A/N: Here's Chapter Three Daily Life Part Four. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Danganronpa 4: Next Generation Killing!
Chapter Three: Grief of a Sister and Suspicions of a Mother!
Daily Life Part Four: Clover's Recovery!
Well…at least she's sitting calmly at the table… Kiki thought, though it gave her little comfort.
Clover sat silently between Gonta and Seven as she averted her eyes, staring down at her breakfast plate. The young girl hadn't said a word since the two muscular men escorted her to the Dining Hall, seemingly ignoring everyone else. Lotus sat across from her, staring in concern while Clover repeatedly slipped her spoon in and out of her mouth. At Gonta and Seven's suggestion, Kirumi had made sure to only give her a spoon for silverware, in the interest of avoiding a possible relapse.
We're all trying to act like yesterday didn't happen… Kiki realized as she glanced around and saw everyone awkwardly eating their breakfast. None of us want to remember such a horrible sight…none of us want to acknowledge that one of us tried to commit suicide…but it did happen. It happened…and we have to deal with it.
Kiki cleared her throat, attracting everyone's curious stares. She stared at the depressed girl, somehow managing to lock eyes with Clover despite her bent posture.
"Ne, Clover?" Though she didn't utter a word, Clover at least raised her head, acknowledging Kiki's initiative. "…Why don't we hang out today? No guards or anything like that. Just the two of us."
"…What's the point…?" Clover finally uttered. "What's the point of doing anything anymore?"
"Wow, her status ailment went from Confused to just plain Depressed." Tsumugi sighed.
"I do not believe your remark is helping things, Tsumugi." Keebo gently scolded.
Kiki ignored the commentary and took a deep breath before she spoke, choosing her words carefully. "Well, surely it's better than just lying in your room all day. Surely you must want to stretch your legs and actually do something. I know we're confined to the floors available on this building, but there's still stuff to do, right?"
"…I guess…" Clover muttered.
"Then let's spend the day together and have fun." Kiki smiled at the girl and promised, "Some girl time will be a good way to get your mind off things."
"I hate to be the guy to burst your bubble…" Ryoma interjected. "…But do you really think that's a good idea?"
"Y-yeah…" Teruaki stammered, glaring suspiciously at the depressed girl. "She c-could u-use the o-opportunity to try and kill you!"
"Clover doesn't want to hurt anyone!"
Kiki slammed her hands on the table. She glared angrily at Teruaki, causing him to quake in his boots.
"I have a hard time believing that she would try anything as well…" Kirumi admitted. "…But we cannot discount the possibility entirely."
"Yeah, as long as you two girls are alone, there's always the danger of a worst-case scenario." Seven sighed.
"…I'll go with them then."
"Shu-Shuichi…?" Kiki stammered in surprise before the detective smiled and nodded.
"I'll accompany them, and I'm not imposing like Seven or Gonta, so I can blend into the background. No offense, Gonta."
"No, it's okay. Gonta understands that Gonta's scary looking."
"Well, this at least takes care of the issue of them wandering the halls alone." Lotus commented as she stared softly into Clover's eyes. "Why don't you go with them? I think you can trust Kiki at least. Besides, it'll be good for you to do something for fun and get your mind off things."
"…Okay, I guess…" Clover mumbled.
"Great, we can head out after breakfast." Kiki smiled before the conversation fell silent and everyone went back to eating their breakfasts.
"Hopefully, Kiki can help Clover recover from her depression, at least in the short-term." Makoto commented.
"Indeed." Kyoko concurred with a grim frown. "Of course, overcoming the trauma of her brother's death will take time and intensive therapy."
"It's probably not possible for her to revert back to her original personality…but at the very least Kiki could drag her away from the cliff." Maki concluded.
"Kiki can do it!" Koto exclaimed, clenching his fists as fire blazed in his eyes.
Kiri grinned and nodded, agreeing, "Yeah! She can make anyone smile!"
Mokubo sighed, shaking his head. "She has her work cut out for her."
"Yeah, but if anyone there can do it, she can." Makoto smiled as the others nodded, hoping that Kiki could rise to the challenge and help bring Clover back from the brink.
"The…Rec Room…?" Clover asked as she looked around the room.
Kiki nodded. "Yeah, I thought we could play some games together. Not that I have the memories to back it up, but I'd like to think that playing games with your friends is a good way to get your mind off things."
"Yeah, that's right." Shuichi nodded in agreement. "Even if it doesn't make your problems go away, you can at least escape them for a while. That's why video games and RPG groups are so popular; they can provide a measure of therapy and escape from the pressures of the real world."
Kiki turned to Clover and asked, "So, what do you wanna play, Clover? Do you wanna play video games or board games? We can't really do an RPG campaign with just the three of us, so…"
"…Light and I used to enjoy playing board games." Clover admitted. "Chess was a personal favorite of his."
"Ah, a classic." Shuichi smiled and volunteered "I'll go get it so you and Kiki can play."
"Thanks, Shuichi." Kiki smiled gratefully as Shuichi walked to the shelf. "Come on, let's go sit down at the table."
Clover nodded and followed Kiki over to the long table, sitting across from her. An awkward silence passed as Clover fiddled with her fingers, averting her eyes until Shuichi returned with the chess set.
"Here you go, one chess set. So, who wants to be white and who wants to be black?"
"…I'll be black, I guess…" Clover muttered. "You can go first, Kiki."
Kiki nodded as Shuichi set up the chess board. Once all the pieces were in their proper place, Kiki moved one of her pawns.
"So, you and Snake played a lot of chess games together…?"
Clover nodded as she moved one of her pawns. "Light was…really smart. He loved solving puzzles and playing strategy games."
"Oh, did he play Shogi too?" Kiki asked curiously, moving another pawn.
"He used to…" Clover moved her bishop before she explained, "But after the accident, he had difficulty differentiating between the tiles. Chess was much easier to play for him because the shapes were so different from each other."
"Oh, so he learned to differentiate between them with touch." Kiki realized as she moved her knight.
"Yeah…Light had a knack for games like chess." Clover gave a melancholy sigh as she moved another pawn.
Kiki frowned, her hand lingering over her pawn before she moved it. The game continued in relative silence, both players taking turns moving their pieces as they fought for control of the board.
"…Well, checkmate, I guess…" Clover muttered as she moved her rook, cornering Kiki's king in one of the corners of the board.
Kiki's eyes widened in shock while Shuichi gave an impressed whistle. "Wow…you're good at this, Clover!"
A hint of a nostalgic smile tugged at Clover's lips. "Light used to beat me all the time in chess…guess I…picked up a few tricks from him…still, I'm not the strategic genius he was."
"Still, you're pretty good. Wanna play again?" Kiki's eyes narrowed competitively, feeling pumped up at the challenge of a deceptively skilled opponent.
"Okay, sure, I guess…" Clover nodded as they reset the pieces.
The trio had just arrived in the Physics Lab. Shuichi and Clover glanced around curiously while Kiki crossed her arms over her breasts and pouted. The amnesiac girl managed to barely beat Clover in their second game, making her extra excited to win the tiebreaker that Clover reluctantly agreed to. Said enthusiasm proved to be her undoing, as she made several mistakes that allowed Clover to clinch a win.
Though Clover's brighter disposition warmed Kiki's heart, her competitive side won out. In an attempt to placate her, Shuichi suggested that they check out the Physics Lab. Grumbling in agreement, Kiki had followed the two of them out of the Rec Room. The walk gave Kiki time to mellow until her extreme disappointment faded to slight displeasure from losing.
Her displeasure faded entirely as her eyes glanced up, widening at a giant, silver machine. It towered over the trio like a tower as they approached the monitors and keyboard attached to the bottom of the machine. Their eyes gazed up to the clear glass sphere sitting at the top like a Christmas ornament. Numerous wires hung taut inside, connected to various dark-gold pieces hanging from the top of the spherical prison.
"W-what is this…?" Kiki wondered in amazement.
"It…it's huge…" Clover muttered, distracted from her depressed thoughts for the moment.
"I wonder how come Ryoma and Seven didn't mention this when we investigated this floor the day before…" Shuichi pondered.
"What, you wanna do some quantum leaping!?"
The trio gasped, whirling around. Behind them stood Monokuma, seeming to sweat from nervousness.
"Huh…?" Quantum leaping? What does he mean by that? Kiki wondered.
"That's a time machine! Pretty awesome, right?"
Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna believe that load of garbage… Kiki thought dismissively, sweatdropping.
"A time machine…?"
Oh no… Kiki realized as she turned and saw the desperately hopeful look in Clover's eyes.
"Seriously…? So…it can go back in time…? Okay, then…let me get in there…" Clover shakily walked over to the "time machine." As she sat down in the chair, she exclaimed "If I can go back to the past…then I can…This time, I'll save Light for sure!"
Monokuma grinned, shaking his head. "Oh, sorry, not possible. This particular time machine can only go back one minute. It comes in handy when you, like…leave your pizza bagels in the microwave one minute too long."
Clover's hope completely shattered as she repeated, "One minute…?"
"Hmm…" Monokuma cocked his head in faux surprise. "You sound disappointed." Dropping said surprise, Monokuma giggled "But actually, I was lying about the whole thing anyway. There's no such thing as time machines!"
"What…?" Clover growled, gritting her teeth in anger.
"Honestly, it's just a fake gizmo. We've got this huge physics lab, so we at least gotta look the part, right? Honestly, the look on your faces was worth pulling this gag twice! Ahahahahaha!"
As Monokuma laughed and waddled out of the Physics Lab, Kiki turned to the steaming Clover. The heterochromatic girl narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, feeling her nails threaten to dig into her palms.
"Ah, now we know why Seven and Ryoma didn't say anything earlier." Shuichi realized, though his words did nothing to settle Kiki's mood.
To go out of your way to say something you know will hurt someone who's already suffering… "Kami damn you!"
Kiki punched the side of the fake time machine, closing her eyes as she felt the frustration flow out with her breath. After taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes, now calm, cool and collected. Clover, however, was still visibly affected by Monokuma's trick. Her body seemed to shake as angry tears pooled in her eyes.
"Ah, maybe we should go watch a movie in the AV Room." Shuichi suggested.
Kiki nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, good call, Shuichi." She walked over to Clover and gently took her hand. "Come on, Clover. Ignore what Monokuma said. Let's go and find a good movie to watch."
Clover sighed and nodded, allowing Kiki to pull her out of the chair. The two upset girls followed Shuichi out of the Physics Lab, hoping a good flick would distract them from Monokuma's pernicious prank.
"Man, Monokuma's a meanie!" Koto pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well duh!" Kiri shot back. "You're just now figuring that out?"
"…He knows exactly how to press people's buttons…" Mokubo commented as his parents nodded sadly.
"Indeed." Kyoko glanced at her husband as she revealed "He even managed to rile up your father into nearly starting fights."
As the kids stared at Makoto in genuine surprise, Maki gave an impressed whistle. "That's certainly not an easy task."
Makoto blushed in embarrassment as he recalled the two times he nearly signed his own death certificate. Eventually he sighed "…I won't lie…Monokuma has a way of getting under your skin. That's what makes him so dangerous."
"That's correct; they can't afford to let their guard down around him." Kyoko concurred. "As we've seen with Rantaro and Snake."
Everyone's eyes lowered as they recalled the previous two incidents. With heavy hearts, they turned their attention back to the TV, hoping that Kiki's efforts would be enough to stave off more trials and tribulations.
"Alright, what kind of movie do you wanna watch?" Kiki asked as she searched through the rack of DVDs.
After a moment, Clover shrugged in her chair. "Pick whatever, I don't really care."
Kiki frowned before she turned to Shuichi. "What about you, Shuichi? Any suggestions?"
"Ah, well, it might not be good to pick a dark movie. Maybe a…comedy or something? Like a romantic comedy or something?"
Kiki smiled as she nodded in agreement. "Good call, Shuichi. Let's see…comedy, comedy…ah, here's something!" She stood up and called as she tossed the DVD "Shuichi, catch!"
Shuichi comically fumbled with the box, sighing in relief as he managed to catch it in his hands. Once his balance was secure, he looked at the title on the box and furrowed his brow.
"Cyborg She?"
Kiki nodded once she took her seat to Clover's right. "Yeah, let's watch it!"
Shuichi raised an eyebrow but nonetheless nodded before he walked over to the DVD Player and put it in. As the title screen loaded, he pressed PLAY and went to sit on Clover's left. The trio settled in their seats and they turned their attention to the large screen, intrigued to see what story would unfold.
"So…how'd you like the movie?"
"…It was fine, I guess…" Clover muttered, though Kiki could tell that she had become more engrossed in the film than she expected to be. "But…why…? Why did she…give up her life…for him…? It's not like she loved him…so…why did she give up her life to save him…?"
"Well…" Shuichi offered "Even though she didn't love him the way he wanted, I think it's safe to say she still cared about him."
"Yeah, I agree." Kiki nodded. "She wanted to protect him. Even when he was mad at her, she still did everything she could to keep him safe, right until the bitter end. And he honored her sacrifice by spending the rest of his life trying to rebuild her."
"I…I see…" Clover averted her gaze, only to turn back to Kiki as the heterochromatic girl took her hand.
"Clover…I know it's not exactly the same. I know that Snake didn't die protecting you…but I know from talking to him that he would do so in a heartbeat."
"Yeah, that's right." Shuichi nodded, a melancholy smile on his face. "And I know that he wouldn't want you to mope and think about your own death…just like Kaede wouldn't want me to do that."
"Shuichi…" Kiki smiled before she told the grieving girl, "Clover, we can't bring your brother back to life. The dead are dead. All we have left are our memories of them."
"If you give up on living…you'd be betraying his memory." Shuichi gently, yet firmly told Clover. "We're…all trying to keep our promises to the dead. Surviving this place…It's not just for our lives, it's for everyone who's died as well. That's why we can't give up! This is our responsibility! We live on!"
Shuichi sighed, his eyes glimmering with guilt. He swallowed the anxious lump in his throat before he spoke once more.
"I know how you feel. I tried to run away from my responsibilities to the dead too, once. I didn't want to do it anymore. But Kiki taught me…we can't do that. If we did, we'd be doing a disservice to everyone who's died here."
"Shuichi…thank you…" Kiki beamed at how far Shuichi had come since Kaede's death. "He's right, Clover. You can't give up on your life. You have to honor his memory. You have to live life facing forward. And if the pain becomes too much for you to bear alone…then we'll help you bear it together."
"You guys…" Tears trickled down Clover's cheeks before she wiped them with her sleeve. "Th…thank you…"
Kiki and Shuichi smiled warmly. She then looked up at the clock.
"What do you say we go grab dinner? Think you're ready to have dinner with everyone else, Clover?"
"…Yeah…I'll try…" Clover shakily got to her feet, supported by Kiki and Shuichi as they walked out of the AV Room.
Hope flickered in her eyes once more. It was a small hope, but it refused to die in the face of despair.
"I knew she could do it!" Koto cheered.
"Duh, I knew she'd fix things!" Kiri stuck her tongue out at her twin brother, causing their parents to roll their eyes.
"Well, she's at least fighting to survive and live on now." Makoto agreed.
"Indeed." Kyoko smiled proudly at her daughter on the TV screen. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Clover owes Kiki and Shuichi her life."
"Hopefully she doesn't have a relapse." Maki prayed.
"That…would be bad." Mokubo concurred.
"Well, anything's possible…" Kyoko admitted.
"Still, I believe in Kiki, and I'll believe that she can keep Clover's hope alive." Makoto assured his family.
Let's hope so… They thought as they watched Kiki enter the Dining Hall with Shuichi and Clover.
"…Excuse me, everyone…?" Everyone turned to Clover in surprise as they stopped eating their meals. The girl took a deep breath before she began, "I…I'd like to apologize. I…I shouldn't have tried to kill myself, and I shouldn't have pushed you all away. I've made things harder for everyone by trying to just give up on life. But, if I gave up here, I wouldn't be able to face Light…"
"That's right!" Gonta grinned at her in an attempt to cheer her up. "So let's do our best!"
Great sentiment, but awful timing, Gonta… Kiki deadpanned before Clover continued.
"Yeah, I won't give up! I'll fight alongside everyone and survive!" She turned towards Lotus, her lip quivering in guilt. "Lotus…I'm sorry about…"
"It's okay…" Lotus chuckled, a happy, motherlike gleam in her eyes. "I'm just glad you're doing better, kid."
"No need to apologize." Ryoma assured her, tugging his hat over his eyes. "I've been in the same dark place you have. I know how hard it is to deal with the grief of losing a loved one."
"Ryoma is correct." Kirumi nodded, smiling at the girl. "Let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?"
Clover smiled awkwardly as she resumed eating her dinner with more energy than she had displayed since Snake's death. Kiki smiled at the sight, relieved that some semblance of normalcy had returned to the pigtailed girl.
She's not completely back to normal…I don't think she'll ever return to normal. But…at least she's fighting against her despair. Kiki glanced around at the rest of their group, seeing everyone engaged in conversation. This mood…it's like what happened after Kaede died. We still have the threat of betrayal looming over our heads, but we're not letting it rule us. If we can at least keep this, then-
"Well, isn't this niiiiceeee…"
Oh crap, I should have known he would show up.
Kiki sighed as she and the others turned their heads to face Monokuma, who was waddling up to their table. Kirumi narrowed her eyes, hissing, "I don't recall anyone inviting you."
"G-Get o-out of h-here!" Teruaki stammered, pointing shakily at Monokuma.
"There's no food for you here! Go find your honey jars somewhere else!" Seven roared.
"For once, I agree with the elephant man." Lotus muttered, glaring at Monokuma.
"…How mean…" Monokuma hung his head. "Your friendly neighborhood headmaster swung by to visit you all…and this is how you greet me? With condemnation and jeers?!"
"Don't compare us to the Daily Bugle!" Tsumugi narrowed her eyes, clearly offended by Monokuma's whining.
The robotic bear sighed before he looked towards Sokyu. "What about you? Are you going to excommunicate your friend too?"
Before any of them could stare at the suspicious man, Sokyu narrowed his eyes. "We're not friends. Don't go pretending that we are."
Monokuma's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "I'm so misunderstood…"
No, we understand exactly why you're here. Kiki deadpanned before Ryoma's lips tugged into a frown.
"Why are you here…?"
Monokuma sighed heavily in response. "For the past couple of days, the atmosphere was totally filled with despair and discord between you all. For me, it was like I'd died and gone to heaven!"
Pretty sure your idea of heaven is actually hell…
Monokuma snarled as he raised his head to glare at them. "But ever since the pink-haired wonder cheered up this afternoon, despite my best efforts, you guys have hope in your eyes again! Disgusting, nauseous hope! I can't stand it! I swear, I'm gonna puke up rainbows from watching the lot of you!"
"I'd pay good money to see that!" Clover exclaimed gleefully.
"Ah, maybe we shouldn't encourage him…" Shuichi nervously cautioned before Monokuma grinned, his red eye lighting up with glee.
"So, desperate times call for desperate measures! That's right, it's time for the next motive!"
Oh great… Kiki shuddered. What is it this time…another set of videos?
"Now, you may be wondering, what fantastic motive do I have for you this time? Well, I'll tell you: embarrassing memories and secrets!"
Before any of them could say anything, Monokuma held up numerous envelopes in his paws, fanning them out so they could all see their names written on them. "As long as you're alive, it's a given that there's things you don't want other people to know about you! So I did a little investigating of my own, and I dug up some of your darkest secrets! And those embarrassing memories and secrets are all contained in the envelopes I have right here."
"Lemme guess…" Seven narrowed his eyes. "You're gonna give us our secrets and-"
"Wrong!" Monokuma interjected. "Been there, done that. A motive that's already been done is so boring! We gotta spice things up a bit this time around!" Kiki shuddered at the implications of Monokuma's denial before he revealed, "I'm not planning to share these with you at all!"
"Then what is the logic of telling us you have our secrets if you're not going to let us have them?" Keebo asked, dread leaking into his voice.
"Kami, are you slow! I never thought that a robot wouldn't get it!"
Keebo gritted his teeth as he growled, "I never thought I'd hear such robophobic remarks from a fellow robot!"
Ignoring the two robots' argument, Kiki bit her lip and contemplated the matter. What is it? There must be a reason, otherwise Monokuma wouldn't have introduced it as a motive. But what…?
"Ah!" Shuichi gasped, his eyes lighting up in realization. "Are you saying that…because we know now that everyone has a concrete secret that they'd rather not get out…we now have a reason to be suspicious of each other again?"
"Ding ding ding! What a smart boy you are!" Monochuma taunted cheerfully. "That's right, think of the secrets your classmates are keeping from you! Sure, some might be innocent, like wetting the bed throughout elementary school. But some might be considerably darker, like, I dunno, being a serial killer? Whatever they are, you have no way of knowing what secrets I have on you!"
"But…if we don't know our secrets, then how is that a motive-"
"Because this state of peace is only temporary!" Monokuma cut Kiki off. "You have twenty-four hours! If I don't see a corpse by then, I'll call an official school assembly and tell your secrets to everyone here! And trust me, everyone has cards they'd rather keep close to their chest!" Monokuma giggled maliciously "Will you let your most embarrassing secrets come to light? Or will you take the plunge and turn against each other? Either way, you're sure to feel delicious despair! Nyohohohohoho!"
Everyone stared as Monokuma waddled out, envelopes still in hand. "So…what do we do?" Seven asked as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Without the knowledge of what our secrets are, there's not much we can do." Ryoma admitted.
"Perhaps this is the true frightfulness of Monokuma's newest motive." Kirumi mused. "Last time, we were given the information of what was contained in our motive videos."
"But we don't have a Lens of Truth this time…" Tsumugi lamented.
"This is quite a perplexing puzzler, I must admit." Keebo commented as Sokyu nodded.
"At this point, we can only guess what Monokuma might have on us."
"We certainly can." Lotus growled at him, causing Sokyu to sigh in exasperation and shake his head. "I bet your secret has something to do with Monokuma, doesn't it?"
"Lotus?!" Kiki cried out, appalled that the scantily clad woman was already at Sokyu's throat.
She ignored the young girl's objection, however. "So let's hear it! What secret does Monokuma have on you, Sokyu?"
"…How should I know? Monokuma refused to tell any of us for the next twenty-four hours, remember? Just wait until then and we'll all figure it out."
"You…" Lotus snarled. "You think this is all a big joke?! Our lives could be in danger because of you!"
"How is that my problem?"
"Agh! I'm gonna kill you!"
"Lotus, calm down!" Kiki cried as Sokyu merely stared blankly at her, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Please, Lotus! Gonta doesn't want to see his friends fight!"
"Lotus, please!" Kiki pleaded. "I know you're scared; we all are. But this is what Monokuma wants. He's trying to break us up and get us to lash out at each other. Once that happens…" Kiki looked down at her plate, biting her lip in dread. "…There's no way we'll be able to stop a killing."
"…Lotus…" Lotus's eyes widened in surprise as she turned towards Clover. "…Maybe Kiki's right. We…shouldn't lash out at each other like this. Light wouldn't want to see us fight. He'd be trying to keep the peace. I don't…want to disrespect his memory by calling one of us a traitor."
Shuichi nodded. "Besides, there's no real proof that Sokyu's secret is connected to Monokuma. Let's just bide our time, and when Monokuma reveals our secrets, we'll know for sure if Sokyu is connected to Monokuma."
"…Fine…" Lotus sighed before she went back to her dinner.
With a now subdued, melancholy atmosphere, everyone resumed eating theirs as well. Though what little hope had been preserved seemed to have died as everyone resigned themselves to the inevitable.
"I see…so it's another twist on one of the old motives we had to deal with in the Killing School Life…" Kyoko mused.
Makoto nodded gravely. "Yeah…I just hope nobody loses their temper and does anything rash like Mondo did."
Makoto felt his stomach churn as he relived the discovery of Chihiro's strung-up corpse. He shook the thought away, rubbing his belly in an attempt to relieve his sudden nausea. Mokubo looked at his father with concern, only for Makoto to smile at him.
"I'm fine, Moku; don't worry about me."
"…Hai, Father." Mokubo nodded as he turned towards the TV once more.
"Well, guess all they can do is hold out for the next twenty-four hours." Maki lamented.
"I hope Kiki will be okay…" Koto muttered.
"Don't be silly! Kiki will be just fine! They'll all be fine!" Though Kiri's voice echoed with bravado, her parents could tell it was fake.
The family watched as the survivors filed out of the Dining Hall and returned to their rooms. Their dinners sat unfinished on the table, as cold as their hearts likely were.
As Monokuma's nighttime announcement echoed in her ears, Kiki lethargically crawled under the covers. Once under their false protection, Kiki curled up and closed her eyes, though her mind was still too active to fall asleep.
Just when we get Clover back to a functional state, Monokuma steps in and ruins all our progress with one of his motives. Just once…just once I'd like it if we could make any amount of progress without that stupid bear ruining it all!
Kiki sighed, her face creased with anxiety as her thoughts drifted to the new motive. Strangely, it didn't fill her with despair, but instead only added to her confused state.
Everyone else's secrets mean something to them…they have a reason to protect them. But I…I don't remember anything about who I am. So even if Monokuma reveals my secret…am I even afraid of it? Or…could it be a key to my identity? Could my motive be something that helps me remember who I am? Guess I'm immune to Monokuma's plan…lucky me. I just hope…everyone else can bear having their secrets revealed to each other. Please, Kami please, give us the strength to endure this tribulation!
With that silent prayer, Kiki at last surrendered to slumber. As she slept, she hoped that everyone would be strong enough to endure Monokuma's motive this time.
"What is the point of human life? They're born as useless babies who can't do anything…and 70 years later, they're useless old people who can't do anything. Hairless, toothless, wearing diapers…unable to take care of themselves…in the end, it's all so meaningless."
"Thank Kami that one was short." Makoto sighed in relief.
"Indeed." Kyoko concurred. "I'm not even sure what the point of that concise comedy routine was…not that these ever have a point."
"Well, since that Monokuma Theatre was so brief…" Makoto smiled at her and suggested "Why don't we watch an actual movie? Something lighthearted, to get our minds off things."
"…What did you have in mind…?" Kyoko asked with an intrigued smile.
In the end, Makoto and Kyoko fell asleep on the couch, not even able to finish the movie the former Luckster had picked. He wrapped an arm around her waist comfortable as she leaned against his shoulder. The living room quietly echoed with their snores and occasional mutterings of affection as they snuggled into each other, dreaming of a world where their daughter was never trapped in a Killing Game.