#and when he finds out junko did it herself she TELLS HIM it was to get him out of the house

[aparticularbandit]

Actually, I think you can make the case that emotional shut off numb IS Junko's primary state of being. That it's not so much I can only feel despair ever but that, as a trauma response, she shuts herself off.

Like...that's base Junko, separate from the other personalities she switches through. (And, yes, this happens in DR0, too, in her conversation with Matsuda in Book 2 Ch. 6. He specifically calls it out in the narrative: Enoshima changed her personality with no warning, as if she were trying on clothes....) The personalities aren't her; they're her...doing something else. In DR1, I'd say base Junko is that final argument when she talks about the air thing being connected to her, when she's most clearly her - but there's a specific point in the dialogue earlier where you can see it shift to that. For, like, one character beat, I think.

But that's not the point.

The point is that Junko presents the emotional numb as an extension of her boredom and hyper analysis, but the book in Ryoko presents it as a trauma response. And given what we can glean about Junko in terms of what she says in DR1 (that she cried out in despair when she was born, that she should never have been born (someone clearly told her that, although she might have started thinking that, too, at some point)) and how Monokuma talks about big brother/little sister stuff in DR2 (so far, anyway) (not just about causing pain, but particularly that Usami was the little sister who got separated at birth - taken in conjunction with never should have been born and everyone always asks why we have different names and it's not important - that very much suggests that Junko and Mukuro were separated at birth and that Junko was not supposed to be born)--

Look, when I say I'm building up backstory and am waiting to get through the games and the book to see if I'm proven wrong, this is basically it.

[hajihiko]

What did you make of DR3's explanation for how the characters became Despairs?

I dont like it. Here's a re-write i was thinking about

Ok note: this is what would have made the School Life thing more enjoyable TO ME. Not gonna fit for everyone obvi

Ok first of all. Junko loses most of her potential if you take away her being sneaky and manipulative, which we barely even got to see in the games, so I want that in ACTION.

Second of all, this takes time. More than just like a single moment of anime hypnotism. Junko was definitely working her suckers for at least a year. I dont know how that reflects on the timeline and I dont super care

-

Chisa's class is full of chaos, these are some of the rowdiest students you'll find. They have potential for getting along, but they're also Very Troubled, and Chisa is a kind soul who tries to help them out with various issues. Actual attention paid to these kids being, like, KIDS, but also having some major red flags in their backgrounds that could escalate out of control very fast.

Among others, she tries to get Chiaki to come out of her shell and interact with the others more. This is hard, because Chiaki is not exactly receptive to it at first, but theres a little bit of unity between all the students anyway and they slowly start becoming friends. Chiaki uses this friendship guidance to befriend a lonely boy who often stares longingly at the school, whom she's noticed by silently sticking to the background when he's around. This will come in handy later.

Until, certain students start hanging out with their junior of 1 year, who always seems to be kind of slinking around and hanging with at least one student a day. Chiaki notices this because a) shes very quiet and mostly goes unnoticed when she's in the background, and b) she only needs half her attention span to play games anyway.

The people Junko hangs around get noticeably worse, though not necessarily more divided; just sort of 10 steps backwards for every 1 step Chisa helped them take. The rude and mean ones stop trying to be kinder, the shy and meek ones retreat even more, etc. Chisa is at a complete loss with this, but Chiaki confides in her that it might be the new student making trouble. Chisa takes over, and encourages Chiaki to keep trying to make friends with the others, which Chiaki does.

(Mahiru gets scared into telling no one what happened / what she suspects happened in Natsumi's murder, and gets rid of the evidence, as advised. The evidence she throws away gets mailed to Fuyuhiko, who is encouraged to avenge his sister. Guess who orchestrated all that?)

Chiaki does not fall into Junko's claws, because she's quiet and unobtrusive and, importantly, less desperate for what Junko can give her than the rest is. Chiaki does, after all, have her teacher who took the reigns and told Chiaki to grab her own oxygen mask first, and her Lonely Boy to confide in, and whenever she starts to lose herself, he gently reminds her to stand firm. That's right, the secret weapon was the friends we made along the way, just like in the ending.

(Hajime is probably just doing things more or less like in the anime, maybe listens to Chiaki's growing worries about her semi-friends, shits getting fucked and the only conceivable way Hajime can help is by agreeing to be a lab rat obviously what else. Biggest downfall is wanting to be there for Chiaki, but not letting her be there for him in return. Because inferiority complex.)

Chisa goes to confront this troubled mystery girl; Junko catches her too and starts working her nasty magic- for example, did you know two of your students were a part of a murder? Aren't you supposed to be guiding them? Do you know what's really happening in this school? Do you wanna see the human experimentation they just started? Did you know your best friend is in love with your crush and you can't confide in either of them anymore actually? Etc.

Chiaki is all alone now. When she finally DOES confront Junko, once the whole class along with the teacher has been sort of indoctrinated and her Lonely Boy has ditched her and she's feeling a bit brave because of it all), Junko kills her horribly in front of everyone as they do nothing. Not because they were hypnotized, but because they choose to. This is what really marks the point of no return for them. Chiaki was a quiet and harmless and mostly very nice girl, and her death was pointless, and they were a part of it, and they got away with it.

Instead of being a practically perfect student council president, Chiaki has more of an NPC theme, falling into the background more but also being honest and nice and willing to work with people. Then later, obviously, she really is an NPC and repeats the process, but this time she manages to save her boy and therefore her class.

(I'm not opposed to Chiaki being JUST an AI and never a part of the class at all, but I havent thought about it as much so idk any good points)

Hajime retains the same themes, but gets to be more of a juxtaposition of Junko, sneaking into everyone's hearts by befriending them and helping them move forward instead of backwards. He wins with the power of friendship and all that jazz.

Everyone else gets way more accountability to take. No hypnotism or brain poking, just digging into the worst parts of themselves and then indulging them entirely (with the help of Ultimate Charismatic Cult Leader Junko). I think the most interesting thing about this whole narrative could be that Anyone is capable of intense cruelty, and Anyone can choose to be a better person moving forward.

anyway in my mind that's what happened differently.

[theamityelf]

What would happen if the class 78 Kamukuras (especially Taka) met Kamukura AU Makoto

Oooh, my initial thought was that it depends on how far Taka's character development got to go before Makoto was Kamukurized (assuming the other events of the Kamukura Wrangler AU still happened), but I kind of love this as a thing that happens before Taka has gotten far in his character development.

Like, Taka has had every opportunity to change his mind about viewing all the Kamukuras as abominations, including recovering a few memories of being Normal Taka, therefore learning that elements of his past self still exist in him, but he's stubbornly refused to change his mind. Makoto's reassurances don't sway him, the moments of humanity he starts to see in the others don't sway him. (It's partially his habit of moralizing normalcy, and partially the fact that his ever-increasing love for Makoto seems to validate his moralizing of normalcy.)

Then the scientists take Makoto, and they change him.

I'm imagining they have to knock-out gas all the Kamukuras in order to get Makoto away from them.

At first, Taka is in a state of half-hoping they returned Makoto to his family (because the alternative is unbearable) and half-planning how to make sure everyone in this facility dies. Just absolutely ruthless and undiscriminating justice. He stalks around, ominously quiet.

Yasuhiro is also ominously quiet, but he doesn't seem upset. He's almost vacant, compared to his usual vaguely-amused self. Just kind of drifting from room to room with a very ambiguous look, like whatever he sees in the future is actually holding his attention for once.

Hifumi draws a limp arm that is unmistakably Makoto's, and Taka almost straight up kills him.

Junko knows what's happening to Makoto through sheer intuition, and she feels the perverse stir of despair inside herself, bringing her something like pleasure even as she plots out the painful deaths of those responsible.

Kyoko and Chihiro both separately manage to sneak out of the Kamukuras' living area. Chihiro goes to look for Makoto, and Kyoko goes to look for files/records on Makoto, but they're both returned before they can find what they're looking for. (Kyoko got close.)

Makoto is returned to them scarred, shaven, red-eyed, and dressed in a hospital gown. He's just deposited into their room, in much the same way he was when they first met him.

He's in his Makoto Kamukura characterization, and I am undecided as to whether it's better if it's before he's even aware of himself as a person, or after. As in, it could be a somewhat responsive Makoto or a wholly unresponsive one. I think I'm going with unresponsive, for the drama.

Taka sees him, and he's devastated.

At first, he fully turns his back on him and walks away, saying, "Another abomination."

But after spending some time by himself (while the others try to get a response from this new Kamukura), he realizes that he wants to see him again. He doesn't want to discard the new Kamukura, because...

Because it's Makoto.

And Makoto accepted him for who he was, despite every reason not to, so he can't...

He can't abandon him over what they did to him.

He goes back to Makoto (and the others). The group parts for him, out of curiosity. Taka holds Makoto's face between his hands. Makoto's eyes scan his face, learning and unfeeling.

Red eyes. Kamukura eyes. But Taka can't bring himself to hate them.

"You're still in there," Taka says. "You are, because you have to be." He understands, now, why Makoto was willing to live among them for as long as he did. Willing to tell them about their past selves, even perform those selves for them. Why he smiled that sad smile every time one of them got the behavior exactly right, without any of the motivation. He understands that the same part of him that was unable to let go of Makoto before will still be unable to let go of him now, whether he is in there or not. "And even if you're not entirely yourself anymore, you're not going to be like me, because you're not going to hate yourself for what you are. You are not an abomination. You said that we are not abominations. You said that we're still the same people, at our core, and I have to believe you now, because I can't lose you. Okay? Makoto?"

And I'm thinking Makoto doesn't respond yet. He's still not quite aware of himself.

Taka has to hold his hand, take him to bed, take him to meals, etc. for a few days before Makoto suddenly speaks up to ask him, "Why did one of your eyes change color?"

And immediately he has everyone's attention again.

[repo-net]

How do you think Nagisa would react if the other warriors were the mastermind instead of Monaca

Oooh, that's a fun question. Thanks for submitting it, anon!

I'm going to assume that you mean if any of three other WoH had Monaca's ideals and goals rather than the pickle herself? I've actually never given this one much thought until you submitted it, but I'm always down to explore/give my own take on Nagisa's relationships with the other three kiddos.

To generalize the points I'll make, I think the one thing that'll stick with Nagisa finding out that Masaru/Jataro/Kotoko was pulling the strings is that he'd be able to stand his ground much, much better than how he took it when Monaca revealed her true motives, and he'd likely be able to keep himself composed; at least until the matter of expectations gets brought up.

Although Nagisa loves those three dearly and would put himself in danger before letting any of them get harmed, Monaca was a special attachment that he had. I've said this in previous posts, but I do think Nagisa's kind of had a hunch that there's something wrong with Monaca, and one reason why becoming leader meant so much to him is that maybe with that authority he can convince her to get to a paradise without like, committing a full-blown genocide.

I'll surrender that It's a little hard to imagine the three of them actually having it in them to lead something as diabolical as Monaca's plans, but maybe my imagination just isn't wild enough, eheh.

For the sake of storytelling, I think how this would play out in terms of the other Warriors getting sic'ed would be:

Chapters 1-2 are occupied by the two from Masaru/Jataro/Kotoko that aren't the mastermind, while Nagisa takes the lead in Chapter 3 and tries to deal with Komaru and Toko before realizing that he can't beat them, so Chapter 4 starts off with him as usual - trying to get both of them to leave Towa City before the eventual confrontation with one of the three other WoH being the mastermind. As for where Monaca would fit into all this, uhh. No clue. But she isn't really an important factor in this post.

Individually though, Nagisa's reactions to the three other Warriors being masterminds...

Masaru

More than anything, he's actually shocked. Masaru being the one is what would take him off guard the most. While Monaca broke him; it was because he repressed/denied the possibility because he wanted to believe he could trust her. This is an option he never accounted for, and it's because Nagisa thinks Masaru would be too much of a dunce to pull something like this off.

The initial reaction would be something akin to dismissal, before realizing 'oh shit, he's actually serious?'. That's when the anger kicks in. Not so much fear, but just pure vexation at the fact that he of all people thought that something as insane as creating a second Junko would be a good idea.

Nagisa'll threaten Masaru that he'll tell on Monaca, but Masaru at this point likely doesn't care. This version of Masaru likely rules through power and would probably just bullrush through his enemies to get his way. I could honestly believe in the idea that he'd be cruel enough to show Komaru her parents' corpses in a similar fashion to how the pickle did it. (Actually, all three of them should be able to...)

This Nagisa would probably want to throw hands with Masaru because his opinion on Masaru already isn't the greatest and he gets annoyed by him pretty easily; but having a reason to go from 'well he's kind of annoying but he's still a good friend to me' to actually hating him - it's a transition that gives Nagisa motivation to actually fight back. Though he'll probably realize soon enough that trying to hurt a P.E kid when the one thing you flunked in school is P.E would be a terrible idea...

Though self-doubt issues would surface, Nagisa would find it easier to deny Masaru's taunts and telling him that nobody expects anything from him in comparison to being told the same ideas by Monaca. This version of Nagisa likely makes it past Chapter 4 because he runs off to Monaca. Kotoko and Jataro are absent here, so Monaca and Nagisa would probably alarm Tokomaru about what's about to go down.

Jataro

"He was always kind of strange, but to think that this is what he had in mind all along...?" - That's what would settle in. Unlike with Masaru's reveal, Jataro's would make Nagisa put things into perspective for a bit as he realizes that maybe all those gross things Jataro told him were his actual thoughts and not just ways to get Nagisa to hate him.

Heck, I think he'd genuinely be wondering at first if this is just another one of Jataro's ways to get Nagisa to hate him, because Nagisa's aware enough to realize that Jataro might think Nagisa doesn't hate him unlike the other Warriors because he's been far more patient with him and doesn't pick on Jataro.

This one would have a much softer Nagisa - he'd ask if any of the other Warriors have been going overboard with their teasing/bullying and that's what's making Jataro act out like this. Even when he's already showing himself off to be evil, Nagisa would still be concerned for mask boy's well-being.

(Actually, that could be a motive for why a MM!Jataro would want to pursue a second gen Junko, no? Maybe because Junko was the only one who seemed to care for him/give him what he really wants, and now Jataro wants to have something akin to that now that Junko's gone.)

Eventually, Nagisa'll realize that Jataro's a lost cause and he'll turn his back on him. With Masaru and Kotoko absent from the Warriors here; he again tells on Monaca - but as strange as it may sound, I think Jataro would be much more eager to go after Nagisa and make sure he doesn't ruin his plans than Masaru. Nagisa still seeming to harbor some sort of pity instead of hatred towards Jataro would push the latter over the edge and he might just finish the job himself. Though of course, all of this is just speculation on my end.

Kotoko

All the masks finally come off here. And out of all three - Nagisa would be pretty quick to believe in the idea that Kotoko was puppeting the strings all along. This is less because of an inherent bias against her, thinking that she's always been evil; but rather that if anyone had the capacity to be so violently cruel, it'd be the one who's been an actress since she was born.

I feel as though the sequence of events that would play out are pretty similar to how it goes down with Monaca, and that's because Kotoko would know how to push all the buttons to set Nagisa off, and she already has the attitude/malice to pull it off if she were a much darker character than her canon self.

Since Kotoko knows how to push Nagisa over the edge and break him like Monaca did in canon; Nagisa's reaction here mirrors how he is in UDG proper - utterly defeated, but this time it's because Kotoko would taunt him, telling him that nobody would ever believe him if he tried to snitch on her, because who would trust the smart, calculating Nagisa over sweet, innocent Kotoko, right?

She'd also be able to lure Nagisa into doing her bidding in a similar fashion to Nagisa's - Nagisa doesn't have it in him to hurt Kotoko and she's fully aware of Monaca's crush on Nagisa; but instead of childishly teasing him over it, it's using it against him - maybe something along the lines of threating to harm Monaca if Nagisa tries to tell her/betray Kotoko.

Because of that, Nagisa's fate here is likely the same as it is in UDG. Gets 'crushed' by a robot at the end, never to be seen again.

[tala-bez-i]

At first sight II Chapter Five

(m!reader x Bonten!Haruchiyo Sanzu)

Fluff/slash/reader is male/cursing/BontenTimeline/drugs and alcohol mentioned/violence/blood/death

All characters that appeared in the Tokyo Revengers manga and anime belong to Ken Wakui.

Words: 3557

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I'm telling you, this is weird.” Okumura said as you were returning from the Red Light District. 

“You mean, only two people were even aware that Jun Takenaka had fallen victim to someone?” 

“What else? I know they had an informant that we might show up, but…” The man shook his head. “Who the hell is Ko-chan? Anyway, it doesn't matter. We need to focus on finding... Finding out Uncle Shou's identity. Were you also told that he was someone influential?” 

“Yes.” You said, feeling tense. It seemed that your partner didn't suspect anything of your sister, or at least that was the impression he gave, and you didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. One thing was for sure, you had to be careful at every step from now on and warn Tomoko herself. Shinji Okumura liked entertainment and often talked about it, but he was no fool. “Influential enough to get Nagasawa's sentence shortened.” 

“I hope it's not a prosecutor.” He grumbled, dissatisfied. “I'm not going to chase tails like a dog.” 

“We're dogs.” You pursed your lips and the man gave you a long look, then let out a short laugh. 

“L/n, oh, come on...” 

“Y/n... Are you listening, honey?” You blinked a few times when you saw Emi's troubled face in front of you. 

“I'm sorry...” You blushed, lifting the cup of coffee to your lips, only to find it empty. “Oh my god, I was lost in thought...” 

“No problem. Can I make you some tea?” 

“Yes, please.” She took the cup from your hands and you watched her go to the sink. “Where did we end our conversation?” 

“We did end?” She gave you an amused look, although there was still concern in them. 

“You mentioned that you and your friends had arranged to go to the hair salon, to the beautician for nails, and...” You scratched your head. “You have plans to celebrate your new friend Jenny's birthday at some club, right?” 

“Oh my god, Y/n...” The woman turned to you, wiping your mug with a cloth. Her eyes were wide and she looked even more worried than before. “That was over an hour ago. After that, I told you about a lot of other things, including what's being discussed in the lab... Maybe I should cancel...” 

“No, no. Everything's fine.” You protested quickly and smiled apologetically. “Everything's fine. I was just wondering about the latest case...” 

“The young guy with the slit throat?” She asked as she put the water on to boil. 

“Yes, Junko Yoshioka.” 

“Hmm?” 

“I meant Jun Takenaka.” You corrected yourself and Emi showed you two bags of loose tea so you could choose which one you wanted. You pointed to one and the woman made a portion for two cups. “Not everyone knew him from both sides…” 

“I see. Mimiko also mentioned today that Shinji spent a few hours in front of the computer, working on the latest facts you’ve managed to find out.” 

“We haven’t found much.” You crossed your arms over your chest, leaning back slightly. “Is she sure her beloved husband was working instead of spending time entertaining himself?” 

“Y/n.” 

You looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if we should visit them. You know, bring them something to eat and stuff like that…” 

“Mimiko has her hands full, you know.” 

“Yeah, but still... Just a little friendly get-together…” 

“You’re cute, but I’ll pass.” The woman laughed shortly. “It’s a bit too crowded for me.” 

You looked at her carefully. She had her back to you and you could see from her shoulders that she didn't seem tense. She didn't mind going to crowded nightclubs, but visiting her friends at their house, not even a small apartment, but a house with a pretty decent square footage, was too much. You knew where the problem was and your heart lurched again. Emi avoided going to places where there was more than one child, and Mimiko was pregnant with another. 

"So, when are you meeting your friends?" You asked, completely ignoring her hypocrisy. 

"We have Friday off, so..." 

"Okay." You smiled at her when she turned around and winked at her. "In that case, I'll grab a case of beer, a pot of curry and visit them myself." 

Emi stared at you for a moment, as if pondering something, but smiled brightly at you and nodded. 

“Just don’t drink too much, because I also planned to spend the night with you.” 

You pursed your lips slightly, knowing perfectly well what she meant, and cleared your throat once. You straightened up in your chair and smoothed down the legs of your pants. 

“You can be sure I'll be back on time, my dear.” You replied, and as soon as the woman placed the ready tea in front of you, you gently took her hand in yours and brought it to your lips, placing a soft kiss on her skin. “You can be sure I'll even be more sober than drunk, unlike the previous meetings with Okumura after work.” 

“Thank you and I'll hold you to your word.” The other laughed, stroking your face. “Because this time I have no intention of watching over you with a bowl.” 

“Cruel, evil and mean. Zero empathy and compassion.” You grumbled and the woman kissed the top of your head. 

“I love you too.” She said in a gentle tone and picked up her mug before heading to the living room where she was going to watch TV for a while before getting ready for bed. “Don’t work too long.” 

“I’m not promising anything, but I’ll try.” You replied, staying in the kitchen to sit in peace for a while longer before you tried to get another headache from analyzing the facts and information you had, not only about Junko’s case, but also refreshing what you had on your computer about Yuji. 

You were still holding back from looking through the new photos and recordings of Sanzu that Tomoko had given you. Sure, you looked at the files, but you didn’t delve into them as much as you had done so far. 

A thought popped into your head. What if, among the short recordings, you came across at least snippets of a conversation about something that could at least slightly steer you in the right direction? But maybe Bonten knew something about those few strange murders that only looked like they were responsible? 

Yes, you and Okumura had reviewed the files of the still open cases involving the murders of women who were involved in sex work and discovered that several of them looked similar to this latest one. 

The bodies of the women showed no signs of violence, apart from bruises on the ankles and strangulation marks. Only two out of six cases, not counting Jun Takenaka, had their throats slit. The number of victims was not particularly alarming, as it indicated that if all the victims had been murdered by the same perpetrator, he must have been taking breaks. 

There had only been seven victims in three years. Although it was not known whether more women had been killed in a similar manner in Tokyo and its prefectures. You all would have preferred it to be so, but on the other hand, maybe it would have been possible to rule out the syndicate members. 

Why did you think Bonten had nothing to do with it? Sure, they could have done it and confiscated the goods that belonged to them, but despite the fact that you knew that their ranks were full of mentally unstable individuals and full of psychopaths, sociopaths, and other perverts, you had a feeling that this was a dead end. If it were otherwise, Tomoko wouldn't have been hiding such information. 

Yes, she was working with them, but if the syndicate was actually responsible, she would have told you to stay out of it or destroy the evidence, which had happened more than once in the past. 

Why did you listen to her? You wanted to be a good cop and keep order and catch those who broke the law, but that was before you joined the gang and found out that one of them had a boy who stole your heart in a matter of seconds. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for him and nothing could change that. Not even the fact that he personally threatened to kill you. 

You tried to live far away from him, but you couldn't, and you had proof on your computer. You sincerely hoped that Emi would never find out about them... Although, it was close once. 

“Are you changing your perfume?” She asked one day when she was coming back from your small office with a small watering can in her hands. 

She had a thoughtful expression on her face, although her tone of voice was completely calm. Just a normal question announcing a short, casual chat between two people who were close to each other. 

“Um... No. Not really.” You answered her, feeling your cheeks begin to warm up. 

“Hmm... Quite floral. If not for you...” 

“It was supposed to be for me. Just a sample.” 

“Oh? Changed your mind?” 

“Yes... As you noticed, quite floral. Maybe even a little too much for me.” You laughed shortly and Emi smiled at you widely. 

“Thank goodness.” She sighed, stroking your cheek. “The scent is nice... But I prefer the one you're wearing now.” 

“Uh-huh.” You nodded and kissed the woman on the cheek. 

That was before you moved into your new apartment, and since then you've been much more careful with using the perfume that Haruchiyo Sanzu used to wear. That mysterious scent became even more private, even intimate, for you, and you only sprayed it in your office when you knew you'd have time to air out the room before your girlfriend got home. 

Exactly... 

You couldn't wait any longer. You got up from your chair and went to the aforementioned room, taking with you a cup of tea that your beloved had brewed for you. You sat down in front of your desk and turned on your computer, and after a moment you started browsing through the new contents of your secret folder. 

The first few photos were taken in a nightclub that you suspected belonged to brothers, Ran and Rindou Haitani. The pink-haired gangster was sitting comfortably surrounde by a group of amused women who looked to be of different ages, and you could tell at first glance that they weren't exactly sober. 

Next up was a short video recording where Sanzu focused his attention on one of the girls. She was quite attractive, you had to admit that. At one point, they exchanged a long look, the woman leaned forward as if to kiss him and then the man smiled gently. You could clearly see how, during a rather passionate kiss, the gangster passed the girl a small pill, which she swallowed immediately. 

You clenched your teeth and swallowed as if a pill had appeared in your esophagus. Your heart was torn between joy at the sight of a contented Haruchiyo and a feeling of jealousy. You didn't like drugs, you preferred alcohol, but it should have been you, not that girl. 

The corner of your mouth lifted slightly, seeing that the drug was starting to affect the girl, who fell onto the chest of the man interested in her and after a short moment, Sanzu carefully stood up from his seat, grabbed the half-conscious party girl tightly and led her somewhere, disappearing from the frame. The recording ended, but you knew perfectly well what happened next. 

The pink-haired gangster took her to a private room and used her like you had already seen many times in the previous timeline. Heck, you yourself participated in several actions when instead of choosing the path of a law enforcement officer, you stayed by Sanzu's side. 

In the next recording, from a completely different day, Sanzu was sitting right next to Manjiro Sano and talking to him. The Bonten leader had a dispassionate, completely indifferent expression, but in his coal-black... Like a bottomless pit eyes, some icy flame was smoldering. There was something to it, because even Kakucho and Kokonoi sitting next to him looked gloomy. You were curious what it was about, but the music in the background was too loud for you to hear anything... Although... 

“...tomorrow...” The voice sounded like it belonged to Takeomi, but you weren't sure. 

“That son of a bitch...” Kokonoi growled, his gaze shifting to whoever was next to the person who was secretly recording. “Isn't one enough of a problem for us?” 

“What can you do?” 

Mikey nodded and Sanzu moved away from him. The pink-haired man looked furious. 

“Take care of it.” The leader said and No. 2 grinned. 

It was one of those cruel smiles that sent a shiver down your spine over and over again and you knew that whoever he was hunting was going to get really bad. The police would probably never find the body. 

As the recording ended, you saw the reflection in the bottles, caused by the colored lights, and it hit you that the person who had risked making this recording - like probably a few others you had received - was Tomoko herself. 

You whistled quietly, feeling a little anxious, but you were aware of the fact that your sister knew perfectly well what she was doing. She wouldn't throw herself into the lion's mouth if it wasn't worth the risk. You would have to ask her what that conversation was about soon. 

You looked at your watch, which showed 9:40 p.m. and directed your gaze towards the door, which you had open. In the hallway, you saw the lights flickering, indicating that Emi was still watching TV, or at least the device was still on. 

You closed the folder you were browsing and got up from the chair to check how your chosen one was doing. When you looked into the living room, it turned out that the woman was sleeping soundly on the couch you had recently purchased. You approached her, turned off the TV and in the light of the street lamps, carefully lifted her from the comfortable piece of furniture and carried her to your bedroom, where the futons were already waiting. 

As you tried to lay her down as carefully as you could, you immediately thought that buying a bed would be a must... But of course, Emi insisted on sticking with a more traditional form of lounging, and you didn't have the strength to argue with her about it too much. 

“It's much healthier, Y/n. It's good for your spine...” 

“I'd rather have a bed though... It's easier to put someone on.” You wrapped your arms around her waist and pulled her closer to you so that her back touched your chest. “I'm getting older...” 

“You're not even thirty.” She snorted quietly. 

“And you don't weigh 99Ibs anymore.” You bit your tongue before the words could leave your mouth. You sighed quietly and pressed your nose to the top of her head to inhale the scent of her shampoo. “Okay. We'll stick to the futons.” 

You placed the sleeping woman on her futon and huffed through your nose in relief. You loved her and loved her deeply, but having a bed allowed for so many different sexual positions that... 

“No...” She mumbled in her sleep, gently grabbing your hand as you started to pull away from her. 

“It's okay, baby. Sleep...” You tried to gently pull away from her grip, but it only tightened. 

“Stay...” She mumbled wrapping her arms around you again. “Please...” 

“Emi...” Hearing her mumble a few more words, you gave in and laid down next to her, letting the woman press her body against yours. 

That was it for your work today. You listened to her calm breathing, feeling sleepiness starting to take over you. 

Maybe it's better that you don't stay up late today? After all, he was supposed to show up first thing tomorrow morning... Damn, you didn't even know the nickname of the black-haired man who promised to appear for a voluntary interrogation in the Junko case. 

You hoped he would actually show up... 

You were standing in front of a dark passageway that led to an even darker room, from which a disgusting stench was coming to you, which was probably so ingrained in your memory that you would never be able to forget it or confuse it with anything else. 

You wanted to scream, being completely aware of everything, when whispers appeared in your head, where your dream had taken you. 

A torture room in the basement, which was located in the Uchiyama’s house. 

Something you had left behind long ago and at the same time something that did not exist. 

You turned your back to the passage and took a few steps towards the stairs leading up. You had no intention of giving in to this nightmare again. You had no intention of looking again at the mutilated body of the woman you had found back then and who had haunted you in your nightmares. 

*rustle* 

You stopped when you thought you heard a rustling sound, but when you strained your ears, there was silence everywhere. You felt an unpleasant shiver run down your spine, and for a split second you thought your body would lunge forward to escape that place, but it was just a dream, and you had no intention of letting the nightmares get to you. 

*rustle, rustle* 

You sighed heavily and closed your eyes again. “Get over it, Yukiko.” The rustling stopped, and you could feel someone's presence in the air. “I know I have to get Yuji, because he's responsible for what happened to you, but...” 

“Y/n-chan?” You didn't expect that voice. It seemed to belong to a young woman, but... 

You turned around quickly and saw the wrong person. A young man dressed in colorful women's clothes walked out of the dark passageway leading to the torture room. His wig, interwoven with colorful streaks, was slightly dirty, but the figure still looked good. 

You looked into his face, which was covered in heavy, colorful makeup, and saw confusion and fear in his big blue eyes. 

“Junko?” You gasped, completely unable to understand what was happening. 

“Y/n-chan…” He made a sad face. “I can't find my purse. Haru-chan will be angry if something happens to the package.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Why is it so dark in there?” She asked, looking over her shoulder into the abyss. 

“Junko... You shouldn't be here.” 

“I know, but I lost my purse.” She stretched out her small hand towards you, with artificial nails of different colors glued to them. “Can you help me, please?” 

You took three steps forward and just as you were about to grab the colorful flea by the hand, the dirty and bloody hands of a woman emerged from the darkness and with one violent movement pulled Junko back into the darkness of the room before she could let out a cry. 

You opened your eyes feeling a weight on your chest that wasn't there before. You held your breath and looked down, and as soon as you saw the figure of Emi, whose head was the source of the weight, gently illuminated by the street lamps, you let out a breath of relief. 

You wrapped your arms around her, gently stroking her back with one hand. You tried to control your rapidly beating heart so as not to wake the woman and tried to recreate fragments of the dream in your memory. 

It didn't scare you like the previous ones, and you didn't know what caused it. It was because you somehow managed to get used to the stench of a woman's decomposing body or because this time Junko Yoshioka appeared in it. 

The muscles in your arms tensed as you realized that the young man had addressed you by name, but you pursed your lips and looked out the window, not fully covered by the blinds. 

Of course, Junko called you by your name. After all, it was the work of your own subconscious, which had combined a figure from two different timelines. That was all, nothing special. 

The woman sleeping in your arms stirred with a purr and you released her. She moved away from you, turned on her side so that her back was turned towards you and began to snore softly, leaving you with a feeling of strange emptiness. 

You suddenly realized that even though Yoshioka was a total extrovert and her presence was almost overwhelming, you wanted to talk to her again. Maybe even let her feed you cookies like you did when you first met her. 

Despite the fact that she was a drug dealer, she seemed harmless to you. 

The corners of your mouth twitched as you recalled the image of the tiny man beating Mochizuki with his purse. The colorful flea was harmless unless someone stepped on its toes. 

As quickly as you were amused, you grimaced even more and got up from your futon and headed to your small office, knowing that you wouldn't be able to sleep again that night. 

<PREVIOUS/NEXT>

[hodgepodgequack]

Emio Demo 2: Electric Boogaloo

So it’s been more than 24 hours since I beat the second part of the demo (I hate that we have to wait 5 days for the next part man) and I have some thoughts.

First of all, I called it when I said that Kuze knows Utsugi from 18 years ago (I was wrong about her being the sibling of one of the female victims though). Instead her connection is through the disappearance of her brother Makoto (haha Danganronpa reference) and Utsugi was in charge of that. Must be tough to see the person who was supposed to bring her brother home (and failed) after a murder that reminds her of the og incident.

So let’s talk about Makoto first. According to the game, Junko had not come home for some reason so he went out to look for her. Junko comes back (clearly shaken) and Makoto is nowhere to be found. I wonder if she came home late because the OG killer was targeting her and M someone managed to find her in time, but something bad happens to him. What happens: Killer kills Makoto and for some reason threatens Junko to not be a snitch otherwise he would come after her. (Also possible he abducts him for some reason and tells J to not tell or she will never see him again)

why this stops the murders completely I don’t know, but it is possible the killer thought he might have been getting caught soon and that’s why he stopped. But if that was the case he could have silenced her permanently right then and there. Unless she sees the act occur, killer knows she’s there but doesn’t see her and makes a bluffing threat saying I know who you are and if you snitch it will bite you in the ass. Hence she survives and comes home scared.

Who did it: Now in order to keep someone silent you need to bribe (or as mentioned beforehand threaten) said person or make them believe that no matter what no one will believe them. Maybe the culprit is a cop. And Utsugi works with the police. Maybe J can’t bring herself to trust anyone in the force (again another reason why he joins because if you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself). And that would explain why she’s standoffish towards U because she still doesn’t trust him.

Another Observation: the game mentions it’s a possibility that Makoto was the original culprit (because the murders didn’t stop until he disappears). He was old enough to pull it off. But that means something would have to have happened to him. Did he run away and leave a note that only J saw? Or did she see him messing with bodies and he asks her to hide his body because he can’t live with the guilt anymore now that she saw him and he offs himself.

Game is also adamant that the mystery man who went missing after the first girls death may know something (was he an accomplice I don’t know) there’s not much info I can theorize about him right now.

Kamis age is still not revealed to us in this chapter. Very very sus. I wonder if he is Makoto and he just has amnesia. Him and J could both be adopted or step siblings. Only problem with this is that J should recognize him.

Additionally the game mentions Kami can’t have a gun because he is a terrible shot. I wonder if at some point you have to pick between him and J to raid a place and the gun makes a huge difference. Hell I wonder if knowing said info can influence the game (because it is completely optional dialogue)

Speaking of potential game mechanics: phones. During some point of my gameplay I used to phone to call everybody that was in my contacts. While playing through Ayumis section, she gets a call from the protagonist (whether or not this is scripted I don’t know) and she doesn’t pick up. There’s also an option at some point if you call the office to leave a voicemail (which I didn’t take, I’m curious to see if anyone else did). I wonder it this is going to be a serious mechanic that at some point you need to call XYZ at this time or something bad is going to happen to them, or if it’s a way for the game to gauge the players playstyle (just like they did in the Girl who Stands Behind).

Now I’m not done talking about the demo part 2, but I’m going to leave this post here for now because it’s getting long and I want to dedicate more time to Kamada and the Taxi Driver is separate posts. See you in a bit.

[haunted-xander]

She woke up from the sound of her phone going off. Grabbing her phone she saw several missed calls from Ryota. She figured it'd be best to call back so he doesn't do anything drastic under the impression she's in trouble. "N-Nanami-san! Oh thank god you're okay I've been trying to call you for ages! I was just about ready to send a search team for you! A-are you okay? Where are you? Do you need help? Should I send someone your way? H-how did it go with the Remnants? D-did you find them? Oh please tell me they didn't hurt you I'm so sorry I never should've given you that info this is all my fau-"

"Mitarai-kun. Relax. I'm okay, there's no need to worry. I'm not hurt, just exhausted is all. Sorry for taking so long to reply, I was asleep and didn't hear my phone ring until now." She spoke softly and tried to calm him down. His worry was understandable, but unnecessary. "...And about the Remnants, I found both of them. The one lurking around the Reserve Course department was Koizumi-san, the Ultimate Photographer. Sadly, I didn't have much luck when talking with her and had to run away."

"O-oh, I see... A-at least you didn't get hurt..." When he next spoke he was noticably calmer, having been assured of her safety and well-being. "...W-what about the other one? Who was it?" Just as she prepared to reply, the door opened and Nagito and Izuru walked in. Nagito was about to say his greetings when Izuru put his hand over his mouth and shushed him. He got the memo and kept quiet, realizing she was in a phone call and was not to be disturbed. She paid them a quick glance before turning her attention back to her phone.

"...It was Komaeda-kun, the guy who was with me when we found you in the hidden room, if you remember him?" Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man in question slightly tilt his head, confused at being the subject of conversation. "Komaeda-kun... Ah, right! The guy that got shot... So he's a Remnant too... I-I guess I shouldn't be surprised..." He trailed off, sounding somewhat... disappointed? "...Yeah, but he's surprisingly friendly for a Remnant. He actually helped me when I... got cornered by a mob of Enoshima-san's followers." Technically not a lie, she did get cornered by a mob. She'll simply... not mention what happened to said mob afterwards.

"...I-I see... that's good- Ah! I-I'm sorry but I gotta cut out conversation short! I've got work to do, I'll talk to you later bye-!" He hastily ended the call, apparently getting some urgent work that needed doing. ...Ah, that reminds me. I should probably get going soon... If I'm gone too long the Future Foundation will start getting suspicious... "...Hey hey, Komaeda-kun, Kamukura-kun... When can I leave? I need to get back to work soon or the Future Foundation will get suspicious."

"You may leave whenever you wish. We never intended to trap you." Izurus voice was as dull and monotone as ever. "Ah, you're leaving already? What a shame... But I suppose we shouldn't hold you up any more than we already have. However, I think it would be a good idea to eat something first, no? Traveling on an empty stomach isn't any good, you know..." As he said that, Chiaki felt her stomach grumble. Now that she thinks about it, she hasn't eaten in a while... "...Ah, okay. Let's eat and then I'll go on my way."

She went downstairs with the two men and sat down by the dinner table. Izuru went to the kitchen to make food, so she was left alone with Nagito. They decided to make idle chatter, pointedly avoiding any topics relating to Future Foundation, Junko or despair. When Izuru returned with the food, they quietly ate their fill. Chiaki noticed that Izuru seemed to be paying close attention to Nagito, who was eating a rather small portion. I wonder if he's monitoring the amount Komaeda-kun eats... He is pretty thin. Maybe Kamukura-kun is making sure he eats enough?

After they were done eating, Chiaki got herself ready and went to head out the door. Before she could walk out however, Nagito hugged her from behind and rubbed his cheek against her hair. "I will miss you, Nanami-san... I do enjoy your company quite a bit. Ah, but far be it for me to keep you from your duties! A lowly servant like me doesn't deserve to do such selfish things." He hugged her tighter. "I wish you luck on your journey... May you birth a new, shining ray of hope for this despair-infested world we live in... Goodbye. For now..."

Finally, he let her go and she waved them goodbye as she walked out the door.

[flakytartart]

Cleanup AU for Trigger Happy Havoc because I'm unwell and love fictional reality checks and angst:

Everything is the same, except that remaining students are responsible for cleaning up crime scenes + executions. This rule* is introduced casually in the Gym after Sayaka's body is found (I forgot the exact scene but it's right before Spears of Gungnir). Monokuma says it's a students job to take care of their surroundings or something, but really it's just to fill them with despair. Bodies are to be left in the gym and will be collected by Monokuma.

*Technically students don't have to clean up crime scenes but if they don't they will remain intact. Face your peers or be reminded of them daily.

I'm not a writer + intimately aware of how each student thinks/acts so please don't bite my head off! She/they pronouns for Chihiro.

"Welp! Looks like you have 2 students to clean up after!" Everyone is too shocked and scared to approach Mukuro's body. Mondo drapes his jacket over her to stop everyone from gawking.

Half way through the 1st investigation, Yasuhiro (leaving the sleuthing to the professionals) and Leon (wanting to forget about...everything) hang out and eventually wind up back in the Gym. Wildly uncomfortable with being in front of yet another corpse, Leon starts to bag the strawberry blondes body before roping Yasuhiro in to help. Hiro leaves him to mop up the blood, stating that the prolonged exposure and smell is making him feel sick. Leon is left with his thoughts, staring at a bloody mop and wondering if he should've refused to participate in the killing game like 'Junko' did. Kyoko later tells him she'd like to be present at each clean up and would appreciate it if he didn't start one without first notifying her.

Sakura starts cleaning after Leon's body is crudely released from the pole and most students file out of the batting cage room. Mondo, attempting to uphold his manly appearance, helps her. Kyoko and Chihiro watch from a distance. Mondo questions how Leon could have such little self-control, attacking a (semi-)helpless girl like that. Sakura replies, saying that he was probably caught up in the moment.

Makoto dreads going back to his room and sits in the dining hall for a while before deciding that he should face his problems head on. He's a tiny bit relieved to find Kyoko and Hifumi waiting outside his door, offering to clean the crime scene in his bathroom. Makoto sits in his bedroom and waits, Hifumi does most of the actual cleaning (preferring to do anything than confront "what's left of beautiful Miss Maizono..."), and Kyoko carefully removes/cleans the murder weapon before bagging her body. The boys carry the bag to the gym for pickup and bid her one final farewell. That night, Makoto finds it almost impossible to fall asleep.

When Kyoko gives the okay, Sakura and Hifumi start clean up on Chihiro. Early on, Mondo forcibly replaces Hifumi, saying that he's "givin' me the creeps" and deems him unfit to properly handle the scene. Kiyotaka and Asahina stick around to give their partners (bro, for Taka) moral support but instead sit together and grieve. Despite her secret already being exposed, Mondo tries his best to give Chihiro respect by handling her fragile figure delicately, placing it gently in the body bag and fixing her outfit as best he could before zipping up the bag. Sakura notices Mondo's uneasiness and offers to take her down to the Gym herself. He reluctantly agrees.

There's nothing to clean up after Mondo's execution. Everyone horrified but extremely confused, unsure where he...went? Kiyotaka is crying his eyes out, unable to cope with his partners loss. Asahina (with Sakura standing nearby) attempts to calm him down while the other students check out the butter machine thing. Kyoko picks up the tub of butter and reads it's ingredients thoroughly, disgusted with her and her classmates situation. She hands it off to Byakuya, who reads it and unceremoniously tosses it to Yasuhiro, who either: a. freaks out and drops it, spilling all of it's contents, and it just. Being there for the rest of the time (funny but in a fucked up way) or b. is creeped out and gives it to Hina, who - with Taka - stores it in the kitchens fridge. Kiyotaka needs to be pulled away from the execution stage in the former and regularly checks up on 'Mondo' in the latter.

Other things that I can't properly hash out at the moment:

Celestia doing the bare minimum to help clean up after Hifumi (something minor like picking up and wiping his glasses), showing the smallest, tiniest bit of affection and possible remorse for killing someone who was nothing but good to her. Maybe scolding him under his breath for revealing her real name.

I want a scenario for Kiyotaka's cleanup but I feel like nobody would care??? That's probably just me being spiteful that the game yada yada'd his death but I seriously don't think anyone outside maybe Sakura, Asahina, maybe Makoto, and Hagakure would help. And I don't even think the last dude would even want to, it would just be because he was roped in to help. I hate reusing Sakura and Aoi for for the Chishimondo group but in my mind they're seriously the only ones that give a damn about them (outside of Leon)

There could be a clean up for Celestia, but I don't know who would step up to do it. It would actually be pretty easy clean up wise since there'd probably be less blood than other deaths. Sort of same problem as Kiyotaka, as Hifumi isn't there to care :(

On a realistic note, I don't think anyone would be able to move Sakura's body, she looks quite heavy. They wouldn't want to keep her there in that room, but I'm not sure how they'd go about it. Also I don't know if Hina would have the guts to help? She's a real peach but cleaning up your partners suicide sounds like an emotionally draining and impossible task.

Mukuro's body gets put into a body bag...again. Kyoko investigates it long and hard before the boys carry her away. The group actually has a pretty damn hard time with this one because her body is in such a gruesome state after the explosion. :( Toko could've helped since there was no blood on the body, but because of the explosion she was in no shape to help carry bodies down multiple flights of stairs.

Since this clean up thing is one of the few changes to canon in this au, the morgue freezer room still exists and has each student in a slot.

I don't think Junko would have a cleanup, but idk maybe if you want to get emotional/melancholy they could wipe up her blood for the last time out of like ermm weird classmate affection idk

I CAN'T THINK RN SO THIS IS ALL I HAVE i'll probably rb with more or add it on later idk. Would love to hear what others think would happen 😗✌️

I would love to do this for SDR2 but with the entire thing being a simulation I think it wouldn't make sense for dead bodies to remain (DRV3 has a similar problem I think? I didn't finish it yet but have been spoiled about what's really going on). Idc I'd still love to hear things for those characters, it's fun to imagine!

[dragon-in-the-watery-bowl]

New Beginnings (Can Be Possible)

Some more Ghost AU fic, related to the Danganronpa IF AU.

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that a good chunk of the class wasn't in the nurse office anymore.

Thankfully, he was soon told that his missing classmates were, after breaking in and, rummaging, inside the rooms that the master- no, Junko, locked down to find anything they could use to fight back, and escape, now trying to find Mukuro, who had went somewhere in the building to keep Junko distracted, so they could find a way to escape with her help.

The pain of both the spear that had stabbed him and his memories returning in disorganized clumps was still unbearable, but he still wanted to see Mukuro again, so he immediately pleaded to them to carry him to were everyone else was now.

His classmates, and Utsuro, he had realized belatedly, looked at him with uncertainty, clearly still worried about his injuries, but they still complied with his request, with Kyoko personally taking the role of his crutch, one hand laying his arm around her shoulders and the other carefully situated against his waist, slowly helping him walk through the building until he finally saw everyone else, nervously waiting for Mukuro in the hallway where their rooms were situated.

He was about ready to leave Kyoko's grasp, and amble towards where the rest of his friends were, when he heard the noise of a vehicle approaching, jumping a bit in slight worry, and accidentally making the pain of his injury flare up once more, before he realized that it was Mondo, arriving to the room riding in a outlandishly decorated bike, who was being accompanied by a certain black-haired girl.

Mukuro.

He couldn't help but to feel glad she was ok after what it should have been a grueling fight against her sister, so he just told her that, which made her expression fall into one of remorseful sadness, before she got off the bike that Mondo probably had stolen from Junko.

It was clear that her past betrayal to them was hurting her, and probably she was feeling more alone than ever, now that she was against Junko too, so he talked again, trying in the process to ignore the pain he felt every time he tried to talk:

"Thank you Ikusaba... you saved my life"

His words had apparently cut deep into her, because her expression changed into one of confused shock, before she averted her eyes from him to the floor and let out a simple question from the sea of confused emotions that was now her voice "Why?"

He let out a noise in confusion at her question, which he wasn't sure if she had heard it before she continued "If Kirigiri told you, then you already know what I did, right...?"

Oh yeah, when he recovered consciousness after the impalement, Kyoko brought everyone to speed about what had happened while he was unconscious, including how Mukuro had confessed to her everything Junko and her did to cause the Tragedy and start the killing game.

She had to be seeing herself right now as a traitor and a monster undeserving of mercy nor kindness, but he could see, he could remember, that those thoughts weren't the truth about her, and he had to tell her.

So he did it:

"Well, I guess you're right, but... you also saved my life many times during these past two years... and..." Feeling another pang of pain on his side, he took a deep breath before he continued "You're my friend... we all spent time with each other... It could be great if you could look for a different path... not despair... and if there's any way I can help you, I will..."

"Do you really think I can walk another path at this point?" She immediately asked him, clearly still not trusting herself to feel hope after a life of living in the claws of despair alongside Junko.

It was a hard question to answer, he knew that, but he still had to do it.

So, with a smile on his face, he answered her with the words he told her earlier that day "I don't know what you can do... or ever what I can do... but I think it's more important to look for that path instead of actually finding it"

Once again, his words had broken through Mukuro's cynical barriers, finding their way again to the girl that had been buried under the mask of "the Ultimate Despair Soldier", before pulling her back to the surface.

And, for a moment, he thought that, if he were able to just talk to Junko, maybe he could be able to convince her into stopping all the despair business and just... end this madness.

But, before he could finish voicing those thoughts to Mukuro, the shrill laughter of Monokuma started playing through all the speakers, before Junko started talking to them, finally shedding the disguises she had been wearing these past days.

She told them that, now that the killing game had been ruined and she had been exposed, she will let them do a 'Graduation Exam' that, if it was successfully completed, they would be free to leave to the outside world.

But, if they failed the 'exam', she would erase their memories again, and the killing game would start anew.

Obviously, none of his classmates wanted to go back to that hell, to the point that some of them even started to argue against Junko's assertion that they would have already killed each other if the game had went like she wanted it to go, but she didn't cared about what they thought, she only cared about despair.

So, instead of hearing Kiyotaka's tirade against her, she activated a Monokuma behind Sayaka and and told her something that chilled her to the bone:

"What do you think, Maizono? Do you really think none of you will become a killer?"

After saying those words, Junko then lowered her voice while she kept talking to Sayaka.

He had no idea of what Junko was telling to her in those hushed whispers, but it had to be something bad, because her face blanched up and started trembling the moment the Monokuma opened its mouth again.

He wanted to run towards where the trembling Sayaka was, and kick the Monokuma away from her, but his injury acted up again, making him fall again against Kyoko's side, sight and hearing becoming static for a moment before he could hear her and Mukuro's worried voices and a trail of purple light shining around the edges of his vision.

A trail of purple that soon became Utsuro's face.

He was looking at him from his position over the panicked Mukuro, his expression looking as worried as the ones the girls had, but not saying anything before he turned his head to where Junko was torturing Sayaka, his expression changing once again to something he couldn't completely identify.

There was something strange about Utsuro, he knew, with his knowledge of the killing game, and those memories he had just recovered of the ghost having been his underclassmam before the Tragedy started, but whatever thoughts he had about him were interrupted by the noise of something crashing against the Monokuma, shutting it up.

When he turned his head towards where was Sayaka, he saw that the Monokuma's head had been pulverized by a crystal ball that now laid in pieces.

A crystal ball that had been thrown by Leon.

With her plan to plunge Sayaka into despair having been foiled, Junko went back to warn them about the 'exam' they had to do to escape from Hope's Peak, which they finally saw once Sakura told them that the units she had been fighting in the hallway were acting weird:

Two rows of Monokumas were on either side of the hallway, framing a lone Monokuma at the end of it that had a button that looked like the one he had won, and pressed, the previous day over its head, all of them rigged to explode in 15 seconds for the double purpose of destroying the button and burning alive whoever tried to seize the button before the last Monokuma exploded.

All for the purpose of Despair.

"Knowing how Junko Enoshima is, that Monokuma has to be carrying the real Escape Switch..." He could hear Utsuro say while his classmates argued about who would sacrifice their life to get the button, nodding absentmindedly at him before the two of them were surprised by a familiar girl walking besides him, and situating herself in between the Monokumas:

"I'll do it..."

He screamed Mukuro's name in a panic, but, besides turning her head to the side, he wasn't sure if she had heard him, because her attention immediately went to Sakura, who had put herself between her and the Monokumas to stop her self-sacrificial intentions, and whispered something in her ear before Junko's started to blow up the Monokumas.

Using the first explosions as some kind of signal, Mukuro threw the broken IV stand she had been carrying since she returned towards the Monokuma carrying the Escape Switch, before jumping and using the force of one of Sakura's kicks to propel herself towards the button, ignoring the damage the explosions had to be doing to her body, before she reached the last Monokuma, destroying it before Junko could activate its bomb.

And like that, a second before the 'exam' finished, Mukuro Ikusaba was able to obtain for them the key for their freedom.

---

They... won.

They actually won.

Mukuro Ikusaba was able to outsmart Junko Enoshima and adquired the tool needed to free Class 78 from the Ultimate Despair's clutches.

But they didn't left immediately, thanks to both the fact that Mukuro and Makoto's injuries still needed to be treated, and that the students wanted to pack both their personal belongings, and things from the school that they could use to survive in the outside world, before leaving.

It took them a while, but, once everyone was ready, Makoto pressed the button, finally opening the doors of the prison that should have been their shelter, and showing them the destroyed world that they had been forced to forget.

Mukuro was the first one who left, having decided to separate from the rest of the class to both protect them, from both Junko, who he was sure would use the data necessary to reverse the memory repression to lure the class to a trap, and the new enemies, both Despair and not, she had made thanks to her actions to both start and end the Tragedy, and to start her new mission to stop the Ultimate Despair.

After a heartfelt goodbye, they all saw how the Ultimate Soldier left to a fate unknown, before the rest of the class also left the building and searched for a new place to live, eventually finding it on a old, dilapidated, apartment building that was close to the school.

The settling of class 78 in the building was done mainly in silence, everyone clearly still trying to process everything that had happened just some hours ago, but he couldn't find in himself any interest to keep watching them work beyond a minute, so instead he decided to stay with Makoto, who had been left in one of the dormitories so he could rest his still tender injuries.

He assumed that the luckster would be sleeping, so he stood at his side, eyes focused on the bandaged injury on his side, before his mind was sent back to the past.

Back to a collapsing building, where he had been left behind by his remaining victims, and the only person who ever loved him was bleeding out on the floor, using whatever strength she still had to beg him to leave the building and live, even if that would doom her to an untimely demise.

For a moment, he couldn't help but to think about how she would be right now, pangs of happiness, pain and anger all flaring in his mind at how she would be living in the shadows of the collapsed society, carrying the curse he had to gave her to save her, and separated from each other until the day she would be given permission to die, before a voice cut through his thoughts, and dragged him back to reality:

"U-Utsuro...?"

Makoto was now looking at him, still in a resting position, but clearly awake.

Did he had become so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't noticed the luckster waking up? Or Makoto was already awake when he arrived, and he didn't even realized it?

Either way, Makoto Naegi was awake and aware of his presence, and it was making him feel very uncomfortable.

So he decided to leave.

"Oh, you're already awake. I'm going to leave now. Bye"

"Wait!" The other boy's shout made him stop and turn around to the image of him clutching his injured side, a grimace on his face, before he started talking to him again "You... you don't have to leave just because I'm awake, Utsuro. Also, I wanted to talk with you about something..."

"About what, Makoto Naegi?" He said after letting out an annoyed huff. He really wanted to leave the room already to be bored elsewhere.

"Well... It's that I just want to know if... if you've been lying to me all this time"

He couldn't help but to shot up his eyebrows at the luckster's words, before answering him "Why do you think that?"

"Because I can remember that your classmates called you 'Maeda', not 'Utsuro'"

That genuinely surprised him, never having expected that the boy in front of him to be so perceptive, a boy who then took advantage of his surprised silence to continue talking "And that's not the only thing I've noticed, Utsuro. First, there was the fact that you knew so much about the killing game, about Enoshima, and how they worked, and then, what I heard you say when I started remembering how we were told about how you and your entire class were supposedly murdered by the Reserve Course once they fell into Enoshima's thrall. Just..."

He then took another pained breath before finishing "Just, tell me the truth, Utsuro"

He didn't wanted to tell him the truth, he didn't found any reason why he should tell him the truth, but the both of them knew that he promised him that he would tell him everything once class 78 was free from Junko Enoshima's killing game.

So he told him everything.

He told him about the power he was cursed to bear since birth, about the greed his existence awoke on everyone who met him, the existential ennui that it rotted his soul with and how he accepted Junko's offer of becoming an agent of Despair in a selfish attempt to feel something again.

He told him about how he then destroyed the futures of so many people all in the name of Despair, eventually finishing his crusade of madness with dooming all his... classmates to their deaths through a disguise and a killing game no different from the one Junko tried to make with them.

And finally, he told him how he let himself die after the three last remaining members of class 79 fought against him, and passed the last remnants of his curse to the pitiful girl who ruined her own life in a attempt to repay him for the way he saved her from the hell that was once her life.

By the time he finished telling him about the monster he was, Makoto had grown unnervingly quiet, a blank expression on his face and his eyes looking down to his hands, that were now folded over his lap.

He was sure that Makoto would hate him now, now that he knows about everything he did under Junko's employ, so he got ready to leave the room, again, only to be interrupted once more by the luckster's voice:

"Wait!"

What he wanted now?, he couldn't help but to think in infuriation before turning back again to glare a hole through Makoto's head, something that made the man stiffen for a moment before he regained his composure, and talked again:

"Why are you trying to leave again?"

For a moment, he was sure he felt his eye twitch. What the hell was wrong with this guy? "Didn't you heard what I just told you? I helped Junko Enoshima with starting the Tragedy just because I was bored and I wanted some stimulation, I killed all of my classmates, your underclassmates, in a killing game made with the express purpose of give Junko Enoshima the best ideas to force you and your friends to kill each other, and I manipulated and hurt the only person who genuinely cared about me into walking to her own death. I'm a monster, why don't you hate me?"

Makoto didn't answered immediately at his rant, just sitting on the bed all quiet and still, and blinking at him in confusion, making him think that his naive brain just didn't wanted to process all the awful truths he had told him, until he finally answered:

"Well, that's because I don't hate you. Like yeah, I'll never approve of the things you did to help Enoshima with her plans, but I don't think you're a irredeemable monster, Utsuro"

It was official: Makoto Naegi was an absolutely naive idiot, and it was pissing him off "How many times I'm going to have to tell you, I-"

"Sorry for interrupting you, Utsuro, but please answer me one thing: If you truly were the despairful monster you say you were, then why you saved Akane Taira's life?"

Makoto's question immediately cut through the anger he was feeling, leaving behind silenced confusion.

Why he saved Akane Taira's life at the end of his own?

Since the moment he realized that he had become a ghost, he thought that he was sure he knew the reason why he did that, but now, thanks to that question, he found himself unable to believe his own conviction.

Why he did that?

Taking advantage of his surprised silence, Makoto continued "If you really were just as bad as Enoshima, then you would have left Taira to die from her injuries alongside you, instead of spending your last moments alive trying to save her. Hell, if you were as bad as you're saying you were, you would have made sure that the last survivors of Class 79 couldn't escape from the collapsing building, just like Enoshima tried to do with us hours ago"

He wanted to refute all of the luckster's arguments, he really wanted to do it, but he found himself unable to fight against his words, all the counter-arguments he could think just dying on the tip of his tongue, leaving him completely silent in front of an expecting Makoto.

It took him a while, but he was eventually able to answer the luckster's words with one question of his own:

"What's the point of all this?"

Makoto stood quietly for a moment, pondering his answer, before he talked again "Well, I guess I just want to help you"

"Helping me with what?" He couldn't help but to ask to what Makoto said.

"With becoming a better person, I guess..."

That was the boy's answer, and he couldn't help but to think back to when everyone was still trying to escape from Junko's killing game.

And what Makoto told to Mukuro once they found each other again.

He wasn't using the same words, but the answer he just gave to his question carried the same meaning as what he told her back then:

"I believe in you, and I believe that you can change for the better, even if you yourself can't believe in your own inherent goodness"

Once again, he couldn't help but to see her on Makoto.

And he couldn't help but to remember again the words he told to the silence that surrounded him and Makoto's unconscious body when Mukuro left them on the nurse office, that he stupidly hoped that Akane could somehow hear wherever she was now:

"I guess this is my chance to atone, right?"

They were a simple string of words that weren't supposed to carry any meaning for him, having said them in a moment of emotional distress that shouldn't have ever happened, caused by memories that shouldn't even matter for him.

But they ended up mattering, somehow.

The path of redemption was one that he spent time and time again believing that he wouldn't ever be able to cross thanks to his many misdeeds, to the point that he accepted death under the belief that his soul was too rotten and corrupted to deserve the light of another day, but, in the span of one simple day, a disappointing soldier of Despair turned to Hope, and a unlucky but fortunate boy, proved him wrong with their actions alone.

There was still a way for him to leave this path of Despair, and to make amends for all the horrible things he did in life.

And a part of him was too scared to accept it.

Too scared, and too guilty, to accept the consequences of his actions.

To accept the possibility that he would never be forgiven for the atrocities he committed to finally feel alive.

But accepting that would be people that would never forgive hin for what he did was still a part of the path of atonement, and, in the depths of his broken and dark soul, he knew that.

So, once he left those thoughts to rot in the depths of his mind, he looked at the kindhearted hazel-eyed man looking back at him and made his decision:

He will also walk through the hard, and painful, path of redemption.

Just like Mukuro, and Akane, did before him.

So, with the sight of the lucky boy extending a hand towards him, and giving him a soft smile, he gave his first shaky step towards his second chance to live.

[aparticularbandit]

Mikan Tsumiki as a baby trap.

Mikan Tsumiki as the attempt her mama made to keep her dad with them - an attempt which worked for, at most, three years (until Mikan was three) before he ran off to be with someone else.

Tsumiki as his last name, and Mikan as the last remnants of his being there, something that sometimes makes her mama possessive but quickly turns to loathing for a daughter she never really wanted but is now stuck with, a failure who wasn't able to do the one thing she was created to do: keep that man with them.

Mikan Tsumiki who barely remembers her dad, but remembers how much he and her mama would fight, remembers the looks of disdain he would give her that quickly turned to ignorance before he left them.

Who sees her mama doing the same thing - that disdain turning to ignorance - and doesn't know what she did wrong but is trying so hopelessly to make her mom even remember that she's there.

(And her mom brings other people home and tells them to just pretend Mikan isn't even there, but Mikan knows she's still there, but it feels like she's a ghost. She isn't a ghost.)

Mikan doing whatever she can think of to get one of them to pay attention to her. (Her mom catches on quick and ignores her, except to use her as a table or something to snub her cigarette on, who is maybe the first person to use Mikan as a writing tablet because she ran out of room on her own arm; maybe her mom is forgetful in general, but that's another discussion.)

But the people her mom brings back can't ignore what Mikan is doing because she's so blatant sometimes and she'll let them do just about anything to her.

Mikan Tsumiki who finds Junko's broken body and thinks that maybe if she has her kid she'll have a piece of her still with her. Who transplants Junko's womb into herself, not even thinking about incompatible blood type, because she wants so much for this to succeed.

(Nagito only keeps Junko's arm as long as he does by luck. It's killing him by the time he comes out of NWP, and it's gone within moments of his waking. (It is possible it contributes to his coma. It is possible this makes it harder to wake him. But this is not about Nagito.))

Mikan Tsumiki who finds that Junko's womb is eating her alive and who has to rip Junko piece by piece out of her to survive.

(Mikan as a baby trap who mimics and parallels the person who harmed her the most when she is in the depths of her own despair.)

[ultfan]

@jcurneysend continued from this ask.

"I mean- yeah. That makes sense for you, Komaeda."

A flick of a oddly placed mushroom that somehow, someway found herself in her hair, and Junko stood up, stretching and cracking her back, giving a sigh.

"You probably expected you weren't gonna live long anyway."

"I mean, you're basically terminal, yeah? Not much else you can do to fuck around on this green ol' earth anyway.." Nonchalantly, she glances back, a vile sort of glare in her eyes. Komaeda was Naegi's antithesis- at least in her mind, in her warped vision, that was Komaeda Nagito to her. Rattle on about hope this, or perform his strange acts for the glory of mankind's hope that...

Like killing off his entire classmates or even getting near it since they were oh so easily swayed by her judgement and manipulations. Jeez! How annoying can he get? Do you know how hard it was to sway Peko-freakin-yama at times!?

Still, he was resolute. Yet that darkness in his heart could be his undoing..

"Buuuuut, it always makes me think! Man. Wouldn't it be funny if your luck somehow found a way to make sure you lived? I mean, sure! Realistically your body would be weak and feeble due to it. Like, did you know while taking treatments and the like to even fight against that, your bodys weaker to shit like the common cold!? Daaaaaamn. Anyways."

"..I think what I'm meaning to say is, its way easier for someone who wants to die to be forced to live and witness it all. Don't you agree?~"

Junko?

Shut up.

                     he did hate her. enoshima's existence was everything that he despised wrapped into a chaotic, yet beautiful package. the embodiment of everything he stood against. so he hated her... so he says. so he tells himself. so he copes.

                     but was there not a reason he could find himself speaking to her while only having one or two passing thoughts about how glorious it would be when she finally died? was there a reason that, despite his desire for ultimate hope, he still found himself working for ultimate despair? well... for him to entertain those questions would be despair-inducing in itself. he'll just claim that it's just the nature of the super high school level gyaru to be... somewhat charismatic. even when she was being the absolute worst.

                     ‶  hm... i guess i do to some extent.  ″ komaeda never wished for good things for himself. he would never dare to do that. it's not like he didn't want them, no. it's in a human's nature to desire happiness. to not want to feel pain. to avoid disaster. but he had to acknowledge that he would never be able to live a life without those things. nor did a lowly human such as himself even deserve a life like that.

                     he long since accepted that.

                     ‶  this talent of mine really is unfortunate, don't you think so? you would think that someone with such good luck would have things go in their favor more often... and yet here i am having a conversation with you. how unlucky is that?  ″ he cannot help the sardonic smile that creeps it's way on to his face. really, though, he must be down on his luck to find himself anywhere near her. he wonders if this bad luck would lead to something wonderful down the line. although compared to his past tragedies, this is a minor inconvenience at best. sigh...

                     ‶  but... even though i'm not scared of dying, i can't really say that i'm desperate for a way out quite yet. though i wouldn't really mind it...  ″ depending on the circumstances, that is. but he won't say that much. regardless he doubts his death would bring anyone despair... and if that's the case, maybe he'll be lucky enough to die in a way that can be used as someone's stepping stone towards a hope strong enough to beat even enoshima junko herself.

                     ‶  even so, i'm rather glad i've lived this long.  ″ his eyes, cold and perhaps even deranged, look to meet hers. there's a darkness in him, one rather ironic for someone who speaks hope's praises so adamantly.  ‶  after all, the longer i'm around to witness this all, the greater the chance i'll be alive to see a hope great enough to destroy the despair you've worked so hard to spread. sure, the odds of that aren't very high... but if i wouldn't be worthy of the title super high school level good luck if i let something as silly as that bring me down.  ″

[themculibrary]

Female Steve Rogers Masterlist

A Girl, A Guy, and the War (ao3) - TheAutotheist steve/bucky M, 13k

Summary: Stephany Rogers never did what a girl was supposed to do. Up to and including becoming a super soldier and fighting in the war.

Or, what if Captain America was female?

Come On, Come On, Settle Down (ao3) - kahn steve/tony G, 8k

Summary: ...and that's how Tony finds himself in the back of a limousine with Stella Rogers, who's in full vintage hair and make-up, wearing a perfectly tailored uniform that's brand new but looks like it's from the 40s, and heels that are Manolo Blahnik if he knows his shoes. He's doing his best not to chew on his nails or stare at her legs or come apart at the seams. He thinks he succeeds in one out of three.

Tony meets always-a-girl!Steve and takes the long way around to realizing he's in love.

Don't You Worry About My Immortal Soul (ao3) - michaelandthegodsquad steve/bucky E, 20k

Summary: It's 1945; Bucky comes home from the war to find his best friend pregnant with no husband in sight, and takes it upon himself to step in as partner/husband/father/whatever else Stevie needs to raise her kid in peace.

Things are great, for a while. Living in suburbia with Stevie, Bucky finds himself with a steady job and the family he never thought he'd have. But Bucky can only keep up the act for so long until buried feelings and newly discovered kinks weigh him down with guilt and a hefty dose of self-loathing that send him on a downward spiral and begin to threaten the life he's built with Stevie.

Luckily, Stevie recognizes what Bucky needs and doesn't mind giving it to him, no matter how taboo it may be.

Genesis (ao3) - teaberryblue steve/tony T, 35k

Summary: Reluctant to make the truth about their secret weapon known, the American Government tells the world that Captain America is a man named Steve Rogers. According to public record, he died, tragically, in 1945, and he became legend.

In 1998, the Avengers find a body trapped in ice.

She's alive.

Her name is Eve.

She has Captain America's shield.

I Remember Your Eyes With The Snow Outside (ao3) - fireflyslove steve/bucky E, 19k

Summary: The day Steve took the scissors to her hair was the day Bucky realized she was deadly serious.

Fem!Steve/Bucky. And they're married. And Steve joins the army. Follows CATFA until Zola's train. Bucky doesn't fall. They're both on the plane when it goes down in the Arctic, and they both wake up in New York. This is how they got there.

Apparently, this has developed a subplot of these two having semi-public sex. Rating now Explicit.

it's always been, so it's no surprise (ao3) - amare steve/bucky E, 3k

Summary: "I've been wondering since you got here," he continued conversationally, "just how much you've changed." Girl!Steve/Bucky.

it's been a long, long time (ao3) - junko (orphan_account) steve/bucky G, 3k

Summary: Stephanie Rogers realizes that she doesn't want to die.

Stephanie Rogers kicks to the surface, and she was never a good swimmer, but she pulls herself up onto a slab of ice, scrabbling for land, spitting out water anyway.

(Or, in which Stephanie doesn't die in the plane crash, and she and Private Lorraine rescue Bucky Barnes, take down HYDRA from the inside, and have Friday Girl's Nights.)

I've been the spark and the war she's waging (ao3) - acidpop25 steve/bucky E, 1k

Summary: Bucky is reunited with Stephanie in the modern era.

Reconstruction (ao3) - rageprufrock E, 122k

Summary: In which Stephanie Rogers is the complicating element in the sweeping romance of Bucky Barnes and Lady Liberty.

she's beauty and she's grace (ao3) - tallblondabercrombie steve/tony, clint/natasha E, 14k

Summary: Neither of them is quite sure when their nightly patrol mission had turned into a battle of wits against some psycho with a feminization kink, but at some point, Steve had been hit dead-on with a magical beam of some kind that left him unmistakably female.

(Or Natasha Has Way Too Much Fun With Her New Best Girlfriend And Steve Can't Get A Damn Clue)

Something More Important (ao3) - serafina20 steve/bucky, steve/peggy M, 56k

Summary: Steve Rogers is determined to join the Army and go off to war. Bucky is concerned what will happen if she's discovered. rule!63 Steve.

Stars in his Eyes (ao3) - peoriapeoria steve/tony E, 4k

Summary: AU where Steve Rogers was always female. Details change, but the Captain stays the same.

Summer moon, catch your shut eye (ao3) - teskodanceparty steve/tony T, 2k

Summary: Stephanie tries not to think about before the serum too often, pushes harder instead and doesn't realize where she's headed until she's gasping for breath in the middle of Times Square again.

The Amazon Initiative (Ao3) - G_N_Story steve/bucky N/R, 141k (WIP)

Summary: Director of SHIELD, Nicole Fury, had been inspired by the stories she had been told as a child of Captain America, the first female military officer. To her, the story stuck because after the government turned Stephanie Rogers into a glorified chorus girl for over a year, Rogers had gone against orders and snuck behind enemy lines on a mission to save a captured unit. She saved 137 soldiers, including a unit of female spies who had been operating in France when the 107th was captured and had attempted rescue themselves. That group went on to become Rogers Howling Commandos, and they were Nicole’s heroes, and the inspiration for the Amazon Initiative.

What if all the Avengers were women? And what if Nicole Fury decided to unite them because of it. It's hard out there for a bitch, and Nicole Fury knows the world needs The Amazons.

The Reach of My Arms (ao3) - mareepicurean steve/bucky N/R, 22k

Summary: It takes some luck, a super soldier serum, and some serious cash, but Steph gets to Europe. She's not going to let this war take Bucky from her.

Or, Stephanie Grace Rogers is a good person, not a perfect soldier, and she's going to prove that to the world.

The Star Spangled Gal (ao3) - MamaDonovan steve/bucky E, 107k

Summary: AU: Earth-3491. The events of the Captain America movies with Cap being born Stephanie Rogers, and becoming Stephanie Barnes in 1938. She is practically the same, but her sex and gender mean different expectations of her, from society as well as her peers. Serves her country but paraded as a different kind of mascot, as the ideal woman instead of the perfect man. Loses her beloved husband, but who will she turn to for companionship?

This Woman's War (ao3) - tsukinofaerii steve/gail richards M, 37k

Summary: Stevie Rogers, the only known survivor of Operation Rebirth, has spent four years masquerading as Captain America, the hyper-masculine symbol of America. When she wakes up in a strange military hospital, surrounded by people who insist on the impossible, Stevie assumes what any right-thinking person would—that it's a secret Nazi base. All that's left is to break out and find her way back to the war. After all, she's got a promise to keep to the girl waiting on her back stateside.

When I Need You (Comfort Me) (ao3) - greymantledlady steve/tony E, 15k

Summary: Sometimes it feels like she’s trying so hard and she just can’t, she can’t. And suddenly everything's just – just too much, and somehow Tony’s got her face down on the workbench, arms curled around her head, big helpless shuddering sobs rising up in her chest.

Because Steve - it doesn't matter what Tony does, Steve’ll still just think she’s selfish and too loud and a show-off, and it doesn’t matter, she doesn’t care, Tony doesn’t care what Steve thinks.

It’s – it’s just, she’s so lonely, so bloody lonely. And she shudders and sniffles again and presses her face pathetically into her arms.

Will the Real Stephanie Rogers Please Stand Up? (ao3) - Medie steve/tony M, 3k

Summary: She's felt out of step every second she's been back save those precious few when she's led the Avengers into battle (and that is still enough to make her shiver in a good way) and time spent with Tony just keeps right on reminding her.

your fatalism and your crooked face (ao3) - legete steve/bucky T, 2k

Summary: He thinks about it sometimes, about making it official. God knows enough people talk about the two of ‘em, living together like they do. They give them looks sometimes, say disapproving little things about what Stella’s ma would’ve thought about her going around with a fella like him, without even having a ring to show for it.

[yourfellowmutereader]

Hi there Al, may I get some general dating headcanons of your favourites Danganronpa characters?

General dating headcanons!

Characters: Mukuro Ikusaba, Hajime Hinata. Mentions of: Non-despair Junko Enoshima, Chiaki Nanami. Reader: G/N, mute. A/N: Sure thing, Al! Ok, just kidding. Just me messing around in my own inbox. Also... kinda OOC because I don't know what's canon and what's not anymore. Currently listening to: Hey Kids by Molina.

Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier, seemed like a cold and reserved person to you the first time you saw her, walking alongside her sister like a bodyguard of some kind.

That didn't change much even after you started dating: always on guard, making sure nothing happens to you when you're together, even if you two are alone.

There are, however, some times when she gets easily flustered, in contrast to that serious personality of her. A blush always appears on her cheeks when you take her hand or kiss her out of nowhere. She tries her best to cover her face with one of her hands afterwards, too stunned to speak coherently.

She's not the best with verbal or physical affection due to her lack of experience, but she truly tries her best.

For some reason, she likes to call you 'puppy'. You always thought it was ironic: a cold-blooded mercenary from Fenrir calling her beloved one 'puppy'.

She's so, so touch starved. When you two are cuddling, she tends to be the big spoon. She has the need to watch over you, so she holds you tightly, making sure she doesn't let you go.

She does the same when you're sleeping together, holding you and keeping you as close as possible. When you wake up and try to leave... you can't. Not because you don't want to, but because she holds you closer when you try to move, even if she's asleep.

One day, she asked you if you could teach her sign language. She thought it would be easier for you if she could understand it instead of making you write down when you wanted to say something.

To your surprise, she learned extremely fast, mostly because she already knew many signs.

She never uses it herself, but there may be times where she signs 'I love you'. You had to admit it: it always makes you blush.

She enjoys the silence in your quiet conversations, only broken by her soft voice. Sometimes, you think it's impossible for someone like her to have a sister as loud as Junko.

Talking about Junko, Mukuro already introduced you to her. Not because she wanted to, but because the Ultimate Fashionista did nothing but insist once she found out her sister had a partner.

"Sooo, is this the person you were talking about, Mukuro? The one you're dating?" Junko said when she saw you, analyzing you without even trying to hide it. "What was their name again?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" was Mukuro's answer. "If they want me to tell you something, they'll tell me."

Mukuro's always like that when it comes to you talking to other people. She doesn't want to make you feel as if you couldn't communicate with others by yourself, so she doesn't interfere unless you ask her to.

She takes a notepad and something to write every time she goes somewhere with you, in case you forget yours. She knows that will most likely not happen, but she likes to be prepared.

"I... I love you, [s/o]. I've never felt this way for someone else before. So please... don't leave my side, all right?"

Just like Mukuro, Hajime doesn't have much experience when it comes to love, so he's kind of confused when he finds himself trying to spend more time with you, blushing and stuttering whenever you're together. He didn't understand why, or better said, he didn't want to admit he was slowly getting feelings for you.

It was Chiaki the one who told him it would be better to confess his feelings than to bottle them up forever.

It should be mentioned that Hajime hadn't told anyone about his crush for you. Chiaki simply knew it all along only by seeing you how nervous he was around you.

As your boyfriend, he tries his best to make sure you're always okay, caring for you and taking you to dates when he has the chance. He tries way too hard. Hajime doesn't want to let you down, as he has felt useless his whole life. He doesn't want you to see him as a useless, talentless person as well.

One day, you hugged him from behind while he was studying, showing him what you had writen on your notepad.

'Hajime, please... don't be so hard on yourself. You may not be an ultimate, but none of them can compare in any way to the person I fell in love with. Don't forget it, okay?'

When he turned back, he saw you signing something. He didn't know sign language, but he could tell what it meant just by looking at your face.

[I love you.]

Since that day, Hajime started to act more like himself and less like the perfect boyfriend prototype.

He's not a big fan of PDA, but he won't complain if you hold his hand while you're walking together.

He likes to call you babe or honey, but nothing too cheesy. At least, not in public.

Even though he doesn't understand sign language, he knows some easy signs you showed to him so you didn't have to wriye everything down. Things such as good morning, thank you, please and sorry, but also I love you, since you used that one pretty often when you were with him.

He drinks a lot of coffee. If you sleep together, you'll probably find a cup of coffee ready for you when you wake up.

The dates he plans are always simple. His favorite place to take you is the park during sunset; calm and peaceful, perfect to enjoy each other's company just the way he wants.

When you're cuddling, he prefers to be the big spoon, even though he will always let you choose. He loves to hold you close as he softly plays with your hair in silence; it gives him a sense of security and helps him calm down.

Sometimes he'll even take your hand and start tracing letters with his finger. At first you thought they were just random letters, but after paying attention, you realized he was spelling actual words such as 'love' or 'sweetheart'.

Expect to receive way more kisses and hugs if you are alone, even if they're quick or small.

"I used to think that having a talent would make me happy, but now... I realized that the only thing I need to be happy is you. Thank you, [s/o]."

[i-moved-blogs-ffs]

Danganronpa request can a reader who is really kind and a sweetheart adopt the warriors of hope and helpem to forget they traumas and also can the reader beat the hell up the warriors of hope parents after everything they done to those innocents children's please

Of course, my darling! I love the WoH so much- I adopted them too, they're your adoptive siblings now so you all gotta get along ok-

These are probably gonna spiral into parenting headcanons because I cannot help myself- just let these kiddos have a happy home life man- :(

TW for mentions of abuse. It's nothing explicit, but it can be upsetting to some. Please be cautious.

Anyways, let's get started!

- 🌸🍭mod mikan🍭🌸

S/O adopting the WoH!

Now, we all know these kiddos had a bad time.

They were all abused in different ways, neglected, put down to the lowest point they could be.

Junko was like a light at the end of the tunnel for them, a savior - someone who cared, someone who they could trust, someone who loved them. But it was all lies.

She didn't care.

They couldn't trust her.

She didn't love them.

But then, you came around. At first, they thought you were like every other demon; evil, cold and uncaring.

And yet, there was this warmth radiating off of you... Almost like another light they could chase to get to true joy.

After Komaru and Toko defeated each of them, they felt lost. What were they supposed to do now that their empire has failed? Were the adults going to punish them, by abusing and taking advantage of them even further?

The group wandered the streets of Towa City, alone, hiding from every adult they could see and fending for themselves.

However, they stumbled upon you and Komaru. You two have been actively looking for them after finding out they survived.

But the reason why you were looking for them, was pretty unexpected.

You wanted to take them in as your own. They were just kids after all, no matter how much they tried to make themselves seem bigger. You wanted to help them, teach them that not everyone will hurt them, because they deserve to be loved like any other child does.

And so, they went with you. Very reluctantly mind you, but they didn't have much of a choice.

And as time went on, they opened up to you, one by one. And soon, you guys became like a happy family.

Somewhat dysfunctional, but still happy family.

Ok so, origin story's out of the way, now let's get in a bit deeper-

Parenting the Warriors is pretty hard- they each have something about themselves that you need to keep in mind.

And besides, taking care of 5 children wouldn't be easy even if they weren't traumatized-

You have to be patient, warm and kind to them, and to you that's no problem!

I would imagine Masaru would be the first to let his guard down around you, because he could tell that you weren't a bad person from the start.

He would start to admire you greatly, seeing you as the only cool adult around!!

He's always trying to impress you or get your attention because of that. And you always give him praise, telling him he's the most awesome kiddo ever!!

He always gets a bit bashful when you do, scratching his head as an "awhh, shucks!", escaping his lips.

He's very fond of you! He wants to do the things you do, like trying out your hobbies or imitating your mannerisms. He just wants to be as cool as you are.

While it is cute, you have to teach him that he's only the best when he's himself!

Kotoko was probably the second to open up. The first thing she noticed is that you never, ever used her trigger word in a sentence, not even on accident. You always used words like "soft", "tender" or "mallow", maybe even "delicate".

Not me looking up synonyms on thesaurus.com rn shHDHS

Like Masaru, her initial gut reaction always told her you were a good person, but the walls she had built up just couldn't let you in right away.

And when she does get comfortable, she becomes super clingy. She's almost as fond of you as Masaru is, honestly-

She always goes to you for any sort of help. She feels like you're the only person she can trust 100%, whether it be with her feelings or some other problem.

You're like- the only person who she's super nice to all the time. She used to be like that with Monaca, until you took them in.

Actually, speaking of that, they completely stopped literally worshipping Monaca's every move once you entered their lives.

Now, next up is Jataro. He initially thought you hated his every move, and that you only took him in because of pity.

But, you were proving him wrong every day. Going out of your way to talk to him, being so incredibly kind that it made his heart hurt.

You always help him out with his art! He loves when you sit down and paint, sculpt or draw with him, even if you're not artistic yourself. He feels like he's wanted, and all of that self-hatred almost completely washes away.

The biggest moment was when you finally convinced him to take off his mask. And when he did, you could tell he was way happier.

You two burned the mask together, leaving that part of his life behind you and turning over a new leaf.

And because of your influence, the rest of the kids are way nicer to him as well now!

Nagisa was the fourth one to take his guard down.

He saw how much Masaru, Kotoko and Jataro trusted you, and after observing you further, he began to see why.

He was always very distant from you, and you respected that. So, you were pleasantly surprised when he suddenly started going out of his way to help you, talk to you or spend time with you. However, you never questioned it, which made him relieved.

It's like you two silently agreed that you were cool with eachother.

He's very mature for his age, so he's the first one to try and help you with regular day-to-day tasks, even without you asking for said help.

Mans over here about to start doing your taxes HDHDH-

You always tell him to chill out, but he insists. He knows how much trouble he and his adoptive siblings are making for you, and it's his own way of thanking you.

Now, Monaca's a little interesting.

At first she was only pretending to care about you, like she did with the rest of the Warriors, but after a while she genuinely grew to love both you and her siblings.

She doesn't like the fact she cares one bit, but she can't help it.

She still has very manipulative tendencies, but you always see through them and her lies. You call her out on it, but never berate her.

She's very kiss ass-y, I guess?? Always complimenting you for the smallest reasons and calling you sweet nicknames.

She sometimes just wants to make you mess up to try and get herself to stop caring-

Like whenever a problem comes up, she always goes, "S/O can fix it!😌🙏 Our (affectionate parental term) dearest can do anything!🥰💞" and the rest of the kids are like "yah!!💖💕" because they love and support you while you're just there like🧍

Because no you can't rebuild the economy do you look like bob the fucking builder-

AnywaY their parents are already dead, so you guys beat up H*ji instead. :)

Ah, family bonding time. 💕

And done!! I love these little spawns of satan so much you guys don't even know- this was literally so fun to write that I think I got carried away a bit hshGhd- I hope this is ok!

Make sure to wash your hands, stay hydrated, take any meds you may need to and stay safe! You were so brave, have a lollipop! 🍭

[prompt-master]

Bear Trap (Part 1/3)

Request fill for @hibiscuswolverine and art done by @doodles-by-noodles

The world was starting to heal.

Little by little, everyone who survived Hope's Peak Academy's killing game was bringing about change to the world. It had only just started, and they likely wouldn't live to see their vision fully realized, but there was hope. Hope the world hadn't seen since the tragedy broke out in the first place.

Yep, Naegi Makoto had a lot of work to do, but he also already had so much to be proud of. He and the survivors had already proven themselves to adapt to a world that was nothing like the one they left behind. They had been given a warning from Enoshima Junko herself, but even with the knowledge of killer robots and rampaging despair-induced rioters nothing could really prepare them for life on the outside.

Honestly, they had never expected to make it to where they were right now. Proud members of the Future Foundation, able to work together with the higher ups to take down the biggest threats against the world's progression. It felt like just yesterday they were sleeping in the rubble of what once were apartments, tightly packed together in case anything were to break in. And now Makoto stood proud and tall, going over his next mission on video call with a member of one of the higher divisions.

"I suppose I shouldn't be terribly surprised that the Ultimate Hope would be so adamant on these matters."

Makoto smiled, still as strong and inspiring as it had been back in the killing game, "Really, you don't have to call me that. I'm nothing special, just Naegi is fine."

She completely ignored him, looking over the notes he'd sent to her one last time. He and Aoi had accidentally discovered a distress call from a group of survivors in an unsafe area. There was no way he could ignore something like that, he wouldn't ignore any possibility that someone was suffering like his class did. Even if there was an equal possibility that it was a trap.

"Well, your plan asks for Ultimate Detective Kirigiri Kyoko and Ultimate Affluent Progeny Togami Byakuya to go with you. With those two, plus the Ultimate Hope, equipped with hacking guns then I see no reason to be concerned for any mishaps. Your mission is approved."

Makoto's smile widened at that, feeling a rush of pride and hope at her words, "We won't let you down! Promise!"

She didn't even look up at him, simply humming to let him know she heard. But he could tell, there was a slight smile on her face. Makoto managed to melt his fair share of hearts even if he couldn't explain how. The call blinked off, and Makoto shut his laptop gently, but with no regard to what it was running.

He let out a loud sigh, slouching back into his chair. Any and all office calls felt so nerve wracking. Each one held its own weight in importance. Every exchange oversaw the future. He pulled his arms over his head, stretching them as far as they could go.

He could already feel himself getting pumped up. A small, prideful smirk snuck it's way onto his face. The plan wasn't anything extreme, but he knew with his friends by his side it would all be ok. They were meant to go together in a group so that they could protect themselves in the event of a trap or other unforeseen circumstances. The distress call came from a fallen city mostly blocked off by a collapsed building. They would drop off inside the city's bounds, and continue on foot to find any survivors they could. They knew there would be some despaired within, but that was a given anywhere they went now.

It would all be worth it to save them.

Now he just had to tell Byakuya and Kyoko the good news

It was clear to anyone near the survivors that Byakuya, Kyoko, and Makoto were a force to be reckoned with. While the general public has no qualms with calling Makoto the leader of the group, it was more so all three of them were coleading. Each taking charge in their own way, from the start of their new lives to now. The three of them were all incredibly smart in their own ways and their combined skills lead to a team that could likely conquer any despair they faced. But it took an even closer eye to see the emotional connection the three shared with each other. 

Makoto walked in front, leading since he had heard the distress call in the first place. It was certainly an interesting relationship that the three had. Although Makoto certainly didn't see himself as the leading type it seemed that Byakuya and Kyoko both trusted his guidance entirely. And he did the same for them. There was no way to describe the significance that lay underneath the floorboards of their bond. For the two most emotionally shut off of the survivors to so openly trust him? To Makoto that was enough to lay their hearts out in the open for him to see. And not to mention…

Makoto glanced back at the two. Byakuya was messing around with his hacking gun, glasses slipping down his nose, and hair nearly hiding his eyes from Makoto's view. Kyoko was taking in her surroundings, trying to figure out sooner rather than later if this whole thing was just a trap as suspected. Her eyes may be void of emotion but the color and warmth was vast. Makoto faced forward again, his face feeling just a bit hot. 

They were both really pretty. 

No, no he can't focus on his silly crushes. Yes, crushes plural. Because Makoto's sensitive heart was so big he managed to give it away to two different people. That didn't matter right now though, because the focus was on the mission. 

The town was about as decimated as it looked from the outside. It reminded him of his first experiences out in the new world, making him wonder how many survivors might be hiding under rubble, scared to come out. So far they hadn't run into any sort of trouble. No robots, no despaired, no survivors. There was really...nothing here. It was starting to look more and more like a trap. 

Makoto stopped walking at a split path, "The call said to find the convenience store but...I can't tell where to go since everything's been destroyed." 

Byakuya came to stand by his side, "Not that it should matter much all things considered. Let's just get this over with so we can clear out those insane idiots and rebuild this place already." 

"Togami-kun!" Makoto pouted, Byakuya may have softened up but he still had a habit of harsh thinking first, "don't say that. I'm sure there has to be someone here who needs saving. There's people who need to be rescued everywhere we go!" 

"Indeed" Kyoko chimed in, "but it's not a bad line of thought. If we stage a rebuilding operation here then that increases our chances of finding survivors then if only a search team walked around." 

Byakuya smirked, pushing up his glasses in that annoyingly arrogant way of his, "And to do that, we need to weed out the problems first no?" 

"Yes...yes we do." 

"Besides what would you rather do? Try to talk to the despaired? And get clubbed again?" 

"It was one time, Togami-kun!" 

Byakuya laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked around, "Come now, this way. All these buildings are too destroyed to make any sort of distinctions regardless. And by your sentimental logic we should be checking more than just the given location, wouldn't you agree." 

Byakuya didn't wait for an answer, he walked ahead to begin searching the first building to their left. Makoto had to break into a light jog to catch up to him; damn your long legs Togami! 

That marked the start of their exploration, building after building. They found nothing. Not to mention everywhere seemed like it has been residential, no sign of the store they were told the survivors were. Even Makoto felt like something was a little bit off but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Regardless he kept up hope, he had heard those survivors speak with complete clarity in their voice. They had to be here. He wouldn't give up over a simple bad feeling. 

Byakuya stepped over broken glass, moving further into the crumpled home he was currently inspecting. A surprisingly intact kitchenette caught his eye, and decided a thorough search was necessary without telling his company. Although they didn't need much prompting to understand when he went off trail again. Kyoko thought if he was going to focus on possible material goods stored away in this forgotten piece of life, then she could at least see if there was any current piece of life hiding away as well. Makoto stood at the door of the house. He'd given nothing more than a glance to Byakuya before turning toward the outdoors again. Looking for anything. Any sign of life lurking under the foreboding red sky. 

Nothing. 

He sighed, turning his attention down to what used to be a grass area. Not much was left of that, in fact it looked almost like any plant life besides the weeds in the street cracks were...set on fire. The ground had this grey ashy feeling to it. And when Makoto scuffed it with his shoe….yeah, that was definitely the remains of something burning. That was a good sign right? It meant that someone was alive. This couldn't have been that long ago. 

Makoto opened his mouth to call for his friends, when a cold hand slapped over his mouth and forcefully tugged him backwards. 

Huh

Huh?!

Makoto was immediately kicking and yelling. He bucked like a disturbed wild animal, trying everything he could to get out. Wiggling, kneeing, elbowing, even trying to bite the hand over his mouth but none disturbed the individual. The house was getting farther and farther away but his voice was too muffled to ever reach it. There was heavy breathing in his ear, the air wet and warm against his skin in a way that made his body shudder. He forced himself to look up at his kidnapper. An individual with a wide smile on their face and eyes that spoke of a spiraling psyche. Everything about them...from their expression to their actions to their lack of reaction to pain...it all said despair. 

Eventually Makoto was dragged into the street and thrown down like a slab of meat. Makoto was about to scream again for help, when a hand quickly reached out for him. He couldn't help but flinch back, shoulders bunching up in an attempt to shrink away. His tie was yanked off, the force pulling his body upwards. When the tie snapped off he fell back again, he could feel rocks digging into his skin from the fall. Then his hands were tied behind his back. This was bad. This was so bad. Bad didn't even BEGIN to cover it. 

His captor came uncomfortably close, having lost all concept of personal space in the madness the end of the world has provided. Makoto tried his best to keep calm as they placed their arms to either side of him so that they were above, staring down below. There was a tense moment where neither moved, they simply tried to catch their breaths so that the silence would stop being filled with panting. It felt like a test. Like they were waiting for him to even dare to try to escape. They wanted to show Makoto what happened when he disobeyed! He could see it in their eyes! In the manicale look, in the smile that kept opening and closing like a strange gutted fish. The way their arms trembled and shook by Makoto's head, just waiting with the high of excitement.

Arms still shaking, mouth overflowing with spittle and pupils pinprick sharp, they began to slowly lower themselves. Makoto held his breath, willing his body to sink further into the concrete. His heels scraped against the ground, but he willed himself not to move in fear that any sign of escape would reward him with a slit throat. Their noses pressed against each other. The captor let out a shaky relieved sigh, as if the contact was the greatest thing they'd felt in a long time. Their eyelids fell half lidded, their smirk from excited to downright sadistic.

"I've got you now, Mr. Ultimate Hope."

Stay calm. You've dealt with this kind of person before. 

Makoto's nails gave a tug as he ran them against the concrete in an attempt to ground himself, dirt filling the space between skin and keratin. His heart hammered in his chest as if he were a scared rabbit, but there was no time to panic here. His life depended on it.  The despaired were completely delusional...which meant..

Makoto felt a laugh rise out of him, nervous and high in pitch.  A bit too high in pitch. He scraped the ground again, enough so that it began to hurt from the force. Calm down. Stay fucking calm. 

"Heh...heheh! Yeah! You got me..!" A smile graced his face, "what did you...get me for?" 

They pulled back, but not enough so that the pungent smell of smoke and ash left Makoto's nose. Their head tilted, daring to make an innocent face, "You know who you are, right?" 

"I do. And who are you?" 

Their body moved back and forth as they laughed with everything they had, their knees closing in so that Makoto could feel it against his leg. "Me? Me? Mememe?? Forget that! You're the Ultimate Hope!"

"That's right…" 

"I wonder what Miss Junko would say right now. Seeing you pinned down like this?" Their eyes flickered to the sky at the fantasy that no doubt filled their mind. 

Makoto tried his hardest not to cringe, and just attempted to change the subject instead, "Do you want me to do something for you?" It was a loaded question. One that made Makoto feel like he was picking all the wrong dialogue choices. 

"I do!" 

Progress. He wasn't sure if it was good progress, but it was, in fact, progress. 

"What's that?" 

Their voice dropped to a whisper, waning and cracking in excitement once again. They reached into their pocket. 

"I want you to watch this" 

They pulled out a little remote that looked horribly put together. Even with how much their hand trembled he could see that it was made of what seemed to be the remains of a torn apart scrap pile. Before Makoto could ask what they meant, they pressed the only button built in. 

What ensued was a large explosion. 

------

BOOM 

A loud eardrum breaking noise filled the previous silence. Byakuya was forced to grip the kitchen countertop as the world around him shook, a sudden intense burst of wind following soon after. The heat uncomfortable against his face. He made his way to the open wall, Kyoko not far behind him. 

"Was that an explosion?" Kyoko asked, not wanting to waste any time. 

Byakuya looked outside at the smoke and fire that overtook the sky. It was suffocating just to look at. Shit, it was definitely a trap then. "Looks like it" 

They watched frozen, transfixed on the horror as a building toppled from where it was standing, joining the others as rubble for them to walk on. They still stayed in place. They knew there was nothing they could do to prevent or help the issue. 

Byakuya was so focused on the sight, thinking about how he had to call for an early pick up that he didn't even notice until Kyoko asked. 

"Where's Naegi?" 

------

Makoto gasped and gasped as he ran for his life. After whatever that person had rigged went off he found himself surprisingly not being pinned anymore as the person sat cackling nearby. He had managed to slip away when more despaired came over and argued with the individual who had been pinning him.  Now he was running as fast as he could hoping he wouldn't get caught once again. 

He struggled against his traitorous tie, feeling it chafe against his wrists uncomfortably. Untying it would have been enough of a challenge without the running aspect. Now he found himself tripping over his own feet trying to think about the two things at once. 

Before he knew it, his feet had slipped right out from under him and he barely caught himself before faceplanting. 

Taking the fall as a hint, he stopped to catch his breath, looking around the area to gauge where he was. It seemed like more of the same until he saw a rather structurally sound convenience store. It was surprisingly big too for how little damage it had. A smile overtook his face. Aren't I lucky? Maybe the people inside can help me get this dang tie off. 

After letting his breathing calm down he made his way toward the store. Elation filled his heart, a familiar hope that kept him going. He knew it couldn't have all been a trap! Almost there now. Once inside he'd have someone untie his hands, and then he'd find his friends and-

His friends. He hoped Byakuya and Kyoko were safe. He had no idea how far the damage of the explosion traveled, but if it was enough to collapse an entire building there was certainly the risk of them being in hot water. Not to mention the multiple despaired that were walking around, who knows what sort of danger they could walk into. Then again, if anyone was capable of holding their own it would be Byakuya and Kyoko. But he should probably focus on his own safety instead of imagining Byakuya and Kyoko taking down their enemies in the most attractive way possible-

He was right there. He'd reached the convenience store. All the windows were covered up so that he couldn't see inside, but he knew someone inside was waiting. He just had to- huh? What's that? 

Makoto looked down to see a familiar, very unwelcome sight. It was a Monokuma with yellow and black stripes. At the top of its head was a red siren. And they were making eye contact. 

"Shi-" 

Instinctively he reeled back at the loud, sharp noise. The sound raised and lowered it's pitch smoothly, reminding him of tsunami drills he had to do back when he was in school and the implications it brought were similarly horrifying.

So much for being lucky. Makoto felt himself panicking again, the siren was loud enough to hurt his ears. He couldn't tell if his ears were ringing or if the siren was just that obnoxious. But he didn't have time to complain about that. The noise and the light… no doubt others would be coming soon. 

"Shh...shhhh!! Stop it!" He couldn't break the machine with his hands the way they were...he had to settle for getting help. 

Makoto stopped in his tracks before he could approach the door of the convenience store however, because there was someone watching him through the window. They'd opened the curtain to check what the commotion was. Makoto saw no madness or instability in their eyes...the survivors really WERE here. Makoto smiled, wishing he could wave and gesture for help, but he had to hope his expression was enough. 

The survivor frowned, eyes fixated on the Siren Monokuma. Without looking at Makoto again they closed the curtain.

No one was coming to help. 

Makoto backed away. That's ok. There was still a chance. If he ran quick enough maybe he could get away before reinforcements arrived. 

The growling he heard mocked his fruitless thoughts. That was the deranged sounds a Beast Monokuma made…he couldn't hope to outrun one of those. They were like real rabid bears but worse because they never got tired. They never stopped running once they had you in its sights, just like this one. 

But Makoto tried anyway to flee, only to end up taking a riot shield to the face from a Guard Monokuma. 

"Oof!" 

He fell back hard feeling all air leave his lungs. The snarling and pounding of the Beast Monokuma was getting louder. Too loud. Makoto rolled onto his side, scrambling to get up. He winced as a claw grazed his cheek, first blood of the night welling up. 

He felt like an insignificant worm with how he desperately rolled on the floor, hoping to find good enough footing in his panic to stand. But when he got to his knees he was met with another riot shield. He almost didn't react in time to dodge another slash from the Beast, managing to get the tie around his wrists cut. 

He'd never gotten to his feet so quickly before in his life. Bits of gravel stuck to his palms and blood ran down his right arm. He scrambled to find something -anything- to defend himself with, but he was already surrounded. It was too late to even bother going for the Siren Monokuma. How the hell was he supposed to-? 

He yelled out as sharp metal claws dug into his back, seemingly deep enough that he feared for his spine. The claws rake along his back as the beast removes them. If that wasn't enough to bring him back to reality, he was quickly overwhelmed, bruises being beaten into every inch of his skin from the shields, and slashes from regular Monokuma's on his arms. And worse of all the Beast Monokuma that was trying its best to chomp his head off with it's twitchy manic movements. He tried his best to fend it off, pushing at it personally with his bare hands despite the continuous relentless assault he was receiving. 

Another good hit with a shield and his hands slipped. In a split second moment that he didn't even get to think about, he reached a leg up and kicked at its face. He only had a moment of victory.

It bit down on his leg and didn't let go.

Now the interesting thing about Makoto is that even though he doesn't seem capable, he's grown to be able to keep himself calm when it mattered. Even at his own execution, where he was slowly heading towards his untimely demise, With frequent reminders of what was about to come, he had managed to keep as calm as possible. Even well he fell stories down into the garbage. He refused to make a peep and panic when every one of his friends could see. But right now no friends were watching.

Naegi Makoto screamed.

-----

"I'm going to kill Naegi my damn self for running off when we find him." Byakuya was, as per usual, annoyed as hell. 

Kyoko sighed, "Calm down. I'm sure there's a reason, you know he isn't like that." 

Byakuya rolled his eyes, but didn't say a word. Kyoko was completely right, but he would never give her the satisfaction of admitting that. His silence was enough. 

They had made way for the source of the explosion only to find the path to the other side of the city was completely blocked off by the collapsed structure. Due to the closed off nature of the cities remains that left them with only one option: go the long way around and hope those entrances aren't blocked as well. 

When it was just Kyoko and Byakuya there was always this weird silence. Sometimes comfortable, sometimes tense. Makoto was always the one to fill it, he was like the bridge between the two. Kyoko wished he could tell Byakuya to cheer up -his attitude was getting on her nerves- but Makoto's absence was the whole reason for it in the first place. 

"Keep your guard up" she reminded, her own hand staying close to the pouch strapped to her thigh. Inside was an all weather purpose mini notepad and a handheld taser. She quite liked her taser, it was both heavy hitting and satisfied Makoto's wish to not kill anyone: even the despaired. "I'm certain that explosion was rigged up by a person." 

Byakuya scoffed, "I am Togami Byakuya" he kindly reminded her. Kyoko rolled her eyes, she'd heard that way too many times to count. "My guard is always up and my reaction time is perfect. Maybe you should worry about yourself instead." 

"Incorrigible as usual, I see." 

He glared back down at her, still walking forward with overconfident strides, "I'll have you know-" 

There it is. Another rant which consisted only of Byakuya boasting about his own skills. She shut him out without a second thought, focusing on her surroundings instead. It's not as though Byakuya would provide any sort of new information anyway. 

"Wait." She interrupted, which Byakuya hated, but his feelings be damned, "do you hear that?" 

Byakuya paused, facing towards the direction she was looking. There was a sound in the distance, something familiar. It was far, but if he focused hard enough he could figure it out. 

Kyoko and Byakuya looked at each other, both having recognized the siren's undeniable screech at the same time. With a nod, they began to run. Makoto or not, whoever was caught by that Siren Monokuma was in danger. Byakuya steadied his hacking gun in his hand and Kyoko effortlessly pulled her taser from it's bounds. Despite their great desire to find Makoto meer seconds ago, they hoped that anyone else would be caught by the Monokuma's. But, this was Makoto after all. 

It took an undetermined amount of time for them to loop around to the convenience store, but the time spent felt uncomfortably long to them both. When they did arrive they found it was a chaotic mess. There was a group of Monokuma's huddled together over one unseen person. There was blood scraped across the concrete as though someone was dragged with their horrible injuries and all. But there were no sounds of a struggle. The sight was more akin to school yard bullies gathering to kick a victim than a genuine fight. 

Without wasting much time Byakuya fired at the Siren Monokuma, destroying it without a second thought. "Damn noise was getting on my nerves" He said. 

Kyoko shook her head, "Focus" she pointed her nose towards the pile up. Byakuya's uncaring attitude toward the situation showed that he believed the person was already dead. One by one the machines fell apart or destroyed themselves. And in their wake was a small, bloodied mess in human shape. The smell of copper and the sickening sight of messy pink was one they had gotten all too used to over the years. But that didn't make it easier when you recognized one of those bodies as someone you cared about. 

Byakuya felt harsh, furious breaths of air pushing in and out of his nose. The action was an almost unconscious response. He couldn't help but let anger well up at the sight of Naegi Makoto laying on the ground curled up on his side.

He grit his teeth, "Is he…?" Dammit. A Togami didn't hesitate. Certainly not Byakuya.

"No." Kyoko's voice was barely more than a whisper, and for a split second he thought she was simply in denial. But no, she had caught  sight of Makoto's chest moving up and down. She made way to him, hands hovering over him unsure of how deep his injuries ran. The first thing she saw were vicious claw marks running down his back. There were bits of debris clinging to the wound. They were ugly and jagged things. She wanted to roll him onto his back to get a better look at him but was it even safe to move him at all? She didn't want to risk paralyzing him. Not to mention she'd be pressing his wound to the ground. She glanced to his leg. A complete mangled mess, she could tell the unit that attached itself to his leg was relentless in its attack. Shaking and thrashing and the like. The fabric that once covered his leg was all but torn to shreds leaving the whole injury on brutal display. There was blood pooling underneath where he lay on the ground. His skin was pale from blood loss, breaking into a cold sweat that made her certain shock was already setting in. Almost all exposed skin was blossoming into a different, unnatural color indicating a plethora of bruises. His breathing was quiet but heavy, he'd already lost a lot of blood. When her eyes finally trailed up to his face she felt a small bit of relief that his features were marred by only a small cut on his left cheek, with a lazy stream of blood pouring from it. 

Byakuya and Kyoko were two individuals with a massive disconnect of their emotions brought about by their upbringing. Byakuya turned any emotion he felt into anger and disdain. Kyoko snuffed out most emotions she felt so that nothing would show. They had the emotional resolve of steel, it wasn't easy breaking down their walls. Makoto was that strange part of the equation that ruined all of that. He managed to get Byakuya to be intrigued by someone so seemingly insignificant and he managed to get Kyoko to act pouty and almost childish during the game. Yes, their entire lives were spent crafting these defenses. And now they had to fight to keep it all together with only elmers glue in their arsenal.

Kyoko was up close and personal with all the gruesome details of his attack. She tried to shove it all down so that she could completely focus on ensuring Makoto's survival. But he was looking up at her with a dazed half lidded look, as though any second the world would slip away from under his feet. And despite that Makoto smiled when he caught eyes with her. Kyoko's heart cracked. 

Byakuya could only watch with his fists by his side. He had set out to ensure all the survivors of the first killing game continued to survive and here we are. He forced all these feelings to be translated into anger. But he knew the underlying causes. He knew there was a part of him that simply was scared for his friends sake. 

The two of them both understood the others emotional grievances. And that's exactly why Byakuya's heart skipped a beat when Kyoko looked up at him with fear vibrant in her eyes. 

"It doesn't look good." 

[dadsbongos]

how abt hajime saves antag reader from dying and that’s how she slowly starts to treat him decently and they somehow become kinda friends

Request for: Hajime Hinata Warnings: skin graft things (gore), self harm (hair pulling and scratching with intent to bleed), implications of verbal abuse, mental breakdown, fat game spoilers ~~~

“To think someone as stupid as you could build such mass weapons of destruction,” (Y/n) looked around the room, eyes catching on all the Monokumas Kazuichi had yet to dismantle and disarm. He had started with the small ones and wasn’t even half-finished yet.

“Hey,” Kazuichi whined, still working on taking apart a regular-sized Monokuma, “I’m not proud of them, y’know? That’s why I’m scrambling them.”

“No, I know,” she wandered over to the largest Monokuma, she was surprised it even fit inside the building it was so big, brushing her fingers over the cool metal, “This one’s falling apart.”

“Yeah, the bigger they are, the harder it is to keep maintenance, so I probably just gave up after a while,” the mechanic shrugged.

“Hm,” she hummed to herself, crossing her arms as she turned to face Kazuichi’s back completely, “I’m assuming that’s also why you rarely did such monsters.”

“Knowing me, yeah,” he gestured over his shoulder, still not looking at the girl, “Hubris is all that kept me making the big ones.”

“Typical.”

“What does that mean?!”

“Watch out!” a new voice entered the room, a hand grabbing (Y/n)’s arm and yanking her backward just in time for the arm of the monstrous Monokuma to clatter to the ground right where she had been standing.

Dread had sunk into the hearts of (Y/n) and Kazuichi - she would’ve been crushed to death if it wasn’t for… (Y/n) looked at the hand on her arm, following it to a face. If it wasn’t for Hajime.

Kazuichi immediately rushed towards the woman, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her as tears fell from his eyes and his lips quivered, “I’m so sorry, Miss (Y/n)! I should’ve been paying attention! I knew it was dangerous for you to be too close, I should’ve said something!”

“Let go of me, moron,” she smacked his hands off her shoulders, huffing before turning to Hajime and nodding curtly at him, “Thanks.”

Before anyone in the room could speak again, she charged out and into the hall.

Hajime sighed, “You save her life and she doesn’t even apologize for being an asshole.”

Kazuichi waved off the girl’s behavior and returned to his desk, “You should get away from that Monokuma.”

A creak from the giant robot was all the warning Hajime needed to get out as well.

~~

Teruteru had called everyone to dinner almost half an hour ago and even Hiyoko had come out to enjoy a meal with the others, but there was one person missing - (Y/n). 

Of course, Hajime thought as he went down the hall towards her room, she’s being difficult. She’s always like this. So difficult, so rude. Teruteru worked in that hot kitchen for hours on end so that everyone could eat together and obviously (Y/n) wouldn’t show up.

He knocked on her door, waiting for a few seconds. No answer.

He knocked again. No answer.

One last time. No answer.

Frustrated at the lack of response, Hajime took the doorknob in his hand, calling out, “I’m coming in!” before doing just that.

He expected to find her asleep in her bed or maybe the bathroom door would be shut and he’d have to shyly leave lest he gets called a weirdo for barging in. Instead, he found her sitting in front of her mirror, staring at her own reflection with unblinking eyes.

She was tracing her nails over the stitches left behind by Mikan in the wake of her skin graft. Her other hand was resting at her thigh, patting the bandages covering the donor site of her skin. Suddenly, her nails bit into the stitches on her cheek, scratching at the scarring and tearing at the threads. She cringed in pain but didn’t stop.

“Stop!” Hajime lunged forward, grabbing (Y/n)’s hand before she could completely rip through the stitched patches on her face, his brows furrowed, “What the hell are you thinking?!”

If he stopped to think about it, yelling at someone in an unstable spot like this probably wasn’t the best decision, but he wasn’t thinking.

(Y/n)’s eyes were wide, why did he care?

He already saved her life, wasn’t that enough? He had to save her face too? Why was he even in her room?

“Why does it matter?” she wheezed, stuck between laughing and crying, shaking her head all the same, “I was great! I was incredible! Now- now- now- now- now- “ she felt tears roll from her eyes and burn at the bleeding stitches, “I’m fucking horrific! I thought I was above all of you but lately, it’s just been fuck up after fuck up after fuck up- “

Taken advantage of by Junko Enoshima - the girl who never loved her.

Scarred and mangled face - done by her own hand.

Almost crushed to death - Hajime had to save her.

“Hiyoko laughs at me and you look down on me and Mikan judges my face every time I go in for a checkup and Kazuichi pitties me and Fuyuhiko thinks we’re the same and Ibuki’s scared of me and Akane hates me and Sonia thinks I’m evil and Junko never loved me and Junko never loved me and you look down on me and you look down on me and you look down on me and you look down on me and you look down on me,” she began rocking herself back and forth in her chair, fat sobs tearing through her chest and throat, hiccups ripping over her, “I’m a failure… I’m a failure… I’m a failure…”

“You’re just human,” Hajime knelt down to be eye-level with the woman, taking both her hands in his and making her keep eye contact with him, “You’re allowed to make mistakes and fuck up. You were tricked and manipulated by Junko, we all were. We get to make up for that now by restoring the world. Nobody hates you or judges your face.”

“You’re lying, I know it,” she stomped her feet like a petulant child, more tears stinging at her skin, “I should’ve been perfect. Mother always said I had to be perfect, father always wanted the daughter and that’s what I am! I have to be… I have to be…”

“Your parents are idiots if they think anyone could ever be perfect,” Hajime untangled one of his hands from their interlocked appendages to place it over his heart, “Even Izuru kind of sucks, he’s uncaring and doesn’t show appreciation for anything. Nobody’s perfect, (Y/n). You need to realize that whatever your parents told you was just overcritical bullshit and there’s nothing wrong with you,” his eyes flickered to her bleeding stitches, “I’ll get Mikan, sit tight.”

Her head fell in shame as Hajime left. Her fingers tapped on the bandages covering her donor site, feeling a faint sting at the contact. Of course, Izuru Kamukura would save her again. Or try to, at least.

God, did he have to be better than her at everything?

No, he wasn’t better. He wasn’t better. She was great.

Her hands shot up and twisted knots in her hair, yanking as hard as she could to shut her own thoughts up.

The door opened, Mikan hurrying through with a little white box in her hand. She shakily took (Y/n)’s hands away from her head, and held her chin to inspect the injured area.

“It’s not too b-bad, thankfully,” the nurse murmured, opening the box and unwinding some thread, “It sh-shouldn’t take me too long.”

(Y/n) closed her eyes, letting Mikan work and doing her best to act as if the pulling and pinching didn’t bother her. She wasn’t in pain. She was fine.

There no memories of causing despair with Mikan and Junko running through her head. There was never competition between her and Mikan for Junko’s love. There was no time that she felt inferior to Mikan.

She was fine.

She was fine.

Once Mikan left, Hajime escorted her out, the two muttering amongst themselves for a few minutes before Hajime nodded and returned to (Y/n)’s side. He lifted her from the chair and carried her to bed, largely disturbed by how little she protested, “I could get you some food, if you want? Teruteru made a lot.”

Shaking her head, (Y/n) felt more tears rise to her eyes, “I want to cry.”

“Should I go?”

“No… yes… I don’t know…” she sniffled, hiccupping once again as she cried, “Izuru… what do I do…?”

“I wouldn’t know,” he sat by her on the bed, “I’m just Hajime Hinata, and besides, nobody can tell you how to deal with your emotions besides you. Or maybe a therapist.”

“Stay, please…”

“Then I will.”

~~

“Hiyoko laughed when I tripped on the beach this morning…”

“She’s always like that,” Hajime paused pouring the pancake batter into the pan to rethink his statement, “Well, she’s getting better. Slowly.”

“I keep screwing up,” she huffed, cracking an egg to pour the whites and yolk into a bowl. What she didn’t notice until after she’d already thrown out the broken shell and turned back to grab another egg, was that she’d accidentally gotten a speck of shell in the bowl. Pursing her lips, heat rushed to her cheeks.

Again.

It was just mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake after mistake- 

“Ah, I do that all the time,” Hajime peeked over the girl’s shoulder, grabbing a fork to press the bit of shell into the bowl and drag it up the side and out of the eggs, “See?” he removed the shell from the fork and threw it into the trash, “All better.”

(Y/n) stood there for a few more seconds, antsy as she watched him go about his business like she didn’t just ruin breakfast. Her throat swelled with dread and her hands grew sweaty, “I messed up. Aren’t you gonna do something about it?”

“Like?”

“I- “ she held her tongue, shaking her head, “I thought- “

“It’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with a mistake,” Hajime shook his head, “You’re human, you’re going to mess up. Now whisk the eggs before Teruteru finds us and gives us ‘advice’.”

“Right,” she nodded, turning back to the eggs.

Hajime pursed his lips as quiet settled over them. He learned a lot about her within the previous hours of the night. She wasn’t a monster, she’d just grown up with the wrong people. 

She’d done awful things and she’d make up for them in due time, the most she could anyway.

It was after she had passed out from crying and he went out to use the bathroom that Mikan would nervously, shakily utter the words that made everything click.

“I s-suspect she has a God complex stemming from overcritical parents…”

She was sick and needed help. 

They all did.

She probably took the manipulation from Junko hard. Probably as hard as Mikan if the muttered, heartbroken repetitions of “she never loved me” meant anything. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what those two girls went through at Junko’s hand.

Well, if it’d help, he would listen.

He wanted to help her. He wanted them all to heal and live better lives as they restored the world with the Future Foundation.

That would always include (Y/n). She was as deserving of healing as the rest of them. She was deserving of love. She wasn’t a heartless monster.

She was… becoming his friend.