A Farewell to All Futures

Fortune's Pride

On a cold winter night, the moon was covered by clouds, barely illuminating the night sky or reflecting onto the snowy ground as a pair advanced to the school's rooftop, a male and a female.

The duo found a ladder conveniently placed beside one of the school building's walls and quickly ascending it, the male taking the lead. The ladder was miraculously not slippery, and two were able to climb it with ease. Once they reached the rooftop, they saw a smirking woman waiting for them.

"Utsuro, Akane, welcome back. Come on, brush some snow off and make yourself comfortable." She purred, a large grin adorning her face as she pushed some snow off of a spot on the roof's edge and sat down, her legs dangling over the edge.

"Junko Enoshima." Utsuro acknowledged. "Cut the small talk and get to the point."

It took all of Akane's willpower to not push the fashionista off the roof here and now. "You called us here for a reason, right?" She instead asked.

"Of course I did! Who do you take me for, a moron?" Junko snarked. Akane had to bite her tongue to not answer her question. "I called you guys since there's going o be a sliiight change to the plan."

"What change?" Utsuro asked bluntly, not changing his tone or even moving from his place.

"Well, we're still plunging this entire world into despair, that bit's never going to change. However, what's changing is what's going to happen to your class." The fashionista replied.

Akane tried to not let her fear show on her face. Even though she was just meant to infiltrate the school, she had gotten attached to the group. Not to mention her sister, she was attached to her own class and didn't know a thing... "What about our class?"

"Alright, here's the deal." Junko stood up and walked towards the agents. "I'm planning to host a killing game during the apocalypse. Y'know, to make any survivors lose every last bit of hope they have when they see the last symbols of hope killing each other brutally!" She then sighed, putting on a show of crocodile tears. "But...I don't know if it'll succeed or not because I've never tested it before..."

"So?" The orange-haired boy questioned.

"Soooo, I want you guys to test it for me!" Junko exclaimed, suddenly becoming ecstatic. 

"B-But how are we supposed to do that?" Akane asked, both the fear and cold getting to her. She leaned against Utsuro while containing her shivering, feeling a bit more at ease when she felt a wave of warmth wash over her, courtesy of his Divine Luck.

"Well, I have a something for you guys to do that with." The fashionista reached into her pocket and pulled out a data board with wires attached. "On here is the Alter Ego AI I made while imitating the talent of Chihiro Fujisaki. It'll relay my commands, give you information, and get you access to technology from now on, so just listen to it from now on. It takes orders from me anyways, so what it gives you will be relayed directly from me." Junko explained in detail. 

Utsuro looked over the technology in his hands before silently putting it into his pocket. Beside him, Akane stepped forwards. "One last thing, Junko. When is all of this going to begin?" She asked.

"Well, it'll begin just a little while after the new school year begins. I just need to get my boyfriend to finish up and test his memory removal technology first, so you'll only need to wait just a little bit longer. Once I've sent it over to you, I need you guys to plan a Monokuma attack on your classroom." She instructed. "Once the class rep and her brother evacuate everyone to god knows where, take the AI with you. It'll tell you what to do and how to run the killing game, and it'll take care of the rest, I guarantee it. Got that? My AI will remind you if you forget, so don't hesitate to ask it."

"So, we won't be meeting again?" Utsuro clarified.

"Not as allies, but we might talk in front of the other students to pretend that we aren't going to bring the end of their world and their certain doom." Junko laughed before her face turned emotionless again. "Alright, I gotta split. Don't get caught." She warned, heading back to the rooftop stairs to make her way down.

Once her footsteps left their field of hearing, they turned to each other. "Why the hell are we trusting that woman? Let alone an AI?" Akane asked.

"She made me feel something. I haven't felt anything in a long time." Utsuro replied. "I'm just trying to repay her. And if we're going to be put into a killing game..." He smiled at the possibility of getting killed, having already wanted death for the longest time.

Akane looked away, her eyes lowering to the ground. "...Wherever you go, I will follow you. That was the promise I made, Master Utsuro." She sighed.

"...Let's go back." Utsuro suggested, heading back towards the ladder. Akane wordlessly trailed after him, like she always had.

***

Art credit: DRA_Too9 on twitter