This story was written for Please Insert Coin: A Nanami Chiaki fanzine.
Restart!
"And thus, I welcome you all to the Killing Game RPG of Hope's Peak Academy! Everyone, do your best to work together and survive!"
As the words of Magical Despair Mascot Usami washes over my perplexed classmates, I really can't help the smile splitting through my cheeks. Their voices mesh in a cacophony of chaos and thunder as I make Usami wave her wand like a scolding teacher whipping her yardstick. I steady my headset as I speak into it, and my altered voice emits from Usami's mouth.
"Tut tut! Don't talk back to your Dungeon Master. I worked really hard to make sure this game goes exactly as planned," she remarks, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks. She really is super cute when she's mad. I'm so glad I had Fujisaki design her in such an adorably deceiving way.
I lean away and stretch, hearing my back crack as the rebellious rabble resume their inane bickering. Their eyes flick to and fro, and their heads jerk at any sound, taking in whatever jargon someone else is shouting. Whether it's Sonia demanding order or Kuzuryuu spewing curses, they all exude their paranoia like poisons permeating in the air and contaminating everyone.
They really are weak players filled to the brim with distrust and anxiety. Those are emotions unfit for the purpose of my killing game, but I think that's okay for now. This is just the prologue. If those feelings can get the dice rolling towards my goal, then it will all work out. Even if we lose a few party members, I, the Dungeon Master, will be exalted in the end for bringing unifying everyone.
Some of them are still too aggro. Silly Owari flings herself at the gynmansium's stage and charges at Usami. Nidai's commands for Owari to stand down go unheard. Her fist curls around Usami's lopsided ear, and she heaves my poor mascot right off her podium. Gripping my controller, I wiggle the analog stick, and Usami's feet and head rapidly wiggle. Setting my free hand on my headset, I speak.
"Hey! This is against the rules! I said no violence against the Dungeon Master, Owari-san!" Usami proclaims, but Owari, too engrossed in her anger, refuses to stand down.
"Shut up! Do you think I'm gonna let you say whatever you want? You're just some pink bunny thing!" Owari snarls, and she raises her left hand, her knuckles burning white as she makes a fist. "I'm gonna wipe those stupid sparkles right out of your beady eyes!"
Oh, Owari! She's definitely not a team player. I remember when I organized fighting games Owari would always choose a solo act. She'd always get the strongest character even when it was supposed to be a team match and go off on her own.
Well, I guess I'll have to show her that the almighty Dungeon Master isn't someone to take lightly!
The keys produce a monotonous click as I hit them. I have Usami warn Owari that she should let her go before her entire body begins to glow a brilliant white. Owari sputters, her expression warping into balking horror as her brow knits together. She barks for answers that I will not give as I suppress the urge to laugh. This scene really is a fun throwback, isn't it?
Then, Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu shout for her to throw Usami. Owari glares at them, brow furrowing, demanding an explanation. Pekoyama rushes forward, ripping Usami out of her grasp. Kuzuryuu points to the ceiling, and Pekoyama whips Usami high above them.
I'm reminded of the fireworks show I brought everyone to see as Usami explodes in a flashing burst of pink and sparkles mingling with fiery smoke. Owari shrieks, and Pekoyama snatches her wrist, bringing away from the remnants of the explosion. I sigh, feeling myself become lighter as I immerse myself in those happy memories, everyone's smiling faces so distant now compared to the pale shock enveloping everyone.
I can't help but grin. Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama always had such an inspiringly poignant bond even during our peaceful days. They'll prove to be some incredible team players if only for each other. Even a supportive duo will work for my game as long as they level each other up.
I grab a new controller and toss away the old one. Hitting the start button, a new Usami appears from behind the podium. I speak into my microphone, warning the others in Usami's voice to always pay attention to the game's rules.
My players shiver like they've been outside in the cold for too long. They all seem to realize the severity of their situation as their pupils turn into pinpricks. Each breath becomes shuddery gasps. The mood completely shifts as the smoke filters out like a scene transition from a battle back to the overworld. They all have their big enemy to face, but they aren't nearly as powerful as they should be in order to fight me.
Complacency and morbid acceptance hits them all like a dark mage's lightning bolt. They're trapped in my pitch black dungeon without any escape ropes. Unless they work together to endure my masterful Killing Game RPG, they could be endlessly crawling in my labyrinth of despair and murders for the rest of their days.
I sigh, ending the prologue and sending Usami flying over their heads and out of the gymnasium. My players converse in a meager attempt at comradery, but it leads to a shouting match as expected. Koizumi is quick to rebuke Kuzuryuu for his unhelpful attitude, and Souda clutches his beanie as Kuzuryuu snarls that he would not hesitate to kill everyone. Komaeda keeps smiling and reassuring everyone they'll be okay, but I can already tell he's going to be the most uncooperative member of their ragtag party. His obsession with hope is definitely going to undermine my game's need for cooperation, so maybe he'll be the first one killed off. Who knows? Only time and rampant emotions can tell.
I get up and stretch once more, my back making another sickening crack. Grimacing, I hunch forward and take off my headset. I can finally sigh and groan in peace as I recover from the long, agitating minutes of sitting still and explaining the rules of my game.
As everyone departs on the screens before me, I really can't help the bubbling chuckle creeping up from the back of my throat. Even through all this, in a situation where cooperation is the gold key, everyone's so aggro. Any chance for a multiplayer vibe right in the beginning of this game is hopeless, but maybe, as the killings happen, they'll finally band together and properly engage with my game. They'll level up and become so much stronger until they reach a point where even I, the big bad boss, am left rendered unable to fight by a super effective move. They could even one-shot me, which leaves me reeling with glee as my giggling spills out through the fine spaces of my teeth.
I sit down and adjust the sleeves of my hoodie. Pulling them up to my elbows, I fiddle with the controls of my monitors through several key commands. As I type, I hear the whirring of the double doors leading to my control room open. I grin, looking over my shoulder at my most favorite guest.
"Nanami-san," Yukizome-sensei chirps, her bright, friendly aura feeling truly infectious, "how are you doing?"
"Great! I just finished up the prologue, and everyone's really angry like you said they would be!" I cheer, throwing my hands up like a little kid in a candy store. In my position, I must look like Monaka.
Yukizome-sensei clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth as the doors slide shut behind her. She huffs, "Honestly! A little memory wipe happens, and they're right back to the beginning."
"Yeah. All of their character development is gone." I stick out my tongue and direct my thumb to the floor. Sighing, I snatch a controller and have Usami fly through the one of the many hallways of the school.
Yukizome-sensei shakes her head and grips her hips, a fiery passion burning in her eyes as she looks down at me. "When you're done with them, then they'll really be united! Don't give up!"
I nod and smile, her words calming my apprehension, and I ask, "How are things on your end?"
She sighs, throwing her arms out. "Oh, the Future Foundation is still awful! Those silly branch heads can't work together no matter how hard I try. It's always that petty grunge between Andou-san and Kimura-san brewing in our meetings. Also, I think Sakakura-kun's temper will explode if Tengan-san says another thing about morality and balance."
I snicker as Yukizome-sensei groans and begins digging her fingers through her scalp. She flings herself into a rolling chair like some kind of dramatic actress desperate for an award. Her conversations with me are really my only other pleasure.
She lifts her head up, saying, "Oh, I just remembered something I needed to ask you. Have you heard anything from Enoshima-san?"
The mere mention of the mastermind's name chills me to the core. Goosebumps prick my skin. Hairs on my neck stand at full attention. I meander for a moment, reaching for my nearby Game Girl Advance when Yukizome-sensei sighs. Her head tilts like a concerned parent.
"It's okay, Nanami-san, to be scared of her, but in the end, we both know she's right." She reaches for me, slipping her palm on my knee. She blinks, and her eyes are swirls sucking me deeper into the void of hopelessness that had captivated me ever since the first spike stabbed through my body. Her other hand cups my cheek, and just like on that fateful day, she is warm and soft.
Of course Enoshima is right. She's always been right. Ever since I was "executed," Enoshima taught me a cruel truth.
Even with all of the bonds I forged with my friends, they could not save me. They were still disunited. They were too engrossed in their horror, crying for me while doing nothing about it. Any and all unity was shattered as soon as I hit the ground.
Even now, the blood cakes my body like a threadbare blanket. Sticky warmth paints the canvas of my body. The tattered remnants of my clothes itch my pale skin, and Kamukura merely leers down at me. Pain jolts me from every organ beginning to shut down, spilling out fluids and burning me from the inside out.
I was only saved on a whim from Enoshima, who just looked down at me as she forced my eyes open to watch that horrifying video and crooned, "See, Nanami-chan? Your hope in your classmates was misplaced. Just let this save file be erased, and start a new game."
Emptiness was my shell until Enoshima taught me the truth about despair while molding me into her perfect mini boss. Through despair, everyone could restart. Game overs never had to happen or even matter as long as the save files were destroyed.
It's okay. It was a lesson I had to learn, and it's a lesson they'll learn, too. Through this killing game I was tasked to create, I'll reforge everyone's bonds through the thickness of despair like building connections with other characters in a tactics game.
I rub my tired eyes. When I reopen them, I'm just like Yukizome-sensei. My eyes are spinning and so is the game I'm weaving. Everyone will soon learn the greatest unity through despair. If they couldn't save me back then because they were too aggro, then they'll learn how to save themselves and each other.
Who knows? Maybe they'll even come to appreciate the game I've laid out for them with all of its grand twists, turns, and topsy-turvy terror. Plot twists are always really fun especially when they can't be predicted.
"Nanami-san, are you good here?" Yukizome-sensei asks, her eyes wide with worry. "If you want, I can always stay and help look after things."
Shaking my head, I say, "No. I can't make you fret, too. I'll make you proud like before, Yukizome-sensei."
She lets her mouth fall open for a moment before her lips draw into a tight, toothy sneer. She looks so much like Enoshima. When I return her grin, I suppose I do as well, but that's all for the best. If it's for the sake of our cruel desires at the end of this despair, all of the pain and death will mean nothing to us.