Fanganronpa: Masks of Hope

Chapter 1: Forest of Despair

*THIS CHAPTER IS SET IN HIMARI'S POV, ALL THE REST WILL NOT BE*

"W-what the fuck?!" I sat up, rubbing my tired eyes. An eye twitched. "You have got to be kidding. This isn't school!!" It clearly wasn't. It was definitely not school... at all. I gripped the floor in my daze. Okay... not linoleum. Was it... dirt? Yeah, it definitely was. It was cold and dry and made me shrivel up in discomfort.

"Guess I should look around, huh?" I felt my pockets, wondering where all my things had went. I had been told by my parents to always carry something around with me to help me find my way but it seemed like all of my possessions had been stolen from me. And anyway, why would they be stolen in the first place? This place was weird as shit.

Tall evergreen trees loomed above me, their skeleton-like trunks creaking in the wind. Strangely, the forest I was in seemed to be cleared of most brush, and there were no bushes in sight. I started walking around, shouting. "Hey!! Anyone here? What the fuck is this place?!" I glanced behind a tree, as if hoping someone would pop out and tell me 'Ha, gotcha good! This is all a dream, don't forget to wake up!' What a silly thought.

A quite inconspicuous dirt path was just around the tree. I almost missed it too. It wasn't much of a path so much as just a way several footprints had marked out, as if someone had just went through with followers close behind.

It was getting dark. Shadows crept behind me, seeming almost alive. I shivered, wrapping my hands around myself in an effort to keep warm. There didn't seem to be much to shelter in, not a single cave or even a large bush to get sticks for a house. I frowned. How could I be called the Ultimate Survivalist if I didn't utilize my skills in a time it was actually needed?!

"HEYYYYYY!" I screamed as loud as I could. No, don't do that, I told myself. Don't waste your breath in an effort to call for those who will never come. Just think about how to escape. C'mon, you know how to survive, for a while at least.

I got to my hands and knees and began scrounging around along the forest floor in search of twigs that could be used to start a fire. No luck. "Fucking hell! Why can't my skills be of use when I actually need them?"

A scream echoed through the forest. A loud one at that, ringing through the air with a chime of panic that struck fear in any soul who heard it. I jumped and jolted to my feet. "W-what the fuck!" I yelped, tearing my hands through my hair. I dashed towards where the ghastly sounds were coming from.

A cowering shape appeared to me after a couple minutes of desperately running through the forest in search of the origin. "Someone fucking help me!!" They screamed. "I can't do this! Whose brilliant idea was it to shove me of all people in the middle of a creepy, dark forest where monsters are probably conspiring to murder me and eat my head?!"

I stared, dumbfounded. "Um... Are you okay?" I reached out a hand and tapped the shaking figure. They let out another ear piercing scream that nearly burst my eardrums.

"HOLY FU- Don't sneak up on me like that!" Up close, I could see it was a boy, probably about my age (at least physically, I wasn't too confident about mentally). He gave me a glare. "Wait! A person." He leaned forward and grabbed my face. "Are you... real?" The boy poked my cheek. My face grew hot.

"Don't touch me with your grimy hands," I snapped, pushing him away. "Of course I'm real! Besides, that doesn't matter if I'm real or not, I'm here now. Who are you, anyway? This forest seemed pretty empty, since no one was answering me screaming for five minutes straight."

He shrugged. "No one was answering me either. But anyway, I'm Ren Sato." He squinted. "D-does that even matter?! Why do you care anyway? Since you're so high and mighty," He replied, a twinge of annoyance. Ren was shorter than me, with brown hair and brown eyes. He gave off 'shut the fuck up, I'm talking now' energy to me. I immediately was annoyed. Raising an eyebrow at him, I looked him up and down. Well, I guess it didn't matter if he annoyed me, he could be an ally for a while, at least as long as we were stuck in this forest of despair.

"I'm Himari Fujimoto," I replied, sticking my hand out. He blinked back at me. "You shake my hand," I sighed. How dense was this boy? "Do you also have an Ultimate talent, or are you as useless as you look?" I stopped for a second, rethinking. "That's a stupid question. You came here for the Ultimate Talent Camp, right? I heard this was the second time ever they were doing this. Although... I coulda sworn it was at some swamp place this time, not a forest."

Ren nodded slowly, looking slightly offended. He glanced around. "Before I tell you, I think it's best we find a shelter first. It wouldn't be the best idea to stay in this... creepy forest. Seriously, whose idea was this?!" He started forward, and I followed him. For such a scaredy-cat, he seemed pretty eager to lead, at least until he started shrieking at every shadow that happened to move.

"That was a owl!" I finally snapped after his whatever time-th scream. "And will you stop yelling? It's not helping us, and if there's anything hiding in the woods, that will probably attract them!"

"L-like a bear?!" Ren paled, sweat trickling down his forehead and matting his brown hair. "Great, I knew my parents would send me to my doom, but why does it have to be in this fuckin' hellhole?!" He threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Goodbye, cruel world!"

"No, obviously a giraffe," I mumbled under my breath. The bushes rustled and something popped out.

My first reaction was to jump back, then start laughing. Ren's was to scream, but come on, who's even surprised at this point? Ren should be called the Ultimate Fearer, it certainly fit him, right down to the bone.

A teddy bear was sitting in front of us, with a wide grin on his face. His fur was split between white and black. The black side of his face had a red scratch-like mark in place of an eye. "Well, well, well! I found the remaining two! Honestly, don't you know it's bad manners to be late? Especially to something you signed up to in the first place. I'll be sure to remember to punish you troublemakers later," He squeaked, shaking his fists at me. "Anyway, come to the dining hall, the rest of you are waiting there."

"Wait, where is it?"

"Use your all-powerful brain... Oh, whatever, just tag along. I can't trust you guys to hurry up and make it in one piece. Terrible things lurk out there!" With that he winked, and disappeared. Before Ren or I could get a chance to yell at the bear, we appeared in a dining hall of sorts.

A large table with sixteen seats was nearly filled up, with two empty seats. Fourteen other highschool age students were seated, with uncomfortable looks on their faces. There was no light but ominously flickering candles that casted ghostly shadows on the wood plank walls.

"Ahem!" The bear's voice rang out in the hall, and everyone turned to look at him. "It seems all sixteen of you have arrived, shall I begin my explanation? Or do I need to wait for you two who think you're important enough to delay my monologue?"

Ren and I shook our heads and he continued.

"As you imbeciles have surely figured out by now, this is not a normal education camp in the woods, nor is it normal at all. This is a killing game, full of such horrors that will instill despair into those hopeful hearts of yours."

Everyone looked around.

"I will explain everything when the time comes. For now, just get settled in, and please, don't go around spreading fake hope. You won't escape, why bother?" Whispers echoed around the hall

"Oh! That's right, the cabins are out behind that backdoor," the bear pointed behind him, "and make sure to come here everyday at 7 AM sharp for breakfast, and 6 PM for dinner! Lunch is at any time you choose. Now, I'll leave you all to socialize and get to know each other. If you're that kind of person, I suggest getting information on others before it's too late." And with that, he bowed and disappeared.

I turned to Ren. "Well, I suppose I know you already... Sooo.." I waved goodbye and strode off in another direction, leaving him shaking in anxiety.

(This is your time to get yourself introduced to characters, and make bonds. I will not be posting the second chapter anytime soon, it hasn't been written ;-;)