Events are said to occur in sequence; a sort of straight line upon which each take place. Despite this line of thinking, things occur in a web like pattern in reality. One does not need to be directly related to the previous or a further back one may start one now.
The event that brought forth ours can be traced back to one that affected everyone. The Tragedy brought ruin to the world and many lives were destroyed. Despair won the day, but from the shadows of defeat, hope sprang forth. The Future Foundation was established to fight this despair and restore our world.
Unfortunately, an incident involving the heads of Future Foundation took place. Those of us in the remnants of the 77th's class of Hope's Peak Academy class C had not seen this take place. Instead we ourselves were wrapped up in our battle of hope versus despair.
***
Darkness.
Blackness surrounded the groggy people as they awoke. Each of the eleven was seated in wooden chairs forming a circle. The plain grey-white room stood bare, except the chairs and two doors adorning opposite walls.
"What happened? Where are we?" came a voice from the first to stand. The owner was adorn in gothic lolita dress with pink ribbons and a heart-shaped eyepatch. The person's name was Ito Tsubomi, the Ultimate Voice Actress. Her long, blue twin-tails shook she looked around the room.
"What a coincidence, looks who's here." came from a man in purple shades. "Seems everyone here was part of our class."
"Well, Taru, if it isn't the Ultimate Informant who's the first to speak up about that little fact" spoke Aiyaka Tsukira. She wore a white tee with jean jacket, grey skirt, and black kneesocks. The Ultimate Influence cocked her head, her ponytail on the left side of her shoulder length black hair bouncing.
It was true, each of the people present had been classmates before The Tragedy. Considering there were only eleven of sixteen former students present, thoughts jumped to the same conclusion.
"This is nice to catch up, but we need to find out what is going on, where we are, and how we got here." spoke Tomoki Hana, the Ultimate Strategist.
Almost on cue, one door opened. A spotlight descended from the ceiling, illuminating the small figure entering.
"Ask no more, ladies and gentlemen, for all will be purveyor of answers has arrived. You know him, you love him, it's your friendly, neighborhood...Monokuma!"
A collective gasp escaped the eleven present. At this point of time, the little black-and-white bear was as instantly recognizable as that little red pants-wearing mouse.
The hell's happening. Aren't you supposed to-" tried the Ultimate Pâtissière, Suzuki Kanaboshi before getting cut off.
"No one can get rid of Monokuma. Not even those among you here that joined Future Foundation." Monokuma spoke, turning his attention toward those mentioned.
It was true, some present were members of Future Foundation. Kirika Miki (the Ultimate Artist), her boyfriend Seiji Utaru (the Ultimate Composer), Takashi Nagai (the Ultimate Architect), and Tomoki Hana had joined with the organization. The other seven had were trying to survive the hellish landscape outside or had yet to be granted membership.
"Now onto the topic all of you are dying to know, or should I say about to die because of. Upupupu." the bear laughed mischievously. "I've gathered you all here to play a little game. This building is on lockdown for the next fourteen days. At the end of those fourteen days, all but one of you will die."
"All but one?" questioned Sora Shironane, the Ultimate Cyclist. "What's that mean?"
"Ahem, I was getting to that, if you'd not interrupt. Okay then, you see the one who kidnapped you is here in this room. He or she constructed this whole game you've been placed in. Your goal is simple; use the tools provided here to kill them and free yourselves before the time limit expires."
All former student stood speechless from the bear's words.
"Now here are some rules. One: only one person may be killed at a time. Two: when someone is killed, after five minutes or someone discovering the body, an announcement will sound telling everyone to enter the main hall of this building. Three: if the entrance and shutters open during this time, congrats you've won. The mastermind has been found and killed. However that bring me to number four. If the person killed was not the mastermind, a class trial will be held. Don't worry kiddos, this trial is different than the ones held during the Mutual School Killing Life, so it's not a one-and-done deal. During the trial, if you should correctly guess the blackened, that person shall be executed for their crimes as usual. However, if you chose incorrectly, the blackened will remain among you, free to try again. Now you may say this is good, less death happens, but let me remind you of one thing. You all have a murderer amidst your ranks. In fact, it could even be the mastermind trying to take down your best players who could get get you outta here."
A wave of unease spread among the room. Everyone remained silent. The thought of having survived only to meet a possible end from classmates and friends made everyone uncomfortable.
"I have some beary important business to take care of, so feel free to check the place out. Ta ta." Monokuma said as he vanished.
Overloaded with information, the group stood in awe. One moment they were living in the new world brought forth by The Tragedy and the next they were thrust into a killing game of despair. No one knew that as of that moment the road to hope was slowly escaping their reach.
***
"I don't know about everyone else, but if we're stuck here, I'm checking this place out." spoke Mitsuba Kanamori. The tall blonde clad in gym clothes was the Ultimate Basketball Player. As she left the room, the other ten looked around and decided to leave too.
The room let out to the main room of the building. The floor had a balcony showing off the building entrance on the first floor.
"Yawn… you all check, I'll rest here." said Takura Nozomi as he slunk down the wall he was leaning against. The Ultimate Editor had gotten used to late nights of working before The Tragedy, so he'd entered a state of constant exhaustion.
The remaining active people began to mill about when a speaker squaked overhead.
"Ahem! One, two, one two. Attention all tenants," the unmistakable voice of Monokuma sounded, "all unlocked rooms are free to explore. However before you riffraff run aimlessly around, please visit the first floor desk. There you'll each find your own e-handbook. Inside it are the rules, a map, and notepad. That's all for now. Bye-bye."
The speaker turned off and each person headed downstairs. Checking the map after picking up their e-handbooks, the group discussed the plan to split up, check the place, and meet at the starting room. As each departed, they started the mental trail of finding out the culprit's identity.
***
E-HANDBOOK
MAP ←
Floor B1: Under Construction (Unaccessible)
Floor 1: Entrance, Shipments' Area, Cold Storage, Main Hall, Dorm Entrance.
Dorm Floor 1: Female Rooms, Entrance to Dorm Floor B1
Dorm Floor B1: Male Rooms, Entrance to Dorm Floor B2
Dorm Floor B2: Male and Female Bathing Areas
Floor 2: Storage Area 1, Storage Area 2, Restrooms
Floor 3: Mess Hall, Library, Secretary Room, Head Office, Restrooms
Floor 4: Records, Intercom Room, Computer Hall, Restrooms
Floor 5: Employee's Offices, Restrooms
(Monokuma Notice: Locked doors equal no access. Failure to comply results in instant disqualification from the game.)
***
Upon everyone's arrival after investigating the building, Takura was the first to speak up.
"So, what's it like?"
"Not much here." said Suzuki. "Sora and I only found this and another storage area across the hall."
"True, but it was loaded." Sora stated.
"Loaded?" asked Aiyaka.
"Yeah, it had everything we need. It's got food, daily needs, even…" he paused a bit. "weapons."
"Weapons!" gasped several people.
"Yeah, weapons." Sora continued. "Daggers, knives, axes, hammers, lots of blunt and sharp weapons. Scary."
"Kirika and I checked out the first floor." started Seiji. "Seems this place obtained regular shipments. The building has a huge shipping area and massive freezer. Afterwards, I tried to enter the main hall, but it's locked."
"As for myself, I found the place we'll be staying. Apparently the builders had dorms installed here. Girls are on the top and guys are on the bottom. Also there's a bathing area with washing machines." Kirika spoke.
"Okay, moving onto the third floor." Ito said. "They've got a pretty stocked library, although it's pretty boring office-type stuff. Then it's got a pretty nice office. Definitely the big man on campus's."
"Don't forget the mess hall." added Takashi. "There's room for us all and it's got all the cooking necessities."
"I'd like to expand upon Ito's statement." Tomoki said in his usual, powerful voice. "It appears the operations here were recorded and placed in a records' room on the fourth floor. Also perchance, I stumbled upon our own personal Hope's Peak profiles there."
"So they've deliberately been keeping track of us. Interesting." calmly spoke Taru. "Ill file that away. Now the fourth floor team may continue."
"I, myself, found a computer room. Unfortunately, we're locked out of all of them. My guess is Monokuma is going to use them if he left them here." Aiyaka said.
"Um, sorry to interrupt." meekly asked Sora. "Aiyaka, are you okay?"
"What do you mean?" Aiyaka asked. "Sora, I'm fin-oh." She looked straight at her bandaged right arm. "Oh, this little thing?"
Sora nodded.
"It's okay." she assured. "It's not recent, so I'm fine. Everyone, do you recall the Towa City incident?"
Not everyone was aware what happened, but those that did were immediate to recall what had happened.
"So as I was trying to make it out in that wasteland, I entered that safe city. Then suddenly those kids took over, sicking those Monokumas on us. During that time, I had my arm damaged bad enough that it's no longer usable below the elbow, so I just keep it wrapped up. Sorry to worry anyone."
"It's no problem. Everyone's safety is the priority here." Tomoki spoke for , back to our reconnaissance. Aiyaka and I discovered a telecommunications room, though that too was locked."
"No doubt that's Monokuma's main room." murmured Suzuki.
"ANyway, Mitsuba and I have nothing to report. Floor five is just a ton of office space. No good info there." Taru stated.
With information exchanged, a bell rang out by coincidence.
DING DONG
"Attention." a voice of an unmistakable teddy bear sounded out. "It's now 10:00 PM. Please look at your room assignments on your e-handbook and head off to bed. Although I won't stop anyone who wants to kill someone after curfew. Good Night"
With the intercom cutting off, everyone looked towards each other.
"Well, I'm off." spoke Takura.
"Yes, this is a good idea. Let's be off." Mitsuba added.
As the others agreed, slowly they headed towards their rooms. Silence rose over the building. An awkward silent, almost like the calm before a storm. For despite the friendliness shared, doubt started to creep in. Each person entered their rooms, unaware of the events that would soon arrive. Only one thing was certain: soon they'd be joined by another entity known only as Despair.
Survivors: 11