DanganRonpa:

I'll Dance On Your Grave 2

Chapter 1

Hajime's P.O.V:

"Cold today huh?"

As the small door of the cab opened in front of me, a gruff, but firm voice greeted my hearing. I wasn't focused on his greeting however. I was focused on getting out of this freezing cold! It was winter, and winter in New York City was no joke! A light snow was falling, and If I didn't get to my apartment soon, I'd fear that the cold would claim my sanity! Ok, maybe I was over exaggerating it, but I really wanted to get to my new home!

"It is! Thanks for picking me up."

I flashed the bald, hairy middle aged man a smile as I quickly climbed into the backseat. With my two big bags in tow, I yanked them into the seats beside me, and closed the door. Whew! Thank god I didn't have to walk the rest of the way from the train! Now that'd just be unpleasant!

Oh! Right, I forgot something. My name is Hajime. Hajime Hinata. And I'm visiting this place called New York City here in the United States! Recently, our school allowed for some of us to transfer to schools in the states, all thanks to some foreign exchange program. Well, I volunteered for it, and they said I was approved! So I'm to start my new year here in America, and hopefully get to learn more about their culture!

"No problem. Where to, kid?"

He asked me as he started to crank up his heater. He must've read my mind, because more heat was never a bad thing! Rubbing my hands together, I quickly told him my destination.

"12 Lexington Avenue! If that's alright?"

I asked him. I had some uncertainty whether or not he knew where it was, or how to get there! If he didn't know, I could easily walk the rest of the way. But I didn't want to risk frostbite. So I silently prayed that he knew where to take me.

"Of course! Let's get going alright?"

He asked me. And like that, the car pulled away from the curb, and onto the street! Yes! No more walking for me!

"What brings you to New York City, kid?"

He asked me. I managed to perk my eyes up as his voice flooded the interior of the car. I wasn't really focusing on him, rather, on the cold, drab looking scenery all around us. But I didn't want to leave him hanging, as that'd just be awkward, so I gave him a down to the point response to his innocent question.

"It's a foreign exchange program thing! I'm supposed to come to school here for a year and go back to Japan! I'm pretty excited to get to my apartment and all." I told him, still psyched about the fact that I get to learn even more about this place!

"Haha! It's a pretty busy city. Just be careful not to go too far out at night ya know? All for safety reasons and that kind of stuff." He told me, as we drove by countless buildings and stop lights.

"Oh trust me, when I'm not outside during the day, I'll be indoors studying!" I responded to him. Again, just being polite of course. I didn't exactly want to engage in detailed chatting when I knew that after this, I'd probably never see him again. Oh well, it didn't hurt to be nice.

"Hey! Here's your stop!"

The man told me as he started to slow the car. I looked out the window and watched as three buildings connected to each other came into view. Oh, was this the apartment I was to stay in for this year?

"This is 12 Lexington Avenue, right sir?" I asked him, relieved that I'd finally made it, but at the same time, bummed that I now had to carry these heavy bags up to my apartment.

"Yep! That'll be $5.12!" He told me, as he put the car in park. $5.12 he said? Alright, I was expecting worse, but this'll do.

"Here you go." I told him as I reached into my pocket, and gave him six dollars. He could keep the change, I didn't care too much about those random coins hanging loose in my pocket.

"Thanks! Take it easy pal." He told me. After that, I quickly opened the door, and hopped out, the cold winter air brushing up against my face once more. I turned around and started to pull my black bags out of the car as well. Like that, I was now ready to enter the buildings!

"Wow, it's pretty tall." I made a mental note as I gazed up at the buildings. Three, five story black apartments stood tall as I brushed my eyes over each and every last window that was pointed towards the road. Ok, enough standing around outside, I needed to get inside and unpack my stuff!

"Here goes..." I muttered underneath my breath as I stepped up to the door. I opened it as politely as I could, before finally walking inside with black bags in tow. With that, I was finally inside, and away from the freezing cold!

Upon entering, I noticed a woman sitting behind a desk in the lobby. I guess this was where we'd check in or something? I wish I had someone to meet me, but our instructor, Ms. Irving, said that she'd be running late. So I had no problem trying to get myself set up so that I didn't have to wait on her.

"Uh, excuse me?" I walked up to the window, and tried to get the woman's attention. From first glance, her long blonde hair didn't stand out too much. Nor was the white button up shirt doing anything either. Her attention seemed fixated on a book that was laid out on her desk. But as soon as I said excuse me, her eyes shot up, almost completely disinterested in what I had to say.

"What?" A monotone voice came out of her.

"Oh! Um, I'm Hajime Hinata! I'm the foreign exchange student! I was supposed to meet with Ms. Irving here, but she said she'd be running late! If I need to wait in the lobby, I can do that." I told her, nervousness building up in my body. I didn't know what to do! Just ask her and hope for the best? Was she gonna make me wait outside? Oh no, I could understand if she could; some random person coming into her office and asking about a-

"Oh yea. The black haired woman? Yea she said to give you the key to your apartment. Room 412. Fourth floor up. You can't miss it, it's at the end of the hall." She interrupted my negative thoughts. Like that, she handed me a silver key, and motioned with her eyes that I should go up. Oh joy, four flights of stairs with this heavy stuff. Well, at least she said everything was fine!

"T-Thank you ma'am! I'm going to go ahead and go then..." I told her. And with that, I readied my nerves, and started climbing the sleek looking stairs. I traveled up, one step at a time, breathing in and out, as I slowly made my ascent

Thump! Thump! My shoes collided with the steps underneath as the sounds of my bags banging against the wall and steps flooded my ears. I'd much rather have taken an elevator or something! But this was no time to complain. Step after step, my energy faded as I soon made it to the second... third... and finally fourth floor! After about ten or twenty odd minutes, I finally made it to my destination floor! Alright! Progress! That was something everyone should like.

"412... 412..." I muttered underneath my breath as the sight of blue carpet, and white walls flooded my view. Nothing too fancy; it was an apartment after all. But at least the sound of shoes on wood would no longer haunt my hearing! So that was a plus. As I walked by big, brown wooden doors, I noticed the numbers on each one.

"409... 410... 411... 412! Alright! This must be it!" My eyes beamed as I watched my saving numbers come into view. 412 was blatantly visible on the door. With that, I placed my bags on the floor, and put the key the woman gave to me, into the lock. Click! I heard the sound of faint metal clicking seconds after I twisted the key in the respective lock. Success! I was inside!

"Mission accomplished." I told myself as I swung the door open, and stepped inside. Almost instantly the faint smell of paint brushed against my nostrils. Did someone recently paint in here? Well, alright that was a stupid question. But I closed the door behind me, and looked around. I was in one big... square! It was all one room. To the left of me, was a single bed, and a closet right next to it. In front of me, was a small table and a TV set inside of a cabinet. Two windows that gazed outside was set beside a single chair. To the right, was a stove, a microwave, a fridge, and a trash can! Nothing too extraordinary, but I liked it! It was perfect! Simple for a simple guy like me.

"Finally! Now I can finally sit down, and take it in!" I told myself as I locked the door behind me, and threw my bags onto the bed. Immediately I grimaced in slight pain; my arms were sore from having to carry some of my possessions upstairs, so I had no clue why I had done that.

"Hmmm. Well, I guess I could sit down for a bit, and just relax until tomorrow! Or..." I trailed off as I walked over to the windows. Looking down, I could see multiple cars of multiple colors passing by on the black road. Wow, New York City was definitely busy! It was nonstop traffic from the train station, all the way here! Talk about crazy.

"Or I could always put on my clothes, and explore the city! I've got time before dark!" I told myself as a goofy smile appeared across my face. Of course! Seeing the shops and restaurants around here, it'd be perfect to learn what's around, and what to do if I wanted to go out! So with that, I quickly started to unpack my clothes, and hang them in the complementary closet! After all, it was better to go ahead and get this out of the way, rather than do it later! It wasn't as if he was extremely busy with something else, right?

"Hmmm. So I guess what I could do first, is look around for a place that serves coffee! I could go for a mocha or something. Or maybe hot chocolate. Agh, Hajime calm down! You have plenty of time to do both!" I reassured myself. Getting worked up over what to drink was definitely a sign of sillyness, and he didn't want to give off the impression that he was too silly!

"Ok, first coffee, then explore. Oh, I better make sure I don't get lost, so I'll pay attention to the street signs..." I trailed off as I retrieved a black and red scarf from my bag. It was just a little something my parents gave to me before I agreed to this foreign exchange thing. So with that, I wrapped it around my neck, and threw on some black casual gloves. Oh, and I guess a jacket would work too. Wow, I'm getting so carried away I'm forgetting to make sure I don't freeze!

"Ok, NOW I should go around and explore some." I told myself as I pulled up my pants, and quickly exited my new abode. Like that, I quickly made my way downstairs, and back into the lobby. I had my phone on me, so if my instructor got back, I'd race back here and meet her! Hopefully she'd understand that he couldn't just sit in his apartment waiting!

"Alright! First things first! I'll go right, and make a square..." I told myself, as I exited the complex, and made my way onto the sidewalk. Puffs of steam rose up to meet me in the face as I exhaled. Looking around, lots of dreary looking buildings and complexes met my view. Others were laundry places, others were apartments as well. In fact, I watched as some people made their way both in and out of each! Wow, what a truly busy city.

As I kept my eyes fixed forward, I walked slowly, and calmly. I wasn't exactly in a rush, I just wanted to take it all in of course! So as I walked along the straight sidewalk. I watched as a green awning came into view.

"Hm? Wow, look at this." I mumbled to myself as I looked up. A near ten story abode greeted me as I took it all in stride. From the looks of things, this appeared to be just another drab apartment, mixing in with all the others here. Why did the clods have to be covering the entirety of the sky? All the colors were near drowned out!

"Hey you!"

I nearly jumped out of my shoes as someone's finger began tapping on my shoulder. Nearly scared out of my wits, I turned around, and watched as a light pink haired girl came into view.

"Goodness gracious! I nearly screamed aloud! I wasn't expecting it! I was just walking outside minding my own business after all! Who would've guessed that this girl would just come up to me and tap me on the shoulder! Well, I guess she'd be considered a wake up call? No that's not right. Maybe just someone to snap me out of daydreaming it seems.

"W-What is it?" I asked her as I gave her a quick up and down with my eyes. Her eyes were big and pink, and almost the entirety of her body was covered by this... green jacket? Hoodie? Whatever, this wasn't really the time to go into specifics. And... was she wearing a skirt? In this weather? What in the Sam Hell was she thinking?

"You look like you have nothing to do. You should hang out with me and a few friends in here." She told me, motioning towards the building beside us. Immediately, I squinted my eyes, and shot her a confused look. Huh? This weird girl wanted me to hang out with her? Why? Not to be distrusting of course, but it did seem a little odd right? Maybe I was over thinking it. Or maybe not.

"Ahh... Uhh I was just around exploring and what not. I just arrived here and I wanted to get my bearings straight ya know?" I told her, averting my gaze as it appeared that her eyes were burning a hole in mine. Not literally of course.

"Well, if you come inside and meet my friends, then all of us can hang out, and help you explore! It'd be better than exploring by yourself, right?" Her light voice echoed in my ears. And to be honest, well, she was kind of cute. I let out another sigh, and began thinking about it.

"Ah, can I think about it for a litt-."

"Please?"

She asked me, her head tilted to the side just a bit. She interrupted what I was going to say! Oh well, it wasn't as if what I had to say was that important. So I conceded, and, with a sigh, nodded my head. "Alright, I guess I can for a few minutes. In here, right?" I asked her, turning back towards the building with the green awning on it.

"Yes. C'mon." She told me. And with that, I gasped as her arm locked in with mine. What was she doing?! Something like this to a total stranger? Maybe this girl wasn't all there in the head? Either way. I could hang out for ten minutes, and get back to walking around.

"Fine, fine! Hey, don't pull!" I told her as we walked up some stone steps, and arrived at two double black doors. She opened one, and motioned me to walk inside.