Danganronpa: School of Despair

Chapter 1 - 2

The party doesn't really get lively until a bit after noon, when most everyone is in attendence. The only person not here is Madeline, who said that she'd never attend a party that I'm at.

Josephine starts taking the empty trays back to the kitchen. I join in, helping Josephine with her task. She smiles. "Thanks, Tsuki."

I smile back. "You're welcome."

She starts rinsing the dishes, squirting some soap on her sponge. I look around. "Hey Josephine, when did you start to cook?"

She scrubs the tray, thinking. "Well, I suppose ever since I could actually help my mom, I learned I could start cooking. When I was six, I entered a baking competition and won first place. To be honest, it was kinda easy. I never really knew why I was better at it than everyone else, but people were proud of me. Even when I turned 12, I got an invitation to be on MasterChef. I couldn't turn it down, of course."

"You were on MasterChef? Junior, I presume?" I question further.

She looks at me. "No. I was with the adults."

I nearly drop the plates that I'm holding. I look at her. "They can do that?!"

She shrugs, turning back towards the dishes. "And? Did you win?"

She smiles. "I'm the Ultimate Baker for a reason. I can cook just fine, but I'm not the best at it. I made it to the semifinals, though. Chef Ramsay congratulated me on making it that far."

She closes her eyes, rinsing the soap from the tray. She takes a deep breath. "I will never forget meeting him, though. He's my idol."

I set the plates down on the counter. "Do you want me to help?"

She shakes her head. "I'm fine. Go enjoy yourself."

"Are you sure?"

She nods. "I'm sure."

I head for the door, going back to the party.

Sonya is sitting at a table, watching Fred talk excitedly. She giggles, obviously enjoying herself. Annie is talking with Caleb and Lucien, getting along with them quite well, it seems.

I see Jacob walking closer to me. He sits down at a table near me and motions me over. I head over, not really wanting to get on the Ultimate Street Brawler's bad side. Once I sit down, Jacob smiles. "We haven't really talked much, haven't we? Now might be a pretty good time for it."

I smile. "I suppose so. What do you want to talk about?"

He smiles. "You're Japanese, right? When did you come to America?"

"Well, I've been in the States for around nine years now, so about half of my life."

He nods. "You remember many people back in Japan?"

I try to think, I feel like I remember someone, but I can't quite imagine them. I shake my head. "Not much."

I feel my mind getting fuzzy, especially when I tried to think about Japan. I shrug it off. Probably just need some more sleep. I'll head to bed early tonight.

Jacob nods. "I mean, you said it's been about nine years. I think that a lot of people would forget in that amount of time."

I nod. "Yeah. I don't have the best memory either... well, except when it's about anime and manga."

He chuckles. "Of course, your talent."

"Now about you," I say. "Have you actually lost any fights?"

He nods. "Some. You don't just start off good. Even I need to train myself."

I nod. "I guess so." I think some more about what to ask. "I've noticed that you're pretty quiet. Is there a reason?"