Chapter 1: Chisa's Campaign, Chiaki's Contemplations

Hope's Peak Academy

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Noon Time

Chisa Yukizome saw the boy known as Hajime Hinata, a Reserve Course student, laying on a bench in the courtyard. She assumed that this was not the first time that he had done this sort of lounging around, and right now, he looked like he'd been laying down for some time now if his relaxed body was anything to go by. His face was one that had a look of deep thought, and the frown made it seek like things weren't going well.

Today, she had decided to see him before going to meet up with her class. There was something about him that was familiar to her. Although she couldn't claim to know him well, she had deduced from what she had seen and researched that his behavior was that of a stern young man who looked down on himself. Reserve Course students had no outstanding talents, and when she had recognized his uniform and identified him as being part of the Reserve Course, he had reluctantly acknowledged his status. He seemed to treat his supposed inadequacy as something to be ashamed of.

Chisa could only guess that for some reason that Hajime looked up to the main course students, and no doubt wanted to be one of them, and if that was the only thing he had going for him, the assistant homeroom teacher would not have thought too much of him; many had his mindset, and although she wasn't a snob when it came to her talent, she did acknowledge that people with innate talent had a head start in the world.

It wasn't Hajime Hinata's talent, or lack thereof. It was his characteristics, his personality that drew her to him. He reminded her of the man of her affections in many ways. Plus, he was friends with Chiaki, so two points in his favor.

It was more than enough for her to want to know more.

"Hajime Hinata." Chisa leaned over and announced her presence.

Hajime reacted abruptly by briefly crying out and sitting up. She shifted her eyes to note his tense posture and alert face. She made a mental note to herself that he was a bit timid, a sign that he needed to work on confidence.

"M-Miss Yukizome." Hajime shakily acknowledged her. "P-please don't do that again."

"Well, if you weren't taking a nap on a bench on this perfect day, then I would have no reason to jump-scare you." She said while grinning. "You don't get friends and forge memories by being alone."

"Well doesn't that make two of us then?" Hajime recovered, questioning her and stared back in challenge. "You're here and not with your class."

Defensive, are we? Her mind noted.

"I thought I'd have a talk with you." She claimed all the while giving her best smile. "Seeing that you've got no one right now, I think you can indulge me.

"Yeah, sure." Hajime accepted, though he sounded unsure. "But what would you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, about why you came here, for starters." Chisa took a seat next to him. "So you came to Hope's Peak High, but why?"

The student cast a look at the ground, and as the teacher watched him, she noted that his face was even, albeit serious. He already knew his answer, she realized, and yet he he didn't appear happy about his reason.

"Some of the best people in Japan and even the world come from Hope's Peak High." Hajime answered as he looked to the sky. "More than anything, I've always wanted to know that I can do something impressive, that I can do something important that has true meaning to people."

"And that's why you came to Hope's Peak High?" Chisa questioned, her interest now rising. "You do know that there are plenty of schools out there who have witnessed some of the best that Mankind has to offer."

"Sure, that's true, but Hope's Peak High is an exceptional school." Hajime interjected with his own reasoning. "The school has cranked out more impressive people in one year than others can do in ten."

"So you want to be talented." Chisa picked up instantly on what his focus was on. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, but that's the problem." He clenched his teeth lightly. "I don't have any talent. I'm an empty cup, which makes me sometimes question why I came here."

"Well clearly, you thought you could change yourself, and that's a start." She conveyed to the boy. "But you know, talent isn't the end of the game. It's only a start. Some people have talent and waste it while others don't have talent and succeed."

"There is that." He conceded.

"So maybe you weren't born with talent," she continued, "But that doesn't mean you can't excel at something."

He said nothing, but his eyes told her that she had his attention if nothing else, so she pressed her advantage.

"You said that you're an empty cup. So why not take that cup and fill it with something that you can learn to become the best at?"

"Miss Yukizome?" Hajime tilted his head.

"The way I see it, you've got an advantage that everyone else doesn't have." Chisa looked at the garden that surrounded them. "You're free to choose what you want to do in life. Yes, it is true the main course students have talent, but they're restricted in a way. That talent is why they're here, and sadly, it may be the only reason."

"..." He only regarded her, having no words.

"The only real problem that you have is self-confidence issues." She commented, poking him in the arm. "If you were able to fix that and find something you like to do, then maybe life wouldn't be so bleak."

"..." He let out a light chuckle.

"What?" Chisa looked to him. "What did I say?"

"Nothing." Hajime regained control, though he had a trace of a smile. "You just said some things that Chiaki told me too, about talent not being the endgame, about me having the freedom to choose."

"There you go." Chisa beamed at hearing her student's name. "You should consider yourself lucky, Mister Hinata. You've got an alumni and a student from the main course looking out for you."

"I wouldn't say that." Hajime voiced. "But… thank you anyways. I… really appreciate it."

"If you ever need more advice, then ask away. I'll be happy to help. Better yet, ask Chiaki. That girl is smarter than she lets on." Chisa stood up and faced him brightly. "You know, for a Reserve Course student, you're not half bad company."

"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." Hajime perked up at this. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"Count on it." She gave him a thumbs-up. "And don't let the main course students frighten you. They may be unusual, but they're people just like you and me."

With a final exchange of goodbyes, Chisa began to make her way to her classroom, eager to see her students, but still keeping her conversation with Hajime in mind.

From this talk, she'd managed to get a better grasp on the boy. She still maintained that he was a pessimist, but not quite as much as she had initially believed. Underneath all of that there was a boy who just wanted to shine, and she understood his desire. If he was so conflicted, then no doubt he was hearing conflicting opinions on his life choices. It might be better to say that he was caught in an intersection with multiple ways and no way to know which way was right for him.

Hopefully, she had given him a push in a direction that he wanted.

Also, the way he spoke about Chiaki indicated that he valued the relationship with the gamer girl. As the homeroom teacher to the Super High School Level Gamer, Chisa knew that Chiaki was spending more of her time with Hajime. On paper, that was not significant, but the fact that Chiaki chose to spend time with Hajime, a Reserve Course student, out of her own free will spoke to a strong connection.

Still, a single conversation wasn't enough to get the best image of Hajime Hinata. There were still too many unknowns that had to be figured out. There was a possibility that his own perception of himself had warped the truth, and she needed a clear image of what he was capable of before deciding what he was and what he was not. That would take time, but she had already started on the path, and she intended to see it through.

"Between my real reason for being here, my class, and Hajime, this is going to be tough." Chisa muttered in contemplation. "But you don't get anywhere in life without some sort of hardship, so play ball, I say."

Chisa wondered what her class was doing right now. So far for the past two weeks, their behavior was all over the place. With all of the personalities mixed into Class 77-B, the scenarios that could occur were plentiful and unique, and not for the first time, the former Super High School Level Housekeeper wondered what she would be seeing today when she walked through the doorway.

She also thought about her research that Kyosuke needed. For some reason, he suspected that Hope's Peak High School was hiding something from the public, and if that was the case, then it had to be something big, and likely something bad. That left a bad taste in the mouth. Hope's Peak High was a beacon of hope. To think that said hope was tainted…

Hope - - - Despair

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Noon Time

What an interesting teacher. She was such an upbeat and positive one. How she did it he had no idea, but he was almost envious of her energy.

She must be able to connect with people easily, he considered.

Hajime Hinata watched as Miss Yukizome left, leaving him to his own thoughts once more. Her company was certainly more energetic than he was used to expecting from one person, but it wasn't unwelcome in his eyes. It did make him question a few things.

"Why does she care so much about me?" He asked himself, his hands laced together in front of him. "What does she see in me?"

She had graduated from Hope's Peak. That instantly made her someone amazing in his eyes. He would have to ask her what her talent was, but maybe the answer was in front of him. She dressed like she was a housekeeper. Did that mean she was an Ultimate Housekeeper? It didn't matter that it sounded like a lackluster talent; if the academy recognized it, then it was a worthy talent.

"Well, even if that is her talent, as unbelievable as that sounds, she's an alumni." Hajime reminded himself. "That automatically makes her awesome no matter how you slice it."

"Chisa Yukizome." A familiar voice said. "Now there's one that won't ever lose her energy no matter what happens."

Hajime turned his head to see the former Headmaster of Hope's Peak. Kazuo Tengan was a legend in virtually all ways. The man's reputation was spotless and if one took a look at all the things he'd accomplished in his lifetime, it would not be hard to give respect to the man. His appearance was hardly a proper means of discerning who he truly was, though the old man was content to be humble with his accomplishments.

"Mister Tengan." Hajime nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Did you… did you hear all that, sir?"

"Only the last part." Kazuo Tengan assured the young man. "Do you mind making room for an old man?"

"Of course not, sir." Hajime immediately complied with the request. "Please sit."

Even as the elderly man took a seat, conversation didn't start immediately, but the Reserve Course student was certain that there was more than enough to talk about. It was sometimes hard for Hajime to believe that he could talk to this man one-on-one. Most students, Reserve Course and Main Course, wouldn't be able to have such a chance.

"So have you made a decision about whether to accept or not?" Mister Tengan asked the question that was expected.

"I… I don't know what to say, sir." Hajime replied honestly. "I thought it would be a clear-cut thing for me, but…"

"I take it that Miss Yukizome's words have made an impact?"

"They have, and now that I think about them, it makes me wonder why I didn't think about them before."

"Well, you're young. You've got your whole life ahead of you." Tengan leaned back into the bench. "If I'm being honest, the project is not something I support."

"Really?" That came as a surprise to Hajime. "Why not?"

"Hope is something that comes on its own." Tengan explained his thought process. "For as long as Humans have existed, we've made many things ourselves. By extension, we also make our own hope."

"I understand, sir. It's just…" Hajime sighed. "Hope's Peak is all about talent and not having talent makes me feel like... I don't truly belong here. Having no talent makes me feel... useless."

"You shouldn't feel that way." Mister Tengan opined casually. "There's no shame in normalcy. If talent is what solely defines who we are, then Humans would be not be a strong as they are."

"Then what should I do, sir?" Hajime almost thought he was begging. "My heart tells me one thing, my mind tells me another, and everyone tells me something else."

"Do what you want." Tengan told the teenager as if he knew the question already. "Listen to others for opinions, but remember that this is your life, not theirs."

"I see." Hajime had heard these words many times.

He recalled Chiaki's words as well as Miss Yukizome's. Talent wasn't the end all be all. So both of them said, but was it true?

"Mister Tengan?" Hajime just thought of something. "Is it possible for Ultimates to be selected to come to Hope's Peak even if their talent is discovered much later than normal."

"It's not something that happens often." Tengan stroked his beard. "But it's possible. I've approved students that have been in the same circumstance you spoke of. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Hajime gathered his courage. "The way I see things now, I can do anything if I set my mind to it, so becoming a skilled person might be the way to go."

"Ah, I think I understand." Tengan replied softly. "However, what you propose will be a difficult task. To convince the staff in Hope's Peak High that you're worthy of being transferred to the main course…"

"It was just a thought, and I haven't even laid out a basic overall plan." Hajime already felt frustration at his own idea. "I want to be hopeful, but I get the feeling that people will think I'm overstepping my bounds."

A pause.

"It seems that you have a choice to make." Tengan finalized. "Partake in the project, return to normalcy, or prove that you can stand on par with the ultimates."

Three choices, all of them full of pros and cons. This was not a decision to be made without some deliberation.

"I understand," the Reserve Course student said, "I'll have an answer by the deadline. I need more time to figure out what I want."

"By all means." The old man rose from his place on the bench. "Just make sure you're able to deal with whatever may come your way once you make a choice."

"Yes, sir." Hajime stood up and bowed in respect. "I thank you for your time."

"It was no trouble, Mister Hinata." Tengan smiled. "After all, you are the future, just like every other teenager out there. I won't be around much longer, so I must impart wisdom whenever people are willing to listen. Also, there is something I should remind you: in order to be accepted into the main course, two requirements must be fulfilled. You must be enrolled in high school and you must excel in the area of your choosing."

"That's right." Hajime knew this, yet he'd forgotten about it. "Thank you Mister Tengan."

Remembering that had class to attend, Hajime checked his uniform to make sure there were no blatantly obvious imperfections before walking to the Reserve Course building. Along the way, he passed by other students whose faces were familiar to him. He didn't wave or say hi to anyone. Really, this was just like what a normal highschool life felt like. If he were to compare Hope's Peak's Reserve Course, it would be almost the same compared to Kodaka High School in terms of the atmosphere.

Even the looks people gave him.

He had history next, and he was more than ready for the class. Although he didn't consider himself talented, he did commit himself to his work. This was the best school in all of Japan. If he didn't do his best, then he was wasting the opportunity given to him by his parents. Although there were a lot of pages to read, the dark-haired boy felt confident that his notes, as limited as they appeared, caught the really important things.

As he flipped through the notes, he quickly took in the information and tried to remember what each one meant, summarizing each point as best he could without thinking about it too much. His mind was not completely focused on his notes though.

He balanced all of the choices for his future.

The Izuru Kamukura Project would ensure him a spot in the main course, and it was oh-so tempting, yet it was an easy path; all he had to do was agree and he would be an ultimate because of experimentation and not because of his own skills.

Returning to a normal high school, while not a choice he wanted to make, was one he had to consider. He was a realist, and he knew his parents couldn't keep paying for him to stay in the Reserve Course forever. The costs were very high.

Trying to convince Hope's Peak High that he was worthy enough to transfer into the main course felt like an impossible goal, but being able to do so would mean that he could do something amazing by himself and without aid.

Once he got out of classes for the day, he would have more time to think.

"Alright, class has started. Take your seats."

Hajime flipped his page to a blank one and got out his pencil and reoriented his mind. The next test was probably going to be some time next week, so he had to make sure he payed extra attention.

Despair - - - Hope

Friday, July 16, 2010

Afternoon

Chiaki held her controller in determination. This was her element, and she intended to give it her all here. Her title as the Super High School Level Gamer wasn't for nothing.

She made a leap just as Nekomaru charged to attack her. The attack was predictable given the limited space of the arena being fought in. She had fought more than enough people to know when to take the bait and when to retreat.

"Haha!" Akane couldn't help but laugh in joy. "Take that!"

"Your attacks are impressive, but I am still alive and fighting." Gundam kept focus as he fought. "Beware of my power."

"Keep talking, skunk head!" Nekomaru chided back. "I'll wipe the floor with you!"

Although her focus was on the game, Chiaki couldn't help but hear her classmates as they teased and dissed each other in a friendly manner. This sort of atmosphere was nice, more so than she expected. Multiplayer was always more interesting than playing against the AI. Humans were more capable of surprising things in her experience and honest opinion. Even with the world full of sore losers and cheaters and other ugly characters in the gaming world, playing with people was more fun than going solo.

"On your left!" Akane called to Chiaki, who responded. "You go, girl!"

"Hey, no helping!" Nekomaru grilled the gymnast girl. "The Ultimate Gamer doesn't need help right now!"

"I second that." Gundam spoke while concentrating. "This is her dimension, and we're all recent arrivals."

"Says you, crazy man." Akane grinned a little more. "There's no rule saying that!"

Okay, maybe Chiaki wasn't quite used to the chatter. Gaming didn't require having to have direct contact with anyone, but then again they were an odd bunch to begin with. The diversity of personalities within class 77-B was enough for her to initially shy away from them all. As she had said to Ryota the previous day, there was no multiplayer vibe.

How wrong had she been, and she was glad she was wrong. This was undoubtedly more fun than going solo.

Gundam and Nekomaru continued to bicker lightly at each other as they fought for dominance of the diminutive playing field. Akane's play style reflected her go-getter attitude, thus making her somewhat easy to anticipate for Chiaki. Gundam was more strategic. Nekomaru was being... Nekomaru for lack of a better term of phrase.

"Hey's what's going on in here?" The voice of Miss Yukizome was vaguely in the background.

Chiaki decided against listening to the background conversations in favor of continuing to play the game.

"Akane, above." Chiaki called out.

"Whoa there, gorilla." Akane barely heeded the warning. "Trying to get the drop on me? Nice try, but not good enough."

"I WILL GET YOU EVENTUALLY." Nekomaru boomed as he usually did. "MARK MY WORDS, YOU CAN'T KEEP THIS UP FOREVER."

"You have let your guard down." Gundam blindsided him from seemingly out of nowhere. "Now begone from this tournament!"

Nekomaru's avatar was blasted off the screen without warning, leaving him with no more lives.

"HAHA!" Akane laughed at this turn of events. "Serves you right."

"This was merely practice." Nekomaru adopted a grumpy tone. "I will persevere next time."

"I hope that you had fun all the same." Chiaki decided now was the time to jump in. "It's so much fun to play with other people."

"Have no fear." Nekomaru recovered quickly. "I did indeed have fun."

That made her feel just a little better. Maybe she could be friends with these classmates of hers after all.

Hope - - - Despair

Friday, July 16, 2010

Afternoon

Strangely enough, watching her other classmates play had its own sort of entertainment. She could more accurately gauge strategies and tactics by watching them play the more coordinated game laced with a bit of luck.

And speaking of luck, Nagito was playing, and boy was his luck making the game all the more interesting. Honestly, Chiaki had never see results like these before. She doubted there was a bug of glitch in the game, so the Super High School Level Luckster must be just getting his usual dosage of luck, good and bad.

"Ah yeah, just look at how awesome I am." Kazuichi proudly showed off. "There's just no stopping me and my awesomeness."

"I wouldn't flaunt for long." Nagito remained calm as he always did. "The game is still afoot."

"We've still got a ways to go before victory is certain." Teruteru interjected into the banter. "Don't be so quick to think winning is that easy."

"But it's still fun to do this." Fuyuhiko smirked madly. "Eat my dust!"

The Super High School Level Gangster gained dominance, leaving the other three players to consider their position.

"Okay, that is so not fair." Kazuichi lamely moaned.

Chiaki took felt a smile upon her face. It was almost as fun to hear her classmates playfully take shots at each other. Maybe they were closer to being friends than even she realized. If she had known that she could bring them all together by playing games with them, then she would've done this sooner.

The gamer girl checked the clock and

"Fairness is a far-fetched ideal." Nagito said in his own special way. "But I understand not wanting to lose. Take heart, friend. At least you're not the only one hurting now, and I would rather lose to those above me."

Those words couldn't have come at a more awkward time as Nagito's luck had turned back to the good side.

"How?" The mechanic could only drop his controller. "That should not possible."

"Well, I stand by what I said about fairness." Nagito move to assume damage control. "It would seem that this game is mine for the taking."

Nagito was a strange one. He was talking as if everything in life had some greater purpose, some greater meaning. Video games, while they could be influential works if done right, they weren't really meant to be analyzed and thought-about that much. With a few exceptions to the rule, it was accurate to say that video games served as mere entertainment and its meaning didn't have to go any further.

"My money." The pink-haired boy whined and weeped. "Fate is so cruel. Why?"

"Ah, suck it up, man." Fuyuhiko tried to calm Kazuichi, though he didn't sound any better. "You win some, you lose some."

"There's always next time." Teruteru said, trying to lighten the sour mood.

Despair - - - Hope

Friday, July 16, 2010

Afternoon

Ibuki Mioda could play a mean guitar, but Chiaki noted that she was lacking in racing games despite her claims saying otherwise. They had played three races already and the first three saw the musician in last place each time, usually with humiliating upsets along the way, most of them caused by Hiyoko Saionji. The traditional dancer had more than a little deviousness in her blood.

"This time for sure." Ibuki said as she concentrated. "I won't be last."

"You said that the last three times." Hiyoko snickered as they began the race. "Admit it, you suck at this game."

"I do not suck at this game." Ibuki insisted as she worked the controller. "I just have really bad luck today."

While the musical girl tried to convince every that she could play racing games perfectly fine, she was distracted. Hiyoko took advantage of this and launched a projectile intentionally at Ibuki and knocked her off of course, and the three remaining racers passed.

"Why, Hiyoko?" Ibuki let out some tears. "Whatever did I do to you?"

"Nothing." Hiyoko smirked, making a sharp turn on the map. "But you were in the way."

"Fine, I'll get you." Ibuki. "Okay, back on track. Watch out, because I'm coming for you."

That comment came too soon as she stumbled upon a trap left on the road, one that blew her off the race course again. Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Miss Yukizome just glanced to their left to see what would happen next.

"This is cruel." Ibuki seemed to have lost her resolve. "So cruel."

Hope - - - Despair

Friday, July 16, 2010

Afternoon

"This is more fun that I thought it would be." Mahiru added idly. "Chiaki, you're good at this."

True to the photographer's words, the gamer girl was dominating the field, which sort of was to be expected. As far as she could tell, barring herself, none of the girls playing now had played this game before, but even with that fact they were putting up a decent fight, that much she would admit to.

It had started out in favor of Chiaki, then Mikan quickly turned the table with her chaotic and panicky playing method of laying bombs all over the place. Pretty soon, everyone was taken out of the game.

"Well, okay then." Mahiru didn't know a better thing to say. "That happened."

"Yeah." Chiaki just followed suit.

"Agreed." Sonia was of a like mind.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry." Mikan moved to apologize. "I-I didn't mean to win. I didn't k-know the controls. I-"

"It's okay, Mikan." Mahiru moved to calm the nurse down. "You didn't know what you were doing. None of us did really, except Chiaki, but that can be forgiven."

"Thanks." Chiaki smiled at this. "How about another game?"

They were quick to start a new game, and luckily, Mikan managed to keep it together and actually have some fun playing without fear of being scolded, yelled at, or otherwise negatively spoken to.

By the time food had rolled in courtesy of Teruteru, Chiaki had decided that her time spent with the class was fun.

Miss Yukizome had the right idea about sharing video games with friends. Now that she knew how fun it was to play with others, she began to wonder how many games Hajime would like to play. He did promise to play a few games.

I hope he wants to play.

Although I'm relatively new to the Danganronpa series, I find it's characters and concepts extremely compelling. The characters all have something to offer (provided that they get the chance) and the themes of hope and despair are things that we all have to grasp in real life.

As is my mode of operation, I start with what I hope are faithful adaptations of characters before I do anything out of character. Hajime is my favorite character because I see the same sort of struggles in myself when he talks or thinks, and Chisa, I felt could have had more of a role in the anime, so I'm giving her one. Think of her as a sort of mother figure to Hajime.

Also, there are no definite pairings as of this chapter. At this point in the story, I believe it's safe to say that Hajime and Chiaki aren't romantically invested in each other yet, so who knows? You might see Hajime paired up with someone else.

Finally, because of the nature of this story, I feel it prudent to have a beta reader for ideas and concepts. I trust in myself to know the characters, but having a second opinion is always important in any work you do.

In the meantime, if all of you want to see more chapters more quickly, then favorite, follow, and review. If anyone has ideas they want to share, then leave them in a review.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading.

"Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit."

Aristole