Chapter Text
Mukuro sat quietly at her desk, keeping to herself as she always did while waiting for class to start. School life had been surprisingly easy to adapt to, all things considered. The first few days had certainly been daunting, and Junko had made sure to take every opportunity to ridicule her for even the smallest mistake.
“You spent all those years pumping lead on those battlefields and yet a stupid school is what gets to you? Geez, you really are a worthless loser.”
Still, despite the initial hiccups, Mukuro had managed to get the hang of things. At least now she wasn't reflexively pulling a knife on people anymore. It goes without saying that high-school was quite different from a mercenary group. For one, it was far more consistent. Where she had once been constantly traveling from country to country to fight in some new war, now she had found herself falling into a routine. She'd wake up, get showered, eat breakfast, go to school, help Junko with her plans, head home, eat dinner, go to sleep, then do it all again. Admittedly, it was a nice change of pace. It felt good to not have to constantly be on edge looking for the next enemy who was trying to kill her. Well, except for whenever her own sister tried to kill her. But hey, that was nothing compared to her time in Fenrir. Overall, high-school wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be.
“Good morning, Ikusaba-san!”
Well, maybe there was one problem with high-school. Mukuro looked up to see the familiar face of one of her classmates, the Ultimate Lucky Student, Makoto Naegi. The luckster waved a hand in greeting, fixing her with his usual friendly smile.
“O-Oh… Good morning, Naegi-san,” Mukuro replied, mentally cursing herself for stuttering.
It was strange, really. If there was something, or rather, someone that threw her off about high-school, it was Makoto. Somehow, he just made things…complicated. It all started back on her very first day at Hope's Peak Academy. Through a series of strange and unforeseen events, Makoto had been the first person to be on the receiving end of having Mukuro's knife pointed at their throat. It was a rather ridiculous story that involved lots of tripping and falling, and one that culminated in the luckster falling right on top of her. Somehow, she, the Ultimate Soldier, had been taken by surprise by one of the most harmless people she had ever met, and it wasn't even on purpose. It certainly made for an awkward scene, a teenage boy lying on top of a teenage girl with said girl holding a knife just an inch away from his throat. While Makoto was visibly shaken by the fact that he had been so close to death, he realized that Mukuro had only done what she did in perceived self-defense, and so he quickly apologized for startling her. The two had introduced themselves afterwards and it was then that Mukuro's problems began, when Makoto looked at her with that smile of his. That big, radiant smile. The one that would greet her every morning when no one else did.
“Um, Ikusaba-san? You there?” Makoto’s voice brought Mukuro back to the present, the soldier blinking a couple times in surprise. It seemed she had gotten absorbed in her thoughts mid-conversation, much to her embarrassment.
“I-I apologize, N-Naegi-san. I…” Mukuro trailed off, trying her best to explain herself without sounding rude. Weird, since when had she cared about what other people besides Junko thought of her?
Makoto chuckled good-naturedly. “Don't worry about it, we all get lost in thought sometimes. Anyway, I just wanted to ask you a question.”
“What is it?”
“I was wondering if maybe you'd like to hang out for a bit after school, just the two of us.”
“Hang out..?” Mukuro repeated, furrowing her brows in confusion. Mukuro didn't have much in the way of a social life. Her title as the Ultimate Soldier made her mere presence somewhat intimidating to her fellow students. Not to mention all of the “knife incidents”...those probably didn't help either. Sure, Makoto wasn’t nearly as wary of her as the rest of her classmates, but she still wondered why he would want to spend time with someone like her. “But why?”
“I just want to get to know you a little more, if you don’t mind. We’ve been classmates for a while now but it still feels like we barely know each other, and I thought I’d try to change that,” Makoto explained. “But I completely get it if you don’t have time, or if you just don’t want to. I don’t want to force you or anything.”
Mukuro thought it over for a moment. Junko didn’t have anything planned for the day which meant that she herself had the afternoon completely free. Her instincts told her that she should just decline the offer, someone who made her feel so strange was bound to be trouble. And yet, there was a part of her that was undeniably curious. Maybe by spending some time with Makoto, she’d be able to figure out why he had such an effect on her.
“Okay,” Mukuro said with a small nod. “We can…’hang out’.”
“Cool!” Makoto said, his smile somehow appearing to be even brighter now. “We can meet at the plaza after classes are over. Sound good?”
“Yes, that will work just fine,” Mukuro replied. Was it just her or was her heart beating a little faster now?
“Great, see you then!” Makoto walked back to his desk, leaving Mukuro to think about what had just happened. It was only then that she realized the gravity of the situation. She had never actually “hung out” with anyone before, what do normal people even do when they hang out? The fact she was getting so nervous over this only served to frustrate her. She was a soldier, she should be better than this! In the end, Mukuro found it impossible to pay attention to the lesson as class went on, her mind was just too occupied with far more important things.
~~~
Mukuro nervously tapped her foot as she looked around from her spot on a bench. Classes had ended almost half an hour ago but Makoto still hadn’t shown up like he said he would. She was beginning to think that maybe he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to hang out with her after all. It wouldn’t surprise her. Who would want to hang out with a fat, smelly loser like her anyw-
“Hey, Ikusaba-san! I’m so sorry I’m late!” Mukuro was snapped out of her thoughts by a panicked Makoto running up to her. He looked pretty out of breath, like he had just been on a battlefield or something. “I got a little side-tracked on my way here. This is gonna sound crazy, but there was this huge bear that came out of nowhere and started chasing me around!”
Had it been anyone else telling her this, Mukuro would have been more than a little skeptical, but she knew from firsthand experience that Makoto and Lady Luck had a very “interesting” relationship. Still, she should probably say something to lighten the mood. “Don’t worry about it, we all get chased by a bear sometimes.” …Okay, that one had sounded a lot better in her head.
“Pfft, hahahaha! I see what you did there!” Makoto laughed, making Mukuro feel immensely relieved that her attempt to be witty had actually worked. “But now that I’m here, how about we get started?”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Mukuro agreed, though she wasn’t really sure where to start. After a few seconds of deliberation, she decided to just take the safe route. “So, what do you want to do?”
“Well, I was thinking we could start by telling each other more about ourselves,” Makoto suggested. “I think that should help us get to know each other a little more.”
“I…suppose that makes sense,” Mukuro replied tentatively. Obviously she couldn’t tell him everything about herself, but maybe there were a few things she could divulge. She just hoped that he wouldn’t be too put off by the end.
“Alright, I guess I’ll go first then.” Makoto went on to tell her about his hobbies, family, and just about everything else there was to know about him. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, not that she had been expecting it to be. Makoto was pretty ordinary after all, luck aside anyway. But despite that, Mukuro strangely never felt herself getting bored as he talked. It was as if the sound of his voice alone was enough to completely engross her in whatever he was saying. “And yeah, I think that’s about it. I hope I didn't ramble too much.”
“I thought it was interesting,” Mukuro assured.
“Thanks, I'm glad to hear that,” Makoto replied, smiling gratefully.
It took a few seconds before Mukuro realized that it was her turn to do the talking now. Feeling her nerves get the better of her, she simply blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “I have weapons.”
“Oh, neat. I mean, that knife you have is pretty cool,” Makoto said honestly, although it was clear that he wasn't sure what else to say. Was he waiting for her to continue?
“Uh, what I meant to say is, I like to collect weapons,” Mukuro clarified. “It's a…hobby of mine.”
“Oooh, I see. What kind of weapons do you collect?” Makoto asked curiously.
Mukuro was surprised that he seemed to be taking such an interest in her collection. Perhaps he was just being polite, but it still felt weirdly nice that someone actually cared to hear her talk about the things she liked. “I have all kinds. Guns, knives…”
Mukuro ended up going into far more detail about her interests than even she had expected. And all the while, Makoto remained thoroughly engaged as he listened to her go on and on about the types of weapons she had, how old and rare some of them were, the exact procedure that she used to clean them. Sometimes he would ask a question or point out something that he found cool, but for the most part, he allowed her to do the talking. Mukuro didn't even realize how much time had passed until Makoto pointed it out.
“Wow, it's getting pretty late,” Makoto noted, looking up at the sun which was now starting to set.
“It has?” Mukuro looked at her phone and was surprised to find that she had been talking with Makoto for several hours now. “Oh…”
“I should probably start heading home now before my parents get worried.”
“I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time,” Mukuro apologized.
“No, no, it's okay! I'm glad we finally got to talk to each other more today. I really enjoyed learning more about you, Ikusaba-san,” Makoto assured. He then smiled brightly as an idea came to him. “Hey, you wanna exchange numbers?”
Mukuro blinked in surprise. “Our numbers?”
“Yeah, I figured it would be nice to have a way for us to talk to each other outside of school. If you're okay with that, of course.”
“I…” Mukuro had to think about that one carefully. A part of her wanted to instantly jump at the offer. But her more cautious side told her that this could be a very risky thing to do. Would spending more time with Makoto interfere with her role in Junko's plans? Or worse, what would Junko think if or rather, when she found out? She almost certainly would, Mukuro didn't think there was anything she could possibly hide from Junko's analytical mind. But the strange feelings that Makoto gave her would surely continue to gnaw at her mind if she tried to ignore them.
Noticing Mukuro's hesitation, Makoto decided to speak up. “It's okay if you don’t want to, really. Like I said before, I don't want to force-”
“I accept,” Mukuro blurted out, giving into her desires despite her more sensible side screaming at her to stop. “Let's exchange numbers.”
Makoto smiled at that. “Cool.”
After the deed was done, Makoto put away his phone and stood up from the bench. “I guess I should get going now. See you tomorrow, Ikusaba-san. I'm glad we got to become friends.”
Mukuro felt her face heat up at that. No one had ever called her their friend before, not genuinely anyway. It made her feel weird, but not in a bad way. “I-I’m glad, too. Bye, Naegi-san.”
Makoto smiled at her one last time before turning around and making his way towards the main gate, leaving Mukuro to her thoughts. This whole “hang-out” thing really hadn't been so bad, it had been really good actually. She had felt very comfortable around Makoto as she talked on and on about her hobby. Who knew she could be so talkative? Maybe Makoto just had that kind of effect on people. Mukuro permitted herself a small smile as she continued to think about the luckster. She still didn't quite understand why he brought out this whole other side of her, but maybe it was one that was worth exploring.
~~~
Mukuro started to talk with Makoto far more frequently after their first proper conversation. Sometimes they would meet up during or after school, and other times they would text each other from their homes. But regardless of the circumstances, Mukuro found herself enjoying each and every interaction they had. One day, Makoto had even asked if he could see her weapon collection. Mukuro couldn’t really invite him over to her and Junko’s shared residence for several reasons, but Makoto had been content to take a look at the various photos she’d taken of all her weapons in their pristine condition. And, thanks to Makoto, she also found herself expanding her interests too. She still remembered how surprised Makoto had been to find out that she had never played a single video game in her life. The luckster decided to invite her to the local arcade one day where she quickly found herself enthralled by its selection of first-person shooter games.
Since Makoto had been immensely helpful in introducing her to so many new things, Mukuro felt it was only right to return the favor whenever it was him who needed help. As such, she had offered to tutor him when he had expressed frustration that he was struggling in math.
“Yes, these answers are all correct,” Mukuro said, having finished reviewing some practice problems with her friend. “I think you’ve really gotten the hang of it now.”
“Thanks, Ikusaba-san. I really couldn’t have done it without you,” Makoto said, bowing gratefully. “You know, you’re really good at this. Maybe you’re secretly the Ultimate Mathematician, too!”
“Oh, I’m… I’m really not smart enough for something like that,” Mukuro replied, downplaying herself as she usually did.
Makoto shook his head. “I disagree. I think you’re very smart, Ikusaba-san. But even if you weren’t, being a genius isn’t everything anyway. It takes diligence to succeed, and I think you have plenty of that.”
Well, that was technically true. Mukuro never slacked off when it came to her duties as Junko’s older sister. And as for school, well, her grades were among the highest in the class. She supposed it was because she was one of the few people who bothered to do any studying. Due to Hope’s Peak’s unique teaching structure, students weren’t required to do their work or even go to class. However, Mukuro still found herself doing it whenever she wasn’t busy helping Junko, hanging out with Makoto, or brushing up on her skills as a soldier. She just liked having something to do. But regardless of the facts, it was still hard for her to accept compliments of any kind.
“You give me way too much credit, but I appreciate that you think of me that way, Naegi-san,” Mukuro said. Even if she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it, it felt good to hear someone say something nice about her.
Makoto’s smile faltered at that, an uncharacteristically sad expression making its way onto his face. “You know, Ikusaba-san, I’ve noticed that you have a habit of deflecting compliments. At first I thought you were just being humble but… I don’t know, I just have this feeling that there’s more to it than that.” Damn, why did he have to be so good at reading her?
“It’s nothing, I just…” Mukuro paused for a moment as she tried to think of how to explain herself. “I guess I’m just not used to praise.”
“How come?”
“Because…” Mukuro trailed off, thinking back to all the times Junko had ridiculed and insulted her. It was simply her way of showing love, Mukuro knew. She had always been content to accept Junko’s opinion of her as gospel. But now? Now she found that thinking about it was starting to hurt a little, and she just couldn’t understand why.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” Makoto said, having picked up on Mukuro’s hesitation. “But just know that I meant every word I said. I think you’re a great person, Ikusaba-san. And I’ll always make sure to remind you of that.”
Mukuro found herself blushing at that. It was starting to happen more frequently now, much to her embarrassment. Despite her lack of self-esteem, she couldn’t help but enjoy the warm feeling that rose up in her chest at his words. Maybe, just maybe, she could learn to accept his praise. Mukuro felt a small smile come to her face as she nodded at Makoto in acknowledgement. “Thank you, Naegi-san. I’ll keep that in mind.”
~~~
As the days passed by, Mukuro only continued to grow closer with her newfound friend. She would have been perfectly content to have him be her only friend, but Makoto had eventually managed to convince her to open up a little more to some of their other classmates. Fortunately, Makoto got along well with just about the entire class, so he was all too happy to provide moral support. With his guidance, Mukuro managed to build up a surprisingly strong rapport with them. Sayaka and Leon helped introduce her to all kinds of music genres, Taka had been happy to exchange studying tips, Sakura and Aoi had invited her to a workout session, and even Toko had begrudgingly given her some suggestions for good novels to read (Mukuro was still shocked by how well that last conversation had gone).
But all the while, she couldn’t help but feel that there was a shadow looming over her. A rather Junko-shaped shadow. Mukuro may have believed herself to be stupid, but she wasn’t dumb enough to think that Junko hadn’t noticed her getting closer with their classmates. But for whatever reason, her sister had yet to bring it up. Mukuro would have honestly preferred if Junko had just given her the usual verbal lashing or even a beating up front, the agonizing radio silence was far worse. After a while, some foolish part of her had started to believe that maybe Junko really was just going to let it go, until one day…
“Hey, sis! Back from your little playdate?” Mukuro immediately tensed up upon hearing her sister greet her. She had just gotten back from a day at the park with Makoto and a few of their other classmates, but Junko’s voice was enough to instantly dissipate her pleasant mood.
“H-Hi, Junko,” Mukuro replied. She wasn’t going to even bother asking how Junko found out about what she’d been up to. She had far bigger things to worry about now.
“Did you have fun?” Junko asked. Her tone was casual, but Mukuro knew better than to think that spelled good things.
“Um, y-yeah… I did,” Mukuro stuttered out.
“So, my big, smelly sis is finally getting out there and making friends,” Junko said with a smirk. “Who could have seen that one coming?”
“I’m sorry for not telling you, Junko, I-”
“Baah-buh-bup-bup! No need for any of that,” Junko cut her off. “I’m just surprised is all. My stupid, ugly, loser of a big sis actually managed to meet a guy who likes her. But then again, he’s also a total loser, so I guess you’re just perfect for each other.”
Mukuro’s cheeks reddened at her sister's implication. “I-It’s not like tha-”
“Shush!” Junko slapped a hand over Mukuro's mouth harshly, causing her to flinch. “Let me finish, stupid.”
Mukuro nodded and Junko slowly removed her hand, a red mark now visible where it had once been.
“As I was saying, I think this is great news!” Junko said, a cheerful smile suddenly appearing on her face..
“Huh..?” This certainly hadn’t been the reaction Mukuro anticipated. Just what was her sister planning?
“Imagine the despair my big sis will feel when she has to betray all of her new friends, and especially her new boy toy,” Junko explained, giggling to herself in ecstasy. “Oh, it’ll be positively scrumptious!”
It was then that Mukuro finally understood what her sister was getting at. Sooner or later, Mukuro would have to choose between Junko or her friends. No matter what she chose, the resulting despair would be inescapable. It was a win-win scenario for Junko, one where she’d get to watch her sister suffer no matter what. There was no way she could ever bring herself to betray Junko, but could she really turn her back on all of her new friends? …On Makoto? Mukuro knew the smart thing to do would be to just cut herself off from Makoto and the rest of her class. At least then it wouldn’t hurt so much when she inevitably betrayed them. And yet, the more she tried to convince herself to go through with it, the more she felt her resolve crumble away. These were all people who cared about her, and she selfishly found that she didn’t want to let them go.
“Anyway, I’m tired as hell. Nighty-night, sis!” Junko said before heading off to bed and leaving Mukuro to stew in her thoughts.
Mukuro took a seat in the living room and pressed her hands to her head. She thought about Junko, the only family she’d ever had. And she thought about Makoto, the first person to ever call her a friend. The stress of trying to decide what she should do was all too much. In the end, all she could do was cry.