"I don't like where this is going."
That was hardly a surprise. This initial setup was not unlike the Killing School Life I had orchestrated when I was alive.
Alive? Am I dead? What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be dead? Literally speaking, the former is simply not possible under normal circumstances. Naturally, that must mean we are presently operating under abnormal circumstances. I'm sure Makoto will figure that much out towards the end of whatever this situation is. He takes such a hopelessly long time like that. How boring.
Introspection is boring. What do these new faces have to offer me?
The first had introduced himself already. He maintained a friendly façade, but it was plain to Junko that this boy was holding back a veritable mountain of a personality. His every movement, every breath, calculated. She would very much like to butt heads with this Lelouch. Perhaps Junko would get that opportunity.
The rest introduced themselves soon after their arrival. Some were guarded, others jovial, but all seemed to be hiding something.
Sousuke Aizen was the first to speak to them following Lelouch, and the fourth to join the growing group. His attire looked custom made and carried an element of nobility to it. His demeanor spoke volumes: I am above all that is, and all that will be. Of course she recognized that type of personality. They weren't overly hard to break. The higher you climb, the taller your pedestal, the more precarious your balance, the more devastating your fall.
The next seemed to be a kindred spirit. The type she would get along with quite well. Shougo Makishima was his name. Truly, he must have an exquisite sense of despair. There wasn't much more to say about him. The man offered little else.
Following him was a man straight out of feudal Japan. He was dressed like nobility of the time period and introduced himself simply as Naraku; no surname to speak of. The malice this man (if he could be called that) exuded instilled in her a lovely shade of despair.
Incidentally, all three were likely the type to cut down any obstacle in their way – living or otherwise – without hesitation.
Second to last was a less murder-you-in-the-face, more unrepentant manipulator type. The kind who never needed to get his hands dirty. He was initially reluctant to give his name, but after some pause, we learned it was Gendo Ikari. Junko considered him to easily be the one with the most guarded disposition.
The final entrant was easily the oddest of their bunch. In the grand scheme of things, the Hope's Peak students were not as ill-equipped to accept a tiny talking mascot as most others should be, but it would seem that neither were any of the others. Kyubey, as he introduced himself, was only more so unusual than her Monokuma in that it was a living breathing creature. Makishima was probably the only one who openly expressed his curiosity. Aizen barely raised an eyebrow and Naraku didn't react even the slightest bit differently than he had with the others who followed him. Gendo simply adjusted his glasses; probably visual short-hand for 'this was not expected.'
In due time, Junko had analyzed each and every one of them.
How boring. I have a feeling I know exactly what is happening here and exactly how it will play out.
Her original talent made things so despairingly boring.
I wonder what would happen if I could spin my motivations as a disgruntled student who took revenge on the school because she got accepted for being a Fashionista instead of an Analyst…if I get a chance to troll someone like that, I might take it.
As her mind began to wander, another person finally started breaking out of their shock.
This had easily been the strangest day of Mukuro Ikusaba's life. Not the most tragic – that honor went to her sister's betrayal – but certainly the strangest.
Mukuro had been rather quiet since her door opened. It was hard to blame her, considering the mental state she must have been in. The last thing she remembered was the searing, unbelievably blinding pain of her first (and last) ever major injuries. She had spent the last several minutes still reeling from the trauma of it all, and had barely registered Makoto's presence.
When she finally began to snap out of her mental prison, she had only two words she wanted to say.
"Fuck. You."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
No one had any real response for that. Mukuro was going to have to continue to get whatever point she wanted to make across.
In a more serious and significantly more in-character scenario, Mukuro would likely not have said these words to her sister. In another time, she might have gone through a long and arduous recovery process that spanned several chapters of character development as she healed.
If you haven't figured it out by now, this is not that kind of story.
"Excuse me? Is something wrong dear sister?"
"RRRRRAAAAARRRGH!"
In a flash of fury, the Ultimate Soldier was upon her twin, choking the life out of her in short order. Junko, for her part, had the decency to look surprised for a moment, but that expression was swiftly replaced with what could best be described as a despairgasm.
"HOLY SHIT MUKURO STOP!" Makoto raced to the two in a futile attempt to resolve the rapidly escalating situation, but it turned out he didn't need to.
FWIT!
Some strange sound passed by him before Mukuro suddenly slowed her onslaught before coming to a full stop and slumping over.
"Hey! What's wrong!?" Makoto reached her side, and was relieved to see she was fast asleep. A tranquilizer dart was stuck in her neck. He gently removed the object and examined it closely before looking in the direction it had to have come from.
"What."
There was a blatantly obvious cardboard box sitting in the middle of the floor. From the slot facing them was some kind of a blowpipe. No, more importantly, that had DEFINITELY not been there before. He was literally looking in that direction a moment before Mukuro's outburst.
"Ahem." An obviously transformed voice came from the box. "Right then, I guess I should get this all rolling before we have any more…incidents." No one moved a muscle as they watched the cardboard box turn around and shuffle over toward a podium that was also not present before. Makoto began to get the feeling that some of his surroundings literally did not exist until drawn attention to by some outside force.
"So like, I considered a couple different disguises and avatars before I got here, but most of them had already been used before. You know, a bear, a rabbit…even a flower." Silence came from his audience.
"Not much for conversation, are you? I'll just leave this here." A click was heard before a white board dropped from the ceiling behind the box, subsequently lit up by a projector. Shortly after, the box vanished through a trapdoor. The projection displayed a set of instructions that read thusly:
Step 1: Pick a team. Limit three per team.
Step 2: Pick a door and go through it. Limit one team per door.
Step 3: ?
Warning: Don't dawdle or get left behind. You…won't like what happens if you do. You have all been stripped of any abilities and properties that might be considered…unfair. Consider the implications and consequences of defying a force with the power to accomplish this. You have been warned.
Several lights switched on, illuminating three doors that previously went unnoticed. Above them were three placards reading as follows:
TRIAL OF FRIENDSHIP
TRIAL OF BLOOD
TRIAL OF SCHEMES
"I'm…not sure I like the sound of those other two." These words came from the boy named Lelouch. He turned around and glanced at his choice of team members before his eyes landed squarely on Makoto who was currently trying to get Mukuro into a more comfortable position until she awoke. "You seem pretty level headed and more…friendly than the others. Want to team up?"
"Uh…sure. Is it alright if she comes with us? Can you uh…can you help me carry her?" Makoto indicated the sleeping Mukuro, clearly having trouble pulling her up.
"I can probably help her onto your back but I can barely carry my own weight before…uh never mind." Lelouch did as he promised, and soon enough the unconscious girl was slumped over Makoto's back. He seemed to have trouble moving for a moment, but he pressed forward and seemed to manage alright. The trio approached the door labeled 'Trial of Friendship' and paused for a moment to check if this action was ok with the other teams.
But they were all already gone. They apparently had no interest in whatever Friendship had to offer. Lelouch let out a breath of relief.
"Like I'm going through those deathtraps again…"
"Huh?"
"Er, nothing. Shall we?"
With those words, the two plus one entered the door to the ordeal that awaited them.
"Ah! Crap, wait! I finished the bracelets guys! Now we can have more fun- aww they're gone already. Damn it." The cardboard box had come back with nine bulky, mechanical bracelets placed on its top side, but all three teams had already picked and traveled through to their trials.
"Well whatever. The odds are stacked against them as it is. Adding bracelets would just be mean."