Back again with another chapter!
By the way, any sort smut wouldn't be until way later. I appreciate all the feedback!
After awhile, Makoto climbed out of the water to take a break. Mukuro did too, and Asahina showed no signs of stopping. The two sat down on some bleachers next to each other.
"Feeling better?" Makoto asked.
She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yes, I didn't think swimming with other people would be enjoyable. Maybe I should have taken you up on some of those offers for movie nights or something like that."
"I wish you had," he replied, wistfully. As he set his hand down, they both felt their hearts accelerate when his hand touched hers again. He left it there.
"Me too. I never really did... normal... hanging out stuff. It was either work... which involved killing people, or extracting someone from behind enemy lines. Or... doing whatever thing Junko asked me to."
The two sat, watching Aoi swim back and forth. Makoto turned her words over in his head, like they were some sort of word-pancake. He couldn't fathom that sort of his existence. Not that he considered his life particularly meaningful or glamorous... read manga, play video games, hang out with Komaru. "Well... if it makes you feel better, I've never really accomplished anything in my life," he joked.
She shook her head. "All of my accomplishments are tainted in bloodshed and nothing I want to be known for. And that's not true, by the way, I've watched you be a beacon of light and kindness for an entire year while locked in this school. You've been the glue holding everyone together."
"N-no, I don't think I'm anything like that," Makoto scoffed, embarrassed. "All I've done is..."
He trailed off, so Mukuro picked that as a good time to continue. "You've been an ear to talk to, a shoulder to lean on. You've offered unconditional support to every single one of us, taking an interest in everyone else's interest. You've worked out with Sakura, you've done inkwork for Hifumi, vocal warmups with Sayaka, studied with Kiyotaka. You've been a support system for everyone." She looked down. "Including myself, who probably deserves it the least."
Makoto's face was dyed red in his embarrassment. "I don't think it's anything as great as you describe it... but I do hope I've been able to help everyone as much as you say I have. Like you said, I wish we could have done more... normal teenage stuff before all this happened. For your sake too."
She smiled. "If we get out... and can get things back to normal... what teenage stuff would you think I should do?"
Makoto laughed. "I don't know what's even out there anymore. I would read manga, go to the movies, play video games. Stuff like that."
"I've only ever played first person shooters for army simulation purposes." Mukuro grinned. "Honestly, any of that would be nice to try. I've always wanted to just... go to a movie and eat popcorn."
"We should do that," he replied. "You and me will go see a movie." Then his face turned scarlet, realizing he had just asked her on a date without even meaning to.
"Are you alright? Your face turned red." Mukuro asked, face lighting up in a way Makoto had rarely seen before. "That would be fun though, I would adore that."
I guess she didn't pick up on it, he sighed. He realized what was going on, and it struck him that he hadn't felt like this in a long time. He shook himself. I'm not in a situation where I can think about...
...love?
"Makoto?" Mukuro asked again.
"Er, y-yeah," Makoto said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's a deal. When we get out, you and I can go do that when it's safe. Do um... do you want to go get something to eat? I'm starving."
She nodded again. "I'm pretty famished."
Waving to Aoi, the two left to get something to eat. Both of them felt like they were walking on air, in spite of their current circumstances.
Mondo sat in his room, staring at a picture of himself and Daiya. He could believe he'd let himself get this low. "Fuck, man. What would you say to me right now?"
After staring at the picture again for awhile, he sighed. "Right, you were the smart one. I don't fucking know."
His doorbell rang, and he stood, pocketing the photo. Opening the door, he saw Kiyotaka standing there.
"Delinquent!" Kiyotaka said, pointing a finger at Mondo's face. "I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mondo grunted, vein popping in his forehead. "I already feel like shit for trying to kill Naegi, you don't gotta -"
"YOU TRIED TO KILL NAEGI!" Kiyotaka screamed. "WHAT?! I WAS HERE TO TALK ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES!"
"Fuck," Mondo slapped his forehead.
"THIS IS AWFUL! WHERE IS NAEGI! IS HE OKAY?!"
"I don't know goddamn it, I left him at the pool with the swimmer and the soldier chick!"
"WE MUST GO CHECK ON HIM," Taka screamed. "WE MUST REPRIMAND AND FIX THIS AWFUL BEHAVIOR."
"Fucking seriously?"
Makoto and Mukuro were sitting in the dining hall across from Kyoko, eating what Makoto had managed to prepare without screwing up. The other students, sans, Asahina, were all eating in there as well. Suddenly, Kiyotaka and Mondo entered the dining hall, yelling at each other.
"See? Look, there he fucking is!" Mondo scoffed, looking exasperated.
"NAEGI! I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT OWADA TRIED TO TAKE YOUR LIFE!"
The room fell silent as everyone's gaze shifted over to Makoto. He scratched the back of his neck, nervously. "I... I mean... yeah?"
Gasps went up all across the dining hall. "Whoa man, my crystal ball totally called this!" Yasuhiro yelled.
No one believed him.
"W-w-why would y-you do something so awful?!" Chihiro asked, tearing up.
Sakura stood up, an intimidating aura encompassing her. "MONDO! Explain yourself!"
Mondo sighed. "Just... with the secrets thing... I lost my mind. I didn't want it being broadcast around the world." he rubbed the back of his neck. "The soldier girl kicked my ass anyway... and I deserved it."
Mukuro nodded.
"Interesting," Celeste said, fiddling with her nails. "We all supposedly knew these secrets of each others, but you still decided to murder instead of reliving it again."
"Sh-should we lock him up?" Hifumi asked, nervously. "What if he tries it again?"
"I ain't going to fucking try again, Makoto set me straight," Mondo growled.
"G-guys, stop!" Makoto pleaded, standing up. "This is what Junko wants! This is the whole thing with the motives! She wants to tear us apart!"
"What, going to stand up for your would-be murderer?" Byakuya sneered. "You're as naive as they come."
"He's right, though," Kyoko replied, drawing everyone's attention. "This sort of thing is playing right into her hand. The only thing that will change the course of this is to show her that these mind games will not work on us."
"Still... should there be some sort of consequence for Owada?" Sakura asked.
"I don't think we can just make him sit in the corner for fifteen minutes," Yasuhiro muttered.
"We could make him read the late Fukawa's works," Celeste replied, smiling, "I find them to be a chore to get through."
Makoto frowned. He hadn't faced anything like this in the year they had spent locked in Hope's Peak, and he was unprepared for what to do now. "Guys, this is ridiculous!" He raised his voice of the growing ruckus. "We shouldn't be fighting each other right now! You're punishing the symptom, not the disease."
The words struck a chord, and silence fell over the room for a minute. Makoto continued. "Everything going on right now is just a domino effect from what Junko set up. Mondo freaking out is her doing. Without her influence, we told each other these secrets anyway! Of our own choice! She's trying to break us. She's the... disease." He looked to Mukuro, guiltily. "S-sorry."
"Don't be," she shook her head. "You aren't incorrect."
"Maybe... maybe we should talk about all of our secrets now, and get them out in the open?" Makoto suggested. "That way... that way we can trust each other."
"Easy to say that from the perspective of two people whose secrets were already revealed," Byakuya laughed.
But before anyone else could say anything, Chihiro blurted out. "I'm actually a boy."
A pause crashed over the dining hall for a second or two before Hifumi howled. "YOU'RE WHAT?!"
"Jeez, what the fuck Chihiro?" Mondo shouted.
Chihiro's eyes watered. "I... I was born relatively frail, so I didn't get as much exercise as other boys. I... I was given a lot of grief for not living up to expectations of manliness... so... I... have been dressing as a girl for a long time..."
"I should have foreseen this," Yasuhiro mumbled.
Makoto stepped forward. "Thank you, Chihiro. I want you to know you were just as brave telling us the first time."
Chihiro gave Makoto a weak smile. "You know... when Junko first said someone was lying about who they were... I thought she meant me."
"That's classic Junko. Make a statement that can qualify for more than one person. Make more people torment." Mukuro advised. She gave Chihiro a small smile as well. "And volunteering that is very brave of you."
"I too shall confess my secret!" Kiyotaka said. "For I am moved by the manly display of Fujisaki's!"
"M-manly?!" Chihiro blushed.
Kiyoataka nodded, and explained, it great and lengthy detail, how his grandfather was a disgraced prime minister. "And that is why I must always give my best! To restore my family name above those who are handed everything from birthright!"
"Shit, man... that's intense." Mondo muttered.
"Yes, 'man,' it was intense!" Taka confirmed. "Come on! You seem like someone who values manliness and passion! Join Chihiro and I in the manliness of confession."
"Yeah!" Chihiro cheered. "You can do it!"
"What... What am I watching?" Byakua asked, bewildered. He rubbed his forehead. "This is giving me a migraine. I hate it. I hate all of this."
Celeste pitched her fingers under her chin. "I do believe these three have lost their minds, Togami."
Sakura just smiled. "They have become confident in themselves. It is a way to unlock the greatest potential within."
Mukuro looked to Makoto and whispered. "Did you... think this would happen?"
He shook his head and whispered back, "no, honestly, I've been winging this whole thing since day one. Kinda lame, I know..."
Mukuro smiled. In her eyes, she just saw it as a side effect of Makoto's personable demeanor. He really could bring out the best in everyone.
"Alright, alright..." Mondo grunted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess better me than the stupid stuffed bear. So...I had a brother... named Daiya."
Everyone in the dining hall listened patiently as Mondo recounted his story, leading to Daiya's Heroic Sacrifice to save Mondo. By the end of the story, Chihiro, Hifumi, Yasuhiro, Kiyotaka, and Mondo himself were in tears.
"And... IT'S MY FUCKING FAULT HE'S DEAD!" Mondo howled.
To everyone's surprise, Taka jumped forward and embraced Mondo. "NO OWADA! YOUR MANLY DISPLAY TODAY HONOR'S YOUR BROTHER'S LEGACY! HE WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU!"
Mondo could only sniffle and shout, "THANKS BRO!"
"BROOOOOO!"
"Bro!" Chihiro shouted through tears, voice cracking.
"Bring it in, bro!" Mondo cried, pulling Chihiro into the group hug.
Byakuya stood up abruptly. "I am going to the library to try and forget this whole thing ever happened."
"I do believe I would like to be anywhere that isn't here as well," Celeste said through her manufactured smile.
The two of them left rather quickly, leaving the sight of the new bonds of bromance that was forming between Chihiro, Mondo, and Taka.
Kiyoko folded her arms from the table, and looked back at Makoto. "I do hope you're happy with yourself."
"M-me?" Makoto asked, pointing to himself.
"Yes," she smirked, "you've somehow turned this into a confessional."
He scratched his cheek. "I uh... guess it's better than what was happening before."
"If only some of the others were as forthcoming as these three, the motive would be thwarted altogether," Mukuro sighed, crossing her arms.
"Do you by any chance know what the other motives are?" Kyoko asked.
Mukuro shook her head. "No. Junko didn't involve me in plans that didn't directly affect my role. I guess in retrospect, it's pretty clear why."
Looking at the clock, Makoto yawned. "It's getting late. I think I'm going to turn in for the night."
"M-me too," Mukuro blurted out. "I'll walk with you."
Kyoko looked between the two of them and smirked even more. "Alright then. Goodnight, you two."
Once the two got back into the hall, Makoto let out an exhale. "What a day, huh? I'm exhausted. Especially watching Mondo, Chihiro and Taka like that."
Mukuro shook her head, a small, wistful smile on her face. "I'll never understand how you do that."
That wasn't the reaction Makoto had expected, so he tilted his head and asked. "Hm? What do you mean?"
"Everything you said about Mondo," Mukuro replied. "It was only a few hours ago he tried to cave your skull in with free weights. And you can find it in your heart to forgive him and focus on Junko. Even I still feel mad at him."
"W-well, it's not like I'm just... over it, you know?" He rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I'm not going to volunteer to hang out with him one on one anytime soon... but I have to recognize that's not his fault and he's just working through trauma." A frown spread across his face. "The more I think about the memory erasure, the worse it makes me feel. We all grew so much together. All of that was taken from us."
"That, like everything else, was so Junko could watch you all despair," she sighed. "Once you found out, it'd fill you with despair to know everything that had been lost in two years. I'm sure watching you despair over it these past few days has been nothing short of a blast for Junko."
"Lucky me," Makoto scoffed.
"Probably lucky for all of us," she replied, seriously. "I doubt anyone would have handled it as well as you."
He blushed. "I think you're overestimating me. I'm pretty naive."
She shook her head. "No, you're underestimating you." By now, they were in front of Makoto's door. "I know you think you don't belong in a class of Ultimates. It was always clear you felt... inferior. But I wouldn't want you to be anyone else but you. There's nothing wrong with you. Or, if there was, it would be your inability to recognize your own strengths. I could never see you being anyone else but you, and I mean that in the best way."
Makoto's face was scarlet at this point. "Wow... th-thanks Mukuro. That... that actually really means a lot to me."
Mukuro smiled. Makoto noticed she'd been doing that a lot ever since the incident with the spears. Every time he saw it, his heart fluttered and his stomach did flips. "I'm glad. Good night, Makoto."
"G-good night, Mukuro."
As she walked back to her room, Mukuro felt strange. Almost like she wasn't herself. Or maybe I'm changing?
She was still the Ultimate Soldier - she hadn't missed a beat when taking down Mondo. But she felt so different ever since. She could only suspect it had something to do with the fact she was no longer living her life for the sole purpose of fighting or making her sister happy. For the first day in her life, she was just... being. Not for Fenrir, or Junko, but just living. Maybe it's possible to be the Ultimate Soldier, and just be... a person too. A person who likes to swim and goes to movies and plays video games -
She unlocked the door to her room during this train of thought, and saw Monokuma sitting on her bed, waiting for her. Or maybe not.
She froze, staring down Monokuma. "What do you want?"
"Despair across the whole world. Duh. You never did pay attention, you dumbass!"
Mukuro narrowed her eyes. Junko was using Monokuma's voice modulator for whatever reason. "I'll be more specific; why are you in my room?"
"That's how you ask a question properly, you ignorant slut." Monokuma laughed. "Speaking of, could you throw your vagina at Naegi any harder? You know you have to make the first move. He's an herbivore man."
Mukuro didn't move a muscle, just continued to stare down her sister's puppet.
"No comments from the peanut gallery?" Monokuma chuckled. "Puhuhu! I guess you're trying to be tough now that we aren't friends anymore. How disappointing and predictable. Come on sis. You really think you can beat me by just sitting around and singing kumbaya with these idiots?"
"I know you," Mukuro replied, calmly. "You might not think it, but if anyone knows you, it's me. You'll get bored."
"And when I get bored, I'll just gas you all to death. Or maybe use spears."
"But that's boring." Mukuro replied. "And it doesn't get your point across to the audience."
Monokuma was silent for a minute. "You're being a real pain in the ass. Here I was, ready to give you a chance to come back, and you had to go and make me mad."
Mukuro's heart skipped a beat and began racing. It was a different type of nervousness than she got from Makoto. This was excitement and... fear.
She thought she had gotten away. Maybe she should have known better.
"Wh...what do you mean?"
"Puhuhu!" Monokuma giggled, covering its mouth. "Are you interested? I think there's a way we both give each other what we want!"
"You've never really cared about what I want, Junko." Mukuro replied. "I don't intend to believe you're going to start now."
"Wow, maybe you do have a brain rolling around in that thick skull of yours!" The bear replied. "You're right! But, our interests can line up, you see."
Mukuro said nothing.
She had snuck some weapons for herself in, as Junko had requested, but those weren't any good against Monokuma. She knew where to strike the bear to disable the self-destruct sequence, but that was about the best she had. She was going to hear Junko out whether she liked it or not.
"You clearly want to get in Makoto's pants. I've seen it. Now the whole world is seeing it," Monokuma continued, "I think it's gross and no one would ever want a disgusting fuck like yourself. But regardless of what I think, I'll make a special exception to the rules just for my big sis."
"And what's that?" Mukuro asked.
"Easy!" Monokuma laughed. "Kill everyone else besides you and Naegi, and I'll let the two of you go!"
Her eyes widened. That was...
"I could never..." Mukuro began.
"Oh? You couldn't?" The bear questioned. "What about that whole middle school class I've had you gun down?"
Mukuro's chest tightened. Even for her, that had been a dark day.
"Or those hundreds and thousands left dead in the desert?" Monokuma pressed on. "You've killed! You've killed and killed and killed and killed! Who has killed more than you! Why would ten more people be any different!"
Mukuro could feel the all-too-familiar feeling of despair welling up inside of her chest.
Junko could see it, even through the lenses of the stuffed bear. "Don't tell me a few hours of pretending you're a normal teenage girl made you forget that you're a ruthless killer, Mukuro. Even if you put on a happy face and play with the others, you don't deserve a life like that. You've got too much blood on your hands. Do you think Makoto could ever love someone like you?"
Mukuro stared at her feet. If she focused on what spot on the ground and did her best to shut out what Junko was saying, she could get past her sister's persuasiveness. She clenched her fists at her side. Just stay stone faced. Turn your emotions off again.
But another little voice in the back of her head asked, could he?
"Besides, even if you get out with all of them, how do you think the rest of the Ultimate Despair will feel about your betrayal?" Junko continued to taunt. "You'll have to protect them all... it will be impossible! Even for you!"
Mukuro stared at the speck on the ground. She'd ignore it. She could protect her class if it came down to it. The yakuza had numbers, and the mechanic had machines, but she could overcome them if need be.
"Wow, I can't believe an insect like you grew a spine!" Monokuma laughed. "You used to jump on command! But I know you'll cave. Just imagine; you and Makoto, all alone. Or even better! You can stay here! You can raise your ugly ass babies in this shelter! I'll even keep bringing you food and keep the air purifier on!"
Mukuro kept staring. Part of her, deep in her chest, was screaming to take the task; to go back to how things were, to the familiar, to the stability of making Junko happy.
But...
Makoto was close with her today because he was glad to have her on his side, right?
And Asahina invited her to swim. Kyoko was friendly with her.
They didn't ask her to kill anyone or stab anyone in the back to make them happy.
"You keep pretending to be strong, Mukuro Ikusaba," Monokuma giggled. "But you've just grown weak. If you can't kill, it's because you got weak. I'll see you at the next class trial!"
The bear disappeared. But even still, Mukuro continued to stare at the same spot on the floor, worried that if she broke her concentration, she'd fall right back into her sister's hands. When she finally did look up, she thought about the knife sewn into the hem of her skirt.
She shook her head and collapsed onto her bed.
Junko had ruined what had turned out to be a pretty good day.