Once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned. Izanami. Izanagi. Artemis. The One Star. The colors of the universe. Gods of Death. Whether it was magic, science, fate, divinity, or random luck and chance… You and I ended up in the same room at the same time.
Orange eyes met blue across the way, across the entrance hall of the famous Hope's Peak Academy.
"Hiya! I'm Rika Seto! Third-year! Tour-guide! Welcome!" The orange-eyed, orange-haired girl raced over to Junko Enoshima excitedly, shoving a school brochure, pamphlet, logo sticker, and campus map into her hands before Junko could even blink, let alone process or speak.
And the touch of a hand lit the fuse of a chain reaction of countermoves.
At first, Junko raised a skeptical, disgusted, well-manicured eyebrow, arched and beautiful, perfect and smooth, well-shaped and filled out. This… wildcard of a student may have shared large pigtails and a large chest with Junko, but as far as she was concerned, that was where it ended. This chick radiated idiotic, chaotic energy, and although Junko loved the unpredictable, she loved the Despairful, not the Hopeful. This Rika girl was cringe to the max, ugly and unhip, outdated and overrated, a cliché party-girl that tried too hard to fit the party-girl stereotype.
Whether Junko meant to or not, realized it or not, she began to assess and analyze the inferior girl. Checkmate. I will not lose!
A conversation that wasn't supposed to happen happened anyway, and Rika took Junko by surprise. That much was enough to get the younger girl hooked, and she decided to return the favor, hooking Rika too. Surprising the older, peppier girl, Junko agreed to meet Rika again. From there, a friendship was born, Rika the third-year mentor to Junko's first-year student. At least, that was how it appeared from the outside.
What if I told you none of it was accidental? And the first time that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me! I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line! Even though it was a beginning born out of an accident, that didn't mean Junko wouldn't take the reins eventually. Once she was in full control, she steered her and Rika's relationship. The moment Junko saw the similarities between her and Rika, nothing was going to stop her. She would have Rika for her collection, no matter what! The Ultimate Analyst knew just how to read her.
What if I told you I'm a mastermind? And now you're mine. It was all by design. 'Cause I'm a mastermind. A cruel, prideful smile twisted across Junko's smooth, flawless, breathtaking, stunning face. Rika smiled back at her, a smile just as big, but far more earnest and honest.
"Say, Junko, I think I really, really, really like you!" she said, wrapping her arm around the younger girl in a chummy way.
"I think, Rika, that I like you too, girlfriend!" Junko spoke softly and smiled sweetly as she leaned in for a kiss, and she felt Rika melt into her.
You see, all the wisest women had to do it this way. 'Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game.
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail," Junko would always say. "Strategy sets the scene for the tale, and there's nothing more I love than a saga!" She never thought she would be the type to enjoy romance or love triangles or petty squabbles, but when the undertones of manipulation, envy, and despair were there? Delicious! Junko was surprised to discover that side of herself, but the rest of it…?
What if I told you none of it was accidental? And the first time that you saw me, I knew I wanted your body! I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line! What if I told you I'm a mastermind? And now you're mine. It was all by design. 'Cause I'm a mastermind. Rika was an open book, heart on her sleeve, so maybe it wasn't impressive that Junko could read her so well. In truth, however, Rika had layers, hidden depths. That was what caught Mastermind Junko's keen eye, sharp mind, and obsessive interest.
"No one wanted to play with me as a little kid." The girl with blonde pigtails finally confessed to the girl with orange ones. Her blue eyes shined with false tears as her analytical mind spun story after story to steal Rika's sympathy. "That's why I'm the Ultimate Fashionista! I've been scheming like a criminal ever since, to make them love me and make it seem effortless…" She turned her blue—literal and metaphorical—gaze on the rest of Hope's Peak's shiny, sunny, shimmering campus, beautiful lips turned in a self-pitying pout.
"Oh, Junko…" Rika's voice was soft, and her compassion was real. She reached out to the younger girl, a few tears shining in the back of her own, orange eyes. "I… sort of understand…" Despite being the life of a party, the reason Rika smiled so brightly was because she knew what it felt like to feel anything but. She lost her little brother, Masaru, when their parents divorced, her mother taking her, and her father taking him.
Then she lost her childhood friend, Tsubaki, depression creating a rift in their relationship that Rika unintentionally deepened until she drove Tsubaki off completely. Time and again, Rika was a failed savior, but she felt protective of Junko, a fire sparking in her chest that hadn't been there in years… Blue met orange again, both pairs of eyes teary.
"This is the first time I've felt the need to confess!" Junko's voice broke as she gripped Rika's warm hands dramatically. "And I swear I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care!" Maybe Rika wouldn't understand it then, but it was the first bit of real truth that Junko ever told her, and it even surprised Junko. Creating a tragic backstory was a daily—if not hourly—thing for her, but to add something that real…?
Junko had no idea what was wrong with her, but she knew she loved Despair to an unhealthy degree, and it was how she showed love. The more she loved someone, the more she wanted them to suffer. Was that why she chose to follow her strange attraction to Rika and secretly take her under her wing rather than disregarding her as a loser the way she almost did the day they met? Was that why she chose to toy with Rika endlessly, already planning on making her her favorite Despair and Mastermind in the future?
And I swear I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care… Mukuro could've testified. In fact, she was on her way to see Junko that very moment, but Mastermind Junko already had someone in place to unwittingly keep her sister distracted. Fittingly enough, it was Rika's "sister", Marika. Junko could sense the envy and concern radiating from Marika and Mukuro over the amount of time she spent with Rika. There was nothing Junko loved more than sowing the seeds of discord and despair, so she turned Marika and Mukuro against each other, allowing them to believe she was falling in love with Rika. Ha! As if! Although, perhaps, in a way…
"None of it was accidental," Junko finally murmured to Rika, still holding her hands as they sat on the bench in front of the fountain in the courtyard of Hope's Peak. "The first time you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me. I laid the groundwork, and then saw a wide smirk—" Junko paused to smirk at Rika, thinking of the cocky, goofy grin that met her the first time she saw the other girl. It was still an ugly moment, in Junko's opinion, but it lit the fuse of a chain reaction of countermoves.
"I knew the entire time," Rika interrupted with a gentle smile, but there was something sharp in the depths of her orange eyes now. Maybe she wasn't as oblivious or stupid as she seemed to be…
"You knew that I'm a mastermind?"
"I could see the way you were looking at me the day we met, yeah." Rika's orange eyes sparkled teasingly. "And now you're mine. I promised myself I would find a way to get you to warm up to me, and, well… Checkmate! I didn't lose." What if I told you none of it was accidental?
Junko, meanwhile, couldn't help but lean away with a scoff, masking surprise with embarrassment and disgust. It was such a Rika thing!
She thinks SHE'S the one luring ME in! But… then again… wasn't that exactly what happened?Even though Junko felt no real love for Rika, she certainly had become an unexpected obsession and interest, if nothing else. That was why Marika was jealous, and Mukuro concerned, not because Rika was any danger to Junko, or because Junko was "falling in love with her", but because Rika was distracting her from her goals either way.
Well, whaddya know? She got me again… Junko was so busy realizing all of Rika's subtle little schemes all at once that she wasn't even aware of the disbelieving, begrudging smirk spreading slowly across her face. Rika saw it, though, and it was exactly how she caught Junko the first time. Junko was right. Rika was far more aware and observant than she was given credit for.
Yeah, all you did was smile, Rika thought, watching Junko's face, a small smile appearing on her face as well. It takes two to tango, Junko, and two can absolutely play that game! 'Cause I'm a mastermind too. And now you're mine…
AN: Impromptu second celebratory D4DR fic because I was listening to this Taylor Swift song and suddenly realized it could be a Junko/Rika backstory (since the vibe is canon: Junko goes from finding Rika annoying to finding her fun to manipulate and useful, and that's because whether Rika realizes it or not, she's a bit of a Mastermind too. She's the only one who can surprise Junko, and that's what makes Junko attracted to her).