Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass nor Danganronpa otherwise I wouldn't be writing fanfiction XD.
Summary: Lelouch unknowingly befriended the one who would become the Ultimate Despair when Japan became Area 11. Junko Enoshima has watched Lelouch for seven years, but impatient over acting upon on his vow he made she has decided to test him in a game which is to be the first of many of them as one spreads despair and the other spreads chaos.
A/N: Well, I got into another series recommended to me by draconichero21 and while the game me a lot of ideas for my Kingdom Hearts I had an overflow of ideas that allowed me to contemplate ideas for a standalone crossover with some help from Bylackbre for some plans for this chapter.
I tried to take care of as much of my spelling and grammar issues as possible in this chapter, but that said I am looking for a beta reader to help with that problem.
I'll save the rest of the author note for the end of the chapter and get right into the story, and yes this is a combined universe set up.
2/10/18: edited this chapter again, so let me now if the editing and fixes are a big improvement. If they are I will go through and update each chapter and clean them up.
"Dialog from a flashback"
Thoughts (unless used to emphasize a word in a sentence)
Chapter 1
Everything Changes
The sound of dice rolling and slot machines turning made up the sounds of the busy casino within Babel Tower. The tower was in the corner of the Tokyo Settlement. Nearby were the decaying remains of Shinjuku Ghetto, but in time like the rest of the ruins of Tokyo they would be torn down and made into the ever-expanding foundation of the Tokyo Settlement.
Seven years ago Japan lost its independence as a country when it provoked a war against the Holy Britannian Empire when it attempted to use its position as a supplier for seventy percent of the world's supply of sakuradite. They had even hoped with the fact they were playing host to two royal siblings from Britannia would give them a edge on the bargaining table.
It backfired.
In a war that lasted only one month, Britannia attacked the small nation. Britannia overwhelmed it with sheer numbers and abundant resources at their disposal. Japan quickly lost the sea and sky battles, but when the Britannian Army made landfall, they unleashed a new weapon: the Knightmare Frame the Glasgow.
By the time it was over, Japan had been renamed Area 11 and its people Elevens.
"So I guess I win another round," a cheerful voice exclaimed, "so fork it all over!"
The winner in question was a tall teenage girl of seventeen years of age with an attractive hourglass figure. She had long thick strawberry blonde hair tied into two pigtails with a rabbit head hair clip on the left and a white and red bow on the other. She possesses blue eyes and a fair skin complexion as her choice of attire was a long-sleeved leopard-print coat with fur trim around the collar and the ends of the sleeves. She underscored her look with a brown belt cinched around her midriff, open-toed black pumps, and black lace garters around her neck and right thigh.
With a toothy grin on her face, the young woman was enjoying her winning streak. Surrounding her was a group of men belonging to various levels of the nobility living in Area 11
Some were watching while more had lost and was hoping one of their own could win, but everyone who challenged her lost.
"Well, somehow I shouldn't be surprised, you are here."
All eyes turned to the newcomer while the blonde's smile merely widened.
"I was hoping you would be here."
The new arrival was a young man of seventeen with a tall and skinny frame with black hair, amethyst eyes, a fair skin complexion, wearing a black school uniform with a high collar and gold trim.
"Junko?!" The new arrival's companion inquired who was obviously shocked by her appearance. "I thought you called out sick?"
He wore the same kind of uniform, but he had a lighter shade of brown complexion with slightly spiky blue hair and silver eyes.
"Well, obviously Rivalz I just wasn't interested in going to school today. It was just too dull." Junko Enoshima replied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So you came here hoping to challenge me right after you heard about my little hobby of coming here?" The black haired teen said, approaching the table as the noble who had lost to Junko vacated the table to allow the young man to take his place.
"Yeah, especially after I remember that picture Rivalz showed me of that guy you beat so badly he had to walk out of here in a wooden barrel. Since you got his clothes too, along with his money," Junko replied, but despite her amusement at her winning streak, she wanted a real challenge. "Besides, I think this would be a great place for you and me to have a game."
Lelouch Lamperouge smiled, "who am I to turn down a challenge since I am sure you will be more of a contender than anyone else I have faced here."
"Oh great, this means we'll be late for class." Rivalz Cardemonde mumbled under his breath.
Truthfully neither Lelouch nor Junko cared about classes at the academy, because, for Lelouch, he treated school as a trivial matter which he only bothered with because it was necessary. Junko Enoshima was similar thought in that mindset, but she chose to come here because she did indeed enjoy challenging Lelouch despite having never won a single game against him.
As their game progressed, a news report was playing from an overhead monitor.
"Here is yesterday's terrorist attack on the Osaka National Bank of Britannia where the terrorist group called Ultimate Despair killed sixty people, including twenty Britannians and forty others while robbing the bank." A female newscaster announced, but before she could continue further, her broadcast was being interrupted, which was on every channel throughout Area 11.
Within seconds a black screen with a cartoonish bear's head, divided by two different colors. One side was white, while the other half was black with a wide smile and sinister-looking red eye. It was spinning around while the words' loading underneath.
Seconds later seated upon a throne in a lavish room, sat a teddy bear-like creature that was over two feet tall. Its body divided into two parts with a color scheme resembling the Yin-Yang symbol. His white half has the classic expression of a teddy bear, but his left side showed a more sinister appearance with its black color scheme possessing a red horizontal stripe for an eye and an evil smile.
"Well, good morning again people of Area 11 and how are we doing on this despairingly wonderful day? For those of you who don't know me, I am Monokuma!" The bear said, introducing himself before pulling out a yellow toy hammer before pointing it towards a man standing at a podium across from the teddy bear wearing a brown business suit while he was quite overweight with brown hair, mustache and a beard with a red tie.
The camera having been turned to look upon the terrified man who was being held at gunpoint by two armed henchmen whose genders were not apparent to the viewer due to their black and white suits, sharing the same color scheme as Monokuma and the fact they wore full head masks of Monokuma's visage. Their weapons were a pair of machine guns, which were more than enough to keep the obese man standing still even through the sweat and look of terror on his face was a clear indication that he knew what was coming.
"So we have ourselves another new member and as always, we kick this one off with an initiation ceremony," Monokuma exclaimed happily as he introduced a blonde haired woman with a depressed and nearly emotionless expression wearing a white blouse and a blue skirt. "The fat man there is the owner of the Hi-TV Studio who frustratingly keeps calling me Monobear...ITS MONOKUMA YOU IDIOTS!"
After that burst of anger, the bear calmed down before the captive owner of the studio recognized the new recruit standing near Monokuma.
"Elena!" The captive man exclaimed in horrified shock.
"Yep, your wife has seen the wonder of despair, and it has freed her from a very miserable life as your wife," Monokuma answered as his red eye began glowing.
"But why we're…"
"Happy Together," Monokuma said, interrupting the man before laughing, "So you call cheating on your wife for six years with two different women, including one who had to break up with a few months ago. That one you ended by hiring mailroom clerk to knock her up after getting her heavily intoxicated so you could break up with her when she sobbingly confessed the following morning."
The camera turned away from the horrified man to the sadistic bear who added as an afterthought when addressing the audience.
"Oh, and that woman committed suicide three weeks ago."
A small device with a large bright yellow button was raised up to the bear's level.
"Let us celebrate our new addition to our growing family," Monokuma announced before using his hammer to hit the button, letting out a chime before the obese vanished down a trap door that opened up at his feet.
After passing through a chute that dropped him into a large and more industrialized version of a small one person sauna designed to hold one person but it could more than that. During his trip through the chute, the owner of the studio landed inside the sauna through a heavy metal hatch in the roof. Once inside Monokuma walked up to control panel by the sealed door. The sadistic bear began turning the knob that controlled the temperature turning it up. Thick columns of steam could be seen coming from a ventilation vent on top of the sauna before the owner of the television studio began desperately banging on the door trying to escape before he started screaming.
After turning up the knob all the way it could go the steam inside the room was so thick you couldn't see what was inside.
Ignoring the man's screaming Monokuma put on a black headband before snapping his fingers to begin playing some workout music.
"That's right feel the burn," Monokuma mocked said the bear began doing some stretches, "your wife always said you should lose some weight."
During his workout, the screaming from inside the sauna gradually died down.
"Thank you, Area 11 for joining us for our Death Sauna. We'll see you next time, but know that soon I'll be hosting something extraordinary."
The broadcast ended, although most onlookers were shocked and horrified except two people. Lelouch was indifferent as he didn't care about the death of the man whose demise was no doubt painful, but he was a corrupt and unfaithful man who got what he deserved. Junko was also indifferent to what happened, but the reason for it was because of that.
She was the leader of the organization Ultimate Despair and the one who controlled Monokuma who acted as both the public leader of the group and its mascot, although only a select few were aware of this for the sake of secrecy.
Junko couldn't help but smile as she drank in the horror and despair people felt from the execution. They witnessed as the authorities have failed every time to find Ultimate Despair and whenever they did its members either committed mass suicide or committed mass suicide taking as many of those sent to apprehend them as possible usually taking many civilians with them. As a result, the police and the military reluctant to pursue them actively, but with so many of the Japanese population and even those among the Britannians who were miserable with their lives in form or finding recruits wasn't hard. It was only a matter of pushing them over that threshold to embrace despair as an escape.
Despair was a bitter mercy, but a mercy nonetheless for some.
For Junko Enoshima it was more than a lifestyle and principle for her, but it was what defined her as she sought to pursue despair in any form regardless if she inflicted it upon others or experienced it herself.
In the case of Lelouch, she felt the despair of the inability to beat him in whatever game they challenged one another. It was one reason she played against him, but at the same time, she was curious about him and the despair and rage he felt as a child that made him into the young man before her today. A beautiful image she remembered when she and the young man first met seven years ago.
Seven Years Ago
The girl who would one day terrorize Japan under the name of Junko Enoshima was standing in front of the bombed building. Her twin sister who would eventually take the name Mukuro Ikusaba was kneeling next to her with an expression to say she was about to break out in tears.
"Get a hold of yourself crybaby," Junko told her twin before slapping her in the back of the head. I know this is despair-inducing, but does she have to act like such a baby because of it? Junko asked herself while looking upon the home they had grown up for possibly the last time.
They had backpacks, each filled with whatever supplies they could carry, but aside from essentials Junko's older sister held her only prized possession, she recovered from the ruins, but the fire that consumed it had damaged it.
They were lucky their house was in a small housing community that sat on the outskirts of Kawanehon, a town located in the Haibara District of the Shizuoka Prefecture. Thanks to its low population and being far from any major cities or locations of interest to the Britannian Military they had managed to escape the worst of the war.
It was only for a limited time.
Fortunately, Junko and Mukuro's foster parents had an emergency shelter built in the basement area of their house given their proximity to Mt. Fuji. However, their adoptive father was a survivalist and had taught Mukuro much of what he had known, so it was no surprise he had designed the shelter to be capable of weathering whatever disaster came their way if it is an earthquake, a storm or war.
For the first two weeks as the war began they kept the radio going hoping Japan would win, but Junko didn't believe in their blind optimism because the Holy Britannian Empire controls more than half of the world so they would likely bring in much more troops, resources, and weapons. Not to mention with more than four different locations to amass a large invasion force the Britannian Military attacked with overwhelming force as Britannian Naval fleet surrounded the island from the North, East, and South, and struck the island from all positions simultaneously.
From a tactical standpoint, it was well done and doing so would stretch the island nation's military dangerous thin across multiple fronts.
Japan's air force didn't fare much better, although Japan might have been ready to die to the last man defending their nation they didn't have the soldiers or the weapons to fend off such an overwhelming invasion force.
So it probably shouldn't have surprised anyone that a group of Britannian soldiers in the company of their new Knightmare Frame the RPI-11 Glasgow. They were likely part of a detachment from a scouting force meant to conduct surveillance of the area surrounding Mt Fuji since it was the location of the Sakuradite Mines. Since the cities and major towns had become war zones, it made logical sense that this detachment would be sent out taking a longer route to avoid confrontation with the Japanese Military.
Junko and Mukuro were the first to make it into the shelter, but their foster family didn't make it as the ensuing clash between the civilians, and the Britannian soldiers caused a battle to break out with homes destroyed in the crossfire. To keep the mission the Britannian Patrol hidden they slaughtered everyone. The twins survived thanks to the shelter being designed to withstand the destruction of their home, although had they used heavy weapons upon the foundations of the house they might've not survived.
Even through Mukuro wept for the loss of the family Junko didn't share a tear but instead mocked their stupidity in their blind hope they could somehow push back the Britannians.
Children are raised believing hope is some powerful thing that will help you through the most desperate of situations if you only cling to it. Junko thought as the shelter shook from the nearby explosions, but even if they didn't hear it, Junko didn't doubt people were screaming and either being killed or worse. No hope is nothing more than optimistic stupidity where you foolishly believe some higher power will help you where it is evident that death is inevitable.
The sisters remained in the shelter for four days as they had all of the food and water they needed, but it was only on the fifth day did they emerge from the underground shelter.
*SNAP*
The noise heard by the younger twin who quickly grabbed the first thing she could find in an attempt to either be armed to defend herself or look innocent enough not to be considered a threat. Mukuro was also alerted by the noise and quickly dropped to the ground to look unassuming while having her hand close to the knife given to her by her father hidden in her boot. The two leaned against a corner of their ruined home.
"Lelouch you make me wonder how you haven't alerted a patrol yet with how many sticks you have broken while walking," a young voice said as a trio of children around Junko and Mukuro's age came out from around the same corner the noise came from. Both parties paused for a moment as they slowly looked each other over.
Lelouch first noticed the girl without the freckles who was holding a stuffed bear that was white on one side, but the other was burnt black. Lelouch saw she had eyes that betrayed her innocence by clearly showing she was far more intelligent than any ten-year-old should be which was reinforced by calm composure. The girl next to her, Lelouch concluded was her twin since they looked identical. The only difference was for the fact that the girl without the bear had freckles on her face and their eyes were different in that the bear holding sister had eyes like Lelouch's in that they analyzed everything they see while the other sister had eyes like an injured wolf sensing danger. Mukuro had blue hair while Junko's hair was red instead of the strawberry blonde it would be later in life.
"Why did we stop moving Big Brother?" Nunnally asked as she felt the boy carrying her stop walking.
The brown-haired boy looks like the son of the late Prime Minister while it is now apparent the boy carrying the girl with the closed eyes are siblings. Unless they have a lot of Britannian heritage like Mukuro and me, they aren't Japanese like their companion here is. Junko quickly tried to figure out how to make the most of this information, but the boy with brown hair, she recognized recalling a picture of him she saw in a newspaper shortly before the war began.
"I guess you guys also got caught up in the Britannian invasion?" Lelouch asked as he looked at the fact the girls were wearing what looked like pajamas and the burnt house was undoubtedly the home these two grew up in.
"You could say that. Our parents had a shelter and supplies in it, so we were lucky enough to be in it when it happened, so we waited it out for a couple of days." The younger of the two sisters answered before adding. "We were about to leave, but my stupid sister couldn't pull herself away from the burnt rubble. I guess since it is the only home we have ever had my sister is too pathetic to move on and abandon the six past, we had." Junko explained as she pulled Mukuro to her feet.
Junko was originally going to try and appear as innocent as possible, but the anger and rage brewing in the black haired boy's eyes wasn't at her, but the world made her act differently. Growing up as a homeless and unwanted child forced Junko to adapt at a very early age where reading and understanding your surroundings was needed to survive.
She recognized suppressed rage when she saw it.
The pigtailed girl wanted to learn what the cause of that anger was and desired to see what would come about from the wrath that she could see is starting to bud in the injured girl's brother.
"I know it might seem lame, but we don't exactly have a place to stay anymore and while Mukuro is good with a knife, we can't exactly survive here on our own with those soldiers coming around and either executing or imprisoning any civilians they come across. I could loan you Mukuro's skills and knowledge of the local area if you agree to let us come along to wherever you guys are going for safety." Junko said while trying to negotiate with Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally. They seem to know a place that could be safe, so maybe I can get them to provide safety for my dumb ugly sister and me.
Lelouch and Suzaku shared a silent conversation through expressions before both turned towards the future Ultimate Soldier and Ultimate Despair. "Lelouch knows some people that are supposed to provide transportation for him and Nunnally to a safe house of sorts while I have some relatives who are also supposed to meet me at the same place. You can come along, and maybe my people or Lelouch's could provide you with a place to stay for a little while." Suzaku explained to the sisters.
After leading Suzaku and Lelouch to the shelter to stock up on whatever supplies remained including taking anything of use. The two Despair Sisters walked over to the trio and the new group of five continued on their walk to a haven away from the wreckage left behind by the Britannian military. They continued to travel for a few more hours until the sun began to set.
The group knew continuing to travel at night would be too dangerous, so moving away from any roads or pathways the two searched for a suitable place for the night. They were lucky as they came across a hill with a small cave that would work as a makeshift shelter. Suzaku and Mukuro gathered firewood and some extra wood to use to help build a proper temporary housing and a wooden mat to lie on using what blankets they could salvage along the way as makeshift sleeping bags.
The food wasn't a problem thanks to the supplies both parties had managed to gather while Lelouch and Suzaku had collected their supplies from the various homes they had found along the way.
Lucky for them most of the major fighting was happening in the cities and military bases. There were some skirmishes in some of the smaller towns and cities, but judging from the destroyed buildings and roads they happened upon it was assumed they had moved on converging on Toyko with the rest of the Britannian Military as their new weapon the Knightmare Frame was decimating Japan's ground forces with ease.
Later that evening after eating Lelouch and Suzaku waited until Nunnally and the others had fallen asleep. Curious to learn more about the black-haired boy Junko pretended to sleep hoping to overhear their ensuring conversation as the two offered to stay awake under the pretense of acting as a lookout who would wake the others if trouble was near.
"I think it's going to be a few more days before we reach our destination, especially if we want to avoid being caught up in any conflict," Lelouch said as he looked at a map of the area they were traveling through while planning their trek for tomorrow.
"I know the Britannians have established an occupation landing point already, but the fighting should be ending soon right?" Suzaku said with a hint of sadness in his voice as he knew from the battles and devastation that Britannia had wroth in their advance against Japan that it was only a matter of time before his home country ultimately surrendered as it was clear they had no chance of repelling Britannia.
"Hard to say, but this war is drawing close to its inevitable conclusion, and it's happening a lot faster than I expected," Lelouch said calmly, but this merely caused the anger to burn even more strongly as this confirmed something he had suspected. "This proves, however, that they… no, he intended for me to die here."
Lelouch's fists tightened in anger as the rage he kept bottled up inside of him began to come out as he sat in front of the fire while Suzaku sat opposite of him looking concerned for his friend.
"You are thinking about those men who came after you before the invasion right?"
The young man nodded, and both of them recalled that incident, where the two had been walking by the beach near one of the houses the Kururugi Family owned when they stayed there for a time. One day when attempting to return home, they were confronted by four suited men whose intentions involved Lelouch, so Suzaku suddenly attacked them and told Lelouch to flee. The latter did just that, but not wishing to owe Suzaku for his life and knowing his death would only complicate things for him when back and had to bluff their way out of their situation.
Luckily it worked remarkably enough thanks to the sound of the house's alerted security force approaching that helped Lelouch's bluff, but how long would such luck hold out.
"It makes sense if you think about it," Lelouch began bitterly, "we serve no use to him and I am all but dead to him, so what better way for our deaths to be useful by dying here and giving Britannia a rallying justification to invade Japan."
"But…" Suzaku said, trying to offer something, but he had nothing.
Even though their relationship was not friendly in the beginning, to put it mildly, but through Nunnally and the events that followed the two became friends. Strangely, however, Suzaku had learned something that having been born and raised as the son of Japan's Prime Minister should have taught him. He was a child and what his father and his associations were involved with was the adult world so he thought why he should bother knowing and understanding the world around him. Through events and his interactions with Lelouch, the young Japanese boy learned about the dangerous world he was initially unaware of that he was growing up in.
The Nexus of Authority, Suzaku Kururugi understood now just how evil it could be. He was brought up in the miasma around his father who was a dominant figure in authority. Through Lelouch and events that transpired Suzaku understood what he couldn't comprehend as a child seeing the nexus as a world of demons where swords called greed and conspiracy slashed indiscriminately cutting up individual personalities and good will.
Suzaku grew up unaware of the evils of such a world until he met Lelouch whose own environment was far more toxic and demonic compared to the situation in Japan.
Lelouch vi Britannia was a son of the current Emperor and comes from a royal family where a large number of its members through Britannia's history have died through various acts of betrayal and assassination.
"My mother the Empress of Britannia was brutally murdered in her own home. She died shielding my sister, but the incident cost her ability to walk. I know the other Imperial Consorts held her in contempt and were no doubt involved in one way or another." Lelouch said, recalling the incidents where he witnessed his mother confront some of the other consorts which went as far as threatening potential harm upon them. "And the man I once called father chose to banish Nunnally and me to Japan to die so we could help him with having a justified excuse to invade Japan. All because I challenged him and tossed away my claim to the throne declaring me dead."
As Suzaku was left speechless, Junko was genuinely surprised and interested in this turn of events. In moments a dark smile appeared on her face.
What a despairingly fateful encounter.
Sometime later, after Suzaku went to sleep, Lelouch was still awake, offering to take up first watch, which he did due to his difficulty in going to sleep as his mind focused on Britannia and the Royal Family especially the anger he held towards them.
Lelouch was silent, although he strove to stay mindful of his surroundings, his mind kept drifting from one thought to another as memories flooded his mind. One of the most prominent of these was the memory of the last words exchanged between father and son.
Rather Emperor and freshly disinherited prince.
"You are dead. You were always dead to me, dead from the moment you were born. Who gave you the fine clothes you wear and comfortable home? The food you eat and your very life? All of those, I have given to you; in short, you are not nothing to me because you have never existed. Yet you dare to speak such foolishness to me?! Lelouch, you are dead. Therefore you are not entitled to any rights. I am sending you and Nunnally to Japan, as prince and princess; you will serve well as bargaining tools."
You sent me here to die for YOUR benefit! Lelouch as the anger and resentment continued to fester within.
"Dwelling on what happened?" Junko asked out of the blue from behind him.
Lelouch quickly spun around to come face to face with Junko whose own face was only inches away from his own. She was on all fours so her face could be at the same height as Lelouch's as he sat on the ground looking over his shoulder.
The former prince fell back from the unnerving proximity of Junko, but it didn't bother her in the least.
"What's your deal?"
The ten-year-old picked himself up before sitting down in a cross-legged position upon which he dusted himself off. Junko assumed a sitting posture in front of Lelouch as they sat near the fire together.
"So you seemed pretty angry with the hand you got…your majesty," Junko said with a wink causing Lelouch to show signs of surprise on his face. "When you want to a have private conversation you might want to find someplace private for it."
"Then you overheard everything?"
"Kinda hard to sleep with you and your friend talking, but I suppose your sister and mines are both heavy sleepers, it seems." The pigtailed ten years old answered, while at the same time she was using her right thumb to point at the two girls in question over her shoulder.
Lelouch cast a glance at Suzaku who seemed to be a substantial sleeper himself.
"So you know I am a former prince...now what?" The young boy asked, expecting a confrontation of some kind, but it never came.
"Nothing really," Junko replied, shrugging her shoulders, "when you spend most of your life on the streets you view the world differently. So if you are expecting me to go on some patriotic rant about Japan and how they'll beat back Japan or me kicking your ass then no."
Lelouch felt some relief at that, but he wasn't sure about the direction of the conversation Junko was going to take it.
"You grew up on the streets, so the parents and house you had was a foster home?" Lelouch asked although he knew it was oblivious at this point.
"Of course captain obvious." The ten-year-old girl answered with a dismissive hand gesture. "It is why you didn't see me crying over their deaths. Not that I am ungrateful for a nicer roof, which was much better than that hole inside that old building I spent a good portion of my childhood living in."
"So that is how you overheard Suzaku and me talking. You are a light sleeper who is stirred by the slightest noise so you can be alerted to a potential danger." Lelouch deduced based on Junko's comments since her dangerous life of living as a homeless child, mainly since she was a girl, probably made her a potential target for some very shady and vulnerable people.
"Well, look who just proved to be observant?" The girl crossed her arms over her chest, "There were all kinds of wild animals out there, so you had to be careful. I guess it's thanks to that I adapted and grew stronger from it, but at the same time, I saw the world differently. Isn't that what happened to you when you lost your mother and got banished here you began seeing the world differently, and you changed too?"
Lelouch was surprised by the sudden seriousness in Junko, but he couldn't deny the weight and truth her words held. Reflecting on what he was like before the death of his mother, he could be called an ordinary boy who was born into a life of wealth and privilege and similar to Suzaku, he had never given much thought to the world around him nor the actual weight of being a Prince of Britannia.
He was a child until his mother died and her death and what followed ended whatever childhood he made changing him forever more.
Even though he didn't answer her outright Lelouch's silence and thoughtful expression was enough of a silent answer that she was right.
"I get the feeling you have no desire of letting things go as they are now are you?" Junko asked as the seriousness in her voice did not fade, but she did consider internally.
Better not say he'll hope for a better future or some crap.
"No you're right, I don't, but I know there isn't much a ten-year-old child can't do. For now, my focus is surviving this and enduring until a time comes that will allow me to do so." Lelouch said as the anger threatened to spill out, but the most intellectual portion of his mind prevailed in convincing him that there was nothing he could do, at least for now. "But...there is something I do know."
Junko looked at him in silence but noticed a contained darkness behind those eyes that held sorrow, despair, and rage that was eager to come out.
"To achieve my goals a question I must ask myself… to defeat a great evil do you stain your hands with evil to destroy it or do you stay steadfast and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil."
"So you are saying to achieve your goal you'll have to commit evil to destroy a greater evil?"
"Can you think of any other way to destroy a superpower that controls over half the entire world?"
"Good point, but I am relieved you are more realistic compared to others who might talk about good or evil prevailing over evil."
"Things like hope and optimism being the keys that topple evil exist in children's stories and cartoons," Lelouch answered coldly.
Junko nodded in agreement, "This is true, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot."
"You know you seem quite...different."
"I told you...when you experienced my childhood you view the world differently with your experiences shaping your thoughts and desires."
"You know what shaped me so what made you into what you are now?"
Junko considered that for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and then answering, "Just being born, I guess since I came into this world feeling my existence is a mistake."
"I doubt anyone can make such a judgment." Lelouch began before Junko interrupted him.
"A matter of perspective, I agree, but don't act sympathetic to me. I don't want it."
"Then maybe you should avoid saying things like my birth was a mistakesince that sort of thing makes people sympathetic towards you."
Her eyes widen in self-realization before taking a moment to consider that as she tapped her right forefinger on her chin.
"Huh, I didn't consider that, so how about I just say I was born a defective human being whose desires and interests are quite different from others."
"Now that has me wondering if that was something your parents had done before you became homeless?"
Junko seemed uncertain for a moment, "I am not entirely certain either, but all I know is that my father was a Britannian while my mother was Japanese who died shortly after my birth, so I never got to know her or my father leading to me getting my mother's surname of Enoshima. Mukuro accepted the surname of our foster family Ikusaba."
"I see…" Lelouch said while he was certain what to make of Junko, but there was no question she was very different from any child his age that he had known. "Then I assume Britannia's conquest of Japan doesn't bother you."
"I think you know as well as I do Japan is pretty fucked even before this war started."
"And if anyone thinks the EU or the Chinese Federation is going to help them. They fail to grasp a war between the three superpowers over Japan would destroy the country with whatever leftover being taken over by one of the three superpowers." Lelouch noted as he highly doubted the other three superpowers would get involved for Japan's sake especially since Japan has been using its control over seventy percent of the world's Sakuradite as a bargaining chip for the small nation to gain some influence on global politics.
They would pretend it was for the sake of Japan and its people, but in reality, it would turn into a brawl to control the Sakuradite Mines destroying everything else in the ensuing crossfire until one side won. The Chinese Federation especially would become heavily involved since if a rival superpower controlled Japan that superpower would have a good staging point for a potential invasion of its soil in the future.
"I agree, and it's why Britannia is attacking with such overwhelming force. They want to end the war as quickly as possible before the EU, and the Chinese Federation can have a chance to get involved."
"Yes," Lelouch said in agreement before adding, "and I am sure that right now they are conducting negations with the other two superpowers to assure them that in their exchange for not interfering on Japan's behalf they would probably receive more Sakuradite than before as a way to buying their non-intervention."
"You know… I enjoy talking to you. I don't feel sick or bored talking to you." Junko said with an amused smile.
"Talking to you has been interesting, but I am not sure what to make of you."
"Why don't we leave that as a mystery for you to solve."
Ever since that conversation Lelouch and Junko had become friends if there was a proper word for it, so whenever they had stopped during the nights as they traveled together, they would become engaged in a conversation when everyone else was asleep. This arrangement for continue for almost two weeks as they moved across a war-torn Japan, but following the end of the month when word of the war's inevitable end was spreading the group reached their destination.
The setting sun was strangely appropriate since it was the last day the country would be known as Japan.
The meeting place and evacuation point where the trio was located in what used to be a massive city but was now nothing more than a wasteland after a Britannian bombing campaign nearly every building as nothing more than rubble and burnt bricks. Their meeting took place in a clearing overlooking an ocean where a Japanese soldier was saluting before a funeral pyre cremating his comrades.
Lelouch stood close to Nunnally, Junko, and Suzaku as Mukuro stood by silently clutching her half-burnt bear. Junko couldn't help but feel a little disappointed they were going to separate. Despite the despair from the separation and the possibility of not seeing him again was an incredible feeling, as it despair that helped her feel joy, but the fact that there was nothing or anyone of interest who could provide a conversation that wasn't mind-numbing boring.
"So what happens now?" Suzaku asked, but his expression and tone indicated concern. "What do you by you and Nunnally are going to be dead?"
"It's something that has to happen, right?" Junko answered understanding the intent.
"That's right, and we'll only be dead on paper," Lelouch explained. "We'll change our names too, but it's the perfect chance to fool Britannia into thinking we're dead. If we're dead, they can't make me and Nunnally be their tools and pawns anymore."
"That's it… you'll live on your own, but what about you Nunnally?" The brown-haired boy feeling more concerned for Nunnally given her disabilities as he was more confident in Lelouch being able to survive on his own. Nunnally was a different story though.
"I am fine as long as I can be with my brother."
"There are some good moves we can do for the time being. The Ashford Family has landed with the occupational colonist so we'll seek them out and accept their deal."
"Right they were your mother's supporters in the royal court right?" Suzaku said beginning to sound hopeful.
However, Lelouch who was ever the pragmatist, "It is not like we trust him, but we'll let him use us so we can use him. I think they want us as liability insurance in the event things don't go well for them, which I suppose must be a sign of complications arising back in Britannia."
"At least you know it will work out," Suzaku said, trying to remain hopeful, but Junko was silent.
This time Nunnally had a question for the young man. "What about you, Suzaku? What are you going to do?"
"There is your teacher Mr. Tohdoh right? Aren't you going to stay with him?" The former prince asked, knowing that during their time at the Kururugi estate Suzaku underwent training from Kyoshiro Tohdoh who was also a colonel in the Japanese army so presumably he was probably fighting in the war this whole time.
"I tried contacting him, but I couldn't reach him." Suzaku replied before revealing something else, "Mr. Kirihara says I should go to the Britannian Headquarters?"
"You mean the army?" Lelouch asked, feeling concerned for his first real friend since coming to Japan.
"The Kyoto Group is cooperating with the Britannians."
"The Sumeragi Family?" Lelouch asked, knowing it was the Sumeragi Family who held the most significant influence out of the other families that made up the Kyoto Group, a collection of Japan's most wealthy and influential industrialist who is rumored to be the real power behind Japan.
Or at least they were.
"Kaguya is their only successor."
"I see…" Lelouch said, realizing the situation and knowing the outcome as Suzaku had few options right now.
"Suzaku…" Nunnally said sadly, but Suzaku decided to ease her concerns.
"Don't worry and besides its better, if someone takes care of me since it's too dangerous for me right now since I am the Kururugi heir and the son of Japan's last Prime Minister."
Lelouch adopted a solemn expression, "Yeah, you that is true…"
"Suzaku," The wheelchair-bound girl began, "hold out your hand."
"Huh?"
"My mother taught me this a long time ago. If there is a hand reaching out to you, then everything will be ok."
Junko inched closer to Lelouch who began whispering.
"You know that won't help?"
"I know, but as far as Nunnally is concerned just leave her with that illusion," Lelouch whispered back.
"Stay safe Suzaku, but I hope you," Nunnally said, looking to Junko and her sister, "two will be safe as well."
"You don't need to be worried we were in a lot worse situations before," Junko said with confidence in her voice. "As your brother said I'd make it work out."
"I hope we can all meet again," Nunnally said before Lelouch wheeled her away to a waiting van and letting their drive to begin loading Nunnally into the vehicle.
However, Lelouch returned to the gathering as Suzaku decided to sit down on a rock just as the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon.
At that moment Lelouch spoke some words that would stick to the four of them for years to come, "Suzaku I swear that one day, so help me, that… I am going to obliterate Britannia!"
Suzaku was speechless, but Junko only smiled.
"I am sure your quest for revenge against your homeland will be more than interesting should you ever go down that path," Junko said as she started to formulate how she could incorporate Lelouch's desire for revenge into her plan to cause despair to spread around the world. "Should we ever cross paths again, rest assured that I will be more than willing to support you just to see which will crash and burn first: you or the world."
"I guess we will just have to see," Lelouch said, accepting the unspoken challenge from Junko, but Suzaku wanted to say something, but something held him back.
"I doubt this will be the last we see of each other. So you two better not forget us when we meet back up, or Mukuro will beat the shit out of you for forgetting us." Junko promised before the trio went their separate ways.
Five Years Later
Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement
Lelouch was just now returning to the Student Council building after a long day of helping Milly and was just flat out tired as he walked into the place he and his sister was living in courtesy of the Ashford Family.
Waiting for them was a Japanese woman in her early twenties with brown hair and matching eyes wearing a maid's uniform.
"Oh, Master Lelouch I am glad to see you have returned. I have already finished preparing dinner, and it took slightly longer than normal due to two unexpected visitors for you and Mistress Nunnally. They said they were very excited to see you again." Sayoko Shinozaki explained as the ninja maid noticed the arrival of the former prince.
I wonder who it is this time, Lelouch thought as he placed his jacket on a hook and walked into the dining room to see Nunnally talking with two girls while eating. "Hello, and who are you?" Lelouch asked as he sat down at the table.
"I can't believe you would forget us like that Lulu, and here I thought you would remember me after the promise we made all those years ago," one of the girls told the fifteen-year-old boy.
Lelouch noted that she had blue eyes and a fair skin complexion and long strawberry blonde hair while she wore clothes that looked like they belonged to a supermodel instead of a fifteen-year-old girl. The girl sitting across from her looked similar but different at the same time. The second girl's eyes were less round than her companion's, and her bust is also much smaller. The second girl also had short, bobbed black hair and freckles across the bridge of her nose. What stood out to Lelouch was that she wore plain and regular clothes designed to not draw attention to herself while also wearing a glove that covered all of her right hand.
It took Lelouch a moment to remember, but even though her hair was strawberry blonde now her face and her pigtails remained quite familiar.
"Junko…Junko Enoshima?"
"YAY!" Junko exclaimed happily, "You did remember me!"
Lelouch was taken against his will into a bear hug by the blonde woman who noticed a slight height difference. Junko was the same height as Lelouch, but that was because she was wearing high heels right now and without them, she would be an inch or two shorter than him.
"I would've been so despairingly sad if you didn't remember me."
"I am sorry, but fortunately I recognized the rest of you, but you changed your hair color didn't you?" Lelouch apologized as Sayoko brought out a plate of food for him to eat.
"I did warn you that there was a chance that he might not remember us," the second girl told her companion only for the first girl to glare at her.
"I know that it has been a few years since we met, but surely I haven't changed that much," the first girl told the former prince with a frown that Lelouch could tell was fake. "But I am so happy that you remembered me despite what my older sister thought otherwise."
"As far as I knew you two were dead since I haven't heard anything about you since we parted ways five years ago. Where have you been and why are you here?"
"I have been super busy with my modeling job, and Mukuro has been traveling with her friends for a while, but we both decided to take a little bit of a break from our day jobs. We simply got bored with what we were doing and decided to settle down and attend school here with our old friend Lelouch." Junko said while taking a sip of her glass that was just refilled by Sayoko.
"Mukuro had to pull a few strings to track you down, but we managed to find you. We talked with that old fart named Robert or Reggie or something who kindly provided us with a place to stay, here after we said we knew your secret," Junko explained while faking the fact she forgot Reuben Ashford's name, but she neglected to mention that a little blackmail was involved too.
"After he directed us to a private location for housing similar to what you have here in the Student Council Building, Junko insisted that we locate your residence and pay a visit. I would have preferred to wait until a better time, but Junko was insistent on intercepting you as soon as possible." Mukuro explained on behalf of her sister.
"I am just glad that we now have more friends we don't have to lie about who we are," Nunnally said with a blind smile since Junko and Mukuro were among the small few who knew they were former royalty.
The rest of the evening was uneventful as the group had a talkative dinner together.
"Well, it is getting late, and I do need my beauty sleep," Junko said with a yawn after finishing her food. "It was nice to see you two again, and I will be back tomorrow to talk more with you Lelouch. I can promise you that interesting days are surely ahead of us." the fifteen-year-old Ultimate Fashionista told the former prince as she rose from her seat and motioned for her twin to follow her.
I honestly have no idea how I feel about Junko being here, and something about her is suspicious. Lelouch thought as the two Despair Sisters left the building and Lelouch looked down at a newspaper that was talking about how Hope's Peak Academy had a massive amount of money anonymously donated to them recently used for their talent identification program. Probably has something to do with the Royal Family, Lelouch thought as he skimmed through the news article before moving on to an article talking about how Babel Tower will be having its grand opening next month.
I can tell these next few years are not going to go according to plan for anyone.
Returning to the present Lelouch was sitting in a limo with Junko while Rivalz had to ride his motorbike back to the school alone. Now sitting in the rear of the limo with Junko offering Lelouch a drink as the latter enjoyed a glass as well while having a conversation, which wasn't unusual as Lelouch, has been attending Ashford Academy since his freshman year and when Junko and her sister enrolled there were times they were together.
One of the frequent events was Junko challenges Lelouch to many games that included chess, various card games, and even video games. No matter what Junko had always lost to Lelouch, but unless it was a sport involving physical fitness, then Junko would win. However, the latter didn't see it as a real victory because ANYONE could beat Lelouch in physical games.
The school saw them as two teens with a healthy intelligence rivalry, but others suspected something more between them given Junko's reputation as a fashion model despite her half-Britannian heritage. She was extravagant, flashy and very true to herself and not fake, which was ironic given that it was a mask to hide her true nature. However, her veil as a fashion model made her very popular among the people of Area 11 and Ashford Academy, which her successful modeling career worked because of her seemingly superhuman ability to predict trends.
"You never told me you had previously attended Hope's Peak Academy?" Lelouch began as it had recently become known that Junko had once attended Hope's Peak Academy, which was one of the most prodigious academies in not just Japan, but the entire world before the war that saw Japan became Area 11.
"There wasn't much to speak about that place. Most of the students there are stuffy and arrogant with an almighty attitude which annoyed me. Then I found out about you at Ashford Academy, and so I transferred out of that boring pit, but I have to say Milly's way of running things has kept things entertaining." Junko replied before taking a sip of her drink.
"You refer to what happened during the Halloween Party entertaining?" Lelouch said with his eyebrow twitching as that was one activity the infamous Queen of Tricks and Parties Milly Ashford had planned that he could forget.
"What everyone kept their clothes on, at least, "Junko with a causal if not amused dismissal before adding as a final thought, "… well most of them. But surely the Christmas Gift Chase was fun for you right? "
Lelouch did not want to remember that incident as his expression and tone was more than enough of an indicator. "You just HAD to bring that up."
It was about a month ago during Christmas that Milly Ashford had decided to try something new for the Christmas event. This year the academy organized a Christmas Gift Chase, but instead of chasing and hunting down actual gifts the objective was to chase down a fellow student, wrap him or her up in Christmas wrapping paper with a bow, and then he or she was your personal Christmas gift.
Other than declaring that everyone was fair-game was already being a receipt for disaster, but what made it worse was the bounty she put on Lelouch's head by offering any student money or expensive gifts along with a promise for budget priority for their club if he or she brought Lelouch to her.
It was chaos.
Nunnally was safe from the havoc thanks to Sayoko, but Lelouch was not because he was about to leave the academy when all hell broke loose for some Christmas shopping. A horde of schoolgirls would've trampled the former prince had Junko and her sister intervened by commandeering Rivalz's bike equipped with a sidecar.
Junko grabbed Lelouch pulling him into the sidecar resting him on her lap. Mukuro drove the bike, managing to dodge and evade the horde of girls wanting Lelouch, but of course, they faced opposition from the male student population after Junko. Thanks for Mukuro's handling of the bike the group had managed to escape the school which was just as fortunate.
The chaos only grew and soon fights began breaking out which only worsened matters at the academy prompting the police to be called in with riot control gear and Knightpolice Knightmare Frames.
Lelouch spent the evening in Junko's care, but he was wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper forced to try some of her cooking with Mukuro observing. He was grateful she didn't try anything preserve with him, but he feared she was going to because of the fact Junko was wearing a revealing red dress when she brought him to their hotel room Junko had rented beforehand knowing the situation at Ashford Academy would spiral out of control.
"You just can't help yourself when you like to see what kind of ripples you can make."
"I suppose that is true…"
Junko smiled, but her smile concealed a darker purpose as her plans for a new kind of game she was going to unveil upon the world was about to begin.
And she had chosen Lelouch to be one of the sixteen to take part.
You are going to prove if you are worth my continued interest and we'll see if you can, walk the talk as it were.
A/N: Well, there you have it included how Junko and her sister met Lelouch, Nunnally, and Suzaku during the war while surviving two weeks together before parting ways. Junko tracked down, Lelouch and enrolled into Ashford Academy to be with him waiting to see if he'll make good on his word. Her interest in him is enough that as a test she will be inducting him into the first Area 11 Killing Game in the next chapter.
As the summary states, it would be the first of many games between them, but not all of them would revolve around a Killing Game as there are different tests and games Junko could throw at Lelouch due to her growing interest. It's not a good thing for him, especially if that attention turns into something else, but it's already beyond the "catching fancy" stage which has affected some of her actions and relations with other characters.
Some very minor ways while one in another way that will come into play later.
In the coming chapters, further details will arise about how Ultimate Despair came to be, the status of the Future Foundation and other characters from Danganronpa will be involved and how living in a place like Area 11 might affect them and events.
Note: I do intend to keep them in character, BUT given the combined world they live in now I do plan to take into account how it might affect the character to make it more realistic.
And yes, I do intend to aim for a Junko and Lelouch pairing, but considering Junko and her history I have taken into account the possibility I cannot make it work and I do have some alternative choices in mind depending on how the story unfolds. Keep in mind that like my other crossovers Lelouch and other Code Geass characters will possibly be paired with a Danganronpa character, but I could keep pairings between series as well too.
Except for Lelouch who will be paired with a female character from Danganronpa either, it will be Junko or someone else, and that is my final decision on that one.
I have a poll on my profile with a small list of potential victims who could be the killer or victims of the Killing Game.
I am looking forward to reviews and feedback, especially since this is my first time working with the Danganronpa series. So feedbacks and some suggestions for pairings and otherwise (don't bother asking me to pair Lelouch with Kallen or C.C. or any of the "usual" CG pairings because there are plenty of those stories out there already).
The mentioned Christmas Incident was inspired by a fanfic called A Geass Christmas Carol written by Franchise, I suggest checking it out.