AN: So, do you guys remember when I said I'd update this every other week? Sorry about that. I saw that it had been a month since I'd published the first chapter of this, and felt guilty enough to cram out the entirety of chapter 2 in a few days. Hopefully the quality hasn't suffered substantially because of that. I'll go ahead and address my reviewers here as well.

Shadow-DJ: yeah, even Makoto has his limits, but he's not one to hold a grudge, even if Junko's acting like a jerk. I hope that you enjoy this chapter too!

1995hzq: I was going to reply here to your review, so sorry if you were expecting a response when I published Ch. 1 of A Most Hopeful Meeting by Chance. I'll definitely consider writing a story around that concept, but I can't make you any promises that it'll be soon. I've got a ton of story ideas on my plate, not even counting my two works currently in progress. But, I'll try to get to it eventually.

doomqwer:Thanks for the review! I hope that I'm doing this story, and the characters, justice!

DarkDesperado25: I don't know how fluffy you'll find this chapter to be. It's not really a true date, but it does have its moments. The good stuff's not going to come until later

Jpach07: Thanks for your review(s)! I hope that you continue to enjoy what I create!

Mr. Haziq: Yeah, it does seem strange, doesn't it? Hopefully it'll make more sense with the context of this chapter.

There's a bit more language here, so hopefully I don't need to raise the rating. It shouldn't be too bad though. Also, it's ironic that I'm updating this story today and not my other one. Happy Birthday to Aoi Asahina, and particularly to our favorite photographer Mahiru Koizumi! Anyways, feel free to check out my other Danganronpa stories, and don't forget to review! I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Momentum

To say that Junko's words surprised Makoto would have been a colossal understatement. He stared at Enoshima in confusion for several seconds before managing to get out a word. "What?" he asked.

Putting her hands on her hips, Junko stood up taller, almost seeming to grow in stature as a commanding aura seemed to emanate from her, and a crown suddenly appeared on her head. "We decreed that you shall be the one to assist our pitiful sister, peasant," she said in a haughty tone, "You will obey our command, correct?"

Makoto just continued to stare. Sometimes Junko's quirkiness and rapid personality changes could be amusing, but right now he found it to be rather obnoxious. Seeing Naegi's rather cold response, Junko's personality changed again, with her crown being replaced by mushrooms sprouting from her head, and her assertive aura replaced by one of gloomy pessimism. "I knew it," she said in a depressing monotone, "He hates me. And who can blame him after the way I've been treating my dear Mukuro."

Makoto sighed. "I don't hate you Enoshima," he said, "but I can't just forgive you for the way you've been acting towards Ikusaba. I mean, you've left her all alone, and now you're casually insulting her in front of the whole class? I'd like to think that we're friends, but I can't understand why you would act this way, then suddenly ask for my help."

In an instant, the mushrooms vanished and Junko returned to what passed for her normal personality. "I'm only doing this for Mukuro's own good," she said, the slightest note of sadness and regret in her voice.

"How could abusing your own sister be for her own good?" Makoto demanded.

Junko's keenly discerning eyes locked with Makoto's, seeming to pin him in place. "Mukuro has never exactly been a people person," she began, "I'm the only one that she's ever really been attached to. But, I'm not exactly the most stable person to be attached to. I'm so easily bored that I can't ever make myself stay in one place or do the same thing for very long, which means that anyone close to me has to understand that I won't always be there for them. Honestly, I was happy to see Mukuro leave to go off and join her mercenary pals. It gave her the opportunity to meet new people and get attached to something else." Junko's expression soured ever so slightly, and the barest hint of genuine sadness slipped through again. "But, it seems like she isolated herself even there, and eventually everyone else in Fenrir… Anyways, after that, I got an offer from Hope's Peak, and managed to convince the Board of Trustees to offer Mukuro a position as well. But," she continued, her voice sounding somewhat angrier, "even after all of my work to give her a normal school life, she still hasn't put any effort into breaking out of her shell."

Makoto frowned slightly, "So Ikusaba's a little introverted. That's not that unusual. And you abandoning her is making the situation worse! You could have invited her and introduced her to Kirigiri and Togami. I bet Togami would love to have the Ultimate Soldier as a contact he could call on."

"She's not just 'a little introverted,'" Junko retorted, nearly spitting the words, "She's decided to be exclusively devoted to me. As long as I'm in the picture, she'll never have to reach out to anyone else. So she needs to know that we're done, that I've said goodbye and don't want anything else to do with her."

In a way, Enoshima's words made sense to Makoto, but her outlook seemed so…despairing. He could tell that she cared for her sister, but she'd decided that the best thing for her was to completely cut herself out of Ikusaba's life. There had to be a better way, but Enoshima seemed completely convinced that she was right. This whole situation seemed like a mess.

"So, why me?" he asked, "why do you think I could help Ikusaba when no one else has been able to. I'm not anything special. I only got here because of luck."

Junko cocked her head, her expression indicating that the answer should be clear if Makoto were actually smart enough to see it. "Whether you admit it or not, you have an uncanny ability to make connections with people" she explained, "I don't know if it's because you're so normal, or because you're such a naïve moron, but people just naturally open up to you." She declined to mention the other reason, that telltale spark that she'd seen in Mukuro's eyes a few moments after she and Makoto had started talking. There wasn't any reason to tell Naegi about that, and with any luck he'd find out eventually. "So," she continued, "out of everybody here, I think you have the best chance at finally getting through to her. If you can't get her to warm up, then I think she really is hopeless."

"Geez, no pressure then," Makoto muttered, "How exactly do you think I should go about helping her?"

Junko waved her hand dismissively. "Just act like normally do. It looked like it was working so far. As long as it works, I don't really care. I just wanted to make clear how important this is to me. If you screw this up, I can make your life absolutely miserable." In an instant, her demeanor changed as her tongue drooped out of her mouth and she brought up her hands in the shape of horns. "So you better do this fuckin right Makoto!" With that, she turned and dismissively walked away leaving a soft and unsettling cackle in her wake. As she turned the corner, Makoto let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. Just what had he gotten himself into?

Thoughts of his conversations with both Ikusaba and Enoshima plagued Makoto throughout the rest of the week. He had committed himself to befriending Ikusaba even before hearing Junko's plea, but it wasn't exactly easy to induce her into opening up to him. The only consistent time that he had to speak with Mukuro was during lunch, and most of their subsequent conversations turned heavily around Enoshima. She seemed to be the only person that Ikusaba talked about, and somehow even when Makoto tried to find more about the soldier she seemed to turn the topic towards her sister. It just continued to confirm his initial suspicions about how Ikusaba viewed herself, as well as Enoshima's expressed concerns.

Outside the dining hall, Ikusaba seemed to vanish. She continued to deliberately avoid unnecessary contact with the other students of Class 78 including Naegi, though Makoto occasionally felt like someone was watching him. As soon as he looked though, he invariably saw nothing. However, Makoto wasn't about to let this dissuade him from his course. In fact, his time not spent with Ikusaba or his other classmates gave him plenty of opportunity to plan his next move.

As had become his custom, he sat his tray down across from Ikusaba in the dining hall on Thursday and allowed himself a brief feeling of happy satisfaction as Ikusaba looked up from her food in acknowledgment of his arrival and presence. The first two or three days he'd sat with her, she'd coldly ignored his presence until he'd chosen to initiate the conversation. Now, however, she seemed to expect his arrival and gave him about the most acknowledgment that she provided to anyone other than her sister.

"So…Ikusaba," Makoto began cautiously, "Do you have anything going on tomorrow? I thought that I could give you that tour of the city, if you're not busy."

Mukuro paused for just a moment before giving her concise reply. "That would be acceptable." Makoto allowed himself an internal sigh of relief. Even though Ikusaba had slowly been opening up, he'd been worried that she still wouldn't be willing to go out in public. As far as he knew, she only ever went between the school and wherever she was living, and avoided being in public as much as possible. He assumed that it was for the same reason that she avoided the rest of the students at Hope's Peak.

"What exactly do you plan to do?" Mukuro asked, catching Makoto off guard. She rarely ever asked him any questions, so her query was quite the surprise.

"I guess I figured that I'd show you the sites, and then we could get something to eat afterwards. But, the important thing is for you to have fun! Everyone needs a chance to enjoy themselves every once in a while."

Mukuro was silent for a few seconds, then she replied softly, "I'm not sure if I remember how."

Makoto didn't have any response to that. Even after hearing a few accounts from Ikusaba regarding her time with Fenrir, he was certain that he hadn't even scratched the surface of the true nature of her time as a mercenary. Ikusaba had spent so much time fighting that she seemed to have lost the interest or ability to do or care about much of anything else. This was one of the times that Makoto was glad for being so unerringly average. He'd had some unpleasant experiences, sure, but there were just as many good memories, and he'd had a relatively normal and carefree life growing up. The more he learned about his classmates, the more he was certain that most of them had not been so fortunate, as they seemed to carry deep seated and unresolved emotional issues deep inside. Ikusaba seemed the most defined by her past though, to the point that she couldn't even relate in the slightest bit to her fellow students.

It was something Makoto needed to delve into, but he didn't think that this was the right time to press the soldier on the specifics of her past. Instead, he and Mukuro simply enjoyed their lunches in comfortable silence. As they finished the last of their food, he and Ikusaba agreed to meet by the fountain in the school's garden the next day before separating and going about their usual afternoon routine. For the rest of the day, Makoto's mind was occupied with how to make the following evening as enjoyable as possible.

The sun was still high in the sky the following afternoon as Makoto sat waiting on one of the benches in front of the fountain. He'd headed over to the designated meeting place immediately after classes had officially ended and had now been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. He had begun to worry that Ikusaba had changed her mind about meeting, rendering his planning for their free time together pointless. It wouldn't exactly surprise him to discover that she'd backed out, given her antisocial nature, but he'd been hoping that this opportunity would finally give them both the time that they needed to really bond together.

The luckster's fears proved baseless as he felt the soldier's unique presence before looking up and seeing her solitary figure walking slowly but deliberately towards him. Standing back up, he waited for Ikusaba to come closer. As she neared, a smile crept onto Makoto's face. The soldier might not be the most sociable person, but he'd begun to enjoy her company, and he'd looked forward to actually having a chance to really find out more about her, free from the confines of Hope's Peak. With any luck, he might even be able to convince her to come sit with the rest of his friends so that she wouldn't have to be alone all of the time.

"Hey Ikusaba," he said cheerfully, "are you ready to head out into the city?"

As expected, her reply was monosyllabic. "Yes."

So, without any additional fanfare, the two students began strolling casually towards the edge of Hope's Peak's campus and towards the beginning of the urban sprawl that defined Tokyo, passing by the relatively new Reserve Course building that had been constructed on the edge of the campus.

The next few hours seemed to pass by quickly. Makoto and Mukuro walked side by side as the luckster showed the soldier as many of the notable nearby features as he could think of: train stations, cafes, bike shops, restaurants, shortcuts through the city, nearby convenience stores, the local cinema, the nearest hospital. Anything that he thought might be useful for a newcomer to know, he shared with her. Unsurprisingly, Makoto did most of the talking, with Ikusaba occasionally asking a curt question or giving a short response to some of the information that Naegi provided

However, Makoto got the feeling that Ikusaba didn't really even need most of the information or advice that he gave. It wasn't that she was ignoring what he was saying or doing; her regular interactions and engagement with him showed that much. But, he felt as though she could easily have found most of this information on her own, without much difficulty. She seemed able to navigate the complexities of the city and its hordes of people as though she had done so before. He'd have to ask her about that later.

Eventually, the two reached the nearby park, which Makoto had mentally marked as the final spot on their tour. The trees and other budding plants were in full bloom, complemented by the large pond that hosted fish below and ducks and a pair of cranes on the surface. The park remained relatively busy, though not as heavily trafficked as he would have expected from a public park. Several of his classmates had told him about it, and he'd found it to be an excellent place to visit when he needed time to think. Hopefully, Ikusaba would appreciate its natural serenity as well. Maybe he'd get around to arranging for the rest of the class to have a picnic here at some point.

That thought died in his mind as he saw Mukuro's expression. Her face was still mostly expressionless, but there was almost a hint of…discomfort in her face? Or was it disgust? That would make her the first person that Makoto knew of to not enjoy this place, but he couldn't understand why. But it was probably better to wait until later to ask her about it. For now, the sun had begun to dip lower in the sky, which reminded Makoto that it was probably time for them to grab something to eat.

"Well, I guess that's everywhere that I wanted to show you," he said, "So how about we find a place to eat? It's my treat, so what would you like?"

Mukuro seemed to think for a few moments before replying. "Could we look around for a bit first?"

"Sure," Makoto replied. It did make sense for someone who wasn't familiar with nearby restaurants to want to see what was available before making any concrete decisions. The two left the park and returned to the busy city streets and sidewalks, both students glancing around for anything that caught their eye. To Makoto, it seemed like there were plenty of restaurants that looked appealing, including a few that he'd actually been to before. There were also foreign fast food chains which, while not exactly the greatest, were still typically enjoyable. But, Mukuro didn't seem to even look at any of them. Instead, it seemed like she was looking for something in particular.

Suddenly, she stopped, gazing across the street at a small bundle of businesses that were all crammed together. After a moment, she turned to Naegi and pointed. "I'd like to eat there, if that's okay."

"Yeah," Makoto replied, almost too eagerly, "it's wherever you want, remember? Just lead the way and I'll follow." Ikusaba nodded, then turned and moved to cross the street, keeping an eye out for any oncoming vehicles. Makoto followed behind her, a little bit curious as to what kind of food his new friend had her eye on. As they got a little bit closer, he was mildly surprised to see that their destination was a rather rough-hewn, hole-in-the-wall ramen shop. It wasn't exactly what he'd expected, but maybe it was something of a taste of home for Ikusaba.

There was no host or hostess to greet them as they came in, as the restaurant seemed to be quite minimalist, so Makoto and Mukuro seated themselves in one of the small tables pressed against the exterior window. After they had sat for a few minutes, the chef seemed to notice their arrival and waved the lone waiter in the restaurant over to their table. He introduced himself and handed menus to Mukuro and Makoto, but the soldier didn't even bother to look at it. "I want a bowl of tonkotsu and a coke, in a bottle if you have it…please."

Her instantaneous order threw Makoto slightly off-balance. Normally, he would spend a few minutes looking at the menu before ordering, like most people. Now, however, he felt compelled to order his meal immediately as well. Uh, I'll have the miso ramen," he said quickly, as the waiter turned to him, "and I'll also have a coke." Satisfied, the waiter took back the menus and returned to the chef near the back of the restaurant, leaving Makoto and Mukuro alone again. Now, Makoto had even more questions, but the soldier was gazing aimlessly out the window, and he got the feeling that it wasn't quite time to ask them yet. So, he just sat and pondered what to say.

The restaurant was reasonably busy, with a handful of other patrons scattered around, but even with only one chef and one waiter Makoto and Mukuro's orders arrived in less than ten minutes. The waiter artfully carried the two steaming bowls, as well as their drinks, and set them on the table. The delicious aroma wafted up, making Makoto's mouth start to water, and he didn't even have time to thank the waiter before he'd taken off to assist one of the other customers.

Makoto decided to wait just a little while for the broth to cool slightly, but Mukuro had already grabbed her spoon and was softly slurping on the broth. He caught a gleam of something in her eyes, though he wasn't sure what it meant. Seeing her dive in to the food so enthusiastically, he joined her and began sipping his own broth, the rich and savory flavor engulfing his tastebuds. Neither he nor Ikusaba spoke a word as they attacked their meals, content to enjoy the food before anything else.

As she finished the last of the broth at the bottom of her bowl, Mukuro sat the dish back down and took a swig from her coke bottle. The expression was brief and ever so slight, but Makoto swore that he'd seen a small smile on the soldier's face as she sat back in her chair. Makoto couldn't blame her; the food had been simple, yet delicious. Now though, with the meal over, he hoped that he might actually be able to have a real conversation.

"This was a great choice Ikusaba," he said in a satisfied tone, "I don't know why you decided to eat here, but I definitely approve."

A slightly glazed look drifted across Mukuro's eyes for a moment. "Yes, this really takes me back," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?" asked Makoto curiously, "Did you used to eat at places like this a lot before you joined Fenrir?"

Mukuro shook her head. "No, not a lot," she said. That piqued Makoto's interest, but a slight feeling of frustration flashed through his mind as it seemed like Ikusaba was going to leave the conversation there. To his surprise, she continued after a lengthy pause. "You've been trying to get to know me better, so I suppose I can tell you," she said. She breathed out for a moment. "Junko and I are orphans. I don't really remember much about our parents or what happened to them. All I can remember is that one day, they were gone, and my sister and I were shipped off to an orphanage."

Makoto struggled not to wince. He'd never heard Enoshima mention anything about other family members, so he shouldn't have been too surprised. But still, growing up without parents, or anyone else to really look out for you, must have just been awful. That wasn't even considering the rather unpleasant reputation that orphanages had. He knew that most weren't that terrible, but even so it must have been hard.

"We hated it there," Mukuro said, continuing, "The staff and the other children were kind, but not many people are interested in adopting twins at the same time. Junko and I, we were the only ones we could trust, and we were terrified that we would be separated if we stayed. So, one night, we ran away so that we would always be together.

But it's not easy being homeless as a kid. The world isn't a kind or forgiving place. Everyone wants something from you, and people can be terribly cruel, almost like wild animals out preying on the weak. So, Junko and I had to be tough in order to survive. She got to be really good at swindling people out of their money, and I was there to stop anyone who wanted payback. Some of the local gangs would even occasionally pay me to help them out."

She looked down at the table, the same look Makoto had seen earlier coming into her eyes. This time he recognized it as nostalgia. "We never really had much, even with our odd jobs. Our nights were spent on the streets, and we usually had to make do with the cheapest food we could find; sometimes we even had to eat whatever other people tossed out. But sometimes, on special occasions we would save what little we had so that we could eat at little ramen places like this. It wasn't anything fancy, but it seemed like the finest meal in the world to us."

Ikusaba's stony-faced expression returned. "Then, after living like that for several years, Junko managed to attract the attention of an agent from a small modeling company. She convinced him to give her a shot, and you know the rest. She became a near instant hit. We were finally able to get an apartment and could eat almost whatever we wanted. Things were so much better, and yet… that's also when things started to change between us. She told me that she didn't need me to always be by her side anymore, and that I should leave and find something else." A brief flicker of guilt touched Mukuro's face. "So, I left my sister and joined Fenrir, fighting nameless battles on the other side of the world. Now that I'm back, she doesn't want anything to do with me. And I can't blame her; I abandoned her and left her alone."

The words had begun to pour from Ikusaba's mouth, and Makoto had been listening silently. This was the most that he'd ever heard the soldier speak, and he hadn't dared make a sound for fear of cutting her off. But now, Ikusaba seemed to have finished, leaving Makoto to analyze what he'd just learned. Mukuro didn't give him much time to do so, however.

"So," she said, staring at him as intently as she had when he'd first introduced himself, "I've told you a bit about myself, now I have a question for you. Why do you care about me Naegi?"

"W-well, it's just that you're my classmate," Makoto explained, a bit nervous about being suddenly put on the spot. Seeing Ikusaba deflate slightly, he realized that that explanation sounded like he didn't care about her at all. "No! That's not the only reason!" he said, frantically trying to amend his previous statement. He took a breath, "You were by yourself. Nobody else was willing to talk to you, probably because they were afraid, and your only family had started mistreating you. Our school lives are supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives, so I just had to reach out to you."

Makoto gave a slight grimace. "Honestly, I was afraid of you too. I'm just the most average guy you'll ever meet, and like you said when we met, you could kill me in a heartbeat. But, now that I've gotten to know you, I'm not afraid at all. You might not be a social butterfly like your sister or Sayaka, but when I look at you, I see a girl who's just trying to do her best. You want to take care of your sister, and I think that you want to protect everyone else in our class too, even if you try to avoid them as much as possible. I just think that you're a really good person Ikusaba, and it would be great if you could share yourself with everyone else."

Mukuro listened to Makoto with an expressionless look on her face, but inside, she felt warm at Makoto's compliments of her. She wasn't used to people saying nice things about her as a person, as opposed to her martial skills, and she was more and more grateful that Naegi had reached out to her that day. She felt a twinge of jealousy when he used Maizono's first name, but she let it go. After all, she'd found out that the two had known each other in middle school and had spent a lot of time together since they'd arrived at Hope's Peak. It made sense that they'd become so close and Mukuro didn't have any right to be jealous of the idol. She was lucky enough that Makoto had even decided to befriend her and expecting anything more was foolish. And yet, there was a small part of herself that ached, as though there were an emptiness inside. With some difficulty, she suppressed the feeling for the moment.

She forced herself to smile, an act that proved harder than it should have, since the expression was so foreign to her face. "Thank you for that Naegi," she said, hoping that her voice sounded sincere, "That really does mean a lot. I'm glad that I got to spend time with you today, and I appreciate you showing me around the city. Maybe… maybe I can introduce myself to your other friends at lunch on Monday, if I don't scare them too much."

A far more easygoing and genuine smile lit up Makoto's face. "Yeah, that sounds great!" he said, "I'm sure that they'll all like you once they get to know you." Mukuro still wasn't sold, but Naegi's assurance made her feel more at ease. With that, the conversation halted until the waiter brought the two their ticket. Makoto quickly paid, leaving a small tip as well, and the two left the restaurant with full stomachs and happy hearts.

Makoto offered to walk Mukuro back to her house, and Mukuro gladly accepted. She certainly didn't need an escort, but it was actually nice to spend more time with Naegi, so if she could extend their time together then she would. By now, it was fairly dark outside, with the sun having quickly slipped below the horizon, leaving only its faint glimmers to keep the night lit. The atmosphere made Mukuro instinctively wary. Both her time on the streets and her years in Fenrir had taught her that most of the unexpected misfortunes occurred at night, when people figured that their victims were unwary and they themselves were emboldened by the cover of darkness. The soldier's skin nearly prickled with tension as she maintained a vigilant analysis of her surroundings.

But, as she and Makoto walked back through the city, the night seemed calm and uneventful. Maybe she was just being paranoid after spending so many years in hostile territory. She was back in more peaceful and civilized lands now. It wasn't as though someone was going to lob a grenade at them. But, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched by unfriendly eyes.

As she and Naegi neared their destination after around a half-hour of walking, she was beginning to think that she was just imaging their observers. But finally, she was rewarded by the sound of footsteps not far behind, as well as a pair of men, probably in their late teens or early twenties, turning the corner in front of them. She turned and saw another pair of men and a woman of similar age approaching from the opposite direction. They were all wearing black, and the woman and one of the men had something gleaming from around their knuckles that she assumed were weapons. They had cornered her and Makoto in front of an alleyway, something that was almost certainly intentional.

One of the men who had approached from the front stepped forward; Mukuro could only assume that he was the leader of this lot. "Well well well, what do we have here?" he said rhetorically, "A couple of entitled punks from Hope's peak that decided to grace us with their presence? What, did you come here to rub your superiority onto us common folk? Well, don't you know that there's a toll for coming and gawking at the rest of us? How about you give us whatever money you're carrying? Oh, and that fancy school uniform too." He indicated at Naegi's jacket with the Hope's Peak crest embroidered on its breast.

Mukuro could sense Naegi tense up beside her. He was a good person, and she was confident that he'd never had to deal with anything like this before. But she had. "We're not giving you anything," she said coldly, "so why don't you and your lackeys leave us alone?"

The head thug spat in response. "That's not how this works sweetheart," he said menacingly, "You and your 'ultimate' talents don't mean a damned thing out here. But, if you're going to be stubborn, I don't mind doing this the hard way. It makes things more fun." He moved his hand slightly, signaling the trio behind Mukuro and Makoto to move in.

"Naegi, stay behind me," she said softly as she backed into the alley. The street was too exposed, and there was still plenty of room to maneuver in the alley despite in being narrower than the open sidewalk. Makoto blindly obeyed, retreating further into the alley. Mukuro breathed out slowly, allowing her combat instincts and training to take command. These thugs had obviously wanted to trap her and Makoto in this place. Far be it from her to deny them their wish.

The first three thugs, the ones who had been following them from behind, entered the alley first and began approaching Mukuro, clearly trying to corner her. But, she wasn't the helpless victim that they apparently thought she was. One of the two men stupidly rushed her by himself, throwing a rather inelegant punch. Mukuro simply crouched down slightly to avoid the unwieldy strike, then lashed out with her fist, striking the assailant in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. She immediately followed up with a leg sweep, sending the now helpless attacker to plant his face in the hard concrete. With one target down, she looked up at the remaining two, watching for their next move. They stared in shock for a moment, then both rushed her simultaneously, obviously hoping that she would have more difficulty in dealing with two foes at once.

Gleams of brass flashed across her vision as she casually avoided the incoming blows. These were all amateurs; not one of them had any genuine combat training, and even the least impressive fighting instructor would have been embarrassed to have had them as students. She snapped her elbow out, hitting the man hard in the chest and causing him to stumble back in pain. Now only having to deal with the woman, Mukuro hopped backwards a few feet, then dove forward, tackling the other woman. Avoiding her feeble counterpunches, Mukuro shoved her grappled victim, sending her tumbling into the man she had elbowed earlier and the two collapsed to the ground. In a flash, Mukuro was on top of them, and knocked the two out cold with a pair of quick, powerful punches.

Mukuro's instincts kicked in, and she dodged to the side just in time to avoid being struck by what looked like a nightstick that would otherwise have come down on her head. It was a very similar situation to when she had first begun her fight against Peko Pekoyama the week before. That attack had been just as successful as this one. Swiveling around, she faced her new attacker and kicked out, hitting the man in his groin. As he collapsed to the ground in pain, Mukuro mentally berated him for his complete lack of defense, then knocked his head into the brick wall of the alleyway. As her combat instincts continued to guide her actions, Mukuro was finding it harder and harder to restrain herself and avoid causing permanent injury or death. She had to remember that this wasn't a warzone, and as little sympathy as she had for these five, she couldn't just kill them for their stupidity.

That left four down, and only the leader remaining. He looked on with distaste and anger plain on his face. "Bitch," he growled, "You're going to wish you were dead once I'm done with you." He approached her cautiously, carefully gauging her rather than rushing in. After a moment, he moved in for the attack, though unlike his buddies, his attacks were controlled, strong, and precise. Unlike the other four, he had at least basic fighting knowledge. Not that it would help him here.

At the back of the alley, Makoto watched, unsure of what to think. He had always assumed that fights were heated, with the combatants rushing around and fighting with passion in their hearts. But this was nothing like that. Instead, a frightening chill seemed to have filled the alley, with its point of origin being Ikusaba herself. Makoto's blood ran cold as he'd watched her incapacitate their first four attackers without any effort at all. He knew that she was the Ultimate Soldier, and he'd even watched one of her sparring matches with Sakura, but actually seeing Ikusaba fight for real was…incredible. It was actually difficult to reconcile the girl with whom he'd eaten ramen with less than an hour before with this almost primal force of nature that he was witnessing. And yet, even though the situation itself was scary, Ikusaba herself didn't frighten him at all. He knew that she was still the same person, and she'd moved to protect him without a second thought. Even if there had been any lingering doubts before, now he knew for absolute certainty that Ikusaba was a girl he could trust.

After throwing several punches, Mukuro's last opponent was clearly worn down. His breathing came in heaves, though he still remained on his feet. "Dammit," he growled, then threw another punch with his left hand. Sidestepping the blow easily, Mukuro grabbed the arm and torqued it back, receiving a satisfied pop as the shoulder twisted out of its socket. The man struggled hard to suppress a scream at the injury, then shakily reached into his pocket with his right hand. Mukuro noticed the glint of steel as her opponent withdrew a knife, and her rational self vanished. The fight had changed from a rough brawl into a life-or-death fight in her eyes, where only one of them could be allowed to live. The man lunged at her, and she caught his wrist, twisting it and seizing the knife from his grasp.

Makoto now noticed the knife too, and began rushing over and yelling, though Mukuro could only hear his voice distantly, and didn't know what he was saying. She flipped the knife in her grasp and instinctively stabbed down with it, aiming to finish the fight for good. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, notifying her that Naegi had made it to her, and saw as he reached out to try to stop her strike.

Makoto gasped as blinding pain shot through his arm and into the rest of his body, and Mukuro's eyes widened in shock and horror. In his attempt to stop her, Makoto's left hand had gotten between the knife and her intended target, and the blade had stabbed into his palm, all the way through. As the luckster fell to the ground, Mukuro was snapped out of her combat trance and back into reality. "Naegi!" she shouted as panic coursed through her mind, as well as anger at herself for her own stupidity and lack of control. Kneeling down, she carefully tried to pull the knife out, struggling to prevent any further damage, and struggling hard not to focus on Makoto's pained groans. Fortunately, the blade was fairly thin and not very large, though that didn't change the fact that the injury was hideous.

As she finally worked the blade out of Makoto's flesh, blood began to quickly seep out of the wound, now without anything to stop it from escaping. Mukuro wasn't a doctor, but she did have basic medical knowledge acquired from her time in combat. She darted over to nearby man and roughly tore off a scrap of cloth from his shirt. The man moaned, and Mukuro punched him to make sure he was unconscious. She brought the cloth back over and wrapped it around Makoto's hand as tightly as possible in order to staunch the bleeding. She briefly considered using another strip of cloth as a tourniquet, but as nasty as the injury looked, she didn't think Naegi was in danger of bleeding to death. Noticing that his groans had stopped, she was worried that she'd assumed incorrectly, but as she checked, she found that his pulse was still normal. He'd most likely just passed out from the pain.

Hoisting Makoto onto her back, she moved as quickly as she could out of the alleyway. "Don't worry Naegi," she said softly, though she knew that he couldn't hear it, "I've got you. Everything's going to be fine." Unfortunately, she didn't even believe that. Everything had been going so well, and then this happened. How could she ever face Naegi again after allowing herself to cause him such harm? The one good thing that had finally come into her life, and now she'd ruined it. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. She had a duty to make sure Makoto got help. At least she knew where the hospital was now.