A/N Hello! I know it's been a while for those of you who follow me but I'm going to try to get back into writing more fanfictions! This is my first time writing for Danganronpa but I think my writing skills are still fairly decent despite not posting anything for two or three years. The story was supposed to be posted on Christmas so I'm sorry it's a little late but it doesn't really have to be considered a Christmas story since the main focus of the story is Hajime's self-doubting.

Aagh! I'm talking too much for a beginning author's note! My apologies. The story takes place months after Hope Side of Danganronpa 3. I hope you enjoy the story and (late) Merry Christmas!

After saving the Future Foundation from the killing game, the former Remnants of Despair (along with Ryota), had been traveling by ship for months hoping to escape from the one's they saved. Hajime knew that they had to keep running, because even if a few Future Foundation members knew the truth, like Makoto Naegi and the survivors of class 78, the other members and rest of the world still believed that the Remnants of Despair needed to be captured for what they had done. However disagreeable the decision was, it was the only option that would save the Future Foundation's reputation as a symbol of hope and protection. Hajime knew that their group could run as the Future Foundation follows them, creating a game of cat and mouse; they were perfectly capable for handling that.

But after months of sailing, Hajime knew the other Ultimates were feeling sick of staying on the boat. The other day, Kazuichi threw up over the railing because he had been feeling nauseous from the constant swaying of the boat. Also, Teruteru recently could not stop talking about the ingredients from Jabberwock Island and it was unusual how he talked about that more than his…other conversation topics. Even the high energy Ibuki had glumly walked up to Hajime today and asked, "When are we heading back to Jabberwock Island?"

"You know why we can't do that." He sighed. "That would be the first place for the Future Foundation to look for us. Going back there would be suicide."

"But we haven't been there in months!" She whined. "They probably realized we were somewhere else and left it abandoned!"

"We don't know that for sure." Hajime reminded her calmly. "Future Foundation is a pretty smart organization. They could have agents inhabiting the island, waiting for us to return no matter how long it takes. If we go back there, we could be walking into a trap."

"Pleeeease, pretty please Hajime!" Ibuki wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him like a life preserver. "Ibuki misses it so badly! We've been sailing aimlessly for months that everyone misses solid unshifting land!"

"I suppose it's been a while since we've stopped at a seaport." He mused aloud.

Ibuki perked her head up to look at him. "Can we go to the seaport at Jabberwock Island?"

"I've already explained this to you." Hajime shook his head. Why could she not understand the danger of making such a decision? "How about we do this? We can stop at one of the seaports around Nagano and stay there for a few days. Who knows? We might even see some snow if we're lucky!"

Ibuki let go of him, hanging her head low, and whispered, "I want to go to Jabberwock Island more than anything and I know that the others want that too." Suddenly, her whole countenance lit up like a candle. "Ooh, if Ibuki can't convince you then she'll get someone who can!"

Hajime watched her scamper away, wondering who she might bring to him. He honestly wished he could fulfill her request; even he missed Jabberwock Island. But he wasn't willing to risk the safety of the other Ultimates. Hearing his thoughts, a voice spoke up from behind him: "I think you should go back there."

He spun around to see Chiaki leaning against the railing, clutching a stuffed version of Usami to her chest. Of course, she wasn't really there; Hajime had accepted that she was dead but he still found it comforting to talk with her when he felt troubled. She gave him her signature gentle smile. "If you turn around now, you can probably make it to Jabberwock in time for Christmas."

"If I can protect them from something that is out of my control, I'm going to do it." Hajime rested his arms on the railing beside her and looked out to the sea. "Agents from Future Foundation… if there were a small amount we could maybe take them out… no. Even if we did do that, they could call in reinforcements to ambush us. We shouldn't give them any opportunities to map our location."

"Jabberwock is a location that's already mapped." Chiaki pointed out, turning to face Hajime.

"No, I mean, if we were to be there and they came to ambush us into escaping, they would have an idea of where we've been these past few months." He explained. "Then they might be able to predict our next location if they watch us leave."

"You know how strong our classmates are." She turned to face the sea instead, as if it would give her ideas on how to convince him to go back. "They can take care of each other if everyone runs into danger, especially Akane and Nekomaru."

"I know that," He lets out a small chuckle, imagining the gymnast's and team leader's pumped attitudes if they ran into danger. "But that doesn't change the fact that I would never forgive myself if I led them into danger."

"Hey, do you want my advice?" She asked softly and Hajime noticed that she sounded slightly troubled. It was very subtle, but his powers as Izuru have made him pay attention to the smallest details. "I think you need to take the weight of the world off your shoulders. You have every talent that Hope's Peak could think of but that doesn't mean that you have the power to do everything. It sounds like Ibuki and the others really want to go back to Jabberwock Island no matter what. They have their own choices to make but they seem like they're fully aware of the consequences. Don't worry about what could go wrong, but focus on all the good things that could come from it, okay?"

Hajime smiled. "You always know what to say, don't you?"

"Considering how my presence is a figment of your imagination," Chiaki pondered aloud, looking at the setting sun in thought. "I think you are the one who always knows what I'm going to say."

"That's because, in my mind, you've never changed." Hajime returned, causing Chiaki to smile bashfully. "But are you sure that the other Ultimates are aware of the consequences if we leave for Jabberwock Island?"

"We are."

Hajime turned away from the railing to find that when Ibuki said "someone" she meant "everyone." All of the Ultimates were staring back at him with encouragement. The person that spoke up was Nagito, who was standing in the center of the cluster. "We know that it's something that we all want. You want to go back to Jabberwock Island too, right?"

"Of course I do." Hajime admitted. "But given the situation that we're in, it would be risky to head back to the site of the simulation."

"But's that's what makes the island so appealing to return to." Sonia explained. "It's where we all managed to bond with each other the most."

"Yeah, we didn't even know you back at Hope's Peak since you were alone in the Reserve Course," Kazuichi added and Hajime gave him a look that suggested he should finish that sentence with something positive, "But, like Miss Sonia said, the simulation gave us a chance to meet you and meet each other all over again. Well except Ryota."

"I-It's fine!" Ryota stammered nervously. "I kind of want to see Jabberwock Island if it's the place you all got to create such powerful bonds with each other."

"Haha, you'll love it!" Nekomaru roared, giving Ryota a slap on the back that made the animator wince in pain. "We could jog around the island and show you all the memories we made while we were there!"

"We probably won't have time." Hajime mumbled dejectedly. "If Future Foundation shows up…"

"Then we beat them up!" Akane grinned, clutching her hand into a determined fist. "We took care of 'em when we went to stop Ryota from spreadin' that Hope video or whatever so we can prolly take 'em all on!"

"She's right," Mahiru nodded, "we are more than capable of taking care of them if they ever show up."

"Yeah," Hiyoko agreed, pointing towards Mikan, "Even pig-shit over here saved me with a fire extinguisher from some tall-clawed Future Foundation bitch."

As Mikan let out a shriek, Mahiru scolded, "Hey, I thought you said you were going to try to be nicer to her now that we're out of the simulation."

"I am, I acknowledged that she saved me," Hiyoko stated matter-of-factly. "Not that I needed it or anything…"

"Th-thank you so m-m-much!" Mikan cried out, hands wiping at her face.

"Maybe you're right about that, that we can defeat whatever reinforcements they throw at us." Hajime agreed reluctantly, "but what is they unveil some kind of automated weapon against-"

"Hey, don't even think of stuff like that you moron." Fuyuhiko snapped, though he said it out of concern. "I know you're worried about protecting us but we are telling you that we can handle it!"

"Even if something new shows up, we can adapt our strategies and defeat it." Peko chimed in.

"If we get some resources from the island," Teruteru offered, "I can make us a mighty fine meal that will give us the energy to do anything we want." He gave Hajime a wink, "anything!"

"How on Earth can one of the most omnipotent mortals I know be plagued by such imaginary troubles?" Gundam wondered aloud, and it took Hajime a moment to realize that everyone was waiting on the answer.

"I-I just…" Hajime paused, "I care about all of you too much to think of what would happen if I made a decision that caused one of you to die."

"Well, be prepared to get rid of that worry." The impostor spoke up. "We can take charge and carry the burden on our shoulders too."

"Yep, I may not look it, but I've been told I've got some pretty fine shoulders that are good for carrying stuff!" Ibuki boasted proudly.

"A-Are you guys sure about this?" Hajime made sure to glance at every single face as he spoke to them, "Is this… what you really want?"

Nagito stepped forward to stand in front of him. "It's not good for a leader to carry so much weight when there's a team surrounding him that wants to do their part too. So please," He put his right hand on Hajime's shoulder for emphasis. "Let us carry all of these bothersome worries together." Nagito glanced back at the others and his robotic hand gestured for them to come forward.

One by one, everyone moved closer and placed a hand on Hajime's shoulders, creating an epilate of hands. With each hand laid, Hajime felt his worries start to diminish as if they were actually shifting the weight off of him. It was silly to think of it that way when he knew he was only imagining but, like when he talked to Chiaki, he felt better because of it. Hajime believed in his classmates and it was good to know that they believed in him too.

"Okay, let's set a course to Jabberwock Island."

Whether it was because of Hajime's luck or Nagito's luck or just a random strange coincidence, Jabberwock Island was completely deserted when they arrived on Christmas Eve. Relieved, everyone jumped off the boat and ran off the deck to go play in the sand. The scene was endearing; it was like the Remnants of Despair had found out that they won the lottery since their reactions were so inexplicably joyful.

To celebrate their return "home", as Sonia called it, they set up a small little Christmas party on the beach. They had a table set up with food as Teruteru cooked to his heart's content, Ibuki found some speakers to hook up to her guitar so she could play metal versions of Christmas songs, and small decorations were hung on some of the palm trees. Akane and Nekomaru had plenty of room to train on the beach so they spent most of their time doing that. Hiyoko was teaching Mahiru some dance moves while the other girl clumsily tried to keep up, laughing at all the mistakes she made. Fuyuhiko and Peko were talking quietly by one of the palm trees. Sonia, Kazuichi, and Gundam were playing in the sun making sand angels and sand men. The impostor and Mikan took a walk with Ryota to show him the rest of the island, promising to be back soon. And Nagito was walking towards Hajime with a drink in his hand, extending it towards him. "Wassail?"

"Huh?"

"Wassail… if I remember correctly I think it's a drink that was served around Christmas time during the Elizabethan Era in England." Nagito explained, looking at his cup in awe. "It's amazing how Teruteru was able to make some for us! Oh, and if you're wondering, I don't think it's spiked with anything harmful so it's okay to drink."

"I wasn't thinking of that," Hajime admitted, politely putting his hand up to say he didn't want the drink, "but thank you, anyways."

"Sorry, I just wanted everyone to be aware since something like this has happened before." Hajime gave him a curious state and Nagito laughed, "Hehe, but let's save that story for another day."

"Okay then." The pair fell into comfortable silence as they watched the rest of the Ultimates enjoy themselves. After a minute or so, Hajime spoke up, "Hey Nagito? Do you think I was being too pessimistic when I didn't want to endanger everyone by going to Jabberwock Island?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask for a question like this," Nagito began, causing Hajime to inadvertently roll his eyes, "but it's normal for someone to worry about protecting others so I wouldn't say that you were being pessimistic at all since you had everyone else's best interests in mind. For a group like us, we need a great caring leader to guide us and keep us safe and happy."

"Safe and happy, huh?" Hajime glanced over at Ibuki, who was screaming the lyrics to Silent Night as she played on her guitar. "What would you think we would've done if there actually were some Future Foundation agents here?"

"Hmm, well, I think you would have steered us away and let us host a Christmas party on the ship to try and lift our spirits until they went away or until we found another place to find land." Nagito mused with a finger to his chin in thought. "Either way, I think you would find some way to make the situation better since that's the kind of person you are. Chiaki would be proud of you."

"You really think so?" Hajime asked, and in the back of his mind he selfishly found his figment of Chiaki nodding in agreement.

"We all think so." Nagito nodded in affirmation. "The best Christmas gift you gave all of us was returning to Jabberwock Island one last time and it was all we could have hoped for. So, don't worry so much about what kind of leader you want to be because you are a great one to all of us." He raised his cup in a toast. "To Hajime, the best leader we could have ever hoped for!"

"You realize I don't have a cup to toast with, right?" Hajime laughed, finding Nagito's theatrics amusing.

"Whoops, my bad." Nagito returned the laughter, "Do you want me to fetch you a cup of wassail?" When Hajime shook his head again, Nagito shrugged and took a drink, "Oh well, I still thought the motion of the toast was worth it. Merry Christmas, Hajime."

Hajime looked at all the other Ultimates again, seeing how happy they were. He still did not think he was a great leader despite what Nagito told him but he was glad he was at least able to give everyone a Christmas gift worth giving. "Merry Christmas."

A/N Yah! I'm actually kind of proud for posting this because of the long time interval, I hope my characterization wasn't too awful.

I swear Ibuki in my mind is the most energetic kid that would wait all night for Santa to show up and we could all use a little bit of that Christmas spirit. Also, could someone confirm me on the wassail thing? Back where I live, that's always served during the Holiday Madrigal performance that I have to participate in so I hope my vague self-definition isn't contradicting anything about the actual story of wassail.

Well, I'll shut up now. Feel free to like or comment if you want. You don't have to of course, but it does provide happiness and encouragement when you do. Merry Christmas and Have a Happy New Year!