Possibilities

What IF 6: Gunslinger Girls

To say that Komaru Naegi was having a bad day was an understatement. When one looks back to perpetual imprisonment, it's not normally with rose coloured lenses in place. But as she cowered under a parachute, begging for anyone to save her from the mechanical beasts that had taken over the city where she had been unknowingly trapped, all she wished for was to return to her mind-numbingly dull life of yesterday. But her prayers were answered not by gods, but by two snap cracks and the smell of spent fireworks, monochrome bears falling back with shattered eyes before she could uncover herself to see what was going on. An older girl stood in their place, inspecting every inch of the rooftop to see if reinforcements were coming. Satisfied that the area was clear, she turned to Komaru, allowing her to assess her saviour in full.

Like the men who had sacrificed themselves to save her back in the apartment block, the soldier was dressed sharply in black trousers and a white shirt with tie, albeit with a flak jacket over the top to store the array of weapons on her person, two pistols on her hips, a knife on her breast and a rifle across her back. Her serious face was capped with a red beret, fixed in stone as she withdrew a piece of paper from a pocket, inspected it, looked at Komaru and nodded.

"Komaru Naegi? I'm Mukuro Ikusaba. I'm here to save you. Head down."

With that, she drew her pistols and began firing again, turning in place to shut down a new pack of Monokumas that were creeping over the chain-link fences. She never moved from her spot and had no need to, every shot a perfect mark that punched through the glassy left eyes of the robots, not one making it over the top before exploding.

"As I was saying." Mukuro continued, reloading with all the concern of performing routine maintenance instead of standing in the middle of a warzone. "I'm with the Future Foundation, working under your brother."

"Makoto's alive?"

"Very much so. We recently escaped imprisonment from Hope's Peak Academy, joined up with Future Foundation, and set off here to retrieve you and the other hostages that were supposed to be used against us as part of a death game. Unfortunately, I've been separated from the majority of our forces, which could become… problematic at some point."

She finished her preparations and indicated to the stairs.

"I'll explain more as we go. After a year and a half, I imagine there's quite a bit you need to catch up on."

"Actually, I was mostly caught up by the men that found me. Right before my helicopter was hijacked, and they all… died."

Mukuro sighed as they descended.

"I told them a wide-scale operation was only going to bring trouble. Too much attention, too many moving parts."

She didn't look at Komaru, but stilled for a moment, looking uneasy.

"My apologises that you had to be exposed to this situation."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I mean, it's not like it's your fault, is it?"

Mukuro stopped short, holding one hand up. Not expecting the sudden stop, Komaru fell back over herself onto the stairs.

"Wait here."

Mukuro turned the corner and three sharp cracks sounded. When Komaru got herself together, rubbed the sore spot on her backside and peeked around the edge of the stairwell, the solider had put her gun away and had instead drawn a knife, her free hand flicking fingers inward at the last of four Monokumas, the universal gesture of 'bring it on'. Before Komaru could warn her about the beast's claws, it was already falling to pieces, oil and sparks shooting out from dozens of puncture wounds. It was a surprise that she'd resorted to close combat, given how easily she'd dispatched of the bears on the rooftop. Sliding the knife back into her flak jacket, she turned back, and if Komaru didn't know better she could have sworn there was a dark dissatisfaction bubbling under her perpetual stoicism.

"Come along. We have others to rescue."

In a mad city of apartment prisons, bloodthirsty children and their relentless machines, it took a lot for Mukuro Ikusaba to be the scariest thing out of all of them. Yet Komaru fell back into line behind her, for where else was she to go?


The operation was going abysmally. When Mukuro had bargained for her life before the Future Foundation's zealous leader by trading information about the captured loved ones and the potential attack brewing at the heart of Towa City, she'd been expecting to go in alone, a disposable asset that could be denied if the Towa authorities had caught her, with the hostages able to leave as they pleased after an interrogation. Instead, the Future Foundation had lain siege to the city under flimsy pretences, and the attention they'd gathered had likely spurred Junko to push the Warriors of Hope into action, putting not only their forces and many innocents in unnecessary danger but the hostages in far greater peril than if she had gone alone. Small wonder the Ultimate Despairs were able to maintain the Crisis, if this was the best strategizing Kyosuke Munakata could come up with. The bright side of the situation was that communications were down, and with them the shock anklet that had been attached to her to keep her in line, so she wasn't going to be electrocuted by some hope-mad operator who thought she might be stepping out of line. But it was a small consolidation in the light of her complete failure to connect with Komaru. She'd been unable to shift out of soldier mode since the city had turned into a warzone, leading her to keep her words chipped and cold to be as direct as possible. Any small talk between the two was poor even by Mukuro's low standards, and that was without spooking the poor girl every few seconds by dispatching Monokuma squads without breaking pace.

"Mukuro?"

Mukuro knew very little in the art of romance, but based on several attempts made by Leon during their time at Hope's Peak, it seemed that impressing yourself upon a family member of your target could lead to gaining stature in their eyes, leading them to speak well of you in kind. Not that such a method had done wonders for Leon, as Mukuro had shut him down by informing him that he wasn't Junko's type, and even if he was she'd been involved with a suitor for quite some time. Well, before she murdered him.

"Mukuro?"

Was it naïve to assume that simply by creating a good impression on his sister, that Makoto might go some way to forgiving her many transgressions as a member of Ultimate Despair? He'd shown some concern before she left, but he would have done the same to any of the members of their class. Frankly, she had no idea what their relationship was currently, and no way to gauge it. The other students weren't likely to be any help in that regard either, as she'd never been good enough friends with them in the first place and once they recovered their memories they'd probably be out for her blood as well. Komaru too, once she became aware of exactly who Mukuro was.

"Mu…Ku…Ro."

Mukuro stopped just short of the port they'd been aiming for, hoping to send a signal to the mainland or find some Future Foundation stragglers to evacuate with. The hotel had been bereft of any hostages, but they had found a clue as to the location of Kiyotaka's father. Turning back to inform Komaru of their progress (making eye contact would probably be a good start instead of barking orders over her shoulder), she found the girl lying face down on the pavement, puffing and panting, clearly out of breath.

"Wait… just a second… oh god."


One shattered vending machine later, and they were sat on the hotel's stairs with cold refreshments. Operation Eye Contact was out the window, as Mukuro kept her head bowed in apology.

"I'm so sorry about that. I'm not used to accompanying civilians."

"It's alright, honestly! I've always walked kinda slow anyway. Also, it's comforting, in a weird way."

"I'm… afraid I don't follow."

Komaru downed her can in one gulp, leaving it on the side of the steps. The sugar rush seemed to have invigorated her more than the brief break, as she got back to her feet and started stretching.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you've been really intimidating so far. I mean, it's really cool how you go through Monokumas like they aren't even there, but you don't talk much, and you're pretty cold when you do, and…"

She turned back, smiling.

"I guess it's just nice to see you mess something up today. Makes you more human, you know?"

Head still hanging low, Mukuro laughed once, sharp and bitter. It had been a good while since anyone had noted her humanity, and that it had come up in her current mission was terribly ironic. But if nothing else, life had thrown her a multitude of second, third and fourth chances that she didn't deserve. Might as well try again with this one. She met Komaru's eye for the first time since they'd met as she stood up.

"You and your brother; you're both far too understanding for your own good."

"Huh? Oh no, I'm nothing like Makoto. He's amazing, and I'm just… me."

There was a familiar sight, seeing a sister put themselves down to elevate their sibling. It was not a tragedy Mukuro would allow twice.

"Maybe, but just you managed to survive until I found you. That in and of itself is impressive enough."

"Th-that wasn't me, it was all this gun! And it's not even mine, it was just given to me! In fact, you should have it really, I'm sure it'll be much more useful to you and-"

"No. I cannot in good conscience allow you to disarm. If we got separated you would be unable to defend yourself."

"B-B-But I don't even know how to shoot right!"

"Well, as we're on a break…"

Mukuro trailed off, looking to a pack of Monokumas between them and the bridge to the mainland, all conveniently stood in front of one of Towa's self-driving cars.

"How about some target practice?"

Mukuro Ikusaba wasn't a social butterfly, or even a social caterpillar. But if there was any way she was going to be able to bond with someone, it was going to be on the battlefield. No matter how long it took to get Komaru to stop screwing up her eyes when she fired blindly at a stationary target.


"Well, well, well, if it isn't treacherous Big Sis Mukuro and some filthy demons."

"Masaru, do you even know what 'treacherous' means?"

"Wait, you know him?"

Mukuro shifted at Yuta Asahina's question, not looking at all pleased with the situation unfolding. And given that the last situation they were in involved exploding bridges and potentially exploding bracelets, it said a lot. This was a personal matter.

"I'll explain later."

"You mean you'll explain never." Masaru boasted, holding some sort of controller aloft. Mukuro cocked a pistol at him, only for her shot to go wide as Komaru grabbed her arm and pulled it down.

"Are you crazy? You can't shoot a child!"

"I wasn't going to hit him, I was aiming for…"

The squabble was cut off as a giant robot crashed down into the caged arena, drill-arms spinning maliciously. Mukuro switched targets, but her shots pinged off, inflicting no damage whatsoever.

"Okay, new plan. Yuta, you and I are on distraction duty. It's short-ranged but watch out for potential charge attacks. Komaru, aim at that Monokuma face on its chest. That's the weak point, and your Hacking Gun will be far more effective than my pistols."

"Wait, how do you know that'll be a weak point?"

"Because there's no despair to be had in a weapon that can't lose."

Before she could elaborate further, she shoved Komaru back, away from the path of an oncoming drill. The mecha was separating them, but the weak plate was right above her. Even after training Komaru wasn't a good shot by any metric, but even she couldn't miss at point-blank range, unleashing break-shot after break-shot into the black and white. The armoured head turned, but before it could strike again Yuta caught Masaru's attention by calling him a coward, and from there on out it was a case of watching and waiting until it was facing her again to take more pot shots, the face cracking to expose a glowing core. Only then did it click in the Warrior's head that he'd been focusing on the wrong target, but as his machine lowered its drills and charged, it found not the scared schoolgirl but Mukuro, locking in the ammo pack on her rifle.

Time froze, the pink core a tiny dot in a dark world of ice as the former Ultimate Solider did what she did best. Seconds later it was replaced with a pillar of flame, showering the crowd in sand from the shockwave. Not that a little debris was going to stop them from punishing failure. But as many hands reached out to drag him away, another burst of gunfire echoed over their helmets. The Monokids might have been spurred to murder but their survival instincts were still strong, and all of them hit the ground cowering as Mukuro leapt over, snatched Masaru underarm and leapt back into the arena.

"Young man, you are in a lot of trouble."

And yet another survivor joined their crew.


"You've got to do something Big Sis! Big Sis Mukuro and that other girl are ruining everything!"

"Kids, kids, kids. You don't understand. You like games, right? Well, the final boss can't just turn up in the middle of a spin-off! It'd kill all the dramatic tension, and that's without going into the deep personal storylines between me and her and Makoto and all the other ones whose names I forget, because honestly, who's expecting that baseball bitch to save the day at any point? Besides, this is your project. You can't just pass of my work as yours, no-one'll take you seriously ever again."

"But…"

"Okay, okay, you've convinced me. Damn kids and your puppy-dog eyes. I'll call up some friends and send them over. I promise, they'll be much better than Nagito. Let me see, who's available… ah screw it, I'll just send the rest of the 77th Class and we'll call it fanservice."


Omake

"Ah, I'm losing connection. Hold on you guys, we'll definitely save you!" Makoto swore as the little screen Mukuro had set up to contact the Future Foundation crackled out. Komaru was a whirlwind of emotions: ecstatic that her brother was still alive, the perpetual terror of her situation and the knowledge that both Ultimate Despair and the remaining Warriors of Hope were after them. But more than any of that, the inexorable urge to tease the cute little smile that had fixed itself upon Mukuro's face the second they'd made connect and refused to leave.

"You know Kuro, when you said you respected my brother, I didn't expect it to be on such a… personal level."

Mukuro's humanity poked through as a flush of red under her freckles.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh no, you can't hide this one from me. You like him, don't you?"

"I have only…"

-Mukuro's Fantasy-

She lies under sun-dappled trees, so warm and full from the picnic he made that she doesn't want to move for hours, but still finds room for the grapes they share mouth-to-mouth.

"The utmost respect…"

-Mukuro's Fantasy-

The ring is a plain, simple thing, because they've never had enough money. But's perfect for her, a plain and simple thing that doesn't deserve such happiness. She cries more in confirming their marriage than she ever has in her life.

"And admiration for Makoto…"

-Mukuro's Fantasy-

To have Junko as the Maid of Honour was her only request for the ceremony. Junko's request was that she turn up in chains. Nothing but chains, as it turns out. It's an unconventional look, but inviting the enemy of the world to a wedding is pretty unconventional as well, and since when have either of the sisters conformed to society?

"And-and-and, besides, even if I did like him that way…"

-Mukuro's Fantasy-

Hot breaths, slow thrusts. Kisses on her freckles, teeth along his neck. She wasn't expecting him to be so bold, and does nothing to discourage him.

"He's too good for me, and, and, and…"

-Mukuro's Fantasy-

It's been so long since Despair ruled the world that even they only have fleeting memories of those times, pushed back by having to run after a pair of twins that take more after their aunts than they do their parents. She kisses his cheek as he leaves for work, and waves goodbye to him three times, once for every time he turns back to smile at her.

The world is calm and peaceful, and everything is perfect.

"And I, err… ah…."

"Wow."

Komaru had only expected a mild protest, not a complete meltdown of gooey teenage crushing. The blush illuminating her freckles was so strong she could see it in the dark. It was a good thing that she had her back to the door, so that when Kenshiro came crashing in to warn them about the oncoming Monokuma horde, Mukuro could salvage a little piece of her dignity by barking orders over her shoulder. As they took the stairs two by two to join their companions, she cut the poor girl a break by squeezing her hand and promising to do her best to pair her brother and her new best friend up.