DANGANRONPA: OFF THE RAILS

Chapter 1 – Freedom's End

Part 1

Shunso Kamata: Log 2-

This is my second log here on this train. And… well… things have been different since the 'game reveal'. People have been distrusting and closed off for the most part. Thought, to be fair, the rules kind of caused that.

See, once 'Conductorkuma', as he called himself, left, a set of rules appeared on our wristwatches. [SW as I have started to call it] It seems as if there are rules for this crazy game. They are as followed-

Rule #1: Train Riders may reside only within the train. Leaving the train is an unacceptable and dangerous concept.

Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory cart will be punished accordingly.

Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the train at your discretion.

Rule #5: Violence against your Conductor, Conductorkuma, is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.

Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow rider and becomes "blackened" will be allowed to get off the next stop unless they are discovered.

Rule #7: Once a murder takes place, a trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving riders.

Rule #8: If the guilty party is exposed during the trial, they alone will be punished.

Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will be allowed to get off the train, and all remaining riders will be punished.

Rule #10: The guilty party may only kill a maximum of one rider during any single "Killing Game."

Rule #11: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.

…Needless to say… the odds aren't looking good. People are in disarray… distrusting… and honestly, I'm unsure of what we are going to do.

…However, you never know. I found a strange note on the floor of room. Seems someone slipped it under my door…

…

Waking up the next morning, Shunso slowly moved himself into his wheelchair. However, what caught his eye was a small note on the floor. After a little bit due to him struggling to grab it, he opened it up for it to say, "Meeting in cafeteria".

After some writing in his notebook, Shunso got ready and exited his room. Wheeling himself to the cafeteria, he saw that there were nine other people. It appeared that Kana, Yokona, Kuniyoshi, and Katashi were all missing. Standing at the head of the table was Li-Wei as he sighed. "Seems this is the most we'll be getting… But it will do."

As Shunso moved towards the table, Li-Wei spoke up. "So, I'm fairly certain everyone here noticed the shift after the game reveal, right?"

Nods and murmurs of agreement were heard as Li-Wei continued. "Well I believe that we should stop this. We're not doing ourselves any favours by letting ourselves fall victim to the tricks of this game."

"I suggest that we start working together as a team instead of going off to our own devices. We should search around this train for any possible exits and any possible clues. Also, I propose a rotation for nighttime."

Pulling out a list, Li-Wei smiled. "The idea is this… we create groups of four to act as watchmen for nighttime. Together they will keep an eye out for anyone sneaking out as well as make sure everyone can sleep safely."

The group had been mainly quiet for the most part, but that was the moment that Takeshi spoke up. "U-Ummm… Comrade H-Huang? I understand t-the implications of t-this course of action… but w-will this really be safe? W-What's stopping someone from s-sneaking out and killing t-the rest of the night guard?"

Shunso looked at the list silently before speaking up. "…Rule 10."

The others turned to Shunso while Li-Wei smiled at him. "Rule 10 states that a rider can only kill one person during the game. That means that with four people together, if one of them turns then there's still someone two other people to catch them in the act."

Li-Wei nodded with a smile. "Correct. I understand that no plan is foolproof… but this is the plan that I could come up with to maximize safety for each other. Also, we should meet up for meetings every morning for any updates."

This caused the others to look around at each other before Shunso spoke up. "Well… I'll volunteer for the first night watch then."

A shuffle could be heard as Shunso turned his head. Raising her hand, Kanade was standing with a smile. "I would like to join the first shift as well!"

Following the pianist was Chizure who gave a polite and Satoru who gave a shrug. From there, the groups were started to be made as Shunso kept track of them…

The first group consisted of himself, Kanade, Chizure, and Satoru. The second group consisted of Koharu, Takeshi, Emiko, and Wally. The third group had Li Wei, Hastur, Ember, and Ai. All that remained was possibly convincing the other four to make a group.

But overall, Shunso noticed the moods of the ultimates. They seemed more confident and energetic compared to the day before. Looking over at Li Wei, Shunso couldn't help but smile and internally thank the Park Ranger.

After the meeting, we decided to nominate Huang-san as the de facto leader. I personally agree with the decision. Having a form of democracy in a way helps with stabilizing people. Whoever is running this game will try to mess with this at some point but for now… stability is a main priority.

Surprisingly, Nishino-san and Minami-san were easy to find and were convinced into the group idea easily. Iwakiri-san was a harder find but she seemed relatively fine with it. As for Mizuki-san… she pretty much yelled at everyone to scram. It took too long, in my opinion, to convince her. And even then, she stated if she doesn't feel like doing it, she won't… problems for later.

As for why I volunteered for the first watch… I figured it would be best to try and explore the train during nighttime. Rule 2 in particular is very vague as it doesn't explain which areas are off limits. Knowing the limitations would be best. As long as I can keep track of things… I can be of assistance. But, before the night comes, I plan to do some exploring of my own. And perhaps learn about the fellow Ultimates.

…

[FREE TIME]

Heading out of his dorm room, Shunso found himself looking around the kitchen for something to eat. As he struggled to reach high up items, he cursed. "Stupid high shelves…"

He then felt a slight tap on his shoulder as he turned his head to see Ember standing there. "…Do you need some help?"

He gave her a raised brow and shook his head. Turning back, he sighed and gave up on what he was reaching for before, instead getting a much simpler meal sorted out. Moving to the cafeteria room, he sat down as Ember came by a few minutes later with a cup of coffee.

Hmmm… Should I talk with Otonari-san? Eh… sure. Why not?

Rolling himself a bit closer, Shunso sat down near Ember. "So… coffee Otonari-san?"

Turning to look at Shunso, Ember gave a small smile in return. "Ah… Kamata-san. Yeah… need a bit of a 'wake-me-up'."

Shunso nodded understandingly. "Fair enough. I'm not the biggest fan of coffee myself… prefer to have spicy food instead to wake me up."

This caused the lip-speaker to raise an eyebrow as she looked down at Shunso's meal. True enough, it was a bowl of what appeared to be spicy ramen. Really spicy ramen.

"…You sure that's a good idea to have at the moment."

Shunso nodded. "Yeah. Always been a spicy food lover. Actually, when I was younger, like nine years old or so, I accidentally ate a Carolina Reaper."

Ember's eyes popped out lightly. "Really? How? And are you okay from that?"

The intelligence officer chuckled lightly. "Well if I wasn't okay then I would probably not be talking. But yeah… I burned my tongue but came out fine." Taking another bite of his meal, he looked at Ember. "What about you?"

Ember looked at him slightly confused as he pointed to his food. "Are you hungry? This is the first meal I'm having since I came here. I'm honestly so hungry I could eat a whole cow-"

Ember then gave him a stern look that caused him to stop. "I have eaten. I haven't ignored that. Besides, even if I was that hungry, there's no way I would hurt my favourite animal."

Shunso blinked at that response with a slight tilt of the head. "So wait… your favourite animal is the cow Otonari-san?"

Ember gave a small smile. "Yeah. It's a bit silly, but there's something about them that makes me happy. Got a problem with it."

The intelligence officer only shook his head. "No problem at all. More shocked to be honest. Not many say their favourite animal is the cow."

"Well, they are. They're my favourite animal." She then turned to Shunso with a raised brow. "I think your pepper story is more shocking. There's no way that story you said was true… was it?"

Shunso gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, it was true. I misheard and thought it was just called a Carolina Pepper… was confused when people started to freak out about it."

Ember gave Shunso a look before she sighed. "Seriously… you need to be more careful."

This caused Shunso to roll his eyes. "Like being kidnapped?" He, however, immediately caught himself and sighed. "Sorry… sorry… shouldn't have said that."

"No… it's understandable." Ember had a sad smile on her face as she continued. "No one expected this to happen."

Shunso was silent for a bit before he looked at Ember. She looked back up at him as she sighed. "I get that everyone is worried… that's why we need to stay calm. Support one another."

"…I'm really seem to like supporting others. Is why you became a lip-speaker?"

This caused Ember to smile lightly. "In a way… see, my mother… she's deaf. Growing up, I wanted to help her out in any way I could. So, I learned ASL to help my single mother at the time. I acted as her interpreter for parent-teacher meetings and the like. In a way, she helped the start of my talent."

Shunso listened before a soft smile popped on his face. "I can understand that… I have a single mother as well. In a way, she helped me pursue my talent as well."

Ember looked at Shunso curiously. "Really? What's she like?"

This caused Shunso's smile to fall before he shook his head. "Ah… perhaps a story for another day. …I'm going to head out. Have a good day Otonari-san."

And so, Shunso headed off. Ember looked at him with slight worry and confusion. However, she did not pursue as the intelligence officer moved on down the train.

After leaving the food car, Shunso found himself wandering around aimless until he found himself in the pub area. Kuniyoshi could be seen with a smirk as he shuffled a deck of cards. Around him was Yokona with a serious expression, Wallace who was laughing lightly, and Emiko who looked at the table confused. This caused Shunso to raise a brow as Kuniyoshi gave a slight wave. "Hey Kamata! Ever play Texas Hold' em?"

Shunso blinked before shrugging and moving his wheelchair up to the table. Moving a pile of chips to Shunso, Kuniyoshi started to deal out the cards. Shunso lifted his and kept a still face. It wasn't actually that good with a seven of hearts and a seven of clubs… but you never know. Yokona seemed to look back and forth with a serious expression while Wally seemed to have an upset expression. Meanwhile, Emiko looked confused at her cards while Kuniyoshi was calm and collected.

The chips were thrown in as the cards were flipped up. Shunso blinked slightly… he went from nothing to two pairs. Wally groaned and tossed his cards into the center, followed shortly by a confused Emiko. That left the intelligence officer, the strategist, and the poker player.

The final card was flipped and Shunso looked at his cards. Full house, seven high. Betting a little more, Yokona looked at the table before groaning and tossing her cards in with a pout. That left Kuniyoshi who looked at Shunso with a calm expression with his aviators on. The two looked at each other. The final card was flipped and Shunso looked at the table. He couldn't see any higher combo then his… so he made a big bet.

Kuniyoshi matched the bet and flipped his cards… revealing that he had a straight flush. This caused Shunso to sigh and reveal his full house. The poker player chuckled with a smirk as he took his chips. "Heh! Better luck next time! I've been owning at this game since I was fourteen."

As Kuniyoshi started shuffling the cards again, Shunso looked at the others. "So… if I may ask… what started this poker game?"

Wally spoke up with a smile. "Well, I ran into Nishino-san who said he was going to go play a game of poker. I said I would help get some people for the game."

Yokona then puffed her chest a bit and had a confident expression. "And then he asked me! Being the master strategist I am, of course I came along to prove my skills!"

Kuniyoshi then started to laugh which cause the strategist to glare at him. "Yeah… but you still can't top the master!"

"SHUT UP!"

As the strategist yelled at the poker player in the background as he poked fun at her, Shunso turned his head to the ballet dancer. "And what about you Seta-san?

The ballet dancer looked up at the intelligence officer before sighing. "I was practicing my routine when they came in. Mr. Wilson then made me join their game… despite me saying I have never played."

Wally just chuckled lightly. "Well… I figured you could take a break and have fun! Take it easy."

This caused the dancer to look at him with a tired expression. "What I do with my time is my choice Mr. Wilson."

Shunso nodded at the strange group of players before stopping for a second. He thought back to what Kuniyoshi said for a second and looked at him with a raised brow. "Wait… fourteen? Isn't the age for gambling in Japan twenty years of age?"

This caused the poker player to chuckled and tilt his shades down lightly. "What are ya? Cops?"

Shunso just responded at him with a deadpan look. "…I'm an intelligence officer. So yes… I am."

Kuniyoshi looked at him and scoffed lightly before going back to a smirk. "Relax! Relax! I'm messing with ya! I mainly played with my brother and then started playing internationally when I was old enough."

Shunso raised a brow at that. "Your brother?"

Kuniyoshi nodded. "Yeah. He was a bartender at a pool hall… kinda similar to this room. Mainly played billiards but he showed me the ropes on poker."

Shunso thought about it before smiling. "I see… sounds like a strong bond."

Kuniyoshi waved his hand lightly and chuckled. "Eh… he's doing his own thing. Been a few years since I've really seen him. You know how it is."

The intelligence officer nodded before returning to the game. The five continued to play as they even helped teach Emiko how it worked for the most part. By the end of it, the five of them were simply just enjoying themselves. Of course, some took it more seriously while others were not fully into the game, but it was a pleasant time. There were moments where each person took a break from the game, from Emiko going back to practicing her ballet to Yokona trying to figure out a winning strategy for the game. Overall, it was a pleasant time.

By the time it was wrapping up, an announcement could be heard over the intercoms. "Upupupupupu! This is an announcement! It is almost 10 pm and officially nighttime! Entry to certain locations have will be locked soon so please head to your dorms! Entry to the locked locations once nighttime starts is strictly prohibited! Sweet dreams~"

Upon hearing that, Kuniyoshi sighed and started to pack up the poker kit before looking at the others. "Well, looks like that's the end of that."

However, before anyone could leave, Wally spoke up. "Well… why stop here?"

Everyone turned to him as he continued. "What if we made this a thing? Not every day of course… but every few days."

Kuniyoshi smirked at this while Shunso simply shrugged. Yokona was unsure until Kuniyoshi taunted her. "Oh? Afraid to get schooled by the master again?"

This caused her to give a glare at the poker player before turning to Wally. "I'm not afraid of anything! Count me in!"

This left Emiko who looked less then thrilled. "…do I have to?"

However, it wasn't long before the dancer sighed and nodded. "Fine… but know this is not a priority for me."

And with that, the five went off on their separate ways. Shunso headed back to his room to prepare himself for his first night shift. How would the train change during the night? Who knows…

-TO BE CONTINUED-

16/16 REMAINING

Hello everyone! PurpleSweetness here!

So… it's been a while. I hope this was worth the wait. I know I'm not the most consistent or anything, but life takes priority. Also… I don't wanna rush this? I know I could sit down more and write faster but I want to enjoy my time!

So with that out of the way… a bit of an explanation of how this works… I want to try have a structure like this. Three moments per part. One moment revolves around the plot (In this case the night shifts), one moment is a solo free time (Ember's FTE), and one moment being a free time taking place in a group (this one being Kuniyoshi's but there being four other characters around). How this is decided depends on different factors but the main goal I want is to try and have every character appears at some point per chapter.

But other then that, I hope you're enjoying the story. That's all for now!

PurpleSweetness signing out!