Chapter 1: Science Fiction

It wasn't even noon yet, and the day was getting progressively weirder.

Hanako was still trying to sort through it all in her mind—the beach, the talking stuffed rabbit, the classroom, the door…

It wasn't the first time she'd woken up somewhere with a hazy memory, but this felt different. There was no leftover taste of alcohol at the back of her throat, no throbbing headache that indicated a hangover. She just remembered arriving at Hope's Peak Academy, stepping through a door, then walking into that classroom. It was like someone had taken clips of her life and messily spliced them together.

The rabbit (named Usami, apparently) had encouraged them all to explore the island, and the other students had split off. Hanako wanted a beer before she made an attempt to figure out what the hell was going on, so she'd headed in the direction of the supermarket.

The building was labeled Rocketpunch Market in an orange gradient. She'd never even heard that name before, but it made sense that an island would have some obscure chain of stores.

A blast of cold air greeted her as she stepped inside, and she let out a sigh of relief. There was already sweat gathering under her arms and beneath the fabric of her jeans.

The place was fairly large, boasting high shelves stuffed with food, toiletries, beach gear, and dozens of other miscellaneous items. It was eerie to see a place like this so empty. The single cash register had its lights off, and there was no one behind it.

Figures. It would have been too easy if there had been an actual human adult to explain what was happening here.

"Um, e-excuse me?"

Hanako looked up from the rack of surfboards she'd been examining. One of the other students was coming down the aisle towards her—a girl with choppy bangs and a white apron.

"I was wondering if I could introduce myself," the girl said in a soft voice. Her shoulders rose an inch, as if she was bracing herself. "I'm s-sorry for being so presumptuous!"

"It's…fine," Hanako said, giving her a hesitant once-over. She had bandages wrapped around her left arm and right leg. "I'm Hanako Yukimura."

The girl let out a nervous giggle. "Thank you for being so kind! I'm Mikan Tsumiki."

"Are you okay?" Hanako asked, gesturing to her bandages.

"Oh, yes." She fidgeted with the bandage on her arm. "I'm terribly clumsy, but I can always patch myself up. I-I'm the Ultimate Nurse."

"I see." I'm guessing she cuts her own bangs, too. "I'm the Ultimate Tattoo Artist. If you couldn't already guess." She spread her arms, indicating the tattoos spreading from her collarbones to her wrists. More ink was visible beneath the ripped denim on her knees.

"You're right." To Hanako's horror, tears sprang to Mikan's eyes. "I should have been more observant. P-Please forgive me!"

"It's fine, seriously." Hanako realized too late that sounding annoyed probably wasn't helping the situation. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I'm…gonna go check out the rest of the store."

"Of course. Sorry for disturbing you."

Hanako didn't bother with a response as she walked out of the aisle. She wasn't sure if Mikan's whole deal was just an act to get attention, or if she seriously needed help. Either way, she didn't plan on making it her business.

Her mood soured further when she discovered the supermarket didn't have a liquor section. There was a shelf filled with water, juice, tea, and soft drinks (including terrifyingly large plastic barrels of soda) but not so much as a can of beer. At the back of the store was a vending machine, but there was nothing alcoholic in there either.

"Shit." She kicked the bottom of the machine, making the contents rattle.

"If you want to use the vending machine, you'll need coins."

Hanako nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around. She didn't see anyone at first—then looked down and realized Usami was standing there, looking just as comically out of place as she had on the beach.

She put a hand on her chest. "You scared the shit out of me. And yeah, I know how a vending machine works."

"This isn't just any old vending machine. It uses special coins." Usami pulled a small bronze coin out of…somewhere and held it out. "You'll be able to find more by exploring the island and getting along with your classmates!"

Gingerly, Hanako bent down and took the coin. It had Usami's face on one side, and a heart design on the other. It looked like something you would use at an arcade.

"Wow."

"Isn't it great?" Usami responded, somehow gleaning enthusiasm from her flat tone. "You can also buy gifts—"

"Is there a liquor store on this island?" Hanako asked. Usami's saccharine voice was starting to grate on her nerves. "Is it separate from the supermarket?"

"Liquor store?" Usami propped her paws on her hips. "This is supposed to be a school trip! Naughty business like that is not allowed."

"Did someone say liquor store?" Another student popped into the aisle, a girl with piercings and dyed streaks in her hair. "That's pretty daring for a high school trip."

"There is no liquor store!" Usami waved her stubby arms. "You're all too young for that."

"Aren't we in international waters?" Hanako asked. "Doesn't that mean there's no drinking age?"

"Well, we're, um—" Usami stuttered for a moment, then shook her head. "That's beside the point. You should all focus on getting along and relaxing on this school trip."

Before Hanako could respond, Usami scurried away down one of the aisles.

"Hey!" She chased after her, peering in both directions once she'd reached the end of the aisle, but the rabbit was nowhere to be seen. "Shit, that thing is fast."

With a huff, she wandered further into the store, examining the shelves for anything else of interest.

Usami hadn't taken the bait when she'd asked about international waters. It was obvious they were on a tropical island, but that didn't exactly narrow things down by much. It bothered her that they'd taken away her cell phone and replaced it with a weird device Usami had called an eHandbook.

She was shaken from her thoughts a while later when new voices filtered out from somewhere else in the store. It sounded like two boys, interspersed with Mikan's quivering, mousy voice.

Hanako looked up from a bottle of suntan lotion as footsteps approached. It was Nagito, the Ultimate Lucky Student, who had introduced himself a little while before. With him was another boy she hadn't met yet—he'd fainted shortly after they'd all…arrived on the beach.

"Hello, Yukimura," Nagito said with a smile. "Sorry to bother you again. I'm just taking Hinata around to meet the rest of the students."

"Cool." She put the bottle back on the shelf and turned to face them. "I'm Hanako Yukimura, Ultimate Tattoo Artist."

The new guy was staring at her arms, though he shook himself when she spoke. "Uh, I'm Hajime Hinata. I…don't remember my talent."

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't remember? How?"

His cheeks darkened slightly. "I don't know. My mind is just drawing a blank."

"Well, none of us remember how we got here in the first place," Nagito said. "Maybe something got mixed up when we were brought here. I'm sure you'll remember eventually," he added, patting Hajime's shoulder.

"Okay." Hanako shrugged, deciding not to press the issue. Even if there was a gap in her memory before she'd gotten here, she didn't see how she would ever forget her own talent. Ignoring the fact that it was literally inked onto her skin, she'd been drawing on herself since she was six. She'd been obsessed with it before she ever picked up her first tattoo gun. "Well, in any case, it's nice to meet you, Hinata."

"You too." He hesitated. "Can I ask…are all of those real?"

"What?" She glanced down at her arms. "Of course they are."

"It's just that you have so many."

"Yukimura is a prolific tattoo artist," Nagito told him. "She's had hundreds of clients, and of course she does her own tattoos as well."

Hanako shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling a little like a tourist attraction in front of a tour guide. Nagito had mentioned earlier that he'd looked up most of the people in their class, but it still felt weird to have someone openly admit to Internet stalking her.

"The only tats I haven't done are the ones on my back," she said, feeling somewhat defensive over her personal information. "If you want a stick and poke, just let me know. I could probably find some decent materials here."

"Yeah. Sure thing," Hajime responded without a trace of enthusiasm. He didn't look like the type to get tattoos anyway, but it never hurt to ask.

"Well, we won't take up any more of your time." Nagito waved goodbye. "Take care, Yukimura."

"Yup." She waggled her fingers as the two retreated down the aisle.

So far, it seemed most of her classmates were pretty nice, if a little weird. That was probably the least one could expect by gathering a bunch of people at the top of their respective fields in one place. She'd heard stories of Hope's Peak and the enormous egos that would butt heads within its classrooms.

She sighed. Maybe that's why they started with this corny field trip. So we're not all at each other's throats by the time classes start.

Though she'd never heard about the island trip before, not even in the thick packet of papers that had come with her acceptance letter.

As if to remind her of how undeniably weird this situation was, a four-tone bell chimed from somewhere in the building. A monitor on one of the walls flickered to life.

Seeing Usami's furry face on the screen only added to the unreality of it all. Her voice sounded tinny through the speakers, and Hanako frowned.

"Hello, everyone. By now, you should've had time to explore the island and introduce yourselves to everyone. I'm so happy to see you all getting along. In fact, I have a present for each of you! Please head over to the beach. May shining hope be with you all!"

The monitor went dark.

"That sounds like a line straight from a cult leader," Hanako muttered. She had no idea what present Usami was trying to entice them with, but it wasn't like she had anywhere better to be.

She ran into the other two girls at the supermarket exit—Mikan and the girl with the dyed hair.

"That rabbit w-wanted us all to go to the beach, right?" Mikan asked, hands clasped together.

"Sounds like it," Hanako said, and the three of them began walking down the road together.

"I wonder what kinda present she's gonna give us," the punk girl said. "I'd love to see some fireworks!"

"That sounds pretty dangerous," Mikan said.

"It's probably gonna be something dumb," Hanako said. "Like ice cream or matching t-shirts."

The punk girl whirled around, as if suddenly noticing her, and began walking backwards so they were facing each other. "Hey, I don't think I've met you yet, Miss Painted Lady."

"Hanako Yukimura. Ultimate Tattoo Artist."

Maybe Usami should've gotten us all name tags so I don't have to go around repeating myself all day.

"Ibuki Mioda, Ultimate Musician," she said in a sing-song voice. "Nice to meet ya!"

"What do you play? Or do you sing?"

"Ibuki can do it all—drums, guitar, bass, vocal cords…only one at a time, though. I'm gonna need some bandmates to get something really going."

"Maybe some of the other students here can play." Hanako shrugged and glanced at Mikan.

"Oh, n-not me." Mikan let out a nervous giggle. "I don't have a very good sense of rhythm, so I don't think I would be very good at playing music."

"Aw, rhythm's not so important when you're playing. You just gotta go with the flow of the music," Ibuki said, waving one hand to emphasize her point.

Hanako narrowed her eyes. I don't think that's how that works. But I guess she's the Ultimate Musician, not me.

Today was weird, and some of her classmates seemed even weirder. But it was sunny, and they were heading to the beach.

Things could definitely be worse.


Hanako's expectations had been low, but Usami's gift still managed to fall beneath them.

Most of the rabbit-shaped keychains had been tossed to the ground, and Usami had picked them up with a pathetic expression. It almost seemed like an advertisement for a theme park or something, with her as the mascot.

And now she was asking them to swim together. Thankfully the activity wasn't mandatory, and the swim bag Usami had handed her lay at her feet. She'd taken the bottle of sunscreen, though, and was busy covering her arms.

"You're not going to swim either?"

Hanako glanced up as Hajime approached her. They were among the handful of students that had chosen not to change—the others were already in their swimsuits and knee-deep in seawater.

She shrugged. "I'm not in the mood. I didn't really like the bathing suit, either."

All the girls had been given cheap-looking navy one pieces. Hanako had taken one look at the thing and stuffed it back in the bag.

Hajime was frowning, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What about you?"

"This just doesn't seem right, that we're stuck on this island with no explanation. We're supposed to be at Hope's Peak right now."

She let out an incredulous snort. "You'd seriously rather be in class than at the beach?"

"Well, maybe not normally, but…" He paused as she held out the bottle of sunscreen. "What's this for?"

"Even if you're not going swimming, you should still put some on. You look like you burn easily." She glanced over at the people in the water. "I mean, yeah, this shit is kind of weird, but we might as well make the best of it, right?"

When she turned back to him, Hajime was searching her face, brow still furrowed. He looked down at the suntan lotion.

"Yeah. I guess it's okay."

"Cool." Saying it out loud had been something of a reassurance for herself, too. Maybe she would find a shady spot to sit and watch the others.

"I think I'm gonna go change and join the others," Hajime said.

She flashed him a thumbs up, and began strolling down the beach. A blonde girl in an orange kimono was trudging through the sand, apparently trying to step on something. A dark-haired boy in swim trunks and a thick scarf was busy making an admittedly impressive sandcastle. Hanako decided to go solo for the time being and made her way towards a broad-leafed palm tree.

She'd only made it a few steps when a shadow loomed over her. She froze and looked up.

The entire beach had gone dark. In an instant, a thick layer of storm clouds had rolled over the sky, completely blocking out the sun. The shouts and chatter from the water went quiet.

What the fuck? Hanako braced herself for a downpour or a clap of thunder, but it never came.

Instead, the monitor mounted on one of the palm trees flickered to life. The screen buzzed with static, obscuring the figure in the center of the frame, but its voice rang out over the sand.

"Ahem, mic check! Can you all hear me?"

The voice was high-pitched and wicked-sounding, a twisted mirror of Usami's candied tone. Hanako turned to face the monitor, a chill creeping up her spine. Even the summer heat seemed to have vanished from the beach.

"I think we've all had enough of this boring introduction. It's time for the main event!"

The figure let out a sinister chuckle. Hanako swallowed and glanced at Usami. The rabbit was bouncing on her toes, panic evident in her movements. As if she didn't know what was happening either.

"Everyone, please make your way to Jabberwock Park!"


Under the darkening clouds, they had gathered in front of the statue in the center of the park. Usami had gotten into a wrestling match with another stuffed animal, and they'd argued about some kind of killing game they were supposed to participate in. Hanako had thought it was just a performance, some corny attempt at summer camp role-play. She'd clung desperately to the thought that this was all just a prank.

And then the gunfire had started.

Her ears were still ringing from the noise. She could feel panicked breaths rushing in and out of her lungs, but the sound barely reached her.

One of the trees at the edge of the park had been reduced to splinters and charred wood. Bits of singed cotton were scattered across the pavement—what remained of Usami, or Monomi, as the bear had dubbed her.

Gradually, her hearing filtered back into clarity, and she turned to face the…thing that had summed them all to the park. Monokuma, he'd called himself. By all appearances he was a black and white stuffed bear, but even surrounded by five hulking robotic beasts, he still managed to be the most frightening thing in the park.

"Ahh, that feels better. I think a little example was exactly what this group needed."

Nobody said a word. Even the students that had screamed with the gunfire were silent now.

"I don't think this needs to be said, but anyone who defies me will meet a…similar fate." Monokuma held up a paw, revealing a set of wickedly sharp claws. "I've added a few new rules to your eHandbooks so you can all get this killing school trip started. Now, enjoy the rest of your hopeless school trip!"

With one last cackle, Monokuma vanished into the shadows. The Monobeasts scattered with a rush of air that made them all flinch.

The silence left behind was deafening. When it broke, several people began talking at once, a chorus of confusion, panic, and disbelief. They only quieted when an imperious voice rose among the rest.

"There's no point engaging in denial." A tall boy in a white suit fixed them all with a stern glance. "Those robots were clearly machines, which means Monokuma is likely a machine too. But we shouldn't concern ourselves with them or whoever is controlling them. We should be more worried about ourselves."

A chill settled over the park.

"We've all been stranded on this island and ordered to kill each other to escape," he continued. "No doubt that's already caused panic and fear among us. And giving into that fear is the real danger."

Hanako swallowed and surveyed her classmates. They'd been told to kill each other. And she didn't know any of these people or what they were capable of. Her eyes flickered from the girl with the sword on her back to the muscular man wearing a thick chain to the boy with the sharp teeth. The back of her neck prickled.

When the first person moved, it came as a sudden, unspoken cue. They all turned away from the center of the courtyard, away from the scorched stone and wood, and fled the park.

Hanako cut through the trees, her pulse thundering in her throat. She was consumed by the same feeling she got walking alone through the city at night, an inescapable dread coupled with the urge to run.

Once she crossed the bridge to the other island, she chose a random direction and kept walking. She strained her ears for the sound of footsteps but resisted the urge to look around.

What were the others doing? Looking for weapons? A place to hide? Were they already forming alliances with each other?

She let out a small, deranged giggle and dragged her hands over her face. She didn't want to start thinking like this. She didn't want to believe that any one of her classmates was planning a murder when they'd been playing at the beach less than an hour ago.

When she finally came to a stop, the found herself at the front gate of a ranch. A lone cow was dozing in one corner of the paddock, but the place looked empty otherwise.

Hanako perched herself on the outer fence and propped her knees on her elbows. Her gaze slid to the camera mounted on the outside of the barn. She'd originally thought the cameras everywhere were meant for Usami to keep an eye on all of them, but after everything that had happened…

The theatrics, the mascots, the order to kill each other—it was all starting to come together.

She glared at the dim lens of the camera. Whoever's watching this, I hope you enjoy yourself, you sick fucks.

"Hey, hey."

At the sound of a soft voice behind her, Hanako spun around, nearly losing her balance and toppling off the fence.

A girl was standing on the road, both thumbs tucked under the straps of her backpack. She was keeping a decent distance, but Hanako sized her up anyway. She was short and slight, and Hanako reasoned she could probably take her in a fight.

"Hi." She swung both legs over the fence so she could fully face the girl.

"Have you been to the hotel yet?"

"No. Is that…where we're supposed to spend the night?" It hadn't even crossed her mind to figure out a sleeping situation.

"I don't think so. But there's a restaurant on the top floor and an arcade game in the lobby." The girl seemed to remember herself. "I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer."

She took a couple steps forward and held out one hand. A peace offering. Or maybe this was just a trick, but Hanako decided she didn't want to think like that. Not until she was forced to.

She hopped down from the fence and shook her hand.

"Hanako Yukimura, Ultimate Tattoo Artist."

A smile spread on Chiaki's face. It made her look warm and friendly, and Hanako wanted badly to believe that it was genuine.

"There are cottages in front of the hotel," Chiaki said, releasing her hand. "One for each of us. I think that's where we're supposed to stay. Most of the others have already turned in for the night."

"Really?" Hanako rubbed the back of her neck. She hoped she hadn't been the only one to freak out after Monokuma's announcement. "I might go check it out, then."

"We can walk there together, if you want."

She paused, searching for some kind of ulterior motive in Chiaki's offer. Was this some kind of ruse to lead her into an ambush?

There was a chance being cautious would save her life. There was also the possibility she was going to look like a paranoid jackass.

"I get it," Chiaki said, evidently reading the hesitation on her face. "I know everyone's feeling nervous right now. I am, too. If you want me to leave you alone, that's okay."

"It's fine," Hanako said quickly. "I'm pretty beat. Let's just head over to the hotel."

They began walking side by side down the road. Night had fallen completely, but the air was warm and filled with the chatter of insects. Hanako glanced up. The sky was filled with an impossible number of stars, thousands more than she'd ever seen back home.

"So…" Hanako broke the silence. She didn't want to think about home right now. "What kind of games do you play?"

"All kinds," Chiaki replied. "RPGs, puzzle games, platformers, MMOs—I'll play just about anything."

"Cool." Hanako scratched her arm. She'd only watched friends play video games before, and she didn't recognize half the terms Chiaki had just rattled off. "Do you, uh, make games, or just play them?"

"I don't really have any experience in game development." Chiaki tilted her head. "My dad was a computer programmer, but he didn't work specifically on games. What about you?"

She blinked. "What about…what? My dad?"

"Your talent. I'm assuming you did most of your tattoos yourself."

"Yeah. Pretty much anywhere I can reach." She lifted her arm so Chiaki could see the ink on the back of her bicep. "I had some help with this one."

"That's pretty impressive. Tattoos are supposed to be painful, right?"

"You get used to it." Somewhat. "You ever want one, just ask."

"Hmm." A small smile crossed her face. "I think it would be nice to get a small one. Maybe one of my favorite sprites." She indicated her hairpin.

"I've done pixel art before. It's pretty fun, actually."

They came to a stop outside a wooden gate, and Hanako realized how quickly the time had passed. For a few minutes, she'd felt like a regular high school student again.

"The cottages are right through here." Chiaki pointed. "Boys are on the left, and girls are on the right."

Each building was fairly sized for a single inhabitant. Behind the rows of cottages were a pool and a larger building Hanako assumed was the hotel.

"This looks like a resort," she said quietly. "Like we were actually supposed to be on a school trip here."

"Yeah," Chiaki said, and a flash of sadness passed over her face. "At least we'll be comfortable, right?"

Hanako murmured an agreement. They walked together to the girls' cottages. The mailboxes in front were labeled with each of their names, and Hanako found hers a few doors down from Chiaki's.

"Well…" They lingered outside their respective doors. "'Night, Nanami. See you tomorrow, I guess."

Chiaki smiled. "See you tomorrow. Get some sleep, okay?"

Easier said than done.

Hanako pushed open the door and stepped into the darkened interior of her cottage. It had all the furnishings of a standard hotel room—a bed, a TV, a sofa, a bathroom. But in the corner…

She flicked on the lights and crossed the room. There was a black leather chair in the corner, next to a shelf full of supplies. The walls had been plastered with colorful pictures of animals, people, calligraphy. It was all there—bottles of ink, a tattoo gun, even a scrapbook full of sample designs.

She braced both hands on the shelf, feeling dizzy. This cottage had been fixed up for her. The others probably had supplies related to their own talents. Whoever had set this all up knew specific details about her, down to the brand of ink she preferred.

Tentatively, she backed away and sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the give of the soft mattress beneath her. She sat there for a long time, running her eyes over every object in the room, as if the hard edges of the space would peel away to reveal some secret beneath.

There was nothing, no clue or explanation in the corners of the dark space. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that she was finally able to rest her tired eyes.

Okay. Hi. It's always nerve-wracking posting a new fic, especially for a completely new fandom, but this idea has been brain-worming me for months. General warning for Danganronpa-typical violence, but I'll be putting some specific warnings on later chapters.

Also, there's going to be a related song for each chapter. This one is Science Fiction by Bassnectar, its such a fun song and absolutely perfect for SDR2's prologue. The title of this fic comes from Wind and Waves by Shadow Academy, another song that fits SDR2 so so well.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter!