Chapter Text
The halls of Hope's Peak Academy would feel mmor and more empty as time went on. Less students walking about as time went on during this sick, twisted scenario. However, Kyoko Kirigiri continued to march on in her investigation, containing her emotions under the veil of stoicism. She was determined not only to find out the secrets of this school, but also herself, with or without a certain boy she thought she could trust.
'All that talk about us being friends, and trust, but he can't even bring himself to do that..' She thought to herself as she walked, her mind currently on Makoto Naegi, a boy she thought she could trust. 'I can't believe I let myself be so easily charmed by him and his ineptitude and 'kindness'. If he didn't really want to help, the the least he could've done was keep his head down. I...."
Pausing in the middle of the hall, she took a deep breath, doing her best to calm down. 'I'm letting myself get distracted. Forget Naegi, there's work to do.' She told herself, doing her best to forget about the lucky student for now as she entered the music room on the fourth floor. As usual, there didn't seem to be much to it aside from the piano at the end of the room, and rows of chairs facing it. Unfortunately for Kyoko, walking in here only served to remind her of previous 'talk' with the boy.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you.... Not right now.."
Those words echoed in her head endlessly, causing her to grit her teeth, before taking another deep breath. "That's enough Kirigiri.... Don't let it get to you." She said, as she looked over the room again, hoping to find something she'd missed. For the most part however, everything seemed to look exactly the same, unfortunately for her. Twirling her braid, she sent a curious gaze to the piano.
"Hmm..." With slow strides, she made her way over, gingerly placing her fingers upon the keys, pressing down on each one.
Biing
Bing
Beng
Bung
..... Bong
A satisfied smile painted the girls lips, as she took notice of the particular key's hesitation to go down. Upon closer inspection, she found a scrap of paper, wedged deep enough that it wouldn't have been visible on first sight.
"Let's see, what do we have-...... Are you kidding me?" She asked, as she unfolded the paper to see a picture of her, happily holding onto a lipstick covered Makoto, as they made out in one of the dorms. As if it wasn't bad she was trying to forget the boy already.
"No..... No... This can't be real." She hissed, her gaze turning into a glare. Try as she might though, she couldn't help but take in the details of the photo. The way his hands found their way through her hair, the way she sat on his lap, and tugged at his hoodie, the fact that BOTH OF THEM WERE ENJOYING IT! Not only was the Kyoko in the picture giving off a mischievous grin, but Makoto looked like he was in a pleasant daze.
"Grr.... What the hell is that damn bear's game putting this here?!" She growled, her grip on the photo tightening. "Who's room even is this?!" She asked, taking in the details of the background, recognizing nothing that belonged in either her or the boy's dorms, from the painting on the walls to the red carpet on the ground. A tinge of pink painted her cheeks as she continued to scan the image.
'Whatever the case, it's not important!' She thinks, crumpling the image in her hands. 'For all I know, this means nothing. I said that about the other photos, and I will certainly say it here!' She sneered, feeling her cheeks heat up.
"Hey, Kyoko!" A cherry voice said, breaking the girl's concentration, and making her head swivel to see Aoi Asahina standing behind her. "Oh, uh... Makoto's not in the cafeteria anymore, if you're hungry." The swimmer informed, her tone becoming timid at the sight of her classmate's intense look. "I-is everything alright? I heard shouting."
"Yes.... Everything is quite good." Kyoko sighed, twirling her braid "Just doing some investigating. Unfortunately I haven't found anything... Nothing useful anyways..." She informed, biting her tongue after.
"Oh, right, makes sense...." Hina awkwardly giggled, shuffling in place. "Well, like I said, Naegi's not in right now. Although, if you ask me I'd rather have him than some of the others around. Like an egotistical jackass and a freak writer...." She grumbled, looking down in shame. "What even happened between you two anyways? You seemed so close."
"I wouldn't say we were close." Kyoko responds, biting her tongue again. "He made his choices, and now he's going to face the consequences. That's all there is." She said, taking notice of Hina's pout
"I... Guess it was bad if you put it like that." Hina nods, albeit frowning again. "But at least he knows when to keep his mouth shut." She groaned, crossing her arms. "Well, you should still get yourself something to eat, ok? If you need girl talk, me and Sakura are around!!" She smiled, walking off, and leaving Kyoko by herself again.
'Well, it doesn't take a detective to know who's possibly upsetting her.' She notes, as she too left the room. 'And maybe she has a point. Perhaps I am overreacting a bit?' She asked herself, the picture still fresh in her mind. 'It's not like I haven't taken advantage of his trust either... But....' A pang of guilt was filled into her chest, remembering what she told him in the cafeteria before. 'But what I'm doing is petty, and low, even if he is wrong.'
Unfolding the picture, Kyoko felt her cheeks heat up again, as she folded it back up just as quickly. 'It... Doesn't matter. What matters is the choices we make going forward...' Walking back down the hall, the girl stared down at her hand, and at the paper inside. 'Not that this has anything to do with it! This means nothing.... Don't let it get to you Kirigiri.... It's... Nothing.' She tried to tell herself, looking back at the music room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Makoto walked down the halls of Hope's Peak slowly, but surely, his eyes taking in the decrepit school after so many years after he left. "Man, to think this place is still standing..." He comments, strolling past dusty lockers and cracked walls. Beside him, his friends had been doing their own inspections of the building, seeing what could be salvaged for the new school.
"Poetic, in a way." Kyoko comments as she stood beside him, the pair soon continuing their trek before winding up in the music room. "Makoto, I'm... Sorry." She breathed, A curious glance from the man coming her way. "I abused your trust one time to many in this school, and I don't apologize for that enough."
"Kyoko..." Makoto sighed, pulling her in for a hug. "Maybe, but let's not act like I wasn't being kind of dumb myself... There was a better way for both of us to handle things, sure, but in the end, we made it." He assured, bringing a smile back to her face. "We found our way!"
"Yes, I guess we did... And the sentiment is shared." She replied, stepping away from the hug, and towards the piano. "I wonder...."
"Wonder... What?" Makoto inquired as he watched her run her fingers along the keys, before pressing down on one, and removing a sheet of paper from it.
"Do you happen to recall doing this?" She questioned, handing the photograph over, and watching him blush. "I made that discovery before the fourth trial.. Originally I wrote if off as meaningless. Then when I put it back up, we were so busy with everything else, it slipped my mind." She explained, closing the distance between them. "I regret not showing you sooner."
"Yeah, it's coming back to me.." Makoto admits, leaning closer to her face. "And... It's fine... You're more than forgiven." He said, cupping her face. "Maybe we could, try recreating some memories at some point?"
"Oh, and does that include the mysterious location?" Kyoko asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Eh... Well, it's not that mysterious... Um..... Maybe not into there-"
"What are you two doing here?" Byakuya Togami interjects, the pair turning towards him, and readjusting themselves.
"Oh, n-nothing." Makoto replied, handing the image over. "J-just discovering some old memories." He informs, Byakuya snatching it from his hands, and inspecting it. "Uh, s-sorry f-for, um, doing that.. You probably made nasty a remark at the time..."
"Ah yes, you two making out. I'm so glad that my words get you... You.." Byakuya began to sarcastically say, only to stumble as he kept looking. His eyes widening, and then narrowing as he gave them an accusatory glare. "It was you...." He hissed, Kyoko smirking as she looped her arm with a nervous Makoto's.
"Heh, g-guilty." Makoto chuckled, receiving a peck on his cheek from Kyoko.