So there's been a lot of feedback about the Hinata X Harem idea, and it turns out there a near exact split between the people who want it to be Nanami centric and people who want a harem. Although I imagine with the Danganronpa 3 anime's out then right now the Hinanami ship is overflowing with crewmembers.

This fic is going to remain a Hinata X Nanami fic, after all as a number of others pointed out Hinata never showed interest in some of the other before and it would seem very out of character for him to suddenly become a massive womanizer. Some of the others becoming attracted to him in this fic can be the result of Hinata being more confident, heroic and talented in this fic because of the change that occurred in him by beating Enoshima the first time around, but there's no reason for Hinata to change his characters so dynamically. Therefor certain other characters may show interest in Hinata throughout this fic, but it'll be one sided and not as focused on as the Hinata X Nanami theme. This isn't going to be a full blown romance fic anyway, but I think that this will allow me to make this fic the best that I can.

Now that that's out of the way let's get back to the chapter.

"Hmm… where'd she go?"

Hinata had hoped to catch Sonia outside the airport, however by the time he'd left it Sonia was nowhere to be seen. Since he didn't know which way she'd gone Hinata had picked a path at random to go down, and by the looks of things he'd chosen poorly as Sonia was nowhere to be seen.

"How could you have not figured out which way she went? Her trail was glaringly obvious." Kamukura's bored tone remarked in his head.

"Who would have guessed the most talented person in the world would be such a nagging backseat driver?" Hinata shot back.

"I see our fusion hasn't given you any access to my talent for witty comebacks."

Before Hinata could reply he caught movement in the corner of his eye, and upon focusing in on it he saw a familiar white suit. The path had brought him to the statue of the Jabberwock, and standing in front of it was a person he hadn't seen in what felt like an eternity.

When Monokuma appeared and announced the beginning of the killing game the first feeling that had struck his and everyone else's heart was sheer, unrestrained panic. The fear of death caused all the students to look at one another with suspicion, and if things had been allowed to continue that separation would have quickly destroyed them. But then out of nowhere Byakuya had risen up and declared himself leader, assuring everyone that he would keep them safe with such unwavering confidence that none of them could doubt that he truly one born to lead others.

That was why, in a sense, the man they had called Byakuya had died twice. The first time was shocking enough, after all no one had really believed that any of them were capable of murder until they had found him dead under a table. But then they had found out that the one they had respected, adored even, had been nothing but an imposter. It was as if the person they'd gotten to know in such a short time had never really been there to begin with.

But even if he had been an imposter the sense of security he had taken it upon himself to give them had been genuine. And by doing so he showed them that no matter what identity he wore, a good heart resided underneath it.

"What do you want?" Byakuya snorted, snapping Hinata out of his little daydream. It took him a second to realise that he'd been caught staring, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"S- Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was just hoping for an introduction."

"… Introduction?" He tilted his chin up to look down at Hinata with a condescending glare. "My name is Byakuya Togami, the ultimate heir."

It was a credit to his talents that even though Hinata knew he was lying a part of him couldn't help but feel convinced by his statement. Nothing he could see suggested in the slightest that the man standing before him was no less than one perfectly suited to lead a worldwide corporation.

Hinata smiled back, steeling himself so as not to wilt under Byakuya's overwhelming gaze. "I'm Hajime Hinata. A pleasure to meet you."

Byakuya's gaze didn't falter for a second. "And why did Hope's Peak choose you? What is your ultimate talent?"

"Ah, well that's the thing…" Hinata scratched his cheek nervously. "I don't really remember."

"You don't remember?" Byakuya scoffed. "Hmph, how foolish." He made a dismissive waving gesture with his hand. "Now I do believe we've finished talking, so move along! That's the only thing you skinny types are good at it seems."

Yeesh, had Byakuya been so dismissive last time around?

… Yes he had actually. It seemed that being around them for so long had made Hinata forget how weird everyone had been initially.

Byakuya was turning away, obviously finished with the conversation for now, and for a second Hinata considered saying something to let Byakuya know that he was in on his secret. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind he realised how wrong of him it would be to do so. The imposter was someone who's very existence revolved around his talent, it was the crutch he used to live day by day. If Hinata even suggested that he could tell he wasn't the real Byakuya it would surely unnerve him, maybe even cause him to break down in some way. This was a subject incredibly personal to the imposter, and one that should only be addressed when he was comfortable with it. Hinata had no right to interfere in this affair until the imposter was comfortable enough to bring it up himself.

"Okay then." Hinata shot him a smile. "I'll see you around Byakuya."

Byakuya gave a grunt in response, which was clearly all the acknowledgement he was going to get. A buzzing from his handbook informed him that he'd gained another Hope Shard, and so with a goodbye was Hinata headed off back down the path again.

It wasn't long before he reached the next area, the ever-stocked Rocketpunch Market. Just like always the shelves were stacked high with various foods, drink and miscellaneous equipment. However there was one difference Hinata immediately spotted from the first time he'd explored around here, there were far more people about.

Just like last time he could see Mikan and Ibuki in different isles, however this time they were both engaged in a conversation with another person. Sonia was chatting away excitedly with Ibuki (about some strange Novoselic custom no doubt) and Hanamura was clearly making some overly perverted advances on Mikan. The mere thought of the innocent, submissive Mikan left alone in Hanamura's presence instantly set off alarm bells in Hinata's mind, and before he could think it over his legs were taking him towards the pair.

"You just n- need me to… kiss it better?" Mikan asked timidly. "And that'll make the throbbing go away?"

"Go away my dear? No no no, it'll do exactly the opposite!" Hanamura grinned lecherously. "Ah, but don't worry, that'll help make it better! You just need to keep kissing it until it throbs hard enough to release the pressure in it!"

Mikan smiled happily, her face clearly showing she didn't get it. "Oh, I see. In that case I'd be happy to help."

"You two had better not be talking about what I think you're talking about." Hinata said evenly but threateningly as he approached, shooting a glare at Hanamura. The ultimate chef began sweating profusely.

"Ahh, busted. Then again I wouldn't say no to a bit of voyeurism…"

One smack round the head later and Hanamura had shut his trap.

Happy that Hanamura wouldn't pull anything for a while, Hinata looked over to Mikan to introduce himself. "Hello there, I'm…"

"I- I'm sorry."

The minute he looked at her Mikan burst into tears, sobbing as if she'd brought about the end of the world… Well she kind of had actually, but that was beside the point. The point was that once again Hinata suddenly felt incredibly guilty for making a girl cry, even if he had no idea what it was he'd done to make her cry in the first place.

"Um, hey… you don't need to cry you know." He said softly. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"But- But I made you two fight." Mikan choked out between sobs. "And got Hanamura hurt."

"Oh don't worry about that…" Hinata looked over towards Hanamura, who despite rubbing the bump on his head had an expression of perverted bliss on his face. "I'm pretty sure he's enjoying it. Anyway let's back to introductions. My name is Hajime Hinata, nice to meet you."

Mikan's sobs faded a little bit, and she smiled weakly back at Hinata. "M- My name is Mikan Tsumiki. Um… From the bottom of my heart, I hope we can get along."

If a person wasn't in their right mind, were they to blame for their actions?

That had been a subject of philosophical debate for countless ages. If a person was drunk were they to blame for their actions? What about someone who had been drugged by somebody else? Or someone who was had a mental illness? Where was the line between something being a person's fault and it being out of their hands?

It was a question that had plagued everyone's thoughts after Mikan's execution. Considering that she had been infected by a disease that warped your very mind could Mikan really be labelled a murderer? The part of them that'd been raised in a society that prized kindness and understanding said no, she'd had her mentality altered and therefor was absolved of any blame. However another part of them deep down, the part that recognised the traces of the Mikan they'd come to know laughing to herself as she confessed to her crime, couldn't help but suspect that Mikan had been more in control of her actions than she'd led them to believe.

"Um… you know… um…" Whatever composure Mikan had gained seemed to suddenly be fading away, and timidness came flooding back into her body. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes again. "Uhhhh…. My mind is drawing a blank … from the nervousness… And I went through the trouble of preparing 5000 different topics to discuss after introductions."

It was seriously difficult to reconcile the Mikan he'd seen at the third trial with the Mikan standing before him now. Poor Mikan, always so desperate to be helpful that she forgot to think of herself first. Hinata gave her a friendly smile. "That's okay. We're going to be on this island for quite a while right, so we've got all the time in the world to discuss those topics. There's no rush."

Mikan laughed a little to herself, then her eyes suddenly shot wide open in alarm. "Ah! I- I'm sorry for laughing so suddenly! I- It's just… I can't help it. I'm just so happy, I can't remember the last time I made a friend… Ah! Not that you actually want to be friends with me! I'm soooo sorry I said something so presumptuous!" Tears began to fall from her eyes again. "I'll do anything you say… just… please don't hate me!"

A beeping from his handbook informed him that he'd somehow gained another Hope Shard. From making someone cry? That settled it, Hope Shards were bullshit.

"Uh, hey now. You don't need to cry." He said in what he hoped was an assuring voice. "You're not being presumptuous at all. I'd love to be friends with you."

"You- You would?" Mikan seemed genuinely surprised by the gesture, and for a second her face lit of with happiness like a lightbulb. But then another look of shock passed across her face. "Ah! I'm sorry that you had to devalue your standards for friends in order to cheer me up! I'm sorry…"

Geez, there really was going to be no end to this. Hopefully he could make some more progress once Mikan had enough time to feel comfortable coming out of her shell a bit. A buzzing in his pocket informed him that he'd managed to snag another of Mikan's Hope Shards just now, so with another assurance that she had nothing to be sorry for and a goodbye Hinata headed over to Hanamura, who had taken the chance while he was distracted talking to Mikan and was creeping over towards Sonia and Ibuki with his fingers waggling lewdly.

"And just where do you think you're going mr." Hinata said sternly, grabbing the chef by the back of his collar.

Hanamura looked away sheepishly "Ahh, busted again. Then again maybe I should stay with you. Rough stuff has its appeal, and I'm getting a distinct dominatrix vibe from you."

A cold shiver ran down Hinata's back. He had almost forgotten that Hanamura was like this. Almost. "That's not going to happen." He deadpanned.

Hanamura sighed. "I've been denied eh. Well no matter, the clever poet knows not to put all his best verses in the first sonnet. The thrill of the chase makes things more fun after all." He flourished his hand as he gave a low bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Teruteru Hanamura, the ultimate cook. Though I'd prefer it if you call me the ultimate chef, it has more of a big city flavour to it.

When Monokuma had first announced that the students had to kill each other many of them simply hadn't believed it. The thought that any of them, young and happy classmates, would ever have a reason to kill each other was ridiculous. Murderers were greedy, corrupt and jealous people. Surely none of them would give in to any of the temptations offered to them.

However Teruteru had showed them how wrong they were. Because at the heart of it Teruteru had murdered for love, because he was desperate to know if his mother was all right, and how could any of them say that something like that was wrong. The world may well have been destroyed if what Monokuma had said was true, could anyone really be blamed for wanting to make sure their family was safe?

Perhaps it was for the best that Teruteru hadn't made it to the battle with Enoshima. Because if he had learnt that he himself had brutally killed his own mother it would have destroyed him. Sometimes living could be a worst fate than death.

"Hajime Hinata. I can't quite remember what my talent is right now."

Hanamura looked at him curiously. "You can't remember?"

"I'm having some memory problems."

Hinata could almost see the lightbulb going off over the chef's head. "Why that explains it! Why you've been acting so cold, like you didn't know me!" In a flash Hanamura was way too close to him, his arms wide open as if to embrace him. "You may have forgotten Hinata, but actually the two of us have been enthralled in a hot and steamy love affair for quite some time now! Perhaps it'll jog your memory to return if I…"

One quick smack later and Hanamura had a second lump forming on top of his original bruise. "My my Hinata, we really should come up with a safe word…"

God damn it Hanamura.

Once again his handbook beeped to show that he'd received a Hope Shard, and Hinata took the chance to exit the conversation before Hanamura could come up with anything else. He headed over to where Sonia and Ibuki were talking, making sure that the chef didn't come with him.

"Oh haiiiii! Who're you?" Ibuki shouted with an over enthusiastic wave as she noticed him approach.

For all the students on the island the words 'Ibuki' and 'Energy' quickly became synonymous. Even when she was doing the simplest of tasks Ibuki had a way of whipping up the flow of things and making everything more exciting. She could blast into the room like a hurricane, trash the place and then leave you behind in her wake with a large smile on your face.

It was only when she was gone that everyone realised just how much of a difference she made. Without her the island changes overnight; the sounds became quieter, colours became duller, and things that'd once been fun lost their appeal. It was almost as if the island itself was starting to die. And without her energy to give them strength despair began to worms its way inside them even faster.

"Hajime Hinata." He replied with a smile. "What's your name?"

Like the limitless bundle of energy she was Ibuki bounced up and down on her heels, her cheerful expression shining like a lightbulb. "Ah, that's right! Introductions are a go-go! I- Buki- Mio- Da! Put it together and what do you get? Ibuki Mioda!"

Beside her Sonia's eyes alighted with curiosity. "Is this a traditional Japanese way of introducing oneself? In that case allow me to properly introduce myself as well." She mimicked the way Ibuki bounced on her heels. "Son- Ia- Ne- Vermind! Put it together and what do you get? Sonia Nevermind! My, that was such fun! Japanese customs are so peculiar but so entertaining."

It was the duty of royalty to stand proud and strong no matter what danger lay ahead, to be a symbol of strength for those in your country that looked up to you. There could be no denying that in that sense Sonia lived up to her title, as even when student after student resorted to murdering each other Sonia stood firm before the despair, never once backing down.

But could Sonia still really be considered a princess considering what she had done to her own people? By her order the Novoselic royal guard had turned upon her own people, and reduced Novoselic to a chaotic wasteland in the name of despair. The girl who believe that the duty of a monarch to guide their people down the right path was gone, replaced by a mad queen who wished to make her people suffer simply for the sake of it.

"Gyah! That was so cool Sonia!" Ibuki squealed in that way unique only to her. "All right, introductions are finished! More importantly, check out this bombtastic supermarket! They got hamburger, ramen noodle, chili beans, bratwurst, pasta… ooooh, melons! Americans, Chinese, Mexicans, Germans, Italians, and even people from Yubari would shop here! Ma I'm hellaaaaaaa stoooked! I'm thirty-one flavours of stoked for all this deliciousness! And when I'm excited I get hungry-mungry…"

Hinata shot an apologetic grin at Sonia as Ibuki continued rambling on about… whatever she was talking about… when he saw from her expression that Sonia had no clue what she was on about either. Still it felt refreshing to see her again, things really had changed when she had gone and he really had come to miss her abundance of energy.

"Kyahaha, the human body sure is a mystery!" Ibuki laughed as her tirade finally came to an end.

Hinata nodded sagely. "That it is Ibuki. That it is. How about you Sonia, how are you feeling about this whole situation?"

Sonia gave him a graceful smile. "Well this may seem strange of me to say but truthfully… I'm feel happy."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Happy? What about?"

"In my home country I… did not have a single friend my age whose standing matched my own. So to be able to do this with everyone is a new experience for me. And so, I shall extol your virtues!"

Ibuki leapt up in excitement. "Gyaah! Sonia's gonna extol our virtues! Yeah, rock it! I'm gonna extol all the virtues."

Well they both seemed to be getting on fine together. He'd received another Hope Shard from each of the girls, and seeing how fascinated Sonia was by Ibuki's rambling decided to leave them too it. After a goodbye to the two of them Hinata left the supermarket, heading back out into the bright sunlight of the outside.

There were only three people left he hadn't spoken too, and only one place left to explore; the main hotel itself. It would have made more sense for him to have gone straight there after talking to the people around the pool, but truthfully he wasn't sure if he was ready to do so. Because in the lobby he was almost certain he would find her; the girl he was both impossible desperate and impossibly nervous about seeing again at the same time.

"Courage Hinata! Courage!" He whispered to himself. "You're ready for this. You're…"

"Aha! Good to see you're up and about…"

Hinata froze at the sound of the voice. There was no doubt who that voice belonged to, he'd recognise it anywhere. And not for any good reason, but because he'd come to associate that voice as the harbinger of trouble.

He looked over to his right, towards the owner of the voice who was walking towards him. There was no mistaking the dark green coat with the jagged-cut tail he wore, nor the messy white hair and sickly pale complexion. There was no running away now, it was time to face the person he'd least wanted to see again. It was time to face…

"I was hoping to talk to you again." Said Nagito Komeada.