was fine. He did this the first time too, and Fuyuhiko remember thinking what a weakling he was. Now he knew better. Fuyuhiko didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone with Komaeda, but once again, that's what happened the first time. And they fucking promised to avoid changing shit until the party. That meant that Fuyuhiko couldn't even talk to Peko until the evening, after Monokuma showed up, since that's what he did in the past.
And he wanted to do nothing more than to grab Peko and never let go.
Instead, he said some fucking nonsense to the group about exploring while they were all introducing themselves like this was a normal school trip, before leaving. He didn't bother to check and see what the girls or Kazuichi were doing, but hopefully, they were also playing along.
Of course, Fuyuhiko forgot that Peko came with him. Never in the same exact place, but always close enough that if he yelled, she would be there. Exactly how she was the few months or so at school. He remembered being annoyed with her behavior, not liking the reminder that she was just his bodyguard/hitwomen, but now he was more annoyed there was always someone else around. There was no way for them to talk without others overhearing.
On the bright side, that frustration made it easier to act like his old asshole self. No one bothered staying too close to him, and by the time he got to the hotel, no one else was outside.
He figured Hanamura was still in the kitchen, and likely would be there until they were all summoned to the beach. He spotted Sonia and Nanami enter the lobby when he opened the gate, but there was no one else. Fuyuhiko thought Nidai and Koizumi were around by the time he met Hajime there, but maybe he was misremembering that day.
Doesn't help that he can remember the events happening before his first day at Hope's Peak, and after being captured by Future Foundation. Fuyuhiko hasn't bothered to ask if the others had that issue, but now he wished he did. It's easy saying they would keep things the same, but that means shit if they don't remember what happened months ago and feels like years ago.
Fuyuhiko saw Peko as she walked passed him, giving a nod without even looking in his direction. He almost called out to her, but didn't.
I promise I'll protect you this time.
Keeping Peko alive was more important than solving his own heartache. Fuyuhiko will keep things the same until the dumb party, then they will make sure no one dies.
Even with that promise to himself, Fuyuhiko still couldn't stop himself from watching Peko disappear into the lobby nor stop the momentary panic that once he lost sight of Peko, she would be dead again.
"Shit," Fuyuhiko commented as he rubbed his eye.
The one he no longer had. Which just made him want to swear again, but that might draw people's attention. Fuyuhiko decided to just pretend to explore the place until Hajime arrived, then just stay in his fucking cabin until they got summoned. It sounded close enough to what he did the first time, and had nothing to do with the hope that Peko might stop by.
After walking past all the cottages, Fuyuhiko spotted Koizumi hanging around the pool and quickly looked away. He… wasn't sure what to think of the girl. He doesn't want her to die, but he was still angry at the fact she hid proof that her bitchy friend killed Natsumi. Fuyuhiko wasn't super close to his classmates, but they still were friends. Close enough that Fuyuhiko felt betrayed by Koizumi's actions. Then what she said last time about his little sister not deserving justice…
Avoiding her seemed like the best option. Not like doing that will be that big of a change from last time.
"Hey… Can you hear me?"
Hajime opened his eyes to see Nagito Komaeda looking down at him, with the sun partially blocked by his white hair. It was not something he wanted to see first thing in the morning (though from the angle of the sun it was closer to 1:23pm), but it made it clear that it worked. Komaeda was alive, or more accurately, doesn't have any memory of dying. The view was much better than the last one Hajime had of Komaeda in the pod or dead in the simulation.
"…You seem pretty out of it," Komaeda continued, and Hajime took that as a sign that he needed to sit up and stop staring at the boy.
"What happened?" Hajime asked, voice sounding a little more monotoned than he liked.
He frowned a little, refusing to look at Komaeda. It was a little harder nowadays to make himself sound normal, especially when he's tired. For a moment, Hajime was happy that he was alone with Komaeda since he didn't want the others to worry. He didn't want any more 'Kamukura mode' comments from Fuyuhiko.
"You don't remember? That is quite worrying," Komaeda said, and Hajime looked up to see he did look a little worried.
"No, I remember…" Hajime started, pulling up an acting talent as he tried to figure out how to get Komaeda to fill him in on what happened in order to make sure he doesn't say anything he shouldn't know, "A talking bunny? But that doesn't make sense…"
"Yes, I can see why you might want clarification. It may seem strange, but that did really happen! We were all suddenly transported from Hopes Peak to this tropical Island…"
It was weird having Komaeda act this nice and not condescending at all. Hajime almost forgot this was how he acted before the first trial. It was hard to say if Komaeda was putting on an act right now, or if this was just how the boy was without any killing games or knowledge of them being Remnants of Despair.
"Um… I understand your confusion after everything that's happened, but, why don't we start with an introduction?"
"Introduction?" Hajime absentminded repeated, feeling a little annoyed he wasn't able to get Komaeda to talk more about their situation.
It was to be expected though. He could try to force the issue, but it would be better to just go along. So far it seemed like the corrupted part of the save did happen like he remembered. Hajime just has to be cautious.
"I'm Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you," Komaeda said with a polite smile before continuing, "Ah, along with my introduction, I guess I'll also tell you about my talent so you know why Hope's Peak Academy chose me. Well, even if I tell you, in my case, it's a pretty disappointing talent…"
Hajime didn't forget how self-deprecating Komaeda was when he wasn't being self-confident asshole. Part of Hajime wanted to just cut him off now, but who knows how much that would change things (Hajime knows, but he doesn't want to give himself a headache thinking of all the possibilities). Instead, he tried his best to comment at the same moment as the first time.
"…Now then, it's your turn," Komaeda said once he was done talking about his talent.
It was a little weird hearing him talking about it while knowing just how much his luck has affected his life. Hajime did find out that Komaeda wasn't lying about having cancer and dementia, though both were much better than he thought after years of not being treated.
It was just something else Hajime will have to fix once they woke everyone up.
"Yeah, I'm Hinata Hajime."
"Then, let me ask you a question: what is your ultimate talent?"
Hajime knew he should have just said he couldn't remember to keep things the same, but he couldn't stop remembering how isolated he was from everyone. Not knowing his talent separated him from the others, and that was something he needed to avoid. Preventing the murders will require unity and trust. All Hajime needed to do was just pick a talent. Something that wouldn't draw attention, but would also make it easier for people to trust him.
But Hajime couldn't think of one. He had so many talents (1103 with some overlap) and yet when asked what his talent was, Hajime just remembered doctors talking to him, telling him that he was…
"The Ultimate Hope."
There was a moment where Hajime and Komaeda just stared at each other, then Komaeda smiled and his eyes lit up.
Shit. That was the last thing he could have said. The only thing worst would have been if he said he was the ultimate ultimate or that his talents was literally everything. Already Hajime was running through the things he could say to fix this mistake, but nothing was looking promising.
"You're… the Ultimate Hope? What an amazing talent! I knew there was something special about you right away, but to think you are the ultimate hope!" Komaeda said, hugging himself like that was the only way to contain his excitement.
"Uh, yeah, I'm not sure how Hope's Peak could decide how someone's talent is hope," He did know, "but that's the title they gave me."
At least Hajime wasn't lying at that last bit. If anyone was the Ultimate Hope, it was Naegi, but it was true that Kamukura was made to be the Ultimate Hope. Hajime just thought that Hope's Peak was wrong in thinking that talent alone could lead to Hope. Izuru Kamukura was never going to be the actual Ultimate Hope.
"Hope's Peak is truly amazing! I can't believe someone with a worthless talent like me is talking to the ultimate hope! What good luck!"
Just then, a beep sounded from Hajime's back pocket, and he pulled out the e-handbook. It seemed not only did he get a hope fragment from Komaeda, but his ultimate talent was no longer listed as ?, or reserve student, but Ultimate Hope. Meaning he had to keep introducing himself as that.
Great.
"Where's everyone else?" Hajime asked even though he remembered last time, Usami showed up to explain the e-handbook and hope fragments to him first.
But Hajime wasn't in the mood to see the mascot and just wanted to get the rest of the introductions over with. Already Hajime is going to be changing things by being the 'Ultimate Hope', skipping Usami's tutorial was a non-issue.
"Ah, right. You should introduce yourself to the ultimates… maybe they're off exploring the island?" Komaeda said, thankfully seeming to calm down a little.
"Exploring the island?" Hajime asked, even though he really just wanted to pull out the map and see where everyone was.
But that would be suspicious. It was better to just have Komaeda explain it before they headed out. Which he proceeded to do, word by word the same thing he said the first time. It was what Hajime wanted. Things needed to stay the same right now, but it was boring being told things he already knew. Almost enough for Hajime to check out of the conversation altogether, but thankfully he didn't.
"…I pretty much went around and introduced myself to everyone already, but if you don't mind a worthless waste of space like me-"
"I don't mind you tagging along," Hajime interrupted before Komaeda could continue with… whatever he was about to say (more self-degrading comments).
Komaeda looked shocked, like he couldn't believe that Hajime knew what he was trying to ask (even without foreknowledge it was easy to predict), but instead of just accepting it like Hajime wanted…
"Are you sure? Surely someone like you, who is the Ultimate Hope, should be surrounding yourself with only the best people…"
"I, uh, don't know about that," Hajime said quickly because he really didn't like this line of thought Komaeda was having, "but I… really would feel more comfortable with you coming with me."
Hajime didn't like how that sounded and wished he worded it in a better way, but it was true he didn't feel comfortable with the idea of Komaeda wandering by himself. Sure they don't know about the killing games yet, but Hajime couldn't forget what Komaeda did last time when left to his own devices.
Komaeda looked… shocked? Hajime could have easily read him, but instead of interpreting his body language, Hajime just looked at how his eyes widened, and his mouth opened a little before Komaeda looked away with a small smile.
"Ah, if it would make you feel better, then I guess I have to come with."
That was… weird, but at least we are back on track. Hajime thought as they left the beach.
The rest of the first Island look the same as he remembered from the simulation, which was very different from how it looked in real life. Hajime only checked it out one day, and concluded it would need a lot of repairs to be livable. It just wasn't worth it for only five people, which is why they all stuck to the central island.
Pushing those thoughts away, Hajime started walking to the airport. Usually, he would have jogged, but Komaeda already struggling to keep up with Hajime's fast walking pace. He slowed down a little since the last thing they needed was Komaeda suddenly having an asthma attack.
When they got inside the airport, Hajime spotted Kazuichi and Tanaka. It was good seeing them both, with Tanaka being alive, and Kazuichi being… Kazuichi. It seemed like he was still trying to check things out, even if he knew nothing here would work. That made Hajime feel a little guilty about his slip up, since it seemed like everyone else was doing a great job at keeping things the same.
Which meant Hajime need to keep to the script.
"Airplanes? Couldn't we use those planes to escape this island?"
"Nah, that's impossible. These are show planes. There's no engine for me to fix Bro-uh, I mean, I know this is the first time we've met, but are you okay with me calling you bro?" Kazuichi rambled.
I guess it was pretty unrealistic for me to expect everyone to be able to remember exactly what they said the first time.
"Uh, it's fine, but why don't we introduce ourselves first?"
"Right! Name's Kazuichi Soda. I'm the Ultimate Mechanic. Nice to meet ya."
"I'm Hajime Hinata," Hajime said before remembering he didn't actually introduce himself properly to Kazuichi the first time, but he needed to let the others know about his mess up, "and I'm… the ultimate Hope. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, that's cool bro," Kazuichi said with a thumbs up, and Hajime relaxed a little before he was reminded they weren't alone.
"It is amazing we have the ultimate Hope with us, isn't it?" Komaeda said, and Hajime watched as Kazuichi tried to keep the fear off his face from hearing Komaeda talk. "But if Ultimate Mechanic says it's impossible to fix this plane, it's truly beyond repair."
Hajime was a little surprised Komaeda didn't go on some hope tangent right there, but either he was trying not to scare off the other ultimates, or that was more of a coping mechanism for stressful situations. Either way, Hajime is grateful that it kept them all on track.
Hajime had to prompt Kazuichi a few times, but their conversation covered the same topics as the first time. Then with an awkward goodbye where Hajime had to remind Kazuichi that he couldn't come with (even though Hajime would prefer that), they went to talk with Tanaka. It was still confusing, but at least things were preceding according to plan.
Checking out Rocketpunch Market was a little boring, even if Hajime felt bad for making Mikan cry again on accident (could he still call it an accident when he knew what would happen this time?). It was only when Hajime entered the hotel area, that he noticed Nidai wasn't around.
Where is he? Did we get here faster than last time? Hajime wondered as he pretended to take a look at the cottages. Fuyuhiko and Koizumi were both by the pool, and while he tried wasting time hoping Nidai would show up, eventually it took too long and Hajime had to move on.
"…Who the hell are you? Don't talk all friendly and shit to me dumbass."
Hajime was taken aback a little from Fuyuhiko speaking like that once more. Unlike Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko was doing a great job at treating this like the first time they meet. The only reason Hajime knew it was an act, was the way his eyebrows soften a little when Hajime reacted. But it was only for a moment before Fuyuhiko was back at it.
"What're you looking at?! You got something you wanna say bastard?"
"R-relax Fuyuhiko. We're only here to introduce ourselves," Komaeda explained, and once again unlike with Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko didn't react much to the white hair boy.
"…Name's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu… Just so we're clear, I don't plan to act friendly and shit with you guys."
Hajime let Komaeda explain who Fuyuhiko was, and even acted thankful for stopping him from commending on Fuyuhiko's babyface (though now that they're friends, Hajime couldn't help but wonder how he would react). Calling Komaeda his savior while remembering what he did put a bad taste in his mouth, but that would be hypocritical since he was the one who put in the virus to being with.
"Hey, bastards…" Fuyuhiko interrupted, and Hajime was thankful for the conversation to end until he remembered he needed to let Fuyuhiko know he did change something,
"If we're all done here-"
"W-wait, I still need to introduce myself!" Hajime exclaimed, and if he had any worry about Fuyuhiko somehow not remembering, the fact he only lifted an eyebrow at the interruption was all the proof he needed.
"Well then? I don't have all fucking day."
"R-right. I'm Hajime Hinata… the ultimate… hope…" Hajime trailed off, not liking the blank look on Fuyuhiko's face.
It lasted for a long moment, long enough that Komaeda opened his mouth to fill it before Fuyuhiko spoke.
"Are you kidding me?"
Hajime didn't pay attention as Komaeda said something about how amazing of a talent it was, just looking at Fuyuhiko who tried to ask him why with just his eyes. At least, Hajime was pretty sure that's what Fuyuhiko was doing. The shorter boy looked pissed, and Hajime wish he could just explain it was an accident.
"Whatever, if that's all you have to say, get the fuck out of my sights."
Hajime didn't even protest as Komaeda dragged him away.
Is he really that mad at me or just is that good at acting like his 'old self'? Hajime wondered as they talked to Koizumi. Hajime hardly paid attention, but he didn't really need to. Same for when they entered the lobby and talked to Pekoyama and Chiaki.
Hajime was a little worried that Chiaki wouldn't be here since he wasn't able to find her AI like with Alter Ego, but it seemed she was just buried too deeply in the program. It also seemed like she had no memories of the first game, since she acted exactly like she did the first time. It was boring, and Hajime wished he stopped thinking like that. He should be happy that so far things were going to plan, not bored.
They headed upstairs to the kitchen.
"That's right… I'm having a hard time because it's full of poison. It really sucks. Speaking of which, it'd be great if you could use your mouth to suck it out…"
Hajime couldn't keep the disgust off his face. It was bad enough the first time around hearing it without knowing just what Hanamura meant. Now he knew better and felt guilty for having Sonia deal with this again.
"Poison… I see… Is this sucking technique something your mother taught you?" Sonia 'innocently' asked, and Hanamura went pale, acting like she dumped cold water on his head.
"N-no my mama would never… I mean, haha, I think it's all better so I'll just go, ma'am," Hanamura said before fleeing into the kitchens.
Hajime should be worried about changing things, but he was too proud of Sonia for finding something to get Hanamura to stop being a perv to care.
"Seems we were worried for nothing. Of course, an ultimate of her stature would be able to diffuse the situation without any issues!" Komaeda commented, and for once, Hajime agreed.
Sonia didn't look too happy though, but the worried look on her face was only there for a second before she turned to them with a small smile.
"Hello, it is nice to meet you."
"H-hello, my name is Hajime Hinata… the, uh, Ultimate Hope. Nice to meet you too."
Sonia gave a quick nod to herself, and Hajime wondered what she was thinking. However with Komaeda next to him, he couldn't ask.
"My name is Sonia Nevermind. I am a foreign exchange student from a small European kingdom called Novosclic."
Even without Hanamura there, Hajime felt like their conversation was close enough to the first time not to cause any deviations. Even if it did, Hajime still thought it was worth it. Went they left Sonia to talk to Hanamura, he was still in shock and didn't even bring up the other girls.
It was the best conversation Hajime had with the cook that wasn't about food.
On the way out, Hajime risked waving Sonia goodbye, which she returned with a real smile. Hopefully, Alter Ego was able to get a spot where they can talk freely without having to worry about Monokuma overhearing. Already they had a lot to talk about.
Turns out they didn't get to the hotel too quickly, since at the ranch, Hajime spotted Nidai sparing with Akane and Usami trying to get them to stop. Hajime just closed his eyes for a moment and tried his best to resist the urge to groan. He should have explicitly told Akane to wait until the fourth day before trying to befriend Nidai, but he didn't, and of course Akane would try to speedrun that.
Now they were acting close to how they were a week into the simulation, not a day. It was nice to see, but…
Would this really trip the Junko AI off?
Hajime knew Nidai and Akane being friends this early would have a negligible impact on Komaeda sending the letter, or the party in the old building. He wasn't considered about that. He was worried about Junko/Monokuma. Alter Ego should be able to keep the files from the first game away from the virus, but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of her figuring it out. Best case scenario, Junko will just think Hajime is more Kamukura and pin any oddities on him.
"Ah, I think it might be best to introduce ourselves to them later," Komaeda suddenly said, ripping Hajime from his thoughts.
"You're right," Hajime said before walking to Saionji who was squishing ants.
Even with Akane and Nidai trying to spar in the background, their conversation didn't change from the first time. By the time Hajime got the ding for the hope fragment, Usami was able to get the two to stop.
"Heeey!" Akane called out, waving them over, "Who're you dudes?"
Hajime was almost impressed she didn't just call him by name right off the bat, but it seemed Akane was trying to keep things the same. Not that it mattered since before Hajime was close enough to respond without yelling, Nidai spoke up.
"That's right, you haven't told me your name…"
"Um, yeah, It's nice to meet you two… I'm Hajime Hinata, the Ultimate Hope…"
"Hold it right there! You need to sound more confident. Try it again, this time with feeling from your GUT!"
"Uh…"
"You know he's right. For being the ultimate Hope, you don't sound too confident when introducing yourself, might make a poor first impression," Komaeda stated, and Hajime turned to glare at the boy who didn't seem to care one bit and even smiled back at him.
"Fine," Hajime got out before turning back to Nidai and Akane, "My name is Hajime Hinata and I am the ultimate Hope. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Before Hajime could cringe at how awkward it was to call himself that, Akane suddenly looped her arm around Hajime's neck, pulling him down.
"Haha, of course you're the Ultimate Hope little guy!" Akane said as she patted Hajime's hair with her other hand.
Little guy…?
"Hm, you could have been a little louder, but I will accept it! I am the ultimate Team Manager, NEKOMARU NIDAI!" Nidai screamed into the sky before turning back, "You need to introduce yourself as well Owari."
Akane let go of Hajime, and he took a few steps back to straighten his shirt. Komaeda was giving him a weird look that he was determined to ignore.
"Yo! The name's Akane Owari! Nice to meet'cha!"
"Akane is known as the ultimate gymnast-" Komaeda started to explain before Nidai interrupted him.
"That was no good. You forgot to introduce your title and now Komaeda here is picking up your slack!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that-" Komaeda started to say before Akane interrupted him.
"You mean this guy? Who even is he?"
Really? Out of everything, this is the part of our introduction she remembers enough to repeat?
"…huh? Haven't we already met?"
"Oh, haha! I'm sorry! I pretty much suck at remembering names, and I've met so many interesting characters today, like the old man and Henry."
"…it's Hajime," Hajime said since he did not want Akane calling him that again.
"Right!"
"I see... I'm Nagito Komaeda. If you can, please don't forget my name again…"
"Sure thing, just make sure you don't do anything weird, alright?"
"Huh?"
Hajime got a double ding and decided it would be best to leave now before Akane starts going off on Komaeda or Nidai decided that they need to do another round of introductions.
"We need to go introduce ourselves to the others, so… uh… see you around," Hajime said as he grabbed Komaeda's arm and started walking out of the ranch.
"See ya Jaime!"
"It's Hajime!" He yelled back, but didn't turn around.
"It seems Akane took a shine to you!" Komaeda said as they passed the gates. "I suppose being so pleasant to be around is just one of the reasons you're the ultimate hope."
Hajime dropped Komaeda's arm.
"Uh, sure."
He wasn't sure if that was a compliment, and while it was much better than Komaeda loudly asking if he had a thing for sexy bodies, it still made Hajime uncomfortable.
Komaeda didn't seem to notice, and was thankfully silent as they walked across the bridge to the center island. As they walked to the park, Hajime had to do a double take at Monokuma Rock. Or what will become Monokuma Rock since for now it was just a normal rock mound. One that wasn't there in real life, and made Hajime wonder why it was even programmed in. Hajime didn't brake his stride, and while he spotted Komaeda also looking at the rock, the other boy didn't comment.
He did when Hajime stopped to look at the other bridges that were locked up, but not by the Monobeasts. Hajime absentmindedly responded, and soon enough they were at the park. This was the weirdest since Hajime was probably more used to how this island looked in real life than in the simulation, since there was never much reason to stick around outside of Monokuma summoning them. The differences were at the very least making it easy for Hajime to pretend this was all new to him.
…I haven't been doing a good job at that.
At least compared to the first time when Hajime checked out most things on the island, he mainly did the introductions before leaving. Komaeda hasn't commented, but that doesn't mean much.
Talking to the imposter knowing he's not really Togami (and having met the real Togami) was odd. The conversation went smoothly, the only thing different was a slight pause when Hajime told his talent.
Then the announcement came.
He looked at the monitor, and for a moment was worried there was a murder.
"Congratulations everyone! It appears that everyone has finished collecting the hope fragments! I'm… so happy! sooooo… I've prepared a present for everyone that'll make you all veeery happy! I apologize for the trouble, but please gather at the beach!"
Here we go…
The last moment of calm before the killing school trip.