(A/N: So this is a project that has been in development for quite some time now. A good friend of mine, Goshinzilla, also known as Vogoshinki, wanted to try and make Junko suffer via Yami Yugi/Atem's Millenium Puzzle powers. After long, lengthy debilitations explaining why that can't happen—or rather why Junko gets off on her own suffering—this fanfic was born. …And because I know how that sounds let me say that this was NOT made with the intent of needlessly hating on Junko. I can't friggin stand her, but that doesn't mean she isn't a treat to write dialogue for.
That said, this fanfic was created because the longer my friend and I talked about the idea of a Danganronpa and Yu-gi-oh crossover, the more the characters and story just seemed to mesh well. Now, for true DGR fans, please keep in mind that we won't be seeing the core elements of DGR play out until much further down the line. This is going to be a long running series and everything has to neatly fall into place.
Originally, this was meant to start with the events of DGR1 and play backwards to show "how we got here", but I decided instead to have fun with this story, shake up the status quo (both Yu-gi-oh and DGR) and write a really fun narrative for you all to enjoy. But, before we begin:
IMPORTANT: I do not give two cents about when cards were made or how rare they are blah blah blah. It was hard enough to write comprehensive duels against the YGO protagonists and other side characters while giving the DGR cast a fighting chance and while characters like Celeste and Byakuya can most certainly buy the cards they need to have awesome decks, please bear with me to allow even Makoto Naegi to have a deck that can hold its own against the King of Games.
For all intents and purposes, I did my best not to include cards that were part of "sets" that included synchro monsters…at least until we reach 5Ds. Yes, we will actually be crossing over—eventually—into the 5Ds and GX storylines, but that's way way way way waaaaaaaaay down the line. Also, different universe, different rules. I consider myself fairly competent at the card game, but I'm not perfect. Like I said, making comprehensive, heart pounding duels in a WRITTEN FORMAT is HARD! It's like writing a fight scene, except its less choreography and more keeping track of hand sizes and what's on the field so someone doesn't hold the Idiot Ball.
Also for the sake of ease, characters will refer to each other as they do in dub both for Danganronpa and Yu-gi-oh. It's easier to write that way, but I will try to incorporate the sub's more serious attitude for Yu-gi-oh, after all this is Danganronpa we're dealing with, but characterization will be mostly dub.
With that said, I hope you all get a kick out of what's to come. I mean, it's Yu-gi-oh! Everybody's so freaking hammy and now I've gone and thrown a character like Gundham Tanaka into the mix. I guess there's nothing else to say now other than: It's time to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-DUEL!)
Somewhere in the Middle East…
Mukuro Ikusaba was sitting in her room sprawled out over her cot, shirt riding up on her toned body. She was half-asleep, snoring loudly as she tried to take a power nap in preparation for a lengthy patrol she would have of the perimeter that evening.
As she rested her eyes, her cell phone began vibrating incessantly. Promptly and without stumbling, Mukuro got up, flipped the phone open and answered it. "Yes?"
"Mukuro, hi! Long time no talk! How are you?"
Mukuro's blood ran cold. "J-Junko! What…how did you get this number?" Mukuro had thought Junko and her family had no idea where she was let alone knew how to contact her. So, for Junko to just call her out of the blue like this was startling.
"That's not important right now," Junko's voice said with its usual upbeat charm from the other line. Back in Japan, Junko was parked in front of her TV, phone in one hand, remote in the other, feet on the coffee table next to an energy drink. She was watching a Breaking News story about how previously no-name Duel Monster duelist Yugi Mutoh had just come back from Duelist Kingdom, victorious over the creator of the game, Maximillian Pegasus. "I have a question for you."
"What sort of question?" Mukuro asked on the other end of the line.
Junko's lips broke out into a wide, toothy grin. "What do you know about Duel Monsters?"
Several Months Later…
In the wake of his defeat at the hands of Yugi Mutoh and later at the hands of Maximillian Pegasus, Seto Kaiba had come under fire for more than just business reasons. At the start of the school year, last year, Kaiba had been accepted to the prestigious academy known only as Hope's Peak Academy. Because of his remarkable skill level at Duel Monsters, Kaiba was admitted to the academy in Class 76, under the title Ultimate Duelist.
However, in recent history, no thanks to Yugi, the academy questioned Kaiba's legitimacy given he'd been defeated by Yugi. At the time, Kaiba was dealing with a corporate takeover and couldn't face the allegations against him. And, of course, had unsubstantial proof that he had truly conquered Yugi Mutoh, especially since Yugi defeated Pegasus where Kaiba could not.
Fortunately for Kaiba, he had an ace in the hole. Hope's Peak Academy required massive amounts of funding to remain afloat and, grateful to the academy for giving him the opportunity to further his career as a duelist and call it education, Kaiba provided nearly 30% of Hope's Peak's funding out of pocket. Therefore, questioning his dueling ability and kicking him out of the school would see Hope's Peak's income drop astronomically. As a result, and with a little business sense, Kaiba was able to keep his status within the school and remain a student there, making it clear the school only existed, to him, to give him clout and he had no need for it otherwise.
Still, something needed to be done if Kaiba was going to prove his dueling ability as more than just a master of the card game. He had to take the card game to the next level, which resulted in his creation of his new duel disk. But more would be needed, a tournament of such grandstanding proportions that even Maximillian Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom would pale in comparison to Kaiba's tournament.
Unfortunately, Kaiba lacked as many connections as Pegasus had to create a larger tournament. Fortunately, fate smiled upon him in the form of Kaiba's newest intern: Chihiro Fujisaki. The young programmer had been recommended to Kaiba after Mokuba heard about Chihiro's talent, and Chihiro's father, a low-ranking programmer in KaibaCorp, recommended Chihiro as well. Kaiba had taken the short teen under his wing on a whim and was astounded by Chihiro's skill level. Even though Chihiro was only an intern, Kaiba had him in on some of KaibaCorp's top projects.
And, in recent weeks, it seemed Chihiro had constructed the key to making Kaiba's new, upcoming tournament, Battle City, a true phenomenon. Chihiro had constructed a fully functioning AI that was fully interactive, complete with the entire database of every card in the game. Kaiba was using Chihiro's AI at several dueling facilities as a measuring stick for even no-name duelists to showcase their skill and see if they could qualify for Battle City. Data would pour in on virtually unheard of duelists and expand Kaiba's tournament to the point that he would be able to have 16 finalists. The tournament began tomorrow and Kaiba was more than looking forward to it.
Of course, no matter how good these other duelists are, this tournament will come down to only two people, Kaiba thought, Me…and Yugi. He opened the desk drawer to his right where his deck sat and picked up the top card, revealing Obelisk the Tormentor. And thanks to Ishizu, I now have the key to his demise. This will be my trump card in the upcoming tournament so I can prove, once and for all, that I am and always shall be the greatest duelist in the world.
As Kaiba examined data and information coming in on his computer, the door to his office was pushed open ever so slowly. Kaiba alerted his attention to the person entering his office. It turned out to be Chihiro. "U-um…M-Mr. Kaiba…s-sir?"
"Chihiro, what is it?" Kaiba asked calmly. The sound of his voice betrayed the fact that he wasn't angry, though it sure sounded like it. Then again, Kaiba was never the friendliest person in the world to start with.
"U-um, w-well I was wondering, if I passed the level set for the qualifying rounds for Battle City. Could I, um, participate?" Chihiro asked.
"I wasn't aware you even had a deck," Kaiba responded.
"Yes, well, surprise," Chihiro laughed nervously.
Kaiba leaned forward, clasping his fingers in between each other as he had his elbows on the table. "Chihiro, you've been a boon to KaibaCorp since the day you walked in here. If you can duel like a pro, I have no problem with you dueling in the tournament tomorrow."
"Really?" Chihiro's face brightened up.
Kaiba leaned back in his chair and went back to looking at the computer. "Just so we're clear, if you manage to beat your own program and compete, you will be representing KaibaCorp, so I won't tolerate any behavioral misconduct." Kaiba gave Chihiro a sharp look. "Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir! And don't worry," Chihiro held up the locator card that had come out of the dueling machine when he won earlier. "I promise to make KaibaCorp proud."
Kaiba smirked. "Well, do your best."
The Next Day…
In the bed of his hotel room, Makoto Naegi was sleeping soundly until he woke up with a jolt. He looked at the bedside clock. It was 9:30. "What?!" He gasped. "Oh no! The tournament's already started!" Bolting from his bed, Makoto quickly grabbed his hoodie off the coat rack and grabbed his sneakers near the door, running out…only to run back in, grab his duel disk and deck and head for the elevator, nearly losing an untied shoe as he made it and rode it down to the lobby.
He ran into the dining hall to grab what little breakfast he could scrounge up, slathering jam on a piece of toast and running out the door, only to trip and fall, the toast landing jelly side down on the ground. Makoto's duel disk clattered to the ground, slipping off his wrist.
"Ah! My disk!" Makoto exclaimed, watching it slide and spin along the ground only to come to a complete halt under the foot of a young girl that looked like him a little.
Arms folded, the girl sighed, smirking. "Panicking first thing in the morning. What would you do without me, Makoto?"
"K-Komaru…" Makoto stuttered, getting to his feet.
"Shoe's untied," Komaru said and Makoto bent down to tie it. Komaru then handed Makoto his duel disk as he finished up.
"Thanks," Makoto said, taking the disk from his sister and slipping it back on.
"I can't believe you tried to leave without me. Don't you remember mom said I was coming along? I mean, it's not every day a member of our family gets to compete in a prestigious tournament."
"Well…I mean, I just got lucky, you know?" Makoto said, scratching his cheek. "I don't think I'll get very far. I mean, I don't think my deck is that good."
"What are you saying?" Komaru asked, eyebrows furrowed, hands held up into clenched fists. "You've got an amazing deck! I mean, you've got one of the most powerful monsters in the game for the new Battle City rules and you've had it since you were four!"
Makoto slipped his deck out of the duel disk and looked at the card on the bottom. Staring him in the face was his prized possession: Alexandrite Dragon, a 4-star monster with 2000 attack points and virtually no drawbacks other than having only 100 defense points. He certainly had stronger monsters in his deck, but he'd had this card since he built his first deck. It'd helped him win several duels, including the duel that got him into this tournament in the first place.
"But," Komaru said, holding a hand out and closing one eye, "You won't be dueling anyone into submission if you don't eat. I've been up at 8-sharp, like you asked. The least you can do is follow your own schedule."
Makoto rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously.
"Remember, mom and dad said to have fun. So let's quit worrying and panicking that the tournament has already started and have some fun, starting with breakfast."
Makoto sighed and smiled. "Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Komaru."
Komaru laughed and smiled. "It's what I do."
Of those attending Hope's Peak Academy, Kaiba was not the only one fit to participate in Battle City. Gundham Tanaka and Sonia Nevermind had proven themselves through the AI provided by Chihiro's programming.
Gundham was waiting for Sonia to join him as he stood idly by at the gate. The two had had breakfast with their class and intended to leave together, but Sonia wanted to "freshen up" first, walking towards Gundham in a fashionable black dress and hair bow and looking both plain and stunning at the same time.
"Tell me, Dark Queen," Gundham said to his classmate. "Does the prospect of glory excite you? I, in particular, am interested in the king's crown. How about you?"
"Oh, I am most excited too, Gundham," Sonia said with a smile. "I hope there will be no hard feelings if one of us bumps the other out of the tournament."
Gundham laughed heartily. "Well said! Well said! Yes, I shall have no qualms showing you my dark powers!" Gundham declared, crossing his arms over his body, fingers of his right hand curled, index and middle finger extended from his left hand. "Should our paths cross, I will not hesitate to take you down."
"In that case, how about we make a promise right now?" Sonia asked, eyes glistening. "When we both have three or more locator cards, let us have a duel. That way we are guaranteed to duel each other at least once."
Gundham laughed loudly. "I accept your challenge! May luck favor you, Dark Queen and may the best duelist win!"
"Oh she shall. See you later, Gundham." Sonia and Gundham then walked in opposite directions to discover foes both unknown and mysterious in order to obtain more locator cards.
In the classroom, Kazuichi watched the scene unfold with dismay and tears. He'd been unable to prove himself to Chihiro's AI, barely able to scrape by against one of the lower levels. And now, as a result, Gundham was getting cushy with his Miss Sonia. Still, at least he would not be alone in his inability to participate.
In his classroom with a giant TV screen set up to broadcast duels to the room—the same one the group had used to play videogames about a week ago—were Ryota, who was more focused on animating than dueling, Mikan, who had no dueling ability, Hiyoko, who said she had better things to do than "play some dumb card game", and Mahiru who had virtually no experience as a duelist.
And that's when Nekomaru and Akane strode in, the latter looking quite peeved. "What's wrong with her?" Mahiru asked Nekomaru as she watched Akane sit down and pout, arms folded.
"She thought Battle City was a different type of battle so she's been a bit grouchy lately," Nekomaru answered. "Anyway, since our class rep is participating in the tournament today and Yukizome's busy, I'm in charge on our teacher's request."
"Well you'll hear no complaints from me," Teruteru said, entering the room. "Perhaps you could use those big strong muscles to give me a hand with these dishes."
"Sure thing."
"You brought food?" Akane asked, drooling.
"Cooked up a whole banquet," Teruteru said with a wink and a smile. "You can thank me later."
"I'll thank you right now. Who needs fighting when you've got a whole buffet. Ikadimasu!" Akane dove after one of the buffet trays and started pulling the ribs out with her bare hands, chowing down.
"Well she changed her tune awfully quickly," Mahiru sighed.
Kazuichi sighed and went back to look out the window. He spotted the tiny image of Chiaki running out by the fountain with her duel disk. She checked her novelty watch, at least that's what he thought she was doing. He didn't know why she didn't leave with Gundham and Sonia or why she was just standing around now. It was a quarter to ten. The tournament had already started.
"Hey, Kazuichi! The TV's busted, fix it!" Nekomaru suddenly shouted.
"Busted? How could it be busted?" Kazuichi asked and sighed. "I'll fix it though. One side."
Out by the school fountain, the reason Chiaki was waiting was because she was waiting for her travel buddy. Said travel buddy eventually came strolling up the pathway, dressed in a white shirt, dark jeans, and sneakers. Chiaki brightened up the moment she saw him.
"Glad you could make it," Chiaki said.
"Y-yeah, h-hey," the person in front of her stuttered.
"What's the matter?" Chiaki asked.
"I'm still not sure about this, Chiaki. I mean, are you sure you want to walk around the tournament with…me? I mean, you're Hope's Peak's Ultimate Gamer and me…well…I'm a nobody."
"Hajime," Chiaki said with a sigh. She walked up to the young man and gave him a friendly hug. "Don't say that," she said. "I want to spend time with you." She let go of him and held up her index finger in a sophisticated manner. "It doesn't matter if I'm an ultimate and you're a reserve student. In Duel Monsters," she said, fanning her hand out towards him, "All that matters is one question: can you duel? And if you're standing here, that means you can." Chiaki smiled, hand over her chest, "I was really happy when you said you got in and more happy when you said we could hang out together during the tournament. So, let's not waste any more time. Let's get out there and have some fun!" Chiaki exclaimed, giving Hajime an award winning smile.
Hajime seemed to become a little relaxed at Chiaki's reassuring words. "Well, if it's all right with you, then it's all right with me too. I'll follow your lead."
Chiaki laughed. "That's the spirit," she turned around and jogged away, encouraging Hajime to follow her. "Come on!"
Hajime followed after her. I'm really thankful you asked me to spend today with you, Chiaki. After all…it will likely be the last time we get to spend time like this. So, no matter what happens, I just want you to know that I'll always be grateful that, no matter how temporary, I was able…to call you a friend.
(A/N: And like that the tournament begins! And no, I didn't forget about Fuyuhiko, Nagito, Peko and Ibuki. They're uh…they're around. …You'll see. I'll try to write shorter chapters for this series purely for the sake of brevity like a 30-minute anime episode. Next chapter will be the first duel in the story and I would like to remind everyone of something when I write: if it happened in canon and it's not changed, I'm not re-writing it. By that I mean that, at this point, Yugi's duel with Seeker has already happened and none of his duels will change in any capacity.
And for those of you trying to figure out when this is happening in the Danganronpa timeline, Yukizome has already become Class 77-B's teacher, but this is before Natsumi's death, which means Makoto isn't yet attending Hope's Peak academy. And if you're wondering why a hotel room, it's because he lives further away from Domino City than regular transport would allow in order to get to the tournament on time. You'll see other members of Class 78, but I would hate to spoil more than I already have.
Anyway, the pilot for this story has only just begun, suspense plot and intrigue are out in the open and I hope you will continue to enjoy this story and as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)