After what seemed like an eternity to her, Kyoko heard the door to the room she was left in opening up. She'd been awakened from another nap, mentally taking note that her naps seemed to be getting increasingly longer. That thought quickly left her mind as she heard a timid voice quietly ask, '"Hello? Is there anyone in here?" Kyoko then heard a wailing gasp and the sound of an empty bottle being picked up. "Ohhhh... I need to work fast."
Kyoko could hear the rustling of clothes as she felt a warm hand feel underneath her left glove, presumably for a pulse. "J-Just as I thought," the timid voice spoke to no one in particular. 'Weak and thready pulse, but still there. D-Don't you worry, miss, I'll d-do my best to save you!"
Kyoko smirked to herself internally as she heard the other female place what sounded like a large bag down on the floor, and she also heard items lightly clanking together as the timid sounding female was obviously looking inside of the bag for something. Kyoko eventually felt a blood pressure cuff on her left forearm, and it was then that Kyoko didn't feel the Monokuma Hunter bangle around her left wrist anymore. "Aahh! Blood pressure is low, I really really need to hurry!" Kyoko heard more clanking, then the unmistakable sound of paper ripping, then Kyoko felt her blouse being gently unbuttoned.
"This might hurt... but it should fully wake you up. If it does hurt, please don't be mad at me!" In less than a few seconds, Kyoko felt a sharp needle plunging into her chest above where the cups of her brassiere met and felt a cold liquid being slowly injected into her heart. The effect was immediate. Kyoko bolted upright with a loud, coughing gasp as her lungs worked to get her breathing regulated. "What... " Kyoko's voice wasn't over a whisper before a bandaged finger was placed over her lips.
"N-No talking yet! I need to make sure the adrenaline won't accelerate the poison, I think from this bangle that's on the floor to the left of you." The timid female, who Kyoko couldn't see because she hadn't opened her eyes yet, was busy preparing some sort of solution, the result of which was carefully placed in Kyoko's gloved right hand. "P-Please drink all of this, even if your stomach tries to reject it."
Kyoko could only nod as she swiftly drank the liquid, which caused her stomach to hitch and heave. The timid female, either a doctor or a nurse in Kyoko's reckoning, gently held Kyoko's long lavender hair away from her face as she heaved a few times, then finally retched. She felt reassuring rubs and pats on her back as the contents of her stomach, which wasn't much at all, revolted against her. When Kyoko was done, she quietly asked, "Water?"
A plastic bottle was immediately placed into her gloved hand, replacing what Kyoko thought could have been a small paper cup filled with an activated charcoal mixture. "J-Just take slow sips for now." Kyoko nodded, drank slowly, then coughed a little more before she opened her eyes. The person she saw as her eyes tried to focus had unevenly cut long dark purple hair, dark purple eyes, and she was dressed in a light pink and white nurse uniform. The nurse noticed that Kyoko had opened her eyes, then she grabbed a penlight from her bag. "C-Could I... ?"
Kyoko nodded, realizing that the nurse was being as thorough as she could be. The penlight hurt her eyes, but the nurse seemed to be pleased with the results. "It looks like I got here just in time. A-Any longer and I... may not have been able to revive you."
Kyoko's voice was hoarse, but the more water she drank the more that went away. "Thank you for that.. but I need to ask... who... are you?"
The nurse jumped a little as she was placing medical items back into her bag, then looked up and replied, "I'm Mikan. Mikan Tsumiki."
"Mikan... Tsumiki. Ultimate Nurse? Class 77-B?"
Mikan chuckled and smiled as she said, "That's me. I... think I know who you are."
Kyoko softly smiled back as she offered, "Kyoko. I'm Kyoko Kirigiri. Class 78."
Mikan gasped. "I... really don't want to say where I recognize you from... "
Kyoko nodded as she softly replied, "I know. I can only imagine how... well, it was traumatic for all of us. Especially for you and your classmates."
Mikan softly patted Kyoko's gloved left hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going to all of a sudden go full-on Despair on you. Hajime gave us our hope and our talents back when he revived us from stasis. B-But... you can't really have hope without despair, and vice versa... Anyway... I'm sorry I was rambling on! H-How are you feeling? Any more nausea? Headache? Dizziness?"
Kyoko thought for a moment, then replied, "I don't feel nauseated anymore. I don't know about dizziness yet, and my head doesn't hurt. I do feel... a little weak at the moment, though."
Mikan paid close attention to the answers her newest patient gave, nodding and looking as if she was taking mental notes. After Kyoko was finished, Mikan had another series of questions. "Other than the site of the adrenaline shot I just gave you, do you feel any other chest pains? Or any numbness in your hands and/or your feet?"
Kyoko shook her head as she swallowed another drink of water. "No, neither of the two. My throat still feels a bit dry, though."
Mikan breathed a sigh of relief. "G-Good. What you're describing are normal aftereffects of coming out of either a near-death state, or being intubated for an extended period of time. You're... really lucky, Miss... er, I mean, Kirigiri."
Kyoko had just gotten finished buttoning her blouse back up and kindly stated, "For saving my life in what sounds like the nick of time? Please, call me Kyoko."
Mikan suddenly got visibly nervous as she was packing her medical supplies back into her med bag. "Ohhhh... are you sure, Kirigiri-san?"
Kyoko chuckled softly, which reminded Mikan of how gentle and kind Hajime was to her during their free time together inside of the Neo World Program. "Mikan-senpai? I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
Mikan giggled as she helped Kyoko to stand. "I keep forgetting that I'm senpai to you and your classmates. Would you... try walking for me?"
Kyoko started to walk, then stumbled a little. Mikan noticed and swiftly came over to support Kyoko while moving her to sit back down. "Y-You're probably moving too fast too soon."
Kyoko shakes her head, replying, "No, my ankle was injured before the poison in my bangle was activated."
"Here, sit back down anyway and I'll wrap your ankle for you," Mikan replied while carefully guiding Kyoko back to the floor. The nurse then grabbed a rolled, flexible wrap bandage from her bag. Kyoko pointed to her left foot and Mikan carefully removed Kyoko's ankle-high boot and sock, then securely wrapped Kyoko's ankle. Mikan then gently put Kyoko's sock and boot back on, extending a hand down to Kyoko to pull her back up from the floor.
"Thank you, Mikan. I should be able to walk a little better now." Kyoko tests her theory out as the nurse quickly finishes packing her bag back up.
"Ohhh... it's never been in my nature to abandon a patient, but I need to meet back up with my classmates. Just... make sure you take it slow, and don't be ashamed to stop, then continue on again. The task force and my classmates and I helped to open up the end of the hallway going to your left outside of this room's door, so you should be okay to walk to that opening. There's still friendly soldiers around if you need a hand. I need to go now, I'm sorryyyyyy!" Mikan whined as she spoke, obviously conflicted about leaving a patient behind.
'We must be higher up than I thought since the facility hasn't flooded with them improvising an entrance,' Kyoko thought. Aloud, she stated, "Mikan. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go and help your classmates, and mine. We're in this together, I assume, for now at least."
"Thank you, Miss Kyoko. We've cleared out some rebelling Future Foundation soldiers against us in the hallway, so your path should be smooth sailing." Mikan smiled, her cheeks pink.
"Then there's no time to waste, Mikan. Go!"
The nurse nodded, then ran out of the room carefully cradling her bag as she sprinted out. Kyoko couldn't help but smile. "Makoto was right. Their hope was still there, all along."
After a long, time-consuming walk, Kyoko was finally able to leave the underwater facility. As she headed towards the shoreline, she sighed as she drew in her first breath of fresh air in a long time. "The sky isn't red anymore. Thank goodness." Kyoko stopped for a moment, taking several deep breaths of the air, and then finished drinking the water the Mikan gave to her. 'I have to find him. He needs to know... ' Her thought was interrupted by distant laughter and cheers. 'That HAS to be Mikan and the rest of the Rem... no, the rest of her classmates. If not for them, I surely would have... no, I can't think about that. I need to find him. Now.'
Makoto, looking a little worse for wear, had just gotten through talking with Byakuya, Hiro, and Hina. He apologetically stepped away from the group, then saw and talked to Kyosuke Munakata, who was headed off in his own direction. 'I guess he's leaving the Foundation to us for now. What remains of it, that is.'
Over in the small tent, Hina sighed.
"What is it this time? Your sighing annoys me," Byakyua tersely proclaimed.
Hina didn't rise to the bait though. "I'm... I'm worried about Makoto."
"Whatever for? His luck pulled us all through what could have been a much worse mess than the one we have on our hands now," the former Ultimate Heir stated plainly.
"No, man, she means she's worried that Makoto-chii won't be the same without Kirigiri-chii." Hiro, sounding much more intelligent than usual, caused the other two to bow their heads briefly.
"Yeah, that's what I meant. We all know that they've liked each other for a long time," Hina stated as she very faintly heard a slow, soft clack of heels against the pavement close to the beach.
"You've GOT to be kidding me." Byakuya was stunned, but not quite as stunned as he was during Sakura Ogami's trial during the School Killing Game.
"Oh... my... GOD!" Hina almost launched towards the owner of those heels before Byakuya grabbed one of her arms while Hiro grabbed the other.
"No. Give them their moment, Hina-chii. They deserve it after all we've been through."
"I never thought that I would say this, but Hiro? I think you're slightly more intelligent than we've given you credit for." Inwardly, and he would never admit it, Byakuya felt uncharacteristically (for him, anyway) happy at the prospect of Kyoko having survived another game.
Meanwhile, after Munakata had turned his back and walked away, Makoto was deep in thought as he was staring at his right hand, Kyoko's blood now dried but still visible. 'Isn't it obvious? I came to rescue you.' 'No matter what happens, don't give up on hope.' 'I'm your girlfriend, I'm supposed to know these things.' 'Very well. In the spirit of the introduction phase, I'm Kyoko Kirigiri.'
Makoto looked to the horizon, sighing as he did so, but determined to try to carry on without her. "She entrusted her hope to me. I can't let you down, Kiri. Not this time," he quietly muttered.
A short distance behind him, he heard the unmistakable, soft click of heels. 'No. No way. It can't... '
With a stunned look on his face, Makoto turned around to see what his heart and mind truly wished for. He didn't believe it, but he saw a very much alive, but none the worse for wear Kyoko Kirigiri.
"K-Kyoko?"
The patented Kirigiri smirk was on her face as she stepped closer, her left cheek still colored a light shade of lavender thanks to the poison being halted by Seiko Kimura's Cure W Antagonist. "I don't know who else it would be."
Makoto didn't think. He closed the distance between them with lightning speed, almost knocking the wind out of her as he took her into his arms and hugged her as tightly as he could manage without crushing her. "You're... you're real. I'm not dreaming. Am I dreaming?" His voice was thick with emotion as he spoke.
She calmly and gently reached up to cradle his face into her gloved hands. "It's really me, Makoto. You're not dreaming. At least I hope like hell we're not."
Once again, Makoto didn't think. He acted quickly, just in case this was a dream. As she held his cheeks in her hands, he impulsively found her lips with his, giving her a soft kiss at first, then deepening it as he realized that he wasn't dreaming. As they kissed, his tears flowed down his cheeks. Kyoko had the same reaction, her tears flowing down her cheeks as well. As she broke the kiss, they looked to each other, both of them crying and smiling at the same time.
"Kiri... I thought... "
"I almost was, Makoto... "
"How? Were you... did you hear everything?"
"Almost everything. The worst was... " She stopped, her tears flowing much more rapidly.
"I know. Hearing Hina crying made it so much worse, but I had to be strong for you."
"I'm... I'm so proud of you... you were right. You were right about everything."
"Class 77-B?"
"Yes... they... have their hope now, thanks to Hajime."
"I have my hope too, now," Makoto quietly stated, his tears flowing more rapidly as well.
"Makoto... "
"Kiri, please don't... please don't leave me again. I couldn't bear it."
"I won't. I have my hope... and my hope is you, Makoto."
"You're my hope, too. Kiri... I... "
"What... what is it? Please tell me."
"I love you. I always have. I promised that we would remember that. Together."
"I... " Kyoko is almost overcome with emotion, but she manages to bend her head towards his ears, and said just for him to hear as her tears fell down her cheeks, "I remember that and... I love you, too, Makoto."
With the tears still in their eyes and without a second thought to any onlookers, their lips met once again.
Back in the small tent, Hina was also crying happy tears, her arms hooked to Hiro and Byakuya's arms respectively as the three maintained a respectful distance, but still looked towards the now fully reunited couple. Byakuya, for once, didn't seem to mind as he quietly stated, "I just have one thing to say."
"Huh?" Hiro asked.
"What's that?" Hina asked, her sniffling very pronounced.
"It's about damn time they finally figured what the rest of us always knew."
Hina couldn't help but laugh and lightly squeeze Byakuya's arm as Hiro let out a cheer that was even louder than the one he made when they all graduated from the Academy.
A/N: Hopefully the fluff isn't too sweet. I couldn't help it though. I'll have the Epilogue up in a few days, and thank you for all of the views, favorites, and follows!