Chapter Text
Dazed, my head found its way off the rough wooden desk, swaying ever so slightly as the remains of sleep wore off. I gazed around my surroundings. My body felt heavy and stiff and…a strange pounding in my head disoriented me further…where even was I? The last thing I remembered was waiting at the main hall around 8 a.m, where the acceptance letter said to gather.
After taking a moment to collect myself, I planted my feet onto the ground and walked around the room. Maybe investigating would help me understand where I was…or why I was here. Plastered on the walls were windows bolted shut, with strange protruding bolts, eerie and implausibly large that sealed the thick metal plates in place. Curious, I tentatively reached out to the metal slab, and swiftly tore my hand away as I was met with an unnatural cold. It was as if I had touched the metal compartments of a morgue… Whatever it was for, removing the plates would be an improbable task, and nothing could enter or leave this place.
The classroom was pretty normal otherwise, a chalkboard, more desks identical to the one I was sleeping on, and a TV, which I suppose wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a place like Hope’s Peak. I ambled back to the desk I woke up from, and noticed a pamphlet reading:
“Hey there new kid! The next semester is about to start. From today onwards, this school will be your entire world”
Inspecting it closer, I noticed a crude drawing of buildings, haphazardly placed, and the handwriting was child-like at best. Was this someone’s idea of a joke? If there was a punchline I completely missed it. Besides, what did they mean by that? It certainly wasn’t an official pamphlet, and I can’t imagine why anyone would waste their time on this. The wording put me on edge a little, I mean, Hope’s Peak was definitely an amazing school, but to say the school will be my entire world? It was…odd at best.
I took the pamphlet with me; after all, the usual notebook I used to communicate was nowhere to be found. If anything, at least the back of the paper could be of some use. I took a final look around the classroom to find nothing else of note. A glance at the clock told me that I needed to get to the main hall, and quickly. With tension building in my heart, I left the room.
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As I finally found my way to the main hall, I was greeted with a cacophony of stares. Apparently I was the last student to arrive. Great start Makoto. Most of the faces were ones I recognised, Leon, Junko, Sayaka, and a bunch more were ones completely new to me. By reading their lips, I was able to make out most of the conversation, a good chunk of which was about me. I gave a soft wave to everyone as I tried to write a brief introduction, only to realise my pen was nowhere to be found.
Clearly, my slight panic was noticed because I felt a gloved hand tap my shoulder from behind. Snapping my head back, I noticed an outstretched hand with a pen held carefully inside. The girl giving me the pen had long, purple hair with a purple jacket and light complexion.
Bowing profusely, I quickly took the pen and turned back round to the rest of the class, and as I went to write my response on the pamphlet, I realised it had been dropped on the floor haphazardly. Great, so not only did I look like the world’s biggest klutz, but it was in front of everyone in my new class.
Taking a quick breath I wrote, “Hello everyone. I’m Makoto Naegi.”
Suddenly a man clad in a formal white uniform marched rigidly up to me,
“Makoto Naegi, your tardiness is unacceptable! To be late on the first day is unfathomable. Moreover, introducing yourself by writing over speaking is incredibly disrespectful! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
Before I could write out a response, a girl with wavy pink hair retorted fiercely, “What’s your problem? It’s not like he wanted to be late. There wasn’t anything he could do. And isn’t it obvious the guy is deaf? Like writing to talk is what deaf people do in movies or whatever right?”
Looking to me for answers, the spotlight and everyone's attention refocused back on me, prompting my hand to write, “Yes, I’m deaf”
A few moments passed as the rest of the class took in that information. I was pretty used to it at this point, after all, most people have never met a deaf person before. With the silence, well what I presume to be silence, over with, a girl with brown hair and tan skin spoke up, “Well anyways, why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves?”
A couple of nods, the class split up to introduce themselves to one another. I took a look around to see who I should start with when. Eventually Sayaka noticed my eyes darting around and with a gentle, serene walk went up to me to talk. Reading her lips, I managed to make out the words, “Hi, I’m Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!”
The way she composed herself felt almost angelic, with a sense of grace surrounding her. It wasn’t just her looks, everything about her was mesmerizing. When I first saw her name on the thread, I was pretty surprised. What would a pop star like her need from school? She was already one of the most in demand singers in all of Japan. I’m sure she doesn’t remember but… Well, never mind. No matter how you phrase it she’s really beautiful, as if she was a doll or something-
“Well I’m not a doll you know. I’m alive!”
Startled, I scribbled, “Huh? Did you hear me?”
She giggled whispering, “...I’m psychic”.
Evidently the blank look on my face was enough fun for her because after that she clarified, “Just kidding! I have really good intuition, that’s all. Hey Makoto, by any chance…”
I looked at her curiously.
“...Yeah it must be. I’m sure of it. Hey Makoto, did—”
Her lips snapped shut and I turned to the guy who interrupted her,
“Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our valuable time with this ridiculous back-and-forth!?”
Bashfully Sayaka responded, “S-Sorry, Just got carried away, I guess…”, she quickly turned to me, “Sorry Makoto, let’s talk about this later okay?”
After she left, I introduced myself to the rest of my classmates. Of course, I knew most of them from the online forum, but it was pretty surreal seeing them in person. I only had one person left to introduce myself to, the mystery girl who’d given me the pen in the first place.
I intended to write a thank you on the pamphlet, I walked up to her, but as I looked down at the pamphlet, I realised that there wasn’t anywhere left to write. While I looked to see if I had any other spare paper, I felt her gloved hand touch my shoulder once again.
Looking up at her, she made a familiar motion with her hands.
“It’s okay. I can speak sign language.”
Breathing a sigh of relief I put the pamphlet away and signed back, “Thank God, I didn’t think I’d meet anyone here who actually knew sign language, and my hand was starting to hurt a little after introducing myself to so many people.”
She gave a blank, calculative look at me. After a pretty awkward pause I signed, “Um… Can I ask you your name?”
Elegantly she motioned, spelling out with her fingers the name ‘Kyoko Kirigiri’.
I couldn’t recall seeing her on the forum, but I guess it didn’t really matter now. Her face was like an iron mask, and I got the feeling she wouldn’t answer even if I tried asking.
“Thanks for lending me the pen just now. It really helped me out.”
I tried to return the pen but she shook her head, “Keep it. You’ll need to be able to communicate with those who don’t understand sign language anyways.”
With that she left, leaving the pen in my hands. I looked a little closer at the pen and realised its intricate design. It was comfortable to grip, with unobtrusive patterns giving it a stylish look. The pen was clearly pretty expensive, but had definitely gone through a lot of use. I stuffed it away in my pocket before reconvening with the rest of the group.
All of a sudden, the TV in the room flickered on, a green hue emanating across the hall.
“Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then…”
The voice was unnerving, as if completely unconcerned…I couldn’t help but feel a shiver of dread build up within me. It was like hearing someone laugh at the scene of an accident.
“Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at…right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That’s all, don’t keep me waiting~!
The hall was filled with confusion and thinking. Words were flying out, but my head was too busy spinning to read what they were saying. Why were we here? What’s with the metal sheets covering all the windows? Is this really just a part of the entrance ceremony?
As I looked up I realised that almost everyone had left for the gym already. The only ones remaining were myself, and a handful of students.
Sayaka looked nervous for the first time since I’d seen her, “This…this doesn’t feel right”
Junko chimed in, ”Yeah, that announcement was totes weird”
Steadfast, Kyoko responded, “Maybe, but just staying put won’t achieve anything. Besides, aren’t you guys just a little bit curious to find out just what’s going on here?”
Sakura’s firm voice backed Kyoko up, “If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead.”
With everyone gone from the main hall, I took a closer look at the state of it. There was a huge metal hatch with a futuristic lock keeping it shut in place. It wouldn’t look out of place in a secret military base, but, in a school? I definitely didn’t remember seeing the metal hatch before I woke up. And the surveillance camera…is that a gun? Surely not right? I pushed my thoughts of the main hall aside and looked down the hallway.
With that, I left for the gym, head spinning with questions that desperately needed answers.
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As I woke up, I felt a pain throughout my body. Clearly the punch Mondo gave me did a number on my body. Before I could get up, Sayaka entered the room with a forlorn look. Softly she asked, “Hey Makoto. Are you okay?”
I took out the pen and tried looking for any paper in the room I could use to write before Sayaka put a hand on my arm, causing me to stop and blush.
“Don’t worry about it Makoto, I’ll just talk to you like this.”
She took a seat on the bed I was sleeping in and kept speaking, making sure I could see her lips without straining my neck.
“This, this killing game stuff…do you think anyone will actually kill to get out?”
As she mentioned the killing game, the memory of what happened in the gymnasium flooded back. The explosion, Monokuma announcing the killing game, it just seemed so outlandish, so surreal.
“I— Makoto, I’m scared,” she whispered
A tear fell from her eyes onto the blanket leaving a soft stain. I sat up straighter and noticed a blue notebook sitting on the desk next to me. Picking it up I responded, “It’ll be okay Sayaka. I’m sure none of our friends would ever resort to killing to get out.”
The panic in Sayaka’s eyes started to fade as she slowly calmed down, a soft smile falling over her cute face.
“Yeah…yeah it’ll be fine.”, and with a teasing grin she continued, “I’ll have you Makoto! So it’ll definitely be okay”
Flushed, I moved to write something, but the words escaped me as I sat there, hand hovering above the notebook. Sayaka giggled before continuing.
“Do you remember me from middle school? Ah, but it’s been so long, it’s okay if you don’t”
The pen I held finally found the paper as I wrote,
“How could I forget? If anything, I’m surprised you remember me…compared to you, I wasn’t all that memorable”
She lightly flicked my forehead as she puffed, “Well I do remember you, so there!”
We talked for a bit about our middle school lives and what happened after that. Eventually I asked her, “So, where are we?”
Sayaka looked at me confused, before looking like she suddenly remembered something, “Oh right, Makoto, this is your dorm. After what happened in the gym, we explored a little and found the dorm rooms. Everyone has their own one…”, she winked at me, ”...and mine is just next to yours!”
We both had a bashful look on our face before she continued,
“W-Well anyways, everyone's waiting for us at the dining hall, so feel free to come when you’re ready”
With that, she gave me a light headpat and left the room, closing the door on her way out. As the door closed, my hand wandered over to the place where she touched my head. It was warm, and gentle, and…I collapsed back on the bed.
I found the strength to get up and started exploring my dorm a little. Looking in the bedside desk, I found a toolkit, as well as another spare notebook. At least Monokuma was considerate enough to give me a spare if I ran out of pages. I went up to the bathroom door to see what was inside, but as I tried to open the door, it stood still as a rock. Was it locked? I suppose I’d have to ask Monokuma later.
After finishing the search and not finding anything too noteworthy, I decided to head to the dining hall where Sayaka said everyone was waiting. As I took a seat, the discussion began. Taka started off by mentioning, “It would be greatly inefficient for Makoto to write on the notebook whilst talking to so many people! Having to pass around the notebook would waste too much time!. I propose Makoto have a spokesperson to relay whatever he writes!”
Swiftly, a familiar hand rose in the air as Sayaka exclaimed, “I can do it!”
The rest of the room looked at me for confirmation and I nodded my head in response.
“Great! Sayaka will be Makoto’s spokesperson”, Taka said enthusiastically.
The conversation lasted for a decent while as everyone discussed what they had found out about the school. There definitely wasn’t a way out of the school, and we still had no clue who had imprisoned us in the first place. The dorms were apparently soundproof, so when fully closed, there would be no way to hear anything from inside. Only the girls' bathrooms had locks on them…huh? So why was my bathroom locked then? I made a mental note to come back to that later.
As the conversation continued, the tension in the room was building as any real chance of escape looked more and more impossible. Out of nowhere Junko accused Toko, “And what the hell were you doing, just sitting in the gym the whole time?”
Toko looked shocked before responding harshly, “W-Well no one i-invited me along to do a-anything! I b-blame you for l-leaving me out, y-you slut!
Junko looked completely stunned, “Slut…?”
Toko pushed forwards continuing, “Your mind is as th-thin as your body. You m-make me sick to my s-stomach…”
Junko looked ready to punch the life out of Toko.
“I…I don’t even know what to say. How can you say something so terrible to someone you just met?”
Just before Junko could actually reach out and punch Toko lifeless, the doors swung open and Kyoko entered, slamming a paper onto the table.
“You’re all spending an awful lot of time yelling.”
For a moment everyone stopped and examined the paper on the table. I wrote, “Huh? What’s this?”, and Sayaka helped me say it aloud.
Kyoko responded, “It’s a map. A map of Hope's Peak Academy.”
The room entered a discussion once again as I sat there with even more questions swirling around in my head. So this is really Hope’s Peak? And if it was, where were the other students? The other teachers? And why were all the windows and doors bolted shut?
Sayaka noticed my anxiety and placed her hand on mine, bringing me a little comfort and bringing a soft tinge of red to my cheeks. Eventually as my focus was brought back to the conversation, I barely managed to catch Celeste’s lips move as she mentioned her nighttime rule,
“Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether. While the school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night, I would like to make it official.”
Nods and murmurs came out from the rest of the class. Looks like if I wanted to use the bathroom, I’d have to use the one in my room…which was locked. Hopefully I’d sort that out before things get desperate.
With that final rule being set the rest of the class dispersed back to their rooms leaving just me and Sayaka in the room. Sayaka softly spoke,
“Well…I guess we’d better get some sleep”, she gave me a light headpat like the one from before, “Goodnight Makoto!”. With that, she too left the room.
Entering my room my head was overflowing with questions, my mind became a mess of confusion and chaos. This, this nightmare was something out of a horror movie, but somehow it was real. The metal sheets, the countless cameras, the fear, all of it was real. I pushed aside those feelings and thought to myself.
I can’t think like that. I have to trust my friends.
With an looming sense of dread building, I drifted off to sleep.