Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“You can't just do that! I did not consent for such experiments inside this scho–”

“You signed a contract.” A man in a black suit interrupted him, pointing to a signature and tapping on a sheet of paper, “You let us test these kids and their abilities before they can properly settle inside this facility.”

“Yeah, I let you run tests, not put them in actual danger!” Desperation could be heard in his voice as he tried to take charge of the situation. Unsuccessfully.

The other man sighed, hiding the paper inside his jacket. “We have assured you already, we are the ones in control here. Those kids are safe in our care, we have the most qualified men working on this project, all will go according to plan–”

“BULLSHIT!” He banged his fist on the nearest table in frustration. The other man just stared at him coldly.

“Unfortunately, you have no say in the matter,” He turned around to one of his assistants, “We’ll start tomorrow. Your job is to prepare your students for the ultimate analysis. That's where your power ends. Although, we do expect you to observe them with us.”

He spared him one last glare before leaving the room. His assistants followed.

Just like that the man was left alone.

Alone and terrified.

Terrified for the kids.

The first days at Hope's peak were rather peaceful. It was surprising how well everyone got along, helping each other or at the very least not causing drama on purpose, although it was an effort for some. Monokuma popped up from time to time to mess with us, suggest a potential murder or just to remind everyone of the fucked-up situation we were in. While he very much succeeded in ruining the mood, he failed to get what he really wanted; there had been no murders so far and it didn’t seem likely for any to occur.

Despite the situation everyone stayed relatively calm. There were a few outbursts at first and most had quietly panicked once or twice, but with the help of their classmates or their own strong will they were able to calm down.

Some remained openly scared like Chihiro or Toko. Hanging out with Toko (if you catch her and she doesn’t run away after the first 10 seconds) consists of listening to her nervous stutters or watching her while she gets… excited thinking about a certain someone. I really hoped that was just a phase that she’d get over as soon as possible.

Chihiro was more pleasant to spend time with. While she was scared, it was a natural reaction for someone so meek. She gets less and less nervous when she sees all of her classmates get along. The lack of conflict helped her calm down immensely, though she still didn’t like being left alone. Besides, I liked the way she rambles about coding. I think it’s cute.

A few are visibly anxious but try to play it cool like Leon or Asahina. I didn’t spend much time with Leon, but he seemed like a great guy. He was able to hold up a conversation by trying to appear relaxed and chill, especially with Sayaka. More than once I’ve been interrupted while talking to her because Leon spotted us in the hallways. As much as I would want to say it irritates me, I can't. I was glad Sayaka was making more friends and I couldn’t just be mad at Leon for socializing. I just wished he would ask Sayaka to hang out instead of interrupting us…

Hina just tagged along whenever she wanted to with whoever she wanted to. Mostly Sakura, I noticed. Talking to her was easy and the conversation always flowed smoothly. I took note of how fast it takes for the topic to change. I could start with asking Hina about the French revolution and she would twist it 2 minutes later to listing the ingredients of a perfect donut with the tastiest frosting and the best sprinkles. In her presence donuts had to be mentioned at least once. It wasn’t a bad trait per se, I was just worried about her health. She ate way too many donuts.

However some of my classmates seemed entirely unbothered, like Kyoko, Togami, Celeste or Sakura.

Although Sakura was different from those three, she cared for the wellbeing of the other students. Her looks might be frightening at first, but her heart was pure. I along with Hina was one of the first people to acknowledge that, though some still haven’t. 

Celeste insisted on adjusting to our life at the school. Most of the time she accepted invitations to hang out with other students. Excluding maybe some of them like Yasuhiro, Hifumi or Junko. Hanging out with her usually ends up in playing card games. Up to now I have only played blackjack with Celeste and Sayaka, and of course the former won. She’s not the Ultimate Gambler for nothing.

Togami just kept saying how stupid everyone was for trying to get along in a situation like this. He was also always late to our morning meetings, if he showed up at all. He didn’t engage in a conversation unless he saw an opportunity to show how much better he was than everyone else. Most people had labeled him as the token asshole of the group, and I had to agree. However, that didn’t mean I didn’t believe that Togami had a soft side. Everyone had one, right?

Kyoko never talked to anybody by her initiative unless she was asking questions that felt too much like an interrogation, but isn’t that what detectives do? Even if you approached her there was no guarantee she wouldn't just turn her back on you. I realized that faster than I’m proud to admit. She tended to just sit and observe, often trying to figure out how to escape this school prison in ways other than breaking down the metal plates covering up the windows, which was reserved for Sakura and Mondo. You could say she tried getting out as much as she tried avoiding us - both were unsuccessful. I could see her concentration from a mile away and god forbid you approach her in that state. Her dead-eyed stare would haunt your dreams. Or maybe I’m just too sensitive? Nonetheless, not recommended.

Yasuhiro deserves his own category. Not only did he still not believe this whole thing was real, but he also had an incredible talent to piss off the intellectuals of the class with his alien stories. Togami and Celeste especially objected to his absurd tales with logic and facts. However Yasuhiro never believed them, which drove them crazy. It was honestly funny to watch. You would expect Kyoko to protest his goofy stories as well, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to waste time on something like that, or that’s how I interpreted her silence at least.

The other students fell more or less in the same categories. Ishimaru tries to follow all the rules and makes sure no one is breaking them. He’s considered a pain by those who like to sleep in, because he only gives twenty minutes after the Monokuma morning announcement for everyone to show up in the dining hall. If you didn’t arrive in time you could expect loud banging at your door.

Mondo mostly tries to mind his own business, but often fails miserably and gets into arguments with Taka. Honestly, the two can be so loud that I think it would be better if Taka would let go of whatever Mondo did this time (most of the time it being a swear word or running in the halls) and just walk away. It’s not like swearing was the worst thing that could happen in this environment.

Hifumi didn’t engage much in socializing either. He often sat in the dining hall or his room drawing manga, if not he could as well be in the kitchen preparing some not-so-nutritious food. He was another person I didn’t talk with much, but he didn’t seem like anyone who would be interested in killing ‘just because’.

There are also the twins. Junko was not taking anything seriously. Though well aware of the situation, she's embracing it as much as she possibly can, joking about not being against killing or being killed, much to the majority's concern and her sister’s annoyance.

I've heard that some people suspected Junko of being a mastermind along with Genocide Jack. Needless to say, Junko was flattered. But after a while even she got bored of being constantly scared of and started denying the accusations with passion. Mukuro defended her sister as well. Besides, she wouldn't have time to control Monokuma and argue with him at the same time, which Chihiro pointed out. I didn't really believe these rumors either. Yes, Junko was acting… unusual, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was crazy enough to start a killing game. 

She’s actually.. kind of nice. I didn’t talk to her much, so it was mostly an outsider’s observation, but I could tell there was more to her than she let on. No matter what she was always there for her sister, she would stop making creepy jokes if she noticed it was making someone very uncomfortable and she offered to braid the girls’ hair (to which they refused, much to her disappointment). I feel like her overall intentions were good, she just didn’t know how to act. I also can’t tell how much of her behavior was her usual one and how much was caused by stress.

Mukuro on the other hand was vigilant. She never let her guard down and was always ready for possible attack from the person next to her. She didn't decline an invitation to a conversation if the topic interested her, but made sure to have her sister in sight or at least to know where she is, because God knows what Junko would do without supervision. For that reason they were often seen together. If you saw Junko without her twin for a longer period of time it’s most likely because she ran off and you should inform Mukuro immediately. Mukuro was also eager to invite me to hang out, which I didn’t notice her doing with many other students, but that could be just my imagination

And then, Sayaka.

I was able to reconnect with her in the time we had at our hands, and I was fortunate she was willing to spend time with me. We enjoyed our time together, sharing our respective memories of some events from middle school or cracking jokes and making silly remarks about our past life.

Making a conversation with her was effortless. Even with my nervousness at times, Sayaka was able to carry on the talk for the two of us until I regained confidence in myself. She also constantly joked about being psychic. Here I was, thinking that was Hiro’s wheelhouse. Her intuition was really incredible, she could guess my thoughts so easily I was ready to believe her a couple of times already, only for her to add "Just kidding!" at the end.

We weren't as close as I would probably want us to be but everything takes time, right? We had a connection, a good and joyful one at that.

That's why I was glad she decided to join me when Mondo sent me out to check out the videos Monokuma just told us about. Her presence was calming and I could very much use it right now.

"I can't decide if Mondo is totally dependable or completely terrible," Sayaka said just as I closed the door to the Dining hall.

"Yeah, I'd have to say he's kind of both," I agreed. Mondo isn't a bad person, but I can't say he's entirely good either. It was hard to judge him at this point in time, especially since he was a loner more than a social butterfly.

Sayaka and I started heading towards the gate labeled "Hope's Peak Academy", a corridor connecting both the school and the dorm side of the facility. 

"So then, where is this 'specific place' Monokuma mentioned? It must be somewhere you can watch DVDs but…" Sayaka's uncertain tone told me that she wasn't aware of the A/V room's existence. She probably didn't explore the school side of Hope's Peak as much as she did the dorm side, but that was just my supposition. I proudly took the lead and led Sayaka towards our destination.

When we arrived nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The room looked the same as it did the first time I came around here. Sayaka was looking around curiously, only convincing me more about my suspicion. 

Actually, scratch what I said earlier, the room wasn't the exact same. Now there was a cardboard box on top of one of the DVD players. I walked over to it and looked inside.

"Huh? There's something inside it."

It took me just a second to realize what I was looking at. "It's...!"

"...a bunch of DVDs," I felt a rush of air as Sayaka walked up next to me. She took two of the DvDs wrapped in a transparent foil and examined them. "And each one has a label on it with someone's name.." 

When I looked closely I could tell she was right. The two DVDs she was holding had "Ikusaba" and "Ishimaru" written on it with a black marker.

"This must be the 'video for each of us' he mentioned…" I looked at the girl's face and noticed a glow of determination shining in her eyes as she put the videos back into the box.

Suddenly she turned around and her dark blue hair almost smacked me in the face. 

"I'd better go tell everyone!" She shouted to me and disappeared into the hallway. And just like that I was left alone.

Along with Sayaka left the calm presence she surrounded herself with, and I was once again feeling uneasy about all of this.I wanted to go with her, explain what we found to the rest of the class, but I couldn't. I was stuck in place as if my legs were rooted in the ground. I turned back to the box. 

A thought came through my mind.

I looked around. My eyes landed on a high-end DVD player next to the monitor. Would it be better if I waited for the rest..?

"Maybe I'll just watch mine real quick, before everyone else gets here…"

My curiosity got the better of me. I rummaged through the box and got out a DVD with "Naegi" written in thick, black letters. I took the video out of its container and put it in the DVD player. I sat down and stared intently, not knowing what to expect.

The screen was pitch black for a second, then suddenly the image popped on the monitor and I almost jumped out of my seat.

I saw my living room, the couch and two big windows behind it, but most importantly: my family.

My father, mother and my sister, Komaru. They were all there, sitting on the couch and smiling at me. I couldn't help but smile back. Seeing them calmed me down, but also raised an uneasy feeling in my stomach. This couldn't be what Monokuma wanted me to see, right? Something was wrong…

"You getting picked to attend Hope's Peak Academy is like a dream come true. Make sure to do your best!"

My mom's voice took me out of my thoughts. It was kind and happy, if not a little excited. It was a voice I grew up to be so close to. I heard it every morning when I saw her at breakfast and every evening when I was ready to go to sleep. I missed it already. If only I could call her right now.

"I'm so proud of you, son. But remember - don't push yourself too hard!" 

This time it was my dad. Determined and excited as well. There was a loving and spirited shine in his eyes, as if he wanted to give his only son the energy to move forward. Even though it was through a screen I felt a rush of it just from listening.

"Are you really watching this, Makoto? Good luck, okay?" 

Komaru said that with a lot of vigor, but I could sense the irony within the last sentence. 'Good luck', nice thing to say to the Ultimate Lucky Student. Nevertheless, it was sincere, not malicious, and I appreciated it. 

I wondered if Komaru was nervous that she couldn't contact me. There wasn't a day that we wouldn't text each other, even the littlest and stupidest things. Would it be different now that I'm a student at Hope's Peak? Does she even know that I'm locked up? I felt bad again, I missed them.

The screen suddenly went dark, and when it lightened up again my eyes widened.

The couch was torn apart and covered in scratches, windows were shattered and the walls lacerated. My family was nowhere to be seen now and I felt a bit of panic in the back of my head. Where were they? Did something happen to them? What was going on? I was struck with apprehension. My breathing quickened as I tried to comprehend and put together all the information I got.

This was fake. It had to be! Why else would my house look like this? Why else would my family not be in this picture? Not only that, this whole image felt weird, not only because of its content, but something else as well. I couldn't lay my finger on it. I wasn't really in the right condition to investigate it anyway.

"Makoto Naegi, accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. And his family, who supported such a lucky boy... But it seems like... Something's happened to this family's well being! Oh boy, this is bad! What could have possibly happened to them?!"

I heard the last voice I wanted to hear right now. Monokuma's words were dripping with fake sadness and concern. It made my blood boil. How dare he try to turn this into a game. My family could be in danger and it was just a play for that son of a bitch!

What I saw next didn't help me calm down at all.

Written in big, orange, sparkly letters displayed at the center of the screen: "Look for the answer after graduation!" 

For a second I just sat there wide eyed. I stood up slowly, not turning my gaze away from that cursed sentence. What it really meant was "kill and maybe I'll tell you." I felt rage boiling up inside me.

I banged my fist on the desk,"GODDAMMIT!"

I hit the desk again. And again and again. I could feel myself beginning to shake and my mind getting more blurry by the second. But one thought stayed crystal clear; I had to leave.

"I have to get out of here," I said to myself, grasping the edges of the countertop as hard as I could. Some part of me wanted to push that thought away, wanted me to calm down, bring me to my senses and make me remember what comes with trying to leave, but it was unsuccessful.

"I have to get out, right now! I need to make sure everyone's safe!"

I'm not sure who I was yelling at; Monokuma, other students or myself. It was probably a crazy mix of all. How long have I been standing there? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? I didn't care. I had to think of something . Something that will get me o–

"Makoto…?"

I turned my head around towards the door. Sayaka, Chihiro, Kyoko, Sakura, Hiro… name them and they were there. They looked confused, some of them even concerned, but especially Sayaka. Her eyes looking at me with such deep worry, I think something shifted in my mind. I must have looked so uncharacteristic right now.

"What happened? Make sure who's safe?" Her eyes didn't leave mine until I couldn't bear to look at them anymore. I hung my head down and straightened up, trying to calm down. My efforts were only partially successful. I still wasn't able to look at them again so I just stared at my feet.

"Wh-what's going on?" I heard Asahina’s voice along with the sound of someone trying to get through the mass of people. I just pointed to the cardboard box and didn't say anything. The tapes would be their own explanation

"Is that what Monokuma was talking about?" Leon asked with some curiosity, the same curiosity I had 3 minutes ago. I should've just waited. No, I should have just walked out and forgot the videos existed.

"What's on them?" Ishimaru moved past me and shuffled through the DVDs to find his own. The rest followed his lead and one by one started looking for free DVD players to watch their motive. Meanwhile I calmed down enough to just walk over to the nearest wall and look at everyone else.

It didn't take long for them to react.

"What the fuck…?" Mondo whispered to himself.

"Haah..?" Junko didn't even try to hide her confusion and worry, which was really uncharacteristic of her. Mukuro just stared at her screen with wide eyes. They both looked at each other with equal concern.

"Th-this can't be real, right?" Hina stated with fake confidence, backing away from the video player "It has to be fake, right ?!"

"Yeah, no way this is real. Haha… No way." Leon's 'chill guy' persona was gone. He was just as much in denial as everyone else.

"I can't t-take it anymore…" Toko's stutters could be heard from across the room as she grabbed her hair in frustration "I can't take this anymore! Let me out of h-here!!"

Some more shocked whispers and soft cries could be heard and it hurt my heart. Was everyone going through what I was? I looked around. Even Celeste, Sakura and Togami lacked their usual stoic expressions, disbelief and shock clear in their features. Chihiro was quietly sobbing in front of her now black screen. The twins were standing together seemingly refusing to look back at their videos. A few other people came to stand with me near the exit.

In all of this I barely noticed Monokuma as he collected the DVDs. When he finished he moved past Yasuhiro, Ishimaru and I and left the A/V room.

"I see… so this is what he meant by 'motive,'" I heard a calm voice coming from the left side of the room. My gaze shifted towards Kyoko, who was as stoic as always. She raised her voice to be heard by all, "He wants to fuel our desire to leave so that we're more likely to start killing each other."

The room was silent. Clearly nobody was in the mood to talk.

"It is the classic 'prisoner's dilemma,'" Everyone turned to look at Celeste. She had her poker face back on, not a trace of her distress from a minute ago.

"...Huh?" Hifumi stared at her with confusion, grabbing the shoulder straps of his backpack.

"Let me use an example," Celeste shifted her weight and started to visualize with her hands, “Imagine two countries are on the brink of war. But both sides want peace, and each commits to scaling back their forces as a sign of good faith. But there's a chance that one country may betray the other, so each country fears lowering their guard,” 

Her eyes changed, became sharper, colder. She made sure everyone understood her the first time around, repeating herself wasn't in her style. “The result is that neither scales back their forces, and they both end up betraying each other. In other words, the fear of invisible treachery becomes the greatest enemy of stability.”

“That kinda sounds l-like us right now…” Toko stuttered, slouching and holding onto her braids “Everyone says they’ll work together, but in our hearts we’re all afraid someone might b-betray us…”

“Don’t put those awful thoughts in our heads! That’s exactly what they want us to do!” Ishimaru was way quieter than normally, but his voice still ringed in my ears.

"You can say that, but maybe you're thinking that once everyone drops their guard, you can just…" Leon didn't have to finish to get his point across.

"What?!" The boy looked genuinely hurt.

Sakura took a subconscious step forward. "This is exactly what Monokuma, or whoever's behind this, wants. They want us to fight. Don't you see?" Her voice wasn't cold, but firm. She made sure everyone dropped any kind of discouraging thing they were planning to say.

"Yeah, you're right," Chihiro's voice was quiet and weak. "We all need to calm down…"

"Okay, then. Maybe we should start by all just… talking." Mukuro suggested "Maybe if we all just talk about what we saw, that'll help get everything out of our system. Besides, I think we’re all super curious, right?”

Junko nodded in agreement, although it lacked her usual enthusiasm. Mukuro had a point after all, I couldn’t deny I wanted to hear about everyone’s motive. Was it also their families, or was it something else? It would definitely help to talk it out, when I think about how I reacted… what would happen if Sayaka didn’t get to me in time? Would I start planning to..?

I shook my head, I shouldn’t focus on these awful thoughts. We should start sharing our experience sooner rather than later. Should I start? I don't think I can.

I looked at Sayaka who was standing back to everyone else, her dark hair completely covering any part of her face I could have otherwise seen. This was rather unusual of her not to join in a group conversation. 

“Hey, Sayaka…” I didn’t get a response. Did she not hear me? “What was in your video, Sayaka?”

Silence. 

I took a few steps in her direction and raised my hand slowly.

“What’s wr-wrong? Just hurry up and t-tell us…” Toko was looking at her expectantly. Before long the whole class was waiting for Sayaka to say something and I regretted asking her. I should have just said what I saw instead of making someone else say it first, I have put so much pressure on my closest friend, I could see her shaking and I felt terrible.

“Sayaka?” I put my hand on her shoulder but she flinched away.

“Stop it!!” She shouted at me, pushed me away and ran out of the room.

“Sayaka?!” Hina called out after her. I tried to follow her but Togami grabbed my shoulder.

“Let her go.”

“I-I can’t do that! I have to make sure she’s okay!” Why didn’t he get it? Oh, right, he doesn’t know how to actually care for someone.

“I h-hate romantic comedies like this. I don’t care what h-happens to her, personally…” Toko muttered. I decided to ignore her awful comment as I tried to get out of the boy's grasp.

“That’s because you’re totally thoughtless!” Mukuro shouted at her, her body ready to fight. Junko put a hand on her shoulder to stop her but to give her much needed support as well. Toko muttered something in response but I didn’t hear it clearly enough to care. I stopped trying to run away after a while, and Togami let go of me.

“I’m…really worried.” Hina was still looking at the door where Sayaka was just a couple of seconds ago.

"Then why don’t you go do whatever you think you have to? We don’t all have to stick together, right? Speaking of which, I have my own things to take care of. Goodbye,” Celeste finished without waiting for a response and elegantly walked out of the room.

After a few seconds Toko followed her lead, and after a couple more the only people left in the A/V room were Hiro, Taka, Chihiro, Sakura, Hifumi, Kyoko and myself.

I felt rooted in place. I didn't want to leave that room yet. Should I talk to the others? Maybe we could ‘talk it out’ after all. I looked at the small girl two rows ahead.

Chihiro was muttering to herself, I could see tears forming in her eyes. All I could make out of her words was "Everyone's upset", "how could anyone be calm" and "to be able to do something like that… Is it because they really are the murderous fiend?". She took small but quick steps and walked out of the room right after she stopped her little monologue.

I looked at Hifumi, who twitched after he noticed my gaze and ran out of the room as well. I don't think I would get much information out of him anyway.

 Before I could look for another person to potentially talk to I heard someone running up to me. It was Yasuhiro.

"Hey, Makoto! These videos are some kinda hoax, right? Right?!" He put his hands on my shoulders and I feared he would start shaking me. Loud noises and sudden movements were the last thing I needed right now.

"I want to think so, but–" I didn't even get to finish. Hiro let go of me, accidentally pushing me in the process. 

"Wh-what the hell, man?! This is all one big lie! It has to be! Hahaha…! Ugh.." His laugh was audibly fake. Was he finally opening his eyes on the possibility that this was all serious? I hoped so. Yasuhiro turned around and left the room clearly drained of all energy.

When I looked back at everyone left I saw Taka’s red eyes piercing into me as if he was expecting something. I already moved so there was no reason why I wouldn't walk up to him.

“Could you tell me what was in your video, Makoto?" He asked when I stepped up.

“I… well…” I felt words forming in my throat but they refused to leave my mouth. Why was that happening? I just wanted to share, why couldn't I? But no matter what, the sentences didn't want to sound out. After stuttering for a moment I shaked my head slightly. “..I’m sorry..”

“It’s… okay.” He replied after an awkwardly long pause. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Could you maybe tell me what was in your video, Taka?” I asked quietly. Was it wrong to ask after I refused to talk about what I saw? Most likely.

“I saw…!” he stopped, as if he forgot what he was initially planning to say. He stood like that for a minute with his mouth half open, trying to utter anything . He gave up and sent me an apologetic look. “Sorry…it’s gonna take me some time to figure out how to put it into words…”

I nodded. Taka excused himself and left the room. Kyoko left just after him. I wanted to ask her what she saw, but something told me it wasn’t worth my time. She probably wouldn’t tell me anyway. Nonetheless I saw her studying me as she headed out. What was that about?

The only ones left in the room were me and Sakura, who was standing next to me lost in thoughts. I turned around to face her.

"What was in your video, Sakura?"

She didn't respond right away, it looked like she was searching for the right words to use.

"My family," she settled on. So was it true? Was it everyone's families? Or was it just a coincidence? Too many questions and too little information to make out an adequate answer. "But I'm not upset by what I saw. If you're overpowered, you must accept your death. That is the way of my family. But still…" her body stiffened and her eyes were marked with disbelief "I refuse to believe they would lose so easily. How…?"

I felt compassion growing inside me. If only I knew what to say to make her feel better. Again I tried to confess but it didn't work. Goddammit, what's wrong with me?

I think I was silent for too long, because I felt a massive hand on my shoulder, which startled me a little.

"You don't have to tell me yours if you don't want to. I understand if you don't feel like you're ready to confess," Her voice was reassuring, and I felt myself relaxing a little.

"Thank you, Sakura. I.. I think I need some time…" 

She nodded with understanding and left the room as well. And just like that I was left alone again. I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. I should go look for Sayaka, she should have calmed down a bit by now.

I entered the hallway and started looking around. Where should I even start…?” I turned left and immediately saw Hina coming out of the main hall.

“Oh, hi, Makoto!” she waved and walked up to me. She looked way better now. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m looking for Sayaka, I think she might need some support right now..”

“Really? I’m looking for her too!” she lightened up “I’m so glad I’m not the only one! That girl, Toko, can shut it!” I smiled a little.

“Did you have any luck yet?” I asked, but Hina shook her head.

“No.. to be honest I just started. When I left I needed to calm myself down first so I went to the Dining hall for a donut. I can’t be much support if I’m also in distress, right?” I nodded. That did make a lot of sense. Maybe it’s better that I took my time and didn’t go chase Sayaka right after she threw a tantrum, “I just got back. I checked the main hall but I don’t think she even went there. Also, I don’t recommend you going inside, you’ll just get yelled at.”

“Yelled at..?” I tilted my head. Why would I be yelled at for entering the main hall?

Hina pouted and shot her thumb pointing at the room behind her, “Leon’s there. He’s kicking the door as if that’s gonna help him get out. When he saw me he just yelled at me that he’s not gonna tell me what was in his video. Like, I didn’t even ask or anything!”

Hina sighed “Oh well. Imma go look for her in the gym and the bathrooms, you go investigate the rest. If we don’t find her here we can meet up in the dining hall and search further together.”

“Sure,” I agreed, “Good luck!”

“Thanks, you too!” Hina replied and jogged towards the nearest bathroom. I too turned around and headed to the school shop. I opened up the door and saw a lot of.. stuff. I couldn’t even comprehend all that was laying around. Apart from normal things you could expect like a vending or gashapon machine, there were a lot of vases, genie lamps, chinese new years lamps, paintings, photos and surprisingly a suit of knight's armor. Several actually.

Now was it the Mastermind’s doing, or was Hope’s Peak just so elite they scouted the deceased? Because there was no way someone was a knight these days. These sheaths were authentic as well, not some halloween costume or a plastic decoration. I wasn’t expecting to see something like that there.

Sayaka definitely wasn’t here so I closed the door and went back to searching.

I already knew there was no point in trying to open the big red door. They were locked, no one gets in or out of there. I decided to check the two classrooms located nearby. The first one I saw when I turned around the corner was the classroom I first woke up in, classroom labeled 1-A. I pushed the door.

Sayaka was there, sitting on a chair with her hands on her knees, staring absently at the floor in the farthest corner of the classroom. She looked like she was upset, or angry, or… No, I realized she didn’t have any expression at all. There was nothing on her face that one could call an emotion. It was almost disturbing.

“S-sayaka? Are you okay?” I asked calmly and slowly entered the room. She replied almost instantly.

“Yeah… I’m fine,” Her voice was still, not a bit of sadness or anger or literally anything. I knew something was wrong. I moved across the floor to get to her. “Actually, no… how could I possibly be fine? What did we do to end up like this..? Why are they doing such terrible things to us..?”

Her voice trembled and just as I got to her “I want out! Let me out of here right now!! ” Sayaka started to toss herself around, knocking over the chair in the process.

“Sayaka! Calm down!” I tried to get her to sit down but it was impossible with the chair on the floor. I didn’t have time to turn it back up. I took her by her shoulders and held still.

She gasped as if I just woke her up from a nightmare. I took a deep breath.

“I understand. I know how you feel right now. When I think about what might have happened to my.. family…” I stopped. Concern filled me again and it took all my free will not to shout, or yell, or burst out of the room and find that sonova– “But now more than ever we have to stay calm! This is exactly what they want. They want us to lose our composure and stop thinking rationally.”

Was I really the right person to tell her that? Was anyone, really? “Think about it - those videos have to be fake! Because if those things really had happened... people out there would be in an uproar. Our families, the police, everyone! Right?”

Sayaka didn’t answer. I wasn’t expecting her to. What could she even say? What could I say? What was I supposed to say next? What should I say next? 

“So let’s just calm down, okay? Otherwise we’ve already lost,” I knew I tried to convince myself just as much as I tried to convince her. I need to regain my composure, or else if I think about it too long I might actually–

“As long as we work together… I’m sure we can find some way out of here…and help might even come before that.”

Sayaka was avoiding eye contact. “But…what if there isn’t a way out? What if help never comes?” She asked with desperation in her tone and I knew I had to do something about it.

“I-if that happens… Then I’ll get you out of here myself! No matter what it takes!”

I paused, surprised. I meant what I said, but the words just came out on their own. Sayaka broke free from my grasp and rushed forward into my chest. Her hands grabbed my jacket and her face was buried into my hoodie.

“Sayaka…?”

“Please… help me…Why..? Why is this happening to me? To kill, or to be killed… I just can’t take it anymore..!” She hid her face deeper in my clothing. Her voice was small and shaky, barely hearable. I didn’t know what to say.

“Sayaka…” She didn’t respond. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. We were standing like that for what felt like eternity, we drew on each other's warmth and were ensuring each other the other one was there. I don’t think Sayaka knew that she was as much of a support for me as I tried to be for her.

After a while Sayaka pulled away enough to raise her head to look at me. Her eyes were big, wet and red from the crying, but they were still the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen.

“Can I… Can I believe what you said?” she asked me softly.

“Huh?”

“That you’ll help me get out? No matter what it takes?” I needed a moment to process what she just said, my mind was really tired and I didn’t react as fast as I probably should have.

“A-absolutely!” I assured her. I’ll do whatever it takes. We will get out of here!

“Makoto… you’re the only one I can trust. So please… No matter what happens, please always be there for me. I need you on my side…” I was taken aback. Does she really need that much assurance? But everyone was different, and I couldn’t blame her for wanting to feel safe with someone.

“O-of course I’ll be there for you! No matter what, I’m always on your side. I mean… you are my friend, after all.”

Sayaka never broke eye contact. There was something in her gaze, something unnatural. She nodded slightly and ended the hug, much to my disappointment.

“...Thank you, Makoto.” she said, wiping away her tears “Hearing you say that, I feel like I can keep going. I can get through this… as long as you’re here with me.” She smiled. It was a little forced but it was there. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“It’s standing up!”

“Kyah!” Sayaka jumped away at the sudden voice. I started to look around in fear before my eyes landed on a small, black and white, smiling bear. Of course.

“Makoto! It’s standing up!”

“ What’s standing up?!” 

“Do you even have to ask? Your flagpole!” WHAT. Nevertheless I looked down discreetly. It wasn’t. Oh that lying motherfu–

“Get the hell out of here!” 

“No! No! I wanna join in!” Monokuma said, happily skipping closer to us.

“What?!” This time it was Sayaka. She was standing behind me, confused and slightly frightened.

“Dammit! Well if you won’t leave, then tell us what the hell is up with those videos!” If anything was going to be made out of this conversation at least let it be something useful.

“Ahh…it’s about to come out… It’s gonna come out! My pristing, pure white…” Don't you DARE finish that sentence! “Stuffing! My honest, innocent stuffing is about to come gushing out!”

I was standing there, dumbfounded. I balled up my fist, took aim and swung as hard as I could. I have never put so much energy into a single motion in my entire life. Monokuma swiftly avoided the punch and I stumbled forward. I had to take a few small steps to regain my balance.

“Are you okay?” Sayaka asked me with worry.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for asking!” Monokuma answered, then shifted his head to look at me. “If I hadn't avoided your punch, you would have just violated school regulations. But boy are you slow slow slow slow SLOW! I could've downed a thousand-dollar full-course dinner in the time it took you to finish your swing! Your speed, agility, alertness, passion, boldness, sense of despair, antagonization, it's all lacking!” Monokuma was red, swinging his fist at me in frustration.

I wasn’t even trying to follow what he said. I blinked and the bear was gone.

“What the heck was that just now..?” Sayaka looked at me with concern. Did she not.. understand what Monokuma was hinting? What was I even supposed to say?

“...He just wanted to mess with us…” And embarrass me as well, but she didn’t need to know that. There was a moment of awkward silence.

She took a few steps towards the door, “Well, for now…do you wanna just head back?” I nodded.

“Yeah..”

We were walking side by side. None of us said a word. We were both tired and didn’t have anything that we wanted to talk about anyway. 

When we entered the dorm side of the Hope’s Peak I noticed Asahina looking around, standing at the door to the Dining Hall. She visibly lightened up when she saw us walking by.

“There you are, Makoto! I was worried I would have to start looking for you as well. I see you found Sayaka, “ Hina remarked after she hurried to meet us.

“..Was there a search for me..?” Sayaka asked softly. Hina scratched the back of her neck.

“Not really, just me and Makoto to my knowledge,” She glanced at me in search of any contradictions but when I didn’t oppose she looked back at the girl. “We were worried about you when you ran off like that!” Sayaka sent her an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… Monokuma is the worst.” Sayaka said with a note of anger in her tone. So that’s how she decided to sum it all? Not bad. Hina chuckled slightly, understanding that now is not the time to ask for details.

“If you don’t mind, we are going to go back to our rooms now. We’re both really tired..” I said. Hina sent me a look that I couldn't quite read. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but decided not to. She nodded, turned around and faded into the cafeteria.

Finally Sayaka and I arrived in front of her room.

“You should get some rest, Sayaka. You still look pretty shaken.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry about me… You’re right. I’m going to lay down for a bit.” With a nod and small bow she disappeared into her room. I was standing in front of her door for a couple more seconds before heading towards my own dorm and walking inside.

Today was tiring. When I woke up this morning I didn’t expect all that to happen. And there still was this uneasy feeling inside me everytime I remembered that vid– No! I had a purpose now! I had to help Sayaka get out of this hellhole! I couldn’t afford to die either through killing someone or being killed. I was going to survive, all of us were going to survive! No exceptions!

I fell face down on the bed. I was tired. And sleepy. There always was a time for a quick nap…right? I closed my eyes and let myself rest for a bit. Soon enough the only sound in the bedroom was my rhythmic breathing.

When I opened my eyes again I felt disoriented. I sat up on the bed and tried to wipe away all the blur from my vision. It baffled me how waking up from a nap always ends in feeling confused.

I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. Was it morning already? I looked at the clock; 9:28. There was no way I would sleep through two monokuma's announcements, so it was definitely still the same day. 

It will be nighttime soon and everyone was going to go to sleep. I hoped I could fall asleep as well, after that enormous nap I just took I had my doubts. Well, going for a short walk was never a bad idea, and I was thirsty anyway.

I stood up and grabbed my room key from the nightstand. Maybe I should take a bottle of water to my room, since the cafeteria is off limits at night..

As I locked my room and turned around I saw a giant figure right behind me.

"Agh!" I shouted in surprise and stumbled backwards, accidentally hitting the doorknob.

"Hey, chill out, it's just us!" Hina emerged from behind Sakura, but she couldn't undo the damage. The white haired girl looked at me concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" I answered while rubbing my injured elbow "What gives?" I asked bitterly. Hina grimaced.

"Hey, it was you who bumped into us! Don't just blame people around you!" She scolded me and crossed her arms. I immediately felt bad, she was right after all.

"Sorry.." I said quietly and sighed with relief when the girls assured me they don't hold a grudge. Hina just huffed and forgot that anything happened. "So what are you doing at this hour anyway?"

"Oh, we were just going back to our rooms. We spent some time together at the Dining hall. This place may be a pain but they do have some delicious tea," Hina explained, lifting up a half empty cup of hot drink that I didn’t notice before.

“And donuts,” Sakura nodded in agreement. They both seemed to get even closer to each other. It wasn’t surprising. It was nice to see people get along here.

"So, what about you? I haven't seen you since you came back with Sayaka."

Oh right, that.

"Well, after we left you we both went to our rooms. I just woke up from my nap."

"You slept that long?" Sakura looked genuinely surprised, which was fairly rare. "I hope you'll be able to fall asleep tonight."

"That's what I've been thinking," I sent her a sheepish smile and thought about something.

"You mentioned Sayaka, have you seen her anywhere? I want to check up on her. I'm still kind of worried.."

“Oh yeah,” Hina put her finger to her lips as she was thinking. “When we were in the cafeteria she came by. We invited her to hang out but she declined.”

“She stated that she only came for a snack and some water,” Sakura added, “but she looked quite uneasy.”

“She did?” Hina looked at the taller girl “Well, she’s probably still feeling bad after these videos.. But she looked fine to me!” I was listening to them in silence. Something wasn't right, I could feel it. “Anyway, she went to the kitchen and we left soon after. That’s pretty much it, I think.”

“Thanks,” I answered. Deciding that the conversation is over we said our goodbyes and started heading to our respective destinations. Just as I was about to leave the hallway I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. I didn’t even need to turn around to know it was Sakura.

“I’m sorry, but could you please do me a favor?” She asked and I nodded.

“Sure, what is it, Sakura?” Sakura looked in the direction of the dining hall.

“It’s about Sayaka.” her gaze returned to me “When Hina and I were leaving I heard a weird sound coming from the kitchen. I can’t tell what it was exactly but it sounded like some sort of metal. I wanted to investigate but Hina already left and in our current situation I didn’t want to leave her alone. I hope you can understand that.”

“Yeah I.. get it,” I assured her. Sakura nodded slightly.

“You seem to be heading in that direction, so could you please see what happened? I want to know if Sayaka is safe.”

“Sure, I am going to the kitchen anyway. I’ll tell you if anything happens.” 

Sakura thanked me and wished me a goodnight, after which she turned around and headed towards her dorm.

I barely set my foot in the dining hall and I heard a very weird sound. It was really quiet and felt muffled. Surely it couldn’t be the same one Sakura told me about, it sounded nothing like metal. I could hear irregular sounds similar to gasping, but I couldn’t tell since it was barely audible. All I could make out was that it was coming from the kitchen.

The uneasy feeling at the bottom of my stomach grew with every step I took, walking towards the room at the back of the cafeteria. The closer I got the sound was louder and clearer. The door was almost closed, with only a little gap. I gently pushed it and peeked inside. The room was dark, with the only source of light coming through the Dining Hall..

I held my breath as my eyes widened and my heart started pounding faster at the sight of Sayaka laying on the floor, curled up and desperately trying to take a breath. Tears were streaming down her face and onto the floor, her hands were trying to grasp something nonexisting around her neck. Her gasps and exhales were short and irregular. I rushed towards her as soon as I realized what was going on. 

“Sayaka! Sayaka! Sayaka, it’s okay!” I tried to make my voice clear over her hyperventilating. She slightly opened her eyes and looked at me, her sight full of panic and hysteria.

“Sayaka, try to sit up okay? I’m going to help you if you need to.” She nodded, although it was shaky and intermittent. She put one of her trembling arms on the floor and tried to prop herself up on her elbow. I gently placed my hands underneath her armpits, ready to take them away at any moment, and helped her sit up.

Sayaka leaned against the wall, her arms lying limply on the ground, her chin was high up as she never stopped inhaling and exhaling rapidly. I kneeled before her.

“Sayaka! Try to look at me okay? Sayaka, look at me!” My voice was calm, or at least I tried to make it sound calm, because inside I tried to process the situation and handle it correctly. There were so many things I could screw up that would just make Sayaka’s panic attack worse. 

With the corner of my eye I noticed a knife laying a meter away from us. I didn’t even want to think what it was doing there. I crouched and kicked it away with one of my legs without taking my sight out of the girl, then kneeled again. The priority right now was to make Sayaka’s breathing pattern regular. Sayaka slowly turned her head down and her eyes met mine.

“Great job! Now take a deep breath with me, okay?” I took a deep breath along with raising my hand, and lowered it again when I exhaled. I repeated the movement several times to make sure Sayaka has something to focus on. It took her a few minutes before her breathing visibly slowed down and a few more before it was completely steady.

I sighed with relief and I felt the tension leaving my body. I didn’t even realize how tense I was. I looked at my friend who was now keeping her hands close to her chest, her head down.

“Are you okay now..?” I asked softly. She looked at me with her eyes but didn’t answer.

“Can... you tell me what happened..?”

Sayaka stayed silent for another moment before opening her mouth and letting out a barely hearable whisper, like she didn't want to hear the words herself.

“I…I.. wanted to…kill…” she clenched her teeth to hold in another weep and sniffled. “...I wanted…to invite…and then…kill him..” I tried to process her words. She wanted to… kill somebody? That can’t be right… Sayaka took a moment longer before continuing. She looked me directly in the eyes “I wanted to frame you, Makoto..!” She shouted and took her breath in again, waiting for my reaction. I felt the gears shifting in my mind and everything clicked in place. My eyes widened when I realised.

“So that knife…!” 

“I wanted to take it with me and…” She didn’t finish, instead she buried her face in her hands and let out another cry. Luckily this one was steady. I let Sayaka cry out her feelings, meanwhile I tried to deal with my own thoughts. 

Sayaka tried to kill someone. She wanted to get out of here so bad she was ready to play Monkuma’s game. I looked at her with sympathy and understanding as I moved closer to her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my chest. I felt a strong feeling of déjà vu. I closed my eyes and started drawing soothing circles on the girls back. Her wails made my heart ache.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She cried out and clenched her fists tighter around my back.

“It’s okay, Sayaka. Really, it’s okay. It’s okay..” I whispered in response. I wasn’t lying, it was okay. It wasn’t her fault. If it was anyone’s fault it was the Mastermind’s. I felt rage rising inside me. That fucking bear. Who does he think he is, torturing children?

It took some time before Sayaka ran out of tears. I let her be the one to break the hug, since it was entirely for her comfort. She sat in front of me with her head slightly hung. I looked at the clock, but it was hard to tell the time with the lights turned off. I knew we spent a lot of time here, though.

“Can you walk?” I asked.

“I think so,” Sayaka muttered, avoiding eye contact.

“Hey, I wasn’t lying, it’s okay, really,” I took her hands in mine and held them at her chest level, “It’s not your fault, you felt like you didn’t have a choice. Monokuma manipulated you, he made you think your loved ones are in danger. I forgive you,” I smiled softly and squeezed her palms. Her eyes lightened. She didn’t smile back but those words clearly made her feel better.

“I… thank you, Makoto.” She squeezed my hands back.

Ding dong, bing bong! 

The monitor in the kitchen lightened up, showing Monokuma sitting in a chair with a glass of wine in his paw.

Mhm, ahem! This is a school announcement. It is now 10 pm. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited!! Okay then…sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite~

Monokuma disappeared from the screen. I turned my head to Sayaka.

“We need to get going.” I stood up and helped her do the same.

“...okay.”

We walked towards the dorms once again that day. I stood behind Sayaka when we arrived at her door. Just as the girl was about to unlock it, she stopped with her key midair and turned her head slightly to her right.

“...Can I ask you a favor?” Her voice was meek and quiet, but I couldn’t expect much from her right now. After thinking a little I answered.

“Depends on what it is.”

Sayaka was silent for a moment, standing still like a statue.

“Can this whole situation stay between us..?”

This time I stayed silent. Can it? On one hand Sayaka planning to kill someone was vital for everyone’s safety. On the other hand, would I feel safe if the morning after I saw my close ones in danger someone announced that one of the other students fell for Monokuma’s trick? And Sayaka herself. There was no doubt that the majority wouldn’t trust her again, and she wouldn’t take it lightly.

I nodded, and realizing she was still facing away from me I responded. “Yes. But.. I also have a favor to ask..” I interpreted her silence as a signal to continue. “Please try to stay away from objects that could be used as weapons when you're not with the rest of us. If not for their safety then for your own. Please.” I pleaded.

“Mm,” Sayaka muttered and faced the door again to unlock it. “I’ll try..”

Sayaka stepped inside her room and turned around. She looked at me before closing it again.

“Thank you..goodnight..”

“...goodnight.”

After that the only thing left with me was silence.

Upon walking into my room I realized that I never got my water.

The next day started rather loud. 

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! IT IS N–

“AGH!” I immediately sat up in my bed and covered up my ears “What the heck?!” The Monokuma announcement was ridiculously loud, way louder than it was ever before. What was that about?

–BEEE-YUTIFUL DAY!!

The black and white bear disappeared from the monitor once again and I uncovered my ears.

“What a way to start the day…” I muttered bitterly. Waking up like this definitely didn’t help the fact that I barely slept that night. Well, there was nothing I could do except hope that it wasn’t going to be as loud for the rest of my stay at this place.

I stood up and after checking if my ears were alright I started doing my morning routine. When I finished I took my room key and left my dorm. But before going to our morning meeting I had one more thing to take care of.

Knock, knock, knock

“Sayaka, are you there?” I asked after knocking on the girl's door. It was stupid, the room was sound proof after all. But she should be able to hear the knocks. No answer.

“Maybe she left already..” I said to myself, trying to stay positive. Before I’ll start busting her door I should at least check. I headed towards the Dining Hall with a fast walk, my heart pounding a little faster. What if something happened what if she came out of her room that night what if she hurt herself–

I swiftly opened the door to the cafeteria.

She was there. Sayaka was there safe and sound, taking and eating grapes out of a small bowl in front of her, which must have been her breakfast. I calmed down at the sight and started walking over to the big table. Beside Sayaka a couple more people were there as well. Celeste and Hifumi were sitting at the farthest right side of the table, Sakura was eating a sandwich on the left, while Taka, Hiro and Chihiro were seated at the center near Sayaka.

“Hello, Makoto!” Taka greeted me, taking a break from eating his oatmeal. Hiro and Chihiro waved at me, the former looking like he was still half asleep.

“Hey guys,” I waved back and went to make my own breakfast. I returned some minutes later with two sandwiches on a plate and took a seat next to Sayaka.

“Hi, Makoto!” She said, a lot more energetic than I would expect, but it was good, right? I took a bite out of my sandwich and chewed before answering.

“Hi, Sayaka. How are you feeling today?” I knew she would get what I’m really asking about. Even though she seemingly calmed down from yesterday I needed a clarification. I didn’t want her to think that I was disregarding her feelings.

“Oh, I’m a lot better now, thanks for asking,” she smiled at me warmly and put another grape in her mouth. 

I heard a murmur coming from one of the other students.

“So, Makoto, did you do what I asked for yesterday?” Sakura asked.

“Oh, yeah! It wasn't anything dangerous, I can assure you.” I don't like to lie, but this was necessary. This was for Sayaka.

Sakura raised her eyebrow, I had a feeling she didn’t believe me entirely, but just nodded, “Well then, thank you.”

Taka put down his spoon, “Would you mind filling me in?” I can't say I didn't panic a little. Going into details wasn't an ally of lies.

“I asked Makoto to investigate a strange sound in the kitchen just before nighttime last night. I was worried Sayaka could be in danger.”

I felt Sayaka shift uncomfortably in her chair, “Oh, that? I was making a sandwich and I dropped the knife by accident. That must have been it,” I nodded to add to the credibility. To be honest I never asked her what made the sound, but I could guess what really happened.

“Oh, that would explain the knife on the floor I found this morning…” Hifumi said from across the table. Crap, I forgot to pick it up. Celeste perked up a bit at that, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m glad it wasn't anything threatening,” Chihiro said, a small smile on her lips. Sayaka returned it before eating another fruit.

Some more people showed up over the next 5 minutes and either took a seat or went to the kitchen to make their meal. Aoi rushed straight to Sakura, who handed her one of her sandwiches. Mukuro took a seat next to Ishimaru while Junko went to get their usual pancakes. Chihiro and Celeste have finished their breakfast and left to wash the dishes, Ishimaru was almost done with his oatmeal and Hiro was eating his cereal really slowly. Seriously, I don’t think the amount of food in his bowl decreased since I got there.

“Is something troubling you, Hiro?” Sayaka asked. There was her infamous intuition. Hiro looked like he was snapped out of a trance and groaned.

“Ehh.. sort of? I don’t know, dude. I had this weird vision this morning and I can't stop thinking about it.” He finally stopped playing with his food and put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. There was an awkward silence.

“So are you going to share it with us or you just wanna play Mr. Mysterious?” Mukuro commented dryly and Hiro looked at her annoyed.

“If you want to hear it you just need to ask, don’t be so grumpy over it!” He then returned to thinking before continuing, “Well let’s start with the fact that it was a sudden vision. I wasn’t trying to predict anything, it just happened..”

“Well, does it matter?” Hina chimed in with mouth full of bread

“Of course it does! If a vision is coming to me naturally then it’s more likely to turn out true! I’d say like.. 38% even!” Hiro looked proud as he said that.

“Wow, 38%. So much.” Mukuro remarked, mocking the older boy and Hina chuckled.

“You are laughing but none of you realize how much that actually is!”

“Or maybe you don’t realize how pathetic you are!” Junko said, happy as ever, placing pancakes in front of Mukuro and taking a seat next to her.

“Don’t be mean, Junko.” Sakura scolded her.

Junko was moving her fork across her plate with a bored expression. She muttered something like “Sorry,” before stabbing one of her pancakes and eating it. “So what are we talking about anyway?” She asked after she chewed.

“Apparently Yasuhiro got a vision this morning!” Taka filled her in before standing up and taking his now empty bowl to the kitchen.

“Ahhh…” The girl mused, clearly not interested as much as the rest of us were. It looked like nobody knew how to respond to that, so I concentrated on Yasuhiro instead.

“So what did you see, exactly?” I asked. He looked at me discomfited.

“Well.. it was all very blurry so I didn’t see much…” He admitted embarrassed. Mukuro rolled her eyes, “B-but that’s exactly what’s weird! My visions aren’t as clear as a day but they’re not normally this foggy! The only thing I could make out of it is that it looked like I was running down a corridor in a hurry, like something was chasing me or something like that. I think I also was holding something but.. I can’t be sure of that. Oh, and it was really dark.”

I put my hand to my chin trying to understand what it meant. “So.. someone was chasing you down a dark corridor, and you were running away while holding something?” I summarized. Hiro wiggled his hand in a ‘more or less’ manner.

“Pretty much, I guess… But what I find the most weird is that it looked like I was a lot shorter, like, if I ran through a similar corridor right now my eyes would be way higher than they were there. It’s odd.”

Hina swallowed the remains of her sandwich. “Maybe it wasn’t you who was running?” she suggested.

“I don’t know, man. Usually when the vision is in ‘first person’ it’s about me or from my perspective.” He took his spoon and started to stir it in his food again. “But maybe you’re right. Who knows?”

“Egh– you?” Junko mocked him again.

“Come on! I told you it doesn’t work that way!” Hiro shouted at her. He and Junko continued bickering for a while. In the meantime my mind returned to what Hiro described. It.. doesn’t make much sense.. For now at least. I took my second sandwich and started eating.

After some time Junko got bored of making fun of Hiro and returned to her pancakes. The rest of the class finally showed up and took their seats, except for Togami who was most probably going to come last just to grab his coffee and leave everyone’s sight once again. 

One of the new people in the cafeteria was Leon. He walked over to where I was sitting with his hands behind his head and a cheerful smile. He sat next to Sayaka and tried to start a conversation.

“Heey, Sayaka! Watchu doin–” But she just grabbed her now empty bowl and quickly stepped into the kitchen. I locked my eyes with Leon for a moment but he just huffed and turned away, trying to cover up his embarrassment by looking like he didn’t care. I had my suspicions on why Sayaka did that, but I couldn’t be sure.

When Togami finally decided to honor us with his presence Taka stood up and started our meeting. There wasn’t much to talk about. There were no new discoveries, no new ideas on how to get out, and (thankfully) no murders.

“Oh, that reminds me,” I started, “What’s up with today’s morning announcement?”

I waited for some agreements, for someone to pick up the topic, but it never happened. I looked up from my plate just to see everyone staring at me weirdly.

“W-what’s wrong with the morning announcement?” Toko asked, confused and adjusted her glasses.

“Huh?” Now was my time for being disoriented, “It was really loud, louder than ever. Seriously, how did you guys not notice? It literally made me jump out of my bed!”

Mondo shook his head, “Nothing like that happened,” Everyone else agreed with him, which only made me more confused. Why was I the only one who got treated like this? Was it another thing caused by my "luck", like that mismatched bathroom door?

“This might have happened because you did something that angered Monokuma. A punishment of some sort.” I turned my head to meet Kyoko's eyes piercing into mine, “Did you do something against him yesterday?”

“...No. N-not that I remember,” I lied. It was a necessary white lie, after all “students are not allowed to comfort other students” was not in the school regulations, thus it was not against the rules. Kyoko only nodded at that, but her expression became a little bit colder and I felt a shiver down my spine. I think she saw through me.

Sayaka later thanked me for keeping my promise.

After the meeting ended most people left the cafeteria. Sayaka didn’t join me in my search for any sort of clues on how to get out, instead she settled on hanging out with Mukuro. I felt kind of disappointed. It’s not like I was against it or anything like that, I guess I just got used to having her by my side.

And just like that hours passed in an oddly disturbing peace. Weirdly enough, Monokuma was nowhere to be found. No suggesting a murder, no reminders that were locked up, no nothing. I tried to enjoy it while it lasted, but the mere fact that he wasn't here made me uneasy.

My last place to check was the gymnasium and after having searched the room thoroughly I came to a conclusion that nothing in it changed. The camera was still in the corner, the balls were still scattered all around the floor, same sight everyday. 

I was walking past the main hall on my way back when I heard something coming from the inside. Was Leon banging the door again? No, it didn’t sound like anyone hitting metal, it sounded more like… words? I decided to look inside.

Monokuma was standing at the center of the room, his back to me, seemingly alone. I hid behind the wall, only my head going through the door frame. It was silent before the bear started talking again.

“Oh come-ON! It’ll be fun!” Monokuma said happily as always. Who the hell is he talking to..?

“Can someone shut that guy up? He’s totally un bear able!” Monokuma continued with a bit of annoyance, “Thank you! That's why you're my favorite! Puhuhuhu…” 

Another short silence. His monologue was… weird. It almost felt like I was listening to someone talking on the phone, where I could hear only one side of the conversation. Was Monokuma communicating with someone? But he didn’t have a cell phone or anything of the sort.

“Naturally! So…approved?” Monokuma asked, sweetness dripping from every word. “Fantastic! Now that will cause some despair for sure! I can't wait ‘till–”

This time it felt like Monokuma was cut off by something or someone. Another awkward silence, though something changed. Monokuma’s posture shifted, and I’m pretty sure that if his smile wasn’t permanent it would be gone by now.

“Yes, I am aware…” He said dryly and I felt my body getting tense. Aware of what..?

Before I could finish my thought, Monokuma suddenly turned around. My body froze. I was ready to be discovered, but something grabbed me from behind and pulled me out of the bear's sight. I felt something around my mouth keeping me from making any noise as well as the warmth of another person behind my back.

“Oh, don't worry, it's not like they're gonna do anything about it…puhuhuhu…” Monkuma muttered, seemingly back to his more mischievous self. It was noiseless for another minute, only then I felt a slight shift and saw Kyoko peeking through the door looking inside the main hall. After that she let go of me and walked inside the room. I hesitated only for a moment before I went in as well.

“W-what the heck was that about?” I asked her. Was she spying too? Where did she even come from, I never heard her footsteps.

“Monokuma seems to be up to no good, though that shouldn't be surprising,” Kyoko answered and started investigating the metal door, knocking on it in several places and listening to the sound it made.

“Who was he talking to? He didn't have a phone to call anyone...” I pointed out, but Kyoko didn't even spare me a look. I was standing there awkwardly not knowing what to do. Even so, leaving didn’t feel like an option right now, so I just waited for the girl to finish whatever she was doing.

Kyoko backed away from the metal gate, “The doors are too thick to be talking through them,” She stated and finally turned around to look at me.

“If we assume that Monokuma is some kind of robot, I suppose he could also have some sort of receiver inside him,” She put her hand to her chin and looked at the floor.

“What if he's not a robot..?” I asked, unsure. Kyoko’s eyes shifted. I expected her to show me a dead stare and walk out, but her gaze was weirdly calm as she replied.

“Then we'll have to make another theory,” She stayed silent for a second, “Say, did you see Monokuma today, besides a moment ago?”

Her tone wasn't harsh, but I felt like I was interrogated once again. I shook my head, “No. It was.. really strange, if I'm honest.” 

Kyoko nodded, “Well then, goodbye,” She walked past me and disappeared around the corner. That's it? I didn't even know what to think and just when I thought Kyoko might lend me a hand she just walked out. But what was I expecting, really? It's Kyoko.

I stood there for a few more moments before heading out as well. Surely this situation would become a vital clue later on…

Before I knew it, it was night. Once again we all gathered up in the dining hall to share our eventual discoveries. After learning that the second floor was still locked and the metal on the windows was, in fact, still metal (thanks, Mondo) Kyoko decided to share our discovery with the rest of the class. Everyone stayed silent as she described exactly what we heard in the main hall. When she finished, the room was quiet. After a moment some whispers could be heard among the group.

“Do you think that it has something to do with your vision?” I heard Hina asking. She was standing next to Yasuhiro, looking at him expectantly. The boy just shrugged.

“If it has something to do with running.. maybe.”

We talked for another few minutes but it seemed like nobody had any idea about what Monokuma might be planning. The conversation died and some of us chose to stay in the dining hall for a quick meal while the rest decided to head back to their rooms. Being a part of the second group I left the cafeteria.

I was almost at my door when someone stopped me, “Hey, Makoto!” Leon shouted and walked up to me.

“Oh, hey, what’s up?”

“You seem to get along with Sayaka really well, right?” He asked, scratching the back of his neck, “I’ve been trying to hang out with her all day. Heck! A short convo would do, I’m not picky! But it looks like she’s avoiding me for some reason. Do I stink or something?” He shoved his hand right up my face, probably for me to smell it.

“No, I doubt it's that,” I gently took his hand and put it down, far away from my nose. I thought before that Leon might be connected to Sayaka's initial plan last night, and if I was correct then there's no wonder she didn't want to talk to him right now. I just needed to find a way to tell him that without exposing her, “Sayaka just… she’s having a bad day.”

Leon didn’t look satisfied with the answer I gave him, but nodded nonetheless, “Alright.. If you say so. Goodnight, dude,” He walked away with a small wave. I went inside my room, locked the door and went on with my routine.

Fortunately the nighttime announcement wasn’t as loud as the morning one, and soon after it occurred I turned off the lights and fell asleep.

Two days later I was woken up by the usual message. While Monokuma talked I managed to get up, stretch a little and start putting on some more appropriate clothes. Day like every other in this place.

“Uh, by the way, I'm tired of waiting, you lazy teenagers.” 

I stopped putting on my jacket and turned my head to the screen. That's new.

“I want you all in the gymnasium RIGHT NOW!! Don't keep me waiting… you wouldn't want to miss out on another motive, would you? Puhuhu…”

The screen turned off. Huh… Now that was interesting. First Monokuma doesn't appear for three days straight (not counting that one time Kyoko and I managed to eavesdrop on his conversation) and now he has another motive for us. That doesn't sound like good news no matter how you put it.

After a quick washing up I was ready to face whatever the mastermind had prepared for us. Or at least I tried to be. I locked my door and put my key inside my jacket while heading towards the meeting place. On my way there I stumbled upon Celeste, Mondo and Leon. Together we entered the gym.

Taka, Kyoko, Sakura, Chihiro, Togami and Toko were already there, waiting for the rest of us. I joined them and when the last remaining students showed up we all focused on the podium in front of us.

Monokuma jumped from behind it and landed in front of the microphone, “Why hellooo~ I bet you're reaaaally excited to hear just what I'm about to say! Puhuhu..”

“Don't play games, just tell us why you gathered us here so early,” Togami said dryly and adjusted his glasses, not letting his cold gaze slip away from the bear.

“Y-yeah! You d-didn’t even let us eat breakfast first!” Toko agreed, shooting an accusing finger towards Monokuma who just looked at her annoyed.

“The more you talk with that speech defect of yours the more time you take away from your precious tight schedule! Have you ever tried shutting up?!” Toko shivered and covered her mouth with her hands, clearly hurt.

“Just say what you have to say and let us go. It's not like we're going to fall for any of your tricks! Haven't you learned from the experience?” Mukuro shouted towards the headmaster, her speech accompanied by various versions of “Yeah!” and “That's right!”.

Monokuma tilted his head, “Oh reeeally? And what makes you say that? You don't even know what the motive is yet! Trust me, it could become veeeery convincing~”

I swallowed my saliva. Just what was I supposed to expect?

“Let's hear it, then. Don't waste our time,” Celeste said calmly, although if you listened closely, you could say she was just as irritated as the rest of us.

The bear stood up, looking angry all of a sudden, “First of all, I want you to know that what is about to happen is entirely your fault! Seriously, I put so much work into these tapes and after three days there's still no murder?! Three days?! Aren't you guys supposed to be super-duper gullible and easy-to-influence teenagers? What's wrong with you?!” He started swaying his fists at us in frustration.

“But especially one of you. That's right! One of you standing right here decided to piss me off especially, by preventing a murder!” A few gasps could be heard across the room and I felt my heartbeat becoming slightly faster. What's about to happen… is my fault? 

I shook that thought away. We could handle it. No matter what's about to happen I'm sure helping Sayaka was way more important. I steadied my stance and focused on the bear.

“I won't name them, because there's a chance you might want to thank them or some corny shit like that and that's not what I want. But enough about that, now’s the time for the thing you've all been waiting for…”

Monokuma paused, tilting his head, “You all like masked murder mysteries, right?” A murmur of quiet agreement passed through the room.

“Just get to the point already!” Mondo yelled from the back.

“Okay, geez! Such impatience… you're beary hard to work with, ya know?! What I'm about to do is…” he paused for a dramatic effect. It worked, everyone's eyes were glued to Monokuma, “...A body switch motive!!”

… Huh?

A body switch motive? What is he talking about? It seemed like the rest of my classmates shared my disbelief. Whispers as well as laughs could be heard in the gym. I chuckled to myself. A body switch motive didn't seem like anything bad, mostly because it was not possible.

“Hah, and how are you planning to accomplish that?” Togami voiced my thoughts, a bitter amusement in his tone.

“Oh, wouldn't you like to now? That's a secret!”  

“Don't be ridiculous, even the best scientists couldn't accomplish such an occurrence as a ‘body switch’. Nothing you did so far makes me even a little convinced you could achieve it,” Togami's amusement was replaced by annoyance. Toko quickly nodded, still refusing to speak.

“If I didn't know how to switch your minds I wouldn't even tell you about it. Who do you think I am, a comedian? Someone just for your bitter entertainment?!” Monokuma yelled and took a deep breath, “But, if you still don't believe me, maybe I should get to the fun part and just show you…”

The bear snapped his fingers.

For a moment nothing changed. I opened my mouth to comment on it but that's when it happened.

All of a sudden I felt myself falling forward, but instead of hitting the floor I fell through it and was met with complete darkness. I don't know how much time I spent there, in the dark only sometimes interrupted by weird, colorful, little lights. It felt like eternity, but at the same time I didn't have time to react to it before it ended.

I felt something pushing me into a form. This time I fell backwards, but instead of falling I caught myself with my feet.

It was then when I realised I was suddenly on the other side of the gymnasium. Instead of Sayaka and Chihiro in front of me there were Hifumi and Celeste, equally confused. My head hurt like hell, so did my ears and tongue and my chin was itchy. It looked like I was somehow taller than normally and my body felt… different. My clothes weren't as thick as always and they fit differently, my hair didn't touch my forehead and back of my neck like they usually did. The world was spiraling around me a bit.

I moved my hand up to my head to stabilize it. What the hell is going on..?! On its way to my forehead my finger met something else right in front of my neck. After a quick inspection I was pretty sure it was.. hair? But I do not have facial hair! The only one in our class that has a goatee is… Leon..

A million thoughts came through my head at once and all of them were more confused than I have been all my life. Before I could completely give myself to the hands of panic I heard a sudden scream.

My scream. I didn't open my mouth, yet my voice was heard clearly. I turned my head to see myself, terrified, looking at my hands and touching my hair and… standing on the other side of the room.

All my classmates one by one started panicking in a similar way. Me being no exception.

And thus, the chaos ensued.