If Chihiro had a computer, he'd be able to lose himself in it. He'd be able to bury himself so deeply in code that, for a moment, he could forget all the horrors he'd experienced over the past few days. But he didn't have a computer. The Future Foundation had rejected his request, citing 'security concerns'. Instead, the best he could do to try and relax was to just rest on his bed.
'At least this bed is comfortable', he thought. 'Not like...' He shuddered. Just thinking of the Novoselic Kingdom made him feel sick. The cold, the exhaustion, the bullets, and the killing raced through his mind in horrific detail. 'No, I don't want to think about this!' But there was nothing to do in his room but think. 'Maybe... maybe I can find something to distract me outside', he thought. After a moment, he began to slowly force himself off the bed, towards the door, and finally out of it.
Outside his door was a circular hallway forming a ring around the rooms on the centre of the floor, with windows that allowed him to look out at the sea below. He looked down at the calm water, watching it move and lap at the dock. 'What would I need to program a realistic water simulation? I'd need good hardware to begin wi-' 'Hey, Chihiro.' He looked towards the source of the voice that had interrupted his thoughts to see the Ultimate Swimmer, a downcast expression on her face. 'Oh, hi... Aoi, right? Sorry, I'm bad with names...' 'Call me Hina', she said, briefly flashing the faintest of smiles. 'How're you going?' 'I'm alright', he replied glumly. 'How about you?' 'Same.'
The two liars looked out the window in silence for a few moments. 'Do you swim at all, Chihiro?' Hina continued staring out the window as she spoke. Chihiro shook his head. 'Not really.' He glanced at Hina's face and the depressed expression on it. 'I should say something', he thought. 'How... how did you become the Ultimate Swimmer?' Hina thought for a moment. 'I just love swimming, really,' she replied. 'Even when I was just a kid, it was my favourite thing to do.' She smiled. 'If there was a body of water large enough for me to do laps in, I had to swim in it.' That was enough to put a small smile on Chihiro's face. 'Was it the same for you? With becoming the Ultimate Programmer, I mean', Hina asked. His smile grew. 'Yeah, kind of. My dad -' The footage of his father's empty chair and destroyed computer that he'd seen at Hope's Peak suddenly reappeared in his mind, and it felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. 'They... they have you dad, don't they?' The smile was completely gone from Hina's face. He nodded. 'They have my brother too', she said, her voice beginning to shake slightly. 'I'm sorry', was all Chihiro could say.
A few moments passed, and Chihiro had nothing to distract him from his fears. What if he never saw his dad again? Or what if he was killed? The mental image of his father's corpse lying in pool of blood, his face frozen in place and twisted in agony, forced itself into his mind, and there was nothing he could do to force it away. Not until Hina asked him a question.
'Do you think we can trust Mukuro?' He blinked, and looked up at her. 'Huh?' 'You were with her out there. Did you trust her?' He thought for a moment. 'She stole my memories... she kidnapped Dad, and put me in that killing game. And then she saved me from it, and protected me... until she abandoned me to stay with Makoto. And she only helped us in the first place after her sister tried to kill her and hurt Makoto. But she still saved me so many times...' 'I think that we can trust her,' he said slowly, 'but only if she doesn't have to choose between us and Makoto. If she does, she'll always choose him.' Hina stared at him, her expression unreadable then nodded slightly. 'Yeah, that makes sense', she murmured. He cocked his head. 'What do you mean?' 'Huh? Oh, Makoto asked me to go and see her,' she explained. 'When I told her he was okay, she... well, I'm pretty sure she has a crush on him.' 'Oh', was all Chihiro said in response. Even after everything, it just felt wrong to tell anyone about Mukuro's nightmares. 'It's just... weird, isn't it?' Hina continued. 'She did all that to him, to all of us, to our families, and now she's in love with him? It's messed up.' Chihiro thought about her words for a moment. 'It is', he replied, 'but I think she wants to be a better person. I wouldn't have survived without her.' A thought suddenly struck him. 'She could have stayed with Makoto when the plane broke up, but she chose to save me instead!'
Hina stared out of the window for a few moments. 'Actually, that reminds me', she finally said, her voice slightly quieter than before. 'Mukuro asked me to give you a message.' Chihiro blinked. 'Me? What is it?' 'She said that she's grateful and sorry.' He was silent as he processed the words, then smiled slightly. 'So, she does care.'
'I understand that, but I also think that's what makes me the best candidate,' a voice to Chihiro's right said. He and Hina looked over to see Kyoko walking towards them, an elderly man at her side. 'I know pressure points that your interrogators won't,' she continued. 'You can tell our interrogators what those pressure points are,' the man countered. 'And they won't be as emotionally attached as you are.' 'I didn't become the Ultimate Detective by letting my emotions get in the way of my work', she said as they walked past Chihiro and Hina. The man nodded at both of them, but Kyoko ignored them and continued talking. 'I didn't get that title by failing to get confessions out of people either.' 'That's true', the man conceded. 'Very well. But make sure you're prepared. You can use our library to learn what we know so far.' 'Thank you... sir.'
Chihiro turned to Hina as Kyoko and the man walked on out of earshot. 'I guess they're going to try and learn more from Mukuro', he said. 'Yeah', Hina replied, then turned to stare out the window. 'Ugh, I'm sick of this, everything's so miserable. I want a donut. Why aren't there any donuts here?' 'Well... maybe you could ask for one?' Chihiro offered. 'I mean, there's not really any reason they can't give you a donut, right?' Hina blinked, then turned to him with wide eyes. 'That's... why didn't I think of that?!' She suddenly lunged forward and quickly hugged him before stepping back, a huge smile on her face. 'I'm gonna ask for a plate stacked with donuts! Donuts with pink icing and chcocolate sprinkles, donuts with chocolate icing and pink sprinkles, donuts with vanilla fillings, cinnamon donuts, glazed donuts, as many different kinds of donuts as I can think of, and then you and I are going to eat them all!' Chihiro stared at her for a moment, then smiled. 'Okay!'