IT'S HALLOWEEN! Happy spooky day!

Get some candy, don't let any skeletons stab you, and stay spooky!

I gotta post this real fast because I'm leaving like, right now. Good thing everything is prewritten haha.

Mitzuki118 - Everyone needs to join into the Towa City partyy! Bye bye Sonia. Looks like you're the least favourite, hehhe. (that just makes her redemption sweeter) Ugh, Tanaka is a cinnamon bun. He just likes puppy!Naegi.

xXPinkMewXx - Welcome to the next chapter! This one is pretty long, so hopefully, the wait won't be as bad.

Reader(Guest) - Awe, thank you! I still think I have a long way to go with my writing skills… but I'm happy to hear that you like it so much! I guess it's a good thing that I update so frequently.;;

The sunlight reflected off the water in a beautiful mixture of oranges and pinks.

Makoto leaned against the window, feeling his eyes begin to droop just as the sun did the same. The drive had been long - dreadfully long. Alter Ego had run out of battery shortly after he took up talking to him, Kamukura wasn't extremely talkative, and Junko was Junko… thus Makoto was left with nothing to do.

The bridge they were on was long. Makoto idly wondered where was it they were going. He hadn't asked even thought to ask up until this point, his mind to preoccupied with the classroom, and Nanami, and Kumakura not caring if Junko called them boyfriends, and-!

Okay, let's not get into that. Right now at least.

"Where are we?" Makoto asked, keeping up his bored facade by continuing to stare idly out of the window.

Were they crossing over the ocean? They must have been. No lake was this big, right? At least not in Japan…

Kamukura broke rule number one of driving: don't care your eyes off the road. Instead, his crimson bore into Makoto's hazel-green. The boy gulped, did he ask a wrong question?

"Towa City."

Makoto blinked. Oh.

Wait. Oh?

"Towa City?" he asked, "What's that?"

He had an idea. A vague one, at least. It was somewhere that Junko wanted him to go.

For some strange reason, Junko always seemed to get what she wanted…

"The current largest city. It came to be after the tragedy, and many civilians flocked there due to the air purifying technology. Ultimate Despair has an associate there" Kamukura explained.

Associate? That was probably that Monaca person, right? The one who supposedly designed the bracelet he was wearing. They were the most likely person to know about Junko still… being here.

"Are we going to meet with this person?" he asked, trying to milk as much information as he possibly could.

Kamukura fell to his bait. Well, he probably knew the bait was there and decided to take it anyways, "Yes. I have a few questions to ask her."

Makoto smiled and propped his face on his fist. The drive continued on in silence.

The two of them passed through some kind of gated checkpoint. A man dressed in a police uniform stopped them but after Kamukura flashed some card-thingy they were let through.

Towa City was… well, it wasn't what he imagined it to be. Makoto immediately thought of some poor, dirty town just barely managing to survive. Instead, he got a metropolis right outside of a comic book.

A bullet train zoomed overhead on a high-rise track. Makoto found himself pressing his nose against the window to watch. Many people were walking through the streets, children laughing and holding hands with their parents, teenagers loitering in a way that reminded Makoto of his junior high years. There was even other traffic for once!

He liked this. Towa City. While the rest of the world was crumbling to ashes this city was thriving. It was almost like how the world was, before.

"Makes you kinda wish you didn't take over the world, huh?"

Makoto turned. Junko had a maniacal grin on her face.

"Except I'm not some sissy like you. I don't regret a thing!" she giggled, "Just look at how boring everything thing here is! Like, yawn!"

Makoto rolled his eyes. Of course, Junko didn't care. She never cared about anything but her own amusement.

The car pulled up at an impressive looking building. He didn't know how many floors the building even had, but his head started to get a bit dizzy just looking at it.

Kamukura got out of the car, Makoto eagerly followed. The breath of fresh, clean air couldn't be beaten by those dinky little masks or the stuffy inside of the car. The purity of it reminded Makoto of the Despair base.

The two of them walked towards the building. By the sign over top of the doors, it was called Towa Hills.

"Is this some kind of… office building?" Makoto asked.

Kamukura nodded, "This is the headquarters for our Towa City ally. We will be meeting her and her associates in order to discuss the bracelet designs we found."

Makoto paused slightly as he opened the smooth glass doors, "Are we going to ask about Junko? This could also be a good opportunity for you to get a bracelet, so you can see her…"

The man didn't say anything, but Makoto knew he agreed. They just worked like that. The two of them headed forward.

The building was impressive. Makoto stared in awe at the strange architecture - the people who owned this building had to be rich. How else could they afford this?

A man stepped forward from the shadows of the building. He had long, spidery blue hair that slightly resembled kamukura's black strands. There was an apathetic expression on his face, but an underlying annoyance sat underneath his gruff-yet-friendly exterior.

Makoto immediately didn't like this man.

"I'm Towa Haiji. Now, can I help you, or should I call in security?" he crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes.

Makoto gulped. He would actually call security… right? The boy didn't really feel like being dragged out of the fancy looking office… all he had been doing was following Kamukura, anyway.

Wait… Towa?! Then… he must be a relative of Monaca, right?

Junko was beside him, her eyes narrow. Kamukura stepped forward and began speaking with Haiji, but Makoto was too distracted by the girl next to him as she began to speak.

"He's the older brother. Adoptive older brother. Monaca hates his guts - I do too." she crossed her arms. Her crystal blue eyes never left Haiji's back as he began to lead the trio, uh, somewhere, "I would watch out for him if I were you. Especially if things go well with Monaca. The situation could become dangerous pretty quickly."

The boy felt a small bead of sweat roll down the side of his neck. Dangerous? His eyes squinted at Haiji's back. The man didn't seem dangerous just... gruff and annoyed. Angry, even, but certainly not dangerous.

His eyes then rolled over to Kamukura. He was relaxed - as relaxed as Kamukura usually was around most people. That must have meant that he didn't think there was a threat, right?

They were perfectly safe.

The two entered a new room. This room had pristine looking white walls and floors that turned mere footsteps into haunting echoes. There was machinery strewn about, and many people dressed like Soda were fiddling about the room.

This must have been some kind of laboratory, right? What had Junko said… something about Monaca being a technological genius. Did she work here?

"Monaca should be working in her private laboratory. Wait outside the door until you're called in," Haiji pointed towards the end of a hallway and Kamukura did as instructed, Makoto following quickly behind.

The wait was short and silent. After a few minutes of twiddling his thumbs, Makoto noticed the door beginning to creak open.

Surprisingly enough, a small green haired girl in a wheelchair came rolling out. She smiled, her green eyes lighting up like a fireworks show.

Was this… Monaca's sister or something? She couldn't be Monaca, could she…?

Junko huffed, suddenly standing behind the green haired girl, "Don't let her appearance fool you," Junko warned, face serious, "She's a little devil. She might even grow up to be worse than me." she ended with a silly looking grin.

How despairful, were the words she left out. Makoto didn't know if it was intentional or not… but decided that he liked it that way. Without.

Maybe she's grown more than he's realized…?

"Nice to meet you!" the little girl started, a huge, sugar-sweet smile on her face, "I'm Towa Monaca! I run the robotics division here at Towa Group."

Then, her wheelchair rolled through the doorway, her hand waving at them to follow. Kamukura didn't hesitate. The laboratory was, well, like the first room. Spotless white walls and uncluttered floors. Don't forget the tons of machinery that Makoto couldn't make sense of for the life of him.

The entire room sparkled with cleanliness, and a distinct hospital-smell clung to the air.

"Sorry sorry! Monaca just needs to grab something. Were really going to my secret room so you can talk to Monaca's associates," Monaca explained, grabbing a nondescript bag from a desk and clutching it to her stomach, "You came here on despair business, right?"

Makoto immediately turned to Kamukura, who was nodding in answer to her question.

"I would like information on that bracelet," he explained, pointing to Makoto's wrist, "And any copies you might have."

The girl waved her hand, "That can wait until after dinner. For now let's just have fun, meow!"

Dinner…?

"Yes, dinner!" Monaca suddenly threw her hands in the air, cheering.

Makoto coughed awkwardly. Did he say that out loud?

He made eye contact with Kamukura, who shrugged. Well, he didn't actually shrug, or do anything that made it look like he was shrugging, but Makoto could tell. He and Kamukura just worked like that.

"Yeah, because you're boyfriends." Junko scoffed.

Was it hot in here? Makoto tugged at the collar of his despair hoodie, feeling a little mortified at his blush. Er, at the comment.

Um.

Kamukura said he didn't mind, right? In that case… Makoto didn't mind either. Junko says whatever she wanted. Makoto didn't care.

Click.

He looked up. The wall was… no longer a wall. Instead, there was some kind of hidden hallway in its place. Is this what Monaca had meant when she said 'secret room'..? Makoto more or less expected a box fort or something. Not an actual secret room.

Then again, Junko did say not to underestimate her...

The four of them moved into the hallway. Junko waggled her eyebrows at Makoto as she passed him in favour of walking next to Monaca.

The two of them must have been close, he thought.

Then, they were in a conference room. Kind of. It looked more like a dining room at the moment, but Makoto knew it was originally a conference room… since there was a projector hanging from the wall. That, and the table was a conference table.

Four children awaited inside. The boy felt a little exasperated, seeing all of the colourful children running around the place. Except they weren't running. Instead, they were all neatly sat around the table, dinner plates in front of them.

"Uwah!" the, uh, pink-themed girl squealed, her long pigtails swishing as she stood, "Who is this little cutie!"

The girl ran up to him, fingers lashing out to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair. If the girl wasn't, what five years younger than him than Makoto would feel like a pestered child. Since she was, he felt more than a little creeped out.

Kamukura looked a little taken aback, if not offended, "This is Naegi Makoto. The successor."

The entire room froze.

Monaca's head turned. It reminded Makoto of one of those haunted dolls. She might as well of be, considering the downright dead-murderous-slightly-joyous look in her almost-mechanical green eyes.

Her lips moved. No sound came out.

Makoto took a step back, stopping only when Kamukura placed a hand on his shoulder.

This time, a sound came out.

"The. Successor…?"

Her wheelchair rolled her forward. Her eyes as analytical as a machine.

She pressed forward, reaching as far out as she could in order to lock onto Makoto's face. He felt himself beginning to sweat.

"Big sis Junko… named a successor? Named him as the successor?"

"Yes," Kamukura answered, apathetic with an underlying hint of danger. Makoto shivered at the sound, "We can show you the will."

There was a pregnant pause. Then, arms wrapped around his stomach.

Makoto blinked, his vision filling with green hair and a red bow.

Monaca was… hugging him.

He didn't know if he should be scared, or disgusted, or happy. He just knew that he wanted the hug to stop.

It did.

The small arms circled around his waist left, leaving a welcome yet empty feeling in their wake. Makoto let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. It was then, and only then, that a small, cold hand circled around his own.

Monaca wheeled herself backwards, pulling Makoto along with her.

"Jataro! Move so that Monaca and the successor can sit together!" the green haired girl commanded.

The boy, a gangly thing with dangling sleeves and a patchy leather mask, immediately flew from the seat with a wail.

"Nobody likes Jataro. That's why I get moved for the successor," he explained, seemingly to himself.

Makoto felt like raising an eyebrow but decided not to make a scene. It was best to just play along for now.

Kamukura was sitting in the seat next to Makoto's before the child, Jataro, could even make it. Makoto blinked as he caught Kamukura's eyes. They were no longer apathetic but instead had a frosty light to them.

They flickered to Monaca. Junko, who was behind Kamukura's chair, was too watching the girl with a wary gaze.

"I'm surprised Kamukura made such a bad move," the strawberry blonde started, startling the boy, "I suppose jealousy can make you do stupid things," she ended with a shrug.

Deciding to ignore all unhelpful comments, he instead focused his attention on the arms wrapping around his own. Monaca was leaning over the armrest of her chair, practically hugging him. He almost blanched at the 'innocent' expression she tried to portray.

He didn't fully understand why Junko thought she was so dangerous… but he could at least respect her opinion. It took a lot to put both Junko and Kamukura on edge, so there had to be something more to her.

He narrowed his eyes but turned it into a smile halfway.

"Nice to officially meet you, Monaca. I'm Makoto!" he grinned, as faux as a fox.

Better to get on her good side than bad, right? She seemed overjoyed at his position of successor, and that could only mean good things…

Right?

"Monaca is Monaca!" the girl giggled, then, she leaned in like she was telling a secret"Big sis Junko was very important to me, and her cause is very, very important to me."

Makoto didn't like the way she whispered those last words. Nor did he like the way her eyes turned sharp and her grin vulpine.

"Monaca will do everything in her power to make sure that her cause strays on track. Got that, Mr. Successor?"

He swallowed. Then he nodded, unable to conjure up the words to reply.

Her face turned back into that of an adorable little girl. The brunette didn't know if he should feel relieved or not. He didn't have time to decide, though, as the doors swung open. Several suited men brought down trays of food for the six of them to enjoy.

Stomach suddenly feeling empty, Makoto anxiously ripped off the silver lid hiding away his meal.

It was candy. A mountain of candy.

Where was Hanamura when you needed him?

"Monaca," a new voice suddenly piped up. It was the blue-haired boy with hair styled similarly to Ibuki's as in his hair looked almost like cat ears.

The girl hummed in question, sticking a lollipop into her mouth.

The boy's eyes met with that of Makoto's, he was looking down his nose, judging, "I'm not too sure we can trust these two adults. In what way are they going to benefit our paradise?"

Wait, adult? Makoto didn't really consider himself an adult. Nineteen wasn't that old… was it?

Hold on… paradise?

Monaca pouted, ripping the lolly from her mouth and blanching at her… associate, "Ultimate Despair helps us back our projects. If we fail to subdue all of the demons then they'll swoop in and take them all out!" she said, waving the lollypop as if it were an airstrike, "We need them to solidify our paradise!"

Then, her face turned serious, "Are you doubting big sis Junko's friends? Are you doubting… the successor?"

Makoto looked away for that last part. Even if his curiosity begged him to look, he really didn't think he wanted to see the murderous glint in her eyes. Hearing it was enough.

Instead, he watched Kamukura picking away at a few gummies.

"Nagisa!" it was the pink girl this time, "Don't be so rude! Why doesn't everyone just introduce themselves? Then we can get down to business!"

Makoto turned back, sensing that it was safe. The blue kid looked a little downtrodden but was otherwise fine, "Shingetsu Nagisa, Lil Ultimate Social Studies."

Lil Ultimate?

Nobody else overtly reacted to the title, and so Makoto decided to play along. He could always ask Kamukura later.

Then, the next kid spoke up. He looked spunky, with bright red hair and an assortment of bandages marring his face, "I'm Daimon Masaru! Lil Ultimate PE and the leader of the Warriors of Hope!"

Now that got his gears turning. Warriors of Hope. That would mean they supported hope… right? Then how come they were associates of Ultimate Despair?

Next, was the girl, "I'm Utsugi Kotoko! Lil Ultimate Drama!" she struck a pose, "And I really, really, really love cute things! Like you!"

"Kemuri Jataro… Lil Ultimate Art. But you don't want to hear about me…" the boy from before, the one with the leathery mask, spoke. Makoto eyed him suspiciously. There was something up with that mask that just… threw him off.

"Izuru Kamukura. Ultimate Hope."

Makoto almost choked on his gummy bear. Ultimate… hope?

"Uh, Naegi Makoto. Same as him," he mumbled, stuffing another sugary bear into his mouth awkwardly. Yet another mental note to as Kamukura about later.

He didn't really know what to make sense of that, but, well, now wasn't the time and place.

Monaca clapped happily, "And you already know Monaca! I'm the Lil Ultimate Homeroom, meow! Now, let's get to business. What does Ultimate Despair want with the Warriors of Hope?"

Makoto blinked. Er. He knew what Kamukura wanted, but he had no idea why Junko wanted to come here.

Well, since Kamukura was currently getting out the bracelet blueprint, it didn't seem to matter. Junko would probably pester him into asking about whatever she wanted later.

"This bracelet," the man said, handing over the blueprints, "We would like one of these bracelets, as well as an overview of the software used to create it."

Monaca put a finger on her chin, puffing out her cheeks, "Why would you want one of Monaca's control bracelets? They're supposed to be used for a… special project…"

Makoto lifted his arm, showing off the band wrapped snuggly around his wrist, "I was given one by Sonia… expect it has different functions. Er, we just wanted to know all of the differences between the two."

The girl lit up, "Monaca can remove that braclet! The successor shouldn't have to wear a no good prisoner bracelet!"

What Makoto didn't want to say was that Sonia actually did think of him as a prisoner. He wasn't sure if anyone else at Ultimate Despair still thought of him that way, aside from her, but the point still stood. It wasn't consensual when he first put it on… but then he put it on again. Consensually.

This wasn't something that marked him as a prisoner but was instead a device that helped him talk to Junko.

"A majority of the bracelets functions are currently deactivated. It's still remaining on his wrist as a tracking measure. In case future Foundation takes him." Kamukura spoke up, saving the day with a twisted mass of logic and lies.

Makoto let out a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to make some kind of attempt to keep the bracelet on his wrist.

If they lost it… then they lost Junko. It was that simple.

Losing Junko wasn't something he wanted to happen. Not right now, at least. Not while he still had unfinished business with her.

"Er, yeah. We want you to take a look at it, to see if we can add any other features that could help me," he attempted to add in.

He sends a helpless glance to Kamukura. The man gave a small nod, "Medical information. Heart rate, blood pressure. Those would be useful to us in the event that he is captured. Communication devices as well. The other bracelet can be a receiver for the communication devices."

Makoto knew that was only an excuse for them to request a second bracelet. They had their cell phones for communication.

Monaca nodded, "Monaca understands," she said, "Monaca can do that! Let's go to my super-duper laboratory!" she cheered.

The three of them got up and left the table. The brunette could feel the curious glances of the Warriors of Hope, their eyes clinging to his back as he exited the room.

His hand intertwined with Kamukura's, much like how they often did. He smiled.

Junko was there, too, grinning.

"You're almost becoming as good at manipulation as me. Almost."

So the first meeting with Monaca was what we could call a success… because she didn't have her classic bitch fit. And nobody died. Yeah, I would call that a success.

Also, I actually wrote a long chapter for once.

Next time:

Let's go back to Ultimate Despair.