DanganRonpa: A Different Despair

Ok, so I just finished the first DR and it was as awesome as the possibility of me playing the second is borderline inexistent. Considering there are a lot of fanfics written this way, I thought I would try my hand at one. This is an AU with mostly OCs.

Prologue – Welcome to Hope's Academy

Kibougamine was a prestigious high school known worldwide. And it was free. The sum of this was what compelled me to accept their invitation. That and the fact it only accepted "Super Duper High School" something students, and that it was impossible for one to enroll by oneself.

That was the very building that towered over even the mayor's place, and that is saying something. It was like the whole world revolved around that place. My face probably wouldn't show it, but I was quite amazed. As I said before, this school only gathers students of the highest calibers on all fields so it can groom to be the best of the best. Graduating here is said to guarantee a life of success. I think that's pretty much because your"Super Duper" title is a given of what area you should work in the future. Before extending its branches outside Asia, Kibougamine had already been producing top-tier prospects for every discipline for hundreds of years.

Before, it fostered student´s whom its home country, Japan, could put their hope on. Now, that goes for the whole globe, earning it, more than ever, the title of "Hope's Academy".

There are two qualifications one must meet to enroll, or rather, to be scouted:

1."You must currently be enrolled in high school."

2."You must excel in all subjects."

The scouting process is actually quite simple. So simple, in fact it´s not even worth to be anguished about enrolling if you are a genius. You simply come home and find a letter in your mailbox. I never had such hope.

And yet, there I was, standing before the gates to an academy as superbly, supremely amazing as that. This is the part where I should probably introduce myself as your regular high school student, shocked to have received such letter, and deadly anxious, right? Well, that's not entirely true.

While I think that I'm nothing special, I have grown to find the people around me rather dumb. Not all of them, mind you. I do have pretty intelligent acquaintances, more than I am, actually, but the majority of people I use to socialize with seems to be a step behind. But I don't of myself as a genius, quite the opposite, really. While in normal situations I tend to stand out positively with brainwork, there were several humiliating occasions, such as losing something in my pocket and, when I was a kid, my hand. So I came to the conclusion that, while my grades are not the best, I´m still not THAT average.

While, yes, I was shocked to find the letter in my mailbox, "shock" is not a reaction that has much meaning for me. My first tough was of what my parents would think about sending their fifteen years old son to a city (which name I don't remember. My memory only works on other stuff, like mystery novels, games, etc. On that note, it's been some time since I read one that I couldn't figure out until the end) on almost another continent. Well, it's just its north counterpart, but still.

The continent we're talking about is America. Since Kibougamine came to America, it obviously went north. In the portion of the continent I was born in, there wasn't much student material. So we paid to send the letter answering the invitation. I got ready by the next week. The day before the day before I left, a single plane ticket arrived by mail. At least this is at their expenses. But so will my education be, I suppose. When the plane was arriving at the airport, the Academy was visible. It was so impressive; one didn't need to check twice to reach it. It was matter of half an hour walk to the Kibougamine's gates.

And while, yes, I was anxious, this Academy let out a vibe too good for me to care. It was enchanting.

Well, I'm still average enough in my introduction ways. Name´s Dennis. I´m fifteen. My height is about 180 cm and I weight a little over 65 kg.

My hair is really dark and it is short right now, but it grows pretty fast, and without my family bickering, I am not cutting it. Period.

I am not well versed in any subject except for foreign languages, nor am I "extraordinary" at all. I am not well versed in celebrities stuff, nor do I have a particular band that I like. I prefer intelligent entertainment rather than action based one. My favorite sports would be chess and tennis.

Still, there I was, at the gates of an extraordinary school. Last nights, I did my check on "Enrolling on Kibougamine" thread on the net. My new classmates were all promising stuff.

Take the Super Duper High School Liar, for example. She seemed an enchanting girl, but that enchantment was used for getting away with EVERYTHING. I read she actually convinced her parents that she was raped, and the guy was some random stranger. Turns out the part about the stranger was true, but he was still pressured enough to pay her a large sum so she would tell the truth to the cops. That was three years ago. Her answer? 'Yes', it left her mouth, and into the jail he went. He's still locked upit seems. I quite doubt it all, and there are no details on the net, but I'm still thinking on how to ask her about this… And not get tricked.

Next, are the quadruplets – Super Duper High School musicians, with Singer, Drummer, Guitarist and Pianist. It's a wonder you can make some enjoyable music with this arrangement of instruments, but they are quite good. This group produces songs varying from the nonsense people my age tends to like to deep and dark themed musics. They sing in English, Japanese, French and Portuguese, and were even called to make some anime openings.

Next is the Super Duper High School Hacker. She won the title with only one work. Her current age is sixteen, but two years ago, she alone drove a big company to the ground. It seems said company kept sending land-sharks to try and buy her parents' house. She managed to escape unharmed due to her young age, and that act alone was enough to earn her the title of Super Duper High School Hacker.

To top it off, there is even a Super Duper High School Mangaka. Even if he is an amateur, he has had a two year long weekly series, and he never took a break, nor did he fall below the fourth position in ranking. It most likely ended on a whim of his. It seems he has the green flag to write during his stay at Kibougamine and publish it all later.

After that, there´s the Super Duper High School Cheater, Thief, Comic Writer, Animator… The Super Duper High School Voice Actor, Gamer, etc, etc.

The weirdest thing was in my letter.

We at Kibougamine Academy have selected you to join us as this year's Hidden Talent.

If you want my opinion, that's just their way of calling average people to the Academy without degrading it. Hidden Talent? Give me a break. I bet they did this in a lottery and called one result "Hidden Talent" and the other "Luckster".

Anyway, if my assumption is correct, there's your answer on how I got enrolled: luck. I have it when it counts. But standing before the gates, I think I made too much recollection. It's not like I can keep staring at it forever. Mumbling to myself, I gazed down at the admission note on my hand.

New students meet at 8:00 o'clock sharp in the entrance hall.

There still some time left, but I should probably go and get a footing of the school. With these thoughts, I made my first step into Kibougamine Academy. The first step, overflowing with hope, of a the start of a new life here…Or that's how it was supposed to be.

However, the moment my foot touched the floor, the world began to twist and spin…

…Until it finally blended altogether, like cotton candy.

…Swirling and twirling and whirling and curling…

…Into a thick, syrupy, viscous pulp…

…And the next second…

…Darkness.

That was the beginning of it all, and the end of my everyday life.

I should have realized it then…

I wasn't there because I was the Super Duper High School Hidden Talent…

…But the Super Duper High School Unluckster.

Damn pun would have worked better with the Luckster guy. I hope he has the brains to think of it while blacking out.

AN:Ok, how was the beginning? I'm playing Dangan Ronpa again to have the structure of the story in mind and for this fanfic to develop at roughly the same pace. The murders will obviously be original, but skeleton of the investigation will be from the game. I would really like your thoughts on this one.

Next: Prologue – Introductions Preview:

When I woke up, I let out a big yawn, thinking I must have slept in again on a sociology class. Man, god knows how often that happens. Weird stuff is, as far as I can remember, I should be on my way to Kibougamine Academy right now, no?

But then why am I asleep on a hard desk? Am I still at my old school and it was naught but a dream, a really long one at that?

I opened my eyes and scanned the unfamiliar classroom I woke up into.

Oh, so I really am at Kibougamine Academy… That's a relief…

My eyes darted around the room. Everything was dark. I looked at the desk, a frail one at that. I looked at the camera. And most peculiar, I looked the where the windows should be. There were only iron plates. A shiver ran down my spine.

On second though… I'd rather NOT be here right now…