"...What a childish little word game."
Kamukura said it while glaring straight at Hinata.
"In the end, it's nothing but an empty shell of rhetoric, isn't it?"
"...An empty shell?"
"This so-called 'future' you insist on has nothing to support it."
"....."
"It's nothing more than a castle built on sand. One touch, and it collapses."
When Hinata still said nothing, Kamukura's expression twisted with irritation.
"You're simply afraid to choose one of the two."
The moment he finished, Hinata smiled again and answered.
"Your premise is wrong again."
"Then are you saying there actually is something that can support that unstable future of yours?"
"Yeah. There definitely is. You can feel it from everyone here, right now."
"...?"
After saying that, Hinata turned away from the still-baffled Kamukura and looked at Class 77.
"Isn't that right... guys?"
"It's useless. There is a clear limit to how much the brainwashing can be diluted. Therefore, they can never return to their senses agai—"
"Yeah. You're right, Hinata."
Kamukura, who had been speaking while staring expressionlessly at Class 77, abruptly stopped and froze solid when Pigami answered Hinata in a clear, unwavering voice.
"...All of us built up bonds while living on this island. Those bonds are the very thing... the pillar that can support an unstable future."
".....!"
"A certain counselor taught us that. It's an undeniable truth we all proved together. Can you refute that, Kamukura?"
"....."
When Kamukura remained silent, Pigami grinned, then shouted to everyone.
"Everyone... as your leader, and as your friend, this is an order! Snap out of it right now and move toward the future!!"
At those words, Hanamura flinched, then slowly began to speak.
"W-What... what the heck is this place? G-good lord!! Well, if it ain't Kamukura?"
"....."
"And Hinata's here too... what in the world is going on...? Ah, right. Now I remember. Ahem. Let me calm myself down for a second..."
Hanamura took a deep breath, then opened his mouth again.
"Haaah... now that I've calmed down, I can remember what I've done up till now... People fell into despair because of my food... My dream was to make everyone happy with my cooking. And instead... this is just plain despair-inducing..."
As Hanamura lamented, Nanami hurriedly cut in.
"H-Hanamura... even so, there's still...!"
"But there's still hope."
"...What?"
Hanamura firmly cut Nanami off and declared,
"If I'm the one who made food that drove people into despair, then it's only natural that I'm also the one who knows the antidote, right? Of course, that doesn't erase what I've done. And the odds that someone who's fallen into despair can return completely to normal are still slim, so it's despair-inducing either way, but..."
He lifted his head proudly.
"There might still be hope that everything can be restored to the way it was!"
"Hanamura-kun..."
"That's right, Hanamura. Right now, all of us are uncertain beings who carry both hope and despair at the same time."
Smiling, Hinata spoke to Hanamura—and to everyone else.
"But even with that uncertainty, we can still move toward the future. And if we keep going... someday, we'll find the version of ourselves that's real."
At those words, every one of them trembled, and little by little, the light returned to their eyes.
"H-Hinata-kun... how did you do that...?"
Seeing it, Nanami asked in astonishment. Hinata curled his lips into a faint smile and answered.
"Because you had already diluted the brainwashing almost completely, Nanami. Pigami, Hanamura, and I just put the final period on it."
"A-Amazing! Hinata-kun!"
"It's nothing much. I just gave those two counseling in advance so they'd be able to break free of the brainwashing faster than the others at the critical moment... and I'm borrowing the counseling talent of the guy who, together with you, put the weapon called 'bonds' in my hands..."
Scratching his head as he responded to Nanami, Hinata then looked at Class 77.
"All right, everyone. Show us the 'future' you chose."
As soon as Hinata finished speaking, someone among Class 77 cautiously opened her mouth.
"...I, and all of us, have committed terrible acts that should never have been done. Even if we were brainwashed into doing them, that doesn't make our sins disappear."
Sonia Nevermind continued speaking with her eyes closed.
"Tanaka-san, and Souda-san. Isn't that right?"
"Indeed. I gave my precious familiars the atrocious order to destroy the world. I no longer deserve to command them."
"The robots I made hurt people... and there was even a time when I enjoyed it. That's just despairing. I don't deserve to be loved by Sonia-san... or by anyone."
Hearing that, Sonia slowly opened her eyes, raised her hand with crisp resolve, and declared,
"That is why, from now on, we must slowly erase those evil deeds from the world. While engraving in our hearts for the rest of our lives that they were acts committed by our own hands."
"Well said. I no longer have the right to handle animals, so with my own hands I shall... hm? Four Dark Devas of Destruction... you wish to help as well? Hahaha... no. This is something I alone must bear."
"From now on, I should make things that actually help people... Well, my life's already become one where being loved by someone is probably off the table, so... guess I'll just live with machines."
"Yes... this is the future we have chosen, Kamukura Izuru-san."
"....."
"I'll add my own words as well."
While Kamukura remained stubbornly silent even after Sonia's statement, this time Nidai began to speak.
"To think that I, who called myself everyone's manager, went around hurting people... it makes me ashamed of myself. There is no excuse for that. And that goes not only for me, but for you as well. Isn't that right, Owari?"
"Ugh... foooood... there's... none..."
"Get a grip already, you damn wild horse!!!!!!"
"W-WAAAH!! I'm sorry!! Anything but a massage ban... ah, wait, now's not the time for that..."
Owari cleared her throat, then began to speak.
"Yeah... I definitely did something unforgivable. No matter what I do alone, I probably can't wash those sins away. I'm really stupid, after all..."
She had been speaking in a dark voice, but then her face brightened.
"But if you help me like you did on the island... no, if I'm with you... maybe I really can wash it away, Nekomaru...?"
"That's a fine attitude. If that's how it is, then I too... wait, what did you just call me?"
"...Nekomaru."
"...Then I'll help too, Akane."
After saying that, Nidai took Owari's hand and muttered,
"...To think I'd become someone's personal manager."
Meanwhile, Kuzuryu, who had been quietly watching the scene, finally spoke.
"Peko, we really did something unforgivable. To the family... and to my little sister too."
"...If it is for atonement, I will follow you anywhere, young master."
"Thanks. But if possible... I'd rather we do this together not as 'young master' and subordinate... but as friends."
"....."
Pekoyama stared at him for a moment, then blushed and whispered,
"...Okay, Fuyuhiko."
"...!!!"
As Kuzuryu and Pekoyama stood there staring at each other with faces redder than ever before, Saionji cautiously opened her mouth.
"What the heck... so K and Kyoko Kirigiri... they didn't actually die...? Haaah... then I was the only one making a total fool of myself...?"
As Saionji muttered that, Koizumi carefully cut in.
"Saionji, even so... the feelings they had for us were real..."
"Well, then... this time I can finally thank them properly!"
Saionji suddenly cried out cheerfully, then turned to the dumbfounded Koizumi.
"By the way, Koizumi-onee... what are you gonna do once we get out?"
"M-Me...? Well... reflect on what I've done until now, and photograph people smiling again so I can bring hope to the worl—"
"No, no! Everyone else already said stuff like that! It's way too cliché!"
"B-But... then what am I supposed to..."
"You said it back then, remember...? If we got out of here... to K... y-you'd—mmph! Mmphmmph!!!!!"
Just as Koizumi, her face burning bright red, clamped both hands over Saionji's mouth, Tsumiki began to murmur in a timid voice.
"E-Everyone... it sounds like you've all built such precious bonds... I'm jealous... I didn't really build any special bonds at all... I knew it... I'm just not someone fated to be loved..."
"What are you talking about, Tsumiki-san?"
"Y-Yes...?"
"Haven't you already built precious bonds with lots of people, Tsumiki-san? And you're loved by lots of people too."
"Wh-What are you saying...?"
"Mioda's right, Tsumiki. Back then, you treated the wound in my stomach, remember?"
"Huh? But that was just... something I obviously had to do..."
"Don't belittle what you accomplished like that, Tsumiki."
Hinata began speaking to her with a serious expression.
"If it weren't for you... Nanami, who was wounded in the stomach, and Kuzuryu, who suffered a critical injury, wouldn't be standing here right now. And on top of that, you worked so hard nursing everyone that you even came down with Despair Disease yourself, didn't you?"
"I-I got Despair Disease because... u-uh..."
At the keyword "Despair Disease," Tsumiki flinched and blushed furiously, trying to say something, but Hinata kept going.
"And even aside from that, you've always looked after everyone and taken care of them. You're the one who protected everyone's bonds... someone who deserves to be loved by all of us."
"Yeah, thanks for taking care of me back then."
"Right. When we wounded ourselves in order to atone, you treated us with all your heart. Someone like you deserves to be loved."
"Come to think of it, every time me and Nekomaru fought and got hurt, you always patched us up so carefully! Seriously, thank you!!"
"If you hadn't stopped my nosebleeds every single time... I'd probably have run out of blood in my whole body by now! Thanks, Tsumiki!! So, uh... any chance you could tell me in advance where and how you're planning to trip in the future so I can—"
"...After following your advice and adjusting my diet, I do feel healthier. Thanks to that, I was able to endure life on the island. Thank you, Tsumiki Mikan."
"...When the Four Dark Devas of Destruction were injured during my battle with Nidai, you cared for them. I still remember that with gratitude."
"...E-Everyone... th-thank you... sob... hic..."
As the flood of gratitude poured over her, Tsumiki began to cry.
"See?! Tsumiki-san is loved by everyone!! And... when we lived together in the Funhouse, I had a really great time with you! So when we get outside, will you be my bestie?"
"M-Me...? Someone like me could never..."
"Enough!! No more self-deprecation... let's move toward the future together!!"
When Mioda shouted that brightly, Tsumiki finally smiled and murmured,
"Kyoko Kirigiri... you were right... I really am someone who deserves to be loved..."
Everyone was smiling at the sight of Tsumiki when, all of a sudden, light burst from one of the empty spots—and someone appeared there.
"Ahaha... showing up only at the very last moment... is this luck? Misfor—well, who cares? A dazzling future is spread out right in front of us!!"
As Komaeda appeared, the others let out sighs and started muttering.
"If we're moving toward the future, I guess we have to drag even a guy like that along with us...?"
"By the way, why were you deceiving Enoshima and pretending to be brainwashed while acting with us...? No, forget it. It's probably because of your deranged hope theory again..."
"So then, Komaeda-san, what is your choice? Are you going to choose the 'hope' you love so very much after all?"
"No... I'm choosing the future too."
Komaeda began speaking with a smile wider than ever.
"Because I've realized that the 'future' born from the union of the most beautiful hope and the most destructive despair... that's the thing I should truly have admired all along!!"
"....."
"In the uncertainty that's waiting for us, the 'future' everyone will create with their own will... just how beautiful will it be? I seriously can't wait!!! Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
"...Did he get better? Or did he just go even crazier?"
"Who knows? But it does sound like Komaeda-san."
"A lunatic to the bitter end, huh."
"Seriously, that guy's way too dangerous to just release into the world. We need to keep him with us."
With that, everyone turned away from Komaeda, who was still cackling hysterically, and looked toward Hinata and Nanami.
"Hinata, this is the future we chose."
"Yeah, so... drive the final nail into that obnoxious long-haired black-haired jerk."
"Yeah! That guy's so annoying!! Every time you're around him, he goes, 'How boring,' or 'I possess that level of talent as well,' and all that crap!"
"Yeah!! Show him what you've got, Hinata!!"
Hinata smiled as he listened to the uproar, and then Nanami, standing beside him, quietly spoke.
"Hinata, I thought K... and the Future Foundation... were the hope that would lead everyone toward the future. But I was wrong."
"...What do you mean?"
"The one who will lead everyone toward the future is none other than you—"
"No, that's wrong."
"...What?"
Hinata stepped close to Nanami, who was staring at him in confusion, and gently touched the cord of the personal alarm hanging around her neck as he murmured,
"I couldn't have led everyone toward the future by myself. To begin with, if it weren't for your authority, then with Kamukura Izuru taking over the personality, my own personality data—buried deep inside the Neo World Program—never would have surfaced like this in the first place."
"My authority... pulled you out...?"
"More precisely, it was the result of your authority, the destabilized program world, and coincidence and luck all overlapping."
"Then... I didn't really do anyth—"
"If you hadn't brought the others right to the brink of breaking free from the brainwashing, then even if I had appeared, I wouldn't have been able to bring them back before our time ran out. And even aside from that, considering everything you did during the [Killing School Trip]... the one who led everyone toward the future really was you, Chiaki Nanami."
Hearing that, Nanami said,
"Hinata-kun, you're the one who's wrong."
"...Huh?"
"...You should listen to people all the way to the end."
She answered with a faint laugh.
"The one who will lead everyone toward the future was none other than you and me."
".....!"
"So in the future we're about to move into... let's stay together the whole way, okay?"
The instant those words ended, something changed.
"So this is the conclusion... that you, and everyone else, have reached."
"L-Light's coming from Kamukura's neck...?"
"No, it's not his neck glowing. It's the cord he was wearing around his neck."
The cord of the personal alarm hanging around Kamukura's neck had begun to shine as he muttered to himself.
"...This is."
"Looks like we got the right answer after all, huh, Hinata-kun?"
Before long, the personal alarm cord vanished from Kamukura's neck and appeared around Hinata's instead.
"...The avatar authority of 'Hajime Hinata' has passed completely to you. Thanks to that, no fusion will occur, and I will soon disappear. This is my clear defeat."
Kamukura, who had been quietly watching the scene, calmly declared his defeat and continued.
"My thinking was wrong, and you were right. From here on, a future even I could not predict will unfold before you. I offer my respect to those who created a new ending with their own hands."
After saying that, Kamukura—
"Before I go, let me ask you one final question."
—smiled for the first time in his life and posed a question to Hinata and Nanami.
"No matter what happens to you from now on, do you have the confidence to continue making that choice?"
""Of course.""
Hearing their immediate answer as they began to fade, radiating light, Kamukura said,
"I see. Then let me offer one final piece of advice to the two of you."
His expression hardened again.
"Be wary of the Future Foundation."
And once more, light swallowed everyone whole.