AimeChambers

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

Hibiki had found it quite fascinating to watch the exchange between all of the Ultimates, after all, human emotion could both cloud people's judgment or motivate them to get to the bottom of something. All throughout the trial, Hibiki had been thoughtfully fiddling with something in his pocket. There was, after all, no reason to truly preserve evidence as the campers had no scientific equipment to examine it. A pity really, that his coat would be so thoroughly ruined, but the damage had already been done as Hibiki had hastily threw the object into his pocket, so why not ruin it further?

"So soon...? It seems your stubborn ego has reached its breaking point."

Hibiki slipped the object out of his coat pocket and set it on the rim of his stand.

"T-The fuck Hibiki?!" A slight gagging sound involuntarily came out of his throat as he stared at the dirtied scissors Hibiki had set down. The scissors were covered in blood and what looked to be sand particles. Ryuma had always been a texture guy, and just thinking about touching those gave him the willies. "I thought you were supposed to be helping us for Christ's sake?!"

"I am," Hibiki gave a confused at the Parkourist before he looked over at Aurel and then Hiroki, "I hope this helps."

My Personal Unfinished Business

Name: Rin "Rain" Nakazawa

Talent: Ultimate True Crime Podcaster

Age: 18

Birthday: January 8th

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 117 lbs.

Chest: 34 inch. or 88 cm

Blood Type: AB

Appearance:

Picture

Hometown: Portland, Oregon

Personality: Rin has become almost a hikikomori over the last year or so as he spends all of his time working on his podcasts. Yes, people do like his content, but it has been edited to a T and because of that he's gotta extremely worried about his normally everyday speaking. He dislikes crowds because he has a problem with comparing himself to others and dislikes the sun because his skin burns all too easily. Normally he only likes to go out late evening and even then he only goes around to the parks or the convenience stores. Rin is however absolutely obsessed with True Crime, especially the cold crimes where the suspect is never found.

Social life: Rin has anything but a social life. He only visits his family for the holidays since they decided to move back to Japan after he got out of college and whenever he goes back his native Japanese relatives look at him weird. Rin has a few friends online and millions of subscribers to his podcasts, but otherwise the only people that see him semi-regularly are the employees at his local convenience store.

Inspiration: Originally Rin wanted to be a detective after getting really into detective shows as a kid. But after finding out he'll always have trouble packing extra muscle mass and getting made fun of for his short stature he gave up. After running out of new detective shows, he found out more about True Crime right when the podcasting business was just starting out and ended up growing quite the fanbase from all of his hard work researching.

Treasured Item: His camera. The only times he does go out is when he wants to take pictures. They never show off photos of him or people, but he loves taking pictures of the little things like ants. He especially loves taking pictures of old structures or objects becoming one with nature and vegetation.

Photography

Motivation Food and security. Rin usually doesn't leave his room much and therefore doesn't actually know how to cook and usually starves himself so he doesn't have to go outside. It's really easy to get close to him if you bring him food! While Rin does love learning about murder cases, he's too much of a coward usually to do it himself. If he's gonna murder he has to have a sweet deal on the other side or know that he's 100% going to get away with it.

Likes: Small Animals, Soft Clothing, Sushi

Dislikes: Big Animals, Athletics, Crowds

fav color: White

Reason for Applying to Hope's Peak Academy: Honestly, Rin wasn't expecting much. Yes, the boy knew he was the youngest podcaster to receive over 20 million downloads on his podcasts, but Rin wasn't good at anything else... And he didn't have any connections in the US either. He applied mostly because Hope's Peak is said to set people for life and he was hoping just maybe they could help his physique as well.

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

-Ryuma Hitsugaya-

She answered, oh thank holy fuck she answered. A relieved sigh slipped out of him as he heard her speak, still torn away from true reality. His blood was pumping louder in his ears than the spraying shower, the only real sounds he could hear to stop his incoming heart attack were her words.

Thank. Fucking. God.

Another look at her still made his heart heave, but it was much better than no response at all. A quick spark of recognition forced his mind to realize Snow wasn't his mother and actually pay attention to their surroundings. A second too late he tried to help the white-haired girl up, which he quickly rectified and stood up himself in one quick burst.

As Snow passed by him, he wiped at his forehead and pressed a hand against the wall, trying to get his macabre thoughts under control. After a few precious moments wasted, Ryuma himself started to process the sounds of the other shower. How hadn't he noticed it earlier?

As an answer to Snow's question, Ryuma followed her out and stared at the shower stall in question. He tried for the lock, but heard the loud clink of dead lock against the door frame.

"Hell if I kno-" A panicked thought raced through him. Not all of the campers had arrived at Naomi's cabin before he had left, one could be trapped unconscious inside. Ryuma wouldn't put it past anyone at this point. Slipping into the stall next door, he climbed up to the top rim of the stall and looked down.

"There's something here... ya better take a look," Balancing on the rim, he attempted to unlatch the door, but the Parkour's arm wasn't long enough. Shrugging his shoulders, Ryuma dropped down into the stall, getting soaked and doing his best to avoid the evidence. After turning off the shower he left the stall, moving over to stand by Snow.

"Geez..." Scattered around the stall were tiny shimmering shards swimming in the clogged drain with torn pieces of pink fabric. It wouldn't be like him to recognize the cloth anyway.

---

It was quite the lucky circumstance that Hibiki had at the very least remembered to have slipped on his glasses as he walked over to Naomi's cabin, alas, he had however forgotten his monopad. The Tutor followed the words of the people around him, taking in as much as he could from a non-interaction observer standpoint. The death would have had to have happened long before the Snow Iclyn had woken up, pray tell how she hadn't woken up in this mess of affairs.

Glancing up from his observation of the body at Ginshi's words, Hibiki knew his original judgement on his character had probable accuracy. The man would keep to his word, though few may try to challenge his determination. It was only as Hibiki pondered going back to his cabin to grab his monopad and then go on to check the docks when he heard someone call out to him.

He spied her closer to the door and moved to stand beside her. "Yes... it seems you are correct in that assumption." A slight discomfort came over him before he moved the extra inch so they were shoulder to shoulder. "...May I...?" He pointed to the monopad in her hand. Not waiting for her reply, he glanced down and memorized the passage, filing it away in his brain to formulate later.

After nodding, he moved to walk away before glancing back over. "Miss Yukimori Maiya... Good luck. Please stop by my lab later." He meant to speak with her more about confidence in speaking, but the fish hook plagued his mind. There was at least a thirty percent chance that there was evidence of the killer being there and he was not needed at the crime scene itself.

With the luck of Miss Maiya's generosity, Hibiki was able to make great time in his arrival at the docks. A fish hook would probably have been originally located in the docks' storage shake, but something else took precedent before that, or someone.

The SHSL Smuggler herself appeared at the scene, heading back from the docks. She seemed a bit too happy in such a dank atmosphere, but Hibiki hadn't had a chance to fully appraise her actions in a crisis setting. He wondered how long Momoe had been here since she had neglected to come to Naomi's cabin in his presence.

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

When she didn't answer him, Ryuma reached up to her face, ready for Snow to strike at him. But... Snow didn't move, she didn't do anything. A new racing fear rang through him as he touched her cheek and then checked her pulse, while it was still beating, her eyes were completely out of focus. He quickly wiped up the blood dripping down her chin with his hand, hastily wiping his hand on his jeans as he finally took in the blood in her hair and on her clothes. He took a lock of her hair into his hand and felt nausea grab at his stomach at its sticky texture.

"Hit me! Fuck... Do something," He wanted to shake her, he wanted to scream, but none of that was going to help. The Parkour glanced back at the bed, only to find new students coming in to surround it, cutting off his field of vision. A sense of relief filled him at not seeing such a gruesome sight again.

Not quickly enough for his taste, someone called out for him to take Snow outside. He looked up to see Shirou, someone he had almost forgotten after the other boy had disappeared for days. Giving Shirou a nod, Ryuma turned back to Snow and lifted her up from under her armpits. When she was up straight, the Parkour tried to set her on her feet, only to catch her limp form. Worried he was going to hurt her further, the boy reached under her knees and cradled her head, starting for the door.

Taking one more glance at the people next to him, he quickly passed through the door, not really sure where he was going...

---

A sense of nothingness spread all the way through to Hibiki's fingertips as his consciousness shifted in and out of the void. The unsteady connection was partly due to the girl lying beside him, but also based on his own anxieties. As far as he stretched his brain, Hibiki couldn't quite pinpoint the motive. Although tension would rise, what would drive someone to-

The scream rang out, drowning out the thoughts reverberating through his head only to replace them. An almost childish thought echoed through him, Was it safe outside? Would the murderer strike again? But the Tutor's anxieties were quickly quelled by his left hemisphere. The scenario served as a reminder of a game he had played often as a child called 'Mafia.' When a scream rang out, a town meeting would commence. One could not suggest a children's game on par with murder, but it could very well curb one's nerves for a spell.

He opened his eyes, hoping to quickly adjust to the light coming from the window to the right of him. He glanced to his left to study Chikako, wondering of her reaction as the girl's mannerisms were separated far from his own. Why hadn't she sprung up when she heard the scream? She was quick to move at the drop of a hat. Then again, she didn't seem like the type to take tragedy well. The Tutor had only a moment to ponder before hearing Monokuma's second announcement that day.

Chikako left the room soon after the cuff unlocked the binding between both of them, not even sparing him a glance. Which was all the same really, nevertheless, he felt the need to dwell in bed for a few seconds longer. As he set to massaging the place the cuff resided, nausea and a small headache set in. The number of people convening and in panic would be paramount to their first discussion and even being in their presence would be draining.

Finally, the Tutor got up and opened the door, taking a second to get used to the sun glaring into his retinas, he would have to stop complaining about it eventually anyway. He scanned the area around him, but couldn't see much as he was rather far from the commotion, having spent the night in Chikako's cabin. As he took a step outside, Hibiki started walking over, training his ear to where the scream had come from and the voices thereafter.

It was only when getting closer that he spotted one of the students holding someone in his arms. As both had white-hair, it was much easier to discern who they both were even without Hibiki's glasses (which he seemed to have forgotten) but he could tell one had a much redder appearance. A victim...? Maybe Miss Snow Icyln had gotten caught in the crossfire?

The other boy finally noticed him, looking rather unwell himself, "...Is she alright?" Hibiki couldn't help but comment, given neither of them looked okay in the least.

"Fuck it, of course not-" Ryuma quickly cut himself off, worried the loud voice would hurt the girl in his arms somehow, "...I keep calling out to her, but she won't even acknowledge me."

Without asking permission, Hibiki stepped closer, almost too close for comfort in any other circumstance, "She seems unlikely to respond for a while, the shock must have gotten to her..." He touched the back of his hand to her forehead and waved his hand in front of her face. "I'd say not to move her but... that seems a moot point now."

"So what the fuck am I supposed to do? Get her a blanket? Whisper sweet nothings to her?" His worried whispers heightened in pitch as his eyes seemed to unfocus for a second.

"Get her somewhere quiet. I'd check for any wounds as-"

A curse spouted from Ryuma's mouth along with mutterings about Snow's health. Without a word of goodbye, Ryuma sped off, ignoring Hibiki's previous warning to not move her much. Hibiki sighed before heading over to the door to Snow's cabin, watching as many of the other students were gathered around the bed. It only took a moment for Hibiki to surmise the victim had probably been Snow's chained companion, Naomi Fukuda. Grabbing for his monopad, he thought to check out her profile before the Tutor realized the poor mistake on his part as he had forgotten it inside the cabin.

He took a step forward, finally able to view her over the head of his former companion. A wave of familiar nausea came over him, which he did his best to quell down. It wasn't often one could fill all of their senses with something so dreadful and he wished he could write down his first observations as he wished for the investigation to be over even before it had officially begun.

At least she hadn't been manhandled with brute strength. Hibiki flinched for a second before a much more tension-filled version of his usual expressionless face slipped over again. A murder weapon would be somewhere on these premises and it was only the question of when it would be found.

---

Once he realized that Snow could have been wounded herself, Ryuma cursed at himself. Hibiki had been right, he had been doing everything wrong. What kind of motherfucking idiot wouldn't check for them, seeing as she was covered in blood?! After finishing his talk with Hibiki, Ryuma hurried off to the showers, hoping to wash off at least her hair and check her for any injuries. He didn't remember any other wounds on Naomi besides her throat... but he could have easily been distracted by it.

The parkour set her down in one of the stalls and went to find a towel before hurrying back, sighing as he looked back at her. Turning on the water, the boy dampened one of the towels he had grabbed and started wiping the blood off her face properly, being careful not to get anything near her eyes.

After the water started to fog up the mirror, he closed the door and leaned a hand against it. He had to get her out of her top at least... Ryuma quickly unbuttoned her dress and started wiping down her throat and collarbone, a blush appearing on his face. It only took another quick look up at her face for all the thoughts to disappear as he stared into her unfocused eyes.

Slipping her closer to the shower itself, Ryuma grabbed at the showerhead and started washing out her hair, red-tinted water slipping down into the drain. Hoping she wouldn't throttle him later, he washed it out with the basic soap supplied in the stall, making her hair semi-resemble its original color. Once that was done, he finally pulled off her dress, quickly wrapping her in a towel. The boy checked her arms and legs, but nothing was bleeding at least. Then he turned around and tried to get the stains out of her dress the best he could.

Once Ryuma was done he hung it on the towel rack and glanced back, before setting a towel out to cover her legs and cover her shoulders, that way you couldn't see the even the straps of her bra. A blanket would have probably been better, but the Parkour at least didn't want to take Snow out of the showers looking like she was and he didn't want to leave her alone either.

The boy did his best to clean off any remnants of blood in the drain and squatted in front of her, hoping for a response. "Come on Miss too-fancy-for-camp, speak." He gripped his knees before rubbing the back of his neck, not noticing the blood he got in his hair, "Insult me. Dammit Snow!"

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

-Ryuma Hitsugaya-

Static sounded in Ryuma’s ears and his vision momentarily fading in and out. An alarm rang out in his brain, but was quickly smothered by the growing panic seeping into his veins. His brain was trying to fill up the empty silence plaguing them all and a familiar feeling of dread filled his stomach. An urge to rush over and do something- anything to save her hit him like a wave and Ryuma’s body slumped slightly against the door, his fisted hands unclenching only to bite into the door, his nails creating slight incisions into the hard wood. But Ryuma already knew it was too late, he had learned that from experience.

Memories shifted across his frazzled consciousness, relieving him of one horror and throwing him into another. As he brought his hands up to his head, the parkour brain’s fastforwarded through his nightmare from the night before, effortlessly correlating the demented scene in front of him and the abominations of his dream. A horde of swear words slipped almost silently out of his mouth as his restless hands tried to find something new to hold onto. His back slipped down against the wall when he finally caught sight of Snow. Something clicked into hyperdrive in his brain and he crouched in front of her, blocking off both of their field of vision from the body behind him.

“Prin-Snow.”

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

*Ding-Dong Bing-Bong!*

“Good morning campers! It is now 7 A.M. which means nighttime is officially over! Enjoy another beautiful day!”

*Krsch.... Zap.*

“Goddamn that bear and his stupid fuckin’...”

The message left Taka in a foul mood as he was struggling with tying up his hair, being on his second rubber band after the previous one had sprung, only to get caught in those damned cuffs. Not that they made it particularly easy to tie up hair either- the stuff always got stuck in the small opening for the extension cord. Taka heard some rummaging from behind, cocking his head over the shoulder to see a groggy Ryuma get up after the morning announcement.

Ryuma’s head hurt and his body was covered in sweat- which made him start to shiver as the that morning was particularly cold. Whatever he had been dreaming about escaped him, but the emotions that forced his heart to do acrobatics must have meant the dream was not too happy. As Ryuma struggled to force himself to relax he sat up, only for a wave of dizziness to hit slap his noggin’ for getting up too fast. Laying back down he wiped his hands down his face and groaned. “Geez... I’ll never get that shitty, fucking bear’s voice out of my head...”

Ryuma finally sat up and slipped out of the covers, his legs crying out for more blood circulation thanks to sleeping in jeans two nights in a row. But that was a little... inappropriate in the parkour athlete’s current situation. He grabbed at the shirt lying on the floor and gave it a sniff, letting a piss-poor grimace slip over his face. Dropping the hellspawn, he grabbed at his hoodie instead, only to hear a sound Ryuma had wished to never hear again-

A blood-curdling scream.

“...! What the hell?! Isn’t that-?!”

As the hoodie dropped to the ground and Taka’s voice cut off, Ryuma bolted towards the door, the only thing bringing him back to the reality of his situation being the door and the sound of the cord wriggling across the floor. One hand held the doorknob with a death grip, while the other squeezed into a tight fist, his nails digging into his skin. He slammed the door open and glanced back at his companion.

“I can’t pace myself- I can carry you,” It didn’t sound so much like a question, more like Taka had better come up with some other solution or he’d be lookin’ like either a princess or a ripe sack of potatoes in half a second.

“A-are you out of your fucking mind?!” Taka complained after recovering from a stumble. Ryuma’s aggressive movements caused a few too many strong tugs on the relatively short cord. With no time to hesitate, Taka glanced down at his cuff. “...Shit! Damn it all to hell,” he cursed, pressing the button to release the lock. He yelled at Ryuma. “Just go! I’ll catch up!”

Ryuma gave a nod before speeding through the door, heading in the direction he heard the scream. If he remembered correctly, Snow had been staying in Naomi’s room... Another rush of adrenaline blew into him as he sped by the last cabin, his arm reaching for the doorknob and it gave away immediately. He heard shuffling to his right, but the sight in front of him made Ryuma stop cold.

“*Huff… Puff...* H-Hey! What the hell are you gawking like that for?!” Taka yelled. He shuffled closer, needing to take a look for himself. “We don’t have the time to stand A-...! A-ahrou...”

Taka froze, just like Ryuma.

Inside the cabin, Snow was huddled up against the wall. Blood dripping gently from her chin as it trickled down from the corners of her mouth. Attached to her, following the cord, there lay on the bed, the still body of Fukuda Naomi. Her throat was brutishly cleaved open, it stained the sheets of the bed both of the girls needed to share. Her eyes were aimless. Her skin was pale. She was dead.

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

---

Knock, knock

“Hello!? If you’re in there you better come out! It’s been 15 minutes and I am not about to die because of an incompetent brat like you!” Snow shouted as she slammed her fist on the door to Naomi’s cabin. She was visibly red from anger as she didn’t exactly cool down after her last interaction with the ultimate Linguist. 20 minutes was not nearly enough alone time, and on top of that, the past 10 were spent searching for a person she doesn’t even like.

As her arm slumped down beside her body, Snow sighed in discomfort and turned around, only to see Naomi in front of her.

The girl glaring back at her wiped the sweat off her brow, sweating buckets and breathing hard. Her pricey clothing did nothing in this weather and her white button down stuck to her skin in the worst ways. All Naomi wanted to do was get inside and never come out, along with a nasty urge to slam the door on the white-haired girls snarling red face. ”You...” As she stared at the other girl, a thought passed through her head, 'one minute she’s got some kind of stubborn death wish and the next she’s begging.'

She let out a chuckle, ”...Remind me not to bother.” Her usually emotionless face smiled smugly for a millisecond before she reached into her pocket for her monopad.

She held it up and stared at the other girl expectantly, but impatiently added, ”Move.”

“Excuse me?” Snow sneered, placing a hand on her hip. As she surveyed Naomi with a resentful gaze, her expression turned arrogant. “Why do you look so horrible? Did you take a dip in the lake to cool that bitter brain of yours? Pfuh, it suits you.” Sharply turning her head away from Naomi, Snow tried to contain her emotions, as the corner of her mouth was starting to lift.

It was never going to come out that the reason Naomi was all hot and bothered was because she had been searching for the hairdresser. No one with that much egotistical superiority complex needed a confidence booster. Naomi brought a finger up to her lips in mock horror, “Oh? You’ve stooped so low as you insult looks now, how vain. I wish I had your stupidity so I could focus on something else instead of our impending deaths.” She took a longer strand of hair and twirled it between her fingers, “Since we’re all gonna die anyway, maybe I’ll just wait for time to run out-”

Naomi turned around and looked over her shoulder, “How about that? Or say you could get over your pretty princess panties and move?” She turned her head back around and stared up at the clouds, hoping for some higher power to take over the situation.

Turning her head back slowly, Snow almost showed her teeth out of frustration. “Why are you so insistent on making my day as horrible as it can be! Like, if you want to die, at least do it alone where you can't bother anyone!?” Snow took a heavy step forward, extending the cord hanging from her wrist to Naomi, though she made a careful notion to avoid eye-contact. “Now put this stupid thing on before you kill us both.”

But, of course, God didn’t exist. How else could the world be so sick and demented? How else could blood be thinner than water? Maybe the god of torture came up from hell a long time ago. Her insides clawed at her to apologize for her hurtful words, Mami had always told her that there was no use in revenge and to always follow the golden rule. But what good did it do when the world was so full of shit and sewage? As Naomi ran over Snow’s words in her mind, another force plunged inside her and beat her conscience with a baseball bat.

Naomi pivoted on her left foot and stomped over before smacking Snow’s outstretched hand and grabbing the end of the cord to be a barrier between the two of them, “Why would I do that if I could drag you down with me?” She gave the other girl a sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “I won’t put it on until you do as I say. You know, I was very well planning on fucking going along with you little miss heiress whore, but someone needs to teach you a lesson.”

“I am never-” She brought the cord up to Snow’s neck, their faces inches away from each other, “Going to be made to do anything by societal elitists who view others as ants. You think the world revolves around you with everything on your dust rose fingertips and chiffon dresses, but Caesar had it all only to get stabbed in the back 23 times. But you’re just a poor little girl who will never step out of your comfort zone and get all the fake compliments for it. Beg with words for all I care, but I want actions.” She watched as the time on Snow’s wrist went down to 55 seconds. “Ready now?”

Once more, life found a way to tear down the precious exterior of Snow’s white walls. With a knot forming in her throat, Snow had trouble keeping a composed look; her knees were trembling and her eyes started to get watery. Nothing ever went her way, and everyone always ended up antagonizing her, all she could do was fight back...But right now she didn’t feel like fighting back.

“F-fine..” Snow took an awkward step back and to the side, almost tripping in the process. “Can you attach the cord now?”

Naomi took a step back and slipped the cuff over her hand, “Now that wasn’t very hard, was it?” She opened the door and walked through, letting Snow follow her or get pulled in. She quickly started unbuttoning her shirt and peeled it off, revealing a matching white cami underneath. As she turned away, the world seemed to come back into full color as she realized what she had done.

She was just like her sister. No, Naomi was worse.

A shudder ran through her, hopefully unnoticeably since it was quite a bit colder inside the darkened room. Naomi reached for a new blouse, dreading it’s long sleeves before realizing something, the shirt she had taken off was caught in the cord with no way off...

A heavy blush overcame the smaller girl as she turned her body to peer at it.

On the other end of the cord, Snow simply stared at the shirt, and to Naomi, and back again. This was a joke...Not a joke that warrants laughter, but disappointment. The intimidating naomi from a few seconds ago had completely disappeared but lucky for her, Snow still felt defeated.

“Just leave it there.” She spoke as she walked towards a couch, letting herself fall into it with a puff. “You know-” She looked at Naomi, ignoring the blush and peering through the locks of hair hanging from Naomi’s head. “Whoever cut your hair should be arrested, you should see a real hair-stylist.” Although her words were as rude as ever, the condescending tone had disappeared.

As the words slipped out of the white-haired girl’s mouth, Naomi’s head snapped up, though her worried eyes seem to dull and her fists clenched, “It’s not supposed to look good... it’s an act of defiance.” She peered around the room, looking for something, before finding a simple, yet elegant tea set and starting to divide up the leaves, “I wouldn’t want the neighbors to think I was some puppet on a string.” She stepped into the bathroom and started the water.

After a while, Naomi came out with two steaming cups of tea and sat down on the far end of the couch, leaving the tray on the coffee table. She took her own cup and blew on it gently, her proper upbringing shining through.

“Like, first of all, That’s not defiance, it’s ugly; give me 10 minutes and I’ll show you what defiance looks like as a haircut.” Though she was done with the fighting, talking about hair always brightened Snow’s mood, so it was only natural that she regained a little sazz along with it. “And second? That tea came from the bathroom, sorry but I’m not drinking that…”

Naomi looked up, then back down at the tea before biting her lip, “Oh-... you’re right.” She stared at the cup before taking a sip anyway. A moment of silence passed as her conscience came back out of the deep end and started another argument inside of her. Naomi continued to stare down at the tea, focusing on the frayed ends of her hair.

’You can’t go outside... We choose your friends... Sit up straighter, be quiet!’ She’d never get the chance to go outside and meet a real hairstylist in the first place.

“What... What style would you suggest?”

”Well…”

Snow and Naomi grew a little closer today!

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

The light hadn't dissipated one bit, but the Tutor was finally starting to begrudgingly adjust to the sun. The amphitheater's white stone bounced the sun further into his retinas causing Hibiki to flinch. What he wouldn't do for Ritsu's hug therapy right now... Something to help his throat and a spot with blackout curtains would be much needed after this. Maybe even some strawberry milk, but it wasn't good to hype up his expectations.

The blue-haired boy got a good long look at the bear before succumbing to the sun again, turning his eyes toward the ground. The first thing that seemed to pop into the Tutor’s head was the fact that the stuffed bear didn’t seem to be picking up too much dust. Was the amphitheater usually swept or was it just outright magical? Secondly, it appeared that this semi-mechanical bear's voice quality was strangely both clear and confounding at once, driving Hibiki to want earplugs to drown out its enthusiasm. Based on his lack of understanding of its hardware, the Tutor couldn't say this wasn't some daydream and the Ultimates around him seemed to come to this conclusion all too quickly as well.

Ritsu was waiting, so he couldn't stay for very long. But considering the only way to get out of here was to kill someone, they’d have to outsmart the bear, it would be better to find someone who had the ‘umph’ to do such a thing. Some kind of supporting role would fit his talent and benefit the group as a whole. A PDA soon arrived in his hands and leaning over to block out the sunlight, Hibiki read through the rules.

They seemed like they would be quite the hassle, did he absolutely have to nap inside of the residential cabins or was anywhere an option during the day? At some point, he would have to take the two-toned bear aside and ask these quintessential questions. Based on age and appearance, there were at least a few people that could step up as leader and start on strategy, the question was, who to endorse?

His first prediction came out rather spontaneously. A speech was thrown out, shots fired, and people bleeding out on stage. Help arrived quickly, even if not very efficiently, and Ginshi was there to both help the mind and body. While there was a newfound reluctance starting a new relationship with someone so passionate, some form would do Hibiki well in the future. When glancing down at Lilly however, something else seemed to be upsetting her. Was she really so fragile as to be worried about the game itself? His hand started to subtly move towards her shoulder, only for her to angry switch through her PDA. Better to not interfere, lest he ruin his first impression and give help where it wasn't warranted.

As he tried to not continue eyeing the poor girl, he glanced up at the stage where a new boy had arrived front and center. The boy's posture and mannerisms reminded him of the many students who had come to him with stage fright. Many of the basic steps to overcoming stage fright were missed on the boy, but a small part of Hibiki was already rooting for him. Without having the material practiced in advance and having a good health habits prepared beforehand, many may react in the same way as him. The Tutor pressed a few buttons on his PDA to switch to his profile. Aurel Fuchs, Ultimate Thief. Could he be the reason Lilly was so upset?

His approach to creating ties was nicely planned, but poorly executed. While Aurel himself might not have been scared of the killing game, the worried atmosphere oozing off of him certainly appeared that way. Building trust was something that needed to be done quickly, but this may have been a bit too preumptive. Without the time to think and decompress, this would just turn into a further mess.

And so it did. The words of the Ultimate Smuggler were harsh and to the point. Whether or not this was Momoe's true personality or because of situational emotions, she didn't fall short at cutting Aurel down and showing him off as an easy target. The other white-haired boy didn't seem to help things either. His blatant swearing just led to others thinking Aurel needed protecting, not addressing the main issue of his speech getting discredited with faulty logic. The new challenger, Ryuma Hitsugaya, had actually driven her to cause a fault in Aurel's grouping strategy. Such was the problem of impulsive outbursts.

Yukimori's words of encouragement were drowned out by the Ultimate Hero, who didn't seem to have enough self-preservation to sit still. A sigh slipped out of Hibiki's mouth before he even realized it. Did he truly know what he was doing? Probably not all, but at least his North personality might pave the way to getting something done. As Aurel brought up the voice of reason, Hibiki stopped himself from sighing again, there was no way that Shirou was going to do as he was told, not even if it was well-meaning.

"Thank you for your input Aurel... I hope... It does not fall on deaf ears," His throat really did need some lubrication if he wanted to talk more easily, "Do take care not to get killed." He took a glance in Lilly's direction, only to see that she had already fled. "Let's meet, later."

With those words, Hibiki moved towards Chikako to help Ginshi transport her. Even if he couldn't help carry her, he may be able to keep pressure on her wound.

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

Noah had planned on listening to Daimyon's case. He had planned on trying to figure out the intricacies of the relationship between the makeup covered woman and Faith, yet all he could focus on was the quickly bleeding boy in front of him that was doing nothing to slow his utter demise. What was driving him to do so? With the way things were going, if he was not patched up in the next half hour he would not only go unconscious, but his body may reject a blood transfusion as his heart runs out of blood to pump. The Bio Mechanic wasn't doing anything to stop the Biologist as he inspected the boy's wounds, not even flinching as he checked his damaged hands. But this damage didn't look like it was created from nitroglycerin! Unless-

The boy's hand suddenly wasn't held in Noah's anymore. The boy had simply stepped away, though it seemed as though he could barely stand. "You-" His words were immediately drowned out by Thomas's words. 'Due time...' Noah surely hoped they would be alive to hear it. Now that the Ultimate Despair had acquired what he wished, a small piece of the Biologist's brain wanted to declare them all dead. But there was no such thing as giving up on learning for Noah Atom Dyer and he thought it best to see how far he could follow the two deviations.

He had only just started folding what was left of his lab coat to further analyze when he turned to the Poet's voice. "My body is in prime physical condition, although slightly sleep deprived, but I maybe a bit perplexed mindwise." He let out a sigh as he watched some of the other Infinites trinkle out of the room, including a rather rambunctious teenage girl. "Might I have a look at your injuries? They may be minor compared to his, but I don't want to feel entirely useless." He set his lab coat on a nearby chair and without waiting for a reply, went to check on the Poet's knees. "It was a nasty fall and it seems I won't probably be able to get through to Miss Lambert at the moment. Why don't you take another chair, I'll watch out for any other punching mechanisms." As he checked the bruising and minor scrapes, he thought back to the incident that had just occured. "He may look like some big bad villian, but not everything of his plan was black and white..." He told Daimyon of his theory about the nitroglycerin before standing up.

"They are planning to hold one of the Infinite's hostage during the Night of Carnage if I remember correctly. Shall we get moving?" Noah looked to see if Juliette was still around, but she was already gone.

@Vocab@mateotis

Danganronpa Alternate: Apologies to Hope (Reboot) [Deader than Disco]

-Ryuma Hitsugaya-

Ryuma couldn't seem to figure out why, but he really liked this kid Aurel. Maybe it was the competitive streak in him gauging Aurel's reflexes or the way the kid seemed to tick, but all the athlete felt was that the kid was a good potential ally and he forgot to analyze why. "The party don't start 'til I walk in-" He muttered when they arrived, then started chuckling quietly at his own reference. The atmosphere was tense, but that was expected, they had been kidnapped after all. These turrets on at the docks made this situation no laughing matter.

Sixteen... Aurel must have gotten that number from the cabins. Ryuma himself wanted to check them out now rather than later, but no way was he gonna miss whatever shitshow this-

...And the kid vanished. Why Aurel did, who's to say? As long as he didn't randomly shiv a person, Ryuma would let it lie. Besides, it seemed as though their host had arrived.

Normally, the athlete wouldn't believe a talking teddy bear. Normally, Ryuma would shrug off threats to his life or 'to the world as they knew it.' But normally he always knew how his mother was doing... And with stolen memories, who could say. "What kind of shit..." Ryuma scratched at the back of his neck again, his nails biting slightly into his skin enough for slight moisture to fall back onto his fingertips. Ryuma barely acknowledged Aurel's existence as his complexion went as white as a ghost.

"All you have to do is kill somebody!"

The giggly shit-tastic voice knocked Ryuma out of his down-spiraling worries. While Ryuma had thought there were far too many hostages or victims, it made sense now. This sick twisted fuck wanted to watch them dwindle their own numbers down. He didn't seem to care about money or power, just seemed batshit crazy. And who better than the students of Hope's Peak Academy?

It took Ryuma a second before he took the PDA, mindlessly scrolling through it, only paying it mind as he scrolled through the familiar faces of Aurel and Prin- Snow. Only later did the Parkourist remember that the kid's hand had been shaking. How the hell was his mom going to survive...

The next time he looked up, there was a gunshot. Ryuma immediately dropped his PDA and moved into a defensive stance, scanning the area for Snow and Aurel. What the fuck had the others done to provoke the couk? Ryuma wasn't reckless enough to get involved in that shit, his heroic streak couldn't be stretched so thin. Why had he thrown away that chair leg again? To look cool?

At the sound of his name, Ryuma turned to look at the Thief. The boy gave him a stiff nod and watched as he disappeared again. While the athlete was a lot slower than Aurel, he still was able to show up behind Snow with little to no sound. He crossed his arms over his chest, ready to catch the kitten in front of him by her scruff if he had to. It was the least he could do for the kid who looked like he was going to faint at any moment.

There was truth to his words. At the very least, it had been at least three to four months of memories stolen. Three to four months that his mother had to fend for herself... But it wasn't the time to be thinking about her. Hopefully, Aurel's speech would force the others to face the gravity of the situation. ...And then he said something utterly stupid.

Friendship? Who the fuck cares about friendship now? Well obviously Aurel, but it didn't matter without their memories. No one here was going to act friendly to each other now unless they had already fostered ally relationships. A large part of Ryuma wanted to consider everyone but Aurel and Snow enemies, with his more optimistic side chastising his mistrust. His plan meant well, but sounded as fragile as the Thief looked, and someone beat him to the punch in explaining that.

Either way, Aurel was his ally and no one wanted some smoky smartass to voice what they were all thinking. She was placing a target on his head that made Ryuma's blood boil. Forgetting about keeping Snow from leaving, the athlete took a few large, meticulous steps, before standing in front of her. "Hey emo chick, instead of acting like a shitty teen smoking in the girl's bathroom, why don't you take your apathetic dirty ass and fuck off? No one needs your 'input.'" The boy was ready to pivot out of the way if she attacked him but for now, he just stood there, his expression stone cold.

@ammokkx@savo@addamas

---

-Naomi Fukuda-

Just her luck to be stuck in this hell hole. There were a lot of things that Naomi didn't give a shit about concerning Monokuma's speech, but a slight feeling of triumph echoed in her black heart. She had been right not to trust these people. Now she even had to worry about Yukimori killing her. But they were trapped here... That was a much more pressing problem. There was a small chance her family was looking for her, but the majority of them wouldn't give a shit that she was missing and considering so much time had passed, they had probably adopted some fawn to shape into their heir in her place.

The other captives were letting out profanities and threats, but a cold blanket was starting to wrap the Linguist's insides, leaving her apathetic at best. Yukimori was acting stranger than usual and before Naomi could even start to think maybe Shirou would show his true colors, he was already spouting bullshit.

Ultimates... It was such a cruel and disgusting term. They were the 'chosen ones' the 'elite of the elite.' It was all some huge networking scheme. Labels were what lent to arrogancy, to feeling 'special.' They would all die the same way, wouldn't they? Their blood all drained the same color. And this arrogance was shown plainly in the man-like boy Shirou Emiya, arrogant enough to play god and decide all of their fates.

But as soon as Monokuma's words reflected her own thoughts, Naomi felt repulsed. What kind of twisted soul had she been turned into against her Mami's wishes? Why did the glass have to be half-empty?

...And why was she hesitating to go help the two wounded?

She didn't run after the orange-haired boy to help catch the wounded, she didn't follow the blonde to help stop the blood. Instead, she started following in the white-haired stylist's footsteps, attempting to leave the scene. But Naomi stopped her tracks when she noticed two boys stopping the Stylist. How to leave without anyone noticing her?

To wait it out was hell, to stay here was hell, to live was hell. But she couldn't die, if for nothing better than to spite the shitty world she lived in. So hell it was.

The boy was stupid, the girl was stupid, but that boy stopping Snow was gone, leaving Naomi's escape route open. Quickly, she slipped off her awful shoes and started off towards the woods, hoping she wasn't making too much noise.

@Vocab@xxlanatjexx