A/N: So I meant to get this up yesterday, but a nasty stomach bug stopped me. I apologize if this chapter isn't up to snuff, my editing might have been a little sloppy from the after-effects.

Also, Extra Life now has a Russian translation, available here: ficbook dot net /readfic/4909730! Thanks to VS17 for doing it!

Ramix: Yeah, that was supposed to be cringe-worthy. Needing someone to help you do everything isn't all sunshine, roses and being hand-fed food by a hot guy. It gets pretty uncomfortable and downright embarrassing at times.

Over the next few days Kamukura-kun filled her in on the state of the world and how it had ended up this way. It had been steadily declining into war for the past few months, he said, with the oppressed and weak rising up to kill the talented and strong. Hope's Peak Academy had been at the center of this because the mastermind was one of the students attending—a girl named Enoshima Junko.

At the name a nugget of memory jiggled the cogs of Chiaki's brain, strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes and a sickeningly sweet voice proclaiming "I've been wanting to make friends with you!" Then, with a hissing sound, it dissolved into steam.

But it was enough to rouse her suspicions, and she hesitantly inquired, "…This Enoshima, is she… Is she the one who tried to kill me, too?"

"Yes."

Why? She almost asked. Why, why, why? What did I ever do to her?

What had Kuzuryu-kun's sister done to her killer? There was no excuse Enoshima could have had for Chiaki to be okay with almost dying at her hand. And the very worst people, the kind who could throw a world into despair, didn't need a reason to kill.

So instead of fear she turned to anger. Chiaki burst out, "Didn't they do a background check on her?!"

"I do not know. However, it is likely that if they did, the Steering Committee did not care about her true nature and allowed her attendance anyway, in the name of studying her talent."

Studying talent…was that all Hope's Peak had really cared about? Enough to let someone who'd attempted murder walk free?

What a dumb question. Of course it was. She'd seen what they'd done to Hinata-kun and Kamukura-kun; why should this surprise her?

The more she learned about what really went on at her school, the less Chiaki liked it. She used to be proud to attend Hope's Peak, proud to call herself "talented", even if she thought her talent wasn't nearly as useful as most of the others'. She'd been proud and happy because it was where she'd met Hinata-kun, Yukizome-sensei, and all her friends. But now… how could she say she was a student of that place with any sort of pride?

The next day, as they worked on stretching, she asked how intense the chaos was.

"It varies. The fighting is worst in large town, cities and countries. Populous areas hold more ground for disarray and dissent, and are as such targets for those who wish to spread such things. Relatively isolated areas have been able to eke out something resembling a normal life, however, as long as they are willing to endure increased prices, crime rates, and pollution."

"Like the area we're in?" she guessed.

"Like the area we're in," he confirmed. "The nearby settlement still has a working economy; while I could easily grow the food we need myself, it is more convenient to take advantage of such resources while they exist. It is also where I acquired your clothes and games."

Chiaki automatically glanced down at what she was wearing. A white shirt and plaid skirt, nothing special. But they were still so nice for what they symbolized. Once she'd been able to stay awake after therapy, Kamukura-kun had started helping her wear actual clothes again. He had to button up her shirts and slide on her skirts and put her hairpin in, but she was starting to get used to him seeing her nude, even if she wished it wasn't necessary. It was worth it, though, to start feeling like an actual person again.

When he'd first presented the garments to her, she'd almost asked how he'd gotten her measurements. Then she'd remembered he'd been looking after her for months, which would have given him plenty of opportunity to familiarize himself with her sizes. So she'd just thanked him and taken the clothes, blushing lightly.

She'd also started to regain a bit of the weight she'd lost during her eight month slumber, and now she didn't look like a stiff breeze would knock her over anymore. Some of the color had also returned to her cheeks, and her hair was regaining some luster. Kamukura-kun had been kind enough to keep her hair at her preferred length for her, trimming it every time it tried to go past her shoulders. The overall effect was that Chiaki felt a bit more like herself, and that helped her mood.

What she remembered the most, though, was the day she learned what had really happened to her friends.

It had started innocuously enough; she'd just asked when she could go outside as they ate dinner (curry rice, grilled chicken, and udon, and it was just as delicious as that first meal. She had a sneaking suspicion she would never be able to go back to regular food after this). She wouldn't say she was going stir-crazy, per se—she could happily spend days in her bedroom just playing games, and had when she was younger—but she was starting to miss fresh air.

"That will have to wait for another month," he told her. "You have been in completely insulated areas for a little under nine months now; your immune system will have severely weakened in that period. I can give you supplements to boost it back up, but you should still wait a full thirty-one days before attempting to go outdoors.

"Additionally, Enoshima's followers used heavy pollutants to contaminate the air. That is another reason to wait: I need to synthesize vaccines for you before you go outside and contract something."

"Who are her followers?" Chiaki questioned, wondering how exactly a teenage girl was able to bring the world to the state it was in.

"Many people," Kamukura-kun said after a pause, "She calls them 'Ultimate Despairs'. They are people she's come in contact with, and…twisted to her beliefs with brainwashing technology. Many of them are graduates of the Academy, talented people, people in powerful positions…"

He seemed to be weighing something, then added, watching her carefully, "Your classmates are among them."

For a moment Chiaki thought she'd misheard. Then she thought maybe he was making a bad joke. But this was Kamukura-kun; he never joked. Her heart fell to somewhere in her stomach.

"Wh-What?!" she spluttered. "My classmates? How?" Betrayal nipped at her. "You said they faked their deaths!"

"And I was not lying when I said that. They did fake their deaths, not to hide, but so they could assist Enoshima in her endeavors. I simply withheld the reason from you until I calculated you were in a suitable emotional state to receive such news." Nonchalant, he attempted to feed her the next bite, but she shook her head.

"They wouldn't do that," the pink-haired girl insisted. "They would never…"

"They did not have a choice. She used her brainwashing to force their loyalty to her."

This must be what it was like to be Celes, Chiaki thought, numb, to learn that not only did the apocalypse happen while you were sleeping, but that everyone you know and love is gone as well. Because they were, weren't they? If her friends had been brainwashed…lost their wills…they couldn't really be called themselves, could they? They were…

"We need to help them," she mumbled mindlessly. She tried to rise from her wheelchair only for her legs to give out beneath her. Chiaki instinctively braced herself for the pain that would come with her knees hitting the hardwood floor; instead, she felt Kamukura-kun catch her before she could. He'd anticipated her reaction and somehow made it around the table in the span of seconds.

His hands were gentle as he helped her back into the chair, but his voice was very firm. "No."

"I am not abandoning the people I love!" she snapped, glaring at him with all the force she could muster.

"And I am not letting you run off to your death," he refuted. "You are in no condition to help anyone, and there is already a way to save them."

Hope swelled up in her, swallowing the fear and sadness and anger. "There is? What is it?"

"The Neo World Program, a virtual reality that can theoretically reverse brainwashing. Its development is currently being sponsored by the Future Foundation; however, they face a fair bit of financial difficulty. As I have taken an interest in the program, I send the organization funds I've earned through my various talents so they can continue production."

An epiphany struck her. "Is that what you do on your laptop all the time?"

"Correct," he nodded. "I watch. I monitor what happens outside." His eyes narrowed. "There is no guarantee the program will work, but your friends will eventually get the chance to be saved. You cannot do anything for them now, however."

Chiaki exhaled, slumping in her chair. Her appetite was completely gone; misery overwhelmed her. He was right, she knew; she was in no condition to do anything. But that didn't make it any easier to accept the reality that her friends had been forced into evil and she could do nothing. I'm so useless…

"I…I'm glad you told me. But I want to be alone right now," she mumbled.

Kamukura-kun studied her, then inclined his head. Rather than bringing her upstairs and trapping her there, he simply retreated to his room, leaving her in the kitchen. Chiaki sat in her wheelchair and stared at the uneaten food until the tears blurring her vision came free. And she cried long and hard, for her lost friends, for Hinata-kun, for the absolute unfairness that she was still here while they were not.

Her mood was rather somber for some time after. Kamukura-kun did not attempt to speak to her, merely observing as always. But when two days had passed, Chiaki decided, more than anything else, that she had to get better. She owed it to her friends. Maybe she couldn't do anything now but wait for that program to be ready, but getting back on her feet would at least make her feel better. And maybe it would open up new opportunities, who knew?

Of course, in her condition, it wasn't that easy.

"Okay…let's try this again."

Kamukura-kun's face was blank as he answered, "Whenever you're ready."

Chiaki inhaled. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, she reminded herself, and before she could psych herself out pushed herself up and out of her wheelchair.

Her muscles screamed in protest. The room immediately swayed beneath her feet. Chiaki didn't make the mistake of stretching her arms to reorient her center of gravity—the sole time she'd attempted to lift them and focus on standing had proven too much and sent her toppling to the floor. It took all her concentration just to keep her balance as it was.

Hold it…hold it…

Despite her efforts, she felt herself start to fall backwards, and her hand immediately shot out and grabbed Kamukura-kun's arm. He was a steadying presence, solid and strong, and once she had a hold of him she felt her equilibrium reassert itself. But the point of this exercise wasn't to not fall, it was to keep her stability for as long as possible without holding onto him; she didn't know how long she'd managed, but she had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't as long as she'd wanted.

Without letting go of the Ultimate Hope's arm, Chiaki lowered herself back into her wheelchair, feeling her legs shake. "Ah…how long was that?"

"Five seconds," Kamukura-kun informed her, and she grimaced.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit irked. Despite all the stretches and exercises she'd been doing, the only improvements she'd made in the three weeks since she'd learned what had happened to her friends was that she could push her wheelchair around the house and grip objects. While she was extremely happy to be able to hold her precious video game consoles again, she wished she could just stop being so weak already. She could stand, if she had something to support herself with—usually Kamukura-kun. But she couldn't yet stand on her own, much less walk, and still relied on his help for many things.

Still. Progress was progress, and if she'd once spent an entire day grinding against the Bionic Kraken for the 1/128th drop chance of getting the Gutsy Bat without screaming, she could spend however long it took to relearn walking. She just needed to stay positive—wasn't her motto "if you just do it, things will turn out okay", after all?

That's right…it's frustrating now, but I'm sure to relearn it all in time. It's just grinding my skills back up—if I'm patient and try as hard as I can, I'll get there eventually.

I have to. For my friends.

"Ah…I lose again, huh?" Chiaki leaned back, placing the controller on her lap. It had been several days since then, and she'd slowly been adding several more seconds to her record. On the TV screen, the words KEN WINS! flashed in bold red letters. Ryu lay in an unceremonious heap on the ground, while a grinning Ken flashed the v-sign in celebration of his victory. His reaction could not be any more the opposite of his player's, who was as expressionless as ever.

"As expected," was all Kamukura-kun said. "How predictable." Chiaki glanced at him, biting her lip.

Learning to hold things again had made her feel much more confident about her ability to do multiplayer. So, the very day she'd remastered it, she'd persuaded Kamukura-kun into playing video games with her. He had needed to run out to get second consoles and controllers—apparently he'd only thought to pack one for each platform—from the nearby town first, but once he had the afternoon schedule shifted.

When the morning therapies and lunch were done, the two would settle down to play. While Chiaki was concerned about her classmates, she wasn't going to neglect Kamukura-kun; she'd said she'd be his friend, and she'd meant it. It didn't matter what Chiaki picked, though—RPGs, shooters, strategies, puzzles, Kamukura-kun always beat her. She didn't mind, trying to beat him or his scores actually gave her a goal to work towards, but she worried that it bored him. It gave her a newfound empathy for how Hinata-kun must have felt when he'd played with her, and she again wished she'd been able to reassure him better. So she leapt into each game determined to be as challenging an opponent as possible so Kamukura-kun could get even a little enjoyment out of it. And maybe, someday, she'd even beat him. Wouldn't that surprise him?

Though sometimes things went a little differently. Sometimes, instead of playing, he asked her about their past together, and they'd sit down and she would spend the afternoon telling him stories of her time with Hinata-kun. Chiaki hoped she'd maybe jog his memory, but his face remained impassive throughout. Then he'd be more interested in asking about her part in those events than his. Why did she act a certain way here, why did she say this there? It sometimes seemed he wanted to microanalyze her, especially with how intently his eyes peered into hers. Hinata-kun's eyes had sometimes been sharp like that, too.

Shaking away the sudden surge of wistfulness, Chiaki turned and gave him a bright smile. "That was a good match, Kamukura-kun! It was so close; I actually thought I'd beat you this time! If you hadn't pulled that combo at the end…"

He chose not to respond, placing his controller down and rising. Chiaki twisted in her wheelchair, watching him head to the kitchen to start making dinner, not at all bothered by his silence.

"So, did you enjoy this one at all?" It was the same thing she always asked him after each game, and his answer was always the same each time.

"No."

"Well, we'll try another game tomorrow," she said conversationally as she rolled after him, leaving the TV on. "You brought a lot. I'm sure we'll find one you like eventually."

"I doubt that. They all bore me."

"But those are just the ones we've played so far," she insisted. "There has to be one out there you'd enjoy. And I won't stop until we find it!"

He turned slightly, eyes narrowed by a margin. "Why are you so invested in this?"

The corners of her mouth tugged down unhappily. "Because you're my friend and it's no good for me to be the only one enjoying our time together. You need to, too."

"That is impossible. Everything bores me." There was a pause, filled in only by the sounds of him cutting up vegetables. "…However, it is less boring to play games with you. Your company is…interesting. So that makes boring things tolerable."

She brightened. "Really?"

He gave her a flat look, clearly indicating that he didn't see the point in re-stating the obvious.

"Well, I'll do my best to keep things interesting for you. And I won't give up on finding you something you like, either." She rolled up to his side. "So, pass me the plates? I'll set the table."

At the end of July, Kamukura-kun deemed she was able to stand well enough to start learning how to walk again. He placed a cane in her hands, showed her how to use it, and after seeing she could hold it properly, stepped back to let her try.

Walking took so much more effort than you'd think. The muscles in one leg had to contract, order it to rise. Then they had to pull it up, forward and down. Your other leg had to hold the weight of your entire body while this was happening. To do that, you had to keep your balance—a task that proved very hard when your muscles were as weak as hers.

She could stand on her own just fine, if not for more than a few minutes, but even with the cane, she crumpled as soon as she attempted to lift her leg for that one step. The cane fell out of her hands and clattered on the floor. Kamukura-kun swooped in and easily caught her before she could follow it. He helped her back into the wheelchair, his hands lingering on her waist for a fraction of a second before retreating. Chiaki blinked back embarrassed tears, keeping her head low so he wouldn't notice.

He did anyway, of course. "Why are you crying?"

"I can't walk," she choked out. "We've been working to get to this for weeks, and I can't walk. I just…"

"You will," he said, and anyone else would have tried to be reassuring, but his inflection was no different than normal. Ironically, that actually made Chiaki feel a bit better—it came across as him just stating a fact rather than attempting to pacify her. Wiping away her tears, she nodded and got ready to try again.

By the end of the session, she hadn't managed more than a single step. But to Chiaki, who hadn't even been able to stand not that long ago, that step was hope.

A/N:

We never actually get a clear picture of just how bad the world was during the Tragedy. Yeah, Junko says it completely fell apart, but Junko lies a lot. I mean, TV is still around for her to be broadcasting the killing game on, and if the world has running electricity it's not in completely terrible shape. And the gaiden manga Killer Killer shows that within a year of Junko's death, towns have been rebuilt and several industries—manga, entertainment, idol—are back in business. So it's unlikely there was a total destruction of civilization. Hence Izuru's statement that some, admittedly remote, parts are still managing fine.

Next chapter: fluff! More walking! And we finally see the outside world!