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pyropsychiccollector · 7 years ago

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Danganronpa, Another IF: Goodbye Despair (Prologue)

“Makoto…!” Mukuro Ikusaba called out to the Luckster as she dashed over to him. Contrary to the usually stoic expression she had on her face two years ago, Mukuro appeared genuinely concerned and emotional. The area around them had previously been a battlefield – before that, it had been a city – and the sky was tainted a blood red. The soldier gave a quick once-over for any injuries, but there didn’t seem to be a hair out of place, so she didn’t have to fret over his wellbeing… Yet she still did, because this was Makoto… “I told you not to go running off on your own! It’s not safe

Naegi just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Sorry for worrying you, Mukuro! I just thought… with this area cleared…” He trailed off in embarrassment.

Mukuro sighed patiently. The Luckster didn’t need to explain himself anyway; she knew why he had gone off on his own. It didn’t justify his actions, but, at least she could understand.

That was Makoto for you, though. Transparent as an open book, friendly as a scruffy little puppy… Just as adorable as one of them, too.

… But don’t you dare tell him.

He must never know she has such thoughts….

“Makoto… You know you can’t confront these people by yourself…” Mukuro told him softly, but firmly. If it was common Despair soldiers wearing Monokuma helmets, Mukuro might trust Makoto to handle himself…

But Makoto was wanting to meet with the Ultimate Despairs themselves. Or, as they were known since Junko’s death, the Remnants of Despair. And while they had managed to capture a few of the Remnants… it was through force, not diplomacy. They were known as million-class murderers because they had earned those violent reputations… Compared to them, their former classmate Genocide Jack (Touko Fukawa’s alternate personality) would have looked normal, and that was saying something.

Hiyoko Saionji and Ibuki Mioda were in their custody, as was a man impersonating their former classmate, Byakuya Togami. They were the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, the Ultimate Musician, and the Ultimate Imposter respectively. Despite their fearsome reputations, through some… miraculous luck, the Future Foundation had yet to realize just who was in their custody. Even with a mole for the Ultimate Despairs lurking within the walls of Future Foundation, Makoto had found it amazing they’d been processed and confined like regular Despair agents. Mukuro wasn’t too surprised; given that it took them watching Junko’s Killing Game to work out that Junko was behind everything. The Ultimate Despairs didn’t exactly advertise that they were the leaders of the apocalyptic movement – there were just whispered rumors about their existence, and even then, there were a good number of Future Foundation personnel who assumed “Ultimate Despair” referred to just Junko. And they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong; while Class 77 were technically Ultimate Despairs like Mukuro had once been, Junko had been something akin to Despair incarnate. The problem was the ambiguity about the title. It did refer to a group just as much as it did Junko herself. Junko meant for it to be confusing that way.

And yet, as accountable as they were, Class 77 were just as much victims as perpetrators. Junko had made them into Ultimate Despair, twisted their very natures. Future Foundation higher-ups would never acknowledge that, only look at their innumerable crimes. Foundation policy was to exterminate Despair, not save people who had been brainwashed into a ludicrous cause.

Naegi and the rest of Class 78 knew, though. Knew the kind of people they once were. Thanks to Miaya Gekkogahara and Fujisaki for going over Yasuke Matsuda’s notes, they were able to restore their memories of their school years. And they had a plan to save their former senpai. Two years later, and they were finally making strides to round them up. Makoto didn’t like that it took this long to make progress, but the Future Foundation hadn’t made it easy for them since escaping – and that was largely because… they wanted Mukuro executed for working directly under Junko. It took… all of her surviving classmates to stand up for her changed character, as well as the Foundation’s leader, Kazuo Tengan, to earn Mukuro’s right to live… her right to atone. In spite of the victory, they had all been watched closely, and had been heavily evaluated by Gekkogahara, the Ultimate Therapist, to make sure they weren’t tainted by Despair.

Two years… But finally, the Foundation was allowing them some mobility. They’d split ways for the time being; Leon and Mondo were absorbed into the Sixth Branch, the custody enforcement unit; Celes joined the Tenth Branch, which dealt with reviving education and culture; and Fujisaki joined Gekkogahara in Seventh Branch, as he had a personal collaborative project to be working on with the therapist. The remaining four – Makoto, Mukuro, Sayaka, and Kyoko – remained in the new Fourteenth Branch, which was more or less set up to keep an eye on Class 78 as it was to stroke the Foundation’s ego so to speak, spreading word about their efforts to fix the world. Makoto and Sayaka actually fit quite well with this branch, but Mukuro was forced to remain a part of it because the Sixth Division Head, Juzo Sakakura, didn’t trust the Ultimate Soldier to work under him, believing she’d sabotage their branch at every possible turn; he and Kyosuke Munakata, the second-in-command of the organization, were the most suspicious of Mukuro out of everyone in the Foundation. As for Kyoko… while she would have been a fit for the Sixth Branch, being a detective, she wanted to become a Division Head so Class 78 could have some authority in the Foundation, even if it wasn’t much. Makoto would’ve taken up the role in her place, but because he defended Mukuro so fervently, he was under heavy suspicion as well, “Ultimate Hope” title or not.

“Must you make so much noise…? I do not know which is more astonishing… that you are arrogant enough to lower your guard this deep in enemy territory, or that you have not been attacked yet…”

Mukuro’s eyes snapped wide open, and her entire body tensed as it moved to get in-between Naegi and the newcomer. She knew that voice. It was little wonder this man had evaded her sharp senses… But even so. She hadn’t expected a confrontation so soon after leaving Hope’s Peak… Hell, she’d wondered if she would ever see this expressionless face again.

“Makoto, stay behind me.” Mukuro sternly told the Luckster. Still, he couldn’t help himself as he peeked over her shoulder at the newcomer. The man seemed rather tall and lanky, wore a pressed black suit, and had very long untamable dark hair that ran far down his back. What’s more, while he was expressionless and didn’t seem to have hostile intent, the man’s red eyes were intense, and Makoto felt himself fixated on them.

“How come, Mukuro? Who is he?” Makoto asked instinctually. Though Mukuro was protective, he’d never seen her so… unsettled. Like a cobra waiting to strike at any moment.

Mukuro didn’t get the chance to respond.

“You know you cannot fight against me and win. If I so desired, I could knock you out and take Naegi with me… If I wanted, I could kill you both.” The young man spoke in a light, flat tone, as if they were just talking about the weather. “Why do you insist on confronting me? I happened to be passing by, for I have luck as well… There is no need for conflict.”

Unsurprisingly, Mukuro didn’t buy that. Ever since meeting him, he had always rubbed her the wrong way… And that did not change, even with her being against Ultimate Despair now. He was dangerous. And any threat to Makoto needed to be treated cautiously…

She would not lose Makoto.

“Then why are you here…?” Mukuro could not conceal the suspicion in her voice, nor did she have a desire to.

The man continued to regard Mukuro expressionlessly, and Makoto grew all the curiouser. There were few who could face-off with Mukuro and not be intimidated… Most of them were simply unfamiliar with her talent, but there were those who knew she was the Ultimate Soldier and refused to be intimidated – because they had an intense hatred for her, and wanted to see her dead. Back during their school days, Sakura respected her as a warrior, yet was unafraid of her because she could handle the soldier in a straight-up fight…

This man felt like he fit into that last category. He just didn’t show emotions, and they seemed familiar with each other. What sort of talent did he have? He had to be an Ultimate for Mukuro to be on edge, and for him to face off with her like this…

“I came to talk with Naegi.” The young man intoned flatly. He eyed the Luckster from over Mukuro’s shoulder. “… Alone.”

“Absolutely not. Out of the question.” Mukuro hissed furiously. The man raised an eyebrow at her dully.

“I do not need your permission. I will be talking with Naegi. Whether I have to incapacitate you first to do it will be entirely up to you…” As her defensive stance grew more rigid, he sighed airily. “I am willing to let you watch us from a distance, and you are even free to survey the area for threats first. … Though it will be pointless, as I have eliminated all Despair agents.”

Mukuro still seemed unconvinced. That is, until Makoto placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“It’ll be fine… I don’t know why, but I get this feeling we can trust him for now. If he’s the Ultimate Despair that was in the area… I wanted to talk with him anyway.”

Mukuro shook her head fearfully as she looked back at him.

“M-Makoto, this man’s not like the others…! And there was supposed to be someone entirely different, but instead…!” She stopped as the man pointed to a location a short distance from where they were.

Crumpled on the ground was the unconscious body of a man who appeared to be in a fur coat… There was a wild look to his physical appearance, but he was clearly incapacitated.

“Tanaka Gundham, the Ultimate Breeder.” The man flatly intoned. “You are welcome to take him with you when you leave. All I require is a little time with Naegi…”

Mukuro continued to look uneasy. Conflicted. But… Makoto was earnest about talking with this dangerous man. And she was supposedly being allowed to watch them from afar…

Squeezing her eyes shut, Mukuro felt like she was going to regret this…

“N-No more than fifteen feet away…!” She bit out. The man just stared at her passively.

“… Acceptable.”

~*~

It had not taken long to rid Towa City of the Despairs plaguing it… Though Monaca Towa was formidable with her army of Monokuma’s, Celestia Ludenberg, along with Mondo Oowada and Leon Kuwata, managed to lead the Future Foundation to success. And they even managed to prevent the conflict from turning into a full-scale war…

The Warriors of Hope that Monaca manipulated, they managed to escape during the final battles… But Celes had let them go, as a sign of good faith.

In terms of hostages, they had saved most of them. Notable fatalities were Kirigiri’s grandfather, Sakura’s lover, and Hagakure’s mother… But the rest of the hostages, Class 78’s loved ones, they rescued them and put them under the care of Future Foundation.

Probably one of the better spoils of war… was the “Servant” that had been working under Monaca and the Warriors of Hope. They captured him, and discovered he was one of the Remnants of Despair that Mukuro gave them details on.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised…” The white-haired man smiled amicably at Celes as he was handcuffed. “With such bright beacons of Hope leading this Towa City operation, it’s little wonder the Future Foundation overcame the Despair here. Still, I’ll confess I never saw you capturing me. To overcome my abysmal luck… You must truly be worthy of your Ultimate Gambler title!”

Celes narrowed her eyes at the man, electing to say nothing as he was taken away.

Nagito Komaeda. The Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 77. It was suspicious how he didn’t put up a fight, but then again, he didn’t seem like the other Remnants they’d captured… Unlike them, he seemed to have a fascination with Hope, even if he was a bit… obsessive about the topic. That, and he was arrogant to anyone who didn’t possess a talent…

Still, he was processed like all the other Despairs…

~*~

“My, my~ What’s a sweet little morsel like you doing, stepping into my kitchen?” The chef wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he stepped out from behind the counter.

Though she was dressed rather seductively – wearing a skirt that didn’t even reach her knees, a tight shirt that revealed her ample chest, and a coat with a fur fringe that she’d loosened around her bare shoulders, showing them off – the blue-haired woman beamed with a tinge of uneasiness at the young chef’s perverted leer.

“Oh, well, you know… I was just looking to order some sort of meat dish.” The woman’s smile twitched the slightest amount.

The chef in red widened his eyes as a stream of blood spurted from his nose.

“Oho… Ohohoho… I think I can help you find just what you’re lookin’ for, my dear… My culinary abilities are second to none.” As the brunet chuckled uncontrollably, the blue-haired woman turned around to walk back to the front of the diner, where there was meat on display. As she did so, she made sure to shake her hips sensually.

“Then, come and help a girl out~…” She beckoned him, and she heard the excited footsteps of the stout chef behind her.

She didn’t miss him secretly picking up a butcher knife while her back was turned…

“Avril Lavigne…! I never thought I’d see the day a goddess stepped into my quaint Hanamura Diner!” The man gushed. Again, the woman ignored his perverted antics.

For a while, the woman seemed to genuinely peruse the selection of choice meats. The chef explained each of them in vivid and exquisite detail, while the woman patiently listed. And when it finally seemed like the woman had settled on her choice…

“Oooh…” The chef moaned as he fell forward, unconscious. His knife fell from his grasp and clattered on the floor. Behind him stood a short-haired woman with narrowed eyes.

“…” The soldier said nothing as she glared somewhat moodily at the blue-haired woman.

“I thought you were out on another assignment?” The blue-haired woman pouted. She’d been prepared to knockout the chef before he could try to murder her.

“I finished up early.” Mukuro deadpanned. “Happened to be in the area.”

“I had it under control!” She insisted stubbornly.

“You’re a little too good at seduction…” Mukuro deadpanned again, though the accusation was clear. The blue-haired woman just laughed it off.

“Relax! It’s just practice for Makoto-kun, anyway. I’d never cheat on him.” Never ever.

Mukuro didn’t seem convinced.

“… You will be watched.” The soldier decided, dragging Teruteru with her as she left. Sayaka huffed as she crossed her arms moodily.

“Not like you aren’t doing that already…”

~*~

“There we go…” The nurse panted as she finished strapping in her ‘patient’. She stroked his face intimately – the man was gagged, unable to reply. But his pleas for her to stop could be heard, muffled through the gag. “Shh, shh… I’ll make everything better~… Make the ouchies go away.”

To the man’s dismay, the nurse climbed on top of him, with a needle that had an ominous pink fluid within the attached vial. In the dim green light of the ‘surgery room’, the nurse’s red eyes glowed with malicious intent.

However, just as she was about to inject the man with the needle, a second woman broke into the room, taking a firm hold of the nurse’s wrist and revealing she, too, was not ‘normal’. She was on some sort of drugs that enhanced her strength, and as such, it did not take all that much for Seiko Kimura, the Ultimate Pharmacist, to subdue the Ultimate Nurse…

~*~

The factory was a madhouse. Motorcycles were revving all over the place, running over normal-sized Monokuma’s while avoiding the larger ones. The pink-haired overseer of the facility waved his fist at the idiot bikers who were disrupting his work, but he went largely ignored.

At least until a man with an aippa – a cross between an afro and a pompadour – somehow managed to get his bike up to the upper level where the mechanic was holed up, and gunned straight for him. Obviously, the mechanic panicked with a motorcycle bearing down on him, but then he grinned maniacally before revealing he was well defended. Two Monokuma’s that towered seven feet each climbed up the railing beside him and knocked the biker off his ride and destroyed it before it could harm the mechanic.

“Hehe! Serves you right for underestimating me!” Kazuichi’s shark-like grin earned a growl from the biker who was now crouched on the floor and looked ready to pounce.

Just as the mechanic maneuvered his Monokuma’s to advance on the biker, though, there was a sort of rumbling sound throughout the factory as everything – everything – abruptly stopped working. The machines that produced the animatronic bears, and even the bears themselves – they all shutdown. Kazuichi hammered at the controls in anger.

“Get up, you damn machines…!” Souda howled in fury. But as he was caught up in trying to regain control of his factory, Mondo took that opportunity to get in close and knock him out without a moment’s hesitation. And then as he scooped up Souda and slung him over his shoulder, Mondo noticed his friend’s smiling face flash across the terminals all around the facility.

Chihiro Fujisaki had taken over the main Monokuma production facility. Near effortlessly at that.

“Way to go, kid!” Mondo grinned as he gave the programmer a thumb’s up.

~*~

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu stood arrogantly in front of an organized faction of yakuza wearing Monokuma helmets. He was facing down Kyosuke Munakata, who was similarly backed up by a faction of Future Foundation soldiers.

A harsh wind blew past, and then a swordswoman appeared out of nowhere, assaulting the Future Foundation’s second-in-command. However, Kyosuke repelled her easily enough, and Peko skidded back to a defensive position as she stood between Munakata and Kuzuryu, the gangster’s sole red eye glinting dangerously.

Peko was soon joined by two others – Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai. Both had their dukes up, and looked like they would fight to the bitter end. On Munakata’s side, the Great Gozu, Juzo Sakakura, and Sonosuke Izayoi appeared to even out the battle of Ultimates.

It would be a drawn-out and intense battle… But the four Ultimate Despairs were detained and processed like all other prisoners of war.

~*~

“Well, would ya look at that!” Leon grinned roguishly as Mukuro dragged in the last two Ultimate Despairs. Mahiru Koizumi and Sonia Nevermind.

“They were both in Novoselic…” Kirigiri pointed out, glancing at the soldier shrewdly. “How did you…?”

“They were ‘donated’ to us…” Mukuro answered, glancing off to the side toward a camera in the room. While Fujisaki could wipe the camera feeds, they still had to be cautious while within the Future Foundation.

Regardless, Mukuro’s answer explained everything for the Ultimate Detective. Clearly, the man who had spoken to Naegi had done as he’d said, and had rounded up the Ultimate Despairs that they would have had the toughest time acquiring… It made Kirigiri suspicious that both Makoto and Mukuro would not reveal who that man was, but that was apparently part of the bargain in order to round up all the Ultimate Despairs. The man’s identity could not be revealed to their friends.

It pained Makoto to keep that information from them, but… even with Mukuro’s knowledge of Ultimate Despair’s movements, it would’ve taken an even more considerable amount of time to capture them all; time that the Future Foundation would have used to discover just who these Despairs were. And Class 78 couldn’t let that happen – not when the Future Foundation would have executed them all on the spot, upon discovering their identities as Ultimate Despair.

~*~

Though all of the Ultimate Despairs were rounded up after an intense period of months… There was one more Despair agent that Mukuro wanted to be rounded up with Class 77. She would be the trickiest because she was one of the Division Heads of the Future Foundation, and getting her alone took quite a bit of time and effort to arrange…

But they did it. They accomplished what they set out to do. The abandoned Future Foundation facility on Jabberwock Island had been converted by Miaya Gekkogahara and Chihiro Fujisaki into a rehabilitative facility, where the Ultimate Despairs would be placed into a virtual world program and have their memories wiped so that they could revert back to the people they used to be…

The ethics were questionable, but when the only other option was for Class 77 to be executed for being brainwashed into Despair, extreme rehabilitation seemed like the more inviting option. Yukizome’s disappearance would most likely raise some flags and put the Foundation on high alert, but hopefully between her leaving a message that she would be out of the office, combined with Class 78 taking a long confusing route to Jabberwock Island, hopefully that would buy them enough time to cure everyone.

… They should have known it would never be that simple… Not when their enemy was Despair itself.

#Danganronpa #Makoto Naegi #Sayaka Maizono #Mukuro Ikusaba #Makoto x Sayaka #Makoto x Mukuro #Naegi x Maizono #Naegi x Ikusaba #Naezono #Naekusaba

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