Hope's Peak. What? Not clear enough? Okay, I guess I could elaborate. Hope's Peak is a highly regarded school that's stationed in Japan. It's known for having an amazing educational system and for producing people that can go far in life. It's been around for a long time, people would dream about going to this school and who could blame them? It's like a dream come true! Graduation meaning that you're going to successful in life? Sign me up right now!

Oh, right. They did.

That's another thing. This school works very differently. You can't apply to the school, the school has to invite you. The only way to do so is to become a 'Super High School Level' or as the school staff prefer. An 'Ultimate'. For the sake of popular demand, I'll probably just refer to them all as 'Super High School Levels'.

Wait. I didn't even introduce myself. I can be kind of forgetful so forgive me. My name is Jack Brisbane. I'm a student from the UK, more specifically, Scotland. My talent? That would be the 'Super High School Level Analyser', weird, I know, but it basically shows that I can take control of situations no matter what it may be and be able to push through things. That can be useful, right?

What happened was rather unexpected because students are usually from Japan but by random chance, one of the scouts for Hope's Peak saw my skills in action and wanted me to attend. That's I forgot to explain. Hope's Peak has scouts to look for students. There are two things they look for in a potential 'Super High School Level'. The obvious one is that you would be in high school by the next semester and the second is- you need to be the best in your field of work. It may seem like a strange way to do it but if you can even get into the school. That just makes you important.

So here's my situation. I'm stood outside the school gates, thinking to myself 'Am I really gonna fit in a place like this?' In the letter, it mentioned some of the other kinds of people that would be in the school. A choreographer, a full on band, a fencer. It's all so diverse and here I am like 'Oh, I'm the Super High School Level Analyser!' What are they supposed to say to that?! You know what though? I should just relax and try to enjoy myself. What's the worst that could happen…?

Just…one step…

*Bang!*

Jack's eyes widened as he felt a sudden dizziness hit him like a train. He started to wobble before completely collapsing onto the ground. Barely breathing.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Despair High.

"Urrrrrghhh…." He groaned as he lifted his head up. What he saw surprised him. It was a classroom. He was in the back row of a random classroom. He was just outside though. So what was the meaning of all this?

"Where…where am I…? This…is the school, right?" He scanned his surroundings, stopping and gasping slightly when he saw what looked to be iron plates on the windows, stopping any light from creeping into the room. Feeling a sudden rush of panic, he ran up to the iron plates, attempting to rip them off the walls in hope that they were there just to give him a small scare. They unfortunately didn't come off the walls.

"What's…what's going on…?" He felt himself go pale as a small jingle was heard, like what would be played to announce that school had started in a Japanese school.

"Ahem! Ahem!" An out-of-place, carefree voice echoed throughout the room, originating from a monitor above the classroom door. "Mic check! Mic Check! 1 2 3! Can everyone hear me? I wish for you all to gather in the gymnasium for our introductions. Please do not be tardy!" The monitor switched off.

A…an introduction…? Is this really just some prank being played by Hope's Peak Academy? He started to worry as he slid the classroom doors open and stepped cautiously into the hallway. It had been dimly lit but it was still lit up to the point where you could make out what was down the hall.

Jack slowly walked around, the feeling of anxiousness making him almost crumble as he found the wooden door that had been labelled 'gymnasium'. It was a good thing that everyone knew how to speak English…or at least read it. He held his breath, sealed his eyes shut and burst through the doors, harder than he should have which left him to fall onto the floor. He opened his eyes, now trying to adjust to the light, he could make out the figures of fifteen other students within the room. All eyes on him.

He smiled sheepishly as he stood up, closing the doors behind him. They all kept their eyes on him, making this strange feeling in his stomach start to grow. "Uh…h-hi…?" He said nervously.

"That's everyone I suppose." One of the girls said, ignoring Jack. Now everyone focusing on the blue haired girl on the bleachers. "I remember that the classroom had sixteen desks so if sixteen of us are here. That must be everyone."

"Yeah I…." A green haired girl with dreary looking eyes stopped for a few seconds. "Suppose…"

"So, like, what now?" One of the guys asked, pushing back his red Mohawk. "It's not like that announcement, like, told us anything other than to, like, come here."

"Well." The blue haired girl stood up, her Italian accent now showing. "I suppose introductions should be in order, should they not?" Everyone either shrugged or nodded at the idea. "I guess I'll go first." She paused before flashing a cute smile. "Ciao! My name would be Marzia!"

Marzia Ballinger- Super High School Level Skateboarder.

"Okay…" A tanned girl with black hair said. "Whilst we're at it, maybe we should day our talents as well? It could help us get a feel for everyone's personality!"

"Yes, alright." Marzia smiled. "My talent is being what Hope's Peak called the 'Ultimate Skateboarder' but it is my understanding that everyone calls it a 'Super High School Level', yes?" This statement took a few by surprise.

"You're a skateboarder?" Jack asked in surprise. Marzia gave a confused look.

"Is that so strange?" She tilted her head. "I never thought that being a skateboarder would be so surprising. The boys at the skate park would be acting the same way to."

"You have a rather different way of talking…" A black haired boy pointed out. "And from the accent…you must be from Italy, am I right?" He asked with a sense of excitement in his eyes.

"Oh, yes. That's right." The boy beamed at that statement.

"Yes! That's it, you're my best friend now! Oh, I didn't even introduce myself yet." The boy cleared his throat. "I'm Kirito, nice to meet you!"

Kirito Hishima- Super High School Level Foreign Languages Expert

"And my talent…? Its foreign languages! I can speak in Japanese, English, French, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Turkish, Swedish, German" He went on before the dark skinned girl cut him off.

"I think we should just move on now."

"Ack! Sorry, did I ramble on? I have a tendency to do that so just stop when I get ahead of myself."

"Keep it in mind." A dirty blonde boy remarked under his breath.

"Well, I'll go next!" The dark haired girl smiled. "I am Hiko Oowashima, and I won't let anyone get by me as the Super High School Level Security Guard!"

Hiko Oowashima- Super High School Level Security Guard.

"I am a very passionate woman that will do everything in her power to make sure that all of her students will be safe from harm. Just thinking about something happening to everyone whilst I'm around…it…it makes me…" She began to tear up. "No! I have to be strong! I am a strong woman!" She gritted her teeth as everyone watched her build her sprit up.

"Well…I think we should go next, though, do we need an intro?" A white haired boy smirked with three others to his right.

"Oh no, my beautiful, you're just amazing already…" One of the girls gawked.

"Well...I guess we should do it for formalities…" He pushed his hair back. "Names Kristopher Harvey and yes ladies, I am available…"

Kristopher Harvey- Super High School Level Vocalist

"Was that last part really needed?" The purple haired girl to his right asked, running her hair through the lighter purple parts of her hair.

"Hey, you never know. Some girls in here are kind hot…" She winked at Hiko who blushed in response. "So…I might get lucky…"

"I, I am a strong independent woman that doesn't need a man to make myself feel complete so back off you freaking perv!" Hiko snapped, still blushing furiously.

"Maybe 'back off' can be our forever…?" Kristopher grinned mischievously.

"I'll just get my intro over with." The purple haired girl drew the attention away from the boy. "I am Brittany Jackson. Pleased to meet you all."

Brittany Jackson- Super High School Level Bassist.

"I play bass for this stuck up flirt over here." She gestured to the boy who still had his eyes fixed on the security guard. "And these two are our other band members.

"Hey, so, I'm Lewis! I'll try to, like, get along with everyone but I can't, like, make any promises!" The guy that was basically just muscle with a head and the red Mohawk smiled.

Lewis Reinfield- Super High School Level Drummer

"Lewis Reinfield sounds like it sound belong to a high class Englishman, but instead it belongs to someone who looks like he took one too many steroids!" A shorter orange haired girl snickered.

"Gh- aw, why you, like, gotta be like that around people we just met?" Lewis frowned, clearly hurt by what she said.

"Alright, alright, sorry. I was just messing around. Anyway, I guess it's my turn!" She smiled. "I'm Whitney Jamison! You seem cool…well a few of you…"

Whitney Jamison- Super High School Level Guitarist

"Now, I have a question for everyone." Whitney put on a serious expression. "Who do you think it prettier? Brittany or me?"

"How we about you ask a real serious question?" Brittany interrupted. "Like…it wasn't just me that woke up in a classroom. Was it?" Everyone gave a surprised expression as if to say 'you too?' "I thought so…it's rather curious, isn't it? And I suppose everyone else had lost consciousness upon entering as well?"

"Y-yeah…" Jack said, wide-eyed. "So it wasn't just me. Everyone else experienced that dizziness as well?" There were a few nods.

"Yes, but moving on…" A grey haired boy with the padded outfit switched the attention over to him. "Hello everyone. My name is Kouya Inajima."

Kouya Inajima- Super High School Level Fencer

"I guess it isn't entirely obvious by my outfit but I'm a fencer. I had my fencing sword with me but…it looks like it had been taken away from me…" Kouya frowned. "Like my cell phone."

"Really?" Marzia pressed. "So that would another thing to add to the list of things that I thought only happened to me…but didn't" She rubbed the back of head at the awkward sentence.

"Yes, my cell phone disappeared as well…" Kirito added. "But why did take them from us? I don't get it at all…"

"Just another mystery added to the pile…" A brown haired boy in black robes commented. "But alas, we need such mysteries because without mysteries, how would we really be able to know anything…?" Everyone was thrown into silence at that. "Oh…and my name is Ishida."

Ishida Iwataba- Super High School Level Philosopher

"By my statement. Could anyone guess that I'm a philosopher…?" He smirked. "Yes, philosophy is like an art, if you would. I believe that philosophy is a true way of living for without philosophy. What is life…?"

"Now you just sound like you're trying to be a poet." Whitney remarked.

"Grh!" Ishida's eyebrows furrowed. "Do not compare me to such low levelled silver tongued slimballs!" He hissed.

"What?" Kristopher chuckled. "Got something against poets?"

"A deep hatred like none of you would believe." Ishida spat. "Never compare me to a poet. EVER!"

"Alright, alright. Just, like, calm down already." Lewis told him. Ishida took a deep breath and reverted to his normal expression.

"Well…I guess I should go next then." The blonde girl with the black rectangle-framed glasses dressed in a lab coat spoke. "My name is Abigail…I think that's all I really need to say for an introduction, right?"

Abigail Young- Super High School Level Scientist.

Jack had recognised her accent right away. "You must be from Scotland as well, right?" Abigail gave a nod but paid almost no attention to him.

"I came here as a scientist. I'm known for my out-of-the-box experiments that no scientist would even think let alone try to pull off. Due to such feats, I was labelled as the Super High School Level Scientist. I think that would be everything now." Abigail then turned to the figure to her right. They had thick gloves on and a wielding mask covering their face. "And you are…?"

"H-huh…?" A muffled male voice stuttered out. "O-oh, my name is H-Hiroyuki Ikusawa…"

Hiroyuki Ikusawa- Super High School Level Flame Worker

"Just…what are you supposed to be…?" Brittany asked, slightly confused by his outfit.

"I, I'm a f-flame worker…" He replied timidly.

"What would be a flame worker…?" Marzia asked.

"S-someone who uses glass to create m-models…"

"Isn't that called lampworking though? Why are you a flame worker…?" Jack asked.

"W-w-well its c-called f-f-flameworking and t-t-torchworking as well s-so I guess they just picked one and gave me that name…" He shuffled uncomfortably.

"Maybe we should just move on before he starts crying." Whitney giggled.

"Whitney, play nice…" Brittany told the short girl.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm just messing with him. Not like I actually mean that…entirely…"

"Hmm…an introduction…?" A girl covered head-to-toe with different kinds of necklaces, anklets, bracelets and so on folded her arms. "Well…my name would be Jasmine Jones, good to see that I can be among others that have amazing talents like me…"

Jasmine Jones- Super High School Level Jewellery Maker

"Hey there." She walked up to Jack holding out a necklace with a small sapphire decorating it. "I think this might really suit you, try it on."

"Um…no thanks, I don't really-"

"Take the fucking necklace." Jasmine's face hardened.

"Oh, okay." Jack quickly picked it up and put it on.

"Very fitting." Jasmie smiled. "So who's next? Um…" She scanned the room. "How about you!" Jasmine pointed at a girl wearing sweatbands and her silver hair tied back with a scrunchie.

"Hm?" It was the girl that had been admiring Kristopher a few minutes ago when he was making his introduction. "I'm Kiki, nice to meet you."

Kiki Jou- Super High School Level Choreographer.

"So, Kristopher." She immediately turned her attention to the singer. "Single, are we?"

"Yep, what about it?" He didn't seem too interested in her. His attention was more or less still fixated on Hiko.

"Well I was just wondering if-"Before Kiki finished her sentence, a wild yell was heard as a wire snapped, dropping several buckets willed with a suspicious substance onto Kiki.

"And boom goes the dynamite!" A boy from the corner of the gymnasium cackled. He ran up to Kiki and smacked the back of the bucket with enough force to knock the choreographer over. "Oops…might have overdid it right there…" He half frowned.

"And just who might you be…?" Hiko asked, slightly annoyed but mostly trying to get the bucket off of Kiki's head. "Dang, girl, you have a huge skull to be wedged inside of here!"

"Oh, name's Satoshi Krio." The purple haired boy replied.

Satoshi Kiro- Super High School Level Prankster.

"Any guesses as to what my talent is yet? No? Alright well I'll tell you! I'm the Ultimate Prankster…or Super High School whatever." He chuckled. There was a pop and clang as the bucket was removed from Kiki's head, the girl now covered in the red goo.

"Ew…" She complained. "What is this…?"

"With this sort of texture…" Abigail examined it. "Is…is this a red wax…?"

"Yep! Made it myself!" He smiled cockily. "Sorry 'bout that, had to make an entrance in some way or another. Luckily, in the state the wax is in, it should wash off…just make sure you do it before it becomes solid."

"What happens if it becomes a solid?" Kiki asked concerned.

"Umm…things become painful…I'll say that much."

"Wait, what do you mean by-"

"So, there's just you left!" Satoshi pointed to the dreary eyed girl with the green hair.

"Oh….me…?" Her head swayed to the side. "My name is…..my name…oh…..me….?" She repeated. "My name….is…..Okami…."

Okami Shushima- Super High School Level Bug Collector

"So….." She went silent. "…..do any of you…..like bugs…..?" She asked.

"Umm…bugs…?" Jack asked, slightly uncomfortable around the girl.

"Hmm….?" Her head swayed to the other side. "What about…..bugs….? Do you….like bugs….?"

"You just asked us that..." Brittany pointed out. Okami paused.

"Asked you what…?"

"Oh we're just gonna go in circles with this one…" Jasmine sighed. "I'm pretty sure that she's got something to do with bugs…"

"Mmhm….." Okami nodded slowly. "I'm…..a…..bug collector…"

"Well. One more person…" Marzia pointed to Jack. "Who might you be….?" She asked him sweetly.

"I'm Jack Brisbane. The…the Super High School Level Analyser…" (That really does sound lame….)

"Analyser…?" Jasmine repeated. "Sounds cool! What exactly does that mean though?"

"It means I can analyse a situation and take control of it easily to get understandings of everything. It sounds kinda dumb but it's what I'm stuck with."

"Well. You could have worse." Satoshi folded his arms. "Like…I dunno…mathematician…?"

"Honestly?" Whitney giggled. "Where did you get something as straightforward as that? You must be pretty simple minded."

"One more and you go in corner." Brittany threatened. "But, now that we've all introduced ourselves. Let's move onto the most important thing."

"T-the most important thing…?" Hiroyuki repeated. "A-a-are you possibly t-talking about the um…y-y'know…metal plates…?" Brittany nodded. "T-thought so…"

"That's true…" Ishida mumbled. "Why the heck are they on the windows? I can't be the only one who feels uneasy about it."

"And, like, the announcement just a minute ago. Like, what was that about?" Lewis asked.

"Weeeeeeeeellllllll!" A voice echoed suddenly. "Maybe we should move things along! Keeping you all waiting is just being plain mean!" All the students turned to face the stage. The place the voice was originating from. It was a tense moment of silence before a black and white figure shot up into the air and landed perfectly on the podium.

The students all paused at the sight. A plush bear, one half white, one half black, stood on the podium. A red eye that seemed to be scanning them all. It was a few seconds before one of the students dared to speak. "What…what the hell is that…?" Ishida asked.

"It's a stuffed bear, clearly. Was it the one that the voice was emanating from though?" Marzia tilted her head in thought.

"You guessed right, toots!" The bear leaned forward. "And I ain't some stupid bear! I'm Monokuma! The headmaster of this academy!" Everyone went silent at those words. "What?"

"A stuffed bear as a headmaster?" Whitney laughed. "Is this one of Satoshi's pranks?"

"Nope." Satoshi said with an uneasy tone. "This isn't my doing, I'm tellin ya…"

"Also, I am not a stuffed bear! I am Monokuma! I do not like to repeat myself so smash it into your skull!"

"Ooo~" Marzia's eyes lit up. "Is this some sort of Japanese welcoming party for the new students?"

"Of course not!" Monokuma snapped at the skateboarder. "This is the announcement of the beginning of your new lives!"

"N-new lives?" Jack paled.

"Surely you've all been wondering about all the metal plates, right? Well they're there for a reason. To stop you all from escaping." This made everyone freeze. Or more like they paralysed. "It's not just the window either, the entrance to the school has been blocked by a huge metal plating and security system."

"W-why…?" Hiko started. "Why would you be keeping us in here…?"

"So you can start your new lives in here! I just went over that part!"

"What do you mean by new lives exactly?" Abigail asked.

"Oh…" Monokuma's eye sparked red. "Just a little game…called the 'School Life of Mutual Killings'…nothing to big…" That had done it. Everyone went completely pale.

"K-k-k-k-k-k-killings…?" Hiroyuki stuttered out.

"C-calm down!" Jasmine yelled. "This just has to be some sick joke that Hope's Peak are playing on us!"

"Joke…? Who would go this far just to say it's a prank in the end. Not even Satoshi would do something like that!" Monokuma cackled.

"Yeah, that's true…" Satoshi admitted. "Even I would know when to stop…"

"So you're saying this is legit?!" Whitney yelled. "No way, you're lying! There's no way that the police would let this happen!"

"The police…?" Monokuma tilted his head. "I'm afraid that the police won't be having any authority any time soon, kiddo! You're stuck here and if you want to leave. You better be ready to get your hands dirty."

(What…what the hell is going on? Surely this is…but, at the same time. This could be real life, couldn't it? Looking around. Doesn't seem that there would be anywhere for someone to monitor us aside that bear. The red eye seems to be like a camera…) Jack scanned the surrounding area and noticed the camera that was pointed to the group from the back of the room. (So…they're looking at us, like spies. Those monitors are clearly for communicating to us so with all that…)

"This isn't any joke…" Everyone looked at Jack. "It can't be. There's been too much effort put into this to be a prank." He felt a hand on his shoulder as someone forcefully turned him to face them.

"And you're just gonna accept it like that?!" Ishida yelled at him right at his face. "You're just gonna believe that we've been trapped in here so we can basically fight to the death?!"

"Do we have any other choice right now? I'd love to hear some philosophical thing that could change my mind by with things as they stand. I think everything going on is legit."

"He's the Ultimate Analyser, yes?" Marzia recalled. "Or…Super High School Level…but what I mean to say is that, if my English is good enough to understand what 'analyser' means. It means that he can understand these situations better than any of us. Right?"

"M-Marzia's right…" Hiroyuki's quivering voice squeaked out. "H-he'd understand this better t-than any of us…"

"But, is the whole point of this is to kill someone, why did someone take my sword?" Kouya pondered.

"Didn't want to make that easy!" Monokuma laughed. "But, as for actual ways of killing, there are no limits on the method. Bludgeon, boiling, stabbing, poisoning, cutting, hanging, decapitation, cursing, defenestration, freezing, crushing, drowning. Do what you want! I don't care!"

"I….have a que…..question…." Okami said in her painfully slow and dull voice. "…..are there any….any….bugs in this school…..?"

"That's what you want to know?!" Abigail face-palmed. "That of all things is the most important topic to you?!"

"Are….there….?" Okami ignored the ranting scientist.

"Um…you might find a spider somewhere…" Monokuma shrugged.

"Spiders….? Sounds…sounds nice….." Okami didn't smile or change her tone so it was hard to tell if she was pleased by what Monokuma had told her.

"But why…?" Kiki whimpered. "Why would you want to trap us in here just to kill each other off?!"

"Why…?" Monokuma paused before his eyes sparked red again. "Despair…that's all…" Everyone was thrown into another confusing silence. "So, if that's everything. I'll leave you all by your lonesome self. Also, you'll need these" Monokuma walked off stage and came back a few seconds later, with a small tray with sixteen identical devices. "These are your ElectroIDs, you'll need these for your school life. You only get one, so don't misuse it! But for now, as Marzia would say. Ciao!" As he said that, the tray dropped and Monokuma vanished.

The students hesitated from a few minutes before each picking up their respective ElectroID. Turning the gadget on flashed the name of the owner and then showed several different tabs such as 'Report Cards' and 'Regulations'.

"Regulations?" Whitney scoffed. "How ironic is that?"

"Well, every school has to have its own set of rules." Hiko clicked on the tab and started to read through the rules. "Hmm…looks like he has this thing called 'night-time' in which places like the cafeteria are off limits. That goes from 10pm to 8am. Also says that if someone was killed among us and the killer was another one of us then they get 'promoted'."

"What does 'promoted' mean?" Marzia asked. "I've heard of promotion but not promoted. Are they similar?"

"I have a feeling that being promoted in this situation would mean something along the lines of everyone finding out that they've killed someone." Abigail theorised. "Though, I suspect Monokuma will leave it to us to find the killer."

"Yeah. He wouldn't make it that easy, would he?" Kouya bit his lip. "…no, defiantly not." He tapped his chin in thought as he paced around the room. "The biggest worry is going to be night-time. Don't you think?" There were a few nods from the group. "Well. Let's make up our own rules. Nobody is allowed out of their room during night-time, naturally this rule can't really be forced. It's more like an agreement between us."

"It's better than nothing, right?" Jasmine looked around. "I'll agree if everyone else is going to agree."

"I agree." Abigail fixed her glasses and smirked. "One-hundred percent. Anything we can use to stop the murders needs to be used now. Prevent murders at the start and they're less likely to happen in the future."

"Why do you say that?" Ishida asked curiously.

"Because, over time we'll get to know each other and we'll create bonds. Those bonds will keep that 'despair' Monokuma is after away from us and we won't have the ability to kill each other."

"Hehe…funny…" Okami's voice surprised everyone. "It's so….cute….to see ever…..every….everyone acting all…..friendly. Of course…it won't last."

"What the hell are you saying?!" Kiki yelled. "Are you saying you don't trust anyone here? That's horrible, Okami!"

"Humans…feel the need to…survive…" She grinned an evil grin but her eyes remained unchanged. "If you need….to kill….to survive. Someone…..will do it…." Brittany's eyes narrowed at this.

"So what you're saying is; everyone better watch out for you. You defiantly sound dangerous when you come out with statements like that." Okami laughed inwards at Brittany's words.

"I…never said…..that I was going…..to…..kill someone. Stop putting….words in my…mouth….." Her arm swung up in a circular motion and landed on her cheek. She tilted her head slightly as if she wanted to look deep in thought, though her eyes seemed to stop anyone from thinking that. "Ah…." She giggled. "I do hope…someone…..dies soon…it's been so….long since I saw…a dead body…." This made everyone step back.

"Y-you've seen a dead body?!" Kiki yelped. "That's just creepy with a capital 'C'!"

"This girl is, like, seriously psycho!" Lewis gulped.

"Psycho…? You have…no idea….." Okami walked, but looked more like she was dragging herself to the gymnasium door and saying. "The dorms…are in the…..hotel area…I bid you…..all a good…..night….." The door slammed behind her leaving the fifteen teens in the gym in shock of what she had been saying. The only one that didn't seemed phased by it was, surprisingly, the jewellery maker. Jasmine.

"We should steer clear of her at all costs. Agreed?" She asked everyone. Most nodded but others, such as Hiroyuki, Ishida, Marzia and Kiki stayed silent, now as white as a ghost. "Good. Okami said that there were dorms in the hotel area, right? I saw the sign for that place near the classroom I woke up in. Let's go, we've all been through a lot today after all."

She's right, we have. From Okami's speech to being told that we'd have to murder someone to leave here, this place is just going everywhere on the scale of insanity. I know I'll need to be weary of some, but, I can't be too doubtful, that would be the worst thing to do. Mutual Killings…there's probably no such thing….