If you were to have asked him a week ago what he'd be doing now, Noah would have told you literally anything except being back on the island that was supposedly destroyed so long ago.
But of course, nothing was predictable in this boy's story anymore, because as his eyelids lifted slowly, a bright blue sky opened up above him. Confusion and shock invaded his brain as he contemplated all the different ways he could have arrived here. Nothing came to mind, however, because the last thing he could remember was leaving school after the last-day assembly had concluded. After that, it was just fog and darkness that came to mind.
Noah sat up slowly, gazing around the territory. Just then, his worst fears came to life when he recognized the far too familiar face of Camp Wawanakwa. That wasn't the only thing that caught his eye, though. There were numerous other Campers–seemingly around the same age as him–stirring too. Some of which he recognized, such as the fellow former participants in the dreaded reality show, Total Drama. Others, though, he had never seen before in his life.
As everyone exchanged disoriented concerns, things like "Where are we?" "What are we doing here?" "Who are you guys?" "What's going on?" etc. The usual things to be expected when you awake on an island without any recollection of your arrival.
To Noah, it was blatantly obvious what was being set up here. Any moment now, Chris Mclean was going to pop up from behind a bush or tree, passive aggressively welcoming all of the Campers to a new season of Total Drama. In which case, the former participants would not have anything to do about it because of how they practically signed their lives off to the show.
Almost as if on queue, however, his shout began to echo throughout the island. "Good morning, new campers, both old and new! I would like all of you to report to the cafeteria immediately!" The speakers blared, causing most of the campers to flinch or jump in surprise.
The newer campers' confusion only seemed to further, which was fairly reasonable considering the situation they had just woken up in.
He watched as two old campers, specifically Trent and Cody, instructed three of the new ones where to go. It didn't take long to realize that the old campers felt a sort of obligation to assist the newbies with their direction to the cafeteria.
Noah sighed and fixated his gaze on the camper closest to him. It was one of the ones he didn't recognize, a pale blonde-haired girl with a backpack clinging to her shoulders. She was glancing around the crowd in bewilderment, clearly puzzled. Next to her was an equally confused boy with dark blue hair and some sort of black uniform.
Reluctantly, Noah approached the two and begrudgingly spoke up, "It's that way." He said, pointing to the distance past the two large cabins. It was only then that he noticed how large they were, irrefutably not the same cabins they'd stayed in before. "Past those two big cabins."
The girl nodded at Noah quickly, "Thanks a bunch!" She grinned, holding onto the arm of her companion and dragging him off in the direction.
Most of the crowd had cleared out by this point, and those who were left were almost all headed to the cafeteria, presumably, so he decided it was best now to obey Chris's orders and follow them.
When he reached where the usual location for the cafeteria would be, rather than the small mess hall he was used to the last time he was here, he was greeted by a large, almost school-like cafeteria building.
As he entered the building, the boisterous crowd was the most overwhelming thing in the room. Apparently nobody here knew how to be quiet and listen anymore. Instead of joining them in the constant chattering, he seated himself at one of the long dining tables where mostly new campers sat around him.
He rested his head on the palm of his hand while he waited impatiently. He already knew the gist of what was about to happen.
Across from him sat a boy and a girl, the girl with silver pig-tailed braids and deep red eyes, and the baby-faced boy with a blonde buzzcut which appeared as a sad attempt at making himself look intimidating.
"You think this is his work?" The girl asked the boy very skeptically.
The boy nodded, folding his arms over on the table. "It's the same thing as last time, although the voice sounded much different."
Noah listened to the two talk, but didn't have much to provide to the conversation himself. Instead, he just watched everyone around him with subtle scrutiny.
His thoughts were then interrupted when the silver-haired girl spoke directly, "hey, by any chance, do you have any idea what's going on?" She asked quietly.
Noah shook his head. "How am I supposed to know? I'm just as confused as any of us." He responded, not exactly in a talkative mood.
The girl didn't say anything back, simply exchanging glances with the boy to her right and resuming her conversation with him.
It was around this time though that the ambience of the room was disrupted by a voice much louder than everyone else's. A voice which was being projected from a speaker. This one was nothing like Chris's, however, and it only took a moment for Noah to realize the panic spreading amongst the faces of the new campers like a virus. They recognized this voice, that was for sure. It was high-pitched and almost sounded unnatural, as well as oddly optimistic.
"Goooooood morning, everyone! Or shall I say, good morning, campers!" The voice exclaimed. Noah's gaze floated to the very front of the cafeteria, where a large red curtain fell over what looked like a stage...wait, why was there a stage in here?
It didn't matter though, because moments later, the curtains opened up. What was revealed behind them seemed to be a podium of some kind, coupled with bright stage lights and a... strange symbol painted onto the back wall? At this point, all of the campers had their gazes locked onto the stage in anticipation of what was about to happen–who was about to show up.
It was only moments later that all of the lights in the cafeteria shut off, and everyone in the room began to exchange whispers of concern and uncertainty. They were all silenced by a quick hush, just as the stage lights came beaming down on the podium. There stood the one and only... wait, what?
This isn't right. What in the world is that? Noah thought to himself as he stared at the strange teddy bear stanced behind the podium.
The patterns on the fur were split clean down the middle, with the bear's left side being jet black while the right was white. It had horrifying sharp white teeth curved into a wicked smile on the black side, as well as an unsettling dark red eye.
"Monokuma!" Hollered a few of the newer campers simultaneously.
So they know this guy...
The bear let out a loud chuckle. "Yep, yep, yep! It's me!" He exclaimed with a blissful tone, however the crowd didn't appear nearly as pleased.
"We knew you were behind this!" Shouted the boy who had been sitting across from Noah. He put his hand into a fist and yelled, "what the fuck do you want from us this time?"
The bear put his little paws over his mouth, almost appearing surprised. "No need to be so hasty, Fuyuhiko! I'm almost a bit offended at your cruel assumption." He leaped down from the stool behind the podium and then down from the stage, walking in the isle between the two sides of the cafeteria slowly. "Well, well, we truly do have quite the large class this time around. But you're in luck!" He suddenly whipped around and put his hands on his hips. "Because, fortunately for you, you're all killing game free!...for now."
It was then that another voice echoed throughout the room, this time it was just the one Noah had feared.
"Becauuuuse I'm the one running the show this time." Chris called, having now made his appearance behind the podium. "And so instead of a brutal... killing game... we will be holding another season of my infamous, spectacular reality show."
He took a few violent steps down the stage, and then onto the main floor of the cafeteria where he smoothly approached Monokuma. "Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you, the new and improved,"
And then, the two hosts spoke at once, saying two completely different things yet somehow still in sync.
"Total Drama: Summer of Despair!"
"Danganronpa: Camp Despair!"
Monokuma looked up at Chris, growling. "That was most definitely not what we agreed on!" He shouted. The rest of the crowd remained hush, the unfamiliar faces appearing relieved while the campers Noah knew all too well still kept frightened expressions plastered on their faces.
Chris scowled back at him. "Yes it is! You told me, as long as you get despair we-" He was then cut off by Monokuma's retort.
"I wasn't talking about the name, you dimwit!" He groaned, palming his paw into his face. "I asked you if- Oh just forget it."
Chris cleared his throat and tapped his chest. "..Anyways. Let's just get straight to the point. For those of you who are new here, my show usually consists of a group of high-school campers competing in various competitions while pursuing a wealthy reward. One-hundred-thousand dollars in cash!" He explained, maneuvering from table to table as he addressed the unfamiliar campers. "And that is exactly what you will all be doing this season. I will be sorting all of you into two teams, and you all will be competing against each other!"
He had arrived back at the podium, where he swiped two papers which were paperclipped together for safe keeping. "If I call your name, please sit down on the left side of the cafeteria."
Noah couldn't help but noticed the painfully confused expressions plastered on the faces of all the new campers. Pure bewilderment had overcome them, and oddly enough it looked... Relieved?
Chris's name rang out again as he called the first name, a strange one which Noah had not heard before. "Gundham,"
A pale guy stood up from across the room. The first thing Noah noticed about him was the large purple scarf which was wrapped around his neck, along with the intriguing black outfit he wore which gave off the same vibes as a cartoon villain. He made his way to the left side of the room–where Noah was sitting, and perched himself at the very end of a table.
"Bridgette." The next name was called, and luckily it was one which Noah recognized.
The blonde surfer girl raised her hand from a few feet in front of him. "Already here!" However her optimistic tone did not match her bored expression.
The rest of the names were then called slowly and carefully. Leshawna, Lindsay, Courtney, Izzy, Trent, Gwen, Geoff, and Noah himself were the ones he knew. The rest, Miu, Kaito, Leon, Hajime, Kiibo, Ibuki, Fuyuhiko, and Nagito were the rest. Chris butchered a few of the names unintentionally, but by the end the left side of the cafeteria was completely full. Some of the kids sitting there had been there beforehand, others were the ones that had been called there.
"If your name was just called, that means you are officially now the Despairing Dragons team." The host declared. "Anyone who wasn't called, please navigate to the right side of the cafeteria. The ones I should see there are... Kyoko, Alejandro, Makoto, Rantaro, Harold, Heather, Kokichi, Duncan, Byakuya, Shuichi, Chiaki, Peko, Sierra, Kaede, Cody, Toko, Maki, and Chihiro."
And then, only a few moments later, the room was divided into two.
"You all are going to be called the Hopeful Hyenas!"
For some odd reason, the tall white haired boy in the very front of the cafeteria looked noticeably frustrated. Well, Noah was too, but it looked more personal.
After the two teams had been sorted, each of them were redirected to their respective cabins, which were actually quite sizable, and instructed to introduce themselves to one another.
Noah stepped into the cabin cautiously. It smelled of cedar and the outdoors, which was certainly a shift from the old cabins which reeked of sweat and small animals. He found that near the door of the cabins there were numerous duffel bags piled up on one another, presumably belonging to one camper each. He grabbed the one which had his name embroidered onto it and begrudgingly dragged it to a random bunk at the very back of the cabin. The sun was already beginning to set, and introductions weren't exactly his thing, so the most he could do right now was make himself comfortable and try his hardest to sleep.
However, as he heard the call of another camper ring about the cabin to gather as one, he realized his teammates had much different plans.