The DanganRonpa revIVal: Dreams are Undying
My consciousness slowly returned to me as I became aware of my arms laying under my head weighing down on the wooden surface as though it was made of stone. My vision was murky upon opening my eyes, though the room that surrounded me became clearer with each blink of my heavy eyelids.
The place I found myself in was a standard though poorly-lit classroom coated by the dim blue lighting. The room was a mess with chairs and desks tossed aside to the edges of the room while a desk took up the centre of the room where I was seated. Not only that but the windows were heavily wrapped with red barbed wire. The wire appeared to be so sharp and bulky that it would be impossible to open the window without hurting myself.
After finding oneself imprisoned in a foreign building, most people would jump out of their seat in panic and start tugging at the door and barred window in hopes of escape. Yet I remained seated, expecting an explanation for my predicament to present itself sooner or later.
Given what I had witnessed in the past, there wasn't much that could faze me anyway.
After resting my head on my cupped hand and tapping on the desk with a finger, I impatiently waited in the dark room for around five minutes before my suspicions were confirmed.
"Good mooooooorning sleepyhead! Rise and shine!" A sickeningly cutesy voice rung through the room as a small black-and-white bear suddenly jumping through a trapdoor, landing on top of the opposite end of the desk I was seated at.
"Oh… It's you." A sigh escaped my lips as I was honestly felt let down about the not-so-extravagant entrance of the bear. "I would ask for your autograph, but I haven't got a pen on me right now."
"Eh? Aren't you surprised to see me?" The bear bowed its head, appeared disappointed from the non-reaction. "I was really hoping for a more panicked response. I was expecting you to be all like, 'who are you?' and 'where am I?'"
"Well, you set your expectations a little high, I'm afraid." Moving through the pain, I nonchalantly turned my head back to the windows as the bear tilted its head in curiosity. "How long has it been since the Ultimate Despair was defeated? Twelve years? Your reputation isn't quite as fearsome as it used to be." Feeling the sting from the brutally honest words, my captor let out a heavy sigh.
"At least this will speed things up a bit. I'll drop the unnecessary introduction and get straight to the point!" Monokuma exclaimed, converting the frustration he was feeling into the volume of his voice. "The world's back to how it was before my debut and it has been boring the heck out of me!"
"I guess that's one thing we can both agree on…" I rubbed my eyes, trying to fend off the irritating urge to rest my eyes. Whatever the bear did to me was making it difficult to concentrate. "Let me guess. You're looking to return to your glory days." The bear let out a sinister chuckle.
"Allow me to show you what I have in store for you and the rest of the world... Tada!" A folded paper plane soared down from a dark corner of the room and towards where I was seated. My arm ached in protest when I grabbed the paper as it was passing me by. "Nothing like a bit of old-school entertainment to turn the world back on its head!"
Unfolding the paper, I was able to see that it was a pamphlet containing information pertaining to the opening of what appeared to be a highly exclusive high school. At a glance, it would have passed for an innocuous piece of advertising if it wasn't for the fact that Monokuma's face what stuck all over the damn thing.
"Guiding Light Academy..." Reading the name of the school aloud, I felt the gears beginning to turn in my head. "Say, you're not suggesting that we do the same stunt that you held in Hope's Peak Academy, are you? You should at least try to come up with something original."
Ah, the Hope's Peak Academy Saga… all those years ago, sixteen high school students were trapped inside a school. The only way to obtain freedom was to successfully kill one of their classmates while evading prosecution in the subsequent class trial. While it happened during a very early stage in my life, videos of the ordeal circulated the internet ever since. It was a brutal, yet enthralling, killing game that was so bone-chillingly terrible it was hard to look away from.
Even with the days of utter despair long gone, the memory of that game was deeply engraved in almost every person on the planet.
"Haven't you heard of the phrase 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'? The world is screaming out for a revival of my terror-filled death games amongst the brightest youths the world has to offer."
"Yawn! No-one's going to watch some recycled crap," I stated, unimpressed. "The only death games people care about these days involve cartoon characters jumping out of flying buses. What would make this game worth watching?" I continued to act aloof and disinterested, but several concerns started to pile up in my head.
There had to be something more to this plan of his. Why inform me of this killing game before it even starts? Was I even going to participate in it? If so, what value was there in warning me about it beforehand? Surely, he's not going to offer me a choice on whether to take part in the game or not… And was I the only person he's spoken to about this?
"You want to know how I plan to make this the biggest one yet?" Monokuma gave another one of his skin-crawling chuckles. "Allow me to show you what I have in store for the lucky graduate!"
I heard a thud that came from across the room under the cover of darkness, then another, closer this time. The sequence of thuds sped up and became softer until the object was rolling into the light from a dark corner of the classroom.
After waiting for my eyes to focus on the approaching object, I saw a small sphere slowing to a stop before my foot. I took the object with one hand and looked at what appeared to be a small globe of the world, which bore two clear differences. Inspecting the entire surface of the item, I could see that the oceans were white while the land was filled in black. Also, the continents were divided by red lines, with each one housing the terrifying red eye of Monokuma.
This… was the prize?
It took me a moment to understand what my captor was trying to tell me, but when it all came together, I immediately dropped my act. My grip unconsciously tightened on the small globe as the pain that plagued me felt to have slightly lifted from my body.
"Tehehe... I can see your eyes lighting up! I bet you don't think that I'm washed up now!" The bear covered its mouth with their paw and giggled like a sickening-sweet schoolgirl. Ignoring him, I gazed upon the globe, intrigued.
"Are you even capable of granting this to the winner? If so, why grant such a prize in some silly game?"
"Call it whatever you want, but I see nothing wrong with giving my students an iddy widdy bit of motivation to really get things moving!" I glared sceptically at the bear, but he didn't seem to care about how idiotic I thought he sounded. "Of course, I would love to go on my merry way and set things back to the way they were… but on the other hand, I can't bear the idea of missing out of the thrills that I use to get in the good old days. That is why I am promising to give my power to whoever is able to outwit the other students."
I listened quietly to the robotic bear, fingers still wrapped around the small sphere model. I could tell that a pitch was about to be made so I perked up my ears and listened carefully.
"The thing is, this prize is far too valuable for me to just give away. So that is why... you will be joining this game on my behalf." Monokuma's tone in his voice swiftly went from sickeningly innocent to dark and malicious in a matter of seconds. "If you were to outlast your classmates, I will be free to continue my iron-fisted rule and plunge the world into an even deeper despair than anyone has ever seen before!"
"I'm game."
"Wait, already!?" The bear's evil monologue ground to a screeching halt as it looked blankly into my eyes. I simply shrugged.
"I'll try anything thrice. Besides, that graduation gift is too good for me to pass up. I take it that while you go ahead and do your thing, I'll be kicking back and enjoying all the pizza life has to offer... or maybe I should be devoting myself to hamburgers?" I was genuinely bothered as I placed my hand on my chin in thought. "I suppose I could worry about that when I get there."
"You're talking like you've already won. Just so you know, I won't be pulling any shady stunts to make things easy on you! I want this contest to be as fair as the skin tone of a teenaged basement-dweller!"
"You can stack the odds against me for all I care." Slamming the globe on the desk, I looked my captor dead in its unfeeling eyes to show that I was every bit serious. "Regardless of what stands in my way, that prize is as good as mine."
A tense pause extended between me the and the robotic bear before the creature of despair cackled wickedly. As I glared at Monokuma, his red eye glowed menacingly as he locked eyes with me.
"How wonderful! I'm sure that you'll help make this game one to remember... Ultimate Enigma."
The sound of the phone vibrating on the wooden bedside table woke the sleeping girl on the nearby bed. After another restless night, the teenaged girl reached grumpily for the noisy device, doing her best to move as little as possible as she does so.
Looking through a half-closed eye, the weary girl managed to switch on the alarm to snooze despite her vision being blurred. She thoughtlessly dropped her phone back on the table and lazily rolled to her opposite side, facing away from the phone as she curled up into a ball from beneath her messy bedsheets.
Just as the young girl was about to drift back into a slumber, she felt her stomach grumble, pleading for her to get something to eat. Her friends had always told her how grouchy she gets whenever she's hungry, which explained why she didn't wake up in the best of moods.
With an annoyed sigh, the girl reluctantly rose from her mattress and planted her feet on the coarse carpet that lined the bedroom floor. Grabbing her wire-framed glasses from beside her phone, she walked up the mirror on her desk before placing them upon the bridge of her nose.
After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Hiroko Soma finally looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her light-brown hair flowed down from her scalp in a tangled mess around her lightly-toned face. The hair fell just out of reach of her slender shoulders where her slightly-oversized pink top hung over her torso.
Hiroko's emerald-coloured eyes found themselves fixated on the several brown strands that stood over the rest of her hair in arcing cluster. Instinctively, she licked the palm of her hand and tried to flatten the strands only for it to return to its original position. It gave the illusion that the short girl, who stood at 5'3", was taller than she really was but she otherwise hated her ahoge.
Seeing her frowning face in response to her hair's defiance through the mirror, Hiroko firmly slapped herself in the face with both hands to snap herself out of that negative state of mind.
She had to start thinking more positive. How were things going to get better if she always got stuck in a rut whenever she woke up?
After managing an awkward smile to herself in the mirror, Hiroko snatched the black hair tie from her desk and headed out of her room in the direction of the kitchen. As she descended the steps while hastily tying her hair in a ponytail, she could hear the sound of the television playing form the living room. It sounded to Hiroko that her aunt left it on when she rushed off to work earlier.
After tidying the bangs over her ears and forehead so it didn't get in the way of her eyes, Hiroko poked her head in the fridge in search for any leftovers from the previous day as the morning news could be heard in the background through the voice of the female newscaster.
Government officials have today announced that they will not backflip on holding a military parade despite the public raising concern over the event. The Prime Minister says he considerers the parade as a necessity after the latest attempt to form a treaty that would disarm nuclear warheads worldwide fell through yesterday evening. He assures the public that the display is not an indication of an approaching war, but merely a celebration of the anniversary of the rebuilding of the nation after overcoming The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History.
The announcement comes in the wake of a second suicide bombing in as many weeks hit the nation's capital, killing four people and injuring a further nine. Public Safety is yet to determine whether the attack is related to the Tragedy.
Not wanting to hear anymore, Hiroko switched off the television. She hardly had any memories during the time of the Tragedy, though she still dreaded hearing about the event that was so awful that her aunt wouldn't even speak of what she saw during that time.
Then… there was the thing with her parents…
Hiroko was quick to halt her train of thought as she felt a dull pain in her chest. The less she thought about that stuff, the better.
Failing to find what she was looking for, Hiroko eventually had to settle with a loaf of bread that was left in the freezer. As she waited for the bread to thaw on the unkempt counter, she noticed that her aunt left something on the dining table.
Next to a notepad which bore a hastily scribbled "Congrats!" was a letter addressed to her. The crest that was imprinted in the corner of the envelop meant that it could only be one thing.
Hiroko was overcome with conflicted feelings of excitement and nervousness as she opened the letter and viewed its contents. Alongside an orientation brochure was a letter:
Ms Hiroko Soma
I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy as a member of the 88th class. Your talent as the Ultimate Seeker has been verified by our scouts and I speak on behalf of the staff when I say that we would love to have you here.
At Hope's Peak Academy, we vow to right the mistakes of our past by contributing to bringing a bright and prosperous future for our students as well everyone outside of the walls of our academy. We believe that you have the potential to bring great hope to the world through your talent and we will make it our goal to see that you use your gift to the fullest.
The details to your orientation are outlined in the accompanying brochure. Congratulations on your admission and I hope to see you there.
Makoto Naegi - Principal of Hope's Peak Academy
There were rumours online that the newest class of Hope's Peak Academy included someone with the title of the Ultimate Seeker and her friends had been convinced that it was referring to her, but Hiroko never really let herself consider the possibility. Sure, she had been called upon to track down missing persons, fugitives and valuable resources and boasts an almost perfect rate of success, but she wasn't a household name or particularly skilled. She'd always relied on her gut whenever she was needed for a job so she didn't feel all that deserving of the opportunity to attend the most prestigious school in human history.
Hiroko stopped to consider whether it was better for her to turn down the invitation. Even with all the time that had passed since the Tragedy, students had chosen to decline from attending the school due to the role it played in causing humanity's momentary downfall.
Confused, Hiroko read through her acceptance letter multiple times as she remained indecisive. Eventually, her gaze remained focused on a handful of words that strongly resonated with her in a way that she couldn't immediately:
We believe that you have the potential to bring great hope through your talent…
Hiroko wanted to believe that she could make a positive difference to the world too. She wanted to believe that the fear she sensed from other people from the world they were caught up in could be relieved with her talent more than anything, yet she didn't know how.
That's right. She had to think positively!
With that, Hiroko nodded to herself with purpose. This was the opportunity she needed to prove to herself that she could make a difference. Despite the nervous sensation that remained in her gut, she had made up her mind. Hiroko Soma was going to attend Hope's Peak Academy…
That was the moment was what led to Hiroko Soma, the Ultimate Seeker, got involved in one of the most brutal human events ever witnessed in recent history…
The Killing School Nightmare
A merciless killing game with everything to gain… orchestrated by the very same sadistic creature that hosted the killing games of old.
Before exposing yourself to this tale of deceit, betrayal and blind ambition, I pose a question for you to ponder:
How far will you go to see your dreams come true?
A/N:
Thanks for reading the first chapter of my first attempt at a Danganronpa story. If you've made it this far into the chapter, it probably means you have some interest in submitting a student for the story. Since I gave you all a decently long prelude, I'll keep this brief. Below are the guidelines and character submission form. If there's any question about the story or submission process, don't be afraid to ask. Until next time!
Guidelines and Notes about character submissions:
1. The cast will be made up of at least 16 characters with me creating two of the students.
2. The Killing School Nightmare occurs twelve years after the Killing School Life that took place during the first game. You may or may not consider this as important when creating your character's personality and backstory.
3. Be mindful that the main theme of this story will be ambition and its potential to bring out both the best and worst of people. While it's not compulsory for all characters, I will look to include students who help in exploring this theme during the story.
4. Avoid submitting characters that are present in other ongoing or complete stories. I want the story to feature unique students that won't have any preconceptions based on other fan works. (Revised. Please read the notice in chapter 2 for details)
5. Don't be afraid to go into great detail on your submission sheet. The more you have written, the easier and more likely it would be for me to incorporate them in the story.
6. Submit your characters through PM with the subject titled "SYOC - *Character's full name*/*Character's talent*". Submissions posted in the reviews will not be considered.
7. Each creator is free to submit up to three characters, though no more than two will be accepted into the cast from each creator.
8. The sheet will be available to copy/paste from my profile for everyone's convenience.
9. No deadline will be set for the time being. I'll likely provide at least one update before finalising the cast.
Killing School Nightmare Application Form
- BASIC INFORMATION -
Name:
Talent:
Gender: (I'm open to including non-binary characters.)
Age:
Birthday:
- APPEARANCE -
Physical Appearance:
Height:
Weight:
Casual outfit:
Swimwear: (optional)
- BACKGROUND -
Personality:
Backstory:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Desire/s:
Fear/s:
Qualities they like in people: (What sort of classmates would your character like/respect?)
Qualities they dislike in people:
Qualities of others that they are romantically attracted to: (Optional)
Quotes: (Optional. eg. Greetings and starting a rebuttal showdown during the class trail. Any other quotes that would help paint a picture of the character would be much appreciated.)
Other: (Anything worth mentioning about the character that doesn't fit the previous sections can go here.)
- KILLING GAME -
Strengths: (What edge may the character have over others in the Killing Game?)
Weaknesses: (And the disadvantages?)
Feelings towards the Killing Game: (Would their perception of it change if the winner was promised to receive anything they wanted?)
Game Strategy: (Write the character's strategy to win the Killing School Nightmare, even if your character may not normally be the sort to become blackened. What sort of person would they target as the victim? Would they put their time into trying to escape or end the killing game? Etc.)
Killing Motive: (What would motivate the character to kill one of their classmates?)
Abstaining Motive: (What would convince the character to not give in to the desire to kill?)
Fate: (Rank the likelihood of your character's fate in your opinion and provide some reasoning for your choices. The potential fates are victim, blackened, mastermind and survivor.)
Investigation role & effectiveness: (Will the character cooperate with others? Etc.)
Class trial role & effectiveness:
'Broken' State: (Optional. Will the character act differently when they are guilty and cornered during a class trail?)
Execution: (Optional. Provide the name and a description of the character's execution in the event that they were found out to be the blackened.)
Free Time Events: (How would they interact with other classmates? What would they talk about?)
Character Growth: (Optional. What changes may the character undergo during the course of the killing game?)
Other: (Anything worth mentioning about the character's actions/mentality during the game that doesn't fit the previous sections can go here.)