Work Text:
Makoto Naegi marched through the dark corridor with his friends by his side. Aoi Asahina, Ryota Mitarai, Kyoko Kirigiri, they had all survived the fourth round. And thanks to Kyoko, they knew who the ‘traitor’ was. All they had to do now was prove it, and make sure Kyosuke Munakata didn’t interfere.
They were all dead quiet as they walked. The corridor was filled with only the subtle sound of their footsteps, dreadfully anticipating their inevitable encounter with…
And then it happened. From around a corner of the dim halls, Kyosuke Munakata stepped out and faced them.
“Munakata-san!” Makoto cried. “We know who the traitor is! We don’t have to -!”
But Makoto’s words were useless. Munakata dashed forward, intent to kill brimming in his eyes.
“Naegi!” Hina ran ahead. Munakata swung his blade. Hina jumped back, dodging the swing, and she snapped back with a kick to Munakata’s chest. Munakata stumbled slightly but retailed with a punch. Hina stepped out of the way just before it hit, but Munakata kept throwing punches. Hina frantically evaded. Cold sweat poured down Makoto’s brow. Did he know about her forbidden action?!
Just before Munakata’s fist struck Hina’s chin, Kyoko flew through the air and landed a corkscrew kick on Munakata’s jaw. Munakata flipped backwards but landed on his feet, his sword scrapping the floor. He locked eyes with Kyoko and charged. Once he was close, Munakata swung his sword down. Kyoko sidestepped the swing and slammed her fist into Munakata’s stomach. He grunted from the blow, but he struck back by crashing the hilt of his sword against Kyoko’s head.
“Ggh!”
“Kyoko-chan!”
Damn it. Makoto walked towards Munakata, but he was well out of arm’s reach. He wished he could run. Well, if it came to it, he could run…
His face pale, Mitarai’s legs were quivering, a long distance away from Munakata.
As Kyoko stood dazed from the hit, Hina ran at Munakata again and aimed her fist at his face, but before she could hit him, Munakata spun around and sliced his blade across Hina’s leg. Her blood spraying from the wound, Hina collapsed to one knee. Munakata winded back for a swing across Hina’s neck, but Kyoko grabbed him from behind and lifted him, flipping him over and slamming his back on the floor.
“Tch!”
Munakata quickly rolled back onto his feet and attacked Kyoko with a horizontal swing. Kyoko dashed back, narrowly avoiding the blade, but Munakata kept swinging, not allowing Kyoko to get close.
Meanwhile, Makoto kept walking.
Gotta hurry…
As Kyoko’s breaths grew heavy, Munakata lunged low for a stab aimed at Kyoko’s leg.
“Get away from her!”
Makoto finally closed the distance and threw a punch into Munakata’s jaw. Barely flinching from the hit, he locked eyes with him. He was like a crazed beast out for blood. He gripped his sword tightly and raised it high, aimed at Makoto’s shoulder.
Makoto’s eyes widened.
Robbed of his ability to run, he had no hope of evading the swing.
Time slowed as the sword came down.
Is this…?
But something shoved Makoto out of the way, and she was hit instead.
Icy terror gripped Makoto’s heart.
“No… no…”
Kyoko stood in front of him, Munakata’s sword piercing through her back.
“Kirigiri-san!”
“Kyoko-chan!”
With methodical precision, Munakata withdrew his blade. Blood gushed out of Kyoko’s body like a fountain. She fell over, and Makoto caught her in his arms. Her amethyst eyes stared at him weakly. She coughed up blood, her breaths unsteady.
Makoto’s entire body trembled.
This can’t be happening; this can’t be happening…
Not Kirigiri, not her…
Makoto pressed his hand over Kyoko’s wound. So much blood. In his head, he knew there was no surviving that, but in his heart…
“It’s just a scratch, Kiri. You’re going to be fine.”
Kyoko smiled faintly. “Yeah, of course…”
Makoto grimaced. “Why did you do that?”
“Heh, I only did what you would have done for me.”
Makoto sobbed. Damn it, damn it. Why couldn’t it have been him? He should have been the one to protect her, not the other way around. Why did Kyoko have to die? Why did they have to keep feeling this pain, over and over again? When would it stop?
Makoto looked into her fading eyes. “Kiri, stay with me. You’re not going to die here.”
Even on the brink of death, Kyoko still smiled at him. “Makoto… can I call you that?”
“Yes! Anything, Kyoko!”
She kept smiling. “Makoto, my whole life I was raised to be the perfect detective. Being a detective was my first priority. My only priority, really. Being alive and being a detective were one and the same. If I were to stop being a detective, I would cease to exist. I thought that was my duty, but honestly, I was… empty inside.”
Affection shined in her dying eyes. “But you, Makoto, breathed life back into me. You showed me that I can live for something besides duty. Because of you, I’m not empty anymore. Thank you, Makoto. Thank you for giving me a reason to live… and a reason to die.”
Makoto couldn’t take this anymore. Kyoko’s whole life had been bound by duty, and how was this any different? She had been obligated to put her life on the line as a detective, and now she had to give her life to save him. The only thing that had changed was what she had to die for, but she shouldn’t have had to die at all! Even if she had ‘chosen’ it, she still didn’t deserve to die. This wasn’t right. This was wrong.
“F-forget that last part,” Makoto said. “Kyoko, I will gladly be your reason to live.”
She sighed happily. “Ah, really? Do you feel the same way?”
“I do!” Makoto said. “And I mean that! I’ve felt it for a long time now! You mean so much to me, Kyoko! More than words can express! I…” He choked. “I wish I had told you sooner.”
As tears ran down his face, Kyoko’s gloved hand caressed his cheek. “Makoto, nothing would make me happier than to spend my life with you.” A sniffle escaped her, a crack in the mask of her serene smile. A quiet acknowledgement of the future she wanted to have, but couldn’t. The sight tore at Makoto’s heart, yet he was glad Kyoko had allowed him a glimpse of the pain she was hiding, to know that Kyoko wanted to stay with him, if only she could.
But that glimpse was fleeting. It disappeared as quickly as it came, and Kyoko kept hiding her sorrow behind that smile, as if nothing was wrong. “I’m… happy… to have protected you, and I haven’t betrayed my family, either. Because I know you will end this game, and restore hope to this world. You’re the hero everyone needs, Makoto.”
He sniffled. “Y-you’re the hero, to me at least. I wouldn’t have become who I am without you.” He clenched his teeth. “If the world needs me, then it needs you just as much.”
Kyoko violently coughed up more blood, but she continued to gaze at him with affection. “It m-means a lot to hear you say that, but don’t forget to believe in yourself, too.”
Makoto tightened his grip on her, as if holding her would keep her with him. “Hey, just think about our future, okay? There must be something you want to do, right?”
“I… want to go to the beach…”
“The beach…?”
“Yes, like Jabberwock, but as a vacation this time.”
Makoto nodded. “Okay, I’ll take you to the beach.”
Kyoko’s eyes wandered off, as if gazing upon the scenery. “The water will be so beautiful.”
“Yeah, it’ll be a perfect, sunny day.”
“The breeze will feel so nice…”
“And the sound will be so relaxing…”
Kyoko giggled. “And I’ll wear a nice swimsuit for you. It’ll be a little embarrassing, but I don’t mind if it’s you.” She rested her forehead against his. “Because the best part will be the man beside me.”
Makoto’s teary eyes were reflected in Kyoko’s eyes. “Y-yeah, the best part will be the woman by my side.”
Kyoko leaned closer, and their lips met, for the first and last time.
“I love you, Makoto.”
He couldn’t control his sobs, but he still managed to say what he desperately needed to, what he should have said a long time ago.
“I l-love you too, Kyoko. I love you s-so, so much. Now, and forever.”
With a contented smile, Kyoko closed her eyes, and she drew her last breath.
Kyoko Kirigiri was dead.
Hina knelt beside Kyoko, tears running down her face.
Makoto’s tears wouldn’t stop, either.
But he still had a job to do.
He gently laid Kyoko down on the floor, and he stood, facing Munakata.
Munakata stood with an uncaring expression, his hands resting on the pommel of his sword. How nice of him to stand and wait while Makoto and Kyoko had their moment.
Munakata huffed. “See how worthless your platitudes are?”
Makoto took a deep breath.
“Munakata-san, let’s end this.”
He brandished his blade. “As you wish.”
But Makoto didn’t make any move to attack or defend himself. Instead, he reached out his hand.
Munakata raised an eyebrow. “What is this? Giving up?”
Makoto shook his head.
“Then what are you doing?”
“The same thing I’ve been doing from the start.” Makoto met Munakata’s gaze, filled with conviction. “I want you to join me.”
Hina sucked in a sharp breath. “Huh?”
“What are you saying?!” Mitarai cried. “He killed Kirigiri! Kirigiri is dead, and you’re just going to forgive her murderer?! What’s wrong with you?!”
Makoto clenched his teeth.
And what were you doing, coward?! What were you doing while Kyoko died?! You…
But Makoto swallowed his anger.
“Despair is a disease,” Makoto said. “We don’t cure a disease by spreading it to others.”
Munakata tilted his head. “How do you suggest curing it, then?”
Makoto spread his arms. “By focusing on hope! All you think about is destroying despair, but that’s not enough! You can’t just look at despair! You need to look at hope!”
Munakata furrowed his brow. “Shut up, despair.”
“Huh?”
“Tengan told me everything,” Munakata said coldly. “Everyone here is the attacker.” He narrowed his eyes. “Including you.”
“What?!” Hina screamed. “No, that’s insane!”
Makoto grit his teeth. How could Munakata believe such a ridiculous lie? Just before he could protest, Munakata continued.
“Tengan’s words were true.” He grimaced. “Yukizome was… tainted by despair, as well.”
He went on to explain how he had found a picture on Yukizome’s corpse, showing her proudly standing over the bodies of children she had murdered for the sake of despair.
Makoto was stunned. He wanted to deny it, to say that the photograph was fake, but he knew what had happened to Class 77. He knew it wasn’t impossible.
Either way, Makoto was beginning to understand. Munakata had been tricked. Tengan had used his feelings for Yukizome against him, using her alleged crimes as evidence that no one could be trusted. Makoto needed to overturn the poison Tengan had infected him with and show Munakata that there was still hope.
Munakata’s eyes brimmed with a dark determination. “I will get rid of all despair. Even if that despair is a memory.”
Fire burned in Makoto’s chest. No, that was wrong. Even if Yukizome had turned to despair, he couldn’t…
“Don’t say you will destroy it!”
Munakata stared blankly.
Makoto’s fists trembled. “Don’t say you will get rid of Yukizome!”
Venom spat out of Munakata’s throat. “What do you know?”
In the next instant, Makoto felt his back slammed against the wall, with Munakata at his neck.
“What do you know?!”
His fist repeatedly slammed into Makoto’s face, scattering blood all over.
“What?! What?! What?! What?!”
“I do know!”
As Munakata held his fist, Makoto frowned. “I still remember Maizono. She was the first to try and kill someone. She tried to frame me for it. If she had succeeded, we would have had to kill her.” He breathed deeply. “But even so, I’m still happy to have met her.”
Turning his gaze towards Kyoko’s body, tears welled in Makoto’s eyes. “The same is true for her. Even if Kirigiri had betrayed us all, even if we had to kill her, I would still love the person she had been.”
As Makoto’s tears fell, Munakata continued to glare at him hatefully. “You’re saying I should just forgive Yukizome?”
He sobbed. “M-maybe forgive isn’t –“
Munakata threw Makoto’s face into the ground and stomped on his head.
“You think I can just forgive her?! She’s a murderer! She killed innocent children, and she enjoyed it! And you say I should still love the person she used to be?! How can you tell me that?!” His foot crashed into Makoto’s skull. “How?! How can I love the memory of a ruthless killer?!”
His head throbbed from the pain, but Makoto stayed determined. “She wasn’t always a killer. She was a good person until –“
“How can you be so sure?!” Munakata screamed. “How can any ‘good’ person ever do what she did?! Maybe she was planning this from the start! Everything I loved about her could have all been –“
“No! She –”
Munakata’s foot slammed into Makoto’s face. “- nothing more than an act!”
As warm blood trickled down his head, Makoto grimaced. “Even if that’s true, you still loved her, didn’t you?”
His gaze remaining icy cold, Munakata lifted his foot off Makoto’s face. “What about me, Naegi? Do you really think you can forgive me after I killed the woman you loved so dearly?”
He walked over to Kyoko’s corpse. “Can you forgive the man who robbed you both of the future you desired so badly?” He raised his blade, aimed at Kyoko’s right eye.
Makoto’s stomach sank. What was he…? “No, stop…”
His sword ran through Kyoko’s eye, painting it crimson.
“Stop!”
“Can you forgive this!?” Munakata shouted. “Can you forgive me for desecrating your beloved Kirigiri’s corpse?!” He withdrew his blade, gouging Kyoko’s eyeball out of its socket with a squelch, and then he rapidly stabbed Kyoko’s once beautiful face all over, riddling it with holes and smearing it in her blood and guts. “Can you?!” He pierced his sword through Kyoko’s other eye. “Pray forgive the discourtesy of mutilating Kirigiri.”
Makoto’s already shattered heart twisted even further. He screamed. “Stop! Stop hurting her!”
Kyoko’s eyeballs were skewered along Munakata’s sword like a kabob. He swiped his blade, and the severed eyes splattered against the wall. Kyoko’s tattered and bloody face was left with vacant sockets where her eyes should have been, twisting the peaceful visage she had died with.
“Nothing can hurt her now. She’s dead.”
Makoto’s fists trembled with rage. Munakata was not making it easy. Part of him wished he could smash Munakata’s head in and watch his brains spill out of his skull, but he couldn’t be ruled by his thirst for revenge. He had to keep his head forward and do what was logically necessary. That’s what Kyoko would have wanted.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Makoto said. “I don’t exactly forgive you. You took something indescribably precious from me. I did love Kirigiri. I still love Kirigiri, and I always will. I wanted to be with her forever. If some deus ex machina could magically bring her back to life right now, that would be fine by me. I will never forget her. I will always carry her with me, until the day I die.”
He stared fiercely at Munakata. “But that doesn’t mean I want to destroy you. At least, not the person you can become. Because… there’s no such thing as an absolute enemy. Yesterday’s enemy can be tomorrow’s friend. Even after what you’ve done, that doesn’t mean we can’t still work together.”
Munakata growled. “Unbelievable. You can’t possibly mean that.”
“Yes, I do!” Makoto yelled. “Just as you shouldn’t forget who Yukizome was, I won’t forsake the person you will become! Even now, if you fight by our side, I will be proud to call you my ally!”
… Munakata lowered his blade.
He can’t be serious.
Kyosuke was at a loss for words.
There was no way Naegi could have meant what he had said. If he had truly loved Kirigiri, then his heart should have been filled with nothing but hatred for him. Naegi should have wanted nothing more than to destroy the root of the despair he had felt. Yet here he was, insisting that he wanted to look ahead to the ‘future Kyosuke’.
It was easy for him to say, wasn’t it? Naegi had no hope of defeating Kyosuke in battle. Naegi had lost, and this desperate pea for cooperation was merely his last-ditch effort at tricking Kyosuke into turning his back. As soon as he did, Naegi would strike. That was the logical answer.
But, when he looked into Naegi’s heartbroken eyes, he couldn’t help but feel he was being completely sincere.
Naegi sniffled. “Please. We don’t have to fight anymore. No one else has to die.”
Kyosuke looked towards the body of Kirigiri, the one he had slain.
He had killed her.
Why had he killed her?
Because she had been an agent of despair. Everyone here had turned to despair. Tengan hadn’t been lying. The photo of Chisa was proof of that. If Chisa, if even Chisa, could turn to despair, anyone could. They were all traitors to humanity itself, and Kyosuke would show them no mercy.
But had he really needed to kill them?
Had Juzo needed to die?
Even if Juzo had turned to despair, was redemption not an option?
Is this truly why Naegi had protected Class 77? Was he really trying to save them? To cure them of despair?
If someone turned to evil, did that mean there were always bad? Or had they once been good? Did the person they used to be still deserve to be loved?
And if someone bad turned good, did that ‘new’ person deserve to be loved, in spite of their past self?
Kyosuke didn’t know.
As doubt seeped into Kyosuke’s heart, Ashina kneeled by Kirigiri’s body, tears running down her face. Naegi and Mitarai joined her, mourning their lost friend.
Why… had Kyosuke inflicted this pain on them?
Why had he caused them despair?
Ashina placed her hand on top of Kirigiri’s, and her eyes widened as Kirigiri’s bracelet lit up.
Ashina gasped.
As Naegi looked at the bracelet, his jaw dropped.
Kyosuke already knew what it said.
Clearing the game with Makoto Naegi alive.
Kirigiri’s mind had been made up from the start.
“Kyoko…!”
His heart breaking all over again, Naegi held Kirigiri’s body and cried out in pain, pouring tears down on Kirigiri’s face. Ashina wept as well, and Mitarai stared despondently.
Their sacrifice…
Their heartbreak…
Their hopes for the future…
Their determination to stop this from ever happening again…
These weren’t the actions of those who had fallen to despair.
What had Kyosuke been thinking?
He hadn’t needed to kill anyone. Juzo, Kirigiri, they hadn’t needed to die. The pain he had caused Naegi, everyone… no one had needed to feel that way. He had wanted to destroy despair, but like Naegi had said, he had forgotten to look at hope. He had failed to believe in Chisa’s memory. He had failed to believe in Juzo’s future. He had failed to believe in anyone. He had thrown it all away, and he had no one to blame but himself.
But Naegi wasn’t like him. Despite everything Kyosuke had done, Naegi was still reaching out his hand. To work with him, to believe in the future, to believe in Kyosuke. He still believed that he and Kyosuke could work together and usher in a more hopeful world. He had done for Kyosuke what Kyosuke couldn’t have done for Chisa and Juzo.
Kyosuke clenched his teeth.
Why…?
Why couldn’t he be like Naegi?
Kyosuke’s blade trembled in his hand.
When did it happen…?
Thoughts of Chisa swirled in his head.
His head hung back, facing the ceiling.
Images of Juzo smiling flashed in his mind.
Why did I…?
Kyosuke screamed.
His cry echoed throughout the halls, an eruption of all his pent-up rage, his anguish, his sorrow, and most of all, his regret. So, so much regret. So many mistakes he could never undo. All because had had been blinded by hatred. Why? When? When had…?
“When did we go wrong?”