10:06 AM, Day 1
Jabberwock Park, Central Island
A moment of silence met Usami's declaration, so stunned was everyone by her appearance. Kaede couldn't help but be like her peers in that regard, shocked as she was by the appearance of a talking, flying stuffed rabbit. She briefly wondered if she was asleep, and that his was all some sort of bizarre fever dream she was having, but a pinch to her cheeks confirmed that yes, she was in fact awake.
That moment of shock soon passed though, as everyone around her started talking all at once. A thunderous noise filled the park as the voices of nineteen other people intermingled with each other, everyone trying to speak over the other in a bid to be heard, and get answers from the new 'Mayor' of Jabberwock Island.
"Woah!" Usami reared back, apparently unprepared for this sudden cacophony of noise. "I-I can't answer everyone all at once! One at a t-time, please!"
That seemed to help quail some of the noise, as everyone around her calmed down. Before someone sensible could speak up though, she heard Mondo's voice ring out from the crowd.
"Who the hell are you, and what the fuck are we doing here?!" he demanded, his fury radiating throughout the crowd.
Not the most delicate way to ask that, but, well, it was a valid question.
"L-Like I said, I'm Usami, and I'm the Mayor of Jabberwock Island!" the rabbit repeated, sounding a little nervous. "And as for what you're doing here...well, this is your new home, silly! This is the place where all of you will be spending the rest of your lives!"
Another marked silence took place after that, though for different reasons. For her part, Kaede couldn't help but feel a chill go down her spine.
Th-this was a joke, right? Some sort of weird, obnoxious prank? That was the only thing that could explain this, in her mind. Because nothing about this made sense! She was still trying to wrap her head around how this flying plush toy could talk, and now she was expected to believe...this?!
"The rest of our lives?" she heard Byakuya speak up behind her. "That's...that's insane! There's no way we can stay here forever! That is just absolutely absurd!"
"I agree with that! Besides, how am I ever going to go to Comic-Con if I'm forced to stay here for the rest of my life?" Hifumi added.
That led to another eruption of noise, as everyone started speaking up at once a second time. Kaede couldn't help but add her own voice to it this time, not wanting to stand for this either! This Jabberwock Island looked nice enough, she supposed, but there was no way she could stay here for the rest of her life! Not without a piano to play, at least!
Oh, and her twin sister too, of course. She couldn't stand the thought of being apart from Keiko the rest of her life!
Meanwhile, Usami remained silent in the face of their demands and denouncements. This went on for a good minute, as the crowd of Ultimates shouted at her. Then, quite abruptly, she spoke.
"Shut the HELL UP, YOU UNGRATEFUL MAGGOTS!"
Her voice thundered across the park, becoming twisted and distorted toward the end. Kaede couldn't help but wince at the volume, covering her ears slightly afterward. Everyone around her, meanwhile, was once more stunned into silence.
"You think you have a choice here? Oh me, oh my, how quaint!" Usami went on, bellowing out a malicious laugh. "Well, listen up, and listen well, maggots! Whatever power you had in the Outside World, whatever privilege and prestige you held, whatever ranks were bestowed upon you...they don't matter here. I am the one in charge here, and compared to me, you are all filthy, disgusting little maggots. Unworthy of anything at all! In fact, I have half a mind to have you all killed for your insolent display. But...I am a kind, gracious Mayor, so I won't go that far. Right now, at least."
Kaede stared at the creature uneasily, a sense of dread starting to sprout up within her. From the murmurs she heard around her, Kaede figured that everyone else felt much the same as her.
She didn't have long to contemplate Usami's words though, before the rabbit spoke again.
"Now! With that out of the way, I will confess: you all don't have to spend the rest of your lives here. In fact, there's a very simple solution here! One that will guarantee your freedom, and get you a plane ticket out of here!" she said.
Kaede blinked, not expecting something like that. Still, she regarded Usami cautiously. Something told her that whatever this requirement to leave was, it wouldn't be good.
"And what's that?" she found herself asking aloud. "What do we need to do to get out of here?"
Usami remained silent for a few seconds, before she issued another spine-chilling chuckle. "Why, it's ever so simple. All you need to do is kill somebody."
You could hear a pin drop in the utter quiet that followed Usami's bold declaration. Kaede, for her part, merely stared at Usami with horror-filled eyes, unable to believe her ears.
Was this real...? Th-this had to be a joke, right?
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Akane exclaimed. "You really expect us to do shit like that? Fuck you!"
"Oh ho! You're a feisty one, aren't you? I'm sure you'll do greaaat here. And yes, I DO expect you to do it...stabbing, bludgeoning, strangling, evisceration, decapitation, hell, you can beat someone to death with a rubber chicken for all I care. As long as you can commit a murder...and get away with it...you're free to leave whenever you want!" Usami reiterated.
"G-Get away with it?" Shuichi spoke up besides her, looking as nervous as she felt. Still, he managed to stare up at Usami without flinching or anything. "Are there...rules to this then? Something we should know?"
Usami tilted her head, staring down at Shuichi, long enough to the point where he did end up looking away. As soon as he did, she cackled once again and replied. "Very astute observation there, Mister Detective! Yup, as fun as it would be to see everyone here go on a murder spree, a real free-for-all...that's been done already, and I wanna try something different! So with that in mind...I'd like to welcome everyone here to the Second Annual Killing Game! What's a killing game, you might ask? It's very simple."
"In the Killing Game, your goal will be to murder one or more students, in order to secure your ticket to freedom! However, don't think you can just murder willy nilly, and get away with it! Every time someone dies, I shall hold a Class Trial, in order to determine who the guilty party, or Blackened, is! If you guys correctly guess who the culprit is, congratulations! You will win the class trial, and be awarded a prize, while the Blackened is punished!
"However, if you get it wrong, you guys are the ones who'll get punished, while the Blackened will be given access to the plane in the airfield, and be flown away from Jabberwock Island! And just to be clear...when I say 'punished', I mean executed. So at the end of each class trial, either the Blackened will be executed for their crimes, or the class a whole will be, for failing to catch them!" Usami proclaimed, and paused, letting them all have a chance to digest that bit of news.
Kaede fiddled with her hair, feeling that knot of dread and horror expand within her. Oh god, this wasn't a joke, was it? Was this thing really serious? Did she really expect them to...kill each other, in order to escape from this island? That was insane! No one would ever...
At the same time though, Kaede couldn't help but glance at the others around her. Almost all of them perfect strangers, people she'd never even met before. Could she really trust all of them to resist this sort of temptation?
No, what was she thinking?! This was just...what Usami wanted, wasn't it?! To divide them, and fill them with paranoia! Well she wasn't gonna have that!
Before she could saw as much though, she saw Usami reach behind herself with one paw, and suddenly thrust it forward, filling the air with what looked like handbooks or smart pads. They rained down upon the students, Kaede quickly snatching one from the air before it hit her.
As she grabbed it, it powered to life, her name briefly flashing upon the screen before it presented a home screen of some sort. A few apps were present on the screen, though she didn't have much time to investigate them.
"Because I am such a generous Mayor, I think it's only fair that I gave everyone here handbooks to help navigate their new daily lives! On these student handbooks, you'll find a map of each island in the Jabberwock archipelago, though for now you'll only have access to the maps of the first and central island. Also included are a few games, a virtual wallet where you can store collected Usa-coins, patent pending, and the rules for the Second Annual Killing Game! In fact, if you'd all be so kind as to read the rules? I'll also be reading them aloud for those too dumb to read...like you, Mondo!"
She heard Mondo growl somewhere in the crowd, but Kaede paid him no heed. Instead, she pressed the app with the giant 'R' on it, figuring it would hold the rules. Sure enough, it did, and Kaede spent the next few minutes reading them over.
1: Students are required to cohabitate at Jabberwock Island for the remainder of the foreseeable future.
2: All acts of violence toward Usami, the Mayor of Jabberwock Island, are strictly prohibited.
3: The Body Discovery Announcement will play as soon as three or more people discover a body for the first time.
4: Only two students can be killed at any one time by a single culprit.
5: When a murder is committed on the island, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.
6: If the killer (here in after referred to as "the Blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.
7: If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.
8: If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will be given a ticket out of Jabberwock Island, and sent back home via plane.
9: If innocent students continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only one student remains. This will trigger the Sole Survivor clause, allowing the single remaining student to leave the island, regardless of whether or not they've killed someone.
10: There is an alternative to the Sole Survivor clause. If a majority of students believe they have discovered the identity of the Mastermind, then they can call on the Mayor to hold a final class trial. If the students are successful in ascertaining the Mastermind's identity, they will be allowed to leave Jabberwock Island. If they fail, or accuse the wrong student, then they will be subject to execution, making the Mastermind the Sole Survivor.
11: Usami will never directly participate in a murder.
12: Destroying any property of this island without permission is expressly prohibited. This includes the surveillance cameras and monitors.
13: Your Usapads are very important items. Make sure you do not damage them.
14: You are free to investigate this island at your own discretion. Your actions in this regard are not limited.
15: Students who violate these rules will be exterminated with extreme prejudice by either the Mayor or the Police of Jabberwock Island.
16: A select group of students will be selected to act as 'Staff' for the duration of the Killing Game. The staff are charged with the upkeep of Hotel Mirai, and will need to follow every order issued by the Mayor. Failure to comply will result in a strike: earn three strikes, and the Staff in question will be punished.
17: The Staff cannot be attacked or killed by any students. Anyone attempting to harm a Staff member will be swiftly punished.
18: The Staff will not be counted as students, and will be regarded as a separate group. They will give testimony when required during class trials, but will otherwise serve as passive observers for trials. If the Staff survive to the end of the Killing Game, they may escape alongside the Sole Survivor.
19: The Mayor may add additional regulations to this list at any time.
"And those are the rules!" Usami said, as soon as she finished reading them aloud. "Now with that out of the way, allow me to introduce the Jabberwock Police Force! They will be enforcing the rules when I am not present, and are tasked with automatically punishing any rule breakers!"
As soon as she said that, the the rumble of marching feet filled the air. Before Kaede or anyone else realized it, they were surrounded by a hoard of...robots. That's what they clearly were. They were large, bi-pedal mechanical beings, with thin arms and legs. They were painted a mixture of blue and gray, had ominous red eyes, and painted-on teeth in a facsimile of a mouth.
The thing that really caught Kaede's attention, though, was the right forearm of each robot. In place of a regular arm and hand, they had a gun turret installed. From the look of them, it seemed they could fire a lot of bullets too: enough to prove instantly fatal, if not outright rip someone to bloody shreds.
"Behold our lovely boys in blue! Aren't they a grand sight?" Usami stated, giving a dreamy sigh, of all things, as she stared at the deadly mechanoids. "They aren't near as smart as me though, so don't expect them to answer any questions. Now! It's time to pick the Staff for Jabberwock Island! Any volunteers?"
No one immediately responded to Usami, but that seemed to be an answer enough for her. She waved her staff around, as if to cast a magic spell: and while everyone was transfixed with that, four of the police robots moved in amongst them.
Each of them had a bulky looking collar in their hand, and before anyone could react, four of these collars were clamped around the necks of Byakuya, Yasuhiro, Miu, and Mukuro. Well, to be fair, Mukuro was actually able to react in time, turning to twist away from the robot nearest her, but she was suddenly gut-punched by a second robot who flashed in front of her: that stunned her long enough to get the collar clamped around her neck.
"And there we go! Our staff has been chosen. Give them a round of applause, everyone!" Usami crowed. Meanwhile, the four 'volunteers' all tried to pry the collars off of their necks, but to no success.
"Oh, that reminds me! There's one last thing before I end things here."
Kaede turned her attention back to Usami, casting a wary gaze at her. It wasn't until everyone had turned their attention to the rabbit that she spoke, and what she did next turned Kaede pale with fear.
"I know some of you must still be doubting me. You think this is a prank, or that I'm not serious. Well, let me assure you, I am quite serious. And just to make sure everyone here gets the point...I'll allow myself one act of senseless violence. After all, it's been a long day, and I deserve it!" she said, before giving another mad cackle.
A moment later, Usami's free paw opened up on itself, revealing the barrel of a gun inside. Seconds later, a deafening, booming noise echoed through the park. Within moments, a loud, piercing scream filled the air, and everyone broke apart, scattering away on instinct.
When Kaede turned back to look where she'd stood, she saw Rantaro collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain, and clutching his left arm. Blood, so much blood, was pouring out from between his fingers.
"And there we go! With that, I officially begin the Second Annual Killing Game: Paradise Island Edition!" Usami cheered, thrusting a paw up victoriously. "And personally...I can't wait to see what sort of futile actions you all resort to. Fufufufufu..."
WELCOME, ONE AND ALL, TO THE SECOND ANNUAL KILLING GAME!
STARRING,
KAEDE AKAMATSU
"...I-I don't understand! None of this...none of this makes any sense! How can-!"
SHUICHI SAIHARA
"Kaede...I know things don't look good right now, but...I have faith in you! With you and Byakuya leading us forward, we can beat this Killing Game!"
TSUMUGI SHIROGANE
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."
MONDO OWADA
"Say that again, asshole! Say that one more goddamn time!"
TERUTERU HANAMURA
"What do I miss most, huh? Well...my mother, I suppose. She's a kind, gentle woman, taught me everything I know about cookin'! I just hope she's okay out there..."
SAYAKA MAIZONO
"Is that so strange to consider? I mean, I was basically told I couldn't have a boyfriend. But they never said anything about-"
IBUKI MIODA
"Eh? Ibuki is supposed to give an ominous sentence out of context? B-But, Ibuki doesn't know what to say-!"
KOREKIYO SHINGUJI
"Sonia, please stop for a moment. None of what you've told me is adding up in my head. How can you successfully train a child to operate a tank? How has your country managed to retain its absolute monarchy, despite every other country in Europe abandoning such a system? And what, pray tell, is a skong? I just...I'm having a hard time understanding..."
AKANE OWARI
"Touch my plate, and you will lose that goddamn hand."
HIFUMI YAMADA
"Collecting figurines is a respectable hobby, damn you! It is NOT a waste of money!"
NAGITO KOMAEDA
"Don't you see? This is the only way the greatest amount of Hope can be made. Only through the deepest, darkest pits of despair, can a truly brilliant Hope be forged!"
MIU IRUMA
"Goddamnit, I hate this! It's like it's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't get it out! Ugh, my fucking head...what is wrong with me?! Why can't I remember?!"
TOKO FUKAWA
"Yeah, r-right. I know what you're r-really thinking, y-you perverted e-emo boy! D-Don't think I-I don't kn-know what you're r-really after!"
YASUHIRO HAGAKURE
"Ha! Everything's coming up Yasuhiro!"
RANTARO AMAMI
"I know things seem grim, but trust me, I've been through situations like this before. If we all work together, I know we can succeed."
BYAKUYA TOGAMI(?)
"I have sworn to complete any task given to me, within reason. And that, I am afraid, is a task I am unwilling to do."
CHIHIRO FUJISAKI
"I...have to become strong. It's difficult to explain, but...it's just something I need to do. Please, can you help me?"
MIKAN TSUMIKI
"Ah! N-Nooo! Pl-please, don't stare! Ooh, now I'm never going to get married!"
SONIA NEVERMIND
"Ah, Mukuro! How nice to see you. I was just in need of a sparring partner. Would you terribly mind fulfilling that position?"
AND
MUKURO IKUSABA
"Why does everyone keep assuming I'm planning on stealing their clothes?"
FEATURING
NEW EXECUTIONS
NEW MURDERS
A NEW MASTERMIND
AND MUCH MORE
THIS IS
DANGANRONPA: ABSOLUTION IN A DYING WORLD
Review Response
AV: Keiko is Kaede's twin sister in this continuity.
Kobold: Glad you're enjoying it! Far as Byakuya(?) and the Kirigiri goes, there's a rather simple answer to that. And heh, I'll try not to, but I make no promises when it comes to Yuri pairings. :P
Celestial: I have a fondness for Hiyoko myself, so I did regret that she didn't end up in the story. But, worry not, I have plans for her! She'll definitely make an appearance in the sequel, if one gets written. As for Sayaka's arc, I also have some interesting plans for her! I also really enjoyed having Hifumi just get shit on by everyone, that was fun. As for your questions about Monokuma and Junko...I hope this helps answer them! ;)
JC: The answer to your question is: yes. :P
Guest: I gotta admit, I made it a personal challenge to try and make Teruteru more likable, and less of a sex offender. Glad that's paying off!
PurpleGod: Thanks! Glad you're liking it. Hope you continue to stick with this!