So, new fic. Here goes nothing.
Danganronpa spoilers ahead, consider yourself warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danganronpa or any of the characters involved. I also have no connection to Nickelback, nor their song 'Savin Me'.
Makoto Naegi woke up.
While normally this wouldn't be a fact worth noting, in this instance it was something that caused him a great deal of confusion. When had he...?
Wiping at his eyes and releasing a groan he looked down at his lap.
He was sat at a desk, a school desk his tired mind clarified. He stared at it for a moment before his gaze caught a small puddle of drool in the middle.
Did I… That's embarrassing…
Making a mental note to clean up his mess later he turned his attention to the other thing currently on his desk.
It was a small piece of paper. A pamphlet if he was being generous. Incredibly generous. It looked as though it had been constructed by a toddler, complete with crayon lines that seemed to be trying to escape the shapes they were drawn into. Also featured in crayon were a couple of sentences.
'The next semester is about to start. Starting today this school will be your entire world.'
School..? Oh! Hope's Peak!
That was right, how could be forget? Despite the fact that is was just a completely average high school student, he had managed to be accepted into the most prestigious school in Japan. Hope's Peak Academy. Even if he had only got in by complete chance...
Shaking his head to stop himself from going too far off track his attention once more turned to the pamphlet.
What does it mean by 'your entire world'? And why do those words unnerve me so much?
Lifting his head to look at his surroundings, he noticed that he appeared to be in a classroom of sort.
Guess that would explain the desk. He thought before his eyes widened in panic. Wait did I fall asleep in class?
Wait, that couldn't be right. He certainly would have remembered meeting both his new teacher and classmates at the very least. In fact when he thought about it the last thing he could remember was coming into Hope's Peak ready for orientation before… before he…
His head was killing him. Did he collapse before someone had brought him here to recover?
But if that was the case, why was he all alone? Surely someone would have waited for him to wake up.
His sense of unease growing he turned to his left to see, instead of the windows that he would have expected… giant metal plates? Stumbling a little as he stood he slowly walked over to them, giving them an experimental pull but it didn't even budge.
What's going on…? How...? Where? WHY?
With his mind racing through questions, and his sense of panic only rising when he realised he didn't know the answer to any of them, he started to frantically move towards the door on the other side of the room. Scrambling to distract himself from the situation he had found himself in he briefly caught sight of a clock on the wall, just as it ticked over to eight o'clock. Didn't he arrive at ten past seven? Had he been out for nearly an hour? Longer? What if he-
He just needed to find someone, his mind rationalised, then I can get some answers…
Making his way into the hallway he stopped as he heard the sound of muffled voices from somewhere further down. Oh thank goodness. With a smile on his face (as there was no need to make a bad, or well an even worse, first impression) he made his way towards them, noting the oddly coloured doors he passed along the way.
If this is Hope's Peak it's not really how I imagined it…
Pushing open the double doors in front of him he came to a scene that caused his smile to freeze.
Inside there were a group of teenagers, each of them dressed and styled in a wide selection of colours. Presumably they were students, like him. He recognised most of them immediately thanks to the research he had done before hand, though there were a few exceptions.
Behind them there was what appeared to be a vault, kind of like you'd see in a bank which, in addition to the bolted up windows he saw earlier, painted an even more worrying picture of the situation they all had found themselves in.
Upon his entrance many of his classmates(?) spoke up, releasing comments ranging from them merely acknowledging his arrival, to scolding his tardiness (Which he found slightly unfair as it wasn't his fault he was late. Probably.)
But none of these factors were what he focused on.
Instead his eyes were drawn to the impossible sight of the fourteen golden numbers he saw floating over all of their heads.
1,813,805,564
"H-Hey are you e-even listening to me!"
Wait, what was going on? Trying to tear his eyes away from the numbers that were lazily floating above the girl in front of him Makoto stuttered out a response.
"H-Huh?"
1,813,805,557
"Y-You weren't! I know I said that you wouldn't remember my n-name but for you to ignore me entirely..."
"Hold on! I'm sorry that I zoned out for a moment there, but I promise I do remember your name." Seeing that the girl was about to bite out a retort he quickly continued, "You're Toko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writing Prodigy."
"O-oh… Maybe you were listening…" Toko stuttered out before fidgeting and pressing her fingers together.
Taking the break in conversation in stride Makoto's eyes once more flicked up to the numbers over the girl's head.
1,813,805,532
It's some sort of… countdown? But it's not like a clock, the whole thing seems to be in seconds…
"S-Stop ignoring me!" Toko yelled pointing her finger into her face. It didn't last long though before she shrunk back from the attention multiple people were now giving her as a result of her volume. She waited for their attention to divert before continuing. "Just because you think I'm u-ugly-"
"N-No that's not at all what I was-" He stuttered, cutting himself off before he could accidentally insult her even more. Seeing that she was about to speak he raised his hand to hers sheepishly before continuing to speak. "I'm sorry. I think that… I hit my head earlier! So my brain's a bit fuzzy at the moment. I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student."
Toko stared at the hand, seemingly unsure what to do with it. Makoto shuffled slightly but kept the hand firm to try and make up for his absent mindedness before.
Toko's gaze snapped to his and Makoto tried as hard as he could to resist the urge to look back at the girl's numbers. Toko was staring into his eyes, likely looking for any sign of deceit in his previous words. Thankfully, while Makoto knew himself to be an extremely poor liar he was not entirely doing so here. His head really was swimming.
Slowly Toko's hand crept towards his but, abruptly her face flushed (though whether it was due to anger or embarrassment he wasn't sure) and the hand was quickly withdrawn.
"J-Just leave me alone…" And with that the girl skulked away.
"It was nice to meet you…" He said to Toko's retreating figure, though if she'd actually heard it she offered no sign.
Just as Makoto turned his attention away from Toko a boisterous voice rang out from behind him. "Excuse me, may I have your attention?" When he turned to face the male he continued, "I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!"
1,231,039
Makoto stammered out an introduction to the Ultimate Moral Compass, raising a hand in greeting. This time it was enthusiastically accepted and as his hand was almost crushed Makoto's thoughts turned to what he had just seen.
Why does Taka's countdown end so much… sooner?
Makoto waited patiently for Taka to finish talking, making sure not to repeat the same mistake he made with Toko, before he asked the most pressing question on his mind.
"Taka can you… Do you see anything floating above anyone's head?"
"I beg your pardon? Is this some sort of prank?" If anything, Taka seemed furious at this idea. "How dare you try and-"
"Taka please." He knew it was rude to cut him off like that but he really needed this answered.
Sensing his sincerity Taka's gaze swept around the room. "What am I looking for?"
"Just… anything that shouldn't be there."
"Then no! Unless you count that so called hair style that delinquent has over there!"
"HEY, what the FUCK did you say about my hair you bastard?!"
"Ah, my apologies Makoto but it appears I should take care of this." And with that Taka walked over to the imposing figure on the other side of the room, raising his volume to match.
"It was nice to meet you too." Makoto muttered to himself. He had known it was a long shot to ask someone but he had still hoped…
"That you weren't the only one seeing this... thing?"
"Exactly." Makoto sighed. "Wait-"
Spinning on his heel he met a head full of blue hair he hadn't seen in years.
"How did you-"
321,624
"Didn't you know Makoto? I'm psychic!"
321,622
"Just kidding! I just have really good intuition!" Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation reassured him, mistaking his horrified expression.
321,617
It's… so low. Even Taka's much smaller timer was over one million. What does it mean?
"Are you okay Makoto? You look really… worried."
The direct question was enough for him to snap out of it. Momentarily. "Y-Yeah, sorry. I think I just hit my head earlier. It's…" He trailed off. He really didn't want to seem too weird so he just shook his head. "Nothing. Wait, how did you know about-"
"Well it was hard to miss your reaction when you first entered the room." Releasing a brief giggle into her hand Sayaka continued to speak, "You were so out of it I don't think you heard that we were even doing introductions!"
I suppose that explains why the first person I met was Toko. She doesn't exactly seem like the… social type but if everyone else had already paired up…
"Speaking of introductions…" With a smile on her face that had him flushing all over again Sayaka spoke, "Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!"
Makoto was about to do the same before he thought back on everything Sayaka had said so far and frowned. "Hold on, I didn't introduce myself, so how did you know my name?"
While he may have remembered Sayaka from their time together in Middle School, he was just an ordinary kid. There was no way she remembered him was there?
This time it was Sayaka who blushed slightly, offering him a bashful little smile. "O-Oh well you're Makoto Naegi right?" When she received a small, stunned nod from him she continued. "We went to the same Middle School didn't we?"
"Y-Yeah, Sixth Black Root right?" He asked flusteredly.
"That's right!" Sayaka enthusiastically confirmed. "I'm glad you remember!"
While Makoto was glad to share a smile with the idol (and he made a mental note to try and do it more often with the girl in the foreseeable future) he still had some pressing questions about what he was actually seeing.
"Hey Sayaka… You don't see anything weird above my head do you?"
Thankfully not asking any questions, Sayaka raised a hand to her chin in thought before her line of sight raised to rest above his head. He couldn't help himself from risking a glance at her numbers in turn.
321,565
"Hmm... Nope, sorry Makoto! Unless of course you mean your cute little ahoge!"
In spite of the disappointment he felt Makoto couldn't help feeling his cheeks heat up in response to her words (and releasing a quick yelp when her hand raised to touch the point).
"W-What are you doing?"
"Ah…" Withdrawing his hand from over the petite programmer in front of him Makoto made a note of the fact that the numbers were completely intangible. His hand went straight through them without even the slightest bit of warmth or discomfort.
755,740
He had decided to conduct this experiment with Chihiro for a very simple reason. Embarrassingly she was the only one of his classmates that he was actually taller than.
Though considering she already looked like she was about to cry Makoto decided it was probably best not to say this to her, admittedly cute, face.
"Mr Naegi, your eyes appear to be looking at something over my head, are you perhaps in possession of the power of the gamer?"
"Ah no... Sorry Hifumi."
"A shame. I was hoping to finally know what level I currently am, I suppose I'll just have to find out by myself one day!"
1,242,941
"Though I can't help but notice you did in fact recognise my reference! Mr Naegi how well versed are you in the world of 2D?"
"Oh, well you see my little sister…"
"Um, Hiro?"
"What's up Makato?"
"Could you… smooth your hair back for a second?"
"Err, why?"
Unsure how to explain to Hiro how his wild mass of hair was so large that it actually obscured his timer Makoto merely kept up a hopeful expression until Hiro did as he asked.
1,701,775,453
"Wait a second… is this some kind of occult thing? Are you after my organs?!"
Makoto released a sigh.
Half listening to Leon's declaration of how he was going to launch his new music career while at Hope's Peak Makoto once more took a look at the golden numbers above his head.
351,072
It's barely any higher than Sayaka's… Is it how long it'll take for them to achieve their dreams? He asked himself hopefully.
But as Leon started to say that the only reason he was getting into music was for an attractive girl he had seen recently he disregarded the idea. Leon didn't really strike him as the… committed type.
Now stood in front of the Ultimate Swimmer (who had asked for him to call her Hina) Makoto could only marvel at the thing that immediately drew his eye.
Huge… It must be the biggest yet...
"...Makoto… Naegi… Okay, I think I got it! Wait a second… Where do you think you're looking mister?" The girl asked with a pout.
With a final look Makoto returned his gaze to Hina's face. "Sorry I just… didn't want to distract you?" He said uncertainty.
Hina kept up her pouty expression for a few seconds longer before it was replaced with a smile.
"Aw that's okay Makoto! I've had people look in worse places!" She cheerfully waved off. "But I'm not getting any kinda creepy vibe from you so I don't really mind!"
"Oh, thank you?" Makoto said, his eyes briefly returning to the number above her head.
1,972,148,031
It's a bit sad to hear but when she looks as... attractive as this I can sort of understand it… He thought distractedly.
"E-Eh? W-What did you say?"
It was with a blush and a stammer that Makoto realised he had just said that last thought out loud.
782,224
Mondo seemed like a nice enough guy. A bit blunt, but it could have been a lot worse considering his talent.
Though Makoto made sure not to make any comments about the guy's hair. It was a… touchy subject.
"The Ultimate Lucky Student hmm? Perhaps we could engage in a match some time."
"I don't mind." Makoto began, though his eyes quickly widened. "B-But just for fun right? No money involved?"
Celeste merely let out a deceptively cute titter.
1,250,959
"Um... could I-"
"No."
It was only just before the heir moved away that Makoto managed to read his number.
1,935,333,251
As Sakura spoke more of a training routine she could implement for him Makoto craned his neck to look at the number above her daunting figure.
1,596,673
She seems to have the largest countdown here, of anyone who isn't ten figures long anyway. Just what do these numbers mean? I have to figure it out! He vowed, nodding his head in agreement to his final thought.
"Excellent, I'm glad you accept. I look forward to exercising alongside you Makoto."
Wait. What?!
343,446
Another one that ends much sooner in comparison to everyone else. In fact, he speculated, doing a quick recap over everyone's number so far, her's will be the second one to reach zero after Sayaka…
Shaking off his thoughts Makoto returned his focus to Junko just in time to hear her rant about a nightmare photoshoot she had experienced recently.
Releasing a snort of laughter, Makoto watched as Junko's smile softened, becoming slightly less plastic in response.
Who asks someone to make poses based on spaghetti? He wondered, shaking his head with mirth.
"Are you..."
Trailing off uncertainty when Kyoko's iron mask of a face refused to let anything slip Makoto recalled exactly what he had spotted over her lavender coloured head.
2,087,491,052
Two… billion?
Makoto may not be the best at maths, especially without any paper to write his workings, but two billion seconds must be a really long time, right?
What could all these different numbers possibly be counting down to?
"And that's everyone!" Taka's voice rang out from somewhere to his left. "Though I can't believe it took us all so long just to introduce ourselves! May I remind you that orientation was supposed to begin at eight!"
It was true, in the end it had taken them almost half an hour. Though with fourteen students to speak to, each of them with vastly contrasting personalities a part of Makoto was thankful it wasn't much longer.
Ignoring Byakuya's scoff that had sounded after Taka's words, Kyoko was the next to speak. "It may have taken a while, but don't you think someone should have come looking for us by now?"
"Indeed." Sakura spoke. "We should have seen someone."
"What is going on here?" Hifumi fretted.
Just as he was about to reassure the larger male the screen behind them all turned on and a cheerful voice soon rang out.
"Ahem! Ahem, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then….!"
"What the fuck?"
"Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at…..right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That's all. I'll be waiting!"
Without a word Byakuya spun on his heel and began making his way out of the room. A couple other students followed, though not without expressing their shock.
Makoto however was frozen. The voice had been bright, cheerful… and only worked to unnerve him more. He didn't know what it was but that voice terrified him.
By the time he had snapped out of it nearly everyone was making their way out of the double doors. Looking around he saw only Sayaka, waiting patiently with a smile.
"Ready to go Makoto?"
Slowly nodding in agreement the two of them followed some of the slower students down to the gym.
Is it some sort of soulmates timer? He thought with a blush, It probably would explain why Byakuya's was so high...
Just before they entered his attention turned to the glass display case sitting outside.
Peering into it he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He still looked pretty tired and his hair was even more mussed than usual. But the thing that most got his attention?
The empty air above his head.
Exactly seven minutes forty three seconds later Makoto realised he somehow felt even worse than he had before.
Then again considering exactly what he had just heard during that time it was a miracle he was still standing.
The only positive thing he could find is that there weren't any numbers floating over the bear's head as well.
In front of him many of his classmates were expressing their thoughts on their situation, their numbers, still counting down at a constant rate (though now that be focused on a few at a time not all of them were synced with one another), he noticed that many of them were partially obscured to him if they were stood at an angle or, in the case of Chihiro (who was stood directly in front of him facing forwards), the back of the numbers were facing him, making them much harder to decipher.
It seemed the numbers were only projected in the direction people were facing instead of just being displayed to him.
Two minutes (thirty eight seconds) later everyone had finished looking over the rules at Kyoko's suggestion. Soon after (another one minute twenty three seconds) everyone had decided to split up to help search the school in case there was anything they could use to help them escape.
Unfortunately as a cause of Mondo's hair trigger and, well, Byakuya it seemed that this idea had already hit a wall.
"I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Before Mondo could fulfill that threat, Makoto ran up and stood between the two. "S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!"
"What the fuck did you say to me? Are you defending this bastard?"
"N-No I just…" His words failing him in the face of such a large threat Makoto's eyes nervously flicked around before coming to a rest on the now common sight of the golden numbers over the biker's head.
780,982
"You little shit! The least you could do is look me in the eye when you say something like that!"
Just as Makoto realised his mistake and began to think that maybe getting between the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader and the target of his ire was a bad idea a fist raced towards his chin.
The last thing he saw was the golden glow of the numbers above Mondo's head before his eyes closed and he felt himself falling backwards.
Y'ello everyone, thanks for stopping by.
I've had this idea for a while and really wanted to get it out. So I did, and it didn't take me three months! Yay.
So this Makoto has somehow ended up with a countdown to everyone's death floating above their head. How? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's not important though so feel free to make up your own theories. How will it affect the killing game though? Welllllllllllll...
As mentioned in the summary this concept is based on the music video for the Nickelback song 'Savin Me'. I haven't actually listened to the song though so try not to judge me either way for it. If it helps you can imagine it as Makoto having Shinigami eyes from Death Note, just without the added name bonus.
Please let me know what you thought of this new prologue, and if you'd like to see more! Feel free to leave your thoughts, help me make this fic as good as it can be!
Also please check out my profile for my other works too, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Until the next time!