The War For Hope

Chapter Seven

Mukuro entered her bedroom, locking the door before placing Toko on her feet again. She felt pretty bad about practically kidnapping her, but she had to know.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked a little timidly, looking at Toko.
"W-what do you plan to do.... D-do diabolical, unpleasant things to me, hold me here for RANSOM!?" Toko asked, stuttering and mumbling her words while backing into the dresser at the corner of the room. She shook her head, frowning.
"Not at all. I just want to ask you something... about Genocider Syo." Mukuro said, deciding to just get it out in the open. Hopefully that would make discussions easier between the two.
"What should I know about a s-subject like that? He's a k-killer in the news, who's been responsible for a string of g-gruesome M-MURDERS?" Toko asked, her head hung down, dodging any eye contact with Mukuro. She sighed, looking down at her arm. She genuinely was considering cutting herself right now to show the blood to Toko.
"I can't say that I believe you. I'm only saying this because... I think you're Genocider Syo." She told her, continuing her honest approach to this subject and conversation.
"You t-think that I'm some kind of Psycho!? W-why the hell got an idea like the c-circulating through your mind!?" Toko screamed, backing away from Mukuro more, anguish and disgust in her tone.
"I don't know! I just had this dream, and you were Genocider Syo." She told her, not liking the screaming at all. She was almost relieved the walls were soundproof. "You faint at the sight of blood, don't you?" She asked, pulling out the knife. She just held it with the blade pointed down at the floor while looking directly at her.
"No, please....  You don't want this, you May be a girl, but you have a very boyish exterior, if you trigger her....  Your life could be forfeit!" Toko said, amazingly not stuttering once throughout her entire sentence, her voice dark and hoarse.
"That's a risk I'll have to take." She said plainly, cutting down her arm. The cut was deep, and started to bleed instantly. She didn't even flinch though, showing Toko the bloody cut on her arm. Toko tried to look away, jumping under Mukuro's bed with a high pitched squeal. Still, even with all her will power, she eventually fell unconscious, her arms wrapped around herself protectively. Mukuro sighed and pulled her out from under the bed, laying her on top of it. Her arm was bleeding more, but she ignored it as best she could. She then sat down by the door, waiting for either Makoto to show up or for Toko to recover. Toko remained passed out for what seemed like ages, while meanwhile, Makoto was explaining his ambitions and beliefs to his fellow students, as he walked quite hastily towards the hall of Despair. Mukuro stayed awake the whole time, her arm continuing to bleed. She just let it happen, wondering what was taking so long for Makoto to return with a bandage. She was starting to feel lightheaded from the blood loss. Toko seemed to stir, her eyelids popping open to reveal a glowing pair of huge red eyes, which darted from side to side.
"Last time I checked, it was the middle of the damn day, I don't get why little Miss. Bookworm would be sleeping on the job!" The familiar voice ringed through Mukuro's ears, unaware of the soldier's presence in the room.
"Genocider Syo?" Mukuro asked anxiously, slowly standing up. She was still holding the slightly bloody knife in her hand, remembering how Genocider Syo had tried to murder her in her nightmare before she woke up. The former Toko lifted her head up, and glanced at Mukuro, a sharp, toothy smile on her face.
"Well Well, if it isn't the Despair Mongrel herself, Mukuro!" Mukuro looked very clearly confused by Genocider Syo's words, not knowing what she meant at all.
"Despair mongrel?" She asked hesitantly, not letting her guard down for even a second. She was very on edge and confused.
"That's classified fucking information, all you need to know is that I stalk my potential victims with great Effiency!!!" Genocider Syo proclaim, going from a sitting position, and into a standing position on Mukuro's bed. Mukuro frowned, pointing the knife at Genocider Syo.
"What do you mean potential victims? Don't you only kill men?" She asked rather coldly, her eyes staring into Genocider Syo's.
"Somebody's done their research on Japan's favorite Merry Murderous, but the truth is, You look enough like a guy to count!" Genocider Syo proclaimed, bouncing off of the bed, and performing multiple somersaults in the air, and plopping down on top of Mukuro. Mukuro stepped back, closing in on herself. She had a frown on her face the whole time. She was still super insecure about her looks, even though she couldn't remember the constant verbal abuse from Junko in her past.
"Please, tell me what you meant by 'Despair Mongrel'." She begged, leaning on the wall a little for support.
"A Mongrel is a right down dirty hound dog, who likes to dry hump things, let's his thing stick out its nobody's business! There's a second definition though, a Mongrel of your type is a vicious, stupid bitch who follows orders, and stays crammed up their master's juicy buns! Kyehehehehehhehehehe!!!" Mukuro was even more confused and a little anxious, but for the most part she was feeling lightheaded. Her arm was still bleeding heavily, and the blood was starting to drip to the floor.
"I'm still confused, Genocider Syo." She admitted, holding on to her arm to try and stop the bleeding until Makoto returned.
"Life is full of pain and confusion Muki, so, my life philosophy is to cause pain and confusion to balance the scales! I slice, I dice, I kill with an endless drive, a princess of blood and slaughter! Kyehahahahahahaha!" Genocider Syo said, pulling out her large shears, and twirling them in her fingers, lurking like a predator towards Mukuro. "Something tells me that your memories are a little foggy Muki, maybe a touch of murderous intent is what you need to really get the blood flowing to your brain!"
"Don't hurt me!" She shouted, holding her knife up. She was very confident she'd be able to defend herself against Genocider Syo, since she was armed too unlike when she was fighting Sayaka for her life. It also helped that she had control of the room. She backed against the door, her free hand right next to the lock so she could escape at any second.
"I don't plan to hurt you, I just want to see if you and I can still stand toe to toe, and knife to Shears! It always used to help my bloodlust when we battled it out!" Mukuro raised her eyebrow, watching her.
"You want to fight? But, I'm injured." Mukuro tried to protest. She was already in enough shit for fighting someone, she was trying to make it better not worse. "I don't want to fight anyway." Genocider sighed, lowering her shears.
"It's pointless if you aren't willing to go all out. Now, what sort of dribble-drabble do you have to tell me? I already saw that. You cut your arm, so, you must have something to spout, so spit it out!" Mukuro looked down at her arm, now practically covered with blood. She'd probably cut a little too deep into her arm.
"Oh... it's just... I had this dream, and you were there, and I just wanted to see if my theory was right." Mukuro admitted sheepishly, looking down. She was starting to feel awkward and a little bit dizzy.
"Wooooooowwwwww, and people call me a psychopath! I regret to inform ya Muki, but, I think a couple of coconuts fell out of your pine tree! You saw me, in this body, inside of a dream, and decided that the best course of action was to talk to me, instead of getting the info out of her?"
"She... kinda hates me." Mukuro admitted, looking down. She frowned, feeling horrible and uncomfortable. The feeling of nausea was starting to return, but she held back the urge to be sick.
"That's why she's a loser, and a murderous fiend like me is the real person to party with!" Genocider Syo said, grasping Mukuro's arm, and running her slimy tongue up and down the wound, licking the blood away. She cringed as she felt it, having to look away. The wound was really deep, and just wouldn't stop.
"Everyone pretty much hates me... except Hina and Naegi-kun." She said softly, turning to look back at her for a moment.
"You don't get it, do you, She and I don't share any memories, I haven't met any of these meat sacks yet!" She frowned, her free hand going to her mouth.
"Sorry..." she mumbled, starting to lose focus on everything. The blood loss was really starting to affect her now. She tried her hardest to remember Toko and Genocider Syo didn't share memories, realising that could be important information. Makoto knocked at the door, causing Genocide to drop the hand.
"Damnit, I didn't get the time to guess your blood type!" Mukuro gently pulled her arm away from Genocider Syo, going over to the door. She opened it, sighing with relief when she saw him.
"Hey Naegi-kun." She said, holding the door open enough for him to come in. "Do you have the bandages?"
"I got them right here. How did it..." Makoto started, yet stopped short the very second that he noticed Syo over Mukuro's shoulder, causing him to hand Mukuro the bandage resistantly, and back away towards the other end of the long stretch of hallway.
"N-Naegi-kun?" Mukuro asked anxiously, standing so she blocked the door so Syo couldn't escape and go after Makoto. She just watched him, holding on to the bandages.
"It's really her... G-Genocider Syo!" Makoto mumbled, backing up against the wall. Syo meanwhile was trying, with some degree of success, to push by Mukuro's defenses, and get a good look at the new cute boy.
"You wanted to talk to her, didn't you?" She asked, making sure Syo didn't get past her. She was still scared she would kill Makoto like she did in her nightmare, and she'd decided she couldn't let that happen.
"I-I... Didn't expect her to change so soon, I didn't even have the time to mentally prepare myself. How do you face a serial killer. A killer whose kill count is filled with boys similar to me?" Mukuro went over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, ignoring the blood on them.
"You've got me, and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." She assured him, looking into his eyes. She spoke with conviction, her facial expression screaming determined and serious. Makoto looked up at her, his own confidence rising up, and meeting her with a warm smile.
"Let's do this, you keep her at bay, and I'll ask the questions." She nodded, smiling a little. She glanced down at her arm, seeing she wasn't bleeding quite so heavily, but it was still more than it should.
"Ah, could you help me with the bandage first?" She asked, holding it out to him and changing the position of her arm so he could properly see the wound. Makoto nodded his head, got up, and got straight to work on bandaging Mukuro's arm wound, neither of them had noticed that Genocider Syo was subtly creeping up behind them, licking her cheeks at the mere sight of Makoto. Mukuro smiled softly, watching Makoto the whole time. She mostly watched the cute facial expressions he made when he bandaged her arm. She was still fairly aware of her surroundings, ready to defend Makoto from Syo if she had to.
"Hello there luscious little boy... Oh, how much cuter you would be if you were oozing with red, even so, I'm pretty certain that I can overcome Muku just to get to you! How sweet, innocent, naive love! Kyehahahahaha!" Genocider Syo declared in a whisper, foaming at the mouth madly, her face flushed by true lust at its core.
"Don't you dare." Mukuro snapped, glaring down her nose at Syo. She held her knife to her throat, an intense stare aimed directly at the serial killer. "I'm not afraid to defend Naegi-kun from you or anyone."
"Kyehahahaha! Whoopsie Daisy, looks like I got a little too excited, I just can't help it though! The scent of blood is eradicating off of the both of you, like a buffet laid out just for me!"  Genocider Syo explained, then dashed out of Mukuro's immediate sight. Mukuro frowned, holding on to Makoto while looking around for Syo. She would defend him exactly how she would've defended Junko before she lost her memories. After all, Makoto was now the most important person in her life. Makoto looked up faintly, and wished that he could help, that he had the physical strength required to fight alongside Mukuro. All he could do was watch Mukuro's back, put a strategy together, and cover her if needed.
"We probably need to find her before someone seriously does get hurt." Mukuro said to him, keeping her arm around him. Sure, she was strong, but she wasn't at her best right now. She was definitely not suggesting they split up. Syo was around the corner, by the stairs, planning out her next attack.
"I figure that madame Combate wouldn't see an attack in the dark comin, gives me the real advantage here. I could use my shears to knock out the lights above them!" Mukuro thought she heard something, grabbing hold of Makoto's arm.
"Stay with me." She commanded, keeping her voice low. She headed slowly in Syo's direction, knife firmly in hand. Darkness filled the room a moment later, the sound of steel shattering light bulbs echoing through the blackened hallway. She was silent, although her grip on Makoto tightened. She stopped, not quite sure of her way around now the lights were off. She just looked around, her knife raised slightly as if she was ready to defend herself or Makoto with it. Genocider Syo ran down the hall, and slashed open The Ultimate Soldier's cheeks in an instant, then kicking her and Makoto up against the wall.
Mukuro hissed, intentionally making sure he was hurt as little as possible. She kept the knife firmly in her hand, standing up. "What are you doing?" Mukuro shouted to Syo, rather confused. She'd already said she wasn't looking for a fight.
"You are the one thing keeping me from my meal, so, once I get you out of the way, Naegi will be for my taking!" Mukuro held him still, practically having picked him up and was now carrying him.
"You'll have to get through me first!" She declared confidently. She looked around, waiting to see where Syo would next show up.
"If you really wanna fight Muku, set the dream boat down, and get your guard up!" Genocider Syo screamed, her shears at the very tip of Makoto's throat. "Do it, or he'll be deader than the deadest dead man!" Mukuro was calm, kicking Syo firmly in the arm. She then ran off as fast as she could considering her injury, carrying Makoto with complete ease.
"Keep an eye out for me, Okay?" She asked, looking directly ahead. She was carrying Makoto over her shoulder so he was looking directly behind her. She didn't want Syo sneaking up on them. Makoto watched observantly, suddenly tensing up at the sight of red eyes lurking in the shadows of the hallway, closer than he had estimated.
"Run Mukuro, she's practically right behind us right now!" Mukuro nodded once, breaking into a sprint even though it hurt. She'd go through any pain to ensure his safety. She was getting tired surprisingly quickly though. Genocider Syo managed to keep up with her, her speed rivaling that of an athlete, or a cheetah.
"I'm coming for Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I think I'm starting to love this place Muku! I can prey on who I please, an, like hell anybody would have the guts to stop me!" Mukuro kept running, finding herself slowing down against her will. Her breathing was getting heavier too. She really wasn't in good health right now, nowhere near the optimal level she should be considering her skill as a soldier. "I could slaughter you all, that would be a fun time! That'll satisfy Teddy Ruxpin's murder boner, might even make him burst! Kyehahahaha!"
"Not to get under your skin, but there's a rule about how many students you can kill. It's capped at two." Mukuro said awkwardly, holding Makoto a little tighter. She thought of him, stopping as an idea came to her mind. "You know, I think there's someone even cuter than Naegi-kun I'd like you to meet, if you'd stop trying to kill us." Mukuro's last remark stopped Genocider Syo in her tracks, and made her physically ponder for a solid minute at least.
"Somebody cuter than that little baby faced beef cake in your grasp?" Mukuro nodded, forcing herself to smile. She carefully set Makoto back on his feet, holding on to him still.
"Yeah. I'm sure you'd love him." She told her. She personally didn't believe anyone was cuter than Makoto, but she had a good idea for who Syo would like. Syo holstered her shears, and began to fantasize about who could possibly be cuter, lightly blushing.
"What's the dish on this mysterious boy Muku? A hunk, a hottie maybe, someone that I could really dig my chompers into?" Mukuro thought, wondering how to describe him.
"Why don't you come with me and I can show you." She suggested to Syo, keeping her eyes on the serial killer the whole time. She ignored the throbbing pain in her ankle from running on it, not showing any sign of pain other than the fact she was practically leaning on Makoto.
"Actually, they were coming along with me originally, I just ended up splitting away from them at some point." Makoto admitted, Mukuro propped up on his shoulder. She nodded, wondering if Makoto knew exactly who she was talking about, or was just saying that as a comment to persuade Syo.
"So, what do you say?" She asked, holding one hand out. She kept hold of Makoto, feeling kinda bad that he had to support her like this even though she wasn't exactly heavy.
"Hmmmm.... You really do drive a bargain that a psycho could kill for! Sure, it's a deal, but if you're lying about this majestic man, I'll kill you!" Genocider Syo promised, a glint of madness in her eyes when she shook Mukuro's hand. Mukuro smiled weakly, shaking Syo's hand in return.
"Last I saw him, he was in the dining room. He's most likely still there." She told Syo, also telling Makoto so he could help her get there. Her ankle was in agony, but she could still limp back to the dining room with Makoto's help. Makoto led the way without a word, praying to himself that Mukuro's plan would succeed, distracted by his thoughts of what the consequences might be if it didn't. He looked back at Syo, and then at Mukuro on his shoulder, ensuring that he was pacing himself steadily.