The War For Hope

Valentines Special

Mukuro was on her bed, staring at a photo she had taken on her phone of Makoto. She'd taken it stealthily, noticing that he was smiling. She never understood why her heart seemed to beat a million miles a minute around him. She couldn't express that she was in love with him, and probably wasn't even aware of the fact herself. Right across the hall, Junko sat, pondering to herself, when she finally got bored of all the pondering, and left her dorm room.  She rapidly pounded on Mukuro's door to get her attention.
"SISSSSS! ARE YOU AWAKE!?" She shouted. Mukuro jumped out of the bed and ran to answer the door, dropping her phone to the floor as she did. The picture of Makoto was still up on the screen.
"Junko? What brings you here?" She asked as she held the door open wider for her sister to enter her room. Junko came into the room without delay, plopping down on Mukuro's bed with a twisted grimace on her face.
"We have business matters to discuss Mukuro. I hereby call this meeting of the despair sisters to order!" Mukuro closed the door and walked over to her, standing near the bed. She glanced down and saw her phone with Makoto still on the screen, looking quickly back up at Junko and hoping she didn't notice.
"Business matters?" She asked curiously.
"Well, our business anyways! Everyone in this school is either gnawing each others faces off, or using words like Darling, dear, and honey!... The whole thing is so gross... Everyone's all lovey-dovey and hopeful, I just can't stand it!" Mukuro was silent, knowing what Junko meant. It was Valentine's Day soon, and love was in the air as people put it. She never usually cared for it, but this year was different. She was planning to ask Makoto to be her valentine this year, so long as Junko didn't find out. "We..." Junko started, only to be stopped when she noticed Mukuro's phone at her feet. "What do we he have here? Was my big sister soiling her panties over a picture of her beloved Naegi-Kun?"
"Huh?" She tried to act innocent, even though she knew that wasn't going to work. She looked down at her phone, watching as Junko picked up her phone.
"Get over yourself Mukuro! Let me make a justifiable guess, you were planing on asking him out, weren't you?" Junko asked, her grimace slowly turning into a mocking smirk. She looked down and nodded her head, going silent. She bit her lip. That plan was out of the window, clearly. Junko began to snicker, rising up from the bed, so that she could loom over Mukuro. "Fat chance in hell that will happen while I'm around! Besides, he would never accept your feelings. He's a big shot who got here on luck, while you're a sad sack of garbage that smells like sweaty horse ass!" While both twins were the same height, Junko definitely stood above Mukuro. She was staring down at the floor, nodding her head softly.
"Sorry Junko..." She mumbled. She didn't know what else to say as Junko shattered any hope she had for a chance with Makoto.
"What's the matter? Going to cry, knowing that you'll never experience love? You should have learned long ago that nobody likes the ugly duckling, you're a textbook example of a loser! I could turn my dictionary to the word pitiful, and not be surprised to see a picture of you!" Mukuro looked up at her, frowning in dismay. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of Junko at least. She just kept quiet, knowing Junko wasn't done with her onslaught of verbal insults. Junko ate up every bit of despair she could get out of Mukuro at that moment, turning the the phone screen to Mukuro to show that she had deleted the picture. She just stared at her phone. Her expression was mostly blank, but there was sadness in her eyes. That was a very common expression Mukuro made. "Say bye-bye to any shot at Mukuto ever becoming an item, and, just to make sure you can't recover it..." Junko said, a hellish flame in her eyes as she tossed Mukuro's phone on ground and slammed the heel of her boots onto it until it was nothing more than a mish-mash of broken glass and wires. Mukuro just watched as Junko destroyed her phone right in front of her eyes. Her only real concern was that now she wouldn't be able to contact Junko if she needed to. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but she quickly shut it again. Once Junko was satisfied with her work, she scraped the last articles of glass off of her boot and walked deliberately towards the door. "I'll give you an hour to wallow in your sorrow, afterwords, we'll talk about what really matters, finding the most devious ways to spoil this Valentine's Day atmosphere."
"You got it sis." Mukuro said, barely loud enough for Junko to hear. She didn't even see Junko walk towards the door, just staring down at what remained of her phone and any photographs she possessed of Makoto. Junko slid back out into the hall, and into her own room, not noticing a figure who had sat just beside Mukuro's dorm this whole time. Once alone, Mukuro sunk to her knees. She was just accepting the despair Junko's actions had caused, not even realising someone was now entering her room through the door Junko had left open.
" Wow...  I've never heard such a heated argument from siblings before, then again...  All the games I've played usually have them as companions too. I guess if you look at it that way, I'm not the best person to have overheard what was happening." Chiaki Nanami said with a bright grin, bending down to lock eyes with Mukuro. Mukuro looked at her in a moment of shocked silence before backing away.
"I-it was nothing." She stammered out, looking away from her. She didn't want anyone thinking something was wrong, because in her mind nothing was wrong.
"Not to seem rude Ikusaba-san, but, from what I understand, people don't yell at each other over nothing." Chiaki said, stepping forward slightly, still bent down with that same cheery grin. "Go on, you can talk to me if you want to." Mukuro shook her head, not making eye contact with Chiaki. She didn't want to talk. Part of her was convinced Chiaki wouldn't even believe her if she tried to explain.
"It really was nothing. We're sisters, sisters argue about nothing all the time." She kept trying to reason. Her gaze, which had been wandering around the room, fell on the shattered remains of her phone. She sighed softly, staring down at her phone.
"Still, if it really was nothing, you wouldn't be so down in the dumps. I heard her insult you... It's wrong to speak to anyone that way, especially if they are someone you're close to." Mukuro fell silent, staring blankly at her broken phone. She didn't believe Chiaki, mostly because she'd been conditioned to believe Junko's treatment of her was normal and therefore perfectly fine. Chiaki pulled out a small, yellow console from her bag, and handed it to Mukuro. "Maybe playing a game will make you feel better, I always play whenever I feel down. Games always make me happy, because, I can face all the challenges that seem impossible in real life." Mukuro took the console and looked up at Chiaki.
"Are you sure that'll work? I'm pretty useless at everything I try..." she said softly, looking back down at the console. The first thought that came to mind was playing a video game with Makoto, although she didn't know why. He was on her mind more often than not these days. Chiaki giggled, her eyes lit up while she took a seat next to Mukuro and got comfortable.
"Don't worry, I have a whole library of titles, just make a choice, and I will show you how to play." She silently looked through the library, not finding any that caught her interest. She rested the console on her lap, looking down at it as she spoke.
"I don't know. Maybe it's not a good idea..." she mumbled. She held the console back out to her. "I don't really like when I'm not good at things." She said, turning her head away. It wasn't not being good at things she disliked, it was more the way Junko berated how useless and terrible she was.
"There's a lot more to life then talent Ikusaba-san. My instructor, Ms. Yukizome opened my eyes to this fact. It doesn't matter how talented you are, people who truly care will see through your flaws, and become genuine friends." Mukuro set the console down in front of Chiaki, letting out a long sigh. She didn't seem to understand what she was saying.
"I don't get why you came in here to talk to me, Nanami-senpai. You really didn't have to. I'll be fine." She tried to insist, sounding slightly distant. A small part of her wanted to be alone for a while, until Junko came back at least.
"I came in here because it sounded like you needed a friend to help you out. You have a crush on Makoto Naegi, right?" Chiaki asked Mukuro while she place the console back into her bag. She nodded, picking up what remained of her phone. She remembered everything Junko said, frowning sadly.
"It doesn't matter. He wouldn't accept someone like me. He deserves so much better than me." She said sadly. She fiddled a little with what was in her hands as she spoke, ignoring the shards of glass piercing her skin.
"Um... It's probably not a good idea to pick that up with your hands, do you have a dust pan around here we could use?" She shook her head, continuing to just fiddle with it. She didn't seem interested in cleaning it up and discarding it just yet. She didn't even look up at Chiaki. "One of your classmates is the Ultimate programmer, he could probably salvage some memory from it." Chiaki suggested, lightly snapping her fingers to get Mukuro's attention. Mukuro flinched and dropped the broken phone, a few small shards of glass staying embedded in her hands. She closed her hands into fists before Chiaki could see though.
"I doubt it. The SD card is shattered. It doesn't matter anyway. I have nothing I want to save." She told her. The only thing she would've wanted was the picture of Makoto, but if she got a new phone soon she may have a chance to get another one. She didn't think she'd get to see Makoto smile at her the way he did when she fell for him ever again. Chiaki could tell that Mukuro was in pain, even if she had not seen the shards of glass in her hands.
"I'll go grab a broom and dust pan from the janitor's closet, along with my friend. She's a nurse, she can stop the pain." she said in worried voice, as she ran out of the dorm just as fast as she possibly could. Her speed in the moment was incredible, for someone who probably didn't work out regularly. Mukuro opened her mouth to argue back, closing it when she saw Chiaki was already gone. She sighed and opened her fists, watching the blood drip down her hands from the cuts the glass had made. She wasn't used to injuries like this even though Junko had physically abused her in the past. Chiaki returned to the room only 3 minutes later, a broom and dust pan in one hand, and the hand of a pale girl with long purple hair in the other.
"I should get an A ranking on speed alone." The girl behind her, Mikan, looked at Mukuro's bloody hands in horror. She almost pushed past Chiaki and sat down in front of Mukuro, taking one hand and started pulling the glass out of it.
"Y-you don't need to do that. It's fine." Mukuro tried in vain to argue, just watching as Mikan silently tended to her injuries. The nurse smiled a little, enjoying that she had to take care of someone. Chiaki meanwhile peeped the broom and dust pan, and started sweeping up the sad remnants of Mukuro's phone, and walking towards the waste basket with them.
"I think this is too damaged to recycle." Mukuro nodded. She knew when Junko wanted to destroy something, there was no hope of it being recovered. Mikan sat back after bandaging up her hands, looking at Chiaki innocently. Chiaki dumped the broken phone in the trash, and took a seat next to Mukuro on the bed gently.
"About Makoto Naegi, while I may not know much about love in a romantic sense, it would make me more than happy to help you win his heart." Mikan nodded, smiling at both Chiaki and Mukuro.
"How?" Mukuro asked, turning to look at Chiaki. "How can someone as hopeless as me win his heart?" She asked. She was really anxious about trying, because she was terrified it would destroy what little relationship they had.
"Like I said, love really isn't my strong point. The closest I have come to romance is in dating simulators, and, they've always really confused me. I think I know someone who can give you advice though, my teacher Ms. Yukizome, she always helps out everyone in a pinch." Mukuro nodded. Romance in video games was infinitely more experience with love than Mukuro had.
"Please, help me." She asked, not believing she'd ever be able to admit when she needed help. Certainly not when it came to love.
"I don't know what to say Ikusaba-san, I've never tried winning over someone's heart before. Ms. Yukizome has more experience in that field from what I can tell." Mukuro nodded slowly. She'd never really encountered Ms. Yukizome before, and was a little anxious.
"Maybe we should find her." Mikan suggested timidly. It was fairly late, and school was closed, but Mikan was fairly positive they could still find her if the looked hard enough. Chiaki gave a little nod, her smile growing wider.
"If anybody can help you out, it has to be her." Mikan nodded and jumped up, gripping and falling into a sexual position. That was pretty common for her still. Mukuro watched, standing up and offering her hand to Mikan to help her up.