danganronpa - deluded | fanganronpa

[ prologue - best friends! ]

Akira saw two young women talking together, leaning on one of the food vendors.

The shorter one had light skin and a constant blush under her cheeks. She had gentle, round, light pink eyes and rosy skin. She had pigtails sprouting that fell down to her shoulders. Her hair was a light, pastel pink. She had a flower pin in her hair connected to a semi-transparent, white, flowing piece of ribbon. She wore a sleeveless dress. It was a pink-beige color with beautiful floral patterns on the bottom. From the knee-down, she wore white socks. On her shoulders were white-rimmed fabrics that extended into semi-transparent pink ribbon flowing down to her hands.

The other woman (who was much taller by comparison) had a more rustic look. She had ivory skin and captivating golden yellow eyes. Her hair was brown and pulled up into a tight bun behind her head, two stray strands falling on each side of her face. She had no sleeves and instead wore wrist-long rubber gloves (they were brown). She wore blue overalls over a yellow t-shirt. A brown hoodie was tied around her waist. She wore black leader pants.

The taller woman waved and called her over, to which Akira gladly accepted.

"Hello there!" She said with a polite smile. "It's super-duper great to meet you. I'm Eiko Adochi, the Ultimate Blacksmith!"

EIKO ADOCHI

ULTIMATE BLACKSMITH

Eiko turned to the girl in the dress and pat her back encouragingly. "And this here is... go ahead and introduce yourself."

"Oh. I'm- uh- Mioko Tsuda. The Ultimate Florist. It's nice to meet you..." the other girl said almost timidly as she half-hid behind Eiko.

MIOKO TSUDA

ULTIMATE FLORIST

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Akira Sashiki, the Ultimate Archer," Akira introduced, smiling back at the two girls.

"Oh, Akira, huh?" Eiko said, a smirk growing on her face. "Chiemi was talking about you when I said hello to her."

"Oh? She was?" Akira asked. "What did she say?"

Eiko's smirk turned into an evil, wicked, twisted smile. "Oh, nothing... she was just saying how much she hated you. She said you were super annoying and that you acted like a grandma. What a bitch, am I right?"

"W- huh?!" Akira gasped. Of course, she knew not to believe strangers, but that didn't change the fact that Chiemi was also a stranger. She'd ask the green-haired girl about it later, but for now, she was too curiously upset to care about the possibility of the blacksmith lying. "What? She seemed so nice!"

"What can I say?" Eiko murmured with a half-shrug, that smiled still on her lips. "People are fake as hell these days. Ikue was talking shit too, you know. She said you were ugly and that you probably open your legs for everyone in the class already. Those two aren't your friends - just letting you know."

"I-Ikue too? She said that she liked my outfit!" Akira argued. "H-How do you even know this stuff?"

"I have my ways," Eiko responded blandly, observing her fingernails. "In fact, the only sane ones here are you and Mioko. Lemme say this right now - I have dirt on everyone. Shinako seems nice but honestly, she has no passion for her talent. All she cares about is money."

"Um... E-Eiko..." Mioko asked timidly from behind her friend, concern etched into her face. "M-Maybe it's not nice to talk about someone who isn't here to defend themselves..."

"But that's what they did to poor Akira! They did it to you, too, girl!" Eiko replied sharply.

Mioko's eyes got even wider. She squeaked and put her hand over her mouth. "Eh?! M-Me?! I-"

"Shh, don't worry, Mioko. Akira and I have your back. For example, Obokata says he laughs because he can't be serious? Bitch, please. He laughs at who he's talking to. Rei is an obvious asshole, no point to be argued with. Banri's apparently been arrested for theft twice. Kouta's totally a pedo. Isamu slips in slurs while he's talking so nobody can hear. Naoki's a dick. R-"

"Enough!" Akira cut in, nearly hissing. She inhaled sharply and tried to remain civil as she continued. "Eiko. I understand you want to help people, but aren't you kind of being a hypocrite by talking about them behind their backs as well?"

Akira didn't realize what she said was wrong until she saw Mioko's horrified face. "A-Akira-"

"Well!" Eiko hissed. "Excuse me for trying to help you! Guess you're a bitch just like the rest of them. Mioko and I can just go solo!"

"E... Eiko... what if I want to... talk... to the other students...?" Mioko asked slowly, voice even quieter than it was before. "Shinako seems nice and..." she paused when Eiko glared at her, and instead looked at the ground sadly and sighed. "Nevermind..."

Eiko turned back to Akira, clapping her hands together as a sickly sweet smile pursed her lips. "Akira! How's about you join our little group?"

"Yeah, no thanks," Akira said between gritted teeth, "I don't plan on acting like a huge jerk the entire time I'm here. You're calling Chiemi fake but look at yourself. You're forcing Mioko to be your friend and talking about everyone in the most disrespectful way I've ever seen. People like you disgust me."

To say Eiko was fuming would be an understatement.

She put her hands on Mioko's shoulders so hard that the girl squirmed with mild discomfort. "I'll take that as a maybe," Akira could hear the threat in that voice. "...Mioko, let's go."

As Eiko dragged Mioko away, Akira could barely make out the florist peek back to smile and wave at her.

OBTAINED TICKET FRAGMENT!

OBTAINED TICKET FRAGMENT(?)

Suddenly, the loudspeakers around the funfair burst to life, a loud static filling the air. Akira could see Eiko freeze in her spot and turn to look at them curiously. Akira, unsure of what was happening, did the same.

"Good morning, students!" A voice chirped. "It's a lovely day for a walk in the funfair, correct?"

"No, no, you idiot!" A different, deeper voice shouted, "you're being too soft on them. Get to the Ferris wheel in ten minutes or you'll wish you never even accepted the letter to-"

"HejjiKuma, stop that!" The higher voice argued. "It won't do any good to threaten them!"

"Shut your face, HoggoKuma!"

"No- look, let me do it." The higher voice cleared its throat. "You're probably all confused, but I gave you ample time to explore and say hello to your fellow students! You should all head over to the Ferris wheel so I can explain everything! See you soon!"

The loudspeaker turned off with a click.

Akira looked over the trees and roller coasters and saw it - a Ferris wheel. It was half yellow and half black and utterly suited for this weird situation.

With a sigh, Akira started to head over.

Guess I'll finally get some closure.