Hey, Katie here. Back with another story, this one I plan to leave up. Hope's Peak University, the comedic college AU we all need. It will not all be told from Kaede's POV, as I want to rotate the stories a bit to focus as much on all the other characters as possible. Spoilers are unlikely, but I guess a spoiler warning is always implied. Only characters from Danganronpa 1, 2, and 3 will be included, as I haven't seen the anime or Ultra Despair Girls yet. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Welcome to Hope's Peak
"Okay…" Kaede Akamatsu whispered through her teeth, her eyes fixed upon her cart. "Toothpaste, check. Shampoo and conditioner, check. Soap, check. And umm…" she consulted her list, "hair ties, check. That's everything."
She hoped it was everything, at least, because she would absolutely hate to have to circle back around through a sea of unfamiliar aisles. Sure, maybe a few months from now she'd know where she was going but it had already taken her nearly half an hour to find everything. And given the day, it wasn't exactly a picnic maneuvering her bulky cart through crowds of her own peers and hoping the loud squeaking of the wheel wouldn't draw their attention.
Wending her way to the front, Kaede quickly spotted the shortest line. She was definitely eager to get out of here. She loathed crowds, but it simply couldn't be helped. A harried, exhausted looking girl (Melissa, according to her nametag) was ringing up endless groceries and supplies. Kaede couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she waited, resolving privately to make sure she was a very easy customer.
Despite her frustration at the grocery store's crowd, Kaede's heart was leaping with excitement. As soon as she was out of here, she would be pulling into her dream school. Sure, she had driven seven hours to get here, but it didn't matter. Hope's Peak University offered the best of the best, as far as she was concerned. She'd been dreaming of this moment since she was a wide eyed high school junior, walking through campus on a guided tour. It had honestly looked like paradise back then.
She couldn't wait for the classes. She couldn't wait to meet her room mate and stretch out under the bright August sun between classes, just taking in the sights and sounds of the campus around her. To meet a group of brand new friends, just as excited as…
"Ohhh come on!" a voice cut through Kaede's ruminations. She blinked and looked ahead. The guy in front of her was clearly frustrated about something. "I'm definitely over 21!"
"ID, please." Melissa said in a bored sort of voice, her hand outstretched.
Rifling in his white pants pocket, the young man pulled out a card and handed it to her. She squinted at it.
"Do you… do you think I'm stupid?" Melissa asked incredulously.
"I dunno. Do you think you are?" The guy smiled impishly at her.
"This is the most obvious fake I've ever seen." Melissa said, raising an eyebrow as she read whatever was on the card. "You've photoshopped your head onto a still from Jurassic Park."
"That's not photoshop, it's just an outdated picture." Kaede was surprised at how easily this guy could lie, his grin never wavering. "And besides, dinosaurs were around way more than 21 years ago, so by default-"
"It says here that you were born in 1912." Melissa cut through him.
"So obviously I'm old enough to buy this." The guy patted the box of Bud Light almost affectionately.
"Well, Kokichi, if that even is your name," Melissa said, handing him the ID with a very irritated expression, "I can sell you the jelly beans but you're going to have to put that back."
"Awww come on!" The guy called Kokichi puckered out his lip. "It's my first day at college. What kind of lame ass freshman would I be if I couldn't show up with booze?"
Melissa stared at him, her expression almost pitying. "I'm going to get my manager."
Kokichi huffed, reminding Kaede more of a petulant child than anything. "Fine. I'll put it back."
Looking dejected, Kokichi slinked past Kaede, muttering something about "the establishment." Kaede rolled her eyes and strolled forward.
"I'm really sorry you have to deal with that," she said, placing her thankfully few items on the belt.
"You'd be surprised." Melissa deadpanned. "And I think my manager's lost more faith in humanity than I have at this point."
Kaede gave her an indulgent smile. "You go to Hope's Peak?"
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't go there if it was the last college… anywhere." Melissa said. "I graduate next year and I'm getting out of here."
"What's so bad about it?" Kaede asked, slightly stung by this.
Melissa looked a bit apologetic; possibly she had noticed the hurt expression on Kaede's face. "It's just not for me, you know. You hear a lot of weird stuff about it," she shrugged. "Like people driving down here doing donuts in the parking lots when it snows, setting off fireworks on New Years, and a lot of weird parties. That kind of thing." She nodded to Kokichi, now in a different aisle with the same package of Bud Light, as though expecting to get a different result. "And jokers like him are all over the place."
Kaede couldn't argue with that. She'd even seen evidence of it on her campus tour. But she liked being around interesting people. It was one of the reasons she'd been so keen to attend.
"Well, to each their own." Kaede shrugged. "Anyway, what do I owe you?"
After the traffic and the misleading directions from Google maps, driving into the campus was like driving into a dream. Kaede couldn't believe this day was finally here. Emerging from her car in the dorm parking lot, she stretched her arms and legs again, feeling very sick of sitting down, and yawned widely. She wished she could unpack tomorrow, but she needed her stuff to sleep tonight!
Taking a moment's procrastination, Kaede stared around at her surroundings. Hope's Peak University had a gorgeous campus in the summer. Off in the distance, the classroom buildings towered, high and modern in design. While the school wasn't exactly a miniature city, like some other campuses, there were a few stores and restaurants that Kaede could see from this angle, including a Pizza Hut and a Wendy's. Dorm 77B was wide, but not particularly high. Lots of these dorm buildings littered the campus, red brick fixtures with large glass panels revealing beautiful sunlit hallways. She remembered that she had been staying at a dorm across campus on her tour, but she'd specifically asked to room here. It was a slightly nicer area of campus, and with less people living there, she had the opportunity to get to know everyone, a sad impossibility with the massive dorms closer to the main buildings. A sidewalk cut through a lovely field, where a group of students, upperclassmen by the looks of them, were playing Ultimate Frisbee and a chattering group of girls sat down on a blanket.
"Can Gonta carry anything?"
Kaede jumped, whirling around to face a massive chest. Looking up, a wild behemoth stood before her, a long mane of brown hair around his perfectly muscular shoulders. But the look on this young man's face was anything but intimidating. He wore a small, friendly smile and extended a massive hand.
"Oh, Gonta sorry he make you jump!" he said, putting up both hands in a placating gesture. "It just… Gonta finish unpacking and want to help other new friends move."
"That's okay." Kaede sighed, trying to soothe her heart rate. "My fault for not paying attention. I'm Kaede."
"My name Gonta." Gonta patted his chest, his friendly smile widening. "Gonta trying to be a gentleman so Gonta want to help."
Kaede couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the guy. English clearly wasn't his first language, and with such a sweet and innocent personality, she hoped college life wouldn't be too intense.
"I'd love the help, thank you." Kaede said as she opened her back seat. Her bed sheets immediately tumbled out but she caught them before they touched the asphalt. "These wouldn't fit in my bag, do you mind holding onto them while I get out my suitcases?"
"Gonta be honored!" Gonta reached out and took the sheets from her.
It didn't take long to extricate the suitcases from the back seat and the trunk and, with Gonta's help, it only took one trip to get all of Kaede's things into the dorm. Despite carrying two full suitcases and rolling a third behind him, Gonta still insisted on opening the door for her. Kaede thought this was very sweet, if not a bit impractical, and made sure to avoid rolling her suitcase too close to his foot.
The dorm already seemed full to the brim with new students who looked right at first thing that greeted Kaede was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen area down the hall. A shorter student, wideset with a chef's hat on, was stirring something that was bubbling on the stove. To her left, a girl and guy sang cheerfully (if a bit off key) on a karaoke machine, a small smattering of students watching them with amusement. Close to the door, a girl played a video game on the small TV and was so engrossed, she didn't even acknowledge them. On the couch next to her, a guy who had to be no older than 16 sat cross legged, a laptop propped on his lap, clicking away with his tongue between his teeth.
"Gonta get here early," said Gonta, that friendly smile never wavering. "Gonta get to meet everyone here and find out names."
"Oh?" Kaede said. "All of them?"
"Gonta remember names well," he nodded his head at the girl playing the video game. "That Chiaki Nanami. She good at games."
Chiaki gave no indication that she had hear this, her eyes still glued to the screen.
"And that Chihiro Fujisaki." Gonta continued. Chihiro looked up at them for a moment to smile before looking back at whatever was on his laptop. "And on karaoke machine is Ibuki Mioda and Leon Kuwata."
Ibuki and Leon sang on, clearly unable to hear them from that distance. As they walked through the room, Gonta pointed everyone out and provided Kaede with, at the very least, their name. She knew she wouldn't remember all of them right away, but hopefully she would know them all before the year ended. Finally, Kaede and Gonta arrived at the elevator.
"Where Kaede staying?"
"207A." Kaede said right away, having memorized this fact ages ago.
"That on second floor." Gonta said as they squeezed into the elevator with all of Kaede's things and a very disgruntled looking Toko Fukawa.
He tapped the button and the elevator rose rather slowly until it reached its destination. Kaede could tell immediately that the entire floor was devoted to girls' dorms, which she found reassuring. She definitely didn't want to run into any guys while wearing nothing but a towel!
"Men not allowed in ladies dorm rooms between eleven pm and eight am." Gonta clarified. "But it only six pm now so Gonta allowed to help you move in."
Kaede remembered that rule. She knew it was instated for their safety and privacy, but she did think it a bit restrictive. Not that she was planning to spend the night with a guy anytime soon, if at all.
Dorm 207A was situated down the hall and to the left of the elevator. Kaede saw her name on the door, along with her roommate's, who she had only spoken to once over email. She knocked tentatively and her roommate threw open the door.
"I told you, I don't want your help!" she snapped at Gonta, apparently not even seeing Kaede standing in front of him.
"Gonta understand but Gonta not help you, he help Kaede." Gonta clarified.
The girl's gaze fell on Kaede, who started feeling extremely self conscious. She was a lot shorter than her, with very long blonde hair held up in pigtails and a sour expression on her youthful features. Kaede knew her name was Hiyoko Saionji, but knew very little about her other than that. She'd seemed perfectly friendly over email but it was clear now that this girl was not to be messed with.
"So…" said the girl, finally looking over at Kaede. "You're my roommate."
"Yep."
"You don't play loud music right?"
"Umm… no."
"Or sing?"
"Not usually."
"Or stay up until 5 am?"
"No."
"Get up at 5 am?"
"Heavens no."
Hiyoko stared at her through narrowed eyes. Kaede had the distinct impression that she was withholding judgment on her.
"So… can I come in?"
Hiyoko took a step back wordlessly to permit Kaede to enter, pointing to the left bed. "That one's yours," she said as if Kaede wouldn't have been able to figure out that her bed was the one with no sheets on it.
The dorm was fairly roomy, with a desk on either side so both girls could work on homework, or whatever they needed to work on, in peace. A large, open window showed a spectacular view of the field nearby. The evening sun gave the room a warm sort of glow, especially since Hiyoko's bed had been decked out in pink and orange. Kaede through it was cute, though this girl's attitude made her feel like it would be dangerous to point that out. Hiyoko climbed onto her bed and sat down, watching them unpack like a small and very cute hawk.
"Do you listen to music to go to sleep?" Hiyoko asked as Kaede got out her mp3 player.
"Sometimes."
Hiyoko sighed dramatically. "Can you sleep without it?"
"Does it bother you?"
"Duh." Hiyoko crossed her arms. "It keeps me awake."
"It's fine. I don't need it." Kaede said, placing her mp3 player on the nightstand.
"Well, Gonta think room looks very nice!" Gonta chirped cheerfully a few minutes later, when everything was unpacked.
"Thanks. I think so too. It's got a nice aesthetic, since we both like pink." Kaede smiled at Hiyoko, who didn't return the gesture.
"Sure, if you like that shade," she said before opening her laptop and completely ignoring Kaede.
Kaede had the impression that she and Hiyoko weren't going to be best friends, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to get along! Suppressing the urge to question her further, Kaede decided to leave her dorm for now so she could talk to a few people. She took one step out of her dorm and was nearly knocked over by the girl from the karaoke machine.
"Sorry, sorry!" she squealed, grabbing Kaede's arm with a surprisingly strong grip. "That's Ibuki's fault!"
Did everyone talk in third person here?
"You're Katie right? I heard Gonta when you were going by and I never forget a name!" Ibuki continued.
"You're close, it's Kaede."
"Ka. Eh. Day." Ibuki said slowly, putting her fingers to her temples. "Ooookay, Ibuki is gonna remember that!"
"Can you move?" asked a small girl in a witch's hat, looking up at Kaede and Ibuki. "I really have to go to the bathroom."
"Sure!" Ibuki grabbed Kaede's arm and yanked her forward to allow the other girl to pass. "That's Himiko, by the way, she's a mage!"
"I use real magic." Himiko said before entering the bathroom.
"Wow, real magic?" Gonta gasped, clearly impressed.
"You know people here already?" Kaede asked.
"They're kinda hard to forget. Everyone's so cool!" Ibuki giggled. "Ibuki picked the right place to stay!"
"Uhh yeah well… Kaede wants to meet everyone." Kaede said with a grin, deciding to play along. "Can Ibuki show me around?"
"Ibuki can!" And, without loosening her grip on Kaede's arm, she pulled Kaede forward. "Hey Mahiru, Kirumi!"
"Who are they?" Kaede asked.
"They're the RAs, of course. You have to know who they are!" Ibuki seemed to have spotted one of them because she made a beeline to a girl with bright red hair and copious amounts of freckles. "Mahiru, you know Kaede?"
Mahiru looked down at a clipboard in her hand and made a note. "You're not going to cause any trouble, are you?"
Why did everyone assume Kaede was going to cause trouble like some kind of delinquent?
"I hope not." Kaede said. "I'm really excited to be here."
"Well, it's nice to have you here." Mahiru said, though she looked a bit frustrated. "Although I'm probably going to forget your name so remind me again until I get it, okay? There are a lot of names to remember."
"That's okay." Kaede smiled Mahiru. Mahiru's smile looked frustrated, but Kaede figured that she had to be pretty busy today.
"Okay so now you know one of our RAs, the other is… hmm, I don't know where she got to." Ibuki glanced around the hallway. "That's okay, there's time. Come downstairs, there's tons of people!"
Kaede found herself being forcefully led downstairs. Gonta, having spotted a frazzled looking Himiko attempting to drag a trunk down the hall, remained on the floor to help her.
In the elevator was a tall, rather wiry guy with crossed arms and a sour expression. He didn't even look at them when they entered it.
"Hellooo, Byakuya!" Ibuki chirped. "Byakuya Togami, he's one of the boys' RAs."
Byakuya nodded in response to his name, but gave no other indication that he had heard her. It wasn't as if he was intimidating, that was probably the wrong word to use, but Kaede had the sense that he was looking down at her and Ibuki (and, indeed, all the students).
The elevator dinged and opened. Kaede and Ibuki stepped out into the common area and looked around. Someone else was singing at the karaoke machine, someone Kaede didn't recognize. The guy called Leon was relaxing on the couch, his feet on the coffee table. The girl playing the video game hadn't moved from her seat, nor had the guy on the laptop. Another guy was sitting next to Leon, his eyes fixed on Chiaki playing her game with a somewhat bored expression. He looked familiar to Kaede somehow.
"Shuichi?"
The guy looked up, visibly surprised. He stared at her.
"Kaede?"
"You know each other?" Ibuki looked very excited about this, for some reason.
"We went to the same high school." Kaede said.
She couldn't believe he was here. It's not as if they were friends, despite being in the same year. He was always quiet, a bit withdrawn. He had friends, but he didn't get involved in extracurricular activities. Not like Kaede, who was part of more societies and clubs than she could count. Still, she had definitely worked with him in a group project once and she never forgot a name.
"Uhh… hi. I wish I knew we were going the same direction." Shuichi said, not quite meeting her eye. "Maybe we could have carpooled."
"That would have been nice, yeah." Kaede said. "But I mean… I bet we had a lot of stuff too."
"Right. Yeah, maybe not." Shuichi smiled in a friendly sort of way. "Met Ibuki already, have you?"
"Everyone knows Ibuki!" Ibuki cheered, punching the air with a clenched fist.
"Hey," said Leon, winking at Kaede. "What's going on?"
Kaede smiled. "Big day, I guess."
"Yeah, that's why I got here so early." Leon stretched his arms above his head and buried himself further into the couch cushions. "Got all that stuff over with. If you're done, you should sit down." He patted the couch next to him.
Ibuki seemed to take that as an invitation to plop herself down uncomfortably close to him. Apparently the girl didn't have much of a personal bubble. Kaede seated herself on the ottoman next to the coffee table. Chiaki and Chihiro looked up from their respective screens, apparently sensing that a conversation was inevitable. Or maybe Chiaki had beaten her game and was looking for something else to do.
"You're all freshmen?" Shuichi asked, more to make conversation than anything. "Do you uhh… do you have majors?"
"Music," said Ibuki. "Ibuki is gonna learn to play ALL the instruments and become a one-woman band!"
"Oh, that's my major as well." Kaede smiled, glad that she already knew one of her classmates. "I play piano, but I'd really like to learn more music theory, you know?"
"No way!" Leon grinned. "I'm music too? If you guys," he nodded to the others, "are music too, we should get a jam session going."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm criminal justice." Shuichi said, though he looked less than pleased about it. "For now, at least. I haven't made a final decision."
"Ooh, don't break the rules in front of this guy!" Ibuki reached over Leon and patted Shuichi's knee. "He's gonna lock you up!"
"That's not… no, I'm not one of those stickler for the rules type, not really." Shuichi shook his head. "But I've always been really interested in being a detective."
"Like Nancy Drew?" Chiaki asked. It was the first time Kaede had heard her speak.
"Not exactly." Shuichi smiled at her; it seemed that her gentler tone made him a bit more comfortable. "But I guess kind of like her."
"I've got the whole game series on my computer upstairs." Chiaki said, nodding toward the ceiling. "Let me know if you want to practice with them."
Shuichi shrugged. "I'm not sure that's real detective work."
"No, but I always find that playing a game helps me learn things faster." Chiaki gave him a warm smile. "But you don't have to answer me right away. Just let me know if you ever want to."
"What's your major?" Leon asked, looking slightly disgruntled at being ignored.
"Simulation and game design." Chiaki replied. "I can't see myself doing anything but make games."
"Ooooh, you could make a game where you play guitar!" Ibuki leaned forward. "If you need someone who knows how to play guitar, Ibuki can!"
"That sounds like Guitar Hero." Chiaki said. "But I'll let you know if I get any ideas that require a guitar."
Kaede opened her mouth to offer her help as a pianist when the door to the outside burst open, banging loudly on the wall. And there, in the doorway, was Kokichi, his grape colored eyes alight with mischief. Thankfully, the "establishment" at the grocery store clearly hadn't sold him the beer.
"I have arrived!" he announced, opening his arms wide as if expecting a hug.
No one gave him a hug in the next two seconds, so he put his hands on his hips. He wasn't carrying any luggage, making Kaede wonder if he had arrived earlier in the day to unpack. Or maybe he saved all his money on the beer he wasn't legally permitted to buy and hadn't brought anything.
"You… live here?" Kaede asked, hoping against hope that he had just blundered into the wrong building.
"For the next almost-a-year!" Kokichi strutted in. He looked like a stick figure poorly attempting a muscular football player's swagger.
Despite the third person speak and the colorful cast of characters Kaede had walked in on at Hope's Peak University, she had figured that this year would be a typical freshman year at college. She'd spend it getting used to coursework, hanging out with all her new friends, and cramming in the library late at night. But with Kokichi living in such close quarters, Ibuki cheering about who-knew-what, and all the other strange people she'd met, Kaede knew how this year was going to go now.
"Well," she muttered, watching Kokichi trip spectacularly over Chiaki's game system and land directly on his face, "at least it won't be boring."
