Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa. All characters belong to Kazutaka Kodaka.
...
Hope's Peak Academy was in every sense of the word extraordinary. From the professors to the students, each member of the campus stood out above the rest. And that was for one very simple reason: Every person who had the privilege of passing through the academy's doors was an ultimate.
The title of "ultimate" rested upon each of the students' heads like a crown of light. They were beacons meant to lead the world to a bright, hopeful future. Their talents, a guide for the tragically mediocre masses to strive for something bigger than themselves. At least that's what the school's guidebook said.
Nagito Komaeda, the ultimate lucky student of class 77, basked in the glory of Hope's Peak. Of course, his luck could hardly be considered an ultimate talent when compared to his classmates, but it did place him a step above the untalented individuals that lay outside the academy's gate. He knew his place, and he humbly accepted it. The opportunity to simply exist in the presence of the ultimates was worth being a stepping stone for them. If only he could actually convince them to use him as such though.
It was a good life. So naturally everything had to change.
A year passed and Hope's Peak Academy accepted a new ultimate lucky student.
Makoto Naegi. Short. Clumsy. Completely, utterly average.
At the beginning of the new school year, Komaeda observed Naegi from afar. He observed the new luckster's interactions with his classmates and approvingly saw that he too believed himself to be below the level of his classmates. Naegi didn't go so far as to say he was worthless, but thankfully he had a general idea of his true place.
As far as Komaeda could tell, Naegi's luck didn't operate in cycles of extreme good and bad luck as his did. In fact, Naegi's luck seemed heavily skewed towards the bad end of the luck scale, only occasionally gifting him good luck every once in a while. Its seemingly random pattern made it difficult to understand and even more difficult to predict.
Beyond his observations, Komaeda's interactions with Naegi were few and far between, despite the latter's persistence. It was as if the younger luckster had made it his only goal in life to befriend every single classmate he came into contact with. Once once did Komaeda try to compare his luck with Naegi's and the event had garnered more attention than either one of them appreciated. Surprisingly enough, even that hadn't diminished Naegi's friendly demeanor towards him.
It wasn't that Komaeda went out of his way to avoid Naegi, but the boy's sharing of the ultimate lucky student title sat uncomfortably with Komaeda. Ultimate meant the best of the best, the top tier of talent. Many people could cook—some might even be considered good at it—but only one could be called the ultimate chef. Although luck was a poor excuse of a talent, the rules of being an ultimate should still hold true. It would be an insult to his classmates and the ultimates that came before him if a lowly talent such as his could bend those rules.
Komaeda could live with Naegi's presence at the school. Their luck differed greatly enough that the title of ultimate lucky student could possibly be shared. At least that's what he kept telling himself.
It was an acceptable life. So naturally everything had to change once more.
A year passed and Hope's Peak Academy accepted a third ultimate lucky student.
One ultimate with a title was standard. Two ultimates sharing a title was unusual, if not unorthodox. Three ultimates sharing a title was blatant disrespect for the mere definition of the word ultimate.
Komaeda didn't bother to observe this new student. As a result of his own luck, he had stumbled across the new lucksters student file laying conveniently on an unattended desk in the classroom.
Keitaro Tokuda. Dark auburn hair, brown-rimmed glasses, and a slightly wrinkled school uniform betrayed none of the striking features usually associated with ultimates. He appeared even more unremarkable than Naegi. A quick glance through the rest of the file gave Komaeda all the information that he needed to know. At this rate, Hope's Peak would enroll yet another ultimate lucky student at the start of next year, and that simply wouldn't do.
…
"Komaeda-kun," Headmaster Kirigiri said wearily. "I appreciate your concern on this matter, but the truth is that we have little interest in choosing an ultimate ultimate lucky student at this time." He glanced at the clock, noting that this impromptu meeting was quickly taking up most of his lunch break. He set aside the papers he had been sorting through and gave Komaeda his full attention. "I had to argue quite a bit with the school board about your acceptance alone. Most here believe that luck does not qualify as a talent and are reluctant to study it as such. I'm thankful that the yearly drawing is still continuing at this point."
Komaeda's smile persisted as it had throughout the entire meeting, but something in his gaze sharpened enough for the headmaster to be wary. "I understand what you're saying, Kirigiri-sensei," the boy began, "But with multiple people sharing the title of ultimate lucky student, does that not take away the significance of the ultimate title?" He leaned forward, eyes shining. "It wouldn't be fair to my fellow classmates who have trained throughout their entire lives to have their ultimate title disgraced like that. To share my title would be to purposefully dim the light of their hope! I think that—."
The headmaster cleared his throat, effectively interrupting Komaeda's tangent.
"Ah, forgive me," Komaeda said with a light chuckle. "An untalented nobody like me should remember their place, especially when talking to someone as talented as you, Kirigir-sensei."
All too familiar with Komaeda's antics, Kirigiri immediately responded, "You're not an untalented nobody, Komaeda-kun. You are a valued student of Hope's Peak Academy and a talented one at that."
Komaeda opened his mouth, likely to disagree, but before he could get anything out, Kirigiri hurriedly resumed talking. "I firmly believe that if we keep proceeding as we are now, we can obtain enough data to understand how luck functions as a talent. It's your contributions to these studies that make such a huge difference. Both you and Naegi-kun have allowed us to advance our knowledge as much as we have, and it is my hope that Tokuda-kun will further our research as well."
Komaeda eyed the man calculatingly. It was clear to him that Jin Kirigiri would be of no help. The man's obsession with researching and collecting talent blinded him from what truly mattered. It allowed him to sully the revered title of ultimate. It was almost despairful how obsession could take over someone's life like that.
None of that really mattered though. It was bad luck that Plan A of reasoning with the headmaster had fallen through. That only meant that good luck would guide him through Plan B.
"I see now!" Komaeda said brightly, clapping his hands together. "It is truly an honor to be of service in your studies! Perhaps, Naegi-kun, Tokuda-kun, and I should get to know each other better then so that we can all do our best to contribute to the academy's research."
Kirigiri visibly relaxed, leaning back into his chair. "Yes," he said. "That would be quite helpful actually. Since that event with you and Naegi-kun, we've been interested in observing how the different types of luck interact with each other." His eyes drifted to the picture frame at the corner of his desk displaying him and his daughter. He smiled. "But beyond that, here at Hope's Peak, we also want you to build up your relationships with other students along with your talents. Getting to know your classmates better would help you develop both."
"Then I will do my best to do so," Komaeda said with a determined nod. He paused and frowned as if a thought had suddenly come to him. "It's too bad that the ultimate lucky students are all in different classes though," he said. "It's difficult to find time to interact with one another."
"Unfortunately, that is true," Kirigri admitted. "But I do believe that the lunch periods of each class overlap and there is always time after school, of course."
"Oh!" Komaeda said suddenly. "Kirigiri-sensei, if trash like me could be so bold as to suggest an idea. Seeing as there are three lucky students now and this number is bound to grow in the future, would it be possible for us to form a school-sponsored club? It would ensure that we have time and a place to meet regularly."
Although the headmaster frowned when Komaeda referred to himself as trash, his expression was thoughtful. "You would have to keep track of finances and meetings," he said slowly. "And fill out the proper forms." He took a deep breath. "But I don't see why not."
And with that, Plan B was set in motion. If Hope's Peak refused to learn who was truly the ultimate lucky student, then Komaeda was more than happy to take matters into his own hands.