A/N: This oneshot is the result of an ask sent by one of my followers on AO3 and Tumblr, and takes place after the Epilogue of HIMYM. Please read and review, and enjoy!
The Ultimate Detective and The Ultimate Hope Gaiden: Kyoko Loses Her Memory!
Kyoko blushed, giving off a rare, gleeful smile as she held Makoto's hand, barely holding back the urge to giggle as her engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight.
Makoto grinned as he remarked "You look happy, honey."
Kyoko hummed contently as she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing "Of course I'm happy, sweetie. The Tragedy's over, we found your parents and Komaru safe and sound, and we're going to meet my Father and your family for a family picnic! …No, not your family, OUR family!" Kyoko finally let loose her most girlish giggle as she mused "Our family…I never thought I'd be lucky enough to have a family again…let alone one to share with someone else…"
Kyoko looked down at her still barely visible baby bump, caressing it with her free hand as she smiled at the proof of her impending motherhood.
"Or be a Mom to anyone's baby…"
Makoto blushed and smiled, rubbing his thumb over her gloved knuckles as he nodded "And I never thought I'd lucky enough to have a girl love me at all, never mind someone that I'd be planning my wedding with, or starting a family with. I'm really excited to…oh, there they are now! Hey Dad! Mom! Komaru! Dad!"
Hana, Shingi, Komaru, and Jin waved them over, sitting in the Gardens on a picnic blanket. The loving couple sat down and finally released their hands as Makoto slid the picnic basket from his other wrist onto the blanket.
Kyoko looked down at it and opened it, thanking "Thank you all for coming; Makoto and I thought a family picnic was a good idea so we could continue planning the wedding. And we found a couple houses that already had a built-in nursery that we could move into so we don't have to worry about a room for the baby." She took out a few papers from the picnic basket and asked as she looked up "Here, what do you thi…"
Kyoko blinked, starting to panic slightly as she saw that Hana, Shingi, Komaru, and her own Father had disappeared.
"Dad, Mom, Dad, Komaru? Where…where did you go? Makoto, did you see…"
Kyoko's eyes widened in shock as she saw Makoto no longer dressed in his hoodie and jeans, but instead donning his brown jacket and pants.
"Makoto, why are you dressed in your school uniform? We graduated, remember? After the Tragedy, we were able to leave the shelter and my Father gave us all our diplomas!"
Makoto cocked his head in confusion as he asked "Kyoko, what are you talking about? We haven't even been at Hope's Peak for a year. Besides, you're wearing the same thing I am, more or less."
"I'm…wearing…the same…thing…?" Kyoko wondered, gazing down at herself, her eyes widening as she took in the brown jacket and black skirt adorning her body. This…this doesn't make any sense? I was sure I wore my standard detective outfit! And… Kyoko officially started panicking, feeling her belly only to find her baby bump missing, shrieking to herself My baby! Where's my baby?!
Kyoko took a deep breath, calming down so that she could think logically.
Okay Kyoko, calm down and focus. Your family has disappeared, you're not pregnant anymore, and you and Makoto are in your school uniforms and obviously not engaged. She felt her heart crack at that last thought, but shook away her pain s she reasoned Perhaps…I've gone back in time? It might explain my wardrobe change and my lack of a baby bump. But how far back did I go? She turned to Makoto and apologized "My apologies, Makoto, I must have been daydreaming. Can you tell me…Makoto?"
Kyoko officially started to panic as her beloved fiancé was nowhere to be found "Makoto, Makoto?!" Where is he? Where'd he go?! He…he can't have gotten too far…could he?! Without a second thought, she leapt to her feet, taking off into a run as she thought aloud "I have to find him!" She then called out "MAKOTO?! MAKOTO?!"
But no matter how far she ran or how loudly she called his name, Makoto would not answer, increasing her panic even more. Suddenly, a hole opened beneath her mid-stride, causing her to let out a shocked, terrified gasp before she was sent plummeting into an endless black void. She reached her hand above her, only for the hole to close off, taunting her as the light from her world vanished.
No! This can't be how it ends! I…I didn't even get to say goodbye to him! I'll never get to caress his soft boyish cheeks, or look into his gentle green eyes, or run my bare hands through his soft brown ha…soft brown…soft br…soft…What…what did his hair look like again? And why don't I remember what color his eyes were? I was sure they were green, but maybe…were they hazel? I…I can't remember…
Makoto's face in her mind started to blur, colors mixing with each other until they were indistinguishable, her mental image resembling a watercolor painting more than a recognizable face.
What's…what's happening to me?! Why…why can't I remember his face? I…I still remember what his voice sounds like, right? Come on Kyoko, focus! Focus on that gentle, hopeful voice! Remember one of the things he's said to you! Remember him telling you how much he loves you! REMEMBER HIM, KYOKO!
Yet even with all her focus, Kyoko couldn't replay any of the hundreds of times he had talked to her, reassured her, told her he loved her. All of it was slowly getting erased from her memory, throwing her deeper into the depths of despair.
NO! How could I forget him? I…I love Makoto Naegi! I love Makoto Naegi…don't I? I…I'm not sure anymore. Come to think of it…who IS Makoto Naegi? I…I feel like I've heard it somewhere…but I'm not sure anymore…
As all traces of Makoto Naegi evaporated from her mind, Kyoko closed her eyes in concentration, fighting to keep what memories she still possessed.
My…my Father…I…I need his help…do I…no…he…he abandoned me! I…I want to sever ties with him for abandoning me! I was robbed of a warm, loving family because of him! Because of him, I have nothing but my creed as a Kirigiri Detecti…Detec…Dete..De…what…what am I? My name is…Kyoko Kirigiri…but who…who is Kyoko Kirigiri? I…I don't…I don't remember…anything…
With that last thought, Kyoko lost all consciousness as she surrendered to the darkness and despair. It wasn't long before her body began to turn to dust, starting from her boots, until finally, the last lock of her purple hair had evaporated.
Kyoko Kirigiri was no more, completely erased in the darkness.
XXX
*Groan*
"Where…where am I?" Kyoko wondered as she lifted her head, shaking it as her vision came into focus. "A…a desk? Then…am I in a classroom?" A quick glance informed her that she was indeed in a classroom, leading her to stand up, still holding her head in one hand as she wondered "Alright, but why am I in a classroom? And why are the windows bolted shut with metal plates? Think, what do I know already?"
She stood up and closed her eyes, focusing intensely as she tried to dig up her groggy memories, groaning whenever she hit walls in her mental pathways that forced her to seek a different direction.
At last, her eyes opened as she assumed a thinking pose, concluding "Well, that was unproductive, but I think I got a few details. My name is…Kyoko Kirigiri, and I was accepted to Hope's Peak Academy, though for what purpose, I can't quite say. So…is this…is this Hope's Peak Academy? But if that's true…then how did I get here? I remember walking through the front gate…then it's like I fell unconscious and woke up here."
*Snore*
"What?"
She turned her head to her right, focusing her vision on a lone boy, obviously asleep as his face was still planted on the desk he was sitting at. His upper body was obscured by a black jacket and a dark-green hoodie, with a red gas mask printed on the exterior of the hood.
"A boy? Could he be another student? Perhaps…he could give me some answers about this place." She proceeded to circle around him, lightly shaking his shoulder as she urged "Hey, wake up; I have some questions for you."
Yet for all her efforts, the boy would not rouse, his snoring continuing uninterrupted as he continued his nap. Kyoko sighed in disappointment as she got a closer look at him now that she was in front of him. Though his face was still obscured, she could make out a few stray spikes of brown hair peeking out from his hoodie, as well as an obvious trail of drool trickling from his lips to the wooden desk.
"That's…kind of cute, actually…" Kyoko admitted, allowing a small smile to stretch across her lips before her eyes widened and she asked herself "Wait, why did I think that? I've never met this boy in my life, so why…did I find his drooling to be cute? Hm?"
As she pondered this conundrum, she noticed a single sheet of paper off to the side, the corner dampened by the boy's trail of drool. Circling behind him and to his right, she saw the crayon drawing and writing on it.
"It looks like someone's idea of an orientation card, though it looks like an elementary school student drew it. Let's see…The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world." Kyoko sweatdropped, feeling a shiver of dread tingle up her spine as she concluded "This is creepy…what kind of a school greets its students like that? Obviously, he's not going to be able to give me any answers…maybe there are other students who will…"
She looked up at the clock, realizing it was half past seven.
"Let's see…I think…there was supposed to be an orientation meeting at eight o'clock. Some of the other students must have gathered in the Main Hall already. Perhaps I should go there and see if any of them can give me answers."
XXX
Kyoko stood off near the main entrance, having slipped into the Main Hall with little fanfare as the others barely acknowledged her presence, too preoccupied with their own conversations about how they got there.
It's just as well; I can gather crucial intel without having to reveal too much about myself. From what I can tell, everyone seems to have woken up in the same confused state that I did. Interesting; I'm getting the sense that this isn't some normal high school orientation. That just makes that strange greeting card even more ominous. And that metal door seems to be reinforcing the idea that we can't go outside. But why…
"Whoa, hey, another new kid?"
Huh?
Kyoko looked around to the others as they went silent, her eyes widening as they focused in the direction that the others were staring.
It…it's that boy from earlier… She realized, taking a better look at the confused boy from the distance.
He had a boyish face and gentle green eyes, and his hoodie was now down, revealing numerous spikes of brown hair, one of them sticking up like an antenna.
"Huh? Then you guys are all…"
Kyoko was shaken out of her thoughts as the boy furrowed his brow and asked curiously, answered by a petite brunette who nodded "Yeah…We're all new here. Today's supposed to be our first day of class."
An overweight boy behind and to Kyoko's right interjected "So counting him, that makes fifteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone…"
Kyoko nodded, agreeing silently There were twenty desks in that classroom we were in, so he could be the last student, or there could be others…
As Kyoko's thoughts trailed off, she looked back at the boy, who silently stared at the others with a mixture of confusion and amazement. The boy's gaze slowly moved until he focused on her, his curious stare somewhat unnerving her.
In an attempt to get him to stop staring at her, and in an effort to get them closer to answers, Kyoko asked bluntly asked "Can we help you?"
The boy's cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment as he forcefully shook his head and exclaimed "Oh no, no, just...um...hi. My name's Makoto Naegi. Sorry I'm late. A bunch of stuff happened, and then all of a sudden I was just...asleep."
Makoto Naegi…Easily flustered, aren't you…?
Little did she know that she had just met the love of her life for the second time…or that history would repeat itself as he would prove to be her Ultimate Salvation…and Ultimate Hope.