Danganronpa: All Stars

Chapter 1- Makoto- Here We Go Again

The dome was silent, only the gentle breeze of the towering glass dome. Tall trees swayed in the wind and a small stream flowed throughout the muddy ground of the indoor forest. Vines dropped from the high canopy as intense rays of sunlight pierced the glass and hit leaves. A small robin took off from a thin branch on one of the smaller trees; the creature swerved through the foliage and wildlife before gracefully landing on a small boy's chest and pecking on his shoulder. The boy shuffled and coughed and sputtered as he woke up in shock. W-what? Where am I? Makoto's head was flooded with thoughts as he awoke to a small bird pecking away at his shoulder. His body violently shook in fear as he rolled over and swiftly stood up. The killing game participant ruffled his own chestnut hair, still feeling his classic ahoge pointing to the sky. His brown eyes darted around the surroundings, bounding from the rustling, emerald bushes to the blazing sun in the bright sky outside of the large glass structure. Terrible thoughts scattered throughout his mind- 'What if it's another killing game?' 'What if it's Junko?'.
"No!" The Ultimate Lucky Student thought aloud- his shout echoing off of the transparent walls encasing the forest.

Suddenly, his cry was met with a loud cough, the sound of broken branches and a large thud as something...or someone hit the ground. Makoto's hopeful instincts carried his legs to the sound without thinking, kicking plantlife and wafting bugs out of the way to reach the source- another boy. His dark blue hair was scruffy and tangled after his fall but a thin ahoge grew upwards from the mess of dark locks. He looked up a Makoto, a confused look in his glossy eyes. The boy quickly fumbled and hastily grabbed a black cap that lay on the mossy ground a few feet from him before awkwardly fastening it onto his head of messy hair.
"Sh-Shuichi Saihara," the boy raised a hand as he shakily said his name, "D-do you kn-know what's going on?"
"Hi! Makoto Naegi!" Makoto shook Shuichi's hand whilst putting on a fake face of optimism, "And no, I don't have a clue."
"Well I suppose that puts us in the same boat..." Shuichi laughed nervously, "By any chance, do you have an Ultimate Talent?"
"Oh yeah, Ultimate Lucky Student!" Makoto giggled- not wanting to make a scene by revealing his Ultimate Hope talent, "How did you work that one out?"
"Just a hunch," the blue-haired boy laughed, "I'm the Ultimate Detective."
"Ultimate Detective huh? I know another one of those!" And almost on cue, the ripping of vines and rustling of leaves could be heard from behind the pair. 2 girls fell from a towering tree and landed roughly on a gathering of large bushes- flattening a blooming tulip and tearing at the bright green leaves. One was a new face surrounded by long locks of blonde hair and, strange enough, an ahoge similar to Shuichi's. The other was very familiar- her lilac waves of hair and violet eyes bringing a beaming smile to Makoto's face. The boys ran over to the girls- both with excited looks on their faces as they embraced.
"Kyoko!" Makoto grinned as he hugged her, "I'm so glad you're here!"
"Oh...um...hi Makoto, who's your...friend?" She pointed at the other boy who was excitedly talking with the blonde girl who fell with Kyoko.
"Oh, he's called Shuichi Saihara!" Naegi released her from his arme, "He's also an Ultimate Detective!"
"Hmmm, interesting..." Kyoko walked over to the other couple and introduced herself and Makoto.
"Oh hello!" The blonde girl had a wide smile on her face and wore a pink schoolgirl outfit, "I'm Kaede Akamatsu- the Ultimate Pianist!"
"Are there any others around here?" Kyoko asked, probably already trying to do detective work.
"We should probably split up?" Shuichi suggested, almost seeming nervous around the other detective, "We could cover more ground of this forrest, right?"
Kirigiri nodded and ran off into the brush, leaving her old friend to follow her.
"Meet back here in 20 minutes, okay?" Naegi shouted as he followed his friend into the forest.

The grassy floor was piled high with obstacles for Makoto to surpass- broken branches, piles of evergreen leaves and thick, sweeping vines that slapped the boy in the face as he followed the detective deeper into the foliage until she stopped and pointed up. The Ultimate Hope had to stop for a second as he panted before looking upwards at a wooden structure in the tallest of the trees.
"There should be more in there," Kyoko said as she started climbing up the trees with no hesitation.
"I...Kyoko that's n-" Makoto gave up on his warnings and followed the girl up the tree- clambering from vine to branch back to vine until he reached a mossy, spruce platform. A small cabin was suspended in the canopy- held in place by supports on the surrounding tree trunks. A small, overgrown door stood in the nearest wall of the structure with moss and plantlife holding it from moving. Nothing a few kicks from Kyoko and Makoto couldn't break- allowing the pair access to the broken and dirty interior as well as 3 more people. One was a small girl with strawberry blonde hair and an ahoge. Circular glasses upon her face gleamed in the the dim light that streamed in through the cracks in the wooden ceiling. Another boy lay slumped in the corner with glossy brown hair and a large ahoge pointing to the ceiling. His body was leaning upon an overgrown wood wall- with his shoulder touching another boy. The other was a short, stout, brown-haired boy wearing a small chef hat and a regular cook's outfit. Each of the people woke up simultaneously in a shocked state of confusion as the door was shoved open by the couple from the first killing game.
"Wh-who are you?!" The girl seemed very confused, "Where am I?"
"Hi...um, I'm Ma-" the lucky student was cut off by his more...blunt friend.
"Hello, Kyoko Kirigiri- Ultimate Detective," She pointed to herself then Makoto, "Makoto Naegi- Ultimate Lucky student. I'd like your names and talents please."
Makoto looked over at his friend and saw that she had a list of people's names and talents neatly written down.
"I-um, okay..." The girl stood up and put a hand out that only Naegi shook, "I'm Shijime Yoki- The Ultimate Nail Artist."
"Hi I'm Hajime Hinata but...no talent. I'm just a reserve course student..." The other boy with the ahoge had stood up to introduce himself and nervously scratched the back of his neck as he said his talent... or rather, lack thereof. He hadn't noticed that the chef had stood up yet until they introduced themselves.
"Hey, hey, hey. Aren't you both some fine ladies?!" He gestured to Kyoko and Shijime, "I'm Teruteru Hanamura! The Ultimate Cook...although I'd prefer if you called me the Ultimate Chef..."
"Okay and can you all confirm that you've been in a killing game?" Kyoko's eyes no looking up from her notepad as everyone's eyes filled with fear at the mention of past trauma.
"I-yes...it was horrible..." Hajime turned to Teruteru, "You died!"
"I...I remember it...so painful..." The chef shuddered, his smile turning to a frown, "I...I died and then I woke up here!"
"I was also in a killing game," Shiji stared at the floor, "It really was terrible..."
"Oh! Did any of you see a detective boy in your games? Blue hair? Weird black outfit and cap?" Makoto asked trying to be helpful but was met with shaking heads.
"So, it's fair to assume there are people from at least four different killing games here..." Kyoko said, clearly putting her deduction skills to use, "How many were in each of your games?"
"16 before I did something stupid," Teruteru said with pure regret on his face.
"There was 18 in mine..." Shijime trailed off trying to forget the past.
"Let's say there were 16 in that other boy's game," Kyoko continued, "That puts us at 66 split across 4 domes and a centre buil-"
"Wait, what!?" Makoto was confused, "4 domes and a centre building? How do you know that?"
"Try looking through the glass," Kyoko shook her head as she pointed to the wall of their dome. Sure enough, Makoto followed her pointing and realised that she was right; 3 other large domes stood outside- one contained a hot and fiery volcano that had molten lava overflowing from it's rim onto the craggy, black stone that made up the majority of the floor. Another had large lake surrounded by small, sandy beaches that blanketed most of its ground; even a thin river ran around the farthest part of the interior. The third dome was full of large, steep mountains topped with heavy snow, as well as sheer cliffs that could kill any human. All of the domes, including the one currently housing Makoto, had long glass corridors protruding from a place on each of their walls. All of these hallways connected to a large centre building, seemingly a huge mansion. From what Naegi could tell, it was at least 3 stories and must have covered as much area as 3 Hope's Peak Highs could have. And on the roof- 2 silhouettes could be seen as one suddenly fired a flare gun into the air.
"Anyway, that's most of my questions answered," Kyoko said as she headed to the door.
"What do you mean?" Shijime looked confused.
"Well, there's probably only 2 in that building," Kirigiri pointed to the centre, "If they really wanted help, they would have sent all of their group up so there's, most likely, only 2."
"What's your point?" Teruteru looked intrigued.
"Well, if there's 2 there, then there's 64 split among 4 domes meaning there'll be 16 in this one," Kyoko sighed, "It's simple math. Now, come on, we've got people to find."
Makoto and the others followed her back down the tree.

After a little while of searching, the group came across a small cave entrance below a looming oak tree.
"Alright guys! Let's go save some people!" Makoto beamed widely and tried to be optimistic but the thought of another killing game still loomed in his mind as he scrambled his way into the rocky tunnel- leading the others into a large, open cave. The cave floor was surprisingly polished with vibrant gems and sparkling ores spiking out of it- along with 3 more people lay out on the ground. One was a very large boy with greenish brown hair and big, circular glasses. Another was a girl with a greyish-blonde head of short hair; she wore a classic black and white maid outfit with clean, polished gloves encasing her hands. The final person was another girl- this one had strawberry blonde hair that was partially covered by a large black hat upon her head.
"Do we wake them up or..." Hajime asked, not knowing any of the people. Shijime, on the other hand, ignored this and ran over to the girl in the black hat.
"Emiko! Oh my God, Emiko!" Shiji violently shook the girl until she woke up.
"I...wha-...um...oh Shijime!" Emiko got to her feet swiftly and felt her neck- like it was in pain, "What the-...where am I? I thought I died?!"
Emiko's shocked cries caused the other two to wake up- each looking like they were in pain.
"G-Gonta confused, where is Gonta?" The tall boy asked, "Gonta thought he died...?"
"Yes...I um...also believed I died..." The girl in the maid outfit looked like she was trying to remain calm but was failing.
"Yes, I know you have questions but we don't have answers," Kyoko had brought out her notebook, "Names and ultimate talents."
"Oh...Gonta is Gonta Gokuhara!" The boy had a large grin on his face, "Gonta is the Ultimate Entomologist!"
"Hello, I'm Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid," the girl turned to Gonta, "I guess it appears you died too...unexpected I must say."
"And I," the girl Shijime ran over to had stood up, "am Emiko Saito- the Ultimate Occultist."
"Sorry to interrupt anything but...um..." Makoto walked over to Kyoko, remembering what he told Shuichi, and whispered to her, "I told the others we'd be back in 20 minutes so we should probably head back..."
Kyoko simply nodded and began crawling out of the cave and beckoning the others to follow suit.

When Makoto's group arrived at the original clearing in the forest, they were met with a large group of 8- containing Kaede, Shuichi and a few familiar faces.
"Hey Makoto!" Kaede ran over to him, "We found others!"
"So did we..." Naegi gestured to the flock of people behind him and then ran over to the other group and was met with some old faces.
"Oh, hello Naegi!" The Ultimate Hope turned his eyes upwards and was met with the pale face...of Celestia Ludenberg, "So nice to see you after you sentenced me to death!"
Makoto didn't even bother trying to talk to her and instead found his eyes being attracted to another boy, with a similar sounding voice.
"Hey, I heard we share a talent..." the white-haired boy raised a hand that was suspiciously feminine, "I'm Nagito Komaeda, and I'm also the Ultimate Lucky Student."
He seemed...strangely friendly and a literal crazed due to way he held himself in his arms.
"Oh, hi I'm Ma-" Makoto began.
"No need, Shuichi filled me in on it," Nagito interrupted, "You should talk to the others first, instead of wasting your time on worthless trash like me..."
"I...um...okay..." Makoto slowly backed away from him, a little weirded out until he bumped into another boy.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" The boy was tall with curled, purple hair and grabbed Makoto by the hand, "Anyway, I'm Levan Eaton- the Ultimate Race Car Driver!"
"Oh hi," Makoto noticed a smaller girl by his side, "And you are?"
"Oh...I'm Aiko Hashimoto- the Ultimate Nursery School Teacher," She said quietly from behind her sweater.
"Hey kid!" A large hand tapped Makoto on the shoulder, "I was told to introduce myself. So, I'm Nekomaru Nidai! The Ultimate Team Manager!"
The lucky student looked at Nekomaru up and down for a second, noticing all the huge, toned muscles and big build of his body. However, his thoughts were interrupted.
"And I!" An all too familiar voice filled Makoto's ears as he swiped his head around to see...her...how could he forget her..."Am Junko Fuckin' Enoshima!"