Danganronpa: The Running Man

Danganronpa is owned by Spike Chunsoft and Lerche
The Running Man is owned by Stephen King and Tri-Star Pictures

Hello, and welcome to a new Danganronpa fic, and here I will be doing another experiment to see if thus would attract readers as this fic will incorporate a mixture of action and suspense themes as well as adding elements of a violence. Yup, this fic is inspired from the 1987 film of the same name that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and this was the one of the action films that I watched in the early 1990's, when I was still a minor, in which at that time the censorship in my country wasn't strict back then.

It was one of the Schwarzenegger movies where wanton violence is shown and I get to see how the violent actions scenes are done. Being that it was one of my favorite cult movies that I recently downloaded it and watched it again, and this gave me inspiration to do a fanfic adaptation, and of course Danganronpa came in my mind.

Of course Makoto Naegi fits the role but the presentation will be quite different as I will use a different approach but will remain faithful to the film plot. Read on as you will get to see how Naegi would try to survive this situation being that he is quite pacifistic and is not used to violence.

Well, enjoy!

Ch. 1: Purorōgu no zetsubō

Japan. Unspecified year. The present time.

It was the time that a scandal rocked the political world, which was caused by corruption and greed, along with massive cover-up by the parliament, and this in turn, caused massive riots all over the country as people were affected morally and financially. The Diet slowly fell and the country fell into economic collapse as well as social collapse as crime rate rose exponentially.

Japan fell into turmoil as if it was enveloped into despair as many people lost HOPE, where they either commit suicide, went insane and/or gave in to despair and did what other people do - commit crines and violence against one another.

This is due to a worldwide economic collapse, which began with the United States of America, which followed other countries until it reached throughout Asia, and Japan was hit the HARDEST, which became what it has become today. Due to the result of the country's economic and society collapse, Japan has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity.

The Japanese government pacifies the populace by broadcasting game shows where convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by a ruthless game show host, where "runners" attempt to evade "stalkers", armed mercenaries, around a large arena, and near-certain death for a chance to be pardoned by the state.

-FLASHBACK-

About a few years ago, while Asia has not yet feel the brunt of the economic collapse, the scene shifts to Japan where it zoomed towards Tokyo, where an ordinary family is living normally and happily. They are the Naegi family, where two adults, a man and a woman, are living with their two children (a boy and a girl), aged eight and five. They are identified as Makoto and Komaru, and they were quite happy living with their parents despite them seeing the slow signs of economic situations that is beginning to affect Asia.

The Naegi parents were slowly becoming aware that Japan is starting to feel the effects yet they were determined to protect their children, and their son kept their morale going because of his optimism, and the parents told Makoto that no matter what situation they are in, they will never abandon him, which their son said that he will not give up and stay strong.

"Makoto…son…"

"Do not worry…everything will be okay…"

"Do not be daunted. We will recover."

"We love you and your sister…that will never change."

"I know, mom…dad…"

"Thank you, Makoto…"

"We promise things will be okay…"

"Thanks…"

Despite this, the economic situation that started in the USA began to spiral out if control, affecting Canada, which spread towards Asia and Japan was among those that were hit the hardest, causing economic collapse, widespread corruption, scandal and loss of jobs.

As the politicians were forced to resign and following the deaths of the entire Royal Family and the Prime Minister and its successors, the police gain full control and began to adopt harsh measures to keep the rebellion in line, thus leading to become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. This angered those who love and preserve cultural activities, leafing to protests and even denounced the current rulers as human rights violators.

The protesters even compared the rulers as AGENTS of Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, saying that the rulers are acting like Nazi and Khmer Rouge, and the protests became louder and louder.

"DOWN WITH MARTIAL LAW!"

"BRING BACK DEMOCRACY!"

"YOU ASSHOLES ACT LIKE THE THIRD REICH!"

"THIS IS JAPAN…NOT CAMBODIA! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU ARE USING SOCIAL ENGINEERING!"

"WE WANT OUR FREEDOM BACK!"

"GET OUT OF JAPAN, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

"BRING BACK OUR NORMAL LIVES!"

"WE MEAN IT!"

But the state paid no heed and used brutal means to apprehend and/or kill the protesters. What's worse, the rest of the Japanese populace seemingly did not care about the protests or hoe the state is running Japan as they all lost hope.

However, the state decided to give the masses a bit of HOPE by introducing a reality TV show called THE RUNNING MAN, and after seeing how the show is being run, the audience were given a way to ESCAPE reality, as well as being given HOPE of a better life by betting on the STALKERS, and when the STALKER wins, they were given cash and item prizes, leading to the masses to began betting, thus the reality TV show became a financial success and soon the masses gave their support and ignored the rights of the protesters as well as ignoring them.

-END FLASHBACK-

Seven years have passed and Japan remained as it is today. Despite the somewhat steady decrease in crime rate, the economy remained relatively low, as inflation remained high, the Yen went to an all-time low, and very few jobs are offered, which caused some to wail in despair, leading to some to lose their sanity and turn to crime such as stealing and looting.

This in turn cause the police to brutally arrest them and their fates went in the dark. Of course some rights group did not like this and tried to protest, but this in turn led some of the activists to be arrested, and then DISAPPEARED without a trace, leading the remaining activists to go in to hiding after discovering something as well as they have no one else to turn to.

Meanwhile, the Naegi family managed to hold on as the parents were able to get stable jobs despite the economic situation, and both Makoto and Komaru, now aged 15 and 12 respectively, are able to educate themselves, but seeing the situation they are in, Makoto told his parents that he will find a part-time job to support the family, and of course his mom is unwilling as she did not want her son to strain himself, but he assured to her that he will be okay.

Mrs. Naegi still does not want her son to venture out to the streets but Makoto persuaded her saying this is needed to keep the family going as his dad's health is starting to take its toll on him, which she is hesitant to accept the fact that Makoto had to go and find work to support the family.

"Please, Makoto…you don't have to…"

"But I have to, mom…"

"You can't…!"

"There's no other way…dad's health is affected…Komaru needs to continue her schooling…"

"But…"

"I'll be fine, mom…when I get a job I'll send you the money."

"Makoto…"

"I'll be fine…do not worry…"

Mrs. Naegi cried as she is forced to accept her son's urging as he assured to his mom that he will be okay, and a few days later Makoto ventured into the streets and began to apply for a part-time job, which was unsuccessful at first, in which he applied at several companies for a week which was bleak, and not wanting to cause his parents to worry, Makoto stayed at an abandoned hostel where rations are somewhat available, and as the days went on and Makoto kept applying until a soldier saw Makoto, and after hearing the boy's reasons, the soldier offered the boy a job as a relief worker, as all he need to do is deliver relief aid to certain areas within Japan, and said the pay is average yet it is enough to keep his family going.

Of course Makoto appeared elated as this is what he need to lessen the work load off his parents and readily accepts the job offer.

"Really, sir?"

"If you're interested…"

"Then I accept!"

"Good. This will be easy, kid…all you do is give the sacks to selected people…that is that."

"Okay, I got it!"

"Then you better get ready…you'll start in a few days."

"Sure!"

"Good."

In the days followed, Makoto gets to ride a helicopter and did as instructed, giving relief aid to the impoverish areas in certain prefectures, and Makoto gets paid quite well a d sends the money to his parents. The Naegi parents were touched by their son's sacrifice and prayed that Japan improve and recover, so that the police state rule would be abolished and restore the country to what it was before, and Makoto and Komaru would resume their normal lives.

"Dear…"

"Our son is surely good to us."

"I wish that Japan would recover…so that Makoto would resume his studies…"

"Me too…I feel guilty about how circumstances led to this…"

"Dear, you should take it easy so our son won't be pressured."

"Will do, honey."

"Makoto…please be okay.."

"Easy, honey…"

-x-

However, given the state Japan is today, everything can be tainted with corruption and despair, and Makoto would soon learn that first hand, though he is unaware of it at first given that he is looking forward to another payday.

One night, as the helicopter is hovering over an impoverish area, Makoto looked through the window and is quite horrified at seeing the state the area is in. The residents, aside from being impoverish, they were malnourished, to the point that they are driven to despair by hunger, which he deduced that the relief aid has not reached to them, and soon a riot broke out among the residents, leading them to attack their fellow residents.

Makoto repeatedly asks the pilot why are the residents remained malnourished to the point that they would die from hunger and sickness, but the pilot did not answer him, and Makoto asks again, yet his words are ignored as the pilot seemingly did not care about the impoverish people below, which slowly irked the boy, feeling that something is wrong here.

"Hey…"

"…"

"What's going on?"

"…"

"Why are those people sick and malnourished? Weren't they received the relief aid?"

"…"

"Hey!"

"…"

Makoto asks the pilot what is going on and why are the residents below are severely malnourished, but the pilot ignored him and piloted the helicopter to fly away, and Makoto looked down below, where he saw what appeared to be a huge bomb dropping and hit the ground before exploding, killing what is left of the residents, and by then Makoto loses consciousness as the helicopter flew away, and the scene shows that the residents are all deaf, burnt, and dismembered.

-x-

A week later, Makoto woke up and finds himself in jail, and he is bewildered at this and shook the bars, shouting and demanding on what is going on, and there a jail guard came and told Naegi that he has been convicted for MASS MURDER, which he deny such a charge, until the guard showed Makoto the news where he was on trial and the footage SHOWED that Makoto ADMITTED the crime and took pleasure in it, and the judge sentenced him to 85 years of hard labor.

Makoto stared wide-eyed as he did not recall going to trial as all he remembered is that he is on a relief operation and the area was bombarded and lost consciousness, and just woke up here in jail, and protested his case but the guard said that the footage was SHOWN TO BE LIVE, and tells Makoto that he cannot lie his way out, causing Makoto to buckle under pressure.

"That's that, kid…I saw it live on TV…"

"…"

"You sure have the nerve…"

"…"

"Now you pay the price…since this is a different Japan now…being a minor's not gonna shield you…"

"…"

"At age 15…you just committed mass murder…serves you right, you murderous punk…"

"…"

Makoto slowly sat on his jail bed as he is in a state of disbelief, and slowly recalled why his mom was against this, and now he realized that this is what his mom meant about not wanting him to venture into the streets, and now he came to regret it and slowly cried as he wished that all of this would never happen in the first place.

To Be Continued...

Hope you liked the opening chapter, in which it showed that this fic is similar to the tragedy that befell the world in the Danganronpa story.

Now Naegi gets to feel what is like to suffer such a hardship and only time would tell whether he gives in or fight back.

Preview:

The next chapter opens the story where Naegi finds out that he is given a chance to lessen his sentence...at a cost...

See you in 3 to 4 weeks...