AN: IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN REMOTELY CONTROL OUR BOY JUZO!?
Calming down, I don't think I ever mentioned that Junko has an ahoge. Well, she does and it looks like Komaru's. Hey, she is the Main Protagonist!
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
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
- Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
Fondness
Juzo Sakakura sighed as he slouched over on the bench. He paid no mind to the rain that was drenching him completely, instead continuing to sigh sadly every few seconds. Lately, things had...not been going well. In fact, they had not been going well for a while, not since he'd first taken up the job as the agricultural teacher at Hope's Peak Academy. To be honest, he'd never really wanted the job at all, and only at the behest of his best friend, Kyosuke Munakata, the Ultimate Student Council President, had he, the Ultimate Farmer, taken it up in the first place.
Munakata was extremely suspicious with some of the goings-on over at the Japanese branch of the Academy, in regards to the mysterious 'Kamakura Project' and the School Board's involvement and had requested Juzo to take up the role of one of the Academy's new batch of teachers, one of which was perfect for the farmer's talent, in order to report back anything that he could find.
It had been rather disastrous.
First, the Kamakura Project had gone off without a hitch, the Board forcing the Ultimate Neurologist into lobotomising a young Reserve Course Student to become the so-called 'Ultimate Hope.' Not soon after that had occurred, most of the Student Council had turned up dead in one of the old school buildings. A brief questioning of the hysterical survivors, Kotomi Ikuta and Aiko Umesawa, had revealed that the group had murdered each other in some sick twisted game. Predictably, even though the Board tried frantically to cover it up, the news had broken out.
Days later, the Reserve Course Students had begun rioting about how the school had been using their money to create 'murderers'. While there were some people who had tried to appease the parade of angry teenagers, their voices had been quelled when news of Natsumi Kuzuryuu's disappearance and the discovery of Yasuke Matsuda's corpse had been revealed. Both had been students on the Reserve Course. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse, and he was sure something terrible would happen soon.
But if he was completely honest, that was not the reason he was upset. No, the reason he was feeling down on this particular day was a simple, single reason.
It was Christmas Eve.
All around the world, including Japan, people would be snuggling up together in preparation for the following day when they could finally show their love and appreciation to their fellow humans with a showering of presents.
And Juzo was all alone. His parents were long since out of the picture, and the only person whose company he truly, honestly enjoyed was currently on an island in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't like had anyone else to share Christmas with anyway. After all, he wasn't really one for enjoying the company of the opposite gender. No, he kept a tight grip on that little secret.
Sometimes, he still had nightmares of Munakata finding out. Of what the man would do when he found out Juzo was...well, he didn't want to go there.
Instead, he continued to drown out his sorrows by listening to the pitter-patter of rain on his jacket. He didn't even look up when a pair of pink boots and brown loafers entered his vision.
"Hey there!" came an energetic voice. "Why are you being such a downer? It's Christmas Eve!" Curious, Juzo finally looked up at the two people who had arrived and interrupted his brooding.
It was a pair of girls, both students of Hope's Peak Academy he had seen around a few times even if he didn't know their names. The one who had spoken up first, was a brown-skinned, dark-haired girl with rather large...assets, clothed in the standard Hope's Peak uniform. The other student, who was holding onto an opened white umbrella upon which was plastered a pair of creepy red eyes and a cat-like mouth, was a red-headed pony-tailed young girl in a white hoodie and a pink miniskirt. She was smiling kindly at him, while the brown-skinned girl looked rather worried.
Juzo grunted in annoyance, not wanting to deal with some stupid kids. "Piss off," he told them. "Who cares about that shit?" In response to his words, the girl who had spoken gained a look of offence.
"How can you say that?" she cried. "There's no need to be rude! I was just asking you an honest question, jeez..." she trailed off, spinning around on one foot to look away from him. "C'mon, Junko, let's get outta here. This jerk doesn't need our help."
Now Juzo was feeling a little bit guilty. The pair of girls hadn't done anything wrong and he'd basically brushed them aside like an asshole. "I'm sorry," he spoke up reluctantly. "I've just been feeling a little down recently. If you and that creepy umbrella girl want to stay it's fine." The dark-haired girl looked confused at his words.
"Creepy Umbrella Girl?" she repeated to herself before she realised and turned to the one she had called Junko. "I told you we should have left that thing back in your dorm and gotten a proper one. It's starting to freak people out."
"Awww...Asahina," Junko whined even if she didn't look sad in the slightest. "But Kyuubey is so cute though! He's like a little fluffy bunny." The so-called Asahina rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Yeah, sure...if the word bunny can be replaced with 'demon.'" she muttered sarcastically. "Anyway," she returned back to looking at Juzo. "As I was saying before, why are you out here on such a day? Shouldn't you be with family or someone?"
"Feh...I don't have any family," the farmer scoffed. "They died years back, and the only friend of mine is miles away. So no, I don't have anyone to be with."
"I see...I just thought that someone as handsome as you would have found a boyfriend by now." Juzo begrudgingly nodded at her words, before the blood froze in his veins. Every part of his brain was screaming at him as his mind repeated the last words she had spoken to him.
Boyfriend.
BOYFRIEND.
How did she know!? HOW DID SHE KNOW!?
Leaping to his feet, the tall man reached out and pulled Asahina up by her collar. Cocking back a fist, he aimed it at her face. "How the fuck do you know that? I've never told anyone. So how the fuck did you know?" The girl struggled against his grip as she attempted to kick at his shins, but he ignored her pitiful attempts. Rather bizarrely, the other girl, Junko, was still stood there as if it were an everyday conversation.
"Let me go!" Asahina shouted. "I'm the Ultimate Detective you idiot! I figured it out myself! Just like how I figured out your in love with your friend!" With a growl of anger, Juzo brought her face close to his, their noses almost touching.
"Oh yeah?" he spat. "What else did you 'figure out' you big breasted bimbo?" He'd never felt so angry before and his free hand was shaking uncontrollably. The urge to punch her in her snobby little nose was overwhelming.
"I know that you're a coward." she answered. That was it. The last straw, the one that broke the camel's back and Juzo's fist tightened around Asahina's neck.
"A coward am I?" he roared. "Well excuse me for never telling anyone! All my life, I've seen how people look at people like me! How disgusted they are by it! How wrong it makes them feel! That's why I never told anyone! I don't wanted to be judged, or belittled or made a fool of anymore!" he pointed his free hand at Junko's neck, where her crucifix hung. "Especially from people like her!"
"Hey!" Asahina cried back. "Don't you say that about Junko! You don't know her! Just because others judged you, doesn't give you the right to judge others. Junko is one of the kindest, most nicest and non-judging people I've ever met, no matter who or what she believes in!" Her passionate speech seemed to have the right effect, as Juzo's grip loosened on the detective and she bounced back onto the ground.
"Sorry," Juzo grunted as Asahina stood up, brushing the dirt from her uniform. "Look, it's just..." he struggled to find the words. "It's my friend, I do have feelings for him. It just terrifies me knowing what'll happen if he finds out. He won't want to see me again and then I'll have no-one."
"Then he's not much of a friend is he?" That was Asahina's opinion anyway. Junko on the other hand...
"I think you should give it a try," the other pair turned towards the bizarre girl. "What? You just have to hope. There's no reason in simply trying. What do you have to lose?" The pair continued to look at her in a state of weird awe.
"What do I have to lose? Everything! My best friend, my life and even my job!" Juzo exclaimed. "What the hell would I do then, huh?" Junko merely continued to smile.
"Have hope, and keeping having it. Hope to find a new friend, a new life. You have nothing to lose. You have a great talent. You've been successful. Anyone would be lucky to have you. There are plenty of fish in the sea. You just have to cast out a net."
Asahina nodded sagely. "She's right you know, and anyway, how do you know he'd do all that? Has he ever told you his opinion? Has ever made his stance clear?" Juzo thought about it. In fact, to tell the truth, in all the time he'd know Munakata, the man had never said anything, never given anything away about how he felt on the subject. Thinking back, he could even remember the one time, he and Munakata had seen a couple like him in a restaurant. Not one mote of disgust or judgemental look had ever crossed Munakata's face in the few minutes he'd glanced over at them.
He sighed. "Maybe your right...I-I've just never thought about it..." With a nod, he straightened up. "Yeah...I gotta give it a try...Thanks...err...Junko was it?" The girl in question reached out a hand and patted him on the shoulder. In silence, she turned around and walked away. Asahina watched her go for a few seconds, before she realised she had been drenched in rain.
"Oh crap! Wait uppppppp!" she cried, running after the wayward girl, leaving Juzo alone in the rain once more.
Juzo sighed again. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out an old and battered cellphone. Thankful that it was waterproof, he took a deep breath, and called the only number he had as a contact. He waited in a dragging silence as the phone continued to ring and ring. He was just about to give up, when the line was picked up.
"Juzo, a pleasure to talk to you. Did you want something?" Juzo's mouth closed up as he tried to form the words. "Juzo? Is something wrong?"
"No," he answered. "Hey, listen Munakata, I need to come and see you tomorrow. Could you send a ship over? There's something I want to...no, I have to tell you...and it has to be in person. It's pretty serious...no, no, I'm not in trouble...yes, yes, I'll be there..."
Notes:
Timeline
Set on Christmas Eve which means it takes place after Chapter 8, which took place in November. Since Class 77-B actually graduated, I presume the Tragedy begun around March-time, the actual time for high-school graduation in Japan. So about 4 months to go until the school is locked down for a year with Class 78 inside.
Juzo Sakakura
The best and only friend of Munakata because Chisa was never close to him in this universe since she was a therapist instead. He is known for his rather blunt attitude and anger management issues. After seeing a physiologist as a child, he was suggested to take an emotional outlet for his anger and was given advice to grow some vegetables in his garden. Shockingly, he grew to enjoy taking care of his crops and he continued his work until one day he had a field of his own while he was still a child. Eventually he was invited to Hope's Peak where he met Munakata.
Despite these changes, he is still in love with Munakata and often worried about how his friend would react when he found out. With the kind words received from a certain Hopeful girl, he confessed his true feelings and was accepted by his friend. He eventually joined his new-found boyfriend in the Future Foundation where he is a Branch Head. He is mostly the same, but less prone to violent outbursts thanks to his boyfriend and Junko's words.
Kyosuke Munakata
Munakata is exactly the same as he is in canon, down to having the same Talent. The only difference he has is that he never met Chisa and instead is much, much closer to Juzo. By the time DR3 would take place, the pair are in a happy relationship. Personality-wise, he is much more willing to listen to other people and has no burning hatred for Despair unlike his canon self, so much so, that he allows the Soldiers of Despair to be rehabilitated.
Student Council
As per canon, the Student Killing Game took place, with slightly different events due to Talentswaps and butterflies. Instead of one survivor, Sōshun Murasame, two others survived instead. These are Kotomi Ikuta, the girl Mukuro shot in canon, and Aiko Umesawa, the girl in the Pikachu hoodie. Thankfully, they go on to survive the entire Tragedy and are safe and happy as members of the Future Foundation.
