#junko did not set up the entire screwed up shit that hope's peak was doing

[aparticularbandit]

The world calls it the Tragedy because they can only see what happened.

Junko calls it the Tragedy because it would have happened anyway.

[sanityrequiem]

Forest of Despair Prologue

I forced my feet to run towards the school as fast as they would let me. Of course, that was not that fast, but what could I do? I was not the Ultimate Runner or anything close to that. If I was, I would actually be on time for school. How interesting it would be to see that alternate universe. Anyways, instead of anything interesting, I was the Ultimate Mediator, Akita Yamazaki.

Ultimate Mediator: Akita Yamazaki

My younger sister had caused me to be late for school again. Like always. I had to make sure she did not do anything stupid. She was only eleven, so she had a talent of doing every idiotic thing you could ever think of. Most of those including lots and lots of unneeded crying. The Ultimate Crybaby if I ever meet one. My father was like, You're the Ultimate Peace Keeper (no, dad, it was Ultimate Mediator, thank you very much), you should be able to handle a child. A child was harder to handle than any war. That was the only thing in life I knew for certain. For all I know, all the children in the world are actually one of the four horsemen, war. Then handling them is literally a war!

Although I was a mediator, actual war and the war caused by unruly children are two different beasts. War is Hell, no matter which one you examine. Only a fucking idiot would deny that. My years of experience show that the former is a lot less emotionally traumatizing.

Other from that little distraction, it was a fairly nice day. The sky was blue, the clouds white and the grass green. It is one of those cliche days you'll see in overly sappy TV shows. Then, when my feet finally stopped, and my heavy breathing began, I noticed I was in front of a large gate. Really should be paying more attention to my surrounding that doesn't look like they were stripped out of olden time Hollywood. Now it is stripped from the Japan of years past. Inside the gate was the biggest, most perfect building I had ever seen. The building of Hope's Peak Academy. It was the second one in Japan ever. The first one has been torn down years ago during the Tragedy, and this one was built in the same exact place, only now surrounded by a bunch of annoying white flowers. Of course, Hope's Peak had always been in Japan. Just like the old times, it stood tall, watching over the entire world. There had been a time where they wanted to expand, but that was before the Tragedy screwed over the world.

The Tragedy was an event that everybody knows about. Even if people were frozen in chambers or sleeping underneath rocks, they would have known the Tragedy. It caused the greatest loss of life the world has ever known, tallying in the billions, and even changed how the actual science of the world works.

Ever since they sent me a letter saying they had accepted me, I did my research about this new Hope's Peak Academy. Going somewhere without knowing anything is just going to bite you in the ass. There were various blogs about everything you could think of, ranging from the next Ultimates to why the school should be torn down. I actually saw my own name there a few times. My work as a mediator gains me praise from both sides because I keep them from killing each other. Just seeing that made me full of pride. My work being acknowledged! I was the one girl who had impressed the Academy just by one simple action. Okay, there were probably a lot of other kids who have done that, but let me have my moment of fame here. At least I was not something as boring as a lucky student.

Thinking about the Ultimate talents, I had so many more interesting ideas than Hope's Peak itself has. Last year somebody was the Ultimate Experiment Subject. What that means, I did not know. Why would a person like that be part of the school? I had no idea. Other than being a runner, I would have a talent related to the circus! Most people hate circuses, but I was not one of those people. The only thing I did not like about circuses is clowns. Screw clowns. Anyway, I had always wanted to be the ringleader of the circus, the one who controls them all! The Ultimate Ringleader!

...That sounds like I was a criminal in charge of a drug ring instead of a circus. Having that name for a talent was a fucking stupid idea...Oh dear, back on topic!

I never tried to get into Hope's Peak, for they wanted me more than I did them. My feelings towards the school were neutral. There were people who despised it, saying that it caused the Tragedy and others that celebrated it as the savior of the world. Without Hope's Peak, there would've been no Ultimate Hope, but Ultimate Despair would've never existed either. This new school was created by the Ultimate Hope himself, Matoko Naegi. The only person who could successfully ward off the Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima. Their story had been told to me over and over again in history classes. The story about how "Hope" was good and "Despair" was bad. Personally, I think both of them are overrated. I must rather walk the road of neutrality, not taking a side.

I started to walk towards the building when I suddenly filled with an awful dread. Something did not feel right. I ignored the feeling though, but now I regret I ever made that decision. It was stupider than anything my sister could have done. With my first step inside the building, my feet started to shake. My own stubbornness forced me to take yet another step. It was probably because of how much I ran, I told myself. I clenched my fists and continued walking forward.

The interior was fancy but nothing special. Just standard rich people shit. The walls were brown with posters all over them. Most of them were for clubs, yet I noticed one was a dance only open for people graduating. I guessed that was something to look forward to. Dances were okay as long as they had good music. If they did not, then I literally could not care less. Even if they gave me free food. I continued looking at the walls, mostly out of boredom, until I noticed two large doors. You know, something that actually is interesting. Inside was the room before the gym. A room painted with gold and awards from the classes before. From classes before, I mean before the Tragedy. Don't really have any awards now, and there has to be something to fill up all of this empty space. Might as well brag about your history. The biggest one was for the aforementioned Matoko Naegi. Okay, his name was now Matoko Kirigiri, but history class had brainwashed me into the Naegi surname. Damn you, history class! The trophy itself only stands out due to size, for it is literally just a golden cup with a name in the front.

Gold had become very rare due to the events of the Tragedy, like a lot of other precious materials. Having something made out of gold is just begging for the nearby gangs to loot your ass, or at least really, really want to. Maybe I should tell Mitsu-cho about this, she would be interested. Anything for my beloved.

Then I reached to the gym, where my email said we should meet. I opened the other pair of doors to see that nineteen other students were around me, all sleeping. Or dead. What really is the difference? It is kinda weird that this is how my day starts, but I make a living out of going to places that go to shit. This is what I call a normal Monday. There were supposed to be twenty-one of us, so I told myself that somebody must have been even later than me. In the middle of the room, on the podium, there was a small stuffed bear. It was black on one side, white on another. The thing that truly disturbed me the most about it was the red, lighting bolt-like eye on the black side of its face. Underneath it, there was a cruel smile that clashed with everything I stood for. Something that tries to force me to take a side in a conflict to come. The bear reminded me of a twisted Yin-Yang symbol.

"Welcome to the Killing Game, Akita Yamazaki," the bear announced. Its fluffy, little arms crossed.

"What? Did mom accidentally put something in my pancakes again?"

"You heard me right, Killing Game! A game of despair and hope!"

"..." When I first heard that, I thought it was only a cruel, sick joke. There was possibly an Ultimate Puppeteer or Trickster just setting up a punchline. I just happened to be the center of the joke. All my classmates were here before me, except one so it could have been punishment for being late.

"I know I am one handsome bear. Even I, with the greatest looks of all the bear kingdom, get embarrassed, you know? So say something! Confess your love to me!" The bear...toy...thing tried to hide his plush body with his tiny arms. Bear kingdom...I wondered where I heard that before.

"..."

"Kid, have you gone mute or something? Earth to Yamazaki!" Then, all at once, everything clicked. All the history stored in the secret parts of my brain forced itself onto me. My eyes dilated as I tried to step away. I did not know what to do, only to get away from there as fast as possible. I did not care how much my feet hurt or anything else inside me.

"Who...who are you?" I asked. My voice was clearly trying to stay unshaken. And that clearly did not work. Monokuma's demented facial expression told me that for certain.

"You should know my name very well, my sweet student. I am Monokuma! My talent is being the Ultimate School Headmaster!"

Ultimate School Headmaster: Monokuma

When Monokuma finished his introduction, I felt myself knock into someone. Probably because I was backing away from the living embodiment of all of my worse nightmares. I wondered if they were the other student, but the door clearly had not open again behind me. Their shadow was the only thing I could see. It was smaller than me. Something crashed into my head before I could realize more, and the next thing I knew was darkness.

Puhuhuhu.

Sometime later, I came to. The first thing I noticed was how differently the floor felt. It was sharp and uneven, the exact opposite of the wooden floor. I looked down to see I was laying on the grass, along with the classmates around me. We all seemed to be adjusting to the new setting.

There were trees all around me. I could swear I heard somebody sneeze. Then I turned back to see a large building behind us. It looked a lot like Hope's Peak Academy, but it was run down and old. Way older than anybody with me was. Pretty sure nobody here is over forty...hopefully.

"Welcome, kiddos, to your new school setting! The Suicide Forest!" Monokuma's red eye flashed.