Chapter Text
All 20 students went into the main hall. Everyone was chatting curiously about what might happen, of what they might be told. Some were excited - they just got accepted into the best, most prestigious school in the entire country, after all!
Everyone stepped inside the room, only to be met with... silence. There was seemingly no one to greet them. And then...
...A small bear appeared in front of them?!
Ichika gasped and took a step back at the sudden, dramatic entrance. Shiho behind her stood unshaken, as always, but her voice seemed sceptical as she whispered under her breath, seemingly to herself:
"...A stuffed toy? Seriously?"
Ichika took a closer look at the creature in front of them. It was a monochromatic bear. It looked kind of like a turned off robot, because she could tell its other, bigger eye was made of glass. This thing's face had a wide grin with a set of human teeth on its black half. It looked like something you'd see in a circus.
Suddenly the creature buzzed, coming to life. Its bigger eye flashed a bloody red and it moved.
Oh goodness gracious, it moved.
And then not only it moved. It spoke.
"Weeeeeeeelcome welcome, students of the Hope's Peak Academy!!" A high pitched, though unmistakably male voice rang through the room. "All you precious Ultimates, in the same room... Puhuhu! Let me introduce myself... I am Monokuma! The principal of Hope's Peaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkk~!!!" The teddy bear, or "Monokuma" as it called itself, extended the last syllable for no particular reason.
"IT MOVES!!!" Tsukasa's loud voice erupted in the otherwise silent hall. "A-AND IT... IS FLUENT IN HUMAN SPEECH?!"
"It seems so, Tsukasa-kun... fufu, it looks like a robot to me!" Rui, the Ultimate Inventor he is, stated a diagnosis confidently and let Tsukasa lean on him dramatically. "Mister bear, would you let me dissect you for wiral analysis?"
"EEEEEH?!" The machine recoiled and screeched. "Absurd! Absurdly absurd request!! No, no, never!!"
Ichika looked at her invitation letter(she brought it with herself just in case) and read the contents again: "The school year's beginning speech will be held by the school principal in the main hall." But there was no principal. Only this... whatever "Monokuma" was.
Nene, the Ultimate Gamer, as if hearing her thoughts, spoke up.
"U-um, excuse me... but weren't we supposed to meet the principal...?"
The bear tilted its head innocently.
"But the principal is here, right in front of you all!" It cleared its nonexistent throat to make itself look more distinguished.
"Haven't I introduced myself already? Or are your brains just so fried from doomscrolling 24/7 you can't even focus on a single sentence?! Puhuhu~!!" Monokuma laughed wildly as Nene stood there in shame and confusion.
Shiho, who stood next to Ichika, cleared her throat.
"Excuse my intrusiveness, but this is weird. Schools aren't usually governed by monochromatic teddy bears."
Monokuma's red eye flashed brighter in an offended manner.
"Teddy bears...? TEDDY BEARS?!" The machine scoffed. "I am no teddy bear, I am Monokuma!"
"Woww~ It can get mad too! I've never seen a mad robot before~!" Mizuki jabbed from the other side of the hall. "What else can it do?"
"Mizuki, it might be a good idea to not annoy this thing..." Kanade spoke in her gentle voice to the Ultimate Fashion Designer. She tried to calm down the situation, but it only seemed to agitate Monokuma more.
"«It», «this thing»... UGH!!!! NONE OF YOU SHITLINGS KNOW HOW TO RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!!!!!!" Monokuma screeched. Then he took a "breath" into his nonexistent lungs to seemingly calm himself down, but he still looked displeased as he spoke. "Well, but I didn't come here to complain about the youth! Ekhem... Now that I've introduced myself, it's time for the grand opening speech! Well..." The bear's "facial" expression became more excited with every word he spoke. "Essentially, this is your new home! As in... you're trapped!"
The entire class fell silent. No one dared move a muscle.
...Then, some murmurs and snickers could be heard. It angered Monokuma.
"Whaaaaaaat? No tears? No shock, no pleas for freedom?" He seemed almost
disappointed.
"There is no point." Mafuyu's deadpan voice answered Monokuma as she stared him deep in the red eye. "We know this isn't for real."
"Ugh... This is what lack of sleep does to a person..." Nene rubbed her eye sleepily. "This is what I get from beating the entire fifth chapter of Deltarune in one night..."
"We appreciate the sense of humour, mister Monokuma, but we won't get fooled!" Saki answered cheerfully. "Can we hear the real speech now?"
Monokuma groaned in annoyance.
"NO!!! You youngsters don't get it!" He scoffed. "This isn't a joke. You're trapped here, with no connection to the outside world! You can't leave! This is why there's no windows, this is why there is no front door!"
"But there is a front door..." Shizuku, the Ultimate Archer, mused. "We came in through them."
"Oh yeah? Then go and try to find them now! I dare you!"
Haruka, The Ultimate Pop Sensation, cleared her throat.
"I'll go check, if "Mister Principal" insists..."
"Harukachan!! Let me go with you...!" Minori, a clumsy girl who bears the title of the Ultimate Lucky Student(oh the irony...) followed after Haruka.
A moment of silence. Then, a gasp could be heard.
"He was right..."
"THERE IS NO FRONT DOOR!!!"
Hushed whispers increased in volume.
Shiho, ever the reasonable one, spoke the question that has been on everybody's minds.
"Then how do we get out?"
"Ooooh~ wait with the grand question!" Monokuma seemed to enjoy himself. "Let me explain everything first!!"
"Explain, then." The Ultimate Bassist answered as Haruka and Minori returned to the Main Hall.
"He was right..." The blue-haired girl said in worry. "As far as we have investigated, there really is no escape."
Minori agreed with that by nodding her head.
"And thaaaaat's what I wanted to hear!" Monokuma giggled to himself. "This resignation, this delicious, delicious despair on your young faces!! Puhuhuuuu~! But moving on, EKHEM!!! You're trapped here, and that's pretty much it. Enjoy each other's presence, or don't, you can even call each other slurs for all I care! But you're not getting out anytime soon, unless..." He paused to raise the suspense "...Unleeeesss you do a tiny, itty bitty thing... disturb the peace!"
Rui tilted his head. "In what way?"
"Oh I figured it would be simple. Murder someone."
The air in the Main Hall freezed. Ichika's chest tightened.
"W-what?" Honami was the first to speak up. "This has to be s-some kind of elaborate joke..."
"No jokes here!!" Monokuma sneered. "Freezing, stabbing, drowning, hanging, setting on fire, choking, yadayadayada, you get my point! Eliminate another person, and if you don't get caught, you'll be able to graduate!"
"Wait... you're for real?" Mizuki's grin faltered.
"As for real as your mother while birthing you!" Monokuma chuckled to himself, amused at his own joke.
"Yeah, right... no." Akito said, looking annoyed. "What a way to make a grand entrance, teddy. But you won't fool us. No one is even considering it. Now let us out already."
"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT A GODDAMN TEDDY!!! GYAHHH!!!" Monokuma threw.... hands...? paws...? into the air, obviously pissed off. "The entire summer I worked my arse off to organize a decent killing game, and not a single one of you is even taking it seriously?! You ungrateful brats!!" Monokuma slammed his bawled into little fists paws onto his podium.
"We'll see how unmoved you are by the time the first person becomes the Blackened!!"
Airi, the Ultimate Influencer, raised an eyebrow.
"The Blackened, eh? And what does that even mean? Kinda like getting cancelled?"
"...Yes, you could put it like that! But a student becomes blackened when they are found guilty of murder during a class trial and subjected to... puhuhu... a PUNISHMENT!!"
"Class.... trial...?" Ichika muttered to herself in confusion.
"Everything is written down in your E-handbooks. Every student has one! School Regulations are written there too, so make sure to read them carefully!"
Ichika looked through her backpack to see an object she definitely didn't put there - a small, tablet-like device. She turned it on and it displayed a text.
["Hoshino Ichika."]
Then:
["The Ultimate Merch Collector."]
"You're allowed to customize your E-Handbook's exterior as much as you want! Put stickers on it or drop it in paint~ Red paint always suits those reaaaaaaaally well~" Monokuma winked at them, as if telling them a secret.
Ichika paid no mind to it as she clicked on the "School Regulations" sections and a set of rules appeared before her eyes.
1) Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
2) "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
3) Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
4) With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.
5) Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
6) Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.
7) Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.
8) Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.
9) If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.
10) If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed.
11) Lending your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited.
12) The guilty party may only kill a maximum of two people during any single "Killing Game."
13) Attempting to break into locked rooms is strictly prohibited.
"W-wait..." Kohane's voice could be heard.
"Regarding rule number 3... It says "dormitory", but it doesn't say whoose! Does that mean we're allowed to sleep in any dormitory, not only ours?"
"Eeeeexactly!" Monokuma agreed in glee.
"The walls in there are fully soundproof too! Perfect circumstances for a murder if you ask me!"
"I was thinking these circumstances would be perfect for... other things..." Rui mused. Akito looked like he was about to strangle him with his bare hands.
"Oh, you pervert-!"
"Me, a pervert? You wound me, Akito-kun~ I was thinking about building robots, of course! You wouldn't want clanking of metal to disturb your beauty sleep now, would you~?"
Akito just glared at him.
Monokuma cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"But that's enough for now!! Go see your rooms and make yourself at ease!"
"Wait... we have rooms...?" Kanade raised her tired gaze at Monokuma.
"Well, of course, dummy! You aren't going to sleep on a big pile in the middle of the hall, right?! I'm a very generous host! Though, one thing troubles me.... Why aren't you crying? Fighting for freedom? Trying to negotiate? I thought you already realized I'm serious about all of this!"
"We know you're serious!" Emu, the Ultimate Princess, said with determination. "But we aren't afraid... because we'll get out of here either way!! With NO murderers involved, am I right guys?!"
No one answered. Still silence followed her words.
"Am I right.... guys...?"
Only Monokuma's muffled snickers could be heard.
~~~~~~~~~
Ichika found herself in her room. Everyone else seemed to move to their own dormitories too.
The Ultimate Merch Collector found herself in a deep state of shock. Killing game? No way. It had to be some kind of lucid dream that she had to play along in to stay safe.
That must mean, if she goes to sleep now, she should wake up in her room! Yes, that must be it!
Motivated, Ichika quickly changed into her pajamas and got into her bed. With how much she saw, she quickly fell asleep.
….No, no, this can’t be happening… she thought to herself as she groggily opened her eyes to an announcement from the speakers.
“Gooooood morning everyone!” Monokuma’s high-pitched voice could be heard. “It is now daytime! Get out of your beds and spread those libs!” His cheerful voice seemed completely out of place for such a grim situation.
Ichika woke up, panic growing more and more unbearable. She really didn’t want to do this… She still couldn’t really accept the reality she and so many others were thrown into. It was surely just an elaborate joke… right? Right…?
The obvious fear on others’ faces that Ichika saw as she entered the dining hall stated otherwise.
Nene looked like she hadn't slept in years, which, with her reputation as the Ultimate Gamer, probably wasn’t that far away from the truth. Emu and Tsukasa were sitting next to the girl, trying to cheer her up in various ways. Rui was sitting on the other side of the table and observed the situation with a solemn expression.
Minori was full on sobbing in Haruka’s arms. Airi was sitting with them awkwardly with tissues in her hands and Kohane was trying to reassure Minori.
Ena was rambling about something angrily to Mafuyu, who sipped on her water with detached interest. Mizuki was sitting next to her, trying to calm her down, but it seemed to do more harm than good.
Shiho was sitting with her sister, Shizuku. Shizuku was worriedly blabbering about how “she misses the outside world already” and “feels so bad for everyone else” while Shiho tuned her bass in silence.
Akito was sitting with An. They were staring at each other in suspicion, as if they were both plotting something against one another. Toya approached them curiously.
“What are you two doing?”
“Strategizing.” The Ultimate Street Performer answered shortly, not taking her gaze away from the ginger for a second.
Ichika sat at an empty table, growing worried. Where were Kanade and Honami?
Are they….?
No, there is no way…
Suddenly she heard a shuffle next to her and almost jumped in surprise.
…Kanade was there, writing some notes in her five-line notebook. So that’s where she was… Ichika sighed in relief.
“K-kanade… didn’t see you there…”
The Ultimate Composer raised her blue gaze at Ichika, as if just noticing her.
“Oh, hi…. um…. what was your name again…?”
“Ichika.”
“Right… I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. We just met yesterday, I don’t remember half of the class’ names myself.” Ichika reassured Kanade with a smile
“Where is Honami, though?”
“Honami…” Kanade thought for a second. “She went to make everyone breakfast.”
“Alone… for everyone!?” Ichika asked in shock. How could one girl handle breakfast for 20 people, including herself!?
“Yes. Many offered help, but she kicked everyone except Saki out of the kitchen. She’s the Ultimate Housekeeper, remember? If she insists on cooking alone, I’m sure she can handle it.” And just like that, Kanade returned her attention to her notes.
“Oh. I guess that’s fair…” Ichika looked over Kanade’s shoulder. “What are you writing?”
“Melody for my newest composition.”
“Oooh, that’s cool! I used to try to compose back when I was in middle school, but I got lazy and stopped trying.” The Ultimate Merch Collector admitted in shame. “I wish I was as talented as you.”
“There is no talent. There is only practice.” Kanade answered, her gaze not leaving the paper. “To get better, you must not give up. It works this way with everything. Of course, there are people who are more musically gifted than others, but they started somewhere too. Giving up shows you never had passion for something in the first place.”
“That’s…. very wise.” Ichika said, surprised.
“Wise…?” Kanade smiled gently at her notes. It was so soothing, so reassuring… Ichika could almost feel herself falling in love. “I’m not wise. I just want to save people with my music… and perhaps make people love it just as much as I do.”
Before Ichika could answer, the kitchen door busted open with Saki, who was holding two trays of plates filled to brims with sandwiches, each signed with a name. Everyone lifted their gazes up. Even An and Akito stopped their staring contest.
“Breakfaaaaast~!” She announced cheerfully as Honami appeared behind her with a plate on her own. “Our dear Honami made something for everyone, 3 sandwiches per person! So… 60 sandwiches in total! She made them all with love, so make sure to enjoy your portion to your fullest!”
Saki’s enthusiasm was infectious. The atmosphere in the room eased noticeably. In that moment, it was so easy to forget they were all in the middle of a deadly killing game.
“Aaaand these are for you!” Saki slid three sandwiches signed “Akito” onto the Ultimate Rapper’s Plate. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“Wait… I have a question.”
“Yes?” Saki answered with her usual grin.
“Why are these signed?”
“Because everyone’s sandwiches contain different ingredients.” Honami answered as she approached the two. “In our E-handbooks there are all students’ profiles and descriptions of what meals they like most and least. I used that information and made every portion different.”
“Yeah, right…” Akito looked sceptical. “And how do we know if you aren’t trying to poison one of us?”
Dead silence fell over the dining hall. Ichika felt a shiver run down her spine at the mere thought.
Honami looked surprised and…. kind of hurt?
“Poison? I would never… What kind of person do you think I am…?”
“This is a killing game, after all.” Akito eyed the sandwiches warily. “You gotta be cautious.”
“Excuse me?! No, you don’t!” Saki looked outraged. “Honami would never! Besides, I was in the kitchen with her the entire time! I’d know if she wanted to try something shady!”
“So what?” The Ultimate Rapper scoffed. “You two could be partners in crime for all I know.”
“Akito, cease it.” Toya suddenly spoke to the ginger street musician. “Honami wouldn’t do that. No one is seriously considering killing someone here.”
“No one, eh?” Akito grew defensive. “How can you be so sure?!”
“Ugh, just don’t eat your sandwich if you don’t want to!” An stated. “Give them to me instead, easy solution if you ask me!”
That seemed to end the discussion. Saki moved on with sandwiches and An reassured Honami that no one thinks she contaminated the sandwiches for real and that Akito is just a fat bum who would eat poisoned pancakes if they smelled good. That seemed to calm the Ultimate Housekeeper, because she smiled and thanked An.
Saki slid three sandwiches onto Ichika’s plate. “Help yourself, Ichikachan!” Then she turned to Kanade. “Kanadechan, I’m so sorry, but Honamisan wasn’t exactly sure what to prepare for you because your profile stated that your favourite meal is a fast-to-prepare noodle bowl…”
“That’s true….”
“So she made you three sandwiches with cheese!”
Kanade took one of the sandwiches into her pale hands and examined it.
“Smells good….” She took a bite. “It’s been a while since I had cheese…”
“Enjoy your meal!” Saki laughed happily and moved on to other tables.
Ichika looked at Kanade in perplexity.
“Fast-to-prepare noodles? Really?”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Nothing, it’s just… They aren’t exactly the most exquisite meal, you know?”
“They’re tasty, easy to make and satisfy hunger well. A great solution if you spend your entire time composing.”
“You spend your entire time composing..?”
“Yes.” Kanade didn’t sound ashamed nor proud. It was just a fact of her life, something she seemingly lacked the will to change. “I rarely go outside. Even my school is online.”
“Wow….” Ichika thought aloud. “And here I thought it’s me who’s a shut-in here…”
“Haha, yeah. So if you ever need anything, I’ll be in my room.”
“Noted!”
After everyone finished eating, Tsukasa cleaned his throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Ekhm… Everyone! I know you’re all panicked, and so am I, but there is no need to! There are surely some loose nails or doors left ajar somewhere in this building, shutting us out is too troublesome to not leave something undone!”
“I-I suggest searching through the school!” Kohane exclaimed from her seat.
“That’s a brilliant idea, Ultimate Photographer!” Tsukasa praised.
“But let’s form into pairs, that way we’ll be less afraid…” Shizuku mused. Shiho visibly tensed at the mere thought. She already knew who her sister wanted to be paired with…
“Yes, but aren’t three-person groups a better idea?” Rui suggested. “That way if someone gets hurt, one person can stay with them and another can go get help.”
“Yes! We’ll go with Rui’s idea!” Tsukasa announced. “Get into triples!”
Ichika’s heart sank. Get into groups…? No one will probably want her, per usual…
“U-um…” She spoke up. “But there’s 20 of us… one person will be left without a pair.”
“Oh. Right…” Tsukasa rubbed his chin in thought. “...then me, Emu, Nene and Rui will get into a group together!!”
Emu grinned in happiness, Rui hummed under his breath in satisfaction and Nene’s sleep deprived face sank.
“I didn’t consent to any of this…”
“Easy there, Nenechan!! I’m sure it will be fun! ☆” Emu reassured her and the Ultimate Gamer’s eyes softened just a little.
Suddenly Shiho put her hand on Ichika’s arm. The Ultimate Merch Collector jumped, startled.
“S-shiho-?!”
“You will come with me. And Shizuku.”
“W-what…?”
“This is not a request.”
The Ultimate Bassist’s face indicated that it was, very much, not a joke.
And so, 5 minutes later, everyone split into triples and left exploring.