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Another day, another murder, another island. And so it goes. Hajime hated that he had already acclimated to this new, horrific normal, that there were two less friends. Three, if Monokuma didn’t keep his promise to save Fuyuhiko. But he seemed to be a bear of his word, even if they tended to be dreadful and cruel.
The new island, like the others, had a variety of seemingly random buildings that would all be strange places to find a murdered body. But there was a movie theater. It would be a welcome break from the unrelenting sun, at least. And Hajime could drown the despair of his situation with a garbage bag of popcorn.
As he entered the one-screen theater, he saw Monokuma was already standing there, as if awaiting his arrival.
“Puhuhuh! I’ve made the most amazing movie. Hajime, would you like to witness my directorial debut?”
“This isn’t a motive for murder, is it?”
“What? No, why would I do that?”
“You made an entire video game as a motive. Which, come to think of it, only seemed to be a motive for Fuyuhiko.”
Monokuma waved him off. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Besides, this is just a regular ol’ movie. Something to make your time on Jabberwock Island more enjoyable.”
“Is it the only movie playing?”
“Well, of course. This is my island, after all. You can’t just expect me to get the rights to show Star Wars.”
The students were, indeed, a literal captive audience. Maybe Kazuichi could finagle one of the computers to get a Plex server set up so they could watch…something other than whatever Monokuma’s movie would be.
But still…what could the movie be? Hajime was debating the wiseness of actually seeing it. (un?)Luckily for him, the doors to the theater opened and Nagito trudged out.
“That was the worst movie I have EVER seen,” he muttered. He perked up a little when he saw Hajime. “Trust me, you do not want to see this.”
“Is…is it really that bad?”
“I thought nothing could fill me with more despair than seeing my parents get obliterated by a meteor, or my dog ran over by a car, or everyone in the class trial saying I’m mentally ill AND a minor. But this…!” Nagito sighed. “It’s difficult to put into words just how bad it is.”
“Okay, I’m not seeing it. Thanks, uh, for the tip.”
Monokuma growled. “Oh no you don’t! You’re not leaving without seeing it.”
“What? You didn’t say that before.”
“Well, I just decided, that’s a new rule.”
Their eHandbooks dinged, denoting it was true.
“And you know what happens when someone breaks a rule.”
Well, shit. Hajime didn’t want to die, but also, he didn’t want to see a movie that was so bad that even Nagito hated it. “Isn’t there anything else I can do?” He prayed the answer wouldn’t be “yeah, you have to kill someone.”
Monokuma tapped his chin in thought. “How about…you buy my NFT. Freshly minted, too.”
“…NFT?”
“They’re all the rage, Hajime,” Nagito said. “By decentralizing goods, currency, and information, it builds a more stable and more equitable Internet. With the blockchain, things like big banks choosing who gets to be a homeowner will be a thing of the past!”
That didn’t sound exactly right, but Hajime probably wasn’t the Ultimate Actuary, so he didn’t know enough to question it.
“So…how much does this thing cost?”
“800 Ethereum,” Monokuma said.
[A/N : 1 ETH = 1,872.64 USD at time of writing]
“Is that…money?”
“Yes, you have to convert your regular ol’ fungible currency to Ethereum. But I’d be more than happy to let you pay me when you get off this island.”
It might be something like Yen to USD, with 100something Yen to a Dollar. But even if it were 1 to 1, or $800, that would only be ¥100,000. Which would hurt, but anything to get out of this.
“Okay, fine, you got a deal.”
“Puhuhuhu. Thanks a ton, Hajime!”
Another day, another murder. And so it goes. As well as a suicide. Or Hajime thought.
“Doesn’t Ibuki look a little…scrunkly?” Chiaki said, looking down at the lifeless body of their friend.
“Wasn’t she always? And besides, she was sick, she didn’t look great.” Being dead probably had something to do with it, along with the sweltering heat of the room.
Chaiki got down on the floor and examined her closer. “It’s almost like she’s deflated. And these, right here.” She points to two small holes on the side of Ibuki’s neck. “Those have to be a clue…I think.”
“I know what this is!” Sonia gasped. She was vibrating with excitement.
“Wh—”
“Ibuki was killed by a vampire!”
“Heh,” Gundham scoffed. “A beast of the night such as myself wouldn’t resort to lowly murder, especially in a location as sanctimonious as the Titty Typhoon.”
This would have been when Hiyoko would say “Oh my god, shut up, you fucking freak,” but she was gone. But that DID explain why her throat was cut, the blood smeared on the ground.
“But vampires aren’t real,” Hajime said. “The dead can’t come back to life.”
“But…but….what if they were some sort of LIVING vampire?” Sonia asked.
Kazuichi chuckled nervously. “Uhh, Miss Sonia, that makes even less sense. The whole point of a vampire is that it’s dead. But now that you mentioned it….”
“Yo, does anyone think this is kinda like that movie?” Akane interjected.
“The…movie?” Hajime was getting a bad feeling about this.
“You’re right,” Nagito said. “Something like this happened in the movie.”
“Monokuma! You said it wasn’t a motive for murder!”
The bear smirked. “I did say that! But I didn’t say anyone couldn’t make a derivative work of my masterpiece and be inspired to kill in just the same way.”
Everyone talked excitedly about the movie, but in vagueties. Hajime turned to Chiaki. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Hrmmmmmmmm no. I think you should see it for yourself, to truly understand.”
Hajime sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’m guess I’m going to see this thing.”
The theater was cool, but the dread of what awaited Hajime began to set in. The lights dimmed and the screen lit up
"Monokuma made this with....Sony?" That didn't make a lot of sense, but then again, nothing on this island made any sense.
"Okay, another logo. Normal so far." Maybe it was a really old, boring movie. Or one that didn't age very well. But that didn't seem to align with what Nagito said.
"I thought Monokuma said he couldn't afford Star Wars?" But maybe Marvel was cheaper? Wait, did he MAKE a Marvel movie? Was that what all the cameras were for???
You would have assumed that all of this bisexual lighting would have done something to calm Hajime's nerves, but it didn't.
If anything, it set him into a panic, the bright colors of a predator, warning "I'm venom! Watch out!"
But if only it was the hit Marvel and/or DC Film Venom. No, what faced Hajime was the worst 1 hour and 44 to 48 minutes of his life. It was true despair. It was...
