The Reunion Hour

"Makoto-chan, congratulations!" Haruka cheered loudly. Makoto glanced at her, her eyes blank and lifeless. She muttered something, then looked away again. Haruka frowned.

Ever since winning the tournament, Makoto had been distant. The paramedics said that the only real word they'd heard her yell was Yukiho's name. After a few minutes of trying to calm her down with words, the doctors had forced drugs into the girl's mouth, sleeping pills that would sedate her until she had calmed down enough to wake up and speak coherently and without flailing.

Still, the idols knew that nothing could be done to soothe Makoto's broken heart and aching mind. She had allowed almost all of her friends to be killed, and all but one of them had died right in front of her. Haruka could only guess at how much pain she must have been in.

"How are you feeling?" Haruka cooed gently, taking one of Makoto's cuffed hands in her own.

"Horrible," Makoto muttered. She lapsed back into silence.

"I'm very proud of you, Makoto," Producer murmured. "You did amazing out there—"

"LIAR!" Makoto tried to sit up, but the metal cuffs around her legs and arms prevented movement. "If I had really done as well as everyone thinks I did, Takane, Ritsuko-san, and…a-and Iori…they'd all still be alive!"

"Makoto. You did everything you could. It's not your fault," Producer soothed. "They don't blame you, we don't blame you…no one blames you. There wasn't anything you could have done."

"Would you all shut up?!" Makoto sobbed, the tears she'd been suppressing finally spilling out like a great torrent of falling rain. "Stop trying to make me feel better! None of you understand! None of you are as hurt by all of this as I am! None of you know what I'm going through, so you can just stop trying to help me!"

"You were doing so well for a while there," Leo sighed. She took a seat on Makoto's left, taking a hold of her free hand. "Hey, listen. I know you're hurt and depressed and furious, but we're all going to be here for you throughout all of this. It'll all work out, because we all love you and we'll take care of you now. OK?"

"No," Makoto sniffed. "It's not OK. It will never be OK, never again. I've lost Yukiho, I've lost Hibiki, I let Iori die even though I swore to her I would protect her…I was prepared to lose my life to save all of them, and in the end, I couldn't save a single one and, to make matters worse, I'm still alive."

Leo smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you're still alive," she breathed. "Tell you what—I'll be the new Yukiho for you. We've only known each other for about two months and I'm already really fond of you, so we'll be best friends in no time. Right?"

Makoto cracked a small smile. "…you mean it?"

"Sure. I know I'm not as adorable and shy and quiet as Yukiho was—is," Leo corrected herself, "but I think we'd make a really good team. In fact, all four of us really love you guys, so we'll try to pick up the roles of those you've lost."

"You kinda remind me of Hibiki-chan," Haruka admitted. "Lili-chan is like Iori-chan, Xiaoyu-chan is a lot like Yayoi-chan, and Alisa-chan reminds me of Yukiho-chan. Right?"

Makoto nodded slightly. "…thank you."

"Of course, anything for the Grand Champion Makochin!" Mami cheered.

Makoto giggled slightly, a normal-sounding giggle that assured Haruka that Makoto had recovered from her insanity.

"I'm really sorry about Ami, by the way," Makoto said after a while. "I know that's going to be really hard for you, Mami."

Mami's eternal grin wavered. She didn't bother reviving it. "…yeah. It's gonna really, really stink without Ami around. Mami is going to miss her a lot like crazy."

"'A lot' and 'like crazy' mean the same thing," Chihaya pointed out.

"Chihaya-oneechan, shut up."

Makoto nodded slowly. "Maybe I could have protected her."

"You couldn't have. That bear was brutal," Chihaya assured her. "You would have been wiped out almost immediately, I promise you that."

Makoto nodded again. "For some reason, I'm really grateful to hear that."

Chihaya nodded back. The group was silent again for some time.

"I'm so happy you three are alive," Makoto admitted. "I can't even explain it. I'm just so glad that at least some of you were able to survive. I'm…I'm really sorry I led you all here. I had no idea this would happen, and now I realize I have to stop blaming myself for things that were outside of my control." She paused. "I'll never forgive myself completely. I'll never recover from this, and I don't think I'll ever go completely back to normal. But I'm going to try my best to climb out of this endless pit of despair I'm in. And I'll do it for real this time. I'll still be in the Valley of Anguish, but at least I'll be out of the Endless Abyss of Insanity."

The others (besides Chihaya and Makoto's father) offered a small laugh, happy to know that Makoto still retained at least a bit of her former sense of humor.

"I wanted to apologize for losing it like that, too," Makoto continued. "My brain just can't handle all these people that I love so much dying around me. I couldn't stand to live with myself. So I let myself become some sort of monster to compensate for the pain I couldn't deal with. Maybe that means I'm really weak after all."

"You are not weak," her father snapped, speaking for the first time since he had entered Makoto's infirmary wing. "You are my daughter, of whom I am very proud, and you are stronger than any of these girls. You killed a seemingly invincible man and lived to tell of it. You are not weak."

Makoto grinned and felt new tears form in her eyes. "…you mean it? You're really proud of me?"

"Of course I'm proud of you." Her father smiled slightly. "I watched you the whole time, Makoto. You were incredible."

"Thank…th-thank you. Thank you so much…"

"Hush," Makoto's father ordered. He reached down and wiped the tears from Makoto's eyes. "You should sleep. You're obviously exhausted and you need to recover."

Makoto let out a long, contented sigh. "Yeah…you're right. I think I'll get some sleep." She yawned. "…thank you all. You all mean so much to me, and I'm really grateful of your company."

"Do you want me to stay here with you while you sleep?" Leo offered softly.

"That would be really nice," Makoto sighed. "Thanks."

"Of course, any time."

The other five bid Makoto farewell and gave her a quick hug (or a simple kiss on the cheek, in her father's case) before exiting the room. Makoto and Leo chatted for a little bit until Makoto finally drifted into sleep.

Although it would be hard, and although it would be painful, Makoto was determined to live her life without any regrets. She would return to the stage, and she would do her best beside Haruka, Chihaya, and Mami. And although she would still be wandering through the "Valley of Anguish", perhaps even for a lifetime, she knew that she would never again allow herself to fall into the "Endless Abyss of Insanity".

Because Kikuchi Makoto was strong, and if someone is strong, they'll do whatever if takes.

XxXxX

Dear Makoto-chan,

Thank you very much for my letter~. It was very sweet of you.

Listen, Makoto-chan. I love you very much, and I always will. I know you feel like you've let me down, but let me be the first to promise you that we will always be looking out for you. None of us blame you for anything. We're so proud of you, Makoto-chan.

Lots and lots of love, cute little Makoto-chan~

Azusa~

Yo yo yo, Makochin~!

Hey, hey? Guess what? It's Ami!

So Ami's kinda sad that you couldn't watch her match. Ami got to ride a bear. It was awesome. The bear was all like, "whoosh!" And Ami was like, "No way, bear! You're gonna whoosh this way!" And stuff.

Well, anyways, tell Mami Ami loves her very very much. Ami loves you too. Mostly 'cause you're super-cool and not feminine at all~

Well, anyhow, conversations for winning! Ami's proud of you and all.

Hearts and rainbows,

Ami-chan the Magnificent

Hi Makoto-kun!

It's Miki, nano. Miki jut thought it would be a cute idea (just like Miki~) to write a quick letter to tell you how much you mean to her.

First of all, Miki would have loved to be buried by that cellphone accessories store. Who cares what they say? Bury Miki there! Be Miki's prince and rescue her from the dark prison of her current burial ground!

She doesn't know where that is, by the way~

Oh yeah, and for the record…

Yes. Miki is in love with you~.

Bye Makoto-kun!

Miki, nano~!

Hey there.

It's Ritsuko. Now, I want you to read this very carefully (or, I would if you were actually going to receive it. Too bad I'm dead, huh?). Makoto, I don't blame you AT ALL for what happened. I died, OK? It's because I wasn't strong enough. It has nothing to do with you.

You're a fantastic idol and a fantastic fighter. I'm really proud of you.

Keep going strong, Makoto. I'll support you all the way.

Ritsuko

Greetings.

This is Shijou Takane, speaking to you from wherever I am now. I would tell you the specifics, but it's a secret. I will, however, tell you that there is much ramen in this place, and I am quite satisfied.

I think often of my death. Do you know why I pushed you?

Because I wished to save your life.

Makoto. It was not worth it to put your life in danger to save me.

I am extremely proud of you, and I am honored to have known such a strong and valiant young woman. You have pleased us all. Many congratulations to you.

P.S. Could you bury me beside a ramen shop? Thank you.

Farewell,

Shijou Takane.

U-uun~!

It's Yayoi!

So, Makoto-san! I thought you should know that I really do think you're like a prince. You're always so strong and brave. It's true you can never be like Iori-chan in terms of sweetness and cuteness and leadership, but you're pretty funny, and I like spending time with you.

So, try not to feel too bad! I forgive you for failing to protect me. At least you tried, right? And besides, now I'm with Iori-chan, and we're having lots of fun together.

I miss you, though.

Anyways.

That was Yayoi~!

Hiya, Makoto~!

Yo! Guess who? Well, I ain't gonna tell ya yet. Ain't this neat? I can write in Okinawan dialect~. Heh.

WAIT, FUHGET YA EVER SAW THAT! I AIN'T HIBIKI! WHATCHA TALKIN' 'BOUT?!

Ah well. It's not like you're really gonna see this letter anyhow since I'm kinda dead. But anyways!

I miss ya like crazy, y'know. You were one of my closest friends, an' I really love ya. I had a feelin' you'd get really far, an' I was right as always 'cause I'm perfect.

Hehe.

Well, anyways…congrats for defeatin' Heihachi! I'm really proud o' ya. O, and just so ya know, Nina died from 'er injuries after a while. She's up here with me now. She still hasn't apologized for killin' me, but I haven't apologized for killin' 'er either so it's OK.

Pick up my slack, 'kay? Thanks~

See ya later, Makoto!

(Guess what? I LIED! I WAS HIBIKI THE WHOLE TIME! HA, SUCKA!)

Dear Makoto-chan,

Well, I thought it would be a good idea to write you this letter, Makoto-chan, to express how much you mean to me.

I can't think of words to say to you right now. I think it's impossible to tell you how much I love you. But I will say that I've always really admired you, and your strength, and your courage, and I love you so much. I can't imagine how much pain you must be in. Even so, I wish I could give you this letter so I could comfort you.

Makoto-chan, I forgive you.

I forgave you the second it happened. Yes, those would have been my last words to you.

I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else. You are the greatest friend anyone has ever had.

Ever.

I know you never meant to hurt me, and it's OK. One day we'll be reunited.

And we can hug and never let go. That would be fine with me.

With the most love anyone can ever offer you,

Yukiho~

Hey there, stupid Prince.

You failed.

But, for some reason…I'm not mad anymore. I know when we started out, we were like fire and water. Now, I'm starting to see just how much you're hurting, and I can say without regrets that I like you. I don't love you because that's stupid and you're just a peasant, but I like you. You've done a lot for me, and even though you failed, you at last tried. That's all I can ask from you, I guess.

Besides, I'm with Yayoi now. Yayoi and Ami and Azusa-san and Ritsuko-san. And we'll wait for you here.

It's OK, Makoto. I forgive you.

By the way, remember when we wrote these letters to dead people? Well, I wrote one for you and stuffed it in my purse. Read it when you get a chance, OK?

See you later, your Royal Failure. Ha, ha.

The Great Minase Iori

(A/N: OH MY GOSH, IT'S REALLY OVER! Officially, at least.

Thank you thank you thank you so much to everyone who supported this book! I am still taking requests for alternate endings, bonus matches, or random visiting time, so if you want something in here go ahead and suggest! Try to keep it moderately dramatic and relevant, though. Like, Takane going out for ramen is irrelevant and out of the question. But I'll do it for Dr bb!eworks! if you want me to!

Anyways.

Like I said in the final match chapter, the alernate endings and such will be going on hold until I feel like getting back to it. Until then, I love hearing from you guys so go ahead and shoot me a PM and we can chat about how sad we are that it's officially over!

So, what did you guys think of the ending, anyways? I'm happy with it but it was depressing. Oh well.

In case you need clearing up, that last part in the italics was the people who had died writing letters to Makoto, like a "this is what we would say to you in response to your letters if we had actually gotten them and we were still alive".

THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT! I LOVE YOU ALLLLLL. 3

~*GraceGrrl/gracegrrl007*~)