A/N: Well, here we are; this is the last chapter! It's been a wild ride and I hope that you all enjoyed it. Special thanks to warrior of six blades for his input on the Prologue and Chapter One, and to Davie232 for his input on Chapter Five and Chapter Six. Thanks as well to everyone else who reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. I hope you found this story to be an enjoyable and relatively accurate novelization of Trigger Happy Havoc. Let me know in the review section what you thought of the Epilogue and of the story overall. Thanks again, and see you soon!
Epilogue
"We can't just stand around like this forever. At some point, we need to leave."
All six survivors were now standing in front of the metal hatch in the entrance hall. Ironically, after weeks of complaining that they wanted to get out of there, they were all struck with a sense of hesitation. Everyone looked at the Escape Switch currently held in Makoto's trembling hands. All of the others were empty-handed; though they originally wanted to bring backups of clothes and sacks of food, they quickly found that Junko had destroyed any and all carrying bags from the warehouse during the final investigation, so their ability to pack for the journey ahead of them was limited by what they could carry in their pockets. So rather than stuff as much as they could in their pockets, the group had decided to leave Hope's Peak with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Placing her gloved hand on top of his own to steady his nerves, Kyoko smiled and asked "Makoto, would you do the honors?"
Still skeptic, Aoi hesitantly asked "Is that really the key to this door…?"
"You don't have to read into what she said too much to find the answer." Kyoko deduced "I will force you out. She said that, just before dropping that. It makes sense that it would be our way out of here."
"Maybe it's actually a switch that's gonna make the school self-destruct!" Yasuhiro objected, sharing Aoi's skepticism as he continued "I mean, Junko never specifically said that she'd let us leave here alive!"
"You may be right about that" Kyoko acquiesced the possibility of the switch being a trap. But I have hope, thanks to Makoto, the Ultimate Hope...and the Ultimate Lucky Student.
Byakuya stated that they would try it anyway, with Yasuhiro reluctantly agreeing. Genocide JAck expressed her own confidence that nothing would happen to Byakuya, before sneezing and upon reverting to Toko, being filled in by Aoi and dreaming, much to Byakuya's disgust, of getting married and having the former Ultimate Affluent Progeny's children.
"Anyway, don't worry. I have no doubt that we'll be able to leave here without a problem."
As everyone expressed anxiety at facing the outside world, Makoto energetically reminded them that even though there would undoubtedly be despair in that world, there would also be lots of hope.
Smiling with inspiration at Makoto's speech, Kyoko mused "The act of searching for hope, to try and find it - that by itself is the true meaning of hope. As long as you have that hope, you can keep moving forward no matter what trouble you may fall into. Is that what you mean, Makoto?"
"Y-Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."
As Byakuya, Aoi, and Yasuhiro eagerly talked about their dreams for the future, Kyoko and Makoto smiled at each other, the Ultimate Detective filling with hope as she looked at Makoto.
"Come on, Makoto. Even if everyone in the outside world is gone...Even if the world is steeped in despair...As long as I have people like you around, I can face forward and keep moving." Don't you mean, as long as you're around? Blushing slightly, she shook her head and continued "If we can get out there and do something, have some sort of impact…"
Nodding in silent agreement at Kyoko's unspoken thoughts, Makoto along with everyone else turned their attention back to the door.
"I can't say I'm sorry about what happened, but still...It does feel kind of strange…"
"I guess we...graduated?" Makoto offered, not really sure what to say to that.
We...graduated...Yes, I think that fits...Kyoko mused as Makoto pushed the big red button.
As the door opened and the guns deactivated, Kyoko grabbed Makoto's hand, lacing their fingers together as she smiled sweetly, the both of them blushing slightly.
Alright world...here we come!
XXX
Makoto sprang up, hyperventilating as he was thrust from his slumber. It took him a moment to discern that his mouth was being blocked by a certain fabric.
Is that...leather? That must be a glove. That means…
"Don't shout. Everyone else is still asleep."
His eyes widening, Makoto turned his vision to see Kyoko sitting behind him, her hand slapped over his mouth to prevent him from crying out. Makoto looked around to see everyone lying in the grey, metal area, still fast asleep.
Oh yeah; we're still in the helicopter from the Future Foundation…
It wasn't long after opening the hatch and escaping outside that they saw the outside world; bathed in crimson and filled with the rubble remains of what were once skyscrapers, it became apparent that Junko wasn't lying when she said that the outside world was filled with despair. Soon after they took a few steps forward however, they were stopped in their tracks when a helicopter descended right in front of them. Before they could even wonder what was going on, a man stepped out and said that he was from one of the divisions of the Future Foundation.
Informing them of the Future Foundation's goal, he offered the surviving group a chance to start a new life by coming to the Future Foundation HQ. Since they didn't exactly have many other options, the group nodded and complied, following the strange man onto the helicopter which then took off. They were promptly set up in the lobby of the helicopter and left to their own devices as the Future Foundation member left for the cockpit.
"Are you going to make anymore noise?"
Kyoko whispered in his ear, to which Makoto shook his head. Satisfied, she removed her hand from his mouth, allowing the newly christened Ultimate Hope to get some much needed air. He then turned to Kyoko with a nervous and guilty expression on his face.
"Did I...did I wake you, Kyoko?"
Shaking her head, Kyoko reassured him "I've never really slept well when I'm anxious, and I remember that I've gotten used to staying awake at any odd hours of the day ever since I was trained to be a detective."
That must be why she handed over her key to Byakuya so easily, and why she volunteered to guard Alter Ego during the night… Changing the subject, Makoto asked "Any sign that we're close to the Future Foundation?"
Frowning, Kyoko replied "No, we haven't seen any well-kept buildings or structures for hours; when I asked the pilots, they told me that the only reason that they picked us up so soon was that they were in the area already."
"Oh, I see..."
Frowning at the haunted look in his eye that she caught, Kyoko asked "...Are you okay, Makoto?"
A little too quickly for her liking, Makoto answered "It's nothing, really - "
"Makoto..." Kyoko interrupted warningly, making Makoto look at the floor in guilt. Kyoko's eyes softened as she prodded "Did something happen?"
Should have known I couldn't keep a secret from her; it was foolish to even try… Sighing, Makoto's shoulders slumped as he replied "Just a bad dream, I guess..."
"...Would you like to talk about it?"
Makoto looked up, surprised by Kyoko's willingness to get him to talk about his nightmares.
If I don't tell her, then she'll just get angry with me like she did when I kept that secret about Sakura and Monokuma. Plus, I trust Kyoko the most out of anybody… "Okay, I'll tell you..."
Makoto took a deep breath and, after looking up and behind him to see Kyoko's attentive stare, began his recap.
"I was...back at Hope's Peak...in the trial room. It was the fifth trial all over again..."
I suspected as much...That was the worst trial of all for him...for both of us.
As Kyoko squeezed his shoulder, Makoto continued "I was at the point where Monokuma had tied me to the desk. Then the conveyor belt started and the weight at the end started pounding. I...I wanted to shake free but I couldn't move at all. All I could hear was the bang of the weight getting louder and louder as I got closer."
Kyoko could see Makoto start to get a panicked expression, making her worry. She reached down and squeezed his hand, calming him down for the moment as she reassured him.
"Don't feel like you have to get it all out at once. Take as much time as you need..."
Smiling gratefully at the Ultimate Detective, Makoto continued "My nightmare continued the same way the execution did, but this time...this time Alter Ego never came back." Makoto had tears streaming down his cheeks as he finished "The weight came crashing down on me, and just as it was about to squash me like a pancake, I woke up."
That explains why he was jerking around so much…
Kyoko looked down, guilt once more entering her heart as she recalled the circumstances that led to Makoto going through that execution in the first place.
It's my fault. That execution may not have killed him, but it clearly traumatized him. I have nobody to blame but myself.
She recoiled slightly as she heard a laugh just audible enough for her to hear it come from Makoto's mouth; a sorrowful laugh that betrayed Makoto's emotions.
"I don't even know why I'm being such a baby about this. I shouldn't be crying; I should be grateful that I'm still alive. Grateful that I'm leaving Hope's Peak and going somewhere that doesn't make us wonder day in and day out whether we'll be alive the next morning. I'm...so pitiful..."
Sighing, Kyoko made a silent decision; she took her right glove and tugged it off with her left hand, placing the accessory near her legs before grabbing Makoto's right hand with her own. Makoto gasped at the pressure and looked down. His eyes widened in shock before looking back up at Kyoko's face.
"Crying about what happened doesn't make you a baby, Makoto. Any reasonable man would be traumatized with what we all saw, nevermind the execution you survived. And we're no longer in mortal danger; we don't have to power through without adequately dealing with our emotions like we had to during Junko's killing game."
"Kyoko...your hand..."
Smiling, Kyoko explained "I once swore that I'd only show my ungloved hands to those I considered close enough to be family. I exposed them during the trial because they were key to exposing Junko. Right now...I'm showing them to you because I trust you without question."
Blushing, Makoto uttered "Kyoko..."
Kyoko moved her hand to that it was touching his left cheek as she angled his face towards hers and continued "You're not pitiful, Makoto. You were brave and strong throughout this whole madness. But you're also human, Makoto. It's simply not reasonable to expect you to walk away from what you did and not feel at all traumatized with what you endured, because what you endured can't be described as anything except traumatizing. So don't worry about how it makes you look. Cry if you need to cry, talk if you need to talk. Nobody will think any less of you, I promise." Don't you mean, you won't think any less of him?
Shaking her head, Kyoko used her hand to wipe one of the tear tracks from Makoto's face as he closed his eyes momentarily and uttered "Thank you..."
Smiling, Kyoko told him "It's probably going to be some time before we get close to the Future Foundation...you should try and get some more sleep."
His cheeks turning red, Makoto admitted "I...I don't want to go back to sleep. At least not yet..."
Why wouldn't he...oh… "You're afraid you'll dream about the execution again, aren't you?"
Nodding, Makoto shivered, wrapping his arms around his torso as he confessed "I...I don't wanna...go back there. I won't go back there..."
Kyoko could hear the cry in his voice as Makoto looked down at the ground in embarrassment as tears fell anew, trembling with trauma and fear. Coming to another silent decision, Kyoko sighed as she put her glove back on and wrapped her arms around his waist, dragging him closer to her until his back was pressed against her.
"K-Kyoko!"
She leaned into his ear, making Makoto shiver as Kyoko whispered "Nobody's going to make you go back there, Makoto. You'll never have to be on that conveyor belt, at that desk, or under that weight ever again. I won't let anyone try it..."
She tightened her arms around him, trying to convey that she would protect him. Surrendering to Kyoko's protection, he lay his palms against her gloved knuckles and leaned against her, his head cradled in the crook of her neck and his ahoge tickling her throat. Kyoko smiled as she at last heard him snore; the same snore that she heard for the first time the night she took guard duty over Alter Ego.
I can't say for certain whether or not I love him per se...but he's definitely family. And I'll protect my family from anything that tries to hurt them...no matter what the cost!
Squeezing Makoto protectively, the Ultimate Detective relaxed her chin on top of Makoto's head as she allowed herself to doze off, her anxiety about their future lifted with the knowledge that her family was safe and sound under her protection.
Neither of them noticed when a blue eye cracked open halfway, it's owner's mouth curling upward in a satisfied smirk at the scene that had just played out.
It's about time!
