Chapter Text
The last thing you remember is going to bed. Curling up under your blankets, the familiar texture of your pillow under your cheek as you rolled into your favorite sleeping position. A typical night, nothing out of the ordinary. There was absolutely nothing you could think of that would cause any sort of weird shit to happen during the night. You didn’t even have any weird dreams.
Honestly though, you might feel better if you had.
When your eyes open again, a girl is standing over you.
You don’t know who she is, and you’re confused at first. Her hair is purple and choppy, her big wet eyes looking you over with worry. She perks up as you lift your head with a groan - the world is spinning, there’s soft ground underneath you, and your heart starts pounding as you finally process that this is not your bed.
“D-daijoubu desu ka?” The girl leans closer, her purple eyes filled with concern. Still reeling, your brow knits together as you look up at her. “What?”
“Ah!” She yelps, seeming to panic for a moment. “Ah, ah…” She thinks hard for a moment before saying slowly, with an accent, “A-are you okay?”
Too frazzled to answer, you look around, trying to sit up. She places a firm hand on your chest and pushes you back down. “Stay, please.”
“What’s happening?” You look up at her, confused. “Where- how did I-?” The sand underneath your body is warm. The bright sun hurts your eyes, but you look over her again. She looks like a cosplayer, a really good one at that. She looks exactly like Mikan Tsumiki from SDR2. So, are you at a convention with a sudden bout of amnesia, or…?
“Tsumiki-san, daijoubu?” A voice calls, and your heart stops. You recognize that voice.
The girl looks up and starts talking, and you follow her gaze. Across the sand, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, is Nagito Komaeda. The white, messy hair, the long green jacket and the weird zipper shoes… At first, you’re convinced he must just be a really good cosplayer, but when he opens his mouth to reply to whatever the girl just said, your stomach churns. There’s no doubt. That’s his voice from the Japanese version of the game.
There’s no way, right? There’s no way in hell you just got fucking isekai’d?
The girl looks back at you. “Do you speak Japanese?” She asks, clasping her hands over her chest. You think hard for a moment, trying to remember the word for ‘small’. “Uh, chiisai ?” You’re not sure if that word should be used in this context, but it’s the best you can do. She seems to relax a bit at that, taking you by the arm. “Up, up.” Following her lead, she helps you stand. You wobble a bit, but her hold on you is firm.
She says something to Komaeda, who says something in response, but you can’t pick up on anything they’re talking about. You feel nauseous. Fucking christ, you got isekai’d into a version of the game where they don’t speak English. You’re gonna fucking die.
“Ah, c-calm, calm!” Tsumiki frantically shouts, placing her palm flat on your chest. It’s only then you realize how heavily you’re breathing, your heart is pounding so hard in your chest it’s physically painful. Komaeda comes closer, and from behind him comes a boy with a haircut so shitty you have to assume he’s Hinata. They all seem confused and concerned, but they aren’t freaking out the way you are. It makes sense. They have no clue what’s going to happen in the next month or so, but you do.
They’re all talking, partially to each other and partially to you, but even if you were better at speaking Japanese you’d be too distressed to figure out what the fuck they were saying. Your chest hurts, you feel like you’re suffocating, like you can’t draw a deep enough breath. You can feel your body shaking, and seeing how bad a state you’re in, Tsumiki gently tugs you downward. “Down, back down!”
You sit cross-legged in the sand and double over, tears beginning to blur your vision. Shit, you’re having a panic attack. This is the worst fucking time, you need to be calm, you need to find a way home, you really aren’t supposed to be here at all. They’re all still talking, but you aren’t paying attention anymore. Squeezing your eyes shut, you try to steady your breathing to no avail.
Suddenly, a soft, gentle hand rests on the top of your head, breaking through your panicky haze just enough to hear a light, airy voice speaking to you. “Hey, it’s alright. Just breathe, okay?”
“I-I-” You mumble through your sobs. “I-I can’t, I can’t, it’s all too…” You trail off, grabbing at your hair and yanking as hard as you could. The voice says something in Japanese that you don’t understand, then another hand grabs your wrist and gently untangles your fingers from your hair. “Hey, could you look at me please?”
Lifting your head slightly, face still damp with tears, you realize the girl talking to you is Nanami. She smiles gently at you. “I want you to breathe with me, okay? Can you do that?” You swallow hard and nod, and you follow along with some breathing exercises. You recognize the one she’s using, breathing in for 8 seconds, holding for 5 seconds, and breathing out for 8 seconds. An old therapist taught you this one. Makes sense, since she’s a super-advanced therapy AI.
She looks so strange, sitting here before you in 3D space. Her face is slightly rounder than it looked in game, and she’s chubbier, with freckles adorning her face. As your racing heart begins to wind down into a more bearable rhythm, you force yourself to not think about the fact that a fictional character is helping to pull you out of a panic attack.
Once your shaking has subsided, you take another look around. Tsumiki, Komaeda, and Hinata are all still here, watching nervously. They’ve moved away from you, probably giving Nanami space to calm you down.
“I-I, uh-” You clear your throat, voice still shaky. “I- can you tell them I’m sorry for causing a scene, please?” You look up at Nanami, who nods before looking at the others and translating for you. Hinata, looking exasperated, says something in response while Komaeda chuckles softly behind his hand. Nanami returns her gaze to you. “He says it’s fine, that you shouldn’t be sorry, and they’re all just worried about you.” Taking both your hands, she gives them a gentle squeeze. “Can you tell me your name?”
You nod softly and tell her, and she relays the information to the others. It’s strange - when she speaks Japanese, she sounds exactly like her Japanese voice actor, but speaking English she sounds like her English one. Tsumiki asks something, and you make out the word ‘doko’ , meaning ‘where.’ You aren’t surprised when Nanami then asks, “Where are you from?”
“I’m- wait, I can say this one. Watashi wa Amerikajin desu .” You look over at Tsumiki, who nods and smiles, seeming much calmer now that the situation is slightly more under control. “Do you know how you got here?” Nanami asks, and your brow furrows as you look back at her. “... No, I’m sorry. I went to bed last night and woke up here.”
You look at the golden sand beneath you while she translates. You’ve never been near the ocean before. Does it count if it’s in a simulation?
Before you can get too lost in thought, Nanami gently tugs at your hands. “Okay, I’m gonna take you to your cottage and fill you in on what’s going on. Is that alright?” Swallowing hard, you nod and let her help you to your feet. “U-um, before we go, can you tell them I’m sorry one more time?” You nod in the other’s direction, who are already talking amongst themselves. “I-I just feel bad for freaking out on them like that.”
“You have every reason to be scared.” Nanami tilts her head. “They understand, you don’t need to constantly apologize.”
She tugs you away from the beach, but still feeling guilty, you look over your shoulder at the others. “G-gomennasai!” You call out, and they all glance at you before laughing softly amongst themselves. Just before you turn away, Komaeda gives you a thumbs up.
Nanami holds your hand as the two of you walk to the cottages. Her skin is warm and soft, and it feels so undeniably real. You can be honest with her, right? Even if she’s programmed so she can’t talk about the simulation, she’ll understand, and be able to relay some stuff to Usami, right?
“Uh, excuse me?” You start meekly. “I’m sorry, but what would you like me to call you?”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.” She squeezes your hand. “My name’s Chiaki Nanami. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“U-uh, thanks. Should I call you Nanami-san?” You ask, and she thinks for a moment. “Yeah, that works. I’ll help you figure out what honorifics to use for everyone, if you want.”
“That would be amazing, thanks.” You’re still anxious, your brain is still running a mile a minute, but you can think more clearly now. The two of you approach the cottages, and you notice there are two new ones - one on the boy’s side and one on the girl’s side. You glance between the two sides briefly, before Nanami gestures to the girl’s side. “You should take the one closer to me, in case you need help or something on short notice.”
You nod as the two of you walk towards the door. She glances at you. “You don’t happen to have a key, do you?”
You pat your pockets - you only just now noticed you aren’t in your pajamas anymore - and from your right pocket, you pull out a small key. “I don’t know how this got here…”
“That’s alright. Please open the door.” She gestures, and you unlock the door and step inside.
It’s not particularly glamorous - about on par with what you remember Hinata’s cottage looking like in-game. There’s the addition of a small kitchenette with a mini-fridge, and some washer and dryer units next to the bathroom. A TV with a GameCube hooked up, and a stack of games next to it, along with your old 3DS. Wait…
You walk over and pick up the 3DS, opening it. The hinge is broken, causing the top screen to flop around, and upon closer inspection you realize it’s broken in the exact same way your 3DS at home is. A shiver rolls through you. Creepy. Taking a deep breath, you turn around to face Nanami. “Nanami-san, I need to tell you something. Could you please close the door?”
She nods and shuts it behind her, and the two of you move to the small couch under a window. You grip the fabric of your shirt, nervously fidgeting with it. “How do I put this… I, uh, I know… what this is.”
She stares at you a moment before tilting her head. “... Do you?”
“Well- to an extent, yes.” You swallow hard. “I know that we’re inside a simulation called the Neo World Program. I know about the Tragedy, and I know about all the Remnants of Despair, and I know that there are people from the Future Foundation out there, watching us.”
“Weird.” She hums. “What makes you say all that?”
Right. She’s programmed so she’s unable to acknowledge the simulation. “I can’t explain exactly how without you thinking I’m crazy. But…” You point to the camera in the corner of the room. “I know that Naegi is out there, watching us. Does he understand me? Does he know any English?”
“I wouldn’t know about anything like that.” Her face is very serious and she glances away, trying to find a way to say what she wants to while getting around her programming. “I won’t think you’re crazy, if you’ll please explain. I’ll tell Usami everything, if you want.”
“Yeah, she’ll need to know.” You think for a moment, biting your lip, then heave a heavy sigh, deciding to bite the bullet. If there’s anyone here who has a chance of understanding you, it’s her.
“You’re a gamer, yeah?” She nods. “So you must have played some mystery games, right?” Another nod, and you swallow hard. “I come from a world where… this…” You gesture vaguely around the room to nothing in particular. “Is all part of a mystery game called Danganronpa. Actually, this is the sequel game, Super Danganronpa 2. I’ve played it before, I could tell you the names of everyone here, I could tell you the names of all the survivors from the real Hope’s Peak Academy, and I can tell you how the real Chiaki Nanami died.” You’re speaking so quickly your brain can hardly keep up, but there’s so much to say in so little time. You pause for air, and she takes a moment to process what you’ve said so far.
“... So, if this is a video game… how are you here?” Her head tilts, hair pin glinting in the sunlight.
“I really don’t know. I wish I did.” You shook your head. “Some kind of cosmic screw-up? A portal between dimensions? I couldn’t tell you. All I know is I’m here now and- and I need to warn you before it’s too late.” You swallow hard, pausing for another breath before continuing. “Junko Enoshima is within the program. Some kind of messed up AI she made before her death ended up in here, and we don’t have much time before she starts another killing game.”
“I see.” Nanami purses her lips, and you give her time to think. You’re throwing a lot at her at once, but you have the biggest part out of the way. Maybe, with Usami’s help and whoever else is outside, they can stop this before it starts.
“I just relayed everything to Naegi-sama!” From thin air, as if she heard your thoughts, Usami pops into the room, waving her magic wand, although she’s sweating and seems pretty anxious, based on how she’s twisting it in her paws. “H-he says he’ll look into it.”
“I- h-how did you-?” You stutter, and Usami answers before you can finish. “Chiaki and I share a memory database; once you gave her permission to relay everything to me, I could watch through her eyes and translate everything to Naegi-sama.”
“Got it.” You groan softly, running a hand over your face. “Look, I don’t know how I got here or why, but what I do know is I can help. If things play out like they did in the game, maybe I can change things so they won’t end up so bad.”
“We’ll need all the help we can get, if what you’re saying is true.” Nanami nods. “Alright. I’m counting on you to do what you can. It’s going to be hard with the language barrier, but…” Her eyes glistened with determination. “We’re going to get through this. Everyone will end up alright.”
You nod, standing up and rubbing your eyes. “Alright, alright, let me think… right about now, Hinata and Komaeda should be introducing themselves to everyone, all around the Island. That takes a bit, but afterwards, Usami will say they’ve earned a prize and everyone will go swimming in the ocean.”
You take a few steps forward, beginning to pace around the room as you try to recall the events of the prologue. “While everyone is swimming, suddenly storm clouds will appear, and that’s when Monokuma will call everyone to Jabberwock Park. He gets in a fight with Usami, breaks her wand, and the-” You cut off, stopping dead in your tracks and staring straight ahead.
“What?” Nanami stands, hurrying over. “What is it? Are you alright?”
“I’m…” You blink slowly, then look down at your body. You grab the neckline of your shirt and pull it away from your body, peering down at your torso. Then you lift your eyes back up to the full-length mirror in front of you.
“Oh my god, I’m…” Your voice trembles and your heart picks up the pace a bit. You swallow hard. Nanami looks between you and the mirror, brows knitted together in worry. “What is it? Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“I-I’m… fifteen again.”
You can’t deny it. The you that was reflected in the mirror had the same haircut, same favorite outfit from when you were fifteen years old. You cringe. You had terrible taste.
“You’re… huh?” Usami pokes your leg. “What do you mean?”
You point to the mirror with a shaky hand. “Th-that’s… that’s not me- well, it is me, but I- I’m not fifteen anymore! But this is-” You touch your hair and tug at your clothes, as if confirming for yourself that the reflection was actually how you looked. “This is my fifteen year old body. I- wait!” You rush toward the mirror, pushing your hair away from your forehead and looking closely. From the corner of your eye, you see Nanami and Usami watching on, but you’re too busy to care. You whirl around and approach Nanami, pointing at the center of your forehead, right between your eyebrows. “Here, right here. Do you see it?”
“Um…” She leans in, looking closely. “Is that… a really tiny scar?”
“Yes!” Your chest shakes with laughter, despite the situation being anything but funny to you. “This scar - on my actual body, it’s completely faded away! I got it when I was maybe four or five years old, but here it is! Plain as day! I haven’t seen it in forever!” You rest your hands on top of your head and stare at the floor. “Holy fuck, I’m fifteen again!”
“Language!” Usami scolds, and you shake your head. “Sorry, sorry, I just- I’m really fifteen years old. I’m-” A frown finally settles on your face and you lower your arms to hug yourself. “I’m really fifteen years old?”
“Probably so you won’t stand out. It would be strange if you looked like an adult among a bunch of high schoolers.” Usami points out, bunny ears twitching.
“That’s pointless, I’m the only American among a bunch of Japanese students. I stand out no matter what I look like or how old I am.” You groan. “Wait, is Sonia European? She’s blonde, I know that much. Where is Novoselic, anyway?”
Nanami removes her backpack, pulling out a small cat-shaped notepad. Cute. “Speaking of which…” She mutters as she writes something down. After a moment, she turns the notepad over and shows it to you. On top, there’s writing in hiragana, with the roman pronunciation written smaller just underneath, and then under that there’s an English translation. It’s just ‘hello’ . You furrow your brow. “I can already say konnichiwa. ”
“Not the point.” Nanami rolls her eyes and flips to a new page. “I figured, if you have, like, flash cards or something with simple phrases, it’ll help you communicate with everyone on the Island a bit better.”
“God, I wish I knew more Japanese…” You sit down on the bed, burying your face in your hands. “Of course I’m the unlucky bitch who ended up in the non-translated version of the game…”
“Language!” Usami scolds, her voice a higher pitch this time. “Sorry.” You mumble into your hands.
“This is… going to be difficult. Not just for you, but for everyone.” Nanami walks towards you, stopping about a foot away, like she’s hesitant to go near you. “Just… please know that I’m here for you if you need anything. We can get through this together. We can save everyone, I know it.” She clutches the notepad to her chest. Naegi must have programmed her with his unwavering sense of hope, if she can see a light at the end of this tunnel.
She finally moves to sit next to you. “Now, let’s think of things you might need to say when I’m not around…”