Waiting For Hope
"I needed to go back home no matter whaaaaaaaaat!
Because… she's waiting for me. Momma… is waiting for me at home. She's waiting all by herself… for the day I graduate Hope's Peak Academy and come home." – Teruteru Hanamura
She had waited.
She had waited patiently.
She had waited all by herself.
She remembered the day he had left. Remembered as though it had been yesterday, that afternoon even. Not four years.
Had it been four years?
Four years… so much had happened in that time. And yet, she felt as though nothing had changed. Of course, the world had been shaken by the Tragedy, but she hadn't changed. She still waited for her son, her beloved Teruteru, so precious to her, her last hope, all she had left.
She had waited as days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years. At first it had been lonely, so lonely, but over time the pain had dulled. It was still there, but she had overcome it, and continued her life.
Only that life was no more. Shortly after Teruteru had left, her condition had worsened. The doctors had told her that she didn't have long to live, but she hung on. For her son.
Her son. The driving force behind the Hanamura Diner. His creations brought many customers, far more than she could hope to attract with her cooking alone. She had convinced him that she'd be fine, but she knew that without him, it wouldn't be long before the diner closed. There was no way she could afford to keep it running, far less open branches in Aoyama and Azabu.
"…I'll be fine. Moms are strong. I won't lose to some illness…"
She had told him that, although she wasn't sure whether it was to convince Teruteru or herself. The doctors had put her on a new medication, one which cost far more than its predecessor. Slowly, the money the diner made ran out.
She remembered the day the diner had closed. She had given the last customer a free steak, a thank-you for supporting the diner. After she had seen him out the door, she had turned the sign to read "closed".
The sign had never been turned again.
She hadn't cried. She had to be strong. For Teruteru. He wouldn't cry. He'd already be looking for work. Looking for income. Looking to help his family.
It hadn't been long before Pig Boy had bought the diner. She had been employed by the chain, making burgers for hungry commuters on their way back from work. She earned enough to buy the medicine, but she didn't get better.
Then the Tragedy began.
She had prayed her son was okay, that he hadn't been harmed, that he hadn't been killed.
The Gods are malicious beings.
He hadn't been harmed, hadn't been killed.
He was okay.
Only he wasn't.
How ironic then, that her son, her only hope, had succumbed to despair. That he worshipped Junko Enoshima, that he committed atrocities in her name.
She had heard of Ultimate Despair. Everyone had. But she still prayed, still believed, still hoped.
And as the world fell about her, as everything changed, as despair reigned supreme, she waited. Waited for her son to come back to her.
She waited all by herself.
She waited patiently.
She waited.