Non-despair High School AU
There's a lot of things you can do other than sleep at a sleepover.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
"Good evening, ladies. And welcome to the first girls' night out!"
That's how eight girls ended up dressed in their pajamas and nightgowns in Junko and Mukuro's shared condo unit this Friday night. It started out as a passing comment that no one couldn't even remember who said that, and then it escalated to them seriously considering it until finally, they set a date. They would have done it at someone's room at the dormitories but there wasn't that much space for them all to fit in. Not all of them stayed at the dorm though. So by process of elimination, they all agreed to do it at the twins' condo but neither of them was the host.
Tonight's host has been leaving them hanging for a while now since that opening line.
"So… now what?" Mukuro dared to ask first since nothing was happening.
"Umm so…" Aoi started, her eyes darting from one person to another. "... What do you wanna do?" She asked hesitantly.
"Wow, you like have literally no idea what to do." Junko called it as it is.
"Uh, actually I do!" She said with more force this time but it was clear that no one actually believed her. "I just want to hear first what you guys want to do."
There was a pregnant pause after.
Sakura spoke up first. "Then I must excuse myself from this inquiry for I have no such previous experience, hence I cannot contribute any preference."
Then Kyoko raised her hand. "I second that."
"Wait, you two haven't been to a sleepover before?" Aoi looked shocked at the news but her eyes grew wider as she realized something else. "What about you girls?"
"I'm sorry. Idols don't get that much free time." Sayaka politely said.
"I'd rather not do something beneath me." Celes smile did not match her words.
"D-d-don't look at m-me!" Touko stuttered and looked away.
"Yeah, not my style." Junko didn't look the least bit interested.
"... No." Mukuro quietly answered.
Another break of tense silence filled the room.
"Wow, this is just so sad." Aoi said dejectedly, truly pitying the group of girls and their lack of social life.
Touko bristled at her. "L-like you're one t-to talk! Have you ever been in a sleepover before?"
"Me? Well, yeah." She said it so readily, so easily, that Touko was stunned by her aura of normalcy. She didn't even notice the change so she continued. "I've been in a lot of sports clubs and summer camps are kind of like sleepovers, right?"
"..." She was still too stunned for a few more moments. After a gasp of breath, she recovered. "T-that doesn't even count!"
"What? Why not?" She blanched.
Touko groaned in frustration. "Because sleepovers are supposed to be between friends not s-some school club activity."
"Hey! Just so you know, I was friends with everyone so that still counts." Aoi pouted indignantly.
"She just bragged about having many f-f-friends!" She had to hold her hand over her heart just to contain her shock from such a declaration. She didn't like where the conversation headed so she tried to change the direction. "Okay, let's say that these sports camps are like sleepovers. So?"
"So?" She tilted her head.
"So then q-quit stalling and enlighten us already on what t-to do!" She yelled, already running out of patience.
"Ahaha… You see, the thing is…" She chuckled nervously and suspiciously broke eye contact. Then in her smallest and fastest voice, she said the truth. "I literally have no idea."
Touko merely blinked. "Excuse me. What?"
She fiddled with her index fingers and pouted like a child. "I mean it gets really boring really fast when I'm not moving so I kind of just fall asleep after the first hour."
"Wow, I can't believe you were acting all high and mighty seconds ago just because you have experience." She quoted with her fingers in air. "You're just as much of a sleepover-virgin as the rest of us!" She pointed at her disdainfully.
She boiled at the accusation. "Hey! I am not a virgin!"
The whole room went deathly silent and it seemed that Aoi hadn't a clue as to what she just said.
Touko was absolutely scandalized."Do you even h-hear yourself talk?"
"Enough." A loud booming voice cut through. "Aoi, you must refrain from speaking for now. Your head is still unclear and so are your words."
"My head is starting to hurt a little." And just to prove her point, she clutched her head as a show of pain but despite that, she wore a goofy grin. "Okay, I guess I'll hold back but only because you were so nice about it, Sakura."
"If she already got a headache from that, I hate to see her during an exam." Touko snidely remarked in the background.
Sakura opened one eye. "And as for you, Touko."
"Eep!" She gasped, not really used to confrontations.
"While there is some truth to your words, there is also much unnecessary offense to them." Sakura's voice was calm and not at all aggressive. "I suggest that you put on hold such passion for now."
However, because of her physique, it was easy to mistake her request to have an underlying threat. "I-I can't believe it! Y-you're all g-ganging up on me! I knew it! It was all a p-ploy to bully me and everyone here was in on i-it!" Touko's teeth were chattering more violently than usual.
Five minutes into the sleepover and there were already complications.
"Calm down. No one here is out to get you. We're all here to have fun. Together." The voice of reason spoke but apparently it wasn't loud enough.
"Y-yeah, right. A-as if I'd b-believe you. You're one of them!"
Kyoko sighed, already regretting her decision to take up mediator. "If it makes you feel any better, rest assured that Mukuro is your bodyguard for tonight. So if Sakura or anyone has any other plans for you, then there's a lesser probability of it happening. Right, Mukuro?"
Mukuro had gotten involved apparently. Thankfully, it wasn't anything unreasonable. Protection was right up her alley so she could do it when needed. Although she highly doubted anyone, much less Sakura, would start a fight. "Right… I'll protect you."
"W-what are you, a knight in shining armor stereotype?" Touko did not expect this development at all. "I don't swing th-that way j-just so you know!" She rambled on. "And w-what's with that blank face? I c-can't read you at all. I can't tell whether you're lying or not."
"I'm not." She said this time louder and more convincingly.
"Always a straight answer with you, huh?" She sighed in defeat. "But I appreciate it… so th-thanks."
"No problem." Mukuro said and in the corner of her eyes, she saw Kyoko give her a nod of approval.
Then Touko turned around to face the two other girls, her voice lacked its earlier intensity. "And I may have overreacted. S-sorry."
"Acknowledged. I too apologize for scaring you. I may have come off as too forward and intimidating. That was not my intention." Sakura bowed her head in respect. "Rest assured, there are no grudges between us."
"And with that, our bond grows ever stronger!" Aoi just hugged both affectionately, squeezing on Touko harder than she's used to.
"Just what do you think you're doing? G-get off me!" She struggled but she was no match against the athlete.
Ten minutes into the night and they managed to get into a quasi-fight and a resolution after. While that was a nice achievement, it was hardly sleepover material. So that aside, nothing yet has happened regarding their main agenda. And one could only appreciate a touching scene for so long.
"Like, is the drama bomb over already?" Junko complained audaciously, immune to the glares and worried looks some gave her. She just stepped up her volume. "Finally! So now that we know big badonkers here isn't qualified, anyone else got any bright ideas, ya?"
And while that was rude of her to say, she did have a point.
"My, what a turn of events. It would seem our host is unprepared for her own party." Celes clapped her hands to garner everyone's attention. "Well then, it can't be helped. Let us hand over the reins to the most capable of us all."
She promptly patted the girl beside her. It wasn't even that strong but since the girl wasn't expecting it, she stumbled forward and then all eyes in the room were on her.
"Huh? Me?" Sayaka said in disbelief and then vigorously shook her head. Maybe if she did it convincingly enough, they'd change their minds. "But I'm hardly your average high school girl."
"That's something we have in common. None of us are." Celes rested her chin on her laced fingers and smiled devilishly. But she knew that won't be enough to placate her so she turned to the person on her other side. "I'll let our resident detective explain. Now, could you please?"
"You really have a bad habit of using people when it's convenient for you." Kyoko stared coldly at her.
"Is that true? I wasn't aware." She smiled wider.
"Honestly, though… no, nevermind." Kyoko sighed and then turned her full attention at Sayaka. "My reasoning stands that you are the closest model perhaps not in experience but in knowledge."
"Knowledge? But isn't experience more reliable." Sayaka quickly refuted.
"True but every person in this room has zero experience so we're all equal on that field. Hence, we rely on the next best thing which is knowledge." She held her index finger to her temple for emphasis. "Whether vicariously or by research, your career has you deal with these topics all the time so you have more accurate information than the rest of us."
"I guess when you put it that way, you have a point." She politely remarked and it sounded like she was convinced but she did not back down. An idol fights with a smile after all. "But why not Junko? She's in the industry too."
"You've got that wrong!" She smirked. "As much as I'd like to explain, I'll leave this part to Junko."
"Yeah, right." Junko scoffed as if offended by such allegations. "I'm like a model not an idol which are waaaay different. All I do is pose and everyone loves me. Like nobody even asks me those lame questions during interviews, they're all mostly about me!"
"It is just as she says." She crossed her arms as if to signal that there was no more room for discussion. "Unless you have any other rebuttals, that will be all from me."
Before Sayaka could utter another word of denial, it was then that Celes thought she'd interfere with a well-timed applause.
"Splendid exposition just as always. I believe we have all made our decisions. Let's move things along now." She raised one hand while another demurely covered a smile she was hiding. "All in favor of Sayaka leading the night?"
"Then it's decided. Now we can officially start this sleepover."
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
"First is preparing food we'll be eating for tonight. We could try baking sweets." Sayaka naturally led. Since she couldn't talk her way out of it, she decided she might as well try her best into ensuring tonight's sleepover is a success.
"Oh, this one I'm prepared for." Aoi energetically pumped her fist into the air.
"Let me g-guess, donuts." Touko commented on the side.
She grinned and held up a peace sign. "I already have two dozens of donuts."
"And I was right." She sighed, not at all pleased at being correct. "Two dozens is actually a good number considering it's you. F-for a moment there, I thought you'd bring more."
She turned to her in confusion. "More? Wait, so two dozen boxes aren't enough? I knew I should've gone for three!"
"Did she just seriously say two dozen b-boxes?" Touko looked as if she could have a heart attack right then and there.
"Yes… you are correct. I had helped her with carrying them and I can confirm that is the right amount." Sakura regrettably did not deny the number, to the massive shock of everyone else aside from Aoi.
"..."
"T-that's a dozen per box. Two dozens times a dozen!"
"Isn't that a little bit… much?"
"Now you're like just trying to get us all diabetes and junk!"
"That is rather an unpleasant fate."
"While I agree that it's not an ideal situation, it's best that we not let them waste." Kyoko frowned, just as displeased as everyone else but more rational. "I don't suppose you have any other food we could eat here."
"None." Mukuro shook her head. "Junko's manager is really strict with her diet so she takes care of her meals and by sis' request, mine as well."
"So you don't have any snacks or whatsoever in here?"
"I have a stock of emergency rations but…" Her eyes turned to her sister's.
"No dice! Survival tastes like dirt." Junko may have been a model but she could be an actress with her fake gagging act. "Even I'd take expired bread over those gum-tacks!"
"They're not so bad…" She fidgeted.
"Yeah, they're pretty okay." She conceded… not. "Once you get over flavors! Trust me, ladies. We're better off getting diabetes. Live life to the fullest and all that, ya?"
"So we're stuck with donuts then." Kyoko's eyes lingered on someone who was rather uncomplaining despite her reputation. "You seem calm about this."
"That's because I am." Celes admitted goodnaturedly. "It's rather amusing, is it not?"
"Why does that sound like you're not affected by this at all."
"Because I'm not. For you see, I brought my own beverage and snacks." She smiled, satisfied at her own preparedness. "Royal milk tea and only the finest biscuits fit for a queen such as I."
Sayaka interjected with an idea. "Oh, then-"
She giggled behind one hand. "My own beverage and snacks, tee hee."
And no one else dared to ask Celes to share with anything.
"Anyone else here thought to bring their own stuff without t-telling anyone else to do the same?"
Sakura stepped forward. "I apologize but I only brought my protein shakes. I'm willing to share if anyone would like."
"A nutritional drink? Bleck! No, thanks!" Junko was very vocal about her distaste.
Sensing her sister's growing discomfort, Mukuro offered to step out. "I could buy some snacks from the convenience store if you'd like."
But it was Sayaka who picked up the request. "Really? I don't think we'll be able to cook anymore but additional snacks would be great."
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll just-"
Kyoko hastily cut her before she could finish her sentence. "Don't even bother. You'll miss out on the events."
She shrugged. "I can be quick."
"No, stay." She said with an air of authority that Mukuro could not say no to. Her hand firmly held her in place. "We all agreed we'd do this together the whole night so no one is leaving the unit."
"Then what do you propose?"
Kyoko just smirked. "Delivery."
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
"I guess we should do the basics first and start with a movie." Sayaka started again.
In the end, they settled for pizza and ordered ice cream as well. There were some heated debates over the toppings and flavors but almost half an hour later, they finally got everything down and phoned in an order. The more athletic of the group already volunteered to receive the order at the door. With the food already taken care of, the sleepover could now commence peacefully, right?
She innocently asked. "Anyone here would like to watch anything in particular?"
"Ugh! No way am I watching any of that c-crap." Only to be shot down immediately by Touko.
"Oh, boy. There she goes." Aoi sweatdropped.
"D-do you ever hear anyone saying that the movie is b-better than the book? Well of course not! It's always the other way around. They're just cheap imitations of the real thing that it's absolutely insulting. Films are nothing worth more than garbage!"
"Nerd." Junko coughed to the side.
"I heard that!" Her hands clawed at the air in frustration. "Anyways, if you're planning to spend two hours wasting your life away over pathetic excuses for art, then by all means enjoy yourselves. I-I'll just sit in one corner, one far far away, and wait for you to hate yourselves after you watch it."
"Woah, an actual walkout! And we're not even doing anything risque yet." Junko mock-gasped.
"No one is walking out because no one is watching movies." Kyoko said calmly and then redirected her attention to Sayaka. "So that's that. What other plans do you have in store?"
"Oh, well I was hoping that could have bought us some time to settle in but I guess we could do something else." She answered, not entirely sure which activity to do next.
"Then, might I suggest a different form of narration?" Thankfully, Sakura had an idea. "Technology of the entertaining kind is hardly useful for training so there's little to no presence of them in my home."
"You live in a cave, we already got that with the bear look." Junko commented offhandedly.
"Actually, on a mountain but that is besides the point." She raised an eyebrow at her but did nothing more. She's used to such harmless comments. "What I am getting at is that we should try our hand at trading life experiences."
"You mean like storytelling?" Mukuro asked.
"Oh! OH! I just remembered something!" Aoi bounced in her seat excitedly.
Celes ignored her and spoke. "That's an interesting suggestion. Who would like to go first?"
"Hey, don't move on and pretend you didn't hear me!"
"Do we have to?" She sighed disappointedly.
Kyoko joined in as well. "Just let her speak so we can go over this fast."
"Okay, wow. You guys are rude." Aoi huffed, slightly miffed but that didn't dampen her mood. "Anyways, remember how I said that I went to these camps? And that I'd always fall asleep really fast?"
"What else is new?"
"Well, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I get hungry."
"Let me guess, is it perhaps donuts you desire for midnight snacking?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" She looked genuinely amazed as if it wasn't expected. "Wow, you should try out for ultimate detective."
She giggled. "Lucky guess. Maybe I should try my hand at a detective."
"Hands off. This title is mine and I'm not planning on taking any partners." Kyoko's voice was calm but it was challenging.
"That doesn't seem fair now. Should we wager on a trial run?" Celes smiled devilishly in response.
And before that got out of hand, someone shrieked.
"Oh my god. Can we just seriously move on, please?" Junko groaned, already bored of just listening.
"Okay so every time I wake up, I'd always get too scared to go back to sleep." Aoi paused for dramatic effect. It wasn't very effective though. "So turns out that people like trading horror stories at sleepovers."
"That's actually... a surprising helpful recommendation." Sayaka said in genuine astonishment.
"Why does that feel like a backhanded comment?"
Mukuro checked the time and it was only past nine. "Isn't it kind of early for horror stories?"
Celes tilted her head to the side. "Then I propose a scaring contest. We tell one tale each and at then, whichever story we all agree on to be the most frightening wins."
"What do we get to win?"
"What indeed." She twirled a lock of her. "A free pass in the later games, will that suffice?" Before anyone even had the chance to accept or reject that proposal, she had already closed the discussion. "Now, then who would like to go first?"
"Oh, me! Me first!" Aoi goofily grinned. "But let's work on our ambience first."
Well, they tried to create a more suitable horror inducing environment if only Touko didn't scream when Aoi turned off the lights. And it wasn't just the normal scared of the dark kind of thing, Touko straight up freaked out. Turned out that she had a phobia of darkness and she had it bad. Everyone agreed that it wasn't worth it to terrorize her for the sake of an eerie atmosphere which wouldn't work anyways on the rest. They did dim the lights a bit but not too much. And they kept the flashlight idea. So here they were at nine o'clock, in a fairly lit room, seated in a circle, and a flashlight to take turns passing it around. It wasn't the most frightening of premises but it will do.
"Okay, disclaimer first. I have this really good one but I don't think I should tell you. It's a true story I experienced firsthand." Aoi started. "I lost a few days of sleep over it and since this happened at the dorm, I don't want you guys to get too freaked out because it's home base."
"Building tension already. You're good at this."
"Seriously, you guys. Don't say I didn't warn you." She sighed and switched on the flashlight to signal her actual start. "This happened to me during the first week. It was almost midnight and I got sucked into marathoning movies again."
"Tch. Such depraved t-tastes." Touko whispered to herself.
"And my brother recommended this movie to me so I thought I'd give it a try but it turned out really boring for me and it was getting late. So I left the tv with the movie playing loud while I went to the bathroom, leaving the door open so I could still hear what was going on."
"You're either the daring type or the totally defenseless kind for leaving the bathroom door hanging wide open."
"For your information, I was just brushing my teeth!" Aoi corrected, her face flushed. "Anyways, that's not the point. You know how the individual bathrooms in the dorms look like, right? A shower, a toilet, a sink and a medicine cabinet that doubles as a mirror that's just above the sink. Well I was just brushing my teeth in front of the sink and mirror… and it was dim because I was only using the tv light… and I wasn't really paying attention to what the guy in he movie was saying…"
She gulped. "But then I heard it. He chanted Bloody Mary three times and then… and then…" She paused, the tension in the air thick. The flashlight shut off. "The lights went out."
A scream pierced the room.
It was Aoi. No one else screamed apparently. "Hey, what's wrong with you all? I thought it was a pretty creepy story."
"P-please the lights went off. Big deal."
"But weren't you listening? The lights went off because of the Bloody Mary summoning."
"We're not even Western so why would Bloody Mary work here?" Sayaka commented.
"Well duh, she's a ghost. I don't think traveling is an issue."
"You're one of those types, huh." Celes chuckled bemusedly. "That aside, have you ever heard of a blackout?"
"A blackout?"
"Yeah, it happened during the first week, right? And around midnight, so it must have been a b-blackout." Touko piped in.
Aoi looked more than a little lost. "You're not making any sense."
"Actually she does." Sakura interjected. "The term just started and it seemed the renovations to accommodate incoming students were behind schedule, including the electrical wirings. So to minimize inconvenience, they scheduled blackouts after midnight until five in the morning. It was posted all over the bulletin boards. It's easy to miss if you don't pay attention."
"So the blackouts were a regular thing?" "But that still doesn't explain the ghost I saw!"
"Ghost? You saw a ghost? Finally, some exciting stuff! Tell these things sooner!" Junko hollered.
"Well I would have if only you guys reacted better."
"Regardless, please continue your story." Kyoko prompted.
Which earned a fast reply from Celes. "My, I didn't take you to be interested in the paranormal."
"I'm not. But it does intrigue me..." She casually flipped her hair. "As to how I prove that it's not at all paranormal."
"Hey! Don't go disproving my experiences before I even tell them." Aoi said in protest.
"Please, continue." Mukuro prompted.
"Alright. So when the tv turned off, I freaked out and remembered how Bloody Mary works. I'm no good with scary stuff so I didn't even dare look at the mirror. I tried the lights but they wouldn't work. So I went out into the hallway because at least the emergency lights were on." She took a deep breath and spoke in an ominous voice. "And that's when I saw her."
"She passed down the hallway fast. I couldn't see her clearly but it was obviously a woman in a long skirt with long hair." She raised both her hands in clenched fists. "And she had something shiny in her hands. Like maybe scissors or knives? It was hard to tell. But I'm 100% sure I saw her."
Aside from one particular blanching student, no one else was terrified from the added information.
"That does sound suspicious."
"That sounds totally fake but whatever."
"I don't think it's a ghost."
"Perhaps you were just half-asleep."
"It could have been a student."
"Definitely a student."
"But I heard her." She insisted.
"What?"
"She was laughing and not just normal school girl laugh but freaky laugh. Maniacal otherworldly cackling." She shivered as she recalled the memory. "I swear I got chills when I heard it."
"So a student has a weird laugh, big deal."
"Not everyone has a ladylike laugh."
"Yeah but you don't get goosebumps over hearing someone laugh. It's not normal. It was really scary!" She pressed on with tears in her eyes.
That's when the one person who hasn't said a word about it finally voiced her opinion.
"I-I agree that does sound s-scary." Touko's teeth were chattering and it looked like she was afraid but of what, nobody could tell. It's not like the story itself was scary, right? Regardless, she didn't look too happy about the story development.
"But your h-hyperactive mind m-must have just imagined it. Y-you know, like how when people are s-scared, it's easier to v-visualize something that i-isn't there. So now that t-that's over, let's move on to the next."
"But I could have sworn-"
"N-NEXT PLEASE!"
Aoi would have said more if only there was more to the story but sadly that was it and they took her silence as a hint.
"If it's alright with Aoi then I shall take up the torch now." Sakura volunteered as she took the flashlight from her. "However, it is quite unfortunate that I have nothing worthy to share with you. The only ghosts I have encountered so far in my life are my shortcomings haunting me."
"Laaaame." Junko heckled from one side.
Sayaka took it as her role to mediate with a polite smile. "Well, we can't just let you pass. It doesn't have to be a ghost story though as long as it's a horror story."
"I see, very well then." She readjusted herself to sit up straighter and spoke clearer as if she was not just telling a story, she was sharing words of wisdom acquired through years of experience. "There was a time when I did not possess the strength that I have right now. I was a child, I was undisciplined. I was weak. I was too weak when it all happened."
"My father was out when our dojo was attacked. Later on, we found out that it was a trap and that he had been lured out only to ambush him. They decided to destroy the dojo while he was out as an effort to rub salt on his wounds, if they chose to let him live." She crossed her arms. "They were far more skilled than the last and they were easily thrice our numbers."
"We fought valiantly however, we were still early in our training, myself included. One by one, the people training under my father fell until I was the only one left." She closed her eyes. "It was then that I realized that true horror is the feeling of powerlessness against a foe and not having the strength to protect those you love."
"What happened next?" Aoi asked from behind her pillow.
"Thankfully, my father arrived before anything permanent could have happened." She chuckled softly. "I am grateful for surviving that ordeal and it has made me strengthen my resolve to overcome that horror."
A few muffled sniffling was heard but nobody admitted that they cried a little.
Mukuro found her voice first. "That was… deep."
"Not exactly the horror we're looking for but yeah, it is kind of scary."
"Excuse me, it seems I feel rather unwell."
"The fear of powerlessness… truly horrifying indeed."
"I wanted to get s-scared, not get teary-eyed over a sob story!"
"I'm so glad you're still alive, Sakura!"
"I greet every day grateful for that fact."
Sayaka wiped a few of her own tears and was careful not to let her voice shake. "I believe it's Mukuro's turn now."
This was all too soon for Mukuro. She knew she had to share her story sooner or later but she had wanted it to be later. She's still not sure what kind of requirements were needed for a good horror story because there was seemingly no pattern in the stories so far. The most she understood was that it had to be a personal experience. The only problem was that her only experience was on the battlefield and even then, she's not sure which one would fit under the horror category best.
They always said that war was a horrible experience to get involved with, so should she talk about that? But she didn't know where to start or which war to choose from. None of them were even that awful to her since she always managed to survive unscathed. But it did give her an idea. She remembered the times her allies would use the word horrible and tried to recall incidents where she heard it most often. Maybe this could work though.
"A…" Friend? No, not really. "Comrade of mine got decommissioned."
"Oh, we're so sorry for your loss."
"That's just too sad. Sorry to hear that."
"May their soul find peace."
"T-two sob stories in a row?! As if one wasn't enough."
"You're not turning this into another ghost story, are you?"
"My condolences."
"Wow, sis. Way to kill the mood."
"No, he didn't die." Mukuro shook her head. "They had to take him out of the field because… it was just too horrible."
"He had a bad day." She bit her lip. "That's what we called them. Those rare times when everything just seemed to go wrong no matter how skilled you were or how hard you fought. Typically, a bad day on the job means it's your last day. But not him. He actually survived."
"If it weren't for his tattoo, we wouldn't have recognized him. Even corpses looked better than he did. Most of his head was burnt and his skull had cracked open from his left eye and it ran down to his ear where shrapnel stuck out. His jaw was barely hanging onto the rest of his face. And his eyes and the skin on his face had melted while his neck had a knife-"
"S-STOP RIGHT THERE!" Touko's hand trembled as it hang in the air, pointing at Mukuro. "Just get to the p-point already and stop giving us these unnecessarily v-vivid details!"
Mukuro tilted her head in confusion. "I don't understand, sorry. Isn't this a horror story?"
"Y-yeah but it's body horror! Not horror horror. Those two are different!"
"It's uh, very detailed and… excuse me, this was real, right?"
"Oh, perhaps it was too much for you? I think it's a very moving tale that we all should finish."
"Maybe not. I believe that was a little too intense for some of us."
"Yeah, I'm already convinced that it's horror so can we stop there? I'm with Touko on this one."
"While I am intrigued by his tale of survival, perhaps it is better to discuss it with people who are… less sensitive to the topic. Maybe you can retell this story to me some other time you're free because it interests me as to how strong his fighting spirit must have been."
"Welp, you heard them, sis. Nice try though." Junko gave her a sympathetic thumbs up.
"I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?" Mukuro asked innocently. She told them the right story, right?
"Nah, you were great! They're just a bunch of wussies who can't take high quality horror." She encouragingly patted her sister on the back. Then she switched gears so she was louder and more obnoxious. "So anyways, you like won't believe the horror that I've been through!"
That redirected everyone's attention, to Mukuro's relief. She's pretty sure that she must have messed up something because they didn't even let her finish her story. But they don't look that upset or mad so maybe she got something right? She still couldn't understand the mechanics. Nevertheless, she was now out of the spotlight, or rather flashlight.
"Okay, so get this." Junko started. "One time, a broke a nail during a photoshoot."
"And?"
"Huh? That's it."
"Okay so how is that horror?"
And that's when Junko's switch was flipped.
"Like, hello! That could've destroyed my whole career!" She was boiling in anger, her laidback demeanor was replaced by a passionate outrage.
"It only takes one thing to bring you down. Bad makeup, bad hair, bad outfit, bad lighting, bad manicure and then it turns into a bad photo which gets you bad reviews which is bad publicity. Then before you know it, you're losing fans until all that's left is a terminated contract and a bad reputation which makes it impossible to ever get back again into the business."
She dragged her voice, sarcasm dripping in every syllable. "So sorry if my almost bad day of almost losing my job was not up to your standards."
"That... escalated quickly."
"Our paths may be different but yours also require a certain strength."
"Wow, I knew that the modeling biz was intense, I just never imagined it to be that intense."
"You know what they say, the higher they are the harder they fall. And models are always put on top of pedestals."
"It seems that you have your own share of problems."
"Junko…"
But it was Sayaka who seemed the most affected by her outburst.
"Sorry, it's just for a second there, I saw my idol life flash before my eyes." She sniffled.
"Woah, slow down there. I know I'm the one who brought it up but don't you dare turn this into a drama bomb." Junko shrieked. "I'm pissed off not heartbroken! Get with the times!"
"It must have been hard for you, sis."
"Oh, hell no. Muku, down girl. We are not turning this into a pity party." She crossed her arms dramatically. "Who's next anyways?"
"I am. Sorry, I guess I'm still a little bit shaken up from that last one. It was really scary." Sayaka raised her hand while the other was still wiping her tears. "But it did remind me of a horror story I've expe… I mean, it's an urban legend I've heard from the idol industry."
"Rather than a ghost, this is a monster story."
"M-monster?"
"Yes, monsters. That's the only way to describe them, those that hide under human skin but are more capable of wicked horrors that separate them from people. And these monsters live among us. What I'm about to tell you is just one of the many I-" She quickly corrected herself. "A girl in my group has faced."
"This monster likes to wear the mask of a man, a very important man in the idol industry. It's just a disguise though. What he does is purely criminal…" She paused as a tremor shook her body. "He abuses his power and claims it to be his rights and then he… and then he…" She clutched her arms tightly as if to protect herself.
"He'd do things you're not supposed to do to others and he gets away with it. He doesn't even care about the damage or the trauma. Because of him, I…" She face hardened in loathing. "My friend had to go through hell and back."
She stopped there and it was tense in the room but eventually, everyone started showering her with support.
"That's no m-monster, that's just scum! The lowest of the lowest scum!"
"Tch. Disgusting pigs are the worst."
"I agree. Should I deal with him in your stead?"
"Such dastardly fiend indeed. I would like to see the day that justice serves him well."
"Those are all foul moves! How could he get away with that? It's not fair!"
"Truly, he is a monster worthy of a horror story."
"If you need help in capturing this culprit, I am more than willing to lend you of my services."
She smiled more genuinely this time. "Thank you for understanding but he's already been taken care of. It's the rest of them that I need to look out for but that's another horror story." She passed the flashlight. "Okay! Next up is Kyoko!"
"If you insist." Kyoko promptly spoke louder than usual. "Mine happened during an investigation of this one case."
"I don't think I can take another body horror story."
"I can tell you right now that it's not like that.
"Oh, thank god."
"As I was saying, this was one of my earlier cases." She smoothly continued her narration. "Since I was still an apprentice in training, I partook in cases which required collective effort. It's common for upstart detectives to take on cases in groups not necessarily because the difficulty required so but because it was easier to receive cases than when you're a single nameless person."
"This one was supposedly simple enough. A textbook murder mystery. Or so we thought." She paused. "Just when we thought we'd finally caught the culprit, one of the investigators died."
"It was a declaration of war." Her gaze hardened. "One by one, someone in our group was murdered every six hours while they mocked us. They were meticulous enough that we were only grasping pseudo-evidence. It was a dire situation for there was no crack except the killer made one fatal mistake…"
"They chose to target me." Her voice didn't change at all when she said it but the fact itself was enough to terrify her audience. "I had a trustworthy partner at the time and because of her, I managed to escape from harm. Since I survived, I was able to gather more evidence, evidence that would have disappeared along with me had I not escaped. And the culprit…"
"A fellow detective. I've interacted with them more than a few times throughout the investigation." She stared ahead, her face deadpanned. "The killer was one of all along."
The room was filled with gasps of shock.
"That's t-too realistic for horror!"
"Woah, it's just like in the movies where the killer was beside you all along! Talk about scary!"
"I don't think I'd be able to stay calm through that."
"A real murderer was with you all the time, so that actually happens."
"For reals? Damn, gotta watch my back now."
"Don't worry, sis. I'll protect you."
"What an interesting development. No wonder you're so cold."
Kyoko ignored that last one. "This kind of scenario is not rare. It's easier to hide in plain sight so they say. They're mistake was to mess with me."
"My, what a lovely ego you have there, does it come with your pleasing personality?" Celes remarked.
"I'm not entitled to answer that." Kyoko coldly responded as she handed the flashlight with just a little more force than necessary. "Your turn."
"Must you always speak so formally." She took the flashlight but didn't turn it on. She didn't have the patience to hold it up for long and also because the light would have irritated her eyes. "I shall share with you one of my more interesting forays in the underground."
"Normally, the winners don't have to watch over the fates of those who lost and while some find entertainment in seeing their misery, fortunately, I am not one of those petty people." She frowned.
"Could have fooled me." Kyoko commented on the side.
"I consider it a waste of time to watch those beneath me." She smiled behind her hand. "Anyways, there are times when the option to look away is not available."
"Such as?"
"Such as when the event is set up to be that way. You see, the sponsor for this event had an askewed way of thinking. If you lost, he made sure that everyone saw how much of a loser you are by broadcasting your punishment while the games continue. The game is played such that it only stops when there's only one person left. The punishment varies per person though."
"But it starts out the same. Since we're already literally changed to our seats, once you lose, you get automatically dragged outside of the room by the chains. Everyone also screams and struggles but no one escapes. They never do." She sighed and twirled a lock of hair. "The metal door shuts after them but we still hear their screams."
"We hear them because they're being broadcasted in the large monitor as they are dragged further down into the punishment chamber. And as for the punishment, they…" She paused.
And the pause lasted for more than a minute.
"They what?" Sayaka gulped.
"W-what's their punishment?" Touko stuttered partly out of nature and partly out of nerves.
She placed her chin on top of her laced fingers, her tone sweet. "That's all I'm allowed to say."
Mukuro asked. "But what happens after that?"
"Yeah, let's skip to the juicy parts!" Junko hollered.
"Oh, are you a hundred percent certain that you can handle what happens next?"
"Never mind, maybe it's best we don't know." Aoi said.
"A literal unspeakable horror." Sakura seconded.
"That's what I thought."
"You do know that nothing you said sounded even remotely legal, right?" Kyoko said skeptically.
"But it's merely a story I shared for the sake of telling horror stories." She smiled mischievously. "Who knows as to how much of it is actually true?"
She had a point though. She was the Queen of Liars so maybe this was also just a lie in order to win this contest, if you could still call it that.
"Shall we move on?" She passed the flashlight to the last person to share. "I believe that it is your turn now, Touko."
Touko's eyes calmly shifted from one person to the next. She was eerily quiet about this even as she breathed, not a sound escaped. The flashlight was on but her eyes were dead. If eyes were the mirrors to the soul then she was dead inside now. It was creepy how she transformed into that in a matter of seconds. This was how you build an atmosphere. Everyone was tensing up in anticipation. Until finally, Touko spoke in her most detached voice.
"My whole life is a horror story." She said flatly and without stuttering a single word, and promptly turned off the flashlight.
"..."
No one even dared to make a passing comment.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
They tried playing a few games from there. But anything remotely physical and it would always come down to Mukuro versus Sakura. Mukuro won the twister round though because of her flexibility. Anything mental always ended up in a showdown between Celes and Kyoko. It was a close shave but Celes won that round of Go Fish. All these games were just warm ups though. The real fun had yet begun.
"Bow down before the mighty Junko Enoshima!" She yelled and struck out her hand in a pose. "Tremble before the presence of royalty!"
"Crap. Another dangerous queen."
"We must brace ourselves."
"Please d-don't choose my number. Please, anything but my number."
"It seems that we're off to an awful start."
"She can't be that bad, right?"
"We're all going to hell."
"Congrats, sis."
This was the ultimate survival game, the King's Game. Everyone would draw lots with numbers 1-7 and one piece of paper with a star drawn on it. If you draw the star then you are now the king and can give any order to the rest. However, the girls decided that just to be fair, only the king reveals their paper so they can't directly target anyone. On the other hand, they could also just give everyone the same command but that just takes out the fun if they're only after one person. Supposedly, the commands can be anything but the girls agreed to put some restrictions. But aside from that, it was anybody's game.
"I haven't even given the command yet and my kingdom's already in chaos." She laughed heartily. "Hey, sis. What's your number?"
"D-don't just ask her that!"
"Huh? It's seven." Mukuro willingly complied.
"And you! Don't just tell her that!"
"Thank you thanks, sis." She smiled, satisfied with her answer.
"Isn't that cheating?"
"Not really. The rules state that we are to individually hide our numbers."
"And since she revealed it to her voluntarily, it's a loophole."
"Still looks like cheating to me."
"Who cares if it's cheating, it's not like it's got anything to do with y'all." Junko stomped her feet and huffed. "You ready, Muku? I'm gonna have you do something you haven't done before."
"I think I am?" She replied.
"Good enough!" She bellowed. "I have prepared for the coming of your judgment day. Feast your eyes on your doom, mortal!"
Junko dramatically pulled out a piece of paper and raised it to the light. In one fell swoop, she slapped it down on the floor for everyone else to see. She then struck a pose with her hand half-obscuring her face.
"You will judge the contents of this and in doing so, you too shall be judged." She held her other hand up in a sideways V position and continued in her loud commanding tone. "NUMBAH SEVEN! You are hereby ordered to vocally judge this list in front of me and numbers one to six. This is an order from your queen!"
The theatrics from her sister wasn't anything new to her. Mukuro knew it was her way of messing around and enjoying herself. What she couldn't understand was all the drama over a piece of paper. There's nothing special about the paper or even about what's written on them. She's read the contents over five times now and it confused her every time. Her sister's words and what she held hardly matched. What was she supposed to do with this again? Judge them?
"But it's just a list of the boys in our class?" Mukuro thought out loud.
"Oooohhh! Girl talk!" Aoi practically squealed in delight.
This brought out a few more reactions.
"A-actual girl talk? I-I never thought I'd see the day." Touko looked happy in particular.
"Already jumping into that topic! You really are of a whole new level, Junko." Sayaka commended her.
"That was a cunning way of asking a private question. I should take care not to incite your anger." Sakura remarked with nothing other than respect in her voice.
"I can't say I'm not interested." Kyoko said with a poker face but her eyes shone a little brighter.
"And here I thought you were going for something more risque." Celes hummed. "But information of this kind is at a steep price so I can understand your motive."
It seemed that everyone approved of the queen's ruling.
"I may be the queen now but I too am a maiden." Junko changed her tone into a more innocent and high pitched high school girl's. "It's only fair to have maidenly discussions in a gathering of maidens. Don't ya think so?"
"But isn't this too easy? I could do something else." Mukuro argued.
"Too easy? Ha! I can barely get you to talk more than two very short sentences!" She scoffed and then crossed her arms. "Now be a loyal subject and do as you're told."
"Yeah, but-"
"Orders from the queen are absolute. Now hurry up, it's top to bottom!"
She blinked and tilted her head. "So I just describe them, is that right?"
"Yeah, don't think about it too much." Sayaka answered for her. "Just say what comes first in your head."
"And answer a few follow up questions." Celes added.
"Hey! Last time I checked, I called the shots!" Junko butted in. "But ya, 1-6 and me are all free to ask for any juicy details you might forget to mention."
Mukuro looked back at the list as if staring at it long enough would help force the answers her sister and the rest of the girls were looking for. She didn't understand the point of this line of questioning or why they made such a big deal of it. But she still went along with it.
"First is… Leon." She started. "He's athletic, I guess?"
"Aaand? What do you think of him?"
"Isn't that it?"
"When Sayaka told you to say the first thing that pops in your head, she didn't mean you say only the first thing. Put some more effort into it!"
"What she means is that you elaborate further."
"Hm." Mukuro thought as she looked back on the name. "I always thought he'd be good for ambushes. His arm strength is good for close combat but he lacks the finesse for that so he'd easily be taken down. But he can be useful as a human grenade launcher."
"T-that's certainly a weird way to look at him."
"You learn something new every day."
"What's with that?! Lame!" Junko shouted. "That is not how you do girl talk."
"Let me rephrase that for you into a question. How do you see him as a guy?"
She looked at them skeptically. "Uh, he's very athletic for a guy?"
An awkward silence filled the room.
"Let's just move on to the next one, shall we?"
"Agreed. There's still seven more on the list, perhaps she'll talk more as we go along."
"Okay?" Mukuro checked again. "Yasuhiro-"
"Not interested."
"Let's s-skip this one."
"He's a lost cause."
"Yeah, I just put him in there for formality."
She hadn't even said anything yet. "So, uh, do I move on to the next?"
"Hold it. Let's just hear what she has to say."
"I kinda feel bad for him if he knew about this."
"I agree. Let her speak and then we quickly move on."
"What? Fine. But no one better ask questions. This is an order."
She didn't understand what just happened but she knew her orders. "Yasuhiro has no redeeming qualities in the battlefield. He can't fight but maybe he can survive with his talent."
"Called it."
"But if I recall correctly, his predictions are only correct 30% of the time."
"It was nice knowing him then."
"Don't kill him off just like that!"
"Okay! Next please!"
Mukuro read the next name along with her thoughts. "Hifumi is a walking target. He stands out easily and has poor stamina. However…" She paused. "His precision work with his hands is unparalleled and given the right training, he may become an asset for a bomb disposal squad."
"Now that's s-something you don't expect to hear about him."
"Don't let him know, guys. He'd talk about it for months!"
"Should I include bomb disposal in his training then? He might be more useful than I thought."
"That is an interesting insight."
"Maybe we should test that theory one day."
"Yeah, whatever. Next up!"
She gave her honest evaluation. "Chihiro is definitely not fit for combat but he might just be the most capable of them all. His programming skills are great for recon and surveillance which could easily turn the tide in any war."
"Are we seriously ignoring how this isn't even girl talk anymore?"
"Don't be so harsh just because it's a little bit unconventional."
"It's more than a little bit though."
"This is interesting in its own way."
"She is an ultimate so it's normal to have a unique perspective."
"There's nothing wrong with what she says."
"I knew I wasn't expecting much, but man, this totally backfired if you're gonna keep this up."
Mukuro knew she messed up from the general tone of their comments but she's not sure as to how. "Sorry. Am I not doing this right?"
"You're not wrong though." Sayaka said sympathetically.
"Maybe she's just not interested that's why there's nothing particularly interesting to say." Kyoko defended her.
"I guess that does make sense if you put it that w-way."
"One cannot force the heart to speak if there is nothing to be spoken."
"Woah, nice one, Sakura!"
"There are no complaints from me either so let's continue, shall we?"
Junko clapped. "Okay, okay! Break's over so let's get back to the program, Muku!"
Did they just defend her?
Mukuro set that aside as she talked about the next guy. "Mondo is physically strong I suppose. His short-fused nature can be easily exploited though so it's best if he works under supervision, preferably under someone he respects enough to hold in his temper."
"Oh, c'mon. We all expected that!" Junko spoke first before anyone could comment. "So why don't ya talk about his buddy too while you're at it?"
"His buddy?" She checked the next name. "His bro, Kiyotaka, is very meticulous. He would serve well under logistics. I can also see him writing reports before and after every mission in extreme details. Just place him anywhere outside combat and he'll excel."
"Yeah, I can definitely see those two like that."
"That was a n-no brainer."
"A combatant and a non-combatant, huh."
"It would be nice to see them switch roles and watch the ensuing chaos."
"That's mean but I guess I can see why you'd think it'll be funny."
"It is intriguing how those two opposites are close friends in the first place."
"That's six down, folks! We're down to our last lap." Junko bellowed. "Read 'em and weep, Muku."
"Byakuya." She paused. "He's… unpleasant."
"I second the motion."
"No doubt about it."
"I'd rather not comment on that."
"He does have a formidable ego."
"And a horrible personality."
"D-don't talk about h-him like that!"
She asked confusedly. Again, she was interrupted at the first sentence. "Uh, should I continue?"
"What? There's more?" Junko raised an eyebrow and then chortled. "Kidding! Just say your piece, sis."
She continued. "He's unpleasant but he's also sharp. He can use that as a tactician."
"Not to mention that he's heartless so he'd have no problems on the first day."
"Q-quiet you! Didn't you hear what she said? She was complimenting his b-brilliance!"
"Really? I thought she was being very objective and detached."
"All her observations so far are tactical and skill-based."
"S-shut up! She obviously recognized how f-far above my white knight is!"
"Heeey! That's enough catfighting!" Junko yelled. "It's Muku's spotlight right now so rant all about your not-happening-boyfriend later when you get a turn. Now then, I saved the best for last~"
Mukuro stared ahead. She didn't need the list anymore because she memorized his position the first time she scanned the paper.
"Makoto…" She paused and gathered her thoughts. "Makoto's nice."
"Yeah, he definitely looks like the type who'd be first to get killed." Junko nodded her head and then all of a sudden, her eyes grew wide. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"I said that he's nice?" She repeated. Not really sure why her sister didn't hear that since she made sure that her voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone.
"Holy shit!" She exclaimed as she leaned forward with her eyes sparkling. "Okay, okay but! What else?"
She thought out loud. "He has a nice smile?"
That admission and the fact that she said it so innocently had struck a chord amongst all the other girls in the room.
"Awww! That's so sweet!" Asahina cooed, she was bouncing in happiness.
"Well, Makoto is a nice person and he's easy to talk to. I can see why you'd say that." Sayaka smiled with understanding.
"Y-you're into that type, huh?" Even Touko wasn't that harsh at her.
"Truly, a good heart is key to capturing another." Sakura laughed quietly.
"I see that he has managed to charm one of us. Perhaps I underestimated him." Celes commented with mirth.
"I'd say he's gullible but nice is a better way of putting it. If you need advice, I can help." Even the usually poker-faced Kyoko was smirking.
And Mukuro could not understand a word of what they said. What did they mean by that? Didn't she just describe Makoto like she did with all the rest of the guys?
"And we have a winner!" Junko was grinning wider than ever while she hugged her sister by the shoulders. "I don't even know why I made the list in the first place. I should have gone straight for the lucky guy!"
"Did I say something wrong?" Mukuro hesitantly asked.
"Wrong? Not to worry, Muku. You did fine. In fact, you were great! You answered with your honest thoughts. That is, you did answer honestly, right?"
"Yeah, I did." That's what they told her to do and so she did. Those were her honest thoughts and feelings.
"Then we're all good. Man, that order was totally WORTH IT!" She shouted to the rooftops. When she calmed down, she started eyeing everyone else in the room. "And while we're at it, I've got an announcement to the rest of you here."
"That's it. I'm calling dibs on him. For my sis, of course." She winked at her. Then her tone dropped to a very sweet and very threatening level. There was murder in her sister's eyes. "No one else touches him, you know what I mean. If anyone has something against this, speak up now or forever be silently jealous watching from afar when things get down for real."
Mukuro felt like things were getting out of hand. She barely understood anything that they said and she had no idea what her sister was up to. What was Junko talking about? Was it Makoto? What was she planning to do with him? And why did it seem that everyone understood what she had just said? Was this another universal social thing that she never learned about? And why wasn't anyone saying anything against her sister?
"No objections, really?" Junko sighed in disappointment. She must have been looking forward to the action. "And here I thought I'd have my first catfight, Kyoko. You seriously okay with this?"
"Why would I be against it?" Kyoko casually flipped her hair. "I'm actually more for it than you think."
"Well as long as you honor the treaty then." She didn't look completely convinced but she let it slide. She knew that Kyoko would at least keep her word. If not, well she had her ways to deal with that should it happen. All that's left now was Mukuro. "So everyone's cool with this pact, right? Congratulations, sis! That's like seven less competition!"
Junko started clapping which prompted the rest to join in.
"Uh, thanks?" She blinked, still lost in all of this. "I'm not really sure what just happened though."
"Don't sweat the small details! Just remember to thank me for making this easier for you."
"Alright. Thank you, Junko."
"And tell everyone here that I'm the best!"
"Yes, sis. You're always the best." Mukuro smiled a little this time.
From there, they decided to draw lots again for the next round.
Mukuro was lucky enough to pull the star. "Ah, I guess I'm the queen this time."
And the rest of the night continued peacefully. It wasn't the quietest of nights but it was definitely fun with so many people around. Mukuro was grateful to have such company. She didn't think she'd make friends when she first entered high school but now that she's finally made it here, she's glad that she was proven wrong. In this room, cramped with her friends, she knew that even though she'd feel lost sometimes, she still always belonged.
And she couldn't help but feel excited over when the next sleepover happens.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
Shinra-ex-SOLDIER
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
OMAKE
It's Nine to Meet You
Mukuro was a light sleeper. It came with being a professional mercenary. Even the slightest movement could alarm her into waking up ready to strike. So whenever someone got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, she'd wake up as all fully alert. Tonight wasn't just her and her sister in the condo though. She had six more lives to think of. She believed that as long as they were under this roof, they were her responsibility to protect. So when someone gets up, she doesn't sleep until the person comes back.
But then she heard a sneeze from the next room.
"What's with this lily fest? Did I miss my invitation or what?" That was not the voice of any of the girls.
Mukuro took that as her cue to investigate the source and
"Oh, looks like somebody finally decided to fill me in on this schtick! But where are my manners? It's nice to meet you, dangerous looking girl. The name's Genocider Syo! Serial killer extrodinaire, only at my service! Kyeehahahaha!"
In front of her was someone who was supposed to be Touko but instead she was calling herself Genocider Syo. They may have the same body type and her but the red eyes and the hanging long tongue convinced her that there was definitely something going on. In any case, she's faced countless threats before and her instincts were going on haywire around her. This person in front of her was dangerous.
"What's this? Too shy? I know. You're speechless meeting a famous celeb!" The intruder hollered.
She lunged forward and aimed for Syo.
But a well-aimed pair of scissors cut through the air of where she was supposed to be. "Not so fast, dearie. I mean, I don't even know your name. Aren't we moving too fast?" She flashed her a toothy smile.
Meanwhile, Mukuro was assessing her opponent. So incapacitating her was out of the question now. She judged that despite her appearance, Syo was a formidable foe. And with her erratic fighting style, it was hard to predict her movements. It was then that she formulated a new plan.
"Why so quiet? I just wanna talk. It's not like I kill people or anything." She then cackled madly. "Oh, wait. I do! Kyahaha!"
She sprang towards her again and engaged in combat. All of her attacks were blocked though.
"Wow, you're really going at me. If I didn't have my genoscissors with me, I'd say I'd be 3B by now! Battered! Bruised! Broken!" Her face flushed red in ecstasy and she spoke the next line more sensually. "And the only B I need in my life is my darling Byakuya~!"
She continued her assault even though it was a deadlock each time but she did this for a while.
"Seriously. This is getting annoying." She raised both of her scissors at her. "There's a party I need to crash and it's definitely not this one. Be a dear, and move it. I have places to be!"
This was it, the opening. Mukuro sidestepped to dodge her attack and grabbed the long lock of her that flew in her direction. She redirected it to Syo's face and gently twisted it to tickle her nose.
"What the-"
And then she sneezed.
"H-huh? What?" Touko was back and was definitely disoriented. "Where am I? What was I? What am I doing h-here?"
"Sleepwalking." She said flatly.
"S-sleepwalking?!" It looked like Touko wasn't buying it but she didn't argue against it. "I-I didn't say or do anything weird, d-did I?"
"No, you were just walking… asleep." She said, not really giving any details.
"Right, because that's what sleepwalking literally means." She nervously bit her nail, unsure of what to say next. But in the end, her feet started shuffling away. "A-anyways, I'll get back to bed now."
"Goodnight." Mukuro nodded.
With all things considered, the sleepover was a success. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Tonight was another peaceful night.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
BONUS
Boys' Night Out
"Remind me again, why I ever bothered to agree with this?" Byakuya said snappishly.
"Oh, c'mon, don't be such a hardass!" Mondo goodnaturedly clapped his back.
Kiyotaka frowned. "Bro, we already talked about language."
"As if I have any interest in mingling with commoners of your kind." He scoffed.
Makoto remarked snidely. "Says the guy who not only joined us but also volunteered his mansion for venue."
"Not that we're complaining. Wicked place ya got here though." Leon jeered.
"Are you sure this is alright though? We don't want to be of bother." Chihiro timidly asked.
"Hmph. I just merely took pity on you. And this is no mansion. It's nowhere near as grand as the actual Togami palace. This is merely a shack for our manual laborers."
Yasuhiro gasped. "Really? Hey, are you hiring right now?"
"I believe this is just another affectionate show of his tsuntsun." Hifumi nodded to himself.
"Shut up with all your baseless drivel and hurry up and do whatever it is you plebs do!"
On the same night, the boys were having a sleepover of their own. It's definitely not an original idea since they just decided on it earlier that same day when they found out about the girls' plans. Feeling left out, they all agreed to spend the night together as well. But since it was an impromptu event, they were going on in circles for the the first half hour. Aside from the venue, everything was left up in the air. They didn't even decide on who would host. It looked like it was going to be a long night but for all the wrong reasons.
"Let's just head straight for the main event."
"And what pray tell is that supposed to mean?" Byakuya looked like he already regretted asking that.
"Drinking, of course!" Yasuhiro said proudly.
"I OBJECT!" Kiyotaka immediately shot him down. "Drinking is not allowed in a school environment!"
"I'm with bro on this one. Do you know how dangerous it is to drink and drive?" Mondo bumped his fists in an intimidating manner. "My big bro ain't ever letting our gang drink a drop so I ain't downing any of that shit either."
"But we're not even in school anymore. It's after school hours so anything goes, right?" Leon sent a thumbs up at his comrade.
"We're not even at the legal age yet." Chihiro chimed.
"Excuse me, not that I support drinking. I'm perfectly equipped with Cola-Cola. But age restrictions are merely suggestions." Hifumi exclaimed. "Take my doujins for examples, even though I'm not of legal age, I can still make materials of those kind with the R-18 logo stamped on it."
"O-kay, we did not need to know that." Makoto commented, uncomfortable at the sudden unnecessary turn this conversation took. "But bottom line is that we are NOT drinking any alcohol."
Yasuhiro still had a trump card. "I'm above legal age though so I still can, right?"
"We are ALL not drinking any alcohol tonight." Makoto said with finality.
"Yeah, thought so." He visibly deflated.
As the guys continued to argue, mostly because someone kept suggesting outrageous ideas, there was nothing else to do for Makoto. That was until his phone vibrated in his pocket. So he took it out and was surprised to see that he just received a text from Kyoko. That was weird. Wasn't she supposed to be at the girls' sleepover? What did she need for her to text him? He opened the message to find a photo attached to the text.
[You're welcome. PS don't let anyone else see this and trust me, I WILL find out if they did]
It was a photo of Kyoko and Mukuro together and suddenly, all of his color went rushing to his face. They looked… different. Kyoko was dressed in a way that reminded him of Celes and admittedly, she was stunning with that look. But that's not what got his jaw to drop though. Mukuro was… she was… she was shining. She reminded him of how diamonds were polished rocks and how she looked very polished in this photo.
Mukuro was wearing makeup. Like bright red lipstick on her lips, sharp eyeliner around her eyes, decent mascara for her eyelashes, and maybe even modest eyeshadow. Very light makeup because he could still see her freckles. Good, he liked her freckles just fine. And she was wearing more flattering clothes. She was wearing a dark blouse over a white polo and… was that her black bra peeking out? Makoto blushed furiously as he tried not to let his eyes linger there. Uh, what else. A loose dotted tie hang around her neck and wow, her red skirt was super short so he saw more of her creamy thighs. She looked like a normal highschool girl in this photo, granted with a more daring fashion tasted, but definitely very normal for her with all things considered. Normal looked different on her. She looked great and...
And just, wow.
Makoto knew she was already pretty but sometimes he wondered what she would look like with a different wardrobe and now… now he didn't have to imagine anymore. And oh, god.
Was she blushing? She was! That's just too cute. Makoto voiced inside his head.
He was practically grinning at his phone like an idiot. He happily sent Kyoko his thanks and made a mental note to do something nice for her later. It was the least he could do for having received such a gift. He blushed harder. Did he just think that? Wow, he was such a dork.
"Is there something that you're not sharing with us?"
"Huh?" He snapped back to the sleepover where he realized that everyone was staring at him now.
"You've been awfully quiet for a while now."
"Yeah, usually you're all you've got that wrong up our asses."
"Language, bro!"
"Oh, and don't forget the pose! Man, that's punk!"
"It's obvious that Makoto is just waiting for the right opportunity to use his heroic objection."
"Really? I thought that the aliens might have already gotten to him while we weren't looking."
"Or maybe he was just thinking."
Crap, I gotta say something or else they'd get suspicious. He thought.
"I was thinking that we should start with some games." Makoto chuckled nervously. "Did anyone bring any cards?"
A terse silence entered the room.
"Hmph, so you were paying attention after all. Better start looking the part." Byakuya scowled. "Well? You heard him. Prepare to taste defeat at the hands of the esteemed me."
Makoto let out a sigh of relief as he stealthily snuck his phone back in his pocket. And then he joined in with the rest as the table and cards were set up. Maybe he'd win a round, he thought. He was feeling very lucky right now. That was a pretty close call. He'd check that picture again later or maybe tomorrow, when it's safe.
No thinking about girls tonight, after all, it's boys' night out.
~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~~xoxo~xoxo~
Tag yourself as a horror story! I'm #Touko. Hahaha, I've lost control over my life. Someone send help.
Ask and you shall receive. For the ScareCrowFM and NaekusabaFanGirl who requested a sleepover. Especially ScareCrowFM because he suggested Mukuro talking about the guys tactically except for Makoto. I hope I did justice to your idea.
DELETED SCENE: There was supposed to be a makeover scene but fuck it, I'm tired, this is 12k words and it took me a week when I usually finish in 2-3 days. So just imagine Junko doing makeup, Touko as hairstylist, with Sayaka's songs playing as background noise, Aoi singing wrong lyrics, and everyone else chill as fuck. Also, they swapped outfits (Junko used her connections to have them customized to fit) and the swaps are sakura/hina, celes/giri, saya/fuka, junko/saba.
~xoxo~xoxo~
Honestly though, nothing like this happens in my sleepovers.
We watch movies, play videogames, eat fries, rave over fictional characters, discuss current political issues, rant on the persisting discrimination and gender roles, talk about morality, have philosophical conversations, ask existential questions, oh and sometimes we actually sleep. You know, normal sleepover stuff.
I know it's supposed to be Mukuro-centric but the characters just took over while I was writing this? And there's so much dialogue? DO YOU KNOW HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO WRITE 8 PEOPLE TALKING? AT THE SAME TIME? DO YOU? I am never doing that again. In hindsight, I should have just jumped into the king's game instead. I don't regret the horror stories though. It was fun and stressful.
~xoxo~xoxo~
MILESTONE: Holy shit 20 followers just after 3 chapters? (Who are the 5 people who didn't fav though? Jk!) Wow, may I just say that I did not expect this much love. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I only continued this because I received such wonderful support from the start! You guys keep the flame burning! So I'm releasing this one earlier in celebration!
PS I already have the next two chapters ready and I just might post them earlier too if you're not too shy to drop by a review ;)
Replies to those without accounts:
NaekusabaFanGirl: With a username like that, of course I'd spoil you :) I spoil all naekusaba fangirls. So don't be shy and request some more! Thanks for noticing the effort I put in updating on schedule. I'm actually trying to write as much as I can before the anime airs and bring me back to the naegiri side. It's a race against time.
Up next, someone's going on a date! :)
So tell me how this went for you so I know if you want to see more of the whole cast. And drop by a request too if this inspired you! See ya!