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danganronpa-21 · 5 years ago

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Meet the Fankids!

It’s about time that I made a blog like this. Seriously, I’ve had these fankids for so long and I’ve never introduced them as a full group before? Preposterous! That had to change, and so it has. Here’s a full list of all of the fankids present in Danganronpa 21 -- complete with appearances, personalities, likes and dislikes, hobbies, fatal flaws, dreams, and other random details like blood type.

Happy reading!

Hope Naegi-Kirigiri:

The eldest daughter of Makoto and Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri, standing at 16 years old (April 9th, 2020). She holds the talent of the Super High School Level Costume Designer, and holds positions both on Hope’s Peak Cheerleading Team and on their Student Council. She is 5′6 and boasts 118 lbs, and has AB blood. She is of Japanese descent. Her affiliations include Hope’s Peak Academy and the Kirigiri Detective Clan, though she is notably not the heir.

At sixteen years old, Hope is already widely believed to be living up to her namesake. Cheerful, bubbly, and caring; Hope is a girl who is greatly admired by many for her charm and grace. Those who admire her would say that she’s always ready for adventure and fears nothing, but she herself would tell you that that’s a stretching of the truth. And those who dislike her would tell you a completely different story. They would tell you that she is childish and overly fanatical, to the point of letting it consume her very being. Others might tell you that she’s stubborn and constantly refuses to see when bad things are happening right in front of her. The one you’d probably hear the most is that she’s headstrong, for someone who tattles on others when they break the rules. And in a way, all of them are true, although she would insist that those traits are probably not as bad as they seem.

Some of Hope’s favourite things in the world are mystery novels, animals (especially dogs), pop music, make-up, her family, and craft projects. Her hobbies include costume design, theatre, cosplay, photography, playing video games, reading novels, and helping her younger sister out with mystery solving. Otherwise, Hope tends to dislike foul language, being called ‘bossy’ by her peers and being underestimated overall, her mother’s cooking, her great-grandfather, and generally anyone who has the audacity to disrespect her baby siblings.

Hope is someone with many goals in life. She hopes to have a successful career in the costume design industry. If she cannot do that, she would like to succeed her father as Headmistress of Hope’s Peak Academy. She is also incredibly passionate about nurturing the world around her, and ensuring that people blossom to their full potential. So much so that she is certain that she’d like to have children some day, too. Her one major shortcoming that will likely get in the way of her life goals is that of her pride. She is often too proud to admit when she’s made a mistake or had any sort of shortcoming, which will hinder her in her journey if she’s not careful.

She will be the second protagonist in the Danganronpa 21 series.

Sakura Asahina:

The adoptive daughter of Aoi Asahina, standing at 16 years old (November 17th, 2020). She holds the title of the Super High School Level White Water Rafter, and is the manager of the Hope’s Peak Academy Swim Team. She is 6′0 and 150 lbs, and has Type O blood. She is Japanese according to immigration, but her actual background is unknown. She is a student at Hope’s Peak Academy, as well as a waitress at the Sakuhina Cafe.

Sakura is the primary example of looks can be deceiving. Though she is a tall and buff-looking girl, she’s the walliest wallflower there ever was. She is highly shy when it comes to new people, and tends to stick to smaller social groups (which often leads her to spend time with Leon and Hope exclusively). Still, don’t let this gentle heart fool you. Apart from her reluctance to socialize, she also has a personality of her own. She is adventurous and compassionate, and has been described by others as dependable at any and all times. The kind of girl you go to when you have a problem and need help. She’s not a girl with a particular temper, and tends to be sort of dreamy-minded. The sort of person who believes wholeheartedly in the goodness of the people around her. If you manage to capture a spot in her heart, she will be as gentle and generous with you as possible -- granting you almost all of her attention. Still, Sakura is no manic pixie dream girl. Much like her mother, she is impatient and tends to jump to conclusions. These conclusions can often lead her to being oversensitive and emotional, and creating big, unnecessary reactions to small things. She is notably also socially awkward, and tends to worry about every detail of her social interactions... sometimes to the point of making herself ill.

Among her list of favourite things is donuts, rabbits, physical activities, the sauna, fresh fruit, her mother’s cooking, and matchmaking TV shows. In terms of hobbies, she loves to bake, binge-watch TV shows with her mother, swim, babysit, quilt, jump rope, and white water raft. She also has a fondness for caring for plants. On the other side of things, what Sakura hates most in life is the fact that some people fear her. That, and a slew of other things. Yelling and loud noises, when others neglect their responsibilities, neglecting proper nutrition, dressing up formally, tofu, back aches, and shoulder tension. She also seems rather displeased at the amount of boys who don’t seem particularly interested in pursuing her romantically... not that she’d know what to say to them if they did choose to pursue her.

Sakura is unsure of what she wants to do with her future. She thinks she would like to continue with her talent; perhaps working with a team to lead them to victory. Unfortunately, her sport isn’t in the Olympics just yet. Otherwise, she thinks she might take over the Sakuhina Cafe if Aoi will allow her to do so. Or maybe be a social worker! She hasn’t decided yet, but likes having the options. She also dreams of getting married some day, but still struggles to talk to boys her age. Her biggest flaw in getting what she wants stems from the fact that she is emotionally vulnerable, and thus more prone to hurt and manipulation.

She will be the sixth protagonist in the Danganronpa 21 series.

Leon Hagakure:

The son and eldest child of Kanon and Yasuhiro Hagakure, standing at 17 years of age (January 8th, 2020). He holds no ultimate title nor any exciting extracurriculars, but he does have a great interest in music mixing and DJ work. He is 6′0 and 151 lbs, and has Type A blood. He is of Japanese nationality, but is a quarter Jamaican from his father’s side. His affiliations start and end with Hope’s Peak Academy.

The number one thing Leon might tell you about his personality is that he tends to wear people out on occasion. Not because he’s an overbearing person or anything, but mostly because being Kanon and Yasuhiro’s son has made him into a very weird person. At his best, Leon can be described as a laid-back, yet energetic young man. He is overall good-humoured and generally idealistic in comparison to his peers, albeit a little more naive than them, too. He struggles with knowing when to take things personally. In spite of what people might believe about him, though, he actually inherited Kanon’s courage and cleverness. The boy is much brighter than most tend to give him credit for. Likely because it is overshadowed by his larger flaws, such as his laziness and disorganization. His idealism frequently leads him to have unrealistic expectations of people, and also produces a lot of ideas that just cannot work in the real world. Not to mention that he’s just flatout irresponsible when it comes to just about everything. The only point in which he shows some competency in being responsible is when it comes to his baby sister, Kameyo.

Leon’s favourite things include manga, dubstep music, electric guitar, wasabeef flavoured chips, the scent of vanilla, and aliens. In terms of hobbies, he likes to mix music, play soccer, go mountain biking or hiking, doodling, calligraphy, playing baseball, playing video games, and wood carving. Alternatively, he notoriously hates homework, nagging, classic novels, whale meat, haircuts, and when his mother uses him as a test subject for make-up.

Leon isn’t someone who has a lot of direction. He’s a pretty good-with-the-flow guy. If he had a main goal to describe at the moment, it would probably be to graduate from high school. Maybe see if he could get a career in mixing music. If it’s not possible, he thinks he might like to become a teacher or a tour guide. Still, his major flaw in achieving those goals manifests mostly in the fact that he is lazy and lacks motivation.

He will be the ninth and final protagonist in the Danganronpa 21 series.

Koichi Naegi-Kirigiri:

Makoto and Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri’s son, standing at 15 years of age (February 5th, 2022). He holds no ultimate title, and currently boasts no extracurriculars at school. As apart of his Reserve Class Talent Study, he is choosing to study martial arts. He is 5′1 and 100 lbs, and has Type B blood. He is of Japanese nationality and background. His affiliations include Hope’s Peak Academy and the Kirigiri Detective Clan, and is notably not the heir... he was actually never considered for the position of heir at all.

The self-proclaimed “most normal” member of his family, Koichi would consider himself a relatively uninteresting boy. His main traits include being sarcastic, somewhat serious, and leaderly. He has never been the kind of kid who has lots of confidence in himself, and as such tends to be modest and self-critical. He sports a sort of sophisticated understanding of the world in spite of his young age, and traditionally tends to view the world a bit differently than those around him. Much deeper into his soul, though, there is much more of a nervous boy trying to hide. When it comes down to it, Koichi is caring and reliable, often willing to give all of himself when shown that someone is deserving. Still, this also makes him much more sensitive. A lot of the time, people would categorize Koichi actually as a huge crybaby, and thus rather brittle. In truth he holds a certain degree of strength, but is often overcome by his own insecurity and worry of what others think of him. He is desperate to please those around him, and secretly dreams of living up to his father’s legacy.

Things that Koichi really loves include novels, ramen, manga, tea, being challenged, video games, his family, and penguins. His hobbies include martial arts (with him being able to manage aikido, taekwondo, ju jitsu, judo, and hapkido), skateboarding, language study, playing the piano, playing basketball, playing video games, and volunteering to help others in need. What he dislikes, though, can be brought to a list of excessive attention, doing the laundry, not being allowed individuality from his parents, lecturing, coriander, and those weirdos who drink milk straight out of the carton.

Koichi isn’t sure what his goals in life are yet. He’s only a kid, after all. All he knows is that he’d like to graduate high school at some point. He doesn’t really know where he would like to take this whole martial arts thing, but figures he will pass it onto his children. You know, to continue the Uzuchi family legacy somehow. Really, though, Koichi’s biggest life goal is just to have an adventure. The trait that will get in his way? His recklessness and insecurity over uncertainty.

He is the first protagonist of the Danganronpa 21 series.

Natsumi Kuzuryuu:

The daughter of Peko and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, currently 14 years old (August 16th, 2022). She holds the title of Super High School Level Fire Dancer, but makes no attempt at adding any extracurriculars. She is 4′11 and a measly 90 pounds, with Type A blood. She is of Japanese descent and nationality. Her affiliations include Hope’s Peak Academy, the Jabberwock Islanders, and the Kuzuryuu Gumi. She is notably the heir to the Kuzuryuu Clan, but after the traumas of the Tragedy, she and her family have stepped away from Yakuza work. When attending school, she utilizes the name Natsumi Kitagawa to protect her identity.

If one thing can be said about Natsumi, it’s that she is absolutely Fuyuhiko’s daughter. At first, Natsumi projects herself as a boisterous and loud girl. She is ruthless, rude, and has an uncontrollable vocabulary of curse words. She is short-tempered and hot-headed; going as far as loving to get into fights with people just to watch them back down. She is aggressive and disorganized most of the time, and in spite of her family’s lack of real connection to the Yakuza anymore, she is still highly arrogant about being a rich heiress. A little too proud to be a Kuzuryuu, it seems. Deep down, though, she really means well. She is surprisingly patient with those who have earned her respect, as well as loyal to them until the very end. She may be rough around the edges, but truthfully Natsumi’s core is very soft. She is soft-hearted and highly romantic, as well as daring and freethinking. Justice is always the first thing on her mind, and she’ll fight for it no matter what. She loves people very deeply, and is always a shoulder to cry on for a friend in need.

Natsumi loves swords, flowers, any sort of wit, sour candy, seashells, and the smell of the ocean. Alternatively, she is not particularly fond of know-it-alls, her father’s lectures, the Island’s loneliness, and being criticized for her family’s past. For fun, she likes to craft weapons, garden, draw, play volleyball, mix drinks (mostly non-alcoholic... cause, you know, Fuyuhiko’s kid), and surf.

In all truth, she’s not sure that she really intends to take her fire dancing dream to a larger career. She’s considering reserving it for the people she loves, and as a means of showing the culture that Jabberwock developed post-Tragedy. Instead of using it as a career, Natsumi is hoping to eventually get married and have a family. She’s already picked out names for the four children she wants to have, and hopes to spend her time with them as a housewife. If she has to have a career, she thinks she could maybe enjoy being some sort of protector of the people. Perhaps an advocate? She’s not entirely certain. She just likes to joke that her Yakuza background makes her “want to help in a way that surprises people”. The thing that stands in the way of her goals the most is honestly her own ego, and sense of self-importance.

She is the third protagonist of the Danganronpa 21 series.

Phoenix Bartholomew Nevermind:

The only son of Sonia and Gundham Nevermind, aged 14 (September 18th, 2022). He holds the title of Super High School Level Parapsychologist, and currently boasts no extracurriculars. He is 5′9 and 145 lbs, with an AB blood type. He is half-Japanese, and half-European. His affiliations include the Jabberwock Islanders, Hope’s Peak Academy, and the Novoselican Royal Family. He notably has potential to be the next heir to the throne, should he challenge his mother’s second cousin, Amaris. For his protection, he utilizes the name Phoenix Tachibana while at school.

Phoenix is, admittedly, sort of a strange kid. On account of his sort of strange parents. He’s an eccentric boy with a joy for life, a taste for culture, and the absolute glee that comes from accepting who you are wholeheartedly. Most others use the words energetic, fun-loving, and friendly to describe him. His attitude is, for the most part, carefree. He refuses to let anyone tell him that he’s being too odd, and will try to treat them kindly even if they do so. Not to mention that he is imaginative and resourceful, able to handle himself better than most people might expect. However, the boy is still human. Unfortunately, he’s rather clumsy and extremely gullible. He is incredibly vulnerable to manipulation, and falls for it more often than he doesn’t. His perseverance skills could also use a bit of work, given that he is the type to give up easily when things don’t necessarily go his way. His father’s influence has also made him defensive of his views on the world, and he admittedly has some prejudice towards “non-demons” on account of his parentage.

Phoenix adores all things supernatural. Old movies and plush animals, too. Oh, and any food that’s sweet. Japanese dramas, fantasy novels, and fireflies are also pretty high on the list of favourite things. On the list of least favourites, there’s spiders, the smell of kusaya, seagulls, his contact lenses, and Natsumi’s insistence on fighting literally everyone that so much as looks at her funny. His hobbies include yoga, sand art, fishkeeping, sewing, reading, learning new languages, and making up mythical creatures for fun.

Phoenix’s big dream in life is to someday return to Novoselic. He wishes to challenge Amaris, and take back his family’s position on the throne. Admittedly, part of the appeal does come from wanting to return his mother’s title to her, after it was stripped following the Tragedy. But a lot of it comes out of love for his country and his people, and wanting to connect with the part of him he has yet to meet. He does someday hope to get married, but he worries that Novoselic might object to his “less traditional” preferences in a partner. His biggest obstacle to his dreams (apart from Amaris) is his soft-heartedness and emotional vulnerability.

He is the fourth protagonist of the Danganronpa 21 series.

Junichi “Jun” Togami:

The only son of Byakuya Togami and Aceline Aleshire, currently age 9 (May 16th, 2027). He holds no ultimate talent. He is 4′3 and 66 lbs, with Type B blood. He is of Japanese-European descent (French & German mother). His affiliations include the Akamine Academy for Gifted Youngsters and the Togami Conglomerate. He is notably the heir of the Togami Conglomerate. Among friends, he tends to go by the name “Jun”, but when his father’s around... well, everyone’s told that they’re obliged to call him Junichi.

Referred to lovingly as “The Mini Byakuya”, Junichi is a child of ego, bluntness, and an overstatement of the value of wealth. He has a tendency to be arrogant, as well, so much so that he developed a rivalry with Seiko over which of them is more intelligent. He willingly looks down on anyone who he perceives to be below him, unless actively given a reason to respect them. Fortunately, unlike his father, he does think a sort of kindness warrants respect. When he’s not perpetuating his father’s questionable life lessons, most would categorize the boy as efficient, sensible, and articulate. He is straightforward and well organized, keeping everything neat and working as hard as he can to get what he wants. Sometimes, he can even manage to be helpful, when he really wants to be. Most likely on account of the loneliness he feels deep down.

Some of Junichi’s favourite things include math games, lizards, the piano and the violin, foreign novels, the night sky, and Renaissance art. He secretly also likes playing in the mud, but he’d never let anyone but Kameyo and Seiko know that. Generally, he has a distaste for rodents, the sight of blood, chocolate, cluttered spaces, eggplant, manga, death metal music, and his own mother. He is all too grateful that she is no longer in the picture. His hobbies are limited due to his business training, but when he has time to engage in them, he reads, plays the violin, does calligraphy, paints, and does ballet. He’s also always been kind of curious about make-up, but neglects this for he fears his father wouldn’t approve of him.

Junichi’s main goal in life is to succeed his father in the Togami Conglomerate and restore the family to what it used to be. He has no greater goal than making his father proud by being strong, successful, and intelligent. He has already planned out his life all the way past graduating university with a specialization in business, and birthing a proper heir to come after even himself. Deep down, though, another one of Junichi’s dreams is to learn to accept himself for who he is. He’s awfully proud of him family legacy; however, he feels he can’t embrace all of himself if he’s choosing to follow it. His biggest flaw/hinderance when it comes to his goals is his unstable behaviour born from insecurity, and his possessiveness over the people he has in his life.

Junichi will be the fifth protagonist in the Danganronpa 21 series.

Kameyo Hagakure:

The youngest child and only daughter of Kanon and Yasuhiro Hagakure, age 8 (March 17th, 2028). She currently holds no Ultimate talent, but as of her story debut, she is under consideration for the title of the L’il Ultimate Medium. She is 4′3 and 61 lbs, with Type B blood. She is of mostly Japanese descent, with a quarter of her background being Jamaican. Her affiliations include the Akamine Academy for Gifted Youngsters, although she someday hopes to go to Hope’s Peak Academy.

One of the biggest staples of Kameyo’s personality is her absolute cluelessness. She tends to have moments of absent-mindedness and is somewhat spacey, unable to always understand the things that are happening around her. She is not always the best listener, and tends to take action before she can even think about what needs to be done. This makes her forgetful and somewhat careless in activities that concern her everyday life. Most would not say that Kameyo is responsible. Still, the girl absolutely makes up for her flaws in heart. She is honest, humble, and passionate. She has high levels of empathy and can quite easily understand behaviours based on the energy they give off and what she knows about them already. She is warm and kind, which tends to help as she is extroverted and highly sociable. Overall, she is just a sincere young girl that others love to be around. She may not always seem like she’s paying attention or make the smart choice, but when she is, you can’t help but love her.

Kameyo is especially fond of fortune telling, dolls, make-up, sunflowers, scented candles, crystals, pop music, and of course, ghosts. She tends to dislike the dark, bitter foods (especially matcha), slurping sounds, being unable to identify where a sound is coming from, and when others compare her to Junichi and Seiko. In her free time, she loves playing baseball, doing ballet, doing crafts, playing pretend, doing make-up, and collecting dolls.

Given that she’s so young, Kameyo wouldn’t say that she’s someone with a profound collection of goals. Really, she’d say that her big thing is wanting to prove to people that she’s not crazy. That she really can hear ghosts, and that most of the time, the ghosts don’t want to hurt you. She really struggles with the fact that most people tend to assume that she’s disturbed or just a child, and wishes she could do something more to show them. She thinks maybe getting into Hope’s Peak Academy as the Super High School Level Medium might change that for her. Otherwise, she’s just a kid who wants to have fun; she would love to make as many memories as possible with Junichi and Seiko at her side!

She is the eighth protagonist of the Danganronpa 21 series.

Seiko Naegi-Kirigiri:

The youngest daughter of Makoto and Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri, currently 8 years old (December 14th, 2028). She currently holds the title of L’il Ultimate Detective, but cannot claim it yet. She is 4′2 and 59 lbs, with Type B blood. She is of Japanese descent. Her affiliations include the Akamine Institute for Gifted Youngsters and the Kirigiri Detective Clan, to which she is the heir.

Confusing is the way most people would describe Seiko Naegi-Kirigiri. Probably due to her tendency to flip back and forth between being weirdly mature and then insanely childish rapidly. Her childishness shows most when someone first meets her, and she resorts to stoicism and shyness until she can get to know them better. Time will begin to show Seiko as an impish and impatient young girl, determined to get what she wants from the world. She is highly brilliant and confident in herself and her capabilities, and takes great pride in being a detective. Courage and willingness to stand up for others seems to pump through her veins, sometimes something she interprets as her “Kirigiri Blood”. She is friendly, dedicated, and kind. However, this doesn’t always show, due to other traits she possesses. She is commonly described as opinionated, graceless, and tends to speak bluntly about others. Given that she is so young and also of Kirigiri blood, she is frequently disobedient and impatient. One of the harshest things about her, though, is that she holds grudges and refuses to let go.

Still, Seiko isn’t as harsh as she might seem. She’s still a little girl, after all. She has a child-like love of many things, such as snacks, Japanese mythology, chocolate, pretty rocks, and playing dress-up with her big sister. On the other hand, she dislikes secrets, pickles, green peppers, creepy old men, and being told to be more “lady-like”. Her hobbies include collecting stuffed animals and dolls, ballet, reading, climbing trees, playing chess, keeping a journal, and baking.

Seiko’s primary goal in life, above all else, is to become a great detective like her mother. She wants to be a honourable part of the Kirigiri family, and ignite pride in her parents and great-grandfather. She hopes to someday open her own detective agency. If she can’t do that, though, she thinks she might want to be a professional ballerina. The only thing that might get in the way of this might be her impatience and spiteful nature.

Seiko is the seventh protagonist of the Danganronpa 21 series.

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danganronpa-21 · 6 years ago

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Chapter 4: New Friends and Familiar Enemies

TRACK: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy OST 1 - 2O. Dangan Break.

Before I even took the entrance exam to get in to Hope's Peak Academy, I auditioned to be apart of the school's Talent Class Program instead of the Reserve Class one. Actually, if you want to get technical, I was auditioned more than once. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to audition twice.

The first time I was by myself, in front of a small room of people that included about four members of the school board, my father and my mother, and a talent scout. The second time, in a crowded gymnasium with all kinds of onlookers and people participating in the audition. The second time, this collection of people also happened to include an opponent by the name of Asuga Oyama.

Thanks to a heated debate between the school board and the staff at the academy, the second audition for the Talent Class title of the Super High School Level Martial Artist was held as a full-out brawl between the two students who had been selected for the role. Myself, the headmaster and vice principal's son who all in all didn't stand out too much; and another girl who stood out a little too much through her past school expulsions due to extreme violence. Thanks to the girl's history of violence in her background, Mom and Dad had wanted to reject her application for it didn't fit their requirements of what a Hope's Peak student should be. However, this screamed bias to the school board who claimed that they were surprised and even angered to not see her name in the outgoing student letters. Once they explained the circumstances, the school board shrugged off their concerns and said that a second audition should be conducted in which the two contenders fought for the rights to the title. While Mom and Dad originally tried to reject this idea, the school board forced their hands. So on a Monday evening, I received news that I was going to have to audition for a second time in the following week against an opponent I'd never met. As if that weren't enough, by the end I wasn't able to recall a lot of what happened in my second audition.

The end, especially, I don't remember. I don't remember the point in which it all turned bad. I don't remember the sensation of pain that was coursing through my body in those moments, or the feeling of the blood dribbling down my lips and chin. I can't recall the exact moment that I tumbled to the ground in bitter defeat. I can only remember what other people have told me about those last few moments, and even then they're hazy and seem almost unreal.

According to what I've been told, she got one good hit in at my nose. Fortunately there was no crunching sound, so it didn't seem like it was broken. Still, upon impact it began to mercilessly gush blood which dripped down my chin and neck, soaking my gi. At that point I'm told my parents were beginning to look a little more antsy, hoping that I would be able to take the shot no matter my pain and recover well. I can recall hoping for that too, but another strike forced in to my gut knocked the wind out of me and sent me tumbling backwards.

The crowd let out an "ooh" as I hit the mat, my lungs screaming for air as my brain tried to grasp the idea of me having been knocked on to my butt. I sat there for a split second, gasping and sputtering desperately as I strived for comprehension of situation. I should have known that I didn't have time to process it, though, for the next thing I knew I was receiving a warning from the referee that I'd have to get up soon or I'd be considered down for the count. Staying on the ground was not an option for me. It just wasn't. So despite everything that I was feeling in my body while I sat there on the mat, I used every nerve that I possibly could to push myself to my feet and maybe get myself back on track. The spectators began to cheer as I rose to my feet, but they quickly cut themselves off as soon as they saw her grab on to me and flip me. With how swiftly she'd been able to pick me up, you'd think I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes to her. Well, I suppose perhaps I was because much like the potatoes would, I received some nasty bruises from that flip.

As the crowd watched my struggle, voices began to shout from the stands and call out to me. The voices were cheering me on and assuring me that I would be able to get the upper hand against her once again if I just got back on to my feet. I had wanted to believe them, but the aching that had spread throughout my back and the rest of my body told me otherwise. I knew that if I didn't want to suffer an unfortunate fate, I would have to get up, but my body felt like it didn't remember how anymore. The only thing it seemed to understand was pure, untainted pain as I laid there on my back.

"Come on, Koichi, little buddy, get up!" I heard Yasuhiro yell from the stands, likely cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice would project louder.

"You can do it, Koichi, we know you can!" Aunt Komaru whooped next. I could already picture the way she was pumping her fist in the air. "You're doing great!"

"K-K-K-Kick her ass, kid!" Toko added, not allowing her stuttering problem to quiet her down. Realistically it was wrong of her to be saying that as a member of staff, especially considering it showed bias, but... Toko wasn't really one to play by the rules. She was incredibly good at speaking her mind, no matter how cruel or mean she was being. Usually it tended to be difficult to put up with; however, in that moment I found it actually pretty encouraging. Knowing that my family and friends were supporting me and had my back, I struggled to sit up and push myself to my feet once again.

"Seriously? Are you going to give up or what?" My opponent snarled as she adjusted the buns that she'd tied her teal hair up in. Despite my multiple attacks, she seemed to be doing a lot better than I was. She seemed to only be bleeding a little bit from her lip and her most noticeable bruise had only just begun to swell. "Aren't you ready to say that Oyama Asuga-san will be the next Super High School Level Martial Artist?"

"Fat chance of that," I retorted, putting on a smirk despite the pain and the persisting flavour of copper. "I'm going to knock your teeth out and show you who's boss."

"Hmph. Too bad you talk smack better than you fight." She countered, her body reacting in time with her words as she moved her leg up to perform a crescent kick. Instinctively I ducked, her foot just narrowly grazing my head as I nearly hit the floor. Now that she had made an attempt at getting a hit in, I knew I'd have to move quickly. As I sprung back up from the floor, I took my chance as quickly as possible and followed up with a twisting kick. Fortunately I was able to move fast enough that it collided directly with Asuga's nose. There was a slight crunching sound as it made impact, and soon it began to drip blood down her front just as mine had. Without thinking she had cupped her hands around it as involuntary tears sprung to her eyes, and for a moment I thought maybe I had her beat. If I could move fast enough to get a hit in just after she removed her hands, I thought maybe I would be able to get the upper hand. That was all I thought I really needed in that moment, to be the winner. After all, the brawl wasn't going to be over until one of us either surrendered or was no longer able to fight.

Regrettably, this was a severe blunder on my part that ultimately lead to failure. As I stood there for a moment, watching Asuga with careful eyes, I was able to observe Asuga as she drew her hands away from her nose and wiped the blood off with the back of her hand. Her gaze seemed to linger the scarlet smear on her hand for a moment, and before I knew it her icy blue eyes had pried themselves away from her hand to look at me. People have told me that even from the audience seating, they could all see the absolute fury in Asuga's eyes as she glared over at me. Her jaw clenched tight and her breathing unsteady, Asuga let out a low growling sound before lunging forward and allowing her hand to collide forcefully with my chin.

As I felt the impact I stumbled backward slightly, cringing at the feeling of my teeth being forced together due to how she struck my jaw. How unusual it was of me to have been caught off guard by something as simple as shomen-ate. When all is said and done, shomen-ate is one of the basic movements used in aikido. You could argue that it was cheap of Asuga to even use such a shot, but then again... you could also argue that it was representative of her superiority that she was able to hit me with it. I could tell that all of the spectators, no matter if they were cheering on my opponent or myself, knew that I should have been able to avoid that. But I didn't. I didn't and it enabled her to continue to her attack, each strike more powerful than the last.

It wasn't as if I wasn't trying to fight back. I was— I was whipping out everything I had to try and beat her. I was pulling moves from each of the five martial arts that I knew, but every single move I made seemed to be returned with a block and then a vicious attack against me. Before I knew it I felt blood begin to gush from my nose again thanks to another impact, and my right eye had been hit so many times that it was starting to swell. Trying desperately to stay on my feet, I bit down on my mouth guard and attempted to think of a plan to get me out of the scenario. It felt as if it was almost no use, for it seemed every move that I made, Asuga always had a counterattack for it. It probably wasn't too helpful that I was beginning to feel a little woozy in the head area, either. I felt almost as if I couldn't stand on my own two feet anymore, my stomach churning as the room spun around me.

'I've got to keep fighting.' I barely remember telling myself. For what, I wonder now. At that point it had become abundantly clear that I had no chance and yet I refused to be crushed under the weight of my opponent's superiority. My reflexes were slowing and the world kept spinning and I felt like I was going to vomit. I felt practically defenceless as Asuga grabbed on to me and performed another judo flip, slamming me down in to the mat. Pain spread throughout my entire back and shot down my legs as well. I laid there for a moment, processing all of the pain I was experiencing until finally I knew that I had to push myself up. Some of the audience members cheered as I rolled over and stood on all fours, expecting me to eventually push myself back up to being on two feet. But I didn't. Instead, I listened carefully to the angry shouts I was hearing from the stands.

"This barbaric!" A familiar voice yelled, "You're sick for making them do this. He's obviously injured, just call off the fight already! He needs help! I don't care about the competition, it's not worth these kids getting hurt!"

I didn't hear the response to that statement. I wasn't even able to decipher who's voice it was yelling, only that it belonged to a man I was sure I knew. Rather than forcing myself to understand, I simply continued to stare at the ground as the referee and Asuga both screamed at me to get up. I could feel the chaos breaking loose all around me, but I was so battered and broken that I didn't even have it in me to do anything about it. As I tried to get back to my feet, the world seemed to spin even faster, and I began to feel a warm bile rise up my throat.

'Oh god. Koichi, do not puke here.' I ordered myself, but the concussion I had just received was not going to obey such a command. Instead it allowed, or maybe even *encouraged* me to barf up my breakfast from that morning. All over the mat, I may add. As I stood there, still on all fours, gasping and looking at the mess that I had just made; I came to the profound realization that at this point I had completely lost. There was no coming back from a concussion that made me too dizzy to stand and so, so sick to my stomach. Without the strength to do anything more, I let myself fall to my left side (away from the puddle) and hit the floor.

Just doing that, there were about two sensations I felt within that moment: utter disappointment in myself, and utter pain due to every single injury I sustained.

"Winner: Challenger Oyama Asuga!" The referee cheered, holding Asuga's arm in the air triumphantly as he completely ignored my panicked parents pushing past him and rushing to my side. I've been told that the moment they got a hold of me, Dad wrapped his arms around me and picked me up. Carrying me incredibly gingerly in his arms, he and Mom rushed me to the infirmary for medical attention. They left the whole competition aspect behind, not thinking about how they would be forced to admit the girl who ruthlessly attacked their son.

Not thinking about the girl who wouldn't stop even after her opponent was obviously down. The girl I'd hoped that I would never have to see again.

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TRACK: DRtA OST: -1-11- Despair Eden

After Tamiko and I parted, my feelings of anxiousness and uncertainty seemed to increase once again. Which was really obnoxious, to say the least, but it's not like there was anything I could have done about it. We both met each other knowing that eventually we would have to go off with our own classes. It just seemed almost as if it was too soon when we finally did part. Honestly because of that... I felt as if the whole entrance ceremony was a total blur. I was too busy running through the different possibilities in my mind that I could barely focus on the speech that poor Dad had been reciting to himself while doing the laundry for weeks. I actually even managed to miss homeroom teacher introductions, and was forced to awkwardly ask the girl next to me what our homeroom teacher's name was. On the bright side, at least, I definitely wasn't one of the students who needed all of these speeches to understand what my school life would be like. Seeing as I practically grew up at Hope's Peak, I pretty much knew how everything worked. I figured that I could afford to not be one-hundred percent attentive this one time. Besides, it wasn't like I hadn't been to half a dozen of these entrance ceremonies before— back when I was a lot younger, Mom and Dad used to bring me to them all the time just to get a look at my future.

I'm sure it could've been overwhelming for some of the kids who had never seen the place before in their lives, though. The alumni who restored the school had done a spectacular job of upholding its reputation as a beacon of hope, and likely even having created predecessor that far surpassed the original. Everything about the school was planned out to the last detail to assure that the school would be up to code and accessible to a spectrum of students. While this meant that the school was greatly improved, it also meant that there were many more precautions taken, thus ultimately making it more difficult to get in. While rebuilding the school, the alumni abolished the hated Steering Committee, and in turn amplified the difficulty of the school's application process. Talent Class students were put through a sequence that included an audition, several background checks, a personal interview, and then a final application to even be considered for their spot within the school. As for us Reserve Class kids, we were subjected to a similar sequence of an entrance exam, several background checks, an essay describing our life goals and ambitions, and then the final application. Saying it was a somewhat brutal system was putting it lightly, so at least I could find in my heart the empathy I needed for the kids who were literally trembling in their seats.

The future was coming up on each and every once of us quickly, and it really didn't hit any of us until the older students concluded the school's song and our teacher gathered us all up together and lead us to our homeroom. No more time to tremble in the auditorium seats and think of what could be. The future was happening now.

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TRACK: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy OST 1 - 15. The housekeeper saw!

Class 99-A consisted of twenty-five students including myself. The Reserve Class to Talent Class ratio was split almost perfectly down the middle (considering you can't have half a student), with twelve Talent Class kids and thirteen Reserve Class kids. Among our ranks were some notable titles such as Kotone Sawamatsu the Super High School Level Child Star, Arata Hara the Super High School Level Ringmaster, and Jirou Watabe the Super Highschool Level Rugby Player. Aside from that, there was a plethora of different talents situated in the Reserve Class as well. Some people had come to study snake charming, piloting, and even the importance of biodiversity. It seemed almost everyone in Class 99-A had something to offer. Everybody was unique and different, and had their own interests. As we played our icebreaker games, this was something they all seemed to remark upon. That is, everyone except for myself and a certain girl who sat at the back of our classroom.

That girl aside, just from the ice breaking games that our class played in homeroom, I had the feeling that I would like a lot of my new classmates. Although some of them could be a bit rowdy, they all appeared to be genuinely friendly and open. If they saw somebody retreating because they were shy, there would usually be at least two other students who would pull them further in to activities and make them feel like they belonged. By the time we'd rolled through our first three periods, we were all pretty much best friends. I'd never felt that comfortable in a classroom in my life, so by the time lunch rolled around and we all decided to head back to our homeroom, I wasn't all that concerned about being vulnerable. I mean, I already had a great group of people that I could eat with and talk to. Lunch would have been like a perfect dream if I hadn't gone to my locker to get my lunch... only to find out that in the rush of the morning, I'd completely forgotten it. I could only hope that Mom, Dad, or Hope might have picked it up on their way out the door. I figured I would text Dad, just to be sure.

'Hey— sorry to bother you while you're busy, but did you pick up my lunch before we left? I accidentally left it behind by accident. Optimistically thinking you might have grabbed it?' I typed, hitting send before bothering to read it through for typos. I figured that Dad would get back to me relatively quickly, considering that he too would be on his lunch break. Although now that I think about it, I could have been thinking far too optimistically about that in an attempt to get my stomach to shut up about how hungry I was. I was so nervous that I'd barely touched my breakfast that morning, and I was definitely paying the price for it.

Willing my mind to forget my food for one minute, I placed my phone back down on my desk and sighed. As I didn't end up walking to my locker with anyone else, this also meant that I was one of the first people back. So for a solid few minutes I was sitting alone in the classroom without a soul to disturb me. That is, until back-of-the-classroom girl came stomping in, her feet thundering against the tile floor as she made her way back in. Though she seemed to be holding a lunch box, I got the weirdest feeling that her first intention once she entered the room wasn't to sit down and start eating. The glare she shot me when she walked in to the room was probably the clearest sign of that.

"Why are you sitting in here all alone?" She huffed, raising an eyebrow at me as she folded her arms across the chest that she had puffed up a little too proudly. I couldn't help but remark that her knuckles were bandaged. "I thought for sure you'd be out there socializing and making friends with all of the others. Getting them all on your side, Mister Sociable. Isn't that what you do?"

"That's a pretty bold assumption for a girl who doesn't even know me," I shot back, sensing her hostility from my seat. "Mind your own business."

"Please, I can read you like a book." She hissed, continuing to pound her feet against the floor as she moved forward, placing herself right in front of my desk. I willed myself not to feel threatened by her presence as she leaned forward so that the two of us were nearly at eye level. It was a tactic she was trying to use to irk me. Even though I knew what she was capable of, I did not feel that I should show any weakness. "You're Mommy and Daddy's little prince who gets everything he's ever wanted and more. Everybody always has and always will love you... or at least they'll pretend to."

"Why are you even speaking to me? Did you come here to gloat, or something? I get it, Oyama-san, you won." I murmured, the emptiness in my chest sparking yet again as I spoke the words. It was awful to admit, especially to her face like that, but what could I do? We were both there. We both knew that between the two of us, I was the loser.

"I guess you could say that," She taunted, shrugging her shoulders slightly as her icy blue eyes remained locked on to mine. "After all, this has to have been the first time that you haven't gotten what you wanted. I figured that you would be a little bit upset about it."

"I'm not upset," I insisted, knowing that that was a bull-faced lie. Of course I was upset, she beat the crap out of me and didn't stop until I was concussed. She bloodied my face, bruised my body, and then spit on me like I was trash. Her unsportsmanlike-like behaviour should have been enough of a sign of who she was, but because I was the headmaster's son nobody else saw it that way. "I'm over it, Oyama-san. I don't care anymore."

"That's some tough shit to believe, Naegi-kun. Judging by our little audition, you seem to have a hard time letting shit go. I got in one good hit and then you would deliver three back with this furious little look on your face." She remarked. "So personally, I think that you're still holding on to this little problem of yours. Maybe you're going to use it to your advantage."

"To my advantage?" I echoed, honest to god having no clue what she was inferring. If I was still holding on to some false hope, that was my issue— not hers. It made so little sense to me that I found myself waiting for her to say something at least somewhat logical. Instead, she slammed her fist down on the table in front of me.

"Let's not play dumb here." She snapped, baring her teeth at me like an angry dog. The way she was speaking was so careful and so controlled that you could tell she was doing everything in her power to keep herself from flying off the handle. "You're Mommy and Daddy's favourite little student, and if you went running to tell them shit about me they'd believe you without a doubt. It ain't no secret to me that your dumbass parents didn't want me here, either. The second they hear you say something about me, whether it is the truth or a lie, they'll boot my ass outta here. Strip me of my title, and give it to you."

"Oyama-san, what kind of devious—" I interrupted, but a swift movement she made to kick me in the shin shut me right up as I yelped out in surprise and pain.

"Don't act like you're so fucking innocent. The others may not see what a piece of shit you really are, but I do. I know exactly what you do, and I'm telling you now that if you fucking try anything to get me expelled, you should expect an ass beating. I won't hesitate to send you to the hospital, maybe break a few of your bones. Show everyone what happens to snot-nosed little bitches who think they're better than everybody."

"Hey, what's your problem?!"

Those words didn't come from my mouth. Somebody else was... was defending me.

The voice interrupted her rant so suddenly that it took the both of us by surprise. After all, we had been under the impression that the two of us were the only two people in the classroom at that moment. Considering the others left with friends at their sides, we had assumed it would be awhile until they returned as they needed to hit multiple lockers and would likely chat along the way. As far as we were concerned, we were supposed to be the only people in the room. That was why Asuga had decided to have this little confrontation with me, wasn't it?

As the two of us whipped our heads around toward the doorway of the classroom, we found two of our classmates standing there. One of them was a tall blonde boy with heterochromatic eyes, and the other was a silver-haired girl with a mole on her chin. Judging by the sound of the voice that spoke, the silver-haired girl was likely the one who had jumped to my defence. The voice had been undeniably female, even despite the fact that she seemed to speak in a low and almost unamused tone.

"Hey, I ain't going to ask you again," The girl growled, narrowing her eyes at Asuga. "What's your issue? Why are you in here threatening that kid?"

"Why aren't you minding your own business, Kitagawa-san?" Asuga retorted sharply, gritting her teeth out of what I could assume was probably habit. "I wasn't doing anything that this kid doesn't deserve."

"You just met him today. He hasn't done anything to you yet." The girl, whose first name I had since forgotten and will refer to as Kitagawa until I actually found out, pointed out. She'd have had no clue how well Asuga and I knew each other, but at the very least I was incredibly grateful that she had jumped to my defence. I definitely wasn't going to be able to deal with her on my own, especially after our audition together. "Just leave him alone."

"You don't know anything about what's going on here, so just keep your nose out of my business." Asuga demanded, her fist slamming down on my desk hard. Although I knew it was kind of sad of me to have done so, I jumped a little. (It startled me!)

"I'll keep my nose out of your business when you stop threatening kids who didn't do anything." She announced firmly, starting to walk toward Asuga. "Don't think that just because my talent is fire dancing doesn't mean that I can't kick your ass. 'Cause I can and I will."

"You want a bet on that, Golden Eyes?" Asuga said, her tone not quite as loud but still clipped. I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was maybe losing a bit of her edge due to Kitagawa's presence. Whoever she was, this girl must have been good if she had the power to intimidate someone like Asuga. Not once when we auditioned together did she ever appear to be fearful of me. She was always moving and thinking about her next hit, never concerned about what I was going to do. While she looked down on me, I assumed that she must have seen Kitagawa as someone who was closer to being an equal. Maybe even closer to being above her.

"N-Natsumi," The blond boy piped up, tugging on the sleeve of Kitagawa's uniform like a small child attempting to get the attention of his mother. "Remember what we were told, we can't afford to be getting in to fights while we're here."

"It ain't a fight if she attacks me first," Kitagawa— Er... Natsumi, responded briskly. Though the two (as far as I had seen) appeared to be friends, Natsumi was portraying herself as the type of person who was fairly stuck in her own ways. She likely wasn't going to be taking her friend's advice if it meant having to back down. "Besides, if I leave this bitch alone she'll just keep harassing him."

"Who are you calling bitch? You want to get your teeth knocked out?!"

"Don't you dare!" I snapped involuntarily, pushing myself to my feet as if I could do something about the scenario that we were in. Again it was no secret that I wouldn't be able to defeat her this time if I hadn't managed it during the audition. Some people might have even said that it would have been better if I kept my big stupid mouth shut, but I wasn't going to let Natsumi get hurt because she was defending my sorry butt. I would rather have another concussion than allow anything like that to happen.

Upon hearing my outburst, Asuga whipped her head around to look at me again with a nasty glare. "Oh yeah, and I suppose you're going to be able to kick my ass if I do hit her? Grow up, Naegi-kun, we all know that you're nothin' more than a little pipsqueak who thinks talent comes from genetics. Just remember that beyond that fancy celebrity status, you come from a family of huge losers. You're never going to be anything more than Reserve Course dud, you rotten little—"

"That's it!" Natsumi yelled, bringing her fist up so that it could connect with Asuga's face. Fortunately for all of us, her friend leaped in at the last possible minute and grabbed her wrist.

"Natsumi, no!" He whimpered, "You remember what your dad told you!"

"I don't give a damn!" She shouted, struggling to release her wrist from his grasp. By this point she was clenching her jaw so tightly that her face was beginning to turn pink. Sweat began to form on her forehead as she tried to allow the anger to be her strength and pry herself free from her friend's grasp. Even watching Natsumi's fury, there was one thing that was lingering in my mind as the blond boy and I worked desperately to keep Asuga and Natsumi from slaughtering each other on the spot.

Your dad.

Not Natsumi's dad, of course. At the time I didn't know the guy and ultimately had no idea if he even would've been useful to us within that moment. No, I was thinking about my dad, and what Asuga had been saying to me earlier about how I was only at Hope's Peak because of my parents. You know, how she thought I would tattle on her to them even for things she didn't do, just to get her expelled.

Mulling this thought over in my mind, I looked down at my phone, which sat directly in the middle of my desk with its face down. Carefully, I reached for it and picked it up, praying to have received a reply from Dad (although admittedly that was mostly due to hunger). Gripping it as tightly as possible so as to make sure Asuga could not snatch it from my hands, I turned it over to see the notifications that had popped up on the screen. Just as I had hoped, my phone had lit up with a message from none other than my father.

'Yup, grabbed your lunch. Mom nearly forgot hers too. I asked Hope to deliver it to you, so it won't be embarrassing to have your dad walk in to the classroom and all. I hope you're having a good day and making lots of new friends! I'm going to make curry tonight in celebration of your new adventures. Love you!'

I had to fight off a smile as I read the message over, endeared by how considerate Dad was of my feelings. Of course, right then was not the time or the place to establish that my father was adorable, so I had to do my best to fend off the smile as the altercation in front of me continued to progress. Still, Dad's message to me ended up being valuable, and not because it now meant that I was aware of what was on the menu for dinner tonight.

"Oyama-san?" I said softly, a smirk appearing on my face as I looked up from my phone. I made sure to say her name extra sweetly and gently so that she would turn to me with pure rage in mind. It was safe to say that even though we didn't know each other that well, I knew exactly what would make her tick.

"What do you want now?" She snapped, her eyes drilling in to me as she focused on what I had to say. "Got something to say, or do you just want me to give you a fat lip?"

Now that her eyes were on me and there was a chance that the whole thing could go terribly wrong, it dawned on me how unsure of this I was. I mean, my stomach was now doing somersaults and I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I found myself biting my lip as she scrutinized me, trying to think of the best way of delivering my message. Confidence should have been the key in its delivery, but let's be honest here— I don't have any confidence. It's never really been up my alley.

"I just wanted to remind you of something you said earlier," I chuckled, forcing a mischievous smile so I appeared as if I would be able to wrap her right around my finger. "When you were talking about my parents and I, specifically."

Upon hearing this, even Natsumi seemed to pipe down as she and the blond boy observed me eagerly. It was clear from the looks on their faces that they wanted to see what I was going to do next, and I couldn't deny that the thought of showing them was kind of thrilling to me.

"What about it?" She grunted. Just by the very mention of my parents, she puffed up her chest and stood a little taller. It was a small sign, but it showed that this was the one thing that intimidated her about me: the power I had over her in the school's administration. Even if this power was a fictional figment of her own mind, it couldn't hurt to see if she'd back down due to the threat of potentially losing her spot at Hope's Peak. As rude and nasty as she was, Asuga was just like the rest of us. She'd wanted to come here since she was young and she probably worked pretty hard to qualify for it. She wouldn't want that to slip away, but it didn't give her the right to threaten people. So maybe that's why I decided to pretend to be the vile creature she thought I was.

"You mentioned some concerns you had about me tattling to my parents about some of the things you might do just for the sake of your expulsion," I reminded her, putting one of my hands on my hip almost confidently. Despite my facade of ease, I still had a death grip on my phone so she couldn't take it away from me. "If that's the kind of behaviour you expect from me, you've got some nerve to come over here threatening me and nearly fighting Kitagawa-san over here. I mean, couldn't I just go tattle on you to Mommy and Daddy? Send you packing, just as you said?"

In that moment I swear that there was nothing more satisfying than bearing witness to the change in Asuga's expression. Just as suddenly as it had come, her anger melted away. Replacing it was an expression that featured brows that had been knit together, worried eyes, and teeth that were clenched with much less certainty.

"You wouldn't do that." She sputtered gracelessly, glancing quickly over at Natsumi and her blond buddy as if to ask if I actually would. When her eyes fell on them, they shrugged in response. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the grin on Natsumi's face. She and I both knew we had her beat.

"Wouldn't I, though?" I taunted, waving my phone at her. "I thought that you said that this kind of thing was what I do."

Asuga's jaw clenched harder as she stared at me, her body beginning to tremble as it processed the sensations of anger that were coursing through it. "So what are you going to do? Tattle on me then?"

"Well, I will if you don't leave us alone. Otherwise, I won't speak a word."

Her gaze darted from me to Natsumi to back to me again. Finally, she let out a screech of frustration and defeat as her foot collided with the classroom floor again. "F-Fine, whatever!" She cried loudly, likely drawing the attention of the students that were just piling in to eat their own lunches. "Just know that if you do say something—"

"I know, I know, you'll kick my arse." I said, holding my hand up as if to halt her from her useless threats. "I'll keep my mouth shut if you keep yours shut, alright?"

"D-Deal." She muttered. With that, she took this as a cue to turn around and stomp off in the other direction, much to the confusion of our classmates who had just come from their lockers. A few of them even glanced in our direction with raised eyebrows as if to ask what was up with her, but we ended up offering them nothing more than a few well-coordinated shrugs. As soon as they saw this, they accepted that Asuga might have been in a snit and left the three of us to go back to our business. Once she was gone, it gave the three of us a chance to talk to each other.

"Dude, what you just did there was fuckin' brilliant!" Natsumi whooped, pumping her fist in the air triumphantly. "Seriously, it was real clever. You twisted her words around and used them to get things to go in your favour. That takes some skill."

Upon hearing Natsumi's compliment, I couldn't hide my blush. I wasn't accustomed to receiving compliments that weren't from family or my teachers, so hearing that was like its own recipe for making me get all flustered. "T-Thanks... You were really cool too, stepping in the way that you did. I don't know what I would've done if it hadn't been for you... So, y'know... thanks."

"It's no problem, really. It's what any decent person should do." Natsumi assured me, moving to tuck a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. Now that she was closer to me and I wasn't preoccupied with not getting in to any trouble on my first day, I could really take a minute to get a good look at Natsumi. Now that she was up close, I could see the smaller details of her. Like me, she was pretty short. At tallest, I would say she was about four feet eleven inches. Her build was fairly rectangular, and very few parts of her body were all that curvy. Her skin was a soft peachy tone, which paired nicely with the striking silver colour of her hair. It was glossy and long, spilling down her shoulders and flowing down her back until it reached her waistline. Sprinkled across her cheeks and nose there were half a million different freckles, and there was a tiny mole that sat happily upon her chin. She seemed to be fond of accessorizing and doing make-up, for in her right ear she had about three piercings and had done her eyeliner so it would be a perfect wing. Like all girls at Hope's Peak Academy did, Natsumi donned the seifuku-style uniform with a merlot red ribbon to express herself. All in all she was a fairly good-looking girl, but not someone I ultimately felt like I would see around Tokyo.

"Well thanks for being a decent person then." I chuckled. "I don't believe we've formally met, though. I mean, we did class introductions but honestly... I'm not great with names."

"It's cool, no worries." Natsumi told me, folding her arms across her chest. "They call me Ku—Kitagawa Natsumi. I'm the Super High School Level Fire Dancer."

I recall feeling off-put by how Natsumi seemed to stutter over her own name, as if she was trying to hide something from me. Still, excited by the presence of potential new friends, I shrugged it off and told her that it was nice to meet her before turning to the other boy. "And if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"

Upon acknowledgement, the blond boy's face lit up with surprise. He seemed to grin almost immediately as he realized what was happening. "Oh! My name's Tachibana Phoenix, and I'm the Super High School Level Parapsychologist! It's really nice to meet you." He giggled, his eyes sparkling with delight as he spoke. "I know this is kind of a weird question, but has anybody ever told you that you look like Makoto Naegi?"

I felt bad for how quickly and openly I laughed at that. "Considering he's my dad, yeah, kinda." I replied, scratching my cheek out of fear that my laughter might have offended Phoenix. Thankfully, instead of getting flustered and embarrassed, he continued to smile like it was his job.

"Really?" Phoenix asked, "You're the son they talk about?"

"Y-Yeah," I admitted, shrugging a little bit. "My name's Naegi-Kirigiri Koichi, but for convenience's sake you can just call me Naegi-san. Naegi-Kirigiri-san is a mouthful."

"Jesus Christ, Naegi-san, is your mother a printer or something? Now that Phoenix has pointed it out, I can't deny how alike you and your dad look." Natsumi gasped, raising an eyebrow as she studied my appearance. "I can't believe I didn't pick up on it before."

"My mother is in fact a real woman, she just ended up having a baby who looked exactly her husband..." I snickered somewhat awkwardly, my scratching moving to the back of my neck. "It happens. That aside, where are you guys from?"

"Oh, we're from an island!" Phoenix chirped happily, pushing the pair of glasses sitting on his nose up a little further.

"Phoenix, this whole country is essentially an island." She reminded him, her eyes doing a full rotation before falling back on me. "More specifically, we're from Shikoku."

"Shikoku, huh?" I said, putting forth my best smile. "Well, welcome to Tokyo then."

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