Author's Note: Sorry for the random spamming of triple-chapters this week. I don't normally do this, I don't like to do this, but this will be a very busy remainder of the month for me and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.

That being said, happy early holidays and Merry early Christmas! I'll likely fully return sometime in early-January!

#########

Makoto 9; Hifumi's Corruption

#####

Hiroshima; August 25th, 1994

Hifumi woke up the next morning feeling chilly; despite fall being a month away the mornings were starting to turn chilly. His whole body was chilled aside from the area below his waist, and looking at Mukuro sleeping next to him was enough to warm him up more. His eyes traced the outline of her thin body underneath that electric blue Playboy Bunny suit; she wore all of the fixings, even the heels and fishnets, in bed. Her back was facing him and he reached out and gave a sharp tug to the tiny fluffy tail just above her firm butt.

He could wake her up, if he wanted to, and even if she minded she wouldn't object. Even then she slept soundly despite the tail being pulled.

Hifumi finally got out of bed and started to change, as he still had to go to work despite the community's general uneasiness around him. Maybe it was just because he was good at his job. As he dressed, he turned his nose up after realizing the stink of the room. It smelt fine just that last night, why was it not now? Maybe he was used to his room smelling like that after years of being on his own, or perhaps he just wanted the association to be bad. He shivered and left the room, making Mukuro open her eyes the moment the door closed.

She rolled over onto her back and just stared up at the ceiling, feeling shivers on her body and aching in her gut. She had made the mistake of looking out the window that night as he took her-his head was inbetween her legs and he had nearly ripped her fragile fishnets with his great need and strong hands. He lapped up at her juices thirstily while moaning, and Mukuro randomly glanced out the window and blushed heavily, feeling a whole new wave of arousal wash over her.

Her sister was clearly keeping an eye on her, trying to fulfill her duty of being a good sister-to-the-bride. A bride defiled was a bride unwanted. Yet she was still allowed to dress like a slut and allow him to eat her out and take her in the ass. What kind of a man was her future fiancé? She continued to stare up at the ceiling for a long time.

Mukuro went to Leon's place later that morning to get the remainder of her things and finish moving into Hifumi's place; it was official by that point. Nobody was there when she arrived, as she anticipated, aside from Nagisa who was curled up in one corner, wearing ragged jeans and her old lacy cardigan with nothing under it pulled close to his body.

"Nagisa-chan?" She asked slowly, not receiving an answer. "Taro-chan?" Still no answer.

Mukuro just shrugged and continued to pack her things up into a box, feeling his judging blue eyes staring at her. "I'm not coming back, I just came here to get my things. I'm moving out to go live with another man,"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You don't need me anymore. You have Leon-san and Kaede-san. They both want you, especially since she wants anything he does. Me leaving isn't my fault," She just had a few books and clothing changes in her box; her underwear was black and plain and durable and oh-so-different from what she normally wore when around Hifumi. "Nothing is ever my fault,"

Nagisa said nothing and continued to stare.

"Perhaps it's your fault. You said you wanted me and them, but you didn't. You abandoned me for that blind girl who sits on her porch strumming her koto and painting flowers. So this is all your fault. And maybe it's his fault too. I made myself look all pretty. I begged on my knees. I gave myself up for him. And he rejected me. Everyone rejected me..." She ran from the house in a flurry, dumping her belongings into her bag and jumping back onto her bike, pedaling at a breakneck speed for several blocks until she finally calmed down.

Her heart wouldn't stop hammering and her stomach roiled. She looked up at Hifumi's house and planted some. A laugh echoed deep within her soul and she felt it suddenly slip from her lips.

"Upupupupupu..."

She had to leave Hope's Peak soon. She needed to keep at least some of her sanity in tact.

Another council meeting was scheduled for a few days later, held in the same temple but with the walls separated at an even greater area to allow far more room than the first official meeting was. They sung the anthem again, though it was already routine by that point with many dry-eyes in comparison to last time.

A girl named Kiriko Nishizawa was made head of the Census Committee and she and four other girls instantly begun to keep track, hoping to have a list made up of everyone in Hope's Peak listed in order of family name, age, address, previous occupation, and house resident. Already the group was up to eight-hundred-fifteen people and counting.

The next vote was that each member of Hope's Peak Ministers would serve a yearly term on the council before being voted off and someone new would take their place.

The council then suggested Makoto be made officially the Minister of Defense, to roaring applause.

"I hope my job won't be too harsh on me...everyone here seems like good people and thus I don't want to catch anyone doing something they shouldn't be!" Makoto announced, making everyone cheer. "However I'd feel bad about just locking people away without a fair trial..so I think we should have at least five people fill the law committee spots so everyone can have a fair trial!"

Mukuro leaned her head on Hifumi's shoulder as the crowd around them eagerly elected volunteers; she ran her hand down his arm. She wore a tight elastic naughty nurse uniform in white with red trim and a matching eyepatch over one eye. She had zipped the zipper in the front dangerously low, her breasts in serious danger of falling out. Around her neck was a silver sparkly collar with 'Virgin' written on it.

"Do you think I'd be good at a job like that?" Hifumi mused, staring down at her.

"You don't seem like a law-maker type," She shrugged.

"You're right. Laws are meant to be broken!" He proclaimed just as someone near them happily suggested Kizakura for the law committee.

"Wait, he's not here," Kaede pouted. "Where could he be?"

"Who saw him last?" Someone else near the back asked.

"I did!" Ishimaru announced, standing up. "I saw him in an old car, traveling out of Hope's Peak! Now that I think about it, I should've stopped him. Asked him where he was going since it's only fair! Knowing our location, he likely is trying to take a break in Yamaguchi! Especially since he seemed in such high spirits!" He sat back down.

"We'd all love for Kizakura-san to be here, but he isn't," Makoto sighed. "So if there could be another nomination-"

"No!" Kaede suddenly stood up. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but Yamaguchi is fairly big. Even if he's on vacation, there's a chance he might get sick and can't make it back and we might not know!" She was fully dressed except for no shirt or even a bra under her faded blue overalls, a fact that made almost all of the men in the room drool over her.

"We'll just have to have hope that he'll make it back himself," Makoto smiled awkwardly as Kaede took a seat again, sighing and resting her head against Leon's shoulder. Her purple diamond engagement ring shone as Leon put his arm around her to bring her close and caught Makoto's eye.

The community decided on an understudy of sorts to take Kizakura's place until he returned; another middle-aged lawyer.

Yasuke quickly took to the podium and explained the new power plan was going quite well and that the power system should be fully up and running by September 5th or 6th. Miaya smiled in response from her new wheelchair.

Ishimaru came up next and asked for more potential members of the Burial Committee, their job was important but unpleasant and the more people they had the sooner it would be done. He introduced Hifumi as the current head, who stood up and bowed and just sat down quickly.

"Being around death suits you. It suits me too. That's why we're perfect for each other," Mukuro whispered into his ear using her usual monotone she was known for that he had grown intensely familiar with, if the growing bulge in his pants was any indication.

Kaito then got up and explained the community had a licensed doctor joining them who would work alongside Seiko and give her more training, which received the loudest applause of anything else said that night.

Makoto stood up again after him, clearing his throat. "That's the agenda for tonight...is there anything else we should do last-minute?" He looked around the room and saw Yasuhiro's face in the crowd, and Aoi's, and Chihiro's, and Leon's, and of course Sayaka's. They all looked tired and strained. Nobody mentioned anything about Junko Enoshima like they had been expecting, so Makoto allowed for the meeting to draw to a close.

"The meeting was really good tonight, Minister!" Kiriko, a cute girl with a big flouncy skirt and two pink dumplings in her hair, praised afterwards. Makoto shyly glanced around to see if perhaps Chihiro was around, but it was just him. He laughed awkwardly and walked off.

It was only for a year, but Makoto didn't feel very confident in his abilities as a law-maker. He wasn't sure if he could be a good Minister of Justice.

But all he could really do from that point on was to try.

Makoto, Sayaka, Chihiro, and Aoi all decided to walk back together, nearing the center of town. Sayaka shivered and hugged herself, surprised she hadn't seen her breath yet.

"It's quite chilly out..." She said.

Chihiro nodded, also feeling cold. The good thing about Hiroshima were the mild winters, but that didn't mean the temperature remained comfortable all year around. At least the heat was starting to settle and that meant he could finally put the awful summer behind him. He was sure the others all felt the same in that regard.

"I was surprised by how many people wanted Kizakura-san to help me out," Makoto said.

Yes, he was very popular in this community before. He'll be sorely missed, as will Kirigiri-san and Gonta-san. Just the facts of life, Chihiro wrote quickly.

Aoi looked saddened. "I wonder though...what if everyone thinks they truly left the community for good? To go join the west?"

I hate to admit it, but people probably will be suspicious. They'll likely think they left for one reason or another to go join the other side, Chihiro made sure the other three had read it before he flicked open his match and burned the note away into ashes.

"That's a real possibility..." Makoto sighed.

"The next official community meeting, we'll likely have to address that issue. I think we should plan to have it...the fifteenth?" Sayaka suggested, and everyone nodded.

It'll be perfect timing, as the power would've been on for several weeks by that point. Chihiro added.

"I should be off. I have a big day tomorrow, Kyoko-san is off and I want to see her part of the way," Aoi explained.

"Aren't you worried about being safe?" Makoto asked.

"Nah, I can protect myself. And so can she. She's very mentally strong, you know, but not too shabby physically either. She can clear a track field in minutes! I suppose that's why she seemed so calm when I brought it up with her the other day," She began. "She lived quite a sheltered upbringing and wasn't even allowed to have a telephone if you can believe it. Her grandfather always wanted to maintain her innocence as well as keeping her mind sharp. She went to an all-girls' school prior to all of this and is extremely naive about boys as a result,"

"Well, if she was bi like me, she wouldn't have anything to worry about," Sayaka teased.

"Bye? By? I don't get it," Makoto asked in confusion, making the girls snicker.

"Bi just means you're okay with either gender," She took his hands. "But you're not going to start enacting laws about that sort of thing with the other guys of the council, right? Our current lifestyle is already very limited,"

Makoto shook his head. "Those sorts of things don't matter to me,"

"She took it quite well when I told her. She explained she always wondered what her place here in Hope's Peak was and I guess she soon realized she was a better asset to us from the outside." Aoi suddenly looked uncomfortable and glanced away. "She also said that she'd try everything in her power to make it back alive,"

Kyoko had only told Aoi that she intended to infiltrate the group with a secret knife she had hidden literally up her sleeve, anticipating she would get close enough to kill Junko. She had assumed with her gone, the rest of the community would just fall apart. She didn't listen to Aoi's protests and she hadn't told the remainder of the council as she didn't think the men especially would take it well.

"I'm going now. Goodnight!" Aoi bowed nicely before slipping her hands into her jacket pockets and walking off.

"She looks older," Makoto said in surprise.

All of us do, Chihiro offered the paper to them.

"Pregnancy does that to a person," Sayaka commented, not elaborating on what she meant.

Makoto was on his way to help out with the solar panels when he caught sight of Aoi and Kyoko walking together, bikes next to them. He waved out to them and they both stopped, Kyoko walking over to him. He never thought she would look prettier; a green silk blouse with a matching scarf tying her hair back with a heavy jean jacket and bleached-out jeans. A red backpack was behind her.

"Morning, Naegi-san," She greeted politely with a bow that he returned.

"Heading off on an adventure?" He teased, and she nodded.

"You never saw me," She gave a smirk when he nodded.

"Be careful. Get back safe,"

"I fully intend to. I refuse to make the same mistake my parents made," The wind blew past them and in the late-summer sun, he finally placed her familiar features.

His father had received the belongings of Mr. Jin Kirigiri when he had died in the ambulance; just a wallet. The family had felt squeamish going through it, but one picture was clearly the centerpiece of the whole wallet; Jin, the silver-haired woman standing next to him happily; clearly Mrs. Kirigiri, and a matching monochrome daughter looking stiffly away with her arms crossed.

She had aged some in comparison to that picture, but there was still no doubt as to who she was. Her parents had been Patient Zero. And her parents had literally died on his doorstep.

"Take care of Maizono-san. And go easy on your defense job. I don't want to come back here and find half the buildings blown up," Kyoko teased.

"I promise. You don't have to worry about me!"

She looked at him for a few seconds before stepping closer and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He blushed lightly in surprise as he felt her leather-gloved hand touch his shoulder. "It's a kiss for good luck,"

"Oh,"

"But some people say one has to do it twice for it to work," They kissed once more; Makoto closing his eyes and Kyoko leaning in closer. It was deep and soon they pulled away, Kyoko getting back on her bicycle. "Maizono-san is a lucky girl. I'm sad I'll miss your wedding. You two have fun, alright?"

Makoto bowed to the two girls as they biked off together into the distance.

Aoi returned two days later with the confession that after her own trip was up, she cried some watching Kyoko bike away until she was a speck on the horizon. She had also brought with her a tiny Retriever puppy she had found terrified and curled-up in a storm drain that she was able to lure out with dog food. Seiko absolutely went nuts over the puppy and learned the puppy was a female purebred and in a year or two when she was more mature, Blavatsky would be glad to meet her. Yasuhiro instantly named her 'Helena' and the news was all anyone talked about for the day, hailing Aoi as a heroine of sorts.

Nobody even questioned what Aoi was doing so far away from Hope's Peak, but that wasn't important in the community's eyes.

Only Makoto could remember the morning he saw the two about to head out on their bikes, because nobody in Hope's Peak ever saw Kyoko Kirigiri ever again.

Venus was shining high up in the sky when Chihiro, Makoto, Kaito, and Leon all headed down to Gonta's house late in the evening to see him off. They sat on his porch steps then, watching Gonta play croquet with himself.

"Thank goodness we don't have to hypnotize him. I don't think I could do something like that again," Makoto whispered, and Kaito nodded in agreement.

"Gonta-kun! It's time for you to go!" Kaito called out, and Gonta hurried over.

"Go? Go where? Gonta never go anywhere after dark. Dark is when Gonta sleeps, he does! Bugs sleep at night and so does Gonta!" He was smiling at first before suddenly frowning. "Go...go south-west? That time?"

"Yes, Gonta-kun," Kaito said.

"On the road...sleep at day. Walk at night. And see the elephant," He looked over at Chihiro, who simply nodded.

"Be careful," Leon handed Gonta his bag.

"Gonta be careful! Gonta always very careful!" He said proudly, though his voice was still twinged with sadness. He looked over at Chihiro. "Chihiro-kun...does Gonta really have to do this?"

Chihiro nodded and offered him a sad smile.

"Alright..."

"Just stay on the big highway once Kaito-san drops you off. He'll drive you to the end of it with his motorcycle," Leon explained.

Gonta glanced up at his house. "Will this house still be Gonta's when he comes back? Gonta loves his house," He asked Chihiro, who nodded vigorously. "Alright, Gonta's ready," He walked over to where Kaito was and got on the back of it, and Kaito sat in the front, kicking the cycle to life and driving off quickly. The three men stared at it as it faded into the distance.

"That's that," Leon commented, and Makoto nodded. "You know that if he never comes back, we'll all be living with this decision for the rest of our lives,"

"Nobody will more than Fujisaki-san though," Makoto mumbled. They both turned back to look at Chihiro, who was staring at some crickets being kept in a terrarium. His hands were in his pockets. "I'd say something, but...he probably wants to be alone right now,"

"Yeah...Fujisaki-san more than any of us," Leon started to walk off. "Sorry man, I gotta go. All of these bugs are givin' me the creeps,"

Makoto glanced back at Chihiro once more before following after Leon.

That night, Kaito and Maki found Chihiro curled up asleep on Gonta's porch steps, a troubled expression on his face.

"He's cold to the touch. Who knows how long he was out here for," Maki sighed. Kaito simply scooped him up and started to carry Chihiro back on his back. "...He really cares about him a lot, huh?"

"Yeah. Those two have probably the strongest bond I've ever seen in my life," Kaito agreed softly.

Sayaka went to visit the newly-redesigned clinic the next day, feeling nervously giddy. Seiko and Miaya and Yasuke all still worked there, as well as a nurse-in-training and the new doctor. she nervously placed a hand on her stomach as she waited, Seiko soon arriving to take care of her.

"How...is the baby?" Seiko asked in her stilted voice. "That's why...here, right?"

Sayaka nodded slowly. "I haven't come for any prenatal care...and I'm a bit nervous. How can I really tell if my child is alright? It's been a rough summer, for all of us, and the stress..." She soon burst into tears.

"Don't worry..." Seiko sighed. "Baby...is likely alright. I've been...studying...prenatal care...because at Hope's Peak...babies are...most important,"

"So far I'm the only pregnant woman though,"

"There'll be others! Soon!" The nurse smiled eagerly, handing Seiko her kit.

"Let's just do...simple checkup for now," Seiko suggested, and Sayaka nodded and sat still. First came all of the questions about her family's medical history, then the nurse left to write some notes down and make an assessment. Seiko glanced at Sayaka. "Be happy...only pregnant woman so far. I...I want one of my own...tried a few times with blacksmith, but...he has a girlfriend now...candy-maker,"

"A confectioner?" Sayaka asked, wondering if that was the proper term. Seiko nodded. "Well...it's not like the community is entirely devoid of men. You'll find someone!"

The nurse came back in. "Minister Maizono, everything seems to be in order here," She bowed a bit. "From the looks of things, you'll be due...around early-January. Is that right?"

Sayaka nodded.

"Eating healthy?"

"Yes,"

"Nausea?"

"I had some at first, but not anymore,"

"Oh, that's nice! Getting exercise?"

"I always try to. I like riding my bike around," Sayaka blushed a bit.

"I say about November 15th, you should start limiting your bike rides. No bikes or motorcycles or anything like that. But it'll be too rainy and chilly around here for that anyway," The nurse shrugged.

"No smoking or drinking...did you ever?" Seiko asked, and Sayaka shook her head. "We...put you on a nutrient supplement. Pills. Available at the drugstore..."

"That sounds a bit funny now," Sayaka laughed.

"First child...right? So no prior abortion or anything...?"

She suppressed a shiver at her sudden nightmare memory. "First child..." She eventually answered.

"Everything...in order..." Seiko bowed a bit.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" The nurse gasped and ran out of the room, coming back with a pamphlet in her hands and a button. "Normally you call the hospital and they're given within the first few weeks of your announcement, but better late than never, you know?"

Sayaka took the items from her and bit her lip, suppressing her tears at the sight of the pastel-coloured button that happily announced 'I'm Expecting!' One wore that button and had strangers carry their items around for them or could always find a seat on the train, even if they weren't showing yet. There were no more trains or buses to ride on anymore, and everyone in the community already knew that she was pregnant. The pamphlet just had tips about how to have a healthy pregnancy; at least that would be useful.

"Don't hesitate to come see us...if anything happens...good or bad...alright?" Seiko reminded her as Sayaka nodded again.

"A pleasure to help you!" The nurse bowed. "See you later, Minister Maizono!"

Sayaka headed out into the sunny afternoon, clutching the items close to her chest. She bit her lip again as she looked at the button. She wouldn't cry over it. The old world where those things were useful might've been gone, but being pregnant was still a good thing, right?

A thousand more people had moved into the town and got quickly settled in by the end of the month. Hope's Peak no longer seemed so empty.

On the evening of the thirtieth, Mukuro stood in the rec-room of Hifumi's house and just stared at him, curious. Lately Hifumi had seemed almost obsessed, darkly so, with certain things. He had a look in his eyes Mukuro didn't quite like that she easily placed as the shadow of despair, no doubt the result of her sister's influence. When he got like that, his one obsession was with killing the council members in any way possible, especially Makoto Naegi and Sayaka Maizono.

He used the air-hockey table as a makeshift desk, a huge array of tools spread out in front of him. Also spread out in front of him was a small book open up to a large diagram, which he'd look at from time to time.

"Why don't you go make me a sandwich? I don't think you should be down here," Hifumi finally spoke up, failing to hide his nervous and shaky tone.

"Why?" Mukuro asked, instead coming closer. He was working on a few sticks of dynamite.

"This dynamite is really old, but I'm not sure how old. One wrong move and we'll all explode!" He cried.

That wouldn't happen, not unless her sister willed it to. And she had promised her in her dreams that she wouldn't, that the dynamite was specifically for the council and not them. Anything Junko willed, tended to happen, and Mukuro was sworn to trust her anyway.

"Well, maybe I could help." She finally offered, but he shook his head at her.

"Sandwich now, please. And be quiet. You don't know this stuff,"

She stared at him. I was a soldier! She nearly bit back before turning on her heel and heading up the stairs. She soon returned with a small plate of a cold vegetable sandwich and chips, placing it on the edge of the hockey-table.

Mukuro then stood there and silently watched, leaning over slightly. She had on a green and white barmaid's dress that was extremely low-cut with a tiny skirt. She was leaning over enough for Hifumi to see down it, with a tiny green bow in her hair. It didn't matter at that point though, since whenever he was like this, he barely seemed to notice anything about her.

As he worked, she found her thoughts wandering to when she visited Nagisa-Taro-the previous day. Kaede hadn't been very pleased to see her even though she hid it. She could just tell because she explained that Nagisa had slipped back a bit and subtly blamed her for it. Not like Mukuro really cared. In just a few days, her and Hifumi would be gone from the community forever, the council members dead and Mukuro's own dark destiny to be fulfilled.

She shivered and had a sudden thought: Oh dynamite, just blow us all up right now and spare me from that!

Hifumi sighed a bit and wiped the sweat off his brow, leaning back. Mukuro looked over at him.

"Done?" She questioned.

"Yes. Does it look like it'll work?" He offered it to her, but she shook her head.

"Plenty of time to figure that out later," He was finally back to normal, or at least as normal as Hifumi could be considered, shown by him looking slowly up and down her body. "Would you like to do something to celebrate? Is there anything you'd like to do that we haven't yet?"

Hifumi thought about it. "Well, I've always wanted to do a supermodel, but I never had the chance to before,"

"Say no more," Mukuro started to walk up the stairs to his room, making sure he got to look up her tiny skirt to see her silky pink peekaboo panties. She arrived at his room first and glanced around; cutting up part of her schoolgirl cosplay to make something more fashionable. The only supermodel she had ever known was her sister, so hopefully that would suffice. She pulled one of her blonde wigs into pigtails and secured them with cute hair-clips and pulled herself into the outfit. She curled and lengthened her eyelashes and also put bright pink lipstick on. She then covered up her unsightly Fenrir tattoo with some pale foundation-Junko didn't have one of those, after all.

She then placed the wig on her head and winced as her long fake nails got tangled in the strands, tugging them out. She ran her hands through the locks slower instead, silently marveling at how fluffy and bouncy her hair was. She had never had long hair before as it was considered to be an aversion in the field, yet now she understood the appeal of it.

Did Leon like long hair?

"Look at you! You look just like a professional fashionista!" Hifumi praised, walking in.

"You like this, huh? Well, let's not waste any more time. What next?" Mukuro asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Hifumi gasped.

"No! Not when you're like this! The whole point of a supermodel's appeal isn't just how she looks, it's how she acts! She's meant to be bubbly and perky and friendly! Not cold and monotone!" He scolded, and Mukuro rolled her eyes in displeasure before she sighed.

"Like, hiiii! I'm Enoshima Junko-chan, nice to meet you!" She flashed him a peace-sign and a giant grin, hoping that would be enough.

"Nice to meet you too, gyaru-chan!" He beamed, drooling a bit.

"Like, come on! I have an actual name, don't be out here actin' like I'm a piece of plastic!" Mukuro groaned, playing with her hair. "So, are we gonna do this or not? How you wanna take me?"

"Ummm...me in you from behind again? I like doing that..." He admitted, and Mukuro nodded. Within a second, she had crawled onto his bed on all fours, her blouse falling open further to reveal a lacy pink bra, not like her shirt originally left anything to the imagination anyway.

Hifumi crawled after her and pulled her skirt up, pulling down her panties and after a few seconds, thrusting it slowly into her anus. She bit her lip slightly as he started to thrust roughly. The bed bounced to match their motions.

"Be careful there! Don't act like I'm made of glass! If you wanna be rough, my body can handle it!" She called back at him, and Hifumi took her hint and thrusted harder, yanking on her hair. She gasped that time, her head falling back. She felt her fluids start to drip down her legs and she moaned a bit at the thought of Junko being upset with her for ruining the sacred name and image of not just supermodels, but her specifically.

Hifumi thrust into her for a while longer before her juices suddenly came a bit faster, then he filled her up. She collapsed onto the bed, feeling his semen start to leak out of her anal opening. She breathed heavily.

"That was wonderful. Thank you for giving me that opportunity, gyaru-chan!" He beamed, and Mukuro flashed him a weak peace-sign.

"My pleasure! Just don't start spreadin' this 'round. I don't want anyone thinkin' I'm super easy, ya know?" She rolled over onto her back.

That night, Hifumi headed back down to the rec room and picked up the project he was working on earlier; it was covered up with a shoebox lid. Inside was an old Walke-Talkie set with its back replaced with nine sticks of dynamite wired up. The book was still left open to a page that read: 'Entrepreneur Contest 3rd Place Winner; 1987! Yamaguchi Hikari-san. Say the word and ring this bell up to twelve blocks away! Even during rush hour!' The Walkie-Talkie in the diagram was hooked up to a doorbell.

Hifumi hid the project in an old cupboard of his house and rejoined Mukuro, who was still running her manicured hands through her pigtails. "What did Akamatsu-sama say to you the other day?" He asked curiously.

"Ugh, boring stuff I didn't care about," She waved her hand dismissively. "She invited me to her and Kuwata-san's wedding though...ain't that funny? She must hate my guts and yet she still invites me to the happiest day of her life. She wants me to be a bridesmaid,"

"Oh? When's the wedding? Did she say?" Hifumi asked, leaning closer to her.

"I dunno...September 2nd, I think? She wanted to have it in a few days since it's not like we got anything else to do. And all the supplies are just, like, lyin' around for anyone to take," Mukuro rolled her eyes. "Think it's gonna be a joint thing. Both them and Naegi-san and Maizono-san. All of the Ministers are invited, and a few other people too,"

"All of them?" His eyes practically lit up. "Sorry, when was it again? I already forgot,"

"September 2nd," Mukuro looked away from him.

September 2nd. Only a few days away. The happiest day of their lives. Junko always said that the best kind of despair came right after tasting something hopeful. Neither could exist without the other, and what could cause greater despair than destroying such a hopeful scene? He could almost smell the gunpowder from the explosion in the air.

September 2nd.