Mukuro Ikusaba's life had fallen apart. The boy she liked probably hated her, she had no friends, her sister was trying to kill her, and she was wanted around the world for the numerous crimes against humanity she'd committed.
However, the plane she had been flying on a few minutes ago had also fallen apart, so she didn't have time to worry about any of that. Instead, she was worried by the fact that the risk of ground fire had stopped her from opening her parachute until she was dangerously close to the ground. Having to hold on to a screaming Chihiro at the same time wasn't helping.
Cold, hard earth rushed towards her. If she didn't open the parachute soon, they'd both end up as nothing more than a red smear in the snow.
She tightened her left arm's grip on Chihiro's waist, and moved her right hand towards the ripcord. It suddenly occurred to her that Yukizome could have easily sabotaged the parachutes if she'd wanted to. But now Mukuro was low enough to see a small wooden cabin. She didn't have any more time to think. She pulled the ripcord and the parachute billowed out, snapping their freefall into a survivable descent in the last few seconds.
The Ultimate Soldier (she hated that title - she was a mercenary, not a soldier - but it was hers regardless) stumbled forward as she landed on her bare feet, and dropped a hyperventilating Chihiro onto his. She quickly turned around and started recovering the parachute. Looking up into the darkening dusk sky, she saw another thirteen parachutes drifting down through the sky, painfully obvious to anyone looking up. The wind was pushing them apart and away from her.
'Novoselic forces are going to be looking for us.' She stuffed the parachute into its pack and turned back to Chihiro, only to see him on his knees, sobbing into the snow. She froze, surprised and unsure what to do next.
'Are you… are you okay?' Chihiro just kept sobbing. 'It's getting dark, we need to find shelter.' Still no response. Mukuro remembered seeing soldiers in similar states throughout her time with Fenrir. She and the other mercenaries had usually just ignored them and left them to their fate, except for one time when they'd needed intel from one. 'That's right, that's how I can snap him out of it.'
She strode towards Chihiro, pulled him to his feet, and slapped him.
He stopped crying and stared at her in shock. 'Can you hear me?' she asked, prompting him to nod weakly. 'The Novoselic forces are going to be looking for us.' She pointed towards the cabin she'd seen on the way down. 'We're going to look for weapons and supplies there, use it as shelter, then look for the others in the morning. Understand?' Chihiro answered with another weak nod. Mukuro sighed, relieved. 'Alright, let's go.'
She set out towards the cabin at a brisk pace. Chihiro sniffled, then trudged after her. But as she approached the cabin, it became increasingly obvious that her plan wasn't going to go smoothly. There was a foul, familiar smell on the air, and the cabin door was ajar.
She stood on the precipice for a moment, then pushed the door open. A days-old fly-ridden corpse lay on the ground before her, its bloated and perforated stomach laying in a dried puddle of blood as its cold eyes stared blankly at the ceiling and maggots crawled around its nostrils and mouth. Worse than that, however, was the state of the cabin itself. Every cabinet and drawer in every room lay open, stripped completely bare, and the curtains had been stripped from the windows. Even the toilet and shower had been torn out of the bathroom. Any supplies or weapons were long gone, and all that remained was an unmade double bed against the far wall. Its thick blankets, meant for the coldest nights, were the cabin's only saving grace.
Mukuro scowled, and turned around. The sun had almost set. They didn't have time to look anywhere else for supplies By now, Chihiro had finally caught up with her. 'What's… what's that smell?' he quietly mumbled. 'There's a body in there,' Mukuro stated, no emotion in her voice. 'I'm going to drag it out of there so that we can spend the night here.' His eyes widened, full of fear and exhaustion. 'O-okay…' She turned back to the house and walked towards the corpse. Without hesitation, she grabbed it by its armpits and started dragging it outside. The flies and the smell followed. Chihiro was looking away, but vomited and fell to his knees once more as the stench washed over him. She ignored him, and dragged the corpse around to the beginning of a forest at the back of the cabin. She dumped it without ceremony and walked back the way she came.
The sun had finally set. She couldn't ignore the cold any longer. It bit into her exposed feet and limbs, bringing pain that it immediately numbed. 'I'll get frostbite if I stay out like this.' She sighed at the absurdity of being barefoot and still wearing what remained of her Junko disguise in the snow. 'I guess it's a good thing I lost the wig… but I need to find shoes and proper clothes as soon as - no. Finding Makoto comes first. I… I need to tell him.'
She returned to the front of the cabin to find Chihiro doubled over in the snow, crying. Mukuro sighed. 'Get up. It's too cold for that.' Chihiro bolted up, wiping his eyes. 'S-sorry… I… I'm just scared… sorry…' She looked at his clothes, and sighed again. They were damp with frozen snow. 'Get inside.' Chihiro timidly did as he was told, and Mukuro shut the door behind them.
With the curtains gone, the room was bathed in moonlight coming through the windows. It still smelt a little of rotting flesh, and a few stray maggots were squirming around on the floor, but it was tolerable for Mukuro. If Chihiro found it unbearable, he made no indication of it as he silently moved himself towards the bed. 'Take off your clothes first', Mukuro ordered. Chihiro turned around, fear and confusion on his face. 'W-why?!' 'They're wet. If you don't let them dry out, you'll freeze in them tomorrow. Just sleep in your underwear for now, those blankets should be warm enough.'
Chihiro started hyperventilating as Mukuro moved past him towards the bed. 'But… but… I…' She looked at him, annoyed. 'You'll freeze in those clothes, they're wet. Take them off, lay them out on the floor, and let them dry.' He numbly shook his head. 'I.. I… I can…'
Suddenly, Mukuro realised what the real problem was. 'Shit', she muttered under her breath, annoyed at herself. 'I know you're a boy,' she stated firmly, staring Chihiro in the eyes. 'It doesn't matter. Do as I said.' His mouth fell open, but he said nothing. Silently, he undressed and lay his clothes out on the floor, before heading towards the bed with the slumped shoulders of defeat.
They both got into the bed, lying down with their backs to each other and trying to keep as much distance as possible between them. The mutual discomfort was palpable. Mukuro frowned. 'Why am I feeling this way? How is this any different from all the times I shared a tent with someone in Fenrir? Is it… it is because of what I did to him. To them.'
Silence filled the air for several minutes, until Chihiro's tiny voice broke it. 'I-is it… is true? What Chisa told us… about you?'
After a few moments of silent anxiety, Mukuro chose to tell the truth. 'Yes… it's true. But I… I don't want to be that person anymore.'
Deafening silence filled the cabin once more.
Mukuro's mind, however, was full of whispers of anxiety and guilt. She closed her eyes, but instead of sleep came the painful, unbidden remembrance of her last few conscious hours…
