A/N: I have a novel draft I'm supposed to be editing but here we are. Let me know if this is a good idea or if I'm just crazy.

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Makoto Naegi was one of the only people left in the entire world who was willing to have a conversation with the Remnants of Despair. But that was just who he was, thought Hajime. Even when they'd been at their absolute worst, Naegi had never stopped believing in them, wanting to understand them and give them the opportunity to change.

So it was no surprise that when the Future Foundation had arranged to have periodic video conferences with Jabberwock Island, Naegi had been the first one to volunteer.

"Everything's going all right over there?" he asked. "You don't need any additional supplies shipped over or anything? I'm sure we can be discreet about it."

Hajime looked up at Naegi's enlarged face on the screen. "We're fine right now," he said. "Really, we're more concerned with how the Future Foundation is doing. It sounded like you had a lot on your hands."

Naegi shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah… it's been difficult. There's been a lot of internal restructuring after the last Killing Game, obviously. And there are still killings going on in the outside world. But… things are getting less chaotic. Bit by bit."

Hajime really couldn't say anything in response to that. Nothing that would help, anyway. So he didn't bother.

"Well. Thanks again for all you've done for us, anyway. I… feel a little bad that we're all living on this beautiful island with everything that's going on."

Naegi tried to look cheerful again. "I'm glad you're all enjoying it over there."

Hajime tried to encourage the shift in the conversation. "It's amazing how much the Neo World Program resembled this place," he said, a faint smile on his face. "Down to the very last detail."

Naegi chuckled. "Yeah, well. Gekkogahara certainly was a prodigy. And Chi – and Fujisaki."

One of Hajime's many, many talents now was discerning people's thoughts from the smallest verbal cues. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't want to bring up bad memories. You've lost a lot of people."

Naegi shrugged. "So have you."

Hajime glanced away from the screen. "No. Just one person, really."

He inwardly winced at himself. He shouldn't be wallowing. He didn't have the right to do that. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself, though, even with all his knowledge on dialectical behavior therapy and self-soothing that came from the Ultimate Therapist talent.

And it was too late to take it back. Naegi obviously knew exactly whom he was thinking about.

"You know… I was able to talk to Gekkogahara a little. When we were trapped in the Killing Game." Naegi had a sympathetic smile on his face. "I know words don't mean anything, but… she felt bad that she wasn't able to do more to help all of you. She was so sorry that the brain scan was lost."

Hajime went very still.

"…What brain scan?"

Naegi looked surprised. "You never heard about it?" he asked. "I guess we've never been very good at communicating around here…"

"What brain scan?" Hajime repeated, trying not to sound urgent.

Naegi quickly raised his hands. Clearly the Ultimate Hope knew how damaging false hope could be. "This is just what I learned from her," he said. "It was done by someone else who collaborated on the Neo World Program. Yasuke Matsuda, the Ultimate Neurologist. It was… to protect Nanami's life, in case the worst happened."

"But why her?" asked Hajime. "This Matsuda person. Did he know something?"

"I doubt we'll ever know the answer to that," Naegi sighed, looking a bit guilty that he couldn't be more helpful. "But, anyway. You remember the Nanami you all met inside the program?"

"Yes, but that… wasn't really her."

"No, it wasn't. It was originally a blank slate AI," Naegi agreed. "But that was just the backup plan. It sounded like what Gekkogahara and Fujisaki really wanted was to have the real Nanami in there with you guys. It would give her a second chance at life too, y'know."

He shrugged. "But they were never able to recover her brain scan. So they had to fall back on building a new AI from scratch."

This was all too much, too fast for Hajime. "What do you mean? Why couldn't they recover it? Wasn't it backed up onto a computer?"

"It was supposed to be. But as I understand it, the actual device that performed the scan was in a computer chip hidden on her body."

"Hidden on… you don't mean…"

Time seemed to be slowing down. Hajime felt like he was dissociating. He almost didn't hear Naegi's next words.

"It was on her hairclip, I think."

Every nerve in his body went dead. Mechanically, he reached into his pocket and closed his fingers around the familiar lump of plastic. Chiaki's hairclip. The one Izuru Kamukura had taken from her as she died. The one he never went a single day without looking at.

What… the… fuck.