And here we are. The end of Naegiri Week 2016. It's been fun. I'd just like to say that I am super grateful for this fandom. I've made some very good friends because of it, and I've been able to see some beautiful art and writing. God I love Naegiri. A huge thank you to everyone who read my fics for this week! And a HUMONGOUS thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you all liked reading my fics!
I should warn you that writing this chapter gave me diabetes. It's my favorite of all the Naegiri week stories I wrote. Merry Christmas everyone, and God bless us all.
P.S. Fuk u haters. Naegiri is canon and hope arc was great. Fite me u fcking salty scrubs
Tradition
Makoto and Kyoko laid on a blanket that they had brought out to their special spot outside the school. One of the new Headmaster's favorite features of his school was the gorgeous garden. It had been a specific personal request he'd made when it was being rebuilt, and he was very happy with the results. Over time, the garden had become a secret hideaway of sorts for him and his wife, and they often spent time together there. They did lots of different things there, but one of their favorite things to do was make flower crowns.
They had done it together a few times back when they were still students at the old Hope's Peak. Before the School Life of Mutual Killing, before the Tragedy. Back when "Despair" was just a synonym for "sad" and "Hope" was just the name and purpose of their school. After they had become a couple and rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy together, they soon began to spend a lot of time together in the garden, and one day they decided to make flower crowns together. It soon became a tradition of sorts for them.
Having just finished making each other crowns, they placed them atop each other's heads and kissed, before lying down on the blanket hand-in-hand and staring at the sky in comfortable silence.
It was Makoto who broke the silence.
"Hey, Kyoko?"
"Hmmm?"
"What do you think of the afterlife?" he asked.
"I think I don't plan on visiting anytime soon," she deadpanned.
He scrambled to sit up as he apologized. "A-ah! Sorry! I didn't mean for it to come out like that!"
Kyoko just smiled and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's fine Makoto, I was just making a joke."
He sighed as he laid back down beside her and continued staring at the sky.
"So… what do you think happens after you die?"
"Well, I couldn't really tell you. My last visit was too short to get much of an idea," she joked.
When he tightened his grip on her hand in response, she sighed and looked at him apologetically. "Sorry. Truth be told, I don't think about it too much. I suppose it's odd, for someone who's dealt with death for so long to not think about what comes after it, but I've always been more focused on the world of the living. I think I've just always assumed that the afterlife would be some sort of heavenly world, where all your loved ones are waiting for you, where you reunite with everyone you've lost and spend time with them."
"I see…"
"What brought this on?" she asked as she scooted over to lean her head against his shoulder.
"Nothing, really," he said as he rested his head on hers, breathing in the scent of her hair. "I've just been thinking about this recently."
"So what do you think?"
"Huh?"
"What do you think happens when you die?" she clarified.
"Well…" he began, scratching his cheek nervously with his free hand. "To be honest, I think I prefer to believe in reincarnation."
Kyoko raised an eyebrow in surprise. That was rather unexpected. "I see. Is it a spiritual thing? Were you raised to believe in that?" she asked curiously.
"Huh? Oh, no no. It's just…" he trailed off for a bit, pausing before continuing. "Well, lately I've started to think that, when I die, I'd like to be reborn. So I can meet you again."
She blushed. "O-oh, I see."
He rolled over to hover above her, placing his hands on either side of her head and leaning down so that their foreheads touched. "I want to meet you again in the next life, so that I can fall in love with you all over again. I want to hold your hand again for the first time, I want to experience our first kiss again, our first date, our first home together, our first time, our marriage. Then when that's over, I want to be reborn again and do it all over again. I want to keep experiencing all these firsts with you again and again. I want to keep being reborn so that I can keep meeting you, and fall in love with you over and over again."
She giggled, her blush intensifying as she removed one of her gloves to place a bare hand on his cheek. "You do realize, of course, that even if reincarnation is real, there's no guarantee that we'll fall in love with each other in our next life, or even meet each other again?"
He smiled, blushing lightly. "Yeah, I know, but… I guess I just have hope."
"Hmmm, you make an excellent point. But, you know…"
Kyoko spun them around to reverse their position and laid on top of him smiling brightly as she pressed their lips together. "...as great as first times are, I don't think repeat performances are all that bad either."
He chuckled. "Well I can't argue with that," he said as he leaned in to kiss her again.
The couple laughed and smiled in between kisses as they laid under the sky in each other's arms.
"Here's to repeat performances," she said, smiling sweetly.
"And to many more to come," he answered, matching her smile with an even brighter one as he leaned in to kiss her again.
On the outskirts of a city, a boy sat at the edge of a garden, picking flowers. A girl he had never seen before approached him, and stopped a few steps away. She cleared her throat to get his attention before speaking.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm picking flowers."
"Yes, I can see that, but why?"
"Well, I'm making flower crowns."
"Flower crowns?"
"Yeah, my little sister and I used to make them when we were really young."
"I see…"
"U-um, would you like to, uh, join me?"
"W-what?"
"Ah, sorry. Was that rude?"
"It's fine, but…why?"
The boy scratched his cheek while smiling in embarrassment.
"Um… well, promise you won't think this is weird?"
"I'll try."
"Well, when I saw you, for some reason, the thought just popped into my head: 'I want to make flower crowns with this girl', so I figured I'd ask you."
"O-oh. I see."
"Sorry, I made it weird, didn't I?"
The girl tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Well...not really. It's just… when I saw you, for some reason, I thought the same thing. It's odd."
"O-oh! Really? Well… does that mean you want to make flower crowns with me?"
"Well… don't you think making flower crowns with a complete stranger is a little bizarre?"
"Hmmm, I guess you've got a point. But…"
"Hm?"
"If we introduce ourselves, then we're not strangers, are we?"
"I suppose… you're not wrong."
"So, do you want to make flower crowns with me, then?"
"Alright, but we have to introduce ourselves. You go first."
"Huh? Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, my name is…"
