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prompt-master · 4 years ago

Text

Whisked Away

Everyone was getting settled for bed at the moment. They hadn't managed to find a proper safe shelter, instead they found an overpass to sleep under. While the rest of the survivors were cleaning and setting up their shelter to be as safe and homely as possible, Byakuya was doing one last survey of their surroundings to make sure everyone would be safe. If an emergency broke out they could always try and get Syo out, but why even risk what can be avoided? Not only that but…

Makoto had been sick lately. It had started with a small fever that Kyoko theorized was just his exhaustion catching up to him. But even after being able to rest often the fever only grew. Her theory changed, now she thought that there was a possibility of infection from the dumpster that she'd missed in the heat of the moment. The logistics didn't matter much to Byakuya though, the damage had already been done and soon they had to carry a feverish and concussed Makoto wherever they went.

Byakuya a few weeks ago was still able to keep up the show that he wasn't bothered by the ailment, but now it was hard to keep his worry at bay. Not when Makoto's fever had started to cause him to be delirious.

Byakuya pulled himself from his thoughts, after seeing no sign of danger whatsoever he decided to bring himself back to their shelter. He'd managed to find some more food, and even a little manga he thought Hagakure would enjoy. At least his venture wasn't for nothing.

He stepped under the overpass, seeing everyone hunched over. That was strange. He was expecting them to be settling down by now. Then again, these commoners had quite possibly the strangest behavior he'd ever seen. Maybe this was how plebeians talked to each other.

He opted to ask a question that had been on his mind, "How is he?"

He expected the answer to be the same as always. "Not better". But instead he was greeted by Kyoko lifting her head and meeting his gaze with one of….

Pure worry.

Byakuya nearly stepped back at such an open display of emotion. "What's wrong?"

There was a pause. Now that he noticed everyone looked scared or worried. Yasuhiro was going through their supplies while a pot of water boiled over the fire.

"Answer me, dammit, what's the problem?"

"Naegi hasn't stopped throwing up."

What?

"What? What do you mean?"

"He-h-he can't hold anything down" Aoi sniffled, her shoulders were shaking in worry but he could tell she was trying to stay strong. "He's been throwing up the entire time you were g-gone…"

"But that would be…"

Toko was fidgeting badly, looking like she wanted to curl into a ball as her hands pulled and tugged harshly at every joint one by one, "h-h-h-he...h-he threw up w-water too…"

Byakuya felt cold.

"That can't be allowed right now!"

"We know Togamichi! But he can't keep ANYTHING down we've tried even just a few sips and nothing works!"

He allowed himself to pace inward to be a part of the group. So he could finally get a good view of everything. He could see Makoto lying propped up against a large chunk of broken car, and he looked...awful. His face was scrunched up, the ordeal of constant throwing up had made his stomach and body burn. His face was free of all color, making his fever stand out strong. He was trembling badly, so badly it looked like an unnatural jitter. Kyoko was kneeling in front of him with a hand on his face, trying to keep his head up. Every time she tried to pull her hand back his head wobbled forward or to the sides, unable to muster up the energy to do it himself. His breathing sounded almost wheezy from how out of breath he was. Each breath was sharp and thin.

"Naegi" Byakuya spoke before he could stop himself, "can you hear me?"

No response.

Kyoko shook her head, "I think all the sudden vomiting put a minor shock on his system. He's been in and out of an unresponsive state."

Shit.

"What do we do?"

The worry in her eyes was suffocating. Byakuya felt as though he was standing in a dry sauna, water bleeding out of the air and leaving nothing but cracked skin and an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

"He needs to be hydrated." Byakuya found himself saying without really thinking.

Kyoko had a hand over Makoto's chest, feeling the racing pace it had taken. It felt like it could give out any second now. "We can't. He won't keep it down. If we had an IV maybe but…" Kyoko took a shaky deep breath, "we need to lower the fever."

Byakuya kneeled down by the two, now even closer he could see the lack of sweat on Makoto's face. Painfully dry. Painfully hot. "Take off his hoodie."

She nodded, beginning to pull the zipper. Byakuya put his hand to Makoto's neck. He wanted to hiss and pull away. That sort of heat….Makoto's brain had to be bubbling up crudely at such high temperatures. Soon all that would be left would be a charred black sludge. He could feel the rapid pace of his heart beat, without even trying to find his pulse point. Yet for all the speedy thumping it had there was hardly any pressure in the beats. His heart barely had anything to give.

"Naegi" he said, as Kyoko finished stripping off the rest of his hoodie. "Naegi you need to wake up right this instant."

Nothing. His mouth was slightly parted. And strangely enough his eyes seemed to be active behind his eyelids. Fluttering around irregularly. It...startled Byakuya in ways he didn't want to admit.

He heard a snotty sobbing cry, oh...that's right the others are. He had completely forgotten. Aoi's cries were choked, "i-is he going to die!?" she had said between hiccups, but no one had an answer for her. Or rather...they had their suspicions, but not the will to voice the possibility.

A strange burnt leathery material was placed onto Makoto's head. Wait...no...that was skin. The ruined hands of Kirigiri Kyoko. Byakuya looked up at her, hoping to ask with his eyes only. For Kyoko to take off her gloves so suddenly..

"My hands are always a low temperature" she said, her bottom lip wavered, "the damage is so bad that they are never a human temperature...I thought that maybe it would help…"

Makoto's eyes fluttered again. The whites of his eyes flickered between the eyelids until his pupils rolled down into the picture. The fluttering of his eyelids didn't stop, but now he seemed to be drifting his attention around. Byakuya's own heart was rabbit paced as he wondered if Makoto could even see anything.

Kyoko's voice cracked, "Is he responsive?"

Byakuya shifted the hand still cradled in the crook of Makoto's neck. He lifted his head up slightly, watching as Makoto went from staring behind him to staring directly at him.

"......n…..nmm…"

Makoto felt like someone was jamming a burning piece of metal into his stomach. The pain was so twisting and seering that he couldn’t even bear to cry. He could do nothing but experience the strange flashes of hot and cold, unable to move with the dried up pain inside of him. He may have not been able to move, but the pain in his stomach was well alive. It was a wiggling squirming thing that you could never get used to. It was like a worm that travelled too far into the street after rainfall. A lost and helpless little thing, rolling around until the soles of a shoe grinded down without a passing thought. No...that was too merciful. This pain was much slower, it was more like a worm caught by a fisherman. His stomach was a worm gutted for bait by a child, held at end to end and pulled until the center flesh tore. Hardly even usable after death, left down onto the table until brown sludge gushed from its slimy husk of a body with the slightest bit of pressure. How he wished he could cry.

Maybe if he could manage to fall back unconscious he wouldn’t have to feel the twisting of the fisherman’s knife tearing into him. Maybe if he closed his eyes he wouldn’t see her hands shaking over the hilt as he lay limp in the shower. He could never forget how she looked at him, her eyes an untold madness of fury and fear. He couldn't handle it, he had to pry his eyes away. He could barely see past the fluttering of his eyelids as he tried to look up at the sky. That dull red peeking behind blackened clouds. It was supposed to be a reminder of the world’s state, but looking at it right now it almost seemed like Heaven. It felt like someone could reach her hand out and whisk him away to a better world. It was the polar opposite to the complete suffering he couldn’t escape. Was all this pain he felt what she felt? Is that why this was happening to him? If he could bear the burden of her death...would he get to feel peace? And then...well then he would get to see all his friends again, right? That made sense. It had to make sense. The sky was so close, such a comforting red.

Makoto lifted his hand - how long had that been there? He’d completely forgotten - and tried to reach for Sayaka’s hand. For everyone’s hand. Instead of a warm embrace something rippled and cold wrapped around his palm. What was that? It held his hand with a gentle cradle, he could let his arm go loose and let it do the work for him. He trusted this strange embrace, but it wasn’t the one he’d expected.

“M’zno?” Why was the world made of spirals? He felt sick.

“...No Naegi, it’s not Maizono. It’s Kirigiri, do you remember where you are?”

“...Hi Kiri”

“Hello Naegi.”

“This is a waste of time, what good is this doing?”

“Shush, he’s barely even aware.”

“Indulging his delirium will not make his fever go down.”

“I know that.”

Byakuya crossed his arms as if that would somehow protect him from his uselessness. He refused to accept this. They couldn't just watch. They were no longer those same trapped students helpless to the horrors around them. They could do something now. He just...needed to figure out what.

“Hi T’gmi” his voice was cracked and soft from the lack of moisture. It must have been torture, not even being able to swallow anymore. Despite that, he still sounded happy to recognize one of his good friends.

“.....tch, Hello Naegi.”

He didn’t like how Kyoko looked. Holding his outstretched hand with a calm, solemn expression. Kneeling by his side without the rush of adrenaline all the other survivors had. It was the look of someone who had already given up.

“Do something.” Byakuya hissed. Kyoko didn’t move. “He needs help.”

“He needs comfort,” Kyoko whispered, “he needs rest,” Sayaka said.

Kyoko tried to lay Makoto down more comfortably, using his balled up hoodie as a makeshift pillow. She smoothed his hair out of his face. If she would lose him soon then at least she got to touch him with her bare hands before he went. He was still looking up at the sky, fingers just barely flexing like he was trying to take hold. She squeezed his hand, heart aching at how little he seemed to recognize.

“Kirigiri-”

“I just want to be by his side.” she said, “if he doesn't make it...I want to at least be there for him.”

“So you’re giving up.”

She rubbed her thumb in circles on the back on Makoto’s hand as he whimpered miserably, “No, but I don’t want him to be alone either.”

Byakuya turned to the others, barking out orders to search again for something - anything - that could help. Painkillers, fever reducers, survivors, cold clean water. He needed them to search every nook and cranny of this god forsaken world. His last moments spent with Makoto would not be like this.

Kyoko squeezed his hand again, “Naegi, if you can hear me, can you please squeeze back?”

It was weak...but the fingers curled up.

She smiled, “Good. You’re doing a great job. One squeeze for yes, two for no ok?”

One squeeze, he still looked at the sky. Sayaka watched him, but she said nothing. Why didn’t she look happy to see him?

“Are you in pain?”

One squeeze. That was exactly why he wanted Sayaka to whisk him away. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He’d been dealing with the retribution of allowing her murder to happen this entire time, surely she would take him with her?

“Ask him if he can talk.”

Two squeezes. Sayaka didn’t look angry. She didn’t look scared. So why had she pulled her hand away, why was she looking at Kyoko instead? Why did she look so sad?

“Is this ok?” Kyoko asked, pressing a kiss to his hand. It wasn’t much, but he seemed more relaxed now. And any bit of comfort right now was worth the world to her. Byakuya came back and held Makoto’s other, dismissively staring at the ground. “...Does this really help?” he asked.

Makoto gave one squeeze to both questions. He felt exhausted through his pain, his energy seeping away with each and every breath. It was nice, he had to admit, to know that whether he died or not he wouldn't do it alone. He somehow felt safer, even when he was so unsure about his own fate. He would fall back into an unresponsive state soon, having to trust his friends to take care of them as well as they had been. Something about the way Sayaka looked at him made him feel the slightest glimmer of hope again. Maybe instead...maybe it would be Kyoko and Byakuya who would whisk him away.

#danganronpa #fanfic #makoto naegi #byakuya togami #kyoko kirigiri #naegirigami #naegamigiri #naegiri #whump #i&i #does this satisfy you heathens?#not sure if i should cross post this tbh i kinda hate it but then again i hate everything i write so.#if people want it on ao3 ill put it there #let me know if this needs more tags too #whisked away

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kimmysfandomblog · 7 years ago

Note

Ky-o-ko, Na-gi-to, Hi-mi-ko !

Thank you for the ask Serahne!!! I also appreciate you censoring the names for me ^^

From here: Send me a character and I’ll list:

Kyoko

favorite thing about them: She’s a very deep character, in that throughout the story, whether you go for the FTEs or not, there’s a lot revealed about her personality and her backstory (and you have to look past what is said. Even though I am someone who started Danganronpa with Danganronpa the Animation, she still left an impact on me. She acts like an Ice Queen, but it’s more like a facade of sorts. She seems to know everything, but even she can make mistakes and false judgements. Maybe people complain about her being too cold to care for Naegi (Which I really gotta question their biases, lol), but she does care very much for him, and the rest of the class as well. I like that she was important to the story, and you could figure out what she’s like and why she is like this based on things from the main story, rather than relying solely on FTEs (that said her FTEs are really not to be missed if playing the game).

least favorite thing about them: I think I may have said this before, but for whatever reason I never trusted Kirigiri, not until Naegi almost dies for her and she’s genuinely shocked. Honestly, it’s not even Kirigiri’s fault I had such a bias against her? For some reason, it was set in my mind she was or had been connected to the mastermind, or that she was hiding something. She was definitely hiding something, and for good reason, but I guess in the end, what I wanted was for her to have trusted more in Naegi? Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right. I also did not appreciate pinning the blame on Naegi in CH5, but upon reflection, she’d never considered the danger she was putting him in as they kept getting closer to the truth that the Mastermind was trying to get rid of her. She was genuinely, honestly appalled at what mistake she’d made, I still remember the face she made and her promise to Naegi when he was about to get executed. She has done her best to make up for it throughout the rest of the series. Honestly, she’s fine the way she is, considering it was a part of her development as a character, and a set-up for CH5′s Trial and “execution.”

favorite line: "At first glance, he probably looks that way. But when he needs to, he can be stronger than anyone. He’s always optimistic. He always thinks of his friends and never gives up. Even if it means ignoring his own needs. That’s what makes me worry about him, but… …that’s why I believe in him. Yes… Back then, it was only because he was there that I could…“ So there’s a lot of more profound lines, I guess, and this isn’t even about Kyoko, it’s about Naegi, but this is her true and honest feelings for Naegi, and I really liked it! A jewel of DR3 that gets buried in a lot of nonsense, but a jewel nonetheless!

brOTP: Naegi, Asahina, and Togami! For Naegi, it’s actually the strongest one I had after finishing the Animation, given that I didn’t do much romantic shipping at that time (or even after watching through a playthrough since I’d been more focused on the story than shipping, lol). By the end of the game, her trust and faith in Naegi was really strong, and their bond was truly apparent in the game. For Asahina and Togami, a part of it is that they were among the survivors (I don’t know, I can’t picture Hiro being close to the survivors outside of standing up for them and caring for them, he’s in his own world. And Toko is with Komaru in Towa City, and apparently was never even more than an intern in Future Foundation because of Syo) Another part of it is because of the potential in their interactions! I was really looking forward to DR3 having interactions between Hina and Kyoko (And it did! Not as much as I was expecting, but it was there!) Their friendship is something I found really sweet, and by this point, they had a lot of trust in each other (Makoto included). It broke my heart seeing Hina cry mournfully for Kirigiri. For TOgami, they really do seem the type to debate over things, especially with Naegi. Naegi takes a lot of risks for a supposedly “average” guy, since he’s ever so optimistic despite the dark times. I can picture these two kinda sighing after Naegi, steering him as close to safety as possible, while also arguing for, or against, his actions. DR2 kinda solidified this for me!

OTP: I suppose the obvious answer is Naeg/iri, lol. I only really grew to understand and appreciate it after DR3, weird as it sounds. It comes full circle with what happened when Naegi’s execution fails and Kyoko throws herself into the garbage dump to rescue him. There’s a lot of trust and understanding between them at this point. And I never mentioned this before, but I also have a fondness for KyokoxHina for the above reasons stated in the brOTP section. And I’m also a little into KyokoxHajime… if you want a reason besides them sharing the ??? “talent,” then it may be them having a kinship over trying to deal with the other character’s shenanigans, and that I feel Hinata did a lot more investigating and felt more in control than Naegi did during trials. Most of the time XD

nOTP: I feel like every single time I come across this section, my immediate response is “Junko” XD I mean there’s some ships that I still don’t really get the appeal of, but I definitely don’t hate them. So I guess I don’t have one?

random headcanon: I always headcanon that she had eventually made up with her father during the schoolyear she’d attended HPA, before The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. Playing through V3′s UTDP Bonus mode implied she never did, which is sad, but it’s also just another AU not indicative of their real relationship. Kyoko loved her father, but simply felt betrayed for good reason, and her father obviously loved Kyoko (but then, why leave her?) I can’t remember for sure if it is ever mentioned why he leaves her, simply that he left the detective work to become headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy and left Kyoko with her grandfather. I want to imagine they do get along since in DR0, I do believe she goes investigating the First Killing Game from her father’s inquiry.

unpopular opinion: I like Naez//ono a lot, but that doesn’t mean I want to see nothing but Naeg//iri hate in that tag/search :( Like, all these arguments that “she’s cold, she was never friends with Makoto before DR1 so they can’t be a ship if they wouldn’t have been a ship without the plot of DR1, she never had friends before DR1″ are all really annoying to see. I get it, you like Naez//ono or Naek//usaba… but what is the use in complaining about canon? The only ship actually canon in DR is Izayoi and Ruruka, and that ended pretty tragically. Oh yeah, and the couple in DR3Z that got stabbed through. It’s not exactly a good thing to be canon in a Killing Game atmosphere lol. Kyoko had a lot of character development in the Killing Game that makes a lot of what they say null. She’s actually a caring person, believe it or not, and wants what is best for her friends. (This is really more of a problem with Naek///usaba fans I’ve seen, though the Nae//zono fans tend to jump in and help the kiri bashin :( ). This said, I don’t diss on the Naez///ono or Naeku///saba ships/fans. I just really wish they’d stop the pointless jealousy over Naeg///iri. Naegi//ri fans should also stop antagonizing these “competing” ships because it simply proves their points.

song i associate with them: I hope it’s not a generic choice, but Believer by Imagine Dragons. I mean, thinking about it, this suits DR in general, but this one is about personal growth by acknowledging and embracing pain. THat said, I’m probably terrible at these parts of the meme XD

favorite picture of them:

Ummm, this is probably more accurate as “favorite scene of them,” actually, lol. But yeah, I liked this part a lot! I took it from DR3 because The Animation’s interpretation of this scene wasn’t exactly done well enough for my liking.

Well boy, since I wrote a lot for Kiri, I’m putting Ko and Himiko under the cut XD

Nagito

favorite thing about them: Another very complex character! I know for most people, Ko steals the show from Hinata (I disagree with that, Hinata holds his own very well!), and yeah, Ko is probably what defines DR2, for most people at least. I like that he’s expected to be like Makoto from the start, being the Ultimate Lucky Student, claiming to be average, and he even looks up the students in the class from message boards, just like Makoto. He has a bunch of little funny moments when helping Hajime introduce himself to the rest of the class (Favorite part has to be “Bullying a girl? Not cool Hajime” XD). My first playthrough of the game, I didn’t pay very close attention to him, honestly. DR1′s strongest point had been the story, and not so much the cast (my opinion) so I expected much the same in DR2. I watched Cinnamon Toast Ken’s playthrough, so the only ones who stuck out to me at first were Hajime and Fuyuhiko. However, the second time, when I played through it myself, I actually paid attention, even went through his FTEs. Honestly, even without the FTEs, he was far more fascinating! The FTEs, however, did enhance my understanding. They were written in a way that you can believe them to be canon (this is super unlike FTEs like Ouma’s, for example, where it’s not convincing as part of the narrative). Komaeda’s mindset, his actions, and everything about him, you don’t necessarily forgive him, but you can at least understand him, to the best that you can. And that’s how Hinata feels as well. He’s a fascinating character to study, and it’s no wonder he’s really popular.

least favorite thing about them: The man has seen and experienced harsh reality, and that’s the reason for his warped perception. Still, I can’t help feeling more sorry for Hinata when he’s taking the verbal lashing that Ko gives him in Chapter 4. That really hurts, and it’s reason is not justifiable, although I understand why he did it. I’m sure that with what Ko read, the only thing he sees around him are monsters, with the worst offence being the one he thought shined the brightest. But it still kind of hurts, lol. I also dislike the self-depreciation. I kinda hope he eventually learns to love himself, given time and positive relationships. I also dislike how hated he is by everyone in DR3… like what is the reason? He didn’t do anything nearly so dangerous on purpose until he blows up the gym. If he did, we didn’t see nor hear about it…

favorite line: "It’s going to be fine… I’m pretty sure everything will work out in the end… After all…there’s no way hope can lose… Absolute hope that can break through any despair can never lose in a place like this! And not only that…I believe in you all. I believe in the time we spent together. And more than anything…I believe in my Ultimate Luck! So it’s going to be fine… As long as you believe in hope with all your hearts, the path should open…” The line gives me a lot to think about, how to interpret it. Given the context that he’s planning his own murder by the traitr, I wonder what he presumes? It gives way to theories, like whether he meant for the traitor to die or not. That said, SDR2.5 doesn’t seem to say that about him. If we go by his reaction at the end, he’s less than pleased for having been woken up by Hajime (although at the same time rather happy his classmates are alive if the smile is anything to go by haha).

brOTP: Hinata and Nanami of course. It’s pretty obvious with Hinata (and I’ll expand in the OTP section), but I do admit, a lot of the reason I like Nanami and Ko as friends/a pairing has to do with ignoring canon Nanami’s true feelings about Ko. I just think if Nanami was written in an honestly-a-kind-person way, with her goal set as watching over and trying to prevent the deaths of the former members of Ultimate Despair, then she’d be doing the same as Hinata in trying to understand Ko and keeping an eye on him (as opposed to ditching him when he actually tries to get a bit close to her in Ch4.) I always pictured Nanami giving the same amount of care to all of her classmates as she does to Hinata, and that’s where I started picturing the main trio of DR2 as best of friends! I get questions of why I like it and it doesn’t make much sense, but I just like happy platonic relationships! Not only that, but the idea of Nagito and Chiaki, the people with very strong ideals, challenging each other, is fascinating, too. Nanami is far more optimistic of equality and is ever the believer in the underdog, Ko sees the world in black-and-white, where you either are powerful and born powerful, or you’re just a mite to be stepped on by the powerful. That leaves a lot of debate, and you’d think Nanami is completely right, but Ko would have some hard-to-argue points. Hinata is somewhere in between and out there, where he’d want to believe in Nanami blindly, but can’t help but see some things in Ko’s point of view. That said, he’d have his own perspectives as well. I like the idea of them helping Ko sort out his true feelings, which he buries underneath a mount of self-deprecating thoughts, and Ko supporting Nanami and Hinata by pointing out their good and bad points (which he is good at doing when he wants to, I think). If you want runnerup BrOTPs, then Fuyu and Kaz! DR2.5 had a lot of great moments, and those AI versions of Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko really respected Komaeda was different, but not bad.

OTP: Koma/Hina(Nami)! I’ve talked about Nanami, so Hinata’s time to shine! I think Koma/Hina has the most complex and interesting relationship! I don’t see it happening during DR2 canonwise simply because there’s a lot going on and lots of mixed feelings. The start of those mixed feelings is just that Hinata and Komaeda start off in a good relationship. Komaeda is so helpful and Hinata seems him as a positive and supportive guy that he may even call his friend. Of course, that takes a turn when it’s revealed Ko had a part in the murder of the Ultimate Imposter. It’s now that Hajime feels betrayal: how could this nice and supportive guy turn out to be crazy? Maybe psychotic? Haji also has to deal with this underlying thought that if Ko was able to go through with his plan, the one he’d kill, the one who was the closest to him when he had the knife, was Hajime. There’s a lot of mixed feelings, and Haji wants to run away from that. He avoids Ko a lot, but being the kind of guy Hajime is, he still seeks to understand exactly what is going on in Komaeda’s head. He doesn’t want to be associated with Komaeda in fear of getting involved in Komaeda’s schemes, or even getting betrayed again, but he still wants to know where things go wrong, and why did it go wrong. I do think that Ko’s FTEs work well with canon, and that’s not my shippy mind saying that. Hajime has proven to want to seek the truth: he even tries to do something as dangerous as entering the Funhouse. I think that it is actually possible that he seeks out Komaeda in his free time in Chapters 3 and 4. He’s even about to forgive, or at least accept Ko at the very end of the FTE, until Ko backtracks. Ko sees Hajime, who is the leader of the class trial, who has somehow been able to get everyone by his side when it counts the most, and most importantly, does his best to be understanding of everyone, even Komaeda, and he can’t help but admire Hinata. I don’t think he even realizes his crush, at the very least not until much later. Hinata still remembers that Komaeda was so kind to him, and I’m sure it’s in the back of his head every time he sees or talks to Ko. I think people against the pairing tend to forget how appreciative Hinata was for those first moments. And honestly, it is as Ko says: These two are a lot more similar than one would think. Hajime is able to piece together what Ko’s plan was after his death because he was able to understand him, at least a little bit. There’s a lot unsaid between the two, and a lot yet unresolved (if you don’t count DR3 as a true resolution of course, hahaha). I think that, given time, after Ko wakes up, he and Hinata still have potential. They have things to learn about each other, and a world to shape and explore. I want them to be able to one day be comfortable and understand each other, because honestly they were pretty close to that even in such an environment and with such pressures. I wonder a lot about what would happen if Island Mode was canon (I mean, I can’t say I would have preferred it, but it’s a thought.) I can’t see Hinata letting Ko be by himself, ever, and I truly headcanon Hinata as willing to try harder with Komaeda. I can imagine them being able to help each other post-canon, since Hinata might not always be right when it comes to thinking in ideal situations, or maybe a part of him is still skeptical and wants to run for an easier solution. I see Ko as pointing out when the solution Hinata brings up is too ideal and will not work, or to bring up when a situation calls for a more direct approach rather than beating around the bushes. I see Hinata helping Ko accept himself and accept a happier ending, or striving towards a brighter future. It’s truly a ship that I’ve never really felt with any other pairing, with just how much longing I feel for it!

…Well, I’ve said quite enough, I think, lol. XD

nOTP: I’ve said it before, but I just…. don’t like Jun///maeda. I don’t get the appeal or attraction in it. It’s rather sickening to me, lol/ I’m also not fond of romantic Kom//amiki. It’s got a little to do with this one guy, but also a lot to do with what Mikan says to him at CH3, he looks really stricken. Also, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put to people with a lot of issues together. Even without that awkwardness of what is to come after CH3′s interaction, I can only see Ko and Mikan enabling each other’s bad habits of self-deprecation. I can only see them as friends, where Mikan tries to help Komaeda for physical injuries and sickness. I don’t think Mikan is qualified for help in mental disorders.

random headcanon: Komaeda’s riches are almost all gone, with the only thing left after Despair is a house he never loved being almost perfectly intact (He didn’t keep any valuables after his parents death, so when people ransacked his house, there wasn’t much to steal. Fixing broken windows and doors is easy compared to the burnt houses that surround it.) His house was made into a safe-haven for the ex-Remnants of Despairs on the occasion that they had to hide. No one thinks to come to his neighborhood since there are no resources left. He has started a garden there, with food that easy enough to maintain even when he isn’t present. He’s also started to pick up books whenever he is not in the house and has set up a few shelves- barely a library.

unpopular opinion: I don’t headcanon him as homosexual. I headcanon him as someone who believed themselves incapable of love or being loved. He truly despises himself so much, he never considered once that he’d ever be in a relationship. Men and women didn’t interest him, the only thing that did was their talent and capabilities. Until Hajime, of course. Haji gave him so much to think about and feel, that he couldn’t understand why, even after learning the truth, he still harboured positive feelings for him. I can’t really think of any other time he’d been attracted to anyone other than Haji or Izuru, except if you count that scene with Makoto? (Even then, it seemed a lot more like admiration of a celebrity)

song i associate with them: SO I just put my playlist on shuffle and came across The Only Exception by Paramore, and while the first stanza doesn’t apply to Ko, I can’t help but think of this as his feelings to Haji, lol. It’s a nice song, the most different from any other Paramore song to date, I think! Maybe a bit mainstream/generic, but I like it!

favorite picture of them:

(GIF by @kruisu)

He’s so happy here to see his class again, alive and well :,) I got my problems with 2.5, but Nagito being happy is not one of them!!!

Himiko

It’s probably obvious, but if you made it this far and want to avoid V3 spoilers, now’s the time to steer clear!

favorite thing about them: You ever have a talent that you really really wanted to see in a Danganronpa game, but were pretty sure wouldn’t make the cut? Himiko was that for me. Kinda. I wanted a SHSL Mage/Witch, and Himiko introduces herself as that! How very lucky of me XD Plus, it’s no secret I like Nanami, and the one voicing Himiko in the English dub was also Nanami’s! It was more of a plus than it was a reason for me to like Himiko initially, but that’s about it. I liked that she was saying she was a mage, and I guess I have a thing for the sleepy/lazy personality. However, it wasn’t really just that. I was hoping Himiko could be a person that was kind and caring. It’s not something she showcases a lot, but I believe it when Shuichi hypothesizes that what matters most to her is seeing people smile. She isn’t doing the magic shows and protecting her belief in magic just for her: she associates magic with the happiness it brings to others! I think that this view is skewed mostly because her regular audience are children that still believe in magic, rather than people around her age or older, so i’s a bit of… culture shock? to her.

least favorite thing about them: Honestly, just the story in general with her. I’m kinda wishing they just did something else with her character. She’s just made useless most of the time, or is seen as a hindrance or annoyance to the truth. Granted, most of the characters are like that, but people like to focus on her in particular, especially for what happens in Chapter 2, with her insisting her magic trick was actually real magic rather than a trick. I’m also not terribly fond that character development became equivalent to being the one who feels guilty for a character dying for her, or that she had been the easiest to manipulate into joining the Cult/Student Council. She even says in CH1 that she wouldn’t believe in Angie’s god. Except she does, even agreeing to do something dangerous (I mean, we didn’t know the pirannas only ate caracasses at the time, but neither did Angie). And then of course, the thing with Tenko. I really wish Tenko could have been able to recognize that Himiko wasn’t interested, and then that Himiko was made guilty in not having like Tenko the same way :/ We didn’t put up with this when it was Souda around SOnia, so why are we allowing it Tenko around Himiko? Oh, we know the reason why. But it’s controversial. As for her personality change: I didn’t mind it! But I can’t help but miss the old Himiko and wish she could have been more helpful in trials. The writers definitely could have written her that way, but they didn’t. I guess, what I’m saying is that I rather liked the Himiko in the UTDP world than I did in canon.

favorite line: "Nyeeeh… Motivation is rushing through my entire body. Hiii hee hee hee! This is the power of hope!“ This is not at all inspiring but I love the way she says it lol.

brOTP: So it’s probably a weird thing but… oum//eno. Kokichi was the one who instigated her to cry for Tenko and Angie at the end of Ch3, and I wish there was more acknowledgement of that. I also have a headcanon that one member of DICE was actually like Himiko, where to protect themselves from harm, they built up a world of lies, only to come across painful situations they didn’t know how to deal with. I kinda wish more happened between them, even if it’s not romantic.

OTP: I honestly don’t really have one… the closest to it would be oum///eno, but I also just can’t picture it in canon at all. I have alternate universes where it could happen, but not in canon. Not in my mind.

nOTP: I have been pretty open about it, and I know you’re rather fond of it, Serahne, but yeah. I really hate Yuma//ga, romantic or platonic. Can’t stand it, at all. I’ve blacklisted it and stuff, and I don’t really feel like ranting on about it and wasting energy. Another one, I can’t say I hate it anywhere near the same degree, but because of the fanbase, I can’t help but dislike Ten///himi. I don’t see why it’s Himiko’s entire fault she doesn’t feel the same way Tenko does about her. Tenko was actually being creepy sometimes, though she wasn’t aware of it a lot. I think that Himiko could have tried to just tell her flat out instead of beating around it and festering in annoyance, but I also wish Tenko could have give Himiko space to think about how she feels about Tenko. I also hate the fact that people don’t realize why Himiko is crying over Tenko… I’ll get to that in unpopular opinion.

random headcanon: the reason why Himiko is so into magic is that it’s always been something that gave her happiness. She had been bullied as a kid for being weird, and so she took to fantasy worlds. She’s played and enjoyed fantasy RPGs and has read fantasy books about witches, mages, wizards, and warlocks. It wasn’t until she met her master, an “Archmage,” where she found a person who understood her. Since then, she’d seen other people laugh and smile at her magic, and has vowed to continue to make people smile through her magic.

unpopular opinion: Just the fact she’s one of my favorite charactes in the series is unpopular, lol… I get it. I came into V3 already loving her without knowing much at all about her, so I saw things with a hyperfocused lens on her. I acknowledge her mistakes, her character flaws, and just the fact that she’s not a perfect character. However I also feel that people are too harsh on her and her reasonings. People love Tenko, who’s also childish and in her own world. Tenko is not even that helpful during trials, and hinders them as much as pretty much any other character. Yet, people single out Himiko as the character who is useless. Tenko had the benefit of dying on a high note, which was that she inadvertently sacrificed herself for Himiko. She also started showing less hatred towards men, and that’s character development I will acknowledge. Himiko also grows up, though. The reason why Himiko cries for Tenko isn’t because she suddenly realized her love for her, or that Tenko was a friend. She cries because she almost died. She cries because she would have died, if not for Tenko changing places with her. She now owes her life to Tenko, and has no way of paying her back. She is feeling guilty, and the way the others talk about it, how they couldn’t believe Himiko never gave Tenko the time of day because Tenko was so nice to her is just absurd to me. I don’t think they were even watching what was happening! Only Kaede in her FTEs with Tenko acknowledges this. Himiko wanted to try to be friends with Tenko right before Tenko dies, and now that Tenko’s gone, she feels guilt for not having tried sooner. I just don’t think it’s Himiko’s fault entirely and I really wish people could try to understand that her crying over Tenko is not fake or rushed. She feels so bad for Tenko having taken her place, she felt like she should die. Then, her new resolution is to live for Tenko and Angie. The only way she can think of paying back Tenko’s memory is by acknowledging Tenko as a friend. When it comes to the relationship between Tenko and Himiko, I just really much prefer what I saw in UTDP. In that alternate universe, they had time to develop a friendship and sort out their feelings. What happened in V3 just makes me groan, and how people are taking it makes me groan louder.

song i associate with them: Sorry I just love Paramore, so here’s another song by them XD Brick by Boring Brick It’s about having your dream and fantasies rushed by reality. The singer said in an interview that it was “a story about a girl who escaped reality through pictures and fairy tales and anything that wasn’t the real story. This way, she’d look perfect to everyone else and we’d all think that she’s got it together. But being that it was all for show, it couldn’t last” (I copied from Genius.com) I think that unlike every other suggestion, this is the most like Himiko!

favorite picture of them

Just so… adorable ;v; I forget to mention that I would totally see Gonta and Himiko as a brOTP! And Gundham from UTDP mode opened my eyes that they’d make a great team!

#thanks for the ask serahne!!!#mehere #ask meme #a little ship negativity and v3 negativity and yonaga negativity #i don't think having just the first names puts the post in the tag #but i do really appreciate it! you know i don't really like putting these in public haha

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sole-survivor-makoto-naegi · 2 years ago

Note

"Huh?"

Makoto noticed said creature. Something was both off and familiar about him at the same time. He cautious walked over.

Makoto had recently came out of a portal to this place. He couldn't help but to be a bit frightened. This was all new to him. He's met a few different versions of him in his world before, but never had he himself been away from his world into another up until now.

@sole-survivor-makoto-naegi

At least everything looks somewhat similar, though it's actually quite peaceful for once. Just outside there was a strange humanoid creature trying to bite the metal bench. Struggling to even take it apart

#sole survivor!makoto naegi #sole survivor!naegi makoto #sole-survivor-makoto-naegi #danganronpa roleplay blog #ask-the-dragon-boy

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pyropsychiccollector · 7 years ago

Text

Danganronpa: Another IF (Chapter 5, Part 4, Finale Part 2)

“Thunderous applause for working out something so obvious a monkey could do it… Oh, wait. That gets no applause at all.” Junko snarked.

“H-Hold on…” Sayaka stuttered. “You called Mukuro… your older sister…”

Junko grinned madly.

“That’s exactly right! You recalled something that was said five seconds ago, good for you! Indeed… Mukuro is my hopeless older twin sister…”

“Twin sister…?” Celes echoed.

“I am me. And Mukuro is Mukuro.” Junko proclaimed. “No matter how much makeup she wears, Mukuro can never become the Ultimate Fashionista. As long as the barrier exists between mind and the body, two beings can never become one… even if they are twins. It almost feels cliché, so I’m embarrassed to admit it… But it’s the truth. Mukuro Ikusaba—the archetypal ‘athletic older sister’—and me—the archetypal ‘adorable genius little sister.’ The Ultimate Despair crew called us the ‘Despair Sisters’!”

She was cackling madly toward the end, signaling a change in Junko.

“Did you just suddenly… change your personality?” Leon asked warily.

“I already told ya! I’m fickle beyond hope—I even get tired of my own personality!”

Fujisaki stared nervously at the floor.

“If you’re twin sisters… Why are your last names different?”

“That question again…” Junko rolled her eyes. “I get it all the damn time… I don’t care if it’s your first offense—I’ve had to answer that same question to the point of despair! Anyway! It’s cliché as fuck, so come up with something yourself and we’ll roll with that!”

Makoto looked over at Mukuro in concern. Something occurred to him just now.

“So wait… You put your sister out in the open with the rest of us, in harm’s way? Why…?” He didn’t get to finish as Junko cleared her throat and put on some glasses, switching personalities again.

“Right. Allow me to explain. For this project, I required someone to pull the strings behind the scenes in the academic coliseum. Someone to operate Monokuma and keep watch over all of you—in a word, a ‘Mastermind’… However, according to my calculations, Mukuro Ikusaba was incapable of serving that role. She was, after all, a pitiful sister. The kind of incomparably pitiful sister who would go off on her own and enlist in a mercenary group. For that reason, I took the behind-the-scenes role and elected to leave her out in the open as a student. Keeping her with me behind the curtain was an option, but she wouldn’t have been of any help there… Besides, like I said, fifteen participants is a nice, round number. But then, there was the dilemma of Mukuro Ikusaba’s title, ‘Ultimate Soldier’. It is, in a word, ‘3H’. Hopelessly foul, hopelessly disgusting, and hopelessly repulsive… To know that she was far removed from the needs of the society required no calculation on my part. On the other hand, it would have been a shame to let the beauty of my Fashionista title go to waste.”

Kirigiri narrowed her eyes.

“So that’s… why you switched places?”

Junko went on.

“However, she resembled me even less than I had calculated. Despairingly so… She was no better than a filler character—a ‘Girl A’, so to speak… Coupled with her underwhelming appearance, many predicted she would be one of the first murdered.”

That got Mukuro to stiffen and look at Junko strangely. Had… Had Junko seriously contemplated killing her at some point? The soldier recalled many times in the past when she had attempted to do so… But this was the Killing Game. Though she was ashamed to admit it now, it was a project she had wholeheartedly supported… because it was what Junko wanted. She thought that, had she listened to Junko’s every instruction, her sister would stop the murder attempts, even for a little while… But then… Was that why Junko wanted her to kill Naegi? Just so she could be executed for it?

“Don’t tell me… the only reason…!” Makoto exclaimed, coming to a similar conclusion as Mukuro.

“Naturally, that’s not the only reason. There was also the more prevalent fact that I’d gotten tired of her. You know… I’ve never ooonce had things go according to plan… It’s like, by planning things out, I know what’s gonna happen, so I started getting booored…” Junko made a cutesy expression, switching personalities again. “… so I had a change of heart and was gonna use the last murder case as a chance to be done with her! But then that stupid, ugly bitch had to get cold feet, and pique my interest with her defiance… But that worked, too! ‘Cause I could just use the scenario to erase Kirigiri instead!”

Mukuro reeled back as Junko concretely confirmed it. Junko… was just going to have her kill Makoto, and she probably wouldn’t have had a fair trial afterward… That, or Monokuma would have left a trail of evidence a mile wide, all pointing to her as the culprit. In that scenario, there would have been no point to defying Junko and fighting for her life. Junko would’ve been the only person she had left. Makoto would be dead, and she had no strong connection with the others… In all likelihood, she would have just accepted her death, because it’s what Junko would have wanted.

Somehow, she didn’t take comfort in the fact Junko decided to call of that option… And maybe it was because… Junko could still want to execute her on a whim… Like in this final Class Trial, should everyone lose.

Junko never said that if she won that they would both live… As her explanation just made clear, Mukuro was a student in the coliseum. If Junko won… she was going to be the sole survivor. Mukuro was just going to be another casualty.

Mukuro’s hand clenched around her chest… That didn’t make her choice any easier. If anything, when voting time came, this was going to be the most difficult decision of her life…

While Mukuro had been ruminating, Junko had apparently rambled on, gushing to everyone else about the greatness of Despair. And now they were to the point of working out what the motives were for, and how they tied to the memories that were stolen. Interpersonal relations, the past, greed, and betrayal… were all very cliché motives indeed, but they are not the only motives in the world. They were Junko’s seeds of Despair. Things that drove people to murder, and thus spark Despair in them. Junko claimed that they Despaired because they had Hope, and that the two concepts were two sides of the same coin – you cannot have one without the other.

It took Junko flat-out stating it, but the reason their memories were stolen… was because they had all promised they would stay their whole lives in this academy, if necessary. They did not desire to escape. And without that desire, they were never going to kill each other… She stole their memories to encourage thoughts of escape.

To nudge the trial along, Junko showed off pictures of the outside world. Of course, none of them had memories of those horrific sights… So to them, these pictures were bizarre and outlandish. Junko egged them on, saying the trial couldn’t continue on if no one could remember what those images were about… and that’s when Mukuro reached a decision.

“… It’s the Biggest, Most Atrocious, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in human history.” Mukuro explained to them all, earning her sister’s ire. “It’s… the reason the academy was converted into a shelter.”

Junko growled at the soldier’s defiant attitude.

“Hey! What happened to no hints?! I explicitly told you, no hints!”

Mukuro shook her head.

“Ah, but it’s something they heard about before, remember? Junko, you told me I could contribute to the trial if it’s about information they already had… And they’d heard about it from Alter Ego, when he decrypted those files.”

Junko backed off when her sister reminded her of that… It was true. Mukuro wasn’t technically breaking any rules… The files had said as much. Junko still looked pissed.

“S-So, wait…” Leon began to sweat. “You’re sayin’… We closed ourselves off in this academy… because the world basically ended? How does that even work?!”

Celes cupped a hand over her mouth as she nodded in agreement.

“I do believe we would have noticed signs that the world was ending, before we entered the academy…”

Junko cocked her head smugly.

“Hmm…? You mean when you entered the academy two years ago…?” She grinned.

“T-Two years…!” Mondo exclaimed, reeling back in shock.

“… That would explain the photos…” Sayaka mused.

“And Hagakure’s notebook…” Makoto added, to the idol’s confusion.

“Huh?” The blue-haired idol tilted her head at the Luckster.

“It was on the second floor of the dorms… Like Kirigiri said, she found a notebook of hers in one of the lockers… But that wasn’t all. Using the Emergency Use e-handbook that was found in the Headmaster’s secret room, I went ahead and investigated the other lockers. There wasn’t really much in the few that I could open, but there was one that still had stuff inside… A crystal ball, tarot cards, and a bunch of notebooks and other supplies. And one of the notebooks had Hagakure’s name written in it.”

“H-Hold on…!” Mondo scrambled to recover. “You’re saying… those lockers belonged to us?!”

“They’d have to… for Kirigiri and Hagakure to have lockers up there…” Fujisaki remarked.

“But I never even attended a single class here!” Leon continued to deny it.

“Hagakure’s notes suggested otherwise…” Makoto refuted the baseball star. “And if we studied here for two years, then it’s no surprise Hagakure had so many notes!”

Kirigiri cupped her chin in thought.

“I see… So that’s when it ‘started’ for each of us…” At her friends’ confused glances, she elaborated. “Each of us blacked out upon setting foot on campus. I would wager that sensation of blacking out was actually just the loss of our memories… We attended school for two years. The Biggest, Most Atrocious, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in human history happens outside the academy walls, and we agree to shelter ourselves in here...”

“Because Headmaster Kirigiri wanted to protect you from all that wonderful Despair outside~!” Junko preened. She then slipped on her glasses again. “But he never considered that there was Despair inside as well…”

Everyone with amnesia sobered up as it all came crashing down on them. The revelations. They’d attended school for two years… possibly became the closest of friends, and experienced growth as a class. Junko and Mukuro worked behind the scenes to bring about the end of the world, and they then sheltered themselves here, most likely so that they could fix the world later when the worst of it was over… A monumental task indeed, but not an impossible one for Ultimates like them.

And then… tragedy struck, as Junko made her move and stole their memories. Confused and befuddled them, making them strangers to one another again, and inspired them to murder…

“And those cameras…” Fujisaki remembered with a whimper.

“That’s riiight~!” Junko chirped. “All your atrocious murders have been broadcast the world over! Some people on the outside haven’t given up yet, and that’s another reason you all had to kill each other~… You guys had to bring it on home to those people that hope is a joke! That even beacons of hope can feel despair~…”

And that was the long and short of it. The full extent of Junko and Mukuro’s betrayal. And yet… something still stuck out to Makoto.

“What do you mean… ‘another reason’…?”

Some perked their ears up at that. It was true. Junko had said that.

… The fashionista adopted a sad personality.

“W-Well… It’s just… spending two years together as a class, even I couldn’t stop growing close to you guys!” Junko sobbed. “So… to have you all kill each other… to have the most important people in my life take their own lives… It’s… It’s so despairingly wonderful~… Orgasmic, really…”

They all just stared at the blonde, who was without a doubt insane… But before they could even grow angry about it, Junko clapped her hands together.

“However, as fun as this is, we don’t have any more time to talk… It’s time we brought this to a close.”

“Bring it to a close…?” Makoto echoed hollowly.

“Ballot time, obviously! Those are the rules, aren’t they?” Junko got all cutesy again. “Oh, and by the way, since this is the final ballot, I decided to change up the rules a bit, toooo!”

“You changed them?” Sayaka asked in bewilderment.

“You guys are Hope, and I’m Despair!” Junko said, holding up Monokuma playfully. “The vote is to decide which of those two deserve to be punished… And if there’s even one vote in favor of punishing Hope… then I will be declared the victor, and Team Hope will be punished!”

“E-Even one vote?!” Fujisaki yelped with wide eyes.

“Ah, no worries. I will, of course, not be participating in the ballot.” Junko said like it was no big deal. “And to make things even more fair, my disappointing older sister will be on your side! Because she’s a stinky traitor that got too buddy-buddy with you all.”

Mondo growled lowly at the fashionista’s proposed rules.

“You’ve got way too many advantages, bitch…!”

“Don’t worry… Nobody here would choose… to have themselves executed…” Makoto assured the biker.

“Oh, and while we’re at it—if I win, you guys’ punishment… is to peacefully and quietly go senile inside the academy! That’s what I’ve decided on!”

... Needless to say, this caught them all off-guard.

“Huh?” Makoto asked intelligibly.

“So… you’re basically saying…” Leon trailed off uncertainly.

“We’d just… continue living here?” Fujisaki asked in disbelief.

“It means we can survive…” Mondo scowled.

Junko got all sad again.

“And if you don’t like that… then you can punish me… and go out into the world…The dead world. A world in which only Despair exists. I don’t imagine you’ll survive long.”

“Wh-What’s your point?!” Makoto questioned. “No matter what you say… we…”

Junko cut him off rather excitedly.

“Stop right there! I just realized something. Just having you rot away in here is pretty damn dull, ain’t it? The audience’ll never go for it. All right, I’ve got it! I’ll give one of you one spectacular mothafuckin’ punishment!”

“What?!” Sayaka exclaimed distressfully. “You mean…

“That one person… will be executed?” Celes finished for her.

“As for who… I’ve got that under control! Naegi! You’re the one!” Junko cackled.

“M-Me…?” Makoto asked in horror.

“I don’t like you, Naegi!” Junko told him bluntly. “You’ve been reeeally defiant! In short, I’m giving you two choices… If even one of you wishes to punish Hope… then Naegi will receive a cruel punishment, and everyone else will live happily together here… But if you all wish to punish me, then I’ll have you leave this place. And you will leave. And then you will die miserable deaths in the outside world. So basically, if you throw Naegi to the sharks, the rest of you get to live!”

That got looks of dismay from everyone in the room. Not because of Junko’s pessimistic belief that they’d die once they left here, but because… if there was even one vote… one… They’d lose Makoto for real. The guy who came back to them. Made them feel unified again, even when they had doubted each other in this final trial…

And it was obvious to Junko that they all had doubts, even Makoto himself.

“What’s this? All outta steam? Not so sure of yourself anymore? Are you afraid of getting punished?” Junko jeered. “Do you not trust your friends…?”

More than a few winced at that mere suggestion. It was true they had fallen apart without him… So it was natural he’d experience doubt here, too. This was their lives on the line, supposedly.

“N-No! That’s not it!” Makoto insisted.

“It’s only natural that you would be experiencing fear. Everyone else seems to have come to the realization that fighting against me is a meaningless endeavor…” As Junko trailed off, Makoto took another look around the room. But it wasn’t quite what Junko was suggesting… There wasn’t self-doubt written on their faces, it was suspicion directed at one another. Especially Mukuro, who was actually the only one conflicted about this ballot time. “Yes… I love those faces… They’re beautiful, eroded away by Despair… Kirigiri can’t betray her daddy, and Muku can’t betray me! Just one person’s Despair means Game Over for ya! It’s hopeless, Naegi! You’re fucked! Hey, hey, who do you think is gonna do it? Whose Despair is gonna kill Naegi?”

Makoto looked down momentarily before placing a hand over his hear.

“No one… is going to give in to Despair!” He vowed. He pointed at her in righteous fury. “No one… is going to lose to you!”

Junko just sighed.

“You’re no fun… Stubborn to the bitter end… Ah, whatever. Let’s get this over with... The final ballot… It ends there—your dubious Hope… and you, as well!”

And just like that, they entered the final debate. Junko listed out every reason why they would be “fucked” if they left the academy… How it would be betraying the Headmaster, who so earnestly wished to protect them. She listed it all.

And yet… One by one, Makoto got through to his friends. It was an uphill battle, but Makoto addressed each of them in turn.

Leon…

“You know… I honestly thought I hated baseball!” The Ultimate All-Star confessed. He grinned roguishly as he ran a hand through his wild mane of hair. “But Naegi got me thinkin’! It’s not really the sport that’s a pain in the ass, it’s those stupid regulations about cuttin’ your hair, wearin’ a uniform! All that formal bullshit, I hate it! But… not the game itself. There’s just somethin’ about it… It’s a part of who I am, and there’s no friggin’ way I’m gonna let the guy who taught me that take the fall so I can ‘live’!”

Mondo…

“Aiyah…” Mondo hung his head as he placed his hands on his hips. “My bros would kill me if I just threw Naegi to the sharks… Daiya and Ishimaru both…” He then looked up and gave a thumb’s up and a massive grin. “I’m not strong. Much as I try to be on my own, I’m just a reckless little shit that got both his bros killed! I’d be a dumbass to let it happen a third time!”

Fujisaki…

“I ran away from being a boy because I wasn’t physically strong… And other boys would give me weird looks for not joining them in most games… I was so scared about my secret getting out, and then worried for Mondo because he lost his temper in the heat of the moment I decided to be brave! I was worried you all would hold that over his head…” Fujisaki muttered quietly, head bowed before he looked up, his face lit with the brightest grin he could muster. “But Makoto understood, and made me comfortable with my real strengths! I’m really good with computers, and I want to help people that way instead of working on my physical weakness… And… I want to be strong in character, like Makoto is. So… I’m not going to let him die here!”

Kyoko…

“… I didn’t know my father, so I can’t tell you what he wanted for me… but if he really was my father—if only by blood—then I’m certain… he would never tell me to stay here if it meant deserting Naegi… I can’t explain why, but I know I’m right… Just because I didn’t know him… doesn’t mean I can’t understand him, I suppose…”

Celes…

“Ehehe…” The gambler held a hand over her mouth as she tinklingly laughed. “Trying to inspire Hope in me, when all I’ve ever wanted to do is escape from here… Truly, you are an amusing knight, Makoto. That is what you promised, is it not? Perhaps that is why you try to reassure me, even now, when it is your life at stake, and not mine… There is only one suitable response in this situation. Makoto, let us escape together! I will not accept anything less.”

Sayaka…

“Makoto… You know my vote was never going to be to punish you…” The idol beamed kindly. “In all that time reaching for my dream, I saw the worst of society, getting disheartened day after day… But then… I saw you, even if it was only from a distance at first. You proved to me people could be better. They could look beyond themselves, and not expect anything in return! You showed me that being selfless was possible, and that selflessness was the whole reason I wanted to be an idol in the first place! There’s no way I could let Junko execute you. Not now, not ever. I lost you once already, and I’m never letting her take you away again…”

And finally… Mukuro…

“… Makoto…” The soldier trailed off at first, hand clenched to her chest, gaze down. “This isn’t an easy decision for me to make… I’m literally being forced to choose between you and Junko. Whatever I choose, one of you is going to die…” She looked up with fierce determination. “But… In the end, my trust in Junko has been shaken. Even if I voted for Hope to be punished so that she could live, there’s no guarantee she would really let any of us to ‘live’ in this academy… And while I place little value on my own life, as well as the lives of others, I can’t help but remember how painful it was to lose you… and how relieved I was when you came back to us. I couldn’t bear to go through with that again. Your ‘death’ hurt me worse than any physical injury could have… I have no desire to feel such Despair again. Like Junko said… I’m not her. I can never be her. I swore my loyalty to her because she was family, and she always seemed to be the ‘brain’ between us… But if she’s just going to hit me with another dose of Despair – your real death – and then kill me later, I might as well turn the tables while I can. Junko ordered me to be a student along with all of you, and I’ll consider that her last official order. I… was a member of Class 78, too, so that won’t be a problem… right? I thought a soldier was supposed to never question orders… but… watching everyone here defy Monokuma at every turn, watching you defy him, Makoto, it started making me think what a soldier can fight for. They can fight for the sake of the mission… Or they can fight to protect. And I… I want to be that kind of soldier. I want to protect… you… because you got me to start thinking about the world outside of Junko, You’ve never asked for anything except to be friends, and I… like that… When we get out of here, I’ll be sure to protect you from the Despair that’s out there. If you can affect me, a member of Ultimate Despair, you can easily change all of those people Junko tricked into joining her cause!”

As Mukuro concluded her speech, which put all of them but Junko at ease, Kirigiri smiled and added a little more input.

“You know, I don’t think it was Luck or misfortune that brought you here to Hope’s Peak… You’re here for a completely different reason… You’re here to crush the Ultimate Despair… and never relenting in your stand against Despair itself… We should be calling you the Ultimate Hope.” The Ultimate Detective crossed her arms in satisfaction. Junko, meanwhile, reeled back in anger and shock.

“What… the hell? What the hell are you?! You sicken me… This is absolutely nauseating… Your faces, your words, your interactions… they disgust me! That doesn’t make you cool, y’know?! You’re lame! You’re lame, you’re lame, you’re lame! You suck! You suck, you suck, you suck, you suck…!”

Makoto closed his eyes in concentration.

‘I’m not a world-class anything—nor would I say I have any special abilities worthy of calling ‘Hope’… However… However, I will not…!’

And just like that, Junko and Makoto entered the final part of the debate – just between him and her. she threw insults and all sorts of negativity at him, but he shot through all those derogatory remarks…

“Despair of tomorrow! Despair of the unknown! Despair of your memories!” Junko taunted, but Makoto shook his head.

“Hope keeps on going…!” The Luckster proclaimed passionately. “I will not give up, and I will not give in. I will not grow weary of myself, or the world. I will not abandon the things and people I care about. And I will not succumb to Despair! I mean, my optimism is my one redeeming quality!”

Junko was at a total loss for words.

“What… the hell?! What the freaking hell?!”

With the debate come to a close, Celes placed her hands on her hips and glanced around the room.

“It looks like we’re done here. I suppose it’s Ballot Time?”

Leon ran a hand through his hair.

“We cast our ballot with the switch here, right?”

“Okay! Here goes…!” Fujisaki cheered.

“Finally…! Time to end this fucking ‘game’…!” Mondo grinned.

“Let’s put an end to this Class Trial… and all the bloodshed it represents…” Kirigiri intoned solemnly.

“With our own hands!” Sayaka agreed wholeheartedly.

Mukuro and Makoto both smiled, having nothing else to add. They all cast their ballots… and the slot machine ended up on three faces of Junko. Despair was found Guilty… and Despair would be punished…

“Huh…? What just…” Junko trailed off in disbelief.

“Junko Enoshima… you lose.” Kirigiri asserted.

“Lose? Lose? I did? Th-That’s… That’s…!”

Leon groaned.

“What now? You gonna deny it?”

Celes rolled her eyes.

“Figures. Even the Ultimate Despair is vulnerable to a dose of her own Despair…”

“Deny it all you want, it won’t change a thing!” Sayaka said firmly.

But Junko continued on…

“THAT’S—FREAKING AMAZING~!!” Junko grinned rather gleefully.

“H-Huh…?” Fujisaki didn’t understand… none of them did.

“This… This is Despair!” Junko cooed. “I came to this academy… two years ago… and I toiled away, crafting the most intricate plan… I was even gonna sacrifice my sister for its success! And yet, in the end, I still failed! There is no greater Despair in this world!”

“Wh-What… What are you talking about?” Makoto wanted to try and understand, even if Junko was perhaps the evilest person he’d ever met.

“I was Despairingly hopeless! From the moment I came into this world, I was tired of everything!” Junko gushed. “So I’ve been looking forward to this moment… this once-in-a-lifetime experience… my whole life… My first and last chance to experience the most awesome Despair! The moment of my death! And to experience it alongside the world-class Despair of my project’s failure… Ahh! I’m so hopelessly ecstatic!”

“Is she… happy?” Fujisaki asked warily.

“In any event… you admit defeat, yes?” Kirigiri asked for clarification.

“Aha… Ahahahaha! It doesn’t really matter whether I’ve won or lost! ‘Cause, either way, it’s all the same for you guys, in the end… Despair outside, and Despair inside! There’s nothing but Despair for you!”

“N-No… You’re…” Makoto trailed off, only for Mukuro to support him.

“You’re wrong.” The soldier fixed her sister with a stern glare.

“Hrmm?” Junko faced her sister curiously, having not seen Mukuro talk back to her like this.

“I… I can’t claim to be onboard with the concept of ‘Hope’ yet… But if that’s what it means to support Makoto, then I’ll do it! I’ll make sure to undo all of your plans, even on the outside! I was in deep enough to know a lot of your major plans, so seeing them foiled will not be difficult at all. Because… it will bring you even greater Despair, and I’ve always wanted to give you what you want, Junko… Even if you never praise me, I’ll work hard to undo everything!”

“We’re not afraid of your Despair anymore…” Celes chimed in.

“We’ve made up our minds! We’re going out there, our Hope held high!” Mondo added.

“Naegi talked us into it…” Leon chuckled sheepishly.

“Our little Ultimate Hope~!” Sayaka cooed, pecking Makoto on the cheek and making him blush.

“Junko Enoshima, you said that Despair spreads like a contagion… Well, Hope does the same thing.” Kirigiri said matter-of-factly. “I’d say the eight of us are the proof you need of that.”

“K-Kirigiri…!” Makoto smiled in gratitude.

Junko was still locking eyes with Mukuro, but then she reeled back in disgust.

“I just can’t get a break, can I? Even Muku growing a spine from out of nowhere… There’s no way such a useless older sister will actually be of help to you guys… I despise that look you guys get at times like this! I know I’m only inviting more pain by doing this, by prolonging how long I have to look at those faces…” Junko calmed down marginally. “… But one last thing. You guys have this helpless obsession with Hope, and if you don’t wanna let that go, that’s fine and all… but you’d best prepare yourselves… because from here on out, you’ll find Despair cropping up to block your path at every turn. No matter which road you take… no matter where you try and hide… Wherever there’s Hope, there will always be Despair—like the two sides of a coin, they’re inseparable. Will you guys be able to hold firm in your devotion to Hope through all of that?”

“O-Of course we will… We…” Naegi trailed off, only to get cut off by Enoshima again.

“Don’t bother! I’m just talking to myself here! There’s no need for you to respond!” Junko sighed dreamily. “But even that must come to an end… After all, it’s about time for my punishment, don’t you think?!”

“You intend… to execute yourself?” Kirigiri asked.

“Those are the rules!” Junko preened. She then fixed Mukuro with a moody glare. “And if you even think about interfering, I’ll have the remote crushed, and you’ll still all be trapped in here! You know I’ll do it!”

Mukuro closed her eyes in resignation, but Makoto spoke up.

“I don’t… really think it’s necessary for you to…” He got cut off again…

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!!!” Junko screamed.

“What?!” Makoto was taken aback.

“Have you listened to a word I said?! I have no Hope for my life! Quite the opposite—I’m giddy with anticipation for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to taste death’s Despair… So back off!!!” Soon enough, Junko hovered over the red button that had plagued them throughout all the trials. “Upupu… Upupupu! Ahh, so this is death’s Despair… It’s exquisite! I wish I could have shared even just ten percent… no, even just one percent of this Despair… with the rest of the world! I wish I could have taken the world and coated it in this marvelous Despair! Now, let’s begin! I have a very special punishment reserved for last…! Let’s get this ball rollin’! IIIT’S PUNISHMENT TIIIME! AHAHAHAHAHA!”

With that crazed speech given, her eyes swirling deeply with Despair, Junko finally pressed down on the button… And the usual sequence began. The screens over the survivors read, “Congratulations! Junko Enoshima has been found guilty. Commencing execution…” An 8-bit sprite version of Junko walked off the screens with Monokuma gleefully, rather than being dragged like the past murderers had been…

It wasn’t a single execution. Junko was put through a montage of executions… One where she was tied to a post and bombarded with baseballs. One where she sat on a motorcycle that ran around in a motorcycle cage that was electrified. One where she had to operate a computer to shut defuse a countdown… and was summarily given the electric chair for successfully defusing it. There was one where she had to sing and hit the notes of a karaoke song, to fill a score meter until it was full, and a beartrap along the edge of the stage; the trap snaps closed just as she’s about to fill the meter all the way. There was one where she had to navigate a field of landmines, and failed to do anything when Monokuma flew by in a bomber plane and dropped a nuke. There was, “The Burning of the Versailles Witch,” where she was in the midst of burning flames, and then crushed by a firetruck. There was, “The Space Journey,” where she went up in a rocket and swiftly came crashing back down.

There’d been one execution for each of them. Makoto had a feeling the last one would’ve been reserved for him…

Finally… There was the Detention execution. The one that failed for Kirigiri. Junko sat in a chair, without a desk, as the conveyer belt carried her back to a giant metal cube that would utterly crush her… She was holding Monokuma in her lap, flashing a victory sign, and shooting them all a Cheshire grin. Her attitude made them think she would back out at the last second…

But she never resisted. Soon enough, she was under the cube. The mechanism temporarily stopped, making even Junko think it had malfunctioned again… But just as she looked up… It slammed down on her hard. There was a thick, goopy noise as her blood splattered all over, indicating her death was not faked…

Junko Enoshima was, without a doubt, permanently dead…

And what they all presumed to be the escape switch was lying a little away from the cube that had crushed Enoshima, and had ceased working the moment it crushed her. The switch was coated in blood now, but it was otherwise undamaged.

They would finally be able to escape… The final Class Trial… Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair… their lives at the academy… The game was totally, completely over.

~*~

It was over, but the building didn’t go down in a Hollywood-style explosion, and it didn’t all fade to black… It didn’t end in extravagant, flowery detail, nor, really, did anything ending-like happen at all. Everything remained the same.

Well… except one thing.

The AC stopped. The thing that Junko called the “air purifier”… shut down. That was it. They would have a little precious time to collect anything they might need to go out into a world that was purportedly war-torn and enveloped in chaos and Despair… But then they would have to leave. They wouldn’t be able to stay.

… Not that they intended to in the first place… But this, was their Farewell to Despair Academy…

~*~

The eight of them eventually regrouped in the entrance hall, where it had all began. They remained silent for some time, standing in front of the door… caught up in their own epilogue, and all the events that preceded the conclusion.

After a while, Kirigiri folded her arms.

“Just standing here isn’t going to get us anywhere… It’s about time we get going…” She nodded to the Luckster. “Naegi, would you do the honors?”

“S-Sure…” Makoto stuttered, taking the switch from her and feeling its weight in his hands…

“Do you think it’s real?” Leon couldn’t help but ask. “Is that really the key to this door?”

“As best as we can guess…” Fujisaki muttered. “Based on what she said, this should open it…”

“She said she would ensure we left…” Kirigiri rubbed her chin contemplatively. “And then she left us this just before she died… Given that, it seems very likely that this would be the key we need to get out of here.”

“B-But still… what if it’s, like, a self-destruct button?” Leon proposed. “Enoshima never said we’d leave this place alive…”

“That is possible, yes…” Kirigiri conceded.

“But we can just not push it…” Celes pointed out. “The air purifier is dead, and will never work again.”

That was true. But to quell their fears, Mukuro spoke up.

“It’s the escape switch. There is no deceit. Jin Kirigiri pressed that button to seal us within, when this all started. Junko could not have tampered with it.”

Though that might not have meant much, coming from a former enemy… many of them had to admit, it was a little comforting that the Headmaster held the switch before Junko did. It meant that it wasn’t another contraption that she developed… It was possible that she did tweak with the remote, behind Mukuro’s back… But that wasn’t a possibility they liked to dwell on.

Mondo scowled with determination.

“Even if it is a trap… We just gotta risk it. I have to know… how the gang’s doing on the outside. The gang Daiya and I created together…”

“My band… My friends…” Sayaka whispered quietly, hugging her arms in fright, Makoto wrapping his arm around her shoulders in comfort.

“We should also check on the loved ones of Asahina and the others…” Fujisaki chipped in. “They deserve to know what happened, if they don’t know already!”

“I just hope… the world we all know and love is waiting for us on the other side of this door…” Leon grinned nervously. “That Enoshima’s story was one big, fat lie…”

Makoto hummed in thought.

“But no matter what’s happened to it, it’s still ‘our world’… So, whatever is waiting for us out there… watch out, because here we come. Besides, well, compared to this academy, the world’s a pretty big place… and because of how big it is, there’s obviously always going to be despair somewhere… but there’s just as much hope, y’know?”

Sayaka loosened up in his arms, marginally.

“The search for hope—the endeavor to find hope… That, in itself, is true Hope… and as long as you have that, you can keep pressing forward, no matter how hard you fall…”

Celes giggled, hand covering her mouth again.

“I’m certain if Togami were here, he would say that he doesn’t need the ‘likes of you’ to tell him that… It would be just like him to look down his nose at someone as… Hopeful as Makoto…”

Mondo groaned.

“Oi… Don’t bring up that arrogant sonuvabitch again… I was ready to punch him from day one…”

“And you did punch Makoto…” Sayaka scowled, to which the biker looked appropriately chagrined.

“Keep in mind…” Mukuro spoke up again. “There are people on the outside who haven’t given up on Hope yet… Now that we’re through with the trial, I can tell you that one such group is called the Future Foundation, which is made up of Hope’s Peak graduates and former staff… We will not be alone in righting the wrongs I helped to commit…”

No one denied Mukuro had a hand in creating all this… But, internally, more than a few admitted that Junko really was the brains of the operation. Though Mukuro was misguided, she was loyal to her family… which a lot of them could not find fault with. If you couldn’t find companionship in your family, who could you fall back on?

… Well, Mukuro would be finding out the answer to that question, now that Junko was gone…

“Let’s just see what we can do out there…” Kirigiri stated. “I look forward to continuing to work with all of you.”

“I guess this is goodbye… goodbye to this academy… And Ishimaru, Asahina, Sakura…” Fujisaki said.

“Yamada, Togami, Fukawa, and Hagakure as well…” Celes remarked, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “Though I would normally charge for my services… If you are ever in need, come and talk to me. Whether or not I will be able to help you is another matter…”

“It had to happen sooner or later… Let’s send everyone off with a smile!” Sayaka said, smiling sadly. “I’ll… I’ll come up with some songs to pay homage to them!”

“Guys, if you ever need some muscle, just holler! I’ll come runnin’ over in a flash!” Mondo promised.

“That goes for me, as well…” Mukuro admitted, knowing Makoto would at least want to help his friends here. She planned to stick close to his side, though.

“I’m not gonna miss this place…” Leon admitted.

“I can’t say I will, either.” Kirigiri concurred. “But I do kind of feel strange about leaving…”

“I’m not quite sure how to put it into words…” Makoto said finally. “… but I guess this is our graduation, huh? Well, then… Here goes!”

Finally, Makoto pressed the switch… with his own hands… with their own hands… they would walk through the door to the future where Hope and Despair were intertwined… They had Hope, so they would soar. They had Hope, so they would continue the fight, and right the wrongs of the past.

With little fanfare, there was a large blaring sound as the door’s mechanisms began to unlock and open. The turrets trained at the door went up into the ceiling, and the iron door finally opened…

They’d earned the freedom they yearned for since the beginning...

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

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