This is a second publishing of a story I put out on another platform, retitled and slightly edited. For anyone concerned with plagiarism, don't worry, it's still me.
This is my tribute to the dorktectives, who I've loved together since the original LP of the first game. Here's to mysteries solved and all the mysteries still to come.
The glare from the light streaming through the gymnasium's windows ever so slightly stings my eyes as I step inside. Perhaps it's an indication I should venture outdoors more frequently during daylight hours. If only criminals would be so kind as to operate in accordance with a normal high school student's schedule.
Such time constraints are of no consequence here however. This school has quite the liberal attendance policy. If my research was accurate, I would be well within my rights to never set foot inside a classroom. The staff is practically encouraging negligence; how terribly fitting.
Unfortunately, there is a precursor to this period of truly unmitigated investigation. For as unusual as this place is, it still maintains the trivialities of a high school. Attending the opening ceremony is mandatory.
So here I find myself, in a building filled with other teenagers, all specialized in one field or another and carrying on the din of general conversation. Slowly, I enter their midst, offering polite nods to those who make notice of my presence. Once I reach the edge of the crowd, I stand apart from them and begin studying the other students. Athletes, entertainers, societal deviants, and those with marketable skills; elites of all kinds mingle with each other. From my observations, I notice more senior students are present than my peers. It would appear this year's class is fewer in number than the last, an interesting detail I'll have to remember.
"Um… excuse me?" A nervous voice withdraws me from the clarity of my thoughts.
The voice belongs to a young man slightly shorter than me. Or are we of equal height? I'm so accustomed to my boots I often forget my stature without them. Timid jade eyes peek out at me from under a mop of brown hair. He wears a hooded sweatshirt beneath an average school uniform. Odd. His appearance gives no indication as to his talent.
I answer him with practiced stoicism. "Yes? Can I help you with something?"
He perks up at my response regardless, a grin forming with ease on his face.
"I just wanted to introduce myself, since we're going to be classmates after all." He offers me his hand, his exuberance only increasing. "I'm Naegi Makoto, Super High School Level Luck. Er, that is… I was picked out for the admission lottery at least. Who're you?"
I'm going to have to introduce myself to everyone here, aren't I? How bothersome. Still, I suppose that is preferable to being pestered about my identity by my classmates in the future.
I take his hand in mine, feeling a distinct warmth from him through the leather. Perhaps this a good omen. Or perhaps he's simply dressed too warmly.
"Kirigiri Kyouko, the Super High School Level Detective. A pleasure to meet you, Naegi-kun."
"C'mon, Kirigiri-san! I promise you it'll be fun!" He pleads with me in the locker room. Apparently he's taken notice that this is the only place I regularly visit outside my dorm. I can't tell whether that's endearing or disconcerting.
I shut my locker before glaring at him flatly. This is the third time he's invited me along to a class activity. Apparently he's managed to convince the majority of our peers to regularly attend class alongside him and a few other dedicated pupils. As one of the few remaining outliers, I'm sure he's eager to complete the set.
"As before, I'm flattered, Naegi-kun, but a detective does not have time for distractions. My case load is quite weighty at the moment."
An untruth, but not an outright lie. It is not that the Library has burdened me with many cases, but rather my independent investigation is taking up most of my time. Hope's Peak is involved in some unsavory business, hardly surprising for an institution run by my father, and I intend to uncover it. After all, what better way to break ties with the man than to bring scorn on the institution he abandoned our family for?
The boy shakes his head at me, refusing to take no for an answer. "You must be exhausted working this hard for a whole month now. If you took just one night off, I'm sure you'd feel a lot more refreshed!"
A frown slips through my mask of indifference. In all honesty, the exhaustion is beginning to catch up to me. Being the headmaster's daughter and a master detective, security is looking in on me every other moment. It's made carrying out my investigation quite trying at times, in addition to simply going about my business.
By that line of logic, Naegi's invitation could have merit. Concealment does not come more freely than a group of fifteen rowdy teenagers. The school would have a much harder time keeping track of me if they were under the impression I was properly attending class. And though I am loathe to admit it, spending time as a normal high school student might prove soothing in ways I can't foresee. Should worst come to worst, I could always bring along a Ranpo novel to pass the time.
Most of all, there's a sincerity to my peer's request that I would feel remiss to decline yet again. Though I know better than to take good intentions at face value, I can't bring myself to think ill of him. My objectivity fails me in dealing with him. It is a frightfully unfamiliar occurrence.
I close my eyes and sigh before answering him. "Very well. We're all to meet after school then?"
He beams up at me and I have to fight the small grin he withdraws from somewhere within me. "Right outside the gate. I'll see you then, Kirigiri-san!"
He waves to me as he leaves, no doubt off to recruit other stubbornly antisocial students. I allow myself a quiet smile once he's out of the room.
This is ridiculous. It's not even a track and field event. There are so many better team building exercises than surrendering oneself to gravity and counting on another's ability to maintain their sense of balance well enough not to send both individuals sprawling on the ground. Most of my classmates are relatively trustworthy, but I still would not rely on any of them to save me from a fall.
Though I claim this, there is a notable exception.
"Naegi-kun, are you sure you're ready?" I call out to the boy standing behind me, his creased brow contrasting his reassuring smile.
"I am, don't worry. I promise I'll catch you."
So he says. You'll forgive my apprehension, but Ensohima has failed to catch Ikusaba enough times I feel there's some cause for it. I am amazed the Super High School Level Soldier hasn't resorted to violence yet.
However unlike the model, I have every reason to trust Naegi. Though they have only been petty crimes, we have solved a startling number of cases together in my off hours. When the matter of this school is closed, I have every intention of offering him a position as my assistant investigator. His stomach for violence may need some strengthening, but he has surprisingly keen insight and can always be relied on to help me connect the dots when they fail to line up as imagined. I've trusted him with far more than simply saving me from a flop.
That is exactly why this anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach is so irritating.
"If you insist." Forcing myself to action, I shut my eyes and fall backwards before the fear can paralyze me.
That is when the sound of a sudden impact sends alarm bells ringing through my head.
"Kirigiri-san!" I can hear Naegi yell as his body impacts the back of mine, sending me toppling in the opposite direction.
Opening my eyes for a moment, I lose my footing and trip into a headlong fall. My eyes close once more on reflex and though I brace for a rough impact with the ground, it never comes. Instead, my elbows collide with something soft and warm. Finally regaining my sight, I find myself atop the boy I had trusted to catch me, having accidentally driven my elbows into his stomach. He winces in pain beneath me, bemoaning the wind I accidentally knocked out of him.
It's not an instant later that I recognize our extremely close proximity, not at all aided by our less than chaste physical education uniforms. Suffice it to say, I manage to right myself upwards and on my knees faster than I thought was possible. Clearing my throat and refusing to acknowledge the blush attempting to form on my cheeks, I offer my fallen partner a hand.
"My apologies. I did not mean to injure you."
He takes my hand and lets me help him to his feet, still wheezing from my unintentional elbow drop. "I-I'm just glad you're okay. I wouldn't want to break a promise that quickly."
Bent over and in pain, he beams up at me as though I've never done him wrong in my life. The sight makes my heart rate skyrocket like I've been given an adrenaline shot. I let go of his hand on reflex and immediately feel the urge to grab it once more. The world moves in slow motion as the realization dawns on me.
God help me, I have feelings for Naegi Makoto.
Time resumes its normal flow as a bubbly strawberry blonde bounces into my line of sight and slaps her hands across my coughing partner's shoulders.
"Sorry, my bad! I lost my balance and stumbled right into poor Naegi-kun. I hope the two of you didn't get hurt!" The Super High School Level Gyaru drawls out an apology of questionable sincerity as Ikusaba walks to her side, patches of dirt staining the soldier's uniform like a leopard's spots. Her deathly silence speaks volumes on how this little accident came to pass.
"Don't worry, Enoshima-san, we're fine. Are you okay though, Ikusaba-san?" His concern shifts to the soldier. Petty as it may be, my pity for her fades at this moment.
The minutes pass in ghastly silence as the four of us sit in the cafeteria. The clock tells me hours have passed, yet it feels as though I left the elevator only minutes ago. The coffee in my cup trembles like a stampede is nearby. I realize it's because my hands are shaking a moment later.
I set the cup back down, feeling nausea creep into my bowels. In the back of my mind, there's a steady, distant beat. In the deafening quiet, it slowly grows louder. Clang. Clang. Clang. The pounding of that awful pneumatic press. The pounding that would have reduced him to a bloody pulp.
He would have died. He should have died. It was nothing short of a miracle that Fujisaki's AI was able to save him from being crushed, but that does not change the reason he was there.
I abandoned my partner for the sake of my case. Because I couldn't be asked to prioritize a human life over a goddamned mystery, I unjustly sentenced to death one of the only people I've ever trusted. With his fall down that dark passage, I don't know whether he's alive or dead. I haven't even bothered to check.
I've abandoned him entirely. I'm no better than my own father.
Forcing back my seat in the process, I bolt to my feet, teeth clenched and fists balled. With the deliberate clack of my heels, I tread into the kitchen. Gathering a few basic rations into a bag, I sling it over my shoulder before walking back out of the kitchen and head for the cafeteria door.
"Kirigiri-chi? Where ya goin'?" The clairvoyant attempts to draw my attention. I ignore him and march out, heading for the disposal room.
I guess what they say about your life flashing before your eyes is true. Is it embarrassing I saw so much of him in it? I suppose it's only natural. A detective's partner is a vitally important element of her life.
I took a gamble with that antagonist. There was barely a drop left in the bottle. I'm lucky what was there was enough to stabilize me. Then again, perhaps luck isn't the right quality. All I did was hope for the best. Optimism is quite the admirable trait, but no amount of hope would have let me pull myself out of a coma. No, the Super High School Level Nurse was the one who did that. Of course, she wouldn't have been here to save me if it hadn't been for someone who acted rashly to save her and her friends' lives.
Damn. And here I was hoping to finally get even with him. Even when I was sacrificing my life for his, he ends up being responsible for saving me. Honestly, the man has no tact. I'm not some damsel to be rescued from the villain's machinations. The hard-boiled detective is supposed to be the one who solves the mystery and saves everyone. Considering our survival, I suppose I can settle on an ending like this just once.
Ow. Hobbling on this ankle, maybe I should have asked Tsumiki take a look at it before she left. Oh well. Conventional medicine should suffice.
Stepping outside that wretched mirrored building for the first time in too long, I can't help but notice the air feels different. The sky looks more beautiful than it has in ages. Atop the sea wall, I see him. From this angle, it almost looks like he's standing on the horizon itself.
When he finally turns around and notices me, I offer him a smile and a small wave. Tears stream down his face as he climbs down from the wall and runs to me. Good God, there's bloodstain on his leg! He shouldn't be running in that condi-
My thoughts are interrupted when he reaches me and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a kiss. My eyes shoot open wide for a moment before softly closing as I return the gesture in full. I don't even notice my own tears until our lips separate. We hold each other close, not daring to let go.
"Y-You're alive," he tells me like I'm not aware, choking out the words through sobs and laughter.
"I am, because of Kimura and Tsumiki. Because of you." I take his hand and squeeze it tightly, grateful it won't be the last time I can.
He takes a moment to process the information and I see him reach the conclusion. It's good to know his detective skills haven't dulled while I was away. Following that realization, a far more taxing mystery visibly works through his mind. If he's learned anything from me, I have the utmost confidence he'll be able to solve it.
When he finds the will to speak again, I can see the resolution in his eyes. "Kirigiri-san… Kyouko… I love you."
It's just like him to make a sappy confession like this. How much of a sap does it make me to have fallen for him?
"I suspected as much," I say, capturing him in another deep kiss before he can grow discouraged. Separating, I lean my forehead against his. "You should know I love you too."
We stand there together and savor the moment, blissfully ignorant of the outside world.
That is until I hear Asahina yell from across the docks, "Finally!"
The school's finally starting to resemble something other than a warzone. Not all of the debris is clear yet, but we've done enough work that the old campus is functional again. Still, it would be a smart preventative measure to put up some hazard warnings. I'm sure Togami has more than enough men to spare who can handle that. The last thing we want is a student hurting themselves by accident.
It's bizarre walking in this place's halls as a member of the faculty. So many memories of hope and despair stain every inch of the place. Still, allowing the past to chain us down would be going against everything we've fought for. With our friends and our new students, we'll make a new future for us all. Rather, we will once I can find where my partner has run off to.
Eventually, I find him in an all too familiar classroom, sitting at his old desk with his blazer slung over his chair. Nostalgia is a powerful force, but there's more to it than that. It's important to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. After all, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Even now, I don't agree with what my father did. What I can do is forgive him. This place will always have potential to be a sublime force for good in the world. With saner heads running it, that potential could be fully realized. At the very least, I know I won't be leaving a child behind in order to oversee this school.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. We're not that far into the future yet.
I call out to my daydreaming partner, not restraining my excitement. "Everyone's waiting, Headmaster."
"Yeah. I'm on my way." His sunny expression matches mine as we leave for the gymnasium together. Hope's Peak High School's 79th opening ceremony is about to start.
Danganronpa 3 had it's problems, but they never did. My sincerest congratulations to the heroine who defied her death flags and the hero who got kicked out of the dead girlfriends club.
If you enjoyed the read, let me know. There may be more to come.