Prologue - Part 2/2 - The Game Begins
Sakuya, Ayumi and I continue our mission to find the remaining students by exploring the first floor. From the way up, on the left we what appeared to be a collection of bedrooms. We didn't spend much time looking around, but nothing seemed out of place there. On the opposite side of the floor, we found a few rooms.
A small gym room was located at the end of the hallway. A variety of equipment was scattered throughout the room, though as for what each of them do, I would have no idea.
Along the hallway was a laundry room, filled with pretty much anything you'd need to do your laundry. Washing machines, dryers, plenty of clothes lines, and so on.
The most noteworthy room appeared to be a large bath. Before entering the bath, there was a large room which is to be used as a changing room. This room contained shelves for clothes, small wooden benches, mirrors, and other various things you'd expect to see. This room had no doors, although signs were available to hang up to show that the bath was in use. In the bath area itself, was a large communal bath. By the looks of it, there was probably enough room for about ten people at one time.
Inside the bath, we found another container having crashed through the roof, however the repairs seem to already be in place.
We investigate the container, which is half submerged in water. I can't help but think this could potentially end badly. While I'm standing lost in thought, Sakuya has already stripped down to her underwear and steps into the bath.
"Wha- Sakuya? What are you..." I question her actions.
"Hm?" Sakuya asks, unaware of any issue. "We've got to find the button on her, and this is more preferable to getting out clothes soaked. And besides... I don't really want to strip naked..."
"But no issues to stripping down to your underwear?" Ayumi comments. "How bold..."
"When you think about it, a swimsuit and underwear are the same thing, so just imagine I'm wearing a bikini if it's that much of an issue." Sakuya casually replies, beginning to search for the button.
Ayumi just shrugs off the response. "Hey, you do you. And by that I mean you can go find the button."
As Ayumi says that, it appears Sakuya has discovered the button for the container, which prompts the top of the container to flip open. This would be the best case scenario, as it means the bath water wouldn't flood straight into the container.
"Whoa! Light!" a female voice calls out from inside the container. "Yu-Yu! Give me a boost!"
Almost immediately after we hear this, a girl jumps out of the container. The girl has short brown hair with pink highlights on each side. She wore a brown shorts, with a green shirt and black jacket. As we watch her jump out, we fail to warn her about the room and watch as she... falls directly into the bath water.
"Ah crap..." she comments, pulling herself out of the water. "We're in a pool or something?"
"A bath." I correct her. "Sorry, we should have warned you..."
"No, that's my fault. I was the one who jumped straight out of that thing without looking around first." the girl reassures me. "Hey! Mind your step, okay guys?"
"Yeah, we heard!" a male voice responds from within the container. "Can you give me a boost?"
"Treat me with some respect. I'm a Lord of the Evermore family, need I remind you?" another male voice responds.
"Fine... I'll boost you."
A guy with with short, well combed blond hair pulled himself out of the container. He was wearing a black suit, with the jacket buttoned up. He looks directly at me and speaks. "Catch." ...Before jumping directly at me, knocking me over and landing directly on top.
"Urgh... What the hell?" I ask, with him still resting on top of me.
The guy steps off of me. "I warned you." He then reaches a hand out to me. "But still... Sorry about that."
I take his hand and he helps me up.
"I suppose I should introduce myself." the guy responds. "I'm Lucas Evermore. They call me the Ultimate Lord, but in reality I'm actually just the son of a Lord. I'm from a far away European country that I won't name because a simple person like you would have never heard of it."
Lucas Evermore - Ultimate Lord
"Come on, we got you..." the girl from earlier speaks out. Looking over the girl, who is now also stripped down to her underwear, is sitting on Sakuya's shoulders, and is pulling another guy out of the container. He was well dressed with tidy brown hair, wearing a black suit, a white shirt, red tie, and had white gloves on.
"Thanks Ki-Ki." he responds. "But why are you naked?"
"Not naked. I've still got my bra and panties on." the girl reassures him.
"Have you no..." he speaks, before jumping back onto land. Upon safely landing, he resumes speaking. "Shame?"
"But my clothes are wet. What else should I do? Catch a cold?" she asks, almost rhetorically.
"That's not what I... forget it." the guy gives in. He then turns to face me. "Oh, thank you for freeing us. My name is Yu Hayase, and I'm the Ultimate Musical Conductor."
Yu Hayase - Ultimate Musical Conductor
"And my the girl who embarrassed herself is my childhood friend, Yuki." Yu continues.
"Heya! I'm Yuki Saito." the girl speaks stepping out of the water. "I'm the Ultimate Hacker!"
Yuki Saito - Ultimate Hacker
"Don't let my looks fool you. I'm pretty good with computers." Yuki explains. "Also, I can hack into your webcam and share embarrassing footage with the world if you get on my wrong side."
"Noted." I respond, unsure if that was a threat or not.
"By the way..." Yu speaks up. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you Mr Hare?"
"Kind of." I respond, looking around. "But the guy who'll explain it should be showing up any moment now."
"Upupupu..."
Yep. There we go. Monokuma shows up on cue, rising out of the water for some reason.
"Exactly!" the bear responds. "You know the drill. I'll explain to these guys, you go free the others."
From the entrance hall, it splits off into two rooms - a dining area and a communal area.
In the dining area, we find both a large kitchen, stocked with plenty of supplies, ranging from food, to condiments, liquids and cooking utensils. Pretty much everything you'd need. That's connected to the dining room, which is just a room filled with a large table and twenty chairs.
The room of note here would be the communal area, which is a large living room. The room is complete with sofas, tea tables, a couple of bookshelves, stacks of board games, lamps and a fireplace. Oh, and a giant container resting in the centre of the room.
Knowing the drill by this point, I instantly head towards the container and begin searching for the button. Ayumi and Sakuya do the same. Relatively quickly, I find the switch and one of the sides flips open.
The first to leave the container was a boy with well combed black hair, wearing a white shirt, red tie, and black trousers.
"Thanks for getting us out of there." he responds. "I'll keep my introduction short. You can call me Kyo. My last name is not important right now. My Ultimate talent is being observant."
Kyo - Ultimate Observer
"I'm not much of a people person, so if I act coldly, don't take it personally." Kyo adds, before walking off and silently looking around the room. What a strange person...
Looking around, the other people have already begun to introduce themselves to Sakuya and Ayumi. I walk over to join with the conversation.
"My... what a cutie." spoke a boy with a somewhat feminine appearance. He had brown hair at a short length, and wore a black shirt, black trousers, a white apron and a black beret.
Sakuya smiles. "You think I'm cute?"
"He's obviously talking about me." Ayumi is quick to speak up, glaring at Sakuya.
The guy shakes his head. "No, you're both hideous. I'm talking about this stud over here." He says this as he point to me. Both Sakuya and Ayumi are both shocked and insulted. "Mamoru Kurosawa. Ultimate Painter. If you ever want to pose nude for me, I'm free anytime."
Mamoru Kurosawa - Ultimate Painter
"Um... Thanks?" I respond, unsure as to what to say. "But I'm not into guys like that, sorry."
Mamoru chuckles. "Oh, that's fine. I expected you to be. But my offer still stands." He winks at me as he says this.
Now uncomfortable, I turn to face the other guy standing nearby. He has long brown hair, with slight stubble around his face, and wears a purple t-shirt, grey lounge pants, and is barefoot.
"Hey. Don't let it get to you too bad." he speaks to me. "He was flirting with that Kyo dude all the way here. He's probably just into those pretty boy types. Either way, I'm Akio Minai, the Ultimate Pacifist. All life is precious, so we need to keep our cool at all times."
Akio Minai - Ultimate Pacifst
I stare blankly, unsure as to what to say. "Uh... Okay? Are you even the right age for High School?"
Akio chuckles slightly. "Ha. Yeah, I was a third year before getting my invitation to the Ultimate Academy. But I'm just so chill all the time."
"What are you smoking?" I ask, confident in the response.
"Not cigarettes, that's for sure." he casually replies. "Helps me stay mellow."
"Upupupu..." Monokuma suddenly appears once again. "Drugs are bad kids. I'll make sure you don't get any of that while you're here."
"Makes sense." Akio calmly replies. "I should quit soon anyway."
"Well that was easy..." Monokuma replies and faces me. "Well, final one is outside. I'll brief these guys and you can finish your mission. Door is unlocked, but, uh... Good luck with those two..."
Monokuma is pointing at Sakuya and Ayumi, who are still frozen in shock at what Mamoru said about them.
"The nerve of that guy..." Sakuya sulks. "We're definitely hot."
"I know, right?" Ayumi agrees, also sulking. "Out of everyone here, we're like, the two sexiest girls here."
Ignoring their sulking, the three of us head outside the mansion to find... Water?
Looking around, it appears that this Mansion is located on the middle of... an island?! Ocean as far as the eye can see. There's still a good amount of land on this island, but there are no other forms of buildings here aside from the mansion, with the exception of what appears to be a tool shed and a gazebo. There's a dock, a small beach area, and a very large garden, but that's it. Oh, and... the container, set right in fronts of us at a plaza of some kind, near a fountain.
While the girls are still sulking, I approach the container and hear what sounds like... arguing? Quickly, I am able to find the button and the container swings open. Inside are three people, all arguing. Did Monokuma know about this? Is that why this one was last? I take a look at the people inside.
The first is a girl with long blonde hair in pigtails. Her outfit appeared to be a standard sailor's uniform that is worn by most high school girls, with a blue skirt and pink thigh socks. She did also appear to be wearing a yellow fleece jacket.
There was another girl there too. She had long blond hair (possibly bleached) and wore a pink dress, with knee high pink and black striped socks, and a black jacket. She also had a pink hair clip in her hair.
The last was a boy with short blue hair and glasses He wore dark blue trousers, and a buttoned up white jacket.
The three of them were in a deep argument.
"At least I'm not as stuck up as you!" the first girl screamed at the guy.
"Oh that's rich, coming from you." the guys responded. "Sleep with any new guys lately? Of course you have, you slut."
"Slut?! Just because I can get a harem of guys who want to sleep with me it does not make me a slut!" the girl screams back.
"It kind of does." the other girl retorts. "But you know what? Who cares. You're a bitch anyway." She freezes and a smile appears on her face. "Ultimate Bitch!"
"She's the Ultimate Slut." the guy responds. "Keep that bitch title for yourself."
The two girls look at each other, then look at the guy. "Ultimate Dick." the speak in unison.
I quickly step in. "Whoa! Hey! Calm down. What's going on here?"
When they hear me, they all silence. It's as if they were unaware that we even freed them from the container.
"We'll say a disagreement of opinions." the guy responds.
"Oh, you disagreed?" the first girl spoke. "I didn't hear over your large ego."
The bickering between the two continue, while the girl in the pink dress stares at me. "H... Hayato-kun?"
"Eh?" I ask, confused. Does this girl know me?
"It is you!" she screams in joy, embracing me with no hesitation. "We went to the same high school! We never spoke, but we were in the same year. Kiyomi Sora!"
"Oh, yeah. I didn't notice because of your hair." I respond, recognising her now. Kiyomi was in the popular student crowd at school. We never spoke. Ever. But we did share classes sometimes. Still, I'm surprised she knows who I am...
"You probably already know this, but I'm the Ultimate Voice Actress!" Kiyomi introduces herself.
Kiyomi Sora - Ultimate Voice Actress
"And I already know what your talent is!" Kiyomi interrupts my introduction. "Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist! I, uh... follow your blog..."
That explains how she knows about me then.
I quickly change the subject. "So what were you guys arguing about in there?" I ask, hoping to get to the bottom of it.
Kiyomi sighs. "I'd rather not say. It was pretty much everything... I don't think I can get along with those guys... Who are..."
Kiyomi begins to glare daggers at Sakuya and Ayumi, who stood behind me, and approached them. I decide to speak to the other two, still arguing.
"Hey! Quit arguing already." I interrupt. "I'm Hayato Hare, the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist. Now you introduce yourselves."
The guy sighs. "You don't suit my tastes, but whatever. I'll entertain you. Kou Amagi, the Ultimate Gourmet. Try not to bother me too much."
Kou Amagi - Ultimate Gourmet
Tastes? Judging by his attitude, I'm beginning to see what could have started the arguing...
The girl looks at me and smiles. "Sure. I'm Michiru Hino and I'm the Ultimate School Idol. Basically the most popular student at school wherever I go."
Michiru Hino - Ultimate School Idol
"By the way... Has anyone ever told you you look very attractive?" Michiru asks me, licking her lips.
Yes. Several times today, as a matter of fact. Why is every other person here flirting with me...
Before things get any more awkward, Monokuma pops up.
"Upupupu... Good job! Now I'm going to need everyone inside the main hall for a special announcement! Go go go! Oh, Hayato. You, Sakuya and Ayumi stay here for a moment though.
Monokuma gathers Sakuya, Ayumi and I together while the others (reluctantly) head inside.
"I wanted to give you your rewards for a job well done!" Monokuma exclaims. "Repairs are practically done now, so we can move onto more important things. Here's your rewards."
Monokuma hands each of us a different item. He hands me what appears to be a keycard of some kind, with the red Monokuma eye imprinted on the front. A key card for what, though, I have no clue.
Sakuya receives a single key, with the same red eye imprinted on the key's bow.
Ayumi is handed what appears to be an electronic key fob or something like that, anyway. The same red eye is imprinted on the back.
"What do they do? Who knows! Maybe they'll come in handy later. Or maybe not. Think of them as souvenirs!" Monokuma explains. "Anyway... we should head inside. Like I said, I have a special announcement to make and everyone needs to be present. Let's go!"
As we re enter the main hall, I notice that everyone else is already gathered there. Everyone is chatting among themselves, most likely introducing themselves to each other. Quickly enough, Monokuma jumps onto the stairs in front of us all and speaks up.
"Upupupu... Welcome everyone! This is the Monokuma Mansion!" Monokuma announces. "Some of you you know who I am already, but for those who don't... I am Monokuma! The owner of the Monokuma Mansion, which shall be your new home!"
Our new home? Part of me already knew this wasn't going to end well...
Monokuma continues his introduction. "You are all here as my invited guests! Forget about boring school life - Ultimates deserve better! Upupu... You will be staying here for the foreseeable future as my invited guests and... wait, did I already say that? Uh... crap. Where's my notes..."
We all stand there, watching in confusion as Monokuma takes out a bunch of small cards and begins frantically flipping through them.
"Oh, right!" the bear exclaims, putting the cards away. "You guys don't have a choice in the matter here. You're here until I say you can go. So when can you leave? Upupupu... When you commit murder!"
Silence fills the air, followed immediately by the whispers of everyone, clearly surprise by what Monokuma just said.
"I'm sorry..." Yosuke steps forward. "But did you just say you want us to kill each other?"
Monokuma shakes his head. "No no no. I don't want you guys to kill each other. Well, maybe a little. But that's just one option. You don't have to do it. If you want to leave, there is an alternative option which can minimise casualties - probably."
Monokuma jumps over us, landing at a table near the entrance to the living room. On the table is a rather odd looking stone bust of... Monokuma. He flips open the head of the bust to reveal... a switch?
"This switch here will initiate a meeting with me! When pushed, we will all gather in the main hall here, and the person who pressed the button will present their discoveries to me! Discoveries of what, you may ask? Why, the secrets of the Mansion, of course! Attendance is optional."
"So we present our findings on what we believe to be a secret of the Mansion?" Yosuke asks, confirming the situation. "And what happens then?"
"Depends." Monokuma reveals. "If you're correct, we will initiate the 'Final Trial'. More details on that later. If you're incorrect... you will be punished. I hate people wasting my time with random nonsense, so don't even think about 'trial and error'-ing this. I suppose we should go over the rules now..."
Making his way back to the stairs, Monokuma hands us all a small tablet and a door key.
"The keys are for your rooms here. Can't open them from the outside without a key, and I will charge you for replacements. What will I charge? Eh, haven't decided yet. As for the tablets... switch them on."
I switch on my tablet and am greeted with a personalised message greeting me by name.
"Now go to the 'Mansion Rules' page." Monokuma declares. "These are the rules you will all live by while you are here!"
I take a look at these rules Monokuma mentioned.
Rule 1 - The Monokuma Mansion is your home. You may leave the Mansion, but cannot leave the property.
Rule 2 - "Nighttime" is from 10pm to 7am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
Rule 2.5 - The exterior of the Mansion is off-limits at night, however with prior permission Monokuma may be willing to make an exception.
Rule 3 - Sleeping anywhere other than a bedroom is disrespectful to the owner and will be punished accordingly.
Rule 4 - With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the Monokuma Mansion at your discretion.
Rule 5 - Violence against Mansion Owner Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of our surveillance cameras.
Rule 6 - Anyone who kills a fellow guest will become "blackened" and will be allowed to leave, unless they are discovered.
Rule 7 - Any guest who wishes to expose a Mansion secret will be allowed to call a meeting in the main hall. Attendance is optional.
Rule 8 - Correctly exposing a secret will initiate the 'Final Trial' which gives all remaining guests the opportunity to leave.
Rule 9 - Incorrectly exposing a secret will be considered a waste of time and will be punished accordingly.
Rule 10 - A secret point system will be in place. Your number of points will determine the severity of your punishments, if applicable.
Rule 11 - Additional Monokuma Mansion rules may be added if necessary.
"Surveillance cameras, eh?" Yuki comments. "So you admit you'll be spying on us?"
"Upupupu... Duh. Gotta enforce those rules somehow." Monokuma laughs this off.
"So this whole 'blackened' thing..." Yu comments. "You're serious about us killing each other."
"Well I'm not saying you should..." Monokuma explains. "But... I'm also not saying you shouldn't. But if you do, I'll let you leave the property."
"But how?" I ask, stepping forward. "We're on an island, aren't we?"
Monokuma grins. "Well, yeah. But I'll give you a means to leave. Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna break my own rules. If I say you can leave, you'll be allowed to leave. Simple. Any more questions?"
Kyo steps forward. "Yes. Why specifically us? I'm going to assume we were all students to be at the Ultimate Academy of Verity."
"That's pretty much the main reason why." Monokuma explains. "What's more entertaining than doing this to a group of Ultimates? Upupu... If there are no more questions, then I suggest you all go check out your rooms and enjoy the rest of your days. Buh-bye!"
After Monokuma's departure, we all collectively agreed that we should return to our rooms as suggested to unwind after the long day, before meeting up again in the dining room at 8 for dinner. My room was located at the end of the hall on the left hand side, and was labelled with my name and a pixel image of me. All of the other rooms were labelled in a similar manner.
As I entered my own room, I took a quick look around. It appeared normal, with a desk, set of draws and wardrobe in the areas you'd expect them to be, a bed near the wall in the centre of the room, and a door leading to a bathroom containing a toilet, sink and shower. Naturally, there was a camera and miniature TV on the walls too, as with every room in the building. A digital clock is also on display next to the monitor. Weirdly enough, a large suitcase filled with many of my belongings rests against the wall.
Suddenly, the TV switched on and Monokuma appeared on the screen.
"Apologies for the announcement, but I feel like I should alert you all to some features of your rooms." announced the bear. "Firstly, no water will run during nighttime. This is so you cannot use this to your advantage should you commit a murder, but also because we don't want to waste water now, do we? Lastly, in the drawers, you shall find a toolkit if you are a boy, and a sewing kit if you are a girl. They are all unused and therefore still sealed. For the sewing kits, a diagram of the human body is shown with labels of the best places to stab if you're aiming to kill is provided. Also... please check the envelopes on your desk. Do not discuss the contents of the envelope with anyone as of right now. We will host a house meeting tonight at 9, where I shall explain the purpose of them. That's all for now. Buh-bye!"
And with that, the monitor turned off. Envelope, huh? Sure enough, there's one one my desk and it has my name written on it. Curious, I decide to open it.
Inside the envelope, I first notice a card. On the card is written... Oh crap.
Hayato Hare plagiarised some of his theories.
That was a dark part of my blog history that I had hoped to forget. This was a few years ago, and I have since deleted the posts and apologised to the original creators since, but this certainly is a dark part of my life I had hoped to forget. But the real question is... How does Monokuma know about this? I take a look at what else is inside the envelope. Photos? Sure enough, there's photographic evidence of this too. Screenshots of the long deleted posts and... the emails I exchanged with the original creators? Now I'm concerned. How did that bear get a hold of these...?
Thinking about that, I lay down on my bed. Looking at the clock, there's still a couple hours before we agreed to meet. I simply decide to rest for now, and attempt to process the what happened today.
End of Prologue - 18 Guests Remain
AN: And that's the prologue! Hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 1 Is coming soon. To respond to a question asked, Ayumi Shino is heavily based on a character from Corpse Party. I wanted to do a crossover between Danganronpa and Corpse Party, but honestly had no idea where to go with it, so I incorporated a character based on a character from Corpse Party as a little joke. Imagine that in this universe, Corpse Party is still a game, and Ayumi just happens to bear a striking resemblance to one of its characters - a resemblance which nobody (except Sakuya) notices.