Sprinkled across the room were lights, scattered on the walls and ceiling almost as if they were stars. In the gloomy atmosphere that the room portrayed, the pods of the 15 students that had previously partaken the Hope Restauration program were centered around a circular pillar positioned in its center. The air in the room felt heavy, almost as if there was not any at all. This room, locked out from the outside world, felt like a relic or a catacomb containing the dead bodies of important emperors, but they were very much still alive. The pods shined a green, almost alien light, and the monitors positioned in front of them displayed their vitals as well as personal information. The room had been recently filled with technicians, the world’s best neurologists and the Ultimates, Makoto, Byakuya and Kyoko on behalf of the Future Foundation. Next to them were Akane, Fuyohiko, Kazuichi and Sonia, they had already woken up from their not-so-peaceful slumber and were all awaiting the renewal of a single person.

This person peacefully enjoying another hot minute in his pod was Hajime Hinata. Although his appearance did portray it, he was no longer Izuru Kamukura, and all his compatriot’s memories were wiped to before their admittance in Hope’s Peak Academy. Everyone was looking at him as if he were an alien, and the only clue that he was alive was his chest, rising and falling back again to a steadily calm rhythm. As he was first opening his eyes,[mycred_sell_this] the protective glass of his capsule had lifted, revealing a scary looking and unfamiliar portrait. His long, black hair was falling down his spine, and his eyes were bright cardinal.

“Welcome back,” said Byakuya while looking for confirmation of his spatial awareness and mental state.

“What happened, where am I?” responded Hajime while cluelessly looking at the ceiling.

Byakuya sped up and started heading towards the exit “All shall be explained soon after we get to the Future Foundation Headquarters safety, please follow me, and keep in mind that I cannot provide you with information until then.”

Hajime could not feel his legs or buttocks and had to get up and hotfoot ahead to catch up to the others. He felt an excruciating pain while forcing himself with all his might out of his cot-like mattress. Togami could not care less about this entire situation, and even less about Hajime, he was judgmental and repulsive towards him, as if he had done an evil deed. He was dashing ahead like a high schooler late for class. Kyoko and Makoto stood there in the corner of the room, watching this whole scene unfold and were looking sharp in matching custom-made black suits. They looked at each other to express their confusion and continued to carry on their duties. Meanwhile, Byakuya, Sonia, Hajime, Akane, Kazuichi and Fuyohiko boarded a boat en route to the Future Foundation’s Headquarters and had a long journey ahead.

#

The room that they had found themselves looked bleak and smelled like chalk, dust, and poor ventilation. It was a classroom turned interrogation room and had Byakuya explain to them a tragic backstory that resulted in their amnesia and treatments that followed. Upon reaching Hajime, he went in-depth.

“You were in a tragic accident, and your parents found you in an unconscious state and called an ambulance. Upon examination, you were considered brain-dead and—” explained Byakuya carefully with a monotone voice while looking him straight in the eyes before being rudely interrupted.

“Are you telling me that I don’t remember any of this?! How am I even supposed to believe you? Where are my parents?” said Hinata while being in a state of anger, shock and sadness mixed at once. He was weeping as if there was no tomorrow because of none of this made sense. “How did I die?” he wondered before Togami started talking again.

“As I was saying, your parents have disappeared following your incident and weren’t seen since, you better accept this as quickly as you can because your sorrow won’t benefit you.” Mr. Togami took out a clipboard and started flipping the pages until he reached a page near the end.

“You were selected to be part of the “Hope Restoration Program,” and using the advanced science of tomorrow, you were able to be almost completely cured. Unfortunately, a side effect of your treatment is some amnesia. It stems from your own mind, and it is isolating you from all your memories, leading to the accident. We are not able to disclose any details of it, to protect your own mental state and make sure that you do not relapse in a coma.” Byakuya continued on and on with an unnecessary sea of details without giving any proper answers. He was just running in circles and confusing Hajime to the point where he had no idea what questions to ask.

Hajime has spaced out thinking about his parents until he heard: “You are now 22 years old. It has been 6 years since your accident, and you have no education.” Well, that was rude, thought Hinata. It is not like it was his fault for getting in an accident that would result in him losing his parents and a decent chunk of time from his life, right?

“Now that I think about it…I don’t even know what I’m supposed to think. Why is a normal high schooler like me part such a mess? I am no superhero or some fairytale bliss. And finally, why is that person so damn cold all the time?” Hajime was utterly lost in his internal monologue, and at this point, the other Ultimates were probably in their own inner monologues as well. Hajime just stood there, feeling sorry for himself, weeping himself out of his existence, and he did not even know why. He was alive and given a second chance, he did not owe any money and was not alone. He had the whole Future Foundation supporting him! Unfortunately, the shock that hit him right home was his parent’s situation. Even if he was not too close to them, he still felt the full package of emotions that came with losing them. He suffered a long six years of his life and missed his entire high school experience all to some incognito accident/whatever they made up to refrain him from asking questions. He wanted to know, more needed to understand what really happened, but for the sake of his internal mental sanity and current situation, he needed to put those interrogations on hold and start thinking about his future, more like, tomorrow or even the day after that. Byakuya spoke again.

“Since you probably have no place to go or money to get by, we will accommodate you for the foreseeable future. This comes at a price, just like leaving the nest when you get older, we will prepare you for the real world that exists beyond the HQ, and you will be reintegrated into society. We will give you the proper tools to get by, and then we will kick you out, understood?” He sounded very clear to them, and in fact, he was confident that he would not receive any questions. No one asked any. They followed a line on the floor to a communal sleeping area and went to sleep without talking to each other. They looked like prisoners and felt confined to the walls of the Future Foundation for an uncertain amount of time.[/mycred_sell_this]