Chapter Text
Jabberwock Island had been considered closed off from the world for years. The island known for its tourism was only accessible by what remained of the Future Foundation. What many didn’t know was that Jabberwock Island was once again, home to the former “Remnants of Despair.” Before returning to the island, they spent their moments in hiding, and disguised themselves from the public. After deciding they weren’t fond of hiding their identities, as well as the possibility of being discovered, the remnants made Jabberwock Island their permanent home, where they planned to restore the island to what it was before the tragedy. The group was thankful for their second chance at life. They’d always be thankful for the person who believed the good in them. They’d express their appreciation for him in any way they could.
Once a month, the leader of the group, Hajime Hinata, made it his personal goal to contact the person responsible for their freedom and second chance at life. He was undo no obligation to do so. There was never any rule in regards to contact with the outside world. Hajime did it under the kindness of his heart, and to show how much he appreciated Makoto Naegi, the headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy.
Hajime and his group had not seen Makoto in the flesh for years, due to Makoto’s busy life. The last time they saw Makoto, was seven years ago, just after Makoto married Kyoko Kirigiri. Everyone had returned to the island at that time. The newly married couple made a quick stop to Jabberwock Island before going on their honeymoon. Seven years was a long time, yet time seemed to move by in the blink of an eye.
“You should see the island,” Hajime suggested while he spoke to Makoto over video chat. “You wouldn’t recognize it.”
“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Makoto stated. “You’ve all been working hard these past years. I really would love to visit and see it for myself.”
“I’m sure you could. Why not bring that family of yours you keep bragging about over here for a vacation?”
Makoto blushed. “Kyoko and I have been really busy. Not sure if we could take time off for a vacation.”
Hajime sighed. “That’s too bad. Everyone wants to see you and meet your son. How old is he again?”
“He’s-”
“Who are you talking to, Hajime?” a soft voice called out from Hajime’s side of the call.
Hajime looked around in almost a panic before being pushed aside by Nagito Komaeda. The minute Nagito saw Makoto’s face, his eyes lit up. Nagito admired Makoto dearly, though some considered his admiration an obsession of some sort. Nobody really knew.
“Naegi!” Nagito gasped. “Did Hajime mention you coming and visiting? I’d love to see you again! He also mentioned your son, didn’t he?”
“Yeah he did,” Makoto replied in embarrassment.
“What is his name again?”
“His name is Kazuki.”
Nagito’s face lit up even more. “Kazuki! He’s been given a beautiful name! How is it written in kanji?”
Hajime shoved Nagito off the screen. “See what I mean, Naegi?” Hajime said. “We’d really like a visit from you. Maybe your visit will shut Komaeda up for a while.”
Makoto laughed and looked over at his calendar. A red circle was over a date in the calendar. “Kazuki’s 5th Birthday!” was written inside that circle. He wondered if a trip to Jabberwock Island would be an ideal place to celebrate Kazuki’s birthday. Makoto took a pen and counted back a couple days before the date of his son’s birthday. He figured taking a few days off for a birthday vacation wouldn’t hurt.
His eyes looked over to the photo of Kyoko holding Kazuki when he was two-years-old. He focused on the soft smile Kyoko wore on her face. She didn’t smile as much as she used to. Kyoko took over the Kirigiri detective agency one year before Kazuki was born. Cases started out slow for her at first, but as of recent, cases began to pile up, and Kyoko insisted she take all of them. She’d come home exhausted, have dinner, then retire to the bedroom only to look over the day’s case files. If anybody was in dire need of a vacation, it was her. Makoto turned his attention back to the video call.
“How about this? Kazuki’s birthday is in a couple weeks. Maybe we could come for his birthday?”
Makoto and Hajime went over the details regarding the trip. The family would arrive by ship, and spend five days on the island. Hajime promised to Makoto that Kazuki would have the best birthday celebration ever. Hajime smiled even after he ended the call with Makoto. He thought about how nice it would be to have company on the island again. He looked over at Nagito, who was lying on the floor and looking up at Hajime. Hajime instantly frowned.
“You better be on your best behavior while they’re here,” Hajime demanded.
“Oh, of course!” Nagito chimed. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset them. After all, they’re such a lovely family, it makes me envious. I promise that I’ll be sure they have the best days of their lives here. You can count on me!”
Hajime sighed and ignored Nagito’s statement. “I better tell the others and make sure they behave properly as well.”
“I’m home,” Makoto called out while he took his shoes off in the entryway of his house. Nobody replied to Makoto. He knew Kyoko wouldn’t be home until late, but Kazuki had to be somewhere. Makoto heard the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from somewhere in the house. Makoto walked down the hallway to locate the voices. He stopped in front of Kazuki’s bedroom, which was wide open.
He saw his son sitting next to a small table, staring intently at five cups. Across from Kazuki sat Fuhito Kirigiri, Kazuki’s great-grandfather. Makoto analyzed the activity Kazuki was doing with his great-grandfather. He assumed whatever it was, it had to do with detective training. Makoto didn’t expect any less of Fuhito. After all, he trained Kyoko when she was young.
Kazuki pushed his brown, bushy bangs away from his eyes, only for them to fall back down. After the third failed attempt, he held his bangs back with his hand. A smile cracked on Makoto’s face. He figured it was time the little boy got a haircut.
“Kazuki, you need to focus,” said Fuhito. “Now tell me with all the clues I’ve given you, which cup has the ball?”
Young Kazuki looked at each cup intensely. He hummed as if it would make him concentrate better. After a couple minutes of thinking, Kazuki reached for the cup on the far left, and yanked it off the table.
“It’s in here!” Kazuki claimed. When the cup was lifted, a small yellow ball was revealed. Kazuki’s face lit up in an instant. “I did it! I found the ball!” Kazuki rose from the floor and started to jump around. “I did it, I did it, I did it!”
“Great job, Kazuki,” Makoto said from the entrance of Kazuki’s room. Kazuki stopped jumping and stared directly at his father for a few short seconds, before running over and tackling Makoto.
“Daddy, you’re home!” Kazuki cried while he wrapped his short arms around Makoto’s legs.
Makoto took a step back from the impact between him and his son. He knelt down to give him a hug. “Did you have a good day with your grandfather?”
Kazuki squeezed Makoto tight. “Yeah! Grandpa is so cool! He knows a lot of fun games. We’ve been playing all day!”
Makoto looked over at Fuhito, who was making his way towards him. “Thank you for watching Kazuki at the last minute.”
Fuhito nodded slightly. “It’s nice to see you and Kyoko are raising your son well.” He looked down at his great-grandson. “I noticed Kyoko began teaching him basic detective skills. The Kirigiri blood pumps strong in him.”
“She just started teaching Kazuki a few months ago,” Makoto noted. “He really likes it. Kyoko also takes him to the detective agency, though today was an exception. Murder case. I would have taken him if I wouldn’t have had an important meeting.”
“I’d be happy to watch over him if need be,” Fuhito claimed. “Being around Kazuki reminds me of when Kyoko was his age.” A small smile crept on his lips. “Which brings me to my next point. When should I expect another great-grandchild from you two?”
Makoto choked on air. His face flushed a bright red though he felt all the blood had drained from his body. “I, um, I-I mean Kyoko and I talked about it a while ago, but we’re so busy as of recent. It may not be the best idea to-” Makoto looked over at Fuhito, who remained silent. “W-would you like to stay for dinner?” Makoto suggested to change the subject. “Kyoko should be home soon. I’m sure she’d be delighted to see you.”
“Please, Grandpa?” Kazuki begged while still holding onto his father. “I wanna play more games with you!”
Fuhito found himself under Kazuki’s trance, incapable of rejecting his great-grandson’s pleads. “Very well.”
Makoto turned the light off in Kazuki’s bedroom after tucking him in. The child had such a busy day, he fell asleep the minute his eyes were shut. Makoto walked into his bedroom and saw Kyoko lying in bed, working on her latest case as she usually did. Makoto wasn’t sure whether to chuckle at how hard Kyoko worked, or if he should worry. He made his way over to his side of the bed and crawled in. He looked at Kyoko lovingly.
“You should give it a rest,” Makoto suggested.
“I would have finished earlier if my grandfather hadn’t been here,” Kyoko replied, not taking her eyes off the case file.
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing. I could tell you enjoyed having him here.”
“You’re right I liked seeing him again. Kazuki’s taken a liking to him.” Kyoko sighed. “Listen, the longer someone works on a murder case, the colder the trail becomes.”
“You need to rest, Kyoko.” Makoto sat up and caressed Kyoko’s cheek. “There’s bags under your eyes again.”
Kyoko leaned into Makoto’s touch. He eyes began to droop and exhaustion hit her almost instant. She moved her head away from Makoto and rubbed her eyes.“Makoto, I can’t sleep just yet.”
Makoto frowned. “I know your work is important, but the more you don’t sleep, the more I worry. You really need a rest. That’s why I decided that we-”
“That we what?” Kyoko interrupted.
“That we should go on vacation.”
Kyoko closed her files and looked at Makoto with a stern face. “You made vacation plans without consulting me first?”
“It’s for Kazuki’s birthday,” Makoto stated.
“Where were you thinking of going?”
“Jabberwock Island.”
“So Hinata finally convinced you to visit.”
“He said the island looks like what it used to be. I thought it would be a great place to celebrate Kazuki’s birthday.”
“How long would we be there?”
“Well, we’d spend one day by boat going there, five days on the island, and one more day to return. So, one week.”
Kyoko’s eyes widened. “This is why you should have talked to me first. Makoto, we have careers. We can’t just take a week-long vacation.”
“I know Hope’s Peak will be fine. I already asked Togami if he could cover for me, and he agreed.”
Kyoko frowned. “You’re joking.”
“The school isn’t going to burn to the ground,” Makoto stated.
“It will once Togami starts expelling all the students who worked hard to attend the academy.” Kyoko sighed heavily. “You’re dead set on this vacation, aren’t you? Nothing I say will change your mind?”
Makoto nodded. “I’m serious about this. Not only will this be an amazing experience for Kazuki, but you’ll get time to rest and relax. That and-” Makoto paused. “I thought maybe we could spend some time alone. Perhaps an evening walk along the beach? A romantic dinner under moonlight?”
Kyoko bit her lip. Makoto had to bring up the alone time card. She couldn’t deny herself the pleasure of being alone with her husband. Most days being alone was impossible due to work and their son. Kyoko liked the idea of going on a trip, but she just couldn’t justify a week-long trip. She couldn’t spend all that time and not do some sort of work.
“Okay, but I’m going to bring paperwork with me,” she stated.
“Only if you promise you won’t spend all day working with them,” Makoto negotiated.
“And if I receive a phone call regarding work, I am going to take it.”
“That’s fine.”
“Also, if something serious occurs where I’m needed at the agency, I will leave without hesitation.”
“I understand, Kyoko!”
Kyoko returned her attention to her case files. “We’ll have a nice time.”
Kazuki Naegi
