Danganronpa/D4DJ One-Shots

Of Fallen Angels and Arisen Demons

The halls of Hope's Peak Academy were cold, dark, quiet, and empty. It was peaceful, a silver moon shining serenely outside the large, glass windows. A dark figure treaded quietly through along the long, red carpet lining the black and white tile floor.

Nozomi, waiting casually atop the entrance hall staircase, observed him with an amused glint in her iridescent eyes. "Hey, baby brother..."

His head jerked up, red eyes piercing the darkness, irises like sniper scopes. You're not my sister, his eyes seemed to say. I have no family.

And yet, she was able to take him by surprise. Who but Nozomi Kamukura could surprise the other "Ultimate Ultimate"?

Age was a funny, fickle thing for them. Technically they—or rather, their past selves as Noa Fukushima and Hajime Hinata—were in the same year, second year, at Hope's Peak, though they were not part of the same class. Likewise, Izuru was conceptualized first, named after the original founder and Headmaster of Hope's Peak. A divide rippled between the scientists working on the project, however, and a faction of them finally went rogue, splitting away from the main group to create their own Izuru Kamukura.

This time, they scoured the Hope's Peak roster for one of the best and brightest Ultimates, though not too bright, for too much brightness meant that the student's absence would be noticed. Likewise, the second-best were often the most motivated, because they were so close and yet so far from the top spot. Noa Fukushima, Ultimate Theater Actress, was that second-best candidate, their top choice, and because she was already such a Talented Ultimate, she was far easier to work with than the Reserve Course boy. Because of that, Nozomi was "born" first.

And in yet another fateful twist, they unknowingly switched creeds. Nozomi was supposed to be a creature of Despair, but her love of the brainless, blue-haired girl she called a classmate, unit-mate, and soulmate—Towa Hanamaki—her "soul" was "saved". Izuru, meanwhile, consciously and subconsciously continued to reject his saving grace, though she was still reaching out. So was Nozomi. In her own, sisterly way.

"For someone with all those Talents, you could at least crack a smile once in a while," she teased, voice low and quiet.

"What purpose does a smile serve." It was a question, but Izuru's voice was so inflectionless, it was spoken like a statement.

"Communication. Next question." Nozomi smirked. Even though her expressions were restrained and muted, at least she emoted. C'mon, Izuru, cut the Edgelord crap. You're being an idiot, a dishonor to your Talents, leaning so hard into your aesthetic like that. Or are you the Ultimate Emo too? Smiles do indeed serve practical purpose, as I have just stated.

Nozomi had moments of spark and inner fire, and she could roast with the best of them, despite the "big sis" aura she typically tried to radiate. She displayed the more aggressive and playful side of sisterhood again on the next poor saps to stumble across her and Izuru's path.

He gave no reaction at all while she made a face halfway between a gentle smile and a smirk. "After-school detention for you too?"

"Oh, shit!" The first shadowy figure sprinting quietly down the hallway screeched to a halt. He was a tall, lithe boy with long, spiky black hair.

"Oh, the fuck?!" His partner in crime crashed into him. "What'd you stop for?!" she demanded, then she saw Nozomi and Izuru and gasped. In the dim light of the moonlit hallway, the Kamukura siblings could see that she wore large, round glasses and carried large, sharp scissors...

The scissors flashed as she moved them suddenly, wrapping her arms around herself, doubling over, cackling. "Who let the emos in?!"

"Takes one to know one, does it not?" the boy at her side smirked.