Additional Tags: Dialogue heavy, Fluff, Sibling Banter
Preface: Here's a dialogue heavy one-shot I've been writing to see and test my dialogue writing skills. The personalities of the characters miiight be stretched out a bit so let me know if something does feel off to you. Also, I've never directly read DR:0, only information off the Wiki, a few translated summaries and whatever threads of information reddit has of it.
Enjoy! :)
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A Lucky Soldier
Mukuro sat on the edge of the bed, nervously flourishing her knife around as she stared blankly into the white wall. The blade cut crudely through the air as it sloppily stumbled about her hand. She didn't even notice when her knife fell blade first into the expensive hardwood between her legs as her fingers continued to move through the air, her mind clearly anywhere but there.
It was extremely uncharacteristic of the ultimate soldier to lose her focus, but the battle that she was about to fight was one she never saw coming, nor has she fought before. Everything was fine until this popped up out of nowhere. Her mind remained in the clouds until she unconsciously made a motion to toss her knife upwards to catch it, only to be genuinely surprised when she grasped empty air. Immediately, she looked down and recoiled from the surprise.
"Aggh! The floor!" Mukuro cried as she scrambled to pick up the knife.
"H-Hey! A-Are you alright?" A voice called from the outside
"I…I..uh… I-I'm fine!" Mukuro stammered out, her hand plucking the knife out of the ground at the same time.
"Er, Are you sure? Can I come in? I'm coming in!" The voice said.
Before Mukuro could object to it, the door opened and a women with long flocks of red-orange hair stepped in.
"What happened sis? Are you al—Oh." She said as she looked at the room, instantly recognizing what has happened.
"I…I…I didn't mean to!" Mukuro stammered out while holding the knife tightly close to her chest.
"Don't worry! It's ok! I-I'm sure the repairs shouldn't be too expensive. But really Mukuro… I talked to you about the knives.." The woman said as she wrote something down onto her notepad.
"B-But they're my knives! I bring them everywhere!" Mukuro replied in defense.
"Y-yeah, but not to this you don't! You're going to scare everyone!" The woman exclaimed.
Mukuro looked down in defeat. She knew the other woman was right, but to part with her knives was like losing a part of herself. As the ultimate soldier, there were only very few instances where she travelled completely unarmed.
"H-Here, hand me the knives." The woman said as she extended her hand towards Mukuro. "I'll make sure I look after them and give them back to you after ALL of this is over. Okay?"
"Nnnghh…." Mukuro began nervously fidgeting with her fingers. The thought of being completely unarmed at such a crucial time was a very scary one.
"It's not even going to be that long! Come on Mukuro-Nee, you can trust me right?" The woman asked with a smile.
"I—Of course J-Ryouko." Mukuro conceded.
"Ok! Now that that's out of the way, what's bothering ya? I've never seen you space out like that before." Ryouko said.
"I-It's nothing!" Mukuro cried.
"Really? You're shaking all over… and you're clearly distressed." Ryouko noted.
"W-Well… Okay. I-It's just that… everything is happening too fast.. I mean.. it feels like it's only been a couple years since…" Mukuro confessed.
"Yeah. Things did go by fast after… well… you know." Ryouko said.
Mukuro looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling. In reality, it has almost been eight years since she liberated class 78 from the clutches of Junko Enoshima. Eight years since Makoto received his hands on the fake controller and gave her a second chance. Ever since she captured Junko shortly after the liberation and forced her to go through the hope restoration program along with class 77, it was a steady one-sided fight against the remnants of despair. Battle after battle, without an effective leader to organize their forces, defeat was inevitable for the remnants.
"…. It sure did." Mukuro commented.
"You know sis, I've got to say…. You've got a great taste in guys!" Ryouko added.
"Heeeh? What?" Mukuro recoiled.
"I'm talking about Naegi-kun! Truth be told, I also find him kinda cute." Ryouko giggled.
"R-Ryouko!" Mukuro cried.
"Hahaha I'm teasing you sis! But you can't deny that he's kinda cute you know." Ryouko winked.
"E-Eh… I… Yea" Mukuro dipped her head in an attempt to hide her blushing cheeks.
"Speaking of which, you never told me why you liked him though. Did uhh.. 'she' know?" Ryouko pondered.
"Um, somewhat. Junko knew I liked him, but I never told her why." Mukuro answered.
"So then… why did you like him? I thought everything that got to you was fighting." Ryouko teased.
"T-That's not true! A-And… I don't know how to explain it. He's nice, feels great to hold, adorable when flustered…" Mukuro listed out. "…His hair is rather… interesting, and his smile…." She trailed off.
From the day Mukuro and Makoto exchanged introductions on day one, his genuine smile and honest nature has captured her interest. For the first time in her life, she began to see more of the world that she has blindsided herself to. It was only in the recent years that she has learned basic socialization and the culture of the world, all thanks to Makoto opening her eyes.
Mukuro's mind began to wander again as a glimpse of his smile flashed through her mind. There was something about Makoto's smile that made her mind go blank. It was an attribution that many, if not, everyone made to him. She couldn't tell whether it's the genuine aspect or the cuteness of the smile that made her go haywire, perhaps both. What Mukuro is sure of is that that smile needs to be protected, and she'd do just about anything to keep that smile on his face.
She sighed happily, barely paying attention to her sister as the smile lingered on in her mind. Mukuro finally snapped out of her trance when a hand was placed on her shoulder and she recoiled out of the touch with a scream of surprise.
"Kyaah?!"
"Jeez sis, you're kinda hopeless like that." Ryouko commented with a frown.
"No that's wrong!" Mukuro reflexively screamed while pointing a finger at Ryouko. Although, her nerves continued to go downhill as Ryouko only smiled and leaned in closer.
"Heh. And I wonder where you got that from?" She teased. Mukuro uncomfortably shifted herself a couple inches away from her on the bed, her hands covering her face in embarrassment.
"Uggh Ryouko… stop it!" She begged. Ryouko's only response was solid laughter for the next fifteen seconds. Flustered, Mukuro placed both her hands on Ryouko's shoulders and demanded "W-What's so funny?"
"Oh gosh! I don't think there's any other pair of dorks out there that can be cuter than both of you!" She answered as she tried to stifle her laughter.
Upon hearing the answer, Mukuro once again, recoiled in discomfort. She grabbed one arm with the other as she looked away and muttered under her breath. "Me?... Cute?...I…"
Ryouko, sensing that Mukuro has retreated back to her self-deprecating state, sighed and placed one hand over hers and with the other, tilted Mukuro's head so they're looking into each other's eyes.
"Listen Mukuro, I don't care what 'she' said about you. But know that no matter what anyone else says, you're cute and you're beautiful in your own way and no one can tell me otherwise." Ryouko declared with confidence.
"B-But I'm a –"
"No Mukuro! You're not! We've had this talk many times already. You're anything but a disappointment ok? 'Her' words were nothing but manipulation no matter how you see it so you shouldn't take it to heart." Ryouko puffed.
Mukuro didn't respond to her words, only keeping her gaze downcast as Ryouko gently clasped both of her hands.
"Look, you've been instrumental in restoring the world back to how it was. You've made every operation a breeze despite what initial thoughts future foundation had of you. Every inch of doubt they had against you was proven wrong by you and yourself and that alone, says something about you." Ryouko continued with a soft smile.
"I-It wasn't just me…" Mukuro whispered.
"Ok fine. It's true he deserves some credit as well. But you can't deny that without you, many more lives would have been lost and we could even still be fighting today. Think about that Mukuro." Ryouko offered.
At those words, Mukuro seemed to have found her spirit again. With small tears in her eyes, she raised her head to look Ryouko in the eyes.
"I-I'm sorry Ryouko." She said with a small smile. Ryouko simply shook her head and gently wiped the tears off Mukuro's cheeks.
"Don't apologize Mukuro. There's nothing to be sorry for! However, if you can promise me one thing, I'll be happy!" She said.
"Huh? What is it?" Mukuro asked.
"Promise me, that you'll never think of yourself as a disappointment no matter what happens ever again." Ryouko said with a straight face.
"O-Ok. I promise." Mukuro replied.
"Sweet! Now we can finally drop this topic!" Ryouko cheered as she embraced her sister. Mukuro, at a loss of words, simply returned the gesture. As she wrapped her arms around Ryouko however, her peripheral vision caught sight of something on her wrist.
"AAAAGH!" Mukuro suddenly screamed, startling Ryouko right under her.
"W-Woah! Calm down sis! What's wrong?" She asked.
"I-Its almost time Ryouko! I'm going to be late and I'm not ready!" Mukuro cried.
"Kyeeh?" Ryouko looked down at Mukuro's watch. Indeed, there were only seven minutes left for them to prepare.
"Okay! Sit still Mukuro, I'll be back in a minute and I'll make sure you'll be ready by then!" Ryouko exclaimed as she ran out the door, leaving a very distressed Mukuro sitting on edge of the bed at attention. She returned twenty seconds later with her entire hair dressing and makeup kit and with a grin, she said "Alright. Leave everything to me!"
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Komaru paced around the room impatiently, waiting for her brother to come out of the washroom.
"Oni-San! How much longer are you gonna take?" She whined.
"Stop rushing me Komaru! I'm just.. Ngh… having some difficulties!" Makoto cried from behind the door.
"If you keep that up, you're going to be late!" Komaru yelled.
"I know!" Was the response she got. She continued to pace around the room for another ten seconds before walking up to the door and declaring "I'm coming in!"
Before Makoto could muster out a 'Wait! Don't!', Komaru kicked the door open, causing Makoto to freeze in spot while his jaw hit the floor.
"W-W-Wha…How did you…" Makoto stammered out as he is still trying to process how Komaru managed to break down the locked door.
"Oh just something Mukuro-Nee taught me!" She giggled, causing Makoto's free hand to shoot up towards his forehead.
"Of course… who else would it have been…." He groaned. "Look, you're paying for that door." He firmly stated.
"Alright! Fine, fine!" Komaru conceded. "But you've been in here for ten minutes! What's causing you so much trouble?"
"Ahh… Err…" Makoto uttered out before finally sighing and turning around, showing Komaru the source of his struggles.
"What the… of all things, the TIE?" Komaru screamed in surprise.
"I-It's harder than it looks okay?" Makoto shot defensively.
"Isn't the tie part of your Future Foundation uniform as well? How did you manage that all this time then?" Komaru asked.
"Ahh well… I've ahh… had some help.." Makoto said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Komaru smirked at his answer, which caused him to become even more uncomfortable than he already was.
"Oh? From who?" Komaru teasingly asked as she nudged Makoto into the back wall. "I bet it must have been Mukuro-Nee-San who was helping you."
"N-No! That's wrong! I-I-I mean, that's r-right! But.. Oooohh just forget it!" He surrendered.
"Do you need me to call her?" Komaru teasingly pressed on.
"NO!" Makoto practically screamed, startling Komaru and giving him some much needed space. "I.. I'm sure I can figure this out. I j-just need more time."
"You know, haven't you ever thought of asking her to teach you so you can do this yourself?" Komaru pondered.
"I did! But it's.. I don't know. I guess I never had a chance to try it myself until now." He replied as he continued to unsuccessfully tie his tie.
"Never had a chance?" Komaru repeated as a smile slowly grew on her face. "Not a single chance? Out of every time you had to tie that tie, not a single chance?" She asked.
"D-Don't even go there…" Makoto pleaded, his face completely red from the embarrassment.
"Oh! So that means….AAAH! M-Makoto! D-Don't tell me you…" Komaru blanched as she thought of something.
"What do you me—OH NO!" Makoto's hand met his forehead again as he realized what Komaru had just assumed. "NO! That's not the case!"
"Then what do you mean you didn't have a single chance to tie your tie?" Komaru asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Okay! Look, it's just that, she always visited me in the morning and INSISTED to help me! That's it! Nothing more!" Makoto explained.
Komaru raised a brow at his explanation, clearly skeptical of his explanation. "Really? That's it?" She asked with her arms crossed.
"Honest!" Makoto gulped.
"Okay fine. I wouldn't be able to tell if you're lying anyways." Komaru sighed. "So… do you need help with that?"
"Umm.. yea. If you don't mind?" He sheepishly asked.
"Oh boy. You're kinda hopeless for being so full of hope." Komaru commented as she began working with the tie.
"Hey, you used to cry at every little thing that didn't go your way." Makoto shot back, causing Komaru to pout.
"Look, do you want your tie done or not?" She asked as she stopped and looked at him.
"Yes please." Makoto sighed.
As soon as Komaru finished with his tie, Makoto looked himself over once in the mirror, nodding in satisfaction to the quality of the knot.
"So, how do I look?" He asked as he turned towards Komaru.
"Just as you always do, average." Komaru answered.
"R-Really?" Makoto cried with a pained face.
"No! Of course not! Jeez, you would think that all that fighting against despair would've made you less gullible." Komaru said.
"It's trust Komaru! It's called trust!" Makoto sighed. "So? How do I look?"
"There isn't a big brother out there that looks better than you right now" Komaru smiled.
"Are you saying that because I'm your only big brother?" Makoto asked as he raised a brow.
"What? No! What ever happened to trust? Anyways, that's besides the point! I'm saying that you look amazing!" Komaru cried as she waved her arms defensively in front of her, causing Makoto to chuckle.
"Alright alright. I get it. Here, let's go." Makoto said as he led Komaru towards the door. As his hand reached towards the doorknob however, he stopped as soon as his hand was hanging in front of the knob. When Komaru noticed the door has yet to be opened, she peeked out from behind, only to notice that his hand was shaking, and so was his entire arm.
"Er, what's wrong Makoto?" She asked.
"I.. I don't know haha… It's just that I feel like the moment I open this door and step out, it's going to be a whole new world." Makoto said, prompting Komaru to laugh. "What?"
"Nothing! So you're basically not ready?" She asked.
"It's more like… I'm still having a hard time believing that this is happening..." Makoto replied.
"Please Makoto, you've got the world's best body-guard and soon-to-be wife, and you're worrying about your new life?" Komaru asked.
"T-To be honest, I am getting a feeling that she still isn't ready either." Makoto replied with a smile.
"Then let's go and get her ready!" Komaru cried as she grabbed Makoto's wrist in one hand, opened the door in the other and raced out into the hallway, Makoto screaming along the entire way.
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"Erm, Ryouko, can you hurry it up a bit? We're going to need to a lot of luck to get there on time at this rate." Mukuro said as Ryouko continued working with her hair.
"Hey, the only kind of luck at work here is the one that led him to have you by his side." Ryouko retorted.
"I…Actually, I like to see myself as the lucky one…" Mukuro blushed.
"Come on, you really should give yourself some credit." Ryouko said as she finishes working with her hair. "There! All good to go!"
Mukuro looked into the mirror with awe. Despite being a completely different person, Ryouko's fashion abilities were still on another level. She continued staring at her own reflection, completely taking in by the results of Ryouko's work. Even she couldn't have imagined herself to look that good in her dreams.
"You know, I guess you really are the lucky one to have such great people around you." Ryouko said, noticing Mukuro's dumbstruck moment.
"Ah! Er… I guess.." Mukuro stammered out. "I mean… it really was luck that I got to meet him."
"Well, he did say that his admission into Hope's Peak Academy was a stroke of luck itself…" Ryouko pondered. "Then add in the fact that you just happened to be around every time his luck got to him…"
"I.. still wonder how every time he's in trouble, I happen to be around… not that I'm complaining…" Mukuro chimed in.
"You know, it does seem like everything was based on luck when you look at it that way. But given his track record, he does owe you a lot for what you've done." Ryouko commented.
"No. It's actually the opposite. I owe him." Mukuro corrected.
"Huh? How so?" Ryouko asked.
"If you compare the stuff we've done for each other, you'll see that his actions far outweigh mine sis." Mukuro explained. "It's true that I save him from bodily harm countless times, but in this world, that's nothing, I guess…"
"?" Ryouko opted a confused look as Mukuro continued.
"I mean, you can say that in a way… he saved me. He made me see things I never would've seen if I haven' met him, taught me things that made me normal but most importantly…"
"Oh I see, he gives you hope?" Ryouko guessed.
"I-I-I guess you can say that…" Mukuro turned red. "I-I mean.. Wait no… that's right…"
"Haha I think I see where you're going with that." Ryouko smiled.
"I-It's hard to explain… but I just feel like, I can do anything with him." Mukuro smiled as well. At that moment, the door to their room came crashing down, followed by the voice of a startled Ryouko and the cries of a very familiar pair of siblings. When she turned around, she saw both Komaru and Makoto laying face first on top of the door on the ground. When Makoto came to, his face was red and all he could do was smile.
"It was Komaru's idea! I swear!" He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he got up.
"You weren't supposed to tell them that!" Komaru protested.
Before Makoto could even pat himself down, Mukuro was already by his side checking for injuries, leaving a complaining Komaru on the floor. Ryouko simply sighed as she jotted down the events of the day and the damage costs onto her notepad. They were all going to be late for their own wedding.
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End Notes:
Disclaimer: I've never been to a wedding before, nor do I know a lot about its procedures and stuff about them so... forgive me if things don't line up to real weddings.
The only thing I guess I'm worried about is how I structured and layered out the text, more specifically regarding the parts where it's like "I said, he said, she said.", I'm not used to writing so much dialogue so please tell me if it's ok as it is or needs some work there :)
This is also done as a request from TkMacintosh, who wanted a wedding fic (Because Mukuro deserves to be happy, you can't convince me otherwise xD).
Anyways, as usual, comments, criticism, compliments, hate or discussions are welcome! And don't forget to kudos if you enjoyed it! :)