Akane: "Throw a damn punch already!" Hajime had not retaliated against her assault. Rather, he was leading her around the beach as he avoided anything and everything she threw at him. He could see every move she would make beforehand, making it seemingly impossible to touch him.
Hajime: "I won't!" He refused to fight back, Akane quickened her movements after he denied her demand. She felt even more insulted, he was refusing to fight back, and was dodging all her attacks with little to no effort. "I don't want to hurt you!"
Akane: "You already have!" He lost focus, surprised by what she had said. In his state of confusion, she took advantage of his negligence. Her left arm shot out, clasping onto his right shoulder. Pinned, he couldn't get out of the way when her right fist came down on his stomach. She released her grip after contact, and he backed away a few paces to let out a few hoarse coughs. "All this time, you've been ignoring me, and that hurt!"
She bolted at him again and tried sweeping him off his feet. He was still trying to catch his breath, barely managing to hop over her kick and stay on his feet. He was still winded, his breathing brought pain at each inhale.
Hajime: 'I've hurt her already?' He thought as he regained his composure, blocking a punch aimed at his face. She said that he had been avoiding her earlier, and he wouldn't deny that, but he was deeply saddened to hear that she was hurt by it. He would never dream of hurting her in any way, and yet... he already did. He was becoming lost in his thoughts, taking a heavy kick to his ribs. He jumped back to try and gain some space, but she wouldn't let him get away so easily. Again, she blistered him, this time landing a pair of punches on his chest.
He cocked back his right fist, ready to fight back... but he couldn't bring himself to throw a punch. He lowered his arm, taking another hit from her as he did. He needed to think of another way to resolve this. Taking another hit, this time from her knee, he knew that there wasn't one. He finally threw a punch at her, his fist landed on her stomach, with enough force to stun, but not hurt her.
Hajime: "Just let me say what I have to say!" Hajime tried again to reason with her.
Akane: "Shut up and fight!" Akane was beyond reasoning with.
Hajime: 'I'm more afraid than ever.' He readied himself as she charged at him again. They fell back into the same routine, Hajime leading Akane around as he dodged her attacks. However, It wasn't as easy as it seemed. She was making up various attacks, each more complex than the last. Although she wasn't landing many, most only missed by a fraction of a second.
Hajime: "I'm sorry, okay!? I'm sorry!"
Akane: "Sorry for what!?"
Hajime: "For avoiding you all this time, I really do regret it!" Akane grabbed and lifted him by his collar. He let her do it, guessing he would be able to get a few words out if he did.
Akane: "What are you talking about!?" Even in her hands, she did not let up on him. She dragged him to the nearest palm tree, pinning him by his shoulders. His lips parted to answer her question, letting out only air when she kneed him in the gut.
Hajime: "I was... nervous!" He brought his right leg up, pushing his foot against her stomach to push her back. She looked confused now, she ran at him mindlessly, swinging her right fist. He sent out his left hand, catching it. The same happened with her left. They were now face to face, her fists held closer by his hands.
Akane: "Like hell you were!" Unable to hit him, Akane pulled him towards her. He was unable to do anything when she slammed her own head into his. Their foreheads now resting against each other, they were eye to eye. "What would you have to be nervous about!?" He felt a warm line of blood run down his right nostril, his heartbeat resonated loudly in his eardrums. Now was his chance, all he had to do was say it... all he had to do was tell her.
Hajime: "I was... I thought that..." He could feel her breath on his face. "I thought that you would reject me if I told you how I felt!"
Akane: "W-What?" She pulled her head back to get a clearer view of his face. He smiled at her, the line of blood from his nose was now dripping off his chin. She stammered, thrown off by what he had said.
Hajime: "I love you, Akane..." Her eyes went wide, her heart started racing. His words echoed repeatedly in her head. She couldn't speak, but she wanted him to. She wanted to hear him say it again.
Akane: "You what?"
Hajime: "I love you..." She gasped when he let go of her hands and fell forward. Her arms hooked under his, holding him as his head rested atop her shoulder. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner..."
Akane: "I've been worrying for no reason... I feel like an idiot." She started laughing, Hajime regained his composure and stood up properly, looking her in the eyes while she kept laughing. Hajime was going to say more... but then her laughing came to an end... and was immediately replaced with tears. "I'm glad, I don't know what I'd do if you didn't tell me how you really felt. I hated feeling this weak, I've felt this way since... since the storage room. You saw me at my weakest, you went out of your way to make me feel better when I had the Despair Disease, you even told me about your mother. I'm thankful that you told me that, and that you trusted me not to tell anyone else. You mean everything to me, Hajime... I love you too." Saying that made Hajime flinch, he remembers all the moments he and Akane shared during the killing game.
Meeting her at the ranch in the Neo World Program, talking about her family in Jabberwock Park, investigating Mahiru's murder together, watching over her in the hospital... and finally being able to understand her once he comforted her while in her cottage.
Hajime: "You thought- "
Akane: "That you wouldn't feel that way about me? Yeah... I did."
Hajime: "Well... I'm glad I could prove you wrong. I won't lie to you, all these feelings were overwhelming to me once I realized what was going on. All this time, I've been trying to figure out how I can tell you the truth. I never wanted to hurt you, but I ended up doing that by avoiding you. I tried to understand everyone during the killing school trip, some were more challenging than others. Sonia seemed oblivious to the modern world when it's compared to her home country, Kazuichi was always overwhelmed by everything Monokuma put us through, Fuyuhiko struggled to live without relying on his family... and you? I wasn't brave enough to talk to you without a proper reason, I never would've spoken to you... if you didn't talk to me first." He could finally feel the weight coming off his shoulders, all this worrying for nothing. "We're in this together, just you and me. So... what do we do now?"
Akane: "I think we need to clean you up, then... maybe we can tell the others."
Hajime: "You know... I think I could've won that fight if I had tried."
Akane: "Oh, shut up."
Hajime smiled while looking directly at her, feeling nothing but happiness. Without hesitation, Akane leaned in, lightly held his right hand... and kissed him on the lips. Not caring at all about the blood coming from his nose. She grabbed his tie with her right hand, pulling him closer and refusing to let go. He retaliated by embracing her with his left arm, showing her the same love that she was showing him. Even if Hajime tried to move away from her, Akane would just pull on his tie and bring him back towards her.
It's still sad to believe that Chiaki was no longer with the group, comatose or otherwise. Her death took place after the seventy-seventh class became the Remnants of Despair, then the world began experiencing the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history. When it came to the Chiaki everyone met in the virtual world, she was just an observer, created by the Neo World Program to keep tabs on everyone else.
Even without her there... the impact she made while she was alive will never be forgotten.
In the end, Hajime and Akane's problems weren't as complicated as they thought they would be. They didn't need to argue, they certainly didn't need to fight. The entire time, they had felt the same. All they needed to do was admit it. Of course, there was a fair bit of hesitation in both their minds about how to proceed. Even more so when their late friend came to mind, but if she were here right now... she would most likely be happy for them.
===========Meanwhile===========
Kazuichi: "What the hell are we supposed to do!?" Kazuichi was panicking frantically. He paced back and forth, while on the side, Fuyuhiko was struggling to maintain his composure. Before them, one of the pods in the control room was open, the body that was inside was nowhere to be found. Sonia just stared at the empty pod and wondered where the body could've gone, it's not like somebody here tampered with it.
Fuyuhiko: "What you need to do is shut the fuck up and calm down!"
Kazuichi: "And how am I supposed to do that!? I was only gone for an hour! And when I came back... HE was gone, and there's a goddamn SEVERED ARM on the floor!"
Fuyuhiko: "I said calm down!"
Kazuichi: "We're going to die, aren't we!? I don't want to die!"
Fuyuhiko: "Pull yourself together, dumbass!" A stinging slap came across Kazuichi's cheek, effectively calming him down. But he had every right to be so afraid. In the short time he had been away, Nagito Komaeda disappeared. He was gone, and it was a mystery to where his intentions would lead him.