Chapter Text
Hinata gulped as he was dragged into the old building he knew as Hope’s Peak. Immediately, he could hear yelling and screaming from the deranged wards and winced as he was pulled into the elevator by his guards. He already regretted his decision to accept the invite (Yes, invite. You could always decline trying to get better. But...Who would? It was a chance at a new life with a clean record. Anyone would go there) Hope’s Peak had extended to him to be their little lab rat.
All he did was steal medicine for his mom, yet here he was in the place people called Hope’s Peak Asylum all because they promised a fortune if he complied and put him with The Ultimate Despair. God, he was dumb.
You see, The Ultimate Despair was a group that started what’s called “The biggest, most awful, most tragic event recorded in human history” also known as “The Tragedy”. They never caught the ringleader, the true ultimate despair, Junko Enoshima, and were still on a hunt for her. However, they *did* catch her most devoted followers- The Ultimate Despair. All were very talented teenagers that went to a prestigious school that all got brainwashed into following Enoshima into her reign of terror, which (quite literally) destroyed Japan and left it in ruin. Luckily for him, Hinata had been in Towa City when The Tragedy occured, and that place went (somehow) completely untouched by anything going on around the area. Of course, he had to go ahead and screw it up by getting thrown in the Towa City jail for petty theft.
The members of The Ultimate Despair (at least to Hinata’s knowledge) were as follows:
Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko: This dude was dangerous before he even became the Ultimate Despair. Long story short, he was the heir to the Kuzuryu Clan- A Japanese mafia of the highest ranking. Surprising that Hope’s Peak saw any kind of hope in him at all.
Pekoyama Peko: Not much to say on this one- she was just Kuzuryu’s bodyguard, known for her way with a sword. Even with a bamboo sword she could kill a man. She was, to say the least, horrifying.
Owari Akane: From what Hinata knew, Owari used to be a talented gymnast that even took part in the Olympics. Of course, after Enoshima brainwashed her, her scary awesome athletic abilities turned into scary deadly- You want a woman with killer thighs? Well, then you’re in luck. She’d actually kill you with hers.
Sonia Nevermind- An English princess that was easily influenced by people due to her lack of understanding the customs of Japan. So, really, it’s not that surprising she was easily brainwashed. She basically just sent her guards after people to chop off their heads. She became known as “If Alice turned into the Queen of Hearts” as she apparently acted and looked a lot like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, but ended up shouting ‘off with their heads’ and acting like the Queen of Hearts.
Souda Kazuichi - Nothing really interesting about this guy other than the fact he was a pretty talented mechanic. The most memorable thing he did was make killer robots, but he apparently mostly just followed Sonia around everywhere like a sick puppy.
Twogami- Twogami was actually just a name the media gave him, as he didn't actually have a name. This was due to the fact he impersonated Byakuya Togami, the heir to the Togami Corporation. So, he was a ‘second’ togami- Twogami. He used his impersonstation skills to make people do his bidding- whether it be killing for him, or killing themselves for him.
Hanamura Teruteru - This kid was known as a great chef and made delicious meals. Hinata actually ate at the Hanamura Diner once, which made it painful to see the name on the list. Apparently, he cooked up his mom and fed it to his siblings, before revealing what he did and driving his siblings to suicide. Absolutely horrible, considering the fact before he was brainwashed he had a Mother Complex and loved his siblings. Even if the guy was known for being a pervert, Hinata couldn’t help but feel bad for him.
Mahiru Koizumi- also known as “The Mantis”, as she tended to go for incompetent men. She also took pictures of the corpses, and broadcasted them often to cause despair.
Saionji Hiyoko - This one’s a tough one, as not much is really known about “How” she killed people during The Tragedy. The only things Hinata found on her was the fact that she was a talented dancer, and that she was very mean despite looking cute. So, he just sort of concluded that she bullied people into suicide.
Tsumiki Mikan - Probably one of the most devoted ones, as she was one of the first to be brainwashed. She already had obsessive tendencies before being brainwashed, so it’s not all that surprising she was obsessed with Enoshima. Not to mention the fact that she was a promising nurse in training. Why do you think doctors and nurses are so scary?? They know literally everything about how the body works. If a person who was training to be a nurse got brainwashed into killing people, do you know how horrible that could end up being? And needles...God, it was horrible to just think about it.
Mioda Ibuki - A popular teen rock star that killed people by making their ears bleed and then proceeding to ram their skull in with a bass. Pretty straightforward, really.
Tanaka Gundham - Known for his eccentric way of speaking and his inhuman connection with animals. In short, he had a pet bear that he ordered to kill people for him. There was a lot more to it, but that’s really the easiest way Hinata could think of to explain it.
Nidai Nekomaru - A coach of many different sports. Known for his buffness and the fact he’d crush someone within a minute if he wanted to. And, Funnily enough, he *did* want to the moment he was brainwashed.
Then, finally, a being that went by “Servant” during The Tragedy, whose name only recently came into light: Komaeda Nagito, known for his horrible yet also amazing luck. Komaeda had already been through a lot- Plane crashes, meteors, dead parents, dead dog, kidnappings, you name it. It amazed Hinata that the dude was still alive.
Of course, no human could go through all that and come out sane- no, Komaeda Nagito was also known for being, for lack of a better word, a nutcase. Ranting about Hope and Despair, and a lot of other nonsense about how he was merely a stepping stone to ‘Unlock The Ultimate Hope’. So, basically, he clung onto hope as if it was this valuable thing because he was running out of it, and ended up having an inferiority complex. Hinata honestly felt pity for the guy- after everything Hinata found on him, it was hard not to.
In fact, he felt bad for everyone in the Ultimate Despair- brainwashed into doing horrible things for the sake of Enoshima’s amusement for ‘despair’. To get blood on your hands that you didn’t ever want on your hands in the first place. It was horrible.
Still, Hinata wasn’t sure he could handle knowing that people he’d be with killed millions of people and started The biggest, most awful, most tragic event recorded in human history. But here he was, in front of the door that would lead him into the room that contained the Ultimate Despair. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his eyes shut and took his first step towards his new life.