Chapter 3: Nightmares and Meetings

Nagito opened his eyes, blinking rapidly in disbelief.

'What…what the hell was that?'

Despite his memorization skills, Nagito could scantly remember few of his dreams. He didn't really care enough to bother to remember his dreams. But this one was more vivid then usual. Partially because it resembled a scene he saw before.

"Was…was that…his/her execution?" He asked aloud.

It was two years after the unfortunate demise of his new parents. Nagito Komaeda was now an orphan.

But he didn't lose everything.

His parents only ever used money they made from their jobs. So they had a substantial savings.

The fact that neither of them had any living relatives was just the icing of the cake. Especially when Hisao's sister died in a car crash a year after his birth. He sincerely hopes that wasn't indicative of anything.

The chef and the house-workers became his official guardian, but he was just a ward of the state. His relationship with them was polite, but distant. Probably for the best. He didn't need any more death on his conscious.

So he created a routine. He went to school. He studied. He started a gaming habit. His finances more then allowed for it. He ate. He did all sorts of things to entertain himself. He just couldn't trust himself to go out and make friends. Besides, he can't really open himself to little kids, and adults would get more then a little disturbed and suspicious.

In all honesty, he should be more upset, but he wasn't a kid. He understands the trouble of what is going on. Nagito in the original script was scarred by every thing that happened to him. He vows not to let that happen to him…

Well he can prey? Can't he?

And so that's what his life becomes. He was on top of his class for the most part, his own memory and years of education helping immensely…

(On a side note, he wept at the realization that Japan you had to go to school on Saturdays as well.)

But as it was, his life was normal…well as normal as someone who practically isolated themselves from the world could be.

But then…the nightmares started. They themselves wouldn't be so bad…but they often coincided with a meeting.

The beeping of the heart monitor rang throughout the mostly empty hospital room. The only one there was a young, dark-haired girl lying in the bed, covered by a pure white sheet. The general feel of the room can best be described as sterile. The black-haired teen gave an unfeeling expression as the heart monitor continued to beep. The only source of light was the sun shining brightly through the big windows.

She turned his head to see a very bizarre sight. It was that of a teddy bear, half white and half black, wearing a nurse's outfit and carrying a very large syringe filled to the brim with a green serum.

The bear ran up to the still apathetic young woman, and it stabbed the syringe near his bed. The four walls completely fell apart in an outward fashion to reveal the room to be on a deserted field.

The bed rocketed off with the young girl flying off of it. A giant robotic arm takes its place as the young woman landed on its fore area.

The bear took the syringe and stabbed it straight into the arm. The green liquid slowly but surely traveled into the veins of the giant arm where it's changing coloration from pale to red as proof.

The teenager's face started to twist at an orgasmic expression at the rapid vibration of the arm being filled. Even when the arm's muscle completely bulged and turned red.

When the last of the serum entered the arm and the bear removed the needle, the rocket boosters at the end of the arm completely fired from their starting points. The hand clenched into a fist and fired the arm.

The young woman looked up as he flew through the air on the arm. Only an apathetic look was evident on her face as the rocket arm once again used the last of its fuel to fire itself into space. She closed his eyes and allowed the clouds to surround her as she embraces the oxygen-less sky.

The teddy bear fell and landed next to a white-haired boy, who looked at the disappearing rocket with an almost sad expression.

"Aw…does little Mikan have a boo-boo?" A particularly cruel looking girl fake-cooed at a young dark hair girl.

"…It's…fine…" The girl stuttered. She was about seven years old and was clad in a pink blouse and blue skirt. Her face and arms all had a band-aid on them and her hair was choppy as if cut incorrectly. Her blue eyes had a twinge of fear in them. Mostly at the surrounding group of children.

"Look at her…" One of the kids mocked in face-disgust. "Any more band-aids and she might be a mummy!"

"It's an improvement over having to see her face…" A kid sadistically muttered.

Mikan felt tears coming to her eyes. Honestly whoever said words can't hurt clearly never gotten a full on mocking before. Heck, with sticks and stones all she needs are bandages at the very least.

"Can you just draw on me today…" The poor girl practically pleaded. She just got rid of the smell of mud. She didn't need anymore trouble, especially from her demanding aunt…

"Hey! You said it not me…" But before they could do their daily round of writing, a voice called out.

"Oi!" The victim and bullies turned to see a tired looking boy in a green hoodie giving them a deadpan look.

"Do you have anything better to do then to pick on a poor girl?" He asked. "Or is your life really so boring, that is all you have in your life?"

The head girl felt a flush of anger. Who was this random guy interrupting her fun? "What's it to you?"

"I just don't like the idea of seeing a bunch of kids picking on a poor girl."

"You're a kid yourself…"

"Oh nothing…but seriously though…I might have to call your guardians…"

The girl let out a haughty laugh. "Then prove it! Call my parents!"

The group of disgruntled children all made their way alongside their somewhat peeved parents. Nagito gave them a friendly wave.

Mikan looked up to her savior. He smiled and held out his hand. "Hello there. My name is Nagito Komaeda…and you are?"

"M-Mikan Tsumiki." She stated, her fear of other people acting up.

But if he helped her…surely he couldn't be all that bad…right?

'Mikan Tsumiki' Nagito thought in his head as he picked the future nurse up. 'Never thought I see you here.'

"You-you didn't have to do that". The girl nervously stammered as she dusted off her skirt. "They might pick on you next…Especially after calling her out just like that…"

Nagito shrugged. "Eh…not my neighborhood. I'm just here until my car is fixed. Just saw someone getting bullied and I decided to help out."

"Who?"

He gave her a deadpan stare. "…You".

Mikan flushed and shriek. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to anger you-".

"Mikan!" He shouted. "Breathe!"

The nervous wreck nodded and took rapid-fire calming breaths. Nagito couldn't help it and smiled in amusement.

'To think this is the girl who ended up killing two people…' He noted, and immediately shook his head. Those were under circumstances far beyond her control. He actually dislikes few characters from the series and Mikan wasn't one of them. Right now she was a normal, if not incredibly nervous, girl.

"So what's with all the bandages?" Nagito asked, knowing perfectly well what the answer was. But it helps to keep conversation.

The nervous girl fingered her wounds and murmured. "I had to learn how to band-aids on myself. An-d that wasn't the first time…someone bullied me…"

"What about your parents?" Nagito couldn't help but ask. It was the logical thing to question. But he was well aware the answer wasn't pretty.

Sure enough, Mikan started to sniffle. "I-I don't have any. They died when I was younger so I live with my aunt…she doesn't like me very much."

"I can sympathize…" Nagito whispered. "My parents ended up dying in an accident about two years back. It's alright I'm over it." He added looking at her startled expression

"Y-you shouldn't be!" Mikan declared. "A lot of people made fun of me…for not having parents."

"Dicks!" He shouted the offense clear in his voice.

"B-bad word!"

Oh right. They were still kids. He can't wait to get to an age where he can swear as much as he wants without too much consequence….essentially, when he becomes a bitter old man.

"They say things like…'Your parents were so bad…'"

"Don't tell me…" Nagito stopped her. "They killed themselves to stay away from you?" Her sniffling was all the confirmation that he needed.

He patted her on the head, and she looks at him in confusion. "I know I can't just say 'Don't listen' and be done with it…but I think you deserve better then your current situation."

A car beeped and two turned to see a white car as the culprit. Nagito whistled and said. "Well there's my ride. Hope you learn to make them ignore you."

"It's better to be bullied then ignore…" Mikan stated with an almost dead look in her eye. Nagito surmised this thought process is what Junko must have used to turn the poor nurse into ultimate despair. He shook his head of the thought.

"No…loneliness may suck…but being in constant pain is not something I would want to deal with in my life". Maybe it applies only to natural loners like him…but it's still something he believes.

Maybe his car breaking down was bad luck…and maybe meeting Mikan was good luck.

Ah well…if all goes well he won't see her for a while.

The beautiful sunset of the sky painted a heavenly color on the beach. It illuminated the white sands, the palm trees, the crystal clear water, the boy tied to a post…huh?

Standing in the middle of the beach was a young boy tied to a post with chains. He was struggling to escape but the difficulties prove that the chains were ironed. He was pudgy, short, and clad in a chef's outfit.

From the distance, helicopter came into view, covering the setting sun. On its side was a pair of missile launchers. Inside the helicopter was a familiar monochrome bear. It grinned at the chef-hat boy and pressed a button.

From the launchers came an array of missiles all heading the trapped teen's way. When the missiles made contact, it was revealed that inside them was not gunpowder, but eggs. The boy was covered in the yellow mess as his eyes were swirling.

While his head was spinning, the helicopter released a rocket this time. The rocket exploded before it made contact, and instead of smoke, it covered the boy with breadcrumbs.

But it wasn't the end. The helicopter grabbed the ingredient covered boy with an iron hook and hoisted him into air. It flew a great distance before it arrived at its location… a giant volcano.

It all ended with the screaming boy being dropped into the crater. A young man looking at the entire twisted scene through a TV.

"Thank you! Please come again!" The head of the diner stated with a cheerful inflection in her voice. She was a plump woman clad in an apron and a slightly odd face.

"Any time Reiko! We all know this place has the best grub!" The leaving customer stated with a laugh in his voice.

"Another satisfied customer Mama?" A voice in the back called out. This was her pride and joy: Teruteru Hanamura , one of the best cooks of his young generation.

"Like always Teru." Reiko stated with a laugh. "You got the gift."

"Aw…you do all the work Mom!"

"No, no…" Reiko waved it off. "You were the one who kept this place in business. If it was just me, we would be on the tall end of those money grubbing corporation!" Her voice took an angry tone toward the ends.

That was a sore subject for his mother, so Teruteru avoided it. He decided to go back to the kitchen to prepare for any future dishes.

Reiko could only sigh. Her health wasn't the best, she had a pair of young twins, her husband made chicken scratch, and the town wasn't booming enough for business. The fact that her son was such a skilled cook was a complete and utter miracle. It kept away any of those corrupt businessmen and keep food on the table.

The door chimed signaling the exhausted cook to turn her head. She was surprised to see it was a little boy all by himself. Now usually it wasn't that big a deal, but only with children the Hanamura family was familiar with. This one was someone they never met or saw before.

'Now that I think about it…' Reiko hummed to her as the boy looked around. 'He looks to be about the same age as Teruteru.'

"Are you alright little boy?" Reiko asked the child as she walked up to the lone child. "Are your parents not around?"

"Something likes that…" He answered with a shrug. "But I'm here on my own. I was in the neighborhood and I was looking for a quick bite."

Reiko waved her finger. "You shouldn't be here all alone. Your guardians can and will get worried."

"Trust me…" The boy smirked. "I can handle coming to a restaurant all alone." Before Reiko could report, her son called from the diner.

"MAMA!" Teruteru called out. He was short, round, and clad in a miniature chef's outfit. "Do we have a customer?"

"Yes Teru!" Reiko called out her nickname for her son. "He's a boy your age!"

"Really?" and the young cook walked up to the entrance to meet a smiling and waving boy with dark hair.

"I'm Teruteru Hanamura ." The round boys stated with a cheer, new customers were always a delight. "And you are?"

The dark-haired boy smiled. "Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you!"

"So what can I get for you?" He immediately asked, on point as usual.

"Just give me whatever is the signature." Nagito answered. "I'll take anything as long as it tastes good!"

Teruteru clapped his knives together. "Alrighty then! One summer special…coming up!"

The moment that Reiko saw the amount of money that Nagito possessed, she can suddenly believe just why he doesn't have that much supervision.

It's not everyday a rich boy comes to eat your restaurant.

Nagito looked down at his meal, he sniffs the sauce and the meat, savoring the smell, and he proceeded to taste it.

Reiko could only smirk at the way his eyes lighted. A first-timer tends to do that.

His mouth exploded. It was as if there was a symphony of flavors playing inside his mouth.

'I guess since he didn't hit puberty yet, he isn't a pervert yet.' Nagito theorized about Teruteru as he continued to eat his dinner. He has to admit, the characters from the original game weren't lying when they said it was the best they had.

Also, he never really disliked Teruteru. Sure he was an incorrigible pervert, but he was entertaining enough. His surprisingly sudden status as a blackened raised some sympathy as well.

He decided to break the ice. "So where did you learn to cook?"

Teruteru rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Well my mama taught me everything she knows. Plus we have a collection of cookbooks. Plus I always did have a good sense of taste and smell."

Nagito let out a laugh. "All the best chefs do!"

"Really…?" Teruteru stated with a hopeful look in his eye. "Do you really think I have what it takes to be one of the best?"

The lucky child merely gave a small smile. "Well why not? The food you cook is delicious…isn't that a nice start."

"But I'm just a country boy…" The future Ultimate Cook shamefully admitted. "Those guys at the big city will never want someone like me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Nagito smirked as he patted his future classmate on the back. "If you have what it takes, then you have what it takes. It is that simple."

Teruteru smiled. It wasn't the first time he was motivated by someone to take his skills to the top. Although it usually only applies to his mother. But having another person telling him to follow his dream certainly is nice.

The two heard a whistling noise, with Reiko calling out "I GOT IT!"

"HEY BIG BROTHER!" And a pair of children, both blonde, accidentally ran into their mother.

"WAIT KIDS DON'T-!" But alas…it was too late. The pot the poor woman was carrying flew and landed on one very unlucky child.

Nagito could only sigh as he brushed the burning pot off his hands. Guess this was the payoff for eating such delicious food. Well it could be worse. This was the second classmate he met after Mikan.

He licks the sauce stuck on his hand…hmm? He tasted delicious.

She was trapped on a lone island…no a seamount. But she wasn't alone. Se was surrounded by a sea of robots, all clad in samurai robes and carrying a flag with a unique symbol embroidered on it. The girl had silver hair, red eyes, and square glasses.

The teddy bear was now a giant as it looked at the apathetic girl. The girl was carrying a katana in her hand. The bear held a strange device in its paws. It was a life-sized straw marionette. On the picture of the marionette was the girl herself.

The bear did an experimental tug on the puppet, and the girl's hand jerked to the right. Her katana shined as it beamed in the bright sunlight. The bear let out a chuckle and pushed the puppet forward, sword stretched out.

The sword easily destroyed the robotic samurai in front of him. The bear started jerking the puppet, and in turns the girl, all over the place.

On looking the entire thing was a boy with shaved blonde hair and in a suit looking at the scene through the sea of robots.

All while the girl was busy fighting, the boy tried to reach her, going through each robot who ignored him in favor of the girl. However, things took a turn for the worse as he stood behind one faithful robot.

The girl sliced...only to realize she has slain the boy alongside the robot. His entire right half getting cut.

The silver-haired girl look down sadly at the boy whose life she ended, as she hugged him tightly to her chest, not noticing, or perhaps not caring, the robots preparing their blades.

The last thing she felt was the blades of the remaining robots cutting into her body, the platform being flooded with her blood and the boy she was holding. It all ended when one fortunate robot ended up chopping their head off.

A white-haired boy looked at the scene with something akin to horrific fascination.

"Young master!" A young girl about eight years old clad in a grey uniform and glasses called out. Her hair was silver, her eyes were red, and most prominently there was a shinai around her back. "Where are you?"

The girl was shouting over the noise generated by the people of the zoo and the animals concealed. As with most days, the zoo was crowded with children dragging their parents along, amateur photographers practicing on animals, and the beleaguered zookeeper trying to keep order.

"Over here Peko!" A young voice called out. It came from inside the building named the prime ape hall.

The girl, Peko, charged into the building to see a young boy with shaved blonde hair and a youthful face looking at some monkeys. He pouted at the sight of his friend though.

"What did I fucking tell you? Don't call me that in public!" The boy scolded, revealing a harsh language that contrasts with his innocent appearance.

Peko bowed in shame. "I'm sorry yo-er Fuyuhiko. But I was concerned when I lost sight of you."

Fuyuhiko waved his arm dismissively. "I can handle going on my own. I may be a kid, but I can go wherever I need to go."

"But if you were in danger…"

"Well that's what I have you around for!" Fuyuhiko countered with a smile. Peko felt her face flush at the faith her master had in her and bowed in embarrassment.

"I am simply required to do what a tool does…"

"Is that fucking garbage still in your head?" Fuyuhiko growled. "You aren't a tool, you are my friend Peko. How many times do I have to say it?"

Before Peko could retort she suddenly shrieked in surprise. "KYAH!"

The reason? She was splashed with a full can of ice cold soda. The culprit was on the ground, and gave the two a surprised glance.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The boy on the ground quickly apologized. "I didn't watch where I was going and I…"

"Save it buster!" Fuyuhiko yelled in fury ('my name is Nagito…'). "Maybe if you weren't being a goddamn klutz…"

"First of all." Nagito started. "Language, we're only children. Second: Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? And third: I said I was sorry! Do you want me to clean her up or something?"

"A: I don't give a rat's ass on my fucking language or B: what I say to my mother." The yakuza growled. "And C: You can start by getting her some towels…"

"And a blanket…" Peko whimpered slightly. Oh to be humiliated in front of her master. This was shameful to the highest degree.

"All right!"

Double this time. Nagito thought to himself as he went to his car. Given his constant accidents, he made it a habit to prepare bandages, towels, and any things that someone who has poor luck might require. And believe him that would be a lot.

Fuyuhiko and Peko. Two of the characters from Danganronpa. The former growing on him immensely after the latter's death. What a wonderful bunch of characters.

Okay, that sounded wrong. He shouldn't think of these people as characters. They were honest to god humans now in a freaky world.

He came to the zoo when he saw an advertisement after slipping down the stairs on his school. It was just a mere coincidence that it happened the day the young swordswomen and her master also went to said zoo…or more accurately, probably just his luck working its magic again.

"Still, Peko and Fuyuhiko…? Not that much of a surprise. Those two were practically inseparable before they landed on that twisted island." Nagito mused to himself. And already Fuyuhiko has shown how much he values Peko.

According to his memory, the time Peko and Fuyuhiko went to a zoo ended with the young yakuza challenging the king monkey to a fight…

And they are near the primate exhibit…

"Again, I am so sorry about that." Nagito apologized as handed the swordswoman a towel. She pouted and cleaned herself up. "That's fine."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Fuyuhiko demanded.

"I'm Nagito Komaeda." He stated with an easy grin. "And you two are…?"

"Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu." He muttered.

"Peko Pekoyama." She answered with a bow.

"Kuzuryuu?" He asked in fake wonder. "Does that make you a gangster?"

Peko raised an eyebrow. No surprise, most kids don't familiarize themselves with criminals. Especially highly organized one.

"What's it to you?" Fuyuhiko on the other hand was apathetic to his knowledge…well he was also rude, but that was just how he was.

"Oh nothing…just find it weird."

"So who's this girl? Is she a yakuza as well?"

"Peko…she's a friend." Fuyuhiko carefully stated. Peko on the other hand merely nodded her consent. Make sense. She can't outright call herself a bodyguard right in public.

"I see…it's nice to have friends isn't it?"

The yakuza gave him a deadpan glare. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing." Nagito stated. "Just someone you can trust above all else…I would like to have one as well."

Peko gave him a strange glance, while Fuyuhiko rolled his eye. "Oh why are you whining about this to me? Go cry to your parents!"

"I don't have parents. They died two years ago…" Peko herself winced at that comment.

"Does that sound like my problem?" Though his facial expression made it pretty clear that he was bothered that he picked at a touchy subject.

"No it does not." Nagito admitted with a smile. Honestly speaking, he didn't know why he was sounding so enigmatic. Perhaps he was preparing for the role he'll have to play on Dangan Island.

Fuyuhiko scratched the back of his head with a conflicted expression and said. "Well what? Do you want to spend time with a fucking yakuza?"

"Well it would be interesting!"

"Fine! Not my problem anyway…" Peko gave an apologetic glance. Nagito shrugged in response.

The two then saw Fuyuhiko giving an angry glare at a cage.

"This chimp is looking at me funny…" Fuyuhiko growled. Nagito rolled his eyes and said. "It's a gorilla."

Said gorilla was now making a rather…mocking face at the boys. Naturally, this aggravated the yakuza.

"HEY!" And the boy charged ahead, only being stopped by Nagito.

"Now, now…" Nagito tried to mediate, sweat forming on his brows. "Let us not do something we'll probably regret in the long run." And when he turned around, he almost felt like crying,

The gorilla was giving a mock imitation of the middle finger. Naturally, this caused the yakuza to see red.

"YOU WANT SOME YOU BASTARD!?" And Fuyuhiko charged, with Nagito unfortunately getting dragged along the way.

"Wait Fuyuhiko!" Peko called out in worry, already brandishing her sword.

"WHY ME!?" Nagito practically sobbed.

"I apologize for getting you involved." Peko stated with a furious blush on her face.

"No need." Nagito insisted. "It pays to see you do those badass swords move."

"I know right?" Fuyuhiko agreed. "She's one of the best. She already beat all the guys at our compound. Some of them were crying for a good weak."

Peko flushed at the shared compliments, especially from the ones coming from her master.

"Well it was unexpectedly simple." Nagito commented, a few bandages covering his face.

Fuyuhiko shrugged also bandaged. "I have connections." And he pointed to two beefy men in black suits giving a very subtle look at the about-to-pee-in-his-pants zookeeper.

"You're scary…" He commented while sweating.

"Have to be in my future business." Fuyuhiko stated with a smirk. "Have to admit, didn't expect you to knock out the gorilla."

"Neither did I…" It was a simple trip by the gorilla's feet. He landed on the ground and the damn ape didn't saw where it was going and…

"Till, we Yakuza have a thing about owing a debt." Fuyuhiko admitted. "We don't like doing so though."

"And this is relevant because…"

"So if you have a deal, just contact me." The future heir stated with a smirk.

"So the young yakuza owes me a favor…" Nagito said with a grin. "I'll be sure to remember that." He sincerely hopes there wasn't an expiration dates on these things.

"A yakuza keeps his promise." Fuyuhiko insisted with his trademark smirk. "You did a lot already today...plus it may have been my fault."

He held out his hand, Nagito saw Peko give him an encouraging smile so he consented.

"It was nice meeting you two…though is it strange to have a childhood friend whose a yakuza?" Well aware of her true nature.

Peko flushed. "It's…interesting."

Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the arm. The duo waved their farewell and went on their merry way.

As Nagito look the two walk away, he felt a smirk come to his face. Maybe he could use the favor when they all go to Dangan Island. Such as getting him to work together with the others and save lives, or maybe spare Mahiru's…

After all, Fuyuhiko values Peko far too much to allow her to die. It's even blatant here even though they are just kids.

Eh…he ships it.

As Nagito left the pound, he put his finger to his chin and pondered. He had three nightmares, showcasing Mikan, Teruteru, and Peko's execution. Then he ended up meeting said characters, with Fuyuhiko as an added bonus.

Were the dreams some sort of foreshadowing? Because they were certainly reaching a level where freaky is the main definition.

He wasn't supposed to deal with freaky until high school!

Nagito merely sighed and tapped his forehead. He missed it when the most worrying thing he had to do was paying the bills.

It was a hot day in the savannah, as indicated by the lands stunning sun. It all accentuated a bizarre sight.

A young teenage male clad in strange clothes were putting down some animals that resembled hamsters. Reason? A stampede of wild animals, all led by a black and white teddy bear.

The male smiled at his pet, and got to work. Taking a long stick, and forcing it into the sand.

The young man started drawing a circle around him, with plenty of runes to add to the mystique. All while the teddy bear continued it's fatal charge with its array of wild animals.

POW!

…It was ultimately futile.

The bloodied boy gave his beloved hamsters' one last smile before his eyes closed. Around him, the spirits of his former companions came to pick up his body; those helping their kind master reach the heavens.

The white-haired boy patted the crying hamsters on the head as they watch their master be taken to heaven by the pet that preceded them.

"Hey Gundam!" A portly old man called out. "It's time to feed the animals."

"Silence uncle!" A prepubescent voice demanded. "I shall allow my vassals to feed after they are done cleansing themselves of human filth!"

The manager rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but smirk. Meeting Gundam for the first time, few would guess that he happens to be an animal lover. But despite being only a young child, he is one of the most devoted employees. Takami knew this the day his sister introduced him to the boy.

Honestly, he just hired Gundam to allow him to escape from the roof of his abusive father (and he will never admit it, but the demonic cooking of his sister), the fact that he had the gift was just an unexpected, but nice bonus…he really wishes that he kept his mumbling about being a dark lord to himself though…

"What is it my vassals?" The scarf boy asked the animals. Very rarely did the animals ever started to shiver. Gundam knew that animals have a finer tuned sixth sense compared to normal mortals, so whenever they get really scared, he should get scared as well.

Gundam turned to see…a messy-haired boy giving a dull look to his surroundings.

"…Huh?" Was all that Gundam could muster out, rare for someone with his extensive vocabulary. This was the blasted demon that terrifies his animal companions so? He was just a mere mortal child.

"Hmm? Nice place you got here." The boy commented while munching on a burger. Gundam's face twisted with disgust. Why many mortals enjoy eating their animal compatriots, he will never know. Milk and eggs are one thing, but being a vegetarian was more his style.

(Side note: Gundam's mother is capable of making a few edible things, but there generally needs to be meat in them)

But more importantly, was the animal he held in his hand. A black kitten. One that Gundam was all too familiar with.

"I see you have made contact with the dark-furred one, vassal of Bast!" Gundam theatrically stated. "But be forewarned, this one is cursed!"

Nagito couldn't help but laugh at the scarped boy in front of him. Gundam Tanaka, The Ultimate Breeder, the fourth blackened, and a bunch of other titles too complicated to pronounce and/or understand.

"Cursed?" Nagito asked, generally curious. "It's just a little cat."

Gundam growled. "Do not be fooled by his innocent visage. He is a demon cursed by the gods of luck!"

'Sounds like I can emphasize.' Nagito deadpanned in his head.

"This feline suffered from a series of unfortunate events." Gundam revealed, the animals waving theatrically. "From his very birth, he accidentally ended up falling off his resting place."

"Ouch."

"His first owner broke her back due to a stray toy, second ended up burning his house down with cat nip, as for his third…well apparently it involved kitty litter…"

The man himself checked himself into a mental hospital. Gundam knew he shouldn't ask lest in fear of joining him.

Nagito could only blink. "Well…it looks like I found someone that shares my curse…"

"Why on earth do you consider yourself cursed?"

"Well there was the time I ended up breaking my arm, setting off my allergic reaction to shellfish, or losing the roof to my house all in the same month." He deadpanned in retort. This naturally caused the scarped boy's eyes to widen.

"Dear god!" Gundam exclaimed, eyes wide at Nagito's story. "Were you cursed by some sort of evil shaman at birth? Or did your ancestor fail to keep a sacred promise?"

"Strangely enough, that would explain far too much in my life…" Nagito stated bluntly.

He really should be driven mad by now, but in all honesty, other then his parents' death, nothing too traumatizing ever happened to him. He estimated that as long as he doesn't get too emotionally close to anyone, his bad luck will avoid effecting him to badly…dear god was that a depressing revelation that his tendency toward physical pain was preferable.

He saw the look in the kitten's eyes. He knew he was being superficial. But hey, he was in the body of a boy literally cursed by luck.

"I want him."

"Excuse me?" Gundam asked, dropping his trademark ham. "You did listen to what I said right?"

"I don't care. I want him." Nagito emphasized. "Besides, we are both cursed by luck. I can use a friend in the house."

Gundam rolled his eyes. But he can't deny he wasn't please. He genuinely did want the poor kitten to find a home, but its tendency for unusual situation made that difficult. If this boy had similar luck, maybe they can cancel each others luck out. Negative times a negative is a positive after all.

"Do I have to get him neutered?" Nagito asked. He saw the kitten suddenly tense up. Any male would be at the thought of losing their precious genitals. In fact, nearly all the male animals immediately tensed at that word.

"Erm…no one kept him long enough to try…" Gundam admitted behind his scarf. "I generally avoid harming animals in any way, but in all honesty we are depriving males of their rights!"

"So no to neutering." And Nagito could practically feel the cat relax in relief.

"What about your parents?" Gundam pointed out. "They have to pay the fees."

"I…I don't have any. They're dead. I'm paying on my own." This shut Gundam up, who gulped somewhat. The future breeder laughed uncomfortably to regain some momentum.

"Begone twin unfortunate ones!" Gundam called out to him with a gesture. "And perhaps one day we shall meet again." The pets chirped, hissed, and chattered their consent.

Nagito couldn't help but laugh. This was why Gundam was one of his favorites, and why his status as a blackened was such a gut-punch. He waved the hammy boys and his animals' goodbye, his new kitten mimicking his action.

As for the cat…he named it Kuro. Yes that was smarmy, but hey it's a pet. He would have named it Chiaki, but that was gone in favor of gender.

Kuro bit his fingers. He could only sigh.

There was once an amazing ruler by the name of Queen Monokuma. The fairest bear in all of her kingdom.

But her evil stepdaughter: Sonia Nevermind threatened to take that famous title from her. She wasn't even a bear!

So Queen Monokuma hired the huntress Monomi, but she chickened out like the coward she was and told Princess Sonia to run away.

But the queen found the princess, and in a clever disguise, gives her a very special apple…a poisoned apple.

Eventually Sonia ate the fatal apple, and fell asleep forever.

And there was no prince to save her life. That white-haired boy watching her is nothing more then a mere commoner.

And Queen Monokuma lived happily ever after.

A ten year old Sonia Nevermind gaped in wonder at the glistening scenery of Japan. The various skyscrapers, the bustling countryside, the vast bays were all available to see from her giant private jet.

"This is amazing!" The young girl shouted in wonder.

Her bodyguard Kurt merely gives an easy look out the window. The king and queen were busy with affairs so their prized bodyguard was in charge of making sure the princess has a nice and more importantly safe, visit.

"I understand why you are excited." Kurt stated. "But you shouldn't wander too far. It would be bad on your parent's part."

"Have faith Kurt." Sonia eased with a gentle smile, "I won't get lost…"

'I got lost…' Sonia sobbed to herself as she wondered through a park.

She got so absorbed with watching anime play on the TV screens, her bodyguard and her ended up separating.

"Are you alright?" A young voice called out. She turned to see a boy her age with black hair stuck in a puffy green jacket talking to her.

Sonia nodded despite the tears in her eyes. "I'll be fine." She stated in slightly accented Japanese.

"Why hello there Princess Sonia." The boy bowed. And he said in perfect Novoselicin.

"You can speak my language?" Sonia noted in shock. Novoselic's dialect wasn't particularly well known, so finding someone outside of her country who could speak the language was very limited.

The boy shrugged. "It's not that difficult for me your majesty. I do have a photographic memory."

"Oh that is a rare skill." The princess noted with a smidgen of envy in her glance. "It would've made my studies so much easier."

"Which is?"

"I have to learn thirty languages." Sonia admitted with a sigh. "I already learned ten, and I have twenty more to go."

The boy blinked, and said. "Well a day doesn't go by where I don't bless my memorization skills. In any case, have I introduced myself? My name is Komaeda Nagito or as they say in your country, Nagito Komaeda."

"And you know me as Sonia Nevermind or as in your country, Nevermind Sonia." The princess noted with a small smile. Her ears perked up when she heard a purr.

She turned to Nagito, and crawling out of the sleeves of his jacket was a small black kitten. Its very face caused Sonia's love of animals to act up.

"Oh!" Sonia cooed at the cute cat. "Who is that?"

"Oh this is Kuro." Nagito petted his cat. "He's someone I recently adopted. It was a very interesting story…" He trailed off when he realized Sonia was still staring at the cat with a fanciful look. He snapped a finger in front of her.

"Huh?" Sonia said in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing red. She's been distracted by the kitten because…well it was a kitten! Nagito merely shook his head in amusement. The sight of Kuro riding his master's shoulder often seems to be cute-inspiring.

"Can I…?" She reached her hands out. Her intentions quite blatant and clear.

"Go on ahead. He doesn't bite." 'Anymore'. The princess squealed in joy and took the lazy cat into her arms. Kuro merely gave an apathetic glance as Sonia stroked his fur.

Nagito smirked at the cute sight of the princess petting Kuro. The nightmare he experienced was a new one. He recalls reading it before as Sonia's potential execution. So when he learned the royals of Novoselic were coming to Japan, he knew it was time to come.

Oh yeah, and he decided on learning the language on a whim. Apparently it was similar enough to English that learning it wasn't too difficult. He decided to expand his knowledge in regards to languages, thinking it might come in handy in the future.

"So what brings a princess to Japan anyway?" Nagito asked, making sure no one was walking by the alley.

"I spent most of my childhood in my palace." Sonia revealed with a slightly wistful tone. "I never visited another country before. I found Japanese culture to be so fascinating that I really wanted to come here!"

"This is the first time out of Novoselic?"

"In all honesty…yes." She revealed with a sigh. And for the most part, it was practically like out of her palace for more then a few hours.

"Hey, if I want to visit another country, it wouldn't be difficult." He noted with a smirk.

"Shouldn't your parents get worried though?" Sonia questioned.

"I don't have any parents. They died when I was five" Nagito said quickly enough in hope for her to miss it. No such luck existed it seems. He felt a tiny pair of arm grabbed his arms as he saw the princess giving him a tearful look.

"Why are you hugging me?" He deadpanned.

"Because it is so sad!" Sonia sobbed. "To lose your parents when you are just a child! No child deserves that fate!"

"I'm over it." Nagito quickly amended, already far too used to the tears of sympathy he receives. "I was young!"

"It's still awful!"

After calming the poor girl down, she give him a small smile and bend her knees.

"Thank you Nagito!" She stated with a bow. "For helping me out."

"Why are you bowing?"

"Is this not what the Japanese do to show respect?"

Nagito smirked. "Well you are being rather formal..." Oh well, if the girl keeps doing her research, she'll have a better knowledge when she comes to Hope's Peak.

"YOUR HONOR!"

"Looks like you're bodyguards are here!"

"Thank you good sir!" Sonia waved to the sitting child and his cat as she ran towards her bodyguards.

Nagito merely smiled and waved back. At this point he felt like he was collecting premature hope fragments at the rate he was going. He always liked Sonia, how she tried her best to remain clean, and succeeded…and how she might be dirty in the most perverse way possible…oh how he can't wait to find out.

He failed to notice someone sneak up behind him. A bag suddenly over his head, and all he saw was darkness.

"ALRIGHT!" A voice cheered. "We kidnapped the princess!"

Oh yay, he was being kidnapped. May his luck save him now.

It was a long day afterwards, with the video message of the king and queen of Novoselic actually apologizing to Nagito for the inconvenience.

On the bright side, he found a lottery ticket. Now his already considerable finance rose even further!

Only for his bank to lose half the money on some sort of robbery.

That night, the boy dreamed of when his life wasn't completely bonkers in every sort of way.

The location was around the floors of an abandoned area. The sun was shining brightly and the air was clear.

A violet haired teen clad in a green jumpsuit with some very sharp teeth struggled through the rope as he sat on a chair. His eyes widened in fear at the sight of a monochrome teddy bear jumping up and pressing a button.

The teddy bear threw the violet-haired boy into the machine, and closed the door. The boy slammed his hands into the windows. The monochrome bear only laughed as it slammed a button near its palm.

From below the machine, a giant drill came into view and plunged straight into the earth, a jet fueling it's destination into the core.

The drill keeps spinning and spinning, making the jumpsuit-clad teen dizzier and dizzier. It finally stopped when it arrived at the flaming heat that is the core.

The sharp-tooth screamed at the feeling of lava surrounding him. From high up the teddy bear and a green jacket boy looked at the scene with horrific fascination from the boy and complete joy from the bear.

A nervous looking eleven year old with black hair and thick glasses quickly navigated his way through the streets on his bike. His motion sickness wasn't as strong if he was causing the motion. Unfortunately he was spotted by the last people he wanted to see him.

"Hey it's that geek!" A voice called out. A group of chortling kids were hanging out, grinning sadistically at the sight of their favorite victim.

'Oh god…not now!' The boy on the bike gritted his teeth in frustration revealing them to be absurdly sharp. He made his plan

"3…2…1…GO!" And he slammed down on the button. The engine connected to his bike fired up and accelerated the ride.

The bully following him opened his eyes in shock. "What the-?" But he was ignored as the mechanic's bike reached a level where it could've broken a barrier.

"My name is Kazuichi Soda!" The boy called out with a laugh. The bullies behind him cursed as the bike sped way past their speed limit.

Laughing at escaping his tormentors, Kazuichi decided he was far enough to break…only to come to a horrific realization.

'Oh no…oh no no no no!" He shouted in fear as the engine was not stopping on his command.

He pressed down on the brakes as hard as he can, and this time it finally stopped…only for it to throw him off the bike.

The boy screamed as he flew through the air, and stopped when he landed on some bushes. He felt himself lose consciousness as the sight before him blackened.

It was a wet sensation that grazed the mechanic's face. He scrunched up his face as he felt a headache come to his head. The boy slowly opened his eyes to see his blurred vision meet the green one of a cat.

The cat licked Kazuichi's face as the mechanic turned his head in confusion. He saw above him was someone in a green jacket holding out his glasses towards him. The cat meowed in the background.

"Thanks…" Kazuichi said, taking the glasses from the stranger. He was a boy his age with messy black hair, a green jacket, and tired eyes.

"Nagito Komaeda." The boy introduced himself as. He shook his cat. "This is Kuro. My buddy."

'So this is what he looks like…' Nagito commented to himself. 'Huh…the shark teeth are natural?' He was well aware that the mechanic's hair and eye color were faked. But to think his unnaturally sharp teeth were authentic was certainly surprising.

To be honest he always like the mechanic…except when the writers made his love for Sonia his one and only character trait. Dear god, he knew he shouldn't interfere in love lives (Even despite his love of shipping), but damn it, he was going to hold an intervention for that one.

"I'm Nagito Komaeda." He bowed and pointed at his cat. "And this is Kuro."

"Meow!"

"Kazuichi Soda…" He murmured as he picked himself up with Nagito's help.

"So I can't but help but see that scene." Nagito noted with a laugh. "You get a ten for the escape, but a two for the aftermath."

The mechanic flushed and gritted his sharp teeth. "Hey, I prefer being away from those jackasses over pain any day of the week."

"I can emphasize." Nagito admitted. "Though I did find a way to make the bullies at my school leave me alone."

"How?"

Nagito gave him the 'smile'. It was something he created after playing through multiple horror games. He based his off of what he can gather from Nagito in the game. It worked like a charm…except it also made other kids react in a certain way.

"GYAAHH!"

Something like that.

"Sorry about that." Nagito dropped his 'smile'. "But maybe you can create your own. You have the right teeth for it!"

Kazuichi, who was still shivering in fear, retorted. "No thanks...Maybe changing my image would be a better idea."

"And you think that will work?"

"Course it can! I'm a mechanic. Instead of a machine, I'll just dismantle me instead to create something new!"

'Hope you don't change what's inside as well...' Nagito noted. "You're a mechanic?" he decided to ask in false wonder.

"Yup!"

He held out a PSP Vita. His finances allowed him to be very capable of catching the trend. As such, he has a lot of video games.

"So can you fix it?" Nagito asked with a smirk. This was the future Ultimate Mechanic. It certainly would be nice to see exactly what he was capable. Fixing his game system would certainly be a nice start. It made a bad drop after he got the winning raffle at his school.

Kazuichi gained a very sharp grin and answered. "Child's play buddy."

And so he did.

And it ended with him actually stepping on a particularly sharp part of the repair store… Yeah, this was just getting old at this point.

Thankfully, it wasn't anything too major.

The lightning flashed. The natural light brightened the sky to show a dark gloomy castle. The rain continues to pour on the gothic building.

Walking through the ominous corridor was a young girl with short crimson hair, and carrying a large camera.

Her facial expressions were nervous, especially at the sight of all the cobwebs and such all accompanied by the lightning and thunder continuing outside.

She stopped in her track when she came across a dusty photo album stuck in her way.

The girl picked up the photo album and started to leaf through the pages. Her facial features grew more and more disturbed upon the images she was seeing.

It was her reading the same photo album, all while a specter was strangling her slender neck with their pale hands...and right now she was feeling like she can't breathe...

The ghost clasped their hands around the redhead's neck. She only let out a silent scream as the ghost strangled her to death. Her camera clicked one last time to photograph the gruesome scene.

Her photos developed to show the one causing the strangulation was a bear, while the other spirit was that of a messy haired boy watching the scene sadly.

'Oh that looks good.' A young crimson-haired girl noted in glee as she took a photo. The shot was that of a bluebird feeding her children. 'The warm image of seeing a mother bird work for her children…Wish it applies to dads too…' She mused to herself, some what bitterly at that.

The young photographer was currently in the park near him. Like most of the time spent there, the girl practiced her photography skills by taking picture of anything that catches her fancy. Her name was Mahiru Koizumi.

'Aw…' Mahiru cooed at the sight of seeing a black kitten clawing at the wall. 'How cute'. And she took a photo.

Her next shot shows a boy her age picking up the cat and scratching its ears. A perfectly nice and affable shot.

As for her next one, it shows the boy…looking straight her way. And for the next photo, he was waving with the cat mimicking him. The last one caused her face to blush in embarrassment at being caught.

"You know…" He walked up to her, "Most people would generally be uncomfortable at being photographed without permission. It makes them feel like a stalker is tailing them"

Mahiru could only growl at the boy in front of her. The worst part was that he pretty much had every right to reprimand her.

"Of course…me and Kuro would make a damn good model if I do say so myself." Nagito noted with a grin. His cat seemed to be practically imitating him as well.

Okay, he was already better then most guys. But that doesn't mean he has to be so smarmy!

'Why does it not surprised me she was one of those girls?' Nagito noted to himself.

Mahiru was 'that' girl. The one that seemed to have a grudge against the opposite gender. She was never a favorite of his due to that…but it certainly didn't warrant him to not be upset about her death!

"I'll have you know that…how cute!" how being Kuro lying on his back and stretching himself out.

'Gets them every time.' He noted with a smirk as Mahiru immediately started to pet the cat. Kuro learned to do that whenever he was dealing with someone troublesome, be it to cuteness or intimidation.

"Well this isn't my neighborhood." Nagito commented. "I was out on a stroll, and ended up getting lost since Kuro ran somewhere. It's how I ended up here."

"Don't your parents know where you are?" Mahiru asked the obvious question.

He opened his mouth, and decided against it. He really did not want to deal with any sympathy at the moment. Instead he changed the subject.

"So what's with all those photographs?"

She looked down at her camera and shrugged. "Oh it was a birthday gift from my dad. He thought I wanted to be like my mom for once."

"That was nice of him."

"Surprisingly so." Stated Mahiru. Judging by the look on her face, she really hated the fact that her father being considerate was a surprise to her.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure he cares for you."

"I don't doubt that. It's just…" Mahiru started. "…I just wish he…did more. Like a mom should" She turned to see Nagito pointing at the tree.

"Look at that." And the birds from before were playing around with another bird, most likely the father.

"We have a special relationship with the one who gave birth to us." Nagito noted. "But don't forget parenthood is a two-way process." Kuro hummed as it scratched his head.

"No you can't eat them."

"Meow..."

Mahiru could only give a small smile at the birds playing around. A mom, dad, and a kid...yeah that was too nice a shot not to take.

"You're not so bad…for a boy." And she ran off with a laugh, pointing her tongue out at the boy and his cat.

'Let it go. She's only a little girl right now.' Nagito grumbled to himself as Kuro merely shook his head in amusement. His master could be so amusing whenever he wasn't being whimsical.

He was surrounded by monkey bars. A large burly teenager. He growled as he realized he was being chased by a teddy-bear carrying some various dangerous surgical equipment. The man roared and jumped.

He jumped, grabbed, and climbed his way through the makeshift jungle gym, willing himself to escape his captor.

Right when he was about to reach the last bar…

A bear came to jump out and scare him with a loud klaxon.

He fell and screamed in terror as he landed on the ground. The immense fear had a high effect on his body. Especially on the moment he collided with the ground.

The man grasped his heart and fainted, his body moving in a spastic fashion. Eyes rolling up his head and foam developing at his mouth.

The bear came up with a pair of defibrillator and stated 'clear' and electrocuted the heavy man. But to no avail. The heart monitor completely stopped, indicating the man's death.

An albino bystander merely shook his head at the sad sight.

"So that's it huh?" Twelve year old Nekomaru Nidai said out loud. His father warned his mother that this would happen someday. Nekomaru was unfortunate enough to overhear his parents discuss it.

The doctor bowed his head in pity. "That is correct. Your heart disorder will eventually kill you when you become twenty…even younger if you exert yourself too much."

Nekomaru was numb to his mother's tears as he tries to compute what has happened. He knew his condition wasn't ideal. But he couldn't comprehend the fact that his heart condition won't let him live to see his thirties.

Nekomaru remembered Daisuke. On how the boy kept on helping out his team, despite knowing that he had only a few years left to live.

He eventually overworked himself to the point of dying himself. Why he did that? Nekomaru didn't know. He ended up walking away from the room to get some air, and collect his composure.

So lost was he that he ended up bumping into someone else.

"Sorry." Said a downright ill-looking male his age. The splotches of white in his hair were quite indicative of him being a regular at the hospital.

"It's my mistake."

'Had to come here sooner or later'. Nagito thought to himself as he looked at his medical records. He wasn't feeling well lately, so suspecting the worst he went to the hospital. This was the confirmation of something he knew was going to happen.

He didn't have any major disease…not yet in any case. But the doctor's made it quite clear. There was a high chance of him contracting a potentially fatal illness.

'Yeah…lymphoma…' He wasn't that familiar with the disease. But he know it effects it would have.

It should've upset him. For him to lose his life to an accident and now lose it again at such a young age. In all honesty, the only thing he felt was a complete numbness.

Which is why he didn't notice bumping into someone.

"Sorry."

"It's my mistake." Nagito noted, and then he took a closer look at the boy in front of him.

"Wow…I knew Nekomaru said he was small…" But it was downright baffling how petite the future coach was; well at least he was still tall. Whatever training he took part in; it sure had its effects.

The two boys were now sitting in an area where they hit it off. Nekomaru just finished telling him what he has learned about himself, and just how much time is left for him to live.

"That's rough." Honestly speaking, perhaps this was why Nekomaru accepted that he was a robot so easily. He believed it would help bolster his limited life…not that it didn't stop him from being murdered but it's the thought that counts.

"Here's what I think." Nagito started. "If you only have a limited time to live, why not make the best of it? That's probably what Daisuke thought."

Nekomaru could only smirk. "That's corny…but it has merit. Daisuke always was full of spirit."

"I just don't want to die young." Nagito noted with a small smile. "As long as there a small chance I'll live, trust me, I will take it." Nekomaru nodded his approval at that.

"Maybe I should follow in Daisuke's footstep." The spiked boy noted. "And become a coach myself."

"Even if you can't play in a game?"

"It never bothered Daisuke!" He slammed his fist into his palm and opened his mouth.

"I, NEKOMARU NIDAI, WILL BECOME THE BEST COACH I COULD BE!" Nagito could only face-palm at what he was doing; the nurses and patients staring at them didn't help matters. The worst part was Nekomaru giving him an expectant glare.

"I don't think I should..."

"SCREAM IT!"

"I, NAGITO KOMAEDA, WILL NOT DIE!" He shouted, mostly out of a twisted fear.

Nagito and Nekomaru fist pumped. And they shared a small smile. Though Nagito tried to ignore the chattering happening around the two.

"I'll be rooting for you." Nekomaru stated.

"Same here buddy." Nagito answered with a smile. "I'll do my best to improve my own athletic ability. And I'll try to make sure I reach an age where I can complain about kids on my lawn…so should you."

"I can only promise to try."

The other reason the disease didn't affect him that much yet. That bit of hope…that he will survive his ordeal and cure himself. After all, cliché as it is, one has to have hope. Nagito and Nekomaru managed to survive long enough to get in that pod, so it can still happen.

Nekomaru's stomach started to growl, the coach's face flushed and hastily said. "I think I need to take a shit!" and the boy ran away.

Nagito could only shake his head in amusement. He was wondering when that would pop up.

Also his death…well his dreams certainly helped made him feel better about it.

A banquet of food lay on a table, filled to the brim with all sorts of delicious courses enough to satisfy anybody. It was all guarded by a large obstacle course.

An athletic, tanned girl looked on with determination as she sees her course was riffed with saws, lasers, and all sort of horrible traps.

And the bear fired a gun into the air, while wearing a coaches clothes.

The girl ran, jumped, and danced through the near-fatal obstacle course. She was skilled as she managed to achieve her goal.

However, before she crossed the finish line, she stepped on a trigger.

She shrieked and lowered her head, twisting her body in every angle possible to avoid the spears. And the girl managed to succeed.

A knife fired from right behind her.

The knife imbedded itself into the tan girl's body. She let out a gasp of surprise before she finally passed out. The wound being instantly fatal.

A bear and a teen looked on the scene, while the bear laughed at her near-victory, the boy sadly ate a chicken leg.

"Excellent work Akane!" Kogoro praised with a grin. He was an elderly man with a big grin on his face...though one can't help but feel it was somewhat perverse

"Yeah, yeah you big perv…" A young tanned girl about thirteen year old garbed in the standard gymnast uniform stated dismissively. "So you're saying that his competition will get the money I need?"

Kogoro merely shrugged. "Of course! Just practice and see!"

Akane Owari rolled her eyes. She never really practiced that hard. She never needed to. As long as she got the money to support her family, all was well and good in her book.

"Big sis Akane!" She turned to see her younger sister, Midori, a girl with similarly tanned skin and about eight years old. She was pointing at another part of the gym. "Look!"

Akane pouted at the boy her sister pointed at. He looked too…sick to frequent her gym.

He was currently working on the balance beam. He was definitely more flexible then the average male.

He was quite good. Not to her level of course, but it was clear that he had a large amount of practice. Probably needed it too considering how thin he was. Geez, you think he built some actual muscle if he practiced that long. And why does his hair look white? He didn't seem that old!

He ended with a jump off the beam. The surrounding viewers gave a polite clap. Though his composure was ruined slightly when he ended up bending over and gasping for breath.

"I'm Akane Owari." She introduced herself as she walked up to the heaving practitioner.

"Nagito Komaeda." He breathed out, sweating heavily.

'You know…I'm surprised she filled out that much…' Nagito noted to himself as he saw just how tomboyish Akane was. Puberty was very kind on this one. If he didn't know any better, he would've mistaken her for a guy.

"You're pretty good for a guy." Akane noted with a smirk. "Course, I'm much better."

"I won't deny that. I did it when I realize I have no hope of building muscles." Nagito deadpanned. "So just I just focus on the one athletic skill I can excel at."

The girl shrugged. "Well I guess that's too bad Naruto."

"Nagito."

"Whatever. Course, I never really took an interest in this game." Akane stated with a shrug. "This old guy recommended me."

"She doesn't even have to try!" Kogoro proudly revealed. "She won all her contests with a basic understanding of the rule and barely any practice!"

Nagito tried not to think too hard about that. It reminds him far too much of how those with talents will always beat the the rest, no matter how hard they trained. It was way too reminiscent of the mindset of the original Nagito.

"Course you look pretty weak." Akane commented with a frown. "I doubt you make it in my neighborhood."

"Because being weak can get you harmed?" Nagito decided to answer.

"Smart kid." Akane noted. "It's bad to be weak. It can kill you."

"Maybe when you're safe, you can be weak?" Nagito pointed out. "Just a thought."

"Like that's going to happen!" Her face, now ferocious, twisted.

Nagito merely shrugged, but he saw no point in saying any more. Looking at the clock, he decided it was time to make his leave.

"Have fun Akane." Nagito decided. "Hope you do well in your life."

"Yeah, yeah...but I'm not sure I'll remember your name though." Akane warned him with a scratch of her head. Her sister shook her head in disappointment.

Nagito merely smiled. "Don't worry. I'll remember yours!" It was highly unlikely she'll remember him when they reach the island though.

"WATCH OUT!" A voice called out and interrupting his musing.

"Typical…" Was all Nagito could say before he got hit by the loose balance beam. And there goes his mind…

It was the stage. A young girl with blonde hair crafted in a crescent and glad in a kimono waved her fan at a seemingly empty audience. She decided to dance her traditional formation, but her movements were more sluggish compared to the regular.

The audience piled up, all holding various insults printed on their screen. 'Bitch', 'Lowlife', and 'Pig' and such.

She continued to dance, her teeth gritting at all the insults thrown her way. A cutting sound was heard and a net above her head swung open.

An array of ropes went down and surrounded the girl's neck. Cracks started to appear as a half-and-half bear started cracking the stage.

The girl realized that the ropes have wrapped themselves around her neck, and she couldn't scream due to the pressure the ropes had on her.

The stage collapsed while the poor girl hung in the air, dainty feet dangling before the audience of a white haired teen and a chortling bear.

"Thank you, thank you!" 'Huh, what saps! Praise me more.' Hiyoko Saionji said and thought to herself over the cheering audience.

'Oh god, not this…' Probably someone gushing over how they are her biggest fan and what not. Well can't fault them for having good taste.

The spotlight landed on one tired looking boy. He gave the spotlight a surprised, and somewhat unhappy, glance as he stood up.

He followed her into her dressing room as she looked up to him. He looked like some kind of freak with the splotches of white in his hair, and his baggy green jacket only made him seem even more disheveled.

"So are you a constant fan?" She decided to ask the primary questions.

"No."

"Ooh…a first-timer?"

"Yes."

"Did you like the performance?"

"I don't see what's so appealing about that dance of yours. It's not really that impressive" The dark-haired child commented with a scratch to his face and a deadpan expression.

Hiyoko growled at the boy's comment. Who was he to judge? She spent years honing her work and he came along just to mock her for it!

"So why did you came?"

"I won a special ticket. It would be rude not to attend."

"Would you have come at all?"

"Not really."

Right as she was about to retort…she noticed something…and she squealed in joy.

'Hiyoko Saionji' Nagito mused to himself with a frown. 'This displeases me…'

To be brutally honest, if there were any future classmates that Nagito could say he dislikes, it would probably be Hiyoko. He never could tolerate her rude attitude and especially her bullying of other characters. As such, he wasn't too broken up when she died in the game.

And of course, he'd be the lucky audience member that gets to talk to her. This was 100 percent bad luck right here. Just like that ticket he won at school. Unlike other his other lottery victories, this was something that he did not want…but alas, he couldn't break the pattern.

But that was then. Right now, he was thinking of how he can get her to free his cat.

The black's cat green eyes widened as he tried to free himself from the clutches of the dancer.

"That's enough ma'am." Nagito quickly swiped his pet from the dancer's arm. Years of practice made it easy.

"Aww…" Hiyoko pouted. "I was just adding a little fun..."

"I prefer my life without a little excitement…thank you very much." Trust him. He was cherishing his currently quiet life.

There were a few missteps here or there, primarily because of his crappy luck (His poor teacher), but he thought he was doing fine with his current luck.

"Tcsh…what a wuss." Hiyoko commented as she walked away. Nagito couldn't stop the twitch coming to his right eye.

"There is something wrong with you… You don't have to be so...cruel" Nagito noted. There was something wrong with the entire class, but she was the only one who ever bothered him.

"Why are you being so mean to me?!" Hiyoko cried with a sob. But he could practically feel her being her usual lying self. So he decided to punish her a little bit...

He 'smiled' at her, which caused her to give a look of pure fear. Her tears instantly stopped and she slowly walked away.

'I really shouldn't be satisfied by the sight of that…' Nagito thought to himself, even despite the dirty looks he was currently receiving. "Look I'll leave, we'll pretend we never talked about this."

Hiyoko sniffed. But the glare in her eye was readily apparent, though it was matched by a tiniest bit of fear. Nagito merely held his arms up and walked away.

Kuro purred to his owner and swiped his face with his tail. Nagito looks down at his cat and said. "I know. I still plan on saving her as well you know."

The cat growled.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get your revenge one day." Nagito assured. Now that he thinks about it, he didn't even really introduce himself. Probably for the best, he did not want her to recognize him when they get to the island.

And not one bad thing happened that day. Probably because for him, Hiyoko was bad luck as it is.

A podium with an audience filled to the brim. On the stage was a girl with strange drill-like hair carrying a guitar.

She cheered and started playing on the instrument; her finger's becoming rapid-fire as the loud music works their way through the amps.

Except when a bear pulled a lever causing a trap door to appear before the girl's feet. She yelped and dropped, her guitar falling on the stage.

She ended up getting tied up in some rope. Her back was on the bed as she twisted and turned on the bed.

Two amps made their way directly to her ears, the bear laughed and started playing quickly on the guitar.

The music played at their highest volume right into the poor girl's ear, her eyes bugged, her mouth opened to scream…and she lived no more.

The white-haired boy gazed at the scene in horrific fascination. While the bear manager let out a hearty chuckle.

"Let's see…Fall out Boys…Nirvana…Ew! Nickelback!..." A young girl with multi-colored hair pointed upwards listed off as she walks through the aisle.

She was Ibuki Mioda, an up and coming musician. Right now she was currently cataloging the various bands of her newest favorite genre, rock. The location? Her favorite music store.

"Hmm?" Ibuki turned her head. There she saw a boy who quite frankly looked like her after an all-nighter, though his black hair with specks of white was pretty cool. He was currently collecting a large amount of CD'S. He turned to match her gaze. He smiled and waved.

Not seeing any reason not to, Ibuki waved back and walked up to him.

"So you like foreign music?" Ibuki questioned. She noted that he was buying his fair share of rap and pop. Primarily of the American variety.

"Ah…no. It's just American pop I like." Nagito admitted as he took out a copy of the latest album. "I listen to a lot of pop music, and America has a lot to choose from. J-pop just started to sound the same after a while"

Ibuki couldn't help but nod in agreement. That's why she likes punk and rock a lot. There are certain similarities, but each song will sound different coming from the best.

"So trying to improve your English skills?"

"I already speak English."

"Wait you can understand it?" Ibuki asked in wonder and Nagito nodded in agreement. The musician felt a grin come to her face at that.

"Ibuki is jealous! You know how many songs Ibuki can sing if she knew other languages? English, French, British, Martians…"

'Don't ever change Ibuki…' Nagito thought to himself in amusement as the hyperactive girl continued to list on various increasingly nonsensical language.

He always did like this girl a lot. Her murder was the one that got to him the most…and it happen at the same time as Hiyoko, whose death he didn't mind in the slightest…life can be stupid sometimes.

"Any way, Ibuki would like to know your name."

"Oh, it's Nagito."

"Alrighty then Nagito! What brings you here? This is Ibuki's section of the chapter after all!"

'Wait, did she just break…?' But before he could question it, he ended up feeling a little twitch and stopped caring enough to ask.

"I wanted to buy some records." Nagito answered truthfully. "This was the best place to buy them not in my neighborhood."

"What's wrong with your neighborhood?"

"I burned the shop down to the ground." Oh dear god…the screams will never fade from his memory any time soon.

And so Nagito gave the girl a brief explanation of his luck cycle. Ibuki's eyes widened with each successive account.

"What was that about smiling?"

Instead of being terrified, Ibuki's eyes lit up in wonder.

"She'll name a song after you!" Ibuki started with an inquisitive expression. "I'll call it 'The boy and the smile that belongs on every horror movie soundtrack!' It will be a huge hit!"

"I won't even charge you for royalties!" Nagito noted in amusement holding up his hand, Ibuki cheered and high-fived him…only to hear a crunch!

Ibuki and Nagito looked down at the broken album. The luckster let out a long suffering sigh and went back into the music store, while Ibuki stared as if trying to comprehend what has happened.

"It was nice meeting you Ibuki." Nagito stated later. The two went on their merry way.

"Ibuki won't forget you Nagito!"

"Nagito will remember you too Ibuki!" The luckster called out in good humor.

He received a huge headache from listening to Ibuki's music.

Mirrors everywhere!

Various faces appeared on each mirror as the dark-faced boy started running through the corridor.

A face of a haughty boy with glasses, a pointy haired young man, a man with lots of hair…varying degrees of faces, male or female appeared all sharing the same distinction of being somewhat chubby.

He finally reached the end of the corridor.

There was one more mirror, this time a boy with white hair reflecting on it. Her gave the unknown child a small smile and pointed up.

This time, a black and white teddy bear giving a small smile. It took out a dvd and played it, revealing it to be the sound of an opera singer.

Cracks developed on the mirror on the ceiling as the singer hit the right frequency.

The mirrors all shattered into multiple pieces and rained down on the shadowed body. The frames cover the corpse as blood flows everywhere.

The child kept a watchful eye in the hot summer day. Watch for what? They didn't know. It was simply a habit that they had since childhood.

It all started when they hit their heads maybe seven years ago. They completely forgot who they were. No birth certificate, no name, no home…nothing.

All they understood was their body was how malleable it was, but they also had the ability to mimic voices perfectly.

And so they let themselves become an impostor. Find a missing child's report and pretend that they were that child. Gender was inconsequential to his goals.

Eventually they will be found out, but he'll do anything for a warm bed and plenty of food.

Right now they were Akira Kuroda, a child who got lost a month ago. So right now the child will refer to himself as a he.

Akira nodded to the boy. He was certainly interesting. His hair had specks of white in it, and the way he was carrying his pitch black cat made him seem a little spooky.

"Are you lost?" Was the polite thing to ask.

"Ah, no. Kuro here wanted a walk from our house." The boy admitted. The cat purred in response.

"I'm Akira Kuroda." He said, using his fake name. "And can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Can you give me a full description of who you are?" It was a very personal question…but he was interested in seeing how a random person would answer.

The boy actually looked deep in thought, absent-mindingly scratching the head of his cat, eyes deep in thought.

"I'm Nagito Komaeda." Was all the boy answered. "I have crappy and excellent luck. Practically the only family I have left is Kuro here."

"Are you happy with whom you are?"

"Honestly…no. But I still don't want to change anytime soon." He liked that he said that. It meant he still values himself.

"Good. Treasure who you are." The impostor said as he walked away.

"Does that mean you don't treasure who you are?" Nagito asked.

They gave him a small smile as he departed. "I'd like to."

They won't forget the strange boy. It was a unique answer. Few people outright answered that they weren't satisfied with who they were, but they still want to be that person.

It was a nice change of pace from the norm.

'What a weird kid…' Nagito thought to himself. The kid's voice was kinda strange. And their baggy clothes made it hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl. He decided it was irrelevant and went his way.

When Nagito saw the news report about the missing child being Akira Kuroda, who was much more slender then the kid he saw, he could face-palm in disbelief over his realization that he met the Ultimate Impostor.

Kuro purred as Nagito scratched behind his ears. The luck-filled boy sighed as he replayed the scenes inside his head. The odds of seeing his future classmates (Bar Chiaki and Hajime for obvious reasons) were truly astonishing. He made some connections with them, but he wasn't sure if it will make all of them remember him.

He scratched his hair and sighed. His disease has finally reached the point where his hair turns completely white due to the lack of nutrition. The doctor stated that he won't make it past his second year of high school.

He knew better.

Nagito could only smirk to himself. Most SI stories generally have the SI meeting the characters beforehand. That was one check-list down.

It can go in different ways. The SI makes the story worse, he makes it run a different course, or he could be a total Gary-Stu and fix it.

He can't be a Stu, but he sure as hell can try to avoid causing any death.

And so Nagito planned. Planned about twilight syndrome. Planned about the despair disease. Planned about the fun-house. Planned about every little thing that will be thrown his away.

Nagito face-palmed when he realized he was doing it while petting a cat. 'Dear god, I really have become full on villain anyway."

But why can't he stop it at Hope's peak? Maybe when Junko becomes Ryoko he can help Matsuda. Maybe he can prevent his classmates from becoming the Ultimate Despairs. Or maybe he can become big brother Nagito to the warriors of Hope? He certainly wouldn't mind exposing the abuse thrown their way. If worse come to worse, he could just smother Junko and/or Monaca with a pillow.

He may only know about these people through a screen and dreams, but that doesn't mean he cares for them any less.

The fact that every night…no, it's best not to think about it. His memory will make sure he never forgets as it is. The bags that have permanently developed underneath his eyes was just the icing on the cake.

Nagito took out his pen and clicked it. He wrote on the paper 'I will save my classmates'.

That's a promise he needed to keep. For the sake of his future comrades. And for the sake of his slowly deteriorating mind.

If worst comes to worst, he could just be relieved it was all computer stimulation…okay that line of thought is far too dangerous to consider. Who knows how badly the minds of his classmates would be shattered.

And so Nagito waited. He studied every day. He trained his weak body as much as possible primarily focusing on his flexibility. He made maps connecting each character, using his memory to re-familiarize himself with their relationships and such.

Kuro himself was also used as well, he didn't have that much knowledge in animal training, but he could feel a special bond with Kuro and their shared cursed existence. That's why Kuro learned…and how he can follow Nagito's exact instructions. He doesn't know if Kuro will follow him into the simulation...but if Gundam could have his hamsters, why can't he have his cat.

When Nagito's middle school started handing out pamphlet stating the lottery for Hope's Peak academy, the reincarnated teen took one long look at it and sighed. He signed his consent and mailed the pamphlet