So… it's been a week, and I've come to grace you all with a new update. I just got finished binge-writing my The Owl House x MHA crossover, so now I'm gonna pump out some chapters for GOTM. As for why it took me a week, outside of the fact that I've been writing for another story, it's because I've been binge-reading One Piece, and I gotta say, I understand the hype now. If that ain't peak Manga, I don't know what is (besides Jojo and Naruto, of course).
There's also the fact that I was a bit burnt out from this story, and now that the burnout has faded, it's time for some other people to catch a fade, and I'll give you a hint, they have similar pronunciations for adhesive parrots.
Now, before we get into my response to some reviews/comments…
I have a P-Atr-Eon. Please check it out! The links are all in my bios on Wattpad, FF Dot Net, Ao3, and Qoutev. Just in case, here is the link: gobblegum2?fan_landing=true&view_as=public
Also, one more thing: Seeing as I no longer have school to deal with, at least until January, my time will be solely divided between my currently running fanfics. That includes this one. I can't promise a bunch of updates, because IRL stuff will still happen, obviously, life doesn't just get put on pause because I'm writing, but that's beside the point. I think by the time December rolls around, at least I hope so, we'll get to move on to the next world, which you all will… GET TO VOTE FOR!
Yup, that's how I'm going to be doing this. Once Danganronpa finishes, I will draw out three of the random universes that I planned for Jolyne to go to, and put them on a poll. Once the poll is over, the results will be decided. The poll will be going up as soon as this arc is finished, and the link for it will appear in the chapter after the conclusion of this arc.
Now. With that out of the way, let's jump into my responses to some reviews/comments!
[Response to Reviews/Comments]
(Qoutev) Dead phone: I cannot confirm or deny that Chiaki will die in this iteration. What I can say, however, is that these next few chapters are going to be twisted, especially considering the path that Jolyne has gone for in regard to this universe.
(Qoutev) Shine375: Mega oof dood, you got some shitty timing m8.
(Qoutev) TACO SENSEI: Good question. I guess you're just gonna have to find out, right? And well, not magic, per se, they're just gonna have Stands. As much as I would've loved to give them magic, that would be going too far. I can't give EVERY important character Magic, ya know? Also, F for Class 78. As for how Class 77 – B becomes the ultimate despairs, well… ya, yer kinda right, but not completely. You'll see what I mean.
(Ao3) Spearow: Ayo, guess who got the reference for that spell, you did! As for CQ Haki… we'll just have to wait and see. I know virtually NOTHING about CQ Haki, seeing as I'm only just getting to Skypiea in the Manga, so if I do give her something from One Piece, it may or may not be Haki. Funnily enough, though, I know all about the Devil Fruits in the series, though it's mostly cause of some of the fanfics I read. Also, as for your idea for what's gonna happen to Class 77… damn bro, that's a bit dark.
(Ao3) Shine375 (again): Damn straight we gonna bully'em. I'll tell you what, they're gonna be confused as all hell when they do wake up.
(Ao3) TheSevenStars: I mean, if you got better hax, use'em, am I right? No need to torture yourself when you can just blink and they be on their knees, right? That's like Naruto not using The Nine Tails Sage Mode when Madara pulled up, even if Naruto got folded in the end.
Kolt999: :)
Ultimate Luck Aizen: Love the username, first and foremost. As for your question… yeah, well, his luck ain't gonna work for him for much longer, I'll tell you what.
And that about does it for the comments and reviews. With that being said, let's start the chapter!
xxXXxxXXxx
[Jolyne Brooks]
She had to admit, that went better than she thought it would. In all honesty, Jolyne thought that Despair Aura, for being as low level as it was, would've only caused a partial subduction. However, as it turned out, that was not the case, seeing as once she flared it, everyone passed out.
And if that wasn't any more interesting than it already was, each of her former classmates now had above 50% marks in the bars above their heads that indicated them turning into Despair-crazed loons, hovering around 65% to 66% respectively. To be honest, she was kind of disappointed. Sure, Gundham had put up a small fight, but all he did was attack once and gave up after that.
She'd at least think that he would've done something more, though Jolyne assumed he didn't because his friends were in the way. In a sense, she respected that, even if it was foolhardy. A small frown marred her expression. Now she had to transport them to the basement, which she had no idea where said location was.
Maybe she could ask one of the staff members? That was a possibility….
[The Day The World Knew Despair – Part 1]
[Status: Complete]
REWARDS DISTRIBUTED
.
Plus 5 Affection with Junko Enoshima [005/100]
Trait Unlocked: Queen of Despair – As the Queen of Despair, anyone who is inflicted with Despair is more willing to listen to you. Those who are Despair Fanatics will listen to you without any hesitation and will do horrible things to themselves if you ask them to do so. Even if you do something that seems "out of line" with their beliefs, they will listen to you no matter what.
.
Plus 25 reputation with Mukuro Ikosaba [025/100]
Perk Unlocked: Bullet Time – If you are being fired at by enemy fire, be it from bullets, arrows, or fast oncoming projectiles, time slows to a crawl for you, allowing you to easily dodge out of the way. This does NOT apply to long-ranged magic attacks.
.
[Whitesnake has Levelled up to Lv. 50! Whitesnake needs 625 more EXP to Level up again! Whitesnake has 3 skill points that you can use!]
A new trait and a new perk? And much to her lack of surprise, both of them were severely overpowered, something she came to expect. Queen of Despair pretty much guaranteed her free grunt workers, and Bullet Time made modern-day and medieval-age long-ranged weapons pretty much useless against her. The only thing that it didn't affect was magical projectiles. While that sucked, it made sense. Can't have her too overpowered, right?
All in all, the Perk was extremely useful, and as it stood, combined with all of the other Perks she had, this world was slowly becoming a breeze. She was almost nostalgic for the days when she was overpowered by another girl her age.
Almost, being the keyword.
Jolyne sighed, swiping the screens away again. "Level 50 already… I mean, Whitesnake's 19 levels higher than I am right now. Not to say that I'm annoyed by that, but… I think I'm progressing far faster than I think I was intended to. Not even a quarter of my spells are levelled up as much as Whitesnake is…." Jolyne thought, leaning against the doorway as she pursed her lips in thought.
[You have gained 17,000 Exp for killing Matsuda Utsagi (Lv. 15), Tomoko Utsagi (Lv. 29), and Satoru Majima (Lv. 5), indirectly! Half (8,500) Exp will be awarded to Whitesnake!]
.
LEVEL UP! LEVEL INCREASED FROM LV. 31 to LV. 33!
.
[Whitesnake has Levelled up to Lv. 52! Whitesnake needs 7,875 EXP to Level up again! Whitesnake has 5 skill points that you can use!]
Jolyne once again groaned. She felt a familiar surge of power flow through her as she levelled up, but didn't bat an eye to it. She felt her body become stronger than it was before, and a fair bit healthier. That being said, however, Jolyne knew full well that it was barely even a noticeable change. Sure, she was stronger, but seeing as the System wasn't showing her the stat differences, that proved that it wasn't worth looking over.
What she needed to do was find a way to locate the basement. Seeing as Whitesnake was out helping the children, Jolyne would have to find that out herself. There was also the annoying part of having to drag everyone there, too, without garnering suspicion from the staff or the other students of the school; now that she thought about it, she still owed Class 78 a magic show.
Blinking, an idea came to her head. Taking a deep breath, she focused her mana on what she wanted to do. Thick, purple ooze began to drip off of Jolyne's arm, and as it continued to drip off of and form around her arm, the purple ooze began to blast forward, and toward the ground. In a rather quick fashion, the purple ooze began to form into a humanoid shape, and once it reached a maximum height of a whopping 8 feet tall, the conjuration stopped, as the creature's eyes glowed with a deep emerald green.
The creature was huge, as previously mentioned. It was broad in build, and it had a menacing aura washing around it. Other than that, it appeared to be humanoid, with no real defining features, other than its vacant green eyes, and rotting complexion.
"Hmm… so you're an abomination. Interesting…." Jolyne murmured, placing a hand on the abomination's gooey, malformed hand. It was soft, malleable, and reminded her of the consistency of pudding. "Hmm… I know! From this day forth, you'll be known as Greg!" Jolyne said, a smile on her face as the Abomination, Greg, nodded. "Alright then, Greg. I want you to search around this school for the entrance to the basement. Once you're done, take these guys to the basement, and come fetch me on floor 5 of this school. I'll be in my Ultimate Lab."
Greg the Abomination nodded once more, leaving the classroom at a lumbering pace. Dusting off her hands, Jolyne exited the classroom. Now with Greg doing the dirty work for her, it was time for her to reap the rewards of the last quest. 10 Gacha Tokens, 3 Spell Tokens, and a Stand DISC which she'd save for later.
Why save the Stand DISC for later? Well, because she wanted to save it for later. The tokens were far more important to her, seeing as she could gain better gear from them. And so, walking up the stairs to the fifth floor, taking her about 20 minutes to do, she entered her Ultimate Lab, closed the sliding door behind her, opened her inventory and took out the first Token, that being a Gacha Token.
When she snapped it, it glowed a grey light, as a ring appeared in her hand. It was another Ring Of Fire. She sighed, putting it in her inventory. She was probably going to toss it later, but for now, she would hold onto it. Bringing out the next token, she began to snap it, only for it to glow yellow. Her interest peaked, she fully snapped the Token, and in her hands came a giant scythe.
The scythe was easily 170 cm long, with a long blade easily the size of her arm. The damn thing was taller than her! Its shaft was pure black, with white lines engraved into it in a swirling pattern. The blade itself was a light grey, with a black top, and a squiggly white line going up and down throughout the blade. But, aside from that, there was nothing else about the blade that made it seem unique. That was, until, she read the pop-up.
[[Legendary] – Grim Reapers Scythe: A Scythe belonging to that of a Grim Reaper! The Scythe itself is extremely sharp, and will never whittle down. Upon being slashed by the blade, anything it touches has a 5% chance of instantly dying, so long as it is mortal! Anything else that is slashed by the blade has a 25% chance of being inflicted with The Plague. The blade is sharp enough to slash through solid steel. Whoever holds the Scythe will know immediately how to use it, seeing as it is a generational weapon, and the previous users who have used this weapon have their knowledge stored within! No unnecessary training is required to make use of it! When someone who is attacked by The Grim Reapers Scythe dies, their soul will be absorbed into the user's very being, granting them a permanent stat boost of plus 25 of any stat (HP, STMN, END, ATK, DEF, LUK, CHAR, FTH, CRIT). This can only be done 5 times per every 10 levels per one stat. So choose wisely. WARNING: If you kill something that lacks a soul with The Grim Reapers Scythe, you will absorb a part of that thing into your very being. Beware of the consequences that may bring.]
Jolyne blinked a couple of times, staring down at the weapon with wide eyes. A Grim Reapers Scythe. An honest-to-God Scythe belonging to THE Grim Reaper. And it was now in her hands! How in the bloody hell was that even in the Gacha, to begin with?! Better yet, it was a weapon! But not only that she didn't even have to train to use it! And what was better was that the System wasn't lying about that, either! She could feel the knowledge of knowing how to use said weapon without ever picking it up before!
It was a weapon that was based on momentum. However, aimlessly swinging it was a fool's move. It is mainly a weapon about balance, clearance, and large arcs. There was no such thing as quickly slashing at an opponent with such a weapon. If one were to use it, one would have to be knowledgeable about spacing, as well as how they moved their body.
Using a Scythe in combat is also something that needs to be carefully planned out, charging in with such a weapon was a very stupid idea, especially because the weapon itself can be easily avoided with the proper steps. Study the opponent, find openings, then slash, preferably diagonally, and never horizontally or vertically. The blade is curved for a reason, so going for a straight slash would be stupid.
Weight balance was also a key factor to use a Scythe successfully. Knowing one's weight helps a long way, especially when considering how much of an arc you throw the thing in. If you hook the tip of your blade on something, do not stop with the momentum, even if you think whatever you hooked with breaks free. It is better to continue the swing than try to remove the blade, as all that will do is set you back.
As all of the knowledge of using a Scythe wormed its way into Jolyne's brain, all she could do was smile. Now she had something other than her magic and her Stand to attack someone with. Not only that, but it gave her the ability to instantly kill people. Granted, it was only 5% of the time, but it was still useful. Notably, there was no way to upgrade it, so that was an issue. That meant those chances would be hard-set.
Unfortunate, but who was she to complain? A chance to instantly kill anything she attacked with the Scythe at ALL was already overpowered as it was. The only thing that threw her off was that this was a Legendary Weapon and not a Mythic Weapon. Still, though, she wasn't going to complain.
Opening her inventory, she noticed a new slot next to her avatar. That being a slot for a weapon. She had never noticed it before, and seeing as she had just gotten a weapon—a good weapon—she decided to put the Scythe there. When she did, she saw it disappear from her hands, and for weight to manifest on her back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her Scythe resting on her back. It wasn't even attached to anything, it simply rested there, and then, it slowly faded away.
"Huh… neat," Jolyne muttered. She still had 8 more Gacha Tokens to go, so wasting no time, she started to open them. Most of the tokens were common items. In fact, the last four tokens were 4 more rings, though of different elements. One was a Ring of Ice, one was a Ring of Thunder, and another was a Ring of Nature, while the last one was another duplicate of a Ring of Fire. All had the same concept, so paying any attention to them wasn't worth her time.
On the seventh token, as she was midway through snapping it, the damn thing glowed Rainbow. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She knew this was Gamers Luck kicking in because getting a Legendary Item AND a Mythic Item back to back seemed goddamn outlandish! Once she fully snapped it in half, in the palm of her hand was something… odd.
In her hand was a… well, to call it a fruit would be hard because it didn't look like one. Well, no, it kinda resembled an apple, but that was it. It was dark red in colour, similar to that of an apple, with what appeared to be light red swirls worming about the thing. It had a strange stem, but overall, it appeared to be a fruit. Hell, it even smelled like a ripe apple.
Raising an eyebrow, she was about to question why she got fruit from the Token when a textbox appeared.
[Mythic – Magu-Magu-No-Mi: In your hands is the extremely overpowered Logia-Type Devil Fruit known as the Magu-Magu-No-Mi, or the Mag-Mag Fruit! By eating it, you will be able to create, control, and transform into Magma at will, turning you into a Magma-Human! However, when you eat this, you will lose your ability to swim, permanently! WARNING! EATING THIS FRUIT WILL AUTOMATICALLY GET RID OF [Epic – Hellfire], [Legendary – Ice Spears], Fire Resistance, Frost Walker, CHANGE YOUR STATS IMMENSELY, AS WELL AS ALTER YOUR RACE! YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLETELY IMMUNE TO FIRE-BASED ATTACKS OF ANY KIND, ICE WILL MELT AT YOUR TOUCH, AND WATER BOILS AROUND YOU SO LONG AS YOU ARE IN A MAGMA STATE! WILL YOU PROCEED?]
Jolyne stared at the textbox incredulously. Eating this fruit would delete two of her spells, and two of her traits, and alter her stats and race? It seemed… strange to her. But, then again, it was a Mythical item that would probably make her incredibly strong. After thinking about it, she saw no downside. If she could throw around Magma rather than fire, then it was a clear upgrade.
Sure, the whole "not being able to swim" anymore thing was extremely annoying, but then again she never liked swimming in the first place. Ergo, she saw no reason to NOT eat the fruit. And so, dismissing the text box, she raised the fruit to her mouth, took one bite, swallowed, then stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Bleh! What the hell?! This thing tastes awful!" Jolyne said, looking over to the fruit as it began to shrivel up and turn to dust. And that was when the change happened. Her body physically recoiled, as she bent over, falling to her knees, and coughing. Smoke began to pour off of her body, and as she gripped the floor with such intensity, the floor cracked.
And then, as quickly as it happened, it stopped, leaving a heavy-breathing Jolyne on the floor on her hands and knees. Slowly standing up, she clasped her head, before a series of screens appeared in front of her face
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW THE PROUD USER OF THE MAGU-MAGU-NO-MI! YOUR STATS HAVE NO BEEN MULTIPLIED TIMES FIVE! [INT, CHAR, LUK, FTH NOT INCLUDED] YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN GIVEN A RACE BONUS AND A NEW PERMA DEBUFF! THE TRAIT: FIRE RESISTANCE HAS BEEN DELETED! THE TRAIT: FROST WALKER HAS BEEN DELETED]
Race Bonus – Magma Human: You are immune to all fire-based, water-based, and ice-based attacks, regardless of power, user, or what-have-you. However, as a result, you cannot use ice-based magics, nor can you use any other fire-based spells. It would be pointless.
Perma Debuff – Curse of the Sea: As a Devil Fruit User, you are unable to swim in anything above waist-level water! If you do, you will immediately begin to drown, and lose ALL of your abilities for the duration you are underwater!
[Name: Jolyne Brooks: Ultimate Mage – Age: 16 – Class: Renegade – Level: 33 – Faction: World Ender/Remnants of Despair – Race: Magma-Human]
Stats:
HP: 4,375
Stamina: 4,375
Mana: 2,265
Atk: 500
Mg Atk: 900
Def: 500
Mg Def: 925
Endurance: 500
Int: 20
Crit: 58.5
Crit Def: 58.5
Mg Crit: 112.5
Charisma: 6
Faith: 0
Luck: 3
Karma: 150 (Evil), 1 (Neutral), 2 (Good)
HP Regen: 49.5 per second
Stamina Regen: 49.5 per second
Mana Regen: 112.5 per second
Currency: 452,780
Class Bonus: Deal Extra Damage to those who sided with the Future Foundation and other Ultimate Students.
Title Bonus: As the Ultimate Mage, all of your magic stats (Mana, Mg Atk, Mg Def, Mg Crit) have doubled. However, your attack and Defense stats have lost 30% of their normal upgrade. (+3 instead of +5)
Race Bonus: Magma Human: You are immune to all fire-based, water-based, and ice-based attacks, regardless of power, user, or what-have-you. However, as a result, you cannot use ice-based magics, nor can you use any other fire-based spells. It would be pointless.
Exp till next level: 1,351
Jolyne's eyes widened with excitement as she looked upon her new stats. The only thing she could say was: "Holy. Fucking. Shit." Who knew eating a goddamn FRUIT would've made her that overpowered?! On top of her magic. On top of her Stand. She now had this Devil Fruit thing that not only gave her the ability to control, create, and become magma at the mere thought of it, but she also got a massive stat increase! There was no surprise in that, the System outright told her that, but it didn't tell her by how much! She would've thought that it would be something low like 1.5 times or maybe even plus 100. Not times 5!
Now, granted, it sucked that she lost Hellfire, Icicle Spears, Fire Resistance, and Frost Walker, but at the same time, it made sense. She was literally composed of MAGMA. What the fuck did she need fire for? And if Ice melted at her touch, what was the damn point of Icicle Spear and Frost Walker? And seeing as she was immune to fire-based attacks, why even bother having Fire Resistance? She might've lost four things, but she gained one really overpowered thing.
And she still has three more tokens to go…!
"You know what… I've had my own fair share of excitement for the day. I don't need any of that anymore. Actually… now that I think about it…." "Yo. System," Jolyne whispered.
[Yes, Jolyne Brooks?]
"Is it possible for me to give other people these tokens? Can they use them to gain stuff?" Jolyne asked.
[Hmm… Upon further thought, yes. Yes, you can. However, if you give someone a token, you will be forfeiting whatever it is you would have obtained. That includes anything of legendary or mythic variety. And there is NO taking back what you have discarded from that token.]
Jolyne shrugged. "Seems fair. So, in that case, I'll give these to Junko and Mukuro the next I see them. As far as I see it, I don't need any more abilities than I already have at the moment. I have a killer weapon, too, so I don't need any more weapons, either. I'll stick with what I got."
[Understood.]
And then, before Jolyne could turn to leave, she got another notification.
[Mythic] – Magu-Magu-No-Mi (Lv. 1/150)
The Magu-Magu-No-Mi, or the Mag-Mag Fruit, allows the user to create, control, and become Magma at will, with the downside of not being able to swim in waist-high water. Fire, Ice, and Water-based attacks do no damage to you.
Techniques:
(Unlocked at Lv. 1) Dai Funka/Great Eruption: Allows the user to transform their arms into pure magma, before the magma then expands and launches forward, burning everything in its path! If the magma fist hits something, it will explode into molten rock shrapnel! Damage scales based on ATK stat.
[Locked until Lv. 15]
[Locked until Lv. 50]
[Locked until Lv. 100]
[Exp till level up – 1,500]
Jolyne hummed, tapping her chin in thought. "So… much like a Stand, the more I use it, the more it levels up. But, unlike a Stand, it gains Exp based on my usage of it, much like a spell… interesting. Seeing as my only other attack is Finger Laser, I don't think I'll have any issues with levelling both spells up, seeing as the rest are passive, combo-based, or creation-based. Of course, there's Blood Control and its constructs, so I'll have to keep an eye on that, too."
Now that she was done with everything else, Jolyne sighed, turning to face the door. When she did, the door opened, and Greg the Abomination stood in the doorway. Greg jerked its head to the left, which meant that Greg had completed his task. Smiling, Jolyne opened her inventory, equipped her Ying and Yang cloak, and followed Greg to the basement where the rest of Class 77 – B resided.
[Chiaki Nanami]
A pounding, pulsating pain in the back of Chiaki Nanami's head forced her to groan out a tired sigh. The cold sensation on whatever floor she was laying on made her skin break out into goosebumps, and for her body to tremble from the coldness, despite the clothing that she had been wearing. Her ears were bombarded with more groaning voices, urging her to open her eyes. What she was greeted with were the rest of her classmates, and, surprisingly, Pekoyama, who was sitting limply in her wheelchair.
Sitting up, Chiaki looked around where she had woken up in, only to find a dull circular room with cement walls, no windows, and what appeared to be air vents at the very top of the containment chamber they were supposedly in. The walls were completely smooth, meaning that climbing out of their shared prison was impossible-and even if they could, she knew a good few of them would've found it impossible.
The question was, how the hell did she get here? Last she remembered, she was in her classroom setting up... something with her class, and then... nothing. Her memory was missing bits and pieces, and now she was here. And looking around her at other classmates, she felt that everyone felt the same way. Some were in scratching their hands in confusion, while others were still knocked out.
A wave of confusion washed over her, and then, a wave of dread. How could she have forgotten? Jolyne. She brought them into this room… somehow. Wherever this place was. As she looked around the area, she saw a platform high up, hanging around 20 feet in the air. That just put into perspective how tall and large this concrete cell was, seeing as the roof went past the platform.
And atop that platform, was a figure in a black and white robe, hood down, revealing black and pink hair, a pair of emerald green eyes, and a frown on her face. Chiaki's eyes widened as she stood up, followed by a few others, namely of which being Nekomaru.
"YOU!" Nekomaru bellowed, bending down to jump upward. Once in a squatting position, he leaped upward, nearly reaching the platform. Chiaki watched as Nekomaru recoiled his right arm, handballed into a fist and was ready to punch Jolyne, only for Jolyne to stick out her left arm. She had expected her arm to break out into flame, but what she got instead was for her arm, along with the sleeve of her shirt, to melt into lava.
And then, she, too, recoiled her arm, balled her magma-like hand into a fist, and prepared to punch Nekomaru. The Team Manager did not flinch when their punches met, as a massive shockwave shook the room, walls cracking under the sheer pressure of the blow, as the wind whipped up and around the small contained area, but whereas Nekomaru's whole body recoiled as a result of the shockwave, Jolyne seemed unfazed, which was a completely different story compared to when she and Akane fought.
Somehow, in the span of however-long, they had been asleep, Jolyne had become ten times more powerful than she had been the last time she fought anyone. To Chiaki, the logic behind that made no sense. The only times she would ever believe that to make sense would be about someone playing a JRPG.
When the clash between their two strongest classmates concluded, as was to be expected, or not, it was Nekomaru who lost, and the aftermath of such a loss made everyone's, Chiaki's included, stomach churn and for the urge to vomit wash over everyone.
Nekomaru came falling back down to the ground, half of his right arm melted away as he screamed in pain. Droplets of burning flesh fell off of the stub that was his left arm, his wound cauterizing in mere moments. When he came crashing down, the floor shook when he landed. Nekomaru writhed in pain and agony as Jolyne stood overtop of them all, her expression unamused as she scratched the back of her neck, while her arm turned back to normal.
"Come on, now. Did you really think that that would've worked, Nekomaru? Get with the program," Jolyne spat as Nekomaru, despite his pained state, glowered at Jolyne with nothing but contempt. However, due to the pain, he couldn't say or do anything about it. "Don't get me wrong, it was a valiant effort. But an effort not worth your time."
Chiaki held back her urge to throw up, looking up at Jolyne with eyes that begged for mercy. When Jolyne's eyes met hers, a wave of despair washed over her. In fact, it seemingly washed over everyone as panic began to set in, and the hopelessness of the situation made itself known. And then, she spoke.
"Now, here's what's going to happen. I am going to leave you all here. You can try to escape, but it will be impossible. Only I can get you out, so effectively, you are at my mercy." As Jolyne continued her explanation, a vicious gleam took up her eyes. "Once a week, I will drop down enough food for you to survive. But only enough. Nothing more, nothing less. Everything else you'll have to figure out yourself. When I come back in a week with your food, I wonder just what kind of things will have transpired…."
And then, Jolyne turned her back on all of them, the sound of a door slamming shut echoing throughout the giant cylindrical prison everyone found themselves in. Chiaki looked around the room, watching as Mikan did her best to help with Nekomaru's wounds. Hiyoko and Mahiru were off in a corner comforting each other. Pekoyama was still asleep, or worse. Kazuichi, Sonia, and Gundham were talking to one another, though with the panicked look on their faces it definitely wasn't a calm conversation. Teruteru was huddled in a corner rocking back and forth. Akane was still in a heap on the floor, unable to move. Ibuki was shouting up at the doorway, cursing profanities, and Ryota was mumbling to himself.
They were trapped in this prison with no food, no water, and no way out. They wouldn't be getting any more water or food for a week and seeing as the human body couldn't go 72 hours without water, a dilemma began to show itself.
They were being left to die.
Chiaki didn't want to die…! She wanted to live, to play video games with her friends! To have happy memories and grow with her friends! Not rot in a cell for the rest of her life! If she was going to die, she wanted to die with some form of dignity!
And then, another thought hit her. "Where's Yukizome-sensei…?" Chiaki thought, peering around the room. Sure enough, Yukizome-sensei was nowhere to be found.
Then, the crushing realization that Yukizome-sensei was probably somewhere else with Jolyne made her heart plummet. Without Yukizome-sensei, there was no guidance. She was their guiding light, and in this bleak moment, she was not here to guide them.
And that was when another crushing realization came into effect.
The situation they were in… was truly hopeless.
And at that moment, her eyes lost all light, and instead, gained a swirling shade of darkness filled with despair.
[?]
He dreaded going home. Then again, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one, but unlike most of the other kids, who dreaded having to do homework, he dreaded going home for a completely different, more valid reason. The last thing he wanted was to be hooked up to that IV again. He spent the whole day yesterday studying. Study this, study that, study this obscure thing that nobody knew about. Become better at solving this or no food for a month. It was torture, and he was very aware of that.
And yet, Nagisa knew he had nowhere else to turn. He was only allowed to stay within the halls of the school for a maximum of 3 hours after school, and his time was running up short. He only had another hour before he had to go home.
Tapping his right hand against the wooden desk he sat at in his last period's classroom, all Nagisa could will himself to do is move his head slightly over to the right.
He knew the difference.
His parents didn't love him. They didn't see him for who he was. They saw him for his "talent." They saw him for his ability to be the best. He knew that what they were doing was wrong, but he was completely powerless. He could do nothing to stop them from hurting him, and no matter what he did, no matter what he said, no matter how much he pleaded, they just kept going on about how "this will help you!" or "you have to be the best" or this that or the other vague phrase to make him allow them to continue their nonsense.
If that wasn't bad enough, their horrible experimentation worked. Because of their warped way of teaching him how to "be the best" he was the top in all of his classes. He was the best he could be, and yet, they still pushed him. No matter how many perfect test scores he came home with, it wasn't enough.
It wasn't enough for them.
How dare they.
How DARE THEY!
And yet, he could do nothing. No matter how angry he got, no matter how explosive he reacted toward being poked and prodded, no one would help him, and he knew that. Deep down, all he wanted was to live a normal life. All he wanted was to move past all of this and live through a normal childhood. Was that so wrong to want? To have a birthday party every once and a while? To have his cake and eat it, too?
Nagisa buried his head in his hands, forcing his eyes shut as his breath hitched. He didn't want to go home. He so badly didn't want to go home. His anxiety about seeing that desk, that IV, those pills, the needles, all of it, he wanted nothing to do with it!
Footsteps echoed behind Nagisa. He paid it no mind. It was probably a staff member of this crappy school checking on him, asking him why he hadn't gone home yet. He'd just say what he knew they wanted to hear and continue about his day. And then, after exhausting all the possible time of staying here, he'd walk home, just like he always did.
"I can help you, Nagisa Shingetsu."
His head snapped up almost immediately, whipping around to see what he could only describe to be a monster. It was tall, and judging how it was nearly as tall as the doorway, he had to assume that the creature was six feet tall, maybe a little taller than that. It wore very little clothing, only a black face mask with its nose, or where a nose should be, mouth and lower face exposed with what appeared to be a crown-like thing attached to the face mask. It had a massive shoulder pad thing around its neck, and a small skirt thing with its crotch exposed, though with no visible genitalia, which was a good thing. There was a single black line going down the center of the creature's outfit, golden dots lining said line and the rim of its skirt-thing. Its body was a ghastly white, with black horizontal lines going across its body, with what appeared to be the letters for the genetic code for human DNA, that being the letters G. A. C. and T. standing for Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine, and Thymine. Its eyes, melted as they appeared, stared down at him with a gleam of sympathy.
Nagisa fell out of his chair upon seeing the creature, scuttling backward as he bumped into another desk. "W-What the hell?!" Nagisa near-shouted, staring up at the monster who stood before him. It looked like something out of a fever dream, pulled out of the deepest darkest parts of his mind. His breathing doubled in speed as he hyperventilated.
The creature slowly inched toward him, then, crouched down to meet his eyes, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, as strange as that sounded. "You need not fear me, child. I do not wish to bring you any harm. As I said, I am here to help you out of the predicament you find yourself in." The creature said, taking its hand off of his shoulder as it pulled out what appeared to be a disc from its body. "In this DISC, is something that will guide you to victory, Nagisa Shingetsu. Close your eyes, and it is yours to use."
Reluctantly, he closed his eyes, and when he did, a sharp pain washed over his body, before it went away. When he opened his eyes, the creature was gone, and in its place was a note. The note read as follows: Boku No Rhythm Wo Kiitekure, Listen To My Rhythm, my touch is explosive, do not tread lightly. Fear my grasp, hate fills my blood as I explode with vigour. Take my hand, learn your lesson, and die trying to understand why you will Listen To My Rhythm.
Nagisa had no idea what the note was talking about, though he did find it oddly relatable. So, he folded the piece of paper into fours, and placed it in his uniform's pocket, after which, he left the classroom he was in.
Picking up his bag from his locker, he proceeded to start his trek home. It wasn't a long walk, around ten minutes or so, but it was long enough to make the dread settle in, and for his anxiety to kick him. When he got to the house, he saw that his parents were still in their car, that being a Mazda CX-5, talking about something. His parents saw him and smiled at him. He did not smile back.
Peering into the car, he saw more pill bottles, more shots, and more bags of IV drip. His mother was a nurse, so he knew how they got all of this. As for how they got away with taking such equipment… well, his father was a part of the Yakuza, i.e. the Kuzuryu Clan, so he was able to cover their tracks.
It made his blood boil, and as his hand pressed up against the car, he felt something in him… tick. Like a timebomb. He paid no mind to it, and let go of the car, unaware that he left behind a part of his skin that wasn't really part of his skin. Inside the "skin" was a golden gear with a clock face, and when he took about ten steps away from the car, the pin within the strange-looking device popped.
And when it popped, the car exploded.
The blast was enough to send Nagisa flying to the ground, rolling in the grass as he coughed. The neighbours who were outside screamed and yelled at the sight as the totalled car sat in the driveway on fire, smouldering away with his parents inside.
And yet, instead of panicking. Instead of shouting out for their names. Nagisa felt a cold chill wash over him. A shadow loomed over him as he looked up at yet another monster, though he did not feel panic. It was humanoid in shape, with deep purple skin, and it slightly resembled a shoebill stork. It had two yellow discs on the side of its head, and it wore a purple cloak that flowed down its back. Its arms looked human enough, though it had claws like that of an eagle. Most of its body was just a flat purple colour, with the same texture looping around its body. It was thin, showing no muscle definition at all, and appeared anorexic in some places. It stood around five foot 10 inches, and a dark purple aura filtered around it, as well as himself.
And that was when he realized what, no, who this was.
This was the "help" that the monster showed him, and in the back of his mind, he knew exactly who it was.
"Boku No Rhythm Wo Kiitekure… Listen To My Rhythem."
And all Nagisa did was smile as he watched the wreck that once was his parent's car, as the fire that devoured it lit up his driveway like a glorious light show. Police cars showed up at his house around five minutes later, and when they did, the creature he summoned disappeared. Nagisa did not fret, as he knew that it was only a reflex away.
And then, the creature from the classroom's voice surfaced in the back of his mind.
"This is your new power, Nagisa Shingetsu! Boku No Rhythm Wo Kiitekure! With its ability to let you turn anything you touch into a bomb, no one can harm you ever again! Although be careful of the collateral damage, though seeing as you seem to be the careful type, this Stand seems to be the perfect suit for you. Seek out my user, Jolyne Brooks, and she will train you and your friends to use your powers without harming yourselves!"
He had heard that name before. Jolyne Brooks. Apparently, this Jolyne person had been causing his father issues. And now, as it would seem, she was the reason he was freed from his parents. And so, he saw it fair enough to see this Jolyne person out. According to what he knew of her from his father's rants about her, she was a student at Hope's Peak Academy.
"Tomorrow… Tomorrow I'll meet this Jolyne Brooks and see what she's about. If she can help me… and if she's helping my friends… she's bound to be trustworthy, right?" Nagisa thought as two police officers approached him. They asked him basic questions, and when they got nothing with his answers, they told him to go into the house and wait.
And so, he did just that, all with a smile on his face.
Why?
Because…. He was finally free.
-To Be Continued-