i.
In hindsight, she always knew - somewhere deep inside - that this could end no other way.
ii.
It happens so quickly that she barely has time to register it; before she can even take in the bizarre rippling of the floor beneath her feet, Kyouko Kirigiri finds herself staring up at a monstrosity of burning limbs, writhing up from the ground like aberrant roots. In the back of her mind she knows she needs to move, right now, but her legs freeze where she stands, immobile in the face of sheer terror. Hers is a steeled heart, but no amount of resilience could ever prepare her for this aberration of a world - beyond the atrocity standing before her she can see malignant shadows shifting in the distance, any apt description of their appearances beyond the scope of her vocabulary - and there is screaming; incoherent, strangled noises that remind her of things just out of reach, and she is vaguely aware that the mass of limbs is stretching an arm out towards her, but still she cannot find the strength to move -
and suddenly the world splits open in a mass of colorless light, and her legs finally give way beneath her.
iii.
"Are you sure you're all right, Kirigiri-san?" Makoto Naegi asks her for what may possibly be the tenth time in the space of as many seconds, as she pushes herself to her feet and dusts off her skirt. Such insistent repetition could be irritating, but the concern in his voice rings clear, and so she makes no comment about it.
"I am fine," she assures him - and it is not a lie; save for a few remnants of fear-laced adrenaline swimming in her fingertips, she is calm and entirely unhurt - "although I would appreciate it if you would tell me what just happened."
So he does. He fumbles his way through a clumsy explanation of what it was she just encountered, about witches and their familiars and their worlds, and about magi and what their jobs are, and all of it sounds utterly ludicrous, as if the fairy tales of her early childhood had come to life but become warped along the way. But Kyouko is not foolish enough to deny what she has just seen - as much as she would like to - so she sits and listens to his words.
"I see," she says when he stops speaking, and she takes a few moments to process what she has just heard. "So, Naegi-kun, how did you become a magi?"
But instead of answering, he merely looks at her in shock for a few silent moments. "H-How do you know my name?" he asks, in a bewildered tone that puzzles Kyouko.
"We are in the same class," she replies slowly, and Naegi raises his hands up.
"Ah - no, I know that, of course, I didn't mean-" - and he gives an embarrassed laugh - "but, I just guess I didn't really think you'd - remember my name, you know?" His tone carries a slight edge of self-deprecation, but Kyouko thinks his confusion might not be entirely unjustified. Makoto Naegi is an average boy, with average grades and average talents; they have been in the same class for little under a month, but Kyouko has seen enough of him for his unexceptional nature to be established in her mind. Between this and the fact that their class is filled with a host of more... eccentric personalities, it is not unreasonable for him to expect her not to remember him.
But she merely replies, "I do not forget the name of anyone I meet."
"Ah," Naegi says in response, and silence falls for a few moments before Kyouko speaks up. "You did not answer my question."
Instantly Naegi's eyes widen. "Ah - oh, man, right, I'm really sorry! Um, you..." He trails off for a couple of seconds as he thinks. "Um, well, you have to make a wish - ah, I didn't tell you about Kyubey - sorry-"
When he stops apologizing enough to get his words out, Naegi tells her about Kyubey; about how you become magi from making a contract with him, and how - "he can make any wish you have come true, no matter how big it i-"
"Doesn't that strike you as strange?" Kyouko interrupts, and Naegi looks at her in surprise. "He grants your wish so that you'll make a contract with him? What does he gain from you becoming a magi?"
He blinks at her, and Kyouko can practically hear the thoughts turning in his head. "Well, uh... I've never really thought about it," he replies sheepishly. "We - we fight off the witches, I guess? That's what he gains from it?" And perhaps this, right here, is the moment when the first seeds of doubt begin to sow themselves in Kyouko's mind, but she does not further the subject, merely acknowledging what he says with an "I see."
Another brief silence falls before Naegi says tentatively, "Um, Kirigiri-san, you're taking this - well - really calmly... are you sure you're okay?"
"How do you suggest I should be taking it?" she returns, and Naegi stares at her before he mumbles, "Well, um - good point," and trails off awkwardly, leaving them both in silence again. Kyouko does not dislike silence - rather, she finds it gives her time to contemplate things - but Naegi seems to be uncomfortable in its grip, fidgeting and occasionally opening and closing his mouth as if he is going to say something but ultimately decides against it. Just as Kyouko is considering putting him out of his misery and saying something, he glances at his watch and jumps to his feet urgently.
"Ah - Kirigiri-san, I'm really sorry - I have to - my sister, um - I didn't realize what time it was, I have to go - sorry," he blurts out, looking genuinely apologetic. "If you ever want to talk about anything or - you know, about today, you can talk to me anytime you want - sorry -" He turns to dash off, but Kyouko stands up and calls out "Please wait a moment," and he instantly turns to her.
"I have to thank you," she says. "I can never repay what you did for me today."
At first, Naegi just stares at her in confusion, as if the concept of her thanking him for saving her life is incomprehensible, and his expression is so bewildered that Kyouko almost begins to think she's said something bizarre. A moment later, though, he breaks into a shy smile. "Wh - you don't have to thank me, Kirigiri-san, I just did what anyone would do! You don't owe me anything."
A pause. "I see." For some reason, Kyouko finds herself wanting to say something more, but instead, she gives a small smile - and for some reason she swears Naegi's face flickers with something that is - not quite surprise, but something close. "I'll see you in class, then."
Naegi smiles again and says "Yes - I'll see you - thank you," and dashes off. In the midst of wondering what she did that was worth his gratitude, Kyouko reflects that Makoto Naegi may not be quite so unremarkable after all.
iv.
The next time she sees Makoto Naegi outside of school, it is under circumstances which are significantly less terrifying but perhaps just as equally bewildering. He is walking down a somewhat quiet street with a girl at his side; a scene that is not in itself completely shocking, but what does surprise Kyouko is that the girl is Sayaka Maizono.
Sayaka Maizono. Even discounting Kyouko's aptitude at remembering people she meets, she doubts there is anyone in their entire school who has not heard Maizono's name. She burst into the idol scene seemingly out of nowhere a few months ago with what one magazine described as 'the most star-studded debut in the history of the industry'. Charismatic to the point where it should probably be obnoxious but somehow manages not to be, universally adored by everyone she meets, Sayaka Maizono is the exact opposite of the person she would expect to be walking with a boy like Makoto Naegi.
At this moment, Naegi turns his head and meets Kyouko's eye, and she swears his entire face lights up. "Ah – Kirigiri-san!" Maizono looks back too, and Kyouko sees the confusion register on her face, but she smiles brightly at Kyouko never the less as Naegi runs up to him.
"Good afternoon, Naegi-kun, Maizono-san," Kyouko greets politely. Maizono gracefully mirrors her slight bow with Naegi clumsily following suit a moment later. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah, we're -" and here Naegi darts his eyes around in a conspiratorial manner that borders on comical - "we're going witch hunting," he tells her in a hushed voice, and Kyouko's eyes flash in surprise. From the way Maizono makes no response to this comment, she guesses -
"So you're a magi too, Maizono-san?" Kirigiri asks, and Maizono gives a shy smile and nods her head. Well, that explains why they're together. "Maizono-san's been a magi for a really long time," Naegi tells her enthusiastically, and Kyouko swears she can see his eyes sparkling. "She's amazing! She taught me everything I know – she's way better than I am."
"Ah, that's not true at all, Naegi-kun," Maizono replies. "After all, you saved Kirigiri-san from that familiar all by yourself. That takes considerable skill, especially for a beginner," she tells him, and Naegi blushes his head embarrassedly. "Anyone could've done that," he mumbles, and maybe Kirigiri would normally be bothered by such unnecessary humility, but on Naegi it comes across as almost endearing.
"Shall we be off then, Naegi-kun? Ah – Kirigiri-san," Maizono breaks off, turning to Kyouko with a thoughtful expression. "I don't suppose you'd like to come with us? You wouldn't be placed in any danger, I assure you," and here she gives her a beatific smile that makes it nearly impossible for Kyouko to say no.
Naegi opens his mouth, and Kyouko can tell he's going to say something like ah, you don't have to come if you don't want to, if it's a bother or something, and so she replies gently, "I'd love to."
v.
Somehow, it becomes routine for Kyouko to tag along with Naegi and Maizono's outings. She herself isn't entirely sure why she finds herself accompanying them so much. But it's a fascinating thing to watch, an insight into her classmates' double lives, and in some way she finds herself enjoying it.
Their third encounter with a familiar is the first time she meets Kyubey.
From the minute she lays eyes on it she knows something is wrong. She feels that familiar intuitive warning in her heart, only this time it is ramped up to eleven, like alarm bells screeching in her head, drumming in time with her racing heart. Every part of her body is screaming at her, every thought boiling down to one thing – get away from it.
Instead, she rearranges her face into a calm expression and says, "You must be Kyubey."
For a moment it makes no response at all, save for a slight twitch of its tail. "That's right," it answers, and its voice sets her teeth on edge. "Kyouko Kirigiri."
They exchange no further words, but as Naegi and Maizono battle the familiar, she feels its eyes on her the entire time.
It does not ask. The time is not right.
vi.
They beat a particularly difficult familiar one day, and while Kyouko never fears that they are in any extreme danger, by the end of the battle they are both exhausted, Naegi bent over, clutching his knees as he gasps for breath. Even Maizono, who is normally unflustered at all times, leans back against a wall, sweat dripping down her face.
After a few moments, Naegi looks up at Maizono with his expression one of victory and relief, and says "Maizono-san, we did i-"
But he breaks off, because Maizono's expression has warped into one of terror, so much so that even Kyouko feels dread in her heart. "What is it?" Naegi asks urgently, and Maizono grits her teeth, staring further into the realm of the familiar – which Kyouko only just notes has not yet disappeared.
"It's not done," Maizono says.
Moments later, as they burst into the world of the witch, Kyouko knows that it is far unlike anything they have ever faced before. The figure before them is terrifying in the purest sense of all, a sheer embodiment of dread, and it makes Kyouko's knees tremble at the sight of it. Next to her, Maizono seems to be having a similar reaction; she is still exhausted from their fight with the familiar, and the terror in her eyes as clear as day, her hands shaking around her sword.
Naegi, however, steps forward. He holds his bow in trembling hands but his face is resolute. "Let's go, Maizono-san," he says, and his voice wavers only slightly as he stares up at the witch.
It is clear that all the resolution in the world could not change the fact that they are fighting a losing battle. The witch throws Maizono through the air with a slam from one of its vines, its thorns digging into her skin and making her shriek in agony. Naegi is still standing firm, but his breathing comes ragged and his legs look as though they're about to collapse beneath him. The witch's laughter is shrill and piercing, mocking their feeble attempts to defeat it; for while they are trying their utmost best, they have dealt little to no damage to the abomination.
"I can't do it," Maizono sobs between her heaving breaths, and the tears on her face mingle with her sweat and her blood. "I can't do it!" Naegi opens his mouth to answer her but before he can say anything the witch deals another blow to him and he is sent flying, his body skidding across the floor. From behind the barrier she is shielded by, Kyouko watches helplessly, her mouth dry with fear.
Then, all of a sudden, the witch begins to writhe and shift, and as she watches it grow, Kyouko knows this cannot mean anything good. Its vines twist upward and it stares down at Naegi and Maizono as it transforms and she knows it is preparing its final attack.
There is a sound at her feet, suddenly, and she glances down to see Kyubey there, staring up at her with its empty, unblinking eyes. It says nothing. Maizono is unmoving now, her sword at her feet as she stares up into the face of the witch with an empty expression, and Naegi stands readying an arrow. His entire body is trembling with fatigue and terror, but still he does not back down.
Kyouko opens her mouth, and it is in that exact second that the realm cracks open and the figure of a girl comes bursting in.
vii.
"She's amazing, isn't she? My big sis," Junko Enoshima announces brightly after the witch's realm dissolves away into nothingness. "Did y'see her? Knocked that witch out in ten seconds flat! Always showing me up, she is – although I suppose you're the one she showed up this time, heh – but don't worry about it, y'know, we can't all be as impressive and adorable as my darling sister," she croons, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders and squeezing in a way that seems half affectionate and half threatening.
"Um," Naegi says. The bewilderment on his face might be amusing under any other circumstances. "You and Ikusaba-san are – magi too, Enoshima-san?"
"Huh?" Junko responds, peering at Naegi's face with raised eyebrows. "What was your name again? Nagato? Nagasaki?"
"I'm-"
"Ha!" she laughs suddenly, and Naegi visibly jumps. "I'm just joshin' with ya, Naegi-kun – who could forget a face like yours!" She smiles then, showing her pearly, blindingly-white teeth, and Kyouko recognizes it as the grin of a predator. "Plus, y'know, in my line of work – in my industry – you ain't gonna get anywhere if you can't remember names! Of course, you'd know all about that, Maizono-chan," she says conversationally, and Maizono, who until this point had been silent as she desperately tried to catch her breath, jumps at being addressed. "Heard your new CD the other day, by the way – it's great! Very promising, full of talent – you're a woman after my own heart – but," and here her voice shifts tone almost imperceptibly, and something in her expression shifts as she says with half-lidded eyes and a sickly sweet tone, "you know, not all of us got such an easy ride to get where we are today."
Kyouko has no idea what this is meant to mean, but for a fraction of a second, Maizono's expression flicks to one of sheer horror. A moment later it is gone, but Kyouko didn't miss it, and – judging from the way her smile widens just a bit – neither did Junko.
"Anyway!" she shouts suddenly, and Naegi jumps again. "Best be off, places to go, people to see – you know what it's like," she says wisely to Naegi, and he nods despite clearly having no idea what she's talking about. "Nice meetin' ya, everyone! Ah, one last thing -"
With a lazy flick of her hand, she tosses the witch's dropped grief seed at Maizono, who catches it gently and stares down at it as if she has no idea what it is. "A lil' parting gift! Courtesy of yours truly – ah, but I suppose it's really from Mukuro-chan! Y'don't mind, do ya, sis?" She beams brilliantly at Ikusaba, who shakes her head silently. "Fantastic! That's my sis, always a team player – so giving – anyway, I'll be seeing you all around," she grins, delivering a parting wink before she begins to skip away. Ikusaba follows dutifully after her, delivering no farewell of her own – but as she passes Kyouko, she turns to meet her gaze and her eyes narrow slightly, almost imperceptibly, before she walks off.
They stand in silence for a few moments, Kyouko silently processing all she has just witnessed, Maizono staring down at the grief seed with the same shellshocked expression on her face, and Naegi awkwardly trying to decide what to do next. Eventually he opens his mouth and says, "We-"
"I'm going home," Maizono interrupts, her tone uncharacteristically blunt.
"Ah," says Naegi eloquently, clearly unsure how to respond to the ice in Maizono's tone. "Um – I'll – see you tomorrow, then?" Maizono leaves without so much as acknowledging his words, leaving Naegi and Kyouko alone to stand together in silence.
viiii.
"Do you remember when you saved me?" Kyouko asks one day as they stand, watching the shifting of the sky's colors as the city becomes dyed in the sunset.
"Of course," Naegi replies immediately. "What is it?"
"The thing you saved me from," Kyouko begins, and Naegi's mouth falls open slightly. "That was a witch, wasn't it?"
"That – uh," he says, and he stares at his feet awkwardly. "Yeah, it was."
"Why did you tell Maizono-san it was a familiar?"
"Well," Naegi replies, avoiding her gaze. "I dunno, I – I guess I didn't want her to give me more credit than I deserved?"
"That deserved credit," she responds. "You defeated a witch singlehandedly. Even I understand that is no easy feat." Naegi blushes lightly at her words, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly. "Yeah, but – I didn't do it because I wanted praise or anything, I just did it because – it was the right thing to do, you know?"
Kyouko goes to respond, but thinks better of it. Instead, she merely stands in silence for a few moments, adding this to the list of things she knows about Makoto Naegi. "I see."
ix.
Lately, Maizono's been – kind of off in a way that Kyouko can't explain. She still smiles as brightly as ever and her tone is as cheerful as it's always been, but sometimes, when she thinks nobody is watching her, her expression becomes completely blank, save for a darkness in the set of her eyes.
Kyouko knows it can mean nothing good.
x.
"Do you know what happens to magi who don't use enough grief seeds?" Enoshima asks them one day, after they run into her on their way back from one of their witch-hunting trips.
"Um. No," Naegi says in response.
"Hmm," Enoshima says. "Hmm hmm hmm. Well!" She claps Naegi on the shoulder and grins her feral grin. "Guess you'll be finding out sooner or later! But will it be sooner or will it be later? That's the question! That's the question," - and here she points a finger at Naegi's face, making him flinch slightly - "that you should be asking!"
"You could just tell us," Kyouko suggests quietly, despite full well knowing the chances of this actually happening are precisely zero.
"Me?" Enoshima presses her hands to her chin in faux-surprise. "What makes you think that little old me would know such a devilish secret like that? I'm shocked! Appalled! If there's anyone you should be asking, it's miss veteran over here! I mean, how long have you been an idol, Maizono-chan?"
At these words, Maizono's expression shifts into one of sheer horror. She opens her mouth as if to speak but no words come out. "I don't see what that has to do with anything," Kyouko intervenes smoothly.
"Ah, but of course, it's got nothing to do with it! Nothing! Ain't no correlation at all!" Enoshima laughs, and the sound is nails scraping down a chalkboard. "Anyway, I gotta be going! But I'm sure I'll be seeing you around sooner or later. And who knows! Maybe it might be sooner after all!"
And then she is gone, leaving Maizono and Naegi in silence and Kyouko putting the pieces together.
xi.
Over the next couple of weeks, Maizono continues to deteriorate. Her fighting style becomes more erratic, more careless; a far cry from her refined, graceful movements from when Kyouko first met her. She suffers more injuries than ever before – and in turn, cares less than ever before.
"Maizono-san," Naegi pipes up after one battle, concern ringing in his voice. "Your soul gem's looking pretty – pretty black, um – when was the last time you purified it?"
"I don't know," Maizono responds flatly.
"Ah – well, here, use this grief seed -"
He attempts to pass it to her but she knocks it out of his hand, leaving it to fall to the floor with a clang. Naegi stares at her for a moment before tentatively bending down and picking it up. "Um, Maizono-san? Are you okay?"
"I don't need it," she says, and she begins to walk away. As she does, Kyouko hears her mutter – almost silently - "I don't deserve it."
xii.
Kyouko isn't sure what she was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it.
The witch's realm is terrifying, a discordant mixture of twisted monstrous figures and cheerful imagery, all tied together with chillingly upbeat singing that echoes round the entire area. Naegi stares up at the witch before him, horror and confusion clear in his face. "What is that?"
"Sayaka Maizono," a voice says, and the two spin around to see Mukuro Ikusaba walking towards them, her gun held in her hands. "The remnants of her soul."
"Th-That's Maizono-san?" Naegi repeats, and his eyes grow wide with shock. "Wha – how? What do you mean? Where is she?"
"In front of you," Ikusaba responds, and her eyes are dead and cold. "She used up all of her magical power and became a witch. This is the fate of all magi."
Naegi is silent for a few moments, his mouth hanging open as he stares right through Ikusaba as if he cannot process her words. Finally, he swallows and forces his trembling voice to speak. "How do we save her?"
"She cannot be saved," she says. Naegi looks as though the floor is falling beneath his feet. She loads her gun and turns to him, and for the first time Kyouko sees some hint of emotion in her eyes. "You cannot fight her alone. Let's go."
xiii.
"She told me she wished to become an idol," Naegi tells her, hours later. His voice is dry and his words come out croaked. "She said – she didn't deserve what she had – when everyone else worked so hard – and then she just -" He breaks off here, his hands coming up to cover his face as he stares down at the floor. The silence drags on for a few moments before he speaks up again.
"She's gone," he whispers, and his eyes are round and wet with tears. "She's gone, and it's – it's all my fault -"
"No," Kyouko interrupts him immediately, and he looks at her in surprise as the tears begin to drip down his cheeks. "Rid yourself of that thought immediately. None of this was your fault."
"But – I should've helped her, I should've -"
"Nobody could have predicted that this would happen, least of all you," Kyouko tells him firmly. "You did everything you could've possibly done. The only one who could've ever stopped this from happening was Maizono herself."
Naegi wipes his face clean of tears and stares at her for a few seconds. "Are you – are you sure?"
"I do not tell lies for the benefit of others, even if they are kind lies." Her face softens, and she gives him a small smile. "I am sure."
Naegi smiles then, and it's a far cry from his usual cheerful expression, but it's certainly a start. "Thanks, Kirigiri-san. You know, I – I couldn't do this without you."
xiv.
She meets Enoshima late one night, sitting at the bus stop as the rain pours incessantly down. The girl sits with crossed legs and a bored expression, and the way she looks at Kyouko makes her think that she's been waiting for her to come.
"So," Enoshima says as a way of greeting, "little miss idol finally kicked the bucket, huh?"
"You knew this would happen." It's not a question.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Enoshima responds, her tone sickeningly insincere. "How was I meant to know that Sayaka-chan would end up feeling oh so despairingly guilty about her deception? I mean, magic is meant to be used for your own sake! She definitely got that one right," she laughs, and Kyouko will never find the sound anything other than piercingly unpleasant.
"But y'know," she continues before Kyouko can make any sort of response, "y'know who I really feel sorry for? More than Maizono?" She pauses, letting her question hang unanswered in the air. "Naegi-kun."
Kyouko unwillingly raises her eyebrows at this, just for a moment, and Enoshima catches it. "I mean, with Maizono gone, it's gonna be double the pressure on him! Me and my lovely sister are still around, of course, but we got our own battles to fight! We can't be chasing after him all the time! But doesn't it fill you with such dread, thinking of him – out there on his own, no support from anyone! It's an awful heavy weight to carry! Almost makes you wish there was another magi around to help him," she sighs, leaning back against the bus stop wall, her eyes flickering to see Kyouko's expression. But whatever Kyouko may be, she is no fool; Enoshima will have to try a lot harder if she wishes to manipulate her, and so she makes no response.
Seeing this, Enoshima sighs again, only this time it is darker and less exaggerated. "God, you're boring. You're so boring. I can't believe my sister's losing to someone as mind-numbingly boring as you. Then again," she pauses for a moment, raising her eyes thoughtfully, "Mukuro-chan's pretty damn boring herself. Incredibly so! So predictable! Going all the way out to help Naegi-kun in that fight even after I specifically told her not to!" She laughs again. "That's love for ya! Am I right, Kirigiri-san?"
Enoshima grins at her, and the sight and the sound of her voice makes disgust pool in the pit of Kyouko's stomach. She has to leave, because Junko Enoshima is poison, from the shrill tone of her laughter right down to the tips of her acryllic nails, seeping into Kyouko's heart and making her want to vomit.
"Ah! Wait! Before you go," Enoshima interrupts her as she stands to leave. "I'll tell you a secret, Kyouko-chan!"
The sickeningly faux-sweet tone of her informality is revolting, but Kyouko turns around one last time. Enoshima's expression is bright and her eyes are wide.
"There's something coming," she tells her, and the grin on her face is more terrifying than ever before. "Something awful! Something oh so despairingly terrifying! And when it does, Kirigiri-san, you adorable passive bystander, you; well, it'll be about time for you to make a choice!"
xv.
That enigmatic something turns up a week or two later, and if Maizono's witch form was terrifying, Ikusaba's is dreadful in the very purest sense of the word. As it looms over them, eerily silent as it remorselessly demolishes the city, Kyouko feels as though they are standing in the shadow of the end of the world.
"You can't fight it," she says, as Naegi quietly summons his bow into existence. "You can't – even I know that – you don't stand a chance -"
She breaks off desperately as Naegi turns to look at her, and there is a small smile upon his face, out of place when juxtaposed with the devastation without them. "There's no one else who can," he says softly, and Kyouko's heart trembles at the gentle determination in his voice.
"It's impossible – please, God, Naegi-kun, listen to me -" She can't remember the last time she heard her own voice sound this desperate (hell, she's not sure she ever has) but she is desperate; the overshadowing figure of the witch terrifies her in a way she's never experienced before. She knew Enoshima was awful, but to think she would push her own sister over the brink of despair – she could never have imagined this. "Let's run away – nobody would blame you – it's what anyone would do -"
"Kirigiri-san," Naegi interrupts her, and that tiny smile is still there. "I'm glad I got to know you."
She stares at him. "What?"
"I'm glad I saved you that day. I, uh," - here he looks away for a moment, his expression suddenly shy - "I've always wanted to help other people, so – when I got to save you that day, it – made me really happy. And you've been helping me a lot all this time. I couldn't be here without you, so," Naegi swallows, and his expression is hard as he glances up to Ikusaba's witch form. "I'm going to save you one last time."
Kyouko tries to protest, but the words die uselessly in her throat. Naegi meets her gaze, and his eyes are warm. "You never know – I might just make it. I mean," - and here he laughs, and the sound makes her want to cry - "I've always been pretty lucky."
xvi.
But of course, ultimately, it ends the same way she always knew it would.
In the sky, Ikusaba's witch form screeches, a hollow, empty sound that pierces Kirigiri through the heart. Beneath her trembling hands, Naegi's body lies lifeless, his blood pooling around him, staining her clothes, staining her memories.
"He didn't stand a chance," she whispers. "He knew that – so why did he -" Her voice cracks and she falls silent, staring down at his corpse as her shoulders begin to shake.
"It was the only thing for him to do," Kyubey tells her, and his wide, unblinking eyes stare through her. It turns to stare up at the looming shape of the witch. "Well, I suppose this is the end. Since Naegi was the last magi around – save for Enoshima, of course – this city will be consumed in a matter of days."
It turns back to Kyouko then, and she meets its gaze with trembling eyes. "Unless, of course, there's something you'd like to wish for?"
Kyouko stares back into Kyubey's face, and she thinks of Makoto Naegi, who fought tirelessly for the sake of others, who sought nothing in return, who stood resolute even in the face of sheer despair, whose face lit up whenever he saw her, who saved her life once and died trying to do it a second time.
And Kyouko Kirigiri, who has spent her whole life learning to stand alone, to never depend on others, makes her wish and does not look back.
"I want to save him."