Reijirou paced anxiously behind the curtains of the small stage inside the mess hall's dining room. Monokuma was already up above the stage ready to jump down and greet the students, but Reijirou had to wait until his 'boss' introduced him to come out on the stage. "It'll add to the drama!" Monokuma had said, "And remember; I'm your boss. You do what I say, you keep any negative opinions about your situation to yourself, or you get the ax! Literally!"

And I am not gonna risk dying. No thank you, Reijirou now thought bitterly, At least I have a TV monitor so I can see what's going on out there. He glanced to the monitor. The last few students had finally filed in. Thankfully he was fast with names and faces, so he recognized each of them from when he studied their profiles. Shiori Miura, Hideyo Mitsugi, and Isao Iwaka were at the front, while Kashie Hatsume and Kenji Ikeda hung back. The rest mingled around in groups, murmuring nervously about their situation.

Reijirou jumped when he heard the 'thunk' of Monokuma dropping down in front of the students. He watched as the students gazed at the stage in shock. Although one student looked strangely happy…

"A teddy bear!" Rika Ohara cried in delight, immediately rushing towards the stage. Thankfully Karen Oshiro grabbed her arm and held Rika back.

"I am not a teddy bear!" said Monokuma. Because of the angle of the camera for the monitor, Reijirou couldn't see the bear, but from the tone of his voice he was annoyed. "I am Monokuma, the director of this fine camp! Welcome to the Talent Camp for Penultimate Students!"

Rika quickly raised her hand. "Can I hug you Mr. Monokuma?"

"No!" said Monokuma and Karen in unison.

Gorou Ishikawa walked up the stage and said, "Now hold on. Are you seriously claiming to a real talking bear? That makes no sense!" He turned back to the rest of the students. "It's obviously a robot or animatronic or something. Someone else is controlling it." Reijirou nodded slightly. My thoughts exactly. If we could just find them…

"Well, aren't you a smarty pants!" laughed Monokuma, "But frankly it doesn't matter to you bastards! What matters is that I'm in charge!"

"Like hell your in charge! I ain't listening to you, ya freak!" yelled Akiko Katsumi from one corner, "You kidnapped us! And I'm gonna get you to let us go if I have to beat it out of you!" With that she ran towards the stage.

"Ah ah ah!" Monokuma chided. Suddenly a red dot appeared on Akiko's chest and she froze, looking up at the stage. "Violence against me or my co-worker is against the rules. And the punishment for breaking that particular rule is death! You didn't think I wouldn't have a way to protect myself, right?"

So he must have a gun installed inside him somewhere, Reijirou realized, We can't touch him. Damn it!

Remy Lander calmly lead Akiko away, but she continued glaring at Monokuma, fists shaking at her sides. Kokoa Uzumaki numbly handed her a chocolate.

"Wait a second!" said Shiori, "You mentioned a co-worker? There's someone else who's working with you?" More chatter rippled through the room and Reijirou straightened up.

Monokuma chuckled. "That's right! I was going to wait until I had explained the purpose of this camp to introduce him, but I suppose there's no use waiting. Please give a warm welcome to your Guidance Counselor, Mr. Reijirou Saiki!"

That's my cue, Reijirou thought as he stepped through the center of the curtains. Monokuma stood just to his left in a dramatic presentational pose, and the students stood out on the floor, once again stunned.

"Mr. Saiki here will be helping you with any issues you may have! He can mediate disputes, help with feelings and junk, and most importantly!" Monokuma turned back to the students, his red eye glinting, "If you misbehave too much, I will send you to him for punishment!"

Before Monokuma or anyone else could speak, Reijirou stepped forward. If I don't get a word in now there's no way any of them will trust me! "Hello students!" he said, keeping his voice calm but enthusiastic, "It's very nice to meet you all. I want you to know that your the safety and wellbeing is my top priority. I know this situation is...strange, but I hope you can come to me if you need help." He saw a few students relax a bit, but others still looked suspicious. It's a start I guess, He thought as he stepped back. At this point, he didn't have anything else he wanted to say while Monokuma was still around.

"Are you going to get the the point or what?!" called Akiko, still agitated.

"Yeah!" added Homura Ideki, "Why did you bring us all here?!"

"I was getting to that!" said Monokuma, "Geez, you teens never know how to be patient."

"Get on with it then," muttered Takeo Ikeda from where he leaned against the wall.

Monokuma huffed slightly. "Alright, you bastards! You all are here to hone your talents! All of you were chosen because you have talents, but have not reached your full potential! For one reason or another, you've all fallen short!" Some of the students grumbled angrily at that, but a few nodded sheepishly. "At this camp, you will be put to the test. You will face a challenge the likes of which you've never seen! If you can make it out of this camp, you can truly call yourself an Ultimate!"

"And what is this 'challenge'?" asked Haruto Hanko. "Despite what I you think, I can promise you I am already capable of defeating it."

Reijirou braced himself. Here it comes…

Monokuma grinned. "It's a Killing Game!"

There was a moment of tense quiet as everyone processed the announcement. Once again, Rika broke the silence. "But I don't want to kill anyone!" she said in clear confusion.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Take Muto asked, exasperated, "C'mon, I could be doing things that actually matter!"

Nearby Seihiko Ginnaga trembled, nearly falling over. "How can you be so calm?! This freaky bear has us trapped and wants us to kill each other!"

Take laughed and clapped Seihiko around the shoulder with one arm. "Don't be so worried. I can protect ya, if you're worried."

Kokoa side eyed Take and muttered, "I'd be more worried that you'd steal from me."

"Are any of you seriously thinking this 'Killing Game' is gonna happen?!" shouted Gorou over the commotion, then turned back to Monokuma, "And you! Why the hell should we listen to a thing you say?! Or even believe you?"

"Yeah motherfucker!" Akiko agreed, "Give us one good reason to play along with you!"

"You want a reason?" Monokuma asked innocently. "I can give you one good reason! It's the only way to escape to the outside world!"

Gorou scoffed. "Again, why should we believe you?"

"We all have human decency," added Isao, finally recovered from his shock, "We can wait for someone to rescue us."

"Rescue? Hah! No one's gonna find you bastards! And it doesn't matter if you believe me! As long as one of you believes it, the Killing Game will begin sooner or later!"

"That...that's stupid!" shouted Homura, "How would we even do it? Just start beating each other up like in those old movies?"

Reijirou had to admit he was curious about that too. Depending on what the rules of this 'Killing Game' were, he might be able to sabotage it without Monokuma realizing it. But if it was a free for all...

Monokuma waggled his finger disapprovingly. "No no no! This Killing Game is far more sophisticated! In order to escape from the Talent Camp for Penultimate Students, you must kill another student and not be caught!"

Not be caught? Just that just mean if no one sees you do it you escape? Reijirou wondered.

Shiori echoed his thoughts. "How...how are we supposed to go about catching them then? We aren't police officers or detectives or anything!"

"When someone commits a murder, I will give all of the students time to investigate the case!" Monokuma explained, "Once that time is up, the students will all have to find the identity of the culprit, the 'blackened,' at a Class Trial!"

"And what happens once we catch them?" Haruto inquired, sounding strangely calm.

Monokuma laughed. "Confident in your abilities, eh? I think I'll save that for when the first murder occurs! Now, all of the camps rules are in the Monopads I provided for you, so you have no excuse not to know them! Now go on! Prove your worth in the Killing Game and get right to it! Upupupupu!"

Still laughing, Monokuma opened a hatch in the floor of the stage and hopped down out of sight, leaving Reijirou alone on the stage. He looked out at the students, some still in shock, others shaking with panic or anger. He took a step forward, then froze. What do I do? What do they need right now? Crap, they all probably need different things, what should I—?

A choked, gasping sob from the back of his room drew his attention. Kashie hide under her fur coat, but he could still see her trembling fiercely. "I don't— I don't want this...I just...wanna go home…!" Her breathing was ragged and shallow.

Reijirou quickly jumped down from the stage and went over to Kashie, kneeling down beside her. "Hey Kashie, you need to slow your breathing, okay?" he said, "I'm gonna count, and you're gonna breath in for four…" He continued leading Kashie through some basic breathing exercises, and slowly she got her breathing back to a more normal rate. Eventually she peeked her head out from under her hood.

"...Thank you," she whispered.

"Just doing my job," replied Reijirou as he helped her stand back up.

"Yeah right!" shouted Gorou as he stormed over to the guidance counselor. Despite his short stature, he radiated hostility. "There's no way your 'job' is really to help us if you work with the freaky bear! I bet you're here to play up our insecurities and sow conflict behind our backs! Sure, you act all helpful, but you're really here just make things worse!"

"I— I would never—" Reijirou stumbled over his words. He's kind of right; I'm sure that is what Monokuma wants from me, besides punishing them for breaking the rules, he thought, But I can't tell him I was kidnapped too or Monokuma will kill me and then they'll be alone and I don't want that and— He collected himself. "I gave my word before, and that wasn't just a show for Monokuma; the safety and well being of all of you students is my top priority, and I will do my best to show that in my actions."

Some of the students who still looked nervous seemed to relax a fraction at that. Hideyo separated herself from from Shiori's arm, and Kenji released the self protective embrace he had been holding himself in. Karen, Akiko, Haruto, and Kokoa still looked skeptical, but not hostile.

"Maybe our resident interrogator can figure out what this guy's real deal is," said Take with a glance towards said interrogator.

"Yeah, Skull," said Akiko, running up to the interrogator with a wild grin on her face, "Just tell me where to punch and I'll make him hurt!"

"Call me Ikeda, and did you forget he is also protected by the rules?" Akiko scowled. "While I certainly have some questions for our dear counselor, I would rather ask them...privately." With that Ikeda finally left the wall and looked at Reijirou. "Is there a time we could meet in your office?"

Reijirou blinked in surprise, but quickly caught himself staring. "Of— of course. I was actually just about to announce something about that." He turned towards the whole group again and cleared his throat. "I'm going to be in my office every day in the mornings right after breakfast and afternoons until about 3:00 in the afternoon. If you need to talk to me you can see me then for private sessions. The rest of the day I will be setting up activities to help us bond as a group and learn to trust and care for each other. Of course, if there is some other sort of problem you can come find me and I'll do my best to help."

I'm so glad I planned this speech out before hand, Reijrou thought, sweating imperceptibly (he hoped). But he had used his time before this meeting carefully. He needed time to devote to talking to the students individually, to gain trust and help with individual problems. However, the only way he could think of to stop a killing game was to get everyone in the group to care for each other. If everyone could be at least friendly with each other, or eventually get to point of really trusting each other, then even someone...callous would find it difficult to find someone they'd be willing to kill.

Gorou still frowned. "You've still given me no reason to trust you." He glanced pointed around the room. "Or any of you, frankly. I'm out."

"Wait, Gorou!" Shiori called, but Gorou had already left through the mess hall's double doors.

"That cold-hearted asshole!" shouted Akiko, "When I see his smug face again, he's gonna get real acquainted with my fist!"

"Such… violent conflagration is unnecessary," said Karen, "While I will agree he was being...overly hostile, physical violence will not change his mind."

Akiko laughed sarcastically. "That's rich coming from you, Dictionary! You act all sophisticated and crap, but you're whole talent is about beating people up!"

"Shut up! You don't get it!" yelled Karen.

"I don't really understand what we're arguing about," declared Rika, "But you shouldn't be mean to Karen!"

Sensing the possibility of a real fight breaking out, Reijirou moved to stand between the two girls. "Now we don't need to be—"

"I— um!" Kashie said suddenly, "I need some time to think! Sorry!" And she rushed out as well.

"Kashie!" Shiori said in protest. She straightened herself and shouted, "No more fighting and no one else leave yet! I have something to say!"

Reijirou turned to her in surprise as the rest of the students quieted. I didn't expect her to be the assertive type.

"I think, regardless of his intentions, Mr. Saiki's idea of us bonding is a good one!" Shiori declared. "Distrusting each other, going off alone, that's only what Monokuma wants!"

Haruto looked somehow both intrigued and annoyed. "And how would you know that? Monokuma never said as much."

"But this is a Killing Game he wants us to play!" she said, "Distrust? Fear? Those things makes people more desperate, more willing to hurt someone to get out. We need to become closer so no one will want to kill, no matter how long it takes for us to be rescued!"

Isao clapped his hand on her shoulder, smiling. "All we need to do is wait."

"Yes yes!" added Hideyo. "We can work together to make it through this!"

"Yay! Teamwork!" cheered Rika, pumping her arms in the air.

"I second that!" added Homura, high fiving Rika with her good hand.

Reijirou looked around at the rest of the students. Kokoa and Karen seemed cautious, but they had relaxed a fraction. However, Karen still glared at Akiko, who returned the gesture. Remy's face remained so blank it was unreadable. Kenji still looked very nervous, but also torn somehow. Seihiko smiled weakly as Take clapped him on the back.

"A regular love fest, ain't it?" Take said, "Don't expect me to hang with ya'll all the time, 'cause I need my space, but I'm up for some group bonding shit, right buddy?"

Seihiko seemed shocked that Take was already calling him 'buddy.' "Uh, right!" he agreed.

Haruto laughed, his voice light but with a hint of a harsh edge. "We won't even need bonding and all that nonsense, because I'm going to find us a way to escape! Now, dear Shiori, since you have said your piece, I think I will be off. Can't solve this puzzle without all the pieces, now can I?" Haruto left, still laughing condescendingly.

"Oh, I don't like him, no no," said Hideyo.

"But if he manages to find a way out, it could be helpful," countered Isao.

Shiori looked a bit hurt at Haruto's words, but nodded. "I guess an escape plan isn't a bad idea either. Anyway, could we all meet here in the morning for breakfast, and talk about what we've found while exploring?"

All the students nodded or otherwise expressed some agreement, and slowly they began filing out of the mess hall. Kokoa looked around at the others, then quickly walked over to the door labelled 'Kitchen.' Karen, still tense from the conflict with Akiko, let Rika lead her out. Akiko stormed out while Homura followed, calling, "I'll make sure she doesn't break anything!"

Hideyo, who seemed to have regained her composure, cheered, "I'm going to check out the craft center! Who wants to come with?"

"Maybe later," said Shiori, "I wanna check out the rest of this building first. But have fun!"

"I think I'll join you," said Isao. As they began to leave, Remy silently followed behind them.

Take grabbed Seihiko's arm and said, "Come on buddy! Time to check out what kinda loot's still around." Sehiko's expression was somewhere between confusion and hesitation, but he let Take lead him out.

With that, Reijirou was left alone with Kenji, Shiori, and Ikeda. Kenji seemed to be debating with himself about something, stepping forward before huddling back into himself. Eventually he seemed to have made a decision, walking towards Reijirou, but Ikeda blocked his path.

"Could we have that private conversation, Mr. Counselor?" Ikeda asked.

Reijirou paused, then said, "I suppose so. Meet me in my office, okay?" Ikeda nodded and exited. Reijirou then turned to Kenji. "Did you also want to meet?"

Kenji started, then seemed to collapse into himself again. "I...well, I just...never mind," he murmured, head lowered in an attempted to hide his blush. He gave a small bow and quickly walked out the doors.

Reijirou glanced at Shiori, who was checking out the stage, as he walked to the left side of the stage to a simple door with a sign saying 'No Campers Allowed!' He pulled out a key he'd found earlier and unlocked the door. Inside were Reijirou's own quarters. At least I don't have to room with a bunch of teenage boys, he thought as he glanced around the simply furnished room, Everyone else has to share. The room held a bed, bedside table, lamp, dresser, and window. In one corner was another door to a tiny bathroom. The key to the room had been on the bedside table. And in the other corner was the door to his office, which he now opened.

Reijirou found Ikeda looking over the bookshelf passively. He cleared his throat. "Well, we're in private. What did you want to ask me?" An interview with an interrogator. This should be...interesting...Who am I kidding? He's gonna read me like a book.

Ikeda stared at him, silent and intense. Reijirou gulped, but held his gaze. Finally, Ikeda asked, "Why did Monokuma hire you?"

Internally, Reijirou sighed in relief. I don't have to lie yet. "I work as an advice columnist. I'm used to answering teens' questions and helping them out," he answered, "I guess...he was a fan of my work." How did Monokuma find out about me anyway? The paper wasn't that popular…

"And what about you?" Ikeda pressed, "Are you a 'fan' of Monokuma's work? Is that why you work with him?"

Reijirou bit his lip, but eventually evaded the question by saying, "I work for Monokuma. He's my boss." And he's threatening my life if I don't work for him, but hey, small details.

Ikeda raised an eyebrow. "Let me be frank. Do you agree with this Killing Game?"

Reijirou hoped his panic didn't show on his face, because internally his mind was filled with Crap crap crap— what do I say?! From the hint of a smile on Ikeda's face, it did. Eventually, Reijirou managed to stammer out, "I think that's enough for today, Ikeda. Thank you for, for talking to me, but I need to...to make sure I have time for other students as well. Have a good evening."

Ikeda titled his head, silently evaluating the guidance counselor. Ice crept up Reijirou's spine; with his face thrown into shadow by the setting sun, it felt like Ikeda could see into his very soul. Finally, Ikeda's hint of a smile fell and he shook his head. "Alright then. But Mr. Counselor, I will get my answers from you." With that ominous proclamation, Ikeda left Reijirou's office.

Finally alone, Reijirou collapsed into his chair, rested his head on his desk, and groaned. "I'm really not cut out for this...Unrequited crushes? Easy! Friends problems? Quick fix! Drama with parents? Hard, but way easier than teens being asked to murder each other by freaky talking bears! Nothing like that in any of my textbooks...God, what am I doing…" He picked up his head and dropped it back down on the desk, then again.

"Um…?" Suddenly a timid voice came from the doorway. He whipped his head up from the desk and saw Shiori standing in the walk open doorway.

"Shiori! I... I'm so sorry; I didn't see you," Reijirou said, jumping out of his chair. Have your breakdown later. They need you to be a source of stability.

Shiori shuffled her feet. "It's okay! You were uh...having a moment…"

"You heard that?!" Reijirou said, running his hand through his hair. He quickly attempted to pull himself together. "I— Eh-hem. I apologize. You don't need to be dealing with my issues and uh… stuff..." Wow, great adult-ing there, Reijirou. You sound so put together and not at all like you're in over your head.

"I...don't mind, though?" Shiori said, before giving a hesitant smile. "It's actually kind of comforting, knowing I'm not the only one shook up by this…"

"Really?" It slipped out before he could stop the words. Shiori blinked, then nodded slowly.

Reijirou paused, coughed, and slowly sat back down at his desk again before continuing. "...Knowing you're not alone in a difficult situation is important. Is that why you came to talk? So you don't feel alone?"

"Not exactly," Shiori said as she sat at the wooden chair in front of his desk and scooted closer. "I feel like I've already made a few friends, and even more amicable acquaintances. I'm more worried about the one's I'm...not friendly with."

"I don't think you need to worry. I've seen how you act with Isao and Hideyo; you're clearly a kind and considerate girl. At that point, it's on them, not you." Reijirou gave her a sympathetic smile.

Shiori shook her head, saying, "No, I know that, it's just...people are looking to me to lead them, I guess? Shouldn't a leader, like, unite everyone under one goal or something?" As she continued, her voice got more strained. "But Gorou and Ikeda don't agree with me, and Akiko and Haruto and Take just do their own things; I don't want them getting hurt, but I don't want them to hate me and I just don't know what I'm doing!" She panted from releasing so much pent up energy.

Oh, Reijirou thought, I hadn't considered— Does she want to lead? She shouldn't have to...He glanced at Shiori, still shaking from her outburst. Do kids get so worked up about things they don't want to do? But she's really good at it, and it'd be hard for me to take complete charge with my...predicament...But I shouldn't just push it onto her either...Let's just stick to confidence boosting advice; yeah, that should work.

Eventually he quietly replied, "It sounds like you're under a lot of pressure. Some of it from the other students, but also from yourself. I think...what you need to remember is that you can't always get people to listen. Even great leaders won't be able to convince everyone. But I think if you lead by example, acting in the way you want the others to, even the people who don't agree with you will at least respect you."

Shiori looked at him, still uncertain. "You think so?"

"Of course!" Reijirou replied. "I think you're actually a fairly natural leader. If anyone can eventually unite everyone, it's you. You also shouldn't feel like you have to; no one appointed you leader, but if you feel called to do it, I say go for it!"

"...Okay!" said Shiori, raising up her fists as if to pump herself up, "I'll keep doing my best!" She turned to exit the office, but quickly turned back around right before the door. "Thank you, Mr. Saiki! I don't really know what's going on with you and Monokuma, but I can tell you're on our side." And then she was gone.

Reijirou finally collapsed back into his chair. He had not really expected to have two session with students on the first day, much less ones as emotionally intense as Ikeda's or thought provoking as Shiori's. He dug around in his desk to see if Monokuma had given him any paper or notebooks to write on. Eventually he came up empty, sighed, and opened the 'Note' app on his 'Special Employee Monopad.' He focused on transcribing the sessions as best as he could remember, (what he wouldn't give for a voice memo app), added a few immediate thoughts, then closed the app. He'd add more thoughts later.

He glanced over the rest of the apps on the Monopad. He's already used 'Profiles' and 'Notes,' and earlier he'd glanced at 'Maps' to find a map of the island, although strangely it wasn't completely labelled. That left 'Truth Bullets,' which he couldn't open for some reason, and 'Rules and Regulations.' Better know what the students might be sent here for, he thought as he opened the app and glanced at the rules.

'Rules and Regulations for the Talent Camp for Penultimate Students

Campers may not leave the island; they will live at the camp indefinitely.

'Nighttime' is from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am. During Nighttime, the mess hall will be locked, and the water in the bathroom buildings will shut off.

No destruction of Camp buildings or facilities, including fences, gates, monitors, speakers, or cameras.

Campers are allowed to explore open areas of the camp freely.

Violence against Monokuma or the Guidance Counselor is strictly prohibited; breaking this rule will lead to immediate extreme punishment.

Monokuma can send any camper to the Guidance Counselor if they break a rule, where he will choose an appropriate punishment.

A camper may escape the island if they can kill another student, unless they are discovered.

More rules may be added at any time.'

Reijirou frowned. Why is rule five the only one with immediate death as the punishment? He shivered, remembering Akiko's stunned face. Maybe he doesn't want to thin the numbers too quickly and ugh I feel horrible just thinking that…

He looked back at rule six. It was worded somewhat ambiguously; would Reijirou be picking the punishments, or Monokuma? "If I can pick the punishment," Reijirou said as the realization hit him, "I don't have to go so hard on the students! Especially if I can somehow defend it to Monokuma...Maybe I can make this work…"

He looked out the window and realized the sun had now fully set; the clock in the Monopad said 9:00 pm. Better take a shower now is case my water shuts off too. He rose from his desk, feeling the most confident he had since he'd woken up in this strange place. I believe in those kids, and I believe in me; we can outsmart Monokuma and get out of here!

Prologue: If at First You Don't Succeed…

END

Thus ends our prologue! I hope the switching perspectives aren't too distracting. I will set up a poll for Freetime events with Shiori. Also, after next chapter I will post a poll for who you'd like to visit Reijirou, either in his office or outside it. The next chapter might not come as quickly, as I'm going to be traveling and then getting very busy for the month of June. I will still try to write whenever I can, so thank you in advance for your patience.