Danganronpa: AWAKENED

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

I was selected.

Tears welled in my mother's eyes as she read the letter that came from my dream school, detailing my acceptance into the 'ultimate' program. My father hugged me, pride filling his chest and he ruffled my cropped hair. I'm...I'm an ultimate. I remember bawling my eyes out that evening, along with the rest of my family. We celebrated, and then cried some more. My summer break seemed to be spurred on by the excitement that infested my stomach every time I thought about that letter, and soon enough, I found myself standing before the very manifestation of my dreams. I wiped at my eyes one last time as I went to cross the threshold, taking my first steps towards my future...

And then it went black.

...

Warmth raced from the tips of my fingers to the rest of my body as I slowly came back to my senses. Groggily, my eyes fluttered open, surroundings fuzzy and blob-like. My glasses...I lazily feel my way to my face, tapping the area around my eyes. No frames to be found. Where are they? I attempt sitting up, discovering that I had been sprawled out on the floor of a...

"What the hell?"

My voice came out raspy, scratching slightly at the back of the throat. I squint, thinking that the scenery around me was a trick being played on me by my nearsighted eyes. I rub my eyes and blink away the blackness afterwards around ten more times, quickly realizing that this was no joke. I woke up in a normal classroom, complete with desks, a chalkboard, and all that, but it was eerily silent. No one in here but me, myself, and I. Using one of the desks nearby to prop myself up (it didn't help that my legs felt like television static), I surveyed the room again from a new perspective, which revealed that the podium towards the front of the room had my glasses and a note lying atop it.

I trudge up to the front, snatching my glasses from the surface and placing them delicately on the bridge of my nose. With the newfound ability to see, I look around the room for a third time, this time finding that not only was I alone, but that the windows had also been sealed up with large steel panels. My brows furrow, eyes focused on the metal. What the hell is going on? I already had a bad feeling when I noticed that the room was just empty, but now this? Exhaling sharply through the nose, my attention turns to the note that remains face down. The blank page stares me down, and I glare back. Just about everything in here is making me feel antsy. Slowly, and carefully, I pick up the note, flipping it over and reading it.

Upupupupu!~
Hello, Ultimate Blogger! Welcome to your brand-spankin' new high school career!
Below you'll find a map—that's incredibly well drawn, if I may be so honest!—that will guide you to the main lobby of this building! There, you will find something very interesting! So hop to it, get moving, go go GO!!~ Hope to see you soon!!
Bye bye!! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

"'Ultimate Blogger'," I question aloud, since no one else was there to hear me, "what a strange title for what I do." Glancing to the bottom of the note, I see the aforementioned map, which was crudely scribbled with a colorful amount of crayons. I raise my brow, an amused smirk growing on my lips. Clearly, I was wrong earlier. This is just some stupid prank. Crumpling the note, I shove it in the pocket of my sweatpants (of course I wouldn't litter, who do you think I am?) and make my way out of the classroom. The hallway that greeted me was dimly lit, but not completely dark. Still empty, however. I sigh, digging back into my pocket to recover the childish map. I could absolutely see myself getting lost in this place, and I've only seen two locations. Recovering the note was a slow and careful process, since ripping the paper would only make the situation worse. Yet, I succeeded, and was rewarded with the drawn map once more, albeit deeply wrinkled now.

After wandering for what could've been hours, though, in reality, it was only ten minutes, I managed to stumble my way down to the lobby. The map hadn't been the most reliable, as some of the rooms and halls had been flipped or mirrored, but it eventually got me where I wanted to go. Checking the map one last time, I look up to find a gigantic door, sealed with what seems to be a padlock beefed up with steroids, along with a keypad for some kind of code. "Wow," I mumble to myself thoughtfully, "someone's really pulling out all the stops for this prank, huh?" I approach the lock, running my fingers carefully over the metal surface. Cold and smooth. I could only imagine that the panels over the windows felt similar, since I was still dazed at time and wasn't thinking about investigating them.

"Who...are you?"

A voice from behind nearly causes me to jump out of my skin. I turn swiftly, almost tripping myself in the process. Regaining my balance, I adjust my now askew glasses. I must look ridiculous right about now. Straightening up, I peer over at the newcomer and, despite my nerves, I could feel an irrepressible grin coming to my face. I finally wasn't alone!  "Feel free to call me 'Nonnie'," I start, making my way towards the stranger coolly. I outstretch my hand, offering it for a friendly handshake. "I'm what you'd call the Ultimate Blogger." His deep brown, almost black eyes dart from my face to my hand, then back to my face before accepting my hand, shaking it timidly. "It's nice to meet you, then...I-I'm Toki Masiyako, the Ultimate Logistics." He releases my hand quickly, shoving it back into his coat pocket. "Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too!"

...

First new chapter, huh...Similar, but a little different! I'm trying to change up the location so it isn't just the same as the other Danganronpa games. It'll have classrooms, but I'll also probably borrow the Research Labs from V3. Nonnie, our main character here, is very relaxed and friendly, as you can see by her starting the conversation with Toki. On the other hand, Toki is quite shy and soft spoken. Nonnie's talent, 'Ultimate Blogger', basically means that she owns very popular blogs all over the internet. She reviews T.V. shows, games, foods, and anything else you could possibly blog about. Toki's talent, 'Ultimate Logistics', means that his logic and deductions is higher than that of an average human. His IQ is 147, which qualifies him as near genius. Despite such a high intellect, he doesn't like to bother other people with his opinions and answers.

Also, the title, Danganronpa: AWAKENED, refers to the fact that Danganronpa, or the killings games, haven't occurred for ten years. 16 letters were sent to 16 teenagers, sending them to a new school for an 'ultimate' program, and, as you can guess, this is the new Danganronpa ;)