8:58 AM, Day 1
?
Mukuro Ikusaba awoke with a sudden start. This was not unusual for her: as a trained soldier, her body's internal clock often woke her up before any alarm could go off. What was unusual, however, was the fact her body was not where it was supposed to be. Instead of her bed, it felt as if her body was resting on a hardwood floor.
At once she tensed up, and jumped to her feet, instantly taking in her surroundings. It was dark, which made it hard to see anything right away. Over time her eyes adjusted however, and she could make out what appeared to be a dining room. It looked old and disused, and aside from a piano parked in the corner of the room, there wasn't much of interest.
However, as she looked around, Mukuro became aware of another pertinent fact. Her body felt oddly cool, and when she looked down to discover why, Mukuro found that she was completely naked.
That threw her for a loop, and only increased her wariness. A quick check over of her body by hand didn't reveal any immediate signs of abuse or injury, which did relieve her, if only a tiny bit. With that established, however, she needed to figure out her next move.
Mukuro cautiously edged her way to one of the doors in the room, and cracked it open. Peeking outside, she saw that it led out into a hallway, with no one in immediate sight. After a moment, she opened the door some more, and slipped out. She looked down both ends of the hall, before going down a random direction.
At the hall's end, Mukuro found two doors, and a right pathway that went further on. One door seemed to lead into a bathroom, and had nothing else of value. However, as she moved to open the other door...it opened for her.
"Ugh...my head! It's killing me," complained a boy with a wild mane of dreadlocks. He rubbed the back of his head, taking a moment to fully notice the woman in front of him. "Oh, sorry, didn't see...HOLY SHIT YOU'RE NA—!"
Mukuro's fist flew out, decking the boy in the cheek in one swift, brutal move. He immediately flew backwards, the momentum sending him crashing against a desk in the room, before his body dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Mukuro regarded the still body before her, her blank expression unwavering. "Sorry. Force of habit."
After a moment she stepped into the room, crouching down beside the boy. She briefly checked to see if he was still alive—he was—before rummaging through his clothes. As she did so, she had a moment to get a better look at him.
He was a tall dark-skinned boy with brown hair styled into a wild mane of dreadlocks: which quite frankly looked absolutely unmanageable to Mukuro. The layers of clothing on his torso consisted of a black student jacket, an open white shirt, and a small yellow undershirt beneath all that. Below that he wore a loose pair of baggy black pants, and a pair of sandals on his feet. All and all he looked—and smelled—like a homeless person off the streets.
Her search concluded a moment later, but it didn't bring up much. All he had on him was a wallet with two hundred yen in it, and a variety of business cards that identified him as 'Yasuhiro Hagakure, Ultimate Clairvoyant'. All and all, nothing useful.
That done, she stood up, regarding her fallen foe. Her first priority here was to find a pair of clothes to wear, so she leaned over to start stripping him of his garments. She stopped herself after a moment though, standing back up as she wrinkled her nose.
She could find a better source of clothing than this smelly hobo.
That decided, she gave the room a once over, before leaving. She continued down the hall, until she came to what looked like an entrance. She cracked open the door, revealing daylight outside.
A hotel complex, of all things, greeted her as she ventured outside. Mukuro couldn't help but furrow her brow at that, wondering who'd kidnap her and put her in such a lavish place. Certainly no one she knew, especially any enemies she'd made while in Fenrir.
Regardless, no one else was in sight, so Mukuro cautiously moved forward. She darted over to a side staircase, hugging it for cover as she glanced around. Still no one in sight, even from this vantage point. Before she could dwell on that though, she heard voices from up above. Her eyes narrowed, and after a moment, Mukuro hopped over the railing, and onto the stairs proper.
She crouched back down, and slowly ascended the stairs, until she reached the top. Peering from the top of the staircase, she observed what looked like a hotel restaurant, with two people inside. One a pale looking boy, and the other a darkly tanned girl. Neither seemed to have weapons on their persons, as well.
Her eyes zeroed in on the girl, taking a moment to observe her. Mukuro nodded to herself shortly thereafter, and stood up, making her way into the restaurant.
"I'm going to need your clothes, please," she dutifully informed her, once she was at their table.
The girl and her companion fully noticed her once she spoke, and the tanned girl in particular did a double take once she spotted her. That didn't surprise Mukuro, given the odd circumstances.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" she finally asked, an incredulous undertone to her voice.
"Your clothes. I'm going to need them, please. You can hand them to me, or I can take them from you. Your choice," Mukuro declared, gesturing to her outfit. The skirt left a lot to be desired, admittedly, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
The girl merely scoffed in reply, however. She leaned back in her chair, and said, "Heh, fat chance of that sweet cheeks. You'll have to pry my clothes from my cold, dead—!"
With negotiations going nowhere, Mukuro switched tactics, and launched a fist at her. The blow was designed to knock her out instantly, but to her surprise, she managed to rear back and raise a hand in defense. Instead of beating against her skull, her fist smacked against her hand. However, even with the strike blocked, the force behind it couldn't be stopped, and sent the girl flying backwards into the furniture.
"Son of a bitch!" she heard her swear, as she laid among the wreckage of the broken chairs and tables.
Mukuro narrowed her eyes, and considered her opponent anew. This was...unexpected. This girl had some serious strength, if she could react fast enough to block one of her strikes. She had to take her out fast, then, before she could have time to formulate a proper strategy.
Mukuro rushed over to her, pushing her body to its limits as her foot launched out to hit the other girl's head. But to her surprise, she managed to scramble out of the way, dodging another blow.
Hmph, this girl was good. It wasn't everyday she encountered someone who could keep up with the Ultimate Soldier. And in any other circumstance, Mukuro might want to let the fight drag on, and really test them both. However, she had higher priorities here, and that meant this girl had to go down ASAP.
In the following seconds, Mukuro devised her plan:
She would rush at her again, aiming a fist at her head. The new girl would, predictably, dodge, and finally launch a punch of her own, likely toward her gut. Mukuro would dodge that, and 'miss' the sweep of her foot that would follow, sending her sprawling to the floor.
The mystery girl would pounce on her then, wanting to keep her on the defensive, and Mukuro would use that opportunity to grab her arm and drop them both back to the ground. From there, it would be a simple matter to put her into a chokehold, and choke her out until she blacked out.
At least, it would have been, until something unexpected happened halfway through.
The door to the kitchen burst open without warning, and a short man in a chef's outfit, wielding a frying pan, stormed in. "Now what in sam hell is goin' on here?! Who's picking a fight in my—?!"
He stopped short, doing a double-take when he noticed the naked girl in the restaurant. Even worse, Mukuro had happened to fall in just the right place, to wind up spread-eagled in front of the kitchen doorway. Meaning he saw everything.
A deep blush spread across her face, as that fact hit her. She'd been doing her best to remain in Soldier mode, and ignore her state of undress, or how she felt about it, but now...now…!
The explosive nose-bleed he had didn't make the matter any better, and Mukuro felt her skin crawl when a splatter of blood hit her stomach. The fact he apparently fainted did make her feel a smidge better, but it mostly made her motivated to end this, right now!
Thankfully, while he had interrupted her plan, the man's distraction gave her a new opening. She saw the mystery girl preoccupied with a bit of blood that had gotten onto her skirt: and in that moment, Mukuro launched into action to seize the opportunity. She got onto her feet in record order and charged at the girl, jumping into a flying kick seconds later, her foot aimed at her head.
Her target only had a moment to realize her mistake and regret her actions, before her foot slammed into her skull, and sent her rocketing to the wall. From there, she made a rough impact against it, leaving cracks in the wall. After that, her opponent slumped to the floor, apparently unconscious.
Mukuro wasted little time, and rushed over to her, stripping the girl in short order. Unbuttoning her shirt and slipping off her skirt and panties didn't take long at all; although, for some reason, she found that her target wasn't wearing a bra. That did stop her short a little, but she continued on nonetheless. It wasn't like her bra would have fit her, anyway.
Soon enough Mukuro was fully dressed again, even if the clothes she wore weren't to her tastes. The white shirt was fine enough, especially when fully buttoned, but the skirt, if it could even be called that, left a lot to be desired. It barely covered her ass!
Still, it wasn't like she had a lot of options here.
The sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears, and Mukuro knew her time was up. She raced over to the outside entrance, and leapt over the stairs, landing on her feet. From there, she raced through the hotel complex, before she reached and jumped over the gate, landing outside.
After that, she took a moment to catch her breath. All right, her clothes were now secured. Onto her next task: finding out if Junko was here too, wherever 'here' was.
"You know, you could have always asked for my clothes instead. I would have gladly given them, and I imagine they'd cover you better than those do," a voice to her left commented.
Mukuro tensed, and lashed out, twisting around as her hand latched around the throat of the person besides her. She raised them effortlessly into the air, her hand squeezing around their neck.
"Ah, s-sorry, didn't mean to s-surprise you," the sickly boy from the restaurant wheezed out, making no move to remove himself from her grip. "I just wanted to talk. It's not...every day I m-meet the Ultimate Soldier."
9:11 AM, Day 1
Outside Hotel Mirai
It didn't take long to interrogate the boy: if anything, he was extremely forthcoming about what he knew. Mukuro learned his name and supposed Talent in quick order, but that was about all the useful information he had. He didn't know anything about why they were here, where 'here' was, or what was going on. In essence...
"You're utterly useless to me," Mukuro declared, shaking her head at Nagito.
The boy in question merely rubbed at his neck, still smiling at her. "Oh, I couldn't agree more. I do apologize for that."
Mukuro gave an aggravated sigh, closing her eyes as she considered her actions. She had no idea how long that girl, 'Akane Owari' according to Nagito, would be unconscious. A strike that hard would send a normal person to the hospital...but, that girl had been able to keep up with her in combat: she was far from normal. Not to mention, she was a fellow Ultimate to boot. Thus, it'd be a good idea to leave the area quickly, and begin her search for Junko.
Before she could fully leave, however, Nagito called out to her. "Pardon me, but perhaps I can still help in some way? You can still take my clothes, if you want. It's the least I can do to make up for being so useless."
Mukuro paused, glancing back at him as she considered her options. She'd already sort of committed to this outfit, and the stubborn part of her didn't want to give it up after all the trouble she'd gone through to get it. However...her legs still could use some cover.
A moment later, she swiftly tied Nagito's jacket around her waist, giving her legs a far better set of covering. She resumed her pace thereafter, heading right and away from the hotel. She noticed Nagito following after her but decided not to confront him about it. It wasn't as if he was an actual threat to her or anything.
After a few minutes of walking, she noticed a building peak over the horizon. She had to get closer to it to be sure, but it seemed to be a small airport of some sort: and if her eyes weren't deceiving her, there was an airplane right outside it! Well, if she could find Junko, she might well have their escape route already secured.
Seconds later, however, a shrill feminine scream pierced the air. Mukuro paused briefly in alarm, before she dashed forward, sprinting that last distance to the airport. She arrived there in a flash and kicked the door to the main entrance open. Her hand instinctively went to whip out her pistol—but just seconds later, she remembered she wasn't armed. In lieu of that, Mukuro dropped into a general defensive stance, ready to face what was inside.
She wasn't sure what she'd face inside, but this certainly wasn't a scenario she would have envisioned anytime soon.
A girl with long blue hair, and dressed in a traditional looking school uniform stood in the center of the room, looking rather disheveled and flushed. In her hand, Mukuro noticed she carried some sort of taser. Beneath her rested the twitching, convulsing form of a large, morbidly obese young man. He had short black hair with a pointed ahoge, had on a pair of black-rimmed, thick glasses, and was wearing a dark grey unbuttoned cardigan, with a white undershirt, orange tie, and a pair of dark gray pants beneath it.
The girl gave a startled jump at Mukuro's dynamic entrance, casting a weary glance at her. She seemed to relax a little though upon seeing her, perhaps because she was a woman. Then, the girl started staring back and forth between the taser in her hand, and the convulsing, shuddering boy on the floor.
"Uh, hello there. I don't suppose you know what's going on here?" she inquired after a moment, stowing the taser behind her back.
Mukuro raised an eyebrow at that but shook her head no. The girl sighed in response, looking despondent for a moment before she forced a cheerful smile on her face.
"Well, that's not a problem. Perhaps we can figure things out together? I'm Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Idol. What's your name?" she asked.
Mukuro dutifully introduced herself in return. Meanwhile, Nagito finally bounded up behind her, sounding a little winded as he rested against the door frame. He smiled at Sayaka and introduced himself as well.
"So...what, exactly, happened here?" Mukuro asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She gestured over to the fallen boy, who had fallen still and silent now. Perhaps the shock of the taser had knocked him out?
"Oh, this? Well," Sayaka trailed off, looking momentarily embarrassed as she gathered together her thoughts. "I woke up in an unfamiliar place, and there was a large, fat man standing over me. I...sort of assumed the worst, and sought to...rectify the situation. In retrospect, I may have possibly...overreacted."
Well, okay. Mukuro could see how such a rude awakening would have inspired this outcome. If anything, she might have done worse had she been in Sayaka's position.
"Have you checked the plane outside? It looked functional from what I could see of it," she asked a moment later.
Sayaka shook her head, so Mukuro took it upon herself to investigate. She exited out of the back of the airport and approached the solitary plane that sat on the tarmac. An up-close inspection revealed the plane looked to be in perfect condition. Whether or not it was fueled and operable was another matter entirely, but it at least looked flyable.
She ascended a staircase that led to the plane's main entry hatch. It was there, however, that Mukuro encountered the first major roadblock to her plan of escape: the hatch door was locked. There didn't seem to be a discernible way to open it either, aside from a keypad embedded right next to the door.
Mukuro grimaced in distaste, as she glared at the keypad. Well, now she was stuck. Until she figured out the passcode here, there was no way anyone was getting aboard this plane.
"Maybe I can try?" Nagito suggested, having walked up the stairs behind her. "Perhaps my luck can be of some actual use, here!"
Mukuro glanced back at him but ultimately shook her head. "Not worth the risk. For all we know, entering the wrong code could put the plane on permanent lockdown. It'd be better to try and find the passcode somewhere else."
Nagito nodded in understanding at that, and the two of them retreated from the plane soon after. They walked back into the airport, where Sayaka and the unconscious man awaited them.
"No luck?" Sayaka asked, to which they shook their heads. "Well, that's unfortunate. Still, perhaps we can find answers or help elsewhere. Would it be all right if I joined you two? I'd feel much safer traveling in your company than just staying here, waiting for help."
What was she, a bodyguard now? Well, it wasn't like it really mattered in the grand scheme of things. She could ditch these two as soon as she found Junko.
So Mukuro nodded her head, and soon the three of them left the airport itself. After that, the trio continued down the road to explore more.
After a few minutes of walking, Mukuro could see a building emerging in the distance. The closer she got, she could make out the name emblazoned on the front: 'Rocketpunch Market'. So, a convenience store of some sort, then. If nothing else, it might be useful on stocking up on supplies.
Once they came upon the market, Mukuro stepped inside first. It was a small, intimate place, so it didn't take long to search it thoroughly. Once more she didn't find any signs of Junko, but she did find someone else.
Standing in front of the store's solitary bathroom was a tall, slim young...man(?) with pale skin and long, dark black hair. He had on a most peculiar outfit, a dark green military style uniform with a red armband around his left arm, and there was a black face mask that obscured the lower portion of his face. It covered his mouth all the way down to his neck, with a zipper where his lips should be. Most strikingly of all, he had a pair of yellow eyes that grabbed one's attention immediately.
Mukuro wasn't sure why, but she felt an odd chill go down her spine when the mystery boy met her studious gaze. Something about him felt...off, but she had no idea what was 'off' about him, or why she felt that way. Which was incredibly weird, given she'd never experienced a sensation like that before.
"Ah, hello there. It seems there are more people on this island after all," the mysterious stranger proclaimed. He turned to fully face them, giving them all a short bow as he introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. It seems we are all stuck here together on this mysterious archipelago."
Archipelago? They were on an island?! This was news to Mukuro! She stepped closer to this Korekiyo, but paused, having to restrain herself from simply grabbing him by the neck and interrogating him as she had with Nagito. She had an audience now, and that made her reluctant to do anything untoward in front of them. Extensive training with Fenrir had taught her the necessity of acting like a civilized soldier, at least when in front of the public.
Besides, until she had a better understanding of the situation, it was best to try and remain calm. It wouldn't do to burn any bridges. Well, any more than she had: but with any luck, she wouldn't be seeing that Akane girl anytime soon, and Nagito, for his part, didn't seem to care at all that she'd roughed him up.
She took a breath, closing her eyes briefly before introducing herself, as well as Nagito and Sayaka too, though that was a mere afterthought. "You said we are on an archipelago? How do you know this?"
"It's quite simple, really. Myself and some other compatriots woke on another island, what I believe to be the central island of this island group. All the other islands are inaccessible at the moment, however, except this one. Myself and two others came over here by ferry and decided to split up and search for others like us. We're all trying to gather everyone together, so we can discuss our options and compare notes," Korekiyo dutifully reported.
He glanced over at the bathroom door, gesturing to it before elaborating further. "I had spotted a young girl inside the store here, and hoped to speak with her, but...the moment she saw me, she screamed and ran away, locking herself inside here. I've been trying to calm her down, assure her I mean no ill will, but...that does not seem to have worked, thus far."
Mukuro raised an eyebrow, briefly taking in Korekiyo's appearance again. Yeah, she couldn't imagine why he'd scared someone off at all.
She rolled her eyes a moment later but stepped closer to the bathroom all the same. She wasn't interested in getting delayed any further, so she wasn't going to let this stop her. She knocked harshly on the door, before speaking up. "Come on out, whoever's in there. We're not...going to hurt you. We're just looking for answers."
There was a moment of silence afterward, and then she heard the shuffling of feet behind the door. It opened up ever so slightly, and Mukuro could see a grey eye peer out from the crack. "Wh-Who are you people? Are you kidnappers, or something? Oh god...y-you're with my editor, aren't you?! I-I've already started on my next book, I promise!"
"No, we aren't kidnappers...or working for your editor, either," Mukuro replied, her eyebrow twitching faintly. She had no idea what this girl was talking about, and quite frankly, she didn't care. "Just come on out already. If you're worried about the creepy guy here, I'll stop him from molesting you or anything."
"...Am I really that frightful?" Korekiyo questioned aloud, touching a bandage-covered hand to his mouth. Quite pointedly, no one really answered that question.
The bathroom door closed again, but after a few moments, it opened back up, this time fully. Standing behind the door was a girl with long, dark purple hair that was styled into two braids that trailed behind her back. She also had on a pair of wire-rimmed, round glasses, and had on a purple high school uniform. Overall, she seemed like a normal high school girl, if a bit dreary in appearance.
None of that explained the sudden, overpowering killing urge that she felt from the girl. It made Mukuro tense up, her body almost springing into action to subdue her target, before she gained a firm hold of her instincts. She managed to keep herself still, which proved fortunate, as that killing intent seemingly vanished as soon as it had appeared.
What the hell was that?!
"Wh-Who are you people, then? And...wh-why am I here?" the girl questioned, oblivious to Mukuro's own inner turmoil. She bit her thumb anxiously, eyes darting between the assembled teens.
"That's not something we can answer, really. Your second question, at least," Mukuro replied, shrugging slightly. "As for who we are...well, we're like you: stuck here with no idea how we even got here, wherever 'here' is."
Another round of introductions followed that, with the bespectacled girl introducing herself as Toko Fukawa, Ultimate Writing Prodigy. Mukuro had never heard of her before, but from the reactions of everyone else present, it seemed that Miss Fukawa was quite famous.
"My my, I never thought I'd meet such a distinguished author such as yourself," Korekiyo commented, voice dripping with admiration. "So Lingers the Ocean is considered a literary masterpiece by many, myself included. It's had quite the interesting cultural impact on the romance genre, not to mention made fishermen far more attractive to the average Japanese woman."
"I have to admit, it's a favorite novel of mine as well. Probably one of the best books I've ever read!" Sayaka commented, staring at Toko with newfound interest.
Toko, however, seemed to take their praise poorly. A scowl fixed its way onto her face, as she declared, "Y-You don't have to l-lie or anything. I kn-know you really don't mean it."
Oh, great, now she had to deal with a self-loathing writer. Damn it all, she didn't have time for this!
Mukuro decided to go ahead and ignore Toko, now that she'd been coaxed out of the bathroom, and instead focused her attention on Korekiyo. "You said you were searching the rest of the island, right? Have you seen a blonde haired woman during your search? She's...my sister, Junko. I'm trying to find her."
"I apologize, but no. Until I came across Miss Fukawa here, I had found no one else on the island," Korekiyo confessed, shaking his head. "It is possible my compatriots have found her. They were going to a hotel not far from here."
Damn. That meant Junko probably wasn't here. Perhaps she was on another island then? Well, there was only one way to find out.
"I need to find my sister. If she's not here, she's on another island. You said there was a ferry around here, right? Can you show me where it is?" she asked.
"Of course. I meant to bring you all there anyway, so we can all group together at the central island," he said, nodding at her.
With that said, Korekiyo gestured for the group to follow him as he lead the way out of the store. Mukuro intently followed behind him, her fist curling and uncurling as she walked.
Junko had to be on this central island or another island, or somewhere in this goddamned archipelago. Whatever it took, no matter what she had to sacrifice, Mukuro was going to find her sister. There simply wasn't any other option.
Review Responses
Trust Me: Glad you liked it! Far as characterizations go, I've definitely got some interesting plans! And I heard about that initial plan for Akane. Learning about that partially inspired me to take this different spin with Akane, among other factors.
Kobold: Heh, that an accurate description of things so far! And as for Ibuki, we shall see!
D-Kirb: Thanks! I had a lot of fun coming up with this version of Akane. As for whether or not Miu suffers the fate of Rantaro...we shall see!
Celestial: Glad you enjoyed, Celestial! I do appreciate your praise! Hope this answers your questions about Mukuro. I also really enjoyed making that meta joke, heh.
Crit: Yeah, I didn't intend to make it that way, but that has become something of a fun meme for Akane, hehe! Glad you're liking things so far. I hope this latest chapter matched your expectations!