Danganronpa Zero

Chapter Three (part one)

A yellow cat peeked out from the thicket to the side of the pavement.

It slowly stepped out of the swaying grass and into the road, waving its long tail as it turned its eyes in anticipation towards me. But its expression soon turned to alertness, and then to fear. The cat, having seen me skipping merrily down the road towards it, must have thought I was about to trample it. It escaped back into the bushes in panic.

But, I didn't care at all. I bathed in the light of the hot sun, let the wind flutter my skirt, and continued my obscene merry skip onward down the road. I was in Hope's Peak Academy's eastern quarter, near the courtyard. Many newly- built facilities were lined up around me, as well as several that were still under construction. As I skipped down the road that twisted between them, I took no special notice of any dirty cats or of my classmates, studying and fraternizing all around. Nor did I derive any happiness from the light touch of the sun after a long stay indoors. No, I skipped down the road with nothing but my destination on my mind.

Not that I'm the kind of girl who'd go skipping around thoughtlessly. I had a reason.

I'm going to meet the boy I like the best in the world!

That said, my reason may have been a good one, but no student in their right mind should go skipping down the road in a campus of a school of as high a pedigree as Hope's Peak Academy. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that other students who happened to walk by looked at me oddly, but... that really has nothing to do with me.

Nothing in the world could stop my skipping. Not a crying girl. Not a couple fighting. Not a student in a wheelchair that has come to a standstill. Not even an anemic student who has fallen down. One thought alone moved my body: I want to meet him, I love him so much. I skipped so obscenely that no one would probably find it surprising if I suddenly sprouted wings and flew up towards the sky.

I continued down the road, but... "...Huh?"
I suddenly came to a stop. "Which way should I go?"

I looked around in confusion, and realized I didn't recognize any of the landmarks around me. My heart started beating loudly.

No, everything's fine. I calmed myself down and removed a notebook from the backpack I was wearing. On the back page of the notebook, the following sentence was written:

"You're looking for the Neurology lab on the third floor of the Biology building in Hope's Peak Academy's eastern quarter."

I felt a refreshing wind of relief passing through my body. Yeah, that's right! The biology building!

...Um, but where is that biology building, anyway?

My heart went noisy once more.

Everything's fine. No need to worry. I nervously flipped through the notebook as if acting on instinct, and my eyes stopped on a page with a crude drawing of a map. Above it, the following was written:

"This is a diagram of Hope's Peak Academy's eastern quarter" Well done, me! Without thinking, I struck a victory pose.

Soon, I was standing on the raised edge of the fountain that decorated the center of the courtyard, comparing the buildings around me with the map. Literature building, science building, physics building, arts building, math building, P.E. building, linguistics building, staff building... as cold droplets from the fountain kept hitting my thighs, I looked for my destination, the biology building, as if I've never visited it before.

"Ah, it's right over there!"

I finally found the square building, identifiable by its light-green walls. It looked exactly like the note about the biology building in my notebook described it.

"Right!"

I jumped down from the fountain's edge, and started running. Some boys in the area looked at me in surprise. Maybe my skirt flew up for a second during my vigorous leap - but that really has nothing to do with me.

Anyway, I must reach my destination before I forget!

My ferocious dash led me inside the biology building, where I soon discovered a flight of stairs at the back of the lobby. I didn't lose momentum for even a second as I ran up the stairs to the third floor. When I reached it, I ran down the corridor, checking the signs next to the doors lined on its walls. Finally, at the very end, I found the sign that read "Neurology Lab".

I hastily stopped in my tracks.

After a quick deep breath, I checked my hair and my smile in a hand mirror. Yep, cute as always! Flashing that same wonderful smile and shouting "G'day!" in my brightest voice, I opened the lab's door... and that's when it happened.

Something flew just past my ear, making a wind-cutting wooshing sound. "...eek!"

I turned my head in panic, and saw a small blade embedded in the wall behind me, still vibrating from the impact. I jumped back. "W...Why is there a scalpel flying through the air?!", I screeched.

"Don't shout", A chiding voice answered back from inside the lab.

The moment I heard that voice, my heart started beating faster. Thump, thump, went my heart as I turned to look inside the lab. A boy was lying on top of a bed installed in the center of the room.

"...You're late. That's unseemly for someone as ugly as you."

A dirty white shirt was sloppily thrown over his body. He was lying face up, his face concentrated on a thick manga magazine he held in his hand. He didn't look at me once.