"So how about it?" he asked. "Let me in."
"…"
"Your backs are behind a wall." He gestured to the door behind him. "Any minute now, they're come in and pretty much wipe you away from existence."
"…"
"Please." His voice had a tinge of desperation in it not present before. "I did this all… all for you. Let me do the right thing for once. Let me into Hope's Peak Academy."
"…Fine."
"Thank you." The relief in his voice was clear. "Th… y… Mo…"
Static.
Xxx
Ryohei Kazuhara's eyes snapped open, just before he was blinded by the brightest light he had ever witnessed. He quickly held up a hand to block it and sat up from where he was lying down. He blinked a couple of times, letting his eyes readjust to his surroundings, as his mind raced. Was he dead? A light usually signified that right? He didn't remember dying.
The last thing he remembered…
The last thing he remembered was… walking up to the entrance of Hope's Peak Academy. And then... nothing.
Ryohei took a deep breath to calm himself, as his eyes adjusted to the light and finally gave him the chance to see where he was.
It was a bedroom. Nothing fancy about it. He was sitting on a bed, with red bed sheets and pillows, that didn't look like anything special. Just an oak headrest and a small oak desk to the left of it. He could see a large closet just across from where he was sitting and a small looking bathroom right next to that. Next to that and to his right was a door that led presumably outside. All in all, it seemed like a pretty normal bedroom, one that Ryohei would expect to see from a dorm room.
However, it was the little things about it that made it unnerving.
There was a small television in the corner of the room, right next to the exit. He wasn't sure what it was for, but if this was a school like he assumed then it was probably used for announcements. Still, its blank screen didn't make Ryohei feel at home.
Ryohei swung his legs over the bed's edge and hopped off. He shook his entire body just trying to get the sleep out of his system, before investigating closer. First, he checked his pockets for the cellphone he always kept on his person up came up empty.
Ryohei frowned. Definitely suspicious.
Next Ryohei checked the closet and found the clothes he always wore neatly hung and folded inside. He picked up a pair of pants to find it had been ironed- something he always did to clothes he wore to court. He checked each pair for his cellphone but again couldn't find it.
He sighed and took a step back, looking around the room, only to noticed something in the upper corner.
A small camera.
Ryohei blinked and suddenly felt a bit unnerved. As a test, he took a couple of steps backward, until he was across from the closet on the other side of the room. The camera followed his movement silently, so much so that he probably wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking for anything suspicious.
He moved towards the bathroom, noting the camera eerily following his movements behind his back. Whoever was watching him wasn't even trying to hide it.
Funnily enough, the bathroom hid him from the camera's view, so when he entered Ryohei was allowed to relax and run his hands through his hair. "What the fuck…?" he muttered, staring at himself in the mirror, just to check if he was alright.
Ryohei looked about the same he always did. His spiky dirty blonde hair with that irritating little spike of hair reaching out from the middle of his head. His nose was still as sharp and pointed as ever. His two amber eyes were the same and, when he grinned, he could still see that scary smile that had scared the defendants he had prosecuted over the years.
Ryohei sighed and check his clothes. He had come to the school with the same clothes he often wore to court since these were the best clothes he actually had. A dark brown blazer over a white dress shirt along with a loose blue tie. Over his legs, he had his brown slacks and black dress shoes. Essentially, instead of being dressed for school, he was dressed to go to court.
No, there was something different. On his hand, he could see a tattoo. A tattoo that he didn't remember ever getting. In blocky text, the number, "16" was printed on the back of his hand. He turned on the faucet and ran his hand under the water, thinking that would wash it off, but no such luck.
Another sigh.
He splashed some cold water on his face, before looking back at the mirror seeing some of the weariness fade away from his eyes.
Good. This would help him think.
He took a step back outside the bathroom, disregarding the camera. He was obviously captured that much was certain and he didn't have anything on him to hide at the moment. Ryohei had heard of some similar cases within court- kidnappers would try to hold Ultimates in ransom if their talents were valuable to the state. His talent could certainly be considered one of them, though the last thing he remembered was going through the entrance to Hope's Peak Academy. Though he didn't ever remember a case where the captors branded their captured, so that was new.
Ryohei searched his memory. Getting the acceptance letter, telling his parents and younger brother, picking his outfit and finally leaving his home to go to the school. But after that… nothing.
Well… He held his head and winced. At least he assumed that's what happened.
Ryohei glanced at the door and reached for its doorknob, only to jump back when he felt sharp pain the moment he touched the knob. He stared at his hand and then back at the doorknob. "I was… shocked?" he asked a bit dumbly, thrown off by the sudden pain.
"Prisoner 16!" A nasally female voice came from behind him, making him jump. "Are you trying to escape?!"
Ryohei whirled around to see… well, he couldn't really describe what he was looking at. Two… stuffed animals that looked like cartoon bears stood on the bed, the one on the right glaring at him while the other looked at the floor, uncomfortably. They were about as tall as his knees and both had two different sides to them. The one on the right, the one who spoke, was blue on their right side and black on their left side. The blue side had a normal looking bear's mouth, but the other half had a twisted grin stretching out from the split. They had an eyepatch covering the eye on their blue side and a strange lightning-shaped red eye on their left.
The other one was white on the right side and blue on their left side with an eyepatch covering the eye on their left side. The mouth was like the other one and the eye on the right side was a mere oval dot. Both strange creatures were wearing a blue and black peak cap on their heads and holding black batons.
"Prisoner 16!" The black and blue one snapped again. "Are you going to answer me?!"
"What…?" Ryohei found his mouth going dry, now completely out of his element. "What are you things…?"
"Here we go again…" the one on the left muttered, sullenly, in a low and subdued voice as the one on the right bristled with anger.
"Prisoner 16!" The one on the right shouted again. She pointed her baton at his face. "Don't speak to us with that tone!"
"I don't…" His brain just wasn't processing this information. "Who are you…?"
"I am Monoline!" The one on the right introduced.
"And I'm Monoden…" The one on the left continued.
"And together we are…" They posed, but the male one was a little too slow.
"The Ultimate Warden!"
"The Ultimate Warden…"
Ryohei could only stare. Monoden had said his line a few seconds too late ruining the announcement and was now receiving an angry glare from Monoline. "Brother!" she snapped. "You were too slow!"
"I'm sorry, Sister…" Monoden sniffed. "But we've done it fifteen other times already, so I'm kinda tired." He sighed. "I'm just glad he's the last one…"
Monoline huffed and turned back to Ryohei. "We both are known as the Ultimate Co-Wardens," she said a little stiffly, obviously still annoyed.
Monoden: The Ultimate Co-Warden
Monoline: The Ultimate Co-Warden
Finally, Ryohei managed to grasp a term that was familiar to him. "You're Ultimates?" he asked a bit weakly.
Monoline looked angry. "That's what we just said, Prisoner 16!" she snapped.
Ryohei blinked and looked down at the number that was tattooed on the back of his right hand. "Prisoner…?" he asked, connected the number to what Monoline was saying. "That doesn't… Why am I under arrest?"
"Why else?" Monoline's eye seemed to gleam with an eerie red light. "You committed a crime. Now you serve the time." She looked a little proud of herself.
"Rhyming… so lame…" Monoden muttered.
Any air of pride disappeared from Monoline and she swatted Monoden on the head with her baton. "Just give him his MonoID!" she scowled.
Monoden seemed unperturbed as he hopped off the bed and waddled closer to Ryohei. He rummaged from under his hat before pulling out a small thin device, that reminded Ryohei of a smartphone, and held it out to him.
Ryohei took it and examined it. On the surface, it seemed like nothing but an ordinary cellphone, but Ryohei's mind still too frazzled by the appearance of Monoline and Monoden. "Who… what… how…?" he stammered out.
"You'll understand eventually." Monoline's eye seemed to glow. "Once you meet the Ultimate Judge."
Monoden hopped back onto the bed, as both he and Monoline pointed their batons at them. "Remember prisoner!" they said, now perfect sync. "This is a punishment for your sins against this mortal world!" With they disappeared right in front of Ryohei's eyes.
Ryohei just stared at the spot they once were, his mind racing, finally having enough time to piece together everything. The one called Monoden mentioned doing the same routine 15 other times and said that he was the last. Were there fifteen other people trapped here with him? He glanced down at the tattoo on his hand. Was that the reason for this tattoo?
They had also called him a prisoner. Did that mean this was a prison? Ryohei said that he didn't remember committing any sort of crime and he was sure of that…
There was absolutely no way. He never did anything that would get him arrested. He was sure of that.
Perhaps if he met this Ultimate Judge than maybe then he could clear his name. Judging solely by the title, they were another Ultimate, but if they were anything like those two stuffed bears…
Ryohei glanced at the device that Monoden had handed him and felt around it for some sort of switch. There was one on the right side, so he turned it on and the screen flashed to life.
To his disappointment, something that he was quickly getting used to, the MonoID wasn't any sort of cellphone. Instead, it merely displayed 5 apps: Maps, Profiles, Truth Bullets, Rules and Regulations, and Settings.
First, he checked the Settings, only to find it extremely bare. There were only a couple of options to change the color of the display and font of the text. Next, he tried the other four apps only to find three of them inaccessible, with an error notice popping up and displaying the words, "Authorization has yet to be granted."
The only one that worked was Profiles. It only took a second to load before he was greeted with a picture of his face next to some of his information. His eyes glanced at the top to see a row of sixteen tabs, but only one had a small 16-bit face as an icon and that was the page he was on. The others all had question marks.
Looking closely Ryohei could see that it was supposed to be his face. Shaking his head, he looked at the information that was presented in the MonoID. It had his height listed as 175.3 cm (he was always a little tall for his age) and his weight as 64.5 kg. His birthday was also listed on March 11th.
It also listed his talent. Yes… He couldn't help but smile bitterly as he stared at the one word that made up his entire life.
Ryohei Kazuhara: The Ultimate Prosecutor
Japan was often criticized for its legal system. A 99% conviction rate. A system where the prosecution reigns supreme within trials. Sure, the issue was a lot more complicated than that, Ryohei knew, but he still couldn't help feeling that that criticism was warranted. The Ultimate Prosecutor who had a 100% conviction rate wasn't that special when its only 1% off the nation's average.
He had actually wanted to be a lawyer, deep down. The ability to defend anyone without fail- now that would surely be a talent.
Ryohei sighed and scrolled down again, only to freeze.
No, that wasn't… it wasn't possible.
Sure, they had called him a prisoner, but he assumed that was either a joke or a way to tell him that he was being held for ransom or something like that.
But… he read the small block of text a second time.
Then a third time.
Then a fourth.
There was no way…
But there it was, clear as day, printed in blocky text nonchalantly on the screen of the MonoID.
Crime: The kidnapping and subsequent homicide of sixteen girls ranging from the ages of 15-20 around the Tokyo area.
Sentence: Execution
Hello, my name Heroi Oscura. I'm rather new to Danganronpa SYOCs, though not new to writing DR stories or SYOCs. I've wanted to do a DR SYOC for a year now since DRV3 was released. Admittedly I've always had a bias against most other SYOCs, but DR ones have always been the exception because I think you can definitely do some really cool things with this idea. Originally my idea with an SYOC was going to revolve around Rantaro's killing game, but I dropped that idea mostly because I thought it wouldn't be as fun for me to write and pretty predictable.
So here it is my second idea. This was actually what I thought DRV3 would be about before I played the demo and, honestly, the thought always stuck with me and I finally finalized my idea a couple of weeks ago.
I'm sure there's probably another SYOC which has a prison as the setting, though I haven't found it yet, at the same time I'm really embracing the idea that all of the characters are prisoners rather than students who are trapped within a prison. I'm also pretty excited about the overall story. I've done my best to keep it in line with Danganronpa's general insane and crazy storylines, though make my own spin on it along with the same duality in themes. You should be able to piece together what I'm going for by the end of the first trial.
I've also done two other Dangaronpa stories (though those are primarily crossovers) and for each one, I've tried a different way of writing each story. I plan to do something similar to this story but any more and I'll be spoiling what I have planned.
Currently, the deadline at which the SYOC submissions will be on August 31st, 2019 at 7:00 AM EST. However, my hope is that on that date I'll be able to upload the first part of the prologue on that date, along with the next two parts coming in the two weeks following. So, I would really appreciate it if you submitted sooner rather than closer to the deadline because it gives me the time to choose characters and get feel for them before deciding. If you submit a character sooner rather than later then there its honestly more likely, I'll choose it in the end. Of course, that's not a guarantee, I very well may pick a character on August 30th if they are good enough. There's the slight chance that it may be pushed back, however, which I'll be sure to inform in an update chapter that I'll try to make every month.
This is my first Danganronpa SYOC as I said before, but its also the only one I'll ever do. So, if this falls through for whatever reason then I guess I'll shrug and never look back. Again, I have pretty big plans for this story though I've admittedly never been a consistent writer. This is very much an attempt, since by no means am I a talented writer. I'm only doing this for fun.
Thank you for reading this long AN. I look forward to seeing your submissions. For now, I'll be working heavily on my other stories and planning this one, finalizing the murders for this. Again thank you.
Rules for the SYOC
1. Send forms only through PM. The subject line when you send in your character should be in this format: [SYOC, Character's Full Name, Talent]. Each character you send in should be within a separate message thread or else it won't be counted.
2. You may send in up to four characters. My ultimate goal is to only accept one character from each person up to the limit, but if I need I may accept a maximum of two from each person.
3. Just to help set up some backstory for your character, while Hope's Peak Academy does exist in this universe, there shouldn't be any mention of Junko Enoshima or the Ultimate Despair within your backstory, along with the events that occur in those two games.
4. Please avoid recycling characters you've already submitted to other SYOCs. I don't want to step on another author's toes that are currently working on their own story. If the said story is dead, however, I believe that's fair game. Of course, it's near impossible for me to enforce this, but I will do my best. If you suspect that a character may be recycled, feel free to PM with your suspicions.
5. There are a few talents that are prohibited. These include Criminal, Guard, Judge, Warden, Lawyer, and of course Prosecutor. Any variation on those six are also prohibited, but if you aren't sure if a talent counts, please just PM me a question and I'll get back to you. However, you are free to use talents such as Police officer or Detective along with any talent from any previous canonical DR games.
6. Please avoid coming up with the "crime" of your character yourself and inputting it within the backstory. The idea is that your character does not remember nor do they know that they committed said crime. As such, I'll be choosing them myself, but you are free to make suggestions within the section labeled "Other" on the form.
7. Try to avoid making character designs too sexually explicit. I don't need characters that want to be running around naked. Any design I find too much, will be given a warning and request to be changed or outright ignored.
8. Remember that I'm the only one who will be picking the characters. You may send in four characters that you find are all really good, but I may not pick any of them. That doesn't necessarily mean they are bad just that they had no place in the story or I couldn't find a way to fit them in.
9. Please remember that when you send in these characters you are consenting to the idea that I may feature them in this story and write them in some horrible situations, as long as I remain in the boundaries you've listed. It is a killing game after all and a Danganronpa one no less.
10. The deadline is August 31st, 2019 at 7:00 AM EST. I may or may not push back the deadline if something unforeseen happens, but that's my current plan.
11. Feel free to ask any questions if you have any! :)
SYOC Guidelines
1. I would try to avoid creating a perfect character. While I'm sure a particularly talented writer could possibly make it work, I'm not one of them, so they will most likely not be chosen.
2. A small explanation of the tattoo: You can only choose the location on the body, not the number itself. Please don't make the location indecent! Don't expect to get picked if you do.
3. Try to make it as detailed as you possibly can! More detail means it'll be easier for me to write your character if I decided to choose them!
4. * means that filling out that section is optional. There are only a few of those, however!
5. I would really like some unique characters that theoretically could fit in a traditional Danganronpa game. That's probably a tall order to expect, however.
SYOC Form
PROFILE
Name:
Talent:
Talent Explanation: (Please explain the character's talent briefly and what others think of his talent and them.)
Age: (between 14-17, preferably, but can be younger or older than that if explained)
Birthday:
Gender: (male, female, or non-binary)
Sexuality:
Height:
Weight:
Nationality:
Ethnicity:
History: (Explain the backstory of your character. Make it explain as much about the character as it possibly can. Where they were born, family, hardships, goals, how they discovered their talent,
Family*:
Friends*:
Enemies*:
APPEARANCE
Physical:
Clothing:
Any Additional Information?*: (Is there something more that you would like to add to there appearance that doesn't fit into the current categories?)
Diseases/Allergies*:
Physical Ailments*:
Location of Number Tattoo*:
PERSONALITY
Personality: (Please make this as detailed as possible. More is better. What's the normal personality that they present on the surface? Is it possibly a mask? Are they hiding their true personality on the inside? Do they have certain thoughts on the inside that they don't bring to the forefront?)
Mental Disorders*:
Mannerisms/Quirks*:
Any Additional Information?*: (Is there something more that you would like to add to there appearance that doesn't fit into the current categories?)
Voice:
Hobbies:
Likes:
Dislikes:
People They Would Like:
People They Would Dislike:
Type of Liar: (What kind of liar is your character? Do they have a good poker face? Do they have any obvious tells? Would they feel bad about lying? Good at it maybe?)
Any Secrets?*: (Does your character have any secrets they would like to hide. I might use this for a motive.)
Love*: (Are they interested in a relationship? With what type of person would they be in a relationship with? How would they act in this relationship? Would they act differently to their lover than normally)
ROLE
Initial Thoughts on the Killing Game:
Reaction to the Body Discovery Announcement:
Reaction to Dead Body:
What they do during Investigation:
How do they act during the Trial:
How will they act when accused:
Their reaction to the execution:
How they would act if they were Guilty: (give a brief summary of how they would act if they were guilty. Would they act any different? Would they be instantly suspicious? Any noticeable tells?)
What they would say as an objection: (Akin to the "No that's wrong!" heard by many protagonists or what they would say when engaging in a rebuttal showdown.)
Attitude Within an Execution:
Reaction to a Traumatic Event:
Motive to Murder: (Give me some motives that would push your character to murder. As many as you can think of would be helpful.)
Execution Ideas*:
Free Time Ideas*: (Some suggestions would be nice)
Possible Character Arc*: (An idea of where you want your character to go would be helpful)
Please explain why your character may or may not be one of these-
Murderer:
Victim:
Mastermind:
Survivor:
Preference between the four options above:
Examples: (Give me some examples of your character interacting with the protagonist or in a class trial in your own writing.)
Other: * (Anything else you would like to say?)
Xxx
Updated on 07/02/19 11:00 AM EST
Current Cast:
Male
1. Ryohei Kazuhara, Ultimate Prosecutor (16) (Me)
2. Rentarou Kimura, Ultimate Private Eye (15) (Myntneko)
3. Haruto Satō, Ultimate Caricaturist (6) (Pokemon Trainer Tom)
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
Female
1. Moca Shiozaki, Ultimate Part-Timer (9) (mayurie)
2. Ayako Hamasaki, Ultimate Footballer (4) (Scissor-Snipper)
3. Ruby Bradford, Ultimate Curler (14) (TheRoseShadow21)
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
Spots Open:
x5 Female
x5 Male
Talents Submitted:
Females: 23
Male: 17
Non-Binary: 2
x1 Manga Author
x1 Actor
x1 Fursuiter
x1 Politician
x1 Surgeon
x1 Amateur Astronomer
x1 Caricaturist
x1 Part-Timer
x1 Private Eye
x1 Opera Singer
x1 Clockworker
x1 Composer
x1 Cryptozoologist
x1 Footballer
x1 Video Game Designer
x1 Tennis Champion
x1 Hero
x1 Lifeguard
x1 Kendoka
x1 Painter
x1 Hypnotherapist
x1 Rope Artist
x1 Nihilist
x1 Mathematician
x1 Escape Artist
x1 Dart Thrower
x1 Samurai
x1 Hunter
x1 Comedian
x1 Jetsetter
x1 High-Roller
x1 Grandmaster
x1 Curler
x1 Tarot Card Reader
x1 Model
x1 Cartographer
x1 Analyst
x1 K-Pop Idol
x1 Journalist
x1 Librarian
x1 Philanthropist
x1 Unlucky Student