Kyouko.
The name stabs through your brain like a lightning bolt.
And immediately runs into a major issue: Junko.
Your body twitches, as if to pace, but you've got no time to do that. Calling Kyouko is a smart choice; She's the daughter of the Principal, a certified detective (Ultimate Detective, even), level-headed, and kind. On the other hand, Junko despises her beyond all your other classmates. Calling Kyouko is almost a direct betrayal of your sister's trust. Not to mention letting Kyouko know anything even tangenital to the plan is dangerous in the extreme.
You find your phone in your hand before you think to take it out of your pocket. You stare at it long and hard, logical centers fighting against your loyalty to Junko. You shouldn't do this, but you should. You can't call her, but you want to. You shouldn't want to. You should hate her, just like Junko does. That's what family means.
With shaking fingers, you swallow what feels like cotton in your mouth and press the call button.
(-10% Junko Dependency)
bzzt. bzzt. bzzt. Ker-chik.
"This is Kyouko Kirigiri." Comes the cool voice on the other side of the line. You almost feel a shred of concern, but it passes, swallowed by a cool wave of the liquid nitrogen that is Kirigiri's emotions.
"I..."
You can't say anything. There's a frog in your throat that won't come out, and now Kirigiri thinks you're a weirdo and you've still betrayed Junko and everything is falling apart and- (+10% Despair)
"Ikusaba, are you alright? Should we speak in person?"
"N-no!" You blurt, instinctively pushing the phone away and hissing at your own awkwardness. "I... It's..."
"..." You can hear Kirigiri breathing over the other side of the phone, waiting for you to finish. You think you hear a soft thump, like a book being shut.
"...Do you know... Uh, Robots?" Good job, idiot.
"...Robots." Kirigiri responds with a hint of dryness in her tone. "I'm familiar with the term, yes. What about them?"
"...One attacked me. I killed it."
There's a pregnant pause over the phone, and a slight creaking that makes you think of Kirigiri straightening in her chair. "Explain, please."
It's hard to begin, but once you do, it's easy to continue. You don't outright tell Kirigiri about the plan, of course, but you explain that you saw a mysterious figure enter the Neurology Department building while "outside". You explain what you saw the figure doing, you talk about the odd device he or she used on your grenade, and how they lost you, replacing themselves with a robot duplicate.
After you finish describing your fight with the robot in this laboratory, Kyouko hums. "I see. This is very concerning."
"T-that's an understatement."
"Do you have something sharp on you? A knife perhaps? I'd like you to cut part of the suit on the robot, if you're still at the lab."
"I... Yeah." You don't actually, but this fabric doesn't look to tough. You grip with both hands and pull, and sure enough the fabric tears away with relative ease. All you're presented with, however, is a perfectly smooth chassis. "What am I looking for?" You ask.
"As far as I know, the only company in the world with a working blueprint for a bipedal robot is Touwa Industries - have you seen those advertisements for that maid-bear?"
"The black and white one? Sure." Junko recently expressed an interest in that bear as well, or more specifically the manufacturer. "Why? I don't see any Touwa Industries signs on this thing."
"That's exactly why. If it wasn't Touwa, who was it?"
"Corporate Espionage? The Togami's?"
"Togami Corp? I doubt it - The Togami head and the Touwa CEO are in the same shady secret societies. I wouldn't put it past either of them, but by the same token they don't have anything to gain from doing it underhanded."
"Why am I not surprised that Togami's in the actual Illuminati?" You mutter idly as you try to roll the robot over, looking for any indication it's a Touwa robot. Instead, all you find is perfectly smooth steel.
"Because he's about as subtle about it as a bloodstain on a ballgown." Kirigiri replies.
"Heh. So, something else weird about this thing: it doesn't look like there's any joints, even though it was definitely moving them."
"Hmm." Kyouko hums, saying nothing.
"What are you thinking?"
"...Take some pictures and send them to me over E-mail. Make sure to take more than you'd think you would need. I'm going to contact my Father with a cover story and give you a chance to get out of there."
"R-right."
"Thank you for telling me about this, Mukuro." Kyouko says, letting a bit of earnest emotion slip into her methodical tone. "Make sure to get out safe."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to head to the Neurology department with Fujisaki-san and see if we can't glean something from what was stolen. Given what you told me, this operation was planned a long time ago."
"Oh. Okay."
"Go home and get some rest. Don't worry about the robot - The school will clean it up."
Kirigiri hangs up at that, leaving you alone with the steel machine. At least, you think it's steel.
At least you don't have to drag the thing over to one of the few lockers in the room big enough to hide it. Instead, you slip out of the room and into the hallway. You almost forget to put away your phone, but when you glance down at the weight in your hand something jumps out at you. You're not quite sure when you picked up Makoto's number - probably during one of the times he flirted with you, the embarrassing prat - but it's right below Kyouko's number in your phone. Besides being a poignant reminder of how few contacts you actually have in there, it's also a reminder of something far more subtle and difficult to put into words.
It's a lot easier to call him. You're even the one to speak first.
"Makoto."
"Hey, Muumuu! What's-"
"What were you doing in Neurology?" You ask, trying to put as much ice into your tone as possible. You can't reach Kyouko's chilled deadpan, so instead you elect for a significantly more menacing, predatory growl. You even unconsciously back it up physically as your walk down the hall becomes more of a stalk.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Makoto replies immediately, as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "I've never been to Neurology."
"That's bullshit. I saw you there just a moment ago."
"Can't have. I've been in the first floor girl's bathroom."
"You know where- wait, what?"
"First floor girl's bathroom. The one by the gym?" Makoto says calmly.
"I know where it is!" You snap. "Why the fuck are you in the girl's bathroom?"
"I'm looking for the Chamber of Secrets." He says, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. "...And helping one of our esteemed Senpai out with a stomach bug. Holding her hair and such."
Sure enough, you pause and there's a soft, female groan. "...I'm coming to supervise you."
"Fair enough, but I'll defend myself by saying I'm perfectly mature enough to-"
Hanging up, you stalk down the remaining two floors and nearly kick down the door to the girl's bathroom. Inside is a collection of stalls, assorted bins, and whatever didn't make it into the bins (Junko in particular loves doing such things to the poor janitorial staff). One of the stalls has the door open, and Makoto's head pops out soon after you enter.
"Hello, Muumuu!" He says like a man who isn't about to be strangled by the Ultimate Soldier in the girl's bathroom. "Say hi, Aiko-senpai."
There's an irritated grunt from inside the stall. You scowl as you turn the corner, finding Aiko-senpai knelt on the floor, her elbows resting on the porcelain. She's not vomiting right now, but judging by the sweat and blush, she's not far off. The yellow jacket you're used to seeing her in is on the floor, leaving her in a pretty generic uniform. Combined with her light brown hair and small stature, she somehow looks incredibly less Ultimate than usual. Almost generic, were it not for her heterochromia.
"Senpai, are you alright?"
She shakes her head. "I've been throwing up for hours. It has to have been something I ate." She retches, but nothing comes out.
"I just found-"
"You shut up." You snap. "Don't think you're out of the woods just because Senpai's here! What were you doing tonight?! Where did that robot come from!? What did you want from the Neurology computers?!"
Makoto raises his hands in front of him. "I didn't do anything, Mukuro! Honest!"
"He's been here since - URK!" Aiko's statement is interrupted by a retch, and the sickening sound of liquid hitting the water at the bottom of the toilet. Makoto jumps to gather her hair behind her head, and the acrid stench of the bathroom grows stronger.
"-Since a little while ago, when I passed by. An hour or so." Makoto finishes for her. "I wanted to get her to the nurse, but she hasn't stopped puking and I couldn't find a bucket."
"Kill me." Aiko croaks into the toilet.
"Later." You mutter idly, earning you a pair of angry looks. "I still don't believe you, Makoto. I know I saw you in the Neurology Department. You attacked me."
Makoto blinks in surprise. "Why in the world would I attack you? Besides the fact that I like you, I'd lose anyway."
You immediately feel a rush of heat to your cheeks. "Y-Y-You!" You stutter. "D-Don't just confess like th-that!"
"Wait, was that a confession?" Makoto asks honestly. Now he's the one on the receiving end of two venomous looks. "What?"
"You better take responsibili- HURGH!" Declares Aiko, the end of her statement vanishing into the toilet.
"Y-You..." You mutter, feeling incredibly conflicted. "Idiot... Idiot!" You can't continue investigating like this. You can barely think of anything except getting away from the source of all your frustration and rage. You storm out of the stall, slamming the bathroom door shut before spying a supply closet. You duck in, grab a bucket, return to the bathroom, and promptly hurl it at Makoto's inquisitive head, again peering out of the stall. It catches him full in the face, and you feel a rush of satisfaction before you slam the door on him again.
"IDIOT!"
"Ouch!"
Your fury lasts you all the way to your bed before you remember that you completely forgot to debrief Junko.
"She's gonna be mad..." You mutter, drifting off to sleep despite the spike of fear.
You open your eyes to an angry plane of sky blue. There's a weight on your chest.
Junko lifts back, and slams a fist down directly into your eye, to quick even for you to stop. There's a significant throb of pain, enough to make you grunt heavily; you've got a black eye now, for sure.
"Where the fuck did you go last night?!"
"There was a-"
"I know about the little asshole on the cameras. I'm just wondering what my dear sister, who's only good for fighting, was doing not fucking eradicating that motherfucker and coming back to guard her baby sister!"
"I got caught up in-"
"In not even bothering to hide the evidence! The school has that robot now, you stupid cunt!" Junko's hands wrap around your throat, perfectly polished nails digging into the soft meat of your throat deep enough to draw blood. Your instincts scream at you to take her down but... It's Junko. She's probably the only person you could ever lose to, and she's your sister.
"J-Junko, please-"
"No! Do you understand what kind of situation you've put us in?! You're lucky the school thinks the robot killed the Student Council, because we could have been caught!"
"I-"
"I don't give a shit! If you make one more mistake like this and leave me to clean up your mess a second time, I'm going to cut you out of the plan! You got that?! If you fuck up again, you're going to be waking up in your own tomb!"
"Junko-" You're starting to struggle to breath, and you can feel your own blood rolling down your neck.
Junko leans forward, smiling. "I love you big sis. Don't you love me?"
"I-I love you, Junko-"
"SAY IT AGAIN!"
"I-I love you!" Junko tightens her grip just a little, and you can feel a hot tear run down your cheek.
"And you're not going to do anything to hurt your little sister again, right?!"
"I p-promise I won't!" You're crying openly now, Junko's words cutting you to the quick.
Junko releases you, and her smile immediately turns innocent. "Good! You know, I really hate when I have to punish you, you know? Like, it hurts me on a deep, emotional level." Junko slides off you and onto the floor, her feet as silent as panther paws. "You already abandoned me at the orphanage to go fight in a war. I could have never seen you again, you know? So, like, please don't hurt me." She fixes you with puppydog eyes.
"I promise." You say, feeling at the small cuts on your neck. You don't think they'll be very noticeable... But the black eye throbbing in your skull might. "Junko... What's the excuse for..."
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. Everyone already knows you got in a fight with a crazy last night, so just pass it off as that." Your sister shrugs. "I mean, Ultimate Soldier versus Evil Robot? People are probably expecting you to be all bandaged up and badass looking or something." She smiles. "I knew better, of course."
Junko spins and exits the room with a cutting remark. "You wouldn't look badass no matter what."
[ ] Write-in plans for today
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You'll still have that chat with Koizumi, but after last night I think it might be best to give a extra vote to let you guys follow up on leads you might think of.
