Danganronpa: Afterglow

Prologue: Ultimate Soldier

The first thing she saw was a blinding light.

It felt like someone was shining a flashlight into her eyes.

Slowly, she sat up, rubbing her eyes and squinting into the light.

There was a faint humming sound in the background.

"Welcome, Mukuro Ikusaba."

A calm, feminine voice broke Mukuro from her trance. She slowly took stock of her surroundings; everything around her had a soft blue glow to it. It was like she was sitting on a cloud in the middle of a vast sky. If she had some idea where she was and who put her here, she would probably enjoy the experience. Despite the circumstances, she felt relatively calm.

"Welcome, Mukuro Ikusaba. You have successfully made your way to the Afterglow."

"Where am I? Where is Junko? Why am I here?"

"You are here because you have successfully left the mortal plane. You sister, Junko Enoshima, is still on Earth."

"Still on Earth? Wait, is this-"

"Afterglow can be considered something like "Heaven". There is no God. Afterglow was created for you in order to allow you to successfully pass on after the events of Hope's Peak Academy. After you have successfully finished the programming, your consciousness will be allowed to stay here."

Mukuro slowly came to the realization that she was there for a reason. An awful reason she didn't want to consider.

"Afterglow... how did I end up here?"

"I can show you, if you would like."

"Yes... I need to know. I need to know if she did this to me."

"Of course." Suddenly, the void Mukuro was changed. She was teleported from the sky realm she was sitting in to standing outside the gym door at Hope's Peak. " This is taken straight from the broadcast that is being put out from Hope's Peak. No one will be able to see you or interact with you. Please, stand back and enjoy the show."

Pushing the gym door open, Mukuro was overwhelmed to be back in the gym she had just left. It wasn't supposed to end like this. Her "death" wasn't supposed to happen for real.

She remembers the talk that she and Junko had the night before in her- well, Junko's- dorm room. "Look sis it'll be easy! Just shout at Monokuma a bit and he'll pretend to blow you up. It will show all of the others the despair of the killing game! Once they clear out of the gym, I'll have a Monokuma bring you up to the surveillance room and we can watch the fun unravel together. Isn't that what you want?"

Of course it was what she wanted. She wanted to spend time with her sister; finally controlling the action alongside her and getting away from all of the hope that the others had. That was not what Junko gave her, though.

Walking into the gym and seeing herself dressed as her sister was a strange sensation. She almost forgot that it was her under the wig, makeup, and frilly uniform fit for the Ultimate Fashionista. Mukuro stepped off to the side and watched as she shouted at the robotic teddy bear. "Quit your blabbing! Even if you threaten me, I'm still not participating!" It was strange to hear her sister's voice come from her own mouth. She had practiced so much just trying to perfect her mannerisms. "Heh... so much for all of that." Mukuro thought to herself, watching her shaken classmates stare at her like she was crazy. "If you truly wish to pass... you must take me down first!"

As he finished, Monokuma charged, his feet pitter-pattering against the hard floor. "Oomph!" The bear was pinned to the floor by the heel of Mukuro's boots. "You know Afterglow, I hated wearing those. Junko told me the despair I felt from the blisters was worth every step taken in them." Mukuro turned back to the action. "Violence against the headmaster, Monokuma, is prohibited." The bear's shrill voice echoed around the gym. "This is a violation. Heed my call, O spear of legend, Gungnir! Come to thine master's aid!"

Mukuro squeezed her eyes tight and turned away as spears from every direction pierced her body. As the ultimate soldier and Junko's lap dog, she was never one sensitive to gore. Her death was not hard to watch because of all of the blood that leaked from her body. She could not witness her death due to what it symbolized; her sister would never see her as anything more than a tool. She was a pawn in her game.

And, just like in chess, she was sacrificed to protect the queen.

"Thank you, Afterglow. I think I'm done now."

"Of course, Miss Ikusaba." The walls of the void swirled and changed back to the blue sky she had woken up in.

"Afterglow, excuse me for asking, but what is the point of me being here? Shouldn't I have just... stopped living?"

"Well, when the future foundation heard that the safe haven Jin Kirigiri had created for Hope Peak's 78th class was taken over by Enoshima, they created me for those of you who would not survive Junko's plans. They did not want your lives to end in despair; they knew you all deserved to have lived a long meaningful life without the influence of your sister."

"I do not just have the video surveillance from the killing game. I also have access to your memories of your first year at Hope's Peak. My AI is so advanced I can even create a simulation for you all to live in; it will allow you all to live as if your sister had never succumbed to the despair that grew inside of her."

Mukuro didn't realize it, but tears ran down her face for the first time in years. "Th-thank you, Afterglow." She wiped her tears away and composed herself. "What do you think I should do next?"

"Well Miss Ikusaba, Miss Maizano has been waiting for the next student to join her here." Suddenly, a large tunnel formed in the side of the void. A blue glow beckoned her to walk in and join her classmate. "Wow, I almost forgot she found her way here first. Thank you, Afterglow."

Mukuru walked down the hall, away from the despair and life she knew before her time as the mysterious 16th student. Before she was "The Ultimate Fashionista" and before she helped her sister to unleash despair onto the entire world. She was ready for her second chance at being just Mukuro.

..............................................

Thank you so much for reading!
After this, character appearances happen based on death order in the series! Sayaka's awakening is next.
I'm really excited for this, hopefully you enjoy the coming chapters.

PS: This was also posted on Ao3 under the same username! Feel free to follow the story on whatever platform you prefer!