A/N: I've had this idea in my head for a while now and with the new Mirai-hen, I thought "heck, I better get that idea down and posted"
"Well done, everyone~! That was a simply wonderfully despair-ridden performance!"
There was a ring of small cheer as the nine teens gathered celebrated their success. They gave each other wolfish grins and pat each other on the back, cracking dark jokes. A shadow slid up next to her twin as she entered. "You did the best, of course."
Junko waved her manicured hand and giggled, her cheeks rosy with despair-filled delight. "You did alright yourself, sister, better than you usually do." She swivelled her eyes to survey her classmates. "Now we've just got to lay low and let our 'hope'," she sniggered, "do their thing."
Mukuro sat back down on her seat, eyes focused on the screen where the 'survivors' were making their way out of the school. It wouldn't be long before Future Foundation would come clattering over to pick up these 'symbols of hope'. She narrowed her eyes onto the six, studying each in turn. "Do you really think they'll be able to handle such a long mission?"
Junko pouted and encircled her sister's chest in a mock version of a hug, chin resting on top of the Ultimate Soldier's head to watch bored at their classmates' departure. "You're a soldier, Mukuro, you should have more faith in your comrades." She huffed, perfect mouth pouting. "We picked those six specifically for their skills in acting – everyone was chosen in order of who could act the best the longest." She gave a small, almost affectionate, tug at her twin's cheek. "Hence why you and Leon-kun had to go first."
Sayaka, at mention of this, turned and smiled, though it was fractured by annoyance and aggravation. "Uh, my I ask why I was included during that trial? You haven't exactly explained entirely." She said sweetly, all the birdsong tone of her voice drizzled into it.
Ishimaru leant over one of the monitors, his red bull-like eyes targeting Junko's face unwavering. "It would be much appreciated if you would finally divulge the full-extent of your plan."
Junko pulled away and sighed, tossing her hair dramatically. "You guys heard it in the trial, do you really want me to repeat myself?" she simpered, lips pursing for good measure. Though, she had given a fake story for the purpose of the audience. "Besides, we're not even all here, Makoto-kun and the others are going to be picked up by the Future Foundation members." She gestured to the main screen where the six had frozen as a helicopter landed close to them, fully-geared professionals rounding them up.
Chihiro sidled over, a computer balancing in a thin hand as he began to use Alter Ego to open a doorway into the mainframe of Future Foundation's computer network. "I could easily pass along a message to them." He hummed, gold eyes staring blankly like that of a forgotten doll.
Their mastermind harrumphed but positioned herself on a chair, her fake nails coming to drum the armrest. They waited as she tapped out a beat before she leant back in her chair and said simply: "We're going to cause even more despair." She paused to let the others settle themselves, leaning over monitors and other equipment to look at the face of their queen. "One even stronger than The Tragedy." She said gravely, eyes turning icy and her flippant personality dropping.
Her slender arms came to rest in her lap and her back went straight, looking even more like the plotting queen she was. "Hope is formed from the ashes of despair and the stronger the hope, the larger the shadow of despair it will cast. So, when they begin to rebuild the world, what do you think will happen when their symbols of hope, their guiding lights, turn and destroy everything they've worked so hard to recreate?"
Yamada sniggered, his cat like mouth curving. "Their newfound hope will be turned into a cosmic black hole of despair." He adjusted his glasses and gave his signature nerdy chortle.
Junko nodded, a bright smile on her face though it never reached her eyes. "Correct, Hifumi-kun!" She paused as he mumbled, face bright red at the praise of his idol. She turned back to the group and smiled lazily, seeming to wanting to keep up this personality for the moment. "So, we start by doing a little version of this – having our class, who had yet to be confirmed members of Ultimate Despair, be 'trapped'," the red plastic of her nails flicked through the air as she accentuated the word, "in Hope's Peak – two symbols of hope combined into despair."
She then raised her arm to gesture to all the equipment. Microphones, signal jammers, graphics creators, cameras, editing equipment – all the necessary items to make a reality T.V. show of despair to be broadcasted worldwide. "We show a world that has already been damaged by your senpai's, the official Ultimate Despair, symbols of hope being turned into despair. A despair that mirrors their own in the people that they once admired." She gestured to where Sayaka and Leon where sitting, managing the camera feed.
"I chose Sayaka-chan and Leon-kun to be our first to fall. Both of them are international stars in their respective fields and for everyone to see them fall into despair would bring a large chip out of their resistance. Their death's signified the people who had first acted in The Tragedy, and the break of the stalemate it caused. Sayaka-chan," Junko focused her eyes on the singer, the 'first victim' shivering slightly under her gaze, "you're a good actress but thanks to your existing backstory to Makoto-kun, our 'protagonist', it would cause extra despair to the audience to have you be the first one to die and to have them sympathises with and take note of Makoto-kun."
The mastermind next fixed her gaze onto Mukuro, who was watching this all rigidly and with a serious look on her face. "Sis, you had to go next though, since you may be a good soldier but you're a terrible actress." Mukuro bobbed her head subserviently and remained quiet. Junko hummed in resignation at her sister's lack of energy and turned to Leon. "Leon-kun, you're good at impromptu but you snap very quickly under pressure – in that trial you nearly broke character."
"Ah, that was," The Ultimate Baseball Player rubbed his head and huffed, "I couldn't help but wonder if we really were going to be executed and the despair was started to get to me." He gave a dark grin and a breath of a laugh escaped. "It was pretty exhilarating."
Junko trilled in delight, her personality shifting to one of her more energetic ones. "Now then, with our audience buttered up with the 'deaths' of their idols and the beginning of them noticing who takes centre stage, it's time to layer on their own personal issues." She raised a hand to Ishimaru, Mondo and Chiriro. "We have things calm down and the friendship forms in between Ishimaru-kun and Mondo-kun," the two bumped fists at this, smirks on their faces, "that will then be brutally ripped apart at the trial, breaking the audience into despair once more. The theme for this trial is: strength and past memories."
Chihiro folded himself into a chair, tapping hurriedly away at the computer, golden eyes darting up every now and then to watch. "With Chihiro-kun's role as representing the desire for the weak to become strong, and Mondo-kun representing those who would like to keep the weak supressed. This is one of the reasons many of the world have turned to despair and to seeing it embodied in symbols of hope agitates these people." Junko swang her heeled boots back and forth, looking more and more like an excited child.
"May I guess what my trial was representing, then?" Celestia asked, her gothic Lolita outfit changed for a regaler one in celebration of the final trial. She paused for the wave of permission from her liege and took a breath. "With Ishimaru-kun's status as 'broken' being exhibited strongly, this puts the audience om edge. This brought about distress for those who had contracted despair through the deaths of their own friends, at the hands of others who were infested. The double, violent, murder over the concept of 'greed' strikes the hearts of those who had joined despair in the aims of gaining. Hifumi-kun's death was an example of the despair caused at blindly following." Her silver-protected finger came up to twirl at a dangling lock of hair. "I'm assuming I was chosen to play the murderer for this one of the account of my title as the Ultimate Gambler making people assume I would be the one to risk it all for the sake of monetary gain."
Junko nodded happily, a grin on her perfectly proportioned face. "You're our best actress but you were better suited for playing this role from the very beginning." She leant back in her, the front legs lifting off as the back tapped against the table. "Now, for Sakura-chan's 'death' and Aoi-chan's 'betrayal', it sprung from the despair caused by those left behind by ones that had killed themselves or died during the Tragedy; Aoi-chan's role especially as the one who remained."
"Aoi is a good actress and she will certainly keep her cover in the Future Foundation, provided that the other five do." Sakura hummed, her battle-scarred body rippling with definite muscle.
"Was it really a wise move to have Fukawa-kun and Hagakure-kun included in the 'survivor' group?" Ishimaru grunted, a hand coming up to ruffle his recently messed black hair. He had shed the skin of his former personality as soon as he was helping manage the behind the scenes and had found himself comfortable in anything besides a uniform.
Mondo nodded and jabbed at the screen where the helicopter was disappearing off screen with the camera's no longer able to track them. "Yeah, especially with that serial killer alter ego. The Future Foundation is going to have a hard time coming to terms with her."
Junko flicked her hand dismissively, obviously become more aggressive. "Yasuhiro-kun was chosen as a 'comedic relief' and 'bumbling idiot' as this would bring other's guard down around him. "Aoi-chan was picked for the role of 'nice girl' and 'innocent victim' that will make others want to protect her. Kyouko-chan was 'reliable female lead' with 'connections to the school' so she'll be trusted with information. Byakuya-kun was chosen to play 'himedere support' accompanied with 'heir with title ripped away' so people will assume he'll want to regain his birthright and not doubt his loyalties." There was a small ripple of snickers and giggles at this.
Junko smiled, though this time it held stronger malicious intent. "Toko-chan played 'love-struck fool' as this will cause others to assume, by proxy of Byakuya-kun, that her loyalties are with hope. Genocider's role is of crucial plot-point, as we saw in the final trial, and to give those that had killed, a 'hope' that they might become better. Besides… their job isn't finished yet." She raised a hand to gesture to a camera feed of Towa City, where it continued on peacefully, unaffected for now by The Tragedy.
"But why did you pick Naegi-kun?" Mukuro murmured, eyes narrowed carefully on her twin. It had always been a point of interest to her to watch her sister as she plotted and planned – the looks on her face and the absolute despair it will inflict.
Junko burst into giggles and her chair threatened to tip over as her body was wracked with hysterics. "Because he's protag material!" she sang out between breaths.
"What do you mean?" Sayaka raised a thin eyebrow, dark shadows under her eyes from her diligence at the computer.
"Well, for one: he's completely unremarkable! He's got nothing particularly ugly or pretty about him, he's grades and personality are average beyond belief and he got into Hope's Peak by luck! He's the perfect person to 'put yourself in their place' and he's constant state of happy-go-luckiness makes him easily liked." She clasped a hand over her mouth as tried to stifle her mirth. "He's despairingly perfect for the role of the protagonist!" She wiggled her arm back in the general direction of the Towa City map. "And his sister will make a fine 'hero' when her time comes." She cackled madly, delighted that her plan had gone off without a hitch. "Furthermore, he was easy to have as distinguishable from the beginning due to Sayaka-chan already having known him, making the audience remember him."
"Then…" Celestia hummed and tapped her lips, red devil eyes fixing onto the monitor that overlooked Hope's Peak. "What is our next move?"
Junko let out a sigh akin to a corpse and flopped back into a chair, eyes pointed unfocused at the ceiling as her persona was once again shed for a blank, melancholic one. "The Remnants of Despair have almost fulfilled their usefulness of this stage of the plan… the Future Foundation is closing in on them and they'll be executed by this time next year if safeguards aren't put in place." She exhaled and her arms came to a flop. "They're moving onto their final jobs in Towa City now. Komaeda-kun and Kamukura-kun are already there and are waiting for the Captives to be released – which will be when Toko-chan and Byakuya-kun have reached the appropriate level in the Future Foundation. Remember," her eyes came to ghost over each of their faces in turn, "the only way to properly bring about despair is to have hope loudly and proudly exhibited before it's violently torn apart in front of their eyes. We have to wait for the right moment to broadcast our heartfelt despair across the world."
"What's the endgame?" Chihiro murmured, fingers pausing over his laptop to stare with a mixture of fright and excitement; despair, at Junko.
Junko sat back up in her chair and stared at the screen. "For now, we lie low and let the world believe we're dead, that the 'survivors' are their beacons of hope and that they will destroy despair forever. We wait for the Captives to make it out, for Naegi-chan to become a likewise symbol of hope, for the Remnants to be captured. The 'survivor' group is under instructions to get their senpais out of harms way. From there…" a slow, jagged grin, not unlike the one Monokuma would make, spread across her cheeks, "we'll bring down Future Foundations from the inside and exhibit it to the world…
"Upupupupu~! I can hardly wait!"
A/N: A little note of Junko's terms of address: she refers to her classmates by firstname-chan/kun because she's close to them and the Remnants of Despair lastname-chan/kun to show respect for them but also that they're below her in rank. She refers to Komaru as Naegi-chan since she has barely interacted with her.