Several Days Ago

Led by Mukuro, the 78th class wandered out of Hope's Peak and into the polluted and scarred wasteland that had once been Tokyo, their expressions ranging from concealed confusion to abject terror. Not even Kyoko could completely conceal her horrified curiosity. But there were no tears or exclamations; the destruction was simply too overwhelming. Byakuya and Kyoko were the only ones able to immediately compose themselves enough to follow after Mukuro. The others had simply stayed rooted to the spot, frozen.

Sensing that something was wrong, Mukuro stopped and turned around. '… Makoto?' she asked, tentatively, before quickly walking over to his unmoving form. 'Has his wound opened up again? Is he -' her train of thought was interrupted as she stumbled over a piece of rubble, nearly tripping over before she regained her footing. Suddenly, Makoto snapped out of his trance and moved to help her. 'Are you okay?' 'Yeah, I'm fine, it's just these heels aren't any good for this terrain', she replied hastily, trying to conceal her embarrassment. 'But even now… you're so kind to me.'

She knelt down to unlace the high-heel boots. 'I was never good at walking around in these things.' Makoto looked at her, concerned. 'Are you going to be okay, walking around with no shoes?' She stood up, holding the boots in one hand and scratching her head through her wig with the other. 'Yeah,' she said, smiling slightly. 'There was one time in Abkhazia when we got attacked at night. Didn't have time to put my boots on, just had to get out of bed and fight them off.' '… oh', Makoto said, looking slightly awed.

Before Mukuro could say anything, she heard a voice behind her. 'Mukuro, a word?' It was Kyoko. 'Sure, what is it?' She took a small notepad out of her jacket pocket. 'This Future Foundation you mentioned, you said that they'd made an attempt to attack the academy before the killing game started?' Mukuro nodded, her heartbeat growing slightly faster. 'There's no way she can know about the pre-game broadcast yet. Everything is under control.'

If Kyoko noticed the slight change in Mukuro, she made no indication of it. 'In that case, it stands to reason that they should have at least some forces nearby, yes?' Mukuro shook her head, pointing back at the academy. The others hadn't yet noticed, but the roof was bristling with automated heavy artillery. 'Thanks to those and the drones we had surveying the area, it was impossible for them to set up a FOB within 40 kilometres. They had to come in with APCs and helicopters.'

Makoto, who'd been listening in, followed Mukuro's finger and stared in disbelief at the roof. 'What is… how… ?' 'I told you, Hope's Peak was meant to be a fortress to… keep you safe', Mukuro explained, averting her eyes from Makoto's. 'They installed those guns ages ago, when they first came up with that contingency plan.' She turned back to Kyoko. The Ultimate Detective was holding her chin, thinking. 'The Future Foundation must know that we've escaped, thanks to the broadcast', she stated, looking back at Mukuro. 'You know Junko better than any of us. If they come here to pick us up, will she let them, like how she let us escape once you got the button?' Mukuro was silent for a moment. 'No… she'd let them get close enough for you to think you're saved, then shoot them. We have to move further away, then you can try to signal them.' Kyoko nodded. 'I'll tell the others.' She walked off towards Mondo and Taka, leaving Mukuro alone with Makoto once again.

'It's going to be a long walk,' she said as she took a step towards him. 'If your wound gets worse, or you feel tired, let me know.' He gave her a small smile. 'I'll try not to make you carry me any more today.' 'It's… not a problem,' she awkwardly replied. 'Makoto… you saved my life. I owe you.' He blushed. 'I'm your friend, what was I supposed to do?' That word - friend - hit Mukuro with a bittersweet feeling. 'One day, I will tell him', she promised herself.

'Besides,' an oblivious Makoto continued, 'you saved my life too, didn't you? Kyoko told me what you did. Thank you.' He smiled, but she couldn't meet his eyes. 'That wasn't… you wouldn't… you only needed saving because of me', she stammered. After a moment of silence, Makoto placed his hand on her shoulder. She immediately tensed and looked at him. 'Then I guess you'll just have to rescue me again some time', he grinned. Before Mukuro could reply, he looked towards Sayaka. She was shaking, obviously on the edge of breaking down, and Makoto ran off to help her.

Mukuro was alone again.

As she watched Makoto embracing a weeping Sayaka, her heart filled with jealousy. 'I wish he would hold me like that', she thought. 'Why can't I have that?'

Her memories answered for her. 'Oh, big sis, don't you see? Makoto is an adorable boy, while you're a flat-chested socially-inept smelly pervert. It would never work, even if you hadn't murdered an entire school's worth of kids.' Mukuro's shoulders sagged in defeat for a moment, before the day's events flashed before her eyes. Flashing spears. Makoto's blood. A pained smile. A limp and wet body in her arms. Lies. Disappointment. 'I'm sure someday you'll make all your dreams come true.' Without even thinking, her hand shot up and tore the ridiculous wig off her head.

'Is… is everything okay?' Mukuro turned around to see a nervous Hina behind her. 'I… yes', she replied unconvincingly. 'I just -' Thick white gas suddenly exploded around them. Mukuro's vision immediately began to fade, and she felt her body go numb. Before she could even make sense of what was happening, everything went black.

The only thing Mukuro was aware of, other than the blackness, was a strong vibration running through her body. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Makoto was slumped over in a seat opposite to her, his arms and legs held in metal restraints. An orange-haired woman in a white coat stood over him and jabbed what looked like an epipen into his neck. Mukuro lunged towards her, only to find that her own arms and legs were also restrained. 'What… are you…doing… to him?!' she demanded, barely able to speak.

Without turning around, the woman replied. 'I'm just giving him something to counteract the knockout gas. I gave the same thing to you and everyone else.' Mukuro looked around. An unreadable Kyoko was sitting to her right, while an apprehensive Sayaka was next to Makoto, who was starting to look around himself in confusion. Beyond them were the rest of the class, all restrained in chairs on either side of a narrow, round hallway. 'We're on a plane,' Mukuro mumbled. To her left was the cargo ramp, with a dull gray cabinet built into the side of the fuselage next to it. 'So, this is some kind of converted military transport. But -' 'What is going on here?' Byakuya called out, his voice dripping with arrogance and annoyance. 'Explain yourself.'

The woman turned to him. Mukuro could still only see the back of her head. 'Of course, I should have explained. Forgive me,' she replied, in a genuinely warm and friendly voice. 'We're from the Future Foundation. After you escaped from Hope's Peak, we moved in to extract you to a more secure location. I'm sorry about the gas, but we had to use it. We… weren't sure about some of you.' The woman glanced over her shoulder at Mukuro. There was something familiar about her face, but Mukuro couldn't quite place it. Whatever the knockout gas had been, it hadn't quite faded away yet.

'And why are we all restrained?' Kyoko asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman. She smiled one of the most genuine smiles Mukuro had ever seen. 'Don't worry, Kyoko, we'll get to that eventually. Firstly - sorry for not saying so sooner - my name is Chisa Yukizome. I used to be the homeroom teacher for your upperclassmen at Hope's Peak.'

Mukuro's blood froze. Every trace of drowsiness was replaced with terror. The sound of metal scraping against bone filled her ears. 'No, Makoto can't know, please…'

'It's a shame you lost your memories, I remember seeing you guys from time to time,' Chisa continued in her warm voice. 'I think the only ones who remember me are Makoto and Mukuro. Actually, Mukuro helped me become the person I am today!' Makoto anxiously looked up at her. 'What… do you mean?' She smiled down at him. 'I'm glad that it was you who asked that.' She turned back to look at everyone else. 'On the first day of the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, I was lucky enough to meet none other than Junko Enoshima herself!'

An oppressive silence filled the aircraft, drowning out the sound of the engines. Mukuro could feel her heart pumping faster and faster, her stomach tightening so much that it hurt. Still smiling, Chisa continued. 'I didn't know how amazing despair was at the time, but Junko and Mukuro made me see.' All eyes were now on Mukuro, but she only cared about Makoto's, which were filled with disappointment and fear. 'She showed me a beautiful video of the student council falling into despair and butchering themselves. She even gave me a helpful lobotomy so that I could properly appreciate it.'

Makoto's mouth dropped open in shock and horror, his eyes still staring at Mukuro. She looked back at him, unable to speak. 'What do I… how do I…?'

Chisa looked around at the terrified and disgusted faces of the class. 'Don't worry, I know what's wrong', she said in a soothing tone. 'You're upset that Junko's game with you ended early, and you weren't able to experience despair for yourself. Well, I've got good news for you. Junko was able to get in touch with me before you left, so we've organised a new game for you to enjoy!'

Mukuro looked up in surprise. 'Junko was in contact with her? How… how much didn't she tell me?' Chisa continued beaming down at them. 'Right now, we're flying over the Novoselic Kingdom. You're all going to parachute down there in a few minutes. If you can reach the airport and fly the plane there out of the country, then you'll win!' She'd spread her arms out wide and beamed as if she was announcing a surprise party, but everyone looked at her in varying states of shock. Sayaka was visibly shaking. 'But', she continued with deliberate obliviousness, 'if you get shot by the military, freeze to death, or die in some other way, then I'm afraid you'll lose.' 'And… what, exactly, makes you think I'll jump out of this plane to play your ridiculous game?' Byakuya asked indignantly, having rapidly regained his composure. 'Well, the fact that I'm about to blow up this plane!' Chisa replied cheerily, brandishing a small metal box with a comically oversized red button on the top. 'Once I press this, you'll have one minute to get your parachutes on and leave the plane. Speaking of which…'

She moved past Mukuro towards the cabinet, opened it, and removed a black backpack. '… this is where the parachutes are. Anyway, I'd better get going now! Good luck!' She put on the backpack and moved over to the ramp controls and pressed a button. The soundproofing became irrelevant as the massive door opened, letting the roar of the wind and the engines inside. With a wave, Chisa pressed the button and fell out of the cargo door.

Mukuro felt the restraints retract, and she instinctively rushed towards the cabinet before anyone else could reach it. She grabbed two backpacks. 'I know these models. Good'. As the others rushed towards the cabinet, she strode toward Makoto, grabbed him, pulled him aside, put the backpack on him, and fastened the straps. His mouth moved, but she couldn't hear anything over the engines. She pointed a finger straight up in front of Makoto's face, then, when his eyes focused on it, moved it down towards the ripcord. After a moment of staring, he nodded in understanding, but looked at her with what looked like fear. Her heart sank.

She turned away and quickly put on her own parachute. Everyone else was doing the same, but slowly and clumsily. Everyone except Chihiro. He was desperately looking through the now empty cabinet. 'There weren't enough parachutes', Mukuro realised. 'But… I can't help him.' Suddenly, Makoto rushed over to Chihiro and started undoing his backpack. 'No, you can't!' She ran over to them both, swatted Makoto's hands away from the straps, and redid them. She gave him one last look as he looked at her in confusion, then picked up Chihiro. Surprised, he squirmed in her arms, but her grip held firm.

Then the airplane fell apart.

Everyone was suddenly freefalling through debris over snowy fields. 'She said something about the military shooting us, I'll have to be careful', Mukuro thought. She looked around the chaos for Makoto, but she couldn't see him. Chihiro screamed as the cold, hard Earth rushed up towards them.

Now

Mukuro sighed as the events of the past few hours finally soaked in. Makoto's shocked and fearful face was still vivid in her mind. 'Does he… hate me?' The thought terrified her more than anything else. But… 'No. That doesn't matter. I just have to find him and save him.'

The image of Makoto trying to give Chihiro his parachute flashed in her mind. 'No… I have to… change. I have to find and save everyone else, too. If I can change… maybe I'll deserve to have some hope.'

As much at peace as she could hope to be, Mukuro gradually drifted off to sleep.