CHAPTER ONE

I groaned when I opened my eyes to see the sun blaring down at me. Beneath my fingers and stuck underneath my nails was sand. So much sand…

Another groan left my lips at t he thought of having to get it out of all the places it shouldn't be. Why was I on a beach? I would never willingly go on one. I hated beaches. Ugh…

I turned my head to the side and saw… more sand. It was as if I was stuck in purgatory. How could one place have so much sand?

"Hey! Hey!"

With a stressed out sigh, I sat up and saw a pale face beam back at me. "Hey, how are you?"

I rubbed my eyes. "Awful. This is awful. Who are you and where am I?" Who was this strange man? Was he the one who kidnapped me here or had we been washed ashore together? Judging from the sand on him, it was most likely the latter.

"Oh… that's too bad." His face fell before lighting up again. "I hope you feel better soon. I'm Komaeda Nagito – the Ultimate Lucky student. I know it's a stupid talent," he sighed. "But never mind that. What about you?"

"I'm… Saeki Rin," I replied. Could I really tell him what my ultimate was? It was so ridiculous, especially considering who he was and he already thought his talent was terrible.

He continued to wait for me to continue with that goofy expression on his face, until I quickly mumbled the rest of my answer. He tilted his head in confusion. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear that. Do you mind repeating? It can't be as bad as mine, so please, don't be shy."

Still, I hesitated. He didn't – couldn't possibly – understand how embarrassing this was. The fact that I was still alive to contemplate all this was extremely surprisingly in and of itself.

"Rin-chan?" He blinked at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"I… I…" With a deep breath, I finally blurted out my shameful secret. "I'm the Ultimate Unlucky Student!"

His jaw fell and I quickly stood up to leave, but he was quicker. His hand grabbed my upper arm. "Wait! Don't go! I'm just… surprised. I never thought I'd meet someone with such a… such a… hopeful talent!"

What stupidity was coming out of his mouth, now? Did he really think such a blatant lie would fool me?

When I turned to snap at him, I noticed the sparkles in his eyes and realised that perhaps he was being genuine after all, but I couldn't seem to wrap my head around how that could be. "Why are you…?"

"I'm so envious! For someone to be unlucky… The despair… The hope that comes after conquering that despair!" he gushed, leaning towards me with swirling green eyes. "To wake up every day just to know that you had beat another day of despair!"

Gritting my teeth, I slapped him across the face. "Don't even joke about it! Do you even know how much I had to go through? All the hardships… The trauma… The loss… Never talk light about it!

His hand fell and I ran away from him. The tears streamed down my face as all the memories hit me all at once. This was why I applied to Hope's Peak Academy, to get away from my past, but just days after, I end up on this fucking beach! That was just my luck, wasn't it?

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and the sound of rustling. I looked up to see a palm tree tumbling down in my direction.

I let out a terrified scream, but someone pulled me back and I fell against a warm body.

With my heart pounding in my chest and blood rushing to my head, I nearly missed what they were saying.

"Lucky that I got to you in time," he laughed softly before sobering up. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but… being the Ultimate Lucky student, all I am is a stepping stone for all the other hopefuls with talents much more impressive than mine. Yours is a prime example. I just… I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, Rin-chan. Forgive me?"

How could I not with the way he was looking at me? Not only that, he did just save my life. And so, I nodded and hoped that I wasn't going to regret my decision.

He smiled. "Thank you! Now, why don't you stay close to me? Maybe then, we'll be able to balance each other out!"

That actually didn't seem like such a bad idea, but he was so strange. Would my sanity survive this?

"I'll take good care of you, Rin-chan." His voice had a huskier undertone and there was darkness in his eyes that sent shivers down my spine, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone and he was back to all smiles.

We made our way around the beach and found another body in the sane. He was brunet in a white dress shirt and green tie – a typical school outfit.

What was going on? Why were we all stranded here on a random island? How could I have no memories of what happened between being accepted to the academy and now? The last thing I remembered was receiving my acceptance letter and I left my foster home. I thought I had put the worst behind me, but now, the future didn't seem so hopeful.

The male turned out to be Hinata Hajime and his amnesia was even worse than mine. He couldn't even recall what his talent was.

As Komaeda decided to stay with Hinata, I explored the rest of the island. A part of me was hoping he'd come with me for a little while longer as my good luck charm, but he was still only a stranger and I couldn't possible put that much hope in him. Besides, I was the one who walked away. I wasn't particularly good with crowds and the feeling that I was imposing all the time prevented me from mingling.

"Oi! You!"

I looked over to the right to see a pink-haired guy stomp over to me. "Hey, what the Hell is going on here?!" he shouted at me as if I was the reason he was stranded. I went into the safe space in my mind whenever someone yelled at me.

I was pretty used to being blamed for things. It came with my unorthodox "talent." I didn't really know how I ended up being accepted to the academy. Maybe they took pity on me – for someone to actually register themselves as the Ultimate Unlucky Student.

If only you weren't so pathetic, then maybe no one would have to yell at you.

I pushed that voice away. Sometimes, they still leaked through when I wasn't at my best, but most of the time, I had it under control.

"Are you listening to me?!" he yelled some more.

"No, I wasn't," I truthfully confessed. "If I told you my name, would you tell me yours?"

He huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance, but a soft blush painted his face as he looked away. "Yeah…"

"I'm Saeki Rin. I came here probably the same way you did, but I can't remember how," I told him. "I really only want to go to the school I applied to."

"Oh, you mean Hope's Peak Academy?" he asked, a surprised look on his face.

I nodded.

"I guess you're a student, too, then?" He appeared sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for uh… yelling at you. I was uh… just confused. I'm Souda Kazuichi, but the way. The Ultimate Mechanic!"

I was glad that he was distracted by a beautiful blonde before he could ask about my talent. Was my curse finally alleviating?

"Look at her." Souda was practically salivating. "Come on, introduce me to her, so it's not awkward!"

He dragged me over to the female who gave a startled cry when we appeared before her. "State your names! Are you the ones who abducted me?" She put her hands on her hips as she gazed accusingly at us.

Here we go again…

I ended up going through the same terrible routine over and over again, until I finally met everyone. We were all first years about to start Hope's Peak Academy and none of us knew how we came to be here.

"Hello, everyone!"

I jumped and accidentally stepped on Saionji who let out an angry exclamation before shoving me away. For such a tiny girl, she sure was strong…

"Hey, be careful." Komaeda righted me with a smile. 'Here, I'll stand like this so you won't bump into anyone else."

He positioned himself behind me with a hand on my waist.

"Wh – What are you - ?!" I flushed bright red. How dare he?!

"Don't worry. I won't be doing anything unless you want me to." That same dark look filled his eyes as he gazed down at me. "And no one will notice us as long as that pink rabbit is around. She's cute, isn't she?"

Yeah, Usami was a cute rabbit, but she only added to the confusion. What alternative universe had I fallen into? Was she an animatronic? She had to be, right? But who was controlling her?

Despite being seemingly kidnapped by this pink rabbit, she seemed friendly enough and didn't appear to mean us any harm, so I tugged Komaeda away from the scene to escape the sun. "Sorry. I think I'm getting sunburnt there and I'm feeling a little dizzy…"

He quickly sat me down on the wooden patio in front of a cabin before retrieving a glass of water from inside. "Here, this will help. Drink up or you'll become dehydrated."

"Where did you even get this from…?" I asked, looking suspiciously at the crystal clear liquid.

He grinned, plopping down beside me. "I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student, remember? I went inside and there's a large dining hall and kitchen inside."

I blinked. Seriously? His luck was truly amazing! It was like magic. If I asked him to do something or get me something, would he be able to do it or will my unluckiness prevail instead?

If I was the one to go in, I would probably break the floorboard and my legs at the same time!

"Thank you, Komaeda-san." I gave him a grateful smile and took a sip of the water. It was cool and refreshing. "What do you think will become of us?" I asked, rotating the sparkling glass in my hands.

"Who knows? But whatever happens, we'll be fine!" He sounded so confident, but why wouldn't he? He was the Ultimate Lucky Student, which meant that he would be fine no matter what happened. The same couldn't exactly be said about me…

Seeing my downcast eyes, he went on. "I won't let anything happen to you, either! Knowing this, it fills me with hope!" His eyes were glowing again with determination. 'Doesn't it do the same for you?" His hands were cupping my own and for some reason…

It did.

I was once again given… hope and I wasn't about to let it go because for the first time in forever, I wasn't drowning with despair.

"Hey, wake up! I think something is happening over there!" I heard a soft voice and a gentle nudge rouse me from my peaceful slumber.

I lifted my head from his shoulder and felt my face flush. When had I even fallen asleep? I seemed to have missed everything regarding Usami or had that just been a dream? It all seemed so surreal.

"Come on." Komaeda stood up and held out his hand to me.

I accepted it, while brushing my pants off.

"Nooooo!" came a high pitch wail of the pink rabbit that was being abused by a black and white… teddy bear? "Violence is strictly prohibited on this island. Why are you being so meaaaan?"

The bear cackled and proceeded to change the winged, magical rabbit into something more to his image. She lost all her magic and was left looking like a pink and white rabbit version of this Monokuma. He even renamed her into Monomi.

"Puhuhuhuhuhu…" Monokuma continued to laugh at the chaos he created. He, then, explained that everyone was now participating in a Killing Game where the only way to win was to murder and get away with it after going through a Class Trial. If we weren't able to them, then we'd all die and allow the murderer to walk free. It was difficult wrapping my mind around it. Did he really expect us to… kill each other? Why would we even do that? "Good luck, everyone!"

We were only high school students. There was no way anyone would resort to killing.

I ran to the edges of the island and other than water and sand, there were several gates guarded by large robotic beasts – Monobeasts, he called them. They paid no attention to me, so I began to inch forward, hoping that I would be able to sneak past, but the large serpent suddenly snapped its metal jaw at me.

With my heart racing, I managed to stumble away with my head intact, but it had sliced a shallow gash across my right cheek. It didn't strike again, but I wasn't going anywhere near it without a plan and a weapon.

I searched a bit more and found a supermarket. It was surprisingly stocked, but nothing particularly useful unless I could take down one of those beasts with a surfboard.

More than likely, I would pull a muscle or trip over and have it fall on me. Instead, I strolled over to the snack aisle and looked at the selection. I couldn't recognise any of the brands, but chocolate was chocolate, right? Besides, beggars couldn't be choosers here.

I picked a bar of dark chocolate and opened up the wrapped. I sniffed it first to see if there was anything wrong. It wasn't rancid. Next, I looked at every side. There wasn't even a single spot of bloom. Really? That was unusual. Lastly, I took a very small bite. The chocolate was the perfect combination of sweetness and bitterness.

"What is with that weird face?" Saionji sneered. "Are you a pervert?"

I shook my head. "I just really like chocolate."

She crossed her arms before something caught her eyes. "Whoa! These are my favourite gummies!" She snatched it off the shelf and immediately tore open the packaging and popped a red one into her mouth.

It was strange. She was supposed to be the same age as me, but she looked and behaved years younger. Everyone here was so quirky that I was actually able to easily blend in.

I stepped out with a sigh and closed my eyes as I felt the salty breeze caress me. Maybe I was finally going to get my wish here. Who knows? Komaeda's luck may actually be able to nullify my curse long enough for me to be set free.

Speaking of, I could see his snowy head peeking in and waving at me.

"Komaeda-san," I greeted him.

"You suddenly disappeared, so I was worried. I'm happy to be able to find you here." Of course, he'd find me. His luck seemed to be infallible. His hand was sudden on my cheek, brushing the cut that made me wince. "What happened? You shouldn't have wandered off. I wasn't able to protect you…"

His concerned eyes made me feel guilty for acting so selfishly. "I'm sorry. I was upset over what I heard from Monokuma. You're right, I shouldn't have wandered off. The Monobeasts are actually pretty scary," I laughed.

He sighed. "Rin-chan…"

Taking my hand, he led me over to the first aid aisle with basic supplies and grabbed a few items from the shelves. I felt like a child being guided around and ended up in front of a group of cottages where we were to be staying.

"Do you mind if we go to yours?" he asked. "We can leave the supplies at your place because I have a feeling, you might need it."

I sniffed, turning my nose at him.

His laughter made me smile. He was strange, but… kind. Despite how we met, I actually felt like I could trust him the most out of everyone here.

"There we go," he said after cleaning the wound and gently sticking on the adhesive bandage.

He looked around my room, noting how it seemed to be filled with stuffed animals. They lined all the shelves and piled on top of the bed and couch. "Are you five?"

"Huh?"

He burst out laughing. "Rin-chan is cute."

My face immediately lit up. "S-Stop, Komaeda-san! I didn't decorate the room! It's not my fault! Blame Usami!"

"It does seem like something she would like…" he thoughtfully said. "But my room is more to my style, so this must be what the real Rin-chan is like!"

That was true. No matter how much I could deny it, I loved stuffed animals. They were the friends I could trust to never betray me or hurt me. They would never leave me or die. "… S-So what…?"

"As I said, Rin-chan is cute."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

New story! I was hoping to work on something old that I left hanging, but after watching the gameplays for the Danganronpa trilogy, I became obsessed. I became emotionally attached to the second one. Komaeda Nagito is definitely my favourite character, followed by Oma Kokichi. Who is your favourite character in the series?

I'm also not going to follow the plotline exactly. Some things may pop up a little out of order and they'll be saying slightly different things.

Her talent is also a little unorthodox, but… I couldn't seem to let it go, so I hope you'll still like the story!

Please leave a review if you enjoyed this!