Now I know that this is already the new year. Yeah, I know. This is late since a lot of things came up during the holidays. To say my family life is complicated is the understatement of the century. But, without further to do, here's the one shot. ;)
I'll actually respond to my reviews using PMs again for this one shot. What a shock. There are also slight spoilers so read ahead with caution.
It is quiet...too quiet.
There is only the sound of the waves crashing into the sand. It is such a haunting sound. Once it used to smooth the soul, giving solace to an empty world, but now the waves feel more like screams. Because it is just too quiet.
"Izuru, may I ask what you are doing here?" Sonia Nevermind walks over to her friend Izuru Kamukura, who is just staring out into the ocean. She is a lot older and wiser than when she took part in the Jabberwock Killing Game. None of the former students aged well on this island. They thought that going to this island would give them peace and hope, but it has only brought despair.
There used to be so many people on the island. So many people. Kids even. Though now it seems to have mirrored the Killing Game. It was all because of the Committee. Along with taking away every single kid, they took away the one thing that saved them from themselves. The Neo World Program. Now the only ones that are not dead are the survivors of the Killing Game itself, Izuru Kamukura (who began calling himself that after both Nagito Komaeda and Nekomaru Nidai died from their health problems before the Committee came), Sonia Nevermind, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Akane Owari and Kazuichi Soda.
"...Whenever you're ready, we'll meet you at the usual place," Sonia tells him. She looks over her shoulder as she begins to walk away, sighing. Once she is away, Izuru sees something in the distance. He cannot believe his eyes, yet he tells himself he is just seeing things again afterward.
"Believe in yourself, Hajime," Chiaki Nanami smiles. Izuru ignores her, opting to walk away instead.
The place is like a prison. Ayano Kamukura sighs, a habit she inherited from her 'aunt' Sonia. She is only a child yet feels like she has lived on for a thousand years. Today, the day people originally thought was a holy day, a day where a savior is born, is now a curse. The girl preferred being used as an experiment rather than being given away to somebody who would probably use her for some nefarious deeds. Not everyday people found a little girl who could hack an AI into a system. Well, not little, as she was a teen, but she still feels like a child. Mostly because that is how the Committee treats her.
Going as slow as humanly possible, Ayano notices a boy crying at the end of the hallway. She recognizes him as Kazuhiko Yanagi and begins sighing again. That boy that is always with Kotori Hiraoka gets on her nerves.
"Are you alright, Kazuhiko?" Ayano asks when she reaches up to him. She does not know whether or not there are security cameras in this hallway. Probably not, but it is best to act her best anyway. You never know when the Committee is watching you.
"..." There is a big bruise on his right eye. Ayano does not know where it has come from. It spikes curiosity from her, even though she rather not talk to him for longer than necessary.
"Silly, remember me, I'm Ayano!" He does not answer, causing the young girl to pout. She decides to give up on Kazuhiko. As she begins to walk away, she notices that yet another girl comes up to him. The new girl is fairly short, only being about five feet tall. She has blonde hair, which is probably dyed, that is straight and only goes to her shoulders. Her crystal blue eyes are mostly covered by her bangs. And her skin is on the darker side. Ayano has not seen her before, and, thinking nothing about it, goes up the elevator at the end of the hallway.
Now all alone inside the elevator, Ayano chooses the very top floor. She closes her eyes and takes deep breaths as the elevator slowly makes its way up to the top. It moves around a lot, causing Ayano to shake every couple of seconds. Though the shaking might have actually been caused by her own worry. The trip in the elevator feels like days yet seconds. And then the doors open.
There is only a small hallway. At the end of the hallway, there is only one door. Ayano can bearly get herself to walk. All her steps are slow and small, even though she is fairly tall for a girl her age. The moment she arrives at the door, Ayano takes another deep breath as she slowly opens it.
"Hello, Ayano, glad to see you've made it," one of the researchers say. Their smile brings chills to Ayano. "From this point on, you're Ayano Nishiki. Now go say hello to your parents. They're on the first floor."
And, just like a good little soldier, Ayano does as she is told.
Matoko walks into the Future Foundation base hidden in one of the dense forests of Japan. He is carrying gifts and trying his best not to get spotted by anybody. Of course, that is hard on this base. A base that used to be overflowing with people only has a couple of remnants of this side of the rebellion against the Committee.
The walls are empty and grey, for the main room is actually a distraction for the Committee to think that this place is deserted. The real base is actually beyond the door right behind the old reception desk.
"Mr. Kirigiri, you're back!" somebody exclaims from the distance. Matoko thinks, just my luck, as he somehow manages to trip as well. All of the carefully laid out presents fall onto the ground.
"A-Atsuto!?" Matoko exclaims. He is surprised by the sudden appearance of Byakuya and Toko's only child before their divorce, Atsuto Togami. He most certainly looks like his dad, with his blonde hair and all.
"Mr. Kirigiri!?"
"Atsuto!" They both stare at each other. Not long before this, Matoko's sister, Komaru, who also just got divorced, married Toko, making him and Atsuto technically related. It is weird for Matoko, yet he knows he will eventually get used to it.
"Are those Christmas presents? Oh, have you got one for everybody?"
"...Yeah..."
"Mr. Kirigiri, you didn't have to! Especially by yourself! It's dangerous out there, especially with the Committee trying to find us! They know where all of our bases are, it is only a matter of time before they find this one." Before Matoko can defend himself, though, Atsuto begins picking the presents. Matoko begins to do the same.
Though, because of Atsuto's comment, Matoko cannot help but think about the past. Sure, he still believes in hope, and Kyoko constantly gets on his case for being naive for his age, but he has no idea how to defeat the Committee. Junko was simple. Just point out how she broke the rules and beat her at her own game. Matoko has already done that for the Committee. They are still as strong as ever.
It is, however, partly the Future Foundation's fault that the Committee came into power. Ruruka Ando, one of the heads for the old Future Foundation, tried to lead a rebellion. When her followers learned that she had died and that it was from another Killing Game that was covered up, they were furious. They fled to America and began talking to the locals there. Two important people were convinced by their stories, Sasha and Wendy Irving. Those two people created the American World Restoration Committee and the rest is history.
...And the worse thing is that one of his children, Ayano Kirigiri, was now a part of them. Matoko would do anything to see her smile once again. And now there are rumors that she would complete their abandoned mission of a second Hope's Peak Academy and become the next headmaster.
"Mr. Kirigiri, you okay?" Atsuto asks.
"Yeah, just zoned out for a second." Matoko notices that Atsuto has done most of the work. Though this is most likely because Atsuto is still in his late teens while Matoko is middle aged. He is just simply aging.
"Tada! I'm here!" somebody else shouts. She opens the door and then cartwheels toward them.
"A-Akita!?" Atsuto shouts as she cartwheels into him. They both tumble on the floor.
Akita Yamazaki, even though she is still young, is one of the only members of the Future Foundation left that is not connected to the Killing Game. She is the self-proclaimed 'Ultimate Ringleader' and runs a front for the Future Foundation called the Sakura Circus with her cousin Hideyoshi Yamazaki, yet another member, who she jokingly calls the Ultimate Clown. She is a lot to handle, yet Matoko views her as yet another daughter of his. Everybody inside the Future Foundation is considered his family after all...even though it is still weird to be actual 'family' family with Atsuto.
"Oh, are those Christmas presents? Better hurry before I tell everybody." Once again, Akita begins to cartwheel. Atsuto and Matoko chase after her, knowing that she is not bluffing.
It seems like even in the darkest of hours, jewels can truly shine bright.
Ayano Kirigiri studies all of the jewelry on display. They are all of the high quality, something she would expect from an Ultimate. Her slender fingers trace themselves on the glass case. Of course, they all do not strike her as something she wants, so she quickly leaves the store before anybody can bother her about being one of the most infamous faces in the Committee. She already had her fair share of people staring at her as she walked down the street. It is hard to miss her long, purple hair that she got from her mother. If she found somebody good enough to dye it, then she would love that. Being reminded of her mother every day was one of the hardest parts of her daily existence.
The heels of her shoes click onto the hard, clement ground underneath her. She is in the part of the city now that most people hold their very own shops. Many people in rags are trying to sell her various things, from knockoffs to crap itself. Some have caught her eye though as possible talented people if they keep working at it. Her father would love to give hope to them. Then, something catches her eye. A small jewelry stand with a girl that is extremely short running it. The girl is most likely a child trying to sell things to keep her family off of the streets.
"Oh! Ultimate talent!" Ayano exclaims as she runs up to the girl. She is clearly dumbfounded to see somebody so powerful go to her little stand.
"...Hello, customer, my name is Kira Iwata. Do you want something?" Although Kira does not stutter, Ayano can clearly see that she is not used to this social situation. She is way too stiff but carefree as well. Kira herself is constantly moving, not allowing her feet to rest.
"You don't have to be so formal with me, little girl." At that moment, Kira just glares at Ayano, as if she said something wrong. Ayano does not care about that, however, only focusing on the jewelry in front of her. "These are extremely well made for somebody your age. You truly can become an Ultimate if you work at it."
"Y-you weren't kidding!?" Kira is even more amazed. Most of the time, she would be more focused on getting sales, but she allows this time to side since she is talking to Ayano Kirigiri. That is the only positive of looking young in Kira's mind, being able to use her appearance to convince the gullible to buy her products.
"Nope," Ayano responds. She sees so much potential in this young girl, potential she does not want her father getting to. She knew that he is cornered, yet that fool might still try to get something for his 'family' on the holidays. Maybe she should do something impulsive like him to get in his headspace. "...You know what, I'm gonna buy everything."
"Everything!?" Kira's mouth drops. She can feel everybody else staring at her. Having that kind of money might make her finally useful to her mother and father.
"There's just one catch...Kira, was it?" Ayano watches as she sees Kira's smile fade. She may want to be a little like her father, but Ayano will not lose herself in the process. Ayano hates him too much to make a perfect replica. It dumbfounds her on why the Committee insists on making her father a hero, instead of a villain like she sees him. "Work for me." Then Ayano decides to stop thinking so much about the past and holds out her hand for Kira, who first looks at it in a mix of horror, disgust, curiosity, and happiness. So many emotions for a small girl.
"Doing what?" Kira knows better than to trust strangers, especially those on the Committee. One of the last things her mother told her before shutting her out was not to trust anybody from there no matter what.
Ayano herself sighs too. Although she wants to take down her father, there is a more pressing issue. The other rebellion. Only the top of the top knows about the group that calls themselves the Saviors of Humanity. By that, it is only herself and the Irvings. And while there is much debate about whether or not the Future Foundation has a mole, she is almost certain that the Saviors of Humanity do. She can imagine that her mother and father are regretting telling her about detective work.
"Smelling out a traitor. Come on, I know you want to do it." Ayano can bearly hold in her laughter and smile as she sees Kira's hand move slowly towards her. She is like a moth to a flame. No, it is more akin to a lamb and a lion.
"..." Kira cannot believe that she is doing this herself, but she would do anything for that money. Even manipulate a high-ranking Committee member. She is betraying the parents she loves oh-so-much...yet this is the best course of action for all of them. She bites down on her teeth the moment she feels Ayano's skin. It is too cold to belong to a living human, even though that is what Ayano is.
"I look forward to what you find, Kira Iwata. I know your parents will be extremely happy." The moment she hears Kira gasp, Ayano turns away. She can feel a wicked smile come across her face along with all of the other people staring at Kira like she is the traitor that she is.
Oh, how she loves this despair. And how she longs for her father to feel it as well.
The smell of alcohol makes the atmosphere unbearable. Shinichi Fujimoto hears his mother in the next room over doing very questionable things with her new boyfriend of the week. Knowing that this is usually a time where she is not paying attention, which is actually all the time, Shinichi quickly makes his way out of his apartment. He opens every old door slowly, making sure he does not disturb his mother in any way.
He makes his way to the next door house. Using the key he was given years before, Shinichi opens the door to see the person who he truly considered to be his mother, Hanako Tezuka.
"Shinichi, dear, is your mother...um, having fun again?" she asks. Hanako looks at the poor boy, which looks like he has not eaten in some time. She tries to keep care of him, but, with all the work she has, and the other neighbors just not caring, she is not able to take care of him all the time.
"Yeah, s-she's only come back...but she just wants to be with her boyfriend..." Shinichi looks down. He would have used the money he earned from his job of being a translator for the Committee, yet his mother took that away to gamble away it all. Truly, if it were not for Hanako, there would not be any hope in his life.
"...Let's not talk about that, sweetie, I have some things for you." Hanako hurries to her small kitchen, getting out a random bag of chips. She also grabs books that she found just for Shinichi. Including a special one. Because her apartment is much smaller than Shinichi's, she makes her way back to him quick.
"H-Hanako!" Shinichi exclaims. The moment Hanako sets down the items, Shinichi goes after the books. Hanako notes that unlike most human beings, Shinichi desires knowledge over his very own needs.
"Please eat, Shinichi, it would help you focus," Hanako tells him. Unfortunately, she is used to situations much like this one transpiring. Shinichi can be a little stubborn when it comes to books after all.
"Okay," he pouts. He only eats one of the chips though. "Um...H-Hanako, if I eat too much, I might die..."
"Oh yeah! Sorry dear!" Although Hanako does not know a lot about the medical world, she remembered one of her friends, Hanako Kawabata (yes, they did meet each other since they had the same first name), mention something like that before. She does not want to take her chances, so she returns the food to where it was. Shinichi, however, is too focused on the books. Of course, one stood out from all the rest.
"Let's see what this is." Shinichi takes the one from the bottom and begins to read the sloppy translation job that Hanako did in Akkadian. Usually, Shinichi would be furious at all the grammar mistakes, but he decides to let his stubbornness go. This is Hanako after all, the woman who he truly considered to be his mother. Of course, in his mind, he corrects all of the silly little mistakes.
To my dearest Shinichi,
This is a diary...I know saying that is silly, but I notice how stressed out you always are. As your friend, I felt like I needed to do something to help you. Us Saviors have to stick together after all.
P.S. The next meeting is at 8 AM January Fifth at the old warehouse. Gotta give the Saviors some time to be with their friends and family.
Love,
Hanako
Hanako, at that second, comes back to see that Shinichi is crying. She immediately comes over to him and embraces him in a hug. The two of them remain in that way until Hanako's phone begins to beep.
"Excuse me, but I need to take this call." Although she hates to be away from Shinichi, Hanako knows that her role as one of the tops in the Saviors is more important than any personal matter. It is a sad fact of life. This might be the only chance they got to take down the Committee once and for all.
Shinichi just stares for some time after. He is extremely hungry, but he does not want to take a chance. Something about food and drinks makes him uneasy now like they would be the end of him. Wanting more information, he makes his way to Hanako's computer. She did give him permission to use it after all. Before he checked on that, though, he wanted to check in on his friend on the message boards. For the last month, Shinichi was communicating with this mysterious person online who wrote in dead languages and code to him about the previous Killing Games.
They both had information about the past that the Committee does not know. The person seems to be wanting to know more about the history of Hope's Peak Academy and what truly happened there. All she knew, however, is that for some reason Matoko Kirigiri, Naegi at the time, was arrested. How she was amazed to learn things like the true first Killing Game and the truth behind the Ultimate Despairs.
Though, she has not used the website in the past week, much like Shinichi himself. He is about to do what he originally set off to do before he is interrupted by a text, by his mother no less. It is just simply come here. Sighing, Shinichi checks on Hanako, saw that she is still busy, takes his new books, and left.
In that same complex, a girl with no name tries to find shelter for the night. It is almost that time, and being on the streets in basically suicide. She creates a fire and hides underneath the stairs, hoping nobody finds her and reports her to the police. Even so, the police station is better than the main streets. Then the girl is interrupted by a clearly foreign girl falling off the stairs and somehow not dying in the process.
"You gotta be kidding me...oh hi. The name's Emilynn McKay, get it memorized." Before the girl can respond, Emilynn lays on the ground with her phone pointed to the highest point.
"..." The girl has no idea how to respond to the newcomer. For several minutes, the two just sit in silence as Emilynn plays her brand new game. The moment she dies is the game is the moment she decides to open her mouth once again.
"What's your name? I promise not to write it in the Death Note. Unless you're part of the Committee."
"...I don't have one..."
"You don't have one!? You mean I can actually do that anime trope of naming someone?!" Emilynn shouts. The girl blushes, not being used to people like Emilynn. Sure, she can already tell she's on the weird side, but it seems like she is not brainwashed by the Committee and actually cares for somebody like her. "How about...Sae Emiya?!"
"I like it..." Sae continues to blush harder. Does not help that Emilynn just looks really, really cute.
"Really?...I just combined two anime characters' names together." Emilynn then reaches out her hand to feel drops of snow coming. Because of that, her luck begins to kick in again, causing her to roll down...whatever she is rolling down. Sae tries to catch up to her, yet she is not able to. She knows that she heard the last name of McKay somewhere before, yet she cannot recall anything. Just another girl that had the bad luck to meet her. Though she smiles at her new name, Sae Emiya.
Making sure she does not defy the laws of physics like Emilynn, Sae takes out everything she needs from her backpack. She takes out her sleeping bag and an extra blanket to make sure she does not freeze to death in the snow. Her blush, however, becomes some sort of natural heater for her cheeks. Sae had no idea whether or not that is how science works, yet, for some reason, she feels warmer than she usually does during nights like these. Snow is rare, however, but Sae believes that it looks absolutely beautiful.
Shiro takes in a deep breath as he walks into the cold, snowy night. His concert just ended, and, just like every other one he ever hosted, people are telling him how great of a composer he is. That if there was a Hope's Peak Academy he would be a part of it. He does like the praise, yet he is seeking something more. As he walks into his car, he cannot help but think about how much he would love to perform a Christmas concert. To hear the carol of the bells ring through his ears.
Not wanting any more of these thoughts, Shiro pulls out of the parking lot and turns onto the radio. There are only two music stations, but Shiro loves them both. Music is his passion after all. The radio had a lot of commercials, however. It talked about how the band First Light is coming out with a new album and their manager's, Tsukiko Oda, thoughts about it. Then how about the Sakura Circus has one more show being hosted by the famous Akita Yamazaki. Though, with this being a music station, the radio focused more on Yuuki Akimoto, a conjoined twin who would always play duets with themself.
The car ride home is just filled to the brim with useless content. Mostly because Shiro knew all of this information already. He is on the inside, so he would always have people tell him important details as soon as possible. It is good to stay in the know in a world like this.
Just before he leaves the car, however, Shiro hears the announcer say something that piques his interests. Not because it is the news, but because it is something that he always wanted to experience.
"Attention, listeners, but this radio station has been hijacked by some rebels. You might not know it, but this is actually a day people used to call Christmas. Now, feast your ears on some music."
"...!" Shiro begs to whatever is up in the sky that the Committee does not end the broadcast early. He is not really the spiritual time, but, even now and then, he found himself hoping that there is truly something up there, that there is something after death.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, the Carol of the Bells!"
Shiro decides to stay in the car. He gets comfortable, lowering his car chair to the lowest it can be. He opens up the sunroof to witness the stunning, snowy night. Hearing the sweet melody serenade his ears, he closes his eyes. And then he falls asleep.
Some years later, another Christmas comes. Kanon Hattori is sitting in the waiting room, playing on her phone with her parents right next to her. For Christmas that year, they promised Kanon that she would finally find out the identity of her long lost twin sister. She was adopted, and her older twin sister was adopted by another set of parents. Kanon's parents only told her last year, yet she cannot hold her excitement. Yesterday, she received a card naming her the Ultimate Ballroom Dancer...now she will finally be able to see what kind of person her twin sister really is.
Carol of the Bells is playing on the speakers, Kanon's favorite Christmas song.
"Kanon Hattori, you're up." Kanon waves to her parents goodbye before entering the only door in the office. She is so excited that she is barely able to sit in the chair.
"Hello, Toshitsugu Maeno, what can you tell me about my sister?" she asks. Toshitsugu Maeno is the private investigator that her parents hired to help her find her sister. To be honest, Kanon finds all private investigators to be total sticks in the mud.
"Not quite. Puhuhuhu." Before Kanon can respond, gas comes from all of the corners of the room. She feels faint. As her eyes begin to close, she sees something in the distance, a familiar black and white bear. "Danganronpa will never end! The Killing Game will continue forever and ever!"
Requiem is back and still screwing with her audience.
Somebody asked me if they could do a story relating to this universe, so I did a little sneak preview of what I know in the end. This person does not want to be named until they release the story. The story itself is going to be called: The Killing Game's Serenade.
So for Christmas I gave you...sneak peaks and more world building. Along with a lot more questions than answers. Only I (and the person writing the story since, well, I kinda had to give it all up) know what truly is going on.
But, seriously, once they upload the story, I'm gonna hype it up like crazy. Because what they have is awesome. :D
So, yeah, this is a little short, but, hey, it exists.