Kirigiri-san! PLEASE!!!

Admiration to Love (Part 4)

[Naegi's POV]

Prequel to marriage...

The florist handed me the bouquet I especially ordered beforehand.

"It is a lovely bouquet! Are you giving it to your girlfriend?" the Florist asked.

"...They are actually for my classmates," I said with a smile.

This morning, I woke up from a bittersweet dream. In that dream, Kirigiri-san confessed her love to me, and I brought her to my arms. I woke up before I could see the rest of the dream play through.

Really...why did I do that to that to Kirigiri-san?

I said that I would reject Kirigiri-san's feelings, but there I was, embracing Kirigiri-san in my dream. Maybe my desire to just have a girlfriend was so strong that I would have accepted anyone's feelings on reflex?

In remembrance of those who have fallen or have gone missing to Despair, their names are carved into a stone wall on display for everyone to see. Most bodies were either unrecoverable or maimed beyond recognition, so most people were either cremated or buried in nameless graves. Almost everyone including myself thought it was more convenient to declare the wall as their proper gravesite.

Once in a while, I come by to see my former classmates and leave flowers for them and say a few words before leaving like today.

I still feel guilty at times for having not been able to save my dear former classmates. Back then, we were all helpless children missing our precious friends and family, and then Monokuma took advantage of our feelings and made us engage in a killing game within each other. If I was more mature, more supportive, more helpful back then, maybe Maizono-san would still be alive today.

"Naegi-kun, are you visiting our former classmates again?" Kirigiri-san said as she walked up to me carrying a bouquet of yellow daffodils.

"I did not think you were the sentimental type, Kirigiri-san," I said.

"...That was quite rude, Naegi-kun," Kirigiri-san said as she slightly scrunched her eyebrows.

"My apologies...I did not mean to come off as rude," I said.

"Well, it is true that I do not visit them as much as you do. I do not have the inclination to seek for my former memories either, so you could also say that I do not have any lingering attachments towards people I barely knew after my memory loss," Kirigiri-san said.

"The flowers are for..."

"My parents' names are also carved here. I am not sure if they would be happy receiving them as they are now," Kirigiri-san said as she left the flowers on the ground by the wall.

"Don't say that...I am sure that they are very happy to see you, Kirigiri-san," I said.

"Do you have any plans after this?" Kirigiri-san asked with a smile on her face.

"No, nothing in particular..."

"That's great," Kirigiri-san said.

I did not think much about where we were going because Kirigiri-san invited me to go somewhere. I absentmindedly followed after her.

"Naegi! You wanted to work out with us as well?" Asahina-san asked.

I suddenly found myself in the equipment training room...

"K-Kirigiri-san," I said pleadingly.

"I heard that some light exercise is good for productivity," Kirigiri-san said.

"Let's get started!" Asahina-san said as she grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me inside.

N-Nooo...

Kirigiri-san changed into a workout set consisting of a black sports bra and matching biker shorts. She then tied her hair up into a high ponytail before running on the treadmill.