The Light Of Hope In The Face Of Despair

Chapter the Ninth: Endings

Class was ending, but Makoto had no motivation to move. Sayaka and him had agreed to eat lunch together, since she would be here until the end of lunch break because of another rehearsal. She had told him she wanted to talk to him about something really important. He looked around the room, his eyes meeting Mukuro's for a moment. She seemed tired, and still troubled. She looked away after a mere second though. Class soon ended, and Sayaka approached his desk before he could do anything.
"Hey, Makoto-kun, can we talk?" She asked innocently, fiddling with the end of her skirt. He got up and nodded, gently grabbing her hand to ease her fiddling fingers.
"What is it about?" He asked. He was a little anxious, noticing her behaviour was similar to that of when she asked him out. Nothing could prepare him for what she would want to talk about though.
"I think we should break up." She sounded sad when she said that, but she was trying not to let it show. Makoto was very taken aback. "Don't get me wrong, I do still care about you very much, but I just don't have the time to be in a relationship right now. I'm so focused on my dreams, and I don't want to be unfair to you." She explained further, forcing herself to smile a little. Makoto nodded slowly, forcing himself to smile too.
"I understand." He reassured her. She seemed content with that.
"Okay. Let's stay friends though. You can do that, right?" She asked, letting go and extending her pinkie finger towards him. He smiled and nodded, linking his pinkie with hers.
"Of course. We'll stay friends no matter what." He promised her. He didn't want to let Sayaka go. Even though they weren't dating, he still cared very much for her. She'd still be his best friend.

Makoto still couldn't help feeling a little bit defeated as he went back to his dorm. He was sad his relationship with Sayaka, the one he had been wanting since middle school, had come to such a sudden end but he knew it was for the best. When he reached the dorm, only one other person was around, Mukuro.
"Hi." He decided to say, remembering what Junko had told him about talking to her. Still, he wanted to make an effort to talk to her, even if it was just pleasantries like this. She was his friend after all. She looked up at him, waving at him shyly.
"Hi Naegi-kun." She said softly, wondering if he could hear her. Makoto was a tad disheartened that she had used his surname despite him giving her permission to use his first name. She leant on her dorm door, looking at him. She expected him to start a conversation, but an awkward silence just hung in the air. This silence was broken by Mukuro's door opening, and her falling through it with a surprised 'ah!'.
"You okay?" Makoto called out to her, concerned. He didn't get a response from her. Instead, all that happened was Mukuro's door slammed shut. He frowned and just went back to his own room, hoping she was okay.

Junko meanwhile was stood over her sister, who was still laying on the floor looking up. Junko's arms were folded, glaring down her nose. She'd heard Makoto talking to Mukuro, even when she'd explicitly told him to stay away, and was now angry. With nobody else around, Mukuro would be her metaphorical punching bag.
"You remember what I told you the other day, right?" Junko asked. She didn't wait for an answer, grabbing her twin by the wrist and dragging her over to the bed. Mukuro didn't fight or even do anything as she was dragged along the floor by her wrist. "Well, you gotta do it tomorrow!" She announced, letting her go. Mukuro sat up, looking at her with a frown. She remembered exactly what Junko wanted her to do, and she really didn't want to do that.
"Why tomorrow?" Mukuro decided to ask. Junko groaned loudly, almost like those two words had physically hurt Junko. She sat back on the bed, putting both her feet roughly on Mukuro's shoulders like a foot rest.
"Because I'm bored of waiting and you have become entirely useless to me." Junko told her rather bluntly, folding her arms. She could see how shattered Mukuro was by that, but she was trying not to care. She was enjoying Mukuro's despair.
"Useless?" Mukuro asked quietly, her eyes starting to brim with tears. This was her worst nightmare. All her life, she'd been conditioned to be little more than Junko's right hand woman. She'd been broken this way, and now she was being thrown aside like she meant nothing.
"Yes, useless. I don't need you anymore. The best thing you can do now is go up to the roof tomorrow and jump." Junko demanded, moving one foot so she was now prodding Mukuro in the chest. "You've always been useless, but I kept you around because I could find some use for you. Now I've found a version of you that's actually got some value for me, I don't need you." She continued, smirking as she gave her twin a sharp kick in the chest. Mukuro fell back, in silent shock. Junko stood up and walked straight to her, looking her directly in the eye. "Tomorrow. After school. You know what needs to be done." She reminded her bluntly, suddenly pulling her to her feet and hugging her. Mukuro just froze in place, her mouth hanging open. She was just broken now.

After school, Mukuro was exactly where her sister had told her to be. The wind was heavy, and damp rain just added to the storm inside her mind. Her clothes and hair were soaked through. She was stood on the ledge, looking down at the ground. The fall would almost definitely be enough to end her life. She blinked once, and couldn't tell if it was a tear or a drop of rain that fell down her cheek.
"Useless useless useless!" She heard Junko's voice repeat that heartbreaking word over and over again in her mind. She looked around, not seeing her sister anywhere. She just sighed and looked back down, staring at her shoes.
"I know, Junko-chan, I know. I'm useless." Mukuro said to herself, laughing a little. Her laugh was void of happiness, or any other emotion. "Useless Mukuro-chan. Can't even take the jump you wanted from me. I'm useless, useless, useless." She let her body sway with the wind, wrapping her arms around herself gently. She was still hesitating. She didn't want to jump, but that was Junko's order and her orders were god.
"Mukuro." She turned, this time hearing Makoto's voice. Of course, he wasn't there, and it was just in her head. It always seemed to be in her head.
"Oh, Makoto-kun... how I wish you'd stop me..." she admitted to herself. She turned away from the door, taking a tiny step closer to the edge. She knew she just had to do it. She took a deep breath, about to let herself fall forwards, when she heard a familiar voice behind her. This time though, it was real. It wasn't just in her head.
"Mukuro?"