Monaca Towa bonds with Makoto Naegi!

"Hey… wake up…"

"Ugh… Just another minute…" he responded, not wanting to get out of bed.

"I! Said! Get! Up!" Something hard hit the back of his head; the pain enough for him to leap out of bed.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"You weren't getting up, so I thought a little pain should do it," Monaca answered, and gave one of her trademark little smiles at him. It didn't make him feel any better.

"Get changed. Today you'll be taking me to the shops, or did you forget about that Makoto?" Monaca let out a giggle. "It's okay though; I'll be happy to give you a friendly reminder every time you forget anything that I asked."

He sighed. This was his life now huh… He was taking orders from a handicapped girl that was in elementary school, and he couldn't do a thing about it.

What did he do wrong in life to deserve this…?

"Can't you be any faster?"

He was still trying to untie his shoes when Monaca asked that for the fiftieth time today. His mental health hadn't fully recovered from the events yesterday, and her constant pestering wasn't doing him any favours.

"I'm working as fast as I can Monaca," he replied, his hands working hard in untying his shoelaces out of their tangled mess. He was one hundred percent certain he untied them yesterday, so how did they even become like this!?

… Actually, he had a pretty good guess on how they became this way.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have tied your shoelaces like that Makoto," Monaca said. "I've been waiting for you for five minutes. I might have to punish you if you take another minute."

As always she flashed him a fake smile. He went into overdrive; his hands untangling the shoelaces in mere seconds. Now she looked a bit displeased.

"You see, that's better. Looks like Big Bro needed just a little bit of motivation to work better."

He finished placing on his shoes and tied them up in the proper way. They still felt a bit loose though, maybe he should have been a bit gentler when untying.

He stood up and turned around to shout, "We're going out now!"

"Okay!" his mum called out from the living room. "Make sure to have fun you two!"

Oh, he doubted he would have any fun.

He exited the house with Monaca. She commanded him to push her wheelchair for the rest of the day since that was "what a slave is for!", as she delightfully said to his face.

There was really no break for him huh? He kept pushing Monaca's wheelchair all the way to the train station. He just hoped she wouldn't make him spend too much money…

Neither of the two felt the need to talk to the other; their trip to the train station was mostly silent apart from the rumbling in his stomach. He hadn't had the time to properly eat thanks to being rushed to the door by Monaca, so he was feeling a bit fatigued trying to push her wheelchair. If there was one silver lining, he at least wasn't forced to eat dried mackerel.

They reached the train station and boarded a train, and he noted that the carriage they were on was empty. Despite this, the two went to opposite ends of the carriage. He was on the left of the carriage, taking a rest on a seat as he stared out of a nearby window. Monaca, meanwhile, was on the right, looking at her phone without giving him a second glance.

… He couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Even though Monaca was his adopted sister, was this how siblings interacted with each other? When he was with Komaru they would talk about all sorts of things ranging from school to the latest pop culture.

But not with Monaca. Most of their interactions would consist of her ordering him around to do stuff for her, or him trying to lecture her on why she couldn't just do whatever she wanted. Even before she revealed her true colours she never talked much about herself. An example he could remember was when Komaru asked her who her favourite band was, and she responded with "why Sayaka of course." When he asked her the same question she would say "whatever's popular of course."

Everything about her was covered in lies, and he wondered sometimes if her personality right now was her true self or just another facade.

In an attempt to break the ice, he tried to start a conversation with her.

"Monaca?"

"What do you want Makoto?" Monaca said, not looking away from her phone to face him.

"Ummm… do you have anything specific you want to buy?"

"No."

"Okay then."

… They sat in silence for a while.

"… Are you talking to your friends?"

Monaca finally looked up at him. "Why are you asking me sooo many questions today Makoto? Are you trying to trick me or something?"

"What? No," he said. "I just wanted to have a conversation with you."

"Big Bro wants to talk to Monaca? Now she definitely knows something is up. You're just trying to find out her weaknesses, aren't you? I'm sorry, but Monaca has no weaknesses."

"For the last time, I'm not tricking you or anything. I'm actually trying to learn more about you so we can at least become friends."

"You want us to become friends? Are you delusional? Why would Monaca want to become friends with you, the most boring, booooring person she has ever met? This is why you're in this situation Big Bro; you have too big of a heart to take the most logical course of action."

"Okay, then what is the logical course of action?"

"Well, for starters you should have hit Monaca when she first pranked Komaru. Then if Monaca kept on being a bad girl Big Bro should keep on hitting her until she learns her lesson."

To say that he was horrified at what she was proposing would be an understatement. Monaca ignored the shocked look on his face to continue on rambling, "Hmmm, but on second thought, I don't think you're strong enough to leave any bruises on me. But don't worry; there are other ways you can teach Monaca. You can cut Monaca with a knife, throw her off her wheelchair, hit her with a bat, lock her in the closet, starve her, or make her listen to long talks about friendship!"

"Monaca, I'm not the sort of person to use violence as a solution! Even though you've been causing nothing but trouble for me lately, I don't think even someone like you deserves it."

Monaca rolled her eyes. "I think the correct term is discipline, but I think you'll change your tune soon enough. Even someone like you has a snapping point. Don't tell you never even thought of hitting me, not even once?"

He could only remain silent. Yes, sometimes little thoughts like that would pop up, but he'd always shake them away from his mind.

She grinned at him. "Oh my, I never would have thought my kind-hearted Big Bro has actually thought of hurting me. Monaca recommends that you should take several deep breaths if you're angry; it does wonders for your stress."

"Monaca, is there really no way we can ever be friends?"

"Nope, not in a gazillion years! Now if that's all, please be quiet so Monaca can read in peace."

Monaca returned to looking at her phone, while he looked out the window once more. Should he even keep trying to get close to her? She was making no such attempts to even try to act friendly, and her negativity was wearing him down each day.

But he resolved himself to keep at it. How many times had he thought it was impossible for him to get along with Byakuya? Or even with Toko? And yet he succeeded, and that was enough to give him hope that eventually, Monaca would be able to become his friend.

"Hey Makoto, have you ever seen someone explode?"

… He really, really hoped that he was right. Maybe he should get her to see a therapist…?

The duo finally arrived at their destination, a large shopping district. he had to manoeuvre Monaca around to avoid the crowds of people in their way.

"Where do you want to go Monaca?" he asked. He looked around at the various stores in the district. "There's a book store, a toy store, a game store…"

"I want to go in there." She pointed at an electronics store.

"An electronics store? I didn't know you had an interest in technology Monaca."

"It's because Monaca has a high intellect Makoto, which allows her to think of lots of ways to create all sorts of cool stuff. It's quite a shame that you aren't as smart as me."

Ouch. Did she really have to insult his intelligence? But this was good progress; Monaca had an interest that didn't involve the suffering of others.

They entered the store. He watched as the girl searched around, looking through every tray and examining every single circuit within.

This might be a good time to have another conversation with her. Unlike their last conversation, he at least had a topic that might catch her interest.

He thought long and hard for anything related to technology to use as an appropriate conversation starter, and when he finally thought of the perfect one he initiated the conversation.

"So Monaca, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

"I don't know," she replied. Her back was turned to him as she examined the long piece of metal in her hands. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, since you have an interest in technology, why don't you think of working for the Towa Group?"

A loud, sharp cracking sound echoed around the store. He swerved his head around; he could have sworn the sound originated near him.

Monaca placed the two pieces of metal in her hand back into the tray she took it from and turned to face him with a bright expression.

"Oh? The Towa Group? I don't think I've ever heard about them before. Please tell me allll about them Makoto."

He zipped up his jacket. Was it just him, or was the room getting a bit cold now?

"Umm, well, the Towa Group is one of the biggest technology enterprises in the world."

"Well duh, of course they are," Monaca said. "Tell me something I don't know."

"I thought you said you never heard of them before?"

"I was joking. I know all about them of course. For example, I know that one of their current projects is building an enormous airship called The Excalibur. I heard that you could fit everyone in Towa city into it. Isn't that sooo amazing?"

"Yeah… it is." Monaca sounded happy, and yet he couldn't help but feel like he might have stepped on a landmine.

"And I also know alllll about the chairman of the group, and his only child of course. The son is next in line despite having done nothing at all to contribute to the company, but that's fine since he's family. Isn't it sooo nice that the chairman is a loving father, who would give his entire company to a person who has no useful skills to show whatsoever?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Of course it is! It's a good thing he's an only child, since he wouldn't have to compete with a sibling who's far superior to him in every way. Not that there is another sibling of course, since there's no way the father can be such a selfish, cowardly, pathetic human being who'll abandon one of his children, don't you think?"

Okay, he definitely touched on a sensitive topic for Monaca. Why was she getting so aggressive at the Towa Group?

Monaca clasped her hands onto her lap and stared at him. This time, there wasn't a smile at all on her face. "I think I've talked enough about my feelings for the Towa Group today, but if you want I can keep going."

"N-No, I think you've made your point."

"Then get me out of here; I'm done looking."

He wheeled Monaca out of the store. She was smiling now, but he could tell that she was in a very bad mood. This was probably the most disastrous conversation he ever had with someone.

Now that was twice he failed to have a decent conversation with her. He needed the next topic to be something she liked or else she'd most certainly do one of her punishments at home. Maybe he should talk abo—

"Hey, Makoto!"

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, and the duo turned around to see a figure running up to them.

"Hey, Hina!" he said when she got close. "Nice to see you again!"

"You too!" Aoi gave him a smile. That smile, however, faltered a bit when she looked at the figure with him.

"And you're with… Monaca…"

Monaca smiled back at Aoi. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"Uh, we met yesterday, at the school festival?"

Monaca placed a finger under her chin. "Nope," she said. "Monaca can't remember someone like you."

"Well… I guess I'll introduce myself again. I'm Aoi Asahina, nice to meet you again Monaca!" She held out her hand for a handshake.

Monaca shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too doughnut girl." The last part earned a frown from him and Aoi.

"Monaca! Please call Hina by her real name and not with a nickname!"

"Yeah!" Aoi said. "Besides, doughnuts aren't my entire character! I mean I have other interests too, like swimming, so an appropriate nickname would be something like 'doughnut girl who also loves swimming.'"

"I think you're missing the point Hina…"

"Anyways, are you guys doing anything at the moment?"

"We just came out of the electronics store," he answered. "Why?"

"Since we're here… why don't we all go out and eat some doughnuts?"

"Well…" He looked at Monaca for her approval. She gave him a shrug.

"Why not," she said. "Monaca is pretty hungry anyway."

"Then that settles it! I know a great store outside of the mall that sells the best doughnuts. Follow me!" She marched ahead with the duo following suit behind her.

"Here we are!" Aoi declared. "The best doughnut store in the world!"

"Doesn't really look like it though…" Monaca whispered to him. "Look at the sign; it's going to fall off any moment now."

He had to agree with her about the sign. The sign, which was shaped like a doughnut, was shaking a lot. All it would take for the sign to topple over would be a slight bit of force. But apart from that, the store looked great; it reminded him of a luxury cafe.

There was a line when the trio entered the store. The line was long, so Aoi suggested that they find a table while she ordered the food.

"You guys decided on what to order?" Aoi asked.

He found it hard to choose since all the doughnuts at the counter looked delicious. "I'll have… A jelly-filled doughnut. "

"Okay, what about you Monaca?"

"I'll have a bean doughnut," she said.

"Alright, then I'll have…" Aoi seemed to be thinking long and hard about what she wanted to order before saying, "You know what; I'll just order one of each doughnut."

He handed Aoi some money for their order before he and Monaca sat at an empty table. Like at the train, they both seated themselves on opposite ends of the table. He once again tried to start a conversation with her while they waited.

"Sooo… Are you enjoying yourself Monaca?"

"Not really." Monaca folded her arms and looked at him with a pout. "Monaca doesn't want to hang around with your friend."

"Hina is one of the nicest people I've ever met," he said. "I'm sure if you give her a chance she'll become your friend too."

Monaca scoffed. "I don't think I need any friends at the moment, but…maybe having someone else to play with wouldn't hurt…"

"What was that Monaca?"

"I'm saying that I think you're absolutely right Makoto," Monaca said. "Maybe I should be friends with her."

"I'm glad that you're trying to make more friends." He smiled at her. "But first, you have to apologise to her for your behaviour yesterday and today."

"Fine…"

Aoi came back carrying fifteen boxes in a pile. He was rather dumbfounded by this, and judging by her expression, so was Monaca.

Aoi placed the boxes on the table and plopped down next to him. "Sorry for the long wait you guys."

She grabbed the box at the top of the pile and placed it between them. She grabbed a doughnut from the box and took a bite out of it; her face lighting up as she chewed. "If you guys want any more I'll be happy to share!"

"She should be called the Ultimate Doughnut Eater," Monaca whispered to him.

"Monaca…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Monaca's expression changed. Before she looked at least a little cheerful, but now she looked as though someone had murdered her pet or something.

"Before we eat… Monaca wants to say that she's very sorry for calling you doughnut girl earlier (even if it's true), and for what happened yesterday at the school festival. Monaca knows that you might never be able to forgive her, and that's fine. But if you can find it in your heart to give someone like me a chance, I'll do whatever it takes to make up for it."

"Awww, I forgive you Monaca," Aoi said. It seemed her apology had worked.

"You do? Then can you be Monaca's friend?"

"Sure, I'll be your friend!"

Monaca glanced at him while he was eating his jelly doughnut. She nudged the table a bit; surprising him and causing some jelly to fall onto his jacket.

"Monaca!"

"Sorry Big Bro, Monaca just got a bit excited from making a new friend."

He got up and excused himself to the bathroom. Hopefully nothing bad happened while he was away…

Ever since that incident, Jutarou Akafuku had grown afraid of luck.

It was a double-edged sword that could make any plan—no matter how well it was crafted—be reduced to nothing. He had to learn this the hard way when he met that boy—a boy who had such absurd bad luck that it overpowered his own good luck. The incident made him gain a new perception of the world; at any moment in time, a person's life could come crashing down due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Of course, that didn't stop him from doing what he does best—being a thief. He had a hard time escaping his jail cell, but with a little bit of planning—and admittedly a little bit of luck—he managed.

He entered the doughnut store and sat down near an empty table. This would be the first time he'd be pulling a robbery in such an indiscreet way. It wasn't his usual style to pull off such an act; he would've preferred to steal with a bit more craft from his targets.

Of course, he also knew the various risks involved in such an act. For one thing, this wasn't a job given to him; he had planned this knowing that his reward would most likely be a pitiful amount of change. Secondly, he was still on the run, so the risk of someone recognising him here was another risk. And thirdly—

—He let out a small cough. He had this damn cough that came out of nowhere.

The odds were stacked against him, and yet he felt more confident than ever. Prior to this he had looked at a map of the area around the store, memorised the timetables of the public transport near here, and formulated several routes for his escape. Of course, if public transport wasn't an option he had stored several getaway vehicles nearby as a safety net. Right now he was dressed as a businessman, and no one was paying him any mind. Once he had the money he'd replace his clothes with another disguise stashed close by to throw off any pursuers.

He had done everything within his power to ensure the maximum amount of success possible for this to work, all because his pride had been severely damaged by some brat. If his plan went smoothly, it would prove to him once more that a well-made plan trumped luck. He would regain his confidence, and he could finally move on from that traumatic event.

He looked around at his surroundings. There were only a few people around—mostly teenagers and families—and none of them looked like they could pose a problem to him. Still, looks could be deceiving as he had learned; one of them could be proficient in martial arts.

He needed someone that he was sure would not fight back against him, and only one particular person sitting close by fit what he needed. A handicapped girl that he guessed was around ten or eleven years old was chatting away with a teenager.

The perfect person to be his hostage. He felt around his jacket pocket until he came into contact with his army knife. He got up from his table and approached the duo. The teenager and the little girl didn't give him any attention until he was standing over his soon-to-be captive.

"Ummm, can Monaca help you?" the little girl asked.

His response was to grab her hair and press a knife to her neck.

He was rinsing his jacket in the bathroom with a solemn expression. The stain was not coming off no matter how much he rubbed at it with his hands. He hung his head down in sadness.

"It was my favourite jacket too…" he muttered. Actually, he had plenty of replicas of this exact jacket back in his closet, but it still hurt all the same.

He heard a scream coming from outside the bathroom. "That scream, it sounded like Monaca!" He would have burst through the bathroom door if he hadn't forced himself to stop.

"I can't just rush outside recklessly; I should at least take a peek to see what's happening."

He opened the bathroom door just a little and peered outside. There was a man with a knife at the counter, and the person struggling in his arms was Monaca. She had a pained expression—most likely due to how hard the man was pulling her hair—but most of all she looked terrified.

Crap! he needed to help her! He was about to come charging out of the bathroom, but a sudden thought stopped him.

Why should he help her anyway? All she ever did was cause trouble for him and everyone he cared about. Hell, she was even blackmailing him! She deserved this!

… No, he didn't believe that. He might just be too kind for his own good, but no matter how bad Monaca had been in his life he wouldn't abandon her when she needed his help.

Now, what was he supposed to do? The robber kept moving his head around the store, so sneaking up on him was unlikely. But if he waited too long there was a chance the robber would take Monaca with him, and who knew what would happen to her.

He spotted a bag on top of the counter; a large amount of money was being deposited into it by the people at the front.

He thought of an idea. It was risky, and he didn't know if he could be fast enough, but it was worth a shot. The robber was only a few metres away from the bathroom door. He'd wait until the man reached for the bag, and charge at him from the side.

He held his breath, waiting for the right moment to come bursting out of the door the second the robber reached for the bag.

The robber coughed a bit and reached out for the bag. He came charging out of the door right at him…

… Only for disaster to happen right at that moment, as his shoelaces came undone as he was running and he slipped. The robber stepped to the left, and he crashed into an empty table.

He could see several spectators watching him wincing at the sound of the collision. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole store shook from his crash.

His last vision before he fell unconscious was of Monaca looking at him with surprise.

He stared at the crumpled mess of the teenager. Everything was going so smoothly in his plan that of course something unexpected had to happen. But it was a good thing the boy slipped, or else he would have been in trouble. Then again, it was his fault for not checking the bathroom before he started his robbery (not that he would admit it).

He grabbed the bag on the counter. The bag was heavy, and he almost made a fool of himself lifting it off the counter. It was his lucky day today that a doughnut store such as this had so much money in its register. Maybe he'd rob some doughnut stores once things quiet down.

Now that he had the money all that was left was to walk right out of the store along with the little girl in his hand. He'd keep her as a hostage just until he was a safe distance away from the scene of the crime, and then he'd drop her off somewhere where she would be safe until the police find her. He wasn't that heartless to leave a handicapped girl in danger.

His hostage wasn't struggling anymore; she was staring at the unconscious boy with a curious look on her face. While he should have used this chance to just run off with the goods, He had to admit that he was also curious to know who was the idiot who almost threw a wrench into his plan.

He approached the boy, and once he got a good look at his face he immediately recognised who he was.

He dropped the girl and the bag and made a mad dash out of the store.

By a cruel twist of fate, He had met that boy once more. The boy who landed him in jail and wounded his pride was lying right in front of him unconscious, but he knew better. He didn't give a damn about the money anymore; misfortune surrounded this boy, and he did not want to be around him when things went to shit.

But it was already too late. If he had fled without trying to find out the identity of the boy there might have been a chance he could have gotten away scot-free. But fate wasn't so kind to him.

The second he stepped outside the door the sign on top fell down, slamming him into the pavement.

He really should have… changed jobs…

"Ma-Makoto!"

The first thing he saw upon waking up was several paramedics circled around him, and Aoi looking down at him with a relieved look. "You're finally awake!"

With some help from her, he got back up on his feet. Not even a second later she hugged him; the pressure from it was almost enough to send him right back to being unconscious.

"H-Hina," He wheezed out. "I can't breathe…"

She let go of him. "I was so worried that you might've not woken up at all; you slammed pretty hard into that table…" She gestured to the shattered remains around him.

He cringed at the memory of his failed rescue attempt. Humiliating himself in public was a lot more painful to him than crashing into a table at full force.

"Excuse me miss," one of the paramedics asked. "If you don't mind we would like to check up on your friend."

"Oh, okay. I'll just be right outside Makoto."

"Alright." He thought he felt perfectly fine, aside from this constant headache and his whole body feeling like he got hit by a truck. More importantly, he wanted to ask Aoi something before she left.

"Where's Monaca?"

"She's outside with the police and other paramedics. That poor girl, she must be so traumatised by what happened… if I hadn't suggested we eat here this mi—"

"This wasn't your fault Hina," he interrupted. "It was just bad luck that's all."

She chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. It's a bit funny that something like this happened to the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"Unfortunately, I think my luck is more of a curse than a blessing these days."

The paramedics around them were becoming impatient. Aoi said a quick goodbye and went outside, leaving him alone to be examined by the paramedics.

He and Monaca were on opposite ends of the carriage, returning home after saying goodbye to Aoi. Despite having a knife pressed to her neck a few moments ago, Monaca was busy playing on her phone with a smile on her face.

"Monaca, are you sure you're alright?" he asked her for the fiftieth time today.

"For the last time Makoto yes, Monaca is alright," she replied. "Besides, this was probably the most exciting thing to have happened this week!"

"You were excited to be taken hostage? But you looked so terrified when you were being held!"

"I was just acting that's all. It would be weird if I didn't even try to act scared in such a situation. That robber pulled so hard on Monaca's hair, but in exchange, she did get to see Big Bro fail spectacularly in his rescue attempt."

Did she really have to poke fun at him for that? It wasn't his fault that his shoelaces came untied at that moment.

"Also, if you think that I'm going to change my attitude because of today, then you're wrong."

"Huh?"

"Did you really think that rescue act will make Monaca become so nice to you? Sorry Makoto, you're still my slave, whether you like it or not."

"I didn't try to rescue you because I wanted you to be nice to me."

"Then why?"

"It's because you looked like you needed help. That's why I tried to rescue you."

Monaca took her eyes off her phone and looked at him, a frown on her face. "Because I needed help? You rescued me because of that?"

"Yeah. Even though you've caused a lot of trouble for me and my friends, you're still my little sister. I won't abandon you when you're in trouble."

"… You're weird."

He chuckled at that. "I'm weird? I think I'm a pretty average and boring teenager."

"Nope, you're definitely weird. You should let a doctor check your head." Monaca looked back at her phone. He returned to staring aimlessly out the window.

For the rest of the day, Monaca left him alone.

He could hear Monaca coughing from the other side. He took a tiny peek through the gap in the open door.

Monaca blew her nose on the tissue, coughing all the while as she looked outside the window of her room. She had caught the flu the next day after yesterday's events, most likely because of that robber. She'd have to spend a few days confined to her bed.

Monaca crumpled the tissue and threw it at the bin near her. It landed on top of the growing mountain of used tissues coming out of the bin.

"This sucks!" Monaca shouted. "I knew I shouldn't have agreed to come eat some stupid doughnuts! They weren't even that good anyway…

"… Okay maybe they were a bit delicious, but it still wasn't worth it if I have to get sick!"

He entered the room with a bowl of soup. "Do you feel better Monaca?"

"Why of course I feel better Makoto," Monaca answered. "In fact, I have so much energy right now I could leap right out of bed."

He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her. He spooned up a piece of soup and blew on it a bit. When he tried to feed it to her, she shook her head.

"It's good for you Monaca," he insisted.

"It looks disgusting!" Monaca closed her mouth when he brought the spoon near it.

"It's good, I promise!" He tried once more to feed it to her. Once again she wouldn't budge.

"Why are you doing this anyway? I didn't ask you to feed me this soup, or maybe you're trying to poison me? I bet you enjoy seeing Monaca look so miserable and pathe—"

Monaca started coughing, her hands grabbing several tissues to wipe away the snot coming from her nose.

"I'm not trying to poison you," He said after her coughing fit calmed down. "And I'm not enjoying the fact that you're ill. I want you to get better as soon as possible."

"I don't get you. If I get better that means you're just going to be ordered around by me again. Are you saying you're actually okay with that?"

He paused for a bit. If she got better she would go right back to her old ways. Would he still try to help even while knowing that?

"Yeah," he replied.

Monaca stared at him, her expression unreadable. Begrudgingly, Monaca opened her mouth, allowing him to feed her.

"I'll admit… it tastes good…" she whispered.

He smiled. He scooped up another piece of soup. It may have been his imagination…

But just for this one moment, he felt that he and Monaca bonded just a tiny bit.