53 Chapter 53: One Shot

'What the hell am I doing?' Naze thought with gritted teeth as she power walked through the labyrinth, trying to find one of the secret passageways she once saw by chance when reviewing the entire facilities' infrastructure as one of its lead researchers and handlers.

It was a brief overview but she always had a good memory, ironic considering that she couldn't remember all of her childhood life.

"Naze-senpai..."

'Dammit. Even though I remembered their specific locations, it's almost impossible for me to find them in these repeatedly moving corridors. The path back to the Door of Rejection has already changed, so how is Zenkichi going to catch up to us?' She pursed her lips, deep worry flickered across her face before pausing before a three-forked pathway.

"Fuck!" She cursed out loud, frustration clear in her tone. A surprising emotion to see her express as she was one the most calm and collected people in the entire Thirteen Party. Heck, being in this kind of situation should've made her euphoric and go into a super analyst mode.

It wasn't just some fetish, but also her life's work. She believed that the best geniuses came from a hell-like environment or undergoed severely desperate situations, tempering their psyche and physical capabilities in most cases.

She was so obsessed with that research of hers that she went as far as to do self-experiment; erasing her own childhood memories to start a new life filled with nothing but suffering.

When she heard about Junko's plan of spreading despair and destruction all across the world, she almost turned on Zenkichi and attacked Ryota to prevent them from stopping this tragedy from happening.

This would've been the most perfect experiment of her life.

The only reason she didn't act on it was because whatever empathic control he has on her was stronger than she thought and that he was physically stronger than her by a landslide.

She could take a guess that he didn't even need those guns and swords to destroy those Monokumas, he could easily kick them around as if they were soccer balls, she couldn't understand why he didn't do that. But theorizes that it's probably because he only just got them and wasn't used to understanding his true capabilities, or that he just wanted to look cool using guns and swords.

Most young boys and even some girls, probably even some adults, would become stupid if they have the opportunity to use guns and swords. She couldn't understand such stupidity.

But her plan of betrayal was put to stop when she saw her best friend, brainwashed into fighting her, Zenkichi and Ryota, exploded right before her eyes, forever imprinted in her mind.

That was when she realized, she cared for someone. A friend, a best friend. For the first time in her miserable life, she had actually cared for someone without scheme or benefit but...

Losing Koga broke, no, it further broke her already messed up mentality. The only reason she didn't go insane from grief was due to the extreme sense of hatred and vengeance she had towards Junko and her unknown companions.

"Naze-senpai..."

'Zenkichi is keeping that bitch at bay, but who knows for how long. I don't underestimate his prowess but I fear he might go soft on his childhood friend and would let down his guard. I know that he can take care of himself but,' She grounded her teeth and immediately chose to run straight forward, Ryota following close behind her with a pale expression. 'I can't help but feel c-co... ugh, this feels weird... concern for him!'

'Am I seriously falling for someone who I barely know and had tried charming me with one of his strange skills?!' Naze had a indignant expression as she thought of that. Seriously, why is she falling for her former lab rat?

...Does she have a fetish or something? Cause Koga was her greatest lab experiment then turned best friend. Does she make a deeper connection with people who are her lab experiment than fellow colleagues and schoolmates?

'Hmm. That can't be it, I approximately have around 250 patients considered to be my lab experiments and yet neither they or I have shown to have–'

"NAZE-SENPAI!!" Ryota, cold sweat drenched all over his face, yelled out and interrupted her internal monologue.

"WHAT?!" Naze replied with a scary look on her face, turning to glare at Ryota.

Ryota let out an 'eep' sound and took a step back with a pale look on his face. There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other, Naze was unamused, before Ryota raised his right hand with an index finger pointed out.

"L-Look..." He stammered out, his finger trembling.

Bewildered, Naze turned back to see what had gotten him spook but just as she turned her head to look, something flashed from the corner of her eyes at the left. Blood slowly dripped out of the cut that formed on her left cheek.

Pain ached from her cheek but Naze didn't react to it. Instead, her eyes widen as a familiar tall figure wearing a kevlar vest over her school uniform and military boots, stocks of guns protruding from her back, stood straight several feet in front of them and legs apart. A gun in her right hand over her chest while her left hand was stretched forward and fingers curled out.

The strangest and most glaring part of her, was a large circular round metal thing, with a deep straight line cut on its circular surface, as if resembling the head of a large screw, embedded on the lower right side of between where her kidney and intestine is located. A second and third was also located on each of her thighs, piercing through judging by the clearly seen swirling metallic threads and sharp tip.

Blood soaked her vest, dripping profusely down her legs and leaving a trail of blood behind her.

Yet despite the excruciating pain that anyone would feel if they were in this situation, she only had a solemn expression and her sharp dull grey eyes flickered with a cold glint. Blood trickling down the corner of her lips.

"This... wasn't how it should've been done. This was supposed to have been a game, with me, my sister, my friends, and... N-Nagi." she murmured under her breath, her voice cracked; turning a sorrowful and coarse. Only herself could hear what she had said.

"D-Damn him...! Damn that loser! Bastard! Pervert! FUCKING DAMN HIM!"

Naze immediately recognized Ikusaba Mukuro, although she was surprised to find her losing her composure all of a sudden, the first thing that she felt when seeing her though was... rage.

'You...' Naze's dull red eyes turned brighter as her vision was filled with red, bloodlust consuming her mind almost in an instant and her fingers started to let out bone crackling sounds.

Ikusaba Mukuro, one of the people responsible for the death of Koga, was in front of her. And was severely injured.

This was the best opportunity for her–

"Ahh... Ahh..."

A pitiful sound attracted Naze's attention, making her freeze in place. Her rising anger quickly dissipated as a metaphorical cold bucket of water doused her.

With widen horror filled eyes turned around, Ryota's choking voice echoed in the corridors, blood spurted out profusely. With teary despair-filled eyes, blood spilled out uncontrollably out of his throat with an embedded knife in it.

Immediately, his legs gave out and he went to his knees.

"Ryota!" Naze took a moment to process what was happening and immediately rushed to his side. She then slowly propped him onto the ground on his back.

With quick and lightning speed movements befitting of her medical expertise, she took out the knife of Ryota's throat, and in slow motion she began analyzing the best course of action on saving him in that split second of taking out the knife. 'There's only way,' She then applied pressure to the wound with a clean cloth for a brief moment as she took out a straw from... somewhere and immediately did a tracheostomy.

Ryota's chest immediately puffed out then deflated, having taken a huge breath in through the transparent straw. He tried moving his arms but Naze's hands quickly stopped him.

"I know it feels weird but you have to toughen it out for now," Naze said with an indifferent expression after successfully saving Ryota. "we, no, the world still needs you to save it."

He was the only person capable of fucking up those bastards' plans of spreading despair.

Ryota, struggling to move from the pain and shock, still managed to make a little nod.

"Okay, good. Now just stay here for now. I'll deal with this bitch."

'It would prolonge his life but only for a short amount of time. An hour at best. But the problem as well is that his blood is still spilling out. And,' She turned to glance over her shoulder, only to see a spiraling gun barrel before her eyes. Mukuro was standing behind her with a handgun pointing straight at her face. 'her as well. I have to take care of her.'

"... Never thought we'd meet again like this, especially seeing you saving like that. Did you go soft or something, Naze-senpai?" Mukuro said, coldly glaring at the calm Naze.

Naze snorted loudly, "Me? How about you mercenary bitch? You don't usually start talking to your prey. What's with the sudden urge to start a small talk?"

"You can say it's a last act of mercy I'll give for you both, having reach this far to get back to the surface and undone this whole thing... that's really commendable and deserves some respect." she replied with a straight face.

"... No. As a soldier, especially THE ULTIMATE SOLDIER, you are duty-bound to follow your orders to a T. You would never, ever act upon your emotions during a battle." Naze's eyes narrowed, admittedly bewildered at the soldier girl's actions.

"So please tell me, Ikusaba Mukuro. What are you doing here and trying to kill us? I assume we were trapped here as entertainment for your sister and your other companions."

"..." Mukuro was silent. But her eyes went dead for a moment as she gripped her gun's handle tighter.

Naze caught on to her expression and movements, and was further confused. Did something went wrong? She is injured by some strange items but she never thought deeply on it.

Did the ones opposing Junko caught on to her already and has probably defeated her? Judging by Mukuro's expression that seems to be the case...

But why does Naze still feel a sense of unease?

"... Everything has gone to hell." Mukuro's mutter was heard by Naze. She looked at the former's face and saw only a dead expression. "My dear little sister's plan was supposed to be perfect, our dream of painting this world with despair and forced some of the students into the Flask facility was supposed to happen."

She grounded her teeth, "But then, it all comes crashing down when she was affected by the despair video."

Naze's brows narrowed, "She?"

"That damned student council president–" She replied but before she could finish, a ethereal blue glow suddenly flickered through the air and flashed before both the girls' respective visions.

It was an arrow. A glowing, blue energy construct arrow that was fired from where Mukuro was facing and behind Naze. The arrow pierced through the air, right between the two, before a sharp hiss sounded out as it pierced through the former's chest.

"Argh..." Mukuro spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes dilating, with a "klack", the gun she was holding dropped to the ground and she promptly slumped to the side.

Stunned, Naze turned around quickly to see who had fired the arrow. To her surprise and relief, she saw Zenkichi standing there with a glowing blue bow construct that brightly illuminated his face.

He lowered his Reishi bow, dissipating it, and smiled.

"Hey. Told you I'll catch up."

Naze was speechless by his entrance and let out a snort, "You took too long."

"You try knocking out Kurokami Medaka, without tearing off any of her limbs or cause any other permanent life injuries. She... wait, is that? R-Ryota?! Hold on man!"

.....

More...More! Let there be more despair! Blood and chaos be spread!! Offer thy blood, to the blood god! Wahahahahahaha!!!

But jokes aside, the dark themes will end soon and hope will cometh in the next chapters. And I know some of you might be wondering, "uh, what about the ones that died? and this whole fiasco? It won't be easy cleaning this up and getting the characters some therapy" and right you are. The solution for that is... with the system! I won't be spoiling anymore!

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