A Monokuma falls over as it ceases to function while Komaru leaps over its remains. Genocider Sho rushed forward, scissors in hand as she sliced incoming bears to pieces. While the two girls were running roughshod through the ursine hordes, Junko and Makoto were at the leisurely pace behind them. Some large bears appeared on their flanks, while the fashionista yawned and swat them away with her trusty baseball bat.

"Come ooon…show up already!"

Makoto sighed. "It won't show up just because you commanded it to."

"We're making so. Much. Noise!" She whacks a building with her bat.

They can feel the ground shake a little bit as the SHSL Despair's prayers were answered. An Exisal appeared from around the corner, running toward Komaru. Using a nearby ruined building as leverage, she leaps high into the air. The sharp-tongued former serial killer rushed forward and drew its attention while leaping over every swing that the giant ape-like robot tried to land on her. From above, Komaru shot several shots from her hacking gun right into where its head would be. Eventually it slows down and shuts off, tipping over forward.

Komaru cheered. "Okay! Should be in mostly one piece. Nice job!"

The other duo approached the large machine carefully. It was completely devoid of life, not even making a single noise as Junko went to look inside as she messes around with it. Makoto cautiously looked into where he thought the cockpit would be. Inside he saw a singular seat that was fairly small – only enough comfortable room for one person with a display for what he assumed would be the controls for manual operation.

"Okay! I'm gonna turn this thing back on!"

"Wait, what?"

"Do you think we can lug this thing back by dragging it? Use your head!"

"Are you going to move it back?"

"I'm not that quick. Just get in the fucking robot, Makoto!"

He felt a force on his back – most likely Junko's boot – and he tripped into the cockpit. For some reason it felt a little ironic that he would be commandeering a giant robot himself, though he didn't quite understand why. The machine whirrs back to life and the screen turns on. It starts to move by itself. Using the touchscreen, he tries to find the manual override. Thankfully, it's clearly marked in one of the menus, so he manages to take control of the lumbering, yet swift machine.

Enoshima hopped into the Exisal while it was moving, eliciting a surprised sound from Makoto as she sat on top of him.

"H-Hey! There's no room!"

"Geez, you act so jumpy when I'm on your lap." She grins and drools a bit. "Trying hard to control yourself, darling?"

"I can't see!"

"Psh. You get a face full of me! Better than any ol' boring ruined cityscape." She leans forward and takes over the touchscreen. "There's so many weapons. Wonder why the AI doesn't use them? Such a damn waste!"

She unloads a couple of shots from the gun arm of the Exisal, surprising Toko and Komaru on the ground.

No longer being her serial killer split personality, Toko shakes her fist at the giant robot. "Enoshima, you m-maniac! Stop it!"

"Sorry! Not sorry."

Makoto glared at the SHSL Despair while she was still focused on the control screen.

The four arrive back at the former adult hideout, where the former Warriors of Hope were waiting at a docking bay that was recently opened by them. The four young teens looked up as the Exisal entered the loading area and strode into the warehouse proper.

Masaru broke out into a wondrous grin. "That thing is kinda cool!"

"That thing can kill us all, Daimon." Nagisa crossed his arms as he wearily looked it down.

Komaru walked up to them. "Was everything alright while we were gone?"

"Yep, nee-san!" Kotoko showed her practiced stage smile. "You guys were so noisy that they totally didn't come over here."

Toko narrowed her eyes at the Exisal. "This is still a really stupid idea. We're trusting her with that thing?! She's just gonna blow us all up for despair or whatever."

Makoto hopped out of the mechanoid as he walked over to the rest of them. "Yeah, well, are any of you good with computer systems? I mean, she was able to trace Fujisaki-kun's talent to create an Alter Ego."

The former SHSL Writer rolled her eyes. "Ugh. What an overpowered character."

Junko seemed fully absorbed into her new toy as she controlled it into a different part of the warehouse.

"At least she's distracted enough to stop clinging onto you for a while." Komaru laughed nervously. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I'll…manage." Makoto rubbed the back of his neck. "But if this helps us get to the bottom of what's going on here, I'm willing to pay her price."

"Sheesh, Makoto." Komaru sighed. "You're a little too eager to make yourself collateral."

"Well, Enoshima's the type to snake her way into what she wants easy." A sigh escapes from his lips. "But she's been behaving. I wonder what her endgame is."

"It's probably nothing good." Toko replied flatly. "There's only two people that we know that can keep up with her twisted logic, and neither of them are here."

Komaru smiled. "Well, we'll all meet up sooner or later right? Kirigiri-san shouldn't be too far behind."

"Yeah. She might be somewhere in the city right now." Makoto smiled back.

Even the normally pessimistic Toko nodded in agreement.

Jataro gave one last look as the machine went out of their field of vision. "W-What's Big Sis Junko going to d-do with that thing?"

Makoto began to explain. "Since they're running on AI, they might be able to show what exactly happened to Towa City while the earthquake was happening."

"O-Oh, so…they're like walking cameras?"

"Sort of. Plus having one of those we can use should be helpful."

Komaru sighs. "Yeah. Fighting these things on foot isn't exactly easy. It just wears me out."

"B-Bet you're all energized now that your nii-san is here, huh?" Toko smugly smiled.

"Toko-chan, seriously, I don't have a brother complex! I honestly have no idea where that came from…"

"Take it from me." She looked at Junko's general direction. "I had a class that had ties to a couple of people who loved their family a little too much."

Makoto frowned. "Are you talking about Ikusaba-san?"

"Not just her! Remember that weird girl that Hiro brought to the Future Foundation? S-She kept talking about how she was gonna get revenge on us for Kuwata dying! She was his cousin, right?"

"O-Oh. Right. Kanon Nakajima."

"Seriously, I'm not like what you think I am! Makoto's my brother but we're not close like that!"

"I-I was just making a joke, Komaru." Toko looked down.

Komaru softened up. "Sorry. Your imagination runs wild sometimes that it can be hard to tell."

Makoto laughs nervously as he immediately knows what she means.

"Oh right. Togami-kun is fine, by the way."

"M-Master's okay!" Toko suddenly bites her thumb as she stops. "I-I mean. It's good to know that Togami-k…Togami-sama…is okay."

The younger Naegi sighs. "She's been getting better about it. It's good to know that even Toko-chan can see the writing on the wall."

"Oh." Makoto smiles. "That's good. I'm glad that everything's been going better for you, Fukawa-san."

"Geez! You Naegis are so upbeat that it—it's nice." Toko seems to struggle with her words as she grits her teeth until she says a muffled, "T-Thank you."

"Yeah, well, going back to Enoshima-san…" Komaru continued. "We really should keep an eye on her at least. Toko-chan and I will watch her on shifts while she works."

"Alright. That sounds fair." Makoto replied.

Toko immediately started moving toward where Junko set up her own workshop. "I'll go first."

"Sheesh!"

"Something wrong, Komaru?"

"She just doesn't want to take a bath." She yells at the former SHSL Writer as she's moving quickly away. "You can't escape Sponge-san forever, you know!"

"Sponge-san?"

"Hehe, sorry. She still really doesn't like taking a bath. But she's been getting better. It's only been a few days this time!"

"You really are a good influence on her."

"Well, it was thanks to you that she was able to open up to me in the first place. You really got her to hope again."

Makoto laughs. "We're not close at all, even though I consider her a friend of mine. But I'm glad you said that."

"Also, thanks for keeping your promise. I knew you'd come pick me up eventually."

"What good would I be if I didn't keep a promise?"

"Aw, you're always working hard! You may be kind of wimpy, but you're reliable."

"Hey, I'm not that bad anymore."

"I'm still taller than you."

"Sheesh…I'm just unlucky. But enough about me. I didn't know you took the Warriors of Hope under your care."

Komaru looks over at the troubled teens who were conversing amongst themselves. "Who else would, Makoto? I mean, I know you would…but the SHSL Hope has a lot of responsibilities. I'm just doing my part."

"I don't think Fukawa-san is happy about it, though."

"No, probably not." A nervous laugh comes out of Komaru's mouth. "But they've been really through a lot of abuse. It doesn't make what they did okay, but I really think they can come around."

Makoto smiles in response. "I think you've gotten through to them."

"Haha. Maybe. But it's all a process. That's why when Enoshima-san showed up, I got a little scared."

"That makes sense."

"She doesn't seem interested in them right now. While I'm glad, I…I feel bad for them, too. They looked up to her."

"They did what she wanted them to do." He sighs and looks away.

"That's…and you're hanging out with her?"

"Mostly not by choice. Believe me. She's done horrible things by any standard. I'm fully aware of that. But, just like how you won't give up on Fukawa-san and the Warriors of Hope, I'm not going to give up on Enoshima."

"You know, if it were anyone else that was saying what you were saying, I'd think they'd be completely crazy. But you have a weird way of making people see where you come from."

"They have to let me show them in the first place."

"Is she letting you do that?"

"I don't think waiting for her to let me is the right way to go through with it."

"Oh, I see. I noticed you two fight a lot. Like an old married couple."

"Please don't joke about that. If she heard that, she'd take it way too seriously. At my expense."

"Be honest, Makoto. What exactly is your relationship with Junko Enoshima?"

"I'm a pretty bad liar, so I really have no choice do I? She was a friend and classmate of mine. At least, she was really great at acting the part. But now having seen what she's really like…I guess I have some regrets."

"Regrets?"

"If I was as observant as I am now back then, maybe I could've done something. It would still be a longshot but I could've at least tried."

"Like try and make friends with her?"

"Something like that. To think that the end of the world happened because a gifted high school girl was bored with it."

"It does sound ridiculous when you say it out loud."

"Yeah. But it still happened. We're living proof of it."

"I wish it didn't." Komaru looked away. "Sometimes I wanted to think it's all a dream. That I could just wake up, you would come home for the holidays from Hope's Peak, and mom, dad, you and I would just have a boring normal conversation around the dinner table."

"That would've been nice."

"I still miss them, Makoto."

"Me too. Could've used their advice on how to be an actual adult."

"Yeah. Dad would probably say something mega cheesy."

"And mom would roll her eyes."

Both of them start laughing quietly. Tears started to fall from Komaru's eyes as she continued to laugh, burying her face in Makoto's shoulder. He softened his look and embraced his younger sister in silence.

It was a long time since Komaru cried. But she wasn't trying to bottle up her feelings inside. No, she resolved to cry as much as she could when the feelings come again. She did this so that when the time for action comes and she wants to cry again – there'd be no more tears left to shed.

"Oh thank goodness the plumbing works!" Hina steps out slightly damp with her hair wrapped up in a towel.

Kyoko was watching the outside via the only window in the room, while Mukuro was sitting in the corner sharpening her knife with a flat piece of debris she found.

"So, were they here Kyoko-chan?"

"If the destroyed robot wasn't enough proof, I managed to find some strands of strawberry blonde hair on the bed here. Looks to be a few days since they were here."

"E-Eh?!" Hina gasped. "Wait, there's only one bed in here."

"Two people sat on the loveseat there, but it doesn't appear anyone slept on it. It's too small to lay down on even for a child."

Mukuro continued flatly. "They slept in the same bed."

Hina's face went completely red. "W-What?! That's…"

"My sister doesn't care for societal norms. Believe me."

"Still! That's not okay!"

"It's quite obvious what she's doing. She's not only buying herself time but also trying to make up for lost time." Kyoko turned back from the window and faced them both.

"Uh…make up for lost time?" Hina looked completely dumbfounded.

"If her feelings for Makoto-kun are in earnest, she has a lot of ground to make up. After all she is the root of many things that he's suffered through directly and indirectly. Enoshima is a being of complete chaos but she is still the mastermind that caused the Tragedy. This was all calculated." The former SHSL Detective moved toward both of them. "And we've been playing into her hands this entire time."

"What do we do then? We can't get to Naegi-kun like this." Mukuro looked down. "I-I can't compete with her. She's too perfect."

"Ikusaba-chan, don't say that! Would a perfect girl do all those horrible things to people she's supposed to care about?"

Kyoko looked at Mukuro with a mix of both pity and bewilderment. "In any case, our strategy should be changed. If we haven't caught up with him it's most likely he's with people who know the city layout well."

"Oh! Komaru-chan and Fukawa-chan!" Hina smiled. "So he should be okay."

"In any case, we should be alerting them to our presence."

"Um…how are we gonna do that?"

"Smoke signals. Low tech, but it should work." Kyoko walked over to Mukuro. "I trust you can handle that?"

"…sounds simple enough. But what about the figure that's been chasing us?"

Hina started to panic. "W-Wait, someone's been chasing us other than those crazy bears and robots?!"

"We've been followed the entire time we arrived." Kyoko replied. "I'm sure that person is tied to the third party behind all of the robots."

"But that person hasn't done anything to us yet."

"Keyword yet. We should get to work on those smoke signals. Let's gather enough flammable objects so we can light them up on the roof of the hotel."

The shift between the two Ultra Despair Girls switched and the glasses-wearing author was looking over her tablet when she noticed Makoto enter the common area for some food.

"Ugh." Toko looked dismissive at him as he approached.

"Ugh?"

"Y-Yeah, you heard me Naegi. Are you going to go on another spiel about friendship and hope?"

"I was just going to ask how you were doing, Fukawa-san. It's been a while since we've seen each other."

The morose-looking woman sighed. "You're always so straightforward. It's gonna blind me again."

"I don't want my words to be misleading or anything. I managed to get around reading your latest I-Novel. It was really good."

"Of course it's good. If there's only one thing I'm actually confident about, it's my writing. But…thank you anyway. You inspired me to write that back in the killing game, after all."

"I didn't do much."

"Don't let it go to your head. Sheesh. You've gotten a lot cockier ever since you got that SHSL Hope title."

"Have I really?"

"W-Well…maybe not too cocky. But I know the type of character you are. One who thinks they have to shoulder every single thing by themselves for others' sake. The quintessential all-loving hero."

Makoto reflected on that word. Did he consider himself a hero? What exactly was one?

"Look, I know I was really unfair to you back then."

"What are you talking about Fukawa-san?"

"See? That niceness of yours feels so unnatural! Straight out of a fantasy novel."

"I wouldn't go that far. There are a lot of people like me out there, you know."

"Yeah, but good guys like you don't live long. Usually. A-Anyway stop distracting me! I'm trying to apologize." Toko grits her teeth and takes a deep breath. "Maybe if there were more people out there in the world like you and Komaru…well…it might not be a bad place to live in."

"I really appreciate it, Fukawa-san. I consider you a friend, too."

"And I'm n-not gonna say this again. If you tell anyone I said any of this, I'll deny it."

Makoto laughed sheepishly. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Komaru suddenly showed up, rushing down the corridor. "Makoto! Toko-chan!"

"What's up, Komaru? Did Enoshima do something?"

"No. It's not her. There's bunch of smoke coming from the hotel!"

Toko sneered. "So what? Let that abandoned building burn down. It was creepy as hell anyway!"

Makoto shook his head. "No, that means that someone is over there. And they might be making a fire on purpose."

"It could be people that need our help. We need to go! Makoto, we'll be back soon, okay?"

"F-Fine." Toko and Komaru immediately ran off to investigate the suspicious smoke.

The hapless luckster watched them go off. He returned to the meal he got from the vending machine and began to eat. A few minutes later, the former child drama star ran in.

"W-Where's Komaru-nee and Toko-nee?"

"They just left. What's wrong?"

Kotoko took a deep breath. "The boys. They're in trouble!"

Makoto immediately stood up. "What? What happened?"

"We were just doing our normal scavenging…"

"Normal scavenging? Did the girls know you were doing that?"

"N-No. We usually went when they left to do their patrols. But we usually didn't go too far away! Honest!"

"What happened?"

"A…a big one…an Exisal showed up! I-I managed to run away but they're still totally stuck there!"

His eyes shot open. There was no time.

"Show me where they went."

"B-But…"

"Please, Utsugi-san."

She looked completely unsure. She was even keeping a safe distance away from him. But she just nodded frantically and started running. Makoto went after her, hoping he wasn't too late. Dashing through the sewers and back onto the streets, they ran for such a long time that even Makoto was starting to sweat through his suit. Eventually, he saw a giant Exisal swinging through a few crates near the harbor.

He saw Jataro cowering behind from metalworks on one side away from it and Nagisa watching it wearily from an abandoned crane. Looking closer at the cranes that the Exisal was swinging at, he noticed red hair sticking out from one of the sides. Without thinking, Makoto started running for Masaru. By the time he got close, the last crate fell apart and showed a cowering, crying redheaded boy, covering his head for dear life.

The Exisal opted to swing down on its gun-less fist to crush the young teen, but Makoto leaped and rolled on the ground with him in tow. Masaru didn't even realize he was still conscious as he opened his eyes through his tears.

"N-Naegi-san?"

Makoto grit his teeth as he got off Masaru and kept moving while the auto-piloted mech was chasing him.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!"

The former Super Elementary School Level P.E. was still paralyzed by fear.

Nagisa ran over and started to drag him. "Why are you always such a pain, Daimon?!"

"But he—he can't take that thing. He's not Komaru-nee!"

"And what are we gonna do? We're just gonna get in the way!"

"Shingetsu-kun…weren't we supposed to be heroes?"

"This isn't the time or place for to be asking that!"

Makoto ducked behind some other untouched cargo as the Exisal chased him away from the youngsters.

"Get out of here already! I can't run forever, you know!" He starts to take off his coat jacket.

The giant robot started smashing through the crates one by one, trying to smash its fist into the former SHSL Lucky Student.

Jataro and Kotoko ran over, helping Nagisa drag the young redhead away. Masaru reached out to where Makoto was while they began to escape the scene.

"I really didn't think this through. But I have to buy them some time."

One by one the crates crumple as Makoto starts to think of anything he can do to make sure the kids left the scene safe. He sees a slightly rusted crowbar drop next to him as a crate breaks.

"Not as lucky as I'd like, but I'll take anything!"

The crate hiding him breaks and he sees the Exisal preparing to smash him into paste. Throwing his coat jacket right toward the cockpit, the AI inside the giant robot responds accordingly and swings its fist at it to stop it from blocking its camera. Makoto runs around it from its legs and hops onto its back. Noticing what he was doing, the robot starts to move frantically as it tries to shake him off.

The world started to spin, but he held on as his life depended on it and kept climbing, using the crowbar to assist him whenever his grip would slip off the metallic back. Eventually he reached the top of it and the Exisal tried to reach it with its arms. It was even going to damage itself in order to kill Makoto. Hopping onto its back when it smashed itself, it revealed the cockpit – it seems all the Exisals had a similar design from top to bottom. Jumping into it, the Exisal continued to try and smash itself in order to get him out one way or another.

He continued to look into the menu on the inner touchscreen – but the metal shell of the mechanoid was going to give way before he could override it manually. Giving one look at the rusted crowbar, he decided to swing haphazardly inside in order to stop it. The crowbar finally snaps from overuse in its near-ruined state and all he can see is a ruined cockpit. There was no movement from the Exisal itself, which simply dropped and leaned forward, dropping Makoto on the ground.

Makoto wanted to vomit but he was on his back. His entire upper body was sore and numb. He couldn't even look straight. Regardless of his personal status, he only thought of one thing.

"…I hope they got away."

He looked over to his side and saw a few pieces of loose gravel start to shake near him. Groaning, he slowly stands up and tries to regain even footing to limited success. He almost stumbles back on the ground, but he looks up and sees two more Exisals coming his way. His legs felt like jelly. Preparing himself for a desperate last stand, the two incoming giant robots were blindsided by a hail of bullets and missiles. Covering his ears from the deafening loud noises of impact against metal and explosions, he looked over and saw a lone Exisal finishing off the other two.

The lone Exisal rushes over to Makoto as he instinctually flinches. It stops right before him as the cockpit opens.

"Sheesh! Giving your life in exchange for a bunch of kids. You're in trouble Ma-ko-to."

Junko jumps from the cockpit and lands in front of him with her trademark twisted grin.

"Weren't you the one who promised yourself to me in exchange for the footage? Wow. Going back on your word huh?"

"I didn't promise any such thing. All I said was that I'd..." He sighs. "Go on another date with you."

"Yeah, so we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. Officially!"

"I told you I didn't say that!"

"Aw. So you didn't want to see my gift~?"

"Gift?"

She takes him by his hands and pulls him up the Exisal.

"Wait, what is this?"

"It's such a damn pain to move and use the weapon systems at the same time. I mean, I can do it since I'm despairingly amazing. But now we can spread some havoc!"

The cockpit looked to be expanded for two seats as if similar to a small plane.

"The second seat's not too comfy since someone here decided to be suicidal and rushed me!"

When he decided to sit in the backseat, she wasn't kidding. It felt stiff as a board.

"T-This really doesn't make the pain any better. How did you know I was all the way over here?"

"Well, it's broken now…but I did slip a little something in your coat jacket."

Makoto palmed his face. "Of course…"

Junko hops into the front seat and starts moving the Exisal forward. "Even put in manual controls because the AI moves so slowly! Snoresville."

"I guess you were paying attention while Towa-san and Soda-san were working."

"Well, yeah! Sometimes you might end up in a situation where you gotta do everything yourself! Ugh. What a pain."

"Anyway, thanks Junko. For, well, saving my life."

"…eh?" Her voice raises up a few levels. "Did you just call me—?!"

"That was just a slip of the tongue!"

"Makoto likes me, Makoto likes me!"

"Wait, stop!"

"Awww, well, better pay attention now lover. Or else we're gonna be turned into scrap." She points forward at several Exisals converging on where they were. "Oh, the happiness of being called by your first name and then the despair of dying right after! It's a bit much, I might not be able to control myself!"

"I get it already!" He grabs his own controls and an aiming reticule lowers down on his right eye. "Never thought I'd ever shoot a real gun…"

Komaru and Syo tear through a mob of Monokumas like wet paper. Eventually making it back to the wreckage of the Exisal they destroyed when finding Makoto, they find the trio from Class 78 fighting off their own group of deranged metal bears.

"Ice Cold Purple and Balloon Tits? Hey wait, that third chick…ain't that…?"

Komaru smiled. "We found them! Don't worry, we're here to help!"

Komaru leaped forward and unloaded a barrage of shots from her hacking gun, pacifying the remaining Monokumas into a silly dance. Syo followed up by easily slicing the rest with her unique scissors.

"Kyeeehahaha! Should've made them do the default dance, Dekumaru!"

"Um…I don't think I can change what dance they do, Syo."

"Komaru-chan! Fukawa-san! It's you guys!" Hina smiled. "I'm glad you guys are safe."

"Of course I'm safe. My breasts aren't gonna slow me down like yours."

"W-Would you stop talking about my chest?!"

Kyoko interrupted them. "Where's Makoto-kun?"

"Makoto's back at our hideout. He's been staying with us for the past couple days. Um…with Enoshima-san, too." Komaru replied.

Mukuro sighed in relief, though she kept eying the younger Naegi with a curious gleam.

"Then lead us there, Komaru-san."

"Okay! Let's get out of here before the Exisals and Monokumas come back." The so-called normal girl began leaping away. Syo keeps up with her. Mukuro raised her eyebrow while Kyoko and Hina go after them. The SHSL Soldier didn't quite believe what she was seeing, but decided to shake it off and follow them.

The trip compared with Makoto's own trip with this duo was only half as long – probably because all of the girls seemed excel in their own physical state. Reaching a sewer hole, Komaru lifted up the manhole by herself and climbed down.

"Ew." Hina replied. "You guys live in a sewer?"

Syo was no longer with them, leaving her more nervous personality in charge. "Y-Yeah. It stinks. So what?"

Kyoko begins to climb down herself. "Watch your footing."

The five females find themselves walking through the sewer. Mukuro moves forward to walk next to Komaru.

"Y-You better not try anything, SHSL Despair!" Toko kept her hands on her taser, ready to summon Syo at a moment's notice.

Mukuro ignored her. "Are you Naegi-kun's younger sister?"

"Huh? You're also a friend of his? Yeah, my name is Komaru Naegi! Nice to meet you." She smiles warmly at her. "And you are…?"

"Mukuro Ikusaba."

"That's kind of an interesting name…"

"I guess since Enoshima's alive, it'd make sense her sidekick sister would be too." Toko glared at the former SHSL Soldier.

"Huh? You're Enoshima-san's sister? Why do you two have different last names?"

"Well, I was a mercenary for a few years." Mukuro waited for Komaru's reaction to that knowledge.

"Oh wow! So you must've seen a lot of world, huh. Ah…it all makes sense now. A hardcore woman with a checkered past. I wonder if you're a kuudere too."

"Excuse me?" Mukuro was completely confused at what she was saying.

"Don't mind her. She acted pretty similar to when she found out about Genocider. I knew anime and manga rotted your brain!"

"Aw, come on Toko-chan! There's some good stories to be found in them, you know."

"U-Ugh. Just mindless drabble and terrible trash. All hidden beneath a pretty visage. Just like girls with makeup!"

Mukuro continued to be confused, in awe at how well the two got along. Toko never even got along with her classmates aside from her one-sided affection toward Byakuya. She also was surprised at how well Komaru took the knowledge of her past occupation. It wasn't quite the same as Makoto's reaction, but there was a familiar friendliness that she could recognize.

"Okay. Just up this ladder and we're home free!" The younger Naegi started to climb up herself with Kyoko close behind. Toko glared at the remaining two as she motioned for them to go on ahead.

The five finally enter the former adult's hideout and see Junko wrapping up Makoto's right arm in bandages with the four Warriors of Hope surrounding them.

"M-Makoto?! What happened?" Komaru immediately rushed over.

"It's nothing." He tried to wave it off but couldn't since his right arm was being mended. "Just some bad luck."

Nagisa interjected. "He saved us."

"Huh? Did you four go outside?!"

Jataro looked down. "W-We didn't w-want to be useless, big sis."

"Guys! You aren't useless. I just want you four to be safe, okay?"

Masaru looked down. "W-Why did you save us? Don't you both hate us for what we did?"

"Daimon-kun…" Komaru gave a look for pity.

"Did you overhear me and Komaru talking about our parents?"

The four looked away in shame.

"Well I…I know that adults failed you guys. What happened to you four should never happen to children ever." Makoto looked up at the warehouse ceiling. "And since I'm an adult now, well, I just felt like I needed to try and make up for them."

"That's illogical." Nagisa replied.

"I get that a lot." Makoto chuckled. "It's the way I've lived. There are going to be people out there who do horrible things. Sometimes they happen to be your family. But there's people out there who want to help and try to fix things. It doesn't always work out but we try. And if I was able to help a single life, then there's no regrets."

Komaru smiled. "Yeah. And sometimes those people you meet can become your new family, too."

Kotoko mumbled something and Makoto looked at her. She looked at him and then said it louder. "Thank you, big bro."

"Huh?"

"You're a hero, big bro!" Masaru grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Ugh. My stomach's churning from that speech. Good job, Makoto. Want a prize~?" Junko smirked.

"No." He replied with a straight face. "You're like a…"

"A beautiful rose with thorns?"

"More like a venus flytrap."

"Why you little…!" She grabs him by the collar. "Sometimes I just wanna strangle that cute idiot face of yours!"

Makoto narrowed his eyes. "What kind of bedside manner is this?!"

"That'll be enough, Enoshima." Kyoko walks up to them.

"Yeah! You're going to definitely get in trouble for what you pulled back at Hope's Peak!" Hina crossed her arms with an angry glare.

"Oh, am I?" Junko smirks in response.

"Well, yeah! We all know what you did! Right, Kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "No. She played this all out in a specific way. We would have gotten the conclusive evidence in order to get her charged and place in prison for various crimes…but if I did that, she would have gotten away with him a long time ago."

"You crafty bitch…" Toko pointed her finger straight at Junko. "I get it! You were gonna sneak away with Naegi when we weren't looking huh?"

Hina groaned. "So you mean…?"

"Yes, if we wanted to catch up with Makoto-kun, we would end up sacrificing all of the evidence we could have used against her. They were most likely things that only I could have found."

"Not bad, Ace Detective Kiri. As expected from one of the only people who could match my despairing brainpower! Guess you chose Makoto over your own ego this time."

"And since we're here, she won't be able to get away. I believe this trade is worth it."

"Look at these scheming girls, darling! Trying to take my boyfriend away from me." She clutches on hard to his unbandaged arm.

"H-Hey! Let go already! I'm not your boyfriend!"

"B-Boyfriend?!" Komaru looked completely shocked. "Since when? Why her?!"

"N-Naegi-kun…" Mukuro looked down.

"Hmph. Your attempts at making me lose my cool are admirable, Enoshima. I'll have to ask you to let him go. Though soon that won't be a request."

As Junko planned, the entire situation devolved into chaos.

ANote

Shirokuma: hey shuichi-kun, how do you feel about multiple protagonists?

BlackCapPI: In the context of Danganronpa? It could work.

Shirokuma: really? what makes you think so?

BlackCapPI: Maybe you can have different POVs during a trial. Or maybe the classic mystery novel twist of a fake protagonist.

Shirokuma: hum. yeah, that does sound very interesting. and it can make a really compelling chapter 1 character rise to the top!

BlackCapPI: True. I don't think I've ever seen a first chapter character ever be massively popular. Even Ikusaba-san is pretty unpopular in Japan and she's had so many appearances.

Shirokuma: well when you're the sister of the fashionista of despair, it's hard to top it!

BlackCapPI: So she gets screwed both in and out of universe, huh?

Shirokuma: what a shame, right…

BlackCapPI: Yeah. But if done correctly, we can have a character that we can really connect with that has a lasting influence throughout the rest of the game.

Shirokuma: you know i'm liking this idea more and more the more i think about it!

BlackCapPI: Kind of puts a twist on the whole formula, don't you think?

Shirokuma: it does! it really does. maybe we can see something like that in the next game?

BlackCapPI: It would really make it memorable.