Chapter Text
Makoto’s head snapped up scarily fast, eyes snapping around the room with a familiar sense of paranoia.
No…no no no no. This can’t be possible. He escaped! He and all the survivors stood in front of that metal door with an uncertain confidence for their future. Makoto remembers the afternoon sun warming his cheeks as his foot finally met the soft grass after months of the hard cold floors of Hopes Peak and its blinding artificial lights. He remembered it all so vividly…
So why was he here?
Makoto swiped a hand across his drool streaked face with a groan that could rival the undead, slowly rising from the stiff chair. This could all be a horrible and cruel nightmare; a punishment for surviving when much more deserving people didn’t.
Yeah, that had to be it. Simply a nightmare and that’s all.
Makoto raised his hand to his cheek, closed his eyes, and counted to three. Maybe there was a less painful way to do this, but Makoto found that pinching never worked for him.
Slap!
Makoto’s cheek burned a fierce red and he nearly knocked himself off balance from the sheer force of it. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to care. As long as he was out of this horrible place.
Makoto opened his eyes… then nearly closed it again in disappointment. Still here.
He tried to retain his disdain. He didn’t need Junko feeding off his slight despair and speeding up the killing game or whatever she might do if she caught wind that Makoto knew more than he was supposed to.
Without so much as glancing around the blinding room, Makoto left in a hurry. He didn’t care about the puddle of drool or his stinging cheek. He needed to go. He needed to leave. This was his chance to save everyone.
And he wasn’t going to waste it.
Even if it killed him in the process.
Makoto made a beeline straight for the gym, steps fueled by determination. He nearly got lost once or twice from the sheer size of the building, something he never got used to even as the numbers began to dwindle.
He tried to compose himself before he stepped foot inside, uncertain if he was able to face his classmates once more without seeing their bloody and bruised faces, their limp bodies and lifeless eyes. Makoto almost couldn’t stomach the thought.
Immediately, the lights blinded Makoto’s eyes but he didn’t care. He just wanted to see his friends again. Alive and breathing and in some cases hating his guts. Makoto didn’t care. Mondo could punch his lights out again and Makoto would embrace it with open arms for the few seconds where the shock registered before the pain.
A booming and familiar voice knocked Makoto out of his thoughts. He never imagined he’d miss the voice as much as he did.
“Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you’re aware that the meeting was at 8 a.m sharp! It’s my duty as hall monitor to report any tardiness, so your name at once!” Taka all but shouted, pointing an accusatory finger Makoto’s way. Forget everything he just said, Makoto didn’t miss Taka’s voice as much as he just missed seeing him. All Taka’s voice did was bring about a pounding headache.
“Uh, the school year hasn’t started yet. How are you already hall monitor?” Hiro’s voice raised from the crowd in the same clueless manner Makoto had grown used to, his hand scratching his head in confusion.
“Well, when the entrance ceremony is finished and they begin the voting for hall monitor, and student council, they’ll see that I’m the only candidate they need!” Taka said boisterously as he brought his hands out then brought them together with a loud clap. Makoto hoped the distraction was enough to get Taka off his case for now. He did not want to go through the long process of introducing himself to everyone for the next eighteen minutes.. especially not to her.
Makoto could see “Junko” with her arms crossed from across the room, looking unimpressed and stoic. Now that he thought about it, “Junko’s” resting face was always completely blank whenever she thought people weren’t staring at her. Her eyebrows always furrowed in disdain like she secretly hated everyone. And maybe Mukuro did. But, she always seemed genuinely interested whenever Makoto spent his free time with her. It might’ve been an act. Part of Makoto hoped it wasn’t. He wanted to believe that Mukuro was a drastically different person than her younger sister despite both holding the title of the Ultimate Despair.
Oops, Makoto’s been staring at Mukuro for too long and now she was staring right back. Maybe he could play it off like he’s a huge fan..? As unsettling as it was to admit, Makoto almost didn’t care about her opinion at the moment. He was here to do things right this time, whether he came off as weird or not.
Finally, Mukuro opened her mouth to speak and Makoto was fully prepared to sprint out of the room to avoid embarrassment, Monokuma de damned. But instead, she smiled at him. It was a tight smile, as though she herself wasn’t used to doing it, the shine of her lipgloss catching in the stale lights of the main hall.
“You’re, like, the lucky student, right? You’ve got the look of one.” Mukuro questioned in that preppy valley girl voice Makoto had grown to hate. Makoto felt his face unconsciously form into a snear and he had to remind himself that he wasn’t supposed to hate her. At least, not yet. Makoto never dwelled on the fact that Mukuro was probably as much a victim as everyone else was, doomed to be betrayed by her younger sister. Still, Makoto’s heart still held some resentment for the fact that she agreed to the plan and allowed it to get this far. Makoto just wanted to be a regular student, damn it.
Realizing that, yes he was still definitely staring and creeping the girl out, Makoto finally spoke. His voice wobbly and uncertain as though he couldn’t trust himself to speak and not jump at the girl. “Oh yeah..! I’m Makoto Naegi, Ultimate Lucky Student. Sorry, my head is a little fuzzy.” Makoto couldn’t help but apologize. That’s how it always was; he’d speak then immediately felt the need to apologize because he undoubtedly annoyed someone. Being around Byakuya definitely didn’t help.
Mukuro stared at him as though she didn’t believe him and Makoto stared back like he also didn’t believe himself (because he didn’t) before she remembered that she was supposed to care about whatever crap Makoto just spouted at her. Mukuro’s eyes widened slightly before she clenched her fist in anger.
“Like, I get that this is a ‘lighthearted prank’ the headmaster is pulling on us, but knocking us out was way too far! Whatever gas they used better not affect me in the long run!” Mukuro whined decently loud, crossing her arms in annoyance.
Gas? That was new. Well, Makoto supposed that was pretty obvious given he never heard or felt anything before the room began spinning. He should stop talking to Mukuro now before he makes a fool of himself trying to jump her at the ripe height of five foot five.
After introducing himself to everybody else rapidly so he didn’t have to stand there and listen to them rattle off basic information that he already knew. Also, he didn’t have to stand around and listen to Toko. He grew to appreciate the book writer by the end of the game, but he’d forgotten how insufferable she was at the beginning.
After fifteen minutes of agonizing introductions, Makoto finally reached Sayaka. The girl tilted her head when she saw him with that stare that always made Makoto feel exposed, like what he was thinking was being read. A moment later, the blue haired girl finally spoke.
“Hey, this might be an odd question. But did you go to–” Sayaka began, her voice melodic and light. Makoto missed that voice. It almost made him forget that she’d been planning on framing him for murder at one point. Almost.
“Blackroot Junior High? I did actually, but I don’t think we were in the same class.” Makoto finished the rest of Sayaka’s sentence without much thought. Might as well have some fun if he was doing this again. He watched as Sayaka’s eyes widened in surprise and she let out a giggle of disbelief. Staring at her, Makoto couldn’t help but remember the state she was in when he last saw her.
Wrist broken. Covered in her own blood. Nails broken in a desperate scramble for life. Knife plunged deep into her chest as she was left alone to bleed out. Lonely and afraid, left pondering her choices on the cold bathroom floor. Makoto shivered at the thought.
“-To? Makoto? Are you alright?” Sayaka’s voice faded back in, a worried frown spreading on her usually bright face. Makoto couldn’t help but feel bad for making her concerned with his stupid thoughts. They didn’t matter. Makoto was going to save her this time. Save everyone.
“Huh? Yeah, I’m alright! My head hurts.” Makoto responded with the same pathetic excuse he gave Mukuro. It sounded weak to him, but it might be enough to keep Mukuro’s suspicion off him in the meantime. Sayaka made a worried noise as her eyes scanned him over for any unseen injuries, sighing to herself when she didn’t immediately notice any.
“That’s good. Though we should head to the nurse after the entrance ceremony just in case, maybe they’ll have painkillers.” Sayaka suggested with a faint smile, her hand grazing Makoto’s arm as though he was about to topple over.
“I don’t think nurses just.. hand out pain medication like that?” Makoto questioned curiously. He recalled a memory of getting hit by a ball in middle school and the nurse supplying him with an ice pack and an annoyed call to his mom because there was nothing else she could do.
“Well, an ice pack then!” Sayaka huffed with pretend exasperation, throwing her hands up in irritation to really sell the idea. Makoto couldn’t hold himself back from snorting at the gesture and Sayaka smiled seeing she’d cheered him up a little.
Makoto was having such a good time that he nearly forgot the situation he found himself in. Suddenly, a bell chimed and the monitor flickered to life with that stupid bear silhouette and Makoto’s heart dropped. If he didn’t know it would get him killed, Makoto would’ve thrown his shoe at that damn thing.
The walk to the gym was treacherous. The buzz of everyone’s voices made Makoto want to sprint in the other direction. Nevertheless, Makoto stood completely still in the middle of the gym with the other clueless victims students.
He felt like he was going to be sick.
Counting the seconds in his head, Monokuma popped up exactly as predicted. Makoto tried his best to make a shocked expression, though it came out as more of a grimace than anything. He hoped Mukuro or Junko didn’t notice that he seemed to be slightly off. It’s hard being shocked the second time around.
Familiar lines filled his ears about the strange appearance of the headmaster, debating on if he was a prank or a stuffed animal. Monokuma arguing back like it even mattered what he was considering there was a bigger issue at hand. Makoto never noticed how irritating everybody’s voices together sounded in his head until he felt a headache grow steadily. If he wasn’t certain leaving would end in absolute death from Monokuma or appearing suspicious to Mukuro, Makoto would’ve hustled ass out of the gym.
He hardly noticed Sayaka inching closer to him out of unease until those all too familiar words rang through his ears.
“You must kill someone if you want to leave.” Monokuma stated with that all too mocking laugh. It made Mokoto feel sick to his stomach that someone–let alone the world outside– was getting some sort of twisted entertainment while they were stuck fighting for their lives. It made an angerier part of him want to march straight to the secret room and strangle Junko. Makoto shook his head to rid it of those violent thoughts. He shouldn’t give in to that mindset–that’s how killers were made. Violent thoughts and a desperate need to escape was what ripped Sayaka away from him and began the game. Makoto refused to fall into the same pit.
Instantly, objections were raised. Most of the students objecting had no clue that in the future, they were going to be the ones being killed or executed until there was a pathetic amount left. Some of the more notable voices in Makoto’s ears was the confused voice of Leon and the increasingly angry one of Mondo’s. Two murderers. Makoto nearly wanted to glare at them for being so hypocritical for protesting actions they didn’t know they were about to do in the course of two weeks. Actions that would never happen if Makoto could stop them this time.
Makoto watched as Mondo charged forward to grab the monochromatic bear by the neck, shouting in Monokuma’s face until he began rhythmically ticking. Makoto instinctively grabbed Sayaka’s hand and backed up out of the blast radius. He couldn’t go too far without looking suspicious, so he settled for stepping further right from where Mondo threw Monokuma last time.
Predictably, Kyoko uncharacteristically shouted at Mondo to throw Monokuma and Mondo did just that, even throwing it in the same spot as last time. The explosion from Monokuma was loud and blinding, causing Makoto’s ears to ring persistently for a few seconds afterwards. It wasn’t as bad as the previous time seeing as Makoto managed to get further away.
Ignoring when Monokuma appeared again and the suspicious looks being cast around the room, Sayaka whispered in Makoto’s ear with a curious expression.
“How did you know where he was going to throw it?” Sayaka inquired in a hushed tone that was only noticeable to anyone standing too close. Makoto thought about how to answer the question in the most avoidant way possible before a casual smile spread on his face.
“Im psychic, of course.” Makoto hummed in response before glancing down at his hands. The e-handbook rested soundly in his palms despite him being too distracted to catch it when Monokuma threw them. Sayaka was holding hers too, though she seemed less confused about it and more about Makoto’s answer.
“Huh?” Sayaka mumbled with a stunned expression on her face. Makoto enjoyed seeing Sayaka less composed than normal, unlike the panic attack she had after viewing her motive video.
“Kidding, kidding! I guess I just got lucky.” Makoto laughed genuinely from Sayaka’s dumbfounded face. It took Sayaka a moment before letting out an amused huff at his dumb joke.
He missed this. He missed her face.
Makoto wasn’t letting this go again.