The Thorns of Despair: First Love's Future - Makoto Naegi x Reader

Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall of Class 77B

Warning: Danganronpa 3: Side Despair major spoilers ahead. This is the reader's backstory of how she became a Remnant of Despair so if you don't want to get spoilt, skipping this chapter won't have a very large impact on understanding the rest of the story. Read at your own risk.

~Your POV~

I remember it like it was yesterday. We were classmates, friends that only thought of tomorrow and not the future. As Hope's Peak Academy students, we mostly believed that our futures were secure. We had all of the time in the world, and that was initially used to do whatever we wanted throughout the day. After all, classes weren't mandatory. As long as we did well in the exam, there was no danger of being expelled. I was one of the few people who attended lessons anyway. I loved being with people, as a matter of fact I hated being alone and being lonely. I loved my classmates. And when Miss Yukizome united everyone I was the happiest I possibly could be. We made memories together, memories that I will always cherish. Most of all, I cherished the moments I spent with Chiaki. She was the Ultimate Gamer and my best friend. She may have been quiet and permanently sleepy, but she was kinder than anyone else. She loved our classmates just as much as I did. She supported us when we needed it and together we guided the class through every hard time when Miss Yukizome was teaching the Reserve Course. She was the hope of Class 77B. She was my dearest friend, who I played games with and I was truly glad that I had met her. I was happy and nothing could change the joyous moments we all had. That's what I had thought. It all went wrong so quickly that I couldn't keep up. Shortly after the 78th class came, chaos ensued and the Reserve Course students suddenly became so spiteful towards the Hope's Peak Academy that they used to admire so much. Human experimentation.... the school that I loved so much had done something so sick and twisted? And the student council had been killed by the subject of the human experimentation. It was wrong. So wrong. We had to watch them climb over the gates each day, only to get thrown back outside. The symbol of this nation's hope.... how was this hope? I was so confused and so hurt by everything that I didn't notice the signs until it was too late. A girl in the class below mine had been approaching me very frequently, getting on friendly terms with me. She always seemed to know what I was thinking and knew what to say to comfort me. Her name was Junko Enoshima-

"Junko Enoshima?!" Makoto exclaimed, clearly shocked to hear her name roll off of my tongue so soon.

I nodded in response. "Junko Enoshima." I repeated, looking at him as I clenched my fists. He seemed to notice my anger as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and smiled. He really was the Ultimate Hope, I believed that wholeheartedly now. Inhaling deeply, I continued my story.

"She got close to me, for reasons I back then didn't know. I know now that it was because she wanted to destroy Class 77B. And I played right into her hands. She used me and Miss Yukizome as bait to bring my classmates to a room where a large screen resided. Miss Yukizome was..... right in front of me. I had to watch.... I-I had to watch.....!" I tried to continue with the story but the memory of Miss Yukizome being brainwashed and what happened afterwards turned me into a sobbing mess once again. I couldn't bring myself to tell him what had happened to her.
Makoto pulled me into a warm embrace and wrapped his arms around my trembling form. I held tightly onto him, as if he would disappear if I let go. I buried my face into his chest as the tears streamed down my cheeks.
"It's ok. It's over now, (f/n). You're ok now. You're safe now." Makoto said to me in a soothing voice and my tears quickly dried.

"It's ok, (f/n). Don't give up hope."

I had to bite my lip and try to control my breathing as I remembered Miss Yukizome's last words to me before she fell into despair. I dried my tears with my sleeve then lifted my gaze to meet Makoto's. He was looking at me with such kind eyes and I could feel myself calming down. So with a shaky voice, I once again continued my story.

Mikan, who had already fallen into despair, had shoved Chiaki into a trap and separated her from the rest of the class. My classmates and I were forced to watch her as she was put into a maze. ...... she died..... and there was so much blood. Spikes through her limbs and her pained screams.... the image still gives me nightmares even now. Our beloved hope was gone. Forever. And we were all useless to stop it. My classmates fell into despair and I had to watch. "Why couldn't I have suffered in their place....? Why couldn't it have been me instead? Why was I forced to watch?!" I screamed those questions to Junko, in devastation and hatred. Her answer was even more terrifying than everything else. "Simple! You, the other hope of Class 77B, must experience the largest despair of all of them! I'm carrying out a little project that not even my Ultimate Despairs will find out about!" she said with that sickening smirk of hers.

"What..... what was the project?" Makoto asked me, obviously fearing the answer.

I just looked away with a pained expression. I feared answering him just as much as he feared hearing the answer.

"She leaned towards me and she said "(f/n) (l/n), you'll be the ringleader of my Ultimate Despairs! Think of it as replacing her as Class President!" she spoke in a cheerful tone, but I could sense the malice underlying it. "You have the most important job of all! You'll be.... my successor!""

Makoto looked at me, speechless and horrified. "S-Successor....? But that was Monaca Towa, right?" he asked, trying to deny what I had just told him.
"The Warriors of Hope in Towa City was Nagito's doing. The original successor was meant to be your sister, according to Izuru, who heard it from Kurokuma. Monaca was meant to be set as a rival for me so that I would spread even more despair. " I explained to him.
"Why did you even do as Junko asked in the first place?" Makoto asked.
"I wanted to stay with my friends and try to stop them. The best way was to work from inside. And also.... what I wanted more that anything was...." I started, then looked at him with soulless eyes. "to stop and kill Junko Enoshima."
"K-Kill her?" he stuttered her.
"I wanted revenge. I wanted to save everyone. I wanted despair to end. I was willing to give everything I had to make sure people could smile again." I told him with an emotionless voice.

"And that, Makoto Naegi, is how I became a Remnant of Despair."