Chapter Text
They say those that graduate from Hope's Peak Academy are guaranteed success for the rest of their lives. It was recognized as the most powerful, most famous, and most successful High School in the entire world.
The catch was that you could only enter by invitation, not by the typical high school entrance exam; and if you possessed a lucky ticket called "talent."
At least, for the most part. There were some exceptions. Not just with the Reserve Department, full of "untalented" students, but also with the role of Ultimate Lucky Student, where a random high school student was picked out from all schools across Japan, and invited at random to join the academy's main course.
This was the case for Makoto Naegi, who had been invited as the Ultimate Lucky Student almost exactly a year ago now. In fact, he had gone to bed early that night, as the next morning would be his first day back as a second-year at the prestigious school.
Makoto however, found himself very rudely awakened. He stirred in his sleep, and despite his dreariness, he became acutely aware that his pillow felt harder and more solid than usual.
Almost as if it was made of wood.
As Makoto opened his dreary eyes and looked up, he came to realize the reason for this feeling...was that what he thought was his pillow was, in fact, made of wood.
"Is this...a dream?" he muttered to himself, as he looked around in confusion, "where...am I?"
Makoto appeared to be in a classroom. One that felt very familiar to the one he had spent the last year in alongside his classmates at Hope's Peak. However, it was very noticeably different, given that everything in the room; the floors, the walls, the desks, the chairs, even the blackboard and lockers, were a deep shade of deep blue.
Makoto tried to stand up, but found that the feeling in his legs was gone, and he collapsed as soon as he tried. He stumbled and bumped his head on the desk next to him.
"OW!" he winced, clutching his sore spot, "ok...definitely not a dream then..."
"Hmhmhmhmhmm..."
Makoto's eyes widened, and he lurched his head upwards, as he suddenly heard the sound of a high pitched chuckle from the other side of the room. He quickly scrambled to his feet and looked forward to see two figures in front of him.
One of them was sitting at the teachers desk at the front of the classroom. He was a very abnormal looking man, one that would make one scream upon seeing him, but Makoto could not find the noise in his throat. He had pointed ears, bloodshot eyes that bulged out of his head, and bizarrely long nose. Makoto could not see the lower half of his body, but he wore a black, smart-looking suit, and white gloves on his hands.
The other person was a woman wearing a uniform that was the same shade of blue as everything else in the room, if a little lighter shaded. In terms of appearance, it wasn't too unlike the teachers and instructors that taught him at Hope's Peak Academy; like Miss Chisa Yukizome. The woman had short hair that reached the bottom of her neck from behind, it's color being somewhere between silverly grey or platinum blonde, and her eyes were a deep golden color, that seemed to pierce Makoto's body like she could see straight through him.
"Is this the classroom at Hope's Peak?" he asked, "who are you?" So many questions were going through his mind, yet these were the only one's that came out. The lady standing behind the weird-looking man chuckled.
"Asking so many questions right out of the gate," she smiled, "what a good student this one is. We may have struck lucky this time, Master."
"Patience. We shall see," the strange man replied, looking towards Makoto, "let us begin with your first question. "Is this a dream?" In a manner of speaking, yes...But also, no."
"Wh-What does that mean?" Makoto frowned, getting gradually more nervous by the second.
"What you see before you is indeed a real place, and everything you see happening here is real...However, it is also a place that only you can see in your mind," the man explained, "we call it...the Velvet Room. It is a place that exists between dreams and reality; mind and matter...and I am it's Master. My name is Igor."
He then gestured to the lady in the uniform, who courtesied to him.
"This lady by my side is my assistant for this Velvet Room. Her name is Agatha. Please, do well to remember this."
"I...I can try?" Makoto scratched his head, unsure of what to say, "but...Why did you bring me here? Why are we in a classroom? Did I...do something wrong?"
"The room takes the appearance of the state of it's guest's mind. Yours just so happens to resemble a classroom. Even I cannot tell you why," Igor explained, "perhaps it means that your fate is tied to your education or your career?"
"My fate?" Makoto parroted, panicking even more, "what does that even mean!? Am I in danger!?"
"Perhaps...Perhaps not..." Igor replied cryptically, "but there is no need to panic. There is a way to defy the fate that has been forced upon you...albeit only one..."
Igor suddenly snapped his fingers, and as soon as he did, Makoto began to feel a drowsiness overwhelm him. He collapsed back onto the chair he had woken up from, and he felt his eyelids become heavy.
"Do not be alarmed. I am simply sending you back to where you came from," Igor chuckled as he started to fade from view, "we will meet again soon..."
Beautiful Days - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
"Makoto!? MAKOTO! WAKE UP!"
Makoto lurched awake once again at the sound of his name being screamed in his ear. He lurched upwards, frantically looking around at his environment. Igor, the woman Agatha, and the deep blue classroom had vanished. Now he found himself in the familiar setting of his bedroom at home, with his little sister, Komaru Naegi, standing next to his bed with her hands on her hips.
Komaru was wearing her own school uniform. She didn't go to Hope's Peak, but she had just started attending a high school in the local area. Despite how their appearances suggested otherwise, Komaru was younger than Makoto by one year, and this was her first year as a High Schooler. She clearly didn't approve of how her older brother was napping in when she had decided to take things so seriously.
"Jeez. Usually you're the one who has to wake ME up in the morning," she huffed, "had a nice dream or something?"
"I definitely had...a dream..." Makoto replied, not knowing what else to say.
"Well, get back to reality and come down for breakfast, or else you'll miss your first day of school." Komaru told him, "Mom's already made breakfast, it's downstairs for you. Toast and milk work?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Makoto clutched his groggy head, "just give me a minute to get dressed and I'll be downstairs..."
Komaru didn't reply. She just nodded and left the room. For his part, Makoto had to take a moment to process what he had just seen. Sure, he could easily brush seeing the Velvet Room as a dream, but at the same time, where would such a dream have come from? And why did it feel more real than any other dream he had had before.
He thought about asking his family or even classmates about it, but quickly realized that none of them would have the answers he wanted. Instead, he just brushed it aside, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast.
"Sleeping in on your first day back?" Makoto's mother turned around to greet her son as he walked into the room, "tut tut Makoto. We can't be having our Ultimate Son slack off."
"Come on Mom, give me a break, I had a rough night," Makoto sighed, "besides, I'm only the Ultimate Lucky Student. I'm not THAT special."
"Does Makoto even need to be in early?" Makoto's dad suddenly asked, who was, like most dads do for some reason, reading the paper, "I heard that at Hope's Peak, you're allowed to skip as many classes as you want so long as you're honing your talent?"
"Yeah, talents are all the academy really cares about, but how am I supposed to hone my abilities?" Makoto asked, "waltz around the courtyard and hope I narrowly manage to avoid being hit by a flying can?"
"Hm? Sounds like you're talking from experience," Komaru teased, taking a big bite of her pancakes; a significantly sweeter breakfast than what Makoto had, "look at you being a good and honest boy, going to class."
"I'd focus less on me and more on yourself," Makoto jeered back, "my little sister grew up so fast. Are we sure she's ready for high school? She still sleeps with a stuffed animal after all."
"YOU still sleep in your star patterned onesie!" Komaru snapped back, her mouth full of pancake, "don't give me that! My stuffed animal is just another pillow to me!"
"Alright, that's enough now." Makoto's mother put an end to their argument before Makoto could strike again. The air became awkward as Komaru and Makoto stopped talking to each other, so Makoto swiftly tried to change the subject.
"Any interesting things in the paper today Dad?" he asked at random. He didn't honestly care upon asking, just wanting to move on. Makoto's father looked up from his read with a concerned look on his face, which did catch Makoto's attention.
"Just your typical story..." he replied, "but...Well...Let's just say we might have to drive Komaru to school today."
"What!? Ugh, but I told you I didn't want you to do that! What kind of high school girl gets driven to school by her parents!? Especially on her first day!" Komaru whined.
"Trust me, I wouldn't if I thought we had a choice, but it seems to me like there's been an accident on the underground," Makoto's Dad turned the paper around so Komaru and the others could get a better look, "apparently it's a pretty big story too. The driver of the train apparently leapt off the train after pumping up the speed to it's max. It stormed through several stations before it eventually crashed, and a lot of people got hurt."
"Another one!?" Komaru gasped, "there's been loads of these accidents lately, and a lot of them have been caused by people acting kooky..."
"Did anyone get killed?" Makoto asked, pinching himself in the thigh for even bringing it up. Mr Naegi shook his head.
"There were some rough injuries, but apparently the only casualty was the driver himself," he said, "it he planned to commit suicide, I wish he'd picked a better time and not dragged so many people in."
"Honey!" Mrs Naegi snapped at him.
"That's not what I meant," he assured her, "I'm just worried."
"Hey, with that logic, the tubes have got to be cancelled for today, right?" Makoto asked, "doesn't that mean the traffic's gonna be bad?"
"Crud...didn't think of that..." Mr Naegi realized.
"Aaaaaww!" Komaru groaned, "I'm gonna be late on my first day! Everyone's gonna laugh at me!"
"Don't be silly Komaru. No one's going to pick on you if you just so happen to be late for your first day," Mrs Naegi said, while Makoto kept to himself just how wrong he thought this was, "Makoto, could you use that app on your phone that tells you the safest and quickest route to a location? That way, we can avoid the traffic."
"Oh, sure thing," Makoto reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, "haven't used it in a bit but I remember...huh?"
"What? What is it?" Komaru asked.
What made Makoto stop was looking at his phone screen, and noticing something that wasn't there the last time he checked. There was an icon on his home screen that looked like an eye. Specifically, it looked very similar to the Eye of Horus, with a star in the middle...or a pentagram.
Whatever it was, it seemed to be staring at Makoto, and he didn't remember downloading it.
"What's wrong Makoto?" Mr Naegi asked.
"N-Nothing...Just thought I didn't have the app anymore, so I had to look for it," Makoto quickly deleted the app without checking what it was, afraid it was some sort of malware or whatever, "I've got it now. Let me send you the route."
"Be safe on your way to school today Makoto," Mrs Naegi told him, "I know you're walking, but keep an eye out for any traffic accidents on the road."
"I will Mom," he replied apathetically, "and Komaru? Jokes aside, I wish you good luck."
"Heh...Thanks bro." Komaru affectionately gave him a slap on the wrist.
Beautiful Dead - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Sure enough, as Makoto had predicted, the traffic was especially bad. Fortunately, Hope's Peak wasn't too far away from his house, so Makoto just walked there. He had already packed a bag full of his things, ready to stay in the school dorms for the year.
Makoto looked up in dismay as he felt a cold drop of rain hit the back of his neck. That drop was then quickly joined by several others that pattered down on the student's head. He took his bag off his back and reached into it, shuffling through lots of home items looking for his umbrella, to no avail.
"Ugh, just my luck!" he grunted, severely frustrated, hurrying towards a nearby building for shelter, watching a lot of other schoolboys and schoolgirls doing the same. Makoto had already noticed a lot of the students from the Reserve Course passing him by, recognizing their black uniforms. Despite the rain drowning out the noise, he still heard their passing conversations, such as "what do we have first period today?"
Makoto pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened it up.
"I thought the forecast said it was going to be clear skies today!" he grouched, "wait...huh?"
When Makoto tried to look up the weather forecast on his phone, he suddenly noticed that the same red eye logo on his phone had appeared again.
"What the hell?" he said under his breath, "I thought I deleted that..."
Makoto reached out to remove the app again, but right before he could, someone suddenly ran up and grabbed his arm. Originally, he flinched in surprise, but calmed down immediately upon seeing who it was.
Though he didn't recognize her, the girl that grabbed him was wearing the main course uniform. She had smooth, ash-blonde hair that curved out to the sides as it grew down her neck. Her bangs hung low over her warm, plum-colored eyes, before being brushed behind her ears. Much like Makoto, she had some hair on her head that stuck upwards, but unlike Makoto, it was thin and more arched. Her eyes were slightly tilted, and her eyelashes were fairly long.
"C-Can I help you?" he asked. The girl took a second to catch her breath, before she responded.
"S-Sorry..." she gasped, "are you a student at Hope's Peak? Do you know which way it is to the school building?"
"Um...Yeah, I'm a second year," he said, "I take it you're a new first year?"
"Y-Yeah..." she was clearly very out of breath after having ran through the rain, "sorry to bother you, but you looked like you were from the main course and I...I got a little lost on the way...I thought I knew the directions, but I..."
"Hey, it's alright," Makoto comforted her with a pat on the shoulder, "I'm not having the best day either, but that's normal for me. If you need me to take you to the building, I'd be happy to...On the condition that you let me share your umbrella."
"Oh, sure!" the girl raised her umbrella and held it in a way that would make room for the both of them. Makoto, forgetting to delete the app on his phone after the girl's arrival, pocketed his phone and started to walk with her.
"So...you're a second year, huh?" the girl tried to strike up a conversation with him as they walked, "I guess that would make you my senpai...Sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"
"It's ok, I didn't catch yours either," Makoto replied, "I'm Naegi. Makoto Naegi. I'm the second years Ultimate Lucky Student. And trust me, there's no need to call me senpai.
"Oh, you're the one picked out from lottery!" she smiled, "We actually don't have that this year; too many spaces or something. Kinda funny how you're having such a bad day, given that your talent is luck..."
"It's not all it's cracked out to be," Makoto admitted, "what about you?"
"Oh, right, sorry, I really should've introduced myself more formally..." she seemed embarrassed, "I'm a new first year, Kaede Akamatsu. My talent is Ultimate Pianist."
"Oh, a musician! I'm good friends with a music artist myself," Makoto beamed, "one of my classmates is known as the Ultimate Pop Sensation."
"WHAT!?" Kaede exclaimed, louder than she clearly meant to; many people's heads turning towards her as people passed them by, "you mean...You're CLASSMATES with Sayaka Maizono!?"
"Her reputation precedes her as always..." Makoto chuckled, "my sister's a huge fan too. She had pretty much the same reaction when I told her."
"It must be so cool! Sayaka's such an inspiration for girls across the country, especially musically gifted ones like me!" Kaede exclaimed, "well, I guess "musically gifted" sounds too vain...I'm really just a freak who loves piano a little too much."
"Oh come now, "freak" is a bit much. You seem very nice." Makoto replied earnestly, "anyway, if we turn the corner here we should be...woah...!"
Makoto and Kaede turned the corner, and came to the pristine pearly gates of the academy. However, a fairly large crowd was gathered out front, which was not normal, even with the academy's fame.
"What's going on?" Kaede asked, "did I miss a welcome ceremony?"
"Usually they go to the lobby of the school building for that," Makoto told her, "why don't you run ahead and go meet your new classmates? I can get to the bottom of this."
"Ok!" Kaede shook Makoto's hand with a jovial smile on her face, "thank you so much Naegi-san! I hope to see you around the school!"
"You're welcome. See you later!" Makoto waved her goodbye. He watched as Kaede practically forced her way through the large crowd in an attempt to hurry to the entrance ceremony in the school lobby. For his part, he approached the crowd to get to the bottom of this.
However, along the way, Makoto stopped in his tracks, as he suddenly felt a presence nearby. Everyone else around him appeared to be mindless to it, but the moment Makoto approached, he breathed a sigh, and wryly smiled as he turned his head towards a small tree near the front of the academy.
He approached it, and shook it's branch lightly a few times. This prompted some nervous whimpering to sound from the branches, which turned a few confused heads. Makoto, for his part, ignored them and looked up at the tree branches to see a familiar face.
"Fukawa-san," he sighed "any reason why you're up there today?"
"Oh...I-It's you..." the girl who Makoto had spotted in the tree branches poked her head down to get a better look at him, "h-how did you know I was up here?"
This girl was Toko Fukawa, Hope's Peak's Ultimate Writing Prodigy, and a classmate of Makoto's. She was easily recognizable due to her messy purple hair which she tied in twin braids, and her large round glasses that sat uncomfortably on her petite face.
Toko wasn't a bad person, but she had what could be easily seen as a bad attitude. Intellectually, she was very gifted, and she had a way with words, as you would expect with a writer. Her social skills and ability to make friends on the other hand, were not so admirable. She very much preferred to outcast herself from others, the only exception being another boy from Makoto's class, Byakuya Togami, whom Toko had a major crush on (much to his annoyance).
She was highly suspicious of other people, frequently accusing them of thinking bad things about her, even if they had good intentions. She expressed her opinions freely and extremely, which often came across as mean and often rubbed people the wrong way, outcasting her even more.
By now though, after having gotten to know Toko for over a year, Makoto had been able to take her harsh words on the chin, and had come to realize that she was just being brutally honest with herself and everyone around her. He also knew that she wasn't completely unlikeable. When Makoto had introduced his classmates to his younger sister during the summer after the first year, Komaru had gone out of her way to include Toko in all the group activities they had done that day.
Toko had originally only came because Makoto had convinced Byakuya, but by the end of the day, she seemed to appreciate what Komaru had done for her, and the two of them had hit it off. Toko obviously would never have admitted it though.
"I-I bet it was the smell, right?" Toko stammered, "you found me because I reek."
"While I do still think you should shower more often, no, that's not it," Makoto assured her, "I guess I'm just used to feeling your presence after all this time. How come you're up there anyway?"
"I-Isn't it obvious?" she replied, "I'm trying to avoid the crowd. Everyone would jeer me if I tried to get by them, so I'm waiting for them to make a move."
"Ah, I get it. You never did well with large crowds." Makoto acknowledged.
"Yeah...But I also don't want to catch a cold because of the rain. If I do, I'll start sneezing and...you know..."
"Oh...right..." Makoto recalled, "still struggling with that, huh?"
"Don't t-talk about it as if it's the common cold..." Toko bit back.
There was another aspect of Toko that Makoto had nearly forgotten about, but upon these words, had remembered. Toko suffered from a very severe case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and had a split personality. One half was Toko, as you saw now, but the other was the infamous Ultimate Murderous Fiend, Genocide Jack.
Or Genocide Jill as her classmates had chosen to call her.
Due to the split personality, Genocide Jill was listed as another student of Hope's Peak by proxy. She was a professional serial killer who has never been caught since her first time committing a murder. She only killed handsome men that she and Toko were attracted to, always killing them in the same style - crucifying them with her custom scissors. Her elusive nature even had Zero Class Detective Library members stumped, unable to catch onto her whereabouts, but somehow, Hope's Peak's legendary steering committee had already caught wind of her antics, and despite knowing the truth about Toko, decided to incorporate her into the course anyway.
It wasn't all bad though. Jill's murderous streak had come to an abrupt end after she had met Byakuya, as she also had a huge crush on him (again, much to his dismay). Plus, Hope's Peak knew exactly what to provide Toko to help her condition while she lived life in the dorms.
"Speaking of which, what's actually going on?" Makoto asked, "why are so many people gathered here?"
"Come up here and you'll s-see for yourself," Toko told him, "we've got a real celebrity on the grounds today..."
"Isn't that every day?" Makoto asked, "usually security's a lot tighter."
Though he didn't particularly care for the idea, Makoto complied with Toko's request and climbed the tree. Toko didn't try to help him up, and instead, just watched as Makoto clambered up the easily-snapped branches. Fortunately, luck had chosen to be on Makoto's side this time, and he got up without falling.
He pushed aside some leaves, and was able to look through them to see the center of the busy crowd. In the eye of the storm, he saw two very prominent and very important looking people. Even the rain wasn't able to hide the charm these men exuded.
One of the men, Makoto recognized immediately. It was the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, Jin Kirigiri. He'd already made the man's acquaintance many times before during his first year. Obviously, not because he kept on getting into trouble, but because the headmaster was always curious about what was going on with his class in particular. On an unrelated note, he was also the father of one of his classmates, Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective.
The other man looked familiar, but Makoto didn't know him. He recalled seeing him in a newspaper though. He had long, dark hair and lavender eyes, and was also wearing a fancy business suit, clearly here on official business.
"Who is that?" he asked, "he looks familiar."
"His name is Haiji Towa," Toko explained, "a-apparently he's a bigwig in the technology industry. Now he's here on business strutting round like he owns the place."
Makoto suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket, caused by his phone. Assuming he got a text from someone; he ignored it for now to focus on what was in front of him.
"Oh, you mean from Towa Corp!?" Makoto exclaimed, "he's the heir to the company, if I'm not mistaken."
"There you go. Good on you for catching up." Toko remarked sarcastically, "yeah, he got invited to the school today for a few reasons. Towa Corp is apparently implementing a new security system in Hope's Peak. One programmed by AI. Haiji's taken credit of creating it, and he's here to promote it."
"And the other reasons?" Makoto had began to become more curious by the second. Toko sighed and rolled her eyes, clearly not enjoying this long, drawn-out discussion.
"Did you hear what Hope's Peak's latest pet project is?" Toko inquired, "the Elementary School Division?"
"Oh, yeah! There's only a few students as part of it right now, but the division was made by the school to house young and upcoming talent that would have a chance to enter the Main Course of the Academy once they get older!" Makoto exclaimed, his eyes sparkling, "Hope's Peak Academy's Elementary School Division consists of only young and talented children recruited by the school itself, and runs in a similar fashion to the schools Main Course high school, and the kids are referred to as "Lil' Ultimates!""
Makoto felt another vibration. He ignored it again as Toko scowled at him.
"Alright, we get it, supernerd!" she snapped, "I-I already know all of this, you can spare me the lecture. But still, it rubs me the wrong way..."
"The crowd bothering you that much?" Makoto asked, not turning his eyes away from Haiji Towa, who was talking happily to both Jin and the crowd that surrounded him.
"It's not that. You're an online activist about all things talent, and you didn't even know about the shady rumors surrounding the guy?" Toko inquired.
Makoto shook his head. "Well, he's the heir to a big financial conglomerate, like Togami. He's gotta have some skeletons in his closet, but how bad can they be?"
"What are you implying!?" Toko snapped angrily. Makoto flinched.
"Ah, sorry! I wasn't implying anything!" he pleaded, "I'm just saying, what were you referring to?"
"Tch...I don't need to tell you anything," she growled, pulling herself together, "something about he's mistreated his workers, or that he embezzles company funds for his own benefit..."
"Those are pretty standard," Makoto replied, "and they're easily disproven. You can't judge a guy just for his lifestyle and career."
"There's more though," Toko continued, "there's rumors surrounding his involvement with the Elementary School. Like he's planning on using it for some skeevy reasons. On top of that, people also say that he's a huge perv too, the kind that goes after younger girls despite being an older man."
"Oh come on!" Makoto exclaimed, feeling a chill down his spine, "don't get me wrong, I've no reason to defend him, but that's a bit far fetched to say about a guy who you don't know."
"Normally I'd agree, but...I don't know, I don't like him. He's handsome, but doesn't something seem off about him? If the rumors are true, for all we know, he could be acting like the Elementary School is a prison and he's a warden."
"Weird choice of words...I don't know...Hold on though, someone's texting me. I need to...huh?"
Makoto reached into his phone pocket to see why his cell was vibrating, but something turned up that he hadn't seen before. However, from looking at the app background, he immediately figured out that it must have been the strange app that he tried to delete before.
"What is it?" Toko asked. Makoto didn't respond as he stared at the screen.
Distrust - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
The app appeared to be some sort of navigation app, much like the one he had used earlier that morning. On it, three prompts showed up on the screen: Name, Location, Concept and Distortion.
"What the hell...? What kind of prompts are these?" Makoto said under his breath. Underneath each of these prompts, the boxes had all already been filled out...
Name: Haiji Towa
Location: Hope's Peak Elementary
Distortion: Prison.
On top of that, underneath these prompts read the words [BEGINNING NAVIGATION]
"Helloooo? Naegi?" Toko snapped her fingers in front of his face, annoyed that she was being ignored, "I'm talking to you?"
"Oh, sorry!" Makoto exclaimed, ignoring the app for now and pocketing his phone, "sorry, I think I might have a virus or something on my phone. I'll need to ask Fujisaki about it when we get to class."
Chihiro Fujisaki was another classmate of Makoto's. She was the Ultimate Programmer. If anyone knew what was going on with his phone, it would be her.
"But I don't wanna go through the crowd..." Toko covered her head under the book in her hands. Makoto sighed.
"Fine," he rolled his eyes, I'll catch you later then."
He gave a slight wave then carefully landed on the ground after hopping out of the tree...However, upon getting out, Makoto looked at his surroundings...
Something didn't feel right.
The first sign that something was wrong was that the huge crowd that Makoto had just been watching from the tree...had disappeared. Not just the excited students gathering out the front, but also the random passersby, and the busy traffic outside the school. Haiji Towa and Jin Kirigiri had also vanished.
There was no feasible way they could have all dissipated in the matter of seconds that it took Makoto to get out of the tree.
The second sign was that the sky had suddenly gotten a lot darker. Yes, it had been rain, but the sky was now even darker than before, and the rain itself had disappeared entirely.
"H-Hey!" a voice came as someone clambered out of the tree, "what's going on!?"
In the very least, Toko had stayed with Makoto, and had now climbed out of the tree and joined him.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied, "where did everybody go?"
"D-Don't know..." Toko grumbled, "and to be honest, I don't care. At least I can get to class now without running into too many people!"
"H-Hey! Fukawa, wait for me!" Makoto exclaimed.
Arriving at their classroom, Class 78-B, unfortunately made the situation all the more confusing. The classroom was dimly lit, and once again, there was no one to be found.
No classmates, and no teacher. Just Makoto and Toko, as it had been.
"Wh-Where is everyone!?" Toko exclaimed, clearly starting to panic, "where is my Master Togami!? I've been waiting all summer to see him again! Is he avoiding me!?"
"No comment on that but...it is weird that no one is here besides us," Makoto said, half to Toko and half to himself, "there was no one in the hallways either, not even a janitor."
"M-Maybe they're all hiding so they can jump out and s-surprise us?" Toko suggested.
"Well, it's neither of our birthday's, so I wouldn't get it...Plus, do you really think people like Togami or Kiri are gonna participate in that kind of thing?" Makoto asked, "and do you really think the whole school would be involved in something like that, just for us?"
It was dark in the classroom, so Makoto walked over to the window and raised the blinds...
But as soon as he did, his heart stopped.
"What the heck is THAT!?" he exclaimed, prompting Toko to turn around and run towards the window.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" she shrieked, as her eyes lay upon the same thing as Makoto.
Out the back of the building was something that they had never seen before. A large, stone institute with flashing lights, and barred windows. It was a huge complex, even when compared to Hope's Peak's school building, and Makoto couldn't see over the walls from where his classroom window was located.
"Hey uh...Hope nerd?" Toko addressed Makoto rather unprofessionally, "you said you did some reading? What's this place?"
"I don't know!" Makoto exclaimed in response, "this place looks like a penitentiary! There was nothing in the news about a jail being built right next to Hope's Peak!"
"Yeah, I guess that would be pretty...Wait!" Toko cut herself off massively.
"What!?" Makoto cried.
"I just saw movement in the window!" Toko pointed to one of the windows higher up in the complex; one that wasn't barred, "I think there are people in there!"
"Well...Maybe everyone else went to whatever that building is supposed to be?" Makoto suggested, "let's go take a closer look."
"A-Are you sure?" Toko stammered, "I don't like the looks of things."
"Me neither, but we haven't had any luck with running into anyone, much less people we know and recognize," Makoto explained, "SOMEONE'S got to tell us what's going on."
Left Behind By The Adults - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Toko and Makoto didn't feel any better even after approaching this strange and unrecognizable building. The walls seemed even bigger and more intimidating up close than from the classroom window.
"M-Maybe we should g-go back?" Toko asked, "I mean i-it's not like we can trust m-me to do any of the t-talking, right?"
"I thought you wanted to find your dear "Master." For all we know, he's in here." Makoto reminded her, stepping forward towards the large steel gate of the establishment. Much like the windows, the gates were made of bars, but currently, they were open. Despite her protests, Toko did not want to be left alone outside in front of the intimidating building, so she begrudgingly followed Makoto closely.
As they approached the building however, Makoto's vision began to fade in and out. For a second, he swore he caught a glimpse of another building entirely as he walked through the gate. One much smaller, and more comfortable looking.
He didn't express any of these concerns to Toko however, as he became too distracted by the concrete interior of the room he stepped into. It was a fairly large room with a few structures, but very uninviting.
It was a cold, drafty room with a platform above them. Makoto had never actually been to one before, bare in mind, but it seemed to be very similar to the one's he had seen on the crime drama's that his parents liked to watch. This was the part where prisoners would first be taken into the jail, then lined up for inspection.
"C-Come on now..." Toko shivered, both from tension and the cold air of the room, "wh-what even is this place...AH!?"
She gave a quick a shrill shriek all of a sudden, which snapped Makoto's attention straight to her. Following her vision line, Makoto looked towards a doorway on the other side of the room.
A figure dressed in a security uniform, and a weird mask on their face, trudged into the room. They were holding a police baton and flashlight, and they slowly made their way towards the two Ultimate Students. Makoto didn't quite know how to react, but felt a little bit of relief upon seeing another person, so he greeted them appropriately.
"Um...Hi!" he chuckled nervously, "sorry for dropping in unannounced it's just...we're looking for our classmates. Do you know where they might have gone to? I'm sorry for the way my friend here reacted, she's...very easily frightened.
"We are NOT friends...!" Toko hissed, "and stop calling me out!"
However, Makoto felt his blood run cold, when all of a sudden, the security guard-looking figure broke out into a small jog towards him. Not only that, but a loud, blaring, obnoxiously noisy alarm started to sound, which blocked out all other sounds except for Toko's panicked shrieking!
"Hey...This is bad!" Makoto exclaimed!
"No shit! Let's get out of here!" Toko cried, turning and starting to run. However, she was forcefully brought to a halt, as more security guards, clad in similar outfits, burst into the room from the other doorways. Toko didn't have time to react, when all of a sudden, one of them ran up to her, and smacked her around the face with their baton, knocking her to the ground!
"FUKAWA-SAN!" Makoto cried, running to try and help. However, he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his jacket by the other guard, which had now caught up to him...!
And with a single bash to the head with the flashlight, he was knocked out...!
Interrogation Room - Persona 5
Makoto was awoken by the sounds of frustrated screams.
"Hey! Let me out! Y-You've got no right to keep me here!"
His mind was groggy, and the yelling made his headache worse, but still, he forced himself to sit upright. When his vision stopped being blurry, he took in his surroundings, and felt his heart sink.
He found himself in what was unmistakably a jail cell. It was an old, not very well kept area, with two stone-hard beds; one of which he lay upon; and a toilet. The bars were traditional, and he could make out Toko rattling on them, yelling at one of the strange masked security guards that had attacked them earlier.
Thank goodness she was ok at least. Makoto groaned as he sat upright, and Toko turned around upon hearing his moans.
"Naegi!" she exclaimed, dropping her edgy tone, clearly relieved that he had come to his senses, "thank god you're awake!"
"Fukawa-san..." Makoto got up as Toko helped him to his feet, "what's going on? How long was I out for?"
"Hell if I know. Hours could have passed and I'd have no way of knowing from in here," Toko snapped, "listen! We haven't done anything wrong! You've got no right to keep us here!"
"No right, hm?" an unfamiliar, and weirdly distorted voice suddenly joined them, and the guard guarding the cell moved aside to show a figure approach the cell, "then would you like it if I was to trespass in YOUR home and do whatever I please?"
Makoto's eyes widened as soon as he properly made out the figure. It was the very same one that he had seen that same morning...
"Wait...Haiji Towa!?" he exclaimed.
He said this, but it was clear that something was very off about the way Towa looked right now. Earlier, he had been wearing a very professional suit, and had brushed his long hair very neatly, to make himself look presentable in front of the Hope's Peak staff and students. Now however, he was almost the complete opposite of presentable.
He was wearing a pair of skinny trouser legs, shoes and...not much else. His chest and torso were completely bare, showing off a hairy chest, and on his head with his now incredibly disheveled hair, was a police-looking cap. He also now wore a pair of dark sunglasses, shaped like love-hearts, which he lowered upon approaching the cell. As he did, Makoto saw that his lavender-colored eyes were now a malicious yellow.
"What the hell is this!?" Toko spat, "what gives Towa!? What's with that outfit!?"
"Hmph...just a couple of pesky little kids? That's all?" he scoffed narcissistically, "I guess it's a bit more interesting than some petty thieves busting their way in here."
"What's going on!?" Makoto exclaimed, "where are our classmates!? What did you do to them!?"
"Don't address me so nonchalantly!" Towa sneered, "I am the WARDEN of this prison, and you will show me RESPECT!"
Makoto backed away, as the security guards flung open the door to the cell, and started to trudge in. Haiji Towa trudged in behind them.
"Trespassing, refusal to submit, threatening an official officer..." Haiji mockingly read a blank piece of paper that he pulled out of his trouser pocket, "you've seen far too much for now. The crime for these offenses...is DEATH!"
"D-Death...!?" Toko's face went blue, as did Makoto's, "wh-what do you mean-!? G-Get away! GET AWAY!"
Toko's pleas fell on ignorant ears, as the guards approached them.
"Start with the one with glasses," Haiji instructed, "she will pay for the extra offense of attacking my men!"
"What are you talking about!? I-I-I didn't attack anyone!" Toko squealed.
"It must have been Jill!" Makoto reminded her, "you got knocked out after all, so she must have taken over!"
Before Toko could respond to this suggestion, she was suddenly rammed straight in the stomach with one of the guard's batons! She clutched her stomach, coughed up something gross, and collapsed on the floor!
"FUKAWA-SAN! Gah!" Makoto once again rushed towards her, but was instead grabbed by the throat and held against the wall by another guard!
"H-Hey...!" Toko tried to find words, "I...don't know what this...is about...but leave him...out of this...!"
Both Makoto and Haiji looked towards Toko in surprise, but she crawled to her knees and continued.
"If...If this has anything...to do with Genocide Jack's crimes...then that's fine...! Just let...let him go...! He's innocent! And his sister will never forgive me if h-he dies!"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll deal with HIM appropriately," Haiji approached Toko, kneeling down and gripping her mouth with his hand, "I'll focus on your execution first."
*SLAP!*
As the guards held Toko down, Towa forcibly slapped her around the face, bruising her cheek.
"SCUM!"
*SLAP!*
"TOKO!" Makoto cried, trying his best to pry himself free of the soldier's grip, but to no avail. He struggled as much as he could, but couldn't escape.
"Give it up!" Haiji turned his head around briefly, and sneered a shit-eating grin across his disgusting face, "you're powerless against me. There's nothing you can do to defeat my guards, so just QUIT!"
*SMACK!*
He slapped and punched Toko again, then holding out a hand. One of the guards passed his baton over to him.
"Toko...!" Makoto grimaced, his vision going dark as he continued to be choked against the wall...As he watched Haiji raise the baton, everything went dark...
...
...
...
...
"So, that's it then?"
Buzzkill - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
The Ultimate Lucky Student suddenly lurched awake, as a gruff voice suddenly whispered in his ear. He still found himself being held against the wall, but it somehow didn't hurt anymore.
Not only that, but the dark, stone cell he was in now turned a deep shade of blue, and everyone around him had now frozen, as if time had stopped.
Toko remained on the ground, bracing herself for the impact of Haiji's baton, which he was proceeding to swing towards her. Makoto reached out towards her, but still couldn't move from his spot.
"You're just going to stand there and watch her die?" the voice spoke again, "you disappoint me, son...A dear friend and classmate of yours is about to die, and you're not going to do anything?"
"What...can I do?" for some reason, Makoto felt a familiarity with the voice, so he didn't try to ask for who was calling him or what it was. Instead he just asked this "I'm just...me. No one special, not a hero, not someone who could stand against these guys in a fight..."
"So...are you just going to do as Towa said?" the voice spoke out again, almost mockingly, "just give up? Lay down and die here, when you still have your whole future ahead? Lay down and let Despair take you over?"
Makoto paused. It seemed that the theory of your entire life flashing before your eyes really was true, as in this case, his mind flashed to all the important people in his life. His parents, his sister, his classmates...everyone...
Was he really just going to watch as one of these dear people was murdered in front of him?
"My optimism..." Makoto finally found the words, "is something that I'm proud of. I would never let anyone I care about just die like that...!"
"Good lad," the voice responded, "this is your true resolve then? In that case...
Our pact is COMPLETE!"
Time suddenly started to move again, but the flow of events was interrupted by a sudden disturbance! A large burst of energy suddenly pushed out into the room, knocking Towa and his guards off balance, and interrupting Toko's execution, who looked up in surprise!
Makoto, for his part, was not having a good time. His head suddenly started to ache, and he could hear his heart practically beat out of his chest! His eyes dilated, and sweat ran down his face, as he clutched his scalp and tried to fight back the feeling!
"What are you doing!?" Haiji snapped at the guard who was previously holding him, "do your damn job and restrain him!"
Two of the guards ran up to Makoto, and grabbed both his shoulders, shoving him against the wall! Makoto struggled to resist due to the pain, keeping his eyes tightly shut...However, when he found the strength to open them, he suddenly felt something on his face.
He reached up, and touched it. Somehow, a strangely shaped mask had materialized itself onto his face. He grabbed it and tried to remove it, but found that it was firmly stuck to him!
"Yes, that's it!" the voice egged him on, "rip off the mask that hides your true self and SHOW YOUR RESOLVE!"
Though the idea was not comforting, Makoto complied. As the guards held him in place, he grabbed both sides of the mask, and tried to force it off! He screamed in pain, as pulling off the mask pulled away at his skin, causing him to bleed buckets of blood! He shrieked at the sky, and dropped the mask...
But as the mask landed on the floor, it burst into a column of blue flames, that completely enveloped Makoto and spiraled around him!
"NAEGI!" Toko cried!
"What is going on!?" Haiji Towa cried!
For his part however, Makoto had already become numb to the pain. He could feel the blood on his face seem to evaporate from the heat of the azure flame, yet his body remained unburned. He looked down, as he saw his body be enveloped by the fire...
He heard more spoken words, inside his head, and for some reason, felt his mouth move on it's own, as he copied them.
"I am Thou..."
"Thou art I..."
"Stand, thou who does not hesitate to become the saving light of Hope and Salvation for those trapped in the Dark Despair!"
"Call my name! Show the strength of the Ultimate Hope's unyielding will to judge those who dabble in this darkness!"
"Call thy forth, and RECIEVE THY BLESSING!"
Despite the situation, and how much pain he had been put through, Makoto felt himself crack a smile as the flames dissipated. When they did, everyone else in the cell saw that his outfit had now completely changed from the school uniform he was wearing previously.
With confidence, power and hope swelling inside his fast-beating heart, Makoto stood upright and squared down Haiji's guards, pointing his hand forward with gusto, as a large, lanky, four-armed spiritual figure materialized behind him and took his side, ready to dish out some justice!
Feeling the words seem to be whispered in his ear by an unseen angel, Makoto made a three word declaration that caused the guards to tremble in their boots...!
"Come forth...! MICKEY!"