"How did this crack get here?"
Against all odds, Junko Enoshima managed to arrive in the city in time for her shoot, with 5 minutes to spare. Of course, the driver was less than happy with the dents his car has received due to the reckless driving. He was also intrigued by the mysterious crack on the window next to where the raven-haired girl was sitting. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to question the trio, as multiple agents and security guards rushed to his vehicle the second they arrived and dragged them away. However, when he was cleaning the car's interior, which was drenched in champagne for some reason, he did notice a cork underneath the seat.
Meanwhile, Junko, Mukuro and Yasuke were rapidly escorted inside of a warehouse. Once they arrived at the entrance, Mukuro was able to see the interior: beautiful models walking around, a buffet set up, a few men in suits running around, yelling orders to others. In the center of the room was a white backdrop, with multiple lights shining right at it, so bright that it rivaled the sun outside. All of the camera seems to be directed toward that area, alongside a few weird structure with what seems to be umbrella hanging on them. Why would they need umbrellas? Isn't the shoot happening inside? Mukuro thought. She turned around, wanting to question her sister, before realizing that Junko was no longer beside her. Her eyes scanned around the room and saw that the fashionista was with Yasuke, speaking to one of the men in suits. As she was approaching the two, Mukuro was suddenly stopped by a security guard.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid this zone is for production members only. If you want to enter, you would need a visitor's pass"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have one. I came with Junko Enoshima. She's my sister."
"Well, I'm afraid I cannot let you in for that reason alone. We have a lot of people come by claiming to be family members. May you stay here while I go check with Miss Enoshima?"
"Sure, I'll wait", replied Mukuro. As much as being separated from her twin is irritating, she understands that the guard was simply doing his job. As a soldier, she knows the importance of obeying orders.
The man, happy to see he did not have to argue with the girl, called over a colleague of his to watch over her, and quickly ran to the fashion model. A few seconds later, the guard returned, alongside Junko.
"This is the girl I was talking about. Is she indeed your sister?" asked the guard, while reaching his hand out towards Mukuro.
"Nope, she is not my sister"
Those words hurt the soldier. She had heard countless insults, suffered from painful training, yet those 6 words from Junko's mouth hurts more than anything she experienced on the battlefield. Mukuro's mind started to fill with despair. Have she done something wrong? Did her sister resent her for leaving Japan and joining Fenrir? Is this a form of revenge, is that why she's acting like they are strangers? Should she have let the champagne cork hit her instead of dodging it back in the car? As self-harming thoughts filled her head, Mukuro was beginning to feel tears rising. She was prepared to be hated by Junko, but she did not imagine that she would outright reject their family relation.
"Because if she was my sister, she would not be here." said Junko.
That single sentence snapped Mukuro back to reality. She was confused by Junko's comment.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm afraid I do not understand" responded the security, slightly confused.
"What I am saying is that IF this girl was my sister, she would not be here. She would be out, exploring the city, enjoying civilization for the first time in ages. She would not, for instance, stay here for 4 hours waiting for her little sister to be done with a photoshoot and wasting a beautiful day. She would be out, enjoying life and making up for the time she lost, because MY sister would know that we have all the time in the world to catch up and spend time together, so she would not waste her time simply to be with me. Especially since she knows I'll be calling her the second I am done." Junko exclaimed, while waving her arms in dramatic fashion." well, at least, that what I, as a little sister would like to believe", she ended, with a crocodile tear in her eye. "So, in conclusion, this girl cannot possibly be my sister."
Understanding what Junko meant, Mukuro's dark thoughts immediately dissipated. She gave her sister a wide smile.
"I understand Junko, I'll see you later then"
"Go away, you disappointment, I don't know you." replied Junko, with a teasing grin on her face, as she shooed the soldier away, before walking back inside, leaving behind a very confused guard.
"Wait, what just ha...
ppened?
That was the question Makoto was asking himself as he was being held at knife-point by a stranger. How on earth did a simple snack errand devolve into this?! As he was cursing his own rotten luck, the man advances from his position, forcing Makoto to back off.
"Stand up please" asked the man, in a gently tone that did not match the darkness in his eyes. "May you have the decency to do me that small favor?"
Makoto flinched as the man approaches him while an unsettling smile, the knife inching closer and closer to his body. He gets up slowly, hand in air, trying his best not to provoke the man.
"Thank you my friend. Now, listen closely. I do not want to hurt you, so don't try anything fishy and we'll both get out of this fine".
Feeling a drop of cold sweat slowly travel down his neck, Makoto slowly nodded, showing the man in question he understood his demand.
"Now then" the man said, in a much louder voice. "May everyone please give me their attention for a few minutes?" The business-like tone of his aggressor surprised Naegi. The man was delivering his statement in the same manner as a government official delivering an official statement. The calm voice, however, did not soothe the teenager, making him far more anxious of what was to come next.
"I would like to get off at the next stop. However, it would appear that I have dropped my personal belongings. How clumsy of me. If all of you present will be so kind as to assist me picking up my items and returning them in this bag, I shall be on my way." He then opened his backpack with is free hand and dropped it to his feet.
"Of course, I believe it goes without saying that none of you fine people will even think of taking what BELONGS TO ME!" his voice rises, finally breaking the serene tone he had been keeping throughout his speech, as hatred and anger clouded his words. "I have a very keen eye, so if I see someone pocketing MY jewels, which I have spent so much time and effort gathering, well..." he said, in a much calmer voice. A small sadistic smile slowly creeped on to his face, but Naegi failed to notice that, as he was preoccupied by the knife ever so closely approaching his throat. "I would have to do the unimaginable, but I'm sure it won't come to that."
He then turned to the driver. "Oh no, please sir, you must continue driving. After all, we cannot allow these fine people to arrive late to their destination! Perish the thought! I have but one humble request: Before I retrieve all of my luggage, please avoid stopping at any stops. It would be simply terrible if one of my precious fell off this bus, wouldn't you agree?" The driver, drenched in sweat, nodded his head fiercely as his kept his foot on the pedal.
After his threat, the passengers hurried to the floor to pick up the gems, as the man watched their every actions, all while keeping the poor Makoto as hostage.
A few minutes later, the floor was completely clean of any treasure. The man kneeled down, counting his loot.
"297,298,299,300! Ah, look like all of my little babies have found their way home. Well, dears, I thank you so much for your time and effort. DRIVER! I believe this will be my stop. May you please open the door for me?"
The terrified bus driver nodded his head and opened the door. The man, seeing that he has a way out, pushed his hostage aside, picked up his bag and exited the vehicle. As he watches the criminal walk away, Naegi was suddenly assaulted with a thought: He must stop him. His reason was screaming at him for the sheer stupidity of that thought. We narrowly escaped getting stabbed and now you want to chase that robber empty handed and alone?! Are you insane?! However, his moral compass prevented him to stay a bystander. As the gates were closing, Naegi jumped out of the bus, leaving his bags behind, and pursued the criminal.
"SOMEBODY STOP THAT MAN!"
Mukuro was no stranger to hostile environment. She had spent nearly a decade in Fenrir, where she had to perform her duties in a variety of terrains. Afghan villages, Iranian deserts, Vietnam jungles, she has seen it all and has learned the skill to always find her nearing no matter the place. However, all of her abilities were useless against the most ferocious of environment: the Tokyo metro system.
"Wait, when you say I need to take the North line to Tokyo tower, do you mean the Northern line of the Central line heading north?"
"No no no ma'am. You need to get on the Southern line heading North, where you will then transfer on the Northern line, which heads East, before going on the Western line, which, obviously, heads West, unless if it is the express train, then it will head south."
"And how can I tell the difference between the express train and the normal one?"
"Oh, very easy. The normal trains are white with yellow stripes while the express trains are yellow with white stripes."
"I-I see… Thank you"
Emerging from the conversation more confused than ever, Mukuro decided to forgo the train and walk to her destination. It cannot be harder than it is to figure this mess out.
As she followed the map to the Tokyo tower, a scream makes it to her ears:
"SOMEBODY STOP THAT MAN!"
She turns around toward the sound and see a man running toward her at full speed. Her soldier instincts takes over as she spots the knife in the man's hand. Mukuro ducks down, getting herself outside of the robber's field of view. She then quickly knocks the man off his feet using a well-placed leg sweep. As he falls, she shifts her body to the side, taking the knife from his hand, since his grip was loosened due to the sudden loss of balance. Before the man even hits the ground, the ultimate soldier puts her weight on top of the man, all while grabbing his left arm, locking the man underneath her when his body eventually touched the ground.
"Wow"
Immediately registering the voice behind her, Mukuro turned her head back, expecting another attacker. However, much to her surprised, the man she saw was a short, brown-haired boy, with one strand of hair popping out like an antenna.
"That was incredible! The way you stopped him, it was like a scene right out of an action movie!"
A bit caught off-guard by the compliment, Mukuro tried her best to avoid blushing. She had never been praised before. Her Fenrir comrades were not exactly the nurturing types and the closest thing she got to a compliment from Junko is when she was making fun of her for being "The world's Biggest Disappointment".
"Ah, t-thank you" she said, turning her face away to hide her embarrassment. She had no idea how to properly respond to the boy, and her severe lack of social interactions certainly did not help.
"HEY! YOU TWO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT MAN!"
The two were interrupted by the scream of a police officer, making rounds in their routine patrol. The man approached the two teenager, badge and baton in hand, clearly expecting an explanation as to why there is a man on the ground, with a high school girl on top of him with a knife.
"Oh, Officer! I can explain, you see…"
As Naegi explained to the policeman the situation, Mukuro left out a sigh of relief. Oh thank god thought Mukuro. She did not know how to proceed in her conversation with the boy and was glad to find an excuse to exit this awkward social situation. All she needed to do now was to hand over the criminal, and she could be on her way. However, much to her dismay, the policeman did not see things as such. After he listened to the entire story, he said:
"Well, I thank you two for capturing the criminal, however, i would need to take your statements back at the station. May you two please follow me back?"
I just want to leaaaaaveeeeee
As they waited in the station for the officer to take their statement, Mukuro and Makoto sat beside each other, on a very stained sofa. They waited in silence, both too nervous to say anything. After an hour, the silence continued and became more and more awkward, until Naegi decided to say something.
"H-hey, can I say something to you?" said Makoto, nervously fidgeting and scratching his face.
"O-Oh, go ahead" replied Mukuro, slightly surprised
"I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, Thank you. I would have never catched that guy without you and honestly, if it wasn't for you, the man would have gotten away. However, you swooped in like a Superhero and stopped him so, sincerely,"said Naegi, before widening his lips to form a big smile. "Thank you."
BADUMP. That was the sound Mukuro's heart made when she saw that smile. She could not remember the last time she was the receiver of an honest smile. It was pure, untainted and sincere. It wasn't like the sarcastic smirk Yasuke made. It was not fake, like the one Junko wear on her face to look friendly. It was an innocent smile, without any malice behind it. It was so bright, Mukuro could have sworn the boy was shining. It wasn't until he spoke again that she realized she was staring at him, hypnotized by his face.
"My name is Makoto Naegi, what's yours?"
"Mukuro. Mukuro Ikusaba" she replied, snapping herself back to reality.
"Well, Ikusaba-san, I'm really glad I've gotten to meet you today"
There is was again, that smile. As she struggled to find the words for her response, an policeman came in the room.
"Mister Naegi and Miss Ikusaba, we are ready to take your statements. May the one of you please follow me to the left wing and the other please follow my colleague here to the right wing?"
"Oh yes!" Naegi responded, immediately rising to follow the officer. Before leaving, he waved to the soldier girl. "Hope to see you again!" he said, before parting ways. Little did they know, the moment where thy will meet again is much closer than they think.
Author's note:
Hi everyone, I'm not Dead! Sorry for the late update, exams season and being on vacation meant i did not have a lot of time to work on this fic. The confusion Mukuro had over the Photoshoot site and the metro system parallels my own confusion. I asked the exact same question about the umbrellas and unlike Mukuro, I actually said them out loud to a real person. I also changed the personality of the robber a bit, as I just finished reading Sherlock and I really wanted to write the dialogue of an gentlemen criminal. Now for those of you who wants to see the rest of class 78, I have some good news for you! I'll be introducing all of them next chapter ( and I'm expecting it to be a very lengthy one). I'll try to update monthly from now on so I hope you guys look forward to that :D.