AN: This is a Dangan Ronpa fanfiction that spans from pre-despair to post-SDR2. It focuses on the SDR2 characters, and is full ensemble.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, these events are original; of my own conception. Although I have used some creative license in characterisation, plot and etc., first and foremost Dangan Ronpa and all related content is the property of Spike Chunsoft.
This story deals with a lot of harsh material. It has been rated M, but reader discretion is advised.
Forseeable triggers:
- Gore and violence (gun and blade crime)
- Graphic descriptions
- Sexual abuse, rape
- Ableist/transphobic/homophobic/mysogynist slurs (Author is neurodivergent genderfluid pan ace)
- Normalised abuse in domestic and romantic situations
- Eating disorders
- Psychological horror, brainwashing, etc.
- Heavy themes of murder and torture
- Necrophillia and extreme body disfgurement
- Suicide and self harm

Constructive critisism welcome.

To start, let's have a relatively fluffy (by comparison) first few chapters.

Hope's Peak Academy was peaceful at the moment; all students and most staff were in lessons, leaving only skivers and off-duty teachers to loiter about the halls. Today, however, the headmaster was out of his office and with two second year pupils: the Ultimate Archer, Yasu Sato, and a new student.

Headmaster Jin Kirigiri left the pair alone, with a firm handshake and words of comfort that the new student would be taken good care of. In the professional yet easy-going manner that he had been treating the new boy with for the past half hour, he strode back down the corridor that led to his office.

Yasu Sato brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and regarded the newcomer sternly, causing him to wilt under her glare. She thrust her hand out.
"Good afternoon. As Headmaster Kirigiri told you, my name his Yasu Sato. Pleased to meet you." Her tone was clipped, and the new boy guessed that she wasn't one to mince words.

He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, refusing to be intimidated by the first classmate he met. "I'm Hajime Hinata."

As soon as he had introduced himself, Sato promptly terminated the handshake, and turned on her heel. She looked back at him.
"Headmaster Kirigiri has already shown you around some places, mmm?" Hajime stuttered his answer.
"Um, yeah, he showed me around the classrooms."
"You haven't seen the dorm areas?"
"No, not yet."
"Well, come on then."

As hard as he tried to keep up with Sato, the haughty girl would always see him lengthening his strides and speed up.

His questions were met with closed, brief answers that answered the question but left a lot unsaid.
"So…what's your talent?"
"I'm an archer."
"How long have you been doing that for?"
"Mmm. Few years."
"Were…you the one to get entered for the Japanese Olympic team?"
"Mmhm." She cut in front again. Hajime contented himself with watching the swinging hips, answering with his own hums of reply as she pointed out a sweeping cafeteria with a checkered floor, and other key features such as the dorm rooms for other year groups. From the corridors, a group of five loitered aimlessly around a small pack of cigarettes. Hajime vaguely recognised the bright orange hair of a baseball star named Leon, and the knot in his stomach tightened as he remembered that Leon Kuwata actually deserved to be here; he actually had a talent for something. Hajime supposed that his baseball skills were enough to warrant Kuwata skipping his classes.

Hajime's presence in the corridor was just as needless as the scowl a small girl threw him, before turning around again into the huddle.

Sato threw the back of the girl's head a filthy look, muttering something under her breath in a contemptuous tone.
"Who's she?" Hajime asked, not realising that his voice had softened, so as to avoid the blonde hearing. Sato caught his eye and sped up purposefully, gesturing for Hajime to do the same.

A few paces later, and they had arrived at a flight of stairs. Sato spat something out of her mouth: a piece of bubble gum.
"Only the biggest bitch in the school. There's some Hiyoko girl in our year group, another midget blondie, but the crap she pulls is kid stuff compared to what she does."
"Oh. What's her name?"
"She's…Natsuhime Kuzuryuu."
Hajime gawped at her.
"K-Kuzuryuu? As in…?"
"The famous yakuzas, yes…her…brother's here too."
Hajime felt himself go pale, and weak at the knees.
"Can…can we walk and talk?"

Detailing occasions of broken arms and bloody noses, Sato recounted all of the deeds done by the Kuzuryuu siblings.
"She's also bullying one of my friends...I think."
"That must be hard to deal with."
"Yeah…I want to have a word with them both about it."
Sato gave a brief, nonchalant introduction to the corridor that housed their dorm rooms.
"We sleep here, hang out here. The usual stuff."
"It's…it's like a fancy hotel or something."
Sato gave him a wry smile. "Mmmm. Just don't be expecting hot tubs or anything, mmhm?"

Hajime replied with an awkward laugh, before trailing off and looking left and right at the two doors that faced him.
"Boy's is on the right."
He nodded, abashed, and rattled the door knob as he turned it, to no avail. Frustrated, he bit his lip and looked back at Sato.

She tried her luck.
"I'm sure that one of the boys mentioned it being broken. A few of the doors here have ill-fitting frames…" she suddenly had an idea. "Mmmm…a bit like the Science rooms."
She twisted the knob again, this time heaving the heavy door up.
"That's an inconvenience, for sure." Hinata commented, walking into the new corridor.
"So which one's my room?"
"Check your handbook."
The cover slid open, and the screen blinked on. Sato peered over his shoulder and gestured to a button.
"Press that one."
A map of the floor expanded, and Hajime instinctively pinched the screen to expand the image.
"Is that…is that a chibi version of myself?"
"Yes. We all have one."
"That's a little insulting."
"At least they made yours look like you, ahoge and all." She crossed her arms. "Mine looks nothing like me. They gave it some big knockers and called it a day."
"Well…that is to say…"
"…Mmmhm?"

Using the key that Headmaster Kirigiri had given him, Hajime unlocked the door- thankfully, with no issues.

The first impression that he had of his room was that the door immediately hit something behind it. Confused, Hajime looked behind the door and saw that a treadmill was blocking his way.
"Do…do we get a complimentary treadmill?" He stammered.

Yasu raised her eyebrows in surprise, and looked behind the door.
"Um…no…you don't get a complimentary treadmill, Hajime." She recoiled in horror upon looking into the rest of the room. "Wow…boys are so messy."
Hajime glanced into the rest of the room, and did a double take.
"I…I…"
"The rest of your housemates! They've left all of their old junk in here!" Sato snapped crossly, wading through skipping ropes and training cones.
Although he wasn't exactly pleased at the mess he'd been left, Hajime couldn't help but give the treadmill a pat.
So…my roommates left all this here? Hm. I wonder what kind of people they are, judging by all this.

Sato picked up a magazine by the corner of the page, grimacing as the contents flipped open. "Teruteru, I'll bet." She muttered, displeased. "I'll go and get the keys off Mr. Kirigiri. Try and…I don't know. We'll shift all this stuff, anyway."

Feeling very confused, Hajime picked the magazine back up and raised his eyebrows as he looked inside it.
Well, they may be Ultimates, but at least they know that they're normal boys, to some degree.