Chapter Text
A hallway in the academy’s second story interior dorms was devoid of life for only a moment, before a purplish shadow entered it. The shadow continued crawling towards a specific door made of laminated wood.
It was…his…room door.
Apparently, he had something quite important to discuss with her this late at night. He even asked her to meet him inside the main school building in the interior dorm where he stationed himself…despite her, and the rest of Class 78, staying in the dorms outside of the main building for all these months while being stuck on Hope’s Peak Academy’s campus.
Her hand curled just thinking about interacting with…him. She refused to call him by the name Father, Dad, or any other moniker like that.
He didn’t deserve it after what he did…or rather from what he didn’t do. Not looking after her, not being there when her mother died, and not taking up the mantle of being a detective.
Kyoko gripped her gloved hand, noticing that her face was now a fierce scowl. She had to calm herself, or else this situation wouldn’t end well for either of them.
After taking a few deep breaths, her lavender eyes cooled along with her mood…barely. She then positioned one gloved hand on the doorknob as she twisted and pushed the door open, refusing to knock to give the occupant inside a fair warning of her entry.
He invited her to talk, he should just expect her to show up…warning or not.
A dark-haired man wearing a black suit sat in an office chair as he feverishly combed through dated websites on his desktop computer. His room was simultaneously high-end but completely unused, with a T.V. sitting in the corner with a fair layer of dust having accumulated on it.
He turned himself, along with his chair, towards the sound of the door creaking open, “Hello, Kyoko. I’ll just turn this thing off so we can discuss what I wanted to talk with you about, “ he said, as he powered down his desktop.
So nonchalant, like he hadn’t forgotten everything about her, their family, and his bedridden, dying wife.
Kyoko crossed her arms as her lips formed a firm line, eyes still cold, “I know that. So, what is it?”
He seemed hurt by her blunt response. He deserved it as far as she was concerned.
“Well, I’ve had this idea for something we could do…though, to be honest, the premise of it was proposed to me a week ago by one of your classmates. I’ll keep their identity confidential to expedite our conversation-”
“Hurry up. I don’t care about these little details, just tell me already.”
His face took on an angry appearance of its own, but then resigned to a subdued melancholy within seconds. What righteous indignation he had, to get mad at her attitude after everything he did.
After rubbing a rough hand over his forehead, he sighed before resuming, “The world’s not getting any better and no one can come to our rescue currently from what I’ve gathered online. I’m surprised the Internet still works, but it’s just a ghost town userbase-wise. But, from the recent stories I could find, the ‘Tragedy’ is only getting deadlier. It’s just a matter of time before our little grace period on this campus is over, and those crazed people come knocking on our doors again.”
Kyoko could’ve assumed that just from the fact that they had yet to leave this deserted school’s premises for nearly a full year now.
“I understand.”
He took his hand off his forehead, and held it together with the other as he leaned forward in his chair, “With that being said, the plan that was proposed to me was to isolate ourselves in this main school building until the world calms down and a rescue party can be sent for us.”
She gave a small nod, with him acknowledging it before explaining further, “There are several interior dorm rooms inside here, with extras to spare on this second floor, and we also have a supply of food that could last for another year if we ration properly. Not even mentioning the chickens at the top of the building with their supply of eggs whenever we eventually eat all the rations. And we have running water from the reserve tanks below the school for our showers and as refreshments. I think it could work, don’t you?”
Kyoko coolly eyed him, “It would be just the same as what we’re doing currently, except we can’t go around the rest of the school grounds anymore.”
He nodded, “Yes, it is similar to our present living. However, we’ll be more protected inside this school than out there, especially so after we safeguard the windows and such. Though, the main doors will still be a pain to block up…”
She felt indifferent to the plan. It really was almost exactly the same as their current situation, except being mildly safer. But that was understandable since they were still his responsibility as headmaster, along with being the only class to not leave the school.
Funny, how he only cared about all of them because they didn’t ditch him to the curb. Maybe he should have thought about that when he did what he did…
“I don’t care either way. I’m sure with all of us pitching in we could find a way to barricade the main door.”
He perked up at her suggestion, giving her a small smile…
…she wanted to wipe it off of his face.
“You’re already coming up with solutions, that’s good. I really couldn’t do this without your help…everyone’s help. I want everyone here to be safe. You’re all the last bits of hope left in the world, and you should be protected from this madness.”
Oh, it was just because they were “hope incarnate”, not because he actually cared about them. Not like she was surprised anymore by him and his actions.
No matter what, despite this very school collapsing under his jurisdiction, he’d preach their mantra till the end of time. Even after everything came to light about the experiments done on Kamukura, along with the multiple killings on campus of students and staff, he continues to think that the school’s way of thinking should be preserved.
Kyoko hated him.
“Whatever you say.”
His face saddened at her return to using blunt responses, “I’ll need video proof of all of you agreeing, as a sign of good faith on my part. Also, I’ll only move forward with the plan if everyone accepts it.”
He was just trying to save face…
…and yet Kyoko said, “Fine, I’ll do it.”
With that, silence enveloped the room, him all the while becoming more tense because of it.
He could have never been a detective, no wonder he deserted the family…leaving behind her and her mother with grandpa….
…he was nothing but a coward.
She made a one-eighty on her black heeled boots and started walking to the door to leave his overly-embellished room, putting a gloved hand on the doorknob as she turned it-
“…goodnight Kyoko. I’ll see you early tomorrow when I debrief everyone else in the central park.”
“……ok…I’ll be there,” she said, while her gloved hand remained paused on the doorknob. She then resumed turning the doorknob, pushed the door open, and promptly closed it behind herself.
As she made her way down the hallway, her footfalls were weighty, almost stomping, with how heavy she brought them down.
Him acting like he cared about any of them, about her…how else should she react?
The detective stopped next to the stairs leading down to the first story interior dorms.
…he didn’t care, he never cared. All he wants is their “hope” to live on. Nothing else, never was anything else…
…even when she first came to this academy to find him, subsequently being enrolled in it through a fringe scouting endeavor by the school, he didn’t get mad, annoyed, or was even shocked. He was just happy to have another student to carry on the legacy of this insufferable institution…
………
It was subtle at first, but now she could really feel them…hot streaks that flowed down from her lavender eyes. She tried to brush them off with her sleeve, but the torrents didn’t stop.
Detectives don’t cry, or get emotional, or care about anything except finding the truth…and Kyoko felt like she had reached a truth.
…but it wasn’t the real truth, it was just one of her own design…not based on facts, figures, or any evidence.
Just another assumption.
Everything he said back there…was true. Not a hint of it was untrue, she just wanted it to be…she wanted to continue hating him for as long as she lived.
She’ll see if this’ll all work out as planned from her coward of a…dad.
Should she call him that again?
Maybe she should call him that again…next time.
And she believed that. Not because it was a divine truth, but because she believed it to be a form of encouragement…to encourage her to finally sit down and talk with him about everything at some point.
She will call him dad again, but not now…not never, but certainly not now.
Eventually, though, she felt she could do it, and understand why he did what he did in the past and all the way up to the present.
Kyoko then raised her tear-stained face high as she marched down the steps, footfalls returning to normal, as she made her way out of the main school building and to the girls’ dorms.
Just like Makoto said all those months ago…
…there will always be a next time.