between hope and fear

He is most certainly a familiar face. Of she stands corrected then he should be one of the remnants of despair. It’s odd to see him here and it only brings more questions than answers, Nevertheless, simply standing there won’t give her the answers she seek.

“Are you one of the remnants of despair?” She bluntly asks, leaving little room for the other to say anything other than to answer her question. “I know you weren’t expecting this but I need any lead I can get and you are my only chance.”

@shsluck liked for a starter

　　　 Remnants of Despair... how he loathes to be called such a vile thing, no matter the truth. It sends a shiver down his spine as he tries and fails ( for neither the first nor the last time ) to remember what it was like to truly become what he despises more than anything.

　　　 “I’m not sure what surprises me more: the fact that you’ve bothered to ask me or the fact that you’re speaking to me at all.” Were their positions somehow switched ( and God help him for even imagining he could ever be in such a position ), he would certainly waste no time on a disgusting wretch who once dedicated himself to despair.

“Um… That’s right! How did you know… Ah! Are you maybe a student as well?”

If he was, that would be much easier to explain why he sounded familiar,

“I’m one of class 78′s students, and, like you said, I’m the lucky student from my year.”

“It’s nice to meet you! Ah, what did you say your name was, again?”

　　　 In the excitement that surrounds meeting such an incredible person, Komaeda belatedly realizes he’s forgotten to introduce himself. Unlike the real symbols of hope, someone like him still needs an introduction, no matter how unworthy he is of such a thing.

　　　 “Ah, that’s right... I’m Komaeda Nagito — the Ultimate Luck of the 77th class.” Forced memory loss or not, he’s hardly surprised that Naegi doesn’t remember him. Why should he? Even if his memories remain untouched by the Future Foundation, he has no reason to remember someone as plain as Komaeda. Even this boy who shares his talent is somehow above him, as he is untainted by the despair that lurks in the shadows of the elder’s past.

“Hm… I don’t think so…”

But the boy did look familiar, like someone he had seen in passing many times. A fellow regular at a shop, or an unknown upperclassman- that sort of thing.

Though, considering the people he had seen throughout his short time in Hive, he could barely even count on the boy’s appearance as a sign that he was Japanese. Or, for that matter, from earth.

“What’s your name? Mine is Makoto Naegi, if that helps at all.” 

　　　 The instant he says his name, it all comes together. The person before him is no ordinary person; he is Naegi Makoto, one of the six survivors of the so-called “School Life of Mutual Killing.” Although he has only ever seen him in a glossy photo provided by Monokuma, Komaeda does not doubt the veracity of his identity for a moment.

@shsluck

The job hunt went on as always- cafes, bookshops, anywhere he could find that was taking applications had seen his face at least once, and sometimes twice.

All to no avail, so far. He stared off into the distance, kicking at the concrete of the sidewalk while he thought.

He heard a cheerful but somehow off voice, one that rang out as if the owner was familiar with him, and turned, looking to see who had called to him.

“Can I help you?”

　　　 Depending on the paths one takes and their own observations, it is possible to take in dozens of faces in a single day. Even on his busiest days ( which are few and far between ) Komaeda rarely takes any particular notice of the people he passes... until today, when he calls out to a stranger on the street before he’s even aware of what he’s doing. 

　　　 He considers it good luck that the boy hears him and deigns to listen to the strange man who’s stopped him on a busy city street. There must be plenty of people who would have turned him away, but this one... yes, there’s some different about him. Somehow, Komaeda swears he feels a sort of... kinship? No, no - that’s far too presumptuous for someone like him.

                   A couple of ideas, that’s better than nothing and she was willing to take it. ❝ If I thought you were gonna be in the way, I wouldn’t have helped you. Now would I? ❞ Great, she didn’t really want to deal with this type of person. Many times would she help someone back home with this sort of situation, and they’d pretty much tell her the same thing. The only thing she could do was roll her eyes and maybe tell them to shut up as she helped them. Especially since it wasn’t everyday she helped someone for free.

         ❝ Okaaay…somewhere high sounds good….church idea though, I think I’ll pass. ❞ There wasn’t going to be much protection in a church and she wasn’t going to risk her life for that idea. You could barricade some walls, but that would only get you so far until they broke it down eventually. That, or found some other way to barge their way right in. ❝ Hmm… ❞ There was a wall over there, wall of rocks anyway, they could climb up and be somewhere safe for a little while. Probably was in the general location to go anyway. Especially because since when were you able to go to places you needed to go the easy way?

                   ❝ Can you climb? ❞

　　　 Would no one come to the aid of someone as worthless as him? Would no one have tried to “save” him if they knew how terrible he was? It is impossible for him to believe the answer is yes, even without this woman’s intervention. It may be rare, but there are those who are willing to help even the worst of the worst for nothing but the sake of their own ideas of righteousness and morality. Perhaps this woman is among them: the hopeful few whose ideals could shape the world.

　　　 Desperate for some scrap of hope to cling to in this urban hellscape, Komaeda accepts the ideal, if not the concrete “truth” of it. It is only a possibility, but it is one he aims to follow through to its end, for better or for worse. To that end, he makes himself agreeable to her whims, despite what he suspects may happen.

　　　 To tell the truth, he hasn’t a clue whether or not he could climb if need be; he’s never tried, nor had any reason to do so. “I’m not sure,” he answers honestly, “but I don’t know if I’d recommend climbing anything difficult if we can avoid it.” Lest he fall to his death, cursed as always by his luck. “Then again, anything that’s easy for us to climb will be easy for them to climb, too...” In the back of his mind, he wonders: would it be worse to die a meaningless death by falling, or at the hands of the hopeless masses? Neither is anything close to ideal.

( @shsluck​ )

     ❝ Woah. ❞

     Somehow, despite everything that had happened to her in her short life, Hakuno couldn’t help but be surprised by what she saw. In the midst of her scurrying from alley to alley, corner to corner, she saw a boy somehow be completely missed by a large group of their pursuers despite his rather terrible hiding space crouched behind a table. His white hair did blend with the white table cloth, but still, it was a small miracle that they didn’t even glance his way. 

     So she approached, his better interests in mind. ❝ Even if you were pretty lucky just now, it would probably be a good idea to get to a better hiding place– or somewhere out of here all together, ❞ the rendezvous point that had been briefly mentioned, their way out of here. ❝ It’d be bad if so many of them spotted you later, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt just because we’re being tested. ❞ She was so tired of the scientists and their tricks. Helping someone else, and being in a rational person’s company, would at least alleviate some of her stress. 

     Someone who didn’t want to kill her anyway. 

　　　 The interesting thing is that Komaeda never meant to hide from anyone. He hadn’t even realized there were people coming when he bent down to pick up something he’d dropped. Losing a memento like that is bad luck, of course, but he supposes he can do without it since dropping it has apparently saved his life - or at least some aspect of his well-being. Although his own well-being is of minuscule importance to him, he supposes he ought to be glad he’s survived yet another near-encounter.

　　　 His first true encounter does not prove to be immediately fatal, as the girl who grabs his attention shows no signs of hostility. It’s possible that she’s a candid liar and actor, but the idea is hardly worth consideration as Komaeda hardly cares one way or another. If she wants to kill him, he won’t put up a fight - but if she wants company or conversation or something of the sort, well... he won’t complain about that either.

bold any fears which apply to your muse. italicize what makes them uncomfortable.

“I can’t help but assume you’re attempting to distract me here, but I’ll indulge you, boy. It’s always interesting to hear the thoughts of those from other worlds if anything.” He was simply lucky she was the type that could enjoy good conversation as much as she could reigning destruction down upon the earth.

“Wouldn’t the reason depending on their background and temperament as a whole? Someone from a world of violence is far more likely to inflict it. Someone seeking revenge would be more likely to inflict it upon the ones they hate. Some people need no reason, others need to be placed in a situation where their survival depends on it. However I believe those chosen by the gods of this world tend to bring the more violent into this city.”

                   It’d be quick and easy, to punch someone so hard they’d fall over onto their face. It was almost a be eaten or eat them world at this point for survival. At least she could provide a little support in the area for those who were trying to fend off crazy lunatics. Something she was always ecstatic to see and deal with of course.

         ❝ Might wanna beat cheeks soon, he aint gonna stay down on the ground forever. ❞ She’d speak while looking at the body trying to regain movement after the blow she gave. Though she could already hear more yells and crazy people on the move. Just one thing after another she supposed. ❝ Oh hell, there’s no hope for these morons. Lets just leave. Now. ❞

         She would already be grabbing him by the rest and dragging the poor guy away. They just needed to get to somewhere where there wasn’t anything trying to kill them. This was going to be annoying, and hard. ❝ If you see a safe spot, speak up, alright? ❞

@shsluck

　　　 Surviving his own carefully crafted death must have been good luck because it’s hard to imagine the mobs of bloodthirsty urban warriors as anything positive at all. This is either misfortune following fortune or an additional bout of bad luck before something unpredictably lucky happens. There’s no way of knowing until something more happens, but even when his life is spared ( yet again, he can’t help but lament ), he doesn’t think that’s it.

　　　 The woman who interjected is unfamiliar, as they all are. She is no one he knows or has even heard of, and that confuses him. Even as she drags him away from the immediate danger, Komaeda contemplates her purpose. There is nothing to gain from saving him, after all, nor from dragging him along as she goes about her business. There is no way she can benefit from this, and yet...

Bat was grateful it was dark out. His abilities shined so much more now ( animal instincts were the best, he was happy he still had them ). Making his way carefully around the new area, one of his small pet bats out with him, helping him out when it comes to detecting if someone else was around. For the small bat, it was easier for it to detect if it was safe or not.  While being away from it’s owner, the bat had found a person he didn’t know. It flew down to the male, bright red eyes staring at him. It had to go back and find it’s owner to tell him of a new person it found! The bat let out a small squeak. It showing it wasn’t going to cause harm to  Komaeda before disappearing. The vampire’s ears perked up upon hearing it’s pet return.  So there was someone around here? Might as well see who it was. As sad as it was, Bat given up on trying to find Davide in this district. Following his pet until they came to their destination, Demon Bat stared at the other.

❛  Hey, kid. Who’re you? It’s even more dangerous out here now, you hurt at all? ❜ Not like he could heal anything with magic - nor did he have any supplies. Hopefully the other was alright.

@shsluck joined the party !

　　　 The entire city is a hotbed of violence and unrest. Death haunts every alley, both a threat and a somber reminder to those who pause long enough to take it in - but it is nothing new to Komaeda, who has long embraced its sweet relief. The only difference between his life now and his life then is the straightforwardness of it all. At long last, he is faced with would-be opponents who care not for subtlety or intricate mysteries. Although many of them are less than nothing in his own eyes, he can at least appreciate that much.

　　　 As easily as he appreciates the simplicity of the situation he’s found himself in, Komaeda appreciates the omen of evil that greets him as he turns onto a new street. As far as he’s aware, bats do not often dwell in urban areas; it stands to reason, then, that this bat is unnatural. He remembers reading somewhere that bats are an omen of evil, or even the devil himself.

　　　 ( But he’s already met the d̨͘͡ev̡̀i̸͞l̢̢ .

　　　 He himself has been her instrument of evil. )

　　　 The creature departs as quickly as it arrived, leaving Komaeda to wonder what misfortune will follow. Signs like this are hardly arbitrary, after all. For something so strange to happen, it must mean something... if only the arrival of another person - the second he’s met that is in no hurry to kill him on sight.  Nevertheless, Komaeda is hardly forthcoming with information.

its beautiful like you

“Do you really doubt that people are already killing one another? The intentions behind this game aside, humans always look for reason to inflict harm upon one another.” And she was the worst offender, though she felt justified in the chaos she caused. She cared little for the world or its people. Everything could burn. “It doesn’t matter if someone is a knight or a magical girl, eventually anyone could decide to harm someone else.” She was speaking from personal experience with those two examples.