Danganronpa: Memento Mori

Prologue, Part I

Prologue: In the Beginning..., Part I

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EDOGAWA HEIRESS FOUND SLAIN

Tragedy struck the famed Edogawa family of investigators as a body found in an abandoned warehouse in Tokyo yesterday was confirmed to be that of their eldest daughter, Arisu Edogawa. Ms. Edogawa was reported missing after failing to return home last Saturday. Police believe that she had been running an investigation into a local gang, only to be kidnapped, tortured, and eventually murdered. At least 5 people have been arrested in connection with her murder so far.

...

Ms. Edogawa is survived by her parents, Mr. Kogoro Edogawa and Mrs. Chizuru Edogawa, and her younger brother Naoya Edogawa.

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Your sister is dead.

Your sweet, dear, big sister is dead.

She was a kind soul, Arisu. She hated nobody. And yet some sick psychopaths killed her for attempting to do the right thing.

Those scum of the earth killed her. And you couldn't do a thing about it.

If only you had been there. If only your parents had been there.

She had so much to live for. She would've easily helped you find your own path in life.

And now? She's little more than a memory. You can still see her in the corner of your eye, Naoya.

She's pleading to you. Sometimes, she's bruised and cut and her eyes are vacant and her skin is pale.

Other times, she's a red shadow, her kind face distorted into a demonic grin. She is your guilt.

You must ease that guilt. What can you do? Avenge her. Make her proud. Let her legacy guide you.

Be the hero she could've been.

No matter what.

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I'm sure a lot of you have heard about Hope's Peak Academy. A school for teenagers with almost impeccable talents. From swimmers to baseball players, from photographers to animal breeders, from pianists to astronauts, if you have a talent far beyond anyone else's, you'll be able to go to Hope's Peak. It's the pride and joy of Japan, and if you managed to graduate, you was practically set for life. Now, time for me to introduce myself.

My name is Kaori Hotaru. And if this letter I held in my hand was to be trusted, I had been accepted to Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Weaver. Truth be told, I got into the weaving business because of my family: my mother was a seamstress in her youth, and she, along with my father, encouraged me to follow in her footsteps. I don't hold it against them; after all, if it weren't for their efforts, I wouldn't even have been noticed by such a prestigious school.

Of course, sometimes it went the other way. When they heard that news report about that famous young girl who tried to investigate something and ended up dead, they got a little queasy over me deciding to try and become famous myself. Best case scenario, I would get some unwanted attention and worst case scenario, I would end up like her, if they were to be believed. What was her name again? "Arisu Edogawa"...? Honestly, I couldn't remember.

Anyways, back to Hope's Peak Academy. I should've noticed the oddity of my letter of acceptance arriving right before the beginning of the school year as opposed to being a few weeks before it, so I could get myself eased into it, but I was young and stupid, and my parents clearly didn't know any better. Who wouldn't want to go to the best school in Japan? Especially when its current headmaster was Makoto Naegi, famous for his ability to spread hope to a hopeless world? Naturally, I paid for my foolishness dearly.