AN: Hey, now this looks familiar! Welcome to my revamped Danganronpa fanfiction! Some of you may know I originally attempted this a while back, but honestly I had no idea what I was doing with that last one, so rather than going back to edit all the chapters of that to fit my new standard (And ideas) I just decided it would be better to start over. I'll talk more after this chapter, so for now enjoy! :)

Prologue - Part 1/2 - A New Beginning

The Ultimate Academy of Verity. This is the school that everybody dreams of entering, for obvious reasons. It is said that if you are able to graduate from here, then you're pretty much set for life. Of course, it isn't easy to get into. If you wish to get a place, then you'll need to meet two requirements. The first is that you'll need to already be in High School. The second is that you'll need to be among the best in a certain area. The people who meet these conditions become 'Ultimate Students' and are invited to the Ultimate Academy of Verity.

I'm somewhat of an ordinary person, so receiving an invitation here came as quite a shock. Most things about my appearance are ordinary. Short brown hair with an ahoge on top (which is probably my most interesting feature). As for my clothes? Pretty basic. Black trousers, black shoes, white shirt, black hoodie. My hoodie is the only interesting part of my clothes, as it has my blog's logo (a red pentagram with red demon eyes) imprinted on the back. Oh? Did I not mention I have a blog?

My name is Hayato Hare. In my spare time I post on an online blog and occasionally a MyTube channel with various conspiracy theories. Many are of my own original creation, while others are revamped versions of already existing ones. It started out as a joke, to be honest, but I enjoy making them and put in a good amount of research before sharing my findings. I guess that's why I was invited to become the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist.

Hayato Hare - Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist

Still though... I'm not that great. An honestly, I wish everyone else thought that too. Because the last thing I remember would be... preparing for my first day at the Ultimate Academy of Verity. I didn't even make it to the entrance before passing out, apparently.

When I awoke, I found myself in a dark room, possibly on some vehicle, as I could feel the motion rocking the room right as I regained consciousness. I couldn't make out many details. Heck, I don't even see a way in or out of here. A single light bulb is giving light to the centre of the room, but it just adds to the uneasiness of the situation. Looking around, I notice two other people in the room. Both girls, possibly of similar age to myself, one is still unconscious, while the other is facing the wall, muttering something to herself.

I nervously approach the latter of the two.

"Um... Hello?"

She stops talking, and slowly turns to face me. She has long blue hair tied into pigtails, and is looking at me with a somewhat serious expression. She appears to be wearing her old school uniform, being a tan-colored sailor outfit with a blue collar and lighter blue cuffs, a yellow bow held by a blue brooch to the top, and a blue pleated skirt.

"Oh, so you're finally awake." she responds, somewhat happy.

"Oh, uh... yeah." I respond, unsure as to what to ask first. "Do you know what's going on?"

She shakes her head. "Sorry, I have no clue. I was kind of hoping you knew."

"Oh, makes sense." Figures as much. "By the way... what were you just mumbling about?"

"Oh that? I was just trying to communicate with the spirits." she replies so nonchalantly, as if that were a perfectly reasonable response.

I simply stare in confusion.

She notices the confusion in my face and explains further. "Oh, you see I have this connection to the spirits. There was an... incident, we'll say, at my previous school and I have this connection to the spirit world now, I suppose."

"R-right..." I'm not sure how to respond. "Wait... are you by any chance one of the new Ultimate Students?"

"Oh, yes. I guess I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ayumi Shino. I'm kind of obsessed with the occult, so I received the title of Ultimate Occultist."

Ayumi Shino - Ultimate Occultist

"Oh, so you're the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist, huh?" she asks following the introductions. "I guess we'll probably get along then, once we get to school, that is."

"Y-yeah, probably." I still feel slightly uneasy around her, especially after hearing of her Ultimate Talent. "So did the spirits say anything?"

Ayumi shakes her head. "No, I can't seem to contact anyone. Which is weird..."

As she begins to mutter to herself again, I notice that the other girl has already regained consciousness and is looking around just as confused as I was.

"Hey!" I call out to her. "You feeling okay?"

"Urgh... Yeah, just barely." she responds. "I overheard a bit of what you just said. So neither of you know what's going on then..."

Looking closer at her, I she has long pink hair, and is wearing what appears to be a maid dress and stockings.

"No, we're just as confused as I assume you are." I respond. "By the way... Those are some interesting clothes you're wearing."

She takes a look at her clothes and realises what I mean.

"Ah, right! I guess this would look strange out of context... I'm the Ultimate Cosplayer! Name's Sakuya Minakami. Nice to meet you!"

Sakuya Minakami - Ultimate Cosplayer

"I'm Hayato Hare. Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist." I respond, as we shake hands.

"Nice to meet you, Hayachii." she responds as if we're already close friends.

"So what's with that costume then? You in character?" I ask, curious about the maid getup.

"Oh this? My sister was working on her latest designs and I model for her. Decided to make it into a cosplay while I was at it. I guess I forgot I was wearing it when I rushed out of the house..." she explains awkwardly chuckling.

Before I get the chance to ask about her sister, Sakuya comes to a quick realisation.

"Ah shit! My sister! Where is she?!" she exclaims in a panic. "We were walking to school together when... I don't know what happened, actually..."

"Together? Wait... Is she..." I begin to ask before being cut off.

"Yep! Ultimate Fashion Designer! We're actually step-sisters, so we're about the same age, which explains why we were heading there together." Sakuya explains with no hesitation.

As we're talking, Ayumi walks over and joins in with the conversation.

"No word from the spirits. It appears we're on our own here." she explains. She then notices Sakuya. "Oh, Ayumi Shino, Ultimate Occultist. Nice to meet you."

Sakuya grabs her hand and shakes it. "Nice to meet you, Ayuchii! Sakuya Minakami, Ultimate Cosplayer. Hey wait... You remind me of a character from this horror game I've played..."

"A coincidence, I'm sure." Ayumi firmly responds.

"Eh... Maybe..." Sakuya remains sceptical for some reason.

As the two of them began talking about Ayumi's resemblance to a game characters, I noticed that we had stopped moving. Suddenly, without warning, the walls around us collapsed and we found ourselves in... some kind of mansion. The three of us were naturally shocked by this. We were kidnapped and brought to... a mansion? Something doesn't add up.

As if on some kind of cue, a strange teddy bear-like creature popped up in front of us. On the right, he was white in colour. For the facial features on this side, it was that of a normal teddy bear. On his left side, however, he was black in colour. The face was also different, having a wide grin and a red slash for an eye. The only consistent parts of his body were the muzzle and tummy areas, which were white on both sides. It was a somewhat creepy sight.

Ayumi smiled upon seeing this. "Oh? What an ominous looking teddy bear."

"That's MR ominous looking teddy bear to you, young lady!" the bear responded, somewhat offended. "Either way... Welcome to your new home all of y... Wait. Why are there only three of you?"

The bear was more surprised than we were, by the looks of it.

"Uh... What's going on?" I asked, hoping to find some answers.

The bear looked over at me. "Oh, right. I... am Monokuma! The owner of this Mansion. I call it... The Monokuma Mansion!"

Monokuma - Mansion Owner

Monokuma stepped forward. "To be completely honest, there should be more of you here... I'm not entirely sure what happened."

We all stared in confusion. "Could you explain what you can to us?" I asked.

"Oh, sure." Monokuma quickly responded. "You see, you're all here as my invited guests! I'll explain more later once I find out where the others are. For now, how about you-"

CRASH!

A loud crashing noise interrupts Monokuma's explanation. This startles all of us, but Monokuma appears the most startled by it.

"W-what?!" the bear screams in horror. "Please don't tell me they just... Did it really just... MY MANSION!"

Monokuma quickly runs down the hall and towards a back room. I take a look at both Sakuya and Ayumi, and we all nod in agreement before deciding to follow.

We find ourselves in a rather plain looking storage room. It appears to be filled with numerous different things that honestly don't look like they fit. In one area we have gardening equipment. In others are sport gear. There are so many supplies here, one could live their entire life here without needing to leave - with the right preparations, of course. Taking a look around, we notice Monokuma staring at a metal container in a panic. A giant hole covers the ceiling right above it. Sunlight beams from above through the hole, implying that there weren't many floors of the mansion above us.

"They frigging did!" Monokuma cried. "They dropped it in the wrong place! Nooooo! I gave them very specific instructions, and they failed completely!"

"Uh... Mr Monokuma?" Ayumi spoke first. "What's going on?"

Monokuma sighed. "Those are the containers you were being transported here in. But the person in charge of transport screwed up! I've gotta go fix the damages but the rest should be around somewhere... Six containers total. So yours, this one, plus four more. All need to be opened from a button on the outside. I was gonna do it myself, buuuuut... Now I gotta go see what else is damaged. You three take care of it. I'll give you all a nice reward if you do! Pretty please? With a cherry on top?"

Reluctantly, we are forced to agree. Monokuma wishes us luck and vanishes where he stands.

Sakuya takes a look at the container. "Could have told us where the buttons were though..."

The three of us began investigating the container, hoping to find some sign of a button. As if by chance, Ayumi ultimately found the button camouflaged in on one of the side walls towards the ground.

"Ufufufu... The spirits helped me find that one." she bragged, as we watched the adjacent wall slowly open outwards.

Looking towards the opening, we noticed three figures emerge from within. Sakuya gleamed with joy upon noticing one of the figures.

"Karen!" she cheered, running towards one girl.

"Onee-chan?!" the girl happily cried upon being embraced by Sakuya.

Another girl emerged from the container from behind. Looking at her, I noticed that she had short brown hair, with brink pink hair clips in at both sides. If the pink hair clips didn't stand out enough, then the bright pink t-shirt she was wearing certainly did. She was also wearing white trousers, and appeared to be holding a pink wand, for some reason.

"Whew! Finally free." the girl exclaimed. "You guys free us?"

"Oh, that would be Ayumi that managed to free you." I responded.

"It was a team effort." Ayumi reassured.

The girl took a good look at me, without even facing Ayumi. It was as if she was... studying me?

"Yep. Just as I thought." she commented. "A fine figure you got there indeed."

"What are you...?" I simply stood there, confused.

She walked behind me, continuing to inspect me. "And let me check..." Without hesitation, she grabbed my behind. "Yep! A nice ass, too."

"Ex-excuse me!" I call out, stepping away and guarding my butt. "What are you doing?"

"Eh? Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet." the girl remembered. Pointing her wand at me, she speaks again. "Kaede Ichinose! I have a wonderful collection of anime merchandise, but the pride of my collection would be my figurines! Which is why I'm known as the Ultimate Figurine Collector!"

Kaede Ichinose - Ultimate Figurine Collector

"You can call me 'Master', though." Kaede told me. "Because I am officially adding you to my collection! Yay!"

I didn't respond. I just stared blankly at her.

"What I'm saying is that I will be adding you to my collection as my boy toy! You should feel honoured!" Kaede explains, pointing her wand at me as we speak.

"No thank you." I respond quickly and firmly.

Kaede responds with a sly smile. "Deny it all you want. I'll win your affections one day, and when I do you'll be in my collection for sure!"

"Keep dreaming." I reconfirmed my opinions.

"Um..." Another girl who is still inside the container speaks nervously. "Is it... safe to come... out?"

Turning away from Kaede, I look at the girl, who I notice has black hair in a ponytail. She wore... a red t-shirt and blue shorts. Not only do those clothes not appear to work together, but it's also surprisingly little. As I approached her, I noticed bags under her eyes, though they appeared hidden due to her glasses.

"Yeah, everything's good. I think." I reassure her. "Everything okay?"

"She's been like that the whole time." Kaede shared. "I think she's probably sleep deprived."

"I... I'm kind of... lost..." the girl speaks with pauses, as if struggling to remain awake. "without my... phone... or laptop..."

"Oh? Why is that?" I ask, curious as to the reasoning.

"I am... Nagisa... Sakura..." she explains. "The Ultimate... Blogger... because I run... a successful... blog..."

Nagisa Sakura - Ultimate Blogger

"A blog, huh?" I ask. "That's cool! I actually have a blog of my own."

"Oh... that's nice... we should... share posts... zzz..." Nagisa begins to speak, but falls asleep where she stands before finishing.

"What... What just happened?" I question the sight I just witnessed.

"Oh? You have a blog, I hear?" Ayumi steps towards me, having overheard the conversation. "What's the conspiracy theorist's blog called then, huh?"

I feel somewhat embarrassed to share in person, but I decide to tell her regardless. "Oh, it's called 'Conspiracies from Beyond'. My logo is actually on my hoodie at the back."

Without hesitation, Ayumi's eyes gleam up. "Wait, seriously?! Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm a huge fan of that blog! And the MyTube channel! I've followed you since the beginning when you were called the 'Demon Rabbit'!"

I drop to the ground in embarrassment. "Don't remind me of that name..." That was my name from the very early days, back when I started a few years back. It appears I am unfortunate enough to have met one of few people who still remember that name.

Ayumi giggles at my misfortune. "Whatever you say, 'Demora'."

I roll around in agony. Oh, that cringy nickname I gave myself in those early posts. I suppose it was only natural it would come back to haunt me...

I stop rolling when I collide with someone's feet. I look up and it's Sakuya and that other girl. Karen, she said, right? She had long brown hair and wore a white shirt with a red ribbon around the collar, with a blue skirt, black tights, and black slip on shoes.

"Oh, Hayachii! What are you doing down there?" Sakuya asks, unfazed. The other girl, on the other hand, backs away slightly, nervous.

"Eh, you know. Just rolling around in embarrassment. The usual." I jokingly reply.

Sakuya reaches a hand towards me and helps me up. "Hayachii, I want you to meet my sister, Karen."

The girl timidly nods at me. "H-hello."

"She's a bit shy, but a great person once you get to know her." Sakuya explains. "Go on. Introduce yourself." Sakuya then pushes her in front of me.

"I-I'm Karen Minakami." Karen introduces herself. "I'm the Ultimate Fashion Designer..."

Karen Minakami - Ultimate Fashion Designer

"Karen here helps me create my cosplay." Sakuya explains, bragging slightly. "We're a great team!"

Karen quickly hides behind her sister. "O-onee-chan..."

"Upupupu..."

Before we can speak any further, Monokuma suddenly reappears.

"So you've been acquainted now then. That's good!" he cheerfully comments. "Tell you guys what. I'll recap what I said to you guys and send them off to do something, while you three finish your mission."

"Mission?" Kaede questions, butting in. "Ooh! I'm interested! I'm in!"

"Upupupu... No way!" Monokuma firmly responds. "This mission was given to Hayato-chan, Sakuya-chan and Ayumi-chan! You guys cannot accompany them."

"Is that what you came here to tell us?" I question.

Monokuma shakes his head. "No. I just wanted to repair the damages in this room. Also, I've located the rest of the containers. Most are inside, but one is outside. Tell ya what. Get the one outside last, and I'll reward you extra! Upupupu... Go on! Get on with it!"

Sakuya, Ayumi and I begin our hunt for the remaining containers, leaving the other three with Monokuma who quickly briefs them on the situation.

Our exploration brings us back into the main hall where we arrived, and up the stairs. Looking around, it looks as if there are five floors above us. Aside from the ground floor and the first floor, all rooms and halls are blocked off from what we could see, although we can still access those floors. Directly at the top of the staircase we find another container, blocking a door. As we approach the container, we can hear some strange noises coming from inside.

Sakuya listens closely, attempting the identify the sounds. "What the hell is that? Moaning?"

Ayumi smiled upon hearing this. "Hmm? Could be some spirits trying to call to us."

"D-don't say that." Sakuya steps back, slightly scared at the thought.

Ayumi chuckles, placing her ear against the container. "I'm only joking. It's probably just... Uh... Well... Oh my..."

Without finishing her sentence, Ayumi's face turns red and she backs away, slightly embarrassed. I'm not sure why. I wonder what could... oh. Never mind.

Hoping it's not as we think it is, I loudly knock on the container. "Hey! We're gonna get you guys out of there, okay?"

As I'm doing this, Sakuya is searching for the button, while Ayumi is standing a reasonable distance away, trying to calm down. In only a matter of seconds, Sakuya is able to find the button and the front of the container swings open.

Stepping outside the container first is a guy with dirty blond hair. He wore a turquoise track suit and a t-shirt, blue sweatbands on his head and wrists, and a light blue jacket with the word hope written on the sleeve. As he stepped out, he appeared to be combing his hair with his hands. Looking closely, he appeared to be sweating slightly.

Following him was a girl, who didn't look Japanese, with long blond hair in a pony tail. She was wearing a red cheerleader dress. Looking closer, her hair was slightly messy, and as she stepped out she looked almost tired. Was... Was Ayumi's and my assumption correct?

As I shake this thought from my mind, I step forward and speak to the two. "Um... Hey. You guys okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for getting us out of there." the guy replied. "I'd shake your hand, but I've gotten a bit sweaty from my warm-up exercises."

"Warm-up exercises?" I ask, hoping for a normal answer.

The guy smiled. "Yosuke Flar. Ultimate Personal Trainer. I like to stay in good shape, so I exercise every chance I get. Oh, but I'm not like an exercise freak or anything, so I won't just start doing push-ups mid conversation."

Yosuke Flar - Ultimate Personal Trainer

"Though I can't say I won't start that once we finish speaking. Ha!" Yosuke begins laughing at his comment, before walking off to speak with the others. Did he just mutter something under his breath? Maybe I'm just imagining things...

I walk over to the girl, of whom Sakuya was just talking to.

"Ah, hello! Thank you for saving us, cutie." the girl greets me with a wink. She speaks in what sounds like an American accent.

"Oh, uh... No problem." I reply, not sure on what to say next.

"Actually, I did have something I wanted to ask!" Sakuya speaks up, wishing to ask the girl something. "We heard what appeared to be moaning coming from inside the container earlier. What was that about?"

The girl freezes up. "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about." She nervously replies, not maintaining eye contact. "M-maybe you were imagining things?"

"Hm... Maybe it was coming from somewhere else then..." Sakuya seems to accept this answer, seemingly unaware of the obvious lie.

"N-never mind that! I haven't introduced myself yet!" the girl quickly changes the subject. "Serena Anne, the Ultimate Cheerleader! I'm actually from California, from the United States, but I've been learning Japanese my whole life, so I'm pretty much fluent in the language! Go Japan!"

Serena Anne - Ultimate Cheerleader

"By the way..." I speak up. "Was there anyone else in that container with you guys?"

"Oh, uh... Yeah." Serena replies, somewhat nervous. "H-he hasn't woken up yet though..."

Suspicious of Serena's answer, I enter the container and look around. I quickly notice a black haired guy lying unconscious in the corner. He was wearing black trousers with a blue vest shirt, and had a black jacket tied around his waist. I run over to him and gently shake him, noticing that he's regaining consciousness.

"Urgh..." He grunts, slowly waking up. "Why does my head feel bruised..."

"Hey, you okay?" I ask, helping him get to his feet. "The others said you hadn't woke up yet."

"Thanks for that..." he replies, rubbing his head. "Nah, I'm good... But I'm pretty sure I woke up already... I saw the container, and those other two standing there and... Eh, I don't know what I saw. Maybe I didn't wake up after all..."

"Then I guess whatever drug they used on us kept you out for longer..." I share my suspicions.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm all good now though. Thanks for the help." the guy responds, standing on his own. "Oh. I'm Naoki Inoue. They call me the Ultimate Basketball Player."

Naoki Inoue - Ultimate Basketball Player

"Unlike most of the guys I play with, I'm actually pretty good at keeping a cool head, so you won't see me starting any fights." Naoki shares. "Just saying, because a lot of people assume otherwise."

"Upupupupu..." a familiar voice echoes. "Another three rescued! That's half of out guests here. Not bad."

"Mono...kuma?" I ask, wondering where the voice is coming from.

As if on cue, Monokuma pops up randomly in the container. "Nice one! Let's head outside the container. I'll brief these three on the situation, while you continue your mission!" Monokuma proceeds to push the two of us outside, before noticing something. "Hey, whose panties are these? And... why are they wet...? Eww... Seriously? In here? Gross..."

Serena quickly pushes past us and runs in. "Sorry about that!" She grabs the underwear and quickly puts then back on.

As Monokuma begins speaking to Yosuke, Serena and Naoki, Sakuya, Ayumi and I begin heading downstairs.

"They totally fucked." Ayumi whispers to us. "Probably knocked that Naoki kid out so they could continue."

"Obviously." I respond.

"Wait, so that moaning was... Oh, now I get it..." Sakuya responds, finally understanding.

To Be Continued...

AN: So that's part 1 of the prologue. Part 2 will be coming soon. I'm not gonna have a schedule for this, but I'm aiming for one chapter a week. Honestly though, it'll be done when it's done. I've added a few new characters and replaced some others. Some aspects for some characters have been altered too, such as Hayato now having an Ultimate Talent. I've also decided to keep this separate from the Hope's Peak arc as I feel like there's more potential this way. Like. Monokuma will be the only pre-existing character to appear or even be referenced. I should also say everyone's fate is already determined at this point. I might make a few changes depending on if I think it would work, but yeah. Also, any feedback will be appreciated. :)