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With Makoto Naegi by her side, Kyoko Kirigiri stood in the gymnasium facing off against the puppet of their mortal enemy, Monokuma. Everyone’s lives were on the line, but the last thing Kyoko could do was show fear. Her expression was one of steel as she looked Monokuma dead in the eyes.
“I was supposed to be chosen as the blackened and then executed, right?”
The bear growled. “H-hey, what are you talking about?”
Folding her arms, Kyoko smiled confidently. “But when Makoto chose to overlook my lie, your plan came crashing down. The results of the trial weren’t at all what you were expecting.” She chuckled. “Because you never imagined that in that position, one person would protect another like that.”
Kyoko closed her eyes. “And in response to that unexpected –“
“Puhuhuhu.”
Monokuma flashed a sinister grin. “Protect you? Don’t make me laugh.”
Kyoko raised an eyebrow. “What…?”
Light gleamed off Monokuma’s claw as he brandished it menacingly. “He voted for you, Kirigiri.”
The detective’s eyes widened. “He…?”
He voted for… me?
No, that… of course he did. That’s only to be expected. It doesn’t mean…
Makoto clenched his teeth. “I-it wasn’t like that! What else was I supposed to –“
Monokuma stomped his foot, his red eye glaring with malice. “You don’t give a damn about her. You wanted me to kill her, to save yourself.”
“No, that’s not -!”
“He knew about the key!” Kyoko shouted. “He could have exposed it! You expected him to expose it, but he refused to be manipulated, so you –“
“So, let me get this straight,” Monokuma interjected. “You are saying that this whole trial is just a farce by me? And that it didn’t go to plan because Naegi ‘protected’ you? Am I understanding that correctly?”
Kyoko thrusted her finger at Monokuma. “You killed Ikusaba! Not me, and not Naegi-kun!”
Monokuma tilted his head. “Hmm, no, I don’t think so.”
Kyoko clenched her teeth. “If Naegi-kun really was the killer, he never would have come to you willingly like this. He would have feared for his life, feared another execution. He would have tried to run and hide. He would have been gripped by the despair you so love to inspire.” Kyoko looked at the bear intently. “But here we are – confronting you with nothing but hope in our –“
“Ahahahahahahahahaha!”
Monokuma roared with sick laughter. “Naegi is nothing but a coward! He wouldn’t die for you! He wouldn’t die for anyone! He cares about no one but himself!”
“That’s not true!” Makoto yelled. “Everyone here is important to me! E-especially Kirigiri! I trust her! You killed Ikusaba!”
“He’s anything but a coward!” Kyoko argued. “He risked his life to save mine, even though you –“
Monokuma sneered. “Until he didn’t, apparently. When push came to shove, he chose himself. Some ‘protector’ he is.”
Makoto shook his fist. “I… I would die for…”
Doing her best to remain calm, Kyoko cooly refuted him. “That doesn’t matter. How Naegi-kun voted doesn’t change the facts. You tried to frame me, and Naegi-kun stopped you.”
“Oh, a fact, is it?” Monokuma held his stomach as he laughed. “Naegi sure talked a big game!” He threw up his hands in a mocking gesture. “Oh, guys! Let’s think about it one more time! There’s got to be a hidden side to this case! Kirigiri said this has to be a trap, so that’s why…!”
He snickered. “But in the end, he was the liar.”
“It’s not a lie!” Makoto shouted. “I know you set this all -!”
Monokuma dismissively waved his hand. “But for all that talk, Naegi couldn’t commit. He voted Kirigiri as the blackened. So much for this ‘trap’, huh? If he really believed that I was the blackened, why vote Kirigiri?”
Kyoko felt sick to her stomach. This negotiation was going far worse than she had hoped. Monokuma was discrediting her entire argument, and she didn’t know how to refute him. Not when he held all the power.
And, she knew that she shouldn’t have been surprised that Makoto had voted for her. She should have expected it, but…
Her fists tightened.
She hadn’t expected forgiveness, but even so…
Naegi-kun… must hate me so much…
“Who else was I supposed to vote for?!” Makoto shouted. “You aren’t on the list! You’re hiding behind that puppet! What choice did I have? It wasn’t me! I wasn’t going to vote myse -!”
“Of course not,” Monokuma said. “Of course you wouldn’t vote yourself the blackened. You tried to kill Kirigiri, kill everyone, just like you killed Ikusaba.”
Kyoko shouted, “Naegi-kun wasn’t going risk everyone’s lives by voting himself! For all he knew, you were going to kill everyone for getting it wrong!”
“That’s what he was counting on!” Monokuma exclaimed. “He wanted everyone to get it wrong, by voting you! After all, you aren’t the blackened, and yet he voted for you!”
Kyoko winced. “There were no other options…”
“There’s always options!” Monokuma snapped. “You say he didn’t want himself voted because he’s the ‘wrong answer’? But I thought Naegi trusted you? Wouldn’t that make you a wrong answer as well? Or does he think you could be the blackened after all? In which case, why cover for you? Why not tell everyone about the key?”
Kyoko hissed. “You didn’t let us find the truth.”
Makoto looked away in shame. “I didn’t want to vote her, but…”
“But what?” Monokuma asked. “You didn’t really trust her? Or were you just too scared to die? So scared that you offered an innocent person up for slaughter instead?”
Makoto’s eyes snapped shut. “I… I just…”
The bear roared with another derisive laugh. “Not that Kirigiri is much better! For someone who’s so convinced of Naegi’s innocence, she didn’t exactly say that during the trial! She was all ‘Naegi’s alibi is insufficient!’ and now she’s saying Naegi is innocent? Wasn’t so easy to defend him when your life was on the line, was it?”
The accusation was a punch to Kyoko’s gut. Monokuma was right about one thing. She had failed Makoto. She had horribly failed him.
“She couldn’t let you kill her!” Makoto yelled. “She had to survive, to stop you!”
“Sure, sure,” Monokuma said uncaringly. “It’s so cute that you think you’re actually a threat to me.” He snorted. “Funnily enough, Kirigiri-san voted herself in the end.”
His eyes wide, Makoto stared at her. “Kiri… you…?”
“But what of it?” Monokuma locked eyes with Kyoko. “That was nothing more than a feeble attempt to ease your conscience, to feel better about yourself, but if you really wanted to save Naegi, you would have claimed responsibility and confessed to the crime. You would have told everyone about the key, and you would have gotten yourself voted instead.”
Monokuma shrugged. “But hey, that would have gotten everyone else killed. Thank God you were able to put aside your feelings for him when it counted.”
Molten lava burned within Kyoko’s core, but she couldn’t let Monokuma get to her.
Monokuma smiled. “You know what I think? Yes, I will admit, you did steal that key. You could have used it to unlock your room, but you never told Naegi that. Naegi had no idea that you could have entered your room. He didn’t risk his neck for you. He was simply powerless to throw you under the bus like he wanted to.”
Kyoko whimpered. “No, I told…”
Monokuma glared at her. “Did you now? Can you prove that?”
She bit her lip.
“Of course she told me!” Makoto exclaimed. “She trusts me, and I trust her!”
Monokuma scoffed. “Oh, she trusts you all right. Which is exactly how you were able to use her. That’s why you voted her the blackened! A trap by me? Please. Framing Kirigiri was your plan.”
His fists clenched, Makoto lowered his head. “I didn’t mean to accuse her, but I had to vote someone. We… we die if we don’t vote someone, so…”
Monokuma rolled his eyes. “Oh, jeez. Kirigiri, have you really fallen for his lies? I thought you were smarter than that.”
Kyoko’s face burned red. “You…”
“Naegi played you like a fiddle. He acted like your loyal partner, always helping you with your little investigations, but that was all just an act so even you – the Ultimate Detective – couldn’t possibly fathom that he would kill someone to escape this place. Even when everyone but him had an alibi, you refused to believe he was the killer. You thought it was me, but I would never lay a paw on anyone! You just couldn’t accept the truth right in front of you! Naegi’s plan was to vote you the blackened all along!”
He grinned. “And what a brilliant plan it was! Earn the Ultimate Detective’s trust, and frame her. No one trusts her, after all. She keeps to herself, explaining herself to no one. She’s cold, hardly ever showing a hint of compassion or concern for anyone around her. Surely, it’s only a matter of time until she kills someone, right? Everyone was so certain it was her until it seemed impossible.”
He let out a manic laugh. “Everyone bought it, including you, Kirigiri. Even now, you’re still falling for his nice boy act. It’s so rich!” He sighed. “Man, if only you had told him about the key, he would have gotten away with it, too. He pretended to find the locker key, just like Togami said. If only he had known about my key, then the illusion would have been complete! He was so -”
“Bullshit!” Makoto screamed. “This is all bullshit! I would never -!”
Crimson blood sprayed out of his chest.
Kyoko’s heart stopped.
No…
No…
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…
Makoto slowly looked down, and he saw the spear protruding out of his chest.
“Blugh…”
Blood fell out of his mouth.
Kyoko’s hands shivered uncontrollably, her eyes wide. “N-Naegi-kun…”
Makoto’s gaze met hers. “K-Kiri… hurgh!”
“I’ve heard enough,” Monokuma said. “You’re just another murderer, and it’s time for your long overdue punishment!”
Kyoko’s face turned deathly pale.
Another spear pierced his body. And another. And another. And…
“N-no… no… no…”
“AHAHAHHAHAHA!” Monokuma cackled. “Look at that! The ever-stoic Kirigiri trembling in despair! This is the best execution ever! I’m so glad Alter Ego saved him! This is so much better than what I had planned!”
Even though it was futile, Kyoko ran to Makoto as he stood skewered by several spears. Blood pouring down his body, he looked at her weakly. “K-Kiri…”
Her wide eyes quivered. What could she say? This was all her fault. She had failed Makoto in the trial, and she had failed him again. And they both knew it.
Makoto had never been willing to die for her sake. Of course not, because Kyoko didn’t deserve his sacrifice. Kyoko had abandoned him. Who would ever die for someone who had abandoned them? Makoto wanted to live. Victory shouldn’t have come at the cost of his life, but Kyoko had failed to protect him. She had sacrificed him for the sake of victory, and she knew that he would never forgive her for it.
Makoto sucked in a frail, shaky breath. “Th-this is n-not your… fault…”
The light drained from his hazel eyes, and he went still.
Kyoko stared at his corpse.
Not her fault?
Kyoko grimaced.
No, it was her. It was all her.
She couldn’t protect him. She couldn’t protect anyone.
She never could.
Monokuma yawned. “Well, that’s that! Time to hit the –“
Kyoko approached him, shambling like a corpse.
Monokuma raised his arms. “What?! Show’s over! Use that master key to go to your room already! How long has it been since you’ve slept, anyway? Staying up late is bad for your –“
Weakly, Kyoko tapped her fist against him.
Monokuma titled his head. “Hmm? What was that?”
“Oh, dear,” Kyoko muttered. “I’ve committed violence against the headmaster.”
Even Monokuma was taken aback, staring at her incredulously. “Wow, you’re really…?” With a grin, he raised his claws. “Well, don’t mind if I do.”
At last, Kyoko felt a spear pierce through her back.
She felt warmth drip down her chest.
“Hey, Monokuma? May I make a request?”
Monokuma looked into her eyes. “I’m listening.”
Kyoko’s gaze turned to Makoto. “Would you let me go to him?”
Monokuma scratched his chin. “Hmm… oh, why not? I’m in a good mood. Perhaps it’ll make this more fun.”
The spear retracted from Kyoko’s body. She coughed up blood as it came out. Holding her bleeding chest, she limped over to Makoto. The spears in his body withdrew as well, and he fell to the floor. Kyoko knelt beside him. She cradled him in her arms.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry…”
She sobbed.
“I’m sorry…”
Her tears fell onto Makoto’s face.
“Naegi-kun, I…”
She hugged him tightly, tears pouring down her face.
“N-Naegi-kun…!
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m s-so sorry! I… I-I…”
As she drifted off, her final thoughts were nothing but regret and despair.
Kyoko felt her body float, and fall down. Her eyes shot wide open, and what she saw was a familiar ceiling. She turned her head right, and there she saw him, Makoto Naegi, on their soft bed, sleeping peacefully.
Makoto stirred, and then his eyes opened slightly, looking back at her.
“Mhm, Kyoko… another nightmare?”
Wincing, she nodded sheepishly. “Yes, sorry to wake you up.”
“Oh, Kyoko…” Makoto scooted closer his beloved and cuddled with her. “I’ll ease the pain of your nightmares, until they’re gone for good. I promise.”
She blushed. “Thank you, Makoto. I love you too.”
But would they ever stop? It had been ten years. Ten years since escaping that school, and she was still having nightmares. If they hadn’t stopped yet, then when? People didn’t simply walk away from trauma like this. It would stick with her for the rest of her life.
But that didn’t mean she hadn’t found happiness. That horrible past she had dreamed off was just that, in the past. The days where she had to doubt her friends were gone. Now, she was loved by a man who trusted her absolutely. He would never abandon her, and she would never abandon him. Kyoko would stay by his side until the end, joined with him in a union of love and hope. That’s what Makoto was to her, hope, and she would never let it go.
Makoto whispered, “I would do anything for you, my love.”
Anything, huh? “Okay, go start another killing game, because I love despair so much.”
He chuckled. “If you wanted that, you wouldn’t be you.”
“Ah, you know me so well.”
“Heh, I think that’s a pretty basic thing to know about you.” He stroked her hair. “You like hope.”
“I love hope,” Kyoko whispered. “I live for hope.”
“Yeah, I know…”
Makoto leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Happy anniversary.”
She gave her husband a warm smile. “Happy anniversary.”