But even after saying it was all over... It's not like the building exploded or collapsed in on itself or anything. That wasn't the kind of ending waiting for us. Nothing changed. Well, with one exception... The air purifiers turned off. Just like Junko said...they shut off immediately. That was the only difference. We left the courtroom and made our way to the main hall. We stood in front of the door. Nobody made a sound. I felt almost...absentminded. This was our epilogue before the final ending. We were stuck there in limbo, unmoving, unsure. But... In the end...

(A/N: AYO HERE YOU CAN CHOOSE WHO KUNO WILL BE WITH IN THE END! Now I chose to do a polyamory option BUT it will be in a bonus chapter cuz I don't have time to write the whole au atm so ye. ALSO Hiro will be included as a sort of surrogate dad in the group, not a romantic partner. Hiro is technically and mentally older than all of the students, so I'll leave him as someone who would take care of the others :3 AIGHT CHOOSE THE WIFEY/HUBBY/BEST FWIEND!)

-- MAKOTO NAEGI --

"Hey...", Makoto handed the remote to Kyoko before walking over to me. "I want to talk to you, in private. Can you guys just... wait for us?"

"Sure, don't take too long.", Kyoko nodded.

"Come on...", Makoto grabbed my hand and led me back to one of the hallways.

"Makoto, what's going on? Did you forget something in your dorm?", I asked.

"N-No, I just... wanted to talk to you about something... i-important."

"Oh... Well, what is it?"

"Okay...", Makoto held both my hands, his face a little red as he took a deep breathe. "When we met, here, I felt like we became best friends immediately. When Sayaka passed, you were there for me. When I felt... less than, you were there to make me feel equal to you all. You made me feel confident and true to myself. You're amazing, wonderful, beautiful, amazi-- Wait, I already said that! U-Uh...", Makoto stuttered, making me giggle. "S-Sorry..."

"No, don't apologize. Keep going, if you want."

"O-Okay, thanks... This is what I mean when I say you're so... Nice! Considerate and kind... Maybe a little knife-happy, but, heh, you've had your reasons... I-I'm saying all this to say I... I l-love you! I love you, I think about you constantly and wanted you to be safe and cared for, a-and I want to have more amazing memories with you outside! I-I know things aren't good out there, b-but I promise to make you happy! So--", Makoto stopped rambling and took another breathe. "Will you be my girlfriend...?"

"Makoto... wow, I... I'm so happy!"

"H-Huh?"

"I-I've been feeling these feelings for a while but I didn't know how to say it and with everything happening, I thought it wasn't the time... But... Yes."

"Yes...?"

"Yes, I would *love* to be your girlfriend, Makoto.", I said with a huge smile. Makoto suddenly wrapped me in a hug that almost knocked me over. I started giggling, Makoto laughing with me. After our giggle fest, I felt bold. I grabbed Makoto's face and kissed him. He let out a noise of surprise, slowly relaxing and holding my face as well. We sat there for a bit, just basking in the love we had for one another until we pulled apart. "Should we tell the others now?"

"Maybe once we find a place to stay... For now, let's go to the others... Ku.", Makoto mumbled with a smile.

"Is that my nickname now?", I asked with a smirk.

"D-Do you not like it? I can ch--", I shut Makoto up with a quick kiss.

"I love it, 'Koto. Let's go.", I grinned, grabbing him by the hand leading him back to the others.

-- KYOKO KIRIGIRI --

Kyoko walked up to me, standing close.

"Kyoko?", I muttered in confusion.

"I would like to speak to you, in private. Follow me.", Kyoko walked to a hallway. I turned to the others, shrugged, and followed her. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, waiting for me.

"You needed something, Kyoko?"

"Kuno, I... I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For helping me realize that my emotions are a lot more important than I thought. I always pushed my feelings away, I thought they were a distraction at best, meaningless at worst. But during all of this, your logic and emotions guided you as one, which I think is... impressive.", Kyoko smiled a bit. "Now that I am not... hiding any of my emotions, I can tell that... I feel something for you."

"Me...?"

"Yes, you. Honestly, you are oblivious if you couldn't tell."

"W-Well, we were busy with the whole killing thing...", I mumbled with a blush creeping up on my face.

"Hm, I can't blame you. I was hiding it anyways. I... felt it for a while, but I was scared. I thought I was just delusianal. But now... I know that I like you. I care for you. I...", Kyoko went silent, her cheeks going red.

"You... what?"

"I... love you."

"... Really?"

"I wouldn't lie about this."

"Heh, of course you wouldn't. I love you too, Kyoko. You're are a wonderful human being and I want to show you all the love and affection I can carry.", I grinned, giving Kyoko a hug. Kyoko hugged me back with a small smile.

"I would like that... please bare with me, I'm still learning all this."

"... Can I kiss you?"

"H-Huh..?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"... You are very unpredictable, you know that?"

"Is that a yes?"

"... Yes. You can.", Kyoko chuckled as I giggled, giving her a kiss while smiling. Kyoko held my hand while we kissed, making me break the kiss with even more giggles. "Will you ever stop laughing...?"

"Nope~"

"Figured. Let's go back to the others.", Kyoko kept her hand in mine while she led me away. "... I'm going to marry you someday.", Kyoko muttered with a smile. I gasped and walked faster with her.

"C-Can we make it a forest wedding?"

"Someone's excited..."

"You suggested marrying me first~"

"Touché."

-- BYAKUYA TOGAMI --

Byakuya came up to me, silently grabbing my hand and pulling me somewhere. "No one disturb us. Especially Toko.", Byakuya yelled back while he dragged me.

"H-Hey, what's going on? Where are you dragging me?", I questioned.

"Don't ask so many questions.", Byakuya huffed. I sighed and just let him do his thing. He stopped in one of the hallways, turning to me and letting me go.

"Uh, are you going to tell me why you dragged me into one of the empty hallways?"

"I need to tell you something. It's important and I will *not* repeat myself."

"Um, okay. Is it something private?"

"Something like that."

"Alright, fire away."

"Hm...", Byakuya stood tall, but there a hint of nervousness in there. "You're loud."

"..."

"You're foul-mouthed."

"Uh--"

"You're incompetent in many things."

"H-Hey--"

"You're too friendly for your own good."

"I think being fr--"

"You smell like burned iron almost 90% of the day."

"That comes wi--"

"You can be obnoxious."

"Wh--"

"And very impulsive."

"OKAY, WHAT IS ALL OF THIS FOR!?", I finally snapped, going red with anger.

"... You are also patient."

"Huh?"

"Ambitious, creative, loyal, humble, honest...", Byakuya took a step closer to me, holding my waist with one hand. "Responsible, clever... Gorgeous."

"What are you...?", Byakuya slowly pinned me against the wall, using his other hand to keep me there by the shoulder. "B-Byakuya?"

"... I have a lot of hate for you, I admit. I despise you. I loathe you. I can't stand you sometimes."

"Wh-- First you insult me, then you compliment me, THEN you say you hate me!? Make up your damn mi--!!", right then, Byakuya kissed me. I let out a muffled yelp which just encouraged Byakuya to start heavily making out with me. I was shaking from head to toe, I had to hold onto Byakuya's arms to ground myself. After probably the longest minute of my life, Byakuya pulled away. I had to catch my breathe, him suffering from lack of breathe as well.

"I... I also love you, and I hate to admit it. You... are one of the only people who have gone against me from the start, and it... awakened something in me."

"... W-Wow, okay... Um, this is sudden.", I coughed, laughing a bit, my face feeling like it was on fire.

"... I want you to myself."

"W-Whoa..."

"I said it before. I love you. So now, you are mine."

"E-Excuse me, I didn't agree to anything!", I huffed, pushing Byakuya away slightly. "Seriously, have you ever heard of asking someone out first!?"

"I know you won't say no."

"How come?"

"You didn't shank me the second I kissed you."

"... Good point. B-But still! You could ask!", I muttered. Byakuya rolled his eyes and took my hand.

"Will you go out with me?"

"Hm... Let me think about it.", I shrugged. Byakuya grit his teeth in annoyance.

"You are insufferable."

"You like me for it anyways~"

"... *sigh*, nevermind. Let's just go back. That's all I had to say.", Byakuya muttered, walking away slowly. I walked next to him, taking his hand again.

"I love you too, Byakuya. You're a prick, but still.", I grinned. He didn't stop walking, but there was a tiny smirk on his face that indicated that he took it well.

-- TOKO FUKAWA / GENOCIDE JACK --

Genocide Jack skipped towards me, in front of everyone, held my hand, and looked towards the others. "Listen up, weirdos! *I* have an announcement!"

"Uh, what's going on?", I muttered.

"I have taken it upon myself, Genocide Jack, to finally air out Miss Morose's feelings! She...~", Genocide Jack then practically yanked me off the ground and held me bridal style. "Is absolutely in love you, Mistress~!"

"W-What the--!?", I sputtered.

"Oh, this is going to be a long one...", Byakuya muttered with an eye roll.

"I mean, are we really surprised?", Hina whispered. The others shook their heads.

"I-I mean, I know you *like* me, but *love*?", I whispered. "Are you sure?"

"More sure than the sea shore! Ooh, that rhymed! Kyeehahahaha~!", Genocide Jack cackled. "So, if any of you DARE lay a hand on my Mistress, I will cut you all limb from limb!"

"You don't have to threaten everyone... Actually, I like you both.", I shrugged with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, whether it's you, Jack, or Toko, I want to be with you two."

"Oooh Mistress~! I knew your heart was made of pure gold!"

"I'll be with you guys... under ONE condition!"

"Anything, we'll do anything!"

"Just... no killing anymore. We'll find another way for you to let out any violent tendencies. Deal?"

"Anything for you, my darling~!", Jack giggled. Right then she sneezed, dropping me and going back to being Toko. "H-Huh!? M-Mistress, what are you d-d-doing on the floor!?"

"Um, Jack confessed your feelings... both of you, then you sneezed and dropped me."

"I-I-I CONFESSED!?!?", Toko shrieked, going on her hand and knees in embarrassment. I kneeled down and held her up.

"Hey, it's okay. I love you both, I'm willing to work this out!"

"Y-You're not scared that... *she* will a-attack?"

"I made her make a deal that killing was not an option while we're together. We'll work something out together, somehow.", I said with a smile. Toko looked so happy, her eyes sparkling cartoonishly. She quickly gave me a quick kiss on the lips, shocking me for a second, then held me close. Toko then turned to the others with a glare.

"I-If any of you t-t-try to steal her away, I-I'll cut off your fingers!"

"I said threatening them wasn't necessary, T."

"S-Still, you're special...", Toko mumbled. I giggled giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I know you are. I wouldn't leave you for anyone."

-- AOI ASAHINA --

Hina walked up to me, looking nervous. "K-Kuno, can I talk to you for a sec? It's super duper important!"

"Oh, sure thing, Hina.", I followed her to one of the hallways. When she stopped and turned to me, I noticed she was shaking from head to toe. "Uh Hina, are you okay? You're shaking?"

"T-Totally feeling amazing! I-I just wanted to say...", Hina held my hands all of a sudden and squeezed them so hard they may have bruised. "You'resuperprettyandcoolandbraveandniceandyoumakemefeelsospecialpleasebemygirlfriend!"

"... Pardon?", I mumbled.

"P-P-Please be my girlfriend...?", Hina muttered slowly, her face getting redder by the second.

"Oh... OH!", I giggled, feeling myself go red as well. "With how fast you were talking, I couldn't pick up what you said, hehe!"

"Sorry..."

"No need to apologize, I think it's cute. And yes, I'll be your girlfriend.", I smiled. Hina looked at me like a gave her a whole gym, squealing and jumping on me, kissing me a bunch of times with glee. I laughed along, picking her up and twirling her around.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought you would drop me in a heartbeat..."

"I would never. I'm sticking with you to the end, Hina.", I put Hina down as we both skipped back to the others.

-- YASUHIRO HAGAKURE --

"Hey, Kuno, I wanted to chat with you about something. You cool with that?", Hiro asked with a smile.

"Sure!", I shrugged. Hiro and I walked together to a hallway. When he stopped, he turned to me with a grin.

"Okay, I want you to close your eyes!"

"Why?"

"It's a surprise, duh!"

"Okay...", I covered my eyes and waited a few seconds.

"Alright, open them!", I opened my eyes to see Hiro holding a mini crystal ball. "Tada!"

"Oh, how cute~!", I giggled, taking the crystal ball, looking closely at it.

"It's not *just* cute, it also grants the user basic fortune telling power! And I want you to have it!"

"That so kind of you, Hiro! ...", I dropped my smile in a second. "Now what's the catch?"

"H-How could you tell!?"

"You never give stuff for free, Hiro, it's a fact."

"A-Alright, you got me. I just... wanted to ask you if you want to work with me?"

"Work for you?"

"Yeah! You can make metal charms for me to infuse with positive energy and sturdy fortune telling items to sell! We can both profit from it! What do you say? You can still do your own business, I just need variety in my work, ya know?"

"Hm... Okay, I'll make stuff for you and we can split whatever I sell you 50/50. Deal?", Hiro grinned and gave me a huge hug.

"Mega deal! Thanks, Kuno, you're the best!"

"Hehe, alright, put me down...!", I chuckled. Hiro put me down, putting his arm around my shoulder as he rambled about what we could do together. The business might flourish even more with Hiro, so I didn't mind lending a hand. Plus, with the outside world, I'll need someone by my side that I could trust.

---

Once I got back, we all stood in front of the sealed door, Makoto having the remote that unlocks it.

"We can't just stand around like this forever. At some point, we need to leave. Makoto, would you do the honors?", Kyoko asked.

"O-Okay...", As if awakened by Kyoko's words, Makoto took out the Remote we'd gotten. Up until the moment of her death, it had belonged to Junko. And in the end, she dropped it before everyone.

"B-But...is that really it? Is that really the key to this door...?", Hina asked.

"You don't have to read into what she said too much to find the answer.", Kyoko stated.

--
"If, on the other hand, you desire to see us punished , then you must all leave this place. I will force you out, ensuring you all die horrible deaths in the outside world."--

""I will force you out." She said that, just before dropping that. It makes sense that it would be our way out of here."

"But you never know... Maybe it's actually a switch that's gonna make the school self-destruct! I mean, Junko never said specifically that she'd let us leave here alive!", Hiro speculated.

"You may be right about that."

"Maybe!?"

"But even so, it's impossible to think we wouldn't take our chances with it.", Byakuya shrugged.

"Y-Yeah, I guess that's true..."

"Kyeehaha! There's nothin' to worry about! If something ever happened to Master or Mistress, I'd take my scissors and jam 'em so far up-- Achoo!", Jack switched to Toko. "H-Huh...? Hey, where's the courtroom? Where's the m-mastermind...?"

"It's all over. We're just about to leave the school...", Hina giggled.

"What? L-Leave...!? We can go outside!? Then...that means me and M-Master can get married... And then he'll g-give me a little jewel of a baby!?"

"Please, stop. That would be a greater horror than anything I've encountered so far.", Byakuya huffed in disgust.

"Anyway, don't worry. I have no doubt that we'll be able to leave here without a problem.", Kyoko hummed.

"It's what happened *after* we get out that I'm worried about...", Hina mumbled.

"That is true, it's... scary.", I muttered.

"Kuno...", Makoto mumbled.

"I... I know I try to be as brave as I can to help everyone. But knowing that out there, my family is... gone. The world is in shambles, what can *I* do?"

"B-But you know... In the end, I...! I think a part of me still thinks... maybe, when we get out there, we'll see that everything she said about the world was a lie. That on the other side of this door...is a world as peaceful as we remember.", Hiro pointed out.

"Well, no matter what it looks like, it's still our world. It's where we're meant to live.", Makoto told us both. He was right, it was and always will be my reality. I can't leave it whenever it hurts me.

"You're right.", I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so...", Hiro nodded.

"And...how do I put this? Unlike this school, the world is really big, right? Since it's so big, I'm sure there must be some despair no matter what. But there also has to be lots of hope...right?", Makoto suggested.

"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?", Kyoko smiled.

"Y-Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."

"I don't need any of you to spell that out for me. You know, Junko mentioned that there were still others out there who hadn't cast away hope just yet. Maybe I should find them and make them work for me. To rebuild the world, we must first rebuild the Togami dynasty.", Byakuya smirked.

"I-I'll go with you! I'll follow you anywhere you w-want to go!", Toko giggled with glee.

"Well *my* first stop is gonna be the closest donut shop! I can figure out the rest from there!", Hina grinned.

"And what're you gonna do if there *are* no more donut shops? Or donuts?", Hiro asked.

"I'll just get some flour and make some myself! And if there's no flour, I'll just grow some wheat!"

"...Ah! I get it now! If there's no road, you just gotta build one! Creation... Fate is telling me to remake the world! That's...my hope! I've reached the next stage! The next chapter of Yasuhiro Hagakure's Life Story is about to begin! Thanks, Hina! You've totally opened my eyes!", Hiro tried to hug Hina, but she just pushed him away quickly.

"H-Hey, personal space, buddy! You're seriously creepin' me out!"

"My first step will probably be finding survivors... They might be alone and scared. I'll try to protect them with everything I have! That's a promise!", I stated.

"A promise..?", Hina echoed.

"... Mondo taught me how important promises were. I think he would be grateful if those ideals were passed down, you know?"

"Yeah, he would definitely like that.", Makoto smiled. "If you're going on your own, Kuno, just... stay safe, okay?"

"Of course I will. I'll visit you all too, just holler at me!", I smiled. I felt like something, or someone, was missing; G. They stood in the corner, watching us all in silence. "G? Why aren't you with us here?"

"I'll just... make sure you... guys are safe.", they muttered. I walked up to G and held their hand, bringing them close to the group.

"You helped us so much, G. We can't thank you enough. You are one of us, always have been."

"... Thanks."

"What will you do when you leave this hellhole?"

"I'll... probably join Byakuya."

"And why is that?", Byakuya asked with a raised brow.

"I'm good with... rallying people... for your group?"

"... Fine."

"Sweet.", G muttered with a thumbs up. I chuckled at their monotone antics, turning to the others again, with G by my side.

"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. If we can get out there and do something, have some sort of impact...", Kyoko said with a rare sparkle in her eyes.

But what can we do...? There's so few of us, and we're so small. So what can we do...? ...No, we can probably do anything. Yeah! We can do anything!

"Well, I guess this is goodbye. ...And goodbye...to Sakura. But hey! If we gotta say goodbye, we may as well do it with a smile on our face!", Hina smiled.

"Hey, guys! You guys want your fortunes told, anywhere, anytime, you just let me know! I'll be there!", Hiro grinned.

"If you need any help, metal or otherwise, let me know. Don't be a stranger~!", I giggled.

"You know how much I hate being annoyed. But if something does come up, you may as well let me know. I can't guarantee I'll actually bother listening, but you know...", Byakuya let a small smile grace his lips.

"I'll... be in touch.", G mumbled.

"I d-don't know why, but...I have a b-burning desire to start writing...! I might b-be able to pull it off... A story about M-Master, Mistress and me! A-And the others, I guess...", Toko mumbled the last part.

"I can't say I'm sorry about what happened, but still... It does feel kind of strange...", Kyoko mused.

"I...really don't know what to say. I guess we...graduated?", Makoto grinned.

It looks like hope really is spreading. I'm going to keep moving forward, with hope in my heart. Since I have hope, I can show courage. Since I have hope...I can move ahead. The world...can move ahead.

The door began to open.

With my hands... With *our* hands... Hope and despair mingled together...opening the door to the future...

CHAPTER 42, END!! STORY, END!!

(A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S FINISHED PRAISE BE TO THE FANFIC GODS! Thank you all for the support on this, you all warm my heart so much! This is my first finished work like ever so I'm really proud! I plan on making a bonus au fanfic that's short and sweet someday, so keep an eye out. For now...

LOOK FORWARD TO SDR2 FANFIC BABY WHOOP WHOOP! :P NEW OC ON THE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!)