The next chapter is taking much longer than I thought it would. I was initially planning to release this with the next chapter, but not counting this, I'm at about 1.5 k words, give or take a couple hundred. I'm planning to make the next one at least 8k, and maybe move it along by either announcing the first motive in that Chapter or the beginning of the next. Most likely the latter. So, while you wait, here's a little thing I wrote to set the stage, I guess. It's not that special, but I needed to characterize Junko, since she's gonna be the big bad again. I'm going to try and get more into why she's despair and less of her being despair. It'll get better as the story goes along.

Answers to the reviews:

Shadowplayer360: goMEn I'M SORRY AAAUGH. And I'm going to be honest I really didn't think about greed, although it would've made sense. Woops. Anyway, thank you so much, and the chapter will definitely be released some time this month!

SHSL Coder: AHHHH THANK YOU u/w/u What I noticed about the majority is that none of them tend to include anything from the original, so when thinking about this plot, I made sure to incorporate Junko, and later the survivors and a couple not-so-survivors if you catch my drift *winkwink* And the jobs were a last minute decision so yes I'm glad they worked out well. Akiyama is so much fun to write for it's like Ibuki and Asahina all in one I love her u Thank youuuuuu

SHSL Slacker: YES WHO DOESN'T SHIPPING IS GREAT and I'm sure you'll see where I'm going with them eventually ;D And oh yes of course ghosts don't exist ahahahahha... And I think Sabi's a cutie too uvu Thanks!

Vortex Oblivion: oH THANK GOD DESCRIBING THINGS IS THE WORST I'm glad I did it correctly uwu and yesss all the pairings until I destroy them all hahahaAHAHAHAH I mean um thank you for all your nice compliments u/w/u

VonJabey: But dear VonJabey ghosts, especially to Dorky McSoriyu, are VERY despair-inducing. And yes please Carl in his suit is hysterical sounding I want to make that a thing now do I have permission to do so?/?

The Shadow Meister: As for Regulas' job, you'll find out next chapter ;D I actually already wrote his. It's kind of predictable though :/ Anyway, thank you so much! As I stated above, it was a last minute decision, so I'm glad that I did it right!

Mastermind Enoshima Alicia: Alicia's "WHAT THE SHIT-" was probably one of my favourite quotes of the entire chapter. So far, I've characterized them in a Celes/Hifumi relationship, but that's okay because I ship that. Shipping is an addiction and I must be stopped.

Shiroikage: Ooooh, I wonder which pairing that is? Do tell, I'm very interested to know (to know what I'll be destroying HAHAHAHAH) I mean *cough* anyway thank you! I guess I wanted to make a more calming environment, because when I looked at how all the murders will play out, it really wasn't that calming. And in comparison to some of the others in DR, I think they're pretty unique and messed up. And as for his job? I'll be honest, I haven't written it yet. I'm still unsure of which stores will be open this early in the game, so I need to make a list. Thanks!

gingericus19: I'm so flattered! Thank you u/w/u The present tense thing annoys me as well. First-person to me always seemed like an internal monologue of what just happened, even if the just was only a second prior. Again thank you soooo much! And as for that stuff, I tend to add the directness I think in a way to address Soriyu's personality. Initially, he was supposed to be this smooth and serious character, but it slowly during the second prologue chapter developed into a bizarre dorkiness. The addressing is a way to show which version he was during that moment. You do bring up a fair point however, and I'll try to do it less and less as time goes on. Same with the caps thing, except I think for me that's more of a decision between bolds and caps, and I tend to go with caps. Bold might work better though. And the names thing? I totally get that. I tried reading other SYOCs prior to writing this one and had no clue who I was reading about. Remembering names are the hardest. Again, thanks so much for the compliments and the help!

CHAPTER .5: The Beginnings of Despair: START

:.:.:

"But Matsudaaaaaa-kuuuuunnnnn"

"No, Junko. I'm not testing the program on you."

He hadn't even bothered to face her. It didn't bother Junko that he said no, but mainly that he didn't face her.

He was such a dick sometimes. But it gave her an excuse.

"Fiiiiiiiineeeeeeee…" the blonde huffed, crossing her arms. "You're no fun."

"Never said I was."

Now with an idea that he defeated her, Junko waltzed through his lab without a problem. Knowing her heels would make noise however, she did her waltzing on her toes. Not in a sneaking manner, no she was too dignified for that. But she pretended that she was in those insane 9 inches that she'd wear so commonly. This was why hetero males should NOT design heels. It only increased the chances of foot surgery, not fucking sexiness. She was 169, need she be taller? With these ideas floating through her head, she added it onto the list of things she hated about the world. Oh god, she couldn't wait to make them suffer. The Despair Queen then picked up the files from his machine. Thankfully, they'd already been stored in a handy little file folder. Oh how she adored handy little file folders. She slipped the folder into her shirt, resting it against her chest.

He was such a sweetie sometimes.

She then backed up to fairly behind him, and acted all clueless and stuff. Her heels touched the ground as she walked, and she acted as if she was acting innocent. He didn't even have to turn around.

"Quit snooping."

She could barely hide her smirk, not that he was facing her. She raspberried at him, only for the door to open soon after.

"Yasuke. Lady Junko."

"Kamukura-kuuuuuuuun!" Junko swooped over him, engulfing him in a hug. Matsuda only grunted.

Kamukura was dressed in a suit. Well, it would be a suit, but his jacket wasn't on. It was instead draped on his shoulder until he let it on the coat rack. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail, due to the influence from someone that wasn't his enemy. Someone he supposed he could call a friend, but wasn't sure. Not that it mattered though, and only ended up boring him. He had mock glasses resting under his red eyes. Said eyes were half-lidded. Matsuda wasn't an interesting person at all. He'd rather Lady Junko kill him, but whatever.

"Got room for some documents?" Junko whispered quickly, before reaching in her shirt and pulling them out. Kamukura was unfazed by such a vulgar display, and simply took the folder and put it in his inward coat pocket on the rack.

"So Kamukura-kuuuuuuuun~" Junko sang in her mock voice. He never quite understood her quick personality, but he didn't really care.

"Why isn't she with you?"

"We finished studying, so I left. She had to sleep anyway. Besides, you don't want her interfering." While he said studying, they rarely ever studied. It was more of planning to study, but ending up just talking about whatever. She would get flustered over the simplest things, and Kamukura would just watch her rant. You gain a lot of knowledge like that.

"Oh, that's right! Her meddling isn't wanted with our projects," Junko had forgotten that fact. She was the type of girl who wouldn't change her opinions easily, so she needs to fazed in with something startling. Something huge. It wouldn't get her anywhere if they'd just blatantly showed her despair. A lot of people were like that, actually, which is another reason why Junko hates people.

But then again, Junko's not much different.

She waltzed over to the donut box next to Matsuda and grabbed a chocolate one. Kamukura didn't follow, and Junko just assumed he didn't want one.

"So how's that Nanami girl," she started, mouth full of donut. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"I do not have interest in her or romance," Kamukura said blatantly. Even though he said that, his averted gaze and dusted cheeks clearly said differently.

"Mhm~"

"Yo, Enoshima," Matsuda called. He never used her last name unless shit was serious. Junko, curiously intrigued, turned to face the back of his chair.

"Yeah?"

"I just tested everything on here. That mechanic of yours is pretty handy."

"Pfft," she said with a small grin. "Tell me about it."

"Anyway, everything's fine. Based on what I've checked, there should be no problems with the report. So mind telling me exactly what you're going to do with said information?"

"I can tell you that," a stoic voice called from behind all three of them. Matsuda and Junko both turned around to face the source.

"Ah, Lady Mukuro. So you've finally spoken up."

"Hush, Kamukura-kun."

"SISSSYYYYYYY!"

"Hey Junko nee-chan."

"Get on with it already."

"Fine. Think about it, Matsuda-kun. It's a revolutionary discovery. We can talk to Kimura and Amos, you know them right? Good. We'll talk to them and have them present your data and research, slapping your name on it. Do you know how famous and helpful it could become? You could help trauma victims lose their unhappiness and see hope. It's a miracle, Matsuda-kun."

Junko was visibly horrified by the explanation, and was lightly twitching uncontrollably. Kamukura stayed silent, and Matsuda raised his eyebrow, before furrowing it again.

"I suppose you have a point."

"Precisely. We'll contact you when everything is in order. Right, nee-chan?"

"Yep! Great! That's exactly it!"

"Hmph. Fine. I'll be heading to bed then."

"Okie dokie! So will we. G'night, Matsuda-chan!" Junko laughed with a twinge of annoyance in her purposely pitched-up voice. Had it been to anyone else, it would've seemed threatening. But as she would say, she was trapped with a bunch of emotionless losers.

He did a two-fingered wave in response. With that, Junko grabbed her accomplices and rushed them out of the lab. When the door was shut firmly, she faced them.

"Hope? REALLY? You're glad I didn't fuckin' kill ya, ya huge disgrace of a fuckin' older sister!"

"My apologies Junko-nee. I am aware of my worthlessness."

"Oh don't get all fuckin' Komaeda on me. Kamukura, ya got those documents, 'ight?"

"Yes, Lady Junko. They're in my pocket."

"Fuckin' 'ey! I don't think that fuckin' moron expects a god damn thing! So let's get the party started, shall we? And plan to bring despair to the whole fuckin' world…"

Junko let out a hardy, yet evil laugh. Mukuro and Kamukura trailed behind, as she lead them to the darker depths of the school during the dead of night.

:.:.:

CHAPTER .5: The Beginnings of Despair: END

STUDENTS REMAINING [17/17]

Hikaru Soriyu

Emi Sasaki

Mason Horden

Sabitsuki Saotome

Nikiyo Nakasone

Daisuke Kagegami

Izumi Akamine

Soma Amos

Teiko Matsui

Alicia Davis

Sebastian Regulas Aston

Yoshihiro Kouzuki

Emi Akiyama

Hyosuke Kimura

Carl Wells

Atsushi Hagiwara

Kerry Young