Shining New Hope (Pre-Despair!SDR2xReader)

Its Feet Were Tied, With A Silken Thread Of My Own Hand's Weaving

You could have sworn that the universe was just trying to destroy you. Your classmates, your friends, even your brother... everything seemed to be collapsing around you. Had it not been for the fact that you knew Junko was behind all of this, you would have given up without a second thought. But you had a lead to follow, and if it meant getting Masaru, Hajime, Mitari and Mikan, then you were going to follow it to the ends of the earth.

You throw a couple of shirts into your back pack, double checking that you have all your necessary possessions before you sling it over your shoulder. You creep out of your room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Despite this, he still manages to hear you.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" You freeze on spot, feeling your step-father's sharp gaze pierce through you. You don't turn to look at him, keeping your own sight locked onto the front door which is only at the bottom of the stairs.

"I have to find Masaru." You reply, not daring to say anything else.

You can hear a loud scoff behind you as your step-father takes a single step forward. "Why spend your time on that waste of space?" He asks, spitting out every word. You try not to register his words. After every single thing he has done, you can't stand living under the same roof as him.

You start to move forwards, walking down the stairs as you try to push his presence out of your mind. "The moment you step out of that door, don't you dare think of coming back." You could laugh at how parent-like he suddenly sounds.

Your hand lands on the handle, a feeling of power coursing through your body as you push it down and open the door. "I wouldn't dream of coming back here." With that you find yourself standing outside your old home, free. The voice of your ex-step-father chases after you, but it seems only as real as a nightmare. You can't help but release a cynical laugh. If it had been under any other circumstances, you would have been delighted to be free from his reign of terror. Instead you find yourself becoming trapped by someone else.

Junko.

Her presence is consuming you. Your life is being drained by her piece by piece and if you aren't careful she will taint your remaining friends as well. You know so little about her, only that she is a student of Hope's Peak. That and the fact she is absolutely insane.

You look down at the phone in your hand, a spare that had once belonged to your mother. It's not like she exactly needs it anymore. You quickly scroll through a news app, taking in all the events around the academy. It looked more like a riot zone than a school.

Students rally around the gates, throwing anything they could get their hands on at the school gates. You can make out the figure of Juzo in one of the clips, his face a mix of worry and anger. As you get closer to the school, you hear the shouts of the reserve course students get louder and louder. You begin to see the hoard outside the main entrance, but they don't seem to be trying to go through the back entrance. Just as you think of possible reasons as to why, your mother's phone buzzes.

The jarring noise startles you, but you find yourself looking at the message anyway.

I left the back entrance clear for you (Y/N) xxx

You stare at the message dumbfounded. No one you know has this number, so why would anyone be texting you. Despite the unsettling feeling the text gives you, you find yourself doing what it says. The school itself seems very quiet, like someone has died. Well quite a few people had, so the sombre mood sort of fits.

You are almost surprised that someone doesn't try to stop you as you make your way through the hallways. You find yourself looking in every room you pass, hoping to find her. It doesn't quite work out for you, with some of the classes having been disbanded due to the riots outside.