Danganronpa IF

The Escape Switch of Hope and the Catastrophic Disappointment of Despair

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"What should I do...?"

Makoto Naegi was at a loss.

His predicament was exceedingly simple, and could be divided into three categories. The first was that he was currently trapped inside the Hope's Peak Private Academy, a school attended by students with Super High School Level Talent. Naegi, chosen by a draw for the talent of Super High School Level Good Luck, came to the school for the first time that day to attend the entrance ceremony. There he suddenly lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he found that the doors and windows had all been sealed.

The second was the existence of a mysterious robot calling himself Monokuma (and the mastermind behind it). "If you wanna leave this school, you have to kill someone", he had declared. The strange remote-controlled robot was telling Naegi and his fellow Super High School Level students that they were to earn their freedom through murder. Multiple Monokuma robots were in existence, and each one of them contained a bomb to prevent them from being attacked. Not only that, Monokuma had promised a punishment for anyone who harmed him.

Finally, the third was the fact that Naegi was currently holding a button. A red button, and the words "Escape Switch" scrawled upon it with a marker. Although

the his first two predicaments were excellent causes for panic, this third problem only left Naegi troubled.

He had noticed during free time that the school store was open, and found himself compelled by curiosity. When he entered, the chaotic interior very nearly made him dizzy, but then he caught sight of something that resembled a capsule toy machine he often saw at supermarkets. The words "Monomono Machine" were written on it, and it seemed to take only the Monokuma coins they found scattered in the school sometimes. It looked rather tacky, but it might help them escape the school, he thought, and inserted the one Monokuma coin he had collected. The result was this mysterious "Escape Switch".

There should have been a limit to teasing people. Naegi was almost discouraged by the switch, assuming it to be a cruel joke on the mastermind's part.

However,

"But... what if?"

That an entirely plain, ordinary boy like him was granted entry to this school was thanks to the fact that he was chosen in a draw as a bearer of Super High School Level Good Luck. And maybe that Good Luck was real.

If this switch is real, then... Maizono-san...

Naegi took a deep breath and pressed the switch.

His body was instantly struck by an intense burst of pain.

"Whoa?!"

His hands and feel went limp as he fell on the spot, unable to hold his body still. With ragged breaths he tried to figure out what had just happened to him.

Was I... electrocuted?

There was a small needle sticking out of the switch. Naegi realized that an electric current must have been flowing through it. As he lay on the floor, waiting to recover enough to stand again, he fell into thought again.

So it was fake all along, huh.

What kind of sick enjoyment was the mastermind deriving from all this?

I still feel a bit dizzy.

I think I'll just go back and sleep...

Naegi got to his feet, and step by careful step, left the school store behind him.

Naegi had no idea. The truth was, the mastermind would have been a kinder person if the switch really was fake. A small shadow squirmed inside the deserted store. The shadow of a bear.

Monokuma looked at the machine silently for some time, but seconds later, he burst into laughter without his expression so much as twitching.

"Upupupupu... Upupupupupu..."

Despite the fact that he was alone, Monokuma spoke as though he was conversing with someone. Or as though Monokuma himself was speaking to the mastermind wearing his skin.

"I put this switch in here because I thought it might be fun if the last couple of survivors got lucky at the Monomono Machine, but I never thought he'd draw that 0.00000001% possibility. A one-in-a-hundred-million chance? Is this what it means to have Super High School Level Good Luck?"

Monokuma blushed and began breathing harshly. Obviously, a robot like him had no reason to breathe, but he was running on futuristic technology, squirming as though he was a living creature.

"Naegi-kun, who was chosen by draw, picked out the Escape switch in a draw. This normally never happens, does it? Is this what they call a miracle? Systems all GreeeeN(1) for escape? Something beyond my understanding has entered the world of a Miracle Virgin like me? Hah... Hah... No no but I felt like I was going to die of excitement at the new possibilities! Cut to commercials!"

Monokuma's exorbitantly elaborate built-in machinery ran at full throttle as he shuffled through expressions more smoothly than even a human being could. But he suddenly cut himself short, erased every expression from his face, and spoke through his speakers.

"Buuuuuut... Is this really a stroke of good luck? Nyohohoho... Puhyahyahyahya..."

Whispering to himself, Monokuma allowed his laughter to fill the tiny room, with hope and despair--the two emotions representing the incident ahead--in equal measure.