Danganronpa: Despair Never Dies

Chapter 1: New Hope and New Despair

Daily Life

One Week Later. . .

Ding Dong Bing Bong

"Ahem! Gooooood morning! Time to get up and have a productive day!" Monokuma's announcement plays "Oh and your headmaster wishes to issue a reminder! Everyone will be given their new jobs today! I have already taken the liberty of sliding your assignments under your doors! Please be sure to read them!"

"..." Sakura stares at the ceiling 'Its already been a week...a week trapped here...everyone is trying their best to make light of our situation...Kubo and Bakubaku even created a way for us to pass the time: A Card game they invented called Ultimates Quest. Its actually pretty fun...' She sits up 'Oh well...no use lazing around. I need to get to the head count' She stands and sees the paper Monokuma was talking about. She picks it up and reads 'Huh...by some miracle I'm also not working this week. Guess i'm okay with that' She says sliding the money into her pocket before seeing something fall out of the paper "? Is this...a note?" She picks it up and reads it

Someone amongst you is working for me!

"!?" She drops it 'W...what the hell is this!? Is this some kind of sick prank!?' She steadies her nerves "Someone here is...working with Monokuma!?"

knock knock!

"Yo, Sakura!" Ohana's voice rings out "You alive in there!?"

"Huh!? Oh um...yeah! Sorry just...a bit dazed"

"Phew! Well hurry up! We're late for the head count!" Ohana shouts before leaving

'I need to discuss this with everyone'


"14, 15 and 16. Alright everyone is accounted for" Hiroto says

"So its officially been a week" Kubo says as he finishes shuffling a deck of cards "How's everyone holding up?"

"How do ya think genius!?" Momo shouts, causing Futaba to hide meekly

"As much as I don't appreciate Momo's attitude" Riku says "He's got a point. How else are we suppose to feel?"

"Hm..." Ren says outloud "I think I found the entrance to the sewer system but it is locked up tight. Only way in is a passcode."

"So? Just type in every possible option until it works!" Cho shouts

"Not only would that take way too long..." Hiroto sighs "But when Kubo and I investigated it, we saw a note that warned us Putting in the wrong code 3 times is grounds for punishment"

"What is this punishment anyway" Hinata asks

"I don't know and I for one do NOT want to find out" Sakura responds "What I wanted to ask is this: Did anyone else get a weird note in their door?"

"You mean our jobs?" Hana asks

"No I mean. I got a note with that saying-"

"Oh! I can take it from here!" Monokuma says appearing

"Eep!" Futaba hides

"Everyone follow me to Kumastreet!" He announces

'Kumastreet? Again?' Sakura thinks as they all follow


Arriving at Kumastreet, they see a stand sitting between the drug store and supermarket "Ta-da! I give you...your Motives!"

"Motives?" Sakura asks

"Yep yep! Hope you enjoyed your free copy Mrs Lawyer!"

"Motives...a...as in motives to kill!?" Ohana gasps

"Correct!" Monokuma laughs "This is my way of trying to push you guys closer to graduation! Each of these flyers has something veeeeery interesting to say! Feel free to grab one, read one, then get super angry and kill! Theres One for each of you!"

"And whats stopping us from just...not taking one?" Hiroto asks

"Hm...nothing I guess!" Monokuma shrugs "Nothing but your own curiosity~!" He laughs "Well thats all for now! Have a great day everyone!"

And just as quickly as he always does, Monokuma was gone, leaving the 16 teens with more questions then answers

"Okay so...I think it goes without saying but no one read anything from that stand" Hiroto says

"And if you do, just assume its a bunch of BS!" Kubo follows up. Everyone nods "Welp...guess its time to go to work"

"Lets all meet back in the cafeteria after our shifts" Hibiki suggests. Everyone nods

'And just like that another boring day begins...but what about this 'Motive'...why did he specifically give this one to me?' Sakura thinks 'One of us is in cahoots with that bear...can I really believe that?' She shakes the feeling 'I cant think like that. Its just what Monokuma wants...Kubo is right, its probably just a bunch of nonsense'

Steadying her nearves she leaves to the Book Store to see who was around


She saw Kiyomi sitting at the counter and Riku browsing the books 'Looks like Kiyomi is working here today'

"..." Kiyomi looks up from her novel "...reading is free...to take a book back with you is 10 kumabucks...please keep your voice down" She says before going back to the pages

'Energetic as always...' Sakura sighs as she moves over to Riku, seeing him reading from a magazine with the front page being a young, blonde woman "What are you reading?"

"Eh, not a big reader really. This is mostly pictures." He rubs his head "Its a fashion magazine I found and I wanted to see if they mentioned my involvement on the show 'Fashion Fury!'"

"Ah...did you win?"

"I wouldn't be the ultimate contestant if I didn't" He winks "Unfortunetly, eh, seems this is a bit outdated. All it seems to talk about is Junko Enoshima"

"Junko whoshima?" Sakura tilts her head "Name sounds familiar but I can't place it"

"Well she's the Ultimate Fashionista. She's, eh, actually the reason I even went on that show in the first place. You could say I'm a bit of a fan" Riku rubs his head embarrassed. "...hm"

"Whats wrong?"

"Its weird...I remember looking up to her when I saw her on TV and in magazines yet...I don't actually remember where she went. She just kinda...vanished one day"

"Vanished?"

"Well I don't know how to describe it. But theres like...a period of time where I cant remember ever even HEARING about her...though I guess my memory has been a bit foggy since coming to hopes peak"

'Now that he mentions it...mine too. I cant recall really...ANYTHING prior to coming to hopes peak'

"So...how did you first get started in contests?" Sakura asks

"Now thats a day I can always remember heh" He smiles "Well it was actually a complete accident. I had gotten lost on a school field trip to a film studio and wandered onto the set of one of those singing contests. I completly froze and just...started singing. And they told me I won"

"Wow..."

"Since then I suddenly...really liked being on camera. So I signed up for every contest I could find and walked away winning. Made my mom happy too since..." His voice grows softer "...ah! Didn't mean to ramble, I'm gonna go back to reading okay?"

'His mom? What about her...well regardless I think me and Riku have gotten a lot closer today'


Her next stop was the gym, seeing Cho in a VERY tight coach outfit blowing a whistle at Ohana, Hibiki and Bakubaku

"Come on! Hup hup hup!" He shouts "You 3 would NEVER make it on the football team!"

'Cho is working here today huh...seems like some intense endurance training. Dont think I want to interfere'

"Pst! Hey!" She hears the voice of Momo. Turning, Sakura finds Futaba hiding behind some work out equipment. "Get behind here unless you want Mount Muscles over there to jog you into the dirt!" Taking the warning, Sakura hides with the puppeteer.

"S...sorry" Futaba eeks out "I j...just didn't want to hide here with J...just Momo"

"So um...is Momo...nice?"

"I'm right here ya know!" Momo shouts "What do ya think I am!?"

"Well um-"

"Leave the girl alone ya god damn idiot!" Momo shouts

"M...momo be nice please...this is why we don't have any friends"

'? Your puppet is why...you don't have any friends?'

"I'll um...be your friend" Sakura smiles

"Y..you will?" Futaba gasps

"Hey! Don't just ignore me like that!" Momo shouts being shoved into Sakura's face "If you want Futaba you gotta get passed me first!"

"Wh-hey!" Sakura shouts jumping at the sudden movement

"Momo..." Futaba sighs "S...sorry Sakura um...maybe we can talk about it later w...when Momo calms down..." She stands up and leaves

'Something is wrong with her...but at least I think I'm slowly starting to understand her'

"Oh hey Sakura! Just in time for pushups!"

'...dammit'


Now sore, Sakura returns to the Gymnasium as everyone else pours in

"Now where was I...ah yes. That locked door to the sewers requires a passcode. And we cannot simply 'try everything' as Cho suggested" Hiroto asks

"If I had my tools I could bust it open...: Bakubaku huffs

"I'm pretty sure it would ALSO have an alarm for being broken idiot!" Ren shouts

"By the gods!" Arthur shouts, causing everyone to look at him

"...yes?" Kubo asks

"Erm, what I meant to say was..." He clears his throat "Have any of you ever read the story of Heracles?"

"The god of strength in Greek mythology, one of the many sons of Zeus" Kiyomi says

"Uh...aint that Hercules?" Hana says

"Ghraaaa simpletons!" Arthur shouts "Hercules was his ROMAN name! His Greek name is Heracles!"

"Get to the point!" Bakubaku shouts. Arthur coughs

"Right! Well the way he was killed was quite perculier. He was unbeatable in physical power, so his opponent tricked him into putting on a shirt drenched in an acidic poison! Which promptly killed him!"

"I see..." Ohana says "So in order to get through that lock...we need to throw a shirt on it!"

'. . . is this girl serious?' Sakura thinks

"I believe what he was proposing for us is to follow the footsteps of Glory to Hera" hinata says

"...eh?" Cho asks

"Heracles! His name means-oh forget it" Arthur sighs "I mean! If we can find some kind of poison or acid, we could use it to melt the lock!"

"Acidic Poison eh...?" Kubo thinks before snirking "You know...that gives me an idea"

"What do you-" Sakura asks before...

Ding dong Bing bong!

"Ahem! Hopes peak academy has a special announcement! it is now 10:00 pm! Please return to your dorms and have a good nights sleep!" Monokuma's announcement plays

"Outta time" Hiroto says

"Its fine! Just head to bed and meet back here tomorrow! And i'll have our ticket outta here!" Kubo laughs as they all head back to their dorms

'What is he planning...and...I still cant get that note out of my head...'

Someone amongst you is working for me!

'I know I should just assume its Monokuma trying to trick me but...somehow I don't think its that simple...'


Ding Dong Bing Bong

"Ahem! Gooooood morning! Time to get up and have a productive day!" Monokuma's announcement plays as usual, causing Sakura to wake up

'...every day...I keep hoping I wake up back in my own bed...only to remember this is reality...' She sighs "Better get to the head count fast before someone else comes breaking down my door" She hops out of bed and gets ready


Sakura walks in as Hiroto writes on his notepad "13...14...15..." He looks up "...someone's missing"

"!" This put everyone in a panic as they all looked around, examining each others faces "...Kubo!" Sakura shouts

"H-hey now! No need to get antsy!" Hibiki says "M...maybe he just overslept!"

"Only one way to find out..." Hiroto says "Sakura and...Riku. Come with me and lets see if we can find him" They nod and go


'We approached Kubo's cabin...as this feeling of dread loomed over us'

"Kubo?" Hiroto knocks "Kubo are you okay?" He would recieve no answer. He then tries the doornob, finding it unlocked "Okay...on three we go inside. And if he's still asleep I give you free permission to toss him in the lake"

"1...2...3!"

They open the door and run in...


'...'

'I wanted to scream...'

'I wanted...so badly to scream...but all I could muster is a faint whimper...as my own voice got caught in my throat at what I saw...'

Upon opening the door they see it...

Kubo laying beside his bed, his own fishing wire wrapped around his neck. His body limp...and lifeless. A cup tipped over at his feet, spilling water into a puddle

The tv glows to life as Monokuma giggles "Attention! A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time has passed for investigation, we shall begin the Class Trial!"

'So...it really is true...Kubo...he's..."

"KUBO!"


Chapter 1: New Hope and New Despair

Deadly Life