putting them in little outfits like a dress up dolls or perhaps a barbies
maskless makoto + spoilers under the cut!
id like to think they were on a normal date and then a murder happened so now the date is investigating a murder and sending each other coded messages through the notes app of number one's throwaway phone
what if we were raised together but also raised apart, unaware of each other until the day we meet and then- only then- do our lives begin to make sense?
more lore under the cut! (it's a lot)
The labs raised them in somewhat the same way- and both methods dehumanizing. Yuma solves a puzzle for a juice reward. Makoto solves a puzzle to avoid getting shocked. Both get shocked at the slightest display of disobedience anyway. Both have strict routines and regimes where every aspect of their lives seems set in stone. What the scientists didn't take into account was that raising a little genius in such conditions will eventually backfire.
They both escape their labs on the same day, shortly after they turn 20. They also name themselves Yuma and Makoto around this time, only being referred to beforehand as "Subject No. 01" and "Subject No. 02." These escapes simultaneously piss off the researchers but also fascinate them- how much of their identical choices were made based on nature vs nurture?
For the first month traveling alone, Yuma spent his time trying and failing to do everything alone. He eventually receives the help of a stranger and starts helping random people, learning he'll receive kindness in return.
Makoto spent his lonesome travels scraping by and barely surviving without the assistance of anyone else. He's still bitter and angry about what the scientists have done to him. He regrets not burning the whole institution to the ground.
They both meet at a bar, where they, of course, instantly recognize each other's faces as their own. After a lot of guarded questions, they learn that they were both cursed with the same upbringing.
So Makoto asks Yuma to help him return to the Amaterasu lab and exact revenge.
Yuma doesn't wanna hurt anyone, but agrees to come along... with ulterior motives! He wants to show Makoto that this world isn't so bad, and dwelling on getting revenge isn't everything. Think like the core relationship in Mad Rat Dead, between Heart and Mad Rat.
And why is Yuma so stuck on this pacifist philosophy? Well, he'd already gotten his revenge. Turns out, putting a bullet into the head researcher who raised him only made him feel hollow and scared. He doesn't want Makoto to go through the same thing.
They meet the other cast members on the way, doing odd jobs and favors for them and forging small bonds with all the strangers they meet. They help Halara, a pet rescue volunteer, get a cat down from a tree and in return Halara teaches them a few survival skills. The meet Fubuki, who is lost in the supermarket, but it's also their first time in the supermarket so they all end up going on an "adventure" together until the clones escort her back to her limo. She tips them a fat wad of cash that keeps them fed and housed in hotels for like 3 months. They help Desuhiko, an up and coming music star who's anxious about getting on stage. The decide to do an opening act as a comedy duo- Makoto and Yuma are familiar with street performing for money after all- and it not only has the audience in a good mood but eases Desuhiko's anxieties. The clones see their first concert together and it's the most fun theyve ever had. Desuhiko, in return, patches up their clothes for them (though, they do end up messing the clothes up again later, lol) with his impressive sewing skills. They save Yakou from getting beat down by some debt collectors and Yakou lets them crash in his shitty little apartment for a while.
This is really just a really endearing and cute road trip story in my head. It starts off tragic but once they get out it's just two guys who only understand each other trying to explore a whole new world while making other lives better.
They eventually reach the Amaterasu lab again, but by that point, Makoto doesn't have it in him to exact revenge anymore. He hates the place, but it was still his home. It's complicated. He tells Yuma that all he wants to do now is keep traveling the world together.
That's when Yuma reveals he's been secretly planning with the other people they've helped together to expose the laboratory for the corrupt place it is and get it shut down. That way they can get their revenge the right way. Makoto is ecstatic.
After they expose the dirt on their respective labs and have those places shut down, they're free to travel together again and continue helping any random people they see who need it <3
if anyone has any questiosn abt this au ill gladly answer bc it's rotting my brain <3
