Before you read:

Hello! Welcome to the story of Kozaki Daisuke, an irrational and morally gray nineteen-year-old with the weight of his past holding him down. Looking for a reason to live his life without fear, the arsonist is thrown into a killing game with other students looking for a new direction in life. Will hope or despair prevail? Is there a future to reach for, a truth in all these lies? Can the sixteen students of the Killing Odessey make it out alive?

SPOILER WARNING!

Please be sure that you have finished V3 before reading this story, as key moments from its plot will be relevant to the story. (Especially V3-6)

STRONG LANGUAGE WARNING!

You're going to find some swearing here, be cautious.

I hope you enjoy the ride~

"I didn't expect to see you back so soon, Mr. Daisuke."

Attorney Steveston, a tall man with feathery black hair clad in his usual loose suit, seemed to be quite disappointed in me. He flipped through a binder to jot down some notes. "What brings you here today?"

Leaning back in the wooden chair perpendicular to my attorney's desk, I crossed my arms behind my head as a sort of pillow. "You see...it's no big deal. Just a small fire."

Attorney Steveston frowned lightly at me and looked into the binder. "That's not what Mrs. Hashigawa told me."

"Well you tell Mrs. Hashigawa to watch where she's mowing the lawn!" I immediately stood up, defensively. "She could've run that damn junk over Shiro!"

Attorney Steveston sighed and put the binder down. "Lighting a lawn mower on fire is not just a 'small fire' Kozaki." Picking up the binder, I heard various clanging sounds as he searched for the right drawer to place it into.

"It was outside, though." I sat back down. "Away from any trees, away from her house. I just needed to teach her a lesson."

"There was still gasoline in that lawnmower, and the gas from the burning killed one of her chickens that was unfortunately too close." Attorney Steveston stood up from his desk and sighed. "Look, Kozaki. I know that you're especially uptight around this time of year, but...you're already over eighteen years old. I've been very patient with helping you…" He sighed once more. "But you're an adult now, and you'll be treated as such. You're going to land in jail if you can't fix this up, and I'm sure you don't want that."

I sighed and crossed my arms, tilting my head away in my insecure thoughts. "Hell no…"

"Your therapist was telling me earlier that you've been skipping out again." Attorney Steveston walked over to the shelf my chair was pressed against, pulling out yet another card - the seventeenth so far - to contact my therapist. "Go get yourself another scheduling done and see Amanda as soon as possible."

Sighing, I took the card and slipped it into my pocket. It wasn't the fact that I didn't like Mrs. Loric - or Amanda as Attorney Steveston calls her via first-name-basis - but I hated the idea of talking to someone about my feelings. To me, it was burdening someone else with my own worries, and it was simply not worth getting more people involved with my own problems.

If anyone would take care of my problems, it would be me.

"Today is that day again, isn't it?" Attorney Steveston patted me on the shoulder. "Why not take Shiro for a walk over?"

Without a word, I slung my flamethrower back over my back and opened the door to leave.

"And also…" Attorney Steveston nodded. "Please, take care of yourself."

I looked over to him, my eyes lining up with his for a moment. Without being able to find a way to respond, simply I nodded and left.

The air was frigid this morning, colder than the farthest reach of clouds to the void of space.

Some leaves held on by sheer will to not be blown off mercilessly from their trees, as I hold on to my life with perhaps my pinky fingers. There's not a lot to hold on to, incredibly easy to finally let go.

I couldn't bring Shiro to this place. He doesn't deserve that kind of pain while he reaches his final years.

Eight years ago, right?

I couldn't believe it was that time again. Everything since then was a blur, full of melancholy and the ever sweeping waves of time, pushing me forward on and on.

Ever since then, I stopped caring about anything at all. I lost everything that day, perhaps even my life since now everything's gone to a statis for me. With every heavy step, I dare not turn my head to glance at anything besides what is ahead of me. I'm moving forward without moving onward.

I pulled off my black hood to let my messy, cerise pink hair fly freely in the wind. My pants were ripped and left my legs to the mercy of the weather. The only decent clothing I had on were my unbroken sneakers, a gift from my cousin who recently returned from a trip to Boston. Without socks on, scars were starting to show on my ankles.

The weather then was almost just like today, starting out with a light drizzle with some fog, the moonlight piercing the sky every now and then. No sound except for the brushing of leaves or the occasional owl's call.

Kneeling down and brushing my left hand against a bundle of wreckage, this was where it all began.

Where I lost my friends, my pride, my entire self.

Where everything was stripped from my hands.

Stopping suddenly, I closed my eyes to reflect.

"Zaki! Come on now! You're going to light the bonfire, right? Right?" A voice called out to me.

Looking over, I saw Mikanne standing with the rain pattering against his head. He didn't grant it a single worry, something I admired about him. Mikanne was never worried about anything, living adventurously.

His black hair clinged to his face due to the rain. Giggling, he pulled it all across his eyes and growled. "I'm the panther of the storm, Zaki! I'm going to eat you if you don't hurry up!"

I walked up to him and crossed my arms, smiling. "You're sure that having a bonfire in the rain is going to work?"

"Aw, cmon. Don't spoil the fun." Mikanne grinned and pointed to Shiro, my pet dog, who was running over to us. "Even Shiro wants to join us, so now you can't let us down!"

Looking up towards the rain, I pulled up my hood to cover my head. It didn't make any difference in retrospect, as I was putting on a wet hood atop my soaking hair. "Alright, let's do it in the cave. But we have to be careful."

Mikanne, Shiro, and myself met up with a group of children I could not quite remember. Standing inside the cave and creating a small fire to warm up, Mikanne stood atop a rock pridefully to gain everyone's attention. "Ladies, gentlemen...and dog."

Shiro wagged his tail gleefully, providing a short yap.

"Today we have gathered here to witness the great creation of our Ultimate Fire Master!" Mikanne gestured towards me. "Witness the creation of Hell's gateway!"

Pulling off my hood as some sort of reveal, I removed and unzipped my water-proof backpack I had trugged with me to reveal expertly selected sticks. "I made sure there won't be very much smoke, so don't worry. My dad's a lumber." I nodded to provide comfort to worried faces. "I know a thing or two about picking the best wood."

With the expanding fire besides the entrance to the cave, nobody was worried that we would suffocate or overheat. If anyone had caught fire, simply standing outside in the rain would be all that was needed to fix the issue.

Screams of delight and cheer rung out, children running around the fire, picking up some sticks I had brought and lighting the tips, tossing the sticks around. One of the children even brought a bag of marshmallows to toast over the bonfire. It was truly a sight.

As the fire keeper, it was my responsibility to ensure nobody was hurt from the fire, and it was my responsibility to ensure the fire wouldn't grow so large. Shiro walked up to my side and handed me a stick, to which I picked up and tossed away from the fire. He ran after it gleefully.

I could hear some kind of humming sound nearby. Turning to Mikanne, I voiced my concern. "Do you hear that? That...that sound?"

Shaking his head, Mikanne crossed his arms. "I think you're becoming paranoid again, Zaki." He then smiled, understanding my psyche. "Though...if you're really worried, I'll keep the fire for you while you go and check outside."

"Thanks, Mik." I smiled and once again pulled up my hoodie.

The rain was slowly growing heavy, I was certain my mom would scold me for catching a cold. Especially if she knew why. I couldn't see anything nearby the cave, so it was in my best interest to climb up a tree to get a better view. Just beyond the growing fog I could see a group of folk, possibly in their early twenties, messing around with construction equipment left unattended during the rain. They were digging into the dirt, slamming scoops into the ground, it was quite the deplorable sight.

One kicked a can, it rolling with a small stream of water through a crack just large enough to guide it. Landing not far away from the cave, I could see it was Moonlight, a brand of alcohol my dad often drinks.

It shifted to a memory of my mom using alcohol to cook. I could remember her doing something called a flambe, where she would pour alcohol into her pork chops and light them on fire. They tasted quite new, so I was unsure on how to verdict them.

Regardless, I knew that alcohol would pose a serious threat to our safety if it got any closer to our fire. Without a waste of time, I slid down the tree and rushed over to the other children. "We've gotta stop this, guys."

Stopping in their tracks, the children grew disappointed. Mikanne walked over to me and patted me on the shoulder. "Say, Zaki. You sure it's not just-"

"No, no!" I brushed his hand away and pointed towards the entrance of the cave. "Some of those darn college kids are drinking right on top of our party!"

The reactions were mixed, spanning from confusion to 'so what?' and the like. Mikanne shrugged. "It's not like they're pouring the stuff into our fire, Zaki."

I pointed towards the now growing pile of tossed cans towards the entrance. "I...I just don't trust this."

Sighing, Mikanne allowed me to end the party. "Alright, Zaki. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt here either." He pointed towards the cave's entrance. "Alright, guys. The show's over."

The children all exited into the rain, huddling together for a sense of security. Mikanne stayed behind to try and put out the fire himself. "Go send the kids off, Zaki."

We didn't get too far away from the closing party when we were unfortunately greeted by the crew of college wipeouts.

"Woah, guys. Isn't that a sight?" One of the college students walked over, staggering. It seemed he was drunken. "You...you fuckin' kids having a lit, huuuh?"

I walked over to confront the group of college kids. "No, we 'fuckin' kids' decided it would be smart to call it off."

Another student chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Damn kids these days, huh? Imagine what would happen if they played a killing game." He grinned. "I could go for less toddlers around."

"Season fifty-two is starting in two weeks." A third, more sober added. "I'm excited. Who are you rooting for?"

"That Super-Highschool-Level Adventurer sounds pretty interesting. He's sure in for a hell of a ride, let me tell you!" The first laughed and threw his half-filled can to the ground.

With the opportunity presented to get the children out, I ushered them away towards the forest, whispering, "Go on, before your parents get worried where you're at."

"Woah...woaaaah." The second grabbed me by the hoodie and held me back. "Somebody tryin' to be the big boy, huuuh?"

Angrilly, I pulled my hoodie away and covered my head. "Piss off."

The trio laughed, one of them poured their drink on top of me. "What a big boy, huh? A real biiiig boy."

The first one threw his last can atop the pile. "You should run on home too, little boy." Mockingly, he got close to my face. "Your parents are waiting."

Clenching my fist, I nailed him straight in the nose.

"Oh now you're in for it, little boy." The first one picked me up by the sweater. "What a...fuckin' piece a-shit you are, huh?"

I struggled to get out of his grip, kicking him repeatedly in the chest. The mud of my shoes left dirt all over his clothes.

"Pff. Small fry like you aren't worth the trouble." The student threw me into the pile of cans.

That's what got everything rolling.

I slowly stood up in horror to see the fire grow relentlessly, cans scattered to and fro. I looked over to the ceiling, cracks began to form. The weight of the rainfall combined with those idiot college students digging into the ground was going to cause the cave to collapse, but there was no clear way for escape.

I desperately reached over to Mikanne and Shiro. "Get out of there! Run!" Though I never thought to tell them where.

My faulty instructions couldn't save them.

"Oh...holy fuckin' shit." The third student backed away, picking up his phone quickly.

The first one bolted out from the scene, and the second one slapped himself across the face. "Oh man. If this was Danganronpa, he'd be executed for sure."

It faded from one memory to another. Shiro was blinded in one eye and had to have his front right leg amputated from being burnt badly. Mikanne was worse, as he had protected Shiro. His whole chest up to just above his chin was awfully burned, with other scars all over him.

I was outcasted. If it weren't for the whole bonfire in the first place, it wouldn't have ever happened. I had almost killed two of my best friends, all because I wanted to please the children with a display of my selfish ability. Mikanne had wanted to hang out, but his parents forced him away. It was understandable, to say the least. Fortunately I still had Shiro to snuggle up by my side.

My dad ripped into me hard, beating me with his shoe. I was forbidden to ever have such 'meetups' with anyone ever again, and I could never leave the house after dark alone. My mom simply sat down and pulled me under her shoulder for at least twenty minutes without any sign she wanted to let me go.

Following an investigation of the scene, the one who threw me into the cans had turned himself in, possibly to lighten his punishment. Besides just endangering the lives of others, what his group of wipeouts did with the construction equipment was illegal anyways. Though, he certainly was not honest about the situation, trying to hide the full story.

Since I had been there, my mom insisted I attend the trial. I was confused as to why someone my age could provide anything useful, but seeing that so-called 'man' lie on the stand disgusted me.

"We were careless, I know. Being somewhere we weren't supposed to, doing things we weren't supposed to either." He defended himself. "We tossed the cans, yeah. We didn't know digging into the ground for fun was going to cause this. We didn't...didn't know there was a buncha kids under us! We had already left before it even happened."

I couldn't listen to the pile of lies anymore. I found myself standing up suddenly and pointing at him. I couldn't hold back, I yelled at him. "That's wrong!"

Silence. The entire room turned to look at me. Freezing, I didn't know whether to press forward or not. It wasn't my place, it wasn't my job.

One thing led to another and I was put on the stand. I recited everything I could remember to near perfection. I had even pointed at evidence to support myself in case nobody believed me. "Those are the cans he shoved me into, my mom couldn't get the stains off for three hours of scrubbing! And see that sweater? Those shoe prints came from me kicking him when he tried to off with me!"

I don't know why or how, but my thirst for justice - for avenging my friends - drove me forward.

"Why should we trust that kid?" I could hear someone in the gallery say. "He caused that fire in the first place."

I bit my lip, the words started to swallow me.

"That kid's a nut."

"It's his fault for the fire."

"How can we trust a child to know everything perfectly anyways?"

"He should be in juvenile, that's for sure."

The prosecutor cut the courtroom down, waving her hand. "No, no. We want to hear the truth out of everyone." She nodded. "Even controversial witnesses are just as important as others." She then picked up a piece of paper and adjusted her glasses. "Here's everything that happened in this case."

I sat down besides the crumbles of the cave, it withering away over time with a fresh patch of grass and flowers to cover up the remnants of the past. The rain had pulled back, a faint rainbow stretching above. I slung off the flamethrower from my back and stroked the throttle with my thumb.

It's been eight years, hasn't it Mikanne?

"Where are you now, eh?" I chuckled and picked up a rock, tossing it in absolutely no direction of interest. "Did you ever get into design like you wanted?"

Leaning back and looking up into the sky, I closed my eyes to think. It's a funny story, really. A funny, shitty, damned story about how I lost everything. I didn't care anymore, the world meant less and less with each passing day.

I became obsessed with fire. I wanted to burn things, I wanted to burn my anger. Just less than a week after that court case, I went and burned that guy's house to the ground. Nobody died of course, but they sure as hell needed to move out into a new house. I remember looking him straight in the eye and telling him, "I hope this is a good 'execution' for what you did."

I didn't fully know what I was saying. I had taken that word since I heard them toss it into the air, to which I caught to throw back at them.

Something about Danganronpa.

Too bad, though. That show ended seven years ago. I was disgusted to find out the people on that show really...that they would willingly put themselves into it. I couldn't believe what kind of sickos would watch that shit.

But perhaps it was just me. After all, the show had been on for 53 seasons.

I sometimes wonder what happened after the cameras cut in their final episode. The show made it look that they had all died, but over the years there's been rumors that four of them had survived. Apparently they say the detective, the magician, and the assassin were able to find the robot's data being stored on a cloud, and they were able to revive him. It was a happy and sad ending.

I wish my ending could've been a fraction that nice. Now here I am back and forth in juvenile because I can't stop myself from lighting things up. I can't help it.

My last gift from Mikanne was my flamethrower, and I'm never letting anyone take that away from me. I hope wherever he is, at least he's gone on to make something of himself.

Can't get much worse than me. A dropout, a runt, a literal arsonist. I'm sure they're ready to throw me in jail if it weren't for my 'mental health' or something. Therapy doesn't do anything for me. I just need to find myself again, huh?

Sure, sure…

"Wouldn't you like to have a fresh taste in what it feels to be alive?"

I sat up and looked around to see no one. Perhaps it was all in my head. Insecure, I pulled up my hood, perhaps this place was bringing out the bad memories again.

Slinging my flamethrower back over my back, I gripped the strap as I walked back through the forest. Perhaps I would go burn a bonfire later, and toast marshmallows over it. Only to feel that last moment of joy once more.

"Kozaki Daisuke, right?"

I stopped and turned around, again to see no one. Then, I armed myself, keeping my index on the trigger. "...Who the hell's there?"

"I'd like to offer you the opportunity of redemption."

I turned around again, growing perturbed more than concerned. It had to be someone messing with me again.

"We think you'd be an excellent candidate."

Turning around once more, my eyes met with a masked individual standing just three inches away from me. Shocked, I backed away and aimed my flamethrower. "T-This isn't funny, asshole. Pull off the mask and piss off."

The individual simply nodded and spoke into a cell phone. "We found the kid. Be back shortly."

Another two individuals grabbed me from behind. Despite the fact I had grown physically stronger as of recent years helping my dad with his lumber work, they easily were overpowering me. I couldn't manage to pull the trigger of my flamethrower before they unarmed me.

Pulling out a second mask, the individual facing me tilted his head. "This is for the best, Mr. Daisuke. Either you come with us, or you're going to land in prison for all those crimes your 'mental health' contributed to. Just let it all go."

Before I had the chance to reply, the mask was shoved into my face. I felt my strength leave me until I couldn't feel anything except drifting to a void of darkness.

We were building that flamethrower together, him and I. We were going to have the best parties, we were going to rule the world together. That was our little joke.

Mikanne had designed the whole thing. He said the fire master should be the one with the honor of wielding it. He told me how excited he was to see it in action.

I had to finish it by myself. Before he moved away, I met him in the forest - without the knowledge of our parents - to promise him I would have the greatest bonfire in the world so he could see it from wherever he was.

"You'll do that for me, Zaki?" He had asked me before we parted.

"Yeah." I smiled. "Maybe the colors will inspire your designs."

Mikanne reached into his pocket and handed me a silver necklace. "I spent my allowance on this, Zaki. I hope you'll always wear it and remember me."

Digging into my own pocket, I gave Mikanne a handmade string bracelet. "I learned how to make these so I could give you something as well. I hope you'll remember me, too…"

We shared a tight embrace, and the next day he was gone.

Now eight years later...I still don't know where he is or what he's doing. Perhaps it...is better this way.

I wish sometimes I could make it all go away. I wish I could start clean. I wish I could have a second chance at life.

But those are all foolish wishes made by a hopeless soul.

When I opened my eyes, I was blinded by light. Dimming down after a minute or so, I found myself in some sort of bedroom. I wasn't able to recognize where I was, but I had a few ideas.

I suppose they finally locked me up in an asylum, eh? Now... where's my straight jacket?

All jokes aside, my head was numbing. I could feel my veins pulsing, excited to burst. It felt as though an elephant was sitting on my brain.

Attempting to recall the events leading up to this, something not quite right peeped up in my immediate consciousness.

Super-Highschool-Level Arsonist.

I frowned and grabbed at my head, brushing through my unkempt hair. What the hell is that meant to be?

Noise. That was all I could register it as.

I climbed out of bed, finding my clothes dried and neatly folded on the bed stand nearby, my sneakers by the door. When I looked down, I was dressed in rubber ducky pajamas.

This truly is an asylum, huh?

Frowning, I pulled off the pajamas with insult leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

I dressed myself and pulled the hood over my head. It made me feel safe, protected from anything even. Like a turtle retreating to its shell, I like to imagine. At least I wore my favorite maroon shirt today, which I hid away underneath my hoodie. It was a relief to see it was also here...wherever here was. Being recently washed and emitting a warm aura, I had a piece of home with me to hide away for myself.

Slowly turning the door knob, I peered out to find myself in a hallway, with one grand, crystal-esc staircase leading down to a lower level. Descending nervously, I looked around and asked, to no one in particular, "Where the hell am I?"

The immediate area turned out to be some kind of dorm. Housing eight boys and eight girls, I wondered what kind of crazy asylum I ended up in.

To the corner of my eye, I spotted a girl looking just as perplexed as I. She was walking into the area from a hallway to the far right facing the stairs, and thus my left, to which I wondered where it branched off to. Her golden hair was split by two braids running down her shoulders, her shirt was a deep maroon color with orange sleeves and a brown collar. Underneath was a khaki skirt, knee-high brown socks, and formal dress shoes. A fedora with two short feathers was perched upon her head, matching her shoes that clutched her socks.

Was I going to go and talk to her? She seemed kind enough, I believed.

She made the first move, walking over to me with quick and worried steps. "Excuse me, umm, excuse me!" She stopped just before me. "Do you know where I am?"

I shook my head. "Unfortunately not. I'd have liked to ask you the same."

The girl took a moment to observe me. She examined my hoodie, giving her most attention to the sigil I had personally stitched onto the sleeve, my black and slightly ripped jeans, my loosely tied sneakers, and the bits of my wild hair peeking out from underneath my hoodie.

"If I may ask...who are you?" She looked up to me.

I scratched the back of my head, nervously. Should I be blunt? First impressions are the most important… "I'm…"

Her light and patient smile caused me to lose composure slightly. I had no choice but to be blunt. "...Name's Kozaki...though you probably could care less." I frowned lightly. "Personally, I care fuck all for anything."

She covered her mouth with one hand to suppress her gasp.

Seeing her react startledly, I tried to be reassuring. "Don't take it too hard." I sighed, clutching my left shoulder. "I just...have lot of rage to burn. Guess it fits that I'm the Super-Highschool-Level Arsonist."

...now what just came out of my mouth? It was that stuff that I thought of when I woke up. Super...what? I'm a dropout, dumbass. I'm not a super-highschool-anything.

Now I've gone and screwed up even more, and I've only met this girl for a damn minute.

"I see…" The girl held her hands together behind her back while avoiding eye contact. "Sounds pretty rough…"

"Damn straight." I frowned. "Just when I was trying to relax, some freaks kidnapped me."

The girl looked back towards me, her mouth quivering for a moment. "Kidnapped...you too?"

"Huh?" I blinked, she was being quite forward about it.

"I was in Bucharest last night." She held her hands out front, squeezing her grip lightly. "I had just finished performing in the country's best orchestra, when I stepped outside to collect myself…"

Country's best? Sounded like a dream to me, a hopeless and unachievable one at that.

"I was a little disappointed, to be honest…" Sighing heavily, the girl looked to the ground. "I feel like no matter how hard I push myself, I fall short."

Terrible with people, I didn't know how to respond. "Hey...don't say that." I offered a faint smile. "I'm sure you're a very nice...uhh…" I looked away, I hadn't even asked what instrument she plays.

"Clarinetist." She smiled, giggling lightly.

I looked back to her and chuckled. "Better that then burning down buildings and random shit."

"Hmm...when you put it that way…" She then laughed a moment. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing."

I then raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it...where is Bucharest…?"

She blinked, surprised. "You don't know? It's the capital of our country, silly."

I blinked as well, tilting my head in confusion. "N...No? It's Washington D.C…"

She blinked once more. "Are you from America?"

I nodded, reflecting on the place I call home. "Oh, yes. From Pennsylvania." I then looked to her. "Are you...not from the US?"

She shook her head. "No, sorry. I didn't mean to assume you are from Romania as well when I heard you speak the language."

Dumbfounded, I squinted my eyes. "I've...never spoken Romanian in my life. We're conversing in English."

"Uhh…" She too, appeared to be genuinely confused. "N...No, we're speaking in Romanian...it's the only language I know."

We looked to the side, awkwardly. I then realized something, and looked back towards her. "Say...I didn't catch your name."

The clarinetist smiled at me, ignoring our language conflict for the moment. "Guess I will introduce myself." She then waved in a friendly manner. "Hi there! My name's Riko, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

I nodded. "Good to meet you as well."

"I hope we can get along and know each other well. I can even play the clarinet for you! That is my talent, after all." She sighed, lamentively. "Though, a Super-Highschool-Level Clarinetist is kinda...useless without a clarinet…"

I blinked. "Did you drop it somewhere?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember...I had it when those masked people attacked me...and I woke up without it."

I then looked back up the staircase, quickly bolting up to what was labeled as my room. When Riko arrived, she peeked from behind the doorway as I dug around in no clue of direction.

"Fuck." I gritted my teeth. "Those bastards took my flamethrower."

Kneeling her head through the door frame without stepping inside, Riko asked me, "Umm...what about a flamethrower?"

I sighed and sat down on my bed, fuming. "A close friend helped me build it before he moved away eight years ago. It's the last thing I have from him and I hadn't seen him since. It means the world to me...he was...my only other friend, really."

Riko did not want to overstep her bounds. She sat besides the inner wall of my room, looking away. "You know…"

I looked over to her, trying to retain myself. "Y...yeah?"

She sighed heavily and hugged her knees, hiding her face. "My clarinet was a gift from my late aunt. I never would've found love for it if it hadn't been for her...I miss the way she would play…" She looked up. "I promised her, when I was accepted into the orchestra...I'd have her clarinet see the world for her. I had surpassed her without ever feeling I did so." She looked over to my direction, but did not make any eye contact. "She passed away shortly after my first performance...I'd like to think she believed in my ability when she left."

My throat trembled, my heart grew heavy. I felt guilt pour in for my poor attitude. She had lost her inspiration forever without ever hearing a verdict, she'd never know how proud her aunt was. Meanwhile here I am slouching around because of someone who I hadn't seen in years, granted it being my fault as well.

Though I'm terrible with people, I sat besides her and we sat in silence for a moment. Our memories were stolen...and there seemed to be no way to recover them.

"So...you're certain you are speaking Romanian?" I felt at my head, sitting forward after a short rest. "I hear you speaking English to me."

Riko felt at her head as well, careful to not knock her hat over. "I don't know why, but...it sounds quite impossible."

Uneasy, we both looked away. How was this even physically possible, I wondered.

"Hey, aren't you a little hot with that hoodie?" Riko asked, worriedly. "You're dressed as if you're going out in the rain.

I chuckled and looked over to her. "Funny story, but I was out in the rain before...I ended up here."

She nodded thoughtfully and closed her eyes to think. "So...may I ask if you, too, woke up in pajamas in some bedroom?"

"Yep." I sighed and unzipped my hoodie, allowing my shirt to touch the light of the room. My silver necklace reflected the light of the room faintly. Immediately I covered my necklace with my shirt, a protective instinct. I couldn't let anything happen to it, especially now when my flamethrower was taken. "Ducky pajamas."

Once more, she nodded. "Cookie pajamas."

I nervously turned to Riko. "Say...this wouldn't happen to be an asylum, right? You seem far too well off for that."

Shaking her head, it was clear to me she was just as in the dark.

"Well then...I wonder how long we'll have to sit until something happens…" I stood up and walked outside of my room, pausing to see if Riko would join me. "There's supposed to be more of us, but you're the only one I've found so far."

Timidly, Riko walked to my side. "W-Well, yeah. I haven't met anyone else yet." She reflected upon her experience. "I woke up in what is apparently designated to be my room. That one, down the hall." She gestured to the third door on the 'girls' side of our shared top floor. "My clarinet was gone, all my clothes were clean and in order…"

I nodded. "Same here...minus the clarinet and plus the flamethrower."

"I walked around for a while, though I couldn't see much because almost all the doors were locked." Riko continued. "There were two rooms that I could get into, though. There's a three-story library that's also an observatory. Inside were hundreds of books, tons about astronomy."

Taking a moment to ponder, I asked her, "A library with only astronomy books?"

"Not only." Riko raised her right index finger. "Just an overwhelming majority. There are lots of chemistry, biology, physics, and other science books."

Nodding, I started to walk down the stairs. "Maybe I can take a look?"

"Sure." Riko nodded, closing the door to my room for me. "It's just down the right wing, then to the left."

I then paused for a moment. "Oh, and...what's the second room?"

Riko walked ahead of me into the right wing. "It's completely empty. Though it is labeled as a 'puzzle room' of sorts, there was nothing I could find...so...I just left…"

Trailing behind her, we entered the library. The smell was incredibly dusty, the aging books reeked of their knowledge. Spinning around to look at all the books was a carousel of insanity, they seemed to be endless.

I slipped my hands into my pockets subconsciously as I whistled in remark of the observatory's grand ambiance. "Daaaamn…"

"You know...I still wonder where everyone else is…" Riko quickly put her hands up defensively. "T-That's not to say I want other people to be here! I-I just mean...I hope nobody is hurt…" She then sighed and walked towards a golden-gilded spiral staircase to the far left of the room. "If there are supposed to be other people here...why haven't we seen them yet? That's what I meant to say…"

I looked down in the direction of my right hand as I pulled out a ruined piece of paper. It was Mrs. Loric's contact information, nearly destroyed by supposedly being in the laundry with my clothes. I couldn't help but wonder who did this, and why…

Damn it! If only I could find a phone around here...

But seeing the strip of paper reminded me of something. "H-Hey, Riko?"

Riko stopped about halfway up the stairs towards the second floor. "Yeah? Did you find something?"

Waving up the slip of paper, I called out, "Maybe there's a way we can contact somebody for help? Or maybe escape? You know?" Frowning, I looked down to the ground and whispered to myself, "I sure as hell want to get outta here."

Scurrying down the stairs, Riko returned to my side. "You think we can find a way to escape?"

Her hopeful aura caused me to grow nervous, as though she had expected me to already have ideas. "W-Well…"

"But...what if there really are other people trapped here?" She worriedly held her hands together. "W-We can't just leave them here…"

"Shit…" I crossed my arms as cold sweat slipped down from my neck to my back. We didn't even know what place this was at all, but the environment was screaming at me that something was horribly wrong. If there really are other people trapped here…

"Kozaki, we have to find them." Riko reached for my hand, before stopping herself to not invade my boundaries. "What if something foul's in the air? What if...what if we've been kidnapped by the mafia?!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Like the mafia would want anything to do with an arsonist." I then stopped. "Actually...scratch that..." I then stammered as I turned to Riko. "W-Well, I-I mean...the hell would the mafia want with a...a lovely clarinetist such as yourself?"

Sighing, Riko smiled lightly while exiting the observatory. "Why thank you very much, sir arsonist."

Quickly following behind, I saw Riko heading over to the second room she mentioned to me.

Upon her opening the door, she turned to me and simply shrugged. "Well...this is the second room."

Taking a look inside, the room was the definition of endless void. It seemed to continue beyond the enclosed horizon of this place I dubbed a prison. Just a pure space of being, iching for the presence of someone or something.

"It's called the Puzzle Room." Riko pulled me back to reality by directing my attention towards the sign next to the door. "I-I may have mentioned this earlier, but…"

Looking back inside, I was absolutely baffled. "A puzzle room, with what puzzle then? There's nothing here."

Riko closed the door and leaned against the wall. "Exactly. There's nothing here at all to do, so...what kind of puzzle is it meant to be?"

Jokingly, I waved my hand. "Surely, we make the puzzle ourselves and solve it, right?"

Unenthused, Riko returned to the dorm area without a word.

I quickly hurried behind her to apologize. "W-Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make the situation not seem so bad. My garbage humor kicks in when I'm under stress."

Riko stopped suddenly, causing me to bump into her. I feared I had finally ruined a possible friendship I've been needing for years.

However, it wasn't like this at all. When I looked over her hat, I could see she did not stop because of my shitty attitude, but...because of…

"Danganronpa?" I turned to Mikanne, repeating the title.

"That's right." He nodded, changing the channel. "That's what those washout college students were talking about."

"And...you watched it?" Nervously, I held my hands together. "Mik, that show's rating is-"

Mikanne cut me off as he declared, "This is it."

I looked to the screen, seeing a colorful cast of what appeared to be highschool students. "Season fifty two. They were talking about a new season, weren't they?" Looking back to Mikanne, I shook my head. "Mik, we can't watch this! My mom said-"

"I know, I know Zaki." He sighed, dropping the remote onto the ground. "But this is our last weekend together before I move. Let's watch this now, so maybe we'll watch the show together while we are far apart?" He nodded. "Besides, if everyone loves this show, how bad could it be?"

I felt strange in my gut, looking back towards the trap door separating the attic from the living room of my house. "I...don't want to watch a show where people kill each other, Mik."

Mikanne suddenly giggled. "Come on, Zaki. You don't really these people really die, right? I heard my dad say that...some shows have special effects! So maybe it's just a trick."

"You promise, Mik?" I looked back towards him, still nervous. The anxiety was eating me up, surely my parents would beat me senseless if they found out I had seen this show. "Promise me that nobody's really going to get hurt, okay?"

"Did-you-two-have-fun-?" A shrill, mechanical voice asked to us.

Terrified, Riko jumped into my arms for protection. "W-What is that thing, Kozaki?!"

Examining the robotic figure that presented itself to us, I gently separated myself from Riko. The voice belonged to a robot constructed in a manner reminiscent of a snowman, with its head balancing atop a rounder body, supposedly via magnetic force. Its entire body was split down the middle with contrasting white and black colors, with a single red eye streaking across the blackened half. On the other side was a black cross, perhaps to show there was no eye to be found.

"It...it looks like some sort of robot." I then turned to her rapidly. "N-Not to sound like a smartass."

"Your-time-is-up-up-up-!" The mechanical one continued. "I-hope-you-enjoyed-your-sneak-peek-!"

"S-Sneak peek?" Riko and I exchanged glances. She turned back to the robot and held her hands together. "U-Umm...excuse me? Do you know where we are?"

"No-questions-! No-questions-! Time-is-up-up-up-!" The robot started to spin in circles rapidly.

I pulled my left arm in front of Riko protectively. "Watch out, I think this bot's gone nuts and bolts!" I then looked over to her. "And I bet it has something to do with this place, this all stinks."

Suddenly the robot rolled closer to us, shy of one foot away. It sprouted arms and grabbed us by our collars. "I-don't-have-all-day-! There-are-other-people-waiting-for-their-turns-! You're-causing-me-delay-!"

Riko and I were effortlessly dragged across the room towards the left wing hallway. I tried to reach for the railing of the stairs, but I didn't have much luck with grasping them.

The left wing was quite different from the right, leading either directly into the mouth of a stairwell or cutting to a sharp right. With the robot forcefully leading us through, I took notice to how there was a large open area which branched out as a four-way, each opening marked with the different marks of a compass. Above the intersection was a glass dome to reveal the night sky teasing us from wherever we were.

We headed left to the West Hall, all the way to the end through a set of double doors. We were hastily dropped off while the robot took off, supposedly to terrorize more people.

Slowly standing up, I rubbed my keister while groaning, "What the hell…?"

"Kozaki, look." Riko whispered to me as she motioned forward.

We appeared to be standing atop a stage facing an auditorium. The 'we' did not include just Riko and myself, but various other people as well. Including us, this made eight in total.

Half of the amount of dorms there were, half of the expected amount of students.

We stood in silence for a while, awkward silence. It seems each student came with a partner, one boy and one girl, possibly paired at random. Atleast, I reasoned it this way as said partners stood close together - done if they had some sort of familiarity with each other.

As time continued to run on, the crowd growing larger and larger, no pair dared to speak to another. Riko and I pressed our backs against the wall, together alone.

Suddenly, multiple spotlights were directed towards us all. I pulled my hoodie down hardly over my eyes and covered my ears when the screaming sound of a megaphone rang out throughout the auditorium.

"Welcome-one-and-all-! I-hope-you're-doing-well-this-evening-!" The robot announced.

Standing tiptoed to get a view over the sea of heads in front of me, I could see the bot was balancing on a director's chair. While I had no idea why or how its round body managed to get up, it was the least of my worries.

"My-name-is-Monobotto. I-am-the-host-of-this-fine-display." The one dubbed as Monobotto spun around in its chair, eerily giving off an excited vibe.

Multiple voices began whispering, seemingly still between the assigned pairs. Riko slowly walked over next to me. "What's going on here…?"

Monobotto hopped up and down impatiently in its director's chair. "I've-been-waiting-for-this-moment-! A-wonderful-cast-indeed-!" Tossing the megaphone to the side, Monobotto pointed to us. "It's-finally-time-for-the-killing-game-!"

The entire room grew silent.

Killing game?

That's...ridiculous. Who in their right mind…?

"I'm not going to be a part of some sick game!" One voice yelled out in the sea of silence. It belonged to a shorter boy standing not too far away from me. His skin was darker, his body more muscular, with brown hair peeking out from a green helmet. He was wearing a chartreuse tank top, elbow pads oddly being worn above his elbows, with athletic shorts, socks, and sneakers. His knee pads were actually on his knees, though. Dauntlessly, the boy pointed towards Monobotto. "I'll never be a darn part of anything like that!"

Monobotto taunted him back.
"You'd-be-surprised-as-to-how-many-others-said-that-once…" It spun around and giggled to itself.

I reached over to the boy and placed my hand on his shoulder, locking my eyes to Monobotto. "You're fucking crazy if you think that for even one second I'm going to kill someone! It's a hundred times more likely I'd bash myself in the damn head before I even consider that!"

Suddenly there was a large rise of outrage throughout us all.

"That's disgusting! I'm never going to kill someone!"

"I'm not going to let some robot tell me what to do!"

"Is this an out of season April Fool's joke?!"

"Let's get outta here!"

However, Monobotto ignored our collected voices and whipped out yet another megaphone. "SILENCE-FOOLS-!"

We all stood, watching. The tension was high, and we were all hungry for answers.

"If-you-want-to-survive…" Monobotto continued its explanation. "Perhaps-you-should-see-it's-everyone-for-themselves. Perhaps-I'll-leave-you-to-let-that-sink-in." Monobotto dropped its second megaphone. "I'll-return-to-you-later...with-information-on-how-to-escape-if-you'd-like..." With that, the robotic one hopped off its chair and rolled away.

Us all exchanging glances, I sighed and leaned against the wall, slipping down and sitting on the floor. Holding my head in my hands, I asked to no one in particular, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?"

I closed my eyes to allow myself to fall into a sea of silence. One moment...that's all it took to throw me into...whatever this sick hell was.

Masked figures...killing game…

There didn't seem to be any way out…

I'm going to die here, I know it. And I'll...never see my family again. By now they must've thought of me dead. And poor Shiro...he's probably heartbroken…

"Kozaki?"

Suddenly snapping back into reality, I looked up to face the reality I was in.

Riko walked over to me and offered me a hand. "Come on, Kozaki."

I looked up to Riko, her hand a single light to guide me through the darkness. Taking her hand, I allowed her to pull me up as I could not muster my own strength to stand again.

"Now then…" Riko turned to the group of students, still holding my hand gently. "Everyone, let's work together. We've gotta get out of here."

~End of Prologue Part 1~