"Hope!" Normal Speech
'Despair!' People's thoughts
"Truth!" Flashbacks
Disclaimer: I have as much ownership of the Danganronpa series as you do dear reader.
AN: Thanks to both RWBYJNPR and Zephyrius29 for beta-reading this chapter.
AN2: Other tags for this story (since the site only gives you 2): Mystery/Friendship/Drama
Chapter 9
The Despair of The Unknown
"Thank you for the help, Ikusaba-san."
He said that with as much gratefulness as he could muster, knowing that it was the least he could offer to the Ultimate Soldier walking steadily in front of him.
The answer he got from her part though, was nothing but a stiff nod, and while Makoto knew that Ikusaba Mukuro could be a girl of few words, he was also aware that her current quietness was a result of his own actions.
She, after all, had certainly made it clear that she did not approve of what he was about to do.
Not that he could blame her for such a thing considering that, besides himself, she was probably the person that knew just how dangerous Enoshima Junko could be when she actually tried.
No wonder she didn't want him to be alone with the Fashionista, but it was something that he needed to do.
That didn't mean he wasn't a bit apprehensive about facing the blonde girl though, especially considering what said Ultimate could know by now if his suspicion was true.
But he still refused to show anything but readiness in his face. Showing anything else would simply make him a prey to Junko, and he knew that if he started faltering now he might even lose Mukuro's support too.
The Ultimate Soldier could certainly be stubborn when she wanted to.
He looked to his sides while his body followed behind Mukuro, his eyes catching the sigh of some of the fanciest pieces of decoration he had seen in his life. He supposed that was a normal thing with how prestigious this hotel was supposed to be, but even so, he still had to wonder just how much a night here might cost.
He wasn't that surprised when Mukuro had guided him though, because by now he knew for certain that money wasn't an issue for Junko, a fact that honestly unnerved him more than what he would like to admit.
At least, whatever confrontation they were about to have would happen away from Hope's Peak. He didn't really know if that was a good thing or not right now, but it would at least make things private.
Lucky for him Junko had to work today, he supposed.
"We're here," Mukuro announced as soon as she stopped moving, her gaze falling momentarily on the door in front of them before turning around to face the Luckster of her class, who in return simply met the stoic face of the Soldier without doubting.
"Thank you, Ikusaba-san." He said once more just a deep breath left his lips. "I know you didn't approve this…"
"And I still don't." The black-haired girl interrupted him without missing a beat. "Junko-chan has been acting…strange since yesterday, Naegi-kun" The Soldier seemed to struggle to find the right words to describe her younger sister. "I don't feel comfortable leaving the two of you alone right now."
He nodded in understanding, already having heard her explanation as to why she had been with Junko yesterday. The Fashionista apparently just wanted someone to vent, and there was apparently another room in this very same hotel that proved just how destructive Junko could be when she was enraged.
He was only glad that it was only furniture this time and not actual people.
But even so, to hear of such behavior from Junko on the same day he received that message? It couldn't be a coincidence. Mukuro didn't seem to know the reason behind her sister's shift in mood though, and considering the possibilities running through his head it was probably for the best.
He was just glad that Mukuro herself seemed to be fine. Junko trying to hurt her didn't sound like anything new, and while he knew that Mukuro could take care of herself he also knew that the soft spot she had for her sister could make her vulnerable, and it was something that Junko would be more than ready to take advantage off.
"I…can handle her." He said while doing his best to not make his voice waver. Dealing with Junko was something, but a pissed off Junko that possibly knew about the future?
Suicidal was the best word he found to describe such a thing.
"And you said you were sick." Mukuro still continued while narrowing her eyes. "Naegi-kun, please. I don't think you should be seeing her like this."
Her concern was touching with not only how genuine it was, but also considering who it came from. The fact that Mukuro had openly chosen his side instead of Junko's always filled him with pride for the girl that had decided to take a path away from Despair.
If it was any other thing he would have probably given in by now, but with how things were at the moment…
"Ikusaba-san." His voice was firm, but a smile still found its way to his lips. "Please, I need to do this. I need you to trust me."
Another intense stare followed his declaration, one with such intensity that it made him remember that this was the girl that could go toe-to-toe with the Ultimate Martial Artist herself. He still refused to back down though, for if he let himself be intimidated by the Soldier in front of him, then how was he supposed to face Junko herself?
His stubbornness seemed to bear fruit once it was Mukuro the one releasing a tired sigh this time, with the girl whispering something under her breath that he wasn't able to catch on before she turned her body once more towards the fancy door that led to the Ultimate Fashionista.
"If you're not done in ten minutes, I'll go in." She said with nothing but seriousness in her voice, and he found himself simply nodding just as he set his gaze on the door. It might sound exaggerated to anyone hearing them considering they were talking about just one high school girl.
But when it came to dealing with Ultimate Despair, there wasn't any such thing as too much precaution.
The sound of Mukuro's fist pounding on the door followed soon after, and the time-traveler barely even had time to take one last deep breath before the door was pried open almost forcefully by the person on the other side of it.
And the first sight that greeted him was that of Junko's face sporting an expression that could only be described as painfully bored.
The blonde aimed a glare at her black-haired sister, one that had certainly put lesser beings on their knees just by being on the receiving end of it, but Mukuro simply matched the stare with a calm one of her own, for her days of simply being intimidated by her little sister were far gone by now.
Not that such a stare match even lasted for very long though, for soon after Junko's focus was then moved to her left.
It didn't take long for brown eyes to meet blue ones.
And with that, the change in her expression was almost immediate, for that bored face she had worn was now completely gone, and it was now replaced by twinkling eyes and a massive, predatory grin that honestly made him feel like a piece of meat in front of some sort of predator.
It didn't help that Junko didn't waste any time before moving her hand to grasp the front of his clothes in a tight grip, with her smile only becoming fiercer by the second.
"You sure took your sweet time getting here, Naegi-kun." She spoke with impatience swirling in her voice just before making the obvious move of trying to drag him inside the room by his clothes.
Key word being trying though, for as soon as her hand had made contact with him, another hand found itself firmly grasping Junko's wrist, stopping the Fashionista in her tracks.
Blue met blue once more as both Junko and Mukuro shared another look, with Junko throwing any semblance of caring and openly frowning in hostility while the older one of the two simply narrowed her eyes in response.
If it wasn't because of how dangerous the two could be, Makoto would describe the scene like a kid upset that her mother was taking away her favorite toy from her.
"What? You still here?" Junko spoke with nothing but annoyance dripping from her tone, with her other free hand making a shoo-away motion almost as if she was dealing with a dog and not a person. "Naegi-kun and I are going to spend some quality time by ourselves, Mukuro-nee, so shoo."
The way the Ultimate Soldier refused to move though, made it abundantly clear to anyone watching that she was not going to follow her sister's orders just like that, but just as her lips parted it ended up being Makoto the one that spoke first.
"It's fine, Ikusaba-san." He reassured her without taking her eyes away from the blonde in front of him, who had gone back to look at him with that grin of hers. "I just need a bit of time with her."
In the end, Mukuro simply relented with a sigh and a nod before releasing Junko's wrist, with the girl in question simply poking her tongue out in a mocking way, although if the black-haired Ultimate was annoyed by it she definitely didn't show it.
Not wanting to give Junko any more feelings of satisfaction, the Luckster was quick to move inside the room by himself, with the last thing he saw from the Ultimate Soldier being the concern gently showing behind her gaze.
Quite the contrast with the mocking expression that Junko sported right before she closed the door with a lot more force than necessary right in her sister's face, leaving Mukuro by herself alone in the hallway, leaving the two most important people in her life all by themselves.
"You were waiting for me…?" He questioned with caution, having caught on Junko's comment from before. His body stood still right in front of the door, with his brown-eyes refusing to move away from the blonde girl that was now sprawled over the expensive-looking bed at the other side of the room.
"Of course I was!" Junko said nonchalantly just as she sat up on the edge of the bed. "With Mukuro-nee suddenly leaving like that with just a call, it wasn't that hard to guess from who it came from."
The Fashionista then proceeded to pat the spot of the bed right beside her, an open invitation to him if he ever sat one.
Suffice to say, he didn't take such bait and instead he chose to simply stand with his hands hidden inside the pockets of his hoodie.
The pout he got in response from the blonde would have probably looked cute in any other person, but coming from Junko it only made him frown in response
Junko acting childish wasn't anything new, but he could feel some sort of…animosity behind her gaze. It made the already loud alarms that had been ringing in his head become even fiercer.
"I'll give it to you though." Junko continued while resting her chin in both of her hands. "You really managed to tame that useless sister of mine. I can only wonder what kind of rewards you're giving her to have her at your beck and call."
The sultry smile she gave him gave away the kind of things she was implying with her words. It wasn't the first time she hinted at the type of relationship he had with Mukuro though, so by now he was able to control the blush that would normally cover his cheeks.
"We're just friends." He still responded though, still wanting to defend his classmate. "And she wanted something better than what you had shown her."
A scoff left Junko's lips in return, with a flash of annoyance crossing her eyes right before she masked it behind another smile. She moved her arms behind her and had her palms resting on the soft mattress below her, with the blue-eyed girl resting most of her weight in her arms just as she crossed her left leg over her right one.
"So, mind telling me why you decided to pay little old me a visit, Naegi-kun?" She asked with a narrowed gaze, one that told him that she was watching his every move and that nothing was going to escape her, even the tiniest details.
Which, considering how much he knew of Junko's true abilities probably wasn't much of an exaggeration.
With her question though, he found himself thinking of the best way for saying what he wanted to say to the girl. He had practiced it on his mind around a few dozen times already before coming here, but thinking and actually doing it were two completely different things.
What he feared the most was Junko's reaction if he was too direct, but he also knew that anything less would simply end with Junko toying with him. Discovering not only how much she knew, but how she even came to know about such information in the first place was his priority, but knowing what Junko planned to do from now own was also something he needed to learn.
He refused to leave with his hands empty, but with Junko's erratic actions it was hard to grasp how she would exactly react.
He took another breath before opening his lips, deciding that it had to be him the one to control the flow of the conversation. Asking her about the message came first, and from there he trusted in how Junko liked to brag to get anything that he needed.
And he would have asked her right away…
"Is this about a weird message you got yesterday?"
If she hadn't asked first, that is…
He blinked in honest confusion as soon as those words left Junko; his mind trying to understand just what kind of angle the girl was trying to play here. Her words pretty much confirmed the suspicion that has been growing in his heart every since yesterday.
If Junko knew about the message then, didn't that mean that she was the one that sent it?
He tightened his hands inside his pocket, still doing his better to keep himself as calm as he could be. The fact that it was Junko herself the one that brought it up made him question just how much of this she had planned beforehand.
Her excuse of knowing that he was coming because of Mukuro sounded shallower by the second.
"You know about that…?" But if she wanted to play it vague then he had to act accordingly. He had learned enough from watching Kyoko catch on people by using nothing but their own words. He knew that Junko liked to toy with her preys after all.
Their gazes were focused on no one but the other, and for reasons Makoto couldn't fathom at the moment Junko seemed to be pondering on what to say in that situation. A silent Junko was after all, contrary to belief, the most dangerous type of Junko.
If she was silent it meant that she was thinking of stuff that was most likely wrong in some way, shape or form.
The strawberry-blonde Ultimate then hummed slightly before taking out something from the pocket of the coat she was currently wearing. It didn't take long for him to recognize the object that she was now holding in her hand as her cell phone, something that simply made him frown even more.
And then she finally spoke while dangling said cell phone in her fingers.
"I figured as much. I got a weird one yesterday with your name on it so it wasn't that hard to guess."
And with just one sentence, Enoshima Junko had managed to put his mind into complete disarray.
'…what?' It actually took him a few seconds to properly understand just what the Fashionista was implying with that comment, but once he did it almost made him give one step backward out of sheer surprise.
But he quickly shook his head before glaring at the girl who kept looking at him with no expression showing on her face. Even her eyes told him nothing, and as someone that prided himself on being able to understand Enoshima Junko, this was unsettling, to say the least.
"You mean you didn't send it?" But couldn't she just be lying? Junko was a master of trickery after all, so it wasn't like it would be impossible in the first place…
But for Junko to just lie, wasn't that just as weird? Even during her sick game she still didn't outright lie through Monokuma. Heck, most of the time she even told them the truth knowing that the truth itself would be more painful than anything she could manage to come up to.
And here she was no different, so why suddenly spill a lie when just telling him that she knew his secret would be one of the worst things he could possibly hear?
It made no sense.
"Would you like to see it?" The girl asked, and then without even waiting for a response, she threw the pink device straight at him. He was barely able to grasp it in his hands, but once he did so he found that the object of his confusion was already showing on the screen.
"What…is this…?" He whispered shakily under his breath just as his eyes swept through the message on the girl's phone. It was the exact same number than the one that sent it to him, he would know considering that he has memorized the damn thing, but even ignoring that and just looking at the text itself…
From Ultimate Despair to Enoshima Junko, the Ultimate Analyst.
Naegi Makoto is mine. Show him this and you will understand.
It just didn't make any sense.
Was this just an elaborate plan of Junko herself? But why did something feel so off then? Either Junko had now decided to truly mess with his head, or…
He had been so focused on Junko that he hadn't considered any other possibilities…
But for someone else to refer themselves as Ultimate Despair and to send such messages that implied having information that no one should have in the first place was nothing short of bewildering.
But if he were to believe that then, putting Junko aside for the time being, just who could it be? The combination of information, the referring as oneself as Despair, it just didn't make sense with everything he knew.
His mind was in turmoil to the point that he ended up biting his lip just out of sheer frustration. With his body shaking he couldn't avoid but praising Junko in his head, for if this was just a sick idea of hers it was definitely working.
The answer to that though, came in the form of the girl herself suddenly hugging his neck, his previous attention to the phone in his hand making him unable to notice the moment that Junko had decided to approach him.
He raised his head immediately, with shocked brown meeting cold blue just as he realized how close they were with one another. Their noses were almost touching and the only thing in his sight was the face of someone that, if it wasn't because of the things she was capable of doing, he would consider breathtakingly beautiful.
With not a thing in between them, nothing stopped the girl from almost melding their bodies together, with her chest firmly making contact with his body that would probably have him as the target of half of the world's jealousy.
But even that soft sensation simply went over his head, for his focus right now was in a completely different place.
It was in those pools of crystal blue that were Junko's eyes, because even after years of having dealt with Junko here, and even after the literal hell that the girl had put him in the future…
"Tell me their name, Naegi-kun."
This was the first time he ever saw such an expression in the Ultimate Fashionista's eyes.
It even made the hair on the back of his neck stand up with just how…wrong it was. He had seen Junko angry, happy, excited, disappointed, annoyed and all the range of emotions that such an unpredictable girl could make, especially considering the number of personalities she liked to use whenever things got bored.
But this was no act.
This was not Junko just playing around
No, for the sheer amount of cold hatred that was coming out from this blue eyes could be nothing short of genuine.
And that fact by itself honestly scared him.
Was this what Mukuro had meant before? Because if it was then, he had seriously underestimated what the Ultimate Soldier considered strange.
It was only after feeling Junko's nails sticking to the back of his neck that he realized the blonde in question was truly expecting some sort of answer from him.
"I…I thought it was you…" But with his mind in such disarray, he could barely even mumble a short response.
And one second later he figured it out that such an answer was not going to be enough for Junko.
How? Well, he supposed being thrown with enough force for his body to land in the middle of the bed served as a good enough sign of that.
He gasped in surprise as soon as his body hit the soft surface of the bed in the room, and with his eyes wide in shock his first reaction was to raise his body and leave the bed immediately.
But just like Junko had just proven that she was stronger than him, now she showed him how much faster she was, because even before he was able to move his body she was already upon him.
"Guh!" A grunt left his lips as soon as Junko's body collided with his own. It was done in such an abrupt matter that it actually left his lower body aching, but with how things were moving forwards he knew he had more pressing matters than just a bit of pain.
For right now he had Enoshima Junko, the Ultimate Fashionista, pretty much straddling him, with the lower part of their bodied glued to one another to the point that it left little to the imagination.
The girl rested her weight on him while also putting her left hand on his chest to make sure he was unable to move. His focus was once more on her gaze, for those orbs still showed the same look that almost had him shivering.
"That's no good, Naegi-kun," Junko whispered just before she leaned on the Luckster, lowering her body until she was completely on top of him, with her face so close to his that he could feel her hot breath on the side of his face.
He still refused to break eye contact with the blonde however, having the feeling that doing such a thing would be nothing short of a mistake.
Her other free hand followed along and crept up slowly, with her fingers ending up resting on the side of his neck. He moved his right hand almost immediately to clasp her wrist almost on instinct.
"You can't cheat on me, Naegi-kun. That's just no good at all…" The words themselves made little to no sense in his mind, but once more he had no room to say anything on the matter.
He was too busy watching firsthand the change in Enoshima Junko.
For those eyes of hers stopped being pools of clear blue by now, and instead had become nothing but swirls of madness and chaos. Black holes made out of lust for torment to not only the world around her, but even to herself.
For that was the face of Ultimate Despair.
Because, even unknown to Makoto himself, Enoshima Junko could actually tolerate a lot of things.
She could handle her sister pretty much betraying her, for the despair that she had felt with such an outcome honestly made it all the more worth it.
She had accepted someone like Naegi Makoto in her life to the point that she now couldn't imagine it without him, for he made her boring days into something worth living. As long as Naegi Makoto smiled, she would always be there to make him feel the Despair that she longed to see in his eyes.
If said Luckster wanted to fool around with every other girl in that stupid school she didn't care either. It was a matter of time before she had him by her side anyway.
She could even tolerate someone else calling themselves Ultimate Despair. As long as Despair was spread to the world she didn't particularly care for who had that title by now.
But for all things that she could accept, there was one undeniable fact that no one, no one could mess around with.
And that was one simple law.
Naegi Makoto was hers.
He was hers, hers hers hers hers hers HERS!
And the only one with any fucking right to make him feel even a glimpse of despair was her and her alone.
She did not spend two years trying to figure him out, trying to understand him so that she could convert that hopeful fool into Despair just to have some shit behind a phone telling her that she never had a chance in the first place.
That message she had received had made her more than a little angry, but after following along and showing the message to her Luckster…
It all came crashing down around her, for that face that he had worn as soon as he had read that message had been the closest she had ever seen to actual Despair on that face of his.
And she hadn't been the cause of it…
It honestly took all of her willpower to not outright strangle the Luckster below her. That wouldn't do, after all, but someone was going to pay in the end for touching what was hers.
"Tell me who sent it." She pretty much ordered, her whisper cold against his cheek, but the only thing she received in response was a glare and a set of greeted teeth.
"If I knew…I wouldn't have come here in the first place." He hissed back while deciding to focus on finding a way to get out of this situation instead of the soft body pressed against him.
The fact that it was Junko also helped in that regard.
Her deranged gaze narrowed at such a response, although she could tell it was the truth. It didn't matter however, for sooner or later she would find out who dared to try and claim what was hers.
But as for the Luckster in her grasp…
Maybe she needed to remind him just who the Despair in his life was supposed to be.
And it was with that mentality that Junko moved too quickly for Makoto to react, the result being that of Junko's lips crashing firmly against Makoto's with such a force it almost made him think she was attacking him.
The action itself was so sudden that it made Makoto gasp without even realizing it, while also earning a wide-eyed look. Junko wasn't one to miss a chance however, and without wasting time she gladly accepted what she considered an invitation to deepen their lip-lock.
The feeling of her tongue invading his mouth and wrapping around his own alongside that of the girl grinding her body against him quickly proved that it wasn't a conventional attack.
The blonde even refused to close her eyes, almost as if not wanting to miss the moment in which he gave in to the pleasure she was offering him. The fact that he could feel her free hand slowly moving down from his chest told him that, as far as she was concerned, this was just a warm-up.
But luckily, or unluckily depending on which side of the lip lock you found yourself at, the kiss ended just as abruptly as it had started right after Junko was forcefully pulled away from the Luckster below her.
"W-what?! Mukuro-nee?!" Junko spoke, obviously more than a little upset by the Ultimate Soldier holding her by her coat. The saliva going down the corner of her lips killed a bit of the threatening effect, however.
Not that such a thing stopped Junko from trying to backhand the Ultimate Soldier, who easily caught the incoming hand before twisting behind her little sister's back.
"Che, you're no fun, Mukuro-nee." The Fashionista whined before giving Mukuro a mocking look from over her shoulder. "This is hardly the worst Naegi-kun and I have done by ourselves."
Junko knew where to strike after all, and with someone like Mukuro, it always came back to her Luckster.
And speaking of said Luckster…
Makoto sat breathlessly on the bed while doing his best to clean his lips with his sleeve. A rude gesture he knew, but one that he found necessary considering who had just pretty much assaulted his mouth.
A perturbed look crossed his eyes right before he gave a glare to the still struggling blonde, who as soon as she noticed that returned the gesture with a wink of her own.
He wouldn't give her the satisfaction, however, of getting any other kind of reaction from him. He knew how Junko was in that regard, after all, and while he was feeling angrier by the second he was also aware that leaving him like this was her objective from the start.
He didn't know if the fact that by now he had grown a bit used to those kinds of attacks from the Fashionista was a good thing or not.
It probably wasn't, all things considered. At least this time it had ended before turning into something worse.
Some would say he was lucky, he knew that much, but for all things he had considered before traveling to the past he never thought that Junko forcing herself on him would have to be one of his concerns, and with this one the number of times the Fashionista had assaulted his mouth simply kept increasing.
He gave a thankful nod to Mukuro, who kept Junko on her grasp. Imagining what would have happened if the Soldier hadn't appeared was enough to make him shiver. He would have probably come out of it alive but he didn't want to know just how far Junko was planning to go with that.
He stood up on shaky legs from the bed, with deep breaths leaving his mouth just as Junko tried her best to escape Mukuro's grasp to no avail.
"Thank you, Ikusaba-san." He whispered his gratitude before walking towards the door with his head hung low. He needed to get out of here, he needed to think, to figure out something, for the only thing that he had learned here went against everything he had assumed.
But even so, he turned around just as he reached the door in one last attempt, with his gaze quickly meeting Junko, who went from attempting to bite her sister to look at him with a provocative smile.
"Enoshima-san." He spoke with a glare, knowing that what he was about to do was probably a mistake but also needed to see it with his own eyes. "Future Foundation…do you know anything about it?"
Playing with fire was an understatement considering what he was doing, but the growing desperation in his heart didn't let him just leave without one last confirmation.
"Huh? I don't know what that is but they sound lame." And the response he got from an obviously confused Junko only made him release a shaky breath. Of course, he could still simply assume that it was all an act from Junko, but…
If it was that simple then he wouldn't be feeling so conflicted right now, would he?
He gave a small bow of gratitude to the Ultimate Soldier before almost bolting out of the room, finding the need for some fresh air almost suffocating.
He definitely had gotten an answer today, just not the one that he had expected.
If that was a good thing or not though, well…
Only time could tell, right?
Everything felt like a blur after that, with his legs carrying him as far away from Junko and that room to the point that he almost thought he had gotten lost.
He only stopped moving once he found himself sitting on a bench at some park whose location he wasn't even sure of. His breathing came in short bursts just while he kept his eyes closed and his head hanging low.
He pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stop an oncoming headache; by now not knowing if said pain would be a result of his tiredness or his frustration.
Probably a combination of both, he concluded.
To say that the whole meeting with Junko hadn't gone as he had planned would be the understatement of the century.
At least he had gotten his answer he supposed, albeit one that probably brought along a whole new different set of problems.
On the good side, Junko knew nothing of the future apparently, if her actions today were to be believed at least.
On the other hand, he now apparently had an unknown person calling themselves Ultimate Despair with knowledge of the future and with enough confidence to not only come at him but also at Junko herself.
Had he been so focused in Junko that he had missed another threat just like that? But as far as he knew the only ones that could be considered Despair were both Junko and Mukuro, and right now that only left Junko.
Mukuro had escaped her claws a year ago, and he had stopped both the creation of Kamukura Izuru and that of the Despair and Suicide Videos. He also had stopped any source of involvement Junko could have had with the Elementary Division.
So then how? How could such a thing have happened…? The fact that Junko herself seemingly had no idea as to who it was somehow made things even worse.
Better the known evil than the one yet to know; only now he finally understood that phrase. He didn't even remember when he had read it but it certainly fit on his current issue.
What would his next move be then? He was without a clue, because his greatest weapon was almost rendered useless by the appearance of an unknown factor.
He almost felt like grabbing his hair in nothing but sheer frustration, and without even realizing he had been biting his lip with such force that it almost drew blood.
At that point, he even felt like yelling.
And he might have done it...
"Gah!?"
If a sudden cold and wet object hadn't been pressed firmly against his cheek, forcing him out of his thoughts out of sheer surprise and making him pretty much jump from his seat.
The next thing he heard was the sound of an obviously amused chuckle, which got him to quickly turn around, his eyes landing on the one responsible for making him jump like a frightened cat.
"Amami-kun?" He spoke with nothing but bewilderment in his tone, his gaze centered on the obviously amused Ultimate Adventurer of class 79.
"Sorry for that, Naegi-senpai." The green-haired younger Ultimate spoke in a friendly tone before moving to sit on the bench right beside him. "I couldn't help it after seeing you like that."
"Here." The green-haired teen was then quick to offer him the can in his left hand, while also showing Makoto that he had another one on his other hand. "You seem like you need it."
"Thank you…" Not having any real reason to refuse, the Luckster was quick to accept the token of goodwill. Maybe the cold liquid would help with the storm that was his mind at the moment, he supposed.
"I'll admit I didn't think I would see you around here, Naegi-senpai." Against his silence, Rantaro was quick to speak with nothing but a friendly smile on his face. "I thought you were too sick to go out today."
"T-that's… well…" He mumbled, now also trying to come up with a good enough excuse for the younger Ultimate. Another chuckle however, alongside a wave from Rantaro stopped him in his tracks.
"Don't worry; I know how hectic things can get at school." He said before taking a sip of his own drink. "Can't blame you for wanting a bit of peace once in a while." He then even brought one of his fingers to his lips. "I promise I won't tell a soul."
He nodded in acceptance, knowing that Rantaro was getting the wrong idea but honestly being too tired to correct him at the moment. On the back of his head he also wondered what the younger Ultimate was doing around here, but by now he also knew how plenty of Hope's Peak students liked to go around the city from time to time.
Hope's Peak offered a lot of things to its students, but a school was a school he guessed.
"You looked quite deep in thought before I got here though." Rantaro continued easily after chugging the remaining of his drink. "Headmaster-san has you busy as always, I presume."
"What makes you say that?" Not wanting to seem rude, the Luckster asked in confusion. Was his relationship with the older Kirigiri really that obvious to everyone at the school?
"Well, hard not to when you have Oma-kun as your classmate." The Ultimate Adventurer spoke with a wry smile on his lips. "He has this weird theory about Headmaster-san sending you to super secret missions for the sake of the country."
"That…sounds like something he would say." Just that image was actually able to make him chuckle slightly, an action that was quickly followed by the green-eyed teen to his side. He then finally decided to take a small sip of his drink just as Rantaro stated shaking his head.
"He even had this idea about you having time-traveling abilities and that you used them to be able to do everything you do in time!"
And not even a second after hearing that comment he found himself coughing up a lung as if his life depended on it with Rantaro softly patting his back with a concerned expression plastered on his face.
"S-sorry." The brown-haired teen said between coughs while doing his best at calming himself down. "I just, well… I guess things did get a bit hectic lately."
Once again, understatement of the century, he thought.
"Hmmm" Rantaro hummed understandingly in response alongside a few nods of acceptance. "I suppose things didn't go like you planned them?"
"Huh?" Was the Ultimate Adventurer always that perceptive? Or was it really written on his face that much? "Something like that… is it that obvious?"
"I've had that same expression during my travels too, so it's easy to pick it up." He explained while moving a hand through his hair while a nostalgic smile formed itself on his face. "You tend to get used to the unexpected after a while…sometimes you even enjoy it!"
"You do?" Maybe it was just him, but the last time he got happy by unexpected happenings was when his life was on the line, so it wasn't like the alternative was better in the first place.
"Of course!" Rantaro shot back as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "A journey without any bumps is quite boring, don't you think? Then again, you don't seem to be enjoying it that much right now."
He wasn't, that was for sure, and considering what he was already planning on doing he didn't know if tomorrow was going to be any better in that regard.
"Think of it like this then, Naegi-senpai." The Ultimate Adventurer continued just as he stood up while playfully throwing the empty can in his grip from one hand to the other. "When thing get harder, that just makes the reward at the end even more special, don't you think?
…huh.
He blinked once at the smiling teen standing in front of him once, then twice more before shaking his head slowly, thinking of how it felt being at this side of the pep-talk.
"You can be quite optimistic sometimes, Amami-kun."
"You think so?" The Ultimate in question simply asked in wonder before a sad smile appeared on his face. "I guess it comes with not wanting to give up on some things even after so long…"
Makoto nodded regretfully at those words, truly understanding what the younger Ultimate meant and also feeling guilty for bringing up such painful memories to the teen's head.
He knew, after all, the kind of regret that one Amami Rantaro had learned to live with.
"Thank you, Amami-kun." He expressed his gratitude with nothing but honesty. "I think I really needed to hear something like that right now."
"It's nothing, senpai." The smile on Rantaro's face became wider just as he set one of his hands on the Luckster's shoulder. "I can't have my traveling companion be feeling under the weather, after all."
He could only chuckle awkwardly at that, remembering one of the things he had promised to the younger Ultimate after school started…
Maybe Mahiru was right and he was throwing those promises out way too lightly.
"Were you saying the truth, Junko-chan?" The Ultimate Soldier asked in a stoic tone, with her sharp gaze watching carefully the obviously bored form of her little sister, who sat by the bed while pretending to be checking on her fingernails.
"Eh? You were eavesdropping us, Mukuro-nee? That's a really disgusting habit to have, you know? I bet Naegi-kun would hate you if he found out!" Junko for her part answered in an obviously over-dramatic fashion, but she then simply rolled her eyes once the only reaction she got was a pair of narrowed eyes.
"Of course I was!" The Fashionista snarled while standing up, obviously more than a little upset. The fact that her sister had stopped her from relieving her stress with her Luckster didn't help either. "Now I have to find whatever little shit is trying to get my dear Naegi-kun."
With those words she moved to grab her phone, which had been resting on the floor every since her Luckster had dropped it as a result of their little intimidate quality time.
"And that's where you come in, oh useless and hideous sister of mine!" Her fingers tapped on her phone quickly while she gave the Ultimate Soldier a small glance from the corner of her eyes.
It was only then that the Fashionista bothered to notice the increased amount of frost behind the already cold gaze of the black-haired Ultimate, something that actually made her grin in a way that could only be described as impish.
"What? You got any problem there, Mukuro-nee?" With those words of provocation she also made a show of bringing her fingers to her lips right before touching them softly "Or you're just jealous? Don't worry, next time I'll let you watch as we have some fun."
"And what makes you think I would help you?" The Soldier decided to ignore that comment however, and simply threw a question of her own. The last time she had followed any explicit orders from Junko had been well over a year after all, but her attempt at acting tough simply got a scoff from the Fashionista.
"As if you didn't want to find whoever is messing dear Naegi-kun as much as I do." She shot back while moving towards the bed once more. "If you're going to act like a slave in heat every time you're around him then you might at least act like a useful one."
Junko then threw herself on the bed, not even bothering to wait for her sister's response. She knew what she was going to say after all, so it wasn't like she really cared anyway.
The only thing that mattered now was finding the responsible one of that stupid message and make them regret ever even thinking that they could bring Despair to Naegi Makoto's heart.
And as her phone finally showed her what she wanted she honestly couldn't help but to grin at that moment.
She had been saying the truth, after all, but that didn't mean she didn't keep a few things for herself. A girl had to have her aces up her sleeves, after all.
She had shown Makoto the message, yes, but she hadn't told him about the picture that came attached to it.
And as her eyes focused on that very same image, she couldn't help but give credit to the sender.
She was definitely going to make their death as painful as possible…
But at least they had a good taste in teddy-bears.
I suppose this answers any doubts about Junko being the sender of the message. This was always the plan from the start though, to have this be a three-way conflict between Makoto, Junko and the Ultimate Despair, and for this, I decided to go with this angle when it came to Junko.
With Junko out, best I can say is that Ultimate Despair is not an OC.
I also decided to go with Ultimate Adventurer with Rantaro rather than Ultimate Survivor since the former fit better considering how those titles worked for Rantaro.
With the next chapters, thing will go back to Hope's Peak itself, and that means introducing the rest of the Ultimates, or at least as many of them as I can without making it repetitive.
And of course, thank you all once more for having read thus far, and for your ongoing support with your favs, follows and of course reviews. With this chapter the story now has over 100k words, so thank you for having read that much of what I write!
Also I wish I could answe Guests review because damn the last one this story got really had me laughing.
Next Chapter: Who can you trust?