Chapter 1
"Hey! Hey! Are you awake? Hello?"
I woke up to the sound of a boy's voice. I couldn't recognize who it was. Lifting my head slightly, I realized I was sitting in a desk. Had I fallen asleep in class? Embarrassed, I sat up, wiping the drool from my cheek with my hand.
"Oh! You're awake! That's good. I was worried for a moment."
It was the same boy that had spoken before. His voice was warm and friendly, but I still had no idea who he was. I looked over to see him smiling at me. His shaggy red hair curled around his ears and contrasted his electric blue eyes. A welcoming smile lit up his face, perfectly framed by his chiseled cheek bones. He was wearing a black, tight tank top that emphasized his muscles. He wasn't extremely buff or anything, but you could tell that he was an athlete. He was also wearing white basketball shorts that exposed his equally muscular legs, and he finished off the athletic appearance with blinding white, laced up runners.
"Is there something in my teeth?" the boy asked worriedly. He quickly placed his hand over his mouth, turning away.
"No!" I reassured. I hadn't realized that I had been staring at him. As I smiled apologetically, I tried and failed to remember his name. I didn't want to seem rude, but I had to ask.
"Um... who are you?" I asked. Maybe it was because I'd just woken up, but I couldn't remember anything about this boy. He sighed and shook his head.
"So you can't remember either, huh?"
Before I continue, I think it might be best if I introduced myself. My name is Yui Takaki. I'm a 17 year old girl living in Japan. I'm your average teenager; I go to school, listen to music, do chores, use the internet; boring, everyday, average things to do.
Even my appearance could be considered average. Long, straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes. I wear a green hoodie, and torn blue jeans. The tears aren't a fashion statement though. I've never been into the whole 'a worn look gives it character' trend. They're torn because I forget to go buy new ones. It's the same story for my sneakers, which are grey and covered in dirt.
Adding to my average persona is the fact that I'm an only child, I do relatively well in my classes, and I'm completely normal.
Just a normal girl, who's in an abnormal situation all because of a single letter.
Yep. This all started when I got that letter from Hopes Peak Academy.
Hopes Peak Private Academy is an exclusive, government-sanctioned school that only accepts students with exceptional abilities. It claims that its goal is to raise the future "hope" of the nation, and because of that it's earned the title of "The Academy of Hope." I just think that title makes it sound like the school is full of itself, but the title is nonetheless accurate.
Graduating from Hopes Peak Academy pretty much ensures success in life. It may sound like I'm exaggerating, but many of Hopes Peak's alumni are now employed in high positions in every field of the professional world.
So how do you make it into this amazing, unbelievable, too good to be true school? Well, there are two requirements.
One, you have to be currently enrolled in a high school.
And two, you must super-excel in your field of expertise.
There are no entrance exams, since the things tested in those are pretty much meaningless to the Hopes Peak higher ups. Instead, students are scouted by the Hopes Peak Academy's faculty members. Every student has a talent that they're great at. So great, that they're known as Ultimates. Again, a title that just screams "I'm better than you!"
Every high school student dreams of going to the school at Hopes Peak Academy. That is, every student except me. I'd much rather go to a normal high school, with normal people.
Why would I want to give up such an amazing opportunity? Probably because I'm not an Ultimate. I mean, technically I am. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student. I wasn't scouted because of my non-existing, amazing talents; I won my place at Hopes Peak Academy through their nation wide lottery. That's right, I'm the luckiest student in all of Japan.
Or at least that's what everyone tells me.
Like I said, I'd rather go to a normal school, but when my parents opened up the letter inviting me to Hopes Peak Academy, they said I had to go. They talked about the guaranteed success, and said I had no choice in the matter. With my parents, it's their way or the highway. I knew that they just wanted the best for me, but I also knew that if I went to that school I'd just end up disappointing them. They expected extraordinary things, from an ordinary person.
Nevertheless, I ended up accepting the letter. I was one of the few ordinary students going to this extraordinary school.
And thanks to that, I'm a normal person, in this abnormal situation.
"So you can't remember either, huh?"
I looked at the boy confused. Either? Had other people forgotten his name before me? I took a breath to apologize, but he beat me to it.
"Can you at least remember how you got here?"
Huh? Of course I could! Why wouldn't I? Once again I opened my mouth to speak, freezing once I came to a horrific realization.
I didn't know how I got here. I didn't even know where here was.
I looked around the room. It was a normal classroom with wooden desks lined up in rows. I was sitting in the back, facing the chalk board at the front of the class and the small clock above it. The walls were a pale green, and the carpet was brown. The large desk at the front probably belonged to the teacher, who was nowhere to be found. On the right wall was a closed, wooden door. From the looks of it, we were all in a Hopes Peak Academy classroom.
It looked pretty normal, excluding three strange things.
The first thing was a monitor next to the door. I suppose it wasn't too strange considering that some schools are rich enough to have monitors in every classroom, but I was odd to me. My old school was a public school that couldn't even afford new gym equipment, let alone a monitor for a classroom.
The second thing was a security camera at the front of the room, its blinking red light showing that it was on. For some reason that made me feel uncomfortable. I looked away, turning my gaze to the third and final strange thing.
The windows. They were covered with large iron plates. Why would there be something like that in a classroom?
As for how I got there? I couldn't remember. the door would be the most obvious answer, but I honestly couldn't remember anything from before I woke up. I turned to the boy, realizing that he was still waiting for me to answer his question. I shook my head slowly, and he sighed.
"Yeah. I expected as much. None of us can remember either."
Us? I looked around again. Somehow, I had been so focused on the classroom that I hadn't notice the other people in the room. Including the boy and I, there were sixteen students. Before I had time to say anything, the boy spoke again.
"I'm Kinji by the way. Kinji Saruwatari" He held out his hand. "I'm the Ultimate Jogger. It's nice to meet you!"
I shook Kinji's hand and smiled; he mirrored the expression. Somehow, his smile helped me relax, and after I let go of his hand, I decided to introduce myself.
"I'm Yui Takaki" I said. "I'm the... Ultimate Lucky Student."
I half expected him to recoil in horror. Why would an Ultimate student like him want to talk to someone like me? Instead, he just smiled even harder.
"That's awesome! It's nice to meet you Yui!" He laughed. I'm not sure why he did, but it helped lighten the mood. After he calmed down he held out his hand again. This time to help me out of the seat.
"Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone else Yui?" He suggested, pointing to the others. "You're the last one to wake up, so I'm sure they'll want to talk to you."
"The last one to wake up? What do you mean? Was everyone else sleeping too?"
Kinji ignored my question and pushed me to a nearby student, no doubt harder than he intended too. After regaining my balance I looked at the girl in front of me. She had brown shoulder length hair that matched the shade of her chocolate brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of a white dress shirt, a black dress jacket and a short brown skirt. She added a splash of color with a red bow tied around the collar and accessorized with some black gloves. She also had knee high checkered socks and black sneakers. As I stared, uncertain of what to do, she looked at me up and down, seemingly fascinated with my appearance. Out of nowhere, she started speaking, causing me to jump.
"Are you a fan of fantasy adventure movies?"
"Um... what?"
She placed her hands out, forming a frame with her fingers. Looking at me through the frame, she started to nod her head.
"Yep! You would definitely be an awesome antagonist in a fantasy adventure movie!"
"A-antagonist?"
She put her hands down and continued nodding her head.
"Yep! You'd pretend to be the good guy's friend, but then you'd actually be an evil enchantress in disguise!" She grabbed my hand and started violently shaking it.
"I'm Mayu Akimoto by the way! I'm the Ultimate Director!"
I placed my hand on hers to get her to stop shaking. Unfazed, she smiled and let go.
"I'm Yui Takaki" I said. "I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student."
She nodded several times saying "I see" To herself. Suddenly, her head shot up, as if she had gotten an idea. As she walked away, I could hear her mumbling something about "Evil Enchantress Takaki." I watched in a confused daze before deciding that it'd be best to just not question it. Rather than standing alone, I moved over to a boy sitting in a nearby desk. He had dark, uneven, black hair, that almost looked green in the light. His dirt covered white trench coat needed a good cleaning. Seed packets stuck out of the pockets, many of them open and spilling. He had torn beige pants covered in grass stains, and ankle high beige hiking boots which were double knotted. His face was round, and his cheeks were rosy, and at the moment, he seemed to be very focused on something.
"Hi I'm Yui Takaki! It's nice to-"
I was interrupted as his finger shot up, signalling for me to stop talking.
"Sorry. One moment" He said, without looking up. "I've forgotten something really important, and I'm trying to remember it right now."
"Did you forget how you got here?" I asked, getting a surprised look in response.
"Yeah! That's it! How did you know?"
"Well, Kinji said it's the same for everyone. The truth is, none of us know how we got here."
Relief swept over him as he smiled, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment.
"I tend to forget things easily, so I was kind of worried when I couldn't remember something like that." He turned to face me and held out his hand.
"I'm Sota Shikiba! The Ultimate Gardener! Sorry if I forget your name. It's nothing personal if I do."
I took his hand and shook it.
"Yui Takaki, Ultimate Lucky Student. And I don't mind if you forget it. Though I heard that writing someone's name three times on your palm when you meet them helps you remember it."
"Really?" Sota asked, his eyes wide with amazement. He began tracing my name on his hand with his finger.
"Yui Takaki, Yui Takaki, Yui... darn it."
He had already forgotten it!?
"Just Yui is fine." I said. Sota nodded and smiled, turning back to the desk. He began looking around the room, tracing and mumbling the names of the other students. I decided to leave him be. Turning around I walked into what felt like a brick wall.
"Ow!"
I looked up to see a boy staring down at me. Well, perhaps boy wouldn't be the right word. In fact, he looked way too old to be a student. He had short blond hair that barely reached his ears. His white tank top was tucked into dark blue jeans that were held up by a tool belt. The boots he was wearing looked heavy, and they matched his brown gloves. However, his most prominent features were his muscles. They were huge, and probably what I had walked into a moment ago, aka, the cause of the throbbing pain that I was now feeling.
"Hey! Watch were you're going!" He said. Obviously, the impact had hurt me more than it hurt him.
"Sorry" I said rubbing my head.
"Geez." He said annoyed. "Girls never look where they're going."
"What does being a girl have to do with that?"
He looked down at me and shrugged.
"Well, I've never bumped into a guy, it's always girls that run into me."
"Well, I'm Yui Takaki." I said. "The Ultimate Lucky Student." I figured I would just introduce myself and leave. This guy was giving me a headache in more ways than one.
"Akio Shigehito. Ultimate Carpenter" He replied before looking away, now uninterested in the conversation. Rubbing my head, I walked over to the next person. This time, it was a boy sitting alone in a desk by the wall. He was tapping his fingers on the wooden surface.
"Hello?" I said, trying to get his attention. He was wearing a pale green hoodie and black sweat pants that matched his fingerless gloves. The hood was pulled up, and tufts of light brown hair were sticking out. His skin was pale, and even with the hoodie on, I could tell that he was quite skinny.
Tap, tap, tap.
Realizing that he hadn't heard me, I tried again.
"Hi! My name's Yui Takaki! What's your name?"
Without looking at me, the boy spoke. He seemed annoyed.
"Did I say I wanted to know your name?" He asked.
"No. I just..."
"Then don't tell me it. You're just wasting my time otherwise."
I felt the urge to snap back at him, but took a deep breath. Causing a scene wouldn't be the best first impression.
"I was just hoping that I could learn your name."
The boy sighed and finally turned to face me. His eyes were a dark shade of brown. In fact, they were almost black.
"I'm Bessihiki Madarai, the Ultimate Hacker. Now get lost."
I nodded and rushed away. Obviously, he didn't want anyone bothering him.
As I scanned the room for someone more sociable, I felt someone bump into me. Turning to see who it was, I found myself face to face with Kenji. Only, now he was wearing glasses.
"Oh! I'm sorry Kinji" I apologized, causing him to sigh. Now that I was facing him, I realized that the glasses weren't the only thing that had changed. His athletic attire had been replaced by a navy blue school uniform with golden buttons. His hair was neater than before as well. Had he just changed in the middle of the classroom? Or was this-
"I'm sorry to disappoint you" Kinji said, a sophisticated tone to his voice. "But I'm not Kinji. I'm Ren Saruwatari, the Ultimate Mathematician. His twin brother."
I felt my cheeks growing warm. Kinji had a twin brother? And I had gotten them mixed up? I turned my gaze to the floor to hide my embarrassment.
"Sorry! I had no idea. I really thought you were-"
"Kinji? Well, it seems you were mistaken. Also, is it not common courtesy to introduce yourself to someone when they've done so for you?"
"Oh! Right! I'm Yui Takaki! The Ultimate Lucky Student." I said quickly. Ren nodded.
"Well Yui. It was a pleasure to meet you." He turned to leave, but was stopped by Kinji putting his arm around his shoulder. Ren's legs buckled slightly from the impact.
"Oh! Hey Yui! I see you've met Ren?" Kinji said with a smile. Seeing the two of them together, I felt justified in getting them mixed up. Ren sighed and moved Kinji's arm off his shoulder.
"Yes. She mistook me for you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go finish my Sudoku puzzle."
Kinji pouted.
"Come on Ren! You should talk to people! It's not everyday you get to meet a bunch of Ultimate students!"
Ignoring his brother, Ren walked to the back of the classroom. Kinji followed him, waving goodbye to me as he went. Scanning the classroom, I noticed a girl hunched over one of the desks. Her hair was blonde and tied into two long braids. She was wearing a school uniform, with a brown buttoned up jacket, a short brown skirt and a white dress shirt. She was also wearing a long, light purple scarf covered in smudged pastels. Her eyes were a misty, pale blue and seemed distant. As I got closer, I saw that she was scribbling away on a piece of paper. Noticing me getting closer, she turned to face me.
"Hello." She said softly. Her voice was warm; almost like I was listening to the voice of a summer breeze. "My name is Koharu Koijima, the Ultimate Artist. We're really happy to meet you."
I smiled. She almost seemed too young to be a high school student.
"I'm Yui Takaki. The Ultimate Lucky Student." Wait. Did she say we? No. I must have heard her wrong. I went to speak to her again, but realized that she had returned to her drawing. Instead, I decided to go and talk to a girl leaning against the wall instead. She had long, dark hair that reached down to her hips. She was wearing a hot pink tube top and a white miniskirt. Beneath that she was wearing black tights and knee high boots. For some reason, she seemed familiar.
"Hi! My name is Yui Takaki! It's nice to meet you."
The girl turned to me with an annoyed frown. I felt my stomach tighten. Hopefully she wasn't going to be like Bessihiki.
"What do you want? An introduction?"
"I... uh... yes, I guess?"
She sighed.
"You must have been living under a rock. I shouldn't need an introduction, but I'll humor you. I'm Nori Ayuma, the Ultimate Actress."
I felt something click in my brain as I realized how I knew her. Nori Ayuma was one of the biggest teen actresses in Japan. She had been in countless movies that I had seen, hence her seeming familiar. Was someone like that really in my class?
"Wipe that dumb grin off your face. You're creeping me out. You got your introduction, so go away already."
Starstruck I nodded and turned away without a second thought. After a moment, I realized how much of a jerk she had been. Who would have thought that such a cool celebrity would be so mean in real life.
Was someone like that really in my class?
My annoyance was cut short by a chill running down my spine. It felt like someone was watching me. Was it the camera? No. That wasn't it. I looked around and noticed a boy standing near the door. He was staring right at me. I walked over.
"Um... can I help you."
"..."
The boy just stared, so I did the same to him. He was wearing a black suit, which seemed strange for a student. His tie was red, and his hair was pitch black. The only thing bright about him were his eyes, which were an icy blue. He seemed very mysterious and... mature? I guess. I couldn't think of any other word to describe him. He was definitely quiet. If this 'conversation' was going to go anywhere, then I'd have to be the one to talk.
"Well... my name is Yui Takaki. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student. It's nice to meet you."
"..."
"I guess you aren't much of a talker, huh?"
"..."
This was going nowhere. I turned to leave, but stopped when I heard a deep voice.
"I am Isoya Taiki. It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Takaki."
"Oh! Just Yui is fine."
Isoya nodded slowly, processing what I said.
"In that case, it was a pleasure to meet you... Yui."
I nodded and backed away. Though it seemed like something else had caught Isoya's attention. Following his gaze I saw a nervous girl standing in the corner. Her hair was a bluish black, and was pulled up into two small pigtails. She had round glasses which framed her violet eyes. The long black dress that she was wearing covered her arms and reached down to her ankles. Her shoes were black, her feet turned inwards, and she was hugging a book to her chest. She watched me walk over, and then looked away quickly. I guess she wasn't much of a talker either.
"Hi. Sorry to bother you, but do you mind if I ask what your name is?" I asked.
The girl looked up, but her eyes continued to dart around the room.
"If you want." She replied quietly. She reminded me of a frightened mouse.
"Well, My name is Yui Takaki, I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student" I said to her, trying my best to not be to forceful. "It's nice to meet you."
The girl made eye contact just long enough to nod in greeting, and then her eyes began darting around again. Eventually she just stared at the floor.
"I'm Missa Johnouchi. I'm the Ultimate Pianist."
After she introduced herself, I was worried that talking anymore could cause her to faint. I decided to move on to the next student. How long did it take to meet fourteen people anyways? This was starting to get tiresome.
The next girl was relaxing near the chalkboard. Her black hair was pulled up into a pony tail, and she was wearing an orange turtleneck with black yoga pants. She seemed friendly enough.
"Hi! I'm Yui Takaki! The Ultima-"
The girl interrupted me with a cold stare. I didn't even know that was possible. She started talking, her voice surprisingly slow and monotonous.
"I don't really care about introductions. I'll tell you my name, and then you'll leave."
I nodded, not wanting to get on this girl's bad side.
"I'm Michiyo Yoshikuni, the Ultimate Baker."
I couldn't help but be a bit surprised. I thought that an Ultimate Baker would be more bubbly and peppy. Both her appearance and her title were quite misleading. Trying to escape her icy glare, I looked around. There were only a few people left, the closest being a girl in a white lab coat. The jacket was undone, and she was wearing a light blue t-shirt beneath it along with black dress pants. Her hair was blonde and pulled up into a ponytail, and safety goggles dangled around her neck. Before I could even start walking, she ran towards me.
"I was wondering when you were going to notice me!" She said grabbing my hand and shaking it."You were talking to everyone else, and I was starting to worry you would never talk to me!"
I tried to introduce myself, but once again, she beat me to it.
"I'm Koizumi Saki, the Ultimate Forensic Scientist. And you're Yui Takaki right?"
I nodded, trying to keep up with the conversation. She was speaking so quickly that it was making me dizzy. Before I could even take a breath to reply, she started again.
"I heard you introduce yourself to Michiyo. Sorry, I can't help but eavesdrop sometimes. You can find out a lot of information that way!"
I nodded and finally found an opportunity to speak.
"It's nice to meet you Koizumi, but I need to go meet a few more people."
Koizumi nodded several times and wished me good luck. This room seemed to be full of quite a few... unique people. One of the most unique individuals was standing by a sealed window. He was wearing a black top hat with a white ribbon tied above the rim, and a black cape with a V-cut pattern at the bottom. His light blonde hair was tucked into his hat, and was almost white enough to match his gloves and shoes, which in turn matched his shirt. On top of this shirt was a black vest, and beneath it were black pants. He smiled as I walked up to him.
"Hey there" He said, nodding his head. "What brings a beautiful girl like you to a dump like this?"
I should have felt flattered, but his tone made me feel somewhat sick instead. I decided to go with my gut and ignore his pick up line.
"Hi! I'm Yui Takaki, the Ultimate Lucky Student."
"You must be lucky if you caught the eye of the great Hamano Hatsuhara." He flicked his arm out, revealing a white rose. He handed it to me with a bow. "The Ultimate Magician."
I took the rose and thanked him before heading to the next person. There were only two more to go. One of them, a girl, waved me down. She was tall and relatively muscular. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and some stands had fallen out. She had bags under her eyes, and was wearing black gym shorts with a white tank top. A blue hoodie was tied around her waist.
"Hi! I'm Yui Takaki. the Ultimate Lucky Student. It's nice to meet you."
The girl smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by an enormous yawn. Once she finished, she tried again.
"Sorry about that. I'm Asami Tanno, the Ultimate Basket Ball Player." She shook my hand and yawned again. Once I was sure she was finished, I let go of her hand.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "You seem kind of tired."
She shook her head.
"I'm fine. I just need-" She began yawning again, but continued to speak. "An energy drink."
She began to nod off, so I helped her sit down in a desk. She laid her head down and immediately started sleeping.
I walked towards the front of the classroom where the final student was waiting. He had scruffy black hair. His doctor's jacket was undone, revealing a black shirt with the Hopes Peak Academy crest on it. He was wearing black pants that looked quite comfortable.
"Hi! My name is-"
He put his hand up and smiled.
"Let me guess. Yui Takaki? You're the Ultimate Lucky Student?"
I nodded. It seemed like he had heard me already. He chuckled and leaned on the desk.
"It must have been tiresome introducing yourself to everyone, huh?"
I nodded. The other students were certainly... interesting? The boy leaned towards me and shook my hand.
"Well, I'm the last one, so don't worry. The name's Saruwatari Kureno. I'm the Ultimate Veterinarian." He gave my hand a quick shake and then let it go before returning to his spot at the teacher's desk. He looked down and pointed at a piece of paper. "Do you think that was left for us by the teacher?"
I moved closer to the paper and picked it up. It was a note written in crayon. Would a teacher write a note in crayon? I shook my head. That wasn't the important thing right now. Squinting my eyes in order to focus on the yellow letters, I began reading the almost illegible writing.
"To the students. Please meet me in the gym at 12:00."
Below the writing was a crudely drawn map to the gym. Before I could even process what I had just read, someone tapped me on the shoulder. Turning towards the person, I saw Mayu staring at me expectantly. She looked at the note in my hand.
"Is that from the teacher?" She asked. I nodded.
"I think so. It says to go to the gym."
Mayu nodded several times. She turned to the rest of the class and began speaking at a volume that no doubt could only be achieved by the Ultimate Director.
"Okay everyone!" She shouted. "The teacher's note says we need to go to the gym! So let's go!" She finished her sentence with an over dramatic point to the door. I had to lean back to avoid getting hit by it.
After a moment of hesitation, everyone started heading out the door. Some more reluctantly than others. It's not like we could do anything else though; The note was the only clue we had to help figure out what we were doing there. Merging into the line of Ultimate students, I left the classroom.
As I walked through the door, I expected a dimly lit school hallway. Unfortunately for my eyes, I was met with blinding sunlight instead. Shielding my eyes, I looked around. We were in a large open area with several buildings. There were cement paths leading to each one, dividing patches of healthy looking grass. This was definitely not Hopes Peak Academy.
I didn't have time to worry about that though, due to the larger problem that had presented itself. And I mean literally large. The entire area was surrounded by a very tall, very large, and very grey cement wall. To the right it branched out wide, and it curved around connecting the two sides. To the left, it became tighter and I could see something bright red at the point where both sides met. I'd have to investigate that later though. Right now, we needed to get to the gym.
Following both the path and the note's directions, we all made our way to our destination. It was a large building right next to the classroom. Inside, there was a wooden floor. The Hopes Peak Academy crest was painted in the middle, adding to the mystery of where we were. There were bleachers on either side of the room, and a small stage at the far end. Behind the stage was a large mural of a bonsai tree. Compared to the classroom, this room was much more open. The white and salmon tiles on the walls also created a nice, welcoming atmosphere.
The last student entered the room and we all grouped together by the stage. It was 12 o-clock, but the teacher was nowhere to be found. We all waited in silence. This entire situation was so abnormal that none of us knew how to react. The silence continued until all of a sudden, we heard a strange, high pitched voice. Not the kind of voice you would expect a teacher to have.
"Mic check! Mic check! Can you all hear me? Yes? Good!"
The sound was coming from the stage. We all turned towards it, expecting to see our teacher. Instead, we saw a bear. Not a bear like a grizzly or polar bear. It was a stuffed bear who was half black, half white, standing on two legs, and holding a microphone. Before we even had time to question this strange object, it spoke.
"Hello! I am your headmaster and mayor, Monokuma!"
It had moved! The bear had moved! Not only that, but it had spoken too. Had I really just watched a bear introduce itself? I had a lot of stuffed bears back home, but none of them were like this. Once again, we weren't sure how to react. This time for a different reason. The bear tilted it's head to the side.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongues? Or should I say, bear?"
He laughed at his own joke. I was speechless, but apparently Mayu had managed to find her voice before the rest of us.
"How can you be a headmaster and a mayor?" She asked. Was that really the thing that was bothering her? Monokuma tilted his head to the side again.
"Well, I'm the headmaster of Hopes Peak Academy, and the mayor of Monocity!"
This time, it was Asami who spoke.
"There's no city named Monocity in Japan." She argued. "You made that up!"
The headmaster shook his head.
"Nope! I most definitely did not! If it's a made up city, then how are you guys standing in it?"
Hamano walked up to the stage.
"You didn't call us here to talk about stuff like this right?"
Was he the one who called us here? I was pretty sure that the note was left by a teacher, and despite his claims, this guy didn't seem to be one. This entire situation was just confusing me, and Monokuma's next words did not help.
"You're right!" He said cheerfully. "I'm not here to talk about the city. I'm here to talk about you." He looked at each of us, slowly scanning from one end of the group to the other. "You all seem like pretty smart kids, so I'm just going to say this quickly so we can get moving. You're all stuck in this city, and the only way out is to kill someone without getting caught!"
He said it so cheerfully that I almost didn't catch what he had said.
"K-kill someone?" I asked. Had I heard that right? Was this some kind of joke? Monokuma sighed.
"Yes. Kill someone. Bludgeon, electrocute, stab, burn, drown, poison, et cetera. If you want to get out of here, you've gotta kill someone."
It looked like Monokuma was going to say more, but he was interrupted by Sota.
"This has to be kind of joke! You can't be serious! Right?"
"Nope! I'm deadly serious! Get it? Deadly?"
Once again he laughed at his own joke. We all stood there in horror. It couldn't be true! This was a dream. No. A nightmare. I'd wake up any second now.
"But anyways. I have a gift for you guys. It's in the box right there!"
Monokuma pointed to a cardboard box next to the stage. I was too frightened to even move. I was sure that if I tried to take a step, I would just fall to the floor. It was a miracle that I was even standing. Luckily, Isoya wasn't in the same situation. He walked over and opened the box before looking confusedly at Monokuma.
"What are these?" He asked. Monokuma tilted his head to the side.
"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked. "They're your E-handbooks! Or electronic handbooks for those of you who don't speak abbreviationese. Now, there's one for all of you, so come and grab em kiddos!"
I somehow found the strength to walk as I desperately wished to wake up. The nightmare was becoming too real for my liking. I picked up the handbook and turned it on. Immediately, it went to a page titled city laws. It seemed like Monokuma had programmed it to do so, since he began to explain almost immediately.
"Those are the laws of Monocity. You all have to follow them if you don't wanna get punished." After clearing his throat, he continued. "Law one. The students will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the city walls."
No time limit? Did that mean that we were stuck there until... until someone died?
"Law number two. The time between 10pm and 7am is called "Night Time". During Night Time, students will be expected to return to their rooms."
So we at least had somewhere to stay during all of this. And how was that a law? It was more of a statement or a suggestion if anything. Not that I would want to be out at night anyways, just in case anyone here was actually considering what Monokuma had said.
"Law number three. Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the hotel. Anyone intentionally falling asleep elsewhere will be punished. Rule number four, You may investigate the city as you please. There are no restrictions on your actions."
Looking around, I saw that most of the other students seemed as frightened as I was. However, Isoya, Ren and Saruwatari all seemed indifferent. How could they be so calm in a situation like this?
"Law number five. No violence is permitted against the city's mayor, Monokuma. Six; destruction of the surveillance cameras is forbidden."
How many laws were there? I almost wasn't even listening. I couldn't even begin to comprehend the situation. We were being imprisoned here by a monochrome bear until someone committed murder? It had to be a dream. Something as strange as this only happened in video games. Or really weird fanfictions.
"Law number seven. A "culprit" who kills a fellow student will get to leave the city. However, they must not let any other student know they are the culprit."
Wait! So only the killer gets to leave? Then what would happen to the rest of us? I was too afraid to ask. The bear, or whoever was controlling it, obviously had a sick sense of humour. I felt my skin crawl at the thought of what they might do.
"The last law is that additional laws may be added by the school at any time."
None of us responded. What could we say? I was sure that everyone was thinking the same thing as me. It had to be a dream. I jumped as I heard Kinji speak. He was right next to me.
"But why are we doing this? Shouldn't we be at Hopes Peak?"
Monokuma laughed. I didn't see what was so funny about Kinji's question. Everyone here was an Ultimate student right? So it would make sense to be at the school instead of this weird city? Apparently, I was very wrong.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. "You already graduated!"
Monokuma's statement finally got a reaction from us. Every single one of us looked confused. Koizumi spoke first.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. "I've never even set foot in the school! How could I have graduated?"
The other students nodded in agreement. Monokuma was obviously lying. There was no way all of us had already gone to Hopes Peak. If that wasn't true, then the other things he had said could be lies as well. Though, this new found hope quickly disappeared when I saw Monokuma's smirk.
"Because I erased your memories of ever being there!"
He had to have made that up. He was lying! I turned to look at the other students. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing as me. Ren fixed his glasses and turned to Monokuma.
"Something like that isn't scientifically possible. If you want to fool us into thinking that all of this is true, then you should try your best to avoid science fiction as a theme."
Everyone nodded. Something like that was way too farfetched. Or so we thought. Saruwatari's voice pulled us back into the nightmarish reality we had been so close to escaping.
"Can we be sure about that?" He asked. "I mean. I remember getting the letter, but I don't remember actually going to the school."
"That's because we never went." Michiyo said monotonously. Saruwatari shook his head.
"But I think he could be telling the truth. After all. None of us can remember how we got into that classroom right?"
The room grew silent, only the buzz of the lights daring to make a sound as we all realized he was right. The silence almost became deafening. I opened my mouth to ask Monokuma if this was the truth, but I realized that he was gone. I'm not sure how long we stood there in silence, dumbfounded by everything we were just told. We had been thrown into this abnormal game of life and death, and had no way of escaping. And to make it worse, we had apparently all grown close at Hope Peak Academy, and then had those memories stolen from us? It seemed like something that could only happen in a manga, or a movie. But it wasn't fiction. It was real.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn"
The deafening silence was broken when Asami yawned loudly. Surprised, we turned towards the source of the sound. Next to her, Koharu tilted her head to the side.
"So what are we going to do?" She asked. The same question was on everyone's mind. Looking at the map, Mayu said "Well, the map says that there's a hotel, so... I guess we can go to sleep and figure all of this out tomorrow."
Saruwatari nodded. "Yeah! We can't really find a way to escape if we can barely keep our eyes open. Let's meet..." He looked at the map on his E-Handbook. "In the dining hall tomorrow morning."
Just talking about sleep made me realize how tired I was. Both physically and mentally. Using the map on my E-Handbook, I made my way to the Hotel. Part of me still believed that this was a dream, and that when I woke up again I'd be back home, ready for my first day at Hopes Peak. But I knew that that wasn't true. This wasn't a dream. It was a nightmarish reality that we were going to have to face.
An abnormal situation caused by a single letter.