On their last night of the camping trip, Naegi had requested to talk to Kirigiri in private. There were lots of things on his mind that he wished to discuss with her, especially regarding Genocide Jill and Nagito Komaeda. But more than anything, Naegi needed to talk to Kirigiri. Talking to Kirigiri had always enabled him to think more clearly and even now that time has rewound, that aspect has not changed.

They snuck out of their respective tents at midnight, being careful not to wake any of their exhausted classmates or Mr Mori. For a long while, Naegi silently followed Kirigiri along an inclining path through the woods. Perhaps it was due their act of sneaking out that he did not feel safe about opening his mouth until they were substantially far enough from the campsite.

'Where are we heading to?' he softly asked.

'You'll see,' Kirigiri replied, smirking a little as she did so.

They soon came out of the trees and onto a ledge by the side of the mountain. From the ledge, the great wide forest spread from beneath their feet and the magnificent starry sky loomed above their heads. The crescent moon hung low above the trees and from their high position on the mountain, it almost seemed like they would be able to pluck it from the sky. The view was simply breathtaking.

'Wow….' Naegi said, stumped by the beautiful scenery.

'Amazing isn't it?' Kirigiri said proudly, 'I came here before a long time ago. My dad… he took me here when I was a kid…' Kirigiri's voice softly trailed off at the mention of her father, the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. Naegi turned towards her with a gentle look upon his eyes. The Kirigiri from the future had told him about how her father had left her when she was young, and hence her bitter feelings towards the father that had abandoned her.

'Anyway, I'm glad I still remember where this place is,' Kirigiri said shaking her head, forcibly dragging her own thoughts back to reality. 'I thought that if you wanted to talk, we can kill two birds with one stone and admire the scenery too.'

'If there's anything that you'd like to talk about, I'll listen,' Naegi gently said.

'About my father?' Kirigiri asked, catching his drift. 'There's nothing much to talk about there. He abandoned the family, that's all there is to it.'

'That much I heard,' Naegi said.

'From the future me?' Kirigiri asked.

'Yep.'

Kirigiri sighed deeply. 'It's true that I don't have much to say about my father. We don't exactly have an amicable father-daughter relationship. But having to face him as the Headmaster… sometimes I wonder how I should face him… I've been treating him coldly while he acts like nothing has ever happened. But then again… I don't really know what I expect of him either.'

'Maybe you should talk to him,' Naegi suggested, 'and I mean really, really talk. I may not know him that well, but I know for a fact that he's constantly thinking of you.' Of course, Naegi's claims were not groundless. He had personally seen for himself how the Headmaster had used Kyoko's name as the password to a hidden room in his office.

'Let's talk about this some other day,' Kirigiri finally spoke up after a long pause. 'For now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?'

Naegi proceeded to tell her about Genocide Jill and Ikusaba, as well as his conversation with Komaeda. Even after he had finished talking, Kirigiri remained silent as she contemplated the situation on hand.

'From what I can gather,' Kirigiri said thoughtfully, 'I think we can trust Ikusaba to keep quiet about Genocide Jill for now. But this guy named Komaeda on the other hand… I'm interested in knowing more about him.'

'Eh?'

'I don't have a good feeling about him,' Kirigiri replied. 'That's all I can say for now.'

Naegi nodded and silently turned to admire the starry sky. Time is ticking and from the little that he could gather from his final investigation and confrontation during the killing game, the trigger of Mankind's Most-Despair-Inducing incident should happen a year into their time at Hope's Peak Academy. Will history repeat itself? Or is this universe a parallel one such that the Most-Despair-Inducing incident won't happen at all? As those questions weighed down Naegi's mind, he felt Kirigiri's gloved hand gently gripping his. No words were spoken but that small gesture lifted his spirit. At the very least, he knew that with Kirigiri by his side, he would have the strength to go through with his mission.

The days that followed the camping trip seemed to drag on. The summer heat and the excitement of the upcoming holidays appeared to have dragged down time to a rate of unbearable slowness. Students' chatters about their upcoming holiday filled the hallways of Hope's Peak Academy. Most were returning home for the holidays whereas a few had signed up for summer courses.

Naegi himself had decided to head home to visit his family. Looking back, he realised that he had not met his family ever since his memory was altered by Junko Enoshima although he had kept in contact with them throughout the school term. Mom, Dad, Komaru… I hope this is not a dream… that you really are safe and sound, he silently prayed in his heart.

'Hey! Don't forget our vacation plans!' Asahina's merry voice rang throughout the classroom, snapping Naegi back into reality. Class 78 has planned a week's vacation to an island resort owned by an alumni of Hope's Peak Academy. As such, students of Hope's Peak Academy were entitled to a special discount for staying at the islands, making it a popular vacation spot.

'Right,' Ishimaru chimed in, 'Just to go through the plan again, we are meeting at exactly 8am sharp-'

'You've went through the plan a gazillion times Ishimaru!' Hagakure exclaimed, his wild hair bobbing up and down as he shook his head in exasperation.

Ishimaru instantly turned red in the face as he rebutted, 'I'm just making sure!' The whole class broke into laughter at the exchange and even Naegi had to smile at his classmates' antics.

Just then, a childish-looking boy he had never met before snuck into the classroom and passed him a piece of paper. 'Makoto Naegi, right?' he whispered, 'Matsuda wants me to pass this to you.' Slightly perplexed, Naegi eyed the folded piece of paper for a moment. But before he could thank the boy, Naegi realised that he had disappeared.

He carefully unfolded the piece of paper underneath his desk. On it, a single line was written: 'Biology lab, tonight, 8pm.'

That evening, Naegi paced around his room listlessly as he awaited his scheduled time with Matsuda. He had made plans with Kirigiri for them to meet up at his dorm room before heading to the biology lab and even though he knew that it was still way too early for her to show up, he still felt anxious. What was it that Yasuke Matsuda wants? Did he finally realise the truth about Junko Enoshima?

As he pondered over those questions, a soft knock sounded. Naegi quickly rushed to the door.

'Kyoko!' he exclaimed as he opened it.

But the one standing in front of his dorm room was not Kyoko Kirigiri, but Chihiro Fujisaki.

'Chi-Chihiro?' Naegi stammered in shock.

'Ah! I'm sorry for giving you a shock!' Fujisaki quickly apologised.

'No, that's all right! I just wasn't… expecting you.'

Fujisaki looked around anxiously before asking, 'may I come in?'

Naegi led Fujisaki into the room and invited him to sit on his bed. At the same time, he was confused as to why Fujisaki had visited him out of the blue.

'Hey Makoto,' Fujisaki finally spoke up after a moment of silence. 'Remember that theory about time travel that we talked about?'

Naegi recalled the conversation he had with Fujisaki about the transportation of the consciousness and nodded.

'Well, as promised, I've looked into your theory,' Fujisaki continued. 'And I've found some incredible results! It seems like it might be possible after all!'

'Really!?' Naegi gasped.

Fujisaki nodded fervently. 'There are still a number of hiccups along the way, so I can't develop the necessary technology as of yet, but my research looks promising so far and the base idea has already been established. As you've said, the body of the past can be a suitable vessel. From a moral perspective, you can refrain from hijacking another living body through that method. Suppose a person's lifetime is one straight timeline, with this technology, you would be able to pluck out a person's consciousness in time period A and transport it to time period B.'

'That's great news isn't it!? That would explain how I got here!'

'It… it is…' Fujisaki replied. His expression looking torn.

'Chihiro?' Naegi asked.

'It-It's an amazing discovery, no doubt.' Fujisaki slowly said. 'But to be honest… I hate to think that the future that you told me about was a reality. Don't get me wrong! I believe every word you said… but at the same time… I don't really want to believe it.'

'I understand,' Naegi said gently. 'I don't want that to become a reality either. That's why we have to do all we can to prevent that from happening.'

'What if Enoshima strikes first?' Fujisaki asked, his voice rising in panic. 'What if I'm not able to develop that technology before the incident happens? Will the current you disappear due to time paradox?'

'I… don't know…' Naegi softly admitted. 'But I do know that I won't just stand by and watch everything happen again. I don't want to go through another killing game…'

'I-I'm sorry…' Fujisaki said, 'it must be harder on you than it is on me… I can't imagine having to watch our friends kill one another.'

'It's all right,' Naegi said, smiling gently at the frail Fujisaki. 'We have to think optimistically. Since I am here, it would mean that you succeeded in making the technology, right?'

Fujisaki's eyes widened at Naegi's suggestion, but a smile soon spread across his face. 'I guess that's a much better way to look at it. Thanks Makoto.'

Naegi grinned at him. 'Well being optimistic is the only thing I'm good at.'

Before Fujisaki was able to reply, a knock sounded on his door again. This time Kyoko Kirigiri stood at the doorway. But even Kirigiri's usually calm face was unable to hide her surprise at Fujisaki's presence in Naegi's room.

Naegi quickly updated Kirigiri with Fujisaki's information. At the end of his story, Kirigiri smiled at Fujisaki and said, 'That's some amazing work you did there.'

'T-Thank you!' Fujisaki said, his face flushing with happiness at the recognition he received.

'Since we are meeting with Yasuke Matsuda, the Ultimate Neurologist,' Kirigiri said again, 'why don't you come along? If we manage to get Matsuda's cooperation, I'm sure his expertise will greatly help you in this project.'

'M-May I?' Fujisaki asked.

Naegi and Kirigiri both nodded in agreement.

'Let's go,' Naegi said, 'It's nearly time.'

They found Matsuda sitting on a bed in the biology lab with a comic book in his hands, his appearance as dishevelled as ever.

'H-Hey,' Naegi said nervously. 'I received your message.'

Matsuda shut his comic book and turned around to face them, his eyes looking more serious than Naegi ever saw during his past encounter with Matsuda. 'Do you know about Hope's Peak Academy's preparatory school?'

Before Naegi could ponder about it, Kirigiri had replied, 'Clearly. But I'll explain just so that we're on the same page.' Kirigiri whose father was the Headmaster must have known better than anyone about Hope's Peak Academy's educational structure. 'Hope's Peak Academy is built around the idea that the graduates are the nation's future "hope" and thus the concept of "talent" is widely researched throughout the academy. For that reason alone, the teaching staff were in fact researchers who devoted their life to learn more about that "talent" and how it manifests itself in different individuals. But because the school only accepts talents that they have scouted, the money they make through school fees are limited. Donations and subsidies aren't enough to support the wide-scale research that the school is constantly undertaking.

'Therefore in order to source funds, the preparatory school was established. Hope's Peak Academy is a prestigious name. It promises graduates success in life and is therefore the envy of all the high schoolers everywhere. So when Hope's Peak finally opens its doors for applications, even into a mere prep school, money flooded in. That's… the harsh reality of this school. All these facilities are paid for by the families of students who are never going to enjoy them but given false hope that they will one day be part of the main school.'

Matsuda nodded as Kirigiri finished her explanation, while both Naegi and Fujisaki looked terrified.

'T-That's just… too cruel!' Fujisaki stammered.

'It's just the truth,' Matsuda said. 'What do you think will happen if the prep school students ever find out about this?'

'They'll probably protest… or revolt?' Naegi said hesitantly.

'The truth alone isn't guaranteed to start a revolution,' Matsuda said, 'and Junko isn't the type to bet on chances.'

'What is it that you're trying to say?' Kirigiri asked.

'What I'm trying to say is that the trigger of the Most-Despair-Inducing incident will not be a mere leak of the truth,' Matsuda said in a hollow tone, 'something else must take place… something that Junko is planning.'

'What…?' Naegi gasped.

'What is she planning!?' Kirigiri exclaimed anxiously.

'You know what she's planning,' Matsuda said averting his gaze from Kirigiri's deadly stare. 'You have experienced that for yourself… haven't you?' he turned to Naegi as he finished his sentence.

'But… that's impossible…' Naegi said, 'the killing game… it happened after the Most-Despair-Inducing incident happened…'

'What made you so sure that nothing like that has happened before?' Matsuda asked.

Silence pierced through the room. No one ever imagined that another killing game was the catalyst for the Most-Despair-Inducing incident.

Matsuda let out a deep sigh. 'Truth be told, Junko's not the type to reveal the full extent of her plans. She merely hinted at bits and pieces, so I can't be 100% sure of what she's planning. But I do know her main target for this operation.'

Naegi, Kirigiri and Fujisaki all looked at him curiously.

'I wonder if the name Izuru Kamukura rings a bell?' Matsuda asked.

'If I remember correctly… that's the name of Hope's Peak Academy's founder?' Fujisaki replied.

Matsuda nodded. 'Yes. The idea of the gathering of talents came from him. But this information that I'm about to tell you is top secret, even amongst the staff members.' Matsuda ruffled his messy bedhead as he pondered over his next words, 'You see… when you hold an experiment, there must be a control group or a baseline measurement. The same concept is applied to the area of talents research in Hope's Peak. To research talent, there must be a control group with no talents…'

'The prep school students!' Naegi exclaimed as realisation struck him.

'That's right,' Matsuda continued. 'Therein lies the other function of the prep school. But they took it a step further this time… They took a student from the preparatory course and experimented on him, giving him such an abundance of talents that he is conceived to be the Ultimate of the Ultimate students. With so much talent, it is believed that he will shape the nation's future. Hence why he was given the name of Hope's Peak Academy's founder and also given the title… Ultimate Hope.'

Ultimate… Hope… it can't be… experimentation… Junko's target is the Ultimate Hope… Those thoughts whirled around in Naegi's mind, creating an unfathomable pandemonium.

'So… does she plan to involve Kamukura in a killing game?' Kirigiri quietly asked.

'Yes, I believe so,' Matsuda said, 'There's nothing that she wants more than that. Literally crushing mankind's Ultimate Hope.'

'We'll need to come up with something to stop her,' Kirigiri said. 'And I think… that Fujisaki's plan is a good start. After all, we need to make sure that Makoto's future self doesn't disappear due to time paradox.'

Matsuda looked at her, seemingly perplexed. The project was soon explained to him and he subsequently nodded. 'I think it's doable. I'll also work on restoring your lost memories,' he said turning to Naegi.

'Thanks. We'll be counting on you then,' Naegi said, he hesitated for a moment before adding, 'If I may ask though, why the sudden change of heart?'

Matsuda averted his gaze towards the window. 'To be honest, had I not heard of your story before, I probably would have blindly followed Junko's plans. But she… she's an important existence to me. And if possible, I… I would like to save her.'

Kirigiri smiled at Matsuda's reply, seemingly satisfied by his motivation. She got up to leave the lab and both Naegi and Fujisaki followed suit. But before reaching the exit, she turned back to face Matsuda.

'One last thing though,' Kirigiri said, 'if it's top secret, how did you know about Izuru Kamukura?'

Matsuda smiled bitterly as he replied, 'Because I helped to create that monster.'