'What am I supposed to do now?'

Mukuro and Makoto stared silently at each other. Her stomach twisted itself into endless knots. Everything, other than the soldier's blood soaking into the snow, was still. She didn't know if he was silent out of shock at what she'd just done, fear of what Chisa had told him, or both. Even if she had known, she still wouldn't have had the faintest idea of what to do. The only thing she did know was that she was terrified of him hating her.

He suddenly clutched at his side and winced in pain. 'His wound.' Mukuro finally knew what to do, and rushed over to him. 'Let me see' she ordered, trying to let her instincts take over as she lifted up his clothes to look at his bandages. No blood. She sighed in relief and looked up at Makoto. 'H-how does it feel?' 'Like… like it's about to come apart…' he groaned. 'Then we need to find somewhere you can rest. Somewhere warm.' As she finished talking, she realised how close she was to Makoto. His eyes were light hazel, and even now exuded a feeling of safety. She could stare into them for hours. But not now. She quickly looked away and stepped back, almost relieved that Kyoko was walking towards them before she could embarrass herself.

'There's a town about an hour's walk up the road' she said, pointing behind Makoto. 'The Ultimate Detective is good at listening in on conversations, as always', Mukuro thought with a brief flash of annoyance, though she noted with approval that Kyoko had already taken webbing, a rifle, and a hydration pack from one of the soldiers' corpses, and was pointing the AUG at the ground with her finger off the trigger. 'The houses themselves are still intact,' Kyoko continued, 'but… it's strange. The ones we checked had all been cleared out except for one item. Some had beds, some had food, some had toilets.'

'Mukuro…' Makoto's voice piped up, '… where's Chihiro?' Mukuro's stomach tied itself into one more knot as she remembered what Chihiro had said, but she tried to act calm as she pointed back the way she'd come from. 'He's back there, I don't know exactly where.' Kyoko raised an eyebrow. 'He?' 'Shit, shit!' Mukuro cursed herself. 'Sorry, I meant she! I just… I'm just a bit tired.' The detective was silent for a moment, then nodded. 'Alright. I think it best if you carry Makoto back to the town while I get Chihiro. We'll meet in the red brick house with the beds, Makoto can give you directions.' Mukuro nodded, trying to hide the strange feeling of joy and anxiety she was feeling. 'Alone with Makoto again…'

Kyoko turned and headed towards Chihiro while Mukuro knelt down next to Makoto. She reached out her hands, but stopped when she noticed his expression. His eyes were wide, he was breathing heavily, and he looked slightly nauseous. Her arms dropped. 'What is it? What's wrong?' 'Nothing, it's just…' He glanced at the corpses. '… I've just never seen… people die.' The knots in her stomach grew even tighter. 'I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep you safe, I didn't mean…' 'It's okay', he said, nodding solemnly. You did… what you had to.' The corner of his mouth curled into a flicker of a smile. 'And you saved my life again.' Mukuro sighed, relieved. 'Thank you… for understanding. But I told you, you're the one who saved me at Hope's Peak. Now, just let me…' She reached under his thighs and shoulders and lifted him off the ground. 'How's your wound? Still holding?' He nodded, blushing slightly. 'Yeah. I'm just… not used to being carried like this…'

But Mukuro had held him before. Not just when trying to save his life, but also when preparing the killing game. Now, as she had then, she felt the warmth of his body and his breath, the softness of his skin and hair, and the steady rhythm of his lungs and heart. He smelt beautiful, but she didn't have the words to describe it. This close, she could see every imperfection on his face, but they just made him even more beautiful in her eyes. Unlike before, however, he was conscious now. His eyes, as always, drew her in and made her feel safe. As she held him, all she wanted was to find herself in bed with his arms around her, falling asleep in his comforting embrace. No despair, no guilt, no Junko. Just Makoto and his love.

'But that'll never happen if he hates me… if he thinks I'm a monster. I need to talk to him about that, and I have to… no, can't I wait a bit longer? I… I need… no. No. I need to talk to him now.' As she stepped onto the road and started walking down it, she gathered up her courage and opened her mouth. 'Makoto… about what Yukizome said, back on the plane…' He looked up at her, anxiously. 'It's true', she mumbled, pretending to scan the snow-covered trees around them so that she wouldn't meet his eyes. 'But I don't want to be that sort of person anymore. I want…'

'I want to be good enough for you.'

'… I want to be… better.' She glanced down for a second to see that Makoto was looking at her with… pity? Fear? She couldn't tell. 'Mukuro', he sighed, 'You've hurt people. You hurt us. You hurt me.' Her heart plummeted, but he kept speaking. 'But then you saved my life, you got us out of Hope's Peak, and you saved Chihiro. I think… I think you've earned another chance.' She stopped dead in her tracks. 'Mukuro? What's wrong?'

She didn't know. She felt shameful but relieved, fearful but hopeful. 'You really mean that?' she asked, unable to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes. Makoto looked up at her with concern before smiling gently, filling her heart with longing as she gazed at the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen. 'I really do', he said, oblivious to how she really felt.

For the first time since waking up on the plane, Mukuro smiled. 'Thank you.' 'It's okay', Makoto said as his smile grew a little, filling her with the urge to hold him closer. 'So,' he continued, 'what happened to you after the plane?' 'Not much. Me and Chihiro landed and found some shelter for the night. Some soldiers found us, but I… I did what I had to.' There was an awkward pause. 'How is Chihiro?' Makoto asked, obviously uncomfortable with the subject of killing. Mukuro considered her words for a second. 'He's physically fine, apart from his fitness, but he just can't cope mentally.' Makoto nodded sadly. 'I was worried you'd say that. All the strength he'd built up with us over the years is just gone now.' 'Yeah', she murmured, her body stiffening.

Makoto looked up at her, confused at first, then with regret. 'Ah… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -' 'It's fine', she interrupted. 'But I… deserved it. I hurt him, so now I need to help him.' Makoto smiled again, now with a hint of pride. 'I think he needs encouragement more than anything. He needs to know that we're here for him, and that we want him to succeed.' The smile faded from his face. 'I don't think he got that from any of the other kids growing up.' Mukuro's stomach constricted once more as unwelcome memories came to the fore. 'Yeah, I guess that sort of thing can really… impact someone.' Makoto glanced at her with a mix of curiosity and concern. 'What is it?' 'Nothing,' she said a bit too quickly. 'I'll tell you later.' 'Why am I so scared to tell him more about myself? I can charge machine gun nests and shoot down helicopters, so why is this too hard for me?'

'Here we are.' Makoto thankfully cut off her train of thought, pointing at two-storey red brick house at the edge of a town that had just come into view. It seemed like one idyllic little places that ended up on Novoselic postcards at first glance, but, as Mukuro walked up to the house's door, the absolute stillness and silence of the town made it obvious that something was wrong. But there was nowhere else to go.

Makoto directed her into a bedroom just left of the front door, and she placed him down on the bed inside before sweeping through the house, going room-to-room to ensure that they were secure. They were, but the house was completely empty except for its three beds. It was just like the cabin. At least some of the nearby houses had food according to Kyoko.

'We're clear', Mukuro declared as she stepped back into Makoto's room. He nodded. 'So, what now?' 'Now I take a look at your wound. Lift up your shirt.' It would have been absurd to inspect his injury any other way, but she still found herself somewhat flustered as he exposed the bare flesh surrounding his bandages. 'What's wrong with you? It's just a torso. You've checked the wounds of dozens of men. This isn't any different, get a hold of yourself!'

Regaining her composure, she looked at the bandages. There was no blood, as expected. 'You said you felt like it was tearing open, right?' she asked, still contemplating his wound. 'Yeah, but it doesn't feel so bad now.' 'Still, we shouldn't risk opening it up. We should rest here. We can't stay for long, with the enemy looking for us, but a short rest is better than none.' Makoto slowly shook his head. 'No… we should be looking for the others. We need to get out of here together. That's worth the risk of me -' 'No!' Mukuro suddenly looked Makoto in the eye as she sternly gave him the order. 'No. I'm not going to let you die. No matter what.'

She stared at him for a few moments before her composure started to break. She hurriedly broke eye contact and stood up. 'I'm going upstairs to go on lookout,' she said lamely before awkwardly walking out of the doorway.

Makoto watched her go. 'There's something she's not telling me...'