Thunder cracked over head. The heavy clouds that hung above the skyscrapers promised a destructive storm. Not that he minded. Everything was miserable here. The buildings he past sat forever in a dark grey. The pavement below his feet a slightly lighter tone. He looked up as the rain started coming down lightly.
The sky was grey, more black than the buildings he's grown up around. His grandfather used to tell him that the skies normally were a bright blue color before pollution got worse. He pulled the mask up tighter around his face. Next it was acid rain, not that it was common, but it has happened before. The stains from last month's fatal downpour still shown on the side walks. Specks of inorganic molecular substance.
He kept walking, not that he could stop. Hundreds of people crowded this over populated city. Even with so many crammed into the streets to follow their daily plan, it was always dead silent. With the occasional coughing and fabric rubbing against others as they pass them.
He turned off on a block to round the corner. He was tall enough to see over some heads to spot the door that he needed to enter. He took out his identification card and tapped on the glass door to get someone's attention. The doors were a thick foggy glass with no handle. A slit in the center of the door appeared and he slid in his ID card. There was a beep and it was spit right out.
The doors slid open and he promptly entered. They shut behind him and an assistant was right by his side. "Saihara Shuichi, correct?"
He nodded. The assistant gestured for him to follow her. She led him to a room with others and told him to wait. The room was large. With cameras and medical supplies in some corner of the room with two individuals that looked like doctors. A group of adults were conversing with one another, looking at other kids in the room. Saihara set his things down next to an empty seat.
He pulled off his mask and slipped out his phone to busy himself while he waited. Not one to be social, he watched other people his age chat calmly. He scrolled through his danganronpa application. This was going to be the biggest performance yet. Strange enough, or less surprisingly, the Storm brewing outside couldn't be heard. That must be thanks to the sound canceling walls. Each room was sound proof. Danganronpa goes all out when it came to keeping secrets.
It was quiet all by his lonesome until someone took the seat next to him. Probably his future coworker. Who seemed to be the shy type.
"...Oh, I didn't expect someone like you to be here."
Their words didn't make sense so he glanced next to him. A boy, rather short. Was looking at him. The moment Saihara looked into their eyes, a strong sense of pity took over him. These eye's shine were gone. Not that they weren't there. The eyes were so faded and... dead. His eyes were hollowed out with the dark lavender purple shading in the emptiness. In this world you can see and watch someone lose hope. It's pitiful, and he's never seen it so bad.
This program that he signed up for was for pristine yet neglected teen actors. Meaning all of them have talent, yet no one wants them. It was shocking to think this boy was an actor. Actors need to be able to feine any emotion, with eyes like that, it would be so difficult. That's probably why he was so unwanted.
"What do you mean?" He ignored the boys eyes and looked at his rather dark bruise peeking out of his uniform around his neck. The boy shrugged. "...D'know. You actually ...look cute is all. Everyone else here so far needs plastic surgery, and badly." He so nonchalantly called him cute. "Cute?" He repeated.
The boy's eyelids dropped halfway over his glossy hues. "That is what I said. Any way, ...I'm Ouma Kokichi, nice to meet you ...before we kill ourselves." Saihara grimaced. Sure this program had a history of suicides, but must Ouma highlight it? "I'm Saihara Shuichi." He plainly said. To flip topics, he gestured to his neck. "What happened?"
Ouma frowned and tugged up on his collar. "...Can't you see the hand print?" was all he muttered. Saihara dropped his hand, feeling a strong urge to smile at What violence Ouma doesn't even blink at. But he held it down.
"Momota Kaito! Ouma Kokichi! Step forward please!" The announcer gestured for the two people to come up to the desk. The boy beside him sighed. "...Real quick, what part did you get?"
Saihara gave him a bored yet interested look. He was interested. "I got the second Protagonist." This is the first time he sees Ouma smile. "Good. Since I got Antagonist. We'll be interacting a lot. See ya around Sai-Chan." He blew him a half hearted kiss before hoping up to the impatient people at the desk.
He didn't know why, but that boy made him feel sad. Like he just watched innocence die right before him. Or rather, seen the corpse of what innocence used to be. That smile, was a smile of hopeless excitement. Not the happy kind, but the stressed out nervous excitement. It was true that this program needed full dedication, maybe even for life.
So it made sense to be nervous, but why would someone who gave up on life be nervous. Surly that meant they didn't care if they died. Maybe it was a different type of nervous. Thinking back on it, he did call him cute. So perhaps he was nervous about their future interaction.
"Saihara Shuichi, Akamatsu Kaede! Step forward please!"
He tucked his phone away and slung his bag over his shoulder to make his way up to the desk. So did a girl with blonde hair. They were both handed a schedule. "What is this for?" Akamatsu asked. The man rolled his eyes, obviously not liking the inexperienced youth. "You two have important scenes together. So get acquainted with these. Follow them until the injection date."
Saihara glanced down at his itinerary. So both were to room in the same dorm on one of the top floors where the injecting dates are. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what injecting dates were. The man must have seen their confusion. "You know. When we shut off your brain activity and put you in the world's most accurate Virtual Reality? Seriously, did you not read the email?"
Ah, he remembers they mentioned that briefly in his acceptance letter. The Virtual Reality must have been worth it because they could create sets within seconds, unlike real world where all that has to be done manually. "Except this year some things have been tweaked a bit. So things are more realistic, to get more genuine reactions from our rare amaetuer actors."
Saihara looked up in slight hesitation. Where the feeling came from, he wasn't so sure, he was positive he would go through with this no matter what. "Ah, How realistic?" The man aligned his papers impatiently with a huff of annoyance. "You actually feel hungry or thirsty. Or pain, you'll feel that. All senses have been manufactured in successfully. All the technical stuff will be explained on injection day. The days leading up to that is just chock full of programming."
He nodded. Akamatsu rolled her eyes. "Sure, but why make me room with him? Or has even this place lost morals." He wished to point out that this place was ran by Danganronpa themselves. The show that single handedly turned killing into an enjoyable thing. The one and only company that supplies the worlds sick needs and cruel wants.
Saihara never cared for it. He has an unwanted talent of acting, a careless attitude towards violence, and two parents who hate his flesh with a burning passion. What else could he do except sell his life and talent, sign away his mental state for money because of sheer boredom?
Many times he finds him leaning too far over the edge of a bridge. Wondering how he got to where he was. What the point of it all was. Since everyday in his life was too repetitive. So he dropped out of highschool, since at this pace, he would kill himself anyway. Since life just seem too utterly boring.
"This is Danganronpa sweetheart. Since when have we had morals?" The man gave a brisk wave of his hand. "Now go, I need to call up the next two."
"Ah, Wait." Saihara held up a hand. Old habit he developed when he wanted to speak. "Is it true that our personalities will be altered? Such as our mind sets and everyday motives?" His voice felt too dull for his own liking. Sending chills down his back when he remembered Ouma's eyes. How dull and empty they were. How much he looked like he was ready to die.
The man groaned and ran a hand over his hair sprayed stiff hair. "You're just so uneducated, aren't you? Tch, high school dropouts. Why did the team pick you I wonder. Devoid of life. Uck, yes we'll shift around your personality. Miss attitude will be happy go lucky while you will probably be turned into a nervous awkward wuss. Now get out of my face."
Nervous, Awkward, wuss. Huh, He'll take it. Just as he was turning around to leave when he heard the man mutter "It's the suicidal ones we always get."
The statement made him smile. Secretly thinking on his own reply.
"Because Danganronpa offers relief like no other. Instead of dying, we all finally get to disappear into a fake world. No matter the cost. Since that's the result of this messed up world."
Authors Note: so I wanted to try to make a rerun of the game, kinda. It's not going to be too different, it's not going to be the same. I guess you'll see when and if you read more. Saiouma doesn't show up until later. For those who are patient, get hyped. XD