"I give, I give," Makoto said tapping repeatedly to get out of the pin that the Ultimate Martial Artist had placed him in. He needn't have repeated himself as even after the first tap Sakura had already relinquished him and allowed him to climb to his feet panting slightly and rubbing his slightly sore arm that had been twisted at an angle that was just slightly on the wrong side of uncomfortable. "I guess this is the unparalleled strength of the Ultimate Martial Artist," he said chuckling at his dismal win-loss record in their gym class.
He had decided to take up Sakura's offer of a match and found it turned into a few competitions. So far he was down seven nil and it didn't look like his record would improve very soon. On average each of his matches barely managed to last a minute before he was restrained and had to tap out. It was unfortunate that while a normal human used between thirty and fifty percent of their muscle strength at a maximum Makoto himself was limited by a far greater amount so that he didn't accidentally shatter every breakable thing that he got his hands upon. Of course his Alternate could easily withstand that percentage of strength with perfect accuracy but he was not the Original Makoto Naegi.
"Your own strength is nothing to scoff at Makoto," Sakura said politely. "In addition some of those moves… you still cannot tell me what Martial Art you practice."
"Sorry," Makoto apologized rubbing the back of his head. "The person who taught it to me instructed me not to teach it to anybody and he did not give me its name." While sounding like a poor lie, it was explicitly true. His Alternate had uncharacteristically firmly told him not to teach any of the moves that he had taught him, nor had he named the style.
"I see," Sakura said nodding with some understanding. "It's a pity. It seems like there are some good moves that even caught me off guards sometimes, but maybe it is not entirely suited for you. If you would like then I could show you some other martial arts. You have sufficient muscular strength and flexibility that there might only be few issues in learning them." That was true, despite his mediocre ability he had managed to land a few good hits on the Ultimate Martial Artist which she shrugged off unfortunately.
"Maybe," Makoto replied with a smile. It was a bit galling to be told that he couldn't pull off those moves, especially because he knew they were supremely effective, but not in his hands. He bid Sakura a goodbye as he left towards the showers. The gym sessions for the talented students tended to adopt a more freeform approach with students choosing any form of training that suited their talents or none at all if they felt so disinclined, which some of his less athletically inclined classmates had taken advantage of. He himself tended just to go with whoever was asking him to exercise with him on that day. Just before he entered the shower door he stopped as a familiar hand reached across the doorframe keeping it closed.
"Rather impressive Makoto," Junko Enoshima said giving him a wide grin. "I honestly didn't expect about half of those moves." While her comment might have seemed sarcastic to a casual viewer of the fight, it actually contained high praise. If even a person with the analytical abilities of Junko couldn't predict some of his moves then it meant that the style was doing its job correctly even if Makoto could only perform it poorly. His alternate had specifically created it with the purpose of being unpredictable.
"Then it was doing its job," Makoto said chuckling. "How are you doing Junko?"
"Oh," Junko said excitedly. "You do care Makoto, I just knew it. My life is doing wonderfully thank you. Say do you know anything about animation?"
"I know very little about animation techniques directly, but I assume my Alternate is proficient," he said and as he spoke he received a mental confirmation. "Yes, my Alternate is proficient. Why?"
"I wanted to know if you wanted to catch an anime that I've just made," Junko said. "I'm not really much of a weeb but I've always believed in branching out."
"Subliminal messages require the watcher to be unaware of the hidden missive Junko," his alternate spoke through his lips. "Are you so eager for me to be hostile?"
"Sorry Makoto," Junko replied, her voice entirely unapologetic. "But the anime was actually excellent and I thought it might be something that could amuse you for a while."
"Thank you Junko," Makoto replied politely. "I might take up your invitation sometime." Despite his Alternate recounting her unsolicited attack on him he held no grudge against her. Even taking into account the warnings from his omniscient Alternate that she was dangerous he just didn't feel like hating her. Maybe it was the fact that he was in no danger all along or the fact that she triggered his pity in the same way that only his other-self had done before.
xxx
Makoto walked along one of the halls of Hope's Peak academy with a stack of documents given to him to take to a teacher named Chisa Yukizome. He had somehow been elected as the class representative. The job basically amounted to him getting all the terrible jobs and trying to make sure his fellow classmates did not kill themselves or each other. So when the homeroom teacher for Class 77-B had forgotten to take the required forms to her class and called in a favour from his homeroom teacher he had been volunteered to drop off the required documents to that class.
Still despite his internal complaining he wasn't entirely against making the acquaintance of a whole new classroom. He had heard more than a few rumours about them and he was glad to verify if any of them were true. Directions to the classroom were not hard to figure out and he didn't even have to rely on his Alternate to arrive there in good time. A brief, unnecessary, pause to adjust his clothes and hair, so as to provide the best first impression and then he boldly opened the door, only to see the unmistakeable image of a body flying towards him at high speed.
It was at this time that Makoto lost his body autonomy and he felt himself step to the side just as a figure flew towards him. His eyes tracked the figure before dismissing the motion and he regained complete control over his body just as his momentum hit a net zero allowing him to smoothly regain his footing.
"Is this class 77-B?" Makoto politely asked closing the door as he chose to deliberately ignore the antics. In front of him a large man in a black jacket and a large silver chain around his neck stood looking shamefaced. Apparently he and the woman that had flown by were engaging in some form of horseplay and he had won.
"What the fuck!" a rather short boy in the back exclaimed quite loudly causing him to blink before he took in the class. There were a surprising amount of students here considering the quite lax standards of attendance required at the school. Only two appeared missing at the moment which was remarkable compared to his own emptier classroom.
"Yes, this is class 77-B," a girl with a vacant expression said slowly. "I'm sorry for the trouble."
"No problem," Makoto said waving the documents that he had been entrusted with. "Chiaki Nanami the class representative, right? I don't see your teacher here. Is it okay if I leave these forms with you?"
"That's_" the upper class representative started before the door slammed open again.
"Hey the battle isn't over yet," the girl who had already gone flying out of the doorway said as she stormed in the room with what was probably a battle stance. If they were going to continue fighting then he was going to find a safe spot and stay out of it.
"Excellent," the man with chains said. "Then come show me what you have learned."
"Jeez can't you guys give it a rest," the sole red-head of the class spoke up with exasperation. "You're going to give the new guy a bad first impression of us."
"Now is not the time to be fighting," a girl with some authority in her voice agreed. Wait, that girl was the princess from somewhere in Europe. He had read an article about it a while ago. It looks like the girl's in this classroom tend more towards the peacemakers. 'Well with some exceptions,' he thought as he looked towards the athletic girl who had been so eager to start a fight.
"Don't worry," he reassured them. "The impression I create is based on individual performance and not the group." That was something his Alternate would have said. He had probably been spending too much time alone in his head recently. "So can I put down these papers anywhere?" he said more lightly trying to show his more open approachable side.
"You can just put it on the table," another voice said and a slightly older woman entered the room. She must be the homeroom teacher. "Sorry I'm late. I've just got back from the teacher meeting." The meeting had actually ended an hour ago, but he wasn't going to call her out on that, instead placing down the files as he examined the now complete class.
There seemed to be an air of melancholy hanging over the class but the class did genuinely seem happy to see their teacher. That was not in the least surprising considering the fact that she had managed to get fourteen of the sixteen students to actually show up on time. Large egos were, if not the rule, the trend among the Ultimates and anybody who could curb enough of their tendencies to get them to behave like actual members of society would possess some charisma at least.
"If there is nothing else I must be going," Makoto politely lied. While class wasn't strictly necessary or enforced anybody would feel somewhat awkward under the stares of fifteen strangers. Besides, despite his alternate's indifference he wanted to take a look at the anime that Junko was planning. He didn't feel entirely safe not keeping at least an eye on her.
"Wait," the teacher said. "You haven't introduced yourself." Well it was about a fifty-fifty that he could have gotten away in the first place and there was no way that his luck would allow him the most painless route.
"I am Makoto Naegi," he said. "The Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 78th. Please take care of me." There, that was a standard greeting; which was probably the most normal greeting you would get out of the basket cases that constituted the Ultimate population of Hope's peak.
"Wait you're also the Lucky Student," a short blonde girl with a pigtail said. "Are you also a nutcase like Nagito?"
"Sainoji," the teacher said warningly causing the student to pipe down.
"Who is Nagito?" Makoto asked scanning the class although noting that none of the students aimed their attention towards any person in the room; one of the two missing students then.
"He's… currently out of school," the teacher said in the tone of voice that hinted towards him being suspended.
"Yeah for blowing up the school," the blonde girl, Sainoji said scoffing but there wasn't much heat in it. "So are you insane like him?"
"I might be," Makoto said. Actually, he had once asked his Alternate almost casually if he would be classified as insane and had received a confident yes; although he had refused to elaborate further on the manner of his alleged insanity. "What disorder does he have?"
"Um…" that stumped her dead. It was a bit different between accusing somebody of having a disordered mental state and actually quantifying their issues. The term insane might be thrown around a bit too much. "He's always talking about hope and he blew up a school," the girl said not backing down.
"Talking about hope seems to be a common fetish around here," Makoto rebutted with a quirk of his lips. "And there are lots of sane people who want to blow things up. None of those necessarily indicate insanity."
"Well said," the tall man who had thrown the girl through the door said. "We shouldn't disparage him when he is attempting to do his best."
"He was a precious student," the teacher said. "Although, he could be a rotten orange sometimes he did all that in an attempt to help you all." She turned to Makoto. "And there is no such thing as a hope fetish. You should also lose that overly reserved behaviour. You're only young once and you shouldn't waste your youth acting like some indifferent punk."
"Am I reserved?" Makoto asked really thinking about it for a moment. Looking at himself objectively he had acquired a vague air of dissociation, probably as a result of nothing truly being a threat to him or his way of life. Sometimes he felt as if he spent a lot of his life watching people struggle without ever dipping into the waters of conflict himself. "I suppose I have a certain detached demeanour, but I would contest that it makes me look cool," he said crossing his arms in a casual pose that he had practiced in front of the mirror.
"Anyway, I must get going," Makoto said after a few moments awkward silence. He was getting a nervous feeling like he had been missing something throughout the classroom and he had a sudden urge to consult with the Original. "It was a pleasure to meet you all," he said as he stepped out of the door leaving the rest of his upperclassmen to continue their indulgences.
"The Ultimate Animator is not present," his Alternate said before he had even formulated a question. "The Ultimate Impostor has taken his role. The class is unaware."
"Animation," Makoto seized on that word running it through his head. "So Junko is behind this. She must be pretty confident if she all but revealed her involvement."
"It was trivial to intuit her involvement in the first place," the Original said mercilessly. "Junko Enoshima is undoubtedly the most dangerous person I have ever met especially coupled with that spineless soldier sister of hers, but she possesses an impulsive and self-defeating nature."
"Please don't insult Mukuro like that," Makoto said politely but firmly. "You're saying that Junko wants us to stop her?" he tried to confirm. It seemed weird to him but if Junko functioned anything like his own Alternate then it wouldn't be too unusual for them to possess a strange or alien mind-set.
"She will likely be satisfied with her own defeat," his Alternate said. From Makoto's experience likely meant almost certainly with some variation based on environmental factors that his Alternate didn't have the time or inclination to further discuss. Makoto walked for a bit towards his classroom before he sighed and stopped.
"If she's kidnapping students then we can't turn a blind-eye," he stated after a moment of thinking. "Come then let's go take her up on this invitation.
xxx
"It took you long enough to get here," Junko Enoshima said giving a mocking smile. "What, did you get lost on your way?"
"Considering the fact that you gave me neither the time nor the location I think I did pretty well," Makoto said defensively before he smiled as if the previous sense of indignation was just an illusion. "I had to grab popcorn," he admitted ruefully. "Isn't it practically a requirement of a first time anime viewing?" The flippancy was a purposeful act to put an opponent off guard but Junko Enoshima naturally saw through his clumsy ploy in an instant.
"That's a half-decent idea," Junko said smugly. "I personally prefer to have a glass of wine while indulging in anime. Isn't that right, Mukuro?"
"Hey_" Makoto said as he turned to greet the Ultimate Soldier currently entering the room before his eyes went wide and the portion of the brain that belonged to him shut down momentarily. Mukuro had walked into the room carrying a tray with two glasses of what was probably wine looking for all the world like a waitress at the café if it wasn't for her particular way of dress. Still he recovered relatively quickly.
"What do you think, Herbivore Man," Junko said with restrained sadistic glee. "Since this was an anime viewing I thought I would have my sister dress appropriately."
"Huh, I've never actually seen one of those done in real life," Makoto said looking at a sterling example of the so-called naked apron featured in far too many anime scenes. The Ultimate Soldier had a face that was glowing red and as she headed towards Junko Makoto was able to confirm, without doubt, her lack of dress. "Now I know you are doing this to fluster me and take your sadistic urges out on your sister but can you stop? I might not be able to focus on the anime if this continues." As he spoke he took the glass of wine from the soldier noticing that she had incredibly well-defined arms, even better than his and he idly wondered if she had a six-pack behind that apron before he checked his runaway thoughts.
"Humph," Junko said and Makoto knew he had lost this particular exchange. Compared to Junko Enoshima he could never win. If it wasn't for the trump card that was his Original…
"It does not matter," his Alternate spoke directly into his mind giving blunt reassurance. "Indulge yourself if you wish. As long as I am here you will not be disadvantaged in the end."
"Speaking to the superior Makoto Naegi?" Junko asked, the interaction easily picked up by her. "I also noticed that the bipolar serial killer has been kept under wraps recently. Your doing?"
"He's not responding to you," Makoto said. "In case you haven't realised let me spell it out. He doesn't like you. The other me is a good judge of character after all. Now are we going to watch anime or not?"
"Of course that's why I invited you after all," Junko said smiling despite his barbed words before she pulled out a remote and with a press of the button the room was plunged into light darkness, the kind in which you can see but not find your keys. Another dramatic button press and a portion of the wall slid open to reveal a moderately large screen.
"Needlessly dramatic," Makoto observed taking his mind off of Mukuro and switching his mind to game mode. "Let's hope your anime has better dialogue." He invoked the basic etiquette and remained silent as the blackness of the screen broke and perfection exhibited itself across the display.
xxx
"Above average," Makoto stated as the animation rolled to a close displaying a list of people behind the production. A list that was in reality the name Junko Enoshima repeated with a small credit to Ryota Mitarai, the name of the Ultimate Animator. She wasn't even pretending to disguise the fact that she was involved in his disappearance. Not that anybody besides him, the Ultimate Impostor and the kidnappers even knew he was missing.
"Really," Junko said. "A rare collaboration designed by the Ultimate Animator and you only call it above average. What about unique, tear-jerking, stomach rupturing. Don't you feel the lights and sounds worm into your brain matter."
"I did," Makoto said. "And I will never permit another to have any control over my brain matter." It was why he had taken over as soon as the Second found himself unduly affected. "The animation exceeds in every individual aspect the standards of the animation industry and furthermore combines them into a unique audio-visual experience that has a significant and deliberate effect on the mind." He stopped talking after that as he stood analysing the short animation looking up points that could be altered to achieve different and more potent effects.
"So Super Makoto, have you met the Ultimate Hope yet?" Junko said invading his personal space in a manner that stopped just short of inviting retaliation.
"Call me Makoto regardless," the First said with just the right amount of warning to show the Ultimate Fashionista that he was serious. "I have already made my opinion on that clear. Take me to the Ultimate Animator." There was no need to keep up a veneer of personability for Junko's benefit. "And Mukuro, please put on some clothes." The Ultimate Soldier turned to Junko for confirmation, who nodded, before she retreated out of the room still maintaining that luminescent blush.
"You're so boring Makoto," Junko said raising her hands behind her head as she walked further into the trustee's facility, in the same direction that he had calculated the Ultimate Animator would be. "Why can't you be a bit more unpredictable?"
"Go work at a zoo and tell me unpredictability is a good thing," Makoto half-heartedly mocked her. "I am not the Ultimate Performer and have no incentive to keep up your spirits. Make your own entertainment."
"That's just what I'm doing," Junko said with a wide smile. "Between you and me I'm working on a big project right now."
"If you attempt to drag us down with you I will be displeased," Makoto warned ineffectually. Her course wouldn't be swayed by such half-hearted words but if he didn't make an attempt his Alternate would be more upset when he took drastic action.
"We're here," Junko said ignoring the question and opening up a door to reveal a skinny, tired looking boy hunched over a computer. "Hey your animations busted," she said to the boy in that false-friendly tone of hers. "My new buddy didn't even shed a tear throughout the entire show. Do you know how awkward that is vouching for a series and the person doesn't like it. I could just die of despair."
"It would save us the trouble," Makoto said mercilessly. "Are you kept here under duress?" he asked already knowing the answer.
"N-no," Ryota stuttered out looking at Junko. "I just need to complete my animation."
"Why?" Makoto asked giving him permission to divulge his backstory and he immediately saw how Junko mimed shooting herself in the head.
"I want to save people with my anime," he said almost vomiting out the words. "I want to use anime to bring hope to this world." There was an air of manic fervour in his eyes as he spoke, normally only found among the extremely religious or the differently sane.
"You want to finish what Pandora started then?" Makoto said dryly which actually elicited a quickly stifled chuckle from Junko. "Very well, I won't hinder you then."
You're leaving so soon," Junko said with a brief look of surprise before it was replaced by a grin. "You're behaving so boringly. What did you even come out here for if you were going to take one look and leave?"
"Even if I were to explain it, you would not understand," the Original Makoto Naegi said with slight condescension in his voice before he decisively tapped his temples. "Wha_" he started his voice subtly changing. "You hypnotized me," Makoto Naegi accused the Ultimate Fashionista.
"It was hilarious. I made you quack like a duck," Junko said and he narrowed his eyes in response.
"You're lying," he said with certainty. "My Alternate would never allow that." He turned around as if examining the room he now found himself in and his eyes locked upon the last member of the room. "Ryota Mitarai, I presume," he said offering a handshake to the Ultimate Animator who didn't appear to notice it.
"What just happened," the Ultimate Animator said looking confused, or maybe just sleep deprived.
"A fairly standard Superpowered Evil Side," Makoto responded glibly. "You see it all the time in anime I believe. You look healthy. Are you enjoying your time here?"
"Yes," the Ultimate Animator said before he was cut off by Junko.
"Then why don't you bring back Evil Makoto then, Boring Makoto," Junko said. "And stop disrupting the animating serf's work."
"No," Makoto refused. "He's gone for now. Apparently whatever you said when I was sleeping didn't interest him. If you have nothing more to say then I will be heading out now."
"Tch, go then," Junko said pouting. "I've got to do some stuff anyway. "Come back when you're cool and evil again."
"I'm always half of those things," Makoto said sighing as he turned around and left the room. Junko let him go, obviously knowing not to push her luck and after a few wrong turns he exited the staff faculty building and onto the main campus and out of the buzz of nearby electrical devices faded.
"That was the room of a missing staff member," he mused under his breath before his demeanour changed. "I really have been sleeping too much if a murder is able to slip beneath my nose. The brainwashing video and the Ultimate Hope coupled with the present tensions; it is sad how ignorance has suddenly gained a price I cannot afford," he said taking a glance at a gaggle of reserve students in the distance. "Stay sleeping for just a bit longer, my younger self," he whispered before he headed off in the direction of the science labs.
xxx
"You've been busy," Makoto said coolly as he looked down at the folder allayed in front of him. He had read through the folder presented to him. As he read his eyes grew colder and colder and his smile fixed in place until his previous excited expression became a fixed mask. After ten minutes the thick document was done and digested and Makoto sat down again on his seat at the roof feeling as if all his energy was drained at once. "How awful," he stated after a minute of silence trying to describe the words that he felt. "What the heck happened? Did the spirit of Shirō Ishi possess the research department?"
"Extracting the dramatic hyperbole from your sentence," his Alternate started using his same detached tone. "I agree entirely with your feelings." Now that he listened closer there wasn't any emotional detachment. His Alternate was just as murderously outraged as he was. "I'll make a special note not to attend that trustee's funeral."
Oh, right," he forgot for a moment that Junko probably murdered at least one of them. He wasn't sympathetic towards those old men in the slightest but there was no obligation for the violence to remain contained. "How effective is the brainwashing?" he asked.
"With regards to whom," his Alternate stated rather than asked. "Let me elucidate," he continued after Makoto silently indicated he didn't understand. "It is an unquestionable fact that smoking is bad for your health but there are numerous examples of people who have indulged in that past time and yet lived to an above average age due to the other factors in their life. The brainwashing video is dangerous but it will affect some people more than others. I could do some actuarial work and write up a formula to determine whether a person would be susceptible to brainwashing or not but we both know you do not care enough to read it."
"So are there other factors that might make somebody more susceptible to brainwashing," Makoto said picking up on his Alternate's hints.
"Any significant shock to the sense of self should prove sufficient," the Original said. "To clarify, a shock to their worldview, the death of somebody personally important, a certain degree of personal injury or loss; all of these things leave you more vulnerable and makes it far easier to worm into, and subvert, the mind."
"I'm sorry," Makoto said after a while. "I'm stupid, please explain. Is she going to try and brainwash any of our classmates?"
"That is unlikely considering that most of our classmates have strong egos and very distinctive personalities," his Alternate stated. "It would not be a very efficient method of doing it. Instead think of the vast untapped number of students situated within Hope's Peak that came here all strongly united by a singular burning desire."
"The Reserve Course," Makoto said feeling a wave of embarrassment as he realised that he forgot a large portion of the school. Suddenly stagnant thoughts clicked into place and he was overcome by a cold revelation. "The Ultimate Hope," he said receiving back acknowledgment that their thoughts were aligned. "What should we do then?"
"You decide," his Alternate said remorselessly. For a moment he had forgotten that the Original Makoto Naegi didn't care for the world. If he asked him to take care of the problem then he would; but at what cost. Who was innocent and guilty in this mess and just how far did the rot stretch. In addition, did he have the right to pronounce judgement? Could he stop it without anybody getting hurt? He was just about to start interrogating it with his Alternate when he heard the unmistakeable sound of footsteps approaching.
The door to the roof swung open at that moment and he immediately stuffed the incriminating photos inside his jacket while looking towards the source of the disturbance; a familiar face.
"So, you're up here, Makoto," the Ultimate Pop Sensation said as she stepped onto the roof. "That's quite an anime thing to do."
"Sayaka," Makoto greeted her smiling a bit to see a friendly face. While he got on quite well with his classmates she was the only one who knew him outside of school at the moment. "How are you doing? Shouldn't you be at idol practice right now?"
"It's cancelled today," Sayaka said frowning. "Oh don't worry; I'm not bottling it up this time. A few of the girls got the flu and they're at home recovering; unless you're offering to come and fill in for them at practice." He grimaced at that. He had once helped Sayaka when another guy singer had bailed on one of her concerts at the last moment; or to be more precise his Alternate had. The First Makoto Naegi had refused to do a poor job and, under the title of Mysterious Singer M, he had enraptured the crowd with a transcendent display of the power of music while simultaneously elevating Sayaka's own performance. She hadn't given up on getting a repeat performance since.
"I will respectfully decline," Makoto said getting a pout from the Ultimate Idol. "So why are you up here? Do you come to the roof often?" Sayaka shook her head at that.
"You've been bothered recently," she said. "I'm psychic remember," she said giving out that playful lie between them. "I wanted to know if you needed any help. You know I'm a good listener."
"It's…" Makoto said starting before he stopped. What was the problem? "Say, hypothetically I have a friend that is going to do something bad," he started, although describing Junko as a friend was already a huge lie. "I cannot persuade them with words and I can't appeal for help against them." Unfortunately normal humans going against those with the Ultimate Analyst talent become shogi pieces to be played with. Only Ultimate Luck seemed to be able to counter that talent in any meaningful way. Even if he were to throw a wrench in her plans and leave she would be able to fix the problem as soon as he was doing other things.
"Are you sure you can't persuade them with words?" Sayaka said. "You can be pretty charismatic when you want to. Did you know there were a few girls back in Sixth Black Root who had a crush on you?"
"I did," Makoto said. "I don't… think so." For once his Alternate didn't speak up with the correct answer to all of his problems.
"Her nature is inherently destructive," his Alternate reluctantly acknowledged. "However we feel a bit reluctant to change somebody's nature." That was true. Even the idea of brainwashing left them disgusted never mind the techniques needed to perform a safe and stable personality change. However on the other hand a mass brainwashing was not something that he could personally permit by that same metric.
"Why can't you appeal for help?" Sayaka asked. "Do they have something on you or were you originally involved?"
"Nothing of that sort," Makoto said. "Can't really explain but it's really something I have to do myself."
"And you can't force them," Sayaka said. "I'm sorry I don't understand the situation."
"I could force them," Makoto admitted more to himself. "But…"
"But you don't want to hurt them," Sayaka said before they both fell silent. "Do you remember when I wanted to go to do that photo shoot when I was younger? Do you remember what you said to me?"
"I remember saying something like it hurts to watch those we care for make poor decisions," Makoto said. He did remember that day. His Alternate had informed him of the pressure that Sayaka was being placed under by an unscrupulous manager and he had popped by to give her a listening ear and bestow his own admittedly layperson's advice. Later his Alternate had done 'something' with regard to that idol agency that had apparently solved all of the problems and the exact nature of which he was not privy to. It was entirely different however when it came to his situation with Sayaka or these two wrecks before him…
…Or was it. Like a lightning bolt descending from the heavens Makoto suddenly found himself struck. They actually cared about them. They cared about Junko and even this Izuru Kamakura person, no this Hajime Hinate person; perhaps they more than anybody else on this planet could empathise with them. Sure Junko was a few steps off from a sociopath with a warped sense of values and latent mental issues and Hajime Hinata seemed to have the psychological equivalent of chronic fatigue syndrome but he still actually didn't want them to die.
If they did die then he would once more be incomparable; a being entirely unrelated to the world. It wasn't a good feel. These people, one of whom he had never met might be the only people in the world who actually fully understood him. He felt a twisted sympathy that was directed as much towards him as it was towards them.
Makoto blinked inwardly shaking his head as his thoughts, that had started to subconsciously mix with his Alternate's, broke off once again into their two distinctive viewpoints. However despite their splintering a consensus was reached in those seconds.
"I'm sorry Sayaka, I have to go," Makoto said, immediately standing up and heading to the door.
"Then I will be cheering you on," his friend said giving that well-practiced smile which he returned before stepping off of the roof and into the hallway. The papers stuck under his jacket appeared in his hand almost instantly and he pulled out a strange aerosol container before spraying down the papers and tossing them towards the nearest bin. Before they even landed they had dissolved into a cloud of ash that landed almost unnaturally neatly within the waste disposal device. He strode forward purposefully for a good thirty seconds before he slowed down his pace.
"I know I strode out there all cool and determined looking but I have no idea where to go next," Makoto admitted under his breath.
"Five minutes ago Junko Enoshima sent a message to all members of the Student Council instructing them all to meet up," his Alternate said calmly. He must have received the message while Sayaka was talking. Makoto didn't often like to think about the receivers and transmitters inside his body that the Original used to control electronic devices but he realised their necessity for moments like these. "I recommend we attend."
"Then let's go do something about it," Makoto said before resuming his determined walk once more.
Author Note: Somebody requested that I write a second chapter. So I did. Most likely there will be one more chapter which I will finish when I get around to it.
