Introducing the alternative to Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy! I've been waiting to do this for a few months so that I could time this well with Danganronpa V3, and it might just work out that way. At the end of every chapter (or in this case, prologue) I'm going to post a link in the REVIEWS that will allow the readers to choose which characters are in the Free Time during the Daily Life. Happy reading!
Prologue
The wind howled through an open window and blew cold air on a girl who was asleep on a bed. She shuddered and woke up, clutching her arms, attempting to find heat. She noticed the window was open, and got up and closed it. She laid back down on the bed when she finally started to question her situation.
"Why am I in my clothes?" She sat up and looked down at herself. Her bright short-sleeved polo and red skirt were still on her. She stood up and looked in the mirror, her crimson hair was slightly disheveled, but it was nothing that couldn't be managed. She brushed her hair like normal and put her hair in twintails on her shoulders and down to her chest.
She looked down at the floor and saw a note had been slid under the crack below the door. She bent over and picked it up. The note was written in a very childish scrawl that was noticeably annoying, but it was labeled for her: Narumi Yokokawa.
She picked up the note and turned it over to read what was written on it. It said: "Hello, hello! You may already be accustomed to where you are located at right now, but the newly appointed headmaster has made some adjustments to your home. Please arrive in the great hall for more details!"
Without uttering a single word, Narumi opened her door and stepped out into the stone hallway of the dormitory wing. Closing the door behind her, she fully stood in the hallway. She looked up and down the corridor to check to see if anyone else was there, but the entire area was vacant aside from Narumi. She turned on her heel and started walking down the hall towards the stairs. She passed by plenty of her new classmates' rooms and the RA's room before reaching the spiral staircase which was barred from going up. It was too early for her to question anything that was going on just yet and nobody seemed to be in the dorms. She descended the stone stairs where she noticed that every floor on the way down has been blocked off except for the first floor and the basement. After arriving on the first floor, she noticed that the front entrance had plenty of wooden planks nailed on to keep the door shut. Narumi began to feel disturbed by things that her eyes were catching on to.
With her head full of questions, she pushed past the other halls and stood at the door of the great hall. She pressed her hand against the heavy wooden door and shoved it open. Inside, all of her new classmates were waiting. And all of them had the same confused and nervous expressions that Narumi herself wore.
Before she could say anything, one person called out from the crowd, "hey! There's the sixteenth!" And with that, everyone turned their gaze on Narumi. She felt insanely uncomfortable.
"Uh, hello." Narumi said. "I'm Narumi Yokokawa, the Ultimate Manager."
"Nice to meet you, Narumi. My name is Yuno Toyama and I'm the Ultimate Painter." A girl with bright pink hair made her way all the way across the hall to introduce herself. She wore a beige painting smock, a bubblegum pink collared shirt, white shorts, and white slippers. Her hair was put up in a bun to keep the paint out of it. She wore circular glasses that made her electric blue eyes shine brighter than anything else she wore. "Don't worry about everyone else here, they're all just as nervous as you because of that note."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one to get a really odd note. By the way, what's up with the door at the front?" Narumi didn't beat around the bush on this one, she wanted to get an answer on that question as soon as possible.
"Yeah, I wish I could tell you." The Ultimate Painter shook her head and sighed. "I imagine we'll figure that out later, right now I think what should be a priority for you is meeting all the others here. I can help you out a little if you need it. Some of these people are interesting characters, and that's to say the least!" She laughed heartily, and for the first time since she woke up, Narumi felt like there was someone with who could calm her down.
The first person Narumi and Yuno walked up to was a boy sitting near a window, resting his head against the wall. He wore a silver beanie which hid most of his short blonde hair. He had green eyes that reminded Narumi of a leaf, but what was the most peculiar about him was his outfit. He wore a white hoodie and black pants with white socks and black shoes. Yuno was right in saying that some of these people are interesting characters.
"Can I help you?" He spoke bluntly with a feeling of definition.
"Yes, I was wanting to introduce myself seeing as how we're classmates now." Narumi shifted her weight from one foot to the other. His gaze felt intense and made her feel like he was studying her. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and I'm the Ultimate Manager. What's your name?"
The boy scoffed. "I'm surprised you don't already know. They call a "strategic prodigy" after all." He stood up and Narumi noted that he was a good five inches taller than her. "Anyways. My name is Kazuma Yunogawa and I'm the Ultimate Chess Player."
Narumi stopped for a minute and thought about his name. Now that he had said it, it did sound vaguely familiar. Then it hit her, "Kazuma Yunogawa? That guy that beat all the chess players in the world and even the military is looking into his strategy skills? THAT Kazuma Yunogawa?"
"The one and the same." He smirked. He was greatly enjoyed the praise and it felt disgusting to Narumi. Like she had stroked his ego more than he already had for the longest time. "Well, now that we've met, I'd like to get back to thinking about how to get to work on conquering the "world's smartest AI" in Tokyo. I'm pretty sure I can best it." And with a sense of finality, he went back to his chair and continued what he was doing before Narumi and Yuno walked over to him.
"Alrighty, then. Let's move on to the next person." Yuno steered Narumi away from Kazuma and led her to a girl just a little bit away from him. She had long black hair that almost looked like silk. She had placed a clip near the bottom of the back of her head so that her hair would remain in a straight line. "And this is a very famous person! You will certainly be happy to meet her." The girl had a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. Normal sneakers that could be bought at any store. Nothing about her screamed "ultimate".
The girl blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing and held out her hand. "The name's Tomoe Santo. I'm the Ultimate Director." Pop. Narumi grabbed and shook the girl's hand.
"Whoa, the Ultimate Director? Tomoe Santo? You've made such masterpieces in cinematic history that cinemas worldwide have played each for a solid span of 6 months upon release!" Narumi was almost saddened by how miserable her own ultimate talent turned out to be.
"Yeah, I'm the very girl that would make Miyazaki cry in shame at his own material." She added with a smug expression on her face. "If you even so desire, I could consider penciling you in for an audition for my next hit film. It's going to be a sad movie though, really might just make you cry from reading the script alone." Tomoe shuddered in delight.
"Okay, I'll think about it." Narumi gripped Yuno's hand tight and took her away from the Ultimate Director. "She's a bit…odd."
"I do agree, but she's made so many wonderful pieces you have to allow the girl some quirks." Yuno smiled reassuringly.
The next stop was a boy dressed in a black button up and red pants. His hair was jet black and even his eyes were a handsome black. Something about his eyes made Narumi think he was wearing colored contacts. He wore red sandals that really contrasted the entire outfit. "Hey, there!" Aside from his dark and gloomy appearance, he seemed to be a pretty happy guy. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, we're going around and introducing her because she hasn't met everyone yet." Yuno began.
"Well, then. Let me get to it. I'm Koyomi Ibuki, the Ultimate Actor." He stuck a pose right when he said what his talent was.
"You're an actor, not a model." Yuno told him with a pout. It was obvious she wanted to paint him, but she wanted a person who could better carry themselves.
"You're right, you're right." He scratched the back of his head and laughed. "I'm glad I am an actor. If I couldn't act, then I never would have been able to have the money to attend this amazing boarding school." He looked all around the room. "Especially one inside a castle."
"But, I didn't have to pay any money to attend the school. I just got a letter one day that said I was able to attend because of my ultimate talent." Narumi chimed in. "And being the Ultimate Manager that I am, I archived the letter and I can reference it whenever. The name is Narumi, by the way. Narumi Yokokawa."
"You didn't have to pay?!" Koyomi looked shocked. He looked down at his feet and shuffled away dejected. He had lost the money he had earned from his acting career. Poor guy.
"Let's go meet someone else!" Yuno pulled Narumi away towards the tables. There were two tables that were each laid out with sixteen placemats. One for every student. But Narumi was surprised that a school this large only had sixteen attendants. "Hello again, everyone!" Yuno stopped in front a group of six people that were sitting down towards the end of one table.
"Hey, Yuno. Looks like you brought the last one over her with you." A boy with a plain gray suit sat up and smiled. He had brown hair that had been slicked back with some sort of oil. "I'm Genjo Saitoh and I could represent you in any court as the Ultimate Lawyer if we become friends." He reached out his hand, but she didn't grasp his. "No matter, I'm sure we can still be friends. I'll bet you're just tired from meeting so many new faces." He smiled widely.
"Gods, Genjo. You can be so odd sometimes." The girl sitting next to him was a giant contrast from Genjo's normal suit appearance. The girl had black hair with purple highlights mixed in and put up in an unkempt ponytail. She had deep purple eyes and a couple of piercings below her lip. She wore a galaxy tank top and two black bra straps were visible. She had black cutoff jean shorts and black boots. Everything one would expect from a rebel. "Hey, kid. My name is Setsuko Sakata. I'm the Ultimate Punk Rock Singer." She grinned mischievously. Setsuko's ultimate talent came as no shock to Narumi as Setsuko had the appearance of a punk rock singer. Narumi shifted her glance to the girl sitting across from Setsuko who had music note hair clips keeping long brown bangs out of her face. The girl also had a gray t-shirt and black jeans. "Oh, don't mind her. She's just being a space cadet right now." Setsuko clapped her hands in front of the girl's face and the girl came back down to earth. That was when she noticed that Narumi had arrived and she apologized in an embarrassed manner.
"I'm so sorry! I was thinking of new works. My name is Euiko Shirahata, the Ultimate Guitarist." She smiled weakly as she introduced herself.
"Euiko rarely ever sleeps because she's always thinking of these amazing riffs for our songs." Setsuko leaned across the table and began patting Euiko on the shoulder. "I'm so proud of the songs we've made together!"
"Setsuko, please! You're the one that makes the lyrics and sing them. I just make the rhythm come together." Euiko stated in a manner that felt like she didn't normally take compliments.
"Hush, you." Narumi laughed. Then her eyes fell on the boy sitting next to Euiko and that was examining different leaves.
"Hi, I don't think we've met?" Narumi approached him cautiously.
He looked up and made the same embarrassed expression that Euiko had made when she noticed Narumi's presence. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He cleared the table and resumed, "my name is Hiroe Ohishi, and I am the Ultimate Botanist." He brushed his blue hair out of his face and smiled at Narumi and she noted that he seemed like a nice person, but got too lost in his work. He wore a green tie-dye shirt which made her wonder what kind of plants he studied, and he wore blue jeans with brown leather shoes. She didn't want to say anything about his appearance, but he didn't look like a successful scientist.
The boy next to Setsuko sat up and yawned. Narumi had just remembered the other two students that were at the table. She walked over to the boy, "hey." She waved at him and he waved back.
"Yo, I just woke up. What's going on?" The boy had a singular black eyepatch that ran over his left eye and stood out among his platinum hair. He wore a green jacket over a brown shirt with black pants. He wore brown boots which his pants tucked into. "Oh, wait. You're the last person to arrive. I'm the Ultimate Marksman, Takumi Okamura. Nice to meet you." Narumi nodded as she agreed with him.
Directly across from him was a girl that nothing really stood out about. She had dirty blonde hair put back in a long braid that was pushed up to her chest. She wore a purple hoodie and a purple miniskirt that barely showed under the hoodie. She also wore purple shoes to complete the get up.
"Hi, I don't believe we've met yet. What's your name?" Narumi leaned over the table to talk to the girl.
"My name is Naomi Nishimoto, and that's all you really need to know about me right now." Naomi gave her a cold look. "Could you go away now?"
Narumi was about to walk away from the table when the Ultimate Punk Rock Singer got her attention. "Hey, you never told us what your name was! We told you ours', you got to pay up!" She was laughing when she spoke, but she was completely serious.
"Oh, my apologies!" Narumi walked back to everyone and curtsied. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and my talent is being the Ultimate Manager."
"That's cool! We have a manager now! Do you dig music?" Setsuko's eyes shined like stars when she heard Narumi's talent. "I do like music, but I know if I could go with that lifestyle."
"What lifestyle?" Setsuko's tone was borderline hurt and dangerous. Narumi felt if she didn't say anything right then to explain herself, she may have hurt her standings with Setsuko.
"I mean the entire running around the country and even world. It's too much stress for a person like me. My capacity is pretty low and I'm amazed that you can even do it." Narumi hoped that Setsuko would be satisfied with this statement.
Narumi's assumption was correct as Setsuko slumped back into her chair blushing. Since nobody else at the table seemed to desperately need to talk to her, Narumi rejoined with Yuno and went to meet the remaining students.
They approached two girls standing near a window who were animatedly talking. Only once their presence was registered did the two teens turn to greet Narumi and Yuno with warm smiles.
"Hey, hey, Yuno! Who's this new person you brought with you?" One of the two girls stood forward. She wore a red top and a white jacket with red athletic shorts. She had dark brown hair and the ends were pinned up behind her head with a clip. She wore red and white sneakers. "My name is Seika Toujou, and I'm your resident Ultimate Cheerleader!" She hopped once to give more expression behind what she said.
"And don't forget about me!" It was obvious from her attire what the other girl's talent was. Her uniform was an aqua blue with royal blue ends and navy blue athletic shorts. She had short blue hair to match with her uniform. And she had blue cleats on even though she was inside. "I'm Kyoko Morita, the Ultimate Soccer Player!" She grinned widely.
"Well it's nice to meet you both!" Narumi smiled as warmly as she could. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and I'm the Ultimate Manager."
"Manager?" Kyoko's eyes lit up like Setsuko's did when Narumi mentioned her talent. "Do you like sports a lot? Are you a team manager? Maybe you could help me train?" Seika put her hand on Kyoko's shoulder to slow her down.
"Hold up, Kyoko. Don't want to scare her away with your game of thirty questions." Seika smiled as she spoke. "It was nice to meet you, Narumi. I hope we can be good friends while we're here!" Seika smiled warmly as Yuno and Narumi walked away from the two sports girls.
"They certainly are hyperactive."
Yuno laughed, "they definitely are. But they're more normal than most of the people here."
"LET GO OF MY ARM, JACKASS!" A voice erupted from across the great hall.
"For example," Yuno referenced the owner of the voice. He was a tall boy with short black hair, no doubt was shaved. He wore a blue camouflage uniform that navy blue combat boots. He was glaring at a shorter boy who was on the floor nursing a bruise on his cheek where the taller boy had punched him. The shorter boy had long white hair that was tied back in a warrior's wolf tail style, and he was dressed in a butler's suit and had nice dressy black shoes. "Gentlemen, please! You don't need to fight!" Yuno ran in-between the two boys. "Now, what seems to be the issue?"
"He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go, so I used my fist to punch him!"
"I grabbed his arm because he tossed a wrapper on the floor instead of a garbage can. It was unsightly. Of course, I cleaned it up, but I wanted to tell him not to do it again…"
"Oh, shut the fuck up you pansy!"
"Please stop shouting!"
"Excuse me, Yuno. I need to get past you." Another boy had appeared with a first aid kit. He wore a lab coat over a green t-shirt and khakis. His red hair was very messy and his eyes looked sunken as if he hadn't slept in a long time. He stopped right in front of Narumi and looked at her. "Oh, I don't believe we have been introduced." The boy shifted the first aid kit under his left arm and held out his right. "My name is Shigemori Noda, the Ultimate Doctor." He smiled uneasily as if the smile itself would make him pass out.
"My name is Narumi Yokokawa, the Ultimate Manager." She shook his hand politely and then looked at the other two boys. "Who are they?"
"Ah, well. The one on the floor is Taro Kunda, the Ultimate Servant."
"That explains why he was a bit upset about the wrapper on the floor."
"A bit?" The taller boy turned towards Narumi and Shigemori. "He was about to pull my arm out of socket about a little cough drop wrapper!"
"It was littering! I couldn't stand by and let someone trash up a place. My talent is to make the master of the house happy, and if I cannot keep the goddamn place clean then what good am I?" Taro was getting fired up.
"AND WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" Narumi shouted at the top of her lungs to avoid further conflict. She was obviously referencing the taller boy, but he still pointed at himself as if he didn't already know. "Yes, you."
"The name's Hirokuma Kikutake. I'm the Ultimate Marine." He responded in a fashion that made Narumi feel like she had ordered the response from him. "I apologize for this misbehavior and I promise not to make as much of an outburst in the future."
"You can stop saluting." Narumi chuckled nervously. The Ultimate Marine lowered his arm and walked away. He sat down at the end of the table and didn't make another word. "Very weird." Narumi turned back to the Ultimate Doctor and Servant.
"Don't move or it will sting more than it already does." Shigemori pressed a cotton ball, with what Narumi believed was rubbing alcohol, where Hirokuma had punched Taro in the face.
"It still stings no matter how much I move!" The Ultimate Servant winced as Shigemori dabbed at the wound. "…but thank you anyways."
Shigemori blinked a couple of times, obviously dumbfounded at these words. "You don't need to thank me, I'm just practicing my talent is all."
"Well, now you've met everyone." Narumi jumped as Yuno walked up behind her. "Are you okay? You're a bit jumpy."
"No, no, I'm fine. You just surprised me is all." She looked at Yuno. "It's just, there are some things about this place that I still have questions of."
"What kind of questions?"
"Like why are there thick wooden planks on the door in the main hall and why every floor past the first has been blocked off?"
"Oh, those kinds of questions."
"Yuno, as you know, we all ran away to this boarding school in the mountains to hide away from what was going on in the city. I'm sure that it couldn't have still happened here. This is the second best school for kids with talents like ours's." Narumi paused. "You don't think…"
"Upupupu!" An odd laughter rang throughout the entire great hall. Everyone stopped talking immediately and listened to where the laugh originated from. From the layout of the room, there was only one option remaining. The stage at the very end of the room with a podium. And sure enough, within seconds after the laugh was emitted, a black and white bear with a red left eye jumped up from behind the podium and sat down. Everyone was in shock and awe just at the sight of this thing.
"Is that…a bear?" Setsuko was the first to break the silence.
"I'm not just any bear, I am Monokuma!" The bear replied.
"Did that bear just talk?!" Euiko shrieked.
"Yes indeedy!"
"This is too weird." Everyone repeated the same words repeatedly until the entire great hall was buzzing with words and everyone drowned out everything.
"Hey, hey, hey!" The bear was showing signs of being upset. "There's no need for talking! I have an announcement to make! It's to clear up any questions you all may have." All the students collectively held their breaths. "That's better. Now, you may be wondering why the front doors have been boarded shut. To answer that, let me ask you this, do you remember why you wanted to come here?"
Narumi thought to herself exactly what her answer might be, but she couldn't give an exact answer.
"Of course, none of you probably remember. This was the final decision of Hope's Peak Academy. To make a boarding school way out in the mountains where it would be nearly impossible to find and start what they called "the Hope Program". That's you." Monokuma pointed at all of them separately. "However, I decided to hitch a ride and…remodel your living arrangements." He chuckled to himself. "I've decided to leave the windows open so that you can all enjoy the sun as much as you want, but I don't recommend trying to leave. Those forests are now teeming with such dangerous creatures, that if you stepped foot outside of the castle grounds to escape, they would rip you to shreds!" He laughed heartily, but nobody else was laughing. Captivated by every word he was saying, it seemed like everyone was rooted to where they were standing.
"What if we want to leave?" The Ultimate Chess Player made his voice known. "What exactly allows you to stop us from leaving?"
"Well now, well now, well now! I like this enthusiasm to get things rolling! It certainly will make this more entertaining!" Monokuma laughed loudly again.
"You didn't really answer my question."
"Oh, I'm not going to stop you from leaving. I'll have fun replaying your deaths over until I fall out of my seat from laughing so much." Monokuma laughed once more. "But now, with such a big castle with endless opportunities, why would you want to leave?"
"Because we don't like being locked up here!" Seika shouted in return as if she was playing volleyball and spiked the answer back.
"Fine. I can tell you how to leave."
"Good, because the sooner we can go the better…" The Ultimate Chess Player started up again.
"All you have to do is kill each other and not get caught!"
"!" Was all anyone could say. Kill each other? Surely, he couldn't be serious.
"Of course, I'm serious! And don't call me Shirley!" Monokuma shouted. "Well, is anyone interested?"
"Like hell we are!" Hirokuma was getting mad. "The fuck are you saying? Kill each other? That's absurd! Nobody in their right mind is going to agree with that!" He was about to storm the stage, but Narumi jumped in the way to stop him. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"
"I don't think we should get mad at the bear." Narumi looked back at Monokuma who was grinning evilly. "I think if he's the one suggesting WE kill each other, that means he probably has some sort of defense against US killing HIM." Narumi turned towards Monokuma. "Am I right on that?"
"Pant, pant." Gross, he was sweating. "You're so right on the money, it's actually kind of hot!"
"Stay away from me and my belongings." Narumi stated bluntly.
"Yes, I have some sort of defense against you snot-nosed brats!" Monokuma put his fists up as if he were fighting an invisible enemy. "As if I wouldn't come prepared to fight back!"
"So, just kindly tell us how to leave." Narumi stated bluntly again.
"I've already told you. Kill each other and don't get caught! You make it sound like you're so easily forgetful! That's your only exception. Kill your classmates and you can leave without a care in the world!"
"Mhm. I'm so going to report this." Narumi put her hand in her front pocket, but only felt lint. "W-what? WHAT IS THIS?! WHERE'S MY PHONE?!"
"Upupupupu! Now they're realizing they're all missing something vital!" It wasn't just Narumi, nobody had their phone. "Instead of phones, you all will have these e-Handbooks which will show a map of the school, the rules, and other things! Only use yours as lending someone your handbook is absolutely forbidden!" Monokuma threw a box in front of Narumi. Inside were plenty of smart phone looking devices. She dug through the box and found the one with her name on it, but when she powered it on, she noticed there was no signal to make a wireless connection.
"Let me guess, you've also cut off the network inside of the school so that we wouldn't simply be able to connect to that." Takumi inserted.
"Right indeed! You kids may be sharper than I thought! All fifteen of you!"
"Fifteen? You might just be the dumb one, Monokuma." Setsuko laughed. "There's sixteen of us."
"Sixteen?" Monokuma counted all the heads in the room. "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?! There's only supposed to be fifteen! Unless…" The bear grinned wickedly. "…one of you is a traitor." The room gained the well accustomed silence once more. "This will be very exciting! Upupupu! See you all later! Happy killing!" And with that, the bear fell backwards and out of sight.
Nobody talked. Everyone just looked around the room at each other.
"A traitor? Come on, nobody would be a willing traitor." Yuno laughed it off. "The bear's just messing with us."
"I don't know, Yuno. It seemed to me like he was making sense from all the things he was saying." Genjo looked at his feet. "I don't want to believe him on this, but I don't think there's any evidence to argue against him."
The room fell into a heavy silence. Everyone began to have shifty eyes that showed they didn't know what the next person was going to do. Narumi looked back down at her new e-Handbook. Kill someone to leave? She doubted anyone would stoop so low as to murder someone else, but just now…it was obvious they were all feeling the seeds of despair being casted out. If she couldn't trust anyone in the room, who could she trust?
Prologue End
Remaining: 16 Students