So, tell us about Miu and Korekiyo?
Relative Strangers isn't a fic or anything, just a very in-depth and detailed AU I've had in my head for a few years. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. At this point it's probably way too big to fit into a fic, as it covers years of these kids' lives both before and after the killing game.
ANYWAY WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT KOREKIYO AND MIU??
Miu was conceived while her parents were still Remnants of Despair, and Sonia was pregnant with her during the Neo World Program. When Miu was born, Kazuichi and Sonia (mutually? maybe not entirely mutually) decided that Kazuichi was not in a good place to be a responsible dad to her, and should probably just stay out of her life.
Miu grew up in the kingdom of Novoselic, raised by Sonia and Gundham. The king and queen of Novoselic were very publicly known to be Remnants of Despair, and Novoselic is wildly proud about that (because judging by everything Sonia has told us about Novoselic, of course they would be, her kingdom is just Like That). They are also wildly proud of Miu, who appears often in the tabloids as their beloved, vulgar, brilliant Bastard Princess. What a scamp she is, causing yet another international incident.
Because sheâs a bastard, Miu doesnât get to be crown princess of Novoselic, and the one expected to inherit is her quiet little brother Korekiyo, who is Sonia and Gundhamâs legitimate son and heir.
Kiyo was born with an immunodeficiency that left him sickly for much of his early childhood. He spent a lot of time sitting indoors and reading his parentsâ private library, which was filled with occult texts and serial killer true crime cases. He adored and looked up to his big sister Miu, who was his hero and best friend and favorite person in the world. She was brave and strong and smart and loud and a whirlwind of energy, and Kiyo followed her around everywhere and wanted to be doing whatever she was doing. Miu, for her part, was fiercely protective of her small and weak little brother, and they had a very strong bond.
Kiyo was present for Miu's accident. Ditching their guards and sneaking out of the palace together, Miu and Kiyo were running across the street when she was hit by a car - possibly an assassination attempt, possibly meant for Kiyo. He stood there in shock in the middle of the street, speckled in her blood as the car peeled away, and stared down at the crumpled form of Miu, thinking, that canât be my sister. My sister doesnât look like that. Sheâs strong and loud and indestructible. So that canât have just happened. Any minute now, sheâll stand back up and laugh about it. Any minute now.
Miu was in a coma for three years.
Kazuichi flew in from Japan after hearing the news. Whatever long-buried hostilities remained between Sonia, Gundham, and Kazuichi, this ended them. Embracing Kazuichi tearfully, Sonia informed him that he was welcome to stay. A stiff handshake from Gundham. Of course you should be here. Only Kiyo privately hated him for only now wanting to be a part of Miuâs life. Gundham was her father. Kazuichi had no right.
For the first few weeks, Kiyo refused to leave Miuâs bedside. He wanted to be there when she woke up. He worried obsessively about her. His parents worried that it wasnât healthy, simply sitting and fretting by her bedside all day. They conspired to distract him. Gundham frequently took trips around the world as part of his animal conservation efforts, using his Ultimate Talent to propagate endangered species. On his next trip, he brought Kiyo with him.
Kiyo barely spent any time in Novoselic for the next three years, constantly traveling the world and being exposed to other countries and cultures. It was a very effective distraction; he and his father bonded and had lots of exciting adventures. Gundham taught Kiyo a lot about his work with animals (stuff like ethical breeding practices and how dangerous birth defects could appear if populations werenât genetically diverse enough and related individuals started breeding, andâŠ)
But that really didnât interest Kiyo, and it was during this period of his life that he grew fascinated with anthropology. It led to him becoming very interested in his own Japanese heritage, and wanting to learn as much as possible about it.
(He also got a few girlfriends. It was a⊠formative experience.)
They were somewhere in Gabon, working with elephants, when the news came that Miu had finally woken up, and they dropped everything and rushed back home. Miu was undergoing physical therapy when Kiyo first saw her again, struggling to walk with her atrophied muscles, and for a moment they stared at each other like strangers. (That canât be my sister. My sister doesnât look like that. Sheâs strong and loud and indestructible.) Seconds later, strong, loud, indestructible Miu was stumbling forward and barreling into him, wrapping her arms around him and declaring that how dare he get so much fuckinâ taller than her, god Kiyo, youâre a beanpole now.
Miu had always been vulgar and impulsive, but it intensified tenfold after her accident. The doctors informed her parents that it wasnât entirely her fault, that the lack of a mental filter was something common in traumatic brain injuries. Novoselic continued to love her regardless. Their Bastard Princess was back and better than ever! Miuâs physical weakness and lack of impulse control (and being so much shorter than him now) caused her relationship with Kiyo to reverse; suddenly it felt like he was the responsible older brother who had to protect her. Their sibling bond remained strong - despite how much theyâd both changed, they were still each othersâ best friends.
Kazuichi stuck around for Miuâs recovery, finally taking the opportunity to be a dad to her. (Kiyo was never happy about this, but came to grudgingly accept it, especially since it made Miu so happy.) Miu and Kazuichi hit it off immediately, and ended up bonding over their shared love of machines. It was with Kazuichiâs help that Miu discovered her knack for inventing. When he was ready to go back home, Kazuichi promised Miu heâd stay in touch, and invited both her and Korekiyo (a little desperately on Kiyoâs end, come on man, I know you donât like me, but give me a chance, for your momâs sake, we can be cool with each other) to come visit him whenever they wanted. Kiyo took him up on this mostly because it was an excuse to spend time in Japan.
It was on one of these trips that they were grabbed by Team Danganronpa.
Miu had pulled her usual stunt of ditching their bodyguard to get high in the airport bathroom. (âGod damn Iâm so bored, I wanna get high and fuck something.â âWell, I can solve one of those problems.â âYou have drugs?â âMiu what do you take me for, of course I have drugs. You know, an isolated village in the amazon uses this substance for spiritual-â âYeah whatever, spare the lecture and gimme.â) A long-suffering Kiyo had followed to keep her out of trouble. (And maybe also partake in the high, like, a little bit. Responsibly.)
The next thing they knew, theyâd been jumped and drugged and dragged away, and Kazuichi was making some pretty frantic long distance calls to their mom about how it wasnât his fault, and donât be mad, but their bodyguards lost them at the airport⊠No, yeah, Iâm sure theyâll turn up, they do this all the timeâŠ
As part of their plan to get the worldâs attention by mocking and angering the former killing game survivors, Team Danganronpa used the Neo World Program to create fake backstories for Miu and Kiyo. Miu, they left pretty much untouched, figuring that nothing they did to her could be more insulting to her parents than her actual personality. They went to town on Kiyo, twisting his memories of his and Miuâs relationship, poisoning everything wholesome about his childhood. The incest plotline was specifically to anger Gundham, the serial killer plotline to anger Sonia. When at last they awoke in the killing game, Miu and Korekiyo were strangers to each other, repulsed by each otherâs personalities. (But, somewhere deep down, unwilling to kill each other for the game. Itâs not just for her vulgarity that Kiyo mentions Miu as a girl unworthy of being his target.)
After their rescue, things were⊠different.
Kiyo and Miu were initially horrified and disgusted to learn that they were actually siblings. Their real lives were tangled up in their fake backstories, their memories an inseparable slurry of reality and fiction. Kiyo was still mourning the fictional Sister who heâd now lost a second time; he couldnât see Miu as his sister, couldnât think of her the way heâd thought of Sister. Miu, meanwhile, was creeped out by him and wanted nothing to do with him. It took a long time for them to even speak to each other again, after picking through their memories and retrieving contextless bits and pieces of each other.
But even if they wanted to reforge that strong bond they used to have, thereâs so much baggage now. When they spend time together, people look at them strangely, and wonder about the⊠nature of their relationship. When they touch each other, it triggers trauma from fake memories of an abusive, controlling relationship Team Danganronpa planted in Kiyoâs head.
(âScrew it,â Miu says one night, crawling into bed with him like she used to when they were children, careful to leave space between them, careful not to box him in. âI donât care anymore. Since when have either of us ever cared about fuckinâ taboos? People can think whatever the hell they want. I miss you.â)
