The Light Of Hope In The Face Of Despair

Chapter the Second: The Date Setup

"Naegi-kuuuuuuuuuuun!" Junko announced loudly as she sat herself on his desk. Makoto looked up at her, quite surprised someone like her would talk to someone like him.
"Good morning, Enoshima-san." Makoto smiled his usual smile at her, the one that made Mukuro fall head over heels for him. Junko couldn't see why, but she brushed that aside. Each to their own.
"We're like, totally getting lunch tomorrow. You'd better not keep a lady waiting." She told him. He laughed awkwardly, even more awkward. He wasn't exactly against having lunch with Junko, but assumed he would spend most lunchtimes with Sayaka since they'd hit it off right away.
"Alright. You got it." Makoto laughed awkwardly. Junko beamed, jumping up and strutting out of the classroom. Just as she left, Sayaka walked up to Makoto. She'd heard most of their conversation, but waited until after Junko had left to approach Makoto.
"Looks like someone has a date tomorrow." Sayaka giggled, getting Makoto's attention. He gasped and flushed with embarrassment. He didn't think Junko was asking him on a date when she asked him out for lunch tomorrow. Now Sayaka has said it, he thought it could be true. He'd just have to wait until tomorrow to find out why Junko has asked him to lunch.

Junko headed back to her dorm, making quite an entrance. Waiting for her in the dorm was Mukuro. Junko had told her to wait here for her, and she'd done as she was told. She looked up at Junko when she entered, not speaking.
"You should, like, be on your knees thanking me." Junko told her as she slammed the door shut behind her. She didn't want anyone else listening to her. "I, like, totally just set you up on a date with Naegi." Junko told her, sitting on the bed. Mukuro's eyes widened slightly in shock.
"You did?" Her voice seemed to stick in her throat. She really did want that, but knew it would only turn horrible in the end. Junko would do whatever to create absolute despair. Even if that meant making Mukuro somewhat happy before destroying it all in a blaze of misery and despair.
"Of course I did!" She glanced at the time on her phone, jumping up. "We have class now. We'll discuss this later." She strutted out, leaving the door wide open. Mukuro silently followed her out, locking the door behind her.

The next morning Junko let herself into Mukuro's room bright and early. Mukuro was already awake, used to the early mornings from her time in Fenrir.
"Goooooood morning!" Junko announced herself loudly, nearly making Mukuro jump. Mukuro turned to face her, noticing immediately that Junko had brought several cases with her.
"Good morning." Mukuro said plainly. Junko closed the door with a slam, dragging her cases further into the room. Mukuro helped her as best she could, being reprimanded by Junko for not helping sooner. "What are you doing here?" She asked. She knew Junko woke up early, spending a lot of time in the morning on her makeup, and didn't expect to see her for at least another two hours.
"Duh! I'm here to make you look presentable for your date." Junko told her, opening up one of the cases. The case was full of makeup, and Mukuro could only assume the rest of the cases were full of makeup.
"Are you sure this is necessary? It isn't really a date..." Mukuro started hesitantly. She didn't like wearing makeup anyway, and didn't think it was necessary if she was just having lunch with Makoto. It wasn't even set to be a date.
"Of course I'm sure. You really like him, right?" Junko started, opening the rest of her cases. Mukuro nodded slowly. She wasn't even too sure herself if she liked him in that way. "Good, because he probably won't like ugly girls with spotty faces." Junko said firmly, sitting Mukuro down at her desk. She was going to use it like a makeup station. Mukuro silently allowed Junko to do whatever, trusting she knew what she was doing.

Makoto sat in the cafeteria, waiting for Junko to show up. She hadn't spoken to him anymore that day, so he assumed everything was still okay for their lunch date. After a while, Mukuro approached Naegi's table. She'd been watching him for a little while, trying to build the confidence to speak to him.
"Naegi-kun...?" Mukuro asked hesitantly, trying to get his attention. He looked up at her, giving her a friendly smile like he would to anyone who spoke to him.
"Oh, Hey Ikusaba-san. Didn't expect to see you here." Makoto admitted, still smiling. He never usually saw her at lunch, although this was only their third day here and he'd spend the past two lunchtimes hanging out with Sayaka.
"Enoshima-san asked me to tell you she can't make it today. Something came up." Mukuro told him. That's what Junko had told her to say to him earlier while she was doing her hair and makeup. Makoto nodded, sighing. He was actually looking forward to it, but there would always be another time. That was just his luck. "We could have lunch together instead... I-if you want to, of course." She started stumbling over her words thanks to her social awkwardness. She was, as Junko put it, out-of-touch.
"Of course. Come sit." Makoto encouraged. Mukuro sat down opposite Makoto, hooking her book bag to the side of her chair. There was a moment of awkward silence between them, with neither of them knowing what to say to the other, before Makoto finally broke the silence. "Your makeup looks nice." He told her. He could tell she was wearing it, since it covered the freckles that usually covered her nose and cheeks.
"Oh, Thank you. Enoshima-san did it for me this morning. She insisted it would make me look prettier." She told him shyly. That was the part of the truth she was willing to share with him. She didn't mention it was to impress him. Judging by his face, if that was her goal she'd been unsuccessful.
"I think you look prettier without the makeup." Makoto told her honesty. She was blushing brightly red underneath the foundation Junko had told her would cover everything. She was right, clearly. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, closing it again a moment later. She did this a few more times, causing Makoto to laugh awkwardly. "Sorry, did I make you flustered?" He asked hesitantly. She nodded her head a little. That seemed to describe this feeling inside perfectly, but she hadn't known how to explain it since she'd never felt this way before. "Ah, I'm sorry. I really mean it, though." He told her. There was another moment of awkward silence between them before Naegi spoke again. "So... how are you settling in to Hope's Peak?" He asked.
"It's... different." She managed to answer after a second. Makoto nodded his head understandingly. He could understand how high school could be different from being in the military, but he wasn't sure that would relate from going to a normal school to this prestigious institution. "It's a nice different, though." She told him. She liked being here, because it meant she got to see him, see his warm and inviting smiles just for her.
"It is, isn't it? I never expected to end up here." Makoto admitted to her. He hadn't really told this to anyone else, but felt like he could talk about anything with her. He didn't really understand it himself. He just felt like he could trust her. "I mean, I was just an ordinary boy attending an ordinary school. I thought my luck was pretty ordinary too, but apparently not." He laughed softly. His laugh was contagious, causing Mukuro to laugh softly.
"I'm glad you were chosen to be the lucky student this year." She told him honestly. She really was glad. If he wasn't here, she didn't know how long she would've been made to wait to be shown even the tiniest amount of kindness. Maybe she would've died before she had the chance, knowing Junko's desire to bring total despair. That was something that would always be in her mind, no matter how hard she fell for Naegi.