Chapter Text
She had sworn she would never go back. And now there was nowhere else to run.
Himiko Yumeno stood on a rocky outcropping, looking down at the ruins of academy she used to call home. No, "home" was the wrong word. "Prison," maybe; "battlefield," definitely; "lie"...well, she would never be sure about that. One thing was for certain: beneath the crumbling buildings and rubble-strewn paths lay the only hope for saving her friends. Possibly the whole world. If it wasn't already too far gone.
Careful not to slip, Himiko lowered herself down to the dewy courtyard. Even in their current state, the Academy grounds were rife with memories of past triumphs and tragedies. The dilapidated dojo: a reminder of her greatest friendship and failure. The broken dorms: a monument to all the nightmares the Killing Semester had brought on her, and the dreams she had dared to hold onto. Despite the urgency of her task, Himiko couldn't help but linger on these markers of her past--it was as though she were staring into a fractured mirror, the images reflected both familiar and alien.
The hole K1-BO tore in the sky remained overhead, allowing moonlight to stream freely onto the desolate school as she ran. At one time, the starry opening was a promise to Himiko, a sign that the outside world was ready to change. Now she saw the jagged fissure for what it really was: a trap for those too blind to recognize it.
A cool breeze blew through the campus, chilling her skin through the thin prison uniform she wore. Outside these walls, Shuichi Saihara and Maki Harukawa were still captives of the nefarious Team Danganronpa corporation. Only Himiko had managed to escape. And only she could free them. But she couldn't do it alone.
The stairs that lead into the basement were long and dark, beckoning Himiko deeper into the depths of the Academy. With a shaky breath, she drew the lighter she had pilfered during her flight, casting a flickering light on the cracked stone. If she had recharged her MP before coming here, she could have easily cast an illumination spell to light the way. Oh well. No time for rest or regrets. She had work to do.
Somewhere in these shadowy halls lay the two keys to her salvation:
A book of dark arts, long forgotten...
...And the checkered bandanna of the man it would resurrect.