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Life for Hope’s Peak students was meant to be easy; to be full of joy and time to dedicate to honing their ultimates. Unfortunately for a few classes at the school, this was not the case. Several students attending the prestigious academy were captured, knocked unconscious, and placed into a virtual killing game for some gruesome form of entertainment. Enduring such a thing would affect anyone, and it certainly had its effects on the students forced to endure such tragedy.
Korekiyo Shinguji was one of these students. Deemed the “Ultimate Anthropologist” by the school, Korekiyo assumed his school life would be one of somewhat normalcy. He expected days spent at the library, researching certain topics and gaining more knowledge. He expected late nights spent writing academic level papers on his discoveries. What he did not expect was for his childhood trauma to be used against him, to be turned into some sort of perverted murderer based on the sister that ruined his life.
During the killing game for his class, Korekiyo was turned into a monster. He took part in killing his classmates Angie Yonaga and Tenko Chabashira. His reasoning? His dead sister needed “friends”. He’d “admitted” to killing nearly 100 women for his sister, something he’d never, ever do in reality. Not that that mattered, he wasn’t his real self inside that game. His ultimate punishment was being spun until he was dizzy and boiled into a melting pot, his very spirit being melted by the person who tormented him his entire life.
What he remembers next was waking up in a hospital bed, IVs and other cords attached to his body and machines beeping next to him. He was alive, body normal and not covered in burns as he expected. Korekiyo vaguely remembers a psychologist walking in, explaining the situation and ensuring that everyone was alive and well. The latter wanted to make him laugh. Well? They were doing well? Who could be “well” at a time like this, when most of his fellow classmates were used, their trauma being turned into something sick and a form of entertainment for even sicker individuals. It wouldn’t take long for the anthropologist to be sent to an inpatient mental health facility, separated from most of his other classmates. A few would follow him to the same place, but they tried to keep most of the class separate for a plethora of reasons.
None of them would end up returning to Hope’s Peak Academy. It would take years for the once prestigious school to reobtain its reputation, if ever. Who would want to attend a school known for such a horrific tragedy forced upon its students? Newer individuals who were scouted by the school would ultimately turn the invite down, stating feeling unsafe and disturbed by the newer history of the school and what happened to its students.
Korekiyo was now in college, still studying anthropology and minoring in history. It only felt right, after all. He’d already spent years dedicated to the subject. Hope’s Peak wouldn’t take that passion away from him. He’d changed his way of dressing after years of therapy, accepting that he enjoyed more feminine clothing and styles. He kept himself unlabeled, being alright with masculine and gender neutral labels for himself. He still covered up as much skin as possible, always wearing a darker colored face mask (though not the tight, leather one with a zipper that the virtual game had placed him in). The mask was a way to keep him grounded, mentally fronted.
One fateful day, Korekiyo would run into a former classmate: Kokichi Ouma. He’d had a strange affinity toward the shorter man since they’d met, though Kiyo wouldn’t deny that the other could be a bit on the annoying side. Kokichi, from what little knowledge he gained after the tragedy, had suffered greatly as well and spent years in a facility just like himself. Seeing him now, in a graphic tee and denim shorts was almost comedic. It was relieving, in a way. The pair would exchange phone numbers and continue on their way, as both were heading to a class.
After the strange reuniting, Korekiyo couldn’t help but think back to the pair’s time together in the killing game. Kokichi was a classic troublemaker, always getting himself into things he had no reason to be in. He remembered with a stupid smile the day his Ultimate Lab got unlocked and the shorter man wanted to mess with a golden katana. Every little memory of the Kokichi Ouma he once knew flooded back at once, making his heart pound and squeeze in his chest. Korekiyo secretly hoped that something would happen between them from here as he’d send off the first text, kickstarting the seemingly unlikely friendship.
Their relationship would bloom from here, and quite fast. Kokichi might’ve been written off as a pathological liar in the virtual world, but he wasn’t that great at it in reality. He wasn’t able to keep his feelings to himself, confessing to Korekiyo in a rambling manner only a week after their reconciliation. Korekiyo hadn’t thought much about romance in general, feeling as though he’d been thoroughly tainted and broken by his older sister’s abuse during his childhood. Yet, Kokichi didn’t see that in Korekiyo. He saw an individual who was given an unfair start to life who, somehow, found something to be passionate about and grow into a beautiful human inside and out. They began dating after the confession.
The pair didn’t care for proper timelines and formalities, not after their traumatic events. The pair would find a decent apartment near the college they both ended up attending by random and move in together quicker than most couples. Kokichi was the one who opened up about his own demons first, encouraging Korekiyo slowly to do the same. Anyone who saw them would think they were an odd couple, a pair that seemed too opposite of one another to work out. Yet, they had more in common than anyone would ever think.
The pair would eventually graduate college, Korekiyo earning a degree in Anthropology while Kokichi earned his in Theatrical Arts. After all, “ultimate supreme leader” wouldn’t go far in the current world. Life would begin to even out for the pair for once, Korekiyo finding a good place in the world of academic writing with all of his knowledge while Kokichi would find gigs here and there with his theater degree. Though the pair still struggled with their individual demons, they always made it work.
One day, when it wasn’t terribly hot and humid, Kokichi suggested to his partner that the pair go on a walk. Korekiyo agreed, and the pair walked in a nearby park. What Korekiyo didn’t know was that Kokichi had a plan, a set up for a beautiful surprise for his lover. Korekiyo was walking in front by a few steps, arms folded behind him as he gazed at the flora surrounding them.
“Kiyo, I’ve actually got a question to ask you.” Kokichi started a bit out of the blue, stopping his steps in the process.
Korekiyo knew that his boyfriend still enjoyed messing around, telling little white lies here and there. Every once in a while, he’d return with his own joking statement. What he didn’t know this time around was that his lover was serious, slowly moving down onto one knee as he replied.
“Alright,” he began, his teasing tone subtle but evident enough for Kokichi to pick up on.
“As long as it’s not ‘Will you marry me’.”
The air went still. Korekyio only took a few more steps forward before he realized he hadn’t heard his lover’s footsteps behind him for a moment now. He paused, golden eyes widening in a slow realization. The one time he decides to joke around, Kokichi is being serious. He turned around to see his lover correcting his stance, clearly coming up from the ground as his hand put something back into his pocket.
“... oh, god.” He began, obviously surprised and regretful already.
“It is ‘will you marry me’..”
Kokichi, ever the type to be able to play things off as if it wasn’t a big deal, simply shrugged his shoulders. His eyes didn’t meet Korekiyo’s before he turned his head, looking elsewhere.
“Well, I’m not gonna say it now.. You spoiled the moment.” He said, a bit of a bitter tone present.
Korekiyo, panicking ever so slightly, broke the distance between the pair and stood in front of Kokichi, his now shaky hands reaching down to cup his lover’s face. He turned Kokichi’s head, forcing the shorter man to look at him.
“Is it ‘Will you marry me’?” He asked, surprised and scared.
“Kiyo, the moment’s gone.” Kokichi would state simply, trying to hide how dejected he felt.
The panic began to settle deeper now. Korekiyo moved his hands, raising them in front of himself.
“No.. no, no, wait…”
Korekiyo took a few steps back.
“Wait..” He could fix this. He could.
Korekiyo turned to retrace the pair’s steps, Kokichi mumbling out his lover’s name as he did so. He could fix this. Just.. retrace their steps, don’t make the dumb joke, and boom! Right..?
“Start again.” He stated, worried but confident.
“Start again!” Kiyo stated, louder and bolder as he backed up a few more steps.
Kokichi tried to argue, tried to say no, tried to explain that he felt like an idiot for thinking that he could propose in such an easy and nonchalant way. Korekiyo, clearly, wasn’t having any of it. With confident and assertive steps, he’d eventually retrace their steps, walking in front of Kokichi once again like he’d done before.
“We’ve just.. Stepped into this part of the garden,” He begins.
Korekiyo was firm in retracing their steps, repeating his actions as his arms folded behind him once more. He was adamant that this was going to work, that he hadn’t ruined the moment by feeling safe enough to joke around. He also, desperately, had been waiting for Kokichi to pop the question for a while now. Despite his shorter stature and immature nature, Kokichi “wore the pants” in the relationship, so to speak. Korekiyo enjoyed it when he’d take charge, planning their dates, making their meals, and dividing up the bills so it was equal. The pair were both on the asexual spectrum for a few reasons, but on the rare occasions they did partake in intimacy, Kokichi was on top and controlled everything. It made his lover feel safe, grounded, and loved. So, there was definitely no way that he would allow himself to ruin the next step in their relationship. Not like this.
“And you say: I’ve got a question to ask you.” He reiterates before turning his head.
“And I don’t say anything.”
There was a pause. Korekiyo slowly turned to fully face Kokichi. His lover’s face was hard to read, as if he was fighting with himself on what to do. Korekiyo’s face shifted into a worried expression. He obviously wanted his lover to propose, to feel confident enough in this decision. He wanted to know that he didn’t just ruin it with a joke.
“And then…” He began softly, trying to ease his lover into it.
“You say..”
Eventually, with a stupid grin and a shake of his head, Kokichi would fall back down onto one knee. He took out a small, velvet box from his pocket. He opened it slowly to reveal a beautiful ring, one that even Korekiyo himself thought he couldn’t pick better. It was everything he’d wanted and told Kokichi about- a black band with a moss agate stone in the middle. Neither of them were very traditional, and Korekiyo definitely did not want a traditional diamond engagement ring. Eventually, with more confidence and that stupid grin still plastered on his face, Kokich finally got to ask Korekiyo the question he’d been waiting to ask for a long time.
“Korekiyo Shinguji, will you marry me?”
With golden eyes already filled with tears, Korekiyo broke the distance between them again. He knelt down on the ground, pulling Kokichi into a tight hug. He didn’t even verbally agree- he knew he didn’t need to. His now fiance did eventually pull away, tugging Korekiyo’s left hand out to properly place the ring on his finger.
Their proposal and engagement didn’t go the way either of them had envisioned. That was okay- there were plenty of aspects of their lives that didn’t go the way they’d planned. Yet here they were, embraced lovingly on the ground, planning and securing a safe and happy future despite everything that had tried to come in between them.