New Hope

New Hope - Chapter Twenty-Four

 Hajime slammed his hands down on the counter of the computer station.

"Damn it!" He cried. It had been a week since his talk with Fuyuhiko and they've gotten nowhere. Chiaki was still stuck in that stupid game, and so far Hajime hadn't been able to save her.

Hajime and Kazuichi had been working together to try and figure out the mechanics of the machine - to try and find a flaw in the system that they could exploit and save Chiaki with, or something like that... but so far they've found nothing.

He's failed her - he's failed Chiaki.

As Hajime slammed his elbows on the counter, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks in frustration, he felt a warm hand and a cold one rest on both of his shoulders.

"Hey Nagito." Hajime muttered a small greeting, lifting his hands to wipe at his eyes. "Why're you here?"

"Oh? Do you not want your loving boyfriend to visit you?" Nagito cheerfully grinned, as Hajime's face yet again started to burn.

"N - Nagito-!" Hajime protested. "Of course I want to see you." He reached his hand upwards and grasped onto Nagito's. "I'm just quite busy right now."

"Busy with what?"

"Well..." Hajime trailed off. He knew what Nagito was like - full of hope that everything will always be fine - but in this particular situation, he really didn't need the added optimism. But Nagito is his boyfriend, so Hajime puts his trust in him. "I found a way to get Chiaki out - I think - but it would involve releasing all the containers, and all the people inside the containers.

"Then why not try it? No one is in them any - wait." Nagito stopped after realising what's making Hajime so apprehensive. "The Ultimate Despair..."

Hajime nodded, his eyebrows furrowing. "Yeah. If we released all the containers he'd escape too." Hajime braced himself to hear: 'Open them anyway! With hope it'll all be okay!' from Nagito.

"... What other options are there?"

"N - Nagito?" Hajime said, surprised. "Y - You're not going to tell me that we should release the Ultimate Despair and just have hope that everything will be okay?"

Nagito looked down, ashamed, at the floor. "I know... It's awful of me to not fully believe in hope but..." Glancing at Hajime, Nagito's resolve grew. "I just... I have too much to lose now. It's easier to believe in hope when you're alone, with nothing to lose. And it's not that I don't believe in hope, I've just grown to believe in more than that."

Nagito violently flinched, realising what he just said. "Nagito...?" Hajime muttered, standing up and turning to him, but Nagito just kept backing away. "Nagito, it's not wrong to not be 100% hopeful all the time. And besides, if we let out Ultimate Despair, then all our lives would be in danger!"

But Nagito simply wasn't listening.

Nagito started breathing heavier, Hajime picking up on it. "I - I'm supposed to - supposed to believe! But I... I don't? Not anymore...! What's wrong with me?!" His arms curled around his sides, and his eyes started spiralling. "The biggest part of me was my hope, and I... I don't have that anymore...! Maybe I've become unworthy... I'm unworthy of spending time with the symbols of hope - clearly..."

"Nagito, wait-!"

Nagito got up and walked to the entrance of the chamber, turning to glance back at Hajime.

"Hajime, I'm sorry but I need some time alone."

"No! Nagito!"

Hajime didn't go to stop Nagito as he left, knowing if he did it would upset Nagito more. As Hajime stood in the quiet room, he began to feel truly alone.

Suffocatingly alone.

---TimeSkip---

"Hajime!" Mahiru called to him. "There's something you need to see!"

"Yeah? What is it Mahiru?" Hajime said, taking the opportunity to have a small break from working in the chambers. Kazuichi would be down in about half an hour so Hajime could use this time to check whatever Mahiru is talking about and grab a snack - a win all around.

As Mahiru explained, she led Hajime out of the chamber. "Sonia, Akane and I were doing some sorting in the storage room, going through boxes, and throwing out junk or keeping important stuff, etcetera..."

"Yeah?" Hajime replied, entering the storage room with Mahiru. "What did you find?"

"We found this."

As they both stepped inside, Hajime caught sight of a sealed cardboard box, Akane and Sonia standing near it.

"Oh, you found him!" Sonia said, clapping her hands together in delight.

"Yeah, wasn't too hard, he's almost always in the chamber nowadays..." Mahiru replied.

"Guys? I can hear you, you know..." Hajime muttered, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"We know." Akane replied. "Anyway, look at this Hajime."

Hajime took a step closer and noticed some scribbles - no - a name written on the box. His name. Hajime Hinata, written in curly handwriting along the side of the box. There was a small drawing underneath... of a black and white cartoon bear.

"M - Monoku - mmfph?!" Hajime shouted, before three pairs of hands were shoved over his face. For a brief second, a white hot flash of panic shot through him. Was he going to die? He froze for a moment, before realising the game was over, and no one had any reason to kill him.

"Seriously Hajime! Don't say things like that, you'll frighten everyone!" Mahiru whispered, as they all released him. Hajime took a sharp breath in and tried to calm down.

"But... but that's him!" Hajime muttered, doing his best to be quiet.

"We know! Sonia and Akane told me about how you're Izuru and all that - which I'm fine with by the way - and so we figured this was to do with that. And if so, then you should be the one who opens it."

"Oh... thanks guys." Hajime said, bending down, and tried to pick up the box.

He could not pick up the box.

Akane sighed dramatically, picking up the box with one hand, and allowing him to direct her to his room to drop the box off.

"Let me know what you find, okay?" She said, teasing him.

"Sure, sure." Hajime replied sarcastically as she left his room, the box gently placed on his bed. He made a quick stop to the kitchens to grab a knife to open the box with, and with a small slit, opened it up.

Prying it open, Hajime got a good look at what was inside.

"... Argh-!"

The last main plotline has begun! What's inside the box hmmmm???

I just watched trial one of V3... (haven't seen anything else so pls don't spoil) but... god... I'm a changed person.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed reading the chapter, and I'll see you guys tomorrow.

(*small sobs* she was my favourite character too... besides Shuichi....)

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊