Danganronpa: Retold! - Sugar_C0oki3

Chapter One: Welcome To Hope's Peak.

...

The massive high school towers over all the other buildings in this bustling urban area. It's like the school stands at the center of the entire world. Hope's Peak Academy... It brings in top students from every field imaginable. A government-funded school of privilege... They say that if you come here and manage to graduate, you'll be set for life. With hundreds of years of tradition, it sends the cream of the crop into the workforce every year. It was built to raise hope in the nation's future. Which makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name.

There are two things you need to attend this school... One, you have to already be attending highschool. Two, you have to be the very best at what you do. No ordinary student could enroll here. The only way in is if you're scouted by the school itself. And standing there at the gate of the ultimate school filled to the brim with ultimate students... was me.

Before we go any farther, I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Makoto Naegi. As you can see, I'm nothing but a hopelessly average highschool student. Average on the outside, average on the inside. I really dont have much going for me when it comes to grades, special abilities, or even personality. I mean yeah, I have hobbies and stuff I like to do, but it's not like I'm a psychic, body builder, or fashionista... Like if you asked me what my favorite song was, or my favorite movie or TV show... They'd all just be whatever's most popular at that particular moment. Even among the average, I'm the least noticeable. So by no means i could say that i'm your "everyday hero" type. That's just who I am.

Anyway, I figure it's always good to introduce yourself right off the bat!.. Even if there's not much to say... But y'know, if i have any strong suit so to speak... I'd say I'm a little more gung-ho than other people. I mean... look at me! I'm completely ordinary, but still... Here I am, standing in front of the anything but ordinary Hope's Peak Academy.

"I still can't believe I'm standing here. I wonder if someone like me can even survive in a place like this...?" I then got this overwhelming presence... like the school itself is trying to swallow me whole as i stood in front of its tall metal gates. But it's no wonder I would feel that way. What you have to understand is... Well- im getting ahead of myself... let me just tell you about the "preparation" I did last night to get ready for today.

As I previously told you, Hope's Peak only invites students who are truly elite in their field. It's such a popular topic in fact, that there are multiple online threads dedicated to talking about the school's attendees. So to prepare, I looked into some of those threads! And all I saw was talk about "ultimate" students, who were way beyond your average highschooler.

For example, one of the incoming students is known as the "Ultimate Pop Sensation." I guess she's a highschool girl who's also the lead singer for a pop group that's famous all over the country? Though I forgot her name... There's also the "Ultimate Baseball Star." He was the cleanup hitter for the national highschool champs. Pro teams already have their eyes on him. Oh! And I can't forget the "Ultimate Fashonista!" She's been on the cover of tons of fashion magazines. She's what every highschool girl strives to be. That thread also mentioned the "Ultimate Biker Gang Leader." The scary thing is, he's the well known leader of every biker gang in Japan. Gangs everywhere love the guy... On top of that, there's the "Ultimate Martial Artist," the "Ultimate Fanfic Creator," the "Ultimate Gambler," the "Ultimate Swimming Pro," the "Ultimate programmer," and the "Ultimate Clairvoyant." It then hit me. Reading these threads made me realize how totally and undeniably powerless I was. It was the country's finest, top to bottom. And that's not even all of the other students-! Who knows what other ultimates I'll run into...? I felt like a tame little house cat who'd wandered into a pride of lions.

But still, there was something I couldn't stop thinking about... You see, there were a few students who I couldn't find any information on, no matter how much I looked. With all those "Ultimate" students, I'm the only one without any kind of worthwhile talent. But then, what about those other new students who didn't seem to pop up anywhere?? Could they just be normal students without much of a talent like me...? That thought was kind of encouraging. I mean, I know I don't have much in the way of personality. But beyond that, there's an even bigger issue... How did such an unbelievable average student like me get picked to come to this "Ultimate" highschool? I mean, I guess there is a reason... you just have to take one glance at the acceptance letter they sent me to see why.

The letter read as follows: We recently held a lottery to select one ordinary student to attend Hope's Peak Academy. As a result, you have been selected! We invite you to join us as the "Ultimate Lucky Student." Honestly I would have probably just been better off declining their offer, but after hearing how graduation was a "guarantee for success" later in life, I just couldn't pass. But now, actually standing here in front of the school... I started to feel lost... like I didn't belong there. I could feel myself slowly losing my nerve.

But still... I can't just stand here in front of the gate forever... As I stood frozen in place, murmuring to myself, I looked down at the acceptance letter clutched in my shaky hand. It said there'd be a meeting for all incoming students in the main hall at 8:00 AM. The meeting still isn't for a little while, but... I should probably just head in. "Yeah... yeah-! Let's do this!" I gathered up all my determination and tried to act like I'd done this a million times before. And then, I took my first step into the main hall.

"...This is where we're supposed to meet, right? I guess I'm the first one here." There's a really elegant clock over in the corner. It says it's
7:10 AM. The meeting doesn't start until 8 o'clock, so there's still a full fifty minutes left... It makes sense nobody else would be here yet... "I was so wound up, I got here way too early..." I have plenty of time before the meeting. Just standing around waiting isn't exactly... productive. I should take a look around the school-! Maybe that'll help me calm down a little... I am a student here now, so there shouldn't be any problem with me having a look around, right? It'll help me kill some time, so... why not? Trying to play it cool, I took my first step into Hope's Peak Academy. It was also my first step towards starting a new life at a new school. At least... that's what I was hoping for.

That first step... was the beginning of the end... The world started to swirl and combine right in front of me. I felt dizzy, nauseous, and overly lightheaded. "What the–!?" But the instant I took that first step forward... My view became warped, and twisted. It was like some kind of delusion, melting away and mixing together into something else. Spinning, mixing, melting away, then spinning again... and then the next moment...
Everything went black.

-END OF CHAPTER ONE-