♤~♡~Two Months Later~◇~♧

Kirigiri's POV:

"The witness statements have finally been achieved from the Osaka incident" I related sipping on some tea as my husband looked up, he was cleaning the office after he spilled some of his chips by accident.

"That's good, it was nice of you to help Saihara with that. The Osaka thing was the band incident right?" He asked, I nodded closing the case file, "Kakeguri has disbanded as a result of their leader and top members capture, and the 'phantom thief' got away from the scene" I told him.

"What happened to the leader?" he asked, "well she was taken into for analysis by a psychologist after one of the members confessed the base headquarters...it was disturbing, she had clearly a method for getting followers and used torture methods to add them to her ranks. It's been confirmed she isn't a psychopath or a sociopath, she just truly believes in what she is doing. I don't know what would have been worse, the victims found at the base were taken to the hospital, but they're likely not to recover from their experience" I told him, I lightened some details but he still looked horrified.

"She's only a few years old than us...how can someone be so twisted?" he asked concerned, I paused, "it's likely she was taken in as a child, Mio Ouma has been confirmed to have been previously arrested on charges of drug selling but she escaped. My hypothesis based on the previous leader, who she supposedly dethroned some years ago, was that the men took advantage, she had some scars found on her legs, and those same marks matched with her victims, my suspicions are that's where she learned some of her future methods, she might not be like her victims but her mind is clearly unstable" I concluded.

Makoto sighed, he was a therapist and an avid advocate for multiple causes, he was always hurt when he heard about cases like this and always pushed himself to do better. It's what I loved about him, but it made me feel and about sharing details of my work with him, but it's better than making him feel lied to.

"Was it actually him though? The phantom thief? The media claimed he was dead" Makoto asked,  I paused for a bit debating how best to answer "I suppose it doesn't really matter" I decided with a sigh. Makoto looked at me curiously, "really? You're usually insistent on completing cases, it's not like you to stop right at the end" 

"I just know, that the person who was the phantom thief, will likely not be returning to the scene, so there's really no point in exposing him or the identities of the members we did find at the concert," I told him.

Makoto smiled, "people don't give you enough credit for how kind you can be" he teased, I felt a slight blush, "it was just me saving some time...that's all," I told him, "sure..." he drew out, "didn't you promise you would take care of the dishes tonight?" I asked, "AH! I forgot!" he cried out nearly tripping his way on the way out.

I glanced back at the file case, the phantom thief's true face stared back at me as I put it through the paper shredder "so...that's why you stalled Saihara..."

♤~♡~Three Months After the Incident~◇~♧

Nao's POV:

You know life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. Well, this chocolate box was a LIE and instead was packed full of dried raisins. I am not being overdramatic.

I followed the nurse through the halls, it had been several weeks since I had been discharged from the hospital after we got saved, apparently even though I may not be...I may not be as curvy anymore, those lost calories still weren't enough to supplement the malnutrition I had undergone, I still think I'm pretty fine considering I still have all my fingers and toes. I just got beat up a little.

I'm fine.

This is fine.

Enter the dog meme here for the number of times I said that.

"So when can Mirai come home?" I asked the nurse, "I finally managed to fix our broken window, it took me forever to realize I was putting it in the wrong way. I'm never trying to fix anything again, ducktape for life" I joked.

The nurse chuckled a little before she avoided my gaze finally leading me to a room. She paused as she turned back to me, "we...she was in a coma for quite some time due to her neck injury, were lucky that her main veins weren't damaged from the attack, it's likely she actually just passed out due to her treatment...however her mind...her mind was not able to cope with the trauma of what she endured" she explained to me carefully.

"So does she need me to take her to therapy? I can do that, I mean I might need some too so I can do it with her, or I can trick her into taking medication, trust me I have many years of tricking people into taking medicine, and I've come out with only two scars and a lawsuit." I promised.

She looked like she wanted me to explain more but decided against it, "she won't be able to be discharged" she finally explained bluntly. I paused, "how...how bad is it then...? If she's depressed, I can help, believe me I know her probably better than anyone and I will do whatever dumb slapstick is needed to make her smirk-"

"Her mind to handle the trauma has reverted to a more childlike state, she also seems to have experienced some sort of amnesia, she believes she is nine years old right now and can't remember the events that lead her here. Whenever we try to explain it causes her intense pain and breakdowns, so it's better to just let her mind heal till we can decide the next stage of her treatment" she finally broke down properly for me.

...

"She...she thinks she's a kid again?" I asked confused, "wait is that why Genkei and some of the others couldn't come?" I quickly added, "well from what we've heard her say, she doesn't know who those people are. Did she meet them later in life?" she asked.

"Yeah...she just knew me and a few others but...they can't be here right now" I sighed, "I knew her when she was that age though, and before so...I think she would remember me if it's what you're describing?" I guessed.

"Ok then, we'll let you in, please try and avoid sensitive topics, however" she advised as she unlocked the door and allowed me to enter.

My god.

I was used to the punk short weirdo, the one who gave me the middle finger on demand and always got on my nerves. She was like a tiny angry cat and that's why she was my best friend, in the almost nightmarish world we had lived in the past year she became our leader...and I never knew she could have played that role.

She looked up at me with a shy gaze playing with her broken strands of hair, I noticed the gauze around where her missing pinky finger and...wow even the middle finger.

"Hey Miri" I greeted, she squeaked before she got up from her bed, "Nao? When did you get so big?" she asked confused, "hey don't judge me, I tried diets ok? I've tried and- oh wait you meant my height" I realized.

"Yeah I haven't changed, you've just gotten shorter" I teased, "NO! That's so mean!" She pouted, "It's the truth, you're as short as a mouse and you will be forever and ever" I exaggerated, I tried to remember how I spoke as a child and it seemed to be working.

"Wheres Riko?" Mirai asked, my heart dropped, "she hasn't shown up since I got locked up here and no one will tell me why!" she complained, "Riko..." I paused carefully with my words. "Riko is entering a deadly game of hide and seek, Kazue and Chiasa are cheating by having two seekers, she's a lost cause" I joked hoping this answer would satisfy her.

She smiled, "Ok"

...ok

♤~♡~One Year Later~◇~♧

Tsuki's POV:

I blew my nose against the tissues, "Tsuki you can't be crying already! Seriously the wedding hasn't even started yet! This is sad even for you!" Nao teased laughing, "I can't help it! I've shipped this for years!" I sobbed, "and they chose the flowers I'm allergic to!" I added.

"But you were the florist, why would you even offer that kind?" Eiji asked, "BECAUSE IM A GOOD FRIEND!" I explained sobbing, some of the other guests looked at our group as if we were insane. "So how is the parole case going with Taka and Riko?" Nao asked, Eiji shrugged, he was working mainly on the case, Saihara offering us some assistance.

"They already served four years of a ten-year sentence, and they likely have had good behavior...it shouldn't be too hard to try and get them parole" he said, his voice had a slight hope. We all hoped.

"Mirai should get better hopefully when Riko comes back..." Nao insisted the short and youngest member of DICE couldn't join them at the ceremony, unfortunately. The front row had the respective empty seats for the people who couldn't make it, the people who should have been here.

"Damn he cleans up nicely though" Nao added pointing towards Saihara and Genkei, Genkei had been forced into a clean tan shirt and black formal pants, and despite my protest, he still kept his long and mangy hair only pulling it into a man bun, I couldn't help but feel somber over his lost finger though. Saihara had kept a short and neat hairstyle along with a black suit, he looked better dressed than Genkei that's for sure.

The music turned on.

"LOOK!" Nao shouted disrupting the event causing the groom to laugh. 

Takura, in a neat white suit and his still to skinny frame, offered his arm to Kokichi who began to walk him down the aisle. They both wanted to do this as a joke about how wives were given away by their fathers, since Takura's was god knows where they decided it would be better if it was Kokichi. Meanwhile, Kokichi's own long hair has pulled a ponytail, it seemed to be a new permanent addition to his life and he was wearing a matching lavender shirt with a black tie and white dress pants.

When the two grooms met each other Genkei grinned, "so what you doing here?" he flirted, "eh getting married to an idiot, do you know him?" Takura asked, "nope definitely not, I have a three hundred IQ mister" he responded causing a soft chuckle from Eiji.

My god it's a miracle.

The ceremony continued, Saihara acting as one of Genkei's sole groomsman, after the incident the two had gotten close when Saihara offered him a job at his agency, along with Kokichi as Takura's best man.

Occasionally the two would stare at each other, meeting eyes. To everyone, it was apparent the clear connection and bond the two shared...as they turned away from one another.

My heart still believed though, it wasn't just a small shippers dream. No...I just always will believe in them. I believe in this future. We gave up our lies, our masks, all for this greater future.