A/N: First of all, a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who has read, followed, reviewed and marked my fanfic as a favourite! Even a bigger thanks to all the OC's you guys submitted. They are actually amazing, all of them, but I had to choose characters based on the plot and overall feel of my story. I did NOT pick the best OC's in fact one of my favourites was left out purely because they didn't really fit the criteria for upcoming plots. Anyway, I will, if I can, include some of the OC's who didn't get in, but for minor parts only.
Most of you requested your OC's to be survivors so of course I've had to shake things up a bit… anyone has the potential to kill in the circumstances right?
[ Italics ] are used throughout this story for my POV characters in-depth thoughts, like thinking aloud. Normal text will be used for mainly observations and 'telling' parts of the story.
[ Underlined ] is to let you know the backing music played
I will also be using play-script styled writing for class trials, investigations and for scenes where the characters emotions aren't as important. However for the purpose of the first few chapters, this won't be the case, as you will need to get used to the personalities and mannerisms of the characters.
The next two chapters will be long, purely for the purpose of you getting to know each character.
By the way, Ken's height is 5'8".
Danganronpa: Spine Tower
Prologue: Hopeful Introductions I
Soundtrack: All Star Apologies [Dangan Ronpa OST]
Several images whirled around my head like a tornado as my eyes suffered the strain from the bright blue flares dancing on the chandelier.
Where the fuck am I?
My vision slowly recovered and I awoke in the ballroom which was dimly lighted by the blue candle lights.
Did I drink too much vodka again? No- !
I remember the woman dressed in monochrome.
Her friendliness, her flirtatious nature and the way she bit her lip in sexual frustration- could you blame her?
She must have acted on it for the purpose to ensure I got here… but why?
I remember the cocktail…what was the name again?
She practically forced me to neck it until it was gone, and that was when I blacked out, or maybe…
…this was simply a setup! A joke to scare us, humour us or whatever.
I mean why would they go through the trouble of throwing away their money for a flashy limo for time barely spent enjoying the experience? They wouldn't even bother hiring a lady so fit either.
Soundtrack: Paused
Overthinking this isn't the time and place anyway. After recollecting my thoughts I looked back up to my refurbished vision to see three people gawping at me as if I fell out some spacecraft.
They must be the other talented students!
On that realisation I began to sweat with embarrassment.
Soundtrack: Beautiful Days (Piano) [Dangan Ronpa OST]
"Finally, sleepy-head has woken up!"
"About time!"
"Aw, he was a cute as a kitten before he woke up!"
Wait! I still am cute!
Voices bounced from all of the walls in the room as I remained dazed staring up at the ceiling.
"Have I just fallen from the ceiling? Or maybe have something on my nose?" I asked with sarcasm breaking the uncomfortable icy atmosphere.
"No, I think it's your frosty blue eyes, man, they have really chilled us to the bone, heh," a voice teased with a delicate voice.
Is that a compliment?
The comical guy offered a hand and helped me to my feet.
"Pleased to meet ya, call me Shogo Hishimori"…
Shogo Hishimori (18) 6'1" - [ Super High School W.H.O.R.E ]
Soft, blonde, neck-length hair, lose lavender shirt, top half un-buttoned and cream pants and brown slippers…
Shogo Hishimori? That's right! It was the 'sexual pest' – a name the media often slapped on him due to his sexual activities with the daughters from politicians and celebrities. He is known for attracting both gals and guys with this effeminate facial features and sexy aura he apparently signals out.
"Hey mate, my name is Ken," I introduced grasping a firm handshake.
The mysterious limo escort was still on my mind. Maybe Shogo may know something about it!
"I don't suppose you've seen a masked lady wearing monochrome?"
"Nah, my eyes are like those of a hawk… but… If your ding-a-ling is tingling there is plenty of chicks to get cosy to later!" Shogo's feisty eyes narrowed to several female students in the ballroom.
His sexual innuendos are so inappropriate right now!
As my eyes processed the remains of the ballroom, it became clear I ended up where I was supposed to.
Why was I asleep though?
"Am I the only one who managed to drink myself to sleep?"
"Nar! We 'yall been as snug as a bug!" A girl with a country accent was next greeting me.
"Howdy partner, ya can call me Fukumoto, Fukumoto Shoko!"
Fukumoto Shoko (18) 5'1" - [ Super high-school Rodeo Star ]
Light blue eyes, with strawberry blonde hair tied in a tight long braid, pear shaped figure, thin black eyeliner, blue jeans, elk skin boots, a brown Stetson and a red plaid shirt worn in a revealing manner.
Her country accent, thick like syrup, brought back a faint memory of when she was on TV being rewarded for the best female rodeo rider. She sure got hurt often due to the dangerous sport, but that didn't stop her from eventually being the best rodeo star in the nation.
"I'm hankerin' for some good ol' brown gargle, looks I'll be waitin' t'll the cows come home!" Her domineering voice bellowed.
Brown gargle? As much as I tried to understand what she was on about, I just couldn't.
"So the both of you also woke up here?" I asked.
"It appears so, I had the chance to take advantage of that sweet delicate peach with the spunky farmyard accent while she was asleep," Shogo fantasised, his eyes evaporating by Fukumoto presence.
"Sweet nibblets! If I had my druthers you'd b' getting' a good ol' spankin' right now!" She scolded.
"Well that's enough temptation for me to get closer to you," he aggravated her in his soothing tone.
I best let Fukumoto rip chunks out of him- aha!
At least now it's clear that I wasn't the only student to haven woken up in this ballroom.
Were we drugged?
"Please excuse his outspoken behaviour, ahaha!," A girl spoke with a light American accent. A sporty dressed girl gave me a confident smile and followed by lightly shaking my hand. "Nice to meetcha dude, my name is Kairu Hikari"…
Kairu Hikari (16) 5'4" [ Super high-school: Basketball Player ]
Emerald eyes, fair skin, red hair with slight curls tucked under a green woolly beanie hat, white buttoned shirt with an orange over-vest, small green skirt, black leggings and brown boots.
I faintly recognize her from sports magazines and in the occasional TV sports broadcasts. She is constantly winning various basketball competitions in Japan as well as her hometown country America.
"I-I know you! You are from the Royal Blue Bandits! Tell me I'm right!" She pleaded in excitement.
"You got it! I knew I had a hot female fan waiting for me in here. I can give you my autograph later," I casually goaded taking her comment in my stride.
"Bleh! Bleh! No, no, no! Not for me… My adoptive sister lurves your music, not sure she takes admiration to you though…" She scowled, rolling her eyes.
"Way to go and kills a man's confidence, eh?" Shogo voiced my thoughts, chuckling discretely.
"Sheesh! Why am I surrounded by hot heads?" She shrugged, clenching her fists. "Anyway, you mentioned a lady dressed in monochrome, right?" Kairu recalled.
"Yeah that's right, she was gettin' all cosy and that, the next thing I remember she used her sexual nature to take advantage of me… and that is what I can remember…"
"How odd... We were in the exact same position, but instead of a lady dressed in monochrome it was a man, a very attractive young- …wait! What am I saying? He was a creepy pervert!"
Wow, was she getting excited about her male escort?
"So it seems we all played through the same sort of events… but you mentioned 'we'?" I asked.
"Oh yeh. All the girls here were accompanied by a male escort." Kairu clarified. "Hold on, Rina knows more about it! Y-you have not been introduced to each other yet have you?" she blushed, scratching the back of her ear. "Rina, come and introduce yourself...," she called, but there was no response.
I scanned the ballroom and noticed the girl, Rina, attending to something on the table…
Something more familiar caught my eye…
I-It was the same bottle I saw in the limo, labelled 'Indulgent Despair'!
The girl then grasped the bottle ready to pour the poison liquor into a glass.
No, no, no! She can't drink that crap!
"NO, DON'T DRINK THAT!" My voice shot out like a gunfire silencing the noise in the ballroom. And then…
*SMASH*
Pieces of glass scurried across the wooden floor in the dim lighted room and the sound of dripping became amplified as we all became quiet. Until…
…that voice grated on me again.
"Ya young'uns are a crazy bun o' chickens ain't ya," Fukumoto sighed, shaking her head.
"Tttt, I was looking forward to drinking that!" Rina sighed. She tiptoed over the pieces glass coming towards us. "What's the big deal guys?! I don't have a drink in so long due to my pilot duties and when the time comes when I can actually drink I can barely take one tiny sip of it! I-I think that was the last bottle as well…" She whined.
"Rina? Chill ya beans. You missed this guy wake up, yet we've been chatting for the last ten minutes!" Kairu cursed, shaking her head at her clumsy girl. "Anyway tell him more about that creepy male escort."
"I was looking for the loo for AGES and I eventually found it…" Rina revealed. She turned her focus on me with a warming smile. "All I remember was that the escort seemed to be following orders by someone with a higher authority…"
I remember now. Initially the escort must have portrayed a false persona…
"Anyway, introductions! Sorry, who were you again? It doesn't matter. I'm Rina! Rina Kimura."
Rina Kimura (17) 5'8" - [ Super High School Pilot ]
Emerald eyes, elegant, long brown hair reaching mid-back, athletic body, lightly tanned skin, dark blue blazer over a light green t-shirt, blue jeans and white running shoes.
I vaguely recall seeing her name when my mum brought back a brochure of the holiday she was supposedly attending last year. Rina has taken part in many aerobic displays in her very own plane she called the 'scarlet scorcher'.
"My name is Ken. A 'thank you' wouldn't go a miss for saving your life," I teased.
"What do you mean?" She looked at me confused.
"That champagne you were just about to pour down that beeeauuuutiful body is poisonous my sweet cherry pie," Shogo explained flirtatiously with a voice like silk.
"Do you remember anything after collapsing in the limo?" I asked.
"No, not really, everything has been a bit of blur. I was the second to wake up. I felt spaced out when I saw these dead people around me at first, but then they started to wake up gradually." She explained.
Wait! If she was the second to awake… the first person to wake up may have seen something!
"Who was the first person to wake up?" I asked.
"That happened to be me!" A voice boomed from a few metres away. A guy, who looked like a tyrant, came towards us with a big cheesy smile his feet heavily pounding the floorboards.
"Speaking of the devil," Kairu said referring to the man.
"As far as greetings go, you can call me Hirosuke Kanmaru!"
Hirosuke Kanomaru (18) 6'2" - [ Super High School Bodybuilder ]
Very broad and muscular with a brick-like anatomy, tan complexion, friendly brown eyes, long thick black hair reaching to his back, well-shaped goatee, extra-large black leather jacket over a grey tank top, blue cargo pants and blue high-cut sneakers.
Built like a brick, Hirosuke is a common face that advertises protein drinks and fitness supplements. However his physique is nearly all gained through diet and exercise. He is a common face to fitness magazines and has won several strength related competitions in the nation.
Here I was thinking I'd be the alpha-male, but whoa…
He could flatten me to a pancake in seconds! Let's hope he's nice…
He reached out for a handshake with monstrous hands. "Glad to meet you Ken!" he spoke with his booming giant voice. I accepted the handshake weary that my bones were going to crack in the process, but I was surprised how light his handshake actually was.
Phew! I silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"The good news is that everybody here is alive. In addition we can now begin discussing our situation since you were the last to wake up! However… it may be good idea for you to finish introductions." He advised.
He had an older-brother feel about him, but maybe that was due to his size.
"So you were the first to wake up? Did you notice anything strange?" I asked.
"Nothing of the sort! I woke up and believed I had just been in some strange wrestling match and beat the crap out of everybody. But then I realized it's not in my nature to do such a thing. HA HA!" He guffawed.
Well that doesn't help us understand why we are here…
I couldn't help but notice a guy observing me from behind Hirosuke. His eyes scanned like a check-out machine in the supermarkets.
"HA! Here I am babbling on like some lecturer, I completely forgot about my partner who helped me to ensure everybody in here was okay!" Hirosuke laughed.
The guy in hiding noticed my weary gaze at him.
"I do apologize, I was mentally taking notes. It's a bit of a bad habit reporters pick up unfortunately. So excuse my intrusion." He apologized, revealing himself from out of Hirosuke's shadow. "Please call me, Yuko Yamada!"
Yuko Yamada (18) 5'10" - [ Super High School Reporter ]
Dark tan complexion, with sharp green eyes behind big, squared, black framed glasses, white sports jacket over a plain black t-shirt, white dress pants, polished black dress shows and a mental necklace made from orange beads.
Yuko was in the TV spotlight when he found a rare sapphire diamond in the Niagara Falls. After the exposure his passion for media reporting has increased greatly. He's very enthusiastic who is definitely a people person.
He came closer to me burdened with a confused expression… and then his eyes lit up.
"Ken! The teen-tearaway who turned to drugs in the early years of the "Royal Blue Bandit's" formation! You are looking well I see- ah! No smoky smudges under your eyes, pearl white teeth and hair which nourished from the brittle haystack it used to be!" He divulged as he examined my jacket with his hand.
Whoa, where do the insults stop?
He either admires me, or is using this time to drag me down with insults. Are they insults?
"And further down you may find out you can twist his golden doorknob," Shogo teased.
Will he ever stop with these sexual remarks…
After that joke remark I immediately swept Yuko's hand from my jacket. "Ahahaha… no… only my fan girls are allowed to touch. Guys can look, but no touching," I chuckled.
"I'm very sorry; I was just moments away from interviewing you on your "Persian Leopard" tour! I am actually a huge fan, not so your music, but more of the lifestyle you and your bandmates lead. You are the perfect models to feed news stories to the nation!" He complimented in a fashion.
Is that all he wants off me… juicy information?
"It seems not many people are a fan of you music Ken," Kairu snickered.
"Statistics actually point out the "Royal Blue Bandits" have one fan in every eight people, so I would be careful when offending him," Yuko revealed.
"Geez, don't make his head any bigger!" Kairu remarked.
"May I introduce myself now?" A soft voice emerged from behind me. I looked back to see a distinctively dressed girl.
"EEEUGK! Damn girl, I forgot you were here!" Shogo shrieked
"She sure lives up to her high school title, eh?" Rina stated.
I looked back to see a girl with a ghostly complexion. She stood there… almost like an actual ghost.
"What is her title?" I asked intrigued.
"Gina here is a famous ghost hunter!" Hirosuke bellowed.
Hehe… I was on the mark…
Gina Higarashi (17) 5'6" - [ Super High School Ghost Hunter ]
Big grey eyes with thin lips and a feint crooked smile, short, light purple hair highlighted with pink tints with long side bangs reaching to her shoulders, skinny physique and pale skin, she wears a black vest with pockets, underneath is a black and magenta striped long sleeved shirt, she wears black skirt, black ripped leggings and grey boots.
From first impressions, she looked like a typical social outcast- by choice that was. I have only ever seen her name in books, but typically I'm not a reader, so I couldn't remember which ones they were. This girl LOOKED like a ghost hunter; she had dim grey eyes and dark bags under them.
"What's you're talent again?" She asked quietly in a monotone voice, barely carrying any emotion.
"Super high school guitarist!" I announced in pride.
"…Well that sounds boring, hehehehe," she giggled eerily.
I was tempting to respond, maybe insult her a little… buuuuut a ghost hunting sounded pretty exciting… just not if I went ghost hunting with her.
"Well considering this bizarre circumstance, would you say there is something paranormal going on?" I asked.
"Hehehehe… Ghosts shun themselves away from cameras silly. Other than that this would be a perfect picnic for ghosts with the elimination of electrical lighting and no cell phones," she explained in her quiet tone.
I reached to my pockets to find out my phone wasn't there.
Damn! It must have fallen out in the limo.
I recalled Gina mention the cameras and glanced around the room to notice they were dome like attached to various places on the ceiling. That wasn't the only strange thing I noticed… TV monitors, old fashioned and mouldy yellow, were also seen on the walls at the far end of the room. A 42" x 40" monitor screen was fixed onto a square pillar based at the centre of the ballroom.
"Does anyone have any clue why these monitors look so out of place in here?" I asked.
"They're obviously part of the entertainment for tonight! Ya know- music and what not!" A girl exclaimed gleefully.
I looked to my right to see a girl emerge from navy blue curtains cutting through half of the ginormous stage holding a monochrome coloured box.
"Sayuri! How did I nearly forget you were here?! HA HA HA!" Hirosuke chuckled, again, dominating the atmosphere.
"Well why you guys with chitty chatting, I thought I'd skip-a-doodle around this room and look for anything which explains why half of us are playing dead and why we are actually locked up in this, eh… creepy looking room."
She planted her energetic eyes on me and skipped towards me like a typical fan girl.
Ka-ching! One fan in the bag!
She dropped the box before my feet. "Hi! Name's Sayuri Hiraoka, the SHSL Cheerleader. How 'bout you?"
Sayuri Hiraoka (17) 5'2" - [ Super High School Cheerleader ]
Pink eyes, fairly tanned skin light blonde hair tied to the right, some falling in front of her face, her hair is accessorised with a plum bow. Typical cheerleading outfit in the colour of pink, short sleeveless shell top, cuts off at a 'V' before her belly button, plum stripes across outfit.
Cheerleading is what as part of the package with Sayuri, with so much charisma she has been noticed for leading cheerleading squads and also being front girl in most of the performances.
So misleading! The way she approached really made me believe she had a crush… or at least a fan.
"I'm a guitarist; name is Ken Rokurou, nice to meet you."
My eyes instantly drew to her. She was extremely attractive. I didn't know who she was, but my heart was in flutters; however I managed to keep my cool, despite Shogo approaching her like she was some helpless prey.
"The name is Shogo, the super-high school charmer who can bag any for any girl he wants." Shogo approached her slickly.
"Dumb ass! You have already introduced yourself to her, don't traumatize her with another cringe introduction," Kairu jibed.
"I can settle for a second introduction," she smiled sweetly at me and Shogo.
Aha! Settle for that one Kairu!
"So what is the box Sayuri?" An eager Yuko asked.
"Weeellll, they're gadgets called 'e-handbooks', sixteen of them all together, each with a name sticker on them." Sayuri went round the group handing out the e-handbooks.
Curious, I opened mine straight away and the screen lit up brightly revealing my name, but that was it, I could get access to anything else despite the menu bar sitting beside it.
/ E-HANDBOOK / OPEN
+ Map
+ Rules
+ Report cards
All three options were unresponsive and repeatedly tapping them with my finger didn't help.
/ E-HANDBOOK / CLOSE
"R-rules!? We're adults now! Noooow I understand the lack of booze in this place…" Shogo moaned playing with the gadget.
"Hush mister I-get-my-knickers-in-a-twist, we don't know what the rules are yet," Sayuri implied.
"It seems very unlikely they'd be a rule concerning drink, since we were all near enough forced to drink that 'Indulgent Despair'," announced Hirosuke rubbing his chin. "Let's continue our thoughts on that later."
Hirosuke highlighted a valid point which made me further question to why we were actually here.
"But isn't there 16 handbooks? There is only nine of us here." Rina observed.
She was right. If it's true that there should be 16 of us all together then where would the others be? Still in their own limo? Or maybe they're somewhere in this hotel?
"While you went missing for a while, the other students used the elevator to access the other floor." Kairu explained to Rina.
"You were gone for a remarkable long time," Yuko summed.
"Were you shitting out rocks?" Hirosuke asked.
"N-no! A girl's business is a girl's business!" She sharply responded.
"Oh and that's right! We asked Juighe to suss out why the elevator couldn't access any of the other floors!" Sayuri recalled.
"Well it's highly possible that we have problems with electricity." Hirosuke guessed.
"Well our e-handbooks seem to be working… and the lights on the chandeliers?" Rina replied in confidence.
Wait? E-handbooks are battery powered and the lights on the chandeliers are real flames.
I wanted to correct her, but I pitied her lack of awareness and by the silence of situation everyone must have felt the same.
*tip-tap-tip-tap*
The gentle sound of nervous footsteps took hold of my attention. I looked over to see another student walking towards the group with his head down, occasionally propping it up but lowering it once engaging eye contact with the rest of the group.
"YAY! Juighe has managed to fix the elevator!" Sayuri jumped striking a cheerleader pose. "Now… let's get some waiter or waitress to supply us with some more champagne and wine!"
I somehow think that's an unlikely possibility.
"N-n-no no, no. Th-that is definitely wrong… I-I d-didn't fix… it," Juighe stuttered.
"Darn! That boy so stupid, he cudn't find his ass with both hands!" Fukumoto criticized.
"What a wasteful student… What was you doing for so long, masturbating!?" Shogo pitied.
"N-n-no! N-not at a-all!" He continued to stutter, but this time more blunt. "I-I-I was s-s-sc-scared to c-come back."
"Whose idea was it to send Juighe to evaluate the elevators anyway? Especially if you take into consideration his disappointing high-school talent title." Yuko questioned.
"That was me!" Rina gleefully confessed.
The other students let out a loud sigh.
"Why are you standing at such a long distance man?" I asked facing him with my confused expression.
"Some of us… don't bite…" Shogo teased with his soft voice.
"HA! I'm like a bulldog craving a big juicy bone!" Hirosuke laughed with his hands against his waist.
"Hehehe… We should consider that he has yet to introduce himself to Ken and reveal this… unique… title of his." Gina's still voice emerged.
"Ermm, errm," Juighe dawdled, fidgeting with his fingers.
"I guess I'll kick-start this intro then," I broke the awkward silence "My name is Ken!" I introduced.
I looked at his clothing, but couldn't guess of a title that would fit his appearance.
It was ordinary…
"They left you to do sort the elevator, eh? Are you some sort of super high-school mechanic?" I guessed.
"N-no," he briefly giggled nervously. "P-please don't falsely honour me w-with a t-t-tile so incred-d-dible," he warned me panicking. Eventually he came closer. "I'm K-Ketkar Juighe...nice to meet y-you... super high-school… erm… erm… u-unluckster…"
Well that explains a lot!
Kektar 'Juighe' (17) 5'7" - [ Super High School UNLuckster]
Red eyes, with a noticeable scar across eyebrow, bandage on cheek, purple, short messy hair with a small ahoge on top, basic red creased hoodie over black t-shirt, holed jeans, sand brown shoes.
To be rewarded a placement at this venue made no sense at all. To be rewarded for being unlucky? As imagined, this guy was completely unknown to me, possible due to the sheer lack of luck he had. So why was he here?
"Th-this is the o-o-only b-bit of luck… in m-my life. So I a-am g-g-grateful t-to be here." He finished still staring at the ground.
"Why don't you take a Ken to the next floor and so he can introduce himself to the final five students?" Hirosuke suggested to Juighe.
"I-I h-honestly b-b-believe I… um… lack the sk-skills for that role," Juighe mumbled chattering his teeth.
"Yur as handy as a cow on a crutch!" Fukumoto criticized, using her sarcastic farmer's slang.
"Wait! Rina has yet to introduce herself to the other students." Kairu remarked.
"Well then Ken, let's go together and finish our introductions!" Rina beamed.
"Don't the pair of ya's get frisky in that elevator," Shogo virtually poked with his humour.
Soundtrack: Stopped
We both approached the far end of the room to the elevator. What a strange bunch of peeps I've met. Could it get any more bizarre?
To be continued…
A/N: I really hope I have portrayed every character well. I really enjoyed writing the intros out. If you have any problems PM me of course.
This chapter is lengthy due to the purpose of characterization.
The following characters will be introduced next chapter…
Akihiko Sato – Super high-school Vigilante [Heroi Oscura]
Alice Amour – Super high-school Baker [15Lives]
Daisuke Rokino – Super high-school Video game player [LonelyDesert]
Neith Takary – Super high-school Bully [NellisTable]
Junsuina Takami – Super high-school Model [Unicorn819]
Sophia Menglelberg – Super high-school Puzzler [yin-yang-rose-ninja-angel]