Written for a user on Danganronpa Amino as a prize for a raffle I held. I'm not terribly used to writing Naegiri, so I hope I did okay.


Minimal Words and Planned Actions

They're out.

Six of them had successfully evaded death and outwitted Junko Enoshima, permitting their escape from the academy of despair - but what they hadn't anticipated was that the world desperately needed fixing. Their families and friends were difficult to track down - probably dead, even - and much as Makoto yearned to search for his parents and younger sister, Future Foundation had far greater priorities to attend to.

On the night of their escape, the survivors of the School Life of Mutual Killing were stationed at Future Foundation headquarters - not exactly "home" as they'd hoped, but they were slowly growing confident that death wasn't to be found here. Makoto glanced at his classmates. He was unsurprised to see Yasuhiro, Hina and Touko with their hands clasped together, concern and a hint of fear etched upon their faces as clear as day.

Meanwhile, Byakuya's face was as pale as a ghost, and although he was doing his best to conceal it, his eyes were narrowed in worry. He was still shaken up about the downfall of the Togami Corporation - Makoto couldn't blame him. He couldn't imagine how dreadful it must've been to grow up with only one goal in mind, only to have it torn away from you shortly after having achieved it. Had Byakuya lacked a certain degree of resilience and hope, Makoto realised, he might've become a truly aimless individual.

Finally, there was Kyoko, who often showed much less emotion than Byakuya - and that was undoubtedly the case here. As always, her expression was difficult to read, and Makoto couldn't tell exactly how she was feeling simply by looking at her face. But after having spent several weeks in her company and gotten to know her, he could wager a guess. Perhaps Kyoko had seen this stage in their lives coming, somehow.

Yet, Makoto found himself growing concerned about how she was really feeling. It must had been awful for her to discover that her father was dead, regardless of how close she was to him or what her stony expression told him. And, one way or another, all of the other students' stability and emotions had been ruffled like fragile feathers during the killing game. Surely Kyoko had her own scars to bear? Surely she had her own regrets?

It wasn't until Makoto was busily filling out paperwork late one evening that Kyoko had quietly entered the room and slipped into the seat directly beside him. Makoto had briefly looked up and smiled at her in acknowledgement of her presence, before turning back to the sheet of paper and continuing to make inscriptions on it.

"I see that you're busy," Kyoko observed. "I can come back later if necessary."

"Oh!" Makoto placed his pen down and sat straight in his swivel chair, turning it around so that he could properly face Kyoko. "Nah, this can wait. What're you after?"

Kyoko frowned. "Nothing of importance."

"Well, if you've come to see me, it probably is something important," Makoto laughed. "Besides, I'm almost done here. I'll be going to bed soon, I just need to finish off these two sheets, and then…" He yawned.

Kyoko pursed her lips in hesitation. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, or Makoto had already started dreaming, but he swore that her pale cheeks had taken on a faint pink tint.

"I would just like to properly thank you," she finally said, "for everything you have done to ensure our escape and safety. We couldn't have done it without you, Makoto."

"Kyoko-"

He hadn't noticed Kyoko leaning towards him, and he was startled to find that she had kissed him, her eyes fluttering closed, her lips connected to his for the briefest of moments, until she slowly pulled away, rose to her feet and left the room as silently as she'd entered it.

Makoto raised a finger to his lips, surprised, yet somewhat content. Kyoko had just told him everything that she was feeling at that moment, with minimal words and impulsive actions.