AN: A good length chapter here! Not even in Junko's POV this time.

Disclaimer: All copyrighted materials belong to their respective creators and are not owned by me.

Did The Messiah Descend From Heaven To Bring Hope?

by Anju Addams

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."

- Dalai Lama XIV (1935-)

Friends

Makoto Naegi was not someone who would consider himself an interesting person by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, his family owned one of the largest conglomerates in the world and he'd been inducted into Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Affluent Prodigy, but that was it really.

Even then, most of the success he'd had with his families' company came from the odd form of luck that seemed to happen to him only. Because of that, every bad turn that he had, and there were a lot of those, would turn out to have a large impact on the company, nearly always positive. So, in his own mind, Makoto privately felt that maybe, just maybe, he hadn't deserved his talent.

But, here he was, actually attending the famous school. Over the last few months, he'd met with his classmates, who he could honestly say were some of the weirdest people he'd ever known, just as much as his own sister.

And now, just as his teacher had announced, there was another one.

She was definitely a winner in the looks department, he thought. At first glance, she'd looked like a glamour model that had stepped out of the pages of one of his sister's magazines, though she didn't appear to be wearing any makeup and her clothes were rather homely, only consisting of a white hoodie imprinted with a capital H, a short pink mini skirt and white boots. In fact, it was her long luxurious red hair, tied up in pigtails, and the beautifully kind smile on her face that made her look downright angelical.

Makoto was sure that if he was any other man, he would have fallen for her instantly. Still, in his eyes, there was only one girl for him, even if she seemed to ignore his very existence.

"Class, I'd like you to meet Junko Enoshima," The teacher spoke up at last, breaking Makoto out of his thoughts. "She's been in hospital for a while due to some…circumstances," he hesitated. "But I like you all to make her feel welcome and feel at home," The man turned towards Junko. "Would you like to say a few words Enoshima?"

"Yes, I would very much like to, thank you," she spoke gently, smiling all the while. With a short polite bow, she continued speaking. "It's so nice to meet you all at last. My name is Junko Enoshima and I'm the Ultimate Analyst. I hope we can get along."

The teacher, and a few of the other students, including Makoto, clapped briefly after she finished. "Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Enoshima," the teacher said, glancing at his wristwatch. "Now class, since we have a new student, I'm going to be generous and allow you a short break to introduce yourselves to Enoshima. Afterwards, we'll get right back to work. Are we all clear?"

"Yes!" the entire room parroted. Satisfied, the teacher strode back to his seat as some of the more excitable students headed towards the front. Makoto didn't bother moving, he was at the front already anyway.

The first person to make their way up to Junko Enoshima was a brown skinned girl dressed in the standard Hope's Peak Uniform unlike almost everyone else in the classroom. She lunged forward, grasping Junko's hand in her own, shaking it viciously. Another pair of students, a tanned, slightly muscular white haired girl and a tall boy with wild hair dressed in a baseball outfit came up behind her.

"Asahina," the muscular girl spoke up. "Perhaps you should give Enoshima her arm back now."

The girl flinched back as if stung, pulling her hand away from Junko's. "Sorry about that," she apologised. "Sometimes I forget my manners! Hehehe!" She stopped for a moment giving the red head a cute wink. "Anyway, it's so fantastic to meet you Junko! My name's Aoi Asahina, but my friends just call me Hina. Most of the time anyway," she continued glancing over at the muscular girl. "So you're the Ultimate Analyst, right? That sounds so cool! I myself am the Ultimate Donut Lover!"

Makoto watched as Asahina introduced herself, reminiscing about the time that he had met her. They had become good friends but he, and all his classmates could agree, the girl was a tad overenthusiastic, sometimes to the point of tiring out anyone around her. Not only that, but the girl was incredibly ditzy often coming up with outlandish statements or outright forgetting things. Then there was her talent, Ultimate Donut Lover. Sure, Hope's Peak Academy had, in its long tenure, had weird talents before, none of them had been as strange as whatever 'Ultimate Donut Lover' was. While Asahina was literally never seen anywhere without her favoured snack, was it really that much to warrant a place at Hope's Peak?

Thinking about it made his head hurt, so he settled back to watching the other girl introduce herself. With a firm grip, the muscular girl shook Junko's hand once before releasing it with a sharp nod towards the girl. "Sakura Oogami." she spoke tersely. "Ultimate Moral Compass. I trust that you will follow the rules at this Academy, hmm?"

Makoto shivered in his seat. As she'd introduced herself, Sakura Oogami, the Ultimate Moral Compass, was every bit as scary as ever. Before she'd even come to the school, she'd been infamous for her strict nature during middle school that had, along with her body form, led her to be nicknamed 'The Ogre'. Sakura seemed to take it in stride, however, quickly become her Class President. Even here at Hope's Peak, she'd taken up that role again, making sure that their entire class did not get up to too much mischief. While they'd quickly learned that she was normally a gentle and kind individual, no one had dared risk upsetting the girl due to the rumour that Sakura had once been a professional martial artist before she had stopped for some reason. It was clear that she did actually keep up the training, especially with her rippling muscles, so no-one actually wanted to cross her.

Deep in thought, Makoto missed Junko's reply, only going back to watch them when the wild-haired boy introduced himself. "Wassup, Junko-chi!" He said, adjusting his baseball cap. "Name's Yasuhiro Hagakure, but you can call me Hiro. You've probably already guessed it, but I'm the Ultimate Baseball Star. Don't mind the Ogre here, she's actually real nice!"

Out of all the students currently in the classroom, Yasuhiro was probably one of the more weird ones. He was something of a celebrity due to the often vicious baseball tournaments he had participated in, where he and his team beat the competition with ease, winning every match. Due to spending most of his life playing his favourite sport, Yasuhiro had often missed school leading him to be held back several times. By the time he had been inducted into Hope's Peak Academy, he was twenty years old, far older than any of the other students there, leaving him somewhat outcast. It wasn't until Asahina and Sakura approached him, did the rest of the class welcome him into their fold.

"What do you like to do, Junko?" Asahina questioned the girl hopping up and down, making her ponytail, which was shaped like a question mark for some reason, wiggle in the air. "Do you play any sports or stuff?" Now, Makoto was interested.

"Hmmm..." Junko looked at Asahina curiously. "Not really, I spend most of my time trying to help others," she explained, before closing her eyes and resting her hands over her heart. "It feels nice to help others. I want everyone in the world to be as happy as I am. That's why I try to spread Hope wherever I go." she finished. Asahina looked as if she was going to say something else when a cough interrupted them. All four of them, plus Makoto, turned to see the interrupter.

"You're still a regular old Anne of Green Gables aren't you?" spoke the girl with the long lavender hair and a dark purple sweater. From behind her, a feminine looking brown haired boy decked out in a 'Demon Angel Pretty Pudgy Princess' shirt and a pair of plain cream shorts spoke up.

"I think she's more of a Kafuka Fuura..." he trailed off. The lavender haired girl nodded sagely as though it was a serious suggestion.

"Weren't they the same person anyway?" she mused, turning to look at Junko "I can't believe I've been able to meet you again. I don't know if you remember but, I'm Kyoko Kirigiri," she introduced herself, holding up a hand. Makoto flinched slightly in his seat. Every time he saw the horrific scars and burn marks, he couldn't help but feel queasy. Junko seemed to pay it no mind, easily taking Kyoko's hand in her own with a grin. "My talent is the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, thanks to you that is." Kyoko finished.

The boy introduced himself as well. "Chihiro Fujisaki, Ultimate Fanfic Creator."

Makoto remembered those two well. While he didn't know much about them, he knew that the pair were kind of a big deal in the literary world, which was probably why they stuck together. Out of the two however, it was Kyoko who was more famous, especially since she was the daughter of Jin Kirigiri, the current Headmaster of Hope's Peak. Unlike her father however, Kyoko had decided to follow her families tradition of becoming a detective before a mistake she had made on her very first case had led to the injuries she now sported on both hands. After a brief stint in hospital, the girl had promptly quit her amateur sleuthing and become a writer instead. She certainly had the talent for it, seeing as how her first novel 'The Rose Detective' had shot her straight to stardom, launching a successful series and the label of the 'Modern Day Conan-Doyle'. Not only that, but she knew Enoshima?

Like Kyoko, he didn't know Chihiro well, just that the boy was famous in internet circles for the countless pieces of work he had written for nearly every fictional series imaginable. He was also a hardcore Otaku to the extreme and had once admitted that he like to dress up in female cosplay from time to time. Makoto could see why the boy did it. He looked so feminine already, no-one would probably be able to tell the difference. While he watched the interactions, Junko spoke up again.

"I do remember you..." she told Kyoko. "I met you in hospital years ago, right? It's nice to see you doing so well. I'm so glad you took my words to heart!" Kyoko shook her head.

"No, I'm just glad you were there that day. Without you, well, I cannot imagine what I would have done..." she trailed off before awkwardly scooting backwards with Chihiro. "It's been nice seeing you again, Junko. I hope we can spend some time together soon." Asahina, Sakura and Yasuhiro also moved away, saying their goodbyes, letting another trio of people surround the new girl.

The first of the newcomers was a large boy dressed in a pair of wrestling shorts and a similarly themed mask. Despite his size, his muscular physique was clearly visible. On the other hand, the second newcomer was his total opposite, a pale girl with short dark hair dressed, rather strangely, in a gothic Victorian style swimsuit with a matching black swimming skirt and even a cap. The last member of the group was a tall scary looking boy with slicked back brown and black hair, wearing a white suit with a similar level of smartness to the one Makoto was currently wearing.

"Greetings Junko-dono!" cried the large wrestler. "I am the stupendous Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Martial Artist! Perhaps we could have a match someday?" From next to him, the swimsuit-clad girl scoffed.

"Don't be so stupid, moron." she scolded Hifumi. "A brute like you would probably knock her down in one punch." With a sinister smile, she introduced herself to Junko. "Taeko Yasuhiro, Ultimate Swimming Pro. No relation to that baseball idiot over there." The last member of their group, the tall scary boy sized Junko up.

"Mondo Owada, Ultimate Gambler. Remember it," he grunted before moving away, completely uninterested.

Those three were the students Makoto avoided the most. Hifumi, despite being talented in various martial arts such as Taekwondo, he preferred to theme himself around American wrestlers. He was also a huge Otaku, a trait that brought him close to Chihiro. It wasn't odd to find the two boys discussing their favourite anime in some corner of the classroom. Taeko was also kind of scary too, despite only being a swimmer. She could suddenly flip between calm and composed, then absolute rage. She was still a brilliant swimmer though, with her even being scouted out for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Makoto also stayed out of Mondo Owada's way as well, since the boy seemed to have his anger switch permanently pressed down. He wondered if it had something to do with the gambler's brother who had died in an accident a few years ago, an incident for which he blamed himself for.

Without giving Junko anytime to greet them, Taeko moved away, Hifumi scurrying behind her. To her credit, Junko didn't seem phased, walking over to another student, a blond haired boy in glasses wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a black shirt and a choker around his neck. Makoto also knew that if he looked closer, he would be able to see several lip rings and ear studs on the boy's face. As Junko moved closer, the blonde boy stopped his task of trying to get a Sukeban looking girl in pigtails and glasses away from him.

"Hello!" Junko greeted the pair. "Who are you two?"

"Are you speaking to me commoner?" said the blonde one. "Can you not recognise me? I am Byakuya Togami, Ultimate Fashionista." Looking exceedingly uncomfortable, the delinquent girl stammered out a warning.

"S-Stay away from my Togami!" she cried. "O-Or I'll get my gang on you! I-I'm the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader Toko Fukawa you know!"

Makoto ignored the pair. Those were two people he had no desire of getting to know, wrapped up in their own bizarre little world. Even now they were glowering over at Junko, who despite looking as cheerful as ever, moved away to the last pair of students in the classroom apart from himself. The two boys, one with spiky black hair dressed up in a magician's robe and hat, the other with orange hair, goatee and a punkish looking suit, both looked up at her as she approached.

"Good day!" cheered the magician. "I am the famous Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Ultimate Clairvoyant. I could forsee your arrival here today!" The orange one rolled his eyes at Kiyotaka's speech.

"Sure you did." he drawled. "Name's Leon Kuwata. Ultimate Idol. You've probably heard of me."

Makoto certainly had. Like Kyoko and Chihiro, and probably Yasuhiro, Kiyotaka and Leon were famous. Kiyotaka had received certain scorn after it became public that he, the grandson of a prominent Japanese Prime Minister, would not be following in the family's footsteps, instead become a stage magician famous for his medium sessions in which he claimed to be able to see the future and speak to the dead. While Makoto didn't believe any of that for a minute, the boy was seemingly able to draw an audience to him. Leon also had that talent as well. The punk looking boy had shot to fame after a viral video of his spellbinding karaoke session had become a worldwide phenomenon. Soon the boy had become an international idol, a dream he had apparently held since childhood.

He continued to mull the facts over in his head before a voice called out to him. "Hey there," said Junko Enoshima who was now standing in front of him. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hand.

He took it. "Makoto Naegi, Ultimate Affluent Prodigy, Welcome to Hope's Peak."

"So, are you the last student then?" she asked. "I was sure there were more..."

Makoto turned slightly in his seat, pointing to the empty seat to his left. "Sayaka's not here, but she never comes anyway. I think I'm the only person whose seen her at all."

The person he was talking about, the Ultimate Programmer, Sayaka Maizono, was an old friend of his. Despite being a student at the school, she preferred to stay in her dorm room working on her new projects, not even leaving to feed herself. It was only with Makoto's help, and the help of the Ultimate Neurologist and the Ultimate Therapist was the girl able to function at all. Despite all those flaws, Makoto couldn't help but have a crush on the girl. Under all that crust, sweat and grease, she was very pretty. But he couldn't think about that now.

"There's another person missing too..." he continued, before the classroom door slid open, revealing the very student he was about to talk about.

Mukuro Ikubusa. The Ultimate Soldier.

"Sorry I'm late." she chuckled. "I was busy and I had to leg it o-!" the girl abruptly stopped, her jaw hanging open as she did a double take. Makoto had never seen the normal composed student so flustered.

Next to him, Junko chuckled. "Suprise, Mukuro! Your twin sister is here as well!" Makoto's mind reeled. Twin sister!?

Mukuro's face turned ashen. "B-But you're..." she spluttered. "You're supposed to be in hospital!" Junko nodded.

"They finally let me go! I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you. Now we can be together longer!" From the way she was leaning against the wall, Mukuro looked ready to collapse. She murmured out an apology before she bolted down the corridor.

"Huh..guess she's more excited that I realised!" Junko cheered. "It's so nice to see her again."

END

Notes:

Timeline

Takes place about two months before Chapter 3 around June. Since school in Japan starts in April, and Junko is late, I went with this time. The Kamukura Project has not yet begun.

Anne of Green Gables

A fictional character whose real name is Anne Shirley from the famous book 'Anne of Green Gables' published in 1908 by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne is characterised by her exceedingly positive outlook on life and her caring nature. The book series is very popular in Japan, where it is known as 'Akage no Anne.' It even has it's own anime series!

Kafuka Fuura

A fictional character from the black comedy manga/anime series 'Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei' about a Despair-ridden teacher who often tries to commit suicide. Kafuka Fuura is a student in his class and is his exact opposite, being a Hope obsessed lunatic to the extreme. At the end of the manga, it is revealed that she is actually the teacher's lover who has been dead for years with her ghost has been possessing the people her organs were donated to, aka the entire class. She and the teacher go on to marry. Her name is actually a pen-name, given to her by the school therapist, based on Kafuka's favourite author, Franz Kafka.

Her real name is then revealed to be Akagi An, or more literally, 'Akage no Anne'. This is why Kyoko says that she and Anne Shirley were the same person.

Talents of Class 78

I've already introduced them in the above chapter so this is just a list for ease of access. Where's the 78th Class's Ultimate Lucky Student and Ultimate Detective? Who knows...there may not even be one... Anyway, here we go:

Makoto Naegi: Ultimate Affluent Prodigy

Junko Enoshima: Ultimate Analyst/Ultimate Hope

Sayaka Maizono: Ultimate Programmer

Aoi Asahina: Ultimate Donut Lover

Sakura Oogami: Ultimate Moral Compass

Leon Kuwata: Ultimate Idol

Kiyotaka Ishimaru: Ultimate Clairvoyant

Byakuya Togami: Ultimate Fashionista

Towa Fukawa: Ultimate Biker Gang Leader

Taeko Yasuhiro/Celestia Ludenberg: Ultimate Swimming Pro

Chihiro Fujisaki: Ultimate Fanfic Creator

Kyoko Kirigiri: Ultimate Writing Prodigy

Hifumi Yamada: Ultimate Martial Artist

Mondo Owada: Ultimate Gambler

Yasuhiro Hagakure: Ultimate Baseball Star

Mukuro Ikubusa: Ultimate Soldier/Ultimate Despair