Makoto Naegi and his daily life with Monaca Towa

by BrokeGex

Makoto Naegi's whole life changed thanks to the newest addition to his family—Monaca Towa! What sort of bond will they form? And more importantly, will his life change for the better, or for the worse...? Probably the latter.

10. Chapter 10

Monaca Towa sets up a date!

Patient name: Kazuo Matsuzaki.

Occupation: high school student.

Attributes: Patient had a superb talent in baseball. Patient was suffering from imposter syndrome and recent nightmares of being killed by one thousand baseballs.

Treatment plan: Patient had been recommended to keep a journal of personal achievements. Patient had also been recommended to stop playing murder-mysteries until nightmares have subsided.

Plan's chance of success: ninety-five percent.

Concluding notes: patient should be treated in the next three to four appointments.

She typed on her keyboard; the avatar inside her monitor speaking the words in her stead.

"It appears that's the end of our session," the avatar said. "Do you want the same time for our next appointment?"

"Sure," the patient replied. "I'll see you back here again, Miss Gekkogahara."

"Oh, I'm afraid I won't be in my office for the next couple of months."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"I've received a request for assistance from Hope's Peak Academy. They want my expertise to deal with the…recent events troubling the school."

"You're talking about The Parade?"

"Yes."

Patient had a grim look on his face. "I read about it online. I still can't believe that the school was doing human experimentation. I've always wanted to go to Hope's Peak Academy, but now that I know what the school uses its funds on I…"

Patient was beginning to fidget around in his seat. Warning, action required to prevent patient from becoming distressed. She began typing in a countermeasure.

"Don't get so down Kazuo!" the avatar said. "You don't have to go to Hope's Peak Academy if you don't want to."

"But Hope's Peak Academy is the best chance I got in getting a successful career…"

"Success is not determined by the school you go to. I'll admit that graduating from Hope's Peak Academy does give you an edge in the professional world. But remember; you don't get to pick the talent they choose for you. What talent do you definitely not want to be given Kazuo?"

"A talent I don't want? That would be the Ultimate Musician of course."

"If Hope's Peak Academy came to you asking you to be the Ultimate Musician, would you still go?"

"Hell no."

"See. There's a chance that even if you got into Hope's Peak things wouldn't work out the way you want. Hope's Peak is not the only road to a successful life; find your own road to success Kazuo, one that you won't regret."

"Yeah… Yeah, you're absolutely right!" the patient shouted, jumping up from his seat. "I don't need to go to some wack ass school anyway! I'll achieve my dreams on my own!"

She examined the now rowdy patient. Action was successful, standing by for now.

"Thanks for the encouragement Miss Gekkogahara!" The patient offered a hand to her.

… The patient lowered his hand. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you don't like physical contact…" The patient rubbed the back of his head.

She typed in a response. "Don't worry about it," the avatar said. "I'm happy that you're thinking about your own path in life without Hope's Peak. I'm also excited to say that your health is recovering smoothly!"

"Really?"

"Yes, so don't give up Kazuo! Keep on fighting and never give up hope!"

"I won't!" The patient had a big grin on his face. Revising concluding notes: patient should be treated in the next appointment.

Patient was now walking towards the door. "See ya Miss Gekkogahara! Next time you see me I'll be a new man!"

Patient had left the room. Objective completed: finish all appointments scheduled today.

Time taken: four hours, thirty-five minutes, and fifty-five seconds.

New objective: pack up belongings for the journey to Hope's Peak Academy.

She moved towards the door, opening it to reveal the hallway outside. She exited through the door and—

"Ugh, what's with all the noise today?"

She turned her head towards the source of the voice. Two members of Future Foundation were approaching her left.

"You really should control your patients Miaya. We're not a daycare centre here you know? Some of us here actually have important duties to do."

Subject speaking had her arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed as she gazed at her.

Subject name: Ruruka Ando.

Occupation: Branch Office Eight Director.

Attributes: Subject was formerly known as the Ultimate Confectioner, and thus skilled at creating candies and sweets that were addictive. Subject had severe trust issues, and thus was extremely distrustful towards anyone who wouldn't eat her candy.

Therapy required: yes.

Chance of attending therapy: eight percent.

Concluding notes: Subject was difficult to work with, and was commonly referred to as a "bitch" by her fellow co-workers behind her back. Such a statement was concluded to be ninety percent true based on previous interactions with the subject.

She began typing. "I'm sorry if my patients were bothering you Ruruka!" the avatar said. "I'll make sure to keep them in check next time."

"Really? I don't believe you, but…"

Subject was approaching her, taking out one of her confections from her pocket.

"… If you eat one of my candies, I might trust what you said."

Subject held the candy near her face. Warning, some of the subject's confections contained a substance known to place people under hypnotic suggestion. Recommended action was to not eat the candy.

"Come on, just open wide and say ahhh."

Subject was attempting to feed her, simulating mouth movements as if subject was feeding a baby. Annoyance with the subject was rising.

"Oh, look at that; you can frown. Sometimes I forget that you're a human and not a robot."

The subject gestured to her companion, causing the male to approach them.

Subject name: Sonosuke Izayoi, or Yoi as referred to by his partner.

Occupation: Branch Office Nine Director.

Attributes: Subject was formerly known as the Ultimate Blacksmith, and thus skilled at developing and handling a variety of lethal weapons and traps. Subject was extremely loyal to his partner Ruruka Ando and wouldn't hesitate to follow her every order.

Therapy required: no.

Concluding notes: subject had bad taste in women.

"Since you won't eat this, I'll just give it to someone who will. Open wide Yoi!"

Subject's companion opened his mouth, letting the subject feed him the candy in her hand.

"How is it?" the subject asked.

"Delicious as ever," her companion replied, causing the subject to smile.

"Of course it is. My sweets are the best after all."

Subject placed her head onto her companion's chest, eyes closed as her companion embraced her. Caution, exposure to intimacy was causing her some discomfort. Recommended action was to leave immediately.

"Forgive me Ruruka, but I'm in a hurry at the moment," the avatar said.

The subject escaped from her companion's embrace, staring at her now with curiosity in her eyes. "Why? You got somewhere to go?"

"Yes. I'll be leaving for a few months to help out Hope's Peak Academy."

Caution, subject seemed exasperated at the mention of Hope's Peak Academy. Subject had a grudge against the school since she was expelled due to an incident. Further interactions with the subject in the future should avoid mentioning such a sensitive topic.

"Is that so? I wouldn't bother trying to help out that rotten school, especially now that all of their dirty secrets are out for the world to see. But if you really want to go I won't object."

Subject approached her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. Contact with subject's hand caused her to flinch involuntarily.

"This place is going to be a lot quieter without you. Although it already was since you don't talk at all, so I guess nothing's changed. Have fun at that crap school Miaya."

Subject patted her shoulder a few times, each touch causing her to grow more annoyed until the subject started to walk away with her companion. She watched them move down the hallway, chatting with each other until they disappeared from her sight.

Time wasted: three minutes and forty-two seconds.

Estimated time to reach room: thirty minutes and twenty-one seconds.

She placed her wheelchair into autopilot, letting the transport take her to her room while she reviewed the Hope's Peak situation on her monitor. She checked the news, and as always the page was filled with articles talking about the school.

Hope's Peak Academy was currently undergoing a crisis. The student council had been murdered, with the only known suspect being a teenager named Izuru Kamukura. Suspect had apparently been created through the use of unethical means by the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee's attempts to keep this under wraps had failed. The information was leaked to everyone in the Reserve Course, resulting in the mass protest plaguing the school. The entity that leaked such classified information was currently unknown.

Objective sent by the Steering Committee: head to the academy and provide assistance to the Main Course students until the situation was resolved.

Caution, annoyance levels were at critical condition. Teenagers were a difficult group to work with. Their emotional maturity was often not fully developed, resulting in many difficult sessions and headaches. Still, working with teenagers was preferable to working with children.

The wheelchair stopped its movement. She looked up from the monitor to the entrance of her room. She entered her passcode on the keypad located above the doorknob. Next, she placed her face close to the biometric scanner located below the keypad, letting the device scan her left eye. After that, she answered forty-three questions about her personal history, making sure to answer in a specific tone to pass voice verification.

And finally, she took out the key to her room and entered it into the doorknob, turning it to open the door.

She entered inside and turned on the lights. Her co-workers had often informed her that her room was too cramped; that the many shelves of books, notes, and monitors littering inside made it hard to move. Suggestions to move some of her items into storage were rejected. Her room was perfect the way it was. It was orderly, sterile, and most of all, devoid of other people.

She manoeuvred her wheelchair to an empty spot and stood up. She walked to the end of her room; in front of her were several monitors on a desk, their cables linked to a system unit underneath. With a button press, the monitors lit up, and several seconds later her desktop appeared.

She grabbed a USB lying on the desk and inserted it into the system unit. There was only one thing she needed for her temporary stay at Hope's Peak. She began transferring all files related to the Neo World Program.

She frowned as she watched the files being transferred. The Neo World Program was a project created by Hope's Peak Academy. Developed for the purpose of providing therapy to individuals deemed a "lost cause" by society, the project had three main collaborators working on it. One was her, the other was the Ultimate Neurologist, and the other… was the Ultimate Programmer.

Her hands gripped the desk. Caution, feelings of resentment were rising. Recommended action was to take deep, slow breaths. She began breathing in and out, and soon enough she regained her composure. Subject matter that involved the Ultimate Programmer had a tendency to make her… displeased.

She examined her room. Estimated time for download to finish: four hours and thirty-two minutes. Perhaps she should take this chance to relax…

… Negative, there was still work to do. There were still reports to write, appointments to schedule, and security protocols to update before going to Hope's Peak. Taking a break now would be inefficient.

She opened up one of the drawers attached to her desk, taking out a pen and a report that she hadn't finished. She sat down at the desk and began to write. Writing reports for five hours was not an idea people found fun, but for her, it was better than doing her job.

As she filled out report after report, her mind was thinking about the situation at Hope's Peak Academy. The situation at the school seemed to have a far bigger impact on Japan than she expected. If the situation was to remain unresolved, there was a chance that things would escalate beyond what anybody could imagine.

The chance of the situation being resolved in the next few months… five percent.

---

Y'know, building a multibillion-dollar corporation didn't seem all that hard. I mean, you really only need three key steps to build one.

Step one: don't be poor.

Step two: be charismatic or attractive.

And step three: be friends with influential people.

You see? Three easy steps to become filthy rich! I wasn't exactly rich nor was I poor, so I was partway through step one. As for step two, I consider myself to be a pretty charismatic—and very cute to boot—person, so that step was pretty much done.

As for step three, well, I didn't have any influential friends. I didn't have any friends in general, but that was okay, because I know someone who surrounded himself with influential people in his everyday life.

That someone was my accomplice. He was by all appearances, a dull and ordinary boy with no remarkable traits to him. But despite being such a boring person, he managed to worm his way into becoming friends with a world-famous idol, the heir to the Togami Group, a detective from the famous Kirigiri family, a sham of a fortune teller, and many others of varying fame.

But what was even more amazing was that he wasn't even dating anyone from his class! He had the perfect chance to get set up for life, and yet he hadn't made a move on anybody.

I stared at the yearbook in my hand. It was simply unacceptable that my accomplice wasn't in a relationship. How was I supposed to get rich if my accomplice wasn't getting into the pants of his classmates? That was why I came up with a perfect plan to get my accomplice a partner.

I exited my accomplice's room and headed toward the living room. Inside the room, my accomplice was sitting on the couch watching TV. On the screen, a news reporter was talking about "The Parade" occurring at Hope's Peak Academy.

I groaned. Parade this, parade that, on every single channel that was what everybody was talking about. It had gone so far that they were even talking about it on the kid's channel! When I was on the kid's channel, the only thing I want onscreen was Socki the Sock. What I didn't want onscreen were two old farts discussing whether this was "the end of Hope's Peak Academy." We had the news channel for that y'know.

Still… I couldn't say I wasn't completely indifferent about the protests at Hope's Peak Academy. If things weren't resolved soon, my plans to build a multibillion-dollar company might be in jeopardy…

… Ah, what was there to worry about? I was sure everything was going to be fine in the end! This whole thing was going to blow over in the next couple of months.

Before I start the operation, I should enlist the help of my other accomplice. Since it was morning, Kurokuma should be in the kitchen having a chat with my mum.

… Hmm, calling my adoptive parents mum and dad felt… foreign. But if it made them happy then I'd put up with it.

I approached the kitchen. As I got closer I could hear Kurokuma and my mum talking. Well, it was really just Kurokuma sprouting out nonsense while my mum said something once in a while.

"—And after the concert ended, Jimi Hendrix appeared in front of me!"

"Really?! Jimi Hendrix came to meet you?!"

"Yeah, and then Jimi was like 'Kurokuma, that was the best performance I've ever seen in my life.' Then he took out a picture of me and asked me to sign it."

"Wow, you're really famous Kurokuma!"

"Of course Missus Naegi, I'm fuckin' baller that's why! I'm surprised my billions of fans around the world aren't at my doorstep right now. Anyway, back to my dreams. So after I autographed Hendrix's picture, Jimmy Page came to me next and—"

I entered the kitchen. Kurokuma was sitting at the kitchen table with a cigar in its hand, while my mum was at the sink washing the dishes. They turned their attention to me.

"Oh, Monaca," my mum said. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes, there is mum!" I said. "Can I borrow Kurokuma for a bit?"

"Huh? But I haven't finished telling her my story," Kurokuma said. "I'm about to tell her the best part of my dream!"

"You can do that later. Now come here please."

"Alright, Alright… I'm coming." Kurokuma got up from its seat and looked at my mum. "I'll tell you the rest of my awesome dream next time Missus Naegi. The next part will be so good your mind's gonna fuckin' explode from the sheer amount of action in it!"

"Oh, that sounds so exciting!" my mum said, smiling at Kurokuma. "I can't wait to have my mind explode!"

I motioned for Kurokuma to hurry up over to me. My mum waved us off as we exited the kitchen. Their conversation reminded me of a question I had yet to ask Kurokuma, so I took Kurokuma to a corner in the living room.

"Hey, Kurokuma," I said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing Monaca!" Kurokuma said. "Ask whatever it is on your mind."

"Are you trying to flirt with my mum?"

Despite lacking human facial features, Kurokuma seemed shocked at my question.

"What the fuck?!" Kurokuma shouted. I glanced at my accomplice; he was staring at us from the couch.

"Nothing to see here Big Bro!" I called out to him. "Just continue on watching TV."

My accomplice kept staring at us with a distrustful expression, but he eventually returned to watching the TV. I focused my attention back on Kurokuma.

"So, are you actually trying to hit on her?"

"Hell no! Do I look like a homewrecker to you? Yeah, she's the perfect girl for me, but I'd never violate the bear code between me and my blood brother."

"You're talking about my dad?"

"Yeah, I ain't gonna hit on his girl. I'm not some shitty traitor; I have his back, and he has mine."

"Alright, that's all I wanted to hear."

"… But if I was flirting with her," Kurokuma said, "would you have done something about it?"

"I would have erased your personality and rewritten you from scratch," I answered.

"Oooh, how scary! I love how heartless you can be Monaca, and I'm not saying that 'cause I was programmed to love you."

"Why thank you Kurokuma."

"So, was that all you wanted?"

"Nope. Now you're going to help me out with my plan."

I explained to Kurokuma my plan to get my accomplice a partner. Kurokuma placed a cigar in its mouth once I was finished.

"So we're trying to get herbivore boy laid?" Kurokuma said, taking out the cigar and letting out a puff of smoke. I didn't understand how it could do that with an unlit cigar, but that wasn't important at the moment. "It sounds pretty fuckin' easy to me. Teenagers are horny as shit; they'll bang anything that moves in their line of sight."

"Him getting laid is just a bonus," I said. "All that matters is that he gets with somebody rich. So are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

We approached my accomplice. He turned his attention to us once we were close to him.

"Hello, Big Bro!" I greeted. "How's your day going?"

"It's going fine I guess," my accomplice replied. "Although the news isn't exactly brightening up my day…"

"Cheer up Makoto. It's the news; they always exaggerate the bad stuff to get more views. Just wait a few more months and everything will be back to normal."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Soooo, how are your friends doing? They must be pretty worried about 'The Parade' happening at school."

"They're doing fine I think. The protests got them worried but as you said, maybe everything will be alright in the end."

"You think they're fine? Now, that just won't do Big Bro! You must make sure your friends are absolutely in tip-top condition!"

"It's nice that you care how my friends are doing Monaca…Wait. Why do you have my yearbook?"

My accomplice pointed to the yearbook in my hands. "Oh, this? I took it from your room of course," I said.

"Why?"

"Oh, you'll see. Now then…"

I flipped through the book until I found a photo of my accomplice and his friends. I held up the page to him.

"So, is there anyone on this page that you like?"

My accomplice stared at the page. "Um, I like everyone on it?"

"Is there anyone on this page you like more? Perhaps someone who makes your heart beat fast whenever you see them?"

"Not really? I like all of my friends equally."

"… Let me rephrase that again. Who on this page—"

"Who do you want to bang?" Kurokuma said.

"… What?"

"You heard me. Who do you want to fuck?"

My accomplice raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand."

"What he's trying to say is who do you want to date on this page," I clarified.

"Who do I want to date? I'm not interested in dating anyone at the moment," my accomplice answered.

"Now, that can't be true. There has to be someone on this page you want to go out with. How about this; I point at somebody and you can just tell me whether you want to date them or not."

"I'm telling you I'm not—"

I placed the book on my lap and pointed to candidate one on the page. "How about idol girl? She can sing, dance, and I bet she's filthy rich! Not only that, but I also bet Komaru would be really happy if she became your girlfriend."

"I'm not interested in dating Sayaka."

"I completely understand! She's an idol, and we all know how crazy fans can get if their idol started dating someone. I think you dodged a bullet there Big Bro."

I pointed to candidate two. "How about this one? The super-smart detective from the famous Kirigiri family, a girl with a calm and mysterious demeanour… and probably very rich to boot! I think this one would be perfect for you!"

"I'm still not interested. Monaca, I'm telling you—"

"And that's absolutely fine with me! I talked to her once before and jeez, she's sooo boring to be around with! I think you deserve someone who's a lot more outgoing!"

I moved on to the next candidate. "How about doughnut girl? She's cheerful, attractive, athletic, and she's friends with me! She told me she was going to become a professional athlete, so if you start dating her now you'll be getting some of that sweet money—"

"Monaca!" my accomplice interrupted. "I'm not interested in dating any of the girls!"

"Oh, I see! I didn't know you swung the other way Makoto, but that's fine with me. Then how about you date Mister four-eyes here? He's good on the eyes and a bit of a prick, but I'm sure once you start dating him you'll melt that cold exterior and—"

"Monaca, listen. I'm not interested in dating anyone in my class."

"… I understand. It would be pretty awkward for you to date a close friend."

My accomplice smiled a little. "Yeah, that's right. I just want to remain friends with everyone."

"And that's fine with me. There's no need for you to date anyone in your class."

"I'm glad you under—"

I flipped to the next page. "Then how about we choose someone from this class?"

"Wait, that's not what I—"

I pointed to candidate four. "I think gamer girl is a good choice for you. Now, I know people think gaming won't make you any money, and while that was true in the past, we now have streaming platforms and gaming competitions in this age. I'm sure you'll get some good money if you date her, although I think she's seeing someone else at the moment. But that's okay; you just have to go in and take her first!"

"I'm not interested in dating her!"

"On second thought, how about you date baby-face here? Or maybe you can date the princess? No, wait, how about you date the girl who dances—"

"Monaca, stop."

The forceful tone from my accomplice made me look up from the page to him. He was frowning at me for some reason.

"For the last time, I'm telling you I'm not interested in dating anyone," he said. "I just don't feel like I'm ready to be in a relationship at the moment."

"Oh, come on," I said. "That can't be true. Aren't you at the age where the only thing on your mind is sex?"

"Yeah! You're horny as fuck aren't ya?" Kurokuma said. "I bet right now you're thinking about taking that girl you like out for a date. You'll go watch a cheesy romantic comedy with her, and maybe take her to that fancy restaurant you saw on the street. Once that's all done you'll take her to a love hotel, strip her clothes off, and— [REMOVED TO CONFORM WITH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CENSORSHIP LAWS]—all over her yeah?!"

… I didn't know what to say.

Kurokuma took a drag from his cigar and let out a puff of smoke. "Yeah, I'm right aren't I? Of course I'm right, because it's me saying that! So anyway, what's the big idea with that blasted hedgehog gettin' a live-action movie before ya boy?! Fuck that guy and his shitty fuckin' games! Where the hell is my live-action mov—"

"Be quiet."

Kurokuma froze on the spot; its body convulsing side to side from my command.

"What's happening to Kurokuma?" my accomplice asked.

"He's in silent mode," I answered. "Sometimes his talking can be quite irritating y'know? Anyway, let's talk about getting you a partner."

"I don't want a partner. Why are you so persistent in getting me into a relationship in the first place? Is this another one of your schemes? It is, isn't it?"

"Why do you think I'm always scheming? Monaca's not some cartoon villain in a show. Maybe Monaca is just worried that her Big Bro would stay single forever."

"Really now?"

"…I need money, alright?"

"I knew it." My accomplice sighed and lowered his face into one of his hands.

"Listen Makoto; just get with anybody from Hope's Peak. I don't care what class they're from or who they are; I'm fine with pretty much anyone so long as they're not from the Reserve Course."

"So you wouldn't mind if I get with somebody like Yasuhiro?" he said, looking up at me.

"Who was that again? Are you talking about that conman disguised as a fortune-teller? If you are then yes! I have absolutely no problem with you dating him. I heard there are some powerful people looking for him, and they're willing to pay very good money if you brought him to them."

"I'm not selling out one of my friends."

I was starting to get a little irritated at him. Why was he making everything so difficult?! I thought teenagers were supposed to be high on sex hormones, but my accomplice here had the sex drive of a brick!

I sighed and leaned back in my wheelchair. "Makoto, please. This is your best chance to get into a relationship, because once you're a working adult you can say bye-bye to getting a partner."

"That can't be true," he replied. "There are people out there who find their partners in their thirties and beyond."

"They're the exceptions to the rule. The older you get the harder it is to score a date, so why not start now rather than later? I mean you have the perfect attribute! You can date anyone from Hope's Peak Big Bro!"

My accomplice looked a bit interested in what I had to say now. "And what attribute would that be?"

"You're unremarkable! You're like bread; by yourself, you're plain, boring, and quite frankly bland to eat."

Annnnd now he was frowning again. "Wow. Thanks for the compliment."

"But it's because you're so unremarkable that you can be paired up with anyone! If you're plain bread then the students at Hope's Peak are the ingredients, and combined together your relationship is the tasty sandwich! Are you interested in dating now Big Bro?"

"I think I'll just wait for my one true love."

Eugh, love. Why were people so interested in finding the right partner for them? Just get with someone rich and famous; that's what I would do if I was even interested in a relationship. I was perfectly content with being single until the day I die.

"Don't tell me you actually believe in true love? Let me tell you something about love; it doesn't exist. Love is nothing more than a chemical reaction compelling people to breed. Love is nothing but a trap that results in doomed marriages and affairs. Love is— Hey! Where are you going?!"

Out of the blue, my accomplice stood up and was walking away from me! How dare he turn his back on Monaca! Couldn't he see that I was in the middle of a monologue?!

"I'm going to my room," my rude accomplice answered.

"You can't do that! You haven't even finished listening to my monologue yet!"

"I'll do that later."

"No! Stay back and listen to what I—"

My rude accomplice disappeared into the hallway of the house, leaving me alone with my other, still convulsing companion. I closed the yearbook on my lap.

"… Now wasn't that just rude," I said.

"It sure was!"

I turned my head. Kurokuma was taking another drag from his cigar.

"I didn't give you permission to exit silent mode."

Kurokuma let out a puff of smoke. "Whaddya mean boss? Weren't you asking me a question?"

"No, I was talking to myself. Now be—"

"Whoa whoa boss! Now just hang on a minute!" Kurokuma went into a defensive gesture with both hands held up at me. "If you tell me to shut up again I'm gonna die!"

"I don't see a problem with that."

"Awww, don't be like that Monaca. Admit it; underneath that ruthless exterior you have a soft spot for me dontcha?"

"… Fine, you can keep talking. But tone it down a little."

"As you wish! I knew you liked me, but then again who doesn't?"

Kurokuma howled with laughter. Kurokuma could be very grating to deal with, buuut I had to admit that I did enjoy his presence sometimes. Not enough to stop me from wiping his personality if he got too annoying, but enough that I might feel a little guilty after the act.

Kurokuma stopped laughing. "So, what's next?" Kurokuma said. "Are we still gonna try and get herbivore boy laid?"

"Nope," I replied. "It seems Makoto is the only teenager in the world that lacks a libido. Let's ask his sister instead! I'm sure she would be eager for the chance to date someone from Hope's Peak."

We headed off to my sister's room. The door to her room was closed, so I knocked on it and called out for her.

"Big Sis! Are you in there?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah I am!" my sister replied.

"Can I come in? I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure! Come on in Monaca!"

I opened up the door. Komaru was hunched over her desk with a pencil in one hand. Littering the floor around her were scrunched-up papers, despite there being a small bin next to her desk.

"Looks like you've been busy," I said, approaching my sister with Kurokuma close behind. I noticed that she had a book opened up on her desk. "Were you drawing?"

The girl closed the book as soon as I got close. She also covered the book with her arms as if she was trying to protect it. "Y-Yeah! I was," she said, laughing a little.

Her laughter felt off. My sister seemed to be nervous for some reason. I picked up one of the scrunched papers and began to open it up—

"No!"

—But my sister grabbed the paper off me before I got a good look. She scrunched up the paper again and dumped it into the bin.

"What's wrong Big Sis?"

"Nothing! Everything's perfectly fine here."

I picked up another scrunched paper. My sister grabbed that off me before I could even open it. She dumped that in the bin as well.

"I think there's something wrong here, to be honest."

"Oh, it's just your imagination."

"Then why won't you let me see what's on these papers?"

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Kurokuma said. "You drew some porn of your favourite characters or somethin'?"

"What?! N-No no no, I'm not some pervert!"

I turned to look at Kurokuma. I didn't need to say anything; Kurokuma seemed to have got the message as it covered its mouth with its paws. I focused my attention back to my sister.

"Please forgive Kurokuma for what he said Big Sis," I said. "He has a bad habit of not keeping his mouth shut at times."

"It's fine…" My sister sighed, crossing her arms on her desk and laying her head down on them. "Just to be clear, I absolutely did not draw anything dirty alright?"

"I believe you. So, why are you trying to stop me from seeing your drawings?"

"It's just…Well… Promise me you won't laugh?"

"I promise!"

It took a moment, but my sister grasped the book underneath her arms and held it up to me. I didn't know why she was so worried about this. I was sure her drawings weren't as bad as she was making them out to be. I grabbed the book and opened it up to the first page.

… Oh.

"It's bad, isn't it…?" my sister mumbled out. She was looking at me with a defeated expression.

Well… What was a nicer way to say something was crap? I usually wouldn't care if I hurt someone's feelings with my words, but my sister here was a bit sensitive. I need to be gentle with my criticism so my sister's feelings wouldn't be hurt—

"Oh my god! What's wrong with her face?!" Kurokuma shouted.

"Be silent."

Kurokuma froze and began twitching on the spot. My sister looked frightened at what was happening to Kurokuma.

"Wh-What's happening with Kurokuma?"

"It's nothing to worry about Big Sis. He'll be fine! Now, as for your drawings… Well, I must admit that they're not that great…"

"I knew it…" My sister buried her face into her arms. "I really can't draw to save my life huh? Maybe I should just give up…"

Now, this wouldn't do. I couldn't proceed with my plan if my sister was depressed. I think I should regurgitate one of those speeches my accomplice gave me in the past. I was sure she'd be right as rain hearing my accomplice's words.

"Listen Komaru," I said, leaning close to the girl. "Not everyone starts off the best at their hobbies. You remember my drawings, yes?"

"Yeah…"

"I didn't start off that good from the start. My earlier drawings were really, reallllly bad Big Sis. They were sooo bad your drawings look like the Mona Lisa compared to mine."

"You're exaggerating." Even though most of her face was covered up, I could see her smiling underneath her arms. I just need to say a few more words of encouragement.

"But I'm not. If I could I would show you my earlier drawings, buuuut I destroyed them all. What matters is that you don't let these failures hold you down. Sure, your drawings won't be the prettiest thing in the beginning, and you might want to tear your eyes out every once in a while. But so long as you keep on moving forward, you'll grasp your dream."

Or not. There was a slight chance that she'd never become a decent artist until the day she dies, but I wasn't trying to destroy her self-worth here.

My sister lifted herself up from her desk. That depressed face she was sprouting before was gone. Now she looked determined.

"You're right!" my sister said. "Every great artist has to start somewhere, so I'll just have to push through and keep drawing!"

"That's the spirit!" I said, and held the book towards her. She grabbed it, opened it up to an empty page, and began to draw on it with vigour.

Mission successful! I got to admit that my accomplice's speeches could be pretty useful. Maybe I should actually try and listen to him more often.

But anyway, it was about time to start getting my sister a partner.

"Say, Big Sis, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Huh?" My sister glanced at me for a moment before she looked back at the book. "Uh, no, I don't."

"Have you had any experience with romance?"

"Experience? Well, I give love advice on the internet. Does that count?"

"Absolutely!" I picked up the yearbook on my lap and opened it up to the page I want. I held the page up to her. "Who do you want to make love with on this page?"

The point of the pencil my sister was drawing with snapped, leaving a black dot on the page of her book. My sister focused her attention on me; she was blushing and had a shocked look on her face.

"Wh-What was that Monaca?!"

Did I not make myself clear? Perhaps I should clarify it better. "Who do you want to have sex with Big Sis?"

"You're not even supposed to know what sex is at your age Monaca! What happened to your innocence?!"

"Never had it to begin with. Now, please point at someone on the page."

"I-I'm not interested in dating anyone! Well, I am, but I don't think I'm ready for that type of commitment yet."

Was this some kind of joke? Even my sister was uninterested in a relationship. What was wrong with these teenagers?

"Relax Big Sis. Starting a relationship right now isn't so bad, so just give it a try."

"It's okay, really! Besides, I don't think any of the Ultimates are interested in dating a plain girl like me."

"You should have more confidence in yourself. I think you're pretty attractive for a girl your age!" Then again, all the girls at Hope's Peak were easy on the eyes as well. "And it's not like you have to date any of the Ultimates. My friend doug— Hina, has a younger brother. Maybe you can think about dating him?"

"I appreciate that you're trying to help me Monaca, but I'm just not interested."

… I closed the yearbook and placed it back on my lap. Fine, if they didn't want to choose their partner then I'd do it myself.

"Um, I'm sorry if I made you upset," my sister said.

"Don't worry Big Sis. I'm not mad!" I said, smiling at her. I was just very disappointed with you.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit mad at me…"

"You're imagining things. Why don't I help you out with your drawings? Monaca can teach you some tricks that'll help you out."

"Really? That'll be great! Thanks, Monaca."

"No problem. We're sisters after all, and sisters help each other out."

For the next couple of hours, I observed my sister while she drew, giving out some advice every now and then. My mind, meanwhile, was focused on finding the perfect partner for the two siblings. I came up with thousands of scenarios with various pairings, and I eventually found the perfect match.

My sister would get together with doughnut girl's brother. The Ultimates at Hope's Peak Academy were a bit above her league, so he was the perfect option for her.

As for my accomplice, he would be paired with the best possible girl for him. The smartest, prettiest, and most charming person there was in the entire world, Junko Enoshima! She passed all the criteria I had. Was she rich? Yep. Did I like her? Absolutely!

The only problem was setting up the scenario to get them together. I hadn't visited Big Sis Junko for a while now, and she hadn't texted me back as well. If she was busy with her day job it was going to be hard to set—

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I picked it up and speak of the devil; I got a message from Big Sis Junko!

Hey Monaca! It's been a while since we last talked. How are you doing?

I sent her a message. Hello Big Sis! Monaca's doing fine at the moment. She's very, verrrry sorry she hasn't been visiting you lately.

It's okay! We all have things to do in our lives. That's actually why I texted you. Want to meet up tomorrow morning?

Today must be my lucky day! The perfect opportunity to get my accomplice a partner just fell on my lap. I should be called the Li'l Ultimate Lucky Schoolgirl for all of these lucky coincidences.

I definitely want to meet up Big Sis! If you don't mind, can I bring Makoto with me? And can I pick the time and place to meet up?

Sure, go ahead. Can you also bring me the blueprints for Monokuma? You'll be helping me soooo much if you showed me them.

Of course!

Thanks, Monaca! See ya tomorrow!

See ya Big Sis!

I looked at my sister. It took her three hours, but she had finally drawn something that vaguely resembled a human. She was now holding the book in her hands, admiring what she had achieved.

"Hey, Big Sis," I said. "I'm going to go now if that's okay with you."

"Yeah… it's fine…" my sister responded, not even turning to face me. It seems she was too captivated by her drawing at the moment. I moved away from her towards the door, but I turned around when I realised I forgot something.

"You may move now Kurokuma."

Kurokuma exited silent mode. "Holy shit, I'm finally free!" Kurokuma shouted. It took out the cigar in its mouth and let out a big puff of smoke. "It only took like ten thousand fuckin' years."

"Hurry up and get over here."

"As you wish boss!"

Kurokuma approached me, and we departed toward my accomplice's room. The door was closed, but I didn't really care and threw it open anyway.

My accomplice was lying on his bed, reading a manga in his hands. My intrusion caused him to flinch and drop the book onto his torso.

"Hello, Big Bro!" I shouted. "I've come to make an announcement!"

"What the— Couldn't you at least knock?!" my accomplice said. "You almost gave me a—"

"I got you a date!"

"What? Didn't I already tell you I—"

"Yeah yeah, you don't feel ready to date or something. But it's too late; I already said to Big Sis Junko that you're coming with me."

I explained to my accomplice my arrangement with Big Sis Junko tomorrow. "Is that it? It sounds like we're just going to meet up," he said, moving his body so that he was sitting on his bed.

"Oh, it's definitely a date," I said. "Once I give Big Sis Junko the blueprints I'm going to give you two some alone time. During that time I want you to wow her with your… unique charms."

"But I don't really want to go into a relationship with Junko. It's not because I dislike her or anything; I just value our friendship enough that I don't want to risk ruining it."

"Aww, how nice. You care very deeply about your friendships Big Bro, but sometimes you just gotta take risks in the name of love."

"I thought you said love doesn't exist?"

"Did I? I think you're misremembering things. Kurokuma!"

"Yes Monaca!" Kurokuma responded.

"Bring out the paper."

"Right away!"

Kurokuma dashed towards my accomplice, kneeling down beside the bed to take out a large, rolled-up sheet of paper.

"Now stand over there and show us what's on it."

I pointed to a corner in the room. Kurokuma moved to the spot and opened up the paper for us to see. Written on the paper were names, and next to the names on the right was a grading.

"What am I looking at?" my accomplice said.

"You're looking at a tier list!" I answered. "This tier list is a ranking of everyone in class seventy-seven B and class seventy-eight, all ranked based on whether they're the perfect partner for you. Tier lists are pretty subjective most of the time, but I assure you; this tier list was created with no bias whatsoever!"

"Monaca, you only wrote six things on it. I don't see all of my classmates on that list. In fact, not everyone in class seventy-seven is on that list as well."

"What are you talking about? I can clearly see that everyone is on that list. Let me explain it all to you."

I pointed to the name at the top of the list. "As you can see, in SSS tier we have Big Sis Junko herself! I don't need to explain why she's in that tier now, do I? But if you're wondering why it's because she's perfect and she's friends with me. If you date her you're never going to have a dull moment in your life.

"And in SS tier we have her sister, Big Sis Mukuro! She's a soldier, so I bet she killed tons of people! That by itself would have placed her in S tier, but since she's Big Sis Junko's sister I placed her in SS."

I continued down the list. "In A tier we have doughnut girl. She's okay I guess. As I said in the past, she's a bit too active for my taste. But if you can't get with Big Sis Junko or Big Sis Mukuro, she'll be the next best thing for you.

"Next, in C tier we have that programmer girl. She's a bit timid and not a friend of Monaca, but she helped her in creating Kurokuma, so she placed her in C tier."

"Actually," my accomplice said, "Chihiro is a…"

"She's a what?"

"… Nevermind. Please continue."

Now, what was that about? I was a bit curious about what he almost said, but I decided to continue on with my explanations. I pointed to the second to last tier, which only had the words "the rest" written on it.

"In F tier we have everyone else. This encompasses everyone who's not a friend of Monaca, so basically the rest of your classmates and most of class seventy-seven."

And last but definitely the least, I pointed to the final tier.

"…Do I really need to explain why he's in trash tier, Big Bro? Even though he's rich, dating him is frankly the worst possible outcome for both of us. Let's try and avoid that option, okay? Close the paper now Kurokuma."

Kurokuma closed the paper. I placed a smile on my face before I asked, "So how's that Big Bro? Are you convinced to date Big Sis Junko?"

"Not really. Can't I just stay friends with her?"

I stopped smiling. I thought I gave him enough reason to date Big Sis Junko, but it looks like I hadn't. I guess it was time for me to do a bit of manipulation…

I lowered my head a little and directed my gaze away from my accomplice. "I guess you could just stay friends, Big Bro…" I muttered, making sure I sounded as sad as possible when saying it. "I really believe you two can work together as a couple, but I guess I'll never find out…"

I glanced at my accomplice. He had a hand under his chin and his eyes were looking down at the ground. It seems like he was thinking about something. My manipulation techniques had been getting less effective on him over time, but they still had at least a seventy-five percent success rate.

"… Alright, fine. I'll try and ask Junko out for a date…" my accomplice said.

I dropped my sad act. "You've made an excellent decision!" I said. "You won't regret this Big Bro!"

"I sure hope so…"

I moved towards my accomplice's closet. "Let's get you prepared for your date tomorrow. There's no way you're meeting Big Sis Junko with those drab clothes."

I opened the closet and began searching for some appropriate clothes. My search was in vain, however, as apart from his school clothes my accomplice's closet was filled with green hoodies and black jeans.

"… What the hell is this Makoto? Why do you only have these crappy clothes in your closet?! Don't you wear anything else?!"

"I just like wearing these clothes," my accomplice replied. "And it's not like you can criticise me for wearing the same clothes every day. You've been wearing that same dress ever since you started living here!"

"… True. Okay, you can wear those clothes for the date."

I closed the closet and approached my accomplice. "How about we focus on how to sell you to Big Sis Junko? Pretend that I'm her and you're trying to go on a date with me. Tell me why I should even think to go out with you?"

"Um… I'm nice?"

… Oh boy, this was going to be rough.

"Makoto, being nice doesn't mean anything. Anybody can be nice. I can be nice. The sky can be nice. You need to have something else other than 'I'm nice' if you want someone to go out with you."

"But I really don't know what's special about me. I'm a pretty average teenager."

"Why do you sell yourself short? There is something special about you Big Bro; you have resolve. No matter how hard things get you always keep pushing forward. Even when I mocked your ideals and kept trying to break your spirit, you never gave up. And that, Makoto, is what I respect the most from you."

"… Wow."

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Why didn't you say that instead of calling me a piece of bread?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "The bread analogy is still true though. But as you just heard, you do have something special about you Makoto. Let's start this again, and this time I want you to try, okay?"

"Yeah, I will Monaca." My accomplice smiled at me. He was pretty hopeless if I had to spell out what was special about him. Still, I gave him a smile of my own.

"Good! Now tell me, why should Big Sis Junko even think to go out with you?"

---

I checked the time on my phone. Five more minutes left until Big Sis Junko arrived here. I glanced at my accomplice. He was tapping on our table every second with his fingers while he observed the entrance.

"Calm yourself Makoto," I said. I grabbed a doughnut from the box in between us and took a bite out of it. "She'll be here in a few minutes."

My accomplice stopped his annoying tapping. He sighed and leaned back on his chair. "Sorry Monaca," he said. "I just can't stop myself from feeling anxious."

"What's there to be anxious about? You talked to her plenty of times yes?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't trying to ask her out on all those times. What if I say the wrong thing?"

"You won't. Now eat a doughnut."

I motioned at the box of doughnuts. He reached out for the box, took out a doughnut, and started eating it. I looked around the store we were in. Ah, the doughnut store. The place where I got taken hostage and had a knife pressed to my neck. I smiled at the fond memory. I took several items out of my pocket and held them to my accomplice.

"Take these Makoto."

His eyes widened once he saw what was in my hand. His free hand grabbed the items from me as soon as they appeared, and he shoved them inside his pocket. He leaned in close to me.

"Monaca…!" he whispered. "Why do you even have these in your pocket…?!"

"What's wrong with having some protection on hand?" I answered. "I bought all the sizes in the store, so when you have time check which one has the right measurement for you."

"You don't have to go this far…! I doubt me and Junko would be doing that…"

"You can never be too careful Makoto. If things start to get steamy between you and Big Sis Junko, you'll thank me for giving you these. You don't want to end up with a mistake like me right? One Monaca is enough for this world."

"You're not a mistake Monaca."

"Eh, I doubt that. Unless you're really keen to continue your bloodline, try and avoid having any children Big Bro. Take it from a kid herself; they're not worth the stress."

My accomplice looked behind me. "She's here."

"Hmm?"

I turned my attention to the entrance of the store; two girls were standing there. The girl surveying the store without any emotion was Big Sis Mukuro. The girl with the ponytail next to her had to be Big Sis Junko; she was covered from head to toe I couldn't make out her entire face.

The girl wearing a trench coat noticed us staring at her. She gave us a little wave and approached our location, her sister following close behind.

"Hey guys!" she said, sitting down next to me. Big Sis Mukuro sat down next to her sister. She moved the black-tinted sunglasses down a little so we could see her eyes. "How's my look? It's pretty inconspicuous right?"

"I wouldn't exactly say it's inconspicuous…" my accomplice said. "We're getting a couple of looks inside the store."

I glanced around us. Some of the customers inside were staring at Big Sis Junko.

"Are you sure about that Makoto? If it wasn't, then everyone would be crowding around me asking for an autograph."

"That's true."

Big Sis Junko turned to me. "So Monaca, do you have the blueprints with you?"

"I do!" I unzipped the schoolbag attached to my wheelchair, taking out a book from it. I flipped to the page containing the blueprints and handed it to Big Sis Junko. "I have some other designs on the next page if you want to see them."

She flipped to the next page of my book. On it was a blueprint to develop a ball version of Kurokuma. Now then, time for me to leave so my accomplice could start wooing her.

"Hey, Big Sis Mukuro! Can I ask you a favour?" I said, attracting the attention of the girl. "Can you take me somewhere?"

Big Sis Mukuro turned her head to her sister. "Do what she said," Big Sis Junko said, without even looking up from the page. Big Sis Mukuro got up from her seat, and we departed out of the store.

I started moving down the street, my companion following right beside me. I took a peek at Big Sis Mukuro. I didn't have many interactions with this girl, mostly because she was too quiet, and also because she was always away on some errand somewhere. I think now would be a good time to rectify that.

"Where are we going?" Big Sis Mukuro said. Her tone was rather monotonous compared to her more expressive sister.

"We're going to a back alley!" I said.

"For what purpose?"

"Well, you see…"

I explained to Big Sis Mukuro my brilliant plan to pair my accomplice up with her sister. She didn't seem rather impressed though.

"And that's the gist of it!" I said. "Are you fine if Makoto starts dating your sister?"

"… I have no complaints," Big Sis Mukuro replied. Huh, I thought she would put up more of a fight, but this was fine!

"Thank you so much Big Sis Mukuro! Now before I forget, is there a special someone in Big Sis Junko's life?"

"Yes."

…Uh oh. I was not aware of this fact. "Oh? Who is it?"

"Yasuke Matsuda, the Ultimate Neurologist, and Junko's childhood friend."

Wow, he had a useful talent and he's a childhood friend? Surely my accomplice would have no trouble winning Big Sis Junko over.

"So I take it she's dating him?"

"No."

At least that was one good thing. Now my accomplice had a zero point two percent chance of winning. We managed to find a nice, quiet back alley along our trip and entered it, positioning ourselves away from the garbage containers in the alley. I grabbed my schoolbag and took out a laptop from it.

I placed the laptop on my lap and opened it up. While waiting for my program to load on the screen, I started another conversation with Big Sis Mukuro.

"So, Big Sis Mukuro, you were a member of Fenrir yes?" I said.

The girl leaning on the wall next to me nodded. "How was your time with them? The internet doesn't contain much information about Fenrir, so I'm realllly curious about what they were like."

"They were fine."

"… Can you elaborate a bit more? How about your teammates? What were they like?"

Her expression didn't show it, but it looks like she was thinking of what to say. After a couple of seconds, she said, "They were professional, although eccentric and difficult to work with at times. Fenrir was comprised of many people from all walks of life. Some were orphans with nowhere to go; some were wanted criminals on the run, and some were simply thrill-seekers."

"Were you close to any of them?"

"… Not really. Any one of us could die anytime, so getting attached to anyone was detrimental. It didn't stop my teammates, however, from forcing me into their activities."

"Such as?"

"Drinking in bars, poker nights, the occasional prison break when one of us got caught, and other similar activities."

"This Fenrir sounds like such a fun group to hang out with! I also read that members of Fenrir have a tattoo somewhere on their bodies. Is that true?"

… The girl held up her right hand to me. With her left hand, she took off the glove covering her right, letting me see the tattoo of a wolf marked on it.

"Wow, that's soooo cool Big Sis Mukuro!" I said. "Is it waterproof?"

"It is," Big Sis Mukuro replied. "The person who tattooed this was the Ultimate Chemist. Even if my entire body gets burned in an explosion, the tattoo will remain unscathed. It makes it easier for Fenrir to identify fallen comrades and give them a proper send-off."

Her expression was still as blank as a piece of paper, but she seemed happy talking about her mercenary group.

"So… what happened to Fenrir?" I asked. "They just disappeared without a trace a few years ago."

For a moment, I thought I saw emotion on Big Sis Mukuro's face. It looked almost like… regret, I think?

"… A rift formed in Fenrir," Big Sis Mukuro said. "More than half of my teammates turned against me, forcing me to kill them. The rest left me behind and disappeared, so I returned to Japan."

… Well, I wasn't expecting an answer like that.

"I'm sorry if I brought up some painful memories."

Big Sis Mukuro didn't respond. She placed the glove back on her right hand, and returned to giving me that emotionless stare. It felt pretty awkward, so I looked back at my laptop screen.

Oh goodie, the program finished loading! With a couple of clicks, the screen was now showing an image of Big Sis Junko, still looking at the book in her hand. I had attached a tiny device on the hoodie of my accomplice, near enough that I could speak to him in secret.

"Testing, testing," I said. "Can you hear me, Big Bro?"

"Yeah, I can…" my accomplice whispered.

"How's everything going? Have you talked to her yet?"

"No… she's still looking through the book…"

"Well, when she finishes start talking to her."

"Okay…"

I minimised the program. At this time my sister should be meeting up with doughnut girl's younger brother. It took a while, but I managed to guilt-trip her into meeting up with the boy.

I opened up another program and started established a connection to Kurokuma. It took only a couple of seconds for the laptop to connect to Kurokuma's left eye.

"Kurokuma, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear boss!" Kurokuma responded. On the screen, I could see my sister talking to doughnut girl's brother in the distance.

"How's the situation there?"

"Lookin' pretty good so far." Kurokuma let out a puff of smoke, covering my screen for a while until it disappeared. "They'll be bangin' each other in no time."

"Good. Report to me if there are any complications."

I switched back to the previous program, just in time to see Big Sis Junko placing my book on the table. She crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair, looking around the store with a bored expression.

"They sure are taking their time," Big Sis Junko said, no doubt talking about us.

"Yeah, they are."

… An awkward silence hung in the air.

"… What are you doing Big Bro? Start flirting with her!"

"… Nice weather we have today huh?"

Oh god, we were not even a minute in and the date was already ruined!

"Yeah, it is," Big Sis Junko responded. I could see her let out a yawn on the screen.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted. "Never use the weather as a topic unless you absolutely have to Makoto!"

"Well, what was I supposed to say…!" my accomplice whispered.

"Something other than the weather!"

"Is something wrong there Makoto?" Big Sis Junko was staring at my accomplice with a curious look.

"Uh, no! Everything's fine!" my accomplice responded.

"Quick! Change the topic!"

"So uh, how are you doing Junko?"

Big Sis Junko shrugged her shoulders. "I've been doing fine. It's getting harder to go to school due to 'The Parade' happening though."

I leaned back in my wheelchair, rubbing my forehead in an attempt to soothe the migraine I was feeling. The situation seemed to be under control for now.

On my screen, Big Sis Junko leaned closer to my accomplice. "How about you Makoto? Are you feeling alright? You must have been shocked to learn what Hope's Peak Academy was doing behind closed doors."

"I was," my accomplice responded. "To think that Hope's Peak Academy was doing human experimentation… it makes me feel disappointed with the school."

"… Really? Don't you feel angry or even worried? It's because of the school that the student council all got murdered, and now our future is looking grim every day. Doesn't that give you just a little, tiny bit of despair?"

"I am worried about my future, and I am angry at what the school's been doing, but despairing about the situation isn't going to do me any favours. The only thing I can do is keep moving forward and hope everything will turn out fine."

"… You sure are a tough one to crack Makoto," Big Sis Junko said. Even though she sounded calm, I thought I detected a bit of… anger within her voice. "I sure hope you're right about this."

"I hope so as well. Thanks for looking out for me Junko."

"No problem!" Big Sis Junko gave my accomplice a big smile. "It's my job as class representative to look out for my fellow classmates. Can I ask you a question about something?"

"Sure thing."

"Let's say you're a general fighting a war. You found a couple of people who would make perfect soldiers for your army, people who would definitely turn the tide in your favour."

"Okay."

"The problem here is you don't know them personally. You don't really have time to know them better because, you know, you're fighting a fucking war and don't have time for that shit. But if you don't, there's a chance they won't fight as efficiently as they could. So what would you do Makoto? Do you conscript them to save time but risk having them fight half-assedly for you? Or do you get them loyal to you but at the risk of losing the war?"

This was quite an interesting question. If it was up to me I would definitely conscript them, but I already knew what my accomplice was going to say.

"… I would try and get to know them better," my accomplice answered.

"Are you sure you want to do that Makoto? You might lose the war."

"I know, but I think it's worth the risk. Are you playing some sort of strategy game?"

"Something like that."

"I hope my answer was some help to you."

"Oh, it was. I'll be sure to take your advice to heart."

Now, wasn't this nice! My accomplice helped out Big Sis Junko with a problem! Perhaps there was still a chance he could—

—Wait. What was happening behind Big Sis Junko? My accomplice noticed what was happening behind her as well.

"I think something's happening Junko."

"Hmm?" Big Sis Junko turned around. A man was on his knees, presenting a small box containing a ring to a girl. Everyone in the store was looking at them.

"Kei, will you marry me?" the man said, beaming at the woman. The woman who I presume to be Kei, however, seemed verrry uncomfortable about this situation.

"Kazuki, I… I decline."

The man's bright expression died. I could even pinpoint the exact second his heart got ripped in half.

The woman ran away from the man. "Kei, wait!" the man cried out, but the woman was already out of the door. The man stayed where he was, his head down as his hand dropped the ring box to the ground. The people in the store turned their attention elsewhere; a look of pity could be seen on most of their faces.

Seeing the man look so pathetic made me smile a little. It had been a while since I saw a man in despair. I quite miss seeing that look on people's faces…

Big Sis Junko turned herself around to face my accomplice. She smiled and said, "Well, that was quite the massive screw up, wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"I mean proposing in a doughnut store, really? Have some fucking tact won't you? At least choose someplace romantic. But… don't you think this is a much better outcome than if she accepted?"

"What do you mean?"

"If she accepted their future would be the same as all the other couples in the world. They'd get married, have twins, become unhappy with each other, get a divorce… Their lives would be so boring, so predictable. But now things are a lot more interesting. What will the man's future be like now? Will he swear off love forever and live to become a lonely, grouchy old man? Maybe he'll start drinking his sorrows away at a bar? Despair is so unpredictable, so chaotic; it offers so much more interesting possibilities than hope, wouldn't you agree?"

Big Sis Junko sure liked to talk about despair huh? "I know what you're thinking Big Bro," I said, "but just agree with her."

"… I don't agree with you about hope," my accomplice said. "I think hope can offer just as many possibilities as despair."

… What was my accomplice doing? "Makoto, what the hell are you doing? Just agree with Big Sis Junko and move on to another topic."

"Oh? Please do explain to me why you think that?" Big Sis Junko asked.

"It's nothing that complicated. Take what you said about the man for example. If he falls to despair then yeah, what you said might come true. But if he holds onto hope, his future still holds many possibilities. Maybe he'll find another girl that's perfect for him; maybe he'll try again with the same girl, or maybe he'll help others who have also been rejected. Do you get what I mean?"

"…How interesting." Big Sis Junko was smiling, but something was telling me that she wasn't happy with my accomplice's answer.

"Damn it Makoto!" I shouted at the laptop. From the way the screen shook, it seemed like I surprised him. "Why couldn't you think with your other head?! Now Big Sis Junko is unhappy!"

"Wh-What do you mean…?" my accomplice whispered. "She looks pretty happy to me…"

"You know what? Since you obviously don't care about my advice, I'm going to let you handle this failure of a date. Goodbye, Big Bro."

"Wait, Mon—"

I closed the program and groaned. Operation "get my accomplice a date" had ended in failure, and it was all because he wouldn't throw away his ideals for Big Sis Junko. At least I still had the backup date. I started to re-establish my connection to Kurokuma. The screen was still black, but I started talking to the laptop anyway.

"Kurokuma, can you hear me? How's the da—"

"Stop! I said stop you… giant teddy bear!"

"Fuckin' cop, leave me the fuck alone! Don't you know who the fuck I am?!"

Oh great. What was happening here? I was finally connected to Kurokuma's left eye, and from the way the screen was shaking, it looks like he was running away from something. The bystanders on my screen were all rushing out of the way of the moving bear.

"Kurokuma, what's going on?" I said. "Why are you running on the street?"

"I'm being chased by the cops Monaca!" Kurokuma replied.

"… Why exactly are you being chased by the police?"

"Well ya see I was getting a bit bored watching your sister on her date, so I thought I should help liven up the mood ya know? I started rapping a song of love in public, but then the fuckin' cops came and said I was causing a public disturbance!"

I began to massage my forehead again. Why was everything falling apart today?

Kurokuma looked back behind him. Right on his tail was a blonde policewoman.

"Oh shit, she's gaining on me! What the fuck do I do Monaca?!"

"I don't know, hide somewhere and try to sneak past her?"

"I tried to sneak past her, but I'm big as fuck and the sound of my gold chains keeps alerting her!"

"Then throw away your gold chains."

"Fuck that! Do you know how much money I pai—"

Several police cars appeared on my screen, blocking Kurokuma's path. Several policemen came out of the cars and pointed their guns at the screen, causing Kurokuma to stop.

"Freeze! Put your hands— Paws, up in the air!" one of the policemen shouted.

"Whatcha gonna do, shoot me?" Kurokuma replied. "Don't you know that shooting a rapper only makes his career stronger? Go ahead and—"

Kurokuma suddenly toppled over on my screen. "I got you!" a voice shouted. "You're under arrest for indecent exposure, smoking indoors, and attacking the ears of the public!"

"Get the fuck off me bitch! I'm Kurokuma! You can't arrest me!"

"My name is Misaki Asano! Now stop struggling!"

"Quick Monaca! Send some reinforcements! I don't want to spend a night in—"

I turned off my laptop. Well, there goes my dream of building a multibillion-dollar company. I turned towards Big Sis Mukuro. For the entire time I was talking, she had never changed that blank expression.

"… Do you know any good knife techniques Big Sis Mukuro?" I asked.

She raised an eyebrow at me. After a few seconds, she reached inside and took out a combat knife. She held the handle to me.

"Are you a fast learner?"

"I can be if I try."

---

Her sister entered the passenger compartment. She slammed the door shut, and on her face was a scowl directed toward her.

"Where the fuck were you?!" Junko shouted, causing her to flinch. Her sister leaned back on the seat and crossed her arms. "What could possibly be so important that you left me for three hours with Makoto?!"

The limousine they were in started to move. "I-I'm sorry Junko!" she replied. "But, um, there's a perfectly good explanation for why I didn't come back!"

"Then spit it out already!"

"Y-Yes!"

She explained to Junko of Monaca's plan to get her with Makoto. By the time she was done explaining Junko had dropped her glare, and was staring at her with a blank expression.

"So let me get this straight," Junko said. "That brat wanted me to get with that piece of cardboard, and you allowed it because you thought it would give me despair?"

"Y-Yes!" she replied. "You always complained about how much he annoys you, so I thought if you spent some time with him you'll feel a bit of despair."

… Junko smiled at her. "And here I thought you weren't good at anything other than killing. How smart of you Sis."

Her comment made her heart flutter; Junko had praised her! She smiled at her younger sister. "Than—"

"Fuck no! You're dumber than a sack of bricks!"

Her smile dropped. "E-Eh? What's wrong Jun—"

"Did you actually think your plan gave me even a miniscule of despair?! The only thing I felt from spending time with that herbivore boy was my brain cells dying!"

"B-But I thought doing things you hate gave you despair?"

Junko let out a groan. "And this is why I'm the one who makes the plans. Doing something I hate doesn't always give me despair. Watching paint dry on the wall? Despairful! Losing a game of chess? Despairful! Spending time with Makoto? Boring beyond relief. I'd rather kill myself than spend a single second within his presence."

She looked away from her sister, the happiness she felt dying inside her. She failed to bring her sister any kind of despair with her plan. Why was she always such a disappointment…?

"… But I guess it was a good effort from someone as disappointing as you."

She looked back at Junko. Did she mean that? Was her sister praising her for real?

"Do you really mean that?" she asked.

"Why of course Sis… Ugh, why are you smiling at me like that? You're making me want to wipe that ugly-ass smile right off your face."

Junko reached into her trench coat pocket, taking out a pencil. With no warning, she swung the pencil at her face. It would have poked her left eye out had she not grabbed her hand at the last second.

Ah, Junko was trying to kill her. Her smile widened even more. She always loved these bonding moments between them.

"Ew, gross! Didn't I say for you to drop that smile?"

Junko escaped from her clutch and sent a flurry of stabs at her. She deflected each and every one of them. Ever since they were kids Junko had always tried to kill her. It didn't matter if she was in the bathroom or sleeping; if Junko was around she had to keep her guard up.

Not that she minded. She knew her sister better than anyone. Junko was only trying to taste the despair of killing her sister after all.

After a couple of minutes, her sister stopped trying to stab her. She felt disappointed at how short their bonding session was. Junko reached into her pocket again and took out a notepad, and began to draw on it.

"Did you get what you wanted Junko?" she asked.

"I did," she answered. "Monaca proved to be quite useful in the end. With these blueprints, I'm one step closer to plunging the world into despair."

"That's great! Now you can move on to producing those Kumada—"

"No! Don't you fucking dare call them that!"

"J-Junko?!"

Her sister was seething now. "Who does that brat think she is?! They're called Monokumas! Mono-fucking-kumas! What the fuck is a Kumadachi?!"

"Um… I'm sorry for calling them th—"

"Doesn't she know who I am?!" Junko continued. "I'm Junko fucking Enoshima! Even if I only had ten minutes of screen time in a long-running show, I will always be at the top of popularity polls! Even if I die in the end I'll still appear in all fifty-three seasons of the show!"

"Junko, please! You're starting to scare the driver."

"Scare the driver? He's lobotomised for fuck's sake!"

"That's why I'm worried, so please calm down Junko. You got what you wanted right?"

… Junko made another attempt to stab her, but she blocked it. "I guess you're right," she said, and continued drawing on the notepad. "You should work on fixing your crappy lobotomy skills, Sis."

"Of course! I'll be ready when it's time to brainwash class seventy-seven."

"Oh, we're not doing that anymore."

"Huh? Then what are you going to do to them then?"

"I'm going to make them fall to despair the good old fashion way. I'm sure they wouldn't mind spending some personal time with me."

She was confused. Junko would only drive someone to despair personally if they meant something to her, and she was sure Junko never cared for class seventy-seven.

"But… I thought you never cared for class seventy-seven?" she asked.

"Don't get me wrong; I don't give two shits about that class. Compared to my precious friends in class seventy-eight they're nothing but a bunch of chumps."

"So why?"

"It's because of Makoto. That herbivore boy gave me the idea during the three, agonising hours I spent with him. Class seventy-seven were going to become my loyal followers willingly, all because he suggested it to me. Isn't that a much better plan?"

"Yes! It definitely is Junko!"

"Of course it is. I don't even know why I asked you anyway."

Junko stopped drawing and ripped off the page on her notepad. She set it down beside her. Drawn on the page was a blueprint for a Monokuma unit. Junko resumed drawing on the new page of her notepad.

"…May I ask you a question Junko?"

"No."

"O-Okay…"

"… Jeez, fine. What do you want to ask?"

"Why don't we turn our classmates over to our side?" she asked. "They have far more useful talents than class seventy-seven, so I'm sure they would cause more damage to the world."

Junko stopped drawing. She gazed up at her, placing the notepad and pencil on her lap.

"What a stupid question," Junko said. "Didn't I already tell you the reason why?"

"Umm…you never did?"

"Then let me explain it to you so clearly even your stupid brain can retain it. I've thought about recruiting my classmates to Ultimate Despair. Hell, I even made plans to make it happen."

"So, why aren't we…?"

"Because it wouldn't give me any despair. The thought of having my classmates by my side, spreading despair alongside me… it makes me feel…"

"… Junko?"

Her sister reached inside her trench coat, taking out several photos. She recognised them; they were photos of their school lives with their classmates.

"…Whatever the case, I scrapped the plan because it didn't give me enough despair," Junko said. She looked at the first photo. "Ah, I remember this one. This was when we all went to the Sapporo winter festival. We all had fun when it was snowing in school, so I thought why not take it to the next level? We had lots of snowball fights, built the best snowman in the world, it was tons of fun. But arranging the trip made a fucking dent in my money. Also, why the hell is my face covered in this?"

Junko moved on to the next photo. "Oh hey, I forgot about this one! This was when I put that giant fish inside the swimming pool! I wanted to give everyone a heart attack, but unfortunately, Sakura uppercutted the fish out of the damn pool. Again, why the hell is my face covered in this as well?"

Junko continued looking on through the photos, and she saw it. A faint smile on her sister's lips, one caused not out of despair…

… But then Junko started chuckling. That chuckle grew higher and higher in volume until she was cackling inside the vehicle. That smile of pure joy was twisted into a smile of despair.

"Looking at all the precious memories made between my classmates… It just makes me even more excited to drive them all into despair!" Junko cried out, tossing the photos into the air as she continued her mad laughter. "I can't wait to see them all kill each other in my game! But for now, you and I need to protect our friends during these trying times. Can't have them fall to despair too soon you know?"

She watched the photos flutter down to the ground, her eyes focusing on one particular photo.

"… What are you looking at Sis?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing!"

Junko didn't believe her, as she picked up the photo she was focused on.

"Once again my face is covered in this photo," Junko said. "Fucking Kiyotaka, why couldn't he move a bit away from me? But, hang on, there seems to be someone missing from it."

Junko brought the photo close to her eyes.

"Now who could it be? Could it be you Sis? Oh wait; I can see your ugly mug right here. Maybe it's Mondo, or maybe it's Byakuya, or maybe…"

Junko continued to list out the names of their classmates. She was toying with her, for it was obvious who was the only one missing from the photo.

"…Maybe it's Makoto who's missing," Junko said. "It's strange how you went along with Monaca's plan to get him to date me. Aren't you afraid I might steal him from you?"

"Wh-What do you mean? You already have Yasuke right?"

"And? What, am I not allowed to have a harem? Maybe I should actually start dating him."

She forced herself from frowning.

Junko smiled at her. "Relax Sis! I won't steal your crush from you."

"I-I'm telling you Junko… I don't have any feelings for him."

"Oh, you don't? If I tell you right now to go to his house and kill him, would you do it?"

"… Of course. Makoto was just some… loser in our class."

… Junko wasn't smiling anymore. The blank stare on her sister's face gave no hint at what she was feeling. Her heart was starting to beat fast from Junko's stare.

"… I'm sure we'll find out the answer soon enough," Junko said, shrugging her shoulders. "It should already be easy for you to betray our classmates. After all, you betrayed me when you ran away to join Fenrir. And when I finally tracked you down and asked you to come back to me, you betrayed your little mercenary group and ran all the way back to Japan. You're nothing more than a bitch who'll betray anyone I ask you to."

… She remained silent.

"But hey, it's nothing to feel bad about Sis. I mean, you didn't kill all of your Fenrir buddies. The ones who stuck by your side and watched you kill their comrades are now working for me, spreading despair all over the world. Just tell me who your favourite classmates are and I'll make sure they survive my killing game."

"No, it's okay Junko."

"You sure? I'm serious about my offer."

"Yes, I'm sure."

Junko shrugged her shoulders again. It was too late for her to back out now. She had committed countless crimes, killed many innocents, and betrayed those close to her all to earn her sister's affection. If she had to stain her hands with the blood of her classmates, then she'd do it without hesitation and remorse.

If Junko commanded her to kill Makoto, then she'd…

"Hey Sis, you know that I care about you right? I say all of these awful things to you because it pains me to see you get hurt, even though you really are a smelly, stupid, good-for-nothing sister."

"Of course Junko. And I care about you as well."

Junko took out a phone from her pocket, dialling a number before placing the phone near her ear. She picked up the notepad and pencil from her lap and resumed drawing.

"Hello?" Junko said. "Is this Haiji Towa…? Who is this you ask? Oh, nobody special. I'm just a girl who's going to make you a very special offer…"

---

"…Um, Monaca? Are you still mad at me?"

I looked up from my phone to my accomplice. After saying goodbye to Big Sis Junko and Big Sis Mukuro, we were now on a train heading back to his house. We were sitting together in silence until now, minding our own business inside the empty carriage.

"Mad? Now, why would Monaca be mad at you?" I asked.

"It's just… I'm sorry for screwing things up with Junko," my accomplice said.

I sighed, just when I was starting to forget everything that happened today. It also brought to mind that Kurokuma was currently inside a jail cell, right on the other side of town. I was going to wait until tomorrow to bail him out; he needed some alone time to think over his actions.

"Now that you brought it up… Yeah, I'm still mad at you."

"Sorry…"

My accomplice looked sad. Jeez, why was he getting mopey now? It was all in the past anyway.

"Cheer up Makoto," I said. "I forgive you for blatantly ignoring all of my advice. Next time, please listen to your reliable little sister."

"I still feel pretty bad though. We went through all that practice yesterday, and yet I failed to ask her out for a date in the end."

"And I'm telling you it's okay. Failure is a part of life after all. You're still friends with Big Sis Junko right?"

"I think so."

"Then you still have a chance. In your next meeting with Big Sis Junko, use this experience to win her heart for good Big Bro! Or maybe you could start dating Big Sis Mukuro instead! She showed me some cool knife techniques!"

"Is that so…" My accomplice had a worried look on his face.

"Yep! So if things don't work out between you and Big Sis Junko, you can always date her sister. I wouldn't recommend trying to date both at the same time though. Dating one girl is enough trouble; dating two means you hate your life, and dating three and above means you have a death wish. Trust me on this Makoto; women become dangerous creatures when they're high on hormones. You wouldn't survive."

"I'll take your advice to mind." My accomplice had a smile on his face now. He really shouldn't need a little girl like me to cheer him up, but I didn't mind being relied on from time to time.

I leaned back in my seat. While things today didn't go as well as I hoped, I still had a pretty fun time hanging out with Big Sis Mukuro.

… Although, there was this feeling that I couldn't shake off today. It had been growing over the past few days as well, this sense of… boredom in my life.

How strange. I guess I need to find something that could get rid of this feeling.