Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

There was a drowsy silence in the air, the kind that smothered you when you woke up before your alarm was supposed to go off. And in those comfortable moments of half consciousness, I didn’t think it would hurt to doze off for a couple extra minutes. But then that feeling slipped away and in the back of my mind I was left with something else. A discomfort, warning me about something, but I didn’t know what it was.

It was probably nothing, I told myself. I’d open my eyes, look around my room, and go back to bed. But when I lifted my head, I wasn’t greeted by any familiar surroundings. Rows of perfectly aligned and empty desks took up most of the room. A whiteboard stretched across the wall. Someone had written ‘Welcome to your first day!’ in big letters, and a crudely drawn picture of a cartoon bear accompanied it. If they were going for cute, they missed the mark by a wide margin.

“W-Where…?” My voice was hoarse and cracked, as if I had overslept.

But by now any semblance of sleep disappeared from my thoughts. I straightened up immediately and was met with a backache, only to realize that I’d been passed out at a desk- the kind that you’d find in a high school classroom. But I wasn’t a high school student, nor did this room look anything like my old high school. I didn’t even know how I got here. Was I dreaming?

I ran my hands over the desktop. The surface of it was cool and solid. It felt real. I got to my feet, still looking around the classroom, when I noticed the more out of place things. Namely, the surveillance camera that hung from the ceiling. Its black lens aimed at the middle of the classroom and I stared back at it. Whether it worked or not, it was out of place in this environment, unless school security had gotten more dystopian since I graduated a few years ago. The dull fluorescent lights in the ceiling made the entire room seem hazier than they already were. The feelings of dissociation and derealization were getting stronger, the longer I stayed here.

To my surprise, the door’s handle turned easily when I tried it. The classroom let out into an open hallway. On the other side I saw another hallway and row of classrooms identical to the one I had come out of. Both paths overlooked the entrance a floor below. It was a massive room covered in black and white carpets that fed from the main doors of the school to a wide staircase that led to both hallways. Several banners hung from the ceiling and the second floor railing. They were also black and white and proudly displayed the school’s crest upon them. That’s what I guessed, anyway. It was an intricate design: a crown rested above a checkerboard style crest with a pen and… I frowned, trying to make out the other symbol. It was jagged, but didn’t look like anything recognizable. Leaves surrounded the left and right sides of the crest.

Nothing about it clicked in my memory. Still, whether or not I’d seen it before, it was so detailed that I questioned if my brain was still asleep and making all of it up. I made my way down the stairs and glanced around. On the first floor were two more hallways, though these went horizontally. According to the signs above them, they led to the west and east wings of the school. Light streamed in overhead through the skylight and I realized there were three floors to the building. I tried the entrance door ahead and cursed aloud when the doorknob didn’t move. So much for leaving. The two frosted window panes adjacent to the door let in enough light for it to spill across the carpet. But I couldn’t make out anything more than blurry shapes through them.

With no other choice besides the hallways or going back up the stairs, I sighed and headed down the east wing. The hallway was lined on both sides with large and clear windows. It looked like another normal day outside- blue sky and white clouds. The campus grounds were surrounded by a towering metal fence. It was a little difficult to see from this distance, but I thought I could see barbed wire curled over the top of it. I felt my stomach twist into knots at the sight of it. The area within the fence was mostly empty, save for one shorter building several yards away. Rows and rows of trees extended past the fence as far as the eye could see.

“What the hell is this place?” I muttered. My voice filled the empty silence for only a moment before the hallway went quiet again. I hoped I wouldn’t have to get used to that.

When I looked ahead, I saw the door on the other end of the hallway, labeled ‘gym’ in big, bold lettering. Might as well try every available option, I thought. As I pulled open the door, a strange mixture of relief and bewilderment struck me. Fourteen other people stood around: a few of them stood in groups, talking, while the majority stood apart and looked around. Each turned to look at me as I walked in. They all looked around my age.

“That makes fifteen,” a tough-looking guy with dark purple hair remarked. His baseball cap and ripped jeans made him look kind of like a delinquent, and his sharp brown eyes sized me up.

“What’s going on here? Does anyone know where we are?” I asked.

“I’m afraid we don’t have any answers yet,” a girl with dark blue hair in a high ponytail responded, “but we can have a group discussion once people stop arriving.”

She was dressed pretty professionally compared to the rest of us; she wore a light gray shirt with a blue collar and a tie underneath a black vest. A black and dark blue plaid skirt and a pair of black boots with heels went along with her outfit. Though even with the heels, she was still more than half a foot shorter than me. Her posture was straight and exuded confidence, as if the height difference wasn’t even there. She went back to scanning the room and glancing back at the gym doors I came through earlier.

“S-so many people…” a girl with extremely long dark brown hair trailed off. She wore a purple turtleneck sweater with a ribbon at the front, and a black miniskirt. “How big is this place…?”

To the right of her was a girl who had been talking to the one with blue hair when I first arrived. She now stood by herself, observing the floor. The hijab she wore looked to be sewn into her red top, with pink patchwork visible on the hood and her right sleeve. Compared to some of the others, she seemed more friendly and open.

My head still felt a little fuzzy as my attention went to some of the other people standing around. My eyes caught on a guy with vibrant green hair, dressed in a crimson suit and gray slacks. I wondered what he was dressed so professionally for… and why he was scowling so intensely at nothing. It was kind of intimidating.

The farthest from the group was a guy with dirty blonde hair, wearing a short sleeve gray jacket over a long sleeve blue shirt. Something hung at his side from his belt and when he turned, the hilt of a sword came into view. An actual, medieval style sword in a sheath. I stared at it in disbelief- the guy didn’t look much older than me, where did he get a sword from? Why was he carrying it around with him? I couldn’t come up with any logical answers before the sound of a conversation distracted me.

“Do you think we’re being held for ransom or something?” asked a guy on my right. He was my height, with tan skin and dark, messy hair. A tie hung loosely over his untucked long-sleeve shirt. His question didn’t seem to be aimed at anyone, but a shorter brunette in a gray tuque and sleeveless scarlet jacket tilted her head in consideration for a moment.

“Kidnapped, probably. But I don’t know if it’s for ransom...” she reasoned, gesturing around the room. “Otherwise we’d probably be duct taped to chairs right now, not allowed to walk around the building like this.”

Kidnapped… the idea sent my nerves tingling with anxiety. I didn’t want to believe it. Maybe it was childish to feel that way, like if I accepted it, it would make the situation real. But it was starting to feel horrifyingly real when I saw the reactions of the few people that were also listening to the conversation. Panic. Anger. Fear.

“You can’t be serious.”

“K-Kidnapped?”

“How is that possible?”

Just as others started to raise their voices, someone loudly cleared their throat. Everyone went quiet and looked for the source, only to find that it came from the same blue-haired girl from earlier.

“Let’s not panic yet- I’m certain we’ll find some answers regarding our situation,” she said slowly and clearly, looking from one person to the next. “It looks as though no one else is coming. As such, I’d-”

Suddenly, the doors burst open and they slammed into the walls as someone new barged in. A couple people jumped at the loud noise, while a few others- like the guy in the suit- glared at the newcomer. The new guy, on the shorter side and dressed in a pastel green jacket and blue skirt, came to a stop before the group. He looked apologetic and embarrassed.

“Um, sorry,” he said. “Am I late?”

“Well, it’s not as though we had a meeting planned or know what time it is,” the girl in the red and pink hood said, “but we were about to get started.”

At her mention of time, I reached into my pockets for my phone, only to discover it wasn’t there. No wallet, no keys, nothing. It was looking more and more like we really had been kidnapped and cut off from the outside world. We waited for a few more minutes, but no one else came.

“Accounting for the late arrival, that brings us to sixteen,” the blue-haired girl noted. “I’m sure everyone has a lot of questions, so the most efficient way would be to address them one at a time after we introduce ourselves. I can start us off.

“My name is Lynn Sinclair. I must admit, I don’t remember much before waking up in the library upstairs. Many of the other rooms in this building are locked, but I would like to try them again later-” Lynn paused for a moment, as if she was searching for something else to say. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you, though I wish it were under better circumstances than this.”

Lynn turned to the girl with long black hair on her right, who was wearing a long black hoodie with a purple vest and red bowtie. She seemed happy to have the attention on her and grinned before introducing herself. Two worms on a string formed a makeshift hair accessory, and they bounced with her sudden movements.

“I’m Kikuko Wolfe! I have no idea what I was doing before this, but that’s fine. I’m sure we’re all on some prank show right now, and any second now some guys will come out and tell us how hard we fell for this,” she laughed. A few people laughed along with her, most likely out of nervousness about the situation.

The next person in line was a guy with short ginger hair. The green vest he wore over a light blue collared shirt had origami designs all over it. There were several real origami creations all over him too- sticking out of his vest pockets, one around his wrist, one as a hairpin, and a few sticking out of his pant pockets and the brown satchel at his side. He looked more than a little irritated as he spoke.

“If this is a prank, then it’s the worst one I’ve ever seen. As for the last thing I remember… I was gonna go out and buy some more paper, but I woke up in some school store on the third floor,” he sighed and his hands went back to folding and unfolding a small piece of paper. “I’m Takiyo Kubo.”

The guy to Takiyo’s right was taller with fluffy black hair and a 5 o’ clock shadow. His navy shirt had a few buttons open and an abstract pattern of white and gold on the front. He looked like he was doing his best to keep it together and kept his hands buried in the pockets of his white cargo shorts. An aegean colored coat hung over his shoulders.

“Uh, hey. Name’s Vasco Cartier. I wish I knew how I got here; I was just on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but I woke up in some dorm room…this is all way too crazy for me...”

After Vasco came a girl in short blue overalls with blonde hair tied into two simple braids in front of her shoulders. Her hair was kept out of her face by a black headband with a sunflower on it. She managed a soft smile before introducing herself, “I’m Camellia Linden, it’s nice to meet you all. I was hoping we could go outside. But I’m sure you guys already saw that the doors were locked, right?”

“We’re trapped in here with one another,” the guy in the suit spoke up next to her. His voice had a slight British accent to it and held an air of pride. “What a bother… no matter. My name is Parisu Minaki. I trust this problem will be resolved quickly.”

Trapped… that was the word I was missing. Trapped in a strange place with people I didn’t know.

A brunette wearing a black and red hoodie nodded at his words. She fiddled with her yellow hair clip as she spoke, “I hope this is all some kind of misunderstanding. I feel like I would remember if I was kidnapped, you know? ...Oh, I’m Hylia Meldione, by the way.”

“Under normal circumstances, yes. But there are some things about our circumstances that don’t sit well with me,” The next person in the circle spoke up. They wore black, rectangular glasses and a turquoise turtleneck beneath a dark green jacket. They twisted a strand of gray hair around. “We can get to that afterwards. My name is Alex Yang, and I’d appreciate it if you referred to me as ‘they’ or ‘them’.”

The girl in the purple turtleneck from earlier gave a small wave. “Hi. I’m, um, Starlight Chia,” she kept her introduction short, looking a little scared. Maybe being around so many strangers was intimidating her.

“I think we have better things to be doing than standing around here, but fine. Name’s Fever Virtue,” said the delinquent-looking guy that had first spoken when I came in. His shirt had random geometric shapes as the pattern.

Only a few people remained who had yet to introduce themselves, and the guy with the sword was up next. Most of the attention went to the sheathed weapon as he spoke.

“I’m Skyler Wilson.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I honestly don’t know what’s going on, or why they didn’t take everything I had on me, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“My name is Rahmani Thanaa, though you can call me Rahma or Rahrah. It’s a pleasure to meet you all, despite the current circumstances,” said the girl in the red stitched top. Her brown eyes were calm and warm.

Everyone’s attention went to me next. I tried my best to collect my thoughts before introducing myself.

“I’m Sirk Xander- please call me Xander. Uh…” I trailed off. “...I have no fucking idea how we’re going to get out of here, since the doors are locked and there’s that fence, but…”

The guy on my right noticed I went quiet and spoke up instead. “Well, guess it’s my turn. My name is Pearce Ritari. This is probably the weirdest situation I’ve ever been in, but I think it’ll get resolved.”

“Hey, I’m Thea Fintero. I don’t really remember what I was doing before I woke up here… I think I was going to class.” The girl in the black shirt and sleeveless scarlet jacket shook her head. “But that’s probably not too important right now.”

The last person to introduce themselves was the guy who showed up late. “Heya, sorry again for being late. I’m Nuz Leif, or Lee, or Nuzlee. I’m sure we’ll find a way out of here.” He nodded and buried his hands into his jacket pockets.

“Leaving so soon? But you just got here!” a higher-pitched voice replied. I turned, trying to find the source of the voice but it was still just us.

“W-Who the hell was that?” Vasco stammered.

Out of the corner of my eye, something appeared on the stage. I glanced over. A bipedal bear, no taller than two feet tall, sat on the stage. It was split down the middle- white on the left half and black on the right.

“A… teddy bear?” Camellia pointed. The rest of the group looked where she was pointing.

“I’m not a teddy bear!” the voice growled. “I am Monokuma! And I am this school’s headmaster!”

“Th-that bear just talked!” Takiyo yelled.

“Headmaster?” Parisu repeated, narrowing his eyes.

“What the fuck?” I asked.

“Relax, I think it’s just a robot with a speaker…” Thea suggested, squinting at the strange bear.

“You heard me- I am the headmaster! It’s so nice to meet you all,” the voice continued on cheerfully. It was coming from the direction of the bear, yet it didn’t move. The unease I felt earlier was quickly turning to dread.

“Oh fuck off. ‘Headmaster’. You’re a damn stuffed toy!” Fever argued back. “Where the hell are we?”

The bear’s expression shifted from smiling to a glare. Several people took a few steps backwards.

“Impatient, aren’t we? We are in Hope’s Peak Academy! And you guys are my students,” Monokuma looked from person to person, now frowning. “I was hoping for a younger group, though... Calling you SHSLs doesn’t even work.”

Nothing he said made any sense. I’d never heard of Hope’s Peak Academy, or whatever an SHSL was. And what did he mean by our age? Everyone watched in shock as Monokuma got up and hopped off the stage.

“Ah, whatever! I’ve wasted enough time already, so let’s get to the point. The sixteen of you are Ultimates, and you will live a communal life here together. I expect you all to live in harmony and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school.”

The word ‘ultimate’ seemed to spark something in the others around me, but my head didn’t feel any clearer. Ultimate? What did that mean? It felt almost familiar, but the word didn’t connect to anything.

“What’s an ‘Ultimate’?” I asked, and Monokuma immediately turned to me. He looked interested for a moment.

“'Ultimate’ basically means you’re particularly prodigious in a particular talent. You should know this- you are one. Did you forget?” Monokuma huffed in annoyance. “Now then, if there are no more interruptions, I’d like to explain more regarding the end date for your new lives here. And by that I mean… there isn’t one!”

“Now wait just a second,” Lynn raised her voice. “If this is some kind of joke, I insist that you stop right now.”

“This is ridiculous,” Parisu passed us, scowling, already heading towards the doors we came in through. He pushed at the doors. They didn’t budge. “What…?”

“We’re… we’re stuck here?” Hylia asked quietly.

“That’s right! In other words, you’ll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you’ve been assigned,” Monokuma grinned. His tone was still just as cheerful, but laced with something sinister.

“No way, this is all just a bit! We’re getting pranked,” Kikuko laughed. Everyone else remained quiet, with some looking afraid and the rest angry.

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to figure out whether or not what I say is true,” the monochrome bear replied. “But I’ll have you know, your headmaster is not a liar.”

“We can decide that for ourselves,” Rahmani argued. “Let us see whether that claim is true.”

“Oh, but you know… I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school…” he trailed off, starting to walk back to the stage.

“And that is?” Alex asked, voice flat. I had no idea how they could stay so calm with everything that was happening.

“As headmaster, I’ve crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it… the ‘Graduation Clause’!” Everyone fell silent, waiting for the bear to continue. “As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. You could call it a kind of graduation, right?”

“And how do we… ‘disrupt the harmony’?” Lee repeated.

“Puhuhu… well, you know…” Monokuma laughed. The sound was grating. “If one person were to murder another.”

“M-murder?! B-But…” Starlight squeaked, somehow going even paler than she already was. She seemed on the verge of a panic attack. A couple of the students shot glances at one another, equally as pale.

“You must kill someone if you want to leave. It’s simple, really,” the black and white bear stated. “Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, poisoning, igniting… the rest is up to you. I would suggest giving it your all.”

“This is crazy… you expect us to kill one another? Why are you doing this?” Pearce called after the so-called headmaster.

“I'm not ordering anyone to kill. Whether or not you kill someone is entirely up to you. But you do want to leave, don't you?" Monokuma answered. He stood atop the stage again, looking straight ahead at us. My hands curled into fists.

“There’s a lot more we need to discuss, but I think it’s best to let you explore for right now. Think of this like the opening school ceremony, and now you’re experiencing orientation!” Monokuma produced a large stack of black and white rectangular objects, a little bigger than a smartphone. “And since I’m such a nice bear, I have a little something to commemorate your new lives here!”

One by one he tossed each of us a device. I fumbled to catch mine and Pearce missed catching his entirely, wincing as it smacked against the floor. I turned mine over. It looked like a small tablet, displaying my name, the school’s logo, and the current time when I found the power button.

“This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, right?” Monokuma tilted his head. “These e-handbooks are the most important things you’ll own here, so don’t lose them! And they’re completely waterproof and pretty impact resistant!”

“And if we destroy them?” Fever asked.

“Destroying school property goes against our school regulations!” he snarled back. “Speaking of school regulations, your e-handbooks contain the list of rules, so make sure you review them thoroughly!”

I tapped on the only available app, pulling up the rules. There weren’t many, and I made a mental note to read them later. If any of this was even real.

“Any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated,” Monokuma informed us, looking irritated. “Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! So keep in mind that punishment awaits those who break the rules.”

Everyone went silent. Some were looking at their handbooks, while others stood still in shock or fear.

“Okay, well, that’s enough for now. Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life. And… see ya!” With that, Monokuma disappeared.

“What… what the fuck just happened?” I managed. The tablet in my hands felt uncomfortably real, as did the situation.

“So when do they tell us it’s all a joke? That they’re doing this just to scare us?” Vasco turned to Kikuko, shaking. She remained quiet, her smile faltering.

“Everyone, please listen,” Lynn spoke up. “I understand if this is a lot to cope with right now, but we are not helpless. I propose that we explore the school to try and find a way out.”

“I suppose she’s right. We might as well do something about our situation, instead of waiting for that damn bear to come back,” Parisu nodded.

“B-But what about that thing Monokuma mentioned… the ‘Graduation Clause’?” Camellia asked softly. “What if someone tries to…”

“Here, how about this?” Thea placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “There’s sixteen of us here, so we can split into four groups of four. No one will be alone or at risk of being murdered that way.”

“I think that’s a good idea. Each group could go explore a different area, and then we could meet back when we’re done,” Lee agreed.

“As good a plan as any. We can outsmart that bear,” Alex said. “We’re Ultimates, after all. We can do this.”

“There’s no way this is real…” Hylia shook her head.

“Real or fake, we should take this seriously. With that said, splitting into groups may be our best bet to cover the Academy grounds quicker,” Lynn turned to me. “Xander, was it? Why don’t you pick three people to go with you? We can decide what area you’ll be covering after that.”

I glanced at the fifteen other students. I didn’t expect to be left in charge of a group, but if I had to pick...