From an objective lens, most people would say that Mukuro Ikusaba's life was awful. For the first ten years of her life, she had been conditioned to give everything she had to make her younger twin, Junko, happy. Things only worsened when their parents died.

For most of those ten years, Junko had burned horrible, degrading words into Mukuro's mind until they were etched into them forever. Useless. Ugly. Fat. Stupid. She believed with every fiber of her being that she was the very essence of these things, because Junko said so.

As they got older, the words only got worse, and more vulgar. But the words made Mukuro happy; if Junko was saying them to her, Junko at least was paying attention to her. If Junko was actively trying to kill her, Mukuro's reflexes must be being tested so she could stay sharp and useful for her sister.

Other things developed as they got older as well, including their Ultimate Talents; Junko being the Ultimate Analyst, and Mukuro being the Ultimate Soldier. From someone on the outside, they appeared to be a perfect team of brains and brawns. In a sense, they weren't wrong. Junko was the planner, and could use Mukuro to unleash hell on anyone, and none would be the wiser.

Of course, the onlookers had no idea about Junko's fetish for despair. Which is why Junko decided to sell her sister to a mercenary group when they were eleven. See, as twisted as it was, Junko truly believed she did love Mukuro... so being alone was as despairful as it could get at that age.

It was a gamble that Junko couldn't lose, really. Either her sister died in battle, leaving her utterly and truly alone, which was despairing enough... or she would be turned into a horrible killing machine that Junko could just use more.

Of course, when Mukuro returned, Junko made sure to pick up right where she left off. "Wow sis, I didn't think you could get any uglier, then you put some gross wolf on the back of your hand."

Mukuro missed her sister and was glad to have things back to normal. And because someone as fat, ugly, and useless as her could help her beloved sister, she thought she was happy. Thought being the keyword, of course.

At the behest of her sister, she accepted a position at Hope's Peak. "As much as I'll hate being disappointed by you every day, but your ugly ass face and skills might actually help me cause despair," Junko had said. Mukuro didn't mind the insult, because it meant she could make her sister happy.

Turns out teenage life was a hard adjustment for someone who only knew the battlefield. Every slamming locker made her want to grab the combat knife sewn into the hem of her skirt.

In certain stories, this girl might find a boy, fall in love, and find happiness. But that doesnt work, because her sister is Junko Enoshima. It makes matters complicated.

Although, somehow, miraculously, she still managed to fall in love. She remembered it plainly, because it was the first time in her life she had realized the sky was blue, the breeze felt good, and that the world outside Junko existed at all.

She was not to advertise their kinship, so her and Junko would arrive at school at different times. As Mukuro left her dorm, she realized she would probably be late. On that particular day, one of her classmates was late too. She already had performed reconnaissance on all of her classmates, though Junko had details that could only come from her analysis.

On that day, she saw Makoto Naegi running towards the door too. She'd seen him a few times; average boy, with average hobbies, average grades. Because he was chosen for the school via lottery, it didn't take Junko's power of Analysis to see he had low self-esteem and confidence issues around the other Ultimates. Because of this, he was a people pleaser.

And until that moment, Mukuro wrote him off as just that. She was an insignificant tool, and people treated her as such. No one spoke to her, and the class barely so much as looked at her. And he was just another insignificant classmate, a speck, a face in the crowd.

But as he hurried toward the door just in front of her, he paused, even in his rush, and held the door for her. He looked at her dead in the eyes, which made Mukuro pause. That only happened on the battlefield. Should she reach for her gun?

Instead though, Makoto gave her the brightest smile she had ever seen in her life. Of course, she had only seen them in the context of other people. No one had ever smiled at her, especially not Junko.

"Good morning, Mukuro," Makoto said as he beamed.

Something... weird happened to Mukuro. Her knees shook. Her breath caught in her throat. Her face turned red and her heart started beating rapidly.

"Uh... Good morning... Makoto," She said, barely above a whisper.

"Looks like we're both kind of late," He said, still smiling sheepishly as the two walked inside. "I had some more rotten luck this morning. My alarm got shut off."

Mukuro was late because Junko had placed some angry geese in her room this morning that the soldier had to kill, in order to reclaim the territory. She couldn't tell Makoto that, of course, so she just said, "yeah, me too."

"Wow, what are the odds," he laughed.

It was the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

That was, of course, a long time ago. And ever since, she couldn't help but pine for Makoto from afar. She also would make sure he didn't suffer as much from his luck. She would catch him when he fell, and one time saved him from a falling locker. His dropped books were always caught before they hit the ground, and he was left without a scratch.

Junko loved nothing more than to torment her sister over it. "Why don't you go talk to him?" She would heckle her sister. "I mean, no one would ever want a murder slut like you. But he's such a pushover. I bet you could just pick him up over your shoulder, bring him to your dorm and have your way with him. Can you imagine his despair? Forcibly losing his virginity to you."

The suggestion would always make Mukuro turn scarlet and withdraw into herself.

"Aw come on, don't give me the shy, reclusive schtick?" Junko cackled. "Where's the murder happy psycho?"

This was always the general reaction she got back at the dorms.

Then, when the Tragedy happened, it got worse.

These conversations happened quite often during the full year the students of Hope's Peak were locked in the school. Junko just had all the more time to needle her sister.

"Come on sis, you don't want him to die a virgin, right?" Junko laughed, mere nights before she wanted to enact the plan for the Killing Game. "You should make him fall in love with you. Then when he forgets you, you'll be full of despair like me."

It became that much harder to avoid Makoto when they lived in such close proximity for so long.

She tried to stay dedicated to her sister. And by all means, she succeeded, but she couldn't help but grow more and more attached to Makoto Naegi as well. Every morning, he would greet her as she walked into the dining hall with a wide smile. He would pat the seat next to him if it was free, as to invite her to sit with him.

Even at her most withdrawn, he would sit and talk patiently with her. It was the most special, absolute best part of her day, and it made her feel so guilty as though she were betraying Junko.

"Is this... restless for you?" He asked her, out of the blue, one day.

"Isn't it for all of us?" She responded. "We're all stuck here."

"I know but..." He screwed up his face, trying to think of the words. "You're a fighter. You're strong. Maybe even..." He leaned forward to whisper, so, instinctively, she leaned in to hear him (she never would have done this for anyone else), "even stronger than Sakura. I just... thought it might be hardest for you to be stuck in here instead of out there, trying to stop it."

Mukuro's chest twisted with relentless guilt. Makoto, in his naivete, always saw the best potential in people. So to him, he saw Mukuro as someone who could be a hero, out there stopping the Tragedy.

How much despair would it give him to know that the Tragedy was her fault?

Junko loved the idea.

It made Mukuro miserable.

She put on a neutral face and shrugged to Makoto. "Even as the Ultimate Soldier, I have my limits. As hard as it is, this is for the best."

To her surprise, he still gave her that million-watt smile. "You're right. Thanks Mukuro."

Every time he said her name, the world turned. "For what?" She asked.

"Seeing your resolve makes me want to be stronger too." He replied, finishing his breakfast and standing up. "See you later." He paused. "Hey, me and Kyoko were playing billiards later if you want to come."

The irony, she thought woefully. For Makoto to see her as a pillar of strength, when he was the one constantly talking to all his classmates, keeping their spirits up and hope ignited in their hearts.

She wasn't sure she could put it into words, but he had a strength she coveted. If she had it, maybe she wouldn't live under the thumb of Junko.

She joined them later, and was able to save Makoto from getting pelted by the eight ball. He said she was a kind, wonderful person.

It felt like a knife in the gut.

Which brings us to the present: after a year of communal living, Junko had filled the dorms with sleeping gas. Everything was ready for the Mutual Killing School Life. One by one, all the players were brought to the bio lab.

Junko read the notes of Matsuda Yasuke to Mukuro, who carefully placed electrode cups precisely as instructed onto each student. A light shock and a few chemicals was all it took to erase two years worth of memories. Despite what had happened to the Ultimate Neurologist, Mukuro had to admit he had known his stuff.

The last student to undergo the procedure was... Makoto Naegi.

Even in his sleep, Mukuro could feel like he knew she was betraying him in some way.

But even if they were friends, they friends under false pretenses.

Still, she felt horrible as she placed the last cup on his forehead.

"You know, he's totally helpless right now," Junko snickered, as she prepared the injection. "You want to cop a feel, sis? Go on. See if he got lucky with his package."

Mukuro frowned. "Are there any side effects to this procedure?"

Junko jabbed the needle at Mukuro, who swatted her wrist away easily. "Party pooper. And no. It will just erase your boy toy's memories. The success rate is 99.9999%, and I calculated the dosage. He won't even remember your name."

The soldier said nothing as Junko injected Naegi.

That night, she got ready to impersonate her sister, and wondered what it would be like to live in a world where Makoto Naegi and her class didn't know her.

Makoto Naegi woke up in a classroom. Immediately, he knew this was not right or normal, and it put him on edge.

He had fallen asleep in his dorm room. Just like he had for the last year at Hope's Peak.

Maybe he had developed a sleep walking issue?

Yes, that seemed like his luck, he figured. Looking at the time, wondering if it was almost time for breakfast in the dining hall.

He walked out of the classroom through the hall, hoping he hadn't done anything embarrassing. But as he walked past the entrance hall, Kiyotaka emerged from the by the door, and commanded, "You! You're late! We're supposed to meet in entrance hall!"

"Oh, sorry, Taka," Makoto yawned.

"Hey, how did you know my name!" Taka barked back with authoritative point.

Makoto furrowed his brow. This was different. "We're classmates, of course I know your name."

Kiyotaka laughed. "I see! You researched your classmates before coming to the school. It's always good to be prepared. That's why you shouldn't be late!"

He grabbed Makoto's hand and pulled him into the entrance hall.

There, Makoto saw all of his classmates. Unlike the usual chatter from the group he'd come to know, none of them were talking to each other. Everyone was just looking around quietly.

Wait...

It took a second for Makoto to realize he couldn't find Mukuro. Sometimes this was normal, he knew his friend to be someone who didn't always want to be around crowds and keep to herself.

But then his eyes scanned over Junko and he did a double take.

That's not Junko, that's Mukuro. He realized. He looked between the students and wondered if anyone noticed. He supposed with the wig, that maybe Mukuro could fool someone who didn't know, but he'd think at least Kyoko or Byakuya would have noticed the switch. Then again, Byakuya doesn't really pay attention to anyone but himself...

And if the real Junko isn't here, where is she? He wondered. He figured he might as well go ask Mukuro, when Kiyotaka loudly suggested, "Alright, perhaps we should all introduce ourselves to each other while we wait! That seems like an acceptable thing to do in this situation."

Makoto locked up at the words. "Introduce ourselves?" He muttered to himself.

He scanned the room. Someone was going to point how how ridiculous this was, right? Mondo would say something to his good friend like, 'bro, you're a fucking riot,' or something like that, surely.

Instead, he watched as Aoi and Sakura introduced themselves to each other like they had never met each other. Makoto's jaw nearly dropped; those two were practically inseparable.

"You seem confused," a voice said from behind him, making him jump.

It was Kyoko. "Y-yeah, a little bit," he admitted.

"I think that's understandable, in this situation. Everyone here says they have the same circumstances. They arrived to begin their courses at Hope's Peak, then they lost consciousness, waking up amongst the school." Kyoko advised, rubbing her chin. "Are those the same circumstances for you as well?"

This struck Makoto as especially odd; Kyoko would never work under an assumption. She was more careful than that. Almost as if she had noticed it too, she looked down. "No, I phrased that wrong. Anyway. My name is Kyoko Kirigiri."

Makoto knew this was strange, but something in his gut told him that he should play along. Something weird was going on, and if no one could remember him, maybe raising red flags wasn't the best thing to do.

"I'm Makoto Naegi," he said, cautiously.

She nodded courteously. "If you don't want the other's to be suspicious of you, I wouldn't stare so fervently at the girls."

Makoto's cheeks tinged pink. "Right."

Does no one really remember me? He thought in a melancholy tone.

His feet carried him over to Sayaka. They had become such close friends over the last two years; she saw him as a familiar face when she came to Hope's Peak, and they had bonded.

She saw him approach, and gave him her usual smile. "Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono."

That confirmed it; even though they went to middle school together, they had never talked until entering Hope's Peak. "Hey, I'm Makoto Naegi."

Makoto politely listened as each student introduced themselves, remembering just how imposing and intimidating his friends were when they first met. He walked over to Mukuro last, hoping he could whisper something to her about her disguise, but an announcement rang through the monitors all over the walls, calling them to the gym.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Headmaster Kirigiri in some time. The voice on the PA didn't sound like him though.

Nervously, he followed his classmates to the gym. What's going on?