Danganronpa Zero: Volume 1

Chapter 2

Hope's Peak Private Academy.

Only high school students with special talents are allowed into this school sanctioned by the government. They are thought so they could be the 'hope' of the country. It's a school that was deserved to be called the school of hope. Therefore, since people would say, 'Any student that graduates from this school will be successful in life' it attracted some envy. Seeing as how now most graduates are employed in high positions in their profession, it would not take a genius to realize it was not a simple exaggeration. There are two requirements in order to enter Hope's Peak Academy.

-To be currently enrolled as a high school student.

-To be the very best in their chosen field.

There is no entrance exam required to enter Hope's Peak Academy. Since the students enrolling all have different talents, it would not make sense...that's one of the schools policies. Students are scouted out by Hope's Peak Academy faculty members who are also researching as teaching such talent. It is said these faculty members and staff are very much like the foster parents of talent. Finding talent and then nurturing it, to them it was a very important mission.

But, now they were...

Now the school was...

Facing a previously unprecedented and unheard of crisis.

Hope's Peak Academy, east district, faculty buildings.

The buildings lined in the east district were forbidden to student entry. Now, now inside the building it was engulfed in a tranquil quietness.

The corridors that were once overflowing with the faculty members and staff are now completely empty. Private rooms, large rooms one would believe were faculty rooms, they were all deserted. Everyone who was in there were all gathered in one place.

...Meeting Room No. 13.

Located on the top floor. Holding a capacity of 300 people, it was boasted as the largest in the school. Right now, the school's faculty members had gathered in that meeting room. It was at full capacity, no seats were available at the long table crammed with people. However, it was strangely quiet.

Inside the meeting room only one person's voice could be heard.

The owner of that voice was...

Hope's Peak Academy's headmaster, Kirigiri Jin.

He was positioned at the front of the table, face to face with the faculty members who had gathered, indifferently reading a document he held in his hands. Without even a glimpse of emotion, he read each word off the page with a straight face. No different to an audio recording. Nevertheless, this was an important duty for Kirigiri. It was his duty to communicate the decision to all the faculty members. No matter how little sense it seemed to make...no, he had no time to harbor any doubts or hesitations to begin with. If he had the time he would be attending to a number of things.

"Are you telling us to cover it up?"

A voice suddenly echoed through the meeting room.

In response he raised his head to the sight of the 300 people opposite him.

They weren't glaring or judging him, it was more as if they were staring at him, feeling uncomfortable. With little defense he felt as though they were grabbing at him through their gazes, he had a bad feeling as all the hairs on Kirigiri's body stood on end. As if trying to escape from their sight Kirigiri looked to the four people to the right of him.

They were sitting at the front of the same table, all their faces creased with wrinkles. With their eyes closed tightly, their wrinkles became increasingly noticeable. From Kirigiri's position, he could see they four's wrinkles blur together into one mass of wrinkles. The members of Hope's Peak Academy's Steerinf Committee's expression seemed to say they had already given up.

That's just like you... He unintentionally gave a bitter grin at the thought. Well, it's not like I hoped for anything better from you. He only muttered this quietly in thought so no one would hear, with that Kirigiri redirected his gaze in front of him.

From this point onward he was going to use his own words, he had decided.

"First, allow me to say something" Kirigiri went to remind them, "This is a decision Hope's Peak Academy's Steering Committee had made earlier"

The air lowered in temperature... or perhaps it was his own body temperature rising. In any case, Kirigiri wet his mouth with the glass of water in his hand before continuing.

"We know this decision may be rather abnormal"

The mass of wrinkles, that is the 'we' he mentioned, did not move at all, as though they knew from the very start the attitude he would take to express his words.

"But do not assume we are covering this up for any other reason. If possible I would be taking responsibility for this. But, a matter of this relevance cannot be taken care of that way. It would not help even if each and every one of us took responsibility. This is something that is on an entirely different level."

Kirigiri paused to sip the rest of his water.

"Make no mistake, I do not think our decision is a perfect one. If it were, that 'parade' would never be happening."

Kirigiri gestures towards a curtained window, some people turn to look at the window bitterly.

"Instead that 'parade' has been increasing recently. Those people in it hate us... and I don't think they're wrong for doing so."

At that point Kirigiri slowly looked around the room at the faces of the faculty members, he communicated his meaning clearly through his expression to everyone.

"I do not think our philosophy of 'the hope of all humanity' is wrong. But if they were to learn of 'that incident', the meaning of that philosophy is as good as gone. That is a far too greater loss for mankind... neither the support association, nor the alumni want such a thing."

The support association and alumni... the meeting room was filled with whispers.

"And that is why Hope's Peak Academy's Steering Committee's four members and I have come to the conclusion that we should cover this up."

Kirigiri let his gaze wander to the old men again, they were as still as they were before. Leaving it entirely to him they remained silent and expressionless.

"As i have already said, we know that this decision is abnormal. But as the researchers and educators, it is our duty to protect talent. There is nothing more tragic than if hostility was directed towards those with talent. Also... we must remember one more thing."

The 300 man faculty patiently waited for Kirigiri's words.

"No matter how horrid the crimes committed were, it will not change the fact that student is a very 'special hope' we raised ourselves"

The states of the faculty members changed.

However no one even murmured a whisper.

It was simply silent.

No one objected, what he said could not be countered.

Although his statement was perhaps narrow-minded, everyone had a similar view on the matter. They were all researchers but at the same time they were all teachers, and their students were theirs to study. They were all obsessed by that thing called talent. If you weren't someone like that, you did not belong here.

That is why they listened to Kirigiri and made their decision.

For the idea they believed in, for the future they believed in, for the hope they believed in... they would conceal The Worst, Largest Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History.