Archive of Our Own ^beta

She wasn't sure what to think of the boy at first. From first impressions, he was very friendly, kind, optimistic, soft and all around a good person, but she knew better than everyone that first impressions are often deceiving.

Still, he was honestly a lot more likeable than some of her classmates. The fact that he listened to orders as well made him a lot more bearable than certain people.

The boy had insisted on getting to know her better so she decided to take him along as an assistant for a case. The two possible outcomes were that he'd get scared of her and her line of work, possibly leading to him staying away from her, or he could simply just join her and do as he's told for however long she wanted him to do so. Both outcomes were completely fine with her.

She decided to take it slow with him. He was, in her eyes, a rookie, and a rookie doesn't immediately jump into the big cases. They start off small, slowly graduating into the big ones until they're certified amongst their peers. That's how Kyoko was taught growing up, and that's how she'll teach the boy.

The case they were on was somewhat simple. A breaking-and-entering and burglary occurred in some poor guy's house and now he was mad. Usually, such petty cases would be beneath her, but she thought that the experience that the boy might learn from the case would be worthwhile. She hadn't had a partner in some time, and she wasn't exactly against getting a new one, nor was she with it.

As they investigated the house with police doing their business in the back, Kyoko decided to head upstairs with the boy following in tow. He was honestly a bit of an errand boy at the moment, but she'll give him a few things to do later. Right now, she had a case to solve, as easy and boring as it was.

The stairs were rickety and creaked as she went upwards, but she paid it no mind. In her moment of musing, she didn't notice a marble on the stairs as she stepped on it and the object rolled beneath her foot, prompting her to lose her balance as she flailed her arms around in the air, trying to catch her balance once more.

She couldn't regain her balance on time and she fell backwards, closing her eyes as she did so. She didn't yell or scream out or anything like that, it'd be unbecoming of her as a detective if she had done so, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel fear as she felt her perception enter slow motion as her body fell down the stairs. She could only hope that she'd survive the fall without much injury, but she had to prepare for the worse.

"Kirigiri-san!"

Her eyes which was closed mere seconds ago was now wide open as she heard the familiar boy's voice from behind her. Her instinct told her to twist her neck so that she could see the boy, but she had suddenly remembered that her body was falling in the air and she wasn't capable of such action at this point. Shutting her eyes once more, she winced as she felt her body collide with the boy's as they rolled down the stairs and ended up at the bottom once more.

"Ow! Ow! Ouch! Ah!"

It seemed the boy had took the most damage from the fall as he was the only one that had grunted the entire time they were rolling down the stairs. Not to mention the fact that her body had crashed into his at full speed as they tumbled down with no sense of stopping, until they finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs with Kyoko being on top of the boy's body.

"Gaah... That hurt..." Was all Makoto said as he groaned from the pain of the fall.

Kyoko felt almost nothing on her body as she realized that she was supposed to feel a lot of pain, but didn't. Therefore, she concluded that the boy that she was currently on top of had softened her landing by a mile. She felt many emotions that she didn't show at the moment, but gratitude was the most prominent one as she wanted to thank the boy for saving her, but she was interrupted.

"Hey! What are you two doing!?" An officer had yelled out towards them.

Kyoko, noticing the position and situation that they were in, immediately hopped off of Makoto's body as the boy sat back up slowly, rubbing his head and body as he did so. She felt guilt at the sight of the boy who had taken the most damage for her, but she composed herself and looked towards the officer.

"Nothing." She briefly replied. "Just a little minor setback, that's all." She hoped that he would take the answer as it is and leave them be, but if he didn't, she wouldn't really care.

Thankfully, he did. "A minor setback, you say... Well, be careful around those stairs, alright? Those fucking steps are honestly a death sentence waiting to catch the right person." The officer said before he left them alone to go investigate some other parts of the house.

She looked down at the boy who was circling his arms as his face was one of pain, but he didn't complain about it. Looking up onto her eyes, he gave a soft, yet pained smile. "That was honestly something, huh?"

She blinked. "Naegi-kun, we just fell down the stairs at full speed and I'm sure that you just took most of the fall damage by yourself. I wouldn't describe it as 'something.'" She said, not exactly falling for the boy's smile.

He winced. "W-Well, at least it's better than having you take the damage! I'd rather have it be me who's hurt than you..." He truthfully spoke as he looked down on the ground.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to understand why the boy would do so for someone he had barely knew. Sure, they were classmates and were friendly and polite with each other, but she wasn't sure if most classmates would take such fall for another person. She couldn't come to a conclusion immediately so she put it off to the side and made a reminder to come back to it another day, brushing it off as the boy simply couldn't move out the way fast enough.

She offered her hand towards the boy. "Come, stand up."

The boy looked at the offered hand for a few moments before he nodded and accepted it, grunting as she pulled him back to his feet. She could tell that he probably would have a bruise or two on his body by the time tomorrow comes, but she could at least try to help him so that it wouldn't be as painful.

"Are you hurt?" She asked the boy emotionlessly.

"U-Um, no..." He was a bad liar, she figured.

"Don't lie to me." She reprimanded him coldly. "Are you hurt?" She asked once more, despite knowing that he is.

"...Y-Yes..." He meekly replied.

She nods. "I see. Come, follow me. Let's get you something to help with the pain." She took his hand and led him towards the door of the house.

"E-Eh!?" The boy confusedly said. "B-But, what about the case!?" He tried to deter her, but she shrugged it off.

"We won't take that long. Now stop protesting and follow me." She ordered the boy who meekly nodded.

"Y-Yes, Kirigiri-san..."

They were already outside the house when Makoto had finally spoke again, this time in a grateful tone of voice. "...T-Thank you, Kirigiri-san..." His voice was low, soft, but she could hear him perfectly. In her mind, she internally scoffed at the boy for thanking her without any good reason.

"I'm supposed to tell you that..." She replied.

"H-Huh...?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

They stayed quiet until the boy had finally gotten something to relieve the pain on his body. He bowed to her out of gratitude, but she brushed it off and told him to get back to the case, which he eagerly accepted.

Around year after the stairs incident, she was on another case with Makoto as her assistant. She had gotten to know the boy a lot more the past year and she came to the conclusion that although he was naive and too kind for his own good, he was definitely someone trustworthy. A part of her was honestly glad that she could have someone she could trust and rely on, but she didn't voice it out loud.

The case they were on were something much more serious than a mere burglary. It was something much more deadlier, more sinister. A serial killer has been murdering people for the past few weeks and having been offered the case, she snatched it almost immediately, grateful to finally have an interesting case for once.

Her excitement was short-lived as she realized that the serial killer was stupid and left clues behind almost everywhere, leading her to pinpoint where exactly he lived. Still, he didn't seem to be all dumb as he recognized that he was being investigated heavily and currently wanted by almost every police force in the entire city. She had nearly caught him once, but he made his escape quite quickly and ran fast.

The duo were now in an alleyway during a heavy thunderstorm with other police officers patrolling and searching the area for the killer. The heavy rain had pelted their bodies and made it far more difficult to see or hear, but they tried to keep their senses focused.

"Keep an eye out, Naegi-kun." She told the boy as she walked down the alleyway with him. "He should be around here somewhere so if you see him, immediately call for help. Don't try to chase him or do anything stupid, you hear me?" She sternly warned the boy.

The shorter boy nodded meekly, tugging his raincoat as the rainwater drenched him fully. "G-Got it, Kirigiri-san." He slightly shivered as the cold, chilly air from the rain breezed past his coat and reached his skin.

She gave him a side-glance that told him that she didn't really believe him, but she kept quiet. She honestly didn't know what she was thinking, bringing a high school boy to a case investigation, but the boy had insisted on helping her. She had to convince the police that Makoto was her trusted assistant which allowed him to help her, but even then the cops were extremely skeptical of the boy, claiming that he looked way too young and bland to be of use.

She didn't care what others thought, he was her partner and she could rely on him. That was all that mattered. Still, she guessed that she could understand the weird looks that she had gotten from other people when she said that Makoto was her assistant. She wouldn't really believe it if someone else had told her that a completely regular student was the assistant of a well-known young detective as well.

They walked in the alleyway with nothing but the loud pitter-patter of the rain and the occasional lightning striking above them in the skies as the thunder boomed out loud as the only sounds that they had heard. Makoto knew that he had to keep an eye out at all times, but even his senses were starting to get distorted by how loud and powerful the pouring rain was.

Still, he was her assistant for a reason, and it wasn't because he made the best cup of coffee, or gave the best massages (although he was quite skilled at both), it was because he was reliable. From the corner of his eye, he saw something glisten in the dark, something metallic, sharp and silver-colored. He could only think of one thing as he looked at the back of the lavender-haired girl that was walking in front of him.

There's someone there! He yelled inside of his head.

"Kirigiri-san, look out!" He shouted as she turned around quickly. As He saw the knife move and ready to swing at the Detective, he could only tackle her away from the man that now revealed himself from the hidden corners of the shadows.

He had landed on top of her as he heard the man yell out in anger at missing his target. Her purple eyes were wide, shock and a slight hint of fear was present in her orbs, but he couldn't think for long as he looked back from the girl and saw the man stalking towards them fast.

"Oh you little—! Who the fuck are you!?" The man shouted in a raspy voice, clearly angered that he couldn't catch his prey. "I thought it was only the Detective bitch, now there's another one!?"

Makoto froze, he couldn't move at all as his body was stunned due to the fear he had felt while Kyoko was still beneath him, trapped under his body as she could only hear what the man was saying while the rainwater had poured down on her face. Makoto's head tilted slightly and she could see that man's outraged face turn into one of sadism.

"...Oh well, two is better than one, my mom had always told me." He grinned sinisterly, wielding the knife as he slowly walked towards them. "It's going to be the end of you two today, you poor sweethearts. Say a quick prayer before you pass, won't you?" He picked up his pace as he got closer to the duo who was still on the ground.

Hearing the man's threat, Makoto's mind regained control and focus over his body as his fight-or-flight instincts activated. Already, he was on the floor with Kyoko and although his first instinct was to stand up, carry Kyoko and run, he knew that he'd be too slow to do so. Not to mention the fact that the rain had made the conditions of the ground far worse as just a tiny amount of misstep could easily lead to them slipping and the man catching up to them, guaranteeing their demise.

With the flight option already out of the way and the Detective beneath him still frozen and unmoving, most likely due to fear itself, he could only pick the remaining option left and hoped to God that he made it out in one piece. If he couldn't survive this encounter, he could buy Kyoko some time to make her escape, at the very least.

Makoto stood up from above the girl almost immediately and charged at the man, tackling him to the floor as the man yelped in surprise at the unexpected move. The knife was knocked out of his hands and flew to a corner of the alleyway, out of their reach and far from the two.

Makoto looked back at Kyoko. "Kirigiri-san, run!" He shouted before he was punched in the face by the man and stumbled across the floor. It had hurt quite a bit, but the adrenaline he was feeling made him ignore the pain.

Immediately, the man stood up and stumbled his way to the knife, but Makoto charged against him once more in a moment of panic. The killer's back had hit a metal door and he grunted out loud as the loud clank that had sounded throughout the alleyway was more than likely to alert some people nearby. The man tried reaching for the knife once more, but Makoto tried his best to hold him in place.

The man, despite being at least a decade or two older than Makoto, was actually not that physically superior to him. He was barely a couple inches taller than Makoto, quite skinny, and the fact that the shorter boy could hold him in place showed that his physical strength was lacking as well.

Although he wasn't physically superior to Makoto, he was a lot more cunning as he headbutted the boy and made him nearly slip back as he held his nose in pain. Makoto wasn't sure if he was bleeding or not, but he couldn't take the time to think as the man had immediately reached for the knife and started to wave it around in the air.

The lucky student now felt genuine fear, but a quick glance at the Detective who stood there in shock at the scene that had played out in front of her made him think fast. The older man was glancing around between the two, wondering which one he should attack first before he immediately rushed towards Kyoko who finally snapped out of her stupor and backed away.

Makoto reacted quickly and had tried to tackle the man once again, but a quick swing near the boy's head made him dodge out of the way and yelp. The man's focused look turned into a sadistic grin as he tried swinging again at the boy, only for Makoto to back away into a wall.

Kyoko, having had enough of her own inaction, decided to pick up the nearest thing she had laying around: A trash lid. She grabbed the item and ran towards the man at full speed before swinging the lid on his head, making him yell out in pain as she had smacked it directly on his temple. The knife was still in the man's hand and he quickly made a quick stab at her, forcing her to retreat.

"Y-You bitch!" The killer yelled. "I've had it with you! I've decided I'm going to kill you first! Get ready for your body to be found in 18 pieces, you stupid whore!" He raised the knife above his head and immediately ran towards the girl.

Kyoko backed away, but she didn't notice a trash on the ground as she retreated which made her slip and fall down on the floor, knocking the breath out of her and nearly made her lose consciousness. The man cackled out in a twisted way as he saw that the girl was now down on the floor, unmoving and defenseless. He held the knife in an ice pick grip before he starts to thrust it towards the girl's chest.

Kyoko could only shut her eyes as she waited for the impending sense of pain to spread throughout her entire body, only to—

"GRRRHHAAAH!"

Her heart dropped as she heard Makoto's voice scream out in pain. Opening her eyes wide, she couldn't help but gasp out loud as she saw the sight in front of her. The killer was shocked as well before his expression turned into one of anger, having realized that his plans was foiled again.

Makoto had used his hand to protect her from the sharp thrust of the knife, and it worked, judging by the the blood leaking out of the boy's palm rapidly. She couldn't help but internally wince as she realized that the knife had penetrated through his palm and went out the other side, but the boy still held on strong as his other hand was now clasped around the killer's wrist, teeth gritted as he pushed the older man back.

The boy cried out in pain once more as the blade that had stabbed through his palm slipped out of the wound and left a gaping hole in his hand. He clutched his wounded hand and had nearly shed a tear at how painful it was, but the killer would not stop his pursuit of their deaths.

"You're actually protecting this bitch with your life? You're stupider than you look!" He laughed in Makoto's face as the shorter boy could only hold his injured hand with a trembling grip. "I don't think it matters who dies here first, does it? After all, you two are going to be joining each other in the afterlife!" He had maniacally shouted. "Be sure to send me an invitation to the wedding, you fucker."

The boy's pained look slowly turned into one of determination as his eyes narrowed at the man in front of him. The sharp, silver knife was now coated with his blood as it dripped down from the very tip, with the rainwater diluting the red liquid as it flowed down fast.

Suddenly, before the man could charge at him once more, a pop sound rang out and he immediately jolted and fell to the floor, his body spasming erratically as he landed face first on to the ground. He tried to scream out in pain, but all that had happened was his screams turned into a stuttering fit as he tried to express his pain, only to make weird noises at intervals.

Both Makoto and Kyoko looked beside the killer and saw a police officer with a taser pointed at the man, an extremely serious look on his face as he radioed in for back up. The officer noticed that Makoto was bleeding and called out to the boy.

"Hey, you're hurt!"

"H-Huh...?" Makoto confusedly said before he noticed his hand was bleeding a lot, rapidly pouring out blood the more he left it be. "O-Oh, right..."

Makoto looked at Kyoko who actually looked like she was showing a plethora of emotions for the first time in her life. She had seemed distressed, worried, scared, guilty and relieved all in one. The boy was taken aback by the girl's sudden display of emotions, but he shook his head as he realized that the girl hadn't moved at all ever since she slipped and fell.

"W-Wait, help my friend here first, please!" He pleaded to the officer. "She slipped and fell trying to get away from that guy and she hasn't moved since. I'm worried that she may be injured! Please help her!" He knew that the pain in his hand was screaming at him to worry about his own wounds, but like hell he was just going to let her lay down on the ground like that without any assistance.

The officer nods. "Alright, but your injuries..."

Makoto shook his head. "I can handle it for now, just please call an ambulance for her!" His hand was stinging so badly with pain, but he just needed to get her to safety first.

The officer nods again and radioed in for medical assistance as he spoke with the help from the other side of the line. Makoto, still clutching his wounded hand, went over to the Detective on the floor who had showed many emotions for the first time since he had met her, but he ignored it and kneeled down next to her.

"Kirigiri-san, are you okay?" His gentle voice was nearly lost in the hard rain, but she could hear him clearly. "Are you hurt? Can you move?"

She was speechless, so she could only nod at the boy. He took her lack of speech as a sign that she was still in shock and fear, but he nods as she affirmed that she could still move. He offered his good hand to her and stuck it out, prompting the girl to take it as he lifted her up to her feet, wincing as he felt his other hand cry out in a lot of pain.

He... he protected me... She thought to herself as she was now back on both feet. The shorter boy gave a comforting look to her before he clutched his wounded hand again, gritting his teeth as he closed his eyes and tried his best to stop the wound from pouring out anymore blood.

She felt her hands move on her own as she placed a hand on his shoulder, making the boy look at her in surprise before she started to guide him out of the alleyway. She had many thoughts and feelings on what had just happened, but she needed to get him away from the alleyway first.

As they were now standing in the streets with some light coming from the various apartment windows, streetlights and the moonlight, Kyoko turned and looked at the boy. His hair was completely soaked and drenched with the rainwater pouring around them, giving him an even more pitiful look than he already had.

"Y-Your hand." She uncharacteristically stuttered. "We'll need to patch it up somehow... I-I think I—" She tried to see if she had anything to help with the wound, but Makoto raised his good hand at her before he covered his injured hand again.

"T-The a-ambulance is arriving s-soon, K-Kirigiri-san." The boy stammered as he shivered, the feeling of pain, loss of blood and the cold weather of the rain finally affecting him once the adrenaline wore off. "I'll be o-okay once t-they arrive, trust me..." He had nearly dozed off, but he caught himself at the last moment.

"You've just been stabbed through your hand with a knife, Naegi-kun!" She raised her voice, ready to chastise the boy for downplaying his injuries. "At the very least, let me wrap your wound with something so that you wouldn't bleed out."

The boy wanted to decline, but the sharp, stinging pain on his hand made him nod quickly. The girl searched around her jacket for anything she could use, only to find nothing. Frustrated, she kneeled down and ripped a piece of her skirt off, prompting the boy to blush.

"K-Kirigiri-san!?"

She shot him a look. "Be quiet." She used the ripped piece of cloth and took a look at the wound before wrapping it around the boy's hand. "This is for your own good."

"Y-You didn't have to rip your skirt off..." He muttered.

She heard that. "And have you pass out as the ambulance takes your unconscious body to the hospital? No thanks." She replied to the boy who only looked away. "We've already been through a hectic ordeal the past few minutes and I'd really like it if you don't go knocking yourself out just because you're stubborn."

The shorter boy stayed quiet, not wanting to argue back against her. Not that he could have even if he wanted to, she'd just shoot him her infamous glare and make all the words bubbling up in his throat drop down almost immediately.

With precise care and caution, she managed to wrap the piece of cloth around his wound as the boy winced from the pain. It had definitely slowed the bleeding, but it still felt painful for him to have a gaping wound on his palm. He gratefully nodded at the taller girl for patching his wound up.

"T-Thank you, K-Kirigiri-san." He stutteringly said, still shivering as the cold rain didn't let up on his body once. "I a-appreciate you helping me..."

Kyoko shook her head. "Nonsense. I should be thanking you instead, Naegi-kun." She told the boy who only blinked. "If it weren't for you, I would've been dead already. I owe you a grand debt, one that I'm not sure I could ever repay you back."

He waved his uninjured hand around rapidly. "Y-You don't owe me anything, K-Kirigiri-san! I did the same thing a-anybody would've done..."

"There's not many people in the world that would put their life at risk just to save a person that they have known for not even a full year." She bluntly replied. "You're a kind person, Naegi-kun, but that kindness of yours will get you in trouble one day." She warned.

His eyes crinkled. "That's not true! I can think of a lot of people who would do the same as I just did." He argued back. "I just got lucky, that's all..."

Kyoko sighed. "As naive as ever, I suppose..."

He frowned, but before he could say anything, she stopped him. "Still, a thanks is in order so I wanted to say thank you, Naegi-kun. I'll do my best to repay my debt to you, even if I can't possibly do so." She promised.

"You don't have to..." He replied.

Out of nowhere, the officer walked out of the alleyway with the killer's unconscious body on his shoulders, carrying him. "You kids were here?" He raised an eyebrow. "I thought that you two were still in the alleyway. And the girl can move now?" The officer was getting more confused the more he spoke.

Kyoko shook her head. "I'm fine. Naegi-kun tends to exaggerate, that's all..." She replied. Makoto bit his lip, but didn't say anything towards that.

The officer shrugged. "Alright then. By the way, the ambulance will be arriving in a few minutes so I'd suggest you two wait here until then." He said. "Get that wound treated, y'know?"

The Detective and her assistant nodded. "We won't be going anywhere." Kyoko said, prompting the officer to nod as he walked away to his patrol car.

Makoto looked at Kyoko for a moment before he looked away. Suddenly, he felt her gloved hand wrap around his uninjured one as she squeezed it in a comforting manner. They stayed there in the rain as the sounds of the ambulance beeping slowly got louder and closer from the distance.

She could honestly say that she felt guilty for using him like this. She knew that she had to, but that did not make the sinking feeling in her gut feel any better, knowing that she was condemning a completely innocent boy to an undeserving death.

The confused, focused and betrayed look in his eyes made her look away for a moment, but she came back with a harder gaze, not wanting to show emotions in front of the boy she had sentenced to death.

Come on, Naegi-kun, the ball is in your court. You can take an undeserved bullet for me, guaranteeing your death, or you can rightfully defend yourself and throw me under the bus. Whichever one you choose, I wouldn't blame you in the slightest... She thought to herself.

Many words were exchanged, many arguments were countered, and although she wished that she could have all the time in the world, the time was up. Makoto Naegi, The Ultimate Lucky student, was to be executed on her own behalf.

She didn't know what to say or do, but she could only helplessly stare at the boy as Monokuma pulled out his hammer and slammed it down on the red button, an playing an animation of Makoto being dragged by Monokuma to his executions.

As Makoto was sat down forcefully on a chair with a desk and a drawing board in front of him on a conveyor belt, she could only internally curse the mastermind out for putting them in this situation. She hated whoever had forced her into this decision and she vowed to herself that she wouldn't stop until the mastermind paid for what they've done.

She knew that this trial was rigged and that she played into it by sending Makoto to his death, but she couldn't see any possible way for her to solve the mystery of their missing memories, the entire school and the outside world other than to have someone take the bullet for her.

It had sickened her that she had to use the only trustworthy and completely innocent person in the entire school as a scapegoat, but she could only hope and pray that the boy would forgive her in his final moments.

As the conveyor belt starred moving him backwards to his doom, Makoto shot a quick look at her. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She knew that she owed the boy at least a look back in recognition of what she had done to him.

Much to her surprise, he only nodded briefly at her, as if affirming something to either her or himself before he looked back to the drawing board that Monokuma was teaching on.

Had he... encouraged her? In his last moments alive, he gave her, the person who sentenced him to death, a look of trust and encouragement?

She was speechless. She couldn't say or do anything about it, so all she could do was watch. Monokuma was teaching Makoto about the beginnings of life as his was about to end. How funny of that freaking bear. She swore to herself that she would never let whoever was controlling that bear even set their pair of eyes on the outside world again once she brought them to justice.

She bit her gloved hand as the thumping behind Makoto got louder and louder as he was slowly being moved closer and closer to his death. She didn't know if she had the strength to watch, but her eyes wouldn't move, as if she was frozen in time, her punishment for betraying Makoto and getting him killed, she supposed.

Her eyes widened as a familiar face appeared on a screen above the boy, stopping the machine from crushing Makoto to death as the boy slowly fell behind into a pit that seemed to have no end. She could hear a faint sound of something crashing down there, and she briefly wondered and hoped that the boy was okay, but she had to finish whatever business she had first.

Monokuma was enraged, angry that his execution was denied, but he quickly brushed it off by saying that Makoto couldn't have possibly survive the fall. Although she was of the same opinion, she learned to not count Makoto out when it came to impossible things. She just had to hope, hope that the boy was okay and that she could make things right with him by saving him.

A few more words exchanged between the group of survivors and Monokuma, but Kyoko left as soon as their business was finished. As far as she knew, she had only one objective in mind: Check on Makoto. If the boy didn't survive the fall, the least she could do was pay her respects to the person that had saved her life. If he survived, she would do everything in her power to bring him to safety and to patch every wound that he had on him, no matter how severe.

She had to wait for quite some time before she could pull off her plan. Having everybody alerted of her mission to bring Makoto back would only be detrimental in the long run, not to mention make her mission nearly impossible to commit if Monokuma knew that she was going to try and save him.

She went to the trash room when she knew that everybody else was busy doing something else. Most likely trying to wrap their mind around what had just happened in the previous trial, allowing her to freely walk without her fellow companions breathing down her neck.

Monokuma was nowhere to be seen again, as usual. That damn bear only appears whenever he smells despair, and he's too busy sulking over the fact that he couldn't execute Makoto to even bother prodding around the school. That was good news for her. That meant she could do a few things while Monokuma was off somewhere else.

She had already put a bottle of water and some bread in some plastic in her right hand, her other hand donning a couple of big trash bags that were meant to cushion her impact when she reached the ground. She had to admit, there was obviously a small chance of her landing badly and possibly killing herself, but she thought that the benefits would outweigh the risks.

"Well... Here goes nothing..." She said to herself.

She threw the trash bags down the hole before jumping down herself, feeling her body descending down rapidly as she held her breath and hoped that she wouldn't be too hurt by the fall.

The drop was pretty long, making her wonder for a brief moment if Makoto passed out before he landed down, but her thoughts were immediately stopped as she landed on the giant heaps of trash and had almost completely submerged herself in the endless surrounding garbage.

She moved her body for a bit in the pool of garbage, trying to make her way out. At the very least, she wasn't hurt, so that was a good thing, but she could feel some sense of anxiety bubbling up within her, ready to learn of the boy's fate.

"Eh? Did a giant pile of trash just fell down here...?" A familiar voice had spoken.

Well, there goes my answer... She thought to herself, unable to keep a smile off of her face before she willed it back to its neutral state. She emerged from the pile of trash as a cup of noodle was placed on top of her lavender hair.

"A giant pile of trash? How rude." She dryly commented.

The intense burst of joy that had spread throughout the boy's face was honestly worth falling inside of the pool of garbage she had just landed on previously, she thought. His excitement at seeing her again warmed her heart, although the guilt she felt from throwing him under the bus overwhelmed her feelings of positivity.

She decided to swallow the sinking feeling down first and gave the boy some food and water. He thanked her before he chowed down on the piece of bread, clearly starved for some time. Looking at the innocent boy eating the bread with so much gratitude in his eyes, she honestly didn't know what she was thinking earlier when she decided to put the blame on him instead.

She didn't know why the boy was so forgiving either. She knew that if she was in his shoes that she wouldn't even look at the person who threw her under the bus anymore, let alone actually forgive the betrayal. When she asked about it, he simply replied that she was his friend and that he trusted her.

That was all that it took to convince him that she was worthy of forgiveness? That she was worthy of trust? She knew that Makoto was a pretty special person, despite the fact many would object to that statement, but she didn't even know how he could muster up the will to actually keep quiet when he knew that he was being framed.

If she had simply just accused him and backed out of the accusation, she'd may understand why he'd be so forgiving, but he was literally INCHES away from death! He was nearly executed for a murder that he did not even commit! They were both lucky that Alter Ego had intervened and saved him, otherwise she would've willingly had his blood on her hands, despite how much the thought disgusted her.

As she pondered on this, she decided speak her thoughts. "Why?" She asked the question that had been clouding her mind for the past few moments.

The boy looked up at her with an innocent, confused look as he stopped eating his bread. She continued. "Why would you forgive me? Why even put your trust in me? I sentenced you to death and you still kept quiet about it." She asked the boy who was contemplating his answer. "You know that you could've just exposed my lie and I wouldn't have blamed you, right?"

He shook his head. "I didn't want to... Like I said, I trust you, Kirigiri-san." He replied. "You're a friend of mine and I don't want to betray my friend. I didn't think you'd put the blame on me unless you have a good reason to. I was right after all." He shrugged.

"I betrayed you first, don't you think so?" She asked, somewhat agitated that he was just acting like it was all water under the bridge. "By all means, you had the right to defend yourself from my accusation and actually tell the truth. You didn't, which is what I don't get." She didn't know if she was trying to convince him to hate her or something, but the words just kept pouring out of her mouth.

"And don't say something like 'you're my friend' or anything like that, please. Friends don't do what I just did to you." She finished.

He stayed quiet, almost letting the silence overwhelm the garbage room that they were in, before he spoke. "I guess... It's because I don't want anything to happen to you, Kirigiri-san." He revealed, making her eyes widen.

He continued. "This entire killing game, all I have ever seen is blood, betrayal and executions. Our friends alive in one moment, dead in the next. I don't want that to happen to you. I'd trade places with you if I knew that you might be in risk of dying, Kirigiri-san." He truthfully spoke.

This time, it was her turn to stay quiet. Speechless was what she was as she tried to process the boy's reasoning as to why he would take the blame for her. The boy, seeing that she was contemplating on his answer, resumed eating his bread nonchalantly.

He didn't want me to die...? He'd rather wrongly DIE than condemn me to a death that I more than deserved!? She yelled out in her mind, clueless and confused about the boy in front of her.

She had many thoughts, too many unbridled ones, but she could only stay quiet as the boy finished eating his bread. He drank the full bottle of water in one go, showing off how thirsty he was from the lack of water in the garbage room.

As much as she wanted to ask the boy a lot more questions, they had to get out of the garbage room quick. They were close to making a breakthrough on the mystery of their missing memories and the entire school so they had to hurry up.

"...Are you finished, Naegi-kun?" She asked the boy who threw the empty bottle away.

"Yeah," He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thank you for the food, Kirigiri-san." He bowed in gratitude as she nodded.

She saw a particular scar on his hand that she couldn't help but notice vividly as the boy placed his hand down. Before she even knew what she was doing, she grabbed the boy's hand, prompting him to blink in surprise.

"K-Kirigiri-san!?"

She was shook out of her endless gaze, shaking her head as she realized what she was doing. "...My apologies, I didn't know what I was doing..." She looked away from him.

The boy scratched his head. "Ah, um... N-No problem, K-Kirigiri-san." He was a bit surprised by the girl's sudden action, but he didn't comment on it, knowing that she was still on edge after the trial.

"...It's just..." She continued. "...your scar. I feel like l have seen it before..." She told the boy who looked confused. Scratching his head again, he replied. "Well, of course, you've seen my hands countless times, haven't you...?"

She nods. "Yes, but I was talking about that scar of yours. I meant that I feel like I have seen it before, before we were transported here to this school...." She trailed off, making the boy's eyes crinkle in confusion. "Tell me, Naegi-kun, do you remember how you got that scar?"

He thought about it before he shook his head. "...To be honest, no..." He replied truthfully.

She placed her hand on her chin, slightly disappointed. "I see." She didn't show much on her face, although the boy knew that she was thinking on this quite a bit.

"What could this possibly mean?" He asked, confused about the implications of this.

"...Truth be told, I have an inkling of suspicion of what this could mean, but we can't stay here for much longer." She told the boy who looked disappointed but nodded.

"Come, let us be out of here." She walked away as the boy followed her from behind, eager to get out with her.

She had many thoughts about the boy and their entire situation, but she could put it aside for now. She needed to get them out of here for now.

"Kirigiri-san, to your left!" The boy shouted out from far away. She turned and shot the Monokuma clone that had gotten close to her and sent a quick nod at the boy, thanking him for warning her.

They had been sent to a nearby city for a rescue mission. Usually she'd be left behind at the headquarters as she was too valuable for the Future Foundation to lose, but their lack of available agents meant that she had to go on the battle fields, a pretty rare instance for her to do so.

She didn't mind it too much. Matter of fact, she savored the opportunity to do so. Anything that got her away from Munakata's constant incensed nagging was perfectly fine in her book. She needed some stress relief and destroying Monokuma clones seemed to be a very good way for her to do so.

Despite their best attempts, the rescue mission was a fail, prompting them to try and return to the headquarters as soon as possible without getting overwhelmed by Monokumas and despair fanatics that were roaming the streets, trying to get them killed.

Their attempt at sneaking past the enemies had failed miserably and now they had to defend theirselves from the endless waves of Monokumas that were trying their best to turn them into dinner.

Kyoko may have liked the stress relief, but she sure as hell did not liked the fact that she had to fight for her life just to have a chance to see the next sunrise. Makoto was of the same opinion, except he did not liked the stress relief, nor did he liked having to battle the neverending units of monochrome robotic bears.

He slipped to the side as he dodged a swift swipe from one of the bears who laughed sadistically while he tried backing away to make some space. Kyoko was too busy with her own battles to notice that Makoto wasn't doing so good and so she had to kept shooting at the barrage of bears coming from all angles.

Makoto aimed and tried to shoot at the robot bear in front of him only to have his weapon kicked away out of his hands almost immediately. His eyes widened as he realized that his only source of self-defense was knocked away from him, making him retreat a bit as the Monokuma got closer to him.

Kyoko looked behind her for a quick moment and saw that Makoto was in trouble. Her instinct automatically took over her for a moment and she immediately pointed her hacking gun at the Monokuma that was pursuing Makoto, not realizing that she had left her self exposed.

Two Monokumas had tackled her from behind before she could even take her shot. She landed on her back and instinctively covered her face, knowing that the Monokumas would begin to painfully and excruciatingly swipe their claws away at her.

Makoto saw this and without thinking, had punted the Monokuma in front of him across the street before he immediately ran towards the girl in need of help. The two bears looked up at the boy and had immediately received two strong kicks to their face as they were immediately knocked away from the girl below them.

He checked on her quickly, shaking her body slightly. "Kirigiri-san, are you alright!?" His panicked voice had immediately made the girl's eyes widen as she uncovered her face, realizing that the boy was now in front of her instead of the Monokumas as she expected.

His eyes that were full of concern and worry had immediately changed into one of immense relief as he saw that the girl was fine. "Oh, thank goodness, you're fine!" He looked back quickly and saw the two enraged Monokumas rushing after him.

Acting on autopilot and self-preservation, he took Kyoko's gun and had shot the two Monokumas in the face, making them stumble a little before they fell to ground. Makoto shot them again for preventative measures as he made sure that they wouldn't get up, breathing out a sigh of relief as he saw the electrical circuits in the robots spark out electricity before stopping.

He turned and looked into the girl's eyes as she looked back into his. His gentle and concerned eyes met her soft and purple ones, gratitude and worry present in her purple orbs. She hadn't said anything to him yet, still speechless that the boy had protected her and breathless from being knocked on to her back.

He heard a familiar sound and without looking, shot the Monokuma that he had punted across the street while still looking into the girl's eyes. He heard the Monokuma's noises of demise before it stopped completely.

"...I..." He started slowly, in an almost whispering manner. She had seemed to direct all of her attention to him, despite the fact that every part of her body was telling her that they needed to focus on getting out of there.

Her body moved slightly, trying to stand up on her own. He moved a little to the side so that she would have the space to be on her own two feet. The silence was awkward, all-consuming, but they didn't have any words that say to each other after they had looked at each other in their eyes.

Kyoko knew that she needed to show her gratitude towards the boy as he had saved her life once more, but before she could do so, she heart a faint sound from behind her, prompting her to turn quickly. Despite her expecting a robotic bear, her expectations were flipped upside down when she saw a man in a mask pointing a gun at her.

Despite the man's face being covered, she could almost see his wicked grin as his index finger was ready to pull the trigger. She froze, mind going haywire and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. A million thoughts flashed by inside of her head, but the most important one was to pull Makoto down and cover him with her body.

However, it seemed that the boy had thought the same as her, yet he reacted faster than her and he pulled her away from the masked man's line of sight. He proceed to turn and shield her body from the man, praying that the bullet doesn't hit her.

Somehow, it had worked. Makoto's fast reflexes to shield her was enough to protect her from harm, but not him. The shot fired and hit Makoto in the shoulder, penetrating through his flesh and making him scream out in pain.

"AAAGHHHH!" The boy cried out, feeling the burning sensation of the bullet passing through him as blood splattered out of his exit wound and had hit the Detective's face, her eyes widening in shock, worry and fear.

"NAEGI-KUN!" She screamed loudly, heart dropping as she realized that he had took the bullet for her.

Makoto collapsed and fell on top of her, unable to withstand the pain in his shoulders as they both tumbled to the ground. She was mere moments away from passing out from what was happening, but she held on strong as she instinctively clutched boy closer, as if to protect him from any more harm.

The shorter boy, however, wouldn't budge. Despite the extreme burning sensation in his shoulder, he refused to let the masked man get even a GLIMPSE of the girl below him. He'd rather take ten more bullets through his body than let the man even get close to her.

Despite the extreme fear that he had felt, the boy was willing to give up his life if it meant that Kyoko could live. He turned his head and saw the man walking closer to them, gun still pointed as the man got ready to take another shot.

"This is for despair..." Was all that the man had said, voice low with an extreme tint of sadism, pleasure and satisfaction mixed in as he had said so. He chuckled before waving his gun around for a little. "...Don't worry, you won't know what we'll do to your bodies afterwards. After all, how can you two know when you have bullets lodged inside of your brains?" He chuckled darkly at his joke, as if it was an amusing thing.

Kyoko tried to push the boy away, but the boy's surprising strength would not let her go. "N-Naegi-kun, MOVE!" She ordered, voice trembling as she realized that this may be the end of both of them. She could accept dying, especially with the state of the world that they were currently living in, but she refused to have Makoto die along with her. He needed to live, no matter what.

"N-Not gonna happen, Kirigiri-s-san..." He muttered, eyes suddenly focused as he had suddenly revealed a more serious, unseen side of him. The sudden determination from the boy had took her by surprise, but she still tried her best to push him off so that he wouldn't die a meaningless death. "S-stop moving, damn it!" He shouted at her, sudden burst of unexpected and rare anger aimed at her for trying to move.

It had made her speechless as she heard the masked man cackling loudly. "Oh! That's great comedy, right there! Tell me, are you two having a fucking lover's quarrel right in front of me before your deaths? It doesn't matter, you're both dying anyway!" He pointed the gun at the two once more, ready to end the lives of The Ultimate Hope and The Ultimate Detective.

Before he could pull the the trigger, a sudden buzzing noise from the sky had caught their attention, prompting the man to lower his gun before he looked around for the source of the noise.

Looking above, the two on the ground could distinctively hear the masked man's gasp as he realized that the loud buzzing noise was a Future Foundation helicopter, ready to rescue the two on the ground.

Before they even knew it, a loud shot was fired and the masked man fell to ground, a gaping hole now in the middle of his forehead as he was laid down on the floor, limp and lifeless. The two grimaced as they realized that a puddle of blood had started to form underneath the man's head, with some pieces of his brain splattered everywhere.

They looked upwards and saw the helicopter slowly descending down to the ground level, the wind from the helicopter blades making everything surrounding them fly around. They saw a very irritated Juzo Sakakura with a scowl on his face as he called for them.

"Get the fuck in, you two! Or stay there on the ground and die, I don't give a shit..." He muttered the final part, not even bothering to hide his discontent and anger at the two. They couldn't tell if he was angry for having to rescue them or if he was angry that they had failed the mission.

Most likely both, but they had bigger priorities to worry about, which was to get into the helicopter and leave before more enemies came out and start giving them a lot more trouble than they could afford. Makoto, with a pained look of gratitude that he shot towards the Ultimate Boxer, got off of Kyoko and clutched his shoulder with his hand, gritting his teeth as he did so.

Kyoko wrapped her arm around his waist to support him, fearing that he may fall down and injure himself further. They walked as fast as they could towards the helicopter and were immediately pulled inside, Makoto crying out in pain at the sudden pressure on his wound while Juzo had told him to shut up and keep quiet.

The helicopter ride towards Headquarters was quite hectic, with Makoto whimpering and groaning in pain, Kyoko trying to stay calm while fretting over him like an extremely worried mother hen and Juzo yelling at the two to shut up so he could have some peace. The helicopter pilot sweat dropped at the entire situation, but calmly did his job and delivered them to their destined location.

Thankfully, Makoto did not bleed out during the flight back so they immediately escorted him to the nearest infirmary and gave him medical treatment there. Juzo had immediately went off somewhere else on his own, stating something about how he finally rescued the "nuisances" and left quickly.

Kyoko would've thanked him, regardless of his horrendous attitude towards them, but Makoto's health was of the utmost priority to her and so she just left him be and went towards where the injured boy was being treated.

The doctor at Future Foundation worked quickly and accurately, two things that were arguably the best traits a doctor could have. The bullet had passed through Makoto's shoulder so there was no need to remove anything, but they still had to excruciatingly clean his wound and give him several stitches before finally wrapping bandages around his wounded shoulder.

Makoto, to his credit, had bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming out in pain, despite the fact that the doctor told him he could yell his lungs out and he would still work perfectly fine. Makoto gave him a sincere, but trembling smile, trying his best to hide the pain.

After several suggestions and advices on what not to do and to do, the doctor had left the boy alone in the infirmary, waiting for him to recover.

Kyoko had tried to enter the infirmary. "May I please see Naegi-kun? I need to see if he's fine or not." She said, not bothering to hide her concern for the boy, despite being notorious in the headquarters for usually being emotionless.

The doctor shook his head. "I wouldn't suggest so, Kirigiri-san. His body had just experienced something traumatizing and it may hinder his recovery process if he were to be disturbed while trying to rest." He told the Ultimate Detective who pursed her lips.

"I...see..." She didn't want to leave him alone in there, especially since he had risked his entire life and took a bullet meant for her, but she couldn't argue against a doctor.

"Hey, doc!" Makoto shouted from inside the infirmary. "Is that Kirigiri-san, I hear!?" His tone of voice was eager, expecting.

Without interruption, the doctor replied. "Yes, but I'd sugges—!"

"Bring her in! It's perfectly fine, I'm telling you!" Makoto said, giving her permission to enter. "I need to talk to her anyways! Let her come in, please!" He pleads.

The doctor looked like he disagreed with this heavily, but sighed. "...Alright, fine. But try to keep the conversation as brief as possible, and do NOT do anything that may increase your stress level, understand?" He warned the boy who nodded rapidly.

"I understand! Now let her in, please!" He said, ready to talk to her again.

The doctor sighed once more before he looked towards Kyoko. "Well, there's your permission. Don't do anything that'll endanger his health any further, will you?" He tilted his head slightly.

The girl felt a heavy pounding of guilt in her heart, but she briefly nodded and went inside of the infirmary, closing the door in the process. She saw the boy laying down on a bed as an IV tube with a bag of blood was attached to his arm, pumping him back with what he had lost.

She walked slowly towards him, heels clacking as she anxiously approached the boy. He had smiled at her, more than happy to see her as he patted the chair next to him. She took a seat and immediately clasped his uninjured hand, finally letting out a gasp of relief as she held the boy's hand with both of hers.

"Y....Y-You're okay, Makoto..." She used his first name, voice trembling as a singular stray tear inadvertently escaped her eyes. Makoto, despite how much he wants to wipe her tear away, could only clutch her hands tighter with his good hand as he lets go of any thought he was focusing on just to direct all of his attention on her.

"Yeah, I am..." He said, grateful that he was still alive. "...I'm fine, Kyoko. You don't have to worry about me." He caressed her gloved hands with his soft one, wanting to comfort the girl.

"How can you tell me not to worry about you!?" She raised her voice, angry that he was just treating his gunshot wound like it was a bug bite. "You took a bullet that was meant for me and now you're acting like everything is alright! Do you not realize how badly everything could've went if you were to—"

He placed a finger on her lips, shushing her abruptly. Looking into the girl's confused eyes, he smiled. "I'm acting like everything is alright because everything is alright. You're still alive, I'm still alive, nobody else was hurt and we got back safely." He told the girl reassuringly. "The only thing we have to regret is how we failed our mission, but it's okay. We'll do better next time. I know we will."

"....." She was silenced by him. How could he say that? What COULD she say to that? He just took a bullet for her and acting like everything was alright. She didn't know how he could stay positive for so long after every close encounter to death that he has had, but she just stayed quiet and chalked it up to Makoto being Makoto.

She proceeded to hold his hand tighter, showing a rare emotional side that she had never let anyone other than Makoto see before. His soft gentle eyes calmed her down as she got time to finally grasp what had just happened. It seems that Makoto can't stop himself from saving her, even when the price is his own health.

They stayed like that in that moment, Kyoko showing off her vulnerable side while Makoto tried his best to reassure and comfort her. She hated feeling like this, feeling so exposed and vulnerable, but she just couldn't help herself whenever it was this boy. He always knew how to make her feel all types of emotions, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them.

Kyoko held and rubbed his uninjured hand, tracing over the scar on his palm and back of his hand gently. She had done so because she thought it may be a comforting gesture, but she wasn't sure if it was comfort for him or herself.

Her eyes broke away from his, trying to focus on something else other than his endless caring gaze. She knew that she may be lost in his eyes if she stared at him for too long so she had to look away. Her eyes landed on his body instead, which made her realize that her mind had subconsciously ignored the fact that the boy was shirtless.

She had seen many shirtless bodies before, especially ones that were a lot more muscular and well built, but a minor blush reached her face as she realized that the boy's physique was pretty toned.

Looks like Future Foundation's training regime paid off for him... She thought to herself, somewhat enjoying the view, yet reluctantly pulling her gaze away out of respect for the boy.

Suddenly, the infirmary's door slammed opened and although Kyoko and Makoto was surprised, Kyoko had enough restrain to resist flinching while the boy nearly hit his head on the wall. Looking towards the door, they saw Hina, Hiro and Byakuya entering, concerned looks on their faces while Byakuya's was one of indifference.

"Makotoooooo! Are you alriiiiiight!?" Hina yelled comically, nearly jumping at the boy on the bed before she was pushed to the side by Hiro at the last moment.

"Naaaegi-chiii! Don't die on me! I can't handle it if I had to be stuck with Kirigiri-chi and Toges!" Hiro shouted before being pushed to the side by an EXTREMELY annoyed Byakuya.

"Will you two stop acting like idiots for once in your life!?" The heir shouted, losing his cool. "Look at him! He's clearly fine!" He pointed towards the boy on the bed who awkwardly waved at them.

"Hey guys." Makoto said, still waving with his only good hand.

Byakuya pushed his glasses. "Hmph, I see that luck of yours came in handy once again. This time you took a bullet, huh? Heh, There's no stopping roaches like you." He smirked, giving the boy a backhanded compliment.

Makoto smiled. "I'm glad I'm still alive. It hurts like hell, but I think I'll be able to make a smooth recovery after all." He said, making the two at the side smile widely.

"That's great news, Makoto!" Hina exclaimed, clearly glad that her friend was okay.

"Yeah! Except, you can't really... Y'know... Play with yourself with your right hand...?" Yasuhiro stated stupidly, making the others groan at his remark.

Makoto, however, gave a sly smirk. "I prefer using my left hand anyways." He said, playing along with a dirty joke of his.

Hina and Kyoko widened their eyes at the boy's comment while Byakuya scoffed in disgust at the nature of the conversation. Meanwhile, Yasuhiro burst out laughing as he clapped his hands loudly.

"That's a great one, Naegi-chi!"

Byakuya clicked his tongue. "Naegi, I'd genuinely prefer if you don't follow this idiot's teachings and actually instill some sense of modesty and manners back in yourself." He said disapprovingly, making Makoto chuckle while Hina was still rebooting herself at the fact that Makoto had made an inappropriate joke.

Kyoko could only shake her head at moment, but she was glad that everything was okay.

A few months after that incident, there had been another mission that her division was in charge of. It had, unexpectedly, went extremely badly and they lost a lot of their agents in the process.

Thankfully, Makoto, who was sent along with them, was safe and sound, yet the look on his face implied that he just witnessed and lived through a horrific story.

Still, as grateful as she was that the boy was one of the very few survivors of such tragic mission, she couldn't show favoritism towards the boy, especially when she was one of the branch division's leaders. She was already under severe heat, but the horrific end to the mission that her agents were sent to had made her the main topic of discussion.

She was on her computer talking to Munakata via voice call and the man's tone of voice had more than implied that he was not happy with the failure of the mission.

"Kirigiri-san, may I just ask how exactly did a simple propaganda mission could end this badly? I thought you sent them out equipped with proper weapons and armory?" His voice lacked any sense of tact, but he was barely holding himself back from just cursing her out. "Did you not do the best you could do to ensure your agents' safety as the head of your division? Are you that neglectful?"

She pursed her lips. "It was an ambush out there. The reports came in that the area was somewhat safe, but I'm sure it was falsified as a way to get our guard down." She explained.

"You still have many lives on your hands, do you know that?" Munakata growled. "Do you realize that dozens of agents are now gone--dead--because you thought it was 'safe enough' for agents to go out there and spread propaganda without their weapons?" He viciously asked.

"I did send them out with weapons, Munakata-san." She calmly replied. "They were overwhelmed by the manpower that the enemies had and they fell in the line of duty. I'm sorry to say this, but this was nothing more than a tragic end to what seemed to be a simple mission and people paid with their lives for it." Her voice nearly cracked, but she held still. "Nevertheless, I will be taking responsibility for this incident."

"You damn well better..." He replied, not in the mood for anything else other than compliance. "...There are many people outside of your office in your division who are calling for your head right now. I'd suggest you deal with them before you suffer an unfortunate fate. Goodbye, Kirigiri-san." He hung up on her abruptly, prompting her to close her eyes in frustration.

She took off her headset and placed her head in her hands. How did things go so badly? She should've took an extra step, a precaution, so that many lives wouldn't be unnecessarily thrown out for no reason! Instead, she now has an angry mob outside demanding that she faced the music.

She had felt a surge of guilt, anger and sadness nearly overwhelming her, but she took a deep breath and tried her best to calm down. It didn't work, but at least she had a moment to think for herself. She couldn't help but think of the lives that were lost under her command and how Makoto was nearly one of them.

It seemed that all she had ever done was put the boy in countless danger while she stayed behind to watch him deal with the fallout. She couldn't take that anymore. She was willing to face a lot of angry people and explain herself calmly, and then take responsibility for it. She didn't have plans on being removed as the division's leader, but if that was the appropriate punishment for her, then so be it.

A sudden knock on her door took her out of her thoughts. "Um, Kirigiri-san?" Makoto's voice said from behind the door as her eyes widened slightly. "There's, uh... well, there's a lot of people that want to see you right now. Can you please come out?" The boy reluctantly asked, not wanting her to actually come out and potentially get heckled by the angry crowd.

She swallowed. "Give me a second, Naegi-kun." She told the boy, wanting a bit more time to herself. She could actually hear the erupting sounds of the workers outside, all wanting her to come out.

"R-Right..."

She felt bad for the boy, especially when he had just came back from a horrific ordeal that she was more than happy to know that he survived, but she couldn't control the turmoil within her, knowing that she was, at the very least, partially responsible for the deaths of the agents that she sent out for the propaganda mission.

Taking a deep breath once more, she exhaled heavily and nodded her head. Standing up, she walked towards the office door and closed her eyes for a brief moment before she opened them once more, ready to face the outcome of her failures.

She opened the door and was instantly greeted with the unpleasant sight of extremely bright lights in contrast to her usually dark and somber office. Looking to her right, she saw Makoto standing there awkwardly, looking like he had just gotten into a fight while Yasuhiro, Hina and Byakuya stood beside him.

Yasuhiro and Hina had looks of concern and worry across their faces while Byakuya simply crossed his arms as if he was waiting for her to do something. He nodded his head and she gave one back towards him, stepping forward once more.

"There she is!" An enraged agent had shouted.

"Kirigiri-san, what happened?"

"How could it have ended like this!?"

"It was just a regular mission, wasn't it...?"

"Don't trust anything that she says, you guys! Knowing her, she's probably going to have a heavily coated BS excuse that's she's ready to serve to us..." A female employee whispered loudly.

Many voiced had spoken at the same time, but she lifted her hand and told them to be quiet as she was about to speak. They all had complied at the girl's gesture and stayed quiet, keeping their mouths shut as she began to speak.

"Everyone, I know that what had happened today was a tragic end to what had seemed to be a simple mission." She announced. "Furthermore, what had seemed to be a simple mission ended up being an unexpected ambush. Although I received reports that the area was somewhat safe, it did not change the fact that dozens of brave and brilliant men were ruthlessly killed in the line of duty today."

Some murmurs began, but she continued. "I had sent them out with the proper equipment for a mission of--what I expected to be-- a small magnitude, but I didn't know that it would end like this. I never intended for this happen, but I will be taking responsibility for this incident and we will be having a memorial tribute for the lives that were lost today. That is all, thank you." She finished.

She bowed gracefully as she finished her speech, feeling nervous for the potential backlash, but keeping a calm facade on her face. She wasn't always the best at giving speeches, but she had given out a few before and it usually worked perfectly fine. This time though, she wasn't sure if she could really do the same as she had always done before, but she had to try.

Looking at the crowd in front of her, some were silent, some had look satisfied with her answer, some narrowed their eyes at her and some had odd looks. If she had to say, she definitely had calmed quite a bit of the crowd down with her speech as some were looking either satisfied or neutral, but the rest was definitely not happy.

"Oh, bullshit!" An angry agent had shouted loudly.

She gave a quick glance towards her friends and saw that Hina and Hiro had given her a meek thumbs up at her speech while Byakuya simply nodded. Makoto, however, narrowed his eyes at the agent.

"Hey, I'd suggest you keep it down back there." Makoto said.

"Or what? You're gonna tell on me to your beloved boss, huh?" The other man taunted.

Makoto pursed his lips. "We've all been through a bad day already. Some more than others, so how about we just calm down an—" He was interrupted by the other man.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? We just lost many of our friends and you're telling me to calm the fuck down!?" The agent shouted, unhappy with anything that anybody was saying right now.

"You're angry now, I get it." Makoto said, trying his best to calm the man down. "The lives that were lost today weren't just yours to lose too. Every single one of those agents that went out and did their job, no matter the cost, deserves our highest respect, but we shouldn't be getting angry or start blaming Kirigiri-san. It's nobody's fault." Makoto finished.

"FUCK THAT!" The agent yelled and tossed a beer bottle at Makoto. The boy ducked and evaded the bottle as it hit the wall, shattering into many pieces as the fragments of the glasses all fell down to the floor.

Many had gasped in surprise, including Kyoko, although hers was more of an internal one. Hina's eyes widened while Hiro gave a silent thumbs up to Makoto to compliment him for the dodge. Byakuya raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed at the boy's reflex.

Makoto picked his head up and narrowed his eyes. "There's no need for that now! Please calm down. Why don't you just—"

The man threw another bottle, this time it was aimed at Kyoko who's eyes widened at the unexpected object flying towards her and instinctively covered her face, only to hear a shattering sound in front of her along with more audible gasps.

Opening her eyes, she saw Makoto in front of her with a tiny piece of broken glass in his forehead as blood slowly ran down his angry face. Makoto had took the bottle that was meant for her and it had shattered against him, wounding the boy in the process, although not to an extreme degree.

Kyoko instinctively tried to check the boy's wound as she placed her gloved hands on his shoulders, ready to turn him around and examine his face. But before she could do that, the boy had took off, immediately charging into the crowd and throwing a punch to other agent's face as the group of agents went wild and had turned everything into an all-out-brawl.

"MAKOTO!" Kyoko yelled, not realizing she had used his first name in front of everyone. Most didn't notice the slip up as they tried their best to get the two agents to stop fighting, turning everything hectic in the process.

"Go Makoto!" Hina cheered out in support for the boy, clearly liking the fact that he had stepped outside of his comfort zone and had gotten into a fight.

"Kick his ass, Naegi-chi! Make him cry out for his mama!" Yasuhiro also yelled out in support, backing his friend up.

Byakuya scowled. "Damn it, what the hell is he doing!?" He shouted, not approving of this situation one bit.

Kyoko could only stare on helplessly with her mouth agape as the brawl escalated and had gotten even worse. It took them many agents and a couple of minutes to separate the two, but they had finally gotten them off of each other and separated the two as far away as possible.

A few days after that, the outcome was Makoto had to get his wounds patched up and severely and harshly reprimanded by Kyoko and Byakuya while Hina and Hiro gave him a high five. Kyoko took it upon her self to scold the boy as harsh as she could in private, but Makoto didn't seem to care as much, simply nodding and agreeing to never do it again.

Out of curiosity, she asked. "Why would you even do that, Makoto? We are all on thin ice already and getting into a fist fight isn't going to help matters much!" She yelled.

He shrugged, looking sympathetic towards her, but not for the man he beat up. "I'm sorry, Kyoko, but I just... I couldn't let anything or anyone hurt you. You know that by now." He simply replied.

She face-palmed. "He threw a bottle at me, alright fine. That doesn't mean you HAVE to assault him." She told the boy. "You know that we're extremely lucky to get away with that, right? I had to talk with every leader of every other division and explain myself to get myself off the hook. And that's ONLY for me." She emphasised.

She continue. "When it's for YOU? I had to plead for them to not kick you out of here, Makoto! Do you not realize how badly this entire situation could've turned out!?" She knew she was going a little too harsh on the boy, but his nonchalant and out of character attitude was getting on her nerves. He had seemed to lose all sense of rationality when it came to her, and she didn't know why.

Why would he take a false death sentence for her? Why would he take a bullet for her? Why would he take bottle to the face for her? Why risk being expelled from the entirety of Future Foundation for infighting when he was never the violent type? Why, why, why!? This boy was too much of a mystery for her to figure out and she was going insane!

Makoto's eyes grew softer. "...I'm sorry, Kyoko. I shouldn't have gotten into a fight with that other guy. I just made things worse for you, didn't I? I didn't mean for it to happen, but it just did..." He somberly said, feeling guilty for putting the girl in a tight situation. "...I saw him throw a bottle at you and I just lost it. I didn't even care that he threw one at me, I only cared when it was you."

Her eyes softened, a turnaround from her stern glare. "...Makoto..." She softly whispered. "...I know that you're not a violent person. You're a good person, I know that. I just hate it whenever you put yourself at risk for me. You go above and beyond for me when you don't have to." She told the boy who looked confused at what she was saying. "I don't deserve your kindness, friendship or loyalty, Makoto..."

Makoto quickly took a hold of her hand, making her jolt a little as she felt his bandaged hand wrap around her gloved one. "That's not true, Kyoko! You deserve all of that and more. I don't know why you constantly think like that, but I want you to stop it, please. You're a very dear and close person to me, Kyoko. You may be right when you say I don't HAVE to protect you, but the difference is is that I WANT to protect you." He told the girl who stared into his eyes longingly.

He continued. "You're my f...friend," He stuttered, face turning slightly bitter before it went back to its neutral state. "Of course I want you to be safe. You'd want and would do the same for me, wouldn't you?" He asked the girl.

She blinked. "W-Well, of course, but—"

"Then there you go." Makoto replied. "I protect you and go above and beyond for you because I care for you. It doesn't have to be complicated, Kyoko. It's just that simple." He finished, making the girl finally understand.

"...I..." She was speechless, yet had many things to say. The boy in front of her had gave her a comforting smile, which she looked away from, due to the sudden feeling of her heartbeat racing faster. In the end, she could only settle for a mere response. "...I-I see..."

Makoto's smile widened, liking the fact that she had finally understood why he did the things he does for her. He gripped her hand tighter, prompting the girl to look at him once more. She couldn't help but noticed the band aid on his forehead before she looked into his eyes again. They were lost in each other's gaze, feeling their heart rate suddenly spike up immensely, not wanting to pull look away for some reason.

They leaned in closer and closer, feeling as if everything was alright in the world, as long as they had each other by their side.

"Kyoko, are you ready to head out?" A voice behind her said as she finished reminiscing on all the times that she was saved by a particular short, lucky boy.

Looking up from her desk and behind her, she saw her fiance walking towards her, a friendly smile on his face. "We're going out for dinner soon with our friends, remember? What are you doing sitting alone in here, hmm?" He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest and shoulders.

She rubbed his cheek against hers, feeling the same feeling she had felt a long time ago. "I was just reminiscing, Makoto. Thinking about the past for a little bit, that's all." She replied.

He frowned. "I hope you weren't thinking of too many bad memories. I'd hate for you to be in a bad mood before we go for a night outing." He rubbed her shoulders, trying to ease any tension she may have had.

Kyoko nods. "Well, our past are filled with bad memories, but there are many good ones too." Her memories of Makoto being constantly hurt for her sake weren't ones that she'd categorize as good memories, but he didn't need to know that.

He chuckled. "You've gotten a lot more optimistic over the years, haven't you? Usually I'd be the one saying that." He buried his nose in her lavender hair, finding comfort in her scent.

She giggled. "It's because of you, Makoto. You've changed me for the better over the years and I can't thank you enough for it."

"Hmm." He pondered for a moment. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad that I've changed you, then. You've changed me a lot over the years too, you know? You make me better Kyoko, and I'm grateful that you're here with me." His voice took a softer tone as he remembered the time that he thought she had died. He honestly NEVER wanted to live through that experience ever again.

Her soft giggles grew louder. "You're still as soft and sentimental as ever, I see. That one hasn't changed much over the years." She teased.

"Hey!" His muffled voice indignantly said inside of her hair.

"But that what's I love about you, Makoto." She admits. "You always stay true to yourself and never changed your ideals or outlook on life, no matter how bleak it gets. That optimistic nature of yours is truly a gift from God, I'd say." She spoke honestly.

He blushed at the compliment. "T-Thanks, Kyoko. Hey, as much as I'd love to do nothing bow shower you with compliments of my own, we're nearly late for dinner so how about we wrap this up real quick and exit the school?" He asked his fiance.

"No problems there. Although, I'm expecting five compliments by the time we get home."

He smirked. "You got it."

They exited Kyoko's office inside of Hope's Peak Academy and went outside the school, seeing their friends waiting for them already. There was still some sunlight outside, although it was getting dark pretty quick. Hina and Hiro waved rapidly while Byakuya had an annoyed look at the two's tardiness.

"Hey guys! Sorry, we're a tiny bit late." Makoto said as he walked hand-in-hand with Kyoko.

Byakuya scoffed. "Right. I'm sure a certain special 'rendezvous' between you two isn't the reason why you're late, is it?" He sarcastically asked.

Makoto blushed at the implications while Kyoko smirked, tossing her hair to the side nonchalantly. Hiro blanched at the topic of discussion. "Hey, uh, I know you two are more or less tying the knot and having babies soon, but don't talk about your businesses out loud, please?"

Hina slapped Hiro's back. "Be a bit more graceful, Hiro! Besides, it was Byakuya who said it, not them!" She pointed at the heir who gave her an annoyed scowl. "Anyway, let's get started already! I'm too hungry to think right now..."

Byakuya clicked his tongue. "You and your appetite, I swear..." He commented, but didn't say much else as he walked over to his limousine that would take them to their restaurant.

They eagerly went towards the vehicle with Makoto and Kyoko walking slowly, still holding hands together. They were mere moments away from entering the limousine before a man in a ski mask had suddenly ran up on them, gun pointed out towards the group with his hands trembling.

"H-Hey! This is a s-stick up so e-everybody drop your wallets, now!" The man stammered loudly, clearly nervous at what he was doing.

Hiro jumped back and covered his face. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, dude! I paid back my debts already! What more could the cult want!?" He shouted stupidly, not realizing that the masked man wasn't anyone from his past that he conned.

Hina's eyes widened. "Are you....robbing us...?" She asked, baffled that such an occurrence would happen.

Byakuya pushed his glasses, looking irritated. "Yes, Asahina. I believe that this masked man with a presumably loaded gun pointed at us is asking us for our wallets in exchange for our lives being spared. Is that easy enough for your pea-sized brain to comprehend?" He shot at the swimmer viciously.

Hina pouted. "Hey! You didn't have to be so rude!"

"What the fuck...?" The robber said, not expecting them To behave like this.

The masked man had seemed too confuse at what was going on and pointed his gun towards Makoto who looked genuinely confused and baffled that a man would actually try robbing him at his own school.

"Y-You!" He pointed towards Makoto, making Kyoko glare coldly. "Give me everything you have or I'll... I-I'll shoot you!" He threatened boldly, yet his trembling fingers implied that he wouldn't be able to follow through on his threat.

Makoto, having been on the receiving end of far worse situations and threats, simply narrowed his eyes. "You're gonna shoot me...?" He sounded as if he was genuinely questioning the man, rather than trying To comply with his demands.

Kyoko, having had enough of the man threatening her fiance and her friends, stepped closer towards the robber, making him point the gun towards her shakily. Makoto, out of instinct, immediately tried to pull her back and shield her away, but she simply moved to the side and grabbed the robber's hand before she struck his elbow with her palm, making him cry out in pain and dropping the gun.

"AAAAAH!" The man cried out, but Kyoko didn't care.

She kicked his gun away and kicked his knee, forcing him to kneel down as she placed a quick strike to his neck, knocking him out instantly. The man laid down on the ground limply as he lost consciousness. The group looked like they didn't know what they had just witnessed, but Byakuya recovered first, clearing his throat.

"Ahem. That was helpful, Kirigiri." The heir said curtly, not saying much more than that. She only nodded at him.

"HO. LY. SHIT!" Hina yelled out. "THAT WAS AWESOME, KYOKO! How did you do that!? That was like something out a ninja movie with the way you disarmed him and all that stuff!" She excitedly cheered.

Kyoko shrugged. "Just some training that I remembered." She responded, unbothered by the barrage of praise and admiration from her swimmer friend. She wasn't lying though, the disarm technique was one of the techniques she remembered during her time at Future Foundation.

Hiro looked at her with a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. "...You're like a guardian angel, Kirigiri-chi! I was so sure that we would've been cooked and riddled with bullets right there!" He said loudly, still on the ground as he complimented her.

"...Hiro, get up." Makoto said, finally speaking after some time of silence. Looking towards his fiance, he gave an impressed look of gratitude to which she simply replied with a nod and a tiny smirk. "And thank you, Kyoko."

"You're welcome." She replied, smirk widening as she realized that she had finally paid him back for the many times that he put himself in the face of danger for her.

A security guard from Hope's Peak ran towards them, looking alerted as he searched for the possible source of the loud cries. "W-What happened here, Headmaster Naegi!?"

Makoto was about to explain, but Byakuya beat him to it. "Just a pest that was being taken care of." He pointed to the unconscious man on the ground, making the guard's eyes widen in shock. "Nothing more to see here. Can you take care of him? We're late for our dinner." Byakuya asked curtly.

The man nods rapidly before calling for the police, signalling the end of that situation. Byakuya entered the back of his limousine as Hiro followed through with Hina. Makoto looked towards Kyoko and offered his hand.

"Well, shall we?" He asked.

She looked at his hand before accepting, tangling their fingers together.

"We shall."