'I, uh... I'm going to ch-check the perimeter', Mukuro stuttered as she turned away from Makoto with tears in her eyes. He could feel his stomach tying itself into even tighter knots than before. 'No, Mukuro, wait', he called out, but his words fell on deaf ears. She disappeared into the night, leaving him alone to process what had just happened. He sighed and leaned against the cabin's wall. 'So... Junko was telling the truth. Mukuro has a... a crush on me.' Desperately, he looked up at the stars, trying to distract himself. They were so bright and vivid here, away from the lights of a city, and their beauty actually was almost enough to temporarily distract him from the reality of his situation.

Almost.

No matter how much he focused on them, he couldn't help thinking of Mukuro. The image of her surrounded by the corpses of people she'd just killed, without a hint of emotion on her face, was just as vivid as the memory of her crushed and crying expression as he turned down her confession just a few moments before. She was the only cold-blooded killer he counted as a friend (Hope's Peak was a bizarre place at the best of times), but in that moment she'd seemed so pathetic and lonely. He'd never even imagined that she could be so vulnerable. 'Am I the only person she's ever shown that side of herself to?' The intrusive thought stabbed at him, and he suddenly felt ashamed.

The cabin door opened, and he turned to see Kyoko. 'So, she told you,' she stated, and he immediately knew what she was talking about. 'Of course', he said. Despite himself, the faintest smile had appeared on his face. 'You already knew.' She nodded. 'I'd hardly be the Ultimate Detective if I didn't notice how she looked at you and talked to you. But you rejected her.' Again, it was a statement, but this time Makoto didn't agree. 'I didn't reject her, it's just... I just want to be friends.' 'Friends with her? After everything she's done?' The detective's expression remained unchanged, but there was an undercurrent of confusion and a hint of anger in her voice. Makoto nodded, sheepishly. 'Yeah, I know, but she wants to change, and she's helping us now. And...' Suddenly, realisation and guilt stabbed at his stomach. '... we're all she has left.' Kyoko shook her head. 'You're hopelessly... nice. That'll get you killed.' 'I always got the impression that you liked that about me', Makoto mumbled, looking out into the night. It was a cold night, and Mukuro was out there alone and upset with a gun. 'Maybe I should go out after her...' 'No', Kyoko ordered. 'It'll be better if I go and try to get her back inside. You should stay out of the way. Go behind the cabin.' 'Okay', Makoto replied, feeling guilty about how glad he was that he'd be able to avoid more awkwardness.

However, there was nothing to do behind the cabin other than think. The image of her scared but determined face looking down at him as he bled out in her arms at Hope's Peak flashed before his eyes. 'She said that she... that she loved me. I guess that's why she saved me back then, but... if she loves me, why did she put me in that situation to begin with? Why did she help Junko kill all those people and take my memories so that I'd try to kill me friends?! Why did she help kidnap my family?! Mum... Dad... Komaru...' He wiped tears from his eyes. It was only now, that they had been taken from him, that realised how much they really meant to him. And it was Mukuro who'd taken them from him. So how could she say that she loved him? Not to mention that she'd put all his friends through the same thing. 'Chihiro doesn't deserve any of this... and Sayaka...' He could feel a pit of despair in his stomach as he remembered what Junko had said about having Sayaka and Leon to play with. Back at Hope's Peak, before he'd regained his memories, Sayaka had held him so tightly and so desperately that he'd felt as if he was her only hope. And now she was in Junko's hands again, and he didn't even know where to look for her. 'Sayaka... Leon... I'll find you, somehow, I promise.'

He heard the door open and close behind him. Mukuro was back.

'I'll wait until she's asleep', he thought, unable to stop himself from yawning. 'Then I'll go to bed.' Not that there was a bed in the cabin. Without warning, he suddenly remembered how Mukuro had carried him back to his bed in the red brick house. She'd been so concerned about his wound - which was now still painful but stable - opening up. She'd almost been as concerned back at Hope's Peak, after he'd taken the spear for her. And, according to Kyoko and Chihiro, she'd fought off the others, taken him to the nurse's office, and hadn't left his side until she knew he was in safe hands. 'She really does care about me, at least in some way', he remembered. 'And... the nurse's office... what did she say in there that morning? Something about wanting to change her dream? That's right... was she thinking of changing sides, even before Junko tried to kill her? Or was that just part of her act as Junko? But she seemed...' He sighed. His mind was screaming out for rest, and it was becoming harder to think. There was no point continuing until he got some sleep. But the idea of talking to Mukuro right now was just too difficult.

Footsteps crunched on the snow beside him, and he turned to see Kyoko looking down at him. 'She's asleep', she said. 'You should go in and get some sleep too.' Makoto nodded. 'What about you?' The detective looked off into the distance. 'I'm going to keep watch for a bit longer. I'll wake you up if anything happens.' He smiled as much as he could. 'Thanks. Just take care of yourself.' With that, he headed back to the front of the cabin and stepped inside.

Chihiro was already asleep by the heater. Mukuro lay next to him, holding his hand, with her rifle by her side. Makoto couldn't help but feel that she had an aura of sadness around her. But, at the same time, he noticed how her short black hair framed her pale, freckled face, and couldn't help but think of her as beautiful. He'd only thought of Sayaka in the same way before. 'Wait, what am I thinking?! Remember everything she's done! She helped Junko steal Mum, Dad, and Komaru, and she put us in the killing game!' But even as thought of that, he was unable to stop remembering how her eyes had lit up when she was happy, how defined her muscles were, how concerned she'd been when he was in danger and how relieved he'd been to see her all the times she'd come to his rescue. He sighed. He couldn't deny it, part of him was attracted to her now. Maybe it had always been, and it had taken her confession to make him realise.

As he looked at her, she began mumbling something in her sleep. '... love you... Makoto.' His heart skipped a beat. 'She's dreaming about me?!' As he watched, paralysed by awkwardness and curiosity, Mukuro continued sleep-talking. '... sorry... should have... don't forgive... please...' He could guess at what she was dreaming about now, and couldn't help but keep staring, his stomach sinking. '... no', she cried, her voice growing louder and louder, 'Junko, please... please...' Suddenly, her hand jerked out of Chihiro's and reached for her rifle, and Makoto felt his heart almost burst out of his ribcage, but before he could do anything it was in her hands.