Prologue

Two silhouettes, a man and a woman, sat together on a sofa in a small room, watching the images on flickering television screen, showing a group of six teenagers standing in front of a large metal door which blocked their escape. After a short bit of conversation, one of the boys exposed a remote with a large red button and, with a glance at the others, pushed it down firmly. The group of students stared up at the door as it slowly began to open, hopeful smiles on their faces.

Then the tv shut off.

The woman sighed. "Well, that was wonderfully despair inducing for us, but..." She trailed off.

Her companion crossed his arms, a frown forming on his face. "But the despairing thought is that, sadly, the rest of the world is not feeling our despair right now. This is hope for them, and just what they need, too, after the 'Most Despair Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind'."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What you're saying... They'll just use this to get back on their feet?" she paused, thinking it through, then a smile graced her features. "This feeling of despair is simply euphoric!" She stated dreamily, closing her eyes and slightly tilting her head back.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Stop being so dramatic, this is a serious problem!"

She sighed, sitting up a little straighter and opening her eyes again before giving him a slightly annoyed glance. "Fine. But still, what can we do now? Now that Junko and her sister are dead and our little game is up, there's not much we can do besides despair as we watch the world regain its hope..."

He smirked at her, getting up from the sofa and turning to his partner, a mysterious grin on his face. "This nation just starting to recover from despair. If something were to stop the building up of hope, we could drag the world back into despair before it even has a chance to start working again."

The woman smiled. "That would be fantastic! But how?"

"The high school life of mutual killing is far from over. If a new round were to start up, despair would surely overtake the world once more."

"But without Junko-"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, I have it all figured out."

The woman's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean? What are you going to do?"

"Before I joined Super High School Level Despair, I had an interesting title of my own- with skills to match, of course. Using my talent, I know exactly what to do to keep this ball rolling."

She stood up, crossing her arms, a pouty look on her face. "What kind of answer is that?" she asked, the curiosity evident in her tone.

He quickly shushed her, putting a finger slowly to her lips, smiling again. "Let's just say... I'm going to keep it a secret for now," he told her in a teasing manner. "This will be the game of the ages. A despair for all to watch, and that all will see."

She giggled, throwing her arms around him, bringing him closer to her. She was grinning- but not just a normal smile, a smile of happiness or pleasure- no, this was a smile of one who had been completely taken over by despair. "It's too bad Junko herself won't be here to witness your amazing project," she said, almost to herself.

He heard her, and put an arm around her back, a smile similar to hers forming on his face. "Yes," he agreed. "It's just too bad."

Hey everyone! This story is SYOC, so if you have an OC that you want in the story, PM me! The profile quidelines are on my bio. By the way, this story will be a collab with the wonderful Masuyo Takishima!

Females closed, males closed. Thanks for the OCs!