Junko's got a quick hand. We look around the room, I won't tell you our plan. I got a rolled cigarette hanging out my mouth. I'm a Despair kid. Yeah, she found a six-shooter gun, in her sis' closet with a box of fun things, I don't even know what! But she's coming for you, yeah we're coming for you…! The blonde hummed to herself as she spun the empty cylinder round and round and round. What a shiny toy THIS was! Ah, but it was only half the fun with no bullets… Hmmm… I have to fill the chamber! Oh, and by the way? I never tell a story in order! That's far too boring!
ooo
Bullet One: Despair.
[Junk# shima: Ah, yes, the classic.]
The screen buzzed to life, and six pairs of eyes turned intently to it. "Congratulations, class!" the sultry voice on the other end of the computer purred, the girl in question holding out her arms as if to hug the six Despairs. "Your letters were a success! Saki and Nova were able to transmit the messages across the galaxy, and now all of your precious peers have come out of hiding… Now, it is only a matter of time…" She turned to Maho Akashi. "Despair One. You know what to do."
"Yes, ma'am." Maho bowed, voice broken but determined. Her mind was completely gone. It ever twisted in on itself, recursive, Junko convincing her that it was the only way she could prove herself worthy of anything. Preying upon Maho's feelings of inferiority compared to her peers, Junko broke her spirit, and all that remained was a mindless drone hellbent on winning the D4DJ Battle Time so that she could claim the title of Ultimate DJ and at last feel as though she wasn't just a loser with a half-assed excuse for a Talent.
"Excellent. Once the competition is complete, you know what happens next…" Junko addressed all her Masterminds then, and they nodded in an eerie, ominous unison. Yes, no matter the victor of the pending D4DJ Battle Time, the end result would be the same: kidnap. Once the 24 Ultimates were assembled, Junko and her six Despairs would strike, dragging them all to Hope's Pinnacle for their own little Killing Game. "As for me, I'll be headed back to my class. Do take care of Hope's Pinnacle in my absence, hmm? Ta-ta!" She cackled and the screen crackled off.
ooo
Bullet Two: Revenge.
[Junk# shima: There are as many motives in the world for murder as there are people! Our strength is in recognizing the best ones to break!]
"So. This is the factory, huh?" Junko asked boredly, arms folded.
"One of many!" Esora Shimizu, Ultimate Corporate Manager, puffed out her chest arrogantly, emerald eyes flashing in insult that Junko take her so lightly. The audacity! She challenges me to show her my family's work, and she acts bored even though I'm the one building her project!
Esora was unaware of the hypocrisy in her words. She was merely the Ultimate Corporate Manager, leading from above. It was the Talentless grunts down below that labored and sweated to assemble the giant machine, a mechanical, monstrous fiend. It was Esora's brainchild, too! Junko had come to her scheming to take over the Towa Conglomerate and capture its factories so that she could make war material.
Now she was coming to the Shimizus with the same proposition, but while Junko's dream mascot design was a bear, Esora stole inspiration from that annoying little first year, Muni Ohnaruto. She was always muttering under her breath about how Esora supposedly thought she was better than Muni, but Muni would one day show her! Well, Esroa found it amusing, and handed over Muni's designs for Nyochio, her robotic cat, to Junko.
Now Esora was slaving away, designing a real-life Monochio prototype, large and powerful, big enough that a student could ride it like a horse. But behind Junko's icy mask of indifference, she was intrigued.
"Would you be willing to work with us?" she asked suddenly, startling Esora when her accent suddenly became queenly. "With your aid, we could conquer the Towa Conglomerate much quicker, and then it would be us against… the Togamis!"
Esora's heartbeat speed up. Her longest standing rival! Oh, yes, there wasn't much she wouldn't do to have her revenge, put him in his place, and reclaim her place among the Ultimates of Hope's Peak. Despite having a Talent, a conflict between Rei and Byakuya left Esora framed, and Byakuya blackmailed her into dropping out of Hope's Peak. She returned through the Reserve Course, but she was determined to rise back to original rank before graduation. Junko was proposing a lovely way of knocking Byakuya down a few pegs, and Esora couldn't refuse the deal!
ooo
Bullet Three: Insanity.
[Junk# shima: Ah yes, another classic! The one whose brain I broke in the absence of all her friends! Tee-hee!]
"Let's play… hide 'n seek!" Junko skipped cheerfully through the shattered streets of Towa City, a teddy bear in one hand and a sparkly six-shooter gun in the other. No one knew whether it was real or fake, and no one was willing to find out. "C'mon, Saki, sissy!" she hummed, and the other girl came up behind her, giggling in just as childish of a manner. A little metal cat balanced on her shoulders, a mini-model of Monochio's body. They were finally leaving the labs and secret bases behind, going forth in the world to spread Despair and capture Hope, and with a girl who had Synesthesia on her side, Junko felt confident that the Collector would bring a good haul that night!
"Come out, come out, wherever you are…!" Saki's ethereal voice hung in the air like a shroud, like a mist. Her white hair shone like the stars they could no longer see through the thick, dark clouds that now obscured the Heavens. The girl cackled psychotically, softly, as she stalked through the streets, her silver eyes sweeping back and forth. She searched desperately for the colors, they would tell her the truths from the lies, and would help her locate every single one of her targets…
"Aha! Peekaboo! I found you!" She cackled and reached out, grabbing a frightened little girl who was trying to hide.
"NO! LET ME GO!" she thrashed helplessly, Saki far stronger than she appeared.
"No matter where you run, no matter where you go, no matter where you hide…! My sharp eyes will always find you the in the end…!"
Junko watched with a smirk from the shadows. Excellent. That Naegi girl may have escaped earlier, but Saori Hidaka and her magic M4 megaphone aren't around to protect her anymore… Come along, Komaru! You may not be IN the Killing Game, but you still have a role to play… Perhaps I would've wished for Photon's Ultimate Team Captain, for that crazy Nozomi girl, but I suppose the Alien Chick will suffice!
ooo
Bullet Four: The Gambit/Gamble
[Junk# shima: HAHAHA! HELL FUCK YEAH! You ain't worthy of playin' with a gun if you ain't willing to play with both ends! Time for you to meet mah homegirl! Despair Numero Uno! The First, Fav, and OG!]
Rika Seto fell to her knees as Monochio continued to scrambled around in the background, yowling in pain as its metal face melted off in the heat of her searing flames. The Ultimate Arsonist didn't care. As far as she was concerned, it was all Monochio deserved. It could cook itself for all she cared. With Dalia Matsuyama dead, one of Rika's beloved unit-mates, her faith in the Killing Game had been shattered.
I was supposed to fix you, Junko…! You said I was your first friend, your best friend, the OG and Favorite Mastermind, your Despair Heir! I was supposed to uncover the perfect plot, be the perfect protagonist, operate from the enemies' side and come in clutch in the final hour to save the day!
But no such fairytale luck came to her aid. Dalia was proven guilty and executed. N-no! It wasn't supposed to be her! It wasn't supposed to be ANY OF THEM! But we were supposed to fix this… Save everyone… Resurrect them…
What a load of fuck-ups they were! With the power of the V4-VR and an Ancient Japanese Death Goddess on their side, they should've easily been able to bring back every student that they lost. But no, Rika lost the gamble. She grit her teeth and seethed inwardly at the sneering face on the screen. Junko was dead, but her influence was not. But there was still a way… A way for Rika to purge her again, at least from their story.
"RAH!" Rika fired off two fiery bullets. They struck Marika and Saori in the chest. Then she threw opened her arms and cackled madly.
The Executions would take her. That much was a given. But with Marika and Saori unconscious, they at least would be spared. The Executions were designed with magic and technology, and they were designed to punish the guilty, not the innocent. Marika and Saori had paid their blood debts unknowingly through Rika's little attack, but in turn, Rika…
"Floor Killer! Dance and go!" She sang even as the world crashed and burned around her, taking her with it, swallowing her in a fiery inferno as visions of her unit-mates danced over her head. Beside her, the monitor holding Junko was encased in flame. Rika smiled as she died.
ooo
Bullet Five: Murder and Mystery
[Junk# shima: I told you, it is dull telling a story chronologically. There are six shots in my gun, but who is to say the bullets fire in "numerical order"? She told me she saw that I got everything I ever wanted, and I believed her, not because I was a foolish or naive idiot, but because I knew EXACTLY what she meant. I would get my happy ending AND my despair ending. THAT is why I allowed her to be… Mastermind One!]
Junko loved Despair, she bred it, even amongst her Masterminds. With an infinite combination of possible "Firsts", she found a way to make each of her Masterminds special in their own way. That in turn bred competition, distrust, and jealousy in all of them, and how delightfully fun it was to watch from the sidelines! A bunch of schoolgirls catfighting even in a Killing Game! But before the Killing Game, there was only humble Hiiro Yano, Ultimate Diviner, with nothing but a fortune to give for Junko.
"I saw it in my divination and prophecies… You shall indeed accomplish all that you desire, everything you set out to, and that is why… I wish to accompany you." There was nothing the psychologist loved more than a good murder mystery. And perhaps she was lying by omitting. Perhaps she also saw a future in which the only way to win was to work closely with Junko. After all, friends close and enemies closer… So Junko agreed to keep Hiiro on, and she quickly became Junko's most cunning Mastermind.
Junko would conquer the world, but she was still running out of time. Whether for personal gain, or an alleged selfless ideal, the opportunistic Ultimate Diviner stayed close to the other Mastermind. She was the first, first to approach, and first to lead the Killing Game.
ooo
Bullet Six: Punishment
[Junk# shima: Shall we start at the beginning? Saw. The horror, blood, and executions. The karmic deaths that have plagued humanity's dreams and nightmares since antiquity…]
"Is there any point, then…? In going on without Miyu, I mean… You know mediation was always her strong suit, not yours," Junko purred.
"I… I… I… I don't know… Not anymore…" Ultimate Chairman, Haruna Kasuga, sat slumped in her throne, overlooking the junction that connected Towa City, to Hope's Peak and Pinnacle, to the Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles. It all rested on her shoulders, ensuring that travel and trade between the three regions remained stable even as the rest of the world succumbed to the Tragedy all around them.
And without Miyu, I think I might…! A single tear slid down Haruna's cheek, but the sobs were stuck in her throat. She stared unseeingly at the black and red sky. Junko is right… Truly, I am nothing… I am good only at maintaining law and order, but it was Miyu who was our Hope, the one who could've saved and united us all…! But now she was dead. Dead, dead, dead. That awful Kokichi boy, the shadowy brother from Kurumi Shiratori's checkered past, had escorted them all to Haruna's gates, but in an ensuing battle at the gates, triggered a boobytrap that killed Miyu. Luck finally ran out on the poor Ultimate, and Haruna was left to pick up the pieces.
Oh, Kokichi, you really shouldn't have done that… Junko clicked her tongue and shook her head, chuckling to herself. Foolish boy! Trying to copy her style, but for the side of "good". Didn't he know there was a reason it was HER style? He wanted to push Haruna past the brink of madness, but turn her anger against Junko. Little did he know, Junko was already working her dark influence, and she used the opportunity he provided her to turn the attack around on him, and she whispered into Haruna's ears.
"Seek retribution and revenge, for Miyu. This is holy and righteous justice against the unworthy sinners who deserve only punishment!"
And suddenly, Junko found herself in her homeroom classroom, watching as her robotic avatar locked the Hope's Peak Headmaster inside a live rocket built by Saki and Esora. Haruna stood beside her, arms crossed and face severe. For the sin of disobedience, refusing to assimilate with Junko's demands and live in peace, Jin Kirigiri was being executed as a traitor who sought only to push his own agenda in the face of the Tragedy.
His screams were drowned out by the rocket blasting off, and Junko cackling manically. Greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. Esora, Haruna, Maho, Hiiro, Rika, Saki. And Junko? She was the seventh, deadliest, first, and original sin: Pride. The Mastermind of the entire world!
Maho Akashi: Ultimate Cook.The Deceiver.
Esora Shimizu: Ultimate Corporate Manager. The Repossesser.
Saki Izumo: Ultimate Astronomer. The Collector.
Rika Seto: Ultimate Arsonist.The Wildcard.
Hiiro Yano: Ultimate Diviner.The Puppet-Master.
Haruna Kasuga: Ultimate Chairman. The Judge.
AN: Inspired by "Monodrama" from Honkai Star Rail (Sparkle's trailer)
