In her examination room, Maki twitched. She had been very patient throughout the process of being checked over. She was in almost perfect physical health and had adjusted to the new information about the last couple of weeks or so being a simulation. She had regained a few memories, but was still mostly relying on her simulation memories for information about the world. One memory in particular was bothering her. It made her feel antsy and anxious - feelings she certainly wasn't used to and did not want to embrace. Her last memory of Kaito.
She'd tried to dig through her brain for memories of their relationship before the simulation, but she was mostly coming up empty. All she'd managed to recall was that their relationship had been on a somewhat similar trajectory; she was initially irritated by him, but warmed up slowly, to the point where she was questioning her feelings. She couldn't recall any outburst like the one she'd had before Kaito's punishment, though - no admission of her feelings, no acknowledgment at all. She bit the end of her thumb thinking about it.
"You seem anxious," her doctor noted. "Is everything alright?"
Maki glared. It was a horrifying, deadly stare, striking fear and apprehension in the hearts of even those who knew her. The doctor took a step back.
"S-sorry," Maki mumbled, looking away. "I want to see K-" she stopped herself finishing the sentence.
"If there's someone you want to see, Ms Harukawa, we can arrange that shortly," the doctor spoke slowly, scribbling away in her notebook. Another doctor entered the room.
"Ms Harukawa," he smiled. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," Maki said impatiently. "Can I go now?"
"Well, I actually came to compare your notes with Mr Saihara's," the other doctor explained, turning to her doctor. "He's fine physically, but in terms of recall, he's not regained as many memories as I'd have expected. I was thinking of bringing one student in to greet him, see if it triggers anything." Maki's doctor nodded.
"We're in a similar position here. I'm happy to do the same," she agreed. "Ms Harukawa, is there anyone in parti- "
"Kaito," Maki declared, cutting the doctor off. "Kaito Momota."
Her doctor raised her eyebrow slightly at her speed and insistence but made no comment.
"Sure," she said. "We can arrange that. I'm happy with your examination, so I'll fetch him and leave you both to chat." With that, she spun on her heel and both doctors left the room.
Maki ran her fingers through her hair nervously. She was dying to see Kaito; it was her first thought when she awoke, and her first request when she realised he was alive. She was also horrifyingly nervous, though - she couldn't think of another time she'd felt this way. It was strongly out of character.
The more time passed, the most anxious she became. What would she say? What would he say? Would it be awkward, or would it be wonderful? Ugh, she thought. I'm overthinking like Shuichi.
Suddenly, the door burst open, giving her a terrible fright.
"Maki Ro- arrgh!" Kaito's burst into the room was interrupted by Maki's reflexive attack, striking him in the torso. He bent over in pain. Maki gasped.
"Kaito…!" She breathed. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"S-sorry, Maki Roll," he wheezed. She rushed to his side, and, apparently pushing through the pain, he enveloped her in his arms. Without thinking, she also threw her arms around him, overwhelmed at the sight of him. "God, I missed you," he whispered, inhaling deeply and breathing in the scent of her hair. Maki felt uncharacteristic tears prickling the back of her eyes.
"I love you," she wept. "I'm never, ever letting anyone near you again. I'll never let anything happen to you, Kaito." The words came tumbling out.
"Maki Roll," Kaito said softly, pulling away from the hug. Maki clung tightly to him, unwilling to let go in fear he would slip away again. "Hey," he rubbed her back gently. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She suddenly pulled away; tears streaked down her face. She grasped his face with one hand, inspecting him frantically.
"You're not sick or anything are you? That was all just made up? Do you feel OK? Are you injured?"
Kaito took her hand in his own and looked deep into her eyes. Her flurry of questions stopped, and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks.
"Maki," he began, softly and slowly. "I'm not sick, I'm not hurt. I have a little chest pain," he paused, putting her and his hands on his chest. "From my death in the simulation. But otherwise, I'm totally fine! I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!" He beamed. "Now, come on. Crying's no good. It's not like you. Glare at me! Say something mean! Give me some of that Maki Roll fire!"
She suppressed a smile and collected herself. Almost back in character, she gave him her best mock-glare, making it clear she wasn't even slightly serious. Seeing her face as he remembered it was all Kaito needed; he sprung forwards and took Maki by the waist. Maki didn't have even a second to react before they collided, and his lips crashed into hers. At first, she was taken aback; Kaito moved with such reckless abandon she didn't have time to process any of what was happening. It didn't take her long to come to her senses though; she clutched at the sleeves of his shirt and kissed him back, and they remained for a few moments, in the beautiful culmination of not just the few weeks of build up inside the simulation, but also the year of build-up that they'd already spent at Hope's Peak. Maki allowed herself to simply indulge in the moment.
Kaito pulled away from her slowly. "You said you love me," he said in a teasing tone, still on cloud nine from the kiss.
"Shut up," Maki said indignantly, pushing him away. "It's your fault."
"Huh?! My fault?!" Kaito exclaimed. "I didn't do anything!"
"Well, I do, OK?!" Maki cried.
A sly smirk crept onto his face. "You do what?"
"I'm not saying it again, Kaito," she scowled.
"Aw, come on, Maki Roll," he pressed. "You know you wanna!"
"No, I don't think I do," she pondered. "I'm going to take a shower." With that, she headed for the door, leaving Kaito stunned, stationary, with his mouth agape. When she disappeared through the door, Kaito gave chase.
"Maki Roll! Wait!" He called. As he tumbled through the door, he immediately smacked right into the back of her, still and silent, waiting for him. As he twitched on the floor, she looked back over her shoulder.
"I love you, Kaito," she declared confidently, feeling much more herself having been through a roller coaster of unfamiliar emotions.
"I…love you, Maki Roll!" He clambered to his feet and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, spinning her through the air before setting her down and continuing down the corridor.
"So," Maki began, stepping inwards as she walked, so that her arm brushed Kaito's. "What's been happening since you woke up?"
Kaito looked up in thought. "Well, I haven't been awake for long. But everyone's rallied together. When someone new wakes up, the group spends time helping them get some memories back and stuff," he recalled. "It's been pretty nice actually, without the threat of, well, you know."
Being killed by one another, Maki thought. She stopped dead in her tracks.
"Hm? Maki?" Kaito prompted.
"I- I don't know where I'm going," Maki said, frowning and confused. "I can't remember how to get to the dorms."
Kaito suppressed a laugh - badly. "Oh, Maki Roll," he chuckled. "It was the same for all of us, pretty much. Come on, it's this way," he took her by the hand and pulled her to the right.
"What actually happened then? To the simulation, I mean," Maki asked. She knew she was jumping from topic to topic, but so many questions were unanswered.
"I don't think they even know," Kaito scratched the back of his head. "We were put into the simulation as part of some team-building exercise. Naegi wanted to see the impacts on our talents and bonds if we went into the Neo World Program already friends and classmates," he continued. "A bit like- "
"The Remnants of Despair," Maki finished his sentence, memories slowly coming back to her. "For them it was reform, for us it was a strengthening exercise."
Kaito nodded. "Right. A lot of them work here now, actually, when I woke up it was Nurse Tsumiki who- "
"Kaito," Maki interrupted. "The simulation."
"Right! Sorry, Maki Roll! Anyway, once we were inside, they lost control from the outside. Someone hijacked the system, and for a few days, we were all totally unreachable. Then the simulation came back online, and that totally weird scenario had been set up, and we just had to live through it and…kill each other," Kaito explained. "I've heard them say stuff like 'it must have been set up that way to induce the most despair possible!' but all we know is that someone hacked the system and forced us to play out that weird end-of-the-world story."
Maki frowned. The days of despair should have been long behind them. A few memories were reforming in her mind - Junko Enoshima was dead, her AI was dead, and Remnants of Despair had been eliminated. There had been peace for a few years now. What could have happened?
"I'm sure they've got people investigating it, anyway," Kaito continued. "We're saved now, so it's probably best for us to just keep living our normal lives," he slipped his hand into hers. Maki blushed slightly and turned her head away. He was probably right. Although - what was 'normal' now? They had two different timelines of memories, and had suffered a huge trauma together…how could life be 'normal' again? Feeling apprehensive, Maki gripped Kaito's hand tighter and resolved to take things one step at a time. They could figure it out. Together.