After seeing Sayaka off to her room, Makoto decided to seek out Mukuro once more. She had seemed conflicted before, and perhaps could be convinced to tell him more about the memory erasing.
It was also a matter of finding her...
She had disappeared somewhere, probably to report to Junko, he figured. The laundry room, the bath, the dining hall, the classrooms... Mukuro was nowhere.
He realized he had never tried her dorm though, and slapped his own forehead. Hiding out there would be the least likely place for her to get caught.
It was beginning to get late though, so he picked up the pace. As he entered the living quarters area, he saw Sayaka leaving the dining hall. He did a double take; he'd just seen her earlier and she said she was feeling faint. Squinting his eyes, he saw a gleam of something metal in her hands as she ducked into her dorm.
He weighed his options; did he check on her again or talk to Mukuro? He looked up at the clock; he still had about an hour before night time. He took off towards Mukuro's room, hoping he'd have time to do both.
He knocked on Mukuro's door, holding his breath to see if any movement could be heard.
Nothing. He furrowed his brow. Where could she have possibly gone that he couldn't find? Unless... she was hiding in the girl's bathroom?
Did she have a way to get by the locked gates blocking the second floor?
Frowning, he stepped away from Mukuro's door. He would like to hope retaining his memories, being able to figure out what was going on, was some sort of lucky blessing in disguise. But what good was he if he wasn't able to change things?
"No." He muttered to himself. "No, I can get us out of here. I just have to stay positive." He grinned to himself. "This was a gift, and I'm not squandering it."
He turned back to check on Sayaka, but as he knocked on her door... she was no longer in her room either.
Before he could go look, Yasuhiro came charging up to him in a panic, "Makoto! Makoto I need your help!"
The shorter boy tensed up. "What's wrong?"
"Someone stole my priceless crystal ball! That thing was worth two billion yen! I gotta find it!"
Before Makoto knew it, he was being dragged around by Yasuhiro until they found the ball in the laundry room. By then, it was night time and Makoto felt like he accomplished nothing. Resigned, he returned to his room at the sound of Monokuma's announcement.
He laid on his bed, frustrated. Getting up, he decided to use the bathroom.
His door jammed, causing Makoto to groan.
As if on cue, Monokuma appeared in his room, making Makoto scream.
"Jeez, what a girly scream!" Monokuma laughed. "So hey, I see you noticed your door won't open."
"Yeah, I thought you said only the girl's bathroom lock." Makoto replied.
"Yeah! That's true! Your door actually doesn't fit on the frame!" Monokuma laughed. "Try lifting the knob when you open it."
Makoto just stared at the bear instead. Was this really Junko? She had always put on a very odd personality to class 78, he thought, and an odd sense of humor, but she never seemed awful. Not like this though.
Monokuma tilted his head. "Jeez, what is this? I know I'm in your bedroom, but are you getting some funny ideas?"
Makoto blanched.
"Puhuhu," the bear continued, "you've been a busy boy? First you chase down Junko into the bathhouse and then you hang off Sayaka all day? Never pegged you as a player, you scrawny bag of bones."
Makoto tried the trick to the door, and saw that it opened. "Okay, I got it. Please leave."
He flinched. Why was he asking the murderous psycho to leave politely?
"Aw, you're not fun," Monokuma pouted. "You better work on that hospitable attitude if you ever invite any of the girl's in here."
With that, the bear left, to Makoto's relief. He went into the bathroom to relieve himself, and went to flush.
But the water was off for the night. "Crap. Stupid bear couldn't remind me the water was off..."
He decided if he quickly ran to the bathroom and came back, he'd be okay. Doing so, he went and washed his hands, and ran quietly back to his room. As he went to take the key out of his pocket, he looked up to see Sayaka walk out of her room. She had a neutral expression, as if she was very lost in thought. But as soon as she looked up and saw Makoto, she had a look of panic and ran over to him. "Makoto, thank god! I was just coming to talk to you!"
The shift took Makoto by surprise. "What's the matter, Sayaka?" He asked.
"Right before I came out, someone came to my door and tried to break in!" She said. Tears began welling up in her eyes, and Makoto became alarmed. She didn't come out of her room like this...
"What happened?" Makoto asked.
"I don't know, I just leaned against the door and made sure they couldn't get in!" Sayaka sobbed. "I'm scared, Makoto!"
He rubbed her back, sympathetically. "It's going to be okay, Sayaka. Maybe you could stay in here tonight?"
Sayaka looked at him, surprised. "But it says students are supposed to sleep in the private rooms."
She was right, but Makoto thought there was a loophole in the wording; most of Monokuma's rules seemed to be designed for loopholes. He checked his handbook. "It just says in the dorms. Doesn't say you can't sleep in someone else's dorm."
"Are you suggesting we share a bed?" Sayaka asked, somewhat coyly, while playing with her hair.
Makoto blushed. "N-no, I didn't mean it that way."
He looked to his feet. He had been really close to Sayaka for the two years they spent at Hope's Peak, but they had never been anything more than friends. In fact, it was Sayaka who had told him she had a crush on Leon.
For her to like him now, after what happened with the memory erasure... it just seemed wrong. And, her behavior just wasn't like how she usually was at all.
"Then maybe we could switch rooms for the night?" Sayaka suggested. "That should be okay, right?"
Makoto thought it over, briefly, and nodded. "I don't see why not. Just be careful; my door gets stuck, you have to lift it when you open it. And the water is off anyway..."
She nodded. "Okay. Just don't open your door for anyone! I mean it!"
It was surprisingly forceful, but Makoto nodded. "You either."
Trading keys, the two went their separate ways.
Her room was quite similar to his own; though the blankets were different colors, and he saw she had a sewing kit instead of the tool kit the boys were provided. I didn't realize Junko was so hung up on gender roles, he thought, dryly.
Sitting on the bed, he knew he should probably get some sleep, but he just didn't feel tired. It wasn't a situation that lent itself to relaxing and letting his guard down.
Still, he laid down, his head hitting the pillow. But no sooner did he feel himself drifting off, was he awoken by a voice in the room. "Get up."
He yelled and jumped up into a sitting position. "Huh?! What are you doing here?!"
Mukuro was there, still in her Junko disguise. She got really close to him, making his cheeks turn scarlet. Once in his ear, she whispered, plainly, "I have a key. Come on, you're being framed for murder."
Makoto immediately wanted to yell and scream that none of his classmates would do that. But then he remembered Sayaka leaving the kitchen with some sort of metal object, her odd behavior outside of his door, and her insistence that he didn't leave the room.
He didn't want to believe it though. "You don't know that." He said, weakly.
To his surprise, Mukuro's look was almost sympathetic as she pulled away. "Come on, you need to come with me."
Makoto hesitated. This could easily be a trap. Mukuro had only given him a small promise that she would no longer betray Makoto, but she was still going through with this killing game, and was a member of Junko's Ultimate Despair. What reason did he have to trust her in this instance?
However...
When looking at her, and the neutral expression on her face, he remembered all the times, stone-faced, she would crouch down and help him pick up his books in the hall. All the times he was carrying something heavy, she would immediately walk over and take half the load from him. She had never once hesitated to be there for him when he needed it.
He couldn't look at her face and bring himself not to trust Mukuro Ikusaba. "Alright," he finally replied, standing and throwing his hoodie back on over his shirt.
Mukuro led him out of Sayaka's room, and pointed something out to him. "See? Sayaka changed the name plates." Makoto turned and looked, and his heart dropped.
Despite being in Sayaka's room, the nameplate said Makoto. He took out his e-handbook and scanned over the map. The map still showed it as Sayaka's room, but if you weren't looking at the map and trusting the plates, it would fool anyone.
"We need to go and stop-" Makoto urged, but Mukuro shook her head.
"It's not time yet." She replied. There was a sadness in her voice, and she explained, quietly. "Just come to my room. I'll explain."
It screamed against every part of Makoto's nature not to go and check on Sayaka, but he followed Mukuro reluctantly. As they entered Mukuro's room, Makoto was surprised to see it somehow looked even plainer than the others. As a mole for the mastermind, Makoto suspected that maybe she would have special privileges.
What did stick out to him though, was that there was no camera in here for keeping tabs on Mukuro.
Wasting no further time, he asked, "What's going on?"
"I came out of my room to check for anything suspicious, and I saw your exchange of the rooms with Sayaka. I was hiding out around the corner to... monitor the situation," Mukuro said. It wasn't a total lie. She couldn't let Makoto know she was keeping tabs on him to make sure he was okay.
"After you retreated to her room, Sayaka switched the name plates. I thought she'd go to your room, however..." Mukuro shifted uncomfortably. "She instead went and slipped a note under Leon's door."
Makoto's heart sank. "But... why would she do that?"
Mukuro frowned. "I think we both know the answer. Once I realized what was going on, I figured it was already too late."
Makoto turned and raced to the door. "There still might be time!"
"Wait."
He froze. Her voice was so commanding that he couldn't help but freeze up. Mukuro was over next to him in a flash, and placed a firm hand against her door. "I know you want to help. But you have to time this right."
"What do you...?"
"We have to wait for someone to make a move. Watch the peephole." She commanded. "I have reason to believe she's luring Leon somewhere. If you go early, she'll just tell you everything is fine and you'll leave him open."
Makoto frowned, but did as she asked. Sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting, Leon could be seen walking out of his door to the direction of Sayaka and Makoto's rooms.
Makoto's heart sank. "We... we have to stop her."
He expected Mukuro to interrupt him, but she just looked to her feet. "I won't stop you from trying."
"You won't... come help me?" He asked, disheartened.
Mukuro clenched her fist. "I love my sister, Makoto. I will not go against her wishes by stopping a murder. But..." She looked away. "I won't stop you, either."
A wave of gratitude washed over Makoto. While she was only helping indirectly, Mukuro had gone out of her way to prevent Makoto from being framed, and set him up to be able to prevent a murder.
There was good in there. He knew it.
Makoto ran over to the door and flung it open...
Monokuma was at the other side of the door. "Wha-wha-what?! What did I find in my nightly rounds?"
Makoto tried to step over the stuffed bear, but as he did another two or three appeared to block his way.
"Here I am, making a nightly walk to stop any late night canoodling, and what do I find!" The three Monokumas jumped back in Naegi's way and somehow began sweating again. "It gets me all hot and bothered knowing so many of you kids are hooking up right away."
With a running leap, Makoto cleared the Monokuma's, ignoring their jabs and insults, and made a mad dash back to his room. Mukuro stepped out of her room to watch as well, clearly shocked with the turn of events.
In his panic, Makoto held firm hope in his heart. He could do it. He could make it.
He would stop the murders.
He got to his room, the nameplates still switched. The door was slightly ajar. He rammed into it with his shoulder and screamed, "STOP!"
The scene he walked into was straight out of a horror movie. Leon Kuwata was slumped, face first, against Makoto's bathroom door, clutching the door knob. A knife was buried in his back, and blood was everywhere. Sayaka was sitting on the bed, covered in Leon's blood. Her eyes were open and her hands were shaking, but her face was frozen.
She was beyond tears.
Makoto stepped backwards in horror. As he did, he bumped into Mukuro, who had followed him.
"I'll... I'll get someone," Mukuro replied, turning on her heel and pounding on a door across the hall.
Before long, all of class 78 was standing in Makoto's room, looking at the scene.
Monokuma's body discovery announcement played.
"Hem-hem," he appeared on the screen. "A body has been discovered! Normally I'd say it's time for an investigation, however, as it is the first time, an explanation is in order. I will ask that everyone report to the Gym first thing in the morning! And oh... one of you can share your room with Mr. Naegi since his room is a crime scene! Puhuhu! Sweet dreams!"
My room is a crime scene, Makoto thought, horrorstruck. Neither he nor Sayaka had moved the whole time, both frozen in place. Sayaka stared at Leon. Makoto stared at Sayaka.
"Well, m-maybe Mr. Naegi can stay in Mr. Kuwata's room?" Hifumi suggested, "Since he d-doesn't."
"Leon's room is still considered part of the crime scene," Kyoko replied. "Perhaps, -"
"He can just stay with me." Mukuro replied, looking at her nails in her rehearsed Junko behaviors. "He was with me right up until he decided to go to the bathroom and saw Leon."
Byakuya glared at her with contempt (this was how he looked at everyone though). "So even though this murder happened in Naegi's Room, he has an alibi place him elsewhere?"
"Did I stutter?" Mukuro replied in her most vapid tone. "Me and Naegi were just being friendly with each other."
"Jeez, you fuckers move quick," Mondo grumbled.
"SHARING A ROOM LIKE THAT IS HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE!" Kiyotaka shouted, vein bulging in his head.
"He doesn't need an alibi." Sayaka said softly, making everyone turn and look at her. "I did it."
Everyone stared, and a pregnant pause fell over the room.
"I convinced Makoto to switch rooms with me." She admitted. "I took a knife from the kitchen. I lured Leon here. I did it."
Silence fell over the room once more.
"You commoners sort this out amongst yourself," Byakuya grunted, turning and leaving the room. "We'll deal with the murderous harlot tomorrow."
He slunk out of the room, Toko following him. She had spent the whole time blocking her eyes from the scene, and Makoto knew why, but in the moment he barely registered it.
Gently, Mukuro placed a hand on Makoto's shoulders and led him away from the room.
"I'll guard the room for the night," Sakura volunteered. "As a precaution."
"Well, I can take a second shift," Mondo yawned. "It'd be a buncha bullshit if we let you do the whole thing."
"Thank you," the martial artist replied, nodding.
Makoto was silent as Mukuro led him into her room and sat him down on the bed. She pulled a chair up and sat across from him.
He failed. Leon was dead.
"Hey." Mukuro called to him.
Makoto said nothing.
"You... You did everything you could." Mukuro said. She rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't any good at this sort of thing. It had come so much more naturally to Makoto for the last year.
Makoto lowered his head. "Did you... did you know that she would get in my way?"
"No." Mukuro replied with no hesitation. "I was under the impression Junko would not interfere unless she felt her hand was forced."
Makoto gave a small nod.
"Makoto, I swear I -"
"It's okay," he cut her off in a soft voice, just barely above a whisper. "I believe you."
Mukuro watched as Makoto sat on her bed, shaking.
She'd only seen him like this once before.
Two days had gone by since Mukuro had an early breakfast with Makoto.
While every hot meal she ate was a luxury in her mind (and taste buds), the simple egg and rice dish stayed in her mind those two days as the most delicious thing she'd ever had.
"Aw, he got the useless fat pig through her stomach," Junko cackled when she found out. "Make sure you're with him at dinner, you obese cow. Keep his attention on the news. Then maybe you won't be a let down."
Mukuro's heart skipped a beat. A way to make Junko happy and spend time with Makoto. Heat had risen to her face. She didn't think she could ever do those two things at once.
So that night, she sat with Makoto, and listened as he talked with Sayaka and Kyoko. But when the news came on, she stared at it with intense focus. This caught Kyoko's attention, and soon all four were watching.
A bombing had occurred in Makoto's already war-torn home town. Overhead aerial shots showed the charred remains of houses and buildings.
"As of now, there are no known survivors," the newscaster reported stoically.
Makoto had locked up, frozen, as he stared at the screen. Mukuro looked over at this face and saw the heart break reflected in his eyes. Slowly he began to tremble. Then, he put his face in his hands. Lastly, the tears flowed, turning into harsh sobs.
Looking across the room, the soldier could see her sister. Junko could usually keep a good facade, but Mukuro could tell that she was watching Makoto and quivering as well. Junko was surely reaching ecstasy as she saw the boy's despair.
Mukuro usually loved seeing her sister this way.
But when she looked at Makoto, she didn't feel good.
It was an awful feeling. She hated it! She even felt a spark of rage against her sister. She reached over and placed a hand on his back. She didn't know how to comfort people, but the movement felt natural. Slowly, she stroked his back up and down.
She hated seeing Makoto like this. She loved his smile, and this was as far away from his smile as it could possibly be.
Mukuro made a promise to herself to make sure he didn't look this way as often as possible.
Mukuro got up and sat next to Makoto, rubbing his back, gently. "I'm sorry, Makoto."
He shook harder and cried again. "What's going to happen to her?"
Mukuro looked down at her feet next to his. "If I understand the plan, we're going to have a trial to determine the guilty party."
"Which we already know," Makoto replied. He had barely choked out the words and sobbed harder.
"Yes." Mukuro nodded. "Unfortunately... and then... she will be punished."
Makoto sobbed again, burying his face in his hands. Mukuro continued to rub his back, ignoring the pit in her stomach. After awhile, Makoto began to choke out, "I thought... I thought I could prevent this. I thought if I knew... if I knew how everyone was..."
"You did your best," Mukuro replied.
"I should have been faster," Makoto said, but Mukuro cut him off.
"You can not blame yourself for the actions of Sayaka," she said, sternly. "You can't control what anyone does."
"I don't blame Sayaka either," he spat bitterly.
This took Mukuro by surprise. Makoto looked up at her with anger and determination in his eyes. "The only person I blame is your sister. This whole thing is her idea. This whole situation was set up by her."
Mukuro withdrew her hand. "Then... I deserve equal blame."
The two looked back at their feet, silence filling the room. It soon became heavy and oppressive before Makoto finally broke it.
"No," he said quietly. "You did what you could to help. You tried to protect me. You let me try to stop it. You didn't know she'd get in my way."
Mukuro took off her wig and sighed. "The sentiment is appreciated. But my inaction does nothing to absolve my compliance in the game. In the Tragedy."
"We can't change the Tragedy now, Mukuro." Makoto said, evenly. His tears had stopped and he stared ahead at the wall. He was afraid if he looked at her, he'd cry. "I know you two had a plan... but it sounds like this has all gone sideways since I talked to you."
"You aren't wrong." Mukuro replied.
"Then it's not too late." Makoto said.
Another pregnant pause. Mukuro swore that her strengths were in actions, but words accomplished more. She could fight a war, but wars were always ended with words, negotiation, and treaties. Makoto's power had always lied there.
"Yes, it is, Makoto. I'm too far gone."
"No, that's wrong!" Makoto said, slamming his fist on the mattress and standing up. As the two locked eyes, Mukuro saw a fire there that she'd never seen before. "If it was too late, you wouldn't have come to give me an alibi. You wouldn't have set me up to be able to try and stop the murder. You wouldn't sit here and rub my back. You can change! Change this! Change the game! Change the future!"
He was pretty damn convincing, Mukuro had to say. The offer was... was so tempting.
But...
She looked down. "But I'll just... disappoint my sister."
"You'd be a hero to me," he said, pleadingly. Mukuro felt lightheaded from the statement. It was... so alluring. But Makoto said more:
"And... your sister knows you tried to help me."
Mukuro froze up. In all that had happened, this detail escaped her.
Monokuma had appeared right outside her door. Junko had interfered directly to make sure the killing game kept going.
"Yes," she replied, quietly. "You appear to be correct."
"What's going to happen to you?" Makoto asked, deadly serious.
Mukuro sighed. "The plan is... that tomorrow I will oppose a class trial, step on a Monokuma, and be dropped through a trapdoor. From there, I keep an eye on the game as an outsider."
"Do you..." Makoto paused, picking his words. "Do you think Junko will stick to it, now that she knows?"
There was no answer. Mukuro stood up and walked to another side of the room, concerned. She mulled the words over. "Anything Junko does to me, I deserve."
She was surprised when Makoto walked up to and grabbed her shoulder. "I know you love your sister, Mukuro, but that's not how love works."
Mukuro looked him in the eye. "I'm an instrument of death. Her love is all I'm good for."
The look in Makoto's eye was one of pity. "That's not true. I've lost one friend tonight. I don't know if I can stop myself from losing another tomorrow. But I don't want to lose you too."
She stepped back. "I don't want pity. And I do not deserve your kindness."
"The only thing you don't deserve is Junko treating you like a tool." Makoto said, pleadingly. "You may have done some bad things in the past. But you can still help me. We can stop this. Together."
He extended a hand out to her. She stared at it. Her arms twitched. Her eyes shifted. "I don't know. I don't know, Makoto."
"I believe in you, Mukuro." Makoto said.
The words hit Mukuro like a punch. She looked at him, wide-eyed. "What?"
"I believe in you." Makoto told her. He had a faint smile. "I'm going to carry Leon's death with me. If I can't stop what happens to Sayaka tomorrow - and I'm going to try - then I will carry this with me. I will live on with them and stop your sister. And I believe that there's still hope for you." He looked down. "All of my friends... this whole class... is so precious to me."
He took a step forward and looked her in the eye. "You are too."
Mukuro stepped back, face burned scarlet. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage.
Junko never spoke to her this way. Junko never once seemed to appreciate her. The warmth, the loving honesty she was feeling from him. She wanted...
She wanted...
"I..." She stuttered. She felt out of control with her actions. "I... I..."
Makoto's eyes fell. "I know... I'm asking a lot. I'm asking you to change your whole way of life. But I believe in you. Just... please think about what I said."
Mukuro nodded. "I will. I promise."
"Okay..." Makoto looked to the bed. "I'll... sleep in the tub."
"N-no." Mukuro replied. "I've been trained to only need four hours of sleep, and I got it before the whole thing. You... you sleep. I'll watch over you."
Makoto nodded. "Okay. I trust you, Mukuro."
She fought back tears. Why did it hurt when he said that?
She watched Makoto climb into her bed. She turned away as he tossed and turned into a restless sleep. She heard him murmur in the night.
Makoto hadn't said anything, but her pillow smelled really good.
She replayed his words over and over in her head. And then Junko's words.
The whole night, the words turned in her head.
She was at an impasse. She could not stay unaligned forever. It was either Makoto's hope... or Junko's despair.
"Hem hem. Gooooooood morning everyone!"
The morning announcement played, and Makoto groaned. He sat up, aggravated. He wasn't a morning person.
"Come on," Mukuro said, "we need to hit the gym."
Makoto nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Right." The reality of the night before struck him. "Oh...yeah..."
The two looked at each other and said nothing. It wasn't going to be a good day.
As the two walked out of Mukuro's room, the first thing Makoto noticed was Mondo stumbling out of his room sleepily.
"Hey!" Makoto called out to him, running up to the Biker. Mukuro was shocked how quickly Makoto moved over getting punched by him. For someone lacking in self-confidence, Makoto showed a lack of fear to people who most would consider dangerous. "Mondo, weren't you taking another guard shift?"
Mondo's eyes glazed over in confusion for a minute, before he snapped to a realization. "Fuck, you're right! Ogre never came to get me!"
"We-we need to check on them!" Makoto gulped, and the two boys took off running.
Mukuro followed after them.
The three of them opened the door to Makoto's room. Makoto and Mondo both screamed, and even Mukuro let out a surprised gasp.
Sayaka was lying in Makoto's bed, blood coming from a cut on her neck. The blankets were disheveled, and looked like a small struggle had taken place on the bed.
DING DONG DING
"Hem-hem," came the voice of Monokuma, "A body has been discovered!"