A.N: Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to this story! It's been a while! With Naegiri Week and other stuff in the books, I can finally go back to updating this story, and I'm not complaining! Without further ado, this chapter takes place not too long after the next one. Enjoy!

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Machine of Hope

After weeks of preparation, the day had finally arrived. Logistics had been taken care of, and hopefully, everything would go smoothly.

Honestly, it had to. There weren't any second chances now.

Kyoko had made sure to warn Makoto in advance that they would need to be away from Headquarters for a while. He was responsive, at least, and the Former Ultimate Detective could see that his talk with the old man had helped him, somewhat.

The Luckster had no idea of where he was going, though, which appeared to make him nervous. She could not really blame him, but she believed that if he knew what she had planned for him, he wouldn't agree to it.

After all, everything else they had tried to make him feel better had either failed or shown little result. The Division Director just hoped they wouldn't need to anesthetize him to get him to comply once they reached Jabberwock Island.

"You'll see something other than depressing weather for once," she stated casually as they boarded the boat. "That is sure to make you feel better, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

Well… that was a short answer… Kyoko thought with a roll of the eyes. Recently, Makoto's replies had become shorter and shorter, as if he didn't want to bother neither himself nor others with them. Hopefully, the Neo World Program will give us back the talkative Makoto we got used to.

The two friends and colleagues left with the squad accompanying them. Some scientists were present, even if it was, for the most part, security. After all, they could never eliminate the possibility of Ultimate Despair interference, so precautions were required.

"Well, I hope so, at least," the young lavender-haired woman stated, stroking her ponytail. "Besides, I believe you could need a break from the Japanese pressure."

The boat left the shore and began to progress through the waters of the Pacific. Kyoko knew the trip was relatively brief, but she still needed to keep Makoto's attention all the way through.

If she could improve his morale even slightly before they got to Jabberwock, she figured it could only be a good thing.

She smiled at him as they quickly drifted away from the coast. "I know for a fact that you'll feel better when we come back, Makoto." Miaya and Usami had suggested she told him things that would make her subordinate look forward to it. "I have worked for hours on end on this. Do you believe in me, Makoto?"

At this moment, Kyoko decided to brace herself and put her ego to the side for a second. After all, the usual Makoto would have answered yes in a heartbeat and rambled on for hours about how much he trusted her.

He did this with every single one of his friends, honestly, so it was to be expected from him.

However, in his current state, Makoto could hardly be called "normal." This made Kyoko a tad worried. A curt no was still unlikely, but even a frown would hurt.

Luckily, she could breathe a little easier.

"Yeah, of course…"

It wasn't spoken with much enthusiasm, but it was enough to reassure Kyoko. After all, if he could see believe in her in this state, it pretty much meant he always would.

"Thank you, Makoto. I appreciate that. You'll see… I'm positive you'll feel much better when we get back, okay? So please relax and look forward to it, alright?"

It wasn't difficult to see the confusion across the young man's face. It made sense, as Kyoko knew she was almost speaking in riddles, but he still gave a nod of understanding.

"Okay. I… honestly don't know what could make me feel better at this point, but…" The smallest of smiles appeared on his lips, making the Former Ultimate Detective sigh in relief. "I believe in you, Kyoko."

"We're approaching Jabberwock Island, ma'am!"

Kyoko nodded at the agent, noticing that the coasts were now in view. The sky was still perfectly blue, which appeared to improve the overall mood on the ship. A bit of sunlight did wonders for everybody, it seemed.

"Let us get ready to go, alright, Makoto?" Kyoko said. "There's a bit of a walk before we get there."

The two former classmates left the ship as soon as it docked on the beach. The Branch Leader noticed her Special Agent observe the scenery with bright eyes.

"This place… is amazingly pretty…" he muttered, some of his optimism returning. "It would be the perfect vacation site…"

"Well, I don't know much about vacation sites, but I believe you're right," Kyoko agreed, satisfied with seeing her best friend's features brighten even a little. "Jabberwock Island used to be a tropical resort, actually."

"It did?" Kyoko nodded. "I'm not surprised. It's hard to think we're so close to Japan when you see this kind of landscape, honestly." However, her relief was short-lived as Makoto's shoulders slumped again. "This place seems to be all that remains of the world before the Tragedy… Eventually, it'll also get here and destroy everything, won't it?"

I suppose this was too good to be true… She thought with a discrete sigh. Lacking a good answer to his question, she preferred not to make any comment, lest she aggravates things. "Let's go, Makoto. The sooner we're here, the better."

Somewhat hesitantly, the Former Ultimate Lucky Student followed his boss as he took his first steps on the beach. They walked in a semi-comfortable silence. Kyoko could see him look around at their surroundings, his lips unconsciously stretching.

If anything, Kyoko was happy they had chosen such a beautiful place to host the Neo World Program. She just hoped it wouldn't be associated with any painful memories soon.

"Oh, Ms. Kirigiri! It's good to see you made it here safely!"

"Good day, Professor Idabashi," Kyoko greeted with a slight bow. "Makoto, this is Professor Rikei Idabashi, the Former Ultimate Scientist. Professor, this is Special Agent Makoto Naegi, Former Ultimate Lucky Student and Ultimate Hope."

Of course, none of her words were spoken without thought. If she could reassure Makoto that she was the Ultimate Hope in her mind, Kyoko knew it was bound to give him some self-confidence back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Naegi!" Rikei said, extending a hand, which Makoto shook hesitantly. "Your hope has inspired me during the Killing Game, sir."

The Former Ultimate Detective smiled. Some praise from someone else would also give the Luckster the proof that he could be a source of hope for others.

"O-Oh, um…" He scratched his cheek. "T-That's good to hear…"

Kyoko crossed her arms over her breasts. "Indeed. Perhaps we could talk more inside, Professor?"

"Y-Yes, you're right!" the scientist agreed. "If you would please follow me?"

"Hm… I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, but…" Makoto paused. "Where are we going, exactly…? You never even told me, Kyoko."

Right… I had not really planned that far… The Division Director thought. "I'll let the Professor explain once we're inside, alright? I believe he will provide a much better explanation than I ever could."

It didn't take the eye of a detective to see the doubt in Makoto's eyes, but he still nodded in understanding. Kyoko knew it would only get more difficult from here, so she chose to brace herself.

"O-Okay…" he muttered hesitantly, following after his friend and the older scientist.

Rikei approached the security system and typed the password Kyoko had picked with Makoto's (unknowing) recommendation. The doors opened to let them in before they closed automatically, ensuring that no one else could possibly come inside.

"This facility holds what has been called the Neo World Program," Rikei suddenly said. "As you just saw, Mr. Naegi, it is heavily protected. This was done to ascertain that no intruders could potentially enter and wreak havoc here."

"T-The Neo World Program…? W-What's that, sir?" Makoto wondered, and understandably so, Kyoko thought. "Is that why you brought me all the way here…?"

The Kirigiri Detective selected to remain silent. After weeks of working with the Former Ultimate Scientist, she realized he knew his stuff. She wouldn't get in the way of his explanations.

"Yes, indeed. Director Kirigiri is actually the one who came up to me with this suggestion a while ago. You see, Mr. Naegi, this Neo World Program originally was a project launched notably by your classmate, Chihiro Fujisaki," he explained, and before Makoto could cut him, continued, "It was stopped for obvious reasons and was finally just completed. Now, you probably wonder why you would be involved with this, right?"

"H-Hm, yeah… Kinda, to be honest…"

"Wonderful!" The man's enthusiasm went up a couple of notches. "It happens that the Neo World Program has another name! It is called the Hope Restoration Program! Now, I have heard that you have recently been feeling a little down, so to speak." He pointed at the machine in the middle of the room. "Which means this invention shall help you!"

"W-Wait, wait, wait…!" Makoto waved his hands around. "Y-You want to put me inside that thing?!" he said, pointing at the pods. Memories of the therapy with Miaya flashed through his mind. "I-I'm not sure I want to do this!"

Kyoko sighed. This reaction was one she had been fearing. Not that she could blame him, honestly, but she had hoped he would go along with it without trouble.

"Makoto, I understand what you mean. When Professor Idabashi first told me about the project, I had my own reserves," she tried to explain, although it didn't seem to cause much of a difference, as far as she could tell. "Nevertheless, I trust his abilities. I know the Neo World Program could help you, Makoto."

"K-Kyoko… I… I just don't want to feel even worse after this… The last time we had something done to us, it showed me so much despair…" He shivered in fear. "I… I'm scared, Kyoko…"

Oh, Makoto… "It's okay, Makoto… You're alright, okay? Your fears are only natural, as is your current despair. The reason I know you can do this and get better is that I know your strengths, Makoto. This is only a nudge that will get you back in the right direction." Considering what has happened during the memory therapy, I can't blame him. I just hope he'll eventually agree…

"I… I'm not strong, Kyoko… I'm really weak, actually," he told her, chuckling awkwardly. "Even if I found hope again, what good would it do me if it doesn't help the world…? I'll just lose it to despair again, won't I?"

"No, that's wrong!" the Former Ultimate Detective exclaimed. I hate to use your own catchphrase against you, Makoto, but you need to understand something… "Makoto, you are the Ultimate Hope. If you see hope again, the whole world will benefit from it. You won't lose hope. Actually, I don't believe you ever have. You have just buried it deep within you, but it has never left you."

He seemed unsure. Reading the mood, Rikei left the two colleagues on their own and turned his attention to the machine. Kyoko figured he needed to boot it up before it could be used.

"It hurts everyone to see you like this, Makoto. And this is why we're all so enthusiastic at the idea of seeing you feel better," Kyoko added. She placed her gloved hands on his shoulders. "If you believe in me, I promise everything will be alright, Makoto." She removed her hands and bowed. "I swear."

It took Makoto a few seconds to react. The young woman could still see some doubts were plaguing him, but a new sparkle of hope entered his eyes.

"Okay. I… I'm honestly not sure I understand everything that's going on, but… I believe in you, Kyoko."

She nodded. "Thank you, Makoto. Hearing this makes me happy-" She was caught by surprise when Makoto hugged her, pressing her close to him. A blush appeared on her cheeks as her breasts were pressed against her colleague's chest, but she did her best not to let this distract her. Instead, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his back.

"S-Sorry…" Makoto muttered as he pulled away. "I… I just really needed a hug…"

You're too sweet… Kyoko thought. "It's alright, Makoto. I hope this helped." She was satisfied to see him nod. "Well, we shouldn't let the Professor wait for us."

They walked over to the Former Ultimate Scientist who was pressing buttons and pulling down levers that neither Kyoko nor Makoto knew the purpose of.

"We're ready, Professor Idabashi," Kyoko said, both to warn him and to get his attention. "Could you please tell Makoto what he's supposed to do?"

"O-Oh!" Startled, Rikei jumped in place. "S-Sorry about that, Ms. Kirigiri." He regained his composure quickly. "So, do you think you could get inside one of these pods, Mr. Naegi? There are sixteen of them, but they're all the same."

"A-Alright…" The Former Ultimate Lucky Student nodded and walked over to the nearest pod. The scientist pressed a button which caused it to open. After a second, the young man stepped inside. "What now, Mr. Idabashi?"

"Well, I'm going to close the pod before starting the program!" he told him. "It might tickle a bit at first, but nothing that hurts. Then… you'll fall asleep. Upon waking up, you'll need to find Hope Fragments. There'll be someone to explain it to you, though, so don't worry about a thing!"

He doesn't know that our classmates are waiting for him in the simulation… The detective mused. Still, she knew it was for the best. If he knew, he would have refused, thinking it would cause him more pain. I couldn't take that risk.

"I-I see… Well, I guess I'm ready!" Makoto said from the pod. Kyoko could see him shaking slightly. The nervousness was apparently getting to him. And whether she liked it or not, it was getting to her, too. "I… I'll see you soon, Kyoko!"

His voice was filled with emotion. It seemed like he really didn't want to leave her, and yet, Kyoko knew he needed to.

"Right. I'll talk to you soon, Makoto."

With one final nod between the Division Director and the top-notch scientist, he pressed one last button, closing the pod and launching the program. It made a loud noise before quieting down.

"Well, it has started," Rikei said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Mr. Naegi should be in a comatose state in a few seconds from now. The program will automatically regulate his oxygen and nutrient levels. Now, all we have to do is wait and see."

Kyoko took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. She didn't know how long it would take for Makoto to recover – his trauma was important, after all – but she hoped everything would go smoothly.

It had to.

"Wait and see? What do you mean, Professor?"

The black-haired scientist laughed. "Well, if I could bring your attention over to the screen over there?"

Kyoko's purple eyes turned towards one large screen on which were written lines upon lines of code. Suddenly, they disappeared before an image appeared.

"T-This is-!"

At that moment, her eyes widened just as much as that of the Luckster on the other side of the screen. She noticed him in front of the gates of Hope's Peak Academy in the hoodie he used to wear often as a student. Shocked, Kyoko noticed Rikei smile and pat the seat next to his.

"Well, have a seat, Ms. Kirigiri! You don't want to miss any of it, do you? After all… that's a movie you won't see any re-runs of…"

To be continued…

A.N: I hope you liked this chapter! I thought of making it a little longer at first, but I feel like this was the most natural moment to cut. Well, anyway, please leave a review, and I hope you all have a nice day!