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haunted-xander · 1 year

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With every death, Chiaki felt more and more hopeless. Makoto was working hard to find a way to enter the program and shut it from the inside, as it had quickly become apparent that stopping the Monokuma virus from the outside was impossible.

"I'm very sorry for being so useless. I've tried to delete the virus several times but am unfortunately unable to even deter it." Alter Ego's soft voice was apologetic, clearly blaming themself for the situation. "...It's alright. It's not your fault, so there's no need to blame yourself. Just continue to do your best!" Makoto tried his best to comfort them, but Chiaki could tell the AI was still downtrodden.

She turned her attention back to the monitors, not being able to do much else. The only students remaining were Hajime, Kazuichi, Sonia, Fuyuhiko and Akane. Currently, they were exploring a simulated copy of Hope's Peak Academy, similar to how it appeared during the Killing School Life.

She could see Makoto shudder slightly.

Watching the monitor following Hajime, she noticed he'd been picking up a lot of those manga's about Hope's Peak and the Tragedy scattered about, getting interrupted by Monokuma explaining the events everytime.

While Monokuma's information was mostly correct, it was clear to her that he was purposefully misconstruing information for maximum despair-inducing effects.

She hated that it worked.

After a while, the students were done exploring and had entered another trial room.

The final trial room.

As Monokuma explained the purpose of the trial -or the 'graduation ceremony' as he called it- the students reluctantly went to their respective podiums and steeled themselves for what was up ahead. Some time after the trial started, 'Makoto' appeared to have logged in and stood at one of the empty podiums, urging the students to choose 'graduate'. Monokuma kept arguing with him, telling the students to choose 'repeat'.

As the real Makoto was still conscious and active in the real world, she knew the Makoto in the trial room was fake. The fake 'Makoto's' insistance on them all graduating was suspicious, making Chiaki think it was a ploy Monokuma made to manipulate the survivors.

She wasn't the only one who caught that, it seemed. Hajime started questioning 'Makoto', even going so far as to agree with Monokuma of all people, to prove that he was not to be trusted. The nail in the coffin was asking about the passcode to the Hope's Peak ruins, informatkon even Monokuma was unable to access, and was able to confirm that this Makoto was a phoney.

After having his illusion dissipated, Monokuma gave up all pretenses and showed his true form:

An AI molded after the late Junko Enoshima.

The Junko avatar was gigantic, her appearance having burst open half the trial rooms wall and had her arms leaned against the trial grounds. Her voice was coy and rapidly tone-shifting as per usual. She whipped out a flip-phone the size of a human, and slammed it down on the front-most podium as the screen showed an image of Junko. The Junko AI started talking about the graduation ceremony, confirming that the fake 'Makoto's' insistance was a trap.

If she had gotten her way and they had graduated the program, she'd have taken over the bodies of those who died in the Killing School Trip. Even knowing that, the students resolve began slipping.

They were desperate. They wanted to see their friends alive again. Even if the one's they saw wasn't fully them, they'd take it as long as it meant seeing them again at all.

Chiaki understood more than she'd like.

Sometime during the students' rapidly dissolving logic, Makoto had finally managed to enter the program and immediately cut through the fog of despair they had fallen victim too. Shortly after, Kyoko and Byakuya followed suit. One of the first things they brought up was Chiaki, the real Chiaki. They assured them all that, although the AI Chiaki they had come to know throughout the Killing School Trip, the real, human Chiaki was still alive and waiting for them. They weren't alone.

And then, came the dreaded topic.

Izuru Kamukura.

Junko didn't hesitate to reveal that Hajime was Izuru, reveling in the ensuing mental breakdown. Although Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya attempted to diffuse the situation, it was no use. They already knew it was true, and couldn't afford to lie about the students' real life states anymore.

Hajime's screams would haunt Chiaki for a good long while.

And worst of all?

Izuru was the mastermind.

The one who installed the Monokuma virus into the program, the one who caused the killing game, the one who indirectly killed so many of Chiaki's old friends, it was all Izuru Kamukura.

Chiaki screamed alongside Hajime.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she tore her gaze away from the monitor, unable to bare the sight anymore. She rushed over to Izuru's pod and laid her upper body on top, grasping her hair and cried her eyes out.

It took a long couple hours for her voice to give out. By the time she has no more tears to cry, the 'graduation ceremony' was already over and the three Killing School Life survivors had returned to the real world. She distantly felt Makoto putting his hand comfortingly on her back as Kyoko stood next to her looking at the now shut-off monitors.

"...Nanami-san... It's alright now. Did you see what happened at the end? The survivors all managed to activate the Shutdown Sequence. The Junko AI is gone, and everyone is still alive. That's great, isn't it? You'll be able to see them all again." Makoto's voice was soft and quiet, comforting. He talked slowly as he continued to rub his hand gently on her back, letting her feel it all out while also trying to cheer her up a bit.

"...It hurts a lot, huh? I get it. I understand it... all too well. Cry all you need, it's okay..." He gave a gentle smile as Chiaki finally lifted her head, her hair a total mess from all the rustling and grasping she'd been doing while crying. Her eyes were red and swollen, tear tracks drying on her face. She was a total mess.

"...I'll... see them again...? Really...? Even... those who died...? ...Even... Hinata-kun...? Will I... see him again...? I miss him... so much... I haven't seen him... in so many years... I thought I never would..." Her voice was hoarse and overused, her words weak, barely above a whisper.

Makoto went quiet, before giving a somber smile as his hand stilled. "...I can't say for certain if the one's who died in the program will wake up, but there is a chance. They're not dead. ...And as for Hinata-kun... I don't know. But... I think he can do it. If anyone can manage to force their way back from oblivion, it'd be him. I... might not know Hinata-kun personally or anything, but I can tell he's a very strong-willed and determined person. He'll make it, somehow. I believe in him."

"...Believe... in Hinata-kun... Yeah... I'll believe... in him too. He'll be back... and he'll bring back everyone else too... I'm sure of it.

...I'll be waiting, for as long as it takes."

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qfzeeph · 4 months

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love love love seeing Kijo Togami headcanons on the byakuya tag AAAAAAAAA and honestly it got me inspired to share my own!!!!! heheheheh I kinda homebrewed the Plot Twist™ and new lore regarding... certain things... from Project Raincode into this so if you don't want spoilers for that I don't recommend clicking the read more. Though that being said it's very much a homecooked-homebrewed version of it so it's also not reflective of what's canon in the universe also. The plot twist IS still talked about however!

so a lot of my writing for Kijo is centered around my own lore (which contains a lot of oc x canon because hehe funny i have no self control) so I'm mainly gonna be focusing on the stuff that isn't super duper specific to that. Also, all of this takes place in the Non-Despair Timeline.

So first of all, tl;dr on my funky version of the Homunculus Project is that some people either became homunculi via injection of DNA or they could have a body double. Body doubles could either live alongside the host OR have their consciousness transferred into a homunculus body. Typically, only high ranking people were offered the latter option. Also in my take on it, they found a way to negate the sunlight sensitivity and the Amaterasu Corporation cut corners that unintentionally made it so all of their subjects to have the issue. The Unified Government's experiments also successfully prevented permadeath, but they didn't know the effect was only short term and after a certain number of years "dying" would result in zombification.

•Kijo was one of the very first people to have his consciousness transferred into a Homunculus body, since he was extremely eager to become even more perfect than he already was. He was a huge backer and part of the project as a whole, seeing as the Togami Conglomerate has such a prominent place in the global government.

•One of the head scientists, a french DNA sequencer, was also one of the very first people to do this as well. She was able to do so despite not having the same status as the billionares because she contributed so much to the project. She decided to work on the project because she was born infertile and wanting nothing more than to have a kid of her own, and being transplanted into a new body was, at least in her mind, the only way to achieve that dream.

•Kijo overhears this and has the idea of procreating a homunculus child. Homunculus children at this point were being given to non-homunculus surrogate volunteers (basically how everyone else who went to Hope's Peak got to exist. It was never a school for the gifted-it was secretly a containment zone for all of the test tube homunculi babies aside from "Lucky Students" like Makoto and Reserve Course students.) She agrees since it's everything she's ever wanted, despite knowing that one day she'd have to give him up when the time came.

•The Woman would be allowed to bear Kijo's child, and he was predetermined to be the heir of the company. However, the traditional competition and inheritance contest had to continue as normal in order to maintain the illusion that there weren't genetically modified children in the family. Her son was never to find out, and him and his father were to rule to corporation for eons to come while also spreading homunculus DNA and offspring to those deemed worthy.

•Byakuya's mom never told him that he was basically destined to win. She raised him with love and care and all the formal training any Togami child would normally have needed to compete and be worthy of the title. It pained her to see him go, but she got to experienced the thing she'd always wanted.

•Byakuya doesn't find out ANY OF THIS until his dad "dies" (since the project ended up being faulty and nobody knew that the immortality effects did not stop the body from giving out on itself,) and subsequently gets reincarnated as a zombie within a day. It crushes him, he is full of angst and confusion, like imagine your whole life you believe your talents were earned not given, and they turn out to be given instead of earned (this is actually where more of the oc x canon lore comes in because my character also suffers from genetic modification, and her altered DNA is what cancels out the effects of his altered DNA. We have an in-joke in my friend group that Chere gave Byakuya radiation poisoning and that's why he's allowed to live almost painlessly lmfao) that and like, imagine knowing that one day your body is gonna just give out on you and you'll wake up the next morning as a zombie. that's kinda scary man ngl

•tl;dr: Byakuya Togami is a superhuman because his dad and mom are genetically modified superhumans. His dad wanted to play god and raise a god heir. Byakuya did not choose this path and now has to suffer the consequences of it. Byakuya is also the ONLY homunculus child that was born from two homunculi, all the others were surrogates. That's why he's the Ultimate Perfection ;) ...this probably doesn't make much sense and is like SUUUUUPER fucking out there and weird but I'm posting it anyway I'm tired of being a coward

#byakuya togami #kijo togami #project raincode spoilers #danganronpa #danganronpa headcanon #i want to talk about the oc x canon part but oh lord I am afraid #zeephlore

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thh-despair-au · 1 year

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Hm..about the remnants in order of most likely to survive a encounter with them to your dead if you even look at them

Ooo interesting question! Note that all of them are dangerous and deadly but some are more than others!

This is from the viewpoint of someone who isn't part of the future foundation

Kiyotaka: he needs the civilians for his resistance against the ff, he wouldn't dare to hurt you unless you resisted against him

Izuru: he is an observer between hope and despair. He doesn't have any interest in killing, just leave him be

Sayaka: getting face to face with her is difficult in the first place but she isn't one to immediately attack unless she wants to. Not that she will be the one to do that anyways, she could always send a fan or a bodyguard

Toko: she herself spents most of the time writing in a room and doesn't have much interest in actually killing, herself. Genocider though still kills despite not being a remnant of despair so just be careful of which one you're currently facing. Don't underestimate toko though, she will fight if she sees no other choice

Chihiro: although he is in his room every minute and can't fight, he has a loyal bodyguard that deals with intruders. And he will have no problem sending him after you if you enter his space. Afterall it's full with important information about everything, allies and enemies alike

Kyoko: she's a bit complicated because as a future foundation member she is careful of her actions and how she spreads despair which is why it's unlikely for her to recklessly kill someone. But she will find a way if she deems it as necessary

Byakuya: he himself won't fight and doesn't act rashly either. But unlike the previous ones, he will easily command someone to kill you if you're not a significant person. He only keeps those temporarily alive who have important information or are people in high positions. However all of this happens only if you even manage to get close to him

Celeste: once you're in her grasp it's nearly impossible to escape and your fate will be determined by luck. If you win and she sees worth in you she might make you into a lower ranking servant but otherwise death would be an appropriate punishment for those who couldn't prove themselves to her highness. And there's no way to tell when you could end up in her base

Yasuhiro: although he doesn't seem like a strong person, he's an experienced scammer and trickster. Once you somehow find yourself in his tent (by being kidnapped) he will make the illusion of a choice. But it never mattered in the first place because working is hard and he will charge you with your life no matter if you accept his service of fortune reading or not

Hifumi: he is an artist and will never pass out on another gory illustration or even sculpture. Once he sees you, you can already guess that the thought of making you his next work of art is crossing his mind and it's definitely recommendable to get as far away as possible. Because depending on how drawn he is to you, he will chase you

Leon: the streets are his new arena and despite not even liking baseball he will not pass out on the opportunity of pitching at random people if he's bored and/or needs amusement. A difficult one to spot sometimes since he could also kill you from a fair distance and as an athlete you can just pray to get out alive

Aoi: she is mainly targeting the ff members but depending on your stance regarding despair she could also attack you. Experienced in several kinds of sports, it's nearly impossible to survive unless she wants you to escape

Sakura: she doesn't act impulsive and like aoi only targets ff members. But once she sets her target as you, prepare your grave because it's impossible to survive this

Mondo: he is physically strong, has a lot of men on his side and act impulsive too. Not to mention that his targets mainly consists of civilians. He will control himself the least so him would actually be the hardest to survive

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mathematurgist · 1 year

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Bleach Captains if they were in the Avatar World: Part II

This is a short summary of how various Bleach characters could be fused into the Avatar universe, with regards to their powers and abilities, and how they would fit in the world of Avatar. Additionally, snippets about how the lore of the Bleach universe might fit in with the lore of the avatar universe. Here is a link to part I. part 3

Byakuya Kuchiki

A calm and collected metalbender, who is renowned for his absolute control over the substance Cobalt. Cobalt is a light pink metal with a silvery white surface; the blade of the Kuchiki clan hereditary weapon is made from this substance. In battle, Byakuya separates his single blade into hundreds of razor thin slices that float around him, these blades have the appearance of cherry blossom petals dancing in an invisible breeze. He swarms his opponents with the petals, killing them through thousands of cuts, all the while using metalbending to maintain the edges of the blades. His skill with manipulating the metal is so great that is he capable of controlling and generating lightning using the magnetic properties of the metal. The Kuchiki clan are one of the founding bodies of the Soul Society, they were once a noble clan from the city of Tienhaishi, but fled as the city was razed to the ground by the vengeful spirit, General Old Iron. Several years ago, Byakuya defied his clan elders and married a refugee waterbender who was originally from beyond the Soul Society.

Sajin Komamura

A loyal and kind-hearted member of the Wolfman Clan, Koamura is regarded as one of the most powerful earthbenders in the world. His signature technique is to earthbend a colossal earthen golem, over three-hundred feet tall, which copies his movements. Among all mortal creatures, there is no other capable of moving that amount of earth for hours on end. The Wolfman Clan originated during the Era of Raava, and were humans who were cursed by spirits with a beastly appearance because of their sins in life. The clan has remained hidden for many years; however, a young Komamura left his clan to explore the wider world. However, he was deeply scarred by the times when he was spurned by humans for his appearance; forcing him to wear armour which covered his entire body. His travels eventually lead him to the Soul Society, where he was greeted and accepted by Yamamoto. Finally, with a place to call home, he became close friends with the blind-man Tōsen.

Shunsui Kyōraku

A laid-back and flamboyant swordsman, who merged with Kemurikage, a dark spirit of a grieving mother who lost their child to the violent warlord, Toz. Shunsui’s abilities are not elemental based, but instead derived from the spirits yearning for the lost days when her child would sit with her and play games. Shunsui can make children’s games a reality, through this he can conjure illusions, travel through shadows, and turn non-lethal blows deadly. He is originally from the Fire Nation, and travelled to the soul society when he was young, at the behest of his brother’s widow, the then current head of the Ise Clan. Through his deep connection with the dark spirits, Shunsui sealed away the Ise Clan’s legendary artifact to prevent anymore deaths. Shunsui remained in the Soul Society as steward of the Ise Clan artefact, training his spirit bending abilities under Yamamoto and mastering the skills of swordsmanship.

Kaname Tōsen

A blind earthbender who is a master of neutral jing, he can controls the vibrations of all earth and dust within his vicinity. His signature technique is to use his earthbending to grind the ground in the area to dust, then lift the dust into the air and hold it perfectly still. The dust forms a dome which blocks all light and the stillness of the particles means that sounds are dampened to nothing; thus rendinger all inside the dome blind and deaf. He even dampens his footsteps thus becoming invisible to those who sense using tremors in the ground. The airbourne dust becomes an extension of Tōsen’s senses, allowing him to feel the minute movements of his opponents in all directions. This ability can be used offensively, moving the dust particles rapidly to create high pitched resonating sounds and small shockwaves. He has dedicated his life to battling injustice and corruption, after his dearest friend, Kakyō, was murdered by her husband.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya

One of the most powerful waterbenders in the world, Hitsugaya was blessed by the great heavenly ice dragon Hyōrinmaru. Hitsugaya can control the water in the surrounding atmosphere, cooling the vapour to form fearsome dragons of ice and water. Hitsugaya’s immense power is eclipsed by both his intellect and potential, he utilised the principles of thermodynamics in conjunction with his bending, to form fire resistant barriers made from thin layers of ice separated by a vacuum. His greatest achievement is using his waterbending to lift and control a large set of ice wings which are connected to his back, allowing him to fly. Thus he is the Soul Societies most powerful aerial combatant. He was born in the Soul Society, and alongside his close friend Hinamori he was raised by his grandmother. But once she left to train her firebending, he found that his power was growing wild, and that it was hurting the ones closest to him. He began training as a way to gain control, help those around him, and protect the Soul Society from attacks.

#Bleach #ATLA #byakuya kuchiki #toshiro hitsugaya #shunsui kyoraku #sajin komamura #kaname tosen #crossover #OP

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electronicwitchcollection · 6 months

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🖤🌸 ANON AGAIN TYSM. ANYWAY— Now that we have Byakuya with a degradation kink… we need an espada with a praise kink. Szayel would definitely have a praise kink because he thinks he’s so perfect and the praise would only inflate his ego.

unsurprisingly, I have plenty to say on this as well! praise kink, to me, can be divided into Dom/sub categories

First Dom. Getting praised, especially during sex is an ego boost. Another person voicing their own beliefs. It fuels their own cocky beliefs of who they are. Strong, mighty, perfect. Someone beneath them, worshiping them, loving them, adds to their illusion. Aizen is a perfect example for this. He knows who he is, what he is. And that is perfection. He needs his partner to praise him, inflate his ego, feed his self prophecy. Nothing turns him on more, than the idea of himself. He believes everyone should hold him to the same high regard he hold himself. Why wouldn’t they? He’s glorious.

szayel fits into this category. there is no one smarter. No one as perfectly unflawed. He fully believes this and needs you to believe it too. To question it brings into question his entire being. And that is not acceptable. He wants to be told what he already knows, that he’s amazing at what he does, no one can do what he does. And that includes the bedroom, no one can please you like him, no one can satisfy you like him

I also feel MOST of the Espada feel this way. Nnoitra definitely, Grimmjow to an extent. Yammy would enjoy it but don’t need it

now the sub praise is different. These people are insecure. They thrive on validation. They’re people pleasers. Can’t say no, craves attention, love, praise. Hisagi is a great example for this. He’s not strong enough to think all these things about himself, so full of self doubt and insecurities so needs someone else to do it for him. He gets off on being what you want, what you need. That HE is the one that can do all the things you ask for. You didn’t choose anyone over him, you chose HIM.

Starrk falls under this category. He spent so much time alone, he needs the validation. He needs the contact, the verbal reassurance. And I think to a degree, so does Ulquiorra. He’s so lost when it comes to emotions, but I feel he desperately wants to, well, FEEL. He needs the guidance, the explanations. He needs to hear your verbal praise, gently guiding him in these new feelings he doesn't understand.

#nnoitra gilga #ulquiorra cifer #coyote starrk #shuhei hisagi #sosuke aizen #bleach #rambling #praise k!nk #dom/sub #🖤🌸

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midnightactual · 1 year

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Because I keep having to say it:

BLEACH DOESN’T HAVE POWER LEVELS

Reiatsu is usually not as big a determinant of victory as the matchup of the nature of powers is.

To provide yet another example, it’s canon that Tsukishima casually undoes Yhwach’s breaking of Zangetsu. He could stab Aizen or Yhwach once, and completely undo their powerups by changing their pasts. He could literally make it so that Aizen never absorbed the Hōgyoku, and Yhwach didn’t absorb the Soul King or as many dead Quincy souls, by changing the past! We know this because in Orihime and Chad’s rewritten pasts, he did beat Aizen:

This isn’t an illusion or mind control. He didn’t just beat Aizen “in their heads”. He canonically beat Aizen in their pasts, straight-up. It’s very clearly and repeatedly stated how his powers work, both in chapter 456 and elsewhere:

In chapter 681, Tsukishima literally beats a fully powered-up Almighty with zero issues. Legit, Tsukishima can solo Aizen or Yhwach if he gets in one single hit. Or Kuruyashiki, or Azashiro, or Cien, or Roka, or Aura, or Hikone, or Retsu, or Kenpachi, or any other OP character you care to name. (The one likely notable exception is Yamamoto because of the strength of his convictions, as we saw with Byakuya, and that it can take time for Tsukishima to really twist up someone's past.) He just doesn’t because Ginjō doesn’t tell him to. And the reiatsu differential has no bearing on that whatsoever. But Byakuya beats him because he can work through the alterations Tsukishima has made.

This is just one example. It's often rock paper scissors. Reiatsu is not the end-all, be-all, which people somehow got in their heads from I guess Aizen no-selling Soifon’s Shikai. (Which, how does anyone know that wasn’t just an illusion anyway? Aizen is not a reliable narrator.)

#Out Of Character #Bleach #Meta

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grimmichi-ao3-feed · 2 months

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[New AO3 Fic!] Fate with a Vampire

by Sly_Kat

After a harrowing kidnapping that threw him into the illusive world of the supernatural, Grimmjow tries to build a place for himself and his unexpected but very much loved charge. He has new found friends and a chance of love but just who kidnapped him and turned his world upside down?

Why did they do what they did?

Grimmjow will find out but will he even want revenge?

Words: 2647, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Bleach (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Hollow Ichigo | Zangetsu, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Kurosaki Isshin, Kuchiki Byakuya, Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji

Relationships: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo

Additional Tags: Gay Sex, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Vampires, Half-Vampires, Werewolves, Bottom Kurosaki Ichigo, Top Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood Drinking, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Murder, Gore

Read it now on AO3!

#grimmichi #ao3-feed

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neutronstarchild · 2 years

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Byakuya

Byakuya was born to die. At least that was always how he viewed his short life. A replacement, an illusion, a necessity to his creator. Sometimes he wondered if he should lament his short and tethered life, but Byakuya didn’t. Naraku made what life he had interesting.

#iytinyfic #inuyasha tiny fics #a character arc in a tweet #100 characters in 100 days #87/100 #byakuya

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dangans-ur-ronpas · 2 months

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Chapter 12

UH OH

SEE HERE FOR GENERAL WARNINGS AND FIC SUMMARY

Some pre-chapter notes:

trying to move away from writing toko like chunsoft and adding more to her character (she's traumatized she wants to be loved but she's going about it in the worst way) but in the end none of her actions are condoned. she's fucked up still sorry but written in a more sympathetic light i hope?

syo WILL be in this fic but i do my best to make her hand-wavy explanation ambiguous (fuck whatever canon says about 'textbook split personality' btw)

@moonlighttogami and @tokiwigiwi :)

Content warning tags: implication of stalking/blackmail, Toko-expected creepiness, use of violence, character death

< previous - from start - next >

He’s not sure how much time passes when the door opens again.

“Finally,” He huffs, not bothering to turn. “Took you long enough. Honestly, how long does it take-”

He halts, as the intruder steps into the room, and quickly clicks his handbook shut. These weren’t Makoto’s footsteps. And - he surreptitiously covers his nose - that wasn’t Makoto’s smell. But he knows whose it was.

“...Toko. What do you want.” He turns and glares at the girl who has intruded on his space. She fidgets where she stands, a thin shadow of dark purple. The smell of her has grown stronger over the past few weeks, and hangs around her like a miasma.

“M-master Byakuya…”

He feels a full-bodied shiver of disgust run over his skin. “Don’t call me that.”

She ignores him, and carries on. “A-about last night…”

Right. To be completely honest, he was hoping that he had scared her enough the night before to make her leave him alone entirely. But he’s not surprised either; if she had the nerve to blatantly try and look at his secret, it wasn’t surprising that she had the boldness to try and confront him like this.

“What about last night.” He says stiffly, and she jumps as if shocked.

“I-I know about your eyes!” She blurts at last. “A-and, I know Ch-Chihiro knows it too…I, I heard you t-talking about it i-in the b-bathhouse last night…”

He feels his lip curling, revolted. Of course she had eavesdropped; she was quickly proving to be one of the more annoying stalkers he’d ever had the displeasure of dealing with. The number of people who were aware of his condition was also rapidly increasing against his will. At this point he might as well do the same as Fujisaki and announce it out loud.

Fukawa continues in her irritating stutter. “A-and…y-your envelope…” He freezes immediately, suddenly latching on to her every word.

“What did it say?” He demands, and she flinches - shivers? - arms crossing over her torso.

“I-if I t-tell you, y-you won’t w-want anything to d-do with m-me anymore…” She mutters, seemingly to herself, and he feels another wave of revulsion roll over him.

“Out with it. I already want nothing to do with you, but if you don’t speak up now-”

What will he do? He tries to come up with a threat that can hold actual weight, but they all sound pathetic, even to himself. If only Makoto were here, he could at least get him to chase her away…how long does it take to talk to three people, anyways?

Ironically, it’s Fukawa who saves him from having to think of something. “I-I know you’re r-really mad at m-me for r-reading your secret last night,” She continues, and she’s swaying slightly, as if drunk. “U-um, I-I promise n-not to t-tell anyone! About your eyes, o-or your envelope…a-and, I’ll t-tell you mine, t-too.”

“I’m not interested.” He says flatly. “Tell me what was written in my envelope. Now.”

She shakes her head instead. “I-I know th-there’s no way for you t-to have r-read yours yet, right? S-so only I know!” The light catches on her spectacles, and it gives the illusion of two, illuminated orbs on her face. “W-which makes me m-more special than M-Makoto, or Chihiro, right?”

She sounds deranged. Her voice is pitched with desperation, and she’s breathing heavily. She takes a step closer. “I-I know all your s-secrets, and once y-you know mine…s-so you can r-rely on me, m-more than Makoto, o-or Chihiro?” Another step, and the floorboard creaks. “I-I’ll do better than th-them! And, and I can accept you f-for all your secrets, s-so, you don’t n-need them, I promise!”

“Stay back.” He snaps, shifting backwards. The revulsion was curdling, mixing with fear, and crawling down his back like something physical, like the vile, unwanted sensation of fingernails, tickling over his skin. He hates this irrational panic - she was just a girl, and a pathetic one at that - but here he was, shying away anyways, unable to discern her next move, her intentions. “I’m warning you-”

She lurches forward, and he takes an inadvertent step back. His back meets the bookshelf; he was trapped. “S-so don’t get scared,” She says, though these words really only have the opposite effect on him. “D-do you remember the news, a few y-years back? A-about Genocider S-Syo?”

Genocider Syo? The name sounds familiar, but it takes him a moment to place where he’s heard it before. It was a few years before he enrolled at Hope’s Peak, while in transit to some social gathering or another; Pennyworth had left the car radio tuned to the local news.

“The serial killer?” He asks aloud, as he subtly searches the shelves behind him, trying to find something to use as a weapon. The tip of his index finger catches on the spine of a large, plastic-bound copy of some textbook or another, and he leverages it slowly out of the shelf, feeling sweat beginning to slicken its cover.

She nods eagerly, her braids bouncing. “I-I knew you’d kn-know about it,” She sounds relieved, somehow, voice breathless. “Y-you know, th-the first place Syo turned up was the town w-where I was b-born…i-it was my f-first crush that was the f-first victim, y’know?”

It clicks together quickly for him. The radio announcer had described bloody and ugly scenes of murder, the displayed corpses of young men and boys, all attributed to a mysterious killer with a penchant for stabbing their victims. And now standing before him was a clearly-deranged, unwell girl, well-known for her romance novels, and apparently obsessed with him.

“I-it’s okay!” She says hurriedly, as he presses himself closer to the shelf. “Sh-she only c-comes out when I-I’m really t-tired, o-or if I see b-blood…b-but, I c-can control her! I am controlling her, I promise!” She steps forward again, and this close, he can see the sickly flush on her face, the shine of sweat - tears? - down her cheeks. “I’ve b-been working s-so hard, s-so she won’t h-hurt anyone again…so it’s o-okay! I c-can be good! See?” She hiccups slightly, she must be crying. He can’t imagine why. “S-so now we can be equal, r-right?!”

She staggers towards him again, and he reacts before he can even think twice about it, yanking the book from its shelf and swinging blindly. The edge catches her across the face, whipping it sharply to the side with a sickly crack and a squeal - there’s a crest of blood, splattering up the length of the book, he can feel a few warm drops splash his hand, the skin crawling where it landed - and she crashes against the shelves with a shriek, stumbling.

“Why?!” She wails, hands shooting to her face. She sounds genuinely distraught, and she shakes as she scrubs at her nose with her palms. “I-I told you m-my biggest secret, a-and I kn-know yours…w-why won’t you tr-trust me?!”

“Trust you?!” He laughs, mirthless and a little frenzied, pitched wildly with his thudding heart. “You repulse me.” He steps forward now, book still clutched in his shaking hand. “Why would I ever trust a murderer in a killing game?”

She flinches as if his words were more physical blows, stumbling away from him and knocking against the shelf. A few books rain down, thudding open on the floor. “I-It’s not me,” She babbles, clutching at her head. “S-Syo - she’s j-just s-someone else, she’s in m-me, b-but I can c-control her, I p-promise - sh-she’s not me, she’s not me, she’s not!”

It sounds vaguely like some dramatized description of a split personality, though Byakuya had never heard of any such disorder that matched Fukawa’s apparently extreme case. Whatever the girl had going on would probably warrant its own DSM volume, but he wasn’t particularly interested in that. “I don’t care if she’s a ghost that’s possessing you or a secret twin taking your place. I want nothing to do with either of you.”

“B-but-”

“Get out.” He snarls, chest heaving. “If I hear anything - anything - on my condition, I will make you wish you were dead.” She doesn’t move, and he feels his teeth clench enough to creak. “I said, OUT.”

She darts, stumbling and stepping through one of the piles of boxes on the floor, completely breaking through the lid. Whatever was inside it stays looped around her ankle as she kicks the lid off, and clicks against the floor as she sprints away, her sobs fading as she goes.

___

For safety, he blocks off the door to the library with the chair, jamming it beneath the handles.

Then, he waits for Makoto, pacing, agitated. Really, how long could it take to accompany one person to talk to three people? His clock in his handbook stated that hardly an hour had passed since Makoto first left, and ten minutes since he sent Fukawa away. Surely, he had to be coming back eventually?

Not that there was anything keeping Byakuya in the library, other than his own uncertainty regarding his safety. Considering that he knew Fukawa’s alternate identity, and her apparent infatuation with him, it would be foolish to make the trek back to his room alone.

He stops pacing, frustration and restlessness boiling over. And returns to the files, shuffling through them, handbook held aloft to read the names printed on the edge of each folder, ignoring the ones that clatter to the ground after he shoves them haphazardly back. Finally, he comes across the one he's looking for, and slides it out of the shelf.

The front of it is stamped with the title in silver: ‘The Murder Cases of Genocider Syo: Top Secret’. He flips it open.

The text is interspersed with images of the victims before and after their unfortunate encounters with Fukawa. He can’t make much out about them, other than the fact that all the murder scenes seemed similar enough; photos of pale bodies, stretched out as if crucified, splattered with blood. Their faces, which must have been twisted with agony, are merely dark smudges.

“...As with the other cases, at the scene of the crime the word ‘BLOODLUST’ was written with the victim’s blood,” Alter Ego reads aloud. “The scissors used in the murder were apparently custom-made, with every pair left at each murder scene seeming to be of the same material and construction…”

How vile. He flips through the pages (one of which is annoyingly wrinkled, and furthermore, smudged with dirt), reading through the victim's descriptions. There was a sort of morbid curiosity that drew him to read further, even as his stomach turned with the knowledge that he could end up like one of these men; pinned like a butterfly for the killer to admire and laud over.

He snaps the file shut at last, feeling nauseous, and sinks down with his back against the shelf, suddenly exhausted - the adrenaline from Fukawa’s confrontation is gone, leaving behind a bone-deep fatigue. Sluggishly, he categorizes what he knows:

One: Fukawa was also Genocider Syo, a notorious serial killer who targeted young men.

Two: Fukawa both knew he was blind, and the contents of his envelope. He reaches into his pocket and feels for it, the paper now crinkled and warped. He still can’t bring himself to try and use Alter Ego to read its contents, but so long as Fukawa knew…there was little he could do about it.

That brought him to three: Fukawa was apparently obsessed with him. That was clear from the start, but he underestimated how dangerous her infatuation was. What she wanted from him was, apparently, some kind of romanticized relationship, if her mutterings about mutually sharing secrets and calling him ‘master’ was anything to go by, but nothing that could possibly be built on equal footing. Not if she was trying to leverage the envelope’s contents and his blindness against him.

He pauses at that. Did Fukawa know he was capable of using Alter Ego through his handbook to read? If she did, then there was no point in her trying to hold it over him. But then that meant she might try to manipulate him in other ways, the most simplest being blackmail. For that, he’d need to silence her…

And to do that, I would need to kill.

He drums his fingers against the hardwood floor. It’d be hard, but he could do it. She was already fixated on him, it should be easy enough to lure her somewhere and take care of her, either with a blunt-force weapon or strangulation - stabbing was too messy with the blood splatter - but the real difficulty then was how to conceal his tracks.

He thinks for a moment of Maizono, and how she had swapped rooms with Makoto solely for this intention. He thought her foolish then, but in hindsight, it really was an impressive display of quick thinking…though, it wasn’t one that he could copy.

What if he did it in a shared space? In one of the empty classrooms? People hardly went into these rooms, and it’d be harder to pin down the culprit. But he’d have to be fast about it, and careful; anyone who sees him or Fukawa entering that space, or leaving it, could easily identify him as the suspect. It’d have to happen at night.

But, she’s also smarter than she looks… He rubs at his temples now, frowning. She might see the similarities between this and Maizono’s attempt, and realize it’s a trap. I can’t risk that. It’d be easier if I could easily pin it on someone, but the amount of people who might be stupid or willing enough to let themselves be used…

The list was very short. Makoto, who was already a non-option. Yamada, who was too closely allied with Celeste to be trusted. Hagakure, who was too paranoid to be easily led into anything anyways...

And Chihiro.

He’s suddenly struck with the realization that if he succeeds, the others die. It would not be just one person’s blood on his hands, it would be multiple, including those he chooses not to directly involve. He hesitates, for an instant - and then lowers his hands slowly, a sense of defeat settling over him.

He’s already failed before he even started. This game could only have one winner, and if he could not fully commit himself to that role and accept the consequences of it, then he was never a real competitor to begin with. Circles within circles. He was back to the start.

Frustration isn’t something he’s unfamiliar with, but it’s been a long time since he’s felt so overwhelmed with it, as he tilts his head back, knocking it against the shelf as he stares blankly at the brown fog of the ceiling. And then slams a fist against the floor, hissing venomous, ugly curses under his breath. If only he had his eyes, again - he wouldn’t need to be so concerned with such things, wouldn’t need to waver - and yet.

Where the hell is Makoto? He thinks numbly, exhausted with it all. He was sick of being left with nothing but his nerves, and how long did it take to talk to just three people anyways?

Thump, thump, thump.

A rhythmic banging snaps him out of his thoughts. For a moment, he thinks it’s coming from the door, and clumsily pushes himself up, while fumbling for something, anything, to use as a weapon - his hands find the hard, stiff cover of a case file, still on the floor - and stares down the door, waiting for someone to break through it-

But nothing. The chair that’s stuck under the doorknob hasn’t even budged, from what he can tell. The banging continues, and he realizes it sounds more like hammering than knocking. It wasn’t even against the library door.

Construction? Hagakure did mention hearing construction sounds earlier. Was Monokuma building something again?

The sound ends, replaced by footsteps approaching his door. He tenses, taking a step back, but a moment later, the footsteps patter down the hall and away, fading out of earshot.

He stays where he is for a long moment, caught between terror and curiosity. Curiosity wins out, and he steps slowly to the door, hesitating once more with one hand on the chair.

But before he can even do anything, the air is pierced by a blood-curdling scream, and he throws the chair away, yanking the door open-

Only to be met with the sight of Chihiro Fujisaki’s corpse.

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#thpff chapters #thpff #danganronpa fanfiction #byakuya togami #hi....sorry for the delay...#in my defense i was waffling a while about posting this bc once i do it means im locked into my trial 2 case and scene etc #and im still writing the trial 2 scene WHOOPS....#also was feeling very bleh this past week. whatever im fine now #byakuya full on plotting a murder before realizing. wait a minute. i care about people now.#and then having a mild crisis about it. prince zuko style except instead of getting a fever he starts swearing in french #hitting a girl? not cool byakuya #im so sorry chihiro i love you tho #the scene were toko gets makoto to go with her to talk to byakuya doesnt happen here #and also toko has been watching byakuya hang out exclusively with makoto #and hearing the rumors that they were having a scandalous drauma-fraught romance #so she ended figuring that the best thing she could do was corner him herself. hence the gathering of blackmail material etc etc #not necessarily the most romantic thing but she sees it as creating a level playing field where he's forced to acknowledge her at all

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