Chapter Text
One week later, and Mukuro still hasn’t come crawling back to me. I, for one, am seriously offended.
It’s not like we were mad at each other. She nodded at me when we passed each other in the halls, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything back. It just felt too awkward. But, gods did I fucking miss her. Despairingly so.
I missed her heavy bootsteps next to me as we swaggered down the halls. Her checking up on me or nagging at me to eat. Even when she sang her favorite songs out of key when she thought I wasn’t listening. Mukuro has a singing voice that can shatter stained glass windows… totes adorable.
Still, I had to be patient. Everything was going exactly according to plan. My ingenious four-part masterplan for the Most Atrocious Romance in History.
The first part was to confess my feelings for her, obviously complete. It was a little clumsier than I would have liked, but her returning my fiery passion made up for it.
Next, I’d lure her back to my side with my natural charms, both physical and mental. Just enough to keep her interested without throwing myself at her feet. I’m not the desperate type, obviously.
Then all I had to do was exorcise my other personalities away for good. Hadn’t figured that part out yet. I wasn’t fond of the idea of brainwashing myself, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the greater despair.
With them out of the picture, nothing would stop Mukuro from blundering her way back into my arms. Then we’d live sick and despairfully ever after! Or something like that.
I was sure Mukuro would cooperate with the plan without consultation. She seems to have an ingrained desire to go along with my schemes, even if she thinks they’re stupid. When I didn’t study for last year’s end exams, we fucked up the school’s electrical system so good they lost power for two weeks. My idea of course, and it could have got us expelled if we weren’t so sneaky. Gods, being in love makes you do some dumb shit.
Still, she had given me no apology, no lovesick glances, fuckin’ nothing. What the hell was her damage? You’d think she’d be ready to prove me wrong after I called her a coward.
She was seriously fucking up the next part of my plan. I had already tried the superficial approach. Wearing higher skirts and low-cut shirts to entice her. I even shot her the occasional wink, which she probably thought was weird considering we weren’t talking. I just wanted her to push me up against a wall and kiss me again, what was so hard to understand about that?! All it got me was gross stares from Kuwata and that Hanamura guy from Mikan’s class.
Gods, don’t get me started on Mikan. I kept catching the girl trailing me, or staring at me from across the hall between classes. Maybe she could sense my internal suffering, being a nurse and all. But I definitely did not want her ministrations any time soon.
Soooo, I’d probably have to rework Step Two. Damn it. Maybe I needed a different outfit?
I have this one dress at home, dark purple and laced up at the front. Definitely too spicy for Hope Peak’s dress code. Pair with fishnet stockings, arm warmers, and a black choker? She’s all over it. Ask me how I know.
It was Hagakure’s birthday and he had invited us all over to his place for a big party. Of course, since he was past the legal age, there was plenty of alcohol around. I had to indulge.
Usually I can hold my liquor pretty well, but I remember being tipsy enough that I had to lean on Mukuro walking home. She had worn a dark purple pinstripe suit to match me, plus black suspenders and a tie. I remember it because she looked so devilishly gorgeous, plus I kept yanking on the tie as we walked. She didn’t appreciate that.
Hagakure doesn’t live too far away from our aunt and uncle’s place, separated only by a big park. It only takes like fifteen minutes to walk through. About halfway through we spotted a huge throng of people exiting from one of the outdoor seating areas.
Judging from all their fancy outfits, we could tell it was a wedding reception. They all had little paper bags in their hands, wedding favors from the bride and groom. The rock on the lady’s hand was so big I could see it sparkle from several feet away. Bet they got some good shit in those swag bags.
“Kind of a big crowd. Maybe we should sit down and wait for them to clear out,” Mukuro suggested.
“Good idea, I’m beat.”
“From what, exactly? Lifting all those beer cans to your face?”
I leaned more of my weight against her on purpose, though it didn’t seem to put her off balance. “Need I remind you how much dancing I was doing? In heels, no less.”
She laughed airily and relented, guiding us over to a bench. We sat there for a minute, watching the crowd disperse. Mukuro pulled out her phone and started texting someone.
“Hey, sis. If we ever got married…”
I don’t even know what caused me to say it. Maybe I was annoyed that she wasn’t paying attention to me, and I’m sure it was somewhat related to how much alcohol I had consumed. Either way it got a response.
She snorted, glancing away from her phone. “You are sooo drunk.”
I let myself slump downward, head landing directly in her lap. “Am nnnot, but listen. I wanna take your last name.”
She tilted her head slightly, confused. Like, what the fuck is this bitch talking about. “You’re marrying me in this scenario?
I rolled my eyes. “Well, duh. Who else is gonna marry your ugly ass?”
She rolled her eyes right back at me. “Well, I suppose we can’t all be as drop dead gorgeous as Junko Enoshima.”
I loved it when she played along with my banter. Plus I just want to point out that she called me gorgeous. Can we just talk about that.“I know, right?! If only. That’s why, like. I gotta keep you away from people. You’ll give them your ugly disease.”
She smiled. “You don’t have to be a martyr for my sake.”
I sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine, that’s not the only reason.”
I didn’t speak for a moment, my attention drawn by the wedding crowd across from us. It was hard to keep my train of thought when I was so wasted. Why was I even talking about this garbage?
Then I felt her rough fingers parting stray bits of my hair away from my face. I turned my head back to face her and like...god damn it. Framed against the light of dusk she looked like a straight-up anime love interest. The breeze even made her short hair flutter a little bit. And then her fucking face!
She looked shy that I had caught her in the act, almost embarrassed. She must have been more drunk than she let on, because she never looks like that. I thought about teasing her, but that could wait for later. I felt like I had to follow through with this tangent now. Couldn’t leave my older sister hanging.
“It’s just like… I feel like we’ve been through so much, y’know? With our mom and your soldier shit. I don’t want you…” I hastily clarified “ either of us to get stuck in another shitty relationship. We deserve better, right?”
Mukuro shrugged. “I guess.”
She guesses. How eloquent. Only Mukuro could make my tipsy drivel sound as poignant as a Shakespeare sonnet in comparison.
“But why do you want my last name? Won’t it mess up your modeling stuff?”
“Hmm… Junko Ikusaba…” I tried it out on my tongue. True, it didn’t sound as iconic as my current moniker, but that wasn’t the point. “Eh, whatever. I’ll get used to it. I just don’t think we should be carrying around our family name anymore. So much bad juju attached to that. So whaddaya say, babe?”
I tried to wink, but given how drunk I was, it probably looked like I was having a stroke. If I looked stupid, Mukuro’s expression wasn’t giving anything away. Her cheeks were flushed now, either from my words or the alcohol, but she still looked as serious as ever. Like she had just been tasked with an important mission.
“Alright.”
Her simple reply sent me into giggles. “That’s it?! Damn, you don’t need a lot of convincing.”
“I mean, what you said makes sense. I think it’s noble of you, actually. To want to protect me.”
Okay, she was not making a sap out of me. “Barf, as iF! Marriage is for pussies. And like...I can’t see eeeiiither of us as cute little housewives, especially you. Marriage, like, sucks.”
She knew I was backpedaling. I could tell by the triumphant smirk on her face. “Then why’d you bring it up?”
God damn it, she knows I can’t be witty when I’m drunk. I tried anyway, staring at her for a long time before slurring “Betterrr question: why were you staring at my tits just now?”
I wasn’t sure if she was actually scoping out my boobs, but she’d been looking down at me for five minutes and they’re pretty hard to miss. Especially when I’m wearing a push-up, like I was that evening.
I swear her cheeks blushed darker, but she refused to look away. “If you weren’t so drunk I’d brain you on the sidewalk.”
I erupted into cackles. “Fuuuuck you, you’re not getting brain juice all over my new outfit.”
I felt one set of fingers slip across the skin under my ribs. “Okay, not on the dress. I’ll be careful,” she said with an impish smile. Were her eyes dilated? I was squinting like hell from looking up at her face against the sunset, so I could have imagined it.
I didn’t have time to focus, screaming with laughter at Mukuro tickling me. I tried to slap her away, which she ignored. I grabbed onto her arm instead, digging my nails in. She barely winced, but her hands moved from my side down to my waist.
“Owww,” she said, laughing. “Junko, you’re rude.”
Her breath smelled like the fruity vodka we shared at the party. I pulled her down roughly, almost knocking our skulls together. Thank god for Mukuro’s reflexes.
Our foreheads didn’t collide, but we were still close enough that her bangs were dangling in my face. I should have realized right then something was up. My heart was going too fast and I felt too giddy at the fact that she was in kissing distance. No way it was just the alcohol, I wanted to make out with Mukuro for real. Certifiable sick fuck alert.
Naturally, the thought made me giggle even more. Mukuro just rolled her eyes at me, gently raising me into a sitting position. “We should go. Unless you want to ruin the happy couple’s wedding night.”
Damn, Mukuro up for some unprompted mischief? You’d think she was trying to make me swoon. I yawned. “Nah, we can spare them. I’m too tired to be devious.”
We walked home and I shortly passed out drunk on my bed afterwards. I woke up at three in the morning after a gruesome nightmare, and promptly ran to the bathroom to upchuck the remnants of booze and Hiroko Hagakure’s delicious homemade birthday cake.
I started having a crisis as I was sobering up on the cool bathroom floor. Now, as everyone knows, I’m hot shit. I don’t have self-esteem issues. Still, the thought of being in love with my sister put even me on edge. Like, who does that?! I’d read about sister/sister stuff in manga before, yeah, but I never thought it would happen to me.
For some reason, this was a million times worse than my homicidal daydreams all my erratic alters combined. It was too much for me to handle, so I passed the reins to someone else. Big fuckin’ mistake.
I don’t remember who took over after that. That summer had been really bad for me already. My alters would front for me for as long as two days before I’d be back. This bender lasted much longer, which always leads to an appearance from Monokuma.
Just like me, my other personalities get bored sticking around for too long. I had no desire to come back, so that fucking bear was the only one left. Thinking about how insufferable he must have been makes me cringe.
And then , the ungrateful shit has the nerve to cut up the body I so graciously allow him to inhabit. Six days later, I woke up the the hospital with an IV in my arm and a chipper psychologist looming over me and asking a million stupid questions.
Maybe if I had just acknowledged my feelings after that, like a normal person, I could have avoided almost dying and getting shipped off to the psych ward. In my defense, I was very drunk, plus those other freaks living in my brain were experiencing this revelation at the same time as me. How can you expect me to process anything normally? Ain’t gonna happen, sis.
In hindsight, that shit was pretty fucking stupid. I’m Junko Enoshima! I do whatever the hell I want, and society’s code of conduct can suck an egg.
I took a big slug out of my can of diet cola. I drank too much on purpose, making a huge show of sputtering on the sweet aspartame-filled nectar and my own spit. If she thought I was choking, she might run to my aid. If not, maybe she’d be turned on by me choking. Win-win either way.
From her desk behind mine, Celes leaned forward to whisper in my ear, interrupting my casual flirtations. “Junko, you look slightly like a lunatic right now. Are you quite alright?”
Am I ever “alright”, mentally? I wiped the excess liquid away from my lips. “You happen to be watching an expert at work.
Celes looked skeptical. “Expert at what, exactly?”
I dramatically struck my signature pose, pointing my left index finger towards my face and the right finger towards my sister. “Seduction.”
Celes giggled. “My, how forward!” Mukuro glanced our way, but I didn’t have time to engage her before I was rudely interrupted.
“ Shut up , you guys. I’m trying to concentrate.” Leon was working on a quiz we’d been assigned at the desk in front of me. Honestly, I didn’t know why he was bothering. We weren’t in school for...what was on that quiz again? I’d barely looked at it.
Point is, shit like math and sciences were just formalities. Extra achievement quests. The teachers know it, most of the students know it. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly trying to compensate for something.
“Don’t you have some balls to play with, Kuwata?”
Leon turned around and glared at me. “If I want advice on how to be a bimbo, I’ll ask, okay?”
I looked at a pen on my desk, then at the back of Leon’s head, then my eyes darted over to his exposed right ear. I’m sure you can guess what happened next.
He jumped to his feet and whipped back around to look at me, one fist balled at his side. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
“Oh, suck it up. It wasn’t even the pointy part,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Leon, please stay seated! Our teacher instructed us to work silently on our quiz,” Taka bellowed, ever the goody two-shoes. Our instructor had been out of the room for the majority of the period and probably wouldn’t be back.
“What about her?” Leon objected. “Does she just get a free pass because she’s a psycho now?”
Ohohohooo, no. We weren’t playing that.
“Actually, dude,” I said, getting up in his face “people are actually smart enough to leave me alone. Find that on that stupid quiz of yours.”
He was only two inches taller than me, but that fucker was enjoying our height difference way too much. He puffed out his miniscule chest and scoffed. “Yeah, right. They just don’t wanna fuck up years of plastic surgery and nose jobs. But I’m not scared of punching anyone’s pretty face,” he said with a weird smile.
Was he seriously… flirting with me as he was threatening me? God, I hate boys.
At this point, everyone was starting to stare. I vaguely heard Mondo tell us to knock it off, then Aoi chiding Leon for being a jackass. Surprisingly enough, I was totally chill. I knew I had the situation under control, I was honestly just looking to piss off this loser. I was bored and totally demoralized without Mukuro’s attention. I needed to blow off some steam and seeing that creepy vein Leon gets on his temple when he’s mad was worth it.
“Wanna find out, slugger?! Go ahead and hit me! Unless you’re afraid you’ll miss,” I cackled.
I didn’t actually expect him to take a swing at me, or maybe he just tripped over his feet like the loser he is. His hand just grazed my shoulder before he was pulled back by someone else. He made a choking noise and a strong arm wrapped around his neck.
“What do you think you’re doing?” My sister’s voice. She sounded almost bored, but her stare at the side of Leon’s face was icy. She was paying attention this whole time and I missed it?! Lame.
She eased off his windpipe so he could talk. “Nothing, I just tripped, I swear!” Haha, called it. Or he might have been just lying to get out of a bigger beating. Hilarious either way.
“Um… it looked like it was on purpose to me,” Chihiro piped up from their seat.
“I agree,” Kyouko said with a nod. “His stance was clearly confrontational.”
I almost laughed when the color drained out of Leon’s face. “Oh, come on, seriously?!” he yelped, like he actually thought Mukuro was gonna snap his neck. What a baby.
“H-hey, he said it was an accident! Let’s not fight, okay guys?” As usual, Makoto was trying to diffuse the situation.
Celes giggled. “Oh my, shall we put it to a vote?”
Taka went into another outraged tirade, but I wasn’t really listening. Mukuro has shifted her attention from Leon to me, which normally would have made me giddy. But she didn’t look happy to see me at all. Almost like she was resigned to defending me. Gods, was she really that pissed off at me?!
“Are you okay?” Was she serious? She’s barely been acknowledging my existence!
“I’m fucking fine, geez!” I snapped. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
Her eyes got all wide, like she genuinely hadn’t been expecting my outburst. Without a word, she dropped Leon, who groaned loudly as he hit the floor. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so taken aback. Was I wrong to think she was mad at me?
“Umm… sorry?” she offered, still giving me that injured kitten face. What mind games was she trying to play? That was my job.
“Just leave me alone,” I said shortly, elbowing past her. Honestly, I felt like shit for misreading her actions, but I didn’t want to admit it. Especially not in front of the whole class.
As I whisked past her, I expertly slipped my hand into the pocket of her skirt and secured her cellphone. If she wasn’t mad at me before, she probably was now. I couldn’t let it be in vain. I rushed out the door with my precious item.
I darted down the stairs and into the library, retreating to a corner table where I could have some privacy. Now I could see if she had been talking to someone about me behind my back. She never sets a passcode on her phone, so I opened it up no problem. Unfortunately, the only recent texts she had were from me and Makoto. The latter one was from two weeks ago. God damn it.
Yeah, yeah, I’m a horrible person for invading my sister’s privacy. Tell me something I don’t know.
Next I scoured the other apps on her phone. I’d hacked into her socials out of boredom before. It was easy since she used the same password for almost everything. Unfortunately, she hadn’t posted or even liked anything for a few months. No dice there. I tossed her phone away without even thinking, and it hit the floor with a clunk.
I groaned and bent down to make sure I hadn’t completely wrecked it. Whenever I’m pissed, I want to break the most fragile thing in the vicinity, which always ends up being a laptop or my cell phone. Being pals with the Ultimate Programmer had its perks, but not even they could save all my poor electronics.
As I did, I heard a pair of footsteps behind me. If it was one of my esteemed classmates trying to get a look up my skirt, I’d throttle them. I turned around quickly to see a skinny dude with brown hair and dark circles under their eyes. As soon as our eyes met, they stiffened and darted in the opposite direction, nearly tripping over themselves as they did.
Ummmmkay. Usually I have fans faint at my sheer beauty, but never run for their lives, It felt kinda cool. Then it hit me: I knew that kid. He was running for a completely different reason.
Back when my career was in its infancy, I got a spot on a kid’s toothpaste commercial. Initially it was a live-action role, but then the producers got a bright idea to give me an animated transformation sequence halfway through. The animated portion consisted of me, in a shiny sailor suit, fighting off evil plaque monsters. Don’t judge, we all gotta start somewhere.
You’ve probably never seen it, and the company went under years ago. Apparently there were traces of rat poison in the toothpaste that landed a ton of kiddos in the hospital. I’m pretty sure some of them died. I know, the despair , right?! Shockingly, I had nothing to do with it.
The commercial was a huge hit at least, partly because Ryota Mitarai was the head animator. You wouldn’t think they’d let someone in Hope’s Peak for something like anime, but I guess they do. That shit is so dime a dozen.
At least that’s what I thought until I saw Ryota’s skills. He took the worst concept and turned into a flashy delight for the eyes. With my expert advice, of course. Ya see, he didn’t really want to take on the job. But I knew it was the only way to turn this hack-job shit mural into something worth watching.
So I kiiiinda sorta blackmailed him into working with me. Everyone has their secrets, no matter how harmless they seem. I managed to dig up some pretty juicy gossip from his grade school days. Before he came to Hope’s Peak, Ryota had apparently been enrolled in some artsy fartsy school that cost big bucks. His mom had taken out a huge loan to put him there, even though his whole family was poor as shit.
At least, that was what she told everyone. She had actually stolen the money from one of her husband’s relatives. It made a little bit of a stir in the local papers, but the police never found out it was her. Honestly, I was only 40% certain myself. All I had to work with was a blurry shot from a security camera.
Ryota confirmed my hunch within seconds of me mentioning it. All the blood drained from his face. I thought about letting him off the hook for a split second: after all, I knew what it was like to have a mom that fucked up your future. But in the end, it boiled down to three things.
One: I needed the cash or else my mom would beat me. Two: The whole situation was irresistibly full of despair. Three: the Professor was just dying to come out and sink her hooks in poor Ryota. So I let her take over.
Of course, the Professor was ruthless on him. She scrutinized his work endlessly, sometimes demanding he start an entire sequence from scratch. Any time she spotted him dozing off, she would force him to down one of those nasty energy shots. Don’t worry, she had her fair share too. We were both trapped under her tyranny for three grueling days until he finished the thing.
They aired that shit a week later, and bam! The toothpaste was flying off the shelves and my commercial had a spot on primetime television. I hadn’t heard from Ryota since. He blocked me on everything and I never saw him in person afterward.
At the time, I figured he was just being a baby. It’s not like he didn’t even get a cut for his work. I coulda just stolen all the money for myself if I really wanted to be a bitch about it.
Still, it was really shitty of me to hold something over his head like that. Even if I wasn’t completely in control. Bored after my unsuccessful cellphone sleuthing, I figured it would be a good time to go talk to him. He would probably forgive me right? … I decided to make a quick pit stop before I headed to his room, just in case.
I actually felt giddy as I knocked on Ryota’s door a little later. I did like the little nerd, even though I treated him like a bug. Such is the danger of crossing paths with Junko Enoshima. That’s why Kyouko and Celes are my best friends. Kyouko won’t take any of my crap and Celes is an even bigger bitch than I am.
And, of course, Mukuro. Sweet, seductive, darling Mukuro. This would be so much better if she were here. If Ryota caught a glimpse of her behind me he’d really think I dropped by for murderous purposes. Don’t worry, just a little intimidation. I’m behaving myself now.
Shit, what if I put him in defensive mode? Should I have brought a weapon? I could use my hair pins in a pinch, but…
Before I had time to think up more attack methods, Ryota opened the door. At least, I assumed it was him. The dude was HUGE now. Like. Enough to completely block the door big.
But wait, wasn’t he skinny at the library?! My eyes were apparently going as fast as my mind. Still, it wasn’t a total surprise. Given his lifestyle, it was only a matter of time before he started a strict neet diet of chips, chocolate, and soda.
But I didn’t come here to judge. Too much.
“Heeey, Ryota. Workin’ on that winter bod, I see,” I said, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
He looked at me for a second, then down at his stomach, putting a hand over it. “I suppose I… may have put on a few pounds.” He looked back at me, raising an eyebrow. “Do we... know each other?”
Pssh, I should’ve known. No way Ryota could have ever gained that much weight. Or get his hair as shiny as this dude’s.
I put a hand on my hips and looked them square in the eye. “Okay, this is cute, but what’s the game? You’re not Ryota.”
They tried to play dumb. “W-what do you mean? Who else would I be?”
I shrugged. “Iunno, but you ain’t him. If you were, you’d be acting way weirder around me. I did blackmail you, after all.” What did he do, hire a bodyguard while I was away? Smart. I was pretty sure I could take this guy down even without Mukuro’s help, though.
Their eyes narrowed in confusion. “Blackmail?!” Their voice was a couple octaves lower now, not bothering to imitate my dear friend Ryota in the slightest. “When did-”
“Hey, Junko.”
The big lug instantly moved at the sound of the sullen voice behind them. There he was, still pale and thin as ever.
“Ha, there’s my guy! My nose can always smell a scheme.”
Ryota’s companion put their big meaty paw on his shoulder. “What did she do?” they said with genuine concern.
Ryota didn’t seem eager to answer. “It’s… not important.” He turned his attention to me instead. “What do you want?”
“Well, I, uh…” Shit, I wasn’t expecting to get this far. The great Junko Enoshima seldom goes back trying to reconstruct burned bridges. It didn’t help that the Incredible Hulk was standing there boring their eyes into me. This shit was hard. Maybe I should let someone else take over…
Buuut that would be counterproductive. I sighed and flipped one of twin tails back, cool as ever. “I was hoping we could talk, actually. Surely you have time?”
“Ummm…” He looked like he was going to shoo me away for a second, but his lack of backbone won. “Sure.”
The big guy didn’t look pleased at all with Ryota’s choice. “Do you want me to stay here?”
Ryota’s expression completely changed when he turned to his friend. “No, I’ll be fine.” His phone started buzzing an alarm and he took it out of his pocket. He grimaced as he looked at the screen. “Ah, it’s almost time for P.E.” He looked back at his massive doppelganger. “Would you mind covering?”
They gave me another suspicious, lingering glance. I flashed them a peace sign and a devilish grin, but that only seemed to agitate them more. I swear the dude started growling at me, but the Ryota calmed them with a gentle pat on the back. These two were giving me major dating vibes. God, why was everyone have more romantic success than me?
They sighed and gave Ryota a little smile. “Of course.”
“Thanks,” Ryota said, relieved.
Once they were out of sight, Ryota gestured for me to enter his room. I had to watch my step because all the lights were off, with two massive monitors as the sole source of illumination. He hadn’t changed a bit.
“Jesus, where are the lights in here?” My hand fumbled around on the walls until I found the switch. It was definitely a lot cleaner than when we had our sleepover a couple years ago. Before, his clothes were strewn haphazardly around the room, mixed with assorted takeout wrappers. Now you could actually see the floor. His workspace, where the two screens were located, looked more cluttered.
I turned back to Ryota. “Damn, they clean and go to class for you? That’s a pretty sweet gig.”
He didn’t say anything, closing the door and walking ahead of me to his desk. He skirted around me like I was a nuclear landmine. Guess he was still scared of me. That’s usually my favorite quality in a man, but it wasn’t doing me any favors right now.
“So… why are you here?” He ventured awkwardly, rubbing his arm.
Great question.
“I, uhhh… just popped by to see how you were doing! It’s been a while, y’know.”
“I… guess?” He said, clearly uncomfortable. He wasn’t giving me anything to work with. I felt paralyzed with actually owning up to my mistakes, and my weighty shoulder bag wasn’t helping much. I set that down on the floor, then sunk down myself to join it. Maybe if he was above me he would see me as less of a threat. Like a really paranoid animal.
I sighed, throwing my head back. “Okay, look, I know I haven’t exactly been… civil to you in the past. And that was a really ugly look.” He raised an eyebrow but seemed to be listening. “I just want you to know that I was going through some big shit back then. My mom was being a freak, me and my sister were angry and scared… and I had some fucked up coping mechanisms.” I didn’t want to go into details about the alters. Dude was already freaked out as it was. “That’s why I made you help me with that video.”
He cringed a little at the mention of that, averting his gaze away from me. “Oh yeah… I forgot about that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, you don’t have to play dumb. The point is I’m trying to be a new Junko Enoshima now. And not just because they almost threw my ass in a straitjacket.”
He looked back at me. “I heard about that… it must have been really hard for you. I’m sorry.”
God, I came here to apologize and he’s the one who says sorry first. This dude really is spineless. I shook my head before he could say anything else “Look, I love talking about me, but like. Enough about me for once. If you can... “ I wanted to say forgive, but that sounded so melodramatic. And groveling.
I was so fucking bad at this. I only ever said sorry to Mukuro. For once, all the voices in my head were quiet, so I couldn’t get their input. Useless as ever. Maybe I could try an indirect approach to get into his good graces.
“If you can just forget that horrendous shit I pulled… I’d like to be friends again.”
I still didn’t have any real desire to befriend Ryota. We don’t exactly have the same interests and already have bad blood. I just wanted some validation that I’m not a completely horrible person. Selfish, I know.
But if I really could get his approval, it’d be a nice bonus. Plus, I’m always looking for allies in the event that I need to plot a coup or run for Prime Minister of the planet one day.
“We weren’t really friends.”
Shot down in an instant! I couldn’t help but laugh. “Good point. But here’s the thing, I think we could be. I got friends in high places now. I can get you into any anime studio you want. A little payback for helping me on that toothpaste gig.”
“Sorry, I don’t really want to.”
I crossed my arms and huffed. Now he was getting annoying. “Whaddya mean you don’t want to?! You’re the Super High School Level Animator, remember? Getting industry work should be, like, your MO.”
He shrugged. “I can get a job with my own merits. At least, I’m pretty sure.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, maybe . But on my recommendation, you’d be a sure thing. Do you know how many Hope’s Peak bozos would fall all over themselves for my connections? I’m just trying to help you, dear Ryota.”
“Why?” He said after a long pause, definitely suspicious. Yeah, it looked bad, me showing up out of the blue to pester him. He probably thought the Professor was going to lock him in a torture pit this time.
I feigned offense. “What, you don’t want to be friends with the talented, incredibly gorgeous, Junko Enoshima?” I walked on my knees and threw my arms around his legs dramatically before looking up and batting my eyes at him. His resolve didn’t falter, but I could see his cheeks flush a little. Glad to see my charms were working on someone today.
“Umm…”
I jumped back to my feet, almost knocking him against his desk. “Look, I get it, big decision and all. Maybe one of these will clear your head.” I reached deftly into my bag before he could stop me, thunking a six-pack of energy drinks onto his desk. I swear I heard him gasp when he spied the label.
“Is that… Blue Bull? The cloudberry flavor?! They discontinued this months ago!” The dork stared at me with a newfound wonder. Yeah, that’s right. “Where did you find this?”
I shrugged like it was nothing. “Aw, y’know. I just had it lying around.” In reality, I had to break into the cafeteria’s storage room and swipe it. Hope’s Peak has probably the best vending machines in the world. You can get food, anime merch, books, weapons… literally whatever. Of course, they don’t always keep certain things in stock.
They keep the best snacks in a hidden walk-in cooler next to the regular one. Finding it was easy enough, but guessing the keypad combination took at least forty-five minutes, even for an expert analyst such as myself. The little nerd better appreciate it.
“My, er… friend never lets me have these anymore. They say energy drinks are bad for your heart.” Apparently Ryota didn’t even know that weirdo’s name?
I smirked and winked at him. “Well, consider it our little secret, then! What the big oaf don’t know won’t hurt them. Yolo!”
He cracked one open on the spot and took a quick glug. His eyes grew wide and he shook his head like he was trying to shake bugs out of his hair. Then he went back in for a second drink, slower this time. He exhaled, sinking down into a swivel chair next to his desk. “Ohh… these are so good.”
“Dude, don’t you want to let those chill first?” I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. I’d re-created a monster.
“No need. They’re great warm, too!” He left another one on his desk and stowed the other four in a minifridge by his feet. “Hey, do you wanna see my latest animation?”
I leaned against his desk “Um, yes? Boot that shit up.”
I may have exploited the guy for my own personal gain, but I was genuinely a fan of his work. And I’m very picky about my anime. None of that dime-a-dozen shonen crap. I’m after the cerebral, gorey shit. And, okay, I can tolerate passively watching some dumb yuri with Mukuro.
One of which we were watching together before our little… disagreement. Shit, she better not be watching those lesbian bounty hunters without me.
Ryota opened up a video editing program and pressed play. A girl with short, dark hair (of course) was rollerblading in a crumbling cityscape, casually jumping over some undead people in her wake. Only half of it was in color, bright pinks and neon green. As she jumped over a huge gap between buildings, a snippet of some rock music played.
“Sorry it’s so sloppy, it’s a work in progress,” Ryota said after the clip ended. It only lasted about thirty seconds, but I was sort of relieved. That dumb collection of pixels looked too much like my sister.
“I’m not sure about the soundtrack either,” he mumbled, more to his computer screen than me. He double-clicked on the audio over the clip and listened to it, deep in thought. Then I noticed another music clip under the rock audio.
“What about that one?” I pointed to the other sound file, graciously stopping my finger short before it could smudge his precious computer screen.
“Umm… that’s nothing,” he stammered, suddenly embarrassed.
“We’ll see about that. Yoink!” I grabbed his mouse and double-clicked on the file myself. It was quiet at first, then a barely audible voice said something before it cut off. I tried to play it again but still couldn’t make it out. I relinquished control of his mouse to him and sank back in a chair beside him. “I think you downloaded a virus or some shit.”
“No, that’s my voice. Listen,” he played it in reverse and turned the volume up. This time I could hear Ryota’s voice saying “Take a rest” before fading out. “It’s just a little experiment I wanted to try. You know, subliminal advertising.”
A little more devious than I thought, this guy! I leaned forward. “Like, brainwashing? I might need you to make one of those for myself sometime.”
Ryota winced. “That’s an extreme way of putting it. Really it’s just a little… subconscious coercion. What do you need it for?”
I leaned back in my chair and sighed. “You wouldn’t know it from looking at me, but I seem to be cursed in the romance department.”
He smiled. “That’s hard to imagine.”
“I know, right?! So there’s this girl and we’re, like, obviously meant for eachother. Even she thinks so!”
He nodded, but I could tell this was a little out of his wheelhouse. Even as we spoke he had opened up some art program and was sketching the next frame of his animation on his tablet. “So, what’s the problem?” he asked, still sounding attentive.
“Honestly, I think it’s me. I’m too fuckin’ much to handle.”
“Did she say that?”
“Well… kinda. I mean, we had a big fight and I told her so. She didn’t really deny it.”
“A fight, hmmm…”
“Nothing physical. She knows better than to touch my face. Though she could mess me up if she wanted to.”
“She must be very strong. Who is this?”
Should I tell him it was my sister? I decided against it. We might not be on that level yet. Look at me, making new friends - without manipulation! Kyouko is gonna be impressed.
I waggled my finger at him and snickered. “A lady doesn’t give away such matters, Ryota. I’ll just tell you this: her head’s as thick as a board. I just need her to see things my way, y’know?
He looked up from his tablet. “With subliminal advertising? Are you kidding?”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I was not about to be judged by this social vampire.
He caught me off-guard with a laugh. “I mean, you’re Junko Enoshima! You don’t need any of that stuff. You’re already so charismatic and pretty…” He caught himself once he saw the grin spreading across my face at his compliment and blushed. “I-I didn’t mean to be forward! But… in your case, I think any subconscious manipulation would be a little much. Like trying to cram too many things into a great anime.”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. God, an anime metaphor, really? This fuckin’ nerd.
“I’m serious! There’s only so much you can put into a series to make it special, even the classics.” He turned back to his canvas and started sketching a familiar anime character. “Take Princess Piggles here. She’s one of the most iconic characters of our generation, inspiring hope and body positivity in children all across Japan.”
Next to her, he started drawing a lankier, scruffier character with long ears and buck teeth, wielding a bloody board with a nail attached. Definitely a furry.
“And this is Mr. Buster, the antagonist from last year’s break-out hit, Hares Astray. He’s a violent businessman peddling massively popular self-help books to an unknowing public, but he didn’t write them. He’s actually made a deal with the devil, who demands innocent souls in return for Buster’s success.”
He dragged the two images next to each other on the canvas as if to illustrate his point. “Both are impeccable characters, but they might not appeal to everyone’s tastes. If their worlds were to meet, it would be a disaster! That’s why it’s better to keep them in their respective universes. Mr. Buster doesn’t need to fight evil in a magical girl costume, and Miss Piggles definitely has no need to participate in occult rituals.”
“And that’s okay!” He said, drawing a big ‘X’ across them both. Oh my god is he done??? If this was his idea of sick retribution from the toothpaste commercial it was working. My hand started twitching for an ice pick to shove through my eye sockets.
He finished his speech and looked at me, smiling. Totally oblivious to my torment. “They already have so many qualities that make them complete. Those who want to appreciate it will, others won’t.”
All that to cutesily tell me I’m special in my own way. Like, duh??? I know I’m irresistible.
“Yeah, yeah, but that’s the thing. She doesn’t appreciate me.”
He seemed to consider this, then shook his head and turned back to his precious tablet. “Oh, I don’t think that’s true at all.”
I sniped his stylus out of his hand and started hitting it on the desk. My patience was really running thin with this guy. “Oh, really. And how do you know that, genius?”
He shrugged. “Because I know you. At least, I think I do. I know from your modeling career that you don’t waste time on things that won’t benefit you. If this person didn’t really like you, well… I don’t think you’d be fighting so hard for her.”
Ryota’s words were obnoxiously tainted from years of anime watching. So fucking corny, but I still felt those stupid butterflies in my stomach, eating away at my organs. “You make me sound so desperate, geez.”
He smiled gently. I realized with horror that I probably had some mushy expression on my face and instantly got pissed off. I didn’t know whether I wanted to kiss Mukuro anymore or strangle her for making a fool out of me. “Not at all! In fact, it’s actually kind of sweet. Most people in my class say you’re just an ice queen with a rage problem.” His eyes widened as if he had just spilled a big secret and looked at me fearfully. “I-I mean, they used to , but-”
I kept him in suspense with a stare before busting out into delighted giggles. I know I’m trying to be a “good person” now, but how can one not like hearing about how feared they are? In a school filled with elites, even the lovely Junko Enoshima is far from being the queen bee. Hearing I was infamous in any capacity gave me a thrill.
“Yaaas, king, drag me! What else did they say?!” I eagerly pointed his stylus in his face like a microphone.
He sighed and took that opportunity to take his precious tool back. “Don’t you think you’re missing the point? They just don’t understand you. Not like your friends do, or that girl you like.”
I rolled my eyes. “How can you say that after all the bad shit I did to you?”
He seemed to think about it for a moment. “Huh, I guess…. I just try not to hold on to stuff like that.” Gods, must be nice to have such a reserved reaction to trauma. “Like you said, it was a bad time in your life. Happens to the best of us.”
As if I committed a minor oopsie, like stepping on his crayons and breaking them all. I was starting to realize Ryota was just as weird as me. But then again, so was Mukuro. And like… 90% of the jerks in this school. Maybe I was trying to hold myself to a weird standard to impress Mukuro.
I wasn’t going to ask about the brainwashing again and risk Ryota launching into a tangent about another anime I didn’t give a shit about. Too bad I couldn’t ask him to make a brainwashing program for my fucked up head.
I couldn’t tell him about the others, as tempting as the idea was. It probably wouldn’t work anyway. After all, my alter egos are just as stubborn as I am.
He might just be onto something though, nerdy metaphors aside. Maybe I could scrap Phase Two of the operation.
The only problem with that is that I’d have to wait for Mukuro to have her own epiphany. Yawn. But at least it gave me time to devise the perfect method to get rid of my alters. In the meantime, I’d wear more skimpy clothes to speed up the process on her end.
“I think you’re right. I’ll go the natural route first and get back to you. Even though she is a little dense.”
He smiled. “In the matters of romance, that’s probably for the best. At least, that’s what I’ve learned from anime.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, weeb. Hey, what’s the most revealing outfit you’ve ever seen in an anime?”