Disclaimer: If I owned Danganronpa, Makoto would have got more screen time in the later series':p

Chapter 5 – The Storm

"I'm Junko Enoshima. It's nice to meet ya!"

While it isn't something often talked about, modern-day society largely dictates how certain people become perceived. How events are perceived. Their perspectives are skewed by the appearances of others. No matter who or what is the topic in question, people hold a distinct image in their mind, for how someone is meant to look.

The devil was no exception.

Though to be fair, Makoto reasoned that very few people would jump to the devil looking like a teenage girl. Let alone a model of this calibre.

His breathing was getting heavier as realization set in. He could feel his pupils dilating as the girl in front of him stepped closer. The Luckster became hyper aware of the environment around him. The entire class watched as the fashionista rested her forehead against his, completely in control of the situation.

The devil smiled back.

He jumped backwards and caught his breath.

"Ne, you okay there…? It looked as if you saw a ghost."

Out of the corner of his eyes he analyzed the expressions adorning the others in the room. Most just looked confused, probably on account of the girl inadvertently blocking his face from the rest of them. An unexpected save. He could work with that.

"Ah… yeah." He forced out. "Sorry. You looked like someone I used to know. I apologize for the overreaction."

Mukuro watched the by-play without any real expression adorning her face. Junko much the same. He saw the glint in her eye though and internally grimaced.

"I see."

She shrugged and walked past him, her sister in-tow.

Gripping Kotoko's hand in his own, he mumbled out an excuse that he had to go take a call and fled the classroom.

Junko watched it transpire with nary a word out her mouth as she sat down.

'He doesn't trust me, does he…?'

Just like that, Makoto's worst nightmare came true, within seconds of meeting her.

She smiled once more.

'Interesting.'

Makoto didn't stop moving until he reached his room. He practically tore the door open and ran inside. Kotoko hesitantly closed it behind them. She watched as her guardian threw himself on his bed, looking dead to the world.

"Mako-nii…?"

There was no response.

She walked up to him slowly before poking his cheek.

"Makoto…? Are you okay…?"

The young man hesitated in answering. Sighing, he flipped himself up, so he was now staring at the ceiling.

"I…" he hesitated to answer. "No. I'm not alright, Koto-chan."

Kotoko frowned at the answer.

"You know, adults are supposed to say that things will be alright, even if it's not true. They always have to me, anyway." She admonished. "You're not very good at this, are you Koto-nii?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. Damn those adults for saying that before they…

The alcoholic ran a hand down his face.

"No, you're right. Sorry Koto-chan." He chuckled; his mouth dry. "Everything's going to be alright. I was just a little… unprepared is all. It caught me by surprise. It was my mistake, but I won't make it again."

The girl felt lost.

"Surprised? At what?"

Makoto looked her in the eyes. "That I made it."

It was true. Until that moment, he felt as if he was walking around in a dream. A long-lasting hallucination that he'd wake up from soon and realize it was all for naught. Ironically enough, the appearance of the despair sisters kicked him into high gear. The realization that this chance to fix everything was for real caught him off guard.

It was stupid, but he couldn't help it.

"What do you mean 'that you made it…?'"

Kotoko pouted.

"Mouuuuuuu stop talking in riddles nii-chan. This isn't fair!"

Makoto looked at her with a soft smile on his face. Placing his hand on the top of her head he ruffled her hair. She blushed hard, much to his amusement.

"Sorry Koto-chan. I'm fine now. Thank you for worrying about me so much, it was very sweet."

She couldn't formulate any words at the moment. The petting he was putting her through made her feel so happy she couldn't think straight. Taking her hand, she placed it on top of his in an attempt to ensure he wouldn't move it.

His expression turned fond as he continued tousling her hair. He felt a lot more at peace now, and she did it even without the knowledge that she had.

'Thanks, Kotoko…'

She really was a special kid.

"Are you sure you feel up to walking right now, Koto-nii? We can always wait until dinner to get some food-!"

A loud rumbling cut her off.

"… what? No, ha-ha that was nothing! I'm a big girl I can wait a couple hours, no problem-!"

Thunder sounded across the room.

"I… I think I can-!"

A sonic boom.

"… Nii-chan, I'm hungry."

Makoto chuckled at the strange behaviour the girl exhibited before pushing himself out of bed. Truth be told, he felt far from a hundred percent now, but he could at least get himself to the cafeteria. There was no sense in staying in, moping all day.

"Alright, let's go get some food. I was beginning to feel hungry, anyway."

Throwing on a hoodie, he led his sister outside the room and into the busying hallways of the dorms.

The cafeteria was relatively subdued compared to the overwhelmingly loud hallways that preceded it. The room which usually bustled with activity was almost entirely empty on account of it now being later in the afternoon. Classes were currently going on. Not that he particularly cared.

Grabbing a plate of some form of casserole, (after helping to dish some up for his sister), he headed towards one of the back tables to eat. Kotoko smiled at him as she began shoveling food into her mouth. Apparently she lacked table manners. Surprising given how good at acting the girl was. Though, perhaps this just proved that she had no trouble in letting down her guard around him.

"Naegi-kun! Hi there!"

The appearance of a few others proved it as the girl suddenly began using her utensils in a far more subdued manner. He almost couldn't believe the shift.

"Ah, hey guys." Makoto nodded. "Class done early or something?"

The time was currently 3:12 in the afternoon, meaning they must have been let out a good twenty minutes before the norm.

"Nah." Chihiro smiled. "Our teacher never woke up, so we just decided to leave. Well, Togami-san headed out first and then the rest of us followed when we realized nothing would get done if we just sat there."

"I see…"

Makoto sweat-dropped at that. How the hell had such a prestigious school hired such an apathetic instructor? While he could respect the alcohol, at least don't let it interfere with your work! Sloppy, truly.

"Well, you're welcome to join us if you'd like." He patted his sister on the head, much to the girl's internal happiness. "We're just having some leftovers. That Ultimate Cook sure is something else."

From the distance a yell of "Ultimate Chef" was heard but went ignored. It was probably just his imagination. He really needed to get more sleep.

"Sure!" Sayaka's bubbly personality shined through. "We'd love to."

Celeste and Chihiro both agreed with the sentiment and joined the idol in the lunch line. Granted, it was less a line, and more just those three by themselves, but still. Kotoko stared at them with narrowed eyes.

"Ne, Koto-nii…?"

"Hm?"

She pouted.

"Who are those three and what is your relationship with them?"

Makoto coughed as he had accidentally swallowed food at the same time the question was asked. He looked at her incredulously.

"Wha-what do you mean relationship? Those are my friends."

"Hmmmm…" she remained unconvinced. "Then why are they all girls? Don't you have any male friends?"

Makoto sweated at the stare as he did his best to come up with an excuse for why his friends were all girls. (Or, at the very least, looked like girls.) Still, Kotoko was nothing if not determined.

"Well!?"

"Uh, ah, you see…"

"We're back!... Kotoko-chan?" Sayaka blinked. "Why are you glaring at Naegi-kun like that?"

Saved by the bell.

"Ah, sorry I had just taken a bite of her food and she got angry at me for it." He suddenly stood up. "I'll go get her some more!"

The three newcomers stared as the boy seemingly teleported back over to the food. It didn't look like the girl lost any of her food since they last saw the plate. Confusion set in.

Kotoko's glare softened as she turned away with a pout.

'Baka Onii-chan.'

Thirty Minutes Later:

"That food was amazing Mako-nii!" Kotoko smiled brightly. It dimmed suddenly. "I really didn't like how those girls were hogging all your attention though."

Makoto sighed. "I have no idea what image of me you have in your head right now Kotoko, but please remove it as soon as you can."

"Hmmmm…" she pouted. "you're a player aren't you nii-chan? I mean you're a kind, good-looking guy so I guess I could understand that, but still! Don't play with girl's hearts like that. Or mine for that matter."

'Did she just say that she wasn't a girl…?'

Judging by her expression her words hadn't caught up to her yet. Nevermind. Best not to push it.

"No, I'm not a player Kotoko. I promise." Pulling out the key from his pocket he unlocked his dorm room. "I just happen to have multiple friends who are girls. It's purely coincidence, I promise you."

*Stare*

Makoto began sweating.

"Maa, maa, there's no need to look at me so harshly." He placated. "How about let's play some games for a while? I brought my old Playsystem with me so-"

"REALLY!? YOU'RE THE BEST MAKO-NII!"

A dust cloud later and she disappeared into his room.

Makoto chuckled. What a funny kid.

The Ultimate was about to follow her when-

"Oh! Makoto Naegi, right…? I heard from the others that was your name. Figured we could try our introduction again after what happened earlier."

He froze. Almost robotically, the young man turned away and chugged a shot from his flask as he closed the door behind him. Locking it to ensure that Kotoko didn't come out during this, he turned back to take in the girl in front of him.

'I guess I'm gonna have another thing to apologize for.'

His nerves sufficiently steeled; he raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly do you want, Enoshima-san…?"

The fashionista walked up to him, an obviously fronted swagger to her step, as she ended less than a foot away. Grabbing the back of his head she pulled him so that their foreheads were less than an inch apart.

"You hate me. Don't you."

Makoto stared blankly back.

"I have no idea what you're referring to."

Junko grinned.

"Yes, you would think that, wouldn't you? We've never met before today, to my knowledge. Yet I can see it clear as day…" she somehow brought their faces closer. "You hate me. No, that's not right. You despise me. Yet I have no idea why."

The Luckster narrowed his eyes.

"As I said, I have no idea what you're referring to. I'd appreciate some space though, Enoshima-san."

His request was denied. Junko's grin only widened further.

"You know something. Don't you. I don't know what you know, or how much you know, but I can be fairly certain you know something about me I never intended others to know. Just like I now know you enjoy Vodka, judging by the whiter-fluid-like smell permeating from your lips."

There was silence for a moment. Then she suddenly stepped back.

"Well, whatever." The Fashionista brushed some hair over her shoulder. "It's not my problem, I suppose. You could just be a rabid fan."

A smile was sent his way that caused the tiniest shiver to run down his neck. She noticed. It grew.

"Or not. Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you Makoto-kun! I'm sure we'll become fast friends!"

She turned on a heel.

"Ja ne!"

Makoto stood still as he tried to process what just happened. No matter the angle he approached it from it led him to the same conclusion.

'She was in control of the situation from the moment she appeared. Worse yet, she already suspects me of knowing things I shouldn't.'

It was a worse-case scenario.

She got him.

"Dammit."

A/N: That ending was fun to write :D. Wasn't exactly my intention at first but tbh I wrote out a lot of later chapters and I'm struggling hard to get there XD. I can't just post them without context though… it's rough. I am terribly sorry for not updating for like 6 freaking months though. That's inexcusable. But hey, the Corona virus is making me write a lot so hopefully new update sooner rather than later :D.