86Disclaimer: Danganronpa will never be owned by me. :(
Chapter 1 – Orientation Day
"Ngh… where the hell am I…?"
Makoto jumped out of bed suddenly, looking around wildly. A familiar landscape surrounded him as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm back in my old room, huh?"
Logically, it made sense. He wasn't sure exactly how far back he'd jumped, but at least he made it to the place he intended to. A quick examination of his body revealed, to his surprise, no physical changes.
"My body made the jump too…? That's odd."
Odd? Yes. Unwelcome? No. In fact, he probably preferred it. Starting from scratch sounded… undesirable.
A knock on his door cut off that train of thought.
"Onii-chan, are you doing okay in there?
'Komaru…'
Makoto smiled fondly at the voice of his sister. It was just as he remembered it before the memory wipe. A stray tear fell down his cheek.
He really did it.
"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that imoto; I'm just a little tired is all."
There was silence for a few seconds before he heard a quiet "okay". Closing his eyes, he laid back down for a moment. Sparing a quick glance at his bedside table he picked up the mobile that had been charging and flicked through to view the calendar.
"Huh, orientation is today. I couldn't have picked a better time to jump to." 'Picked' being relative. He had no way of choosing the exact day, after all, only a general timeframe.
Picking himself up he walked towards his wardrobe with the intent of getting ready for school.
"Crap."
Before realizing that all his clothes were now too small for his newly toned, (and far taller), body.
Thankfully, while he had grown up, he was only at around 5'10 which was not even close to the tallest in his upcoming class.
Still…
"I guess I've gotta face the music now and get a new uniform before it's too late."
Rubbing the back of his head he cursed under his breath before closing the door behind him.
This was gonna suck.
Well, he wasn't wrong.
"EHHHHHHH!? ONII-CHAN, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"
Sighing at the stunned expressions marring his family's faces, he attempted to fabricate a believable lie.
"I have kind of been working out in secret for quite a while now. I was just sick of being scrawny and wanted a change of pace, I guess. I've been wearing baggy clothes to hide it though." He motioned towards his now-shirtless physique. "As for my height, I think I had a freak of a growth spurt last night. Honestly, I'm just as confused as you guys right now."
He knew he wasn't talking the way he used to, but he hoped his family wouldn't question him on that for the moment.
Luckily, they didn't.
"I see. Well dear this is all very… unexpected." His mother began. "Though it looks as if the results paid off! I mean just look at you!"
Her husband grinned in agreement. "Yes, you're looking a hell of a lot more like your old man now. Very handsome."
"It's true Onii-chan!" Komaru's eyes were wide with amazement. "You look great! Just like one of those models in a magazine!"
Makoto could not stop the blush from spreading to his cheeks. Years of social seclusion did not help him when it came to receiving compliments from those he cared about.
"Ah, well thanks guys." He smiled warmly. "But sadly, this makes my current uniform pretty much worthless. Do you think we could pick up a new set before my classes start?"
Agreeing, the family got ready to head out early.
Walking to the kitchen Makoto picked up some fruit and got a piece of toast ready to have on the go.
'Usually this would be the time of day where I'd pop a shot of alcohol to keep me going.'
Makoto sighed. He had become addicted to the stuff during his stint out in the wilds. From the headmaster's stash to the bottles he had found from raiding far-off towns, the term 'alcoholic' was generous at this point.
'It's gonna be one hell of a habit to kick, that's for sure.'
If he even wanted to. He was sure he could pass as an adult in some circles. He technically was twenty years old after all.
Maybe he could use this to his advantage-?
"Onii-chan we're ready to leave! Let's go!"
Shaking his head, the Luckster grabbed some food and darted out of the kitchen. Rolling a suitcase full of his belongings out the door, Makoto felt the tell-tale spark of excitement building up inside him.
Time to head back to school.
After a rather… interesting clothes-fitting session which left both the worker and sadly his sister blushing heavily, they headed towards the main gates of the school grounds.
"Alright sport, this is it. Knock 'em dead."
Ruffling his son's hair affectionately, Makoto's father stood back. His mother followed.
"We're so proud of you honey. We know you'll do amazingly well." She kissed his forehead. "Call us anytime you want to, alright?"
Komaru quickly took the place of her mother and hugged Makoto as tight as she could. While surprised, he smiled fondly down at her and returned the embrace.
"We'll miss you Onii-chan… come visit me-us soon, okay?"
His smile widened at the slip-up, planting a chaste kiss on the crown of her head.
"Of course. I promise."
Looking up at his face as if to try and find any form of deception, she smiled brightly before disentangling herself from him.
"Alright." Makoto smiled as he turned and walked inside. "Let's go."
It wasn't long before his registration was done and he was sat in the front row of the assembly building, his bags safely tucked away back in his room.
It was in this moment that he realized a serious problem with time travel.
"Naegi-kun!? Is that really you!?"
Having to deal with his classmates… again.
At least the despair sisters were set to arrive a few days late. He considered that fact lucky but knew Junko more than likely had a reason for it.
'She always does.'
Sighing heavily, Makoto lamented, not for the first time, on how ironic it was that someone as reclusive as him was left to be the one to fix things.
Could someone like that really be considered lucky? He knew the answer to that; he was able to get here with no repercussions, so of course he was.
But did his classmates really need to be so loud…?
"Ah, yeah I am." He smiled weakly. "Hey Maizono-san. You been doing well?"
Her smile could have lit up a room, but all it served to do was resurface bad memories.
"It really is you!" she continued on excitedly, a blush dusting her cheeks. "You got so tall! And, uh-" she coughed. "Well, um, you remember me, right? I'm so happy we're in the same class as one another."
Internally Makoto tried to separate the girl in front of him from the one haunting his memories. This was not the same girl that betrayed his trust in the killing game. She wasn't. He knew that.
But damnit if it wasn't hard to constantly make the connection.
"I'm happy too." He lied. "It'll be nice to be able to talk to someone I know. I'm not the most social person out there, after all."
"Yay!" She exclaimed. "So why were you scouted for our class, anyway? What's your Ultimate talent? I'm the-"
"Ultimate Pop Sensation, I know." He cut her off. "Everyone knows who you are Maizono-san. Your talent is incredible. Me on the other hand? I was just chosen by luck. There's nothing special about me, honestly."
Sayaka opened her mouth to voice a disagreement before being interrupted by the young man behind the podium.
"Attention everyone. Please be quiet as Headmaster Kirigiri shares details about the upcoming school year."
Makoto raised an eyebrow at the attractive white-haired man currently giving instructions.
'Kyosuke Munakata.'
Alongside Kazuo Tengan and Chisa Yukizome, he was one of three people Makoto knew the most about that would go on to form the Future Foundation. Granted, the information he had on everyone else had been given to him by Junko, (or outdated documents), so its reliability was spotty at best.
But still.
'The Ultimate Student Council President, huh?' he chuckled internally. 'And here I thought Ultimate Lucky Student was dumb. How the hell is being the president of the student council an ability?'
Eyeing his fellow classmates that had taken up the seats around them, he sized Taka up.
'Now that's more what I imagine when I think of an education-based talent. The perfect student. A model member of society.' Far different from himself, that's for sure. 'It sounded impressive.'
And troublesome.
"Thank you, Munakata-kun." A deep voice sounded from the stage. "Now then, let me begin by saying welcome to you all…"
Makoto couldn't force himself to stay awake past that.
"Naegi-kun…? Naegi-kun!"
A pause.
"NAEGI-KUN, WAKE UP!"
"GAH!"
Jumping up from his seat he turned towards the offending voice and was brought face-to-face with a pouting Sayaka. Idly he noticed that directly behind her, the rest of his classmates were looking at him with varied expressions of amusement, annoyance and/or indifference.
Stretching with an over-dramatic yawn he blinked.
"Did you have to wake me up, Maizono-san? I was having a wonderful dream."
He was joking, of course. He hadn't had anything but nightmares for years.
Though she didn't need to know that.
"Mou, you can't just brush something like this off, you know? This is a big deal!"
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"My bad, sorry about that. Are we heading to class now then, or are we off for the day?"
Exchanging glances with the rest of her classmates she looked at him with an exasperated expression.
"You were asleep for the whole thing, weren't you?" He just grinned in response. "Well… no, we don't have classes today but-"
"Ah, perfect! See you guys tomorrow then!"
Everyone blinked, astounded at Makoto's speed. Looking over at the door to the auditorium they watched as he whistled a merry tune and walked away.
What-
"How the hell did he get there so fast?"
Leon's question spurred on talk from the group as Kyoko addressed their idol.
"Maizono-san, you said that Naegi-san's talent was luck, correct…?"
The blue-haired idol blinked.
"I mean… that's what he said. It makes sense since each class gets one but…"
She trailed off.
Everyone was stumped by the rather sudden dismissal and show of abilities from their new classmate.
What just happened?
"Finally, some time to myself."
Falling unceremoniously onto his bed, Makoto smiled contently. His dorm-room had already become his safe haven in this crazy school. While he knew it would take a while to wipe his mind of the tragedies that this room reminded him so closely of, he couldn't deny that he missed having a real mattress.
He stayed still for a good hour or so before his thoughts began to flicker rapidly. How was he going to interact with his classmates given his more aggravated attitude? For that matter, how exactly was he meant to stop the tragedy from occurring, anyway? It's not like he knew what initially sparked it.
Most importantly however-
Opening up his mini fridge he noted the lack of alcohol, and began sulking.
"Man, this just isn't fair. How the hell am I meant to relax without a good drink?" 'Or ten.'
Opening his wallet, he saw a pile of cash more than likely stuffed there from years of saving. If only past him could see what it would be spent on.
Makoto smirked.
Time to make a trip downtown!
"Damnit, why the hell does every place here need to ID me!?"
He was twenty, going on twenty-one mentally, (and physically), but he just wasn't… currently. Or at least, that's what his school ID said. As a student, he wouldn't be allowed to purchase alcohol; especially not the harder stuff he enjoyed so much.
Vodka always hit the spot on anxiety-filled days like this.
"Naegi-san, is that you?"
Stopping his tirade towards the injustices of laws in this country he inclined his head towards the voice addressing him. Considering the fact that he was in a pub based around gambling, the addressee wasn't hard to guess.
"Celeste-san. Hello there."
The Victorian-styled girl cocked her head slightly.
"Forgive me but I don't remember ever introducing myself to you…?"
He grinned at the trap question.
"Ah. You'll have to forgive me as well Celeste-san, as I don't personally remember introducing myself to you either." He paused, watching her cough into her fist in embarrassment. "Of course, unlike my lackluster talent, yours is well known. Celestia Ludenburg, the Queen of liars; the Ultimate Gambler."
She blinked.
"I see you studied your classmates rather in-depth." Celeste sized him up. "How amusing. Very few of our peers went so far as to learn about the rest of us before entering."
Makoto smiled widely.
"Well maybe I'm just that type of guy."
Celeste's expression changed. She began laughing.
"Hm, I see." A pleasant, (read: fake), smile plastered itself on her face. "So, what is this I hear about you being ID'd?"
Makoto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Well… while I don't talk about it really, I happen to enjoy alcohol quite a lot." He hung his head. "Sadly, I'm still underage, so I can't buy myself any."
Her face remained expressionless as she took in the information.
"I see." She paused as if deliberating with herself. "How about a bet then, Naegi-kun?"
Taking the change of honorific in stride, Makoto smiled.
"A bet, eh? What game?"
Celeste took a deck of cards out from her purse.
"It's simple. Each of us gets dealt one hand and whoever has the higher value wins."
Makoto eyed her up for a second. Then he shrugged.
"Alright. What exactly are the terms here, miss gambling pro?"
She looked deep in thought for a second.
"Well if I win, I want you to answer any and all questions I have about you." She smiled brightly. "You look like you're hiding things from me and I don't like that."
Makoto narrowed his eyes.
'She's sharp…'
While he knew it was rather stupid to show off his speed so soon, that's what his training was for and there was no use hiding it in his mind. Judging from the look in her eyes, however, he gathered that she had far more reasons for wanting him to talk about himself. He decided it best not to jump into things immediately.
"Alright…" Makoto started slowly. "So, what do I get if I win?"
She smiled.
"Well since this is a place I frequent so often and get winnings from," She chuckled darkly causing Makoto to sweat drop. "I actually hold a good amount of clot over the owner. If you somehow manage to beat me then you will forever be allowed to buy alcohol from here. In fact, I will go so far as to buy you your first bottle of choice alongside the nicest flask available."
She motioned towards the deck of cards.
"Are you in-?"
"YES! Let's go!"
She blinked at his exuberance before chuckling. Taking a hold of the cards, the gambler expertly shuffled them before distributing five cards to each participant.
Throughout it all, Celeste's poker face remained.
"I'll give you one last chance to back down Naegi-kun. I won't judge you for it." 'Much.'
Without flipping over the cards, he closed his eyes and touched them. A wave washed over him. His rebuttal followed.
"Nah, I'm good. Let's go."
Over the years he had learned to hone in on his luck into a more palpable ability. While it was far from perfect he could usually tell when it was about to come in handy.
Meaning this game was already decided.
Simultaneously the players picked up their hands. Almost immediately Celeste put hers down onto the table.
"Straight Flush." Her smirk was so sharp it could have cut glass. "Looks like I win. No hard feelings, of course. I expected this outcome-"
"Royal Flush. That's game, Celeste-san."
Royal Flush. The only possible combination of cards that would give a better result than what his opponent had drawn.
Luck was good to him sometimes.
"Wha-what…? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"
He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude. He was kind of surprised that she let out her true colours so soon. Back in his timeline it took her being pushed much farther before that ever happened.
This must have meant a lot to her.
"I'm, ah, sorry Celeste-san." Makoto placated. "How about this: you hold onto your end of the bargain and we can pretend I never beat you, alright? This will stay between us."
Muttering a few choice words to herself, Celeste got out of her chair. Judging by her continued anger, his offer had been pointedly ignored.
"What's your favourite type of alcohol? Also, I'll need your ID so the barista Junior can know to look out for you in the future."
With a muttering of "Russian Vodka" he handed the outdated card to her. Raising an eyebrow at the rather youthful picture she nodded before approaching the bartender and explaining the situation.
Makoto could not help but sweat drop when he saw her intimidation tactics at work.
Damn she was scary.
Not even a minute later, she returned, approaching the table with a radiant smile. Reaching over, she handed him a rather large bottle of alcohol and a flask with an icon of a pair of dice on it. Cute.
"Here's your prize Naegi-kun. I also made sure that you would get permanent discounts in the future." She chuckled darkly. "If he ever argues with you, just let me know alright?"
Makoto gulped before taking his ID back and nodding.
Scratch that, she was terrifying.
"Ah, one more thing before you go Naegi-kun?"
Motioning for her to go on, Celeste struggled to speak. Distaste tainted her accent.
"About your offer not to share what happened…?" she led. "I uh-well…"
"What do you mean? Nothing unexpected happened here."
She blinked at him as he got out of his chair and headed for the door.
"You creamed me at a game of cards, threatening to seize all my earnings, before you took pity on me by giving me a consolation prize in the form of alcohol." He looked over his shoulder. "That about right Celeste-san?"
Her expression was one of genuine surprise. For the second time in their encounter he defied her expectations. It was a novel concept, and she was happy for it.
Celeste smiled. A true smile.
"Ah, yes. That's right. Thank you for that Naegi-kun." He smiled at her before heading out. "Also, you can use a more informal moniker from now on, around me… if that suits you."
He grinned at the almost bashful way she said it.
Did that make him a C-rank in this reality too? Already? Damn that was fast.
May as well play along, then.
"Alright. Ja ne, Celeste-chan."
Makoto smiled brightly as he took a sip of his high-quality alcohol. Giddy he laid back down on his bed and sighed.
"Damn, now that hits the spot."
While the day had a bit more involvement than he would have liked, he couldn't deny the results.
"Free alcohol AND a place where I can buy it in the future without hassle? Hell, this was a good day."
Still. He worried that perhaps his conversation with Celeste would lead to unforeseen changes in their friendship down the line.
Well, whatever. He doubted it would be that big of a deal.
Looking around his room he had to force his mind free of outside thoughts. He was not going to be attacked at any second and no one here had it out for him. That he knew of, anyway.
A knock sounded from his door.
Despite the ironic timing of said action, Makoto wasn't worried. He could already guess who it was, and truthfully, while he knew they didn't intend to harm him, it didn't mean he was ready to deal with the blue-haired idol yet. Especially not after having such a good day.
So instead he turned around in his bed and promptly fell asleep.
Hey, he did say he was reclusive.
A/N: Don't expect updates so quickly lol, (not even close), but this story is super easy to write comparatively to my main one, so I just decided to put this up and see how it goes xD. Another thing to tie you guys over while I actually plan out the fanfic that requires a lot more thought x). This story was just made as a means of challenging myself to write something that almost exclusively deals in clichés. I think so far I'm managing :p. Let me know how you feel this chapter went! (Also damn the response for chapter one was huge for this community).
Reviewer Responses:
Doomqwer: Thank you! :P hopefully you enjoyed seeing Makoto's alcoholic tendencies pop up in this chapter X)
Liculle: Thanks :D. He's definitely jaded lol but he tries to deflect it with humour x) it'll come out randomly.
He Who Seeks The Joys In Life: While I intend on making this story more humorous like this chapter, I completely respect your decision to not read. I understand. Thanks so much though :D I'm far more proud of that story so that's great to hear lol.
Basscus: Thank you! It's definitely been done before lol but rarely do you get to have him be in his body, (not as a copy), AND without skipping ahead XD. That's my intention lol. Thank you! Hope you enjoyed:D.
Survivor Naegi: Hmmmm I wonder ;o. I won't spoil anything, (also I only have some very basic ideas for where this story is going lol it's not in depth like my other one x)) but hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Xavier: Thank you! :D Oh? Why would he specifically mention Izuru? Keep in mind this Makoto only knows what Junko told him, and what he's gleaned from news sources and the like x). (Or at least, that's what you're supposed to assume at this point in time).
Doremishine Itsuko: XD lol thanks fam. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! :D