DANGANRONPA: OFF THE RAILS

Prologue – All Aboard!

Part 4

Continuing his trek through the train, Shunso found himself staring in slight shock before shaking his head. "…what the fuck is this train?"

What had him shocked was that the train car was a yacht… literally. The floor elevated to a yacht was the interior. Off to the side of the yacht was a bunch of water similar to an ocean as it splashed the sides of the boat. In the middle of the yacht was a large mast with a sail that went up to a crow's nest… or at least that's what Shunso thought. He can't climb up the mast that safely. Meanwhile, a green carpet directed one to the exit of the yacht while there was a ramp down to the interior. …At least that was handicap accessible…

Entering the interior, Shunso found himself staring at a luxury room with a small wood burning stove, a comfy looking bed, some hanging fishes on the walls, a window that showed into the water on the side, and a bunch of world flags. However, what caught his eye was the guy who was standing in the middle of the room.

He was a fair-skinned guy standing at 6'0" with a healthy toned appearance and silver eyes. He had dull, dark blue hair styled in a spiky style with a long braid reaching his mid back on the left side. His bangs were swept in a way that slightly covered about half of his left eye.

His outfit consisted of a black tang suit with a golden dragon design on the back, a pair of grey tang pants, white socks, and a pair of black martial arts shoes. He also had a white silk scarf, a hanging red bead earring on his right ear, a leather ring on his right index finger, and a leather bracelet on their left wrist.

Shunso raised a brow at the guy and moved a little closer. The guy noticed Shunso there and remained silent and stoic, looking around the room. Shunso was a little confused but went to speak as he was cut off by the guy opening his mouth first. "…I can assume you want to know my name. Li-Wei Huang, the Ultimate Park Ranger."

LI-WEI HUANG – ULTIMATE PARK RANGER

Alright. So I've heard about this guy. Li-Wei is known as a nature expert with his works in vitalizing the life of his village. At the age of fifteen, Li-Wei became the head park ranger and helped bring life back to the parks around. So perhaps this guy will be helpful in survival skills? Who knows…

"Shunso Kamata. Ultimate Intelligence Officer."

Nodding, Li-Wei remained stoic as he continued to look around. "…What do you suppose the purpose of this place is Kamata-san?" Looking at him with slight confusion of the question, the park ranger continued. "What is the purpose of having a ship in a train? It is quite an illogical decision."

"I get what you're saying. Why go through all this trouble instead of just stopping by the ocean or whatever? So either this is here to be confusing…"

"…Or something else entirely. Correct Kamata-san." Li-Wei sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "However, I have no idea what that could possibly be. Perhaps- …no. Never mind."

Waving Shunso off, the park ranger sighed. "I'm going to try and look around a bit more. If you require my advice, then do not feel the need to be intimidated. I am always here to aid someone, any time."

Shunso gave a slow nod as he started to exit the ship. Li-Wei seemed more logical then most but overall a decent guy. Though what he talked about raised questions. Why make a car like this? Shunso had a thought… but hoped he was wrong.

Rolling himself into the connection part of the 'yacht car' and the final car, Shunso felt himself become exhausted. However, he was looking in his notebook. He was writing connections and notes before he cursed. "…That raises questions…"

"What raises questions?" Shunso heard a voice behind him as he turned around.

Standing there at 5'11" was a spiked, silver haired guy. With a fit build that was definitely defined, yet not bulky, he stood there with somewhat tanned skin and green eyes. His outfit consisted of a few silver studs pierced in his ears, a plain white shirt under a black suit jacket, tight dark blue pants, and black leather boots. He also had a loosely hanging tie around his neck and a pair of white fingerless gloves.

Shunso raised a brow at the guy. He did look familiar, but he was not too sure. "…Who are you?"

Giving a wink, the guy chuckled lightly. "Ahhhh. My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself. Satoru Ginka, Ultimate Idol. A pleasure to meet you."

SATORU GINKA – ULTIMATE IDOL

Ah. That explains it. I've heard about this guy. An up-and-coming idol, he's skyrocketed up the charts for his charm and voice. A natural pretty boy who has a personality to charm an audience. However, I know how the idol business is a bit. He obviously must have put in a lot of work for career which is respectable. Still…

"…Wouldn't you have bodyguards?" Shunso looked at him. "I mean, you're a famous idol. Wouldn't you have some kind of protection?"

Satoru nodded and sighed. "I do… but that's why I'm a little confused. I went to bed in my hotel after a long show. And the next thing, I wake up here."

This caused a frown to appear on the intelligence officer's face. "So… despite your fame and protection, you ended up in the same situation."

"Seems like it." He scoffed and frowned. "It's rather annoying… all that pay for them to guard me, and it did nothing. Dammit…"

Shunso nodded and wrote the information down. After a bit, he closed his notebook. "I see… I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's whatever. I'm going to have get new bodyguards once I'm out of here." Satoru sighed and looked at Shunso. "Well… I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Later~" And with that, the idol walked back in the direction of the kitchen.

After waiting a bit, Shunso frowned and turned back to the final car. No turning back at this point to be honest… So, he entered the final car.

Upon entering the final car, Shunso found himself staring at a strange hybrid room. The car seemed to be that of a trial room, complete with a judge stand with a spot to slam a gavel, a nice carpet, and jury bleachers. Also, on that judge's stand rested the symbol of Hope's Peak. However, that was only one half of the room as the other half was more of a castle dungeon style as there were four circular cell cages, mossy stone walls and hanging chains from the walls.

Shunso stared at this room in confusion as he wondered about why it was like this. He moved closer to the cells and found that they were locked. But not only that, the bars seemed to have strangely strong glass pane in between. So he couldn't reach in or open the cell.

However, as he moved to the judge's stand, he heard a voice behind him. "That's fake." Turning around to look at who said it, he found it was a girl who pointed at the stand. "The symbol. It's fake. It's not the Hope's Peak symbol."

Standing there was a girl with short, very light brown hair, pair of dark blue eyes, an average build, and a lightly pale complexion. She wore a white blouse with a collar, an unzipped baby blue jacket over it, a plaid light blue skirt, and a pair of blue shoes.

Giving a light wave, she smiled. "Hello!" Shunso looked at the girl with a confused look before he bowed light in respect.

"Hello. The name is Shunso Kamata, Ultimate Intelligence Officer. And you are?"

The girl smiled at him. "Chizure Mioka! Pleasure to meet you Kamata-kun!"

"If you don't mind me asking Mioka-san… How could you tell the symbol isn't the one from Hope's Peak?"

"Well… see that part? The jagged gash?" She pointed to the shape that crossed over the pen. It was strange as it had a red colour to it. "The normal symbol had a pen and a sword on it. Whatever that was? It wasn't there before."

"I… did not notice that. Quite the eye you have on you Mioka-san. Does it have to do with your talent?"

Chizure was a little nervous as she scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Well… It does. See… I'm the Ultimate Forger. But forgery isn't all crime you know! It can bring some good! Trust me!"

CHIZURE MIOKA – ULTIMATE FORGER

Alright… this is a weird case but a common one with some people. See, unlike others, I know Mioka-san. I've heard about an Ultimate Forger kinda hired into the police force in a different city. However, it is a similar situation like mine where there's no real info posted as to why they joined the police force. It's nice to meet a fellow officer in a way.

"I see… that makes sense. So you're the Ultimate Forger hired by the police?"

This caused Chizure to look at him in a bit of confusion. "You know about that?"

"Indeed I do." Shunso nodded as he looked at the forger. "I'm part of the police myself. I'm an intelligence officer after all. It's my job to find out the info needed…" He then gained a bit of a serious look. "…And I think I can honestly say I have an idea of why we're here."

Chizure stared in slight shock. "Really? Wha-"

"What do you know?"

The conversation of the forger and the intelligence officer was cut a little short as someone spoke up and entered the car. And that someone was a girl standing at 5'5" with decent muscle definition, an average chest size, and light tan skin. She had hazelnut brown eyes and dark brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. Her outfit was simpler as it consisted of a black t-shirt with a white skull design on it, a pair of denim jeans with natural tears in them, and a pair of brown hiking boots that seemed to show a fair bit of wear and tear.

The girl who entered looked stoic and held a slight glare. Shunso raised a brow as he tried to move closer as the girl took a step back. "Stay away from me."

"…Ummm… alright?" Shunso stared at the girl confused as she continued to glare at him. "…Can you stop glaring at me for one second and at least tell me who you are?"

She was silent before she scoffed and looked away. "Fine. Let this be your only worry to stay away from me. Kana Mizuki, Ultimate Survivor. Now… tell me. Who are you and what you know?"

KANA MIZUKI – ULTIMATE SURVIVOR

Okay… wasn't expecting this but I guess the stories are true. A master survivalist, it has been said she has survived a multitude of incidents. From blizzards to car crashes to plane crashes to fires. Not much is known about her otherwise but for the most part, she is known to have some of the best skills… and the worst luck. However, seems she wants answers… and sadly, I think I have them.

Shunso looked at the girl and sighed. She was a case of 'just go with it'. "Very well…" He then pulled out a notebook that he had been carrying on him and started to write. As he was preparing his information, he and Kana noticed the others slowly filtering in. And after a bit of glaring and writing, Shunso closed the notebook.

"…The name's Shunso Kamata. Ultimate Intelligence Officer. At the moment we're on a strange moving train that seems to be empty of life except for sixteen Ultimates from Hope's Peak. Everyone so far, the constant seems to be that we were all taken when we were asleep. We also all have strange wristwatches, or the SW as I'm calling since I am unoriginal with names, that seem to monitor us in a way. All forms of communication have been taken away from us. Every part of this train has an expensive air to it from rare medications to crazy builds like a ship in a train car that adds a strange game like extravagant feel to it. And all the while, there also seems to be dangerous methods of dealing harm to others."

"Not only that, but there's also a good number of us who are well known. A famous idol, a skilled pianist, a master ballet dancer… they are too well recognized to be kidnapped so lightly. And then there's those who are bit more hidden with their fame. A skilled sniper, a forger… an intelligence officer… The fact that all of us were kidnapped shows all of us specifically were targeted."

Closing his notebook, he had a grim expression. "So… with all these factors and the fact that we are being called into one area… I've come to a conclusion. There was one other kind of event that had sixteen Ultimates…" This sentence cause a wave of dread to hit everyone. Some looked angry, some looked scared. All Shunso did was point to the judge's stand. "And if I'm correct… then the answer is going to come from that stand."

"Figures the nerd on wheels would figure it out, huh? And I had a big speech prepared… oh well. I'll just wing it. Gotta love unpredictability." Holding back a curse, Shunso and the other ultimate students turned towards the judge's stand… as a black and white teddy bear popped up from behind it. They had a twisted grin, a familiarly dangerous looking, jagged gash of a red eye, and strangely enough, a conductor's hat.

"As permanent benchwarmer figured out, you are here for one reason! Welcome! I am Conductorkuma and I am your conductor for this one-way trip that will reach its destination… never! You'll be here for all eternity! …well… unless you can do one teeny tiny thing…"

The conductor bear had a wicked grin as he started to laugh. "All you have to do is kill someone! Welcome to the constantly moving killing game! Pupupupupupupupupupupu!"

And with that, chaos occurred. Some were yelling and outspoken while others were disgusted at the thought. Some were crying, some were in shock, and Shunso? He was simply looking at the bear grimly. He then noticed movement as Koharu started to step forward.

"If you think I'm gonna let some plush piece of shit keep me here, then you've got another thing coming!" She then rushed up and decked the bear in the face as Conductorkuma slowly stood back up with a grin.

"Violation of the Train Rules! Attacking the head conductor! For violation of said rule, you are punished with…" Shooting forward due to instincts, Takeshi grabbed Koharu and pulled her back as a large spear shot out of the roof, missing the sniper thanks to the help of the combat medic. "…A warning! From this point forward, any violations of the train rules will result in immediate removal! And by removal… I mean immediate execution!"

The bear gave a laugh as the sniper looked forward with new fear on her face. "Now… unless anyone else would like to attack me… I shall leave you all to explore your new home for eternity! See you all soon! Pupupupupupupupupupu!" And with that, the bear leapt behind the judge's stand, disappearing.

… … All was silent as Shunso looked around the room. He saw faces of shock, horror, worry, calm, and suspicion. Which, he could understand as now? The flag has been thrown into the ring. The reason on why they are there was revealed. And now? All they could do was wonder… how long till someone stabs a knife in another's back.

I had hoped I was wrong. I really did… but the facts added up. We were trapped in a killing. A killing game on the run. How off the rails will this be? All I can do now is stay calm and focused. Whatever happens… I know one thing.

I'm going to survive. One way or another… I'm gonna make it out of here.

…

…

…

[PROLOGUE – ALL ABOARD! – END]

16/16 REMAINING

-TO BE CONTINUED-

Hello everyone! PurpleSweetness here!

So before I begin… I just wanna say that the small thing about the Hope's Peak symbol? Not true. I simply decided to make the normal symbol a pen and a sword instead of a pen and Monokuma's eye.

Now, with that out of the way… we are finally past the prologue! I hope you all enjoyed it but we're going to be moving on to Chapter 1! As for how it's gonna roll… you'll see. But fair warning, I'm going to go at things at my own pace since life is full of crazy shit.

However, I am excited to say the Prologue is finally complete! Sorry if it took so long, but you know how life is. I've had a busy schedule and things popping up. But I finally got it done!

Last thing, I hope I did all the characters justice. I'm going to try and expand with more interactions. Of course, I can't do every character for one on one... but I will try to make sure that everyone has had a FTE by the time this is all over.

But yeah… I hope you're enjoying the story so far! That's all for now!

PurpleSweetness signing out!