Beat.

I can feel something cold on my skin. Something wet. Is it rain? My head hurts too much of me to open my eyes, so I keep them closed. The cold is nice… soothing almost. I lie there for a long time. I'm not sure how long. My head throbs, like a drum.

Beat.

It's fading now. The coldness is gone. Where am I? How much time has passed? Why is it hard to remember?

Beat.

It's dark. I open my eyes, but it doesn't fade. Have I gone blind? My memories feel cloudy. I don't like this.

Beat.

I struggle to remember…. Remember what?

Stop.

I rub my eyes, not sure how long I've been out for. I'm sure it's been a while, judging by the ache in my limbs and the daze I set myself in when I open my eyes. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what had happened. The latest memory my mind has in its bank is me stepping into my new school. After that… I'm not sure.

My new school!

Doubtlessly this is a prank. I'm sure some people would want to get back at me for stealing one of the 16 places in this year's group of new students at Hope's Peak Academy. I'm not sure what they must have done, exactly. Perhaps they hit me with something? No… no pain anywhere. How odd?

I was nervous, starting school. It's not like it wasn't normal. Everyone was nervous before starting at a new school… but Hope's Peak was something different. In simple terms, it was a special school. In complicated ones… it was a school for only the best of the best… a school for people who excelled in their field of expertise. A Super High School Level School.

Sure… cheesy name. I agreed altogether with my younger brother, we sounded like a gang of superheroes. Still, it was a huge honour to be part of the school and anyone who got in was guaranteed success.

Apparently, that meant me.

Super High School Level Oil Painter. I didn't know that was a qualification until I got the letter in the mail half a year ago. I had to keep it a secret for almost all that time, which was almost impossible. Eventually, the list got posted a month ago. 15 other students were to be in a class with me. 15 other remarkable people.

And me.

I realized I still had the letter in my hand. No… it had been placed there. I left my letter at home, I remember because I still had to call my mum to ask her what time meetup was.

Then… how?

Dear Minoru Masao,

Congratulations! You have been granted a place at 10th Year, Hope's Peak Academy. Your schooling shall begin at the start of the new year. We have granted you with the title, Super High School Level Oil Painter.

We would be delighted if you could join us here at the school, as your talent would be a great one to share amongst the variety of students we have picked. However, we ask you to keep quiet about this, letting only your family know until further notice.

When you arrive at the school, please meet up at the assembly hall at 8'oclock.

Sincerely,

Ken Inukai, Deputy Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy.

I frown. The 'assembly hall at 8'oclock' had been circled in red crayon. I'm not sure what that meant, it was impossible for me to arrive at the hall if I had no idea where I was… nonetheless where the school was!

Following the track of mind, I look up. My eyes have adjusted to the brightness of the room, and I can see properly where I am currently located. I'm situated at a desk, not unlike a school one. In fact, an array of desks sit in orderly lines on the floor of the room. A blackboard seems to be placed on the wall, and steel plates board on the wall in the place of windows. A camera sits in the corner, it's red light blinking on. Shaking my head, I stand up.

My legs ache slightly, but I just frown and walk one of the steel plates. They're shiny, I can see my reddish brown hair in the reflection, though my face is warped, so my grey eyes appear bigger. Iron bolts seal them in place, and I try to turn them until my palms turn red… but it is to no avail. They won't budge.

It was odd, this place was like a creepy classroom. I didn't fully understand why I was in here, as it couldn't be a prank… it was too elaborate. My only thought was that this is actually Hope's Peak.

If so, then I should probably go to the 'Assembly Hall'.

My eyes lift up to the clock on the wall, above the blackboard. It seems time has passed, an hour of it in fact. The clock reads 7:30. That means, if the letter is any real, I have half an hour to get to the assembly hall and meet the other students.

Rubbing my head, I make my way to the door. To my surprise, it opens… though I'm not sure why it wouldn't. I'm standing in a lonely corridor, with a line of door identical to the one I just exited. I'm a little afraid to try the others, for fear of getting in trouble… so I just make my way along the hall.

It doesn't take me long to find the hall. It was just to the right of the corridor. When I reach the end, there is a turn and a large sign above reading 'ASSEMBLY HALL'. Two grand wooden doors stand in place, and I take a deep breath before opening the door.

This is where my new life begins.

A group of people are situated inside the room, about 10... more or less. It seems that I'm not the last one. I breathe a sigh of relief and step inside, closing the door behind me. A couple eyes turn to me, and I feel a little embarrassed at the attention… however they mostly turn away and continue with their previous conversations.

I stand there, awkwardly. That seems to be a talent of mine, and personally… I wish I could get rid of it. I'm not sure what to do, and am scanning the group until I feel a pat on my back.

"Hi!"

I turn to see a girl, a rather tall girl, standing behind me. She's got a grin on her face, showing her pink and blue braces. I definitely recognise her from somewhere… though… I'm not sure where…

"Hey," I say, rather lamely. I'm not too good with introductions.

"How are you? I'm Chiyo Hora, it's nice to meet you!" She grins, flipping her auburn ponytail behind her.

Suddenly, I remember. Chiyo is a fantastic surfer, famous of her acrobatic acts on top of the waves. She has her own show, teaching people how to surf and swim properly. She seems to be rather good natured, and a fun person to be around. At least there'll be one person I like here!

"Minoru Masao, I'm good! I've seen your show, you're amazing!" I say. I hope I didn't sound too gushy,

"Thanks! Well, I gotta go talk to the others, so I suppose I'll meet you later?"

"Sure!" I say, waving. These people don't seem too bad… I might make a few friends. With this confidence, I approach the next person.

This boy seems to look very posh, wearing a suit which seems perfectly ironed. His black hair is gelled down, looking perfectly flat on his head. I have to admit, it makes me grin. He looks awfully stuffy… I'm not sure I'll like him. Nonetheless, I approach him. I need to be polite!

"Erm, hi! I'm Minoru Masao… nice to meet you?"

"It is nice meet you too, sir. I do hope we shall become well aquatinted, sir." The person says. He speaks in a very clipped tone, hardly moving at all as he speaks. I was right about stuffy.

"… umm… yeah! So, what's your name?"

"My name is Kai Gima, sir. I am a Butler, sir."

I nearly laugh, but stop myself. This guy is over the top. I feel a little awkward talking to him… I need to find an exit to the conversation.

"Ehehe, cool. Well… erm… I'm gonna go meet the others. Heh, bye?"

"Farewell, sir."

I shudder. I doubt I'm going to spend much time with him… all those 'sirs' are going to get to my head.

Wandering the room, my eyes fall on a girl. She's standing alone, clutching her stomach as if in pain. Her blonde hair is in a braid, and her hazel eyes are staring down at the floor. She seems rather short, much shorter than me, I realize are you approach her.

"Hi… I'm Minoru Masao. Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

She looks up at me, and attempts a wry smile.

"Yeah, I'm very sorry. I'm not feeling very well. Thank you for asking…" she says in a small voice.

"That's ok. Just sit down if you need to." I tell her, and she bites her lip.

"Thank you. I might."

"Okay… just say if you feel really sick."

"Thank you Minoru"

I recognise the girl. Her name is Kamiko Hayashi, a rather popular poet. She's very good, I have one her books in my library. I never knew she was so small in real life.

The next person I approach… actually approaches me. He waves his hand in a greeting, walking towards me. He's about my height, with sandy brown hair and eyes so green they could be yellow.

" 'Sup. I'm Takeo Ashikaga, nice to meetcha!" he grins good naturedly, raising his hand for a highfive. I recognise Takeo as a rock climber. I remember reading about him in a word record book for the fastest to scale a climbing wall. He seems to be a real daredevil.

"Hi! I'm Minoru Masao… it's nice to meet you too!" I say, giving him a highfive.

"Hey, you're the oil painter! Looked at your work in art class once, you're really good!" he laughs. I try to hide it, but I was secretly rather pleased he knew who I was.

"Thanks! Saw you on a sports show, what you do is amazing!"

"Well, 'amazing' is what we're here for isn't it? Anyways, I gotta go talk to the others, but it was nice meeting you!"

I wave as he walks away. I like this guy too, he seems quite nice! I hope most people here are always this friendly.

I walk towards someone else, another boy, though this one seems a bit different. He has blue eyes, almost lilac and caramel hair. He also has a nose piecing, I realize as I walk closer.

"Hi!" I smile, and introduce myself… this time adding my talent into the mix. Why not let people know who I am?

He smiles right back at me, nodding his head when he hears my name.

"I know you! I'm Nei Hada, Radio Host! It's nice to meet you too!" he smiles.

"Oh cool, I listen to your show sometimes in the car!"

"Awesome! Hey…uhm, Minoru, do you mind me asking you a question?"

"Sure," … I wonder what it could be?

"Did you wake up in some weird classroom? Cuz, I did…and it's kinda bugging me…"

"Speaking of which… I did too! I was wondering about that."

"Yeah. It's probably nothing. Anyways, nice talking to you Minoru!"

"You too!" I say, as we part.

I stand there for a while, before spotting a couple talking. There's a boy and a girl. The boy is very tall and muscular, with a buzz cut of ginger hair and hazel eyes, while the girl has black hair tied into a bun, matching her chocolate eyes. The boy spots me and waves me over enthusiastically.

"I told you he was here!" he grins at the girl, reaching over to shake my hand. I'm a little bit stunned, and blink a few times. The girl notices my confusion and laughs.

"Sorry about that! I'm Yoshie Kita. Boxing man over here thought he saw the painter of the 'Nightime Lily', and wanted to make sure."

I smile, shaking her hand as well. I don't recognise Yoshie, but I do know the boy. His name is Shiro Abe, a professional boxer.

"I'm a big fan!" Shiro say enthusiastically. He seems like an overgrown puppy.

"Thanks! It's really nice to meet you!"

"You too. It's nice to see a mix of talents here! I'm an Astronomer, by the way." Yoshie smiles at me.

We talk for a little while longer, before I decide to go and talk to some other people. The next person I come across is a girl. She's a little odd looking, with teal eyes. Her hair seems to be dyed a light blue, and she on them are a pair of flight goggles. She waves enthusiastically as I approach.

"Hi! Nice to meetcha!" she grins as I walk closer.

" You too! I'm Minoru Masao, Oil Painter!"

"Cool, an oil painter! I'm Mieko Inukai, Pilot!" she says with a British accent, flashing me a grin.

I've seen her around before, she lives in the same area as me. Mieko participates in air shows, probably what got her SHSL talent.

"Haha, cool! There's a lot of people here… almost like a party!" I smile.

"It IS a party!" she exclaims, her eyes growing wide. "I should have brought a banana!"

I'm confused.

After a while of talking, we say goodbye. I'm kind of in a daze from so many people and introductions. In that daze, I nearly run right into someone.

"Excuse me!" a voice says, and I look up. A boy is standing there. He has a disgruntled look on his face, almost a sneer. It matched his looks, a proper black suit and short blonde hair.

"Sorry!" I gasp, stepping back. I recognise this boy… Ryota Honda, a famous classical musician. He's rather famous… or more imfamous… for his posh and snobby attitude. Oh wonderful, I managed to piss off the snobby one.

"You'd better be. Let's hope you didn't smear any oil on my suit." He says, sauntering off. He nearly spat the word 'oil'. I suppose he doesn't approve of my talent. How nice.

I don't really want to associate with him, so I wander off in the other direction, walking to two girls talking. One is tall with short black hair and rimmed glasses and the other having very curly cinnamon brown hair tied into a ponytail and almond eyes.

"Hey!" the ponytail-girl says, waving at me when she sees me. "You're Minoru… right?"

"I am!" I say, walking towards the girls.

"Lovely to meet you. I'm Kaede Fujimoto, Archer." The girl with the glasses says, smiling and showing a row of perfect white teeth.

"And I'm Naomi Mae, Ghost Investigator!" the brunette says, happily bouncing up.

"We just say you get rubbed off by Ryota, and I want to say don't worry, he did the same to me." Kaede murmurs, her eyes on the boy, now talking to Chiyo.

"He's a butt…." Naomi adds, making me grin. I think I'll like these two.

We talk for a while longer before I leave to talk to someone else. That 'someone' happens to be a girl, a brunette with blonde streaks in her hair. Her eyes are a bright blue, and she seems to be taking in the size of the room.

"Hello?" I approach her. She jumps, turning around to me, before relief floods through her face.

"Phew, you scared me!" she laughs, turning around to face me. Her bangs are sort of falling in her eyes.

"Haha, sorry! I'm Minoru, nice to meet you."

"Not… oil painter Minoru?" she gasps, her eyes growing wide.

"Yup!" I smile, shaking her hand.

"Woah! It's such an honour to meet you! I'm Haru Akagi… I'm the lucky one this year. Sorry about my awe, I've never met such talented people before!" she says, all in one deep breath.

"Heh, no issue! I feel a little bit overwhelmed, we've all been there! It's really cool to meet you Haru, I hope we can be friends!" I say.

I bid her farewell after a while, as I have just a few more people to talk to. As I walk away, I hear her whisper in awe.

"Me, friends with Minoru Masao!"

I like this girl a lot.

The next person I encounter is a boy who walks to greet me. He's got rather messy dark brown hair, and his green eyes are shining. However, just as he's just near me, he trips and falls over.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, rushing to him and helping him up.

"Yeah! I'm so sorry, I was late and I think I forgot to tie my shoelaces." He bursts into laugher. It seems almost contagious, and before I know it I'm chuckling too.

"Haha, as long as you're ok! I'm Minoru Masao!"

"Hey, you're the painter! I know you! I'm Katsuo Furutane, Clockmaker extrodianre." He jokes, making a show of bowing, before promptly tripping over again.

"Maybe you should be Super High School Level Clumsy!" I joke, helping him up again.

"You, sir, have never been more right!"

There are only two more people I need to meet, and as soon as Katsuo walks away, someone else joins me. He's very tall, with a shock of flame red hair and blue eyes to match. He seems to also have a permanent smile to match. He wastes no time introducing himself.

"Isamu Ikeda, Racer. Cool to meet you Minoru." He says, shaking my hand.

"Hey, I never got to introduce myself!" I laugh.

"6th year project, had to find a kid same age with a talent. Picked you, you looked the most friendly on the list!" Isamu nods.

"I'm glad!"

The final person I meet is a girl. She has shoulder length chestnut brown hair and bright red eyes, though her smile gives away any sort of threat her eyes proved. She also is rather short.

"Hello! It's really nice to see you!" the girl smiles, not shaking my hand, but going in for a hug right away. That works too.

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Minoru Masao, Oil Painter." I say after she releases me.

"Ooh! An oil painter! I'm Ayano Nagai!" she smiles at me and all of a sudden I recognise her. She's an actress, a very popular one in fact… starring the lead role in a new blockbuster film. I went to see it a month ago, and remarked at how talented Ayano.

I just hugged a movie star.

Oh my god.

We talk for a little while longer, before she says she has to talk to some more people. After she heads off, I stand there for a moment, awkwardly.

"I wonder when this headmaster or whatever will show up…" I wonder to myself.

"Ahem…"

A/N: I've finished the first chapter of my first fic! I'm really happy, I've been planning the characters for a while now, and I'm glad how they turned out! I recently re-entered the Dangan Ronpa fandom too… so I hope this makes a nice contribution! I do hope you like this first chapter, and though I'm not going to beg for reviews, I'd be happy to hear your opinion! I'm not sure it's too good, I did it in a 2 hour sitting, so there's that. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it and I have a lot planned, so it'd mean a lot if you stuck around to read that too!