Split in two (Danagronpa AU -Editing)

Introductions/ chp.1

              
(Hey, looks like I'm not entirely giving up on this anyway....Im in college now and I finished out high school with a degree in psychology...I remembered how fics like this were a big motivation for me in school so I'm back!)

(Edit: I'm gonna make some changes with the personalities Makoto will be a voice that only the audience is aware of, his comments are still made but think of them as an inner voice Naegi isn't aware of.)

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Naegi POV

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I'm Makoto Naegi. The Ultimate Lucky Student.
At least, that's what they told me when I got accepted to Hope's Peak Academy.

I should've been excited. And I was. Kind of. As I stood in front of the school's massive iron gates, my heart was pounding. This was supposed to be the start of everything.

The first step toward—

Darkness.

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I jolted awake.

Cold floor. Dim fluorescent lights. A classroom?

I sat up slowly, one hand going to the back of my head. My chest felt tight. My limbs ached like I'd been unconscious for longer than a nap should allow.
No entrance hall. No staff. Just... here.

"Where... am I?"

The classroom looked like something out of a surreal play. The windows were bolted shut—huge, industrial slabs of metal across the glass. Overkill for even the most paranoid school.

"What's with the windows?"

I stepped closer, brushing my fingers against one of the bolts. Cold and heavy. Real.

The absurdity of it hit me like a second wave. Nothing about this made sense.
Was this some kind of elaborate prank? A test?

A crayon-written note caught my eye on the chalkboard:

"All students meet in the gym for the opening ceremony at 8:00 AM."

I glanced up at the wall clock.
8:15.

"Oh no—I'm late!"

The words came out with a panic I didn't entirely feel. My body was reacting faster than my brain. Like it was just following a script.

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I wandered the halls until I found the gym. The longer I moved through the school, the more wrong it all felt. Sterile. Quiet. Sealed.

Fifteen pairs of eyes turned toward me as I stepped inside. Students. All different kinds, with different expressions—confused, bored, suspicious.

"HEY! EVERYONE WAS ASKED TO MEET AT A SPECIFIC TIME—WHY ARE YOU LATE?!"
That shout came from a tall guy in a white uniform, glaring at me like I'd insulted his ancestors.

I flinched. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't know where I was."

Standing there, under their eyes, I felt like I was shrinking. Everyone else seemed so... sure of themselves. Like they belonged here.

I tried to breathe.

Just introduce yourself. Name. Title. Easy.

"I'm Makoto Naegi. The Ultimate Lucky Student."

A weird flicker of irritation passed through me—almost like I was embarrassed by my own words before I even had the chance to be.
Where did that come from?

A tall, blonde student pushed up his glasses with sharp precision. "I assume you're a freshman as well?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess we all are, right?" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Did you guys wake up in a classroom, too?"

A soft-spoken girl with lavender hair nodded. "Yes. It seems we're all in the same situation."

"Right..." I glanced around. "Well, uh—what are your names?"

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[Time Skip]

We all went around the room, introducing ourselves and listing our "Ultimate" talents. Most of them had incredible skills—stuff I couldn't imagine being good at. A martial artist, a programmer, a clairvoyant, an idol. It was like a game of "which one of these doesn't belong," and spoiler alert: it was me.

Everyone else stood out.

I just felt... ordinary.

My tone dipped for a second, drier than I meant it to be. That wasn't... like me.

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Then, a high-pitched giggle echoed through the gym.

"Upupupupuu~! Now that you guys know each other, let's get started!"

All heads turned to the stage.

There, like some malformed mascot, stood a black-and-white bear. Or maybe it was a toy. It moved like something alive, but looked like something from a carnival prize bin.

"AAAHHH!! That stuffed bear is talking!" screamed the tall guy with the dreads.

"I'm not a stuffed bear! I'm Monokuma—and I'll be your headmaster!"

I blinked. "This is... a joke, right? Like part of orientation?"

Monokuma's grin widened.

"Welcome to the Killing School Life!"

"K-Killing...?" My voice cracked. "Wait, this is still a joke, right?"

<'So we've been kidnapped by a murder cult'.>

Monokuma kept talking, but I barely heard it. Everything in me screamed that this wasn't just a prank. It was too real. Too specific.

Then Mondo—the biker—stepped forward.

"I don't got time for your twisted sense of humor," he growled. "I'll just crush you and be outta here."

Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed Monokuma by the neck and lifted him off the stage.

The bear didn't fight back. It just... smiled.

"Upupu... You really think it'd be that easy?"

Then came a beep.

A cold, pulsing sound. Like a timer.

"What the hell is that?!" Mondo shouted, eyes darting.

Another student, calm and expressionless, spoke up: "If you don't want to explode, throw it."

Mondo hurled Monokuma across the gym just in time.

BOOM.
The explosion rocked the room. Everyone froze.

And then... another Monokuma dropped from the ceiling.

"Tsk tsk! Didn't I say violence against the principal is strictly forbidden? That was a warning shot. Next time, you won't be so lucky."

And then he vanished.

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The silence that followed was thick.

Togami scoffed, pushing his glasses higher. "Not only are we trapped in this absurd scenario, but I'm stuck with imbeciles."

Mondo turned on him. "The hell did you say, you rich bastard?!"

"You heard me."

And just like that, the tension cracked.

"Don't fight!" I blurted, stepping between them.

A mistake.

Mondo's fist caught me in the face before I could process what was happening.

Everything went black again.

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Hello, my dear readers, this is probably the longest chapter I have written but what do you think so far? See you guys in the next chapter!

-Angelic_author

Wow....it's been a while everyone, how is everyone doing?