Congrats to "He Who Seeks The Joys in Life" for actually guessing the Despair trigger for Makoto and Junko, if you haven't figured it out, read ahead for it is revealed here.

This will cover their elementary years before we get to them developing their talents in middle school (next chapter).

I am not exactly proud of this chapter. For one it feels a bit rushed, yet at the same time I wasn't sure how else to go about it because I really wanted to include the scenes, it just doesn't feel finished. Though that's every chapter so far.

Oh well, enjoy?

.o0O0o.

"So... who is she?" I asked Junko.

"Oh, right, ahem" She backed up and gestured to the raven-haired girl, "This is my nee-san, Mukuro Ikusaba."

I stared at them, "You two look nothing alike."

Junko pouted, "Mou... That's mean! I'll have you know we are biological twins!"

"That's harder to believe." I deadpanned.

"Hmmph, yeah well... you're mean!" Junko said turning her head away.

However, a few moments later, she snuck a glance at me. Her face erupted into a full-blown grin, "Hey you're smiling!"

"Eh?" Suddenly conscious of my actions, I realized I actually was. I could feel it widen, "... I guess I am."

"Alright!" the excitable girl cheered, "I knew I could get you to smile!"

.o0o.

Days would go by, and eventually, I started to actually warm up to them, dropping my act much more than I ever had, which was never.

I grew incredibly close to the two. Well... Junko more than her elder twin, but who could blame me? She was the first to look beyond, the first to see the broken actor, not the act.

Junko told me about their life, and it hurt to hear.

Back home, I was generally ignored. Acknowledged that I existed, ignored that I was there. At the very least, I had a place to go back to, but for these two had nothing but a shared orphanage bed and hand-me-down clothes to their name. They definitely had it worse than me.

It wasn't even that they were bad kids either! Heck, I certainly am more troublesome, and I'm only acting. They're just the unfortunate unwanted children, too young to be on their own, too young to be exposed to the cold world, but too old to be desired.

They've seen children come and go like common cold. The two stopped making friends with the others, because every time they do, they're only left behind.

They never saw their parents, heck they weren't even sure if they were twins for the first few years they could remember.

According to the matron, they were found at the doorstep together, neither of them had a note explaining who they were, so the matron decided to name them. However, that matron ended up passing a few years later, having only told the new staff how to run things. Unfortunately, the new staff was just that. New. They had little clue how to suddenly handle an entire orphanage on their own.

It wasn't until an accident in which Junko needed immediate blood transfusion that they found out they had similar blood types. Well, a bit of testing later and to everyone's shock, they were twins.

Junko never went into detail regarding how they found out, or what the accident was. It must have been pretty bad, so I never pressured her about it.

"Oi, Makoto-kun!" Junko waved to me from down the hall. I ran up to meet with her, "Good afternoon!"

I gave her a quick squeeze, "Evenin' Junko-chan, Mukuro-chan."

The raven-haired girl blushed, "afternoon..." she mumbled softly.

"What do you two want to do today?" I asked the twins.

Mukuro thought for a moment, "We could go to the park."

I nodded and Junko took off, holding our hands as she raced down to the park.

We would play around all day, playing nonsensical games of tag, hide and seek, playing on the swings or make-believe.

As the sun began to set we just laid down in a circle, watching the golden sky with its puffy clouds drifting off into the distance.

"Hey, what are your guys' dreams?" I asked suddenly, curious as to what their hopes are.

"Hmm..." Junko hummed loudly, "I want to have fun every day with you guys!"

"Umm... I want to be a soldier." Mukuro admitted when Junko and I turned to her, she blushed and looked away.

"We watched some films during history hour... it looked really exciting, and when we were at the orphanage sometimes we would watch movies and they looked really strong."

Junko smiled, "Oh yeah! Well... maybe when we get older we could all move closer to where you get stationed and that way you can come home to us!"

Mukuro grinned, "That'd be nice..."

"What about you Koto-kun?"

"Me?" I thought for a moment. I didn't have any hopes or dreams before I met them... "I want to be an actor, and be with you guys for as long as I can."

"Well, looks like your stuck with us then!" Junko chimed happily. "Cause we aren't going anywhere! We'll do everything we've ever dreamed of!"

I smiled, I couldn't help it, they brought out the best in me. "Together?" I questioned, throwing my hand between them.

"Forever!" Junko happily tagged on, putting her hand on top of my own.

We turned to Mukuro, who had a gentle smile on her face, "And always." She added gently, putting her hand on our own.

"Alright! Now, we need a name!"

I raised a brow at Junko, "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean?' Every group needs to have a cool catchy name right!" She stated more than asked.

Mukuro and I looked at each other, before shrugging, "How about we wait on that?"

"Oh fine." She pouted and we laughed.

.o0o.

"Hey Mukuro-chan, did you hear?" I asked as I met up with the twins.

"Hear what?" the elder twin asked as she put her things away.

"About the survival video game tournament!" Her twin added in. "The school is hosting a free-for-all survival video game tournament. Supposedly its incredibly difficult. I hear that even high school students are joining up."

"isn't that a bit unfair?" Mukuro asked.

I threw on some glasses, in a scholarly tone, "Well, there is no real 'prize' so to speak. The group that requested this is actually looking for people to add to their numbers. I suppose they too are also observing players to play their games with."

The dream-to-be soldier nodded, "so it is like a skills test?"

"Indeed, the flyer posting the announcement indicated the game was meant to test your reaction timing and quick thinking."

"Sounds like fun!" She decided, "when is the tournament?"

I pushed up my fake glasses, "The flyer stated it would begin this weekend in the computer labs. It is first-come, first-serve and it starts at noon. Once you enter, you will not be allowed to exit until your character has been defeated. If you choose to leave beforehand, there is no pause function, you must hide and hope not to die in the game."

"Sounds simple enough, so go in, kill everyone, and last one standing wins?"

Taking off the glasses I laughed maniacally, leaning in with a pissed off expression, "You think it's that easy? It is a survival game. What the heck is the point of a survival game if there isn't a constant threat? The play zone is littered with a whole slew of traps ready to tear you to tiny shreds! Plus, there are five mechanical beasts that survey the land.

"Once they catch a whiff of you, they will go on a rampage until they kill somebody. Your only hope at that point is to find someone else and throw them into the fray. GYAHAHAHHAHA."

A few of our classmates backed away from me. "Oh dear, he's using his insanity personality."

I instantly swapped to my more depressed one, "Man... everyone's so mean~. I just wanted to help a friend out."

Mukuro lightly shoved me aside, "Knock it off, Koto-kun."

Junko giggled, "I thought it was funny, it's been a while since you acted in us."

I shrugged, "I got bored explaining it, I already told you, saying it again would have been boring."

Junko threw an arm around her twin's shoulder. "Ah come on, let's head home! Wanna come over Koto-kun?"

I nodded and hoped off my desk, "onwards peasants!"

"... when did he put a crown on?"

"Ohohohoho! It's good to be king!" I laughed both, acting and honestly.

.o0o.

The weekend came, I met with Junko and Mukuro at the orphanage.

A young girl with black twin tails opened the door. "Naegi-san?" She tilted her head to the side.

I nodded, "Ohaiyo, Harukawa-san, is Jun- I mean Enoshima-chan and Ikusaba-chan in?"

The child nodded and took my hand in hers. She pulled me along till we got to their shared rooms. Harukawa opened the door, "Enoshima-chan, Naegi-san is here."

"Thanks, Maki-chan!" Junko hollered, "We'll be out in a moment, why don't you two see the other kids?"

My young guide nodded and turned to me, before dragging me to another room with several other kids.

I had spoken to the staff at the orphanage a few times before. Many of the kids were abandoned, others, abused, some just didn't have any family left.

So I helped Maki play with the kids, the two of us mostly watching them, though occasionally having to break up a scuffle or two.

"Now, now, children," Reprimand/teacher mode activate, "Behave, you wouldn't like to upset your caretakers."

.o0o.

"Thanks for hanging with the kids, Naegi-san." The caretaker said, more than a little frazzled.

I bowed lightly, "I aim to entertain."

He laughed, "Well, you certainly do a good job at it. Have fun you three, and Ikusaba-chan? Good luck."

The two of them bowed before Junko inevitably dragged us out. "Let's go~!"

Within a few minutes, the orphanage wasn't too far from the school, we arrived.

The lady at the front office looked over at us, "Are you here to watch, kids?"

"We are!" Junko raised our connected hands, "But my nee-chan wanted to play."

The woman blinked, "You two-"

"Look nothing alike." I finished for her, "They get that a lot."

Nodding slowly, the woman smiled, "Well you two, you can watch in the gym with the others who are here to watch. Young miss, you can head to the computer lab in the first wing, just down the hall and to the right, it'll be the first room on the left. That's where our younger contestants are going."

Ikusaba tilted her head, "I thought it was against everyone."

"It is." The desk lady explained, "However, we didn't want anything happening off-screen, plus we needed to supervise the younger contestants. So the game takes place against everyone, but there are only so many computers in this school. So we separated them by age groups, just for the sake of convenience."

Mukuro nodded, "Wish me luck guys."

"Luck! / Good luck." We chimed in.

The three of us split with the elder twin heading in the opposite direction.

Junko and I entered the large gymnasium with the projector on, running a montage of what happens in the game. It featured the five mechanical monsters that were hunting the players.

The Trojan

In ancient times, the Trojan was used as a peace offering gift, only for it to house soldiers and destroy the city from within. Here the mechanical beast is cunning, often acting as though malfunctioning when in reality it is waiting for the prey to get just too close. He scours the plains located in the northwestern part of the zone.

Ouroboros

The self-devouring snake, the all-consuming serpent. This nightmare circles the entire island regularly, anything that is near the shore during its visit will soon meet a swift end.

Aetos Dios, the Golden Eagle

Known as Zeus' personal messenger and animal, he is the master of the skies of the mountains located in the center of the island. Should anyone dare climb this mountain to gain an advantage by locating others, they will be in for a rough surprise, and perhaps the end of their run.

Sasquatch

The mythical 'Big-foot', the humanoid cryptid. Known for the hunts for the beast, here he is the master of camouflage, and king of the woods. When traveling in the forest and Jungles areas to the west, he stalks his prey, before loudly announcing his presence. Although the slowest of the five, physically he is the strongest, and relentless. He will chase you down. You will not have the stamina to run forever.

Yin, the Tiger

The wild card of the five. Yin, referring to the Yin-Yang belief of the Chinese, and the tale of the Tiger and the Dragon. Unlike the other four, Yin has no specific area. Instead, he hunts throughout the entire land, barring the mountain which has too much vertically for the mech. Escape is possible... if you manage to find an unfortunate soul to take your place.

These five beasts that call the zone, home, are unkillable, they are relentless. Though there are advantages, depending on which you meet, you must first find a way to avoid them.

For Trojan, merely avoiding getting close is enough, but getting too close and not knowing, is suicide. There will be no escape if he is after you.

Ouroboros' is limited because of her ability travel. Stick to the center of the island and you will survive. However, the center of the island contains more prey. It may be better to take a chance and hope he is not hunting in the waters nearby.

Aetos will stay in the mountains, but once spotted he will swoop down and end you. Stay away from open areas on the mountain if you wish to avoid him.

The Sasquatch is a hunter, and the players, prey. Avoiding the woods all together is the only guarantee of surviving, anything else... and you best hope someone more unfortunate is on your path to escape.

As for Yin... Pray that he doesn't find you. He has no limits other than being unable to reach the mountain, but then you risk Aetos.

Junko whistled, "Wow... do you think nee-san can handle all that?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, this information wasn't available to all of us until now. Other than their pictures, we knew nothing. In fact, the posters didn't even have the name of the game, just 'Survive'. on it."

"Ah, she can do it! Nee-san is invincible!" Junko cheered and I smiled. "Come on, let's go get better seats!"

.o0o.

The countdown was close. There were only ten players left. Seven high school students, two middle school students... and Mukuro.

The game ended up being an almost medieval killing game. Nothing but bows, scattered arrows, wooden, bone, or stone clubs. Occasionally a sharpened branch as a makeshift spear.

However, there were no guns, no swords, no armor bar the wooden shields haphazardly made by the players.

The favorite to win was actually one of the middle school students. A gaming prodigy they call her.

Mukuro was in a fair position, she was located near the beach on the eastern side. Ouroboros, the snake mech that patrolled the coasts, was just south of her. Unfortunately, according to the map, the roaming tiger, Yin, was also north-west of her in the miniature desert section.

Honestly, why are games so convoluted with their design?

Who puts a beach, next to a snowy mountain, and between the two is a freaking desert? Don't even get me started on the forest and plains that is split by a ravine.

Map making aside, Mukuro was fairly well equipped, a makeshift shield of bark and wood strips, a sharpened piece of wood fashioned into a spear she had made earlier with the help of a sharp-edged boulder, and a few bits of leather wrapped around her arms and legs as some kind of hide protection.

She was, however not the best equipped. That had to go to the gamer girl. That girl, while generally avoiding conflict, had actually run into the Sasquatch, and was incredibly lucky to have been fast enough, or rather faster than, an unfortunate player who wanted to take her out of the game. Poor guy didn't know what hit him before he was crushed by a mechanical ape.

The gamer had a similar defense, however, she tode bark off a log and used long blades of grass as roping to tie them to her body. It was certainly not as dexterous but offered better protection. However, that girl's luck did not end there, she also managed to find a ruddy bow and three arrows, fortunately for her, she has had no need to use it.

"Hey look, Nee-san is on the move again."

"Player 43 eliminated- death by Trojan. Player 12 eliminated, fatally wounded by player 31. Player 31 eliminated due to bleed out. Seven players remaining."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," I told the younger twin. "Mukuro rocks at fighting games."

As I said that she stumbled upon a cautious player. The other middle schooler.

He seemed to be a stealth type player. In his hand was a piece of flint, long enough to be used as a dagger. He seemed quick on his feet, also has no defense whatsoever.

He was also fairly lean, not overly muscular so at the very least his character has the right build for it.

It was clear to anybody watching that he relied on speed, stealth, and surprise in order to take others down.

Unfortunately, that element of surprise was now on him.

"He's dead," I mumbled to Junko.

"yeppers, totally dead." As she responded, Mukuro made a mad dash for him.

As though by instinct, the boy turned around to see what was the noise. One action he immediately regrets.

Her spear sliced open a wound, the pain caused him to drop his only weapon, to which Mukuro used it to her advantage, picking it up and relieving the guy of his remaining health points.

Junko and I high fived, "called it." we said before giggling together.

.o0o.

This match had gone on for about two and a half hours, the mechanical animals had claimed the lives of at least a third of the players. By now, only two remained, Mukuro, the underdog, and the other girl, and thanks to some eavesdropping, we learned her name to be Chiaki Nanami.

Due to them being the last ones left, the mechs were getting incredibly aggressive. We realized that they weren't actually attacking at this point, no... they were forcing them to meet together.

And meet they did, at the plains. All but Ouroboros was there. The mountain to the north with the eagle. Trojan lazing just south of them, Sasquatch watching from the forest edge, and Yin?

Yin was their time limit. They were cornered, and Yin's roaming behavior was zeroing in on then from the east.

The cameras picked up the audio for one, the two were talking.

"So... you're the last one left," Mukuro stated, we weren't sure how she knew, maybe the players have some kind of device or hear an announcer.

"I am, I excel at most games."

Mukuro's avatar chuckled, "But not this one. Sorry but I've never lost a fighting game, maybe never played a simulated survival, but fighting game all the same."

Her opponent smirked, "ball at you, hope that leather armor can protect you."

"Try not to trip with that bulky wooden suit, wouldn't want a splinter, now, would we?"

The two squared off. By some unseen trigger, Mukuro dashed in, and Chiaki loaded one of her remaining arrows.

.o0o.

"You were awesome!" Junko cheered as Mukuro came into the gym, her twin laughed and gave her a hug.

"praise me more."

"You were all like, RAA! and Hiyaa! and then wapow!" Junko voiced.

This got us laughing. "Nice work, Mukuro-chan, we believed in you all the way."

"T-thanks... that girl, Nanami-san, was really tough." Mukuro admitted, "I was thankful for fashioning that shield together, definitely saved my run back there."

The game ended with Yin, but not completely, Mukuro was tired, having had to run towards the archer/sentry that was Chiaki. However, she managed to cut and damage the other girl's armor and leg. That injury sealed it.

The two mutually agreed to run, and since the beasts were relentless until death... The slower one would die.

It was a matter of strength and stamina, Mukuro who used her energy dodging and charging, or Chiaki whose energy was being sapped away by the injury.

In the end, Mukuro was victories when Chiaki tripped, dropping her weapons and an arrow. Mukuro decided to give a mercy shot, ending Chiaki as the beast descended on them.

"So, what now?" Junko asked.

"Well, we wait, or rather I wait. They said they will review the footage and see, who along with me, get this prize they mentioned," Mukuro explained.

We nodded, "So... what is the prize anyway?"

"To be honest, I don't know. They just mentioned some group," the winner shrugged. "I think it's like a scouting job? Like, in the future I could get hired by them or something."

"It's probably some gaming team or something since you had to play a survival game," I suggested. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Celebrate with ice cream!" Junko cheered. We smiled and decided to do just that, "After that, we can head home and tell the others, they'll be sooo impressed they won't ever forget the awesome gamer girl from their orphanage."

.o0o.

The final day of our elementary school life was upon us.

"This is it! Our last days in primary school life." I announced looking at the girl that wormed her way into my heart, as well as the incredible and amazing elder twin. "It's been awesome, huh?"

Junko nodded, "Yeah! You got to teach Mukuro and me some acting stuff and that was super fun! I betcha I can trick a lot of our friends into thinking we're someone else, though not as good as you, Koto-kun."

Mukuro nodded, "It was very entertaining, Makoto-kun."

I rubbed the back of my head, "Ah don't pretend I was the only one doing cool stuff. I mean, Junko you taught me a bit about understanding data and how to take in what I see. Plus, Mukuro, you totally helped my battlefield and general personalities. Why didn't you tell us you were that into military work?"

She rubbed her cheeks, "It was kinda embarrassing. I didn't want to bring it up."

I nudged her shoulder as we walked down the hall, "Don't be like that, come on we are best friends right?"

"Of course!" She said instantly with a smile.

"Mukuro Ikusaba, please come to the front office, Mukuro Ikusaba, please come to the front office."

Junko and I looked at each other, then at the girl in question, "What do you think that could be?" Junko questioned.

She thought for a moment before snapping, "Ah, the tournament last month, it's the last day of the year, and there won't be another chance."

"Ooohhh." We replied, before shoving the girl down the hall, "Go get your prize, or whatever it is then!"

She laughed, "I can walk you two." She started walking away from us, "Why don't you guys go grab some lunch and then we can meet up at class for the farewell to the class?"

"Sure thing./ Okay!" We responded.

.o0o.

We didn't know that would be the last time we saw her for the next four years. We didn't know why she left, and frankly... after all this time... we didn't care.

"Dear Makoto-kun and Junko-chan,

Hi, I'm really sorry, but they group was offering

for me to join a soldier training group.

I really wish I could bring you guys with me,

but they said it was incredibly secretive, I can't tell

either of you where I am, or what group I'm in.

I love you guys, wish me luck!

Your amazing nee-chan and best-friend,

Mukuro."

Junko and I could only stare at the paper. "W-what the..." I had no words left, or rather, I wasn't sure what I was reading. My hands trembled with the note between them.

Unbeknownst to me, Junko had looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened as they scanned the paper, "S-she left u-us?"

We didn't want to believe it, so we waited. We waited in that classroom for minutes, hours on end, until the sun was starting to set once again, though in our hearts, we weren't sure if it would ever rise the same way it did.

.o0o.

3rd Person - Earlier

"Mukuro Ikusaba?" A man asked. He was dressed in a business suit, had gray hair and oblique sunglasses, overall, incredibly professional. And intimidating.

The girl narrowed her eyes. Her sister and best friend had already left school, there was little chance she could catch up to them. "Depends... who is asking?"

"We," the man gestured to the group beside him, "are part of a rather... enormous organization. After reviewing your tests, we have deemed you worthy of becoming part of an elite group of soldiers."

Ikusaba's attention perked, soldier? She had been dreaming of joining such a group, however not without her two most precious people. "I'm sorry, but I cannot leave behind those close to me."

"We weren't asking." His cold voice cut through Ikusaba's claim.

Her blood froze, "What are you saying?"

"Like I said," He adjusted his tie, "We are part of a rather large organization, we are the puppet masters of this world. However, in order for us to work, we must never be caught in the act, that's where your group will come in."

She backed up, fear clearly present in her eyes. "What do you want?"

"It's quite simple, my dear. You join in our 'mercenary' corps... and we promise your sister and your best friend's dreams come true when they come of age." He stated smoothly.

"And if I said no?"

His expressionless face unnerved the poor elementary student, "Well... accidents happen, and nobody would miss them, we have been watching you for quite some time. Two orphans and a boy who is not even noticed at home, how many people do you think would miss them? Why... for your friend, they'd believe it was a disappearing 'act.' That is what he is known for, acting, is it not? Now, of course, we would never be caught doing such a thing, that's what our other prospect aims to do, a certain, infamous assassin, one who has a 100% kill rate."

Ikusaba gritted her teeth. She was only eleven years old, now she's being told to either join a mercenary group and follow orders, just like she had dreamed of but without Junko or Makoto, or stay with them, and risk their lives.

"... Name your terms," she conceded, 'Makoto... Junko... please forgive me.'

"Excellent, we knew you would see this our way." He grinned, the first expression she had seen of him. This was not the face of any human, this was the face of the demon himself. "You will be trained in the art of combat by the best the world has to offer, we will do our best to ensure you reach your full potential, and worry not, we ensure to keep our tools happy."

"And what if the group fails a mission? Certainly, you would not stoop so low as to harm our close ones as punishment?"

The man scoffed, "What do you take us for? We are not fools. Train weapons that can be pointed at us, what do you take us for?"

'I take you as manipulative bastards.'

"We have chosen you and others, you do what we want, and you and those you deem yours may as well be graduate Ultimates of that school. Fenrir is under the cover of a mercenary group. In the case, their legend as an undefeatable group crumbles, then you, and whatever remains of Fenrir, will be forced to disband. Word of us, the operators, is forbidden.

"We will continue to aid you up to four years after high school graduation if Fenrir disbands before then, and if after, four years after that. We will silently aid up to three people of your choosing. We don't care if it's your parents, sibling, best friend, or second cousin twice removed.

"However, you will be unable to contact them during your time in Fenrir, you will be our tool, our blade. Follow our demands, and it becomes a profitable relationship for both you and I. We get what we want to be done, and you and yours get successful lives."

Ikusaba was backed into a metaphorical corner, she knew she had no other choice, and ultimately the deal seemed sweet. Her dreams would come true, and so would Junko's and Makoto's. They'd... just have to do it without her.

"Together?"

"Forever!"

"... and always." A single tear spilled down her cheek, "Fine."

Her battle instincts kicked in. She wasn't a student anymore, she wasn't on school grounds anymore. The earth she walked on became an ever distant battlefield. The soldier in training walked up to the man. "Fine, I'll agree to your terms. Just... don't hurt them."

Even with the deal, even with her resolve, she was still just a child with her fears. Now she was forced to face her greatest fears with the prize being her dreams.

"Excellent, now-"

"W-WAIT!" Ikusaba said suddenly, "c-can I at least leave a note?"

The man stilled, "Very well. You may not mention us nor Fenrir, our agents will review and deliver the note. You may say anything else, but remember you will no longer have any means of contact with the outside world."

"F-fine."

.o0o.

Hours had gone by, the sun was setting. We remained in that empty classroom, waiting, hoping that the door would open and Mukuro was just playing some cruel, cruel prank.

But when the door opened, it was just our teacher wishing us luck. We faked a smile and cheer, our acting skills were through the roof, we could easily lie about our emotions through our teeth. Though... we were thankful she left so quickly, we couldn't hold it. Not this time.

"She's really gone," Junko said hollowly.

I nodded, just as damaged. "I guess her dreams mastered more to her... than we did."

Junko ran into my arms and I held on tight. We were all we had left.

"I, I don't want to be alone again. I don't want to."

We stood still.

Two and a half years, and she takes the first chance to leave us. We were all abandoned by our parents, and she... that bastard leaves us behind?!

What the heck happened to our promise?! Were those years nothing to her? All our joy, all our sorrow.

"Makoto... it hurts." She whimpered, clutching her chest, "Why... why..."

"I don't know."

"..." First, she stopped crying, then the sniffling ceased, her trembling calmed down.

I looked at her. Expressionless, empty, utterly hopeless. "You won't leave me too, right Makoto?"

I grabbed her hand, "I'll stand by your side even if the world calls for your... no, our blood, I'll stand at your side as the world curses our names. If the world decides to forget us a thousand times over, then I'll always, always, remember you."

I won't be like them. Not our parents, not her.

She stayed silent for a moment more, before adding, "I am gonna run away, Makoto. I don't want to go back to the orphanage... would you run with me?"

"How would we live on our own?"

"We have talents, Koto-kun." She whispered, "Act, you taught me how to act, I am nowhere as good as you, but I can interpret events like no other. I can analyze things and we can become the best, we'll force this world to acknowledge us. We'll force the world to recognize us, and then we'll make them regret ever leaving us. We'll do it some way."

So we ran away, no one would miss us.

Our lives changed, we grew infinitely closer, leaning on each other, relying on one another...

That day, though we didn't know it yet, we were created anew. We stopped being human, not through any fault of our own, no, this is where we have been condemned, this is how the world wished to see us.

So the world wishes to see us as demons, as undesirables, as monsters? Fine then, we'll be the damned monsters they saw in us.

We will become what we have been made as...

"The Monsters of Ultimate Despair"

.o0O0o.

NOTES:

1. Those bold words at the start of the previous chapters do refer to this line. They feel that the world has rejected them, unwanted by others, unknown by others, fine then, they will become that which they saw, because it is the only thing they saw.

2. Yep, this is gonna be one of those stories where the solution was simple if Mukuro could have explained everything... except the problem is she isn't allowed to, she was threatened to, and even then Junko and Makoto have abandonment problems.

3. Originally I wanted to have a scene in which I could show how much Mukuro was devoted to protecting the two, like the good big sister/best friend she is. However, that got scrapped because there was no easy way to fit it in. I might include it later in a flashback.

Next chapter: Makoto and Junko moving on.