"I'd never thought in a million years that I'd be walking in the ruins of Towa City escorted by Monokumas."

Makoto made a sideways glance at all the murderous dichromatic bears flanking the group while Hajime was leading the group toward Towa Hills. Nagito and the android Chiaki went on ahead while everyone else waited for Komaru to bring along the former Warriors of Hope. The four barely-turned-teenagers looked nervous around the artificially created SHSL Hope and stayed silent.

"Yeah, well, I never thought crazy scientists that worked in a prestigious academy could jam tons of talent into a single body. I also never thought a single teenage girl could cause the world to end, either. But here we are."

"Aw, Kamakura." Junko smiled. "You contributed! Don't sell yourself too short."

Hajime only glared at her while balling his hand into a fist.

"Hinata-san…"

"Don't worry, Naegi-san. I'm holding myself back because I'm grateful to you, not because I care at all for that bitch."

Kyoko kept herself at Makoto's side while Junko occupied his other one. Mukuro was following them closely with Hina.

"Holding yourself back on her account?"

"No. Not just her. In general, Kirigiri-san." Hajime resumed looking forward. "Even though I was embedded with all the talents that Hope's Peak researched, there's only one thing I was never taught. To actually hold back."

Mukuro remembered how she, the SHSL Soldier, was easily despatched by a single backhanded touch from Izuru Kamakura. She narrowed her eyes at the former reserve course student.

"Oh, I get it." Makoto replied. "You have so much strength from all those physical-based talents that a single touch could…"

"Yes. I accidentally crushed Nanami-san's arm when I first created that body for her. She was supposed to be made out of a titanium shell and I was still able to do that. I can't imagine what could happen to a normal flesh and blood human."

"Y-Yikes! That's a crazy amount of muscle. Hope's Peak really did that?" Hina started to sweat a little bit.

"They did. I'm the proof." Hajime answered. "It also suppressed my memories and personality. Making some kind of superman sounds good on paper but in reality…"

Junko interrupted. "In reality you get basically the equivalent of a superpowered child that finds the whole world boring!"

The lab-grown protagonist ignored her remarks and continued to lead them toward their destination.

"Is that why you were in Towa City?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah. The only place left in the world that had usable materials for her body was the abandoned factory in Towa City. Komaeda-kun and I went here in order to fabricate it for her." Hajime nervously smiled. "Or rather, I was supposed to go by myself but he insisted."

Komaru sighed. "Well, he can be really pushy when it comes down to it. I should know."

"Sorry about that, Komaru-san."

"I'd rather hear it from him than you, Hinata-san."

"S-So, how'd you find the pickle NEET?" Toko asked. "She was being a gross loser in space last we saw her."

"Well, like I said, Toko-chan." Komaru replied. "Eventually she'd figure it out."

Hajime cut in. "She most likely had nowhere else to go. From what I could glean from the rest of the kids here, they don't like her very much."

"Now that's an understatement." Kotoko quipped. "I was hoping she'd have a total adorbs death, but I guess I'm the only one that really feels that way."

Nagisa turned to her. "She did horrible things to us and others. But she was still our friend."

"Gee, Shingetsu-kun! You're starting to sound like Big Sis Komaru!"

Makoto watched them quietly as Jataro and Daimon silently nodded in approval.

The former SHSL Social Studies kept his composure. "I just don't want to see any more deaths for the rest of my life."

"Pfft. More like you had a crush on Monaca."

"T-That's…" He quickly lost his calm and serious demeanor. "That was a mistake. I didn't know how she really was!"

Kotoko giggled. "You're always so serious and adult-like, but you're still so pure! Eh…well, aside from those gross zines of yours."

"Stop it!"

Toko frowned. "Seriously, magazines? What are you, an old man? Watch videos like everyone else!"

"…seems Shingetsu-kun's weakness is girls." Jataro mused.

Masaru tried to cheer Nagisa up. "Come on. You have to be tougher than that!"

The blue-haired youth pinched the bridge of his own nose. "I don't think being tough has anything to do with this, Daimon."

"Hey, don't tease him too much, okay?" Komaru lectured. "You already know what happens when you guys fight. You can take it too far."

All four replied in unison. "Sorry, nee-san."

Junko tried to suppress how impressed she was. She turned to Makoto and grinned. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her with a cautious look.

"Whoa, is that the place?" Hina looked completely confused.

Makoto and Junko took a good look at the former Towa Headquarters. While its surroundings were still complete ruins, some part of the complex itself looked as if it were out of place. It was a patchwork-look of a building, mixing fairly-well maintained bricks and mortar with leftover ruins from Komaru and Toko's final fight against the Big Bang Monokuma.

"Looks like it's in one piece. Sort of." Komaru rubbed the back of her neck. "At least it means you wouldn't have to worry about winter!"

"I'm pretty sure living here isn't the best idea." Makoto looked over at Kyoko.

"That goes without saying." She responded. "I trust we won't stay here longer than necessary."

"Only if Hinata-san promises to stop making Monokumas." Komaru huffed.

"I never reactivated the factory. There were still a lot left over. You two are pretty strong but… it'd still take a while to thin out the herd." Hajime said matter-of-factly.

"Ugh! There were really that many still? I guess Toko-chan and I didn't exactly check out every nook and cranny..."

"That sounds unreasonable in the first place!" Toko groaned.

A look of realization dawned on Hina's face. "H-Hey, guys. There's so many of us. How are we going to get everyone out of the city with just two cars?"

"That's an easy one. We bring everything by boat." Hajime gave a small close-lipped smile. "It was one of the destroyers that the Future Foundation brought to Jabberwock Island. We've used it a few times since then."

"Oh, nice! Hey, we get to see the ocean!"

Kyoko crossed her arms. "How will you bypass the naval blockade?"

"Simple. We continue posing as the Towa Corporation. By the time the military realizes that the entire city has been abandoned, we'll have gone ahead without a trace."

"I guess he has something just in case they want to track us."

"A few things, Naegi-san. Unlike her, I don't sabotage myself."

"Bo-ring!" Junko yawned. "Everything goes exactly as planned and nothing goes wrong. Ugh."

The group finally enter the abandoned headquarters without further fanfare or conflict.

"I know that we're not really in danger or anything, but this place still gives me the creeps." Komaru looked around.

"I'll just need to do a few last minute things while the Exisals retrieve your cars. Then we can finally leave this city." Hajime continued onward without paying mind to his guests. Kyoko immediately went to follow him with Makoto and several others in tow.

Komaru led her own group through a separate path, headed toward the top of the building. Hina decided to tag along with her, knowing that she wouldn't really comprehend the conversation between three of the smartest people on the planet.

"So, um, everyone's alive huh?"

"Yeah." Hina nodded. "Sort of. They're not our version of them, if I got that right."

"Ugh…" Toko looked down.

"Something wrong, Fukawa-chan?"

"That m-means a version of my parents are alive."

Komaru sighed. "Probably. You don't have to meet with them if you don't want to."

"I wasn't going to. M-Maybe I'd yell at them, but…" The morose writer frowned on the corner of her face.

"Who cares about them, big sis Toko?" Kotoko looked up at her with an understanding look. "Maybe we can kill them together! And mine too if they're alive again."

"No killing, guys!" Komaru narrowed her eyes. "Weren't you trying to start over with your life, Utsugi-chan?"

"Awww…fine. But if they find me and want me to 'sparkle' again, all bets are off." The pinkette puffed up her cheeks.

The rest of the former child terrorists looked away and sighed. Entering an elevator, the short time going to the top of the building was quiet. Eventually the doors part open and show that Chiaki was waiting near a door. Instead of the strange and grand open room that Komaru saw in the final showdown, the reception room looked a lot more normal with several rooms adjoined to it.

"Hey hey." The android girl smiled warmly.

"Nanami-san, right? Hi!" Komaru smiled back. "Um…is Towa-san around here?"

"Yes, actually. For the past month she's been spending most of her time in her room."

Komaru immediately made a disgusted face. "W-Wait, that's not healthy! I remember what her van looked like."

"It was pretty gross…" Toko added.

Hina widened her eyes. "Wow, it must've been really bad if Fukawa-chan said it was nasty."

"That's what I said!"

"S-Shut up, you two."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Komaeda-kun is actually very good at cleaning."

Nagisa nodded. "He made sure we were taken care of, despite how cruel we were to him."

"Oh." Komaru thought aloud. "He was called 'Servant' before, right? I guess that's what you guys meant by it."

There was rustling sounds coming from the room itself.

"Is everything alright in there, Nanami-san?"

"Umm…" Chiaki went into a thinking pose. "Oh. I think they're having another fight in there."

A muffled voice from beyond the door can be heard. "I implore you, Monaca-san. You should keep up your hygiene."

"I said that I don't want to, nii-san. Let. Me. Play. My. Game!"

"Your talent is being wasted." Nagito's voice was calm, yet judgmental.

"Who says I want to use it anymore? I wanted to stop thinking forever!"

Komaru gives a long sigh. "I see she hasn't changed much since the last time we saw her."

"She only really does anything when Hinata-kun says to. Though he doesn't interact with Monaca-chan much." Chiaki added.

Toko tapped her chin. "Oh, I think I get it."

"Um, really? I don't really get it myself." A sheepish smile forms on Hina's face.

"Puberty hit her hard. She's into edgy guys!"

"Hinata-san? Edgy?" Komaru asked. "Really? He seemed like a really nice guy to me."

"I-I mean, he's got the edgy look on him. One red eye. The whole 'boring' thing. I can totally see him with totally long, flowing black hair in all-black clothes!"

"Uhhh…it sounds like your imagination might be going wild again, Toko-chan."

Nagito opens the door as a few things are thrown over his head. "Ah. Greetings, everyone." He looks completely unperturbed as even knives and bricks are flying over his head at the moment.

"Er, is she going to be alright? Sounds like she's throwing a tantrum." Komaru awkwardly rubbed her cheek.

"It is fine. Someone as worthless as I am is only merely here to assist her in finding hope again."

Hina looked completely weirded out by how casually he was putting himself down. "Worthless? Are you really? You seem kinda capable. Especially if you can handle a brat like that."

"Ah! Such praise from a true SHSL talent. It makes my heart light."

Hina was completely speechless.

Chiaki shook her head slowly. "I wouldn't pay it mind for now, Hina-san."

"Okay. Hey, were you the one that gave the bombs to that one student – Matsuda?"

"Hm…ah, yes. I would regularly visit Hope's Peak Academy from here in order to check on things and help Hinata-kun with his investigation. When I arrived, I found that the version of myself here had a similar idea to save my own class from despair – to interrupt the practical exams because the deaths of both Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato were weighting heavily on their minds. It seems this place is quite similar to our version of events. However, I no longer needed to do such a reckless thing and abandoned that plan."

"So why did you give the bombs to him?"

Nagito smiled and opened his hands wide, his metallic prosthetic gleaming in the indoor light. "Did you not see? Such a despairful event brought you all out of hiding. We would not come together like this had it not occurred. Now, we have the hope to figure out the true nature behind this twisted world!"

His tirade didn't calm down Hina at all. She found him even stranger and now dangerous after his answers.

"You get used to it." Chiaki reassured with a calm tone. "Komaeda-kun really is capable, but I believe his frontotemporal dementia and his own life experiences really have affected him a bit. He's not such a bad guy."

Toko narrowed her eyes. "Not a 'bad guy?' Are you serious? He's c-completely bonkers!"

"Hey. Be nice. We're guests here." Komaru put her hands on her hips. "He may have a weird way of doing things, but I think he really has everyone's best intentions at heart."

"Ah. You shouldn't worry yourselves with me. All I can offer is my assistance and gratitude."

"I've got my eye on you." Toko warned.

The conversation caused a familiar green-haired mastermind to peek outside of the room. Her eyes now had some bags under her eyes, but she looked relatively healthy.

"Oh? Is that Big Sis Komaru?"

"Hello…Monaca-san." Komaru kept a cautious distance while she looked at her.

Kotoko pinched her nose. "Yuck! I can smell her all the way from here."

The young Towa heiress' eyes looked straight at the pink-haired girl with her usual scary look. "Oh? Probably still smells better than when those producers were gentle with you."

"You!" The former child actress bit her lip as the word still had lingering effects on her.

Toko moved toward her and Kotoko, in response, gripped the former SHSL author's arm as she breathed hard in deep, repeated breaths. Masaru and Jataro tried to not make eye contact with their former true leader.

Nagisa stepped forward to get between both Monaca and Kotoko. "Do you really need to antagonize us still?"

"Aw, look at you, still trying to act like an adult for them." Monaca responded. "Even though you still fell apart at the very end. I'm very surprised that the rest of you even lived."

"There's no need to lash out at us. You're capable of being kind when you want to. That's why I…"

"I always knew that you had a little crush on me." Her creepy look was further intensified by her twisted smile. "If only there was someone out there that loved you."

"Monaca-chan! Would you stop?!" The blue-haired boy clenched his fist, but kept going. "Is it really worth it to keep this up? Do you really want us to hate you?"

"I don't care either way. This was all just a game to Monaca—to me. And I lost at the end. I didn't get a new big sis and I stopped caring about hope and despair. It's all just a pain."

Komaru placed her hand gently on Nagisa's shoulder. He looked extremely disappointed, but his look showed that he finally accepted Monaca for what she was. Nagisa himself wasn't exactly surprised at the outcome, but to him this was closure that he needed.

"Still, it's nice to see you okay." Nagisa said in a soft voice.

Monaca dropped her disturbing expression and only looked at him with a pout. "So stubborn."

Hajime walked the group that formed behind him to a meeting room at the ground floor of the complex. The desk wasn't in one piece and the chairs looked torn up slightly.

"Sorry. It's not exactly comfy in here. But this is a better place to talk, right?"

Makoto nodded. "Yeah. It'll do." He took a seat while Junko immediately took one right next to him. Kyoko took a seat on the other side free, looking straight at Hajime while he sat across the table. Mukuro opted to stand behind the brown-haired luckster, keeping her eyes fixated at the former SHSL Hope.

Hajime placed his hand on the ruined table. "As I said earlier, this brings us back to square one. The most likely suspects were either you or Enoshima."

"I was thinking you might have had something to do with this. But I guess I was wrong." Makoto showed an apologetic smile.

Kyoko crossed her arms. "I assume you've done your own investigation, judging by how Komaeda-san would occasionally show up at Hope's Peak."

"Yeah. I'm not a student at HPA, as you probably know already, and I'm assuming that the flesh-and-blood Chiaki Nanami is alive and well. So having another Nanami-san running around would immediately raise red flags."

"How come the other you didn't go to Hope's Peak, Kamakura?" Junko had a thoughtful look on her face. "This place doesn't seem all too different from where we came from! It almost burned down the same way."

Makoto sighed as Junko leaned back in her chair, looking extremely relaxed.

"None of you were students at Hope's Peak either. I doubt it's a coincidence." Hajime replied, paying no heed to Junko's taunts. "It was probably because of the actual person behind this."

"Yeah but we wouldn't have any idea who it was. I don't have any memories of my, uh, alternate self with me." Makoto looked around and everyone in the room. "You guys don't either, right?"

Everyone else shook their heads in unison.

"In a way…it's just like how we had no idea about ourselves from the Killing Games."

Kyoko folded her hands as she kept her posture straight. "They must be from where we're from."

"Probably. Or just a big fan." Junko grinned.

Hajime sighed. "It must be a miracle for one person to hide from all of us. It's probably because we came in with our own biases, so we didn't really look into alternative suspects."

"Indeed. Though I've looked into the students while at the academy myself, the lack of your presence was too great to ignore." Kyoko replied. "Whoever the perpetrator is, they're either extremely lucky or a mastermind themselves."

"Hey, don't feel bad guys." Makoto tried to comfort them. "I mean, you guys say you can't read some of my actions sometimes. It happens."

The trio of supergeniuses replied in unison. "It's because you're illogical!"

Makoto started sweating from his brow and laughed nervously. Mukuro couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"There's one place left to investigate." Kyoko stood from her seat. "Jabberwock Island."

Junko laughed. "Of course! Hope's Peak Academy, Towa City…of course the next place would be there. Not bad, Kirigiri. And Makoto can admire me in my swimsuit."

"E-Eh?!" Makoto craned his neck back.

"…do you really like that sort of thing, Naegi-kun?" Mukuro asked completely deadpan.

"Whoa, hey! Don't listen to her!" Makoto was quickly losing control of the situation.

Hajime immediately steered the conversation back on-topic. "Then Jabberwock Island is where we'll go. It works. The island itself is out in international waters. The Japanese Government wouldn't look for us there."

"Just like how you evaded the government back in our timeline?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

"We were hoping to be forgotten by the world by living our life out in exile. Not the greatest plan, but the only one where everyone was okay with it."

"No, I understand Hinata-san. Though I'd appreciate it if you'd let us in on the plan next time."

Hajime formed a nervous smile on his face. "We just didn't want to be a burden to you guys. Not anymore than we already were." The heterochromatic young man stood from his seat. "I have some last minute prep. Not that I don't trust you, but I definitely don't trust the SHSL Despair."

"That's fair." Makoto rubbed his cheek nervously. "I guess we'll wait around until you're done."

"Thanks, Naegi-san." Hajime exited the room without another word, leaving the few members of Class 78 to their thoughts.

"Any ideas to who our mystery person might be?" Makoto turned his chair around so he could look at all three women.

"There's really no evidence to suggest any one suspect right now. I would rather not give baseless answers out." Kyoko blinked slowly as she seemed to be formulating her own ideas in the meantime.

Junko hummed for a little while. "Well, I mean, one of those people you talked to could be a total liar."

"That's…a possibility." Makoto conceded. The person behind the strange patchwork world they were living in now was able to somehow stay hidden from the three most intelligent people in the world. At least, to Makoto's knowledge. It wouldn't be unheard of that one of the people he's met was lying.

"It's most likely someone working alone." Kyoko added. "Did you notice anything strange with our class, Makoto-kun?"

Makoto shook his head. "Our class seemed like just as we remembered them. They didn't act different. Trust me, having…sent some of those people to their deaths…I think we'd be able to tell right away."

Junko yawned. "Yeah. Doubt it's any of them. After all, you guys are part of the few people I cared to even learn about!"

Kyoko didn't even bother to hide her distaste on her face.

"So someone not from Class 78 and not anyone who's worked with us. Did I get that right?" Makoto mentally made a few notes.

"The individual is most likely connected to Hope's Peak in some way. That's all we have as leads for the moment."

"Okay. What do you think we'll find on Jabberwock?"

"Most likely the next step of the mastermind's plan."

"Ohoho, sounds like you're getting excited Giri." Junko smirked. "You always were in love with mysteries, huh? I bet the killing game really spiced up that boring life of yours."

"Perhaps I do enjoy the thrill of a good mystery." Kyoko's eyes closed as she continued. "But the cost your little games had was far too much."

"Aw, well look at that. Cut from the same cloth as both Kamakura and me." Junko acted out a depressed face, complete with mushrooms. "It's really sad. Degrading yourself just to fit in with the remnants of society."

"We all have to grow up sometime. Or do you think you can act like a child forever? Perhaps that's why you ended your own life. You were afraid of actually growing up."

The verbal exchange between Kyoko and Junko was like watching a heated swordfight, at least from Mukuro's perspective. She, in her own thoughts, felt she was worlds apart from those two. The freckled woman was superior in a physical contest, but in terms of mental prowess she was nowhere near her sister.

"Don't worry about that, Kiri-jing-jing! Makoto here can take care of me." A cutesy face replaced her previous expression as she hugged the poor sap in the middle of their fight.

"H-Hey, you're holding on to me too tight, Junko!"

Kyoko's eyes widened a bit. "Junko?' Makoto-kun. You have trouble saying 'Kyoko-chan' but her name rolls off your tongue, hm?"

"N-No, wait! It's just—I have too much respect for you, you know?"

"I'm giving you permission to not be so formal with me, Makoto-kun." Kyoko looked deathly serious.

Makoto gulped. "Okay. Kyoko-sa…Kyoko-chan."

She immediately smirked after hearing the change in address. "See? Not that hard, is it?"

"I'd like to not be teased, thanks." Makoto sighed.

Junko stuck her tongue out at her in retaliation. Kyoko glanced over at the older twin, who seemed extremely reserved and unable to even look at any of them in the eye.

"I was hoping to get a private conversation with you, Makoto-kun, but unfortunately that girl's presence makes that impossible. And I would not like to burden either Ikusaba-san or Hinata-san with babysitting duty."

A nervous laugh escape Makoto's mouth. Mukuro attempted to ignore the taunt.

"So secretive! Wouldn't you like to share it with it the world?! Oh, right, you're just an emotionally suppressed loner by nature." Junko quipped.

"While I'd like to have a secretive one-on-one, it seems since the killing game I haven't had much in terms of privacy." Kyoko brushed some of her hair back. "If this is your attempt at shaming me you're several years too late for that."

Junko shrieked a little like an excited fangirl. "Oh! So cool. As expected from the detective princess herself." While the diva's emotions were suspect, Mukuro herself was genuinely impressed.

Trying to ease the tension, Makoto finally asked the million dollar question. "What did you want to ask me?"

"I'll cut to the chase. I'd like to go on a date with you."

"W—What?!" Makoto looked like he thought he misheard her. "Aren't we supposed to be investigating what's going on behind this weird dimension?"

Junko finally dropped her fake personalities and glared at Kyoko. Mukuro started to look extremely nervous.

"True. But I doubt clues will start raining from the sky. The last time we went to Jabberwock Island we were on duty. It would be, simply put, a waste to not spend some time with you in a beautiful locale."

"I mean…that's…"

"Or are you saying that you prefer Enoshima's presence?"

"No, I'm not saying that at all. I mean just hearing this was shocking enough. Sure, I'd love to hang out with you. You said it – it really would be a waste if we didn't enjoy the scenery this time."

Junko's face kept in a neutral, emotionless state. Kyoko returned her look with a calm, expectant expression.

"I'm glad you accepted, Makoto-kun. We'll iron out the details later."

"Hey, uh, what prompted this anyway?"

Kyoko gave a cool, closed-lipped smile. "Didn't I tell you? I vowed to catch up with you."

Makoto noticed that her hand was slightly tensed. He immediately knew – this entire showing may have looked easy for the detective, but she definitely pushed herself to do so. It felt like the right decision all things considered. Mukuro, on the other hand, was just completely blindsided. The world of adults truly was completely different to her high school crushing.

Junko's face suddenly formed an amused expression.

The ocean breeze made Komaru's ahoge dance along an unheard tune.

"Seriously…ever thought about cutting it off?" Toko looked annoyed with her own ahoge. "I don't even know how this happened to my hair."

"Hey, our antennas are really charming you know? It makes us both cute!"

Toko looked down. "I'm not c-cute."

"You totally are!" Komaru smiled.

Her slightly older counterpart could only respond in a blush.

"Anyway! It's time to say goodbye to Towa City. I'll never forget you!" She waved at the ruin while the giant ship they were all on was sailing across the waters. They could see military ships ahead of them start to break apart their formation to make way for them.

"Good riddance, if you ask me."

The younger Naegi sibling looked around and saw people doing their own thing scattered around the deck. Junko was still terrorizing her brother, while Kyoko looked to be discussing something with Hina. Hajime was busy talking to both AI Chiaki and Nagito. The four former warriors of hope were huddled together, watching the waves and also talking amongst themselves. Monaca was in self-imposed exile in a room below deck, playing on her handheld or on her laptop.

Her eyes suddenly fixed on Mukuro who was looking out at the ocean, leaning slightly on the safety railing. Toko noticed that Komaru was already walking toward the former SHSL Soldier and groaned, catching up with her staying by her side. Just in case.

"Hey, Ikusaba-san."

Mukuro snapped out of a daze. "Oh. Hello, Komaru-chan."

"Wow, the ship's noisy and you were daydreaming. Something wrong?"

"It's nothing." She kept looking out toward the ocean.

"B-Bullshit. Something is totally eating her up inside." Toko pointed her finger at her. "I can tell."

"What's wrong?" Komaru's voice was nice and soothing, similar to how she would talk to her adopted wards.

"How can I fight a battle where I can't use my strength to win?" Mukuro turned to both of them.

"That's pretty vague, Ikusaba-san. Um. It sounds like you're a fish out of water right now."

Toko immediately noticed what she meant. Her eyes shifted toward Makoto who was yelling something at Junko. "Hmph. It might be a fight you can't win."

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't try, right? If it's something important enough to fight for then at least try it!"

The freckled woman kept her iron-like face as she continued. "And what if I don't have any idea on where to start?"

"That's why we're alive, right? We learn more about what makes ourselves tick and what we're capable of." Komaru put her hands behind her back and smiled. "I mean, I never fought in my life before but I managed to survive my own trials. With everyone's help of course."

Mukuro looked down. "Is that so?"

"I'm just a normal girl at the end of the day. There were people out there trying to make me into the next Makoto or Enoshima-san, but I chose my own path."

"Hm." The black-haired woman's voice became very distant. "I can understand not wanting to be like Junko-chan, but why didn't you want to be more like your brother?"

"Because he's his own person. He has his own feelings, goals and dreams."

"But don't you ever feel…like you lack compared to him?"

"Huh? No way. Don't get me wrong, my brother's a true hero! But there's really no reason for me to try and pretend to be him. I'm just Komaru Naegi – neither hope nor despair, just an ordinary girl who wants to be a manga artist."

"…that's a really powerful statement."

"It's true of everyone. You aren't like your sister at all. But that's not a bad thing, you know? For one, I'm not terrified of you."

"But I…"

"My best friend in the whole wide world is a former serial killer! And those kids are former mass murderers. If you think you being a former mercenary bothers me, it really doesn't. You must've had a lot of adventures of your own."

"I guess I did." Mukuro finally smiles. "You've given me something else to think about."

"Maybe when you're ready you can tell me about some of the places you've visited."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Well, I'll leave you be for now. Don't be afraid to talk to me anytime!"

Toko held her tongue just this once. She looked away from Mukuro as the two went to go check on Monaca down below.

Mukuro felt a little more at ease. While she was getting along with Kyoko and Hina, there was something in the back of his mind that made her think they only tolerated her because of Makoto's influence. But her talk with Komaru opened up a new possibility – that these people were actually kind to her without any ulterior motives.

It was at that moment that she truly started to think of the world outside of her sister.

Makoto, however, was dealing with his own problems at the same time.

"Didn't I tell you to stop?"

"Oh? You think I'm going to sit back and do nothing, Makoto?" Junko smiled.

"I already told you, I'm not a toy!"

"More like a boytoy." A smug look on Junko's face made him way more uncomfortable than any other look she's conjured up. "You're actually pretty fit now."

"Need some help?" Hajime came up to the both of them.

"I-I think I'm fine for now, Hinata-san. Thanks."

"Take it from a former associate of the SHSL Despair. She'll never leave you alone."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out." Makoto was sitting against a wall while Junko was way too close to him.

"Jealous, Kamakura?"

"I pity him actually."

"By the way. What were those last minute preparations you mentioned?"

"Well, we can't just leave an island full of Monokumas and Exisals. When we've crossed into international waters they've been rigged to all explode."

"Th-That's…!"

"We need to cover our trail, Naegi-san. The last thing we need is the Japanese government to be alerted to our existence. After all, there's no guarantee we'll be able to return to where we're from."

Junko grinned. "Unless you like being probed by government agents. That something you in to, Makoto?"

"No. Not at all." Makoto sighed. "I mean, I trust you Hinata-san. You don't need to worry about me."

"Believe me. You're not the problem here." Hajime began to move away. "But if you want to lock her in the brig, I'm more than happy to comply."

Junko stuck her tongue out at the former reserve course student. "Only if I can drag him in there with me!"

ANote

BlackCapPI: Um, so…

Shirokuma: is something wrong, sweet-chi?

BlackCapPI: Well, first of all, where did that nickname come from?

Shirokuma: hehe. sorry. it just sounds so similar to your actual name. so what's up?

BlackCapPI: V2 just started its second chapter but my uncle just got a call that I got chosen for V3!

Shirokuma: oh! congrats!

BlackCapPI: I'm a bit confused. I thought V2 was live?

Shirokuma: they say that but reality shows like this are actually filmed and edited way in advance. think of V1 as like the tech demo or prologue and V2 is the real start of this new series.

BlackCapPI: Ah, that's a bit disappointing.

Shirokuma: sometimes they have a live audience for the season finales so that there can be audience participation. at least this is how these sort of shows go.

BlackCapPI: Interesting. Oh, wait I just realized that I'll be spoiled on the end of V2…

Shirokuma: i think that's the least of your problems right now. you have to go into your own killing game. are you excited?

BlackCapPI: To tell you the truth, I'm a nervous wreck. Will I be able to be a good enough detective? That is if they chose that SHSL title for me.

Shirokuma: maybe you're not the cool, hard-boiled type but i think a meek detective would be really compelling. you'll do great, shuichi-kun! maybe you'll even become a fan favorite.

BlackCapPI: I don't think I'm good-looking enough to be a fan favorite.

Shirokuma: well when i see you on the big screen, i'll be the judge of that!

BlackCapPI: Anyway, I should really start packing my things. I don't know when the next time I'll be able to talk to you again, Tsumugi-san.

Shirokuma: it's ok. don't spoil anything for me though! i'll be cheering you on from the sidelines.

BlackCapPI: I'll try not to. And…thank you. Maybe one day we can have a chat in person.

Shirokuma: IRL meeting? oh, i'd really like that!

BlackCapPI: I'll be looking forward to it. Anyway, see you much later.

BlackCapPI has logged out.

Shirokuma: …

Shirokuma: It was really nice talking to you, Shuichi Saihara.