"Twelve years ago, the world as we used to know it succumbed to despair. Now, I know what you're thinking- 'Professor Hagakure, what does that even mean? Isn't despair just an emotion?' and yeah, you'd be right. But believe me, all it takes is one strong, charismatic figure to lead the world in an entirely new direction. That strong figure came from this academy, and was named Junko Enoshima. Junko twisted the world in a new direction, where crime and violence were the new standard. There was no army; instead, she had everyone fight for themselves, and against each other. Her one true goal was to plunge the world into eternal despair, a despair which it could never recover from. Fortunate enough, the Ultimate Clairvoyant saw the end to despair on the horizon, and trust me, I was more than prepared. I'd been subjected to the cruelest experiments the Age of Despair had in store. All of you were only infants, toddlers, school-aged at the most. I doubt you remember a lot of what happened after despair was defeated.

Well, Hope's Peak Academy was reclaimed. It's an important part of history now, you're in the second generation of this school's total success since the Age of Despair! All of the major staff here are familiar with the Age of Despair very well, but I doubt most of them will want to talk about it. Of course, Principal Naegi is the most obvious example of someone who walked away with their lives completely changed. Then Miss Kirigiri took over as head of security after the late Juzo Sakakura. Aoi Asahina left the school behind to pursue her Olympic career- of course, you all know her better as Aoi Asahina, Gold Medalist. Byakuya Togami- yes, the same as the head of the Togami Corporation- took over Towa Industries and saved the world from total contamination. Even now, Togami is fighting back smog and sludge all over the planet. Toko Fukawa was arrested and imprisoned since the world knew who the formerly famous Genocide Jack was. And of course, I took a position here with Makoto and Kyoko. I guess that leads pretty much to now."

Professor Hagakure turned back to face his students, whose faces were hung and solemn, some bored to almost tears. Some were bored to actual tears. Yasuhiro adjusted the thin spindly glasses that sat atop his nose, and rubbed his ever scraggly chin.

"Any questions?" he asked the noiseless crowd. One student's hand shot up, and Yasuhiro snapped his fingers.

"You, uh, boy?" he had forgotten the student's name. The student- who was a girl with short hair- stood up.

"You were all a part of that killing game, right?"

Yasuhiro nodded, and grinned.

"That's pretty blunt. It deserves a blunt answer. Yes. In fact we watched a lot of our friends die all around us. I watched people I cared about get killed by each other, and by Junko Enoshima. I can look back at it now and see that none of those deaths were anyone's fault but hers. Still, I think Kyoko and Makoto are sensitive about it."

"You mean Miss Kirigiri and Mister Naegi?" the student asked. Yasuhiro nodded, and laughed.

"We were all classmates, forgive me if I don't use their formal names. But this is a history class, and I could think of nothing more important to our modern lives than the Age of Despair." he put his hands on the podium in front of him.

"Students, your task over the weekend will be a short essay. I want everyone to write about the Age of Despair, your topics within that time period are unlimited. Class is dismissed." He wiped his forehead, and the students all stood up, filing for the exit.

Yasuhiro finished his teaching day the same as he had since Makoto gave him the job several years ago. He pulled his cell and dialed a number.

"Mom? It's Hiro." he spoke into the phone. He kept the talk up as he walked towards the parking lot.

"Just calling to check up on you. No, I know you're not sick, but- hey, a guy's allowed to love his mom!" he laughed all the way to his own car, a humble little black car, pre-despair. As he shut the door on himself, he spoke his goodbyes.

"Ok, I'll talk to you again tomorrow. Probably earlier, since it's the weekend. Love you too." he hung up, and leaned back in his seat. The sun was just beginning to set, painting the school opposite him in shade. He adjusted his glasses again, and yawned.

"Can't drive like this…" he reached into his glove compartment, looking for the plastic bottle of coffee he had brought with him. As he did so, he shifted in his seat, his back pressed up against it awkwardly. Something seemed… wrong. His hairs rose on his arm, as his back felt stiff against the seat. More like something was on the other side. He turned his head slowly, only to go blind, and short-breathed.

Before he realized what had happened, the bag was tight on his head, the chords of it wrapped around his neck, choking him into unconsciousness. The perpetrator revealed themselves quietly, shutting the glove compartment with one gloved hand, and keeping their black coat and hood on. They opened the rear door, and dragged the professor out from his driver's seat. Yasuhiro was fading in between sleep and waking thought, but lost that battle when he felt his body being laid across the backseat of his own car.

When he awoke, Yasuhiro found himself lying down on what seemed to be a floor made of glass. Underneath was a finely polished wood floor, but the light made it difficult to make out much. Specifically, the light shining down was only a beam that shot straight down, making a tight circle that his body only seemed to fit in. He stood up, wobbly knee'ed. His head was pounding, and his vision was blurry… he didn't seem to have his glasses. His head whipped around, his heart raced in his chest like a motor.

"Hey! Anyone out there?" he called out. The sound painfully echoed all around him, and he covered his ears. He winced at the sound of his own voice, and took one step forward. Then another. At the third step, his foot was stopped. He confusedly reached into the darkness, and found his hand pressed up against a cold surface. A voice boomed from a staticky speaker somewhere around him.

"Puhuhuhu!" it rang. At this moment, Yasuhiro's blood ran cold, and his skin turned a ghastly white. All color ran from his body, and he even felt himself lose control of his bladder, if but for a moment.

"Aw, miss me baby? It's your old friend!" the voice sang. Yasuhiro dropped to his rear, unable to speak, his mouth agape in terror. Another light turned on, illuminating the plush bear sitting just meters from him. It sat with a noticeable speaker attachment in it's mouth, and slumped against a stool for support.

"You're not real, you're not real!" he said, trying to calm himself. The bear kept laughing.

"Such a touching reunion. Unfortunately, time is of the essence for me right now, so I'll have to keep the chitchat short. Did you ever wonder what the late and great Junko Enoshima had in store for you, if you had ever killed another student in her little game?" Monokuma asked. Yasuhiro's eyes traced the shape around him, now more visible in the light.

"Is this a… crystal ball?" his heartbeat quickened again, and he stuck his arms out. He could reach the ceiling of it, and found a little grate that he could put his pinky through.

"Welcome to your fate, Yasuhiro Hagakure! I call it… Death 13!" Monokuma said. Lights all around the crystal ball came on, showing a hose connected to the grate above him, and projections of mist and ghosts swirling around the outside of the glass.

"That's lame! Any good fortune teller knows the death tarot never means a person is gonna die!" Yasuhiro protested, growing more and more aware of what was to happen.

"Until now, anyway." Monokuma replied. The bear began his usual insane cackling, all while remaining motionless, lifeless, a plush toy. While Yasuhiro watched, water began soaring into the glass ball through the grate, flooding the first few inches quickly. Panicking, Yasuhiro started to slam his fists against the glass.

"No! Not like this! I'm not ready to die! My mom-" his pleas fell on deaf ears. He turned his back against the glass, and dove for the grate, covering it with his hands. Water spewed out the sides of it, now up to his knees. Frustrated, he could think of only one thing. He looked back at the bear, and ran, slamming his shoulder into the glass. Sharp, spidery cracks shown across the surface. With a pained smile on his anxious face, Yasuhiro rubbed his numb shoulder, and charged again, More and more cracks were forming, but by now the water was up to his stomach. He bit his lip and ran into it one more time, but the wet glass floor tripped him! He slammed his head against the glass, and slid down into the water. In pain, and bleeding from his forehead wound, Yasuhiro clutched his bleeding scalp, and stood up again. The water was at his chest level, and only growing higher. He gave one more weak charge, which did nothing to the glass with how flooded the ball lifted his nose in the small air pocket left, and did his best lift his leg and kick the crumbling ball. His efforts were not rewarded, and the ball was filled. His blood mixed with the water, and he could not see. He held his breath, every aching second taking a toll on just how long he could maintain consciousness… Suddenly, he felt gravity beneath him.

The floor of the glass ball dipped out, the water, and Yasuhiro, fell. The water carried him down to a giant tarot card a story below the ball, marked as the death card. Yasuhiro coughed, and clutched his scalp… had he done it? Had he survived the death trap? He looked down, on his hands and knees, weak… a strange symbol was on the card. It was an arrow, pointed up. Yasuhiro looked up, and saw a floor above, the crystal ball detach from the hose, and rotate, until the roof of it was now facing down, towards him. He sighed.

"...Shit."

The dome dropped, and Yasuhiro clasped his hands, in quiet acceptance. The dome landed on the card with some force, thwarting any hope Yasuhiro had of escaping the trap. Death 13 had finished. A quiet cackle could be heard from the floor above, still roaring maniacally.

Kyoko Kirigiri had been late leaving that day, after being held up by students asking her about the Killing Game she took part in. She ignored them, and started for the parking lot. But… when she passed the spot a little black car used to sit, she saw something in it's place. She stopped the walk to her car, and crouched down to pick it up. They were thin, spindly metal glasses. The kind Yasuhiro wore. She picked it up, and felt her phone buzz. She answered it, turning the glasses over in her hand.

"Kirigiri. Who is this?" she spoke into the phone. Her eyes grew quite wide.

She stopped her car just outside an abandoned building. It looked similar to a factory, but usually abandoned factories don't have squad cars with the lights on outside. She stopped at a checkpoint, where the officer who had called her shook his head.

"...It's Hagakure," he said. She nodded, and continued. Cops were all around, looking down every alley with flashlights, and in every window. The walls were gray brick, faded, and covered in grime and moss. Kyoko thought to herself just how awful it would be to die there. The doors that swung open in front weren't much better, but they swung open enough to show a bit of a mystery.

Three cops stood by a large, rectangular hole carved into the ground, a disconnected and leaky hose hanging from the ceiling, most likely connected to the second floor's plumbing. A stool sat, alone, near the hole. It was when she peered down in the hole did she notice...]

"There's not even much of a body to collect. I don't know how the family's gonna react to this…" one officer said. Kyoko looked down at a bloodied glass bowl, covering what looked like a giant slab decorated to look like a tarot card.

"Officers," she began, "Was there anything left here that might have been moved since you arrived?" the officers looked at each other.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but that's police business." one of them said. The chief, appearing behind Kyoko, pat her shoulder affirmingly.

"Boys, this is Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective. I think if anyone deserves a look at their friend's murder scene, it's her." Kyoko brushed his hand off her shoulder, and the officers allowed her to press further.

"Well, we didn't find anything unusual. Not even footprints. Fingerprints are gone. No eyewitnesses, no DNA, it's as if a phantom killed him." one of them said. Kyoko shook her head.

"Look harder. In every crime scene, if a killer takes something, he leaves something behind." she squatted down by the hole, and peered down at her friend.

"In this case, a simple MO can be derived. Yasuhiro was the Ultimate Clairvoyant. The glass dome and tarot card… this was an execution themed around his talent. In other words… a copycat to the killing game's victims." she stood up, and felt a cold shiver up her spine. So many years ago now, she had knelt before similar bodies of people she knew just as well… but to have it all come back so suddenly hurt her head.

"You talk like you expect it to happen again." the chief said.

"It will. I'm sure of it. The question is why now, and who did this?" she began to well with tears, so she bit her gloved thumb and relaxed.

"Even more pressing… who's next?"

Makoto shuffled in one spot, waiting for the train to come all the way into the station. He carried in one hand, a bouquet of flowers, and in the others, the briefcase he seemed to always have now. A quick glance at his watch, straightening his tie, all that was left was time. Finally, the train came to a squeaking and complete halt. As travel-sick passengers funneled off the train, brushing past him, Makoto caught a quick glance of a familiar red-flared jacket.

"Asahina!" he put his hand up in the air, calling her over. Two women noticed his waving hand, and, arm-in-arm, ran towards him, tackling other passengers aside. They were Aoi Asahina, the current Swimming Gold Medalist, and Akane Owari, who earned her gold medal in the 100 meter dash.

"Makoto!" Aoi yelled, throwing her arms around him. She kicked her heel back, and Makoto gave her a warm hug in return. Akane did likewise, and put her arms around them both.

"Thanks for seeing us here, Makoto!" Akane said. Makoto laughed, and let them both go.

"Of course! It's good seeing you guys back in town. I feel like it's been ages. Kyoko will definitely be happy to see you." he nodded. Akane nodded.

"What about Hajime?" she prodded. Makoto blushed a little, and scratched his forehead.

"Well, he's working with Kyoko now, but he doesn't talk to me. Really that just means he hasn't been responding to my calls." Aoi shrugged and grumbled.

"Don't worry about him. Hajime seems like the type who can handle himself." she sighed. Akane laughed.

"So, what's changed since we left? Anyone get married? Die?" she joked. Makoto's face grew dim, and Aoi took Akane's hand.

"...Makoto?" she asked.

"...Anyways, I think it's about time I brought you guys to the new place. Kyoko and I live together just outside of town. You'll have plenty of privacy away from cameras and reporters there." he smiled, weakly. Akane laughed heartily, and took Makoto's hand in hers.

"Ah! You two finally tie the knot? I've been looking to settle down myself, but uh… no one's caught my eye." she hastily looked back and forth, a bit red in the cheeks. Aoi continued on.

"Oh yeah! It's been a long time now- but you two are living together! That's just fantastic to hear." she said. Makoto laughed, and hung his head, a bit flustered.

"Well, we're not quite like that. Neither of us really advanced things forward. We're… just friends. And coworkers." he said. Akane grinned, and winked at Aoi.

"Just friends, eh? Well, if you insist on staying 'just friends' I won't have to give you this." Akane reached into her shirt pocket, and pulled a slip of paper out, which she handed to Makoto.

"What is this?" he asked, perplexed. Akane pulled a second slip out from her pocket.

"Coupons, two free entries for a club that opened up downtown. They're good for tonight only. Only issue is it has to be couples only." she shrugged. "Aoi agreed to pretend to be my date, but maybe this is a good time for you and Kyoko to connect." Makoto frowned, and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, thanks… but I promise you, that's not my worries right now. Right now, I should be getting you guys to my house so you can relax after a train ride like that one!" he stuffed the coupon in his coat, and started leading away, carrying Aoi's bags. The women started after him, Akane muttering apologies as they sped up.

Across the city, a much less sleek train than the one Aoi and Akane had come in on was roaring it's way downtown. Clutching a bar for support as the rickety metro clattered along it's aged rails was Hajime Hinata. His coat was heavy, and his briefcase held together by thin twine instead of a lock, but it was enough. Past the Age of Despair, Hajime had to put up with the financial loss his parents suffered when he first entered Hope's Peak Academy. Of course, his parents were long out of the picture, as they had died during the initial tragedy. His poor man's stature and dress belied a somewhat educated nature, and throughout his adulthood, he had maintained the inquisitive mindset he desparately needed to solve the murder cases on Jabberwock Island.

This caught the eye of Kyoko. After the Age of Despair was finally closed out, Kyoko had asked Hajime to join her in security, promising to help him hone his talent. And so the promise of a new Ultimate Detective was made.

Several years later however, Hajime rode the same metro he always took to get to work, using the same brief case he had used since day one. He would have to dissuade people not to stare at his eyes, which were afflicted with heterochromia. An uncomfortable comfort which Hajime took to like an infection. The train jostled around the final turn, and stopped at Hope's Station.

Hope's Station was the name of the metro station initially built to connect the school to suburban areas before the Age of Despair, but had fallen into disarray during it. Even though it remained operational after Despair had ended, the station seemed to be perpetually on it's last legs. Opposite Hope's Station was the newly built Future Station, which connected Hope's Peak on a much longer route to other major cities.

Hajime would never think of riding the Future Train. He didn't have any reason to, no one to visit, no cause to venture beyond the walls of the academy. He reached into his coat, and fidgeted with his tie. His uniform was underneath the coat, though he hid that because people often stopped him to ask how they could get into the school. His answer was always the same,

"Do what I did. Pay for it until you regret it."

The crowd at Hope's Station was less of a crowd and more a march of shambling Nine-to-fivers. Most were elderly men and women with thinning hair and suits that seemed grafted to their narrow bodies and emaciated faces. The tiles were dirty and the lights were dim. It almost seemed natural for him to meet Kyoko here.

The Ultimate Detective waited by the turnstiles, holding her own coat over her arm, and a hat for Hajime.

"Hinata. Another smooth ride into town?" she asked. Hajime shrugged, and took the hat from her.

"I suppose so. You don't usually meet me here, whats the matter?" his eyes narrowed. Kyoko turned around, and beckoned for him to follow. After swiping his metro card, Hajime followed her up the stairs.

"Yasuhiro Hagakure has been found dead." she said, coldly.

"Yasuhiro? I'm… sorry. I understand you were one of the people he was close with." Hajime said, offering his condolences.

"I didn't come here to ask you for your sympathies. What worries me is the context of his death…" she stopped, and turned to him on the stairs.

"Do you drink?" she asked. Hajime nodded.

"Occasionally. Not too often." he admitted. Kyoko reached into one of the pockets of her coat, and handed Hajime a flask from it.

"You'll want it when I finish telling you." she said. Hajime followed her silently to the top of the stairs, and along the sidewalk towards a white sedan parked some distance away.

"The police didn't find anything they could use. But they aren't like you and I." she said, opening the driver's side door. Hajime stepped into the passenger's side, and looked to Kyoko.

"What do you mean? Detectives?"

"No. Among the other 99 percent of humanity, you and I are some of the only people to take place in a killing game." she nodded, and revealed a polaroid camera from her coat. She pulled a printed picture she had taken. Hajime leaned into it. There was the glass dome resting on top of the pool of blood, and the tarot card.

"What the hell am I looking at?" he asked, rubbing his chin. Kyoko tapped her chin.

"There's something familiar about it, right?" she teased. Hajime nodded, and gasped when he made the connection.

"...It looks like one of the executions from the games! Yasuhiro was the Ultimate Clairvoyant, so it's appropriate his death would be themed with glass balls and tarot cards." Kyoko nodded in agreement.

"Which means we have someone mimicking the games in some way. That alone is dangerous, but then it made me realize…" she crossed her legs, and took the flask from Hajime for a moment, holding it under her chin.

"...If Yasuhiro was killed, would that be the end? I don't see why. No, I think it's more accurate to say that the rest of us are at risk as well. Everyone who survived the mutual killing games is a viable target… that includes Makoto, myself, and Byakuya." she sipped the flask nervously. Hajime squinted. He had never seen a side of Kyoko so nervous, so… unsure of herself.

"...Are you ok? You look… scared." he said. Kyoko shook her head, and took a healthier swig from the flask.

"Not for myself, but for Makoto and Byakuya. If Byakuya dies… well, that stops the world reclamation efforts. If Makoto dies… that might plunge us into another Age of Despair. I can't protect Byakuya, and I'll do my best with Makoto, but the members of your class are at the most risk. Have you kept in touch with any of them?" she asked. Hajime nodded.

"After despair, we all finished our schooling years of course. Akane went off to train for the olympics, obviously, but the others all did their own thing. The Kuzuryuu clan of course is maintaining vigilante order in the streets. Teruteru has his own restaurant chain around the world, I've only spoken to him on the phone once or twice after we graduated. Mahiru still lives in the city, and I speak with her more often than the others. We're close friends. Hiyoko is almost always the big ticket at a dance theatre in the city. Kazuichi moved to America, I heard he's working with aero engineers now. Mikan lives in the city, last I recall she's still struggling with trauma from… pretty much her entire life. Gundham started his conservation efforts and the Tanaka Ranch. To my knowledge, Sonia still lives in the country, and lives with him for ambassador efforts. Nekomaru's currently coaching for half the teams in the Baseball league, Ibuki has her own metal band, and Imposter… well I haven't heard from them." he finished. Kyoko shook her head.

"What about him?"

"Oh… yeah. Nagito." Hajime tugged at his own short hair a little.

"He and I… had a falling out. With both our parents dead, Nagito invited me to live with him. I agreed of course, his family was pretty rich. But Nagito's mental health took a negative turn… he grew violent, fanatic. The doctors didn't know what to diagnose him with, let alone help him. So he told me he wanted to live alone with himself. He uh… well, kicked me out, and moved away from the house. That was ten years ago. I have no idea where he is now." he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We can't rule out any of them being suspects. Especially Nagito. You describe him as violent- and he also has insider knowledge about both games." she offered him the flask, which he shook his head at. She capped it, and put it in the dashboard.

"The problem right now is not knowing who the targets are. As security of the school, I can't protect people outside of the system. The police can't operate on my suspicions alone, so that's also out." she bit her lip.

"So… the only thing we can do is wait for the killer to make another move." Hajime said. Kyoko nodded.

"I can at least contact Mahiru and Mikan, let them know what's happening. The others, it might be harder to reach." he said, rubbing his chin. Kyoko grinned slightly.

"It's easier than you think. Before you all graduated, I made sure to put tracking implants inside things like your clothes, glasses, backpacks, all of that. I wanted to see where you would go." Hajime gasped in surprise.

"You did that?!"

"Well, yeah. The Ultimate Detective never gives up a lead." she stated. Hajime scratched his head.

"But there was no case going on- and if you put trackers on us, why did you ask me about my class?" he questioned.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't lying about anything. It looks like you're clear." she said. Hajime squinted, and even offered a slight grin.

"Miss Kirigiri, you're always full of mysteries." he said. She nodded.

"It's a bit fitting, isn't it?"