Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Makoto woke up, everything was dark.

The darkness was painfully obvious, as was the literal pain coursing through his body. It took him a while to realize where he was and the events that had led to it, but his mind and body soon came together to provide him at least that much.

“It’s not … a dream,” he said to himself, his voice raw but still there. Still disoriented, he stayed still and tested his limbs carefully. Everything was still there, even if he was bruised to hell and back. He’d seen better days, though better days were hard to come by in the midst of a killing game.

And his nose obviously still worked, because once he started to get used to the pain, he noticed the rancid smell of what he was pretty sure was some underground garbage pit. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, but without any light whatsoever, he couldn’t tell what time of day it was. Was it even the same day? He had no way of knowing how long he’d been unconscious.

He had no way to live, either. Injuries or no—and who knew if he had any internal injuries, he didn’t know how to check—there wasn’t going to be any edible food or clean water down there. And since nobody knew he was done there, the most likely scenario his mind brought him to was that he would be left there to starve and, soon enough, die.

“I can’t let that happen,” he whispered, hoping that he would eventually have a reason to save his voice. Alter Ego had saved him, after all. He couldn’t let that amount to nothing.

He tried standing and immediately was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. His hand went up to his head, pulling it back right away at the feeling of half-dried blood on his fingertips. Okay, so that was one thing he had to be wary of. His right arm was sore and bruised, too; hopefully he hadn’t broken anything in the fall. That was something he’d be able to tell, right? Maybe he was still so full of adrenaline that he wasn’t able to think straight.

He prodded at it a bit with his other hand. Hot pain coursed through his arm each time his skin made contact. So … probably sprained, maybe broken. But there wasn’t much he could do about it, not unless he could get to the nurse’s office on the first floor.

Taking cautious, staggering steps, he made his way to what he was pretty sure was a door. Of course, no matter how hard he pushed or pulled, even kicked, nothing gave in. Even the small glimmer of hope at escape was crushed by reality. Monokuma really wanted to leave him to die down there.

He leaned with his back against the door for a minute. Being up those few steps gave him a better vantage point, leaving him to see marginally better what was down there with him. Bags of garbage, despite there being an incinerator upstairs. Some kind of rocket ship? And the desk he had fallen with.

Since he couldn’t get out, the next logical action would be finding food. He doubted he would find anything, but it would never hurt to try. Apart from the pain that came from certain movements, scrambling around for the prize of rotten food. Pointless, and did nothing but give him a headache and other assorted aches. The same went for water: he found clear liquids, but none of them were labeled. He knew he wouldn’t be able to trust any of it.

As he took a seat on the floor of the garbage pit, careful of his arm and any injuries he might not have instantly noticed, he sighed. Everything about the situation was screaming at him to give up, to give into despair. He smiled to himself as he got as comfortable as he could and closed his eyes.

If he was going to give up, he would’ve a long time ago.

The second time he woke up, still unsure of what time it was or how long he had slept, he was hungry. And thirsty. He wasn’t tired, though, so that was one thing going for him. He pushed those feelings aside, sleeping and sleeping and trying to sleep more so he could save his strength and allow his injuries to begin healing. After all, it wasn’t like something was going to fall from the sky to save him.

What fell from the sky, instead, was more garbage. Garbage that, somehow, sounded like it muffled a scream.

“What the—” Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he moved to inspect the few garbage bags that had fallen. “It’s just trash…?”

“Trash? Rude.” Before he knew it, one of the garbage bags moved and opened of its own volition. A moment passed, and Kyoko came out of it. Makoto wasn’t sure what the first feeling that flashed through him was when he saw her; relief that someone had come down, or the lingering betrayal. If it hadn’t been for him protecting her lie, trusting her, he wouldn’t be down there to begin with. Then again, she was there too, wasn’t she?

She stood and brushed herself off, blinking to adjust to the lack of light. Makoto wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard her gasp a little as she stepped towards him. “It smells awful down here,” she noted, and he had to smile in spite of himself because that was one of the most obvious things he’d ever heard her point out. She looked him over as best she could with the nearly nonexistent light, then seemed to remember something and reached into the bag she had hidden in, producing a flashlight. “Here. This’ll be better.”

The light was nearly blinding despite likely being dim; he’d simply gone without light for enough time that he was used to darkness. “You’re actually here.”

Kyoko nodded, shining the light over him, lingering on that one gash on his head he had felt before. She reached out like she wanted to check on it, but thought better. “You look better than I expected. That’s good.” She nodded to herself and looked him over once more before thinking to brush herself off, ridding her clothes and hair of garbage. Makoto had just been about to point out the upturned cup of instant noodles sticking to her hair. “Here, I brought you something.”

Again she reached into the bag, taking out a couple packaged snacks and bottled water. Makoto felt his heart leap at the sight of it, his stomach growling eagerly, and took it from her. The two of them sat, silent as he ate and drank, filling his empty stomach and quenching his thirst. “Please tell me you have a way to get out of here.”

“Of course I do.” She reached into her pocket, showing him Monokuma’s key. “...I really am glad to see you’re in one piece. I wasn’t sure what to think when Alter Ego…”

Right. “What about the others?”

Kyoko hesitated a moment. “I haven’t spoken to them since the trial. They might not think you’re dead, but they have no inkling of where you are. I know this is the only place I thought to look, the only room lower than the trial room.” She placed the flashlight between them, letting the light fall on her face as she looked away. “...This is my way of apologizing. For what happened during the trial. There’s no excuse, and I fully expect you to be angry with me for putting your life on the line instead of my own. I did nothing to help you, and you took the fall. I…” She threw her hands up, searching for the words. “I abandoned you.”

…She did. But that wasn’t the most important thing at the moment. Far from it, actually. “You’re here now,” he pointed out. “You didn’t abandon me now.”

She made eye contact with him, then quickly glanced away again. “There are no excuses for what I did, but if you’ll allow me, I’d like to explain why and what I was thinking. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time on the way back up.”

The way back up? “Right, it’s probably not going to be as simple as an elevator, is it?” Wow, making jokes again; those snacks really helped his energy and his spirits.

“Most definitely not. Are you going to be able to make it?”

He nodded, making sure she saw it through the dim light. Even if he wasn’t able to, if he was too hurt, he would’ve said yes. There was no other option.

“Good. Let’s get moving. We should end this as quickly as we can, for all our sakes.” She stood slowly and offered him a hand, which he gladly took. Without letting go, she led him back up the stairs to the door and unlocked it, revealing what had to be the longest ascension Makoto had ever seen before him. Kyoko took in a deep breath, finally letting go of his hand. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you.”

A ladder was much worse of an option than stairs would’ve been. Each time he held onto a rung with his hurt wrist, he had to make sure to remind himself of what was waiting for him. It would be too easy to let go, let himself fall back. Five or so minutes passed without either of them talking. Not so much as a sound came from below him. “Kyoko, are you doing alright?”

“Keep going.” Her voice was tight. “I suspect there’s some kind of rest stop soon.”

Like with most things, she was right. Makoto could’ve cried in relief, and if he wasn’t mistaken… Wait, was Kyoko crying? “Kyoko?”

“Yes?” She wiped at her eyes quickly, and sat down almost as quickly. “Are you doing alright?”

“I am,” he lied, resting his arm in his lap, “but what about you?”

Something about that question made her pause, wrapping one of her arms around her midsection protectively. “I’m fine. I didn’t hit my head. I can still think, and that’s what we need.” She stretched her legs out, then hissed almost imperceptibly as she straightened one of them. Makoto looked at her, imploring. Again she looked at him and looked away. “I think I may have done something.” They both glanced up at all the way they still needed to climb. “We’re almost there. I’ll be fine.”

He hadn’t even considered that she had taken as much of a fall as he had. How had that not crossed his mind? “Maybe we should take a longer break anyway,” he suggested lightly. “And you could tell me what you were going to before?”

“Right. Yes, I can do that.” And she did. Makoto couldn’t say he understood it all right away—some of it definitely needed some thinking over—but he did understand that she still came back for him, even when it would be easier to push him out of her mind completely. She didn’t say that part, but as people always said, actions spoke louder than words.

Considering everything, especially her newly-remembered talent, a lot of what she had done before, how much of an influence she had had on the trials thanks to her intelligent observations and lines of questioning, made sense. Having a detective amongst them really would mark her as one of the mastermind’s targets.

Not long after she finished talking, ending the conversation when the topic of her father was explained with as few details as possible, she stood, notably keeping her weight off of her injured leg as much as she could. “We need to keep moving.” Then, as she looked up at the rungs again, “I almost wonder if the other four have noticed my absence.”

That reminded him. “How long have I been down here.”

“It’s been over a day since the trial. I would have come for you sooner, but I needed a plan of action first.”

He stood with her, breathing deeply when he became a bit dizzy again. “And they…”

“...Still think you killed Mukuro. Monokuma tried going through with the execution, so the easiest conclusion for them to draw is that he was right and you were wrong. I’m not even sure that Byakuya has suspected anything contrary to that.” When he started to climb again, so did she, still musing. “That should be high on the list, convincing them that you didn’t kill her. We know the four of them couldn’t have, and it wasn’t you or me. The only person left is the mastermind.”

Makoto mulled that over in his mind. It seemed to check out. “First on the list should be the two of us getting our injuries taken care of. Hina probably knows enough first aid, right? She’s an athlete.”

Kyoko made a small noise of agreement before returning to regulating her breathing. The rest of their conversation was borderline meaningless, nothing that required absolute concentration as they continued on their way. When Makoto finally, finally, pushed up on the grate Kyoko had had the forethought to unlock before she had come down, nothing but relief coursed through him. He all but collapsed onto solid ground, as did Kyoko, but she just as soon pushed herself up and brought him with her. She supported him as much as he supported her, both of them stumbling through the hallway.

“WHAT—” Before Makoto realized it, Hina was sprinting down the hall towards them, having emerged from the dining hall. She covered her mouth with her hands and backpedaled a couple of steps, looking like she’d just seen a ghosts. “You’re alive?!”

“Yeah…?” Why did that come out of his mouth as a question? “Nice to see you, too.”

“Oh my god.” Hina looked them both over again, blinking as she took a mental catalog of the gash on Makoto’s head, the harsh bruising he could now see on Kyoko’s knee. “You both look horrible. Go to the dining hall, I’ll get everyone else and some stuff from the nurse’s office.”

Given how fast of a runner Hina was, they didn’t wait long before the other three came in, all exclaiming their surprise at Makoto’s livelihood. Kyoko, much smoother with words than he was, got to talking as Hina sat the two of them down and started tending to their wounds.

“We’ll go to Monokuma,” she explained towards the end, wincing as Hina wrapped her knee with a bandage. Makoto could sympathize; she’d already wrapped his wrist, but it did feel better after. “We’ll get another chance at Mukuro’s trial, and we’ll use it to take down the mastermind. Then we’ll be able to escape, all of us.”

“And why are we supposed to trust you?” Byakuya sneered. He hadn’t changed at all since Makoto had last seen him. “There’s no evidence that you or Makoto didn’t kill Mukuro.”

“For one, Makoto’s not dead.” Kyoko stood up, thanking Hina with a nod but still keeping her weight off her injured leg. “He’s obviously still alive, which I believe is a testament to his innocence. As for me … well, I’m done keeping secrets.” She looked at Makoto then, her lips tugging up at the edges for just a moment before setting her gaze on Byakuya. “Even if you don’t fully trust me, isn’t the chance worth it if it means a chance to escape this place?”

He considered that for a moment, expression unchanged, before nodding. “I’ll leave talking to Monokuma to the two of you, since it was your idea. I’ll begin my own investigation.” And, followed closely by Toko, he left.

Hina and Hiro soon did the same, leaving Makoto and Kyoko alone once more. “You did it,” he realized with a triumphant smile. “We convinced them to give it a shot, now we just need to convince Monokuma.”

“I doubt it ever would have worked had you not been here. So, really, the chance we all have is thanks to you.” Alone, she finally let a smile grace her lips. “No matter what happens now… I’m glad to have known you, Makoto.”

He smiled back at her, wondering how they would have gotten along had they not been in the middle of a killing game. He did think he would love to be friends with her even then. Right now…

He looked at one of the cameras in the room. Now, they were united, and whoever the mastermind was, they had a big storm coming.