#guess we're all losing our collective minds over that cover huh

[errantknightess]

a new leaf, a blank page

[danganronpa87]

Chapter 1: Daily Life

Another day.

Yesterday... we had learned murder was the only way to escape this place. That we were in some sort of killing game.

I'm sure we all wished it was just a nightmare. But it wasn't.

I still woke up in the same hospital bed, the same chipped red walls around me. I couldn't help but be filled with absolute fear. What if I became close friends with someone... only to discover they've died?

Shaking the negative thoughts from my head, I decided to walk over to the dining hall. Surely, breakfast would be pleasant. I hadn't eaten anything in a while, so I was starving.

I entered, sitting down on one of the many chairs scattered about the four tables in the room. Several other people were here as well. Siandi, Kune, Oakley, and some others that I didn't catch the names of.

"Ah, Sovyak-san."

I looked over, and Siandi nodded her head to me.

"Akiaro is currently making breakfast. Do you like pancakes?"

I nodded. Something sweet sounded good right about now... hopefully eating would take my mind off our current predicament.

Neru came out of the kitchen, wearing a hair net and an apron.

"Food's ready. Come grab a plate and help yourself." He smiled.

"Thank you, Neru." I returned the smile and went to enter the kitchen.

Once I went inside, I saw another boy, preparing plates. The redhead, that was with Neru the other day.

"Zekou, was it?" I smiled, taking a paper plate from the counter.

"Zekou Nakamura! The Ultimate Digital Artist." He gave a warm smile, grabbing some food for himself as he happily bounced in place. Suddenly, his face lit up.

"Chocolate chips!!"

"Huh-?" Confused, I glanced at the pancakes. They were chocolate chip, with white chocolate mixed in as well.

"I knew he'd make them!! He knows I love chocolate!" Zekou's expression was full of excitement; almost childlike.

"Oh, yeah. He loves chocolate." Neru re-entered the kitchen with a fond grin. "He's got a big sweet tooth."

"Ah... I assume you two are close."

"He's my closest friend, so yeah. Zekou's a sweetheart." Neru smiled, glancing at Zekou as he took a few pancakes.

After the two got their share of food, I scooped some pancakes onto my own plate and headed out of the kitchen.

There were several people I still didn't recognize, so I decided to talk with them. I sat down at a table with four others.

"...Sovyak, was it? A pleasure for you to join us." The doctor-looking man bowed his head. His hair was curly, and a soft lavender in colour. He wore a mask, covering the lower half of his face. Underneath a white jacket with many clasps was a green uniform. His green eyes were full of content, behind thin-framed glasses. "Kitsuya Minsaki. The Ultimate Dentist. It is very nice to meet you."

Another boy perked up, being quite a bit shorter than Kitsuya. His hair was greyish-blue, and he wore denim overalls over a black uniform. "...ah.. you. From yesterday..." His voice was quiet.

"He's a bit shy. His name is Daika Sugiyama, and he is the Ultimate Gardener." Kitsuya spoke up for him.

Daika nodded, taking a bite out of his pancake and glancing away.

"Who might you be?" I looked across the table, meeting eyes with a boy wearing a white hoodie. His slick, black hair was pulled up into a ponytail and he seemed to be rather quiet.

"Hmm...? Me..?" He blinked as I said his name.

"...Takeshi Kohima. Ultimate Obbyist."

"Ah, I'm sure you already know who I am-"

He nodded, glancing back at his plate and going quiet. Seems he didn't want to talk...

I made chitchat with a few of the students at the table, including a few I didn't quite recognize.

So many new faces at the table, but I didn't mind getting to know them in the slightest. For our first breakfast together, this was surprisingly fun.

Casia Aiko, the Ultimate Casanova. Charming right off the bat, no wonder she had the talent she did.

Chiyo Takahashi, the Ultimate Chemist. Brash, for sure... but she was serious and down to earth.

Tomiko Miyata, the Ultimate Survivalist. She also seemed shy, but was polite nonetheless.

Kichiro Yamashita, the Ultimate Skydiver. Friendly and upbeat, and made the whole conversation fun.

Sora Suzuki, the Ultimate Hairstylist. She... wasn't the most pleasant person. Vulgar and rude... but pretty witty.

Honoma Ochi, the Ultimate Literary Genius. Fun and easygoing. She also seemed like a ball of joy.

Shinto Kobayashi, the Ultimate Acting Prodigy. He seemed to keep to himself... he didn't seem the most sociable.

Akemi Saito, the Ultimate Builder. Sweet and kind, and soft spoken.

Zekou Nakamura, the Ultimate Digital Artist. Soft and shy, but nice nonetheless. Almost childlike.

Neru Akiaro, the Ultimate Whittler. Seemed to be a big sweetheart. He seemed really nice.

Shou Mouri, the Ultimate Ballroom Dancer. Elegant, yet sweet and kind as well.

Daika Sugiyama, the Ultimate Gardener. Shy, but maybe he'd warm up to us.

Kitsuya Minsaki, the Ultimate Dentist. Calm and collected, and wise.

Kune Hayashi, the Ultimate Blogger. Upbeat and optimistic, even if he was a little overbearing.

Oakley Yokota, the Ultimate Photographer. Shy, but sweet as well. He seemed pretty nice.

Siandi Fukuhara, the Ultimate Traveler. Down to earth, and one of the calmer of the group. Maybe she could guide us through this predicament...

Takeshi Kohima, the Ultimate Obbyist. Shy, but collected... I wonder what he's truly like.

These 17... would be the people I spend much of my time with. I liked them already, they were nice, and positive, despite this... killing game going on... surely, if we all became close, nobody would kill, right? I'm sure we could all grow to trust one another.

After we ate breakfast, we went to go explore the hospital, going in groups of three.

Siandi and Daika came with me.

We stepped into the day room, the same one we were called to once we learned why we were here...

Siandi flipped through various books on the shelves, while I studied the monitor mounted on the wall. Maybe... this would serve as a way to communicate with us...? It was a strange looking device, with knobs plastered onto the sides of the screen.

"Hmm...?" Came a curious hum from behind me. Turning around, I saw Daika, holding a sheet of paper.

"...looks like... student records... a ripped piece from one of the books...?" He muttered softly.

Looking at the paper slip, it seemed to show a bit of Akemi's face, along with her name, talent, and a bit of her personality.

"But which book might that have belonged to? None of these seem to be missing any part of their pages," Siandi glanced at Daika. "Interesting find, however."

"Maybe we should check back with the others." I added.

"Maybe they found something interesting..."

"That's a marvelous idea. I don't think there's anything left for us here." Siandi put down the book she was flipping through and went to lead the way out of the day room.

We headed back to the dining hall, seeing Sora's group already there.

Akemi smiled and waved to us, while Shou kept chatting with Sora.

"Have you found anything interesting? We found a slip of paper that perhaps belongs to you." Siandi sat at the table, sliding the ripped paper over to Akemi.

"Huh-? Looks like... some sort of profile on me or something. Maybe it fell out of a book?"

"We're unsure. I didn't see any books with ripped pages, so we are still looking into it."

"Well... we didn't find anything too interesting... sorry to report." Akemi frowned. "We've been mainly sitting and chatting the whole time."

"Yeah, nothing looked cool so... kinda gave up." Sora was brushing through Shou's hair, a neutral expression on her face.

"...that paper was all we found too... maybe the others... have found something." Daika spoke up.

"Hopefully..."

The six of us continued to chat, losing track of time. Before we knew it, other students had made their way back to the dining hall.

"From what we saw," Shinto started, taking a seat at a table. "We all have rooms. There's also several other places to explore. The day room, where Retku's group should've been. There is a storage room, which my group explored. It's quite spacious. Both Neru and Akemi should like it, there are a plethora of tools and wooden logs. Nothing else seemed interesting to us."

"Ooh! My group! There's a gym! It kinda looks like a place to work out. There's a lot of machines and stuff!" Honoma raised her hand excitedly.

"We also found a pharmacy. Which is expected, we are in a hospital after all..." Neru chuckled.

"There was an operation room, but it was blocked off. It looked like there was a staircase inside." Tomiko reported, looking at the ground.

Siandi shared what we had found.

"I'll keep looking. There's a chance this could be important. Daika found this wedged in between couch cushions, so I'll be sure to check there as well."

Neru smiled.

"Alright, Fukuhara-san. We'll do our best to keep a lookout as well."

We kept chatting a bit more. Seeing everyone happy and upbeat, despite the killing game announcement... it filled me with joy. We were becoming friends. If we all befriended one another, surely this killing game would have nothing on us.

Even if we had to spend the rest of our lives here... I was confident we would take down this game before it started.

There was an audible click, and we hears a familiar voice interrupt the chatter.

"It is now 10 o'clock PM. Please make your way to your rooms, and do not stay in the dining hall after-hours. Anyone who is found going against this rule will be punished."

The monitor clicked off, leaving us in apprehensive silence.

Neru spoke up. "Guess it's time for bed... Zekou, let's go."

Zekou got up and followed him out, and everyone else began to file out after them.

"See you in the morning, Retku." Siandi bowed her head and left.

I headed to my room, feeling pretty good. The day went great. These people were kind, and I'm sure we could all become friends...

I thought about the day as I kicked off my shoes and laid down on my bed.

And soon... a wave of drowsiness fell over me... and the world around me faded to black.

This wasn't so bad.