Chapter Text
As they say, ‘twas the season for giving gifts, decking the halls with various shades of red and green, and spending time with loved ones. Not that Kyoko didn’t have loved ones to spend the festive season with, she still had plenty of names and faces that she tightly held close to herself and her heart… Although they were few and far between. That, or they were just flat-out dead. Probably not something she should be thinking about.
But even with the Christmas spirit floating through the air, it did little to hamper Kyoko’s overwhelming (at least according to some of her friends) sense of work ethic, even if a particular someone had told her to take a break. Sure, they were well within the midst of Hope’s Peak Academy’s winter break, but that didn’t mean that preparing now wouldn’t be an unwise decision. But Kyoko still made sure to take a break every now and then at Makoto’s wishes, such as taking a moment to indulge in the coffee she’d made for herself. That counted, right?
The lavender-haired young woman let out a sigh as she reached a gloved hand to the top of her laptop and slowly closed it shut, before setting it aside next to her on the couch, before her purple eyes flickered over to a nearby window of the home that she shared with Makoto, calmly observing the white blanket that covered the landscape outside, idly musing to herself what a ‘winter wonderland’ truly was, before her gaze drifted around the room to the Christmas decorations that Makoto, ever so amorous and nostalgic, insisted on setting up; from the lights to the stockings to even a tree with an adorning star that shined brightly as was to be expected.
While a voice in the back of her mind debated whether or not the time dedicated to setting all of this up was worth it or not, a much more rational voice countered it by reminding it about the time she’d spent with Makoto doing so, especially when they somehow both accidentally ended up being tangled in Christmas lights, making for a strange but oddly entertaining situation. The thought brought a small smile to etch itself across Kyoko’s face, before she was suddenly snapped out of her state of semi-day dreaming by the sound of the front door suddenly opening, briefly letting in the sounds of the wind outside.
Turning her head, she saw none other than Makoto entering through the front door, his brunette hair having a garnish of white from the snowfall, his cheeks tinged red from the frigid temperatures outside. But despite that, there was a smile on his face and a twinkle in his green eyes as he tilted his head up to gaze towards Kyoko, offering her a slight wave before brushing off his winter coat and then sliding it off, hanging it up on one of the hooks by the door.
“I’m back.” Makoto said nonchalantly before ruffling a hand through his hair and knocking all of the snow that had gathered on it off eventually, making sure to do it over the mat laid in front of the door so as to not get the floor wet with melted snow. Kyoko’s small smile persisted as she stood up from the couch, parting her lips to give a somewhat playful response.
“I can see that.” Kyoko murmured in response before falling silent as she made her way over to him, her gloved hands clasped behind her back as she watched him finish getting every bit of snow out of his hair, before chuckling quietly as he looked up towards her with an expectant look in his eyes, not too far off of the eyes that a puppy would give you when they wanted affection. Kyoko relented and stepped forward, allowing him to pull her into a hug. Kyoko wasn’t usually a big fan of physical contact, but Makoto was the exception, being the only person she tolerated (and even liked and cherished at times, but she wouldn’t admit that out-loud) coming into physical contact with.
“Makoto… you’re crushing my spine. Also, your hair is soaking wet.” Kyoko pointed out after a few seconds of her just standing there in his arms. That made Makoto immediately split and part from the hug, although his infectious smile remained ever persistent on his face. Eventually though, Makoto walked over towards the kitchen and set the grocery bag he had been carrying on the counter. “Oh, uh, I stopped at the school just to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind,” Makoto murmured while turning back towards Kyoko and rummaging a hand through his pocket. “Found this in my desk.” He added as he fished a small, black USB stick.. Kyoko stared at it with mild confusion as he held it up for her to see.
“…You found it in your desk?” Kyoko questioned inquisitively as she reached a gloved hand out for Makoto to hand her the USB for her to inspect, who nodded in response to her question. “Yeah. Apparently, there was a secret compartment in the desk that I ended up accidentally opening while I was searching through my stuff.” Makoto replied with a soft tone of voice, folding his arms over his chest as he watched Kyoko look over the USB, her eyebrows perched in deep thought, the same thought that Makoto had likely crossed her mind as well, evidenced by her eyes widening after a bit. “You don’t think–”
“Yeah, I did.” Makoto said before Kyoko could even finish her question with another nod. The headmaster’s desk hadn’t always belonged to Makoto, obviously, it had once been in the ownership of a past headmaster, who was also Kyoko’s father, Jin Kirigiri. “Either this is something that she managed to miss… or it's going to be one final jest from her that she disguised to look like it belonged to my father.” Kyoko murmured as she glanced over her shoulder to the laptop she had set aside on the couch before walking towards it. Makoto nervously chuckled as he very briefly disappeared into the bathroom to grab a towel, using it to dry off his hair, watching as Kyoko inserted the USB into one of the laptop’s side ports.
“Um, I kinda doubt that she would’ve thought that far ahead, Kyoko.” Makoto murmured as he ran the towel through his hair and slowly dried it off over time, only to receive a deadpan expression from the detective. “Makoto, she nearly orchestrated the end of the world as we know it, masterminded a Killing Game, did it again even from beyond the grave, and don’t even get me started on the fact that her influence remains just as strong years after her final defeat.” Kyoko retorted in a mildly irritated tone of voice before she turned back to her screen towards the download she had initiated from the USB stick. She was perhaps being a bit harsher than she needed to be, but she felt like the precaution was necessary.
Some sort of file had been placed onto the USB stick, specifically an MP4 file, meaning it was a video. It made Kyoko unfortunately recall the despair videos they’d been forced to watch during the Killing Game, along with the ones that Makoto had found that showed them agreeing to stay within the confines of the school when the Tragedy happened. That made her even more certain that this was yet another file recorded by Junko. Maybe as a final ‘give into despair’ message or something? She was uncertain as the file name was just the generic preset when it wasn’t bothered to be given a proper name, its file name being labeled just as simply ‘recording’ over anything else.
By the time Makoto had finished drying his hair (along with straightening out the rather hilarious style the towel had left it in back to his usual ahoge) and sat down next to Kyoko on the couch, the video had finished downloading. With a few clicks, Kyoko opened the file and brought up the video player. The two glanced at each other before Kyoko pressed play, both of them instinctively and subconsciously holding their breaths in preparation. Although the video didn’t exactly go in the direction that Kyoko had been anticipating. Actually, that was an understatement, the video went in a direction completely opposite of where Kyoko thought it was going to go.
The video took place in the same office where Makoto had found the USB stick in the first place, the camera being placed on the desk. Sitting in the chair behind the desk, focused entirely on a few papers situated on the desk, Jin Kirigiri was seemingly unaware of the fact he was being recorded, making Kyoko’s breath hitch in the process. Eventually, the man glanced towards the camera and finally noticed that he was being recorded. “Oh, is this finally recording? I’ve been having technical issues up the wazoo… Hm…” Jin explained towards the camera momentarily, before briefly glancing off to the side to something out of the camera’s view, and then nodding satisfactorily to himself and turning back towards the camera.
“Um, hello, I’m Jin Kirigiri, headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy. This is a recording I wanted to make solely for… personal reasons, if I have to be honest,” Jin murmured while idly drumming his fingers against the surface of the desk, before letting out a sigh. “Yesterday, one of my students came up to my office. Makoto Naegi, to be specific.” He continued, briefly catching both Kyoko and Makoto off-guard. Their memories of their lives before the Tragedy were still a bit… hazy, to say the least, but this was an interesting insight into part of the life they’d mostly forgotten.
“The boy, bless his heart, has apparently made friends with my daughter, Kyoko, something I was unsure would actually happen. I was a bit worried that she’d remain reclused towards the rest of the student body for the entire time she’s here at Hope’s Peak. But, according to Makoto, she’s opened up to other people, which I couldn’t fully express my gratitude for, even if I tried.” Jin continued on with a smile forming on his expression, his voice being surprisingly soft for a man of his age. Makoto and Kyoko briefly glanced towards each other with knowing looks in their eyes before turning their attention back towards the video.
“…Now, Makoto asked me to keep this secret, so I don’t intend on giving this recording to anyone else. Not yet, anyways, at least. But… well… Basically, Makoto asked me if it was okay for him to ask Kyoko out on a date, I guess wanting my blessing or something?. It, uh, was a bit awkward having to explain to him that my opinion really didn’t affect what Kyoko did or said. I told him that whether or not it was okay to take Kyoko out on a date was up to her… I decided not to mention Fuhito to Naegi. Honestly, the less that man has to do with Kyoko’s life, the better.” Jin continued to ramble on, his voice growing a dangerous edge as he mentioned Kyoko’s grandfather, before taking a deep breath and composing himself. He glanced back towards the camera, interlacing his fingers as he propped his elbows up on the desk.
“Now, I don’t know if anyone will ever see this recording. But just in case someone does, please allow Kyoko to see it. Because I wish… to say a few things to her. Things I can’t say to her because I’m only supposed to talk to her when something important is ary in the school,” Jin mumbled as his smile persisted on his face, although it was visibly weakening, although he managed to keep his gaze on the camera. “Kyoko, I’m not a particularly good father… Hell, that's an understatement. I’m about the literal definition of a deadbeat dad. I turned my back on my family to pursue something else over the family lineage. But then… my daughter was taken away from me to be trained as a detective anyways. I suppose… that’s what I get.” Jin added with a weak chuckle. Before he could say another word however, Kyoko reached to click the pause button.
“Save your apologies–” She muttered under her breath, but Makoto intervened, moving his hand in front of the laptop’s keys to block her attempt, simply shaking his head with a sympathetic look on his face when Kyoko shot him a glare. But then, Jin’s next words caused them both to begin paying attention once more. “This isn’t an apology, by the way. I don’t expect forgiveness - and quite frankly, I don’t deserve it.” Jin said with a sad tone and expression after clearing his throat. Kyoko’s eyes narrowed as she turned her head back to the video.
“To be honest, I don’t even deserve to be telling you this - uh, assuming multiple years have gone by the time you’re watching this, that is. But I do wanna say… despite what you may think after what I’ve done, I do still love you. Even if you aren’t exactly the little girl I once knew… I love you. And I hope you’re happy.” Jin concluded with a warm smile before reaching a hand out of the camera’s view, likely reaching for the ‘stop recording’ button. A few moments later, the video ended.
Kyoko stared at the screen, a dumbfounded expression on her face, before she closed the application, followed by the laptop itself. She slid it off of her lap and onto the couch next to her, before she leaned forward in the spot she was sitting, hugging her knees as she stared intently at the ground. Makoto rested a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly, not being entirely sure what else to do in this situation. After all, how do you help someone in mourning someone that they hate?
“I… I…” Kyoko murmured under her breath as Makoto pulled her into his tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her as a comforting hug. Maybe it wasn’t a smart idea, but he had no other ideas as to how to help. “It’s fine. It’s alright.” Makoto murmured into her ear softly as she buried her face into his shoulder. And from there, the two just sat in silence, slowly processing the information from the video.
Kyoko thought she would’ve gotten over her father after all these years. But the past has a funny way of coming back to bite you.