The next morning, Seishiro woke to Monokuma's pre-recorded announcement blaring through a speaker.
"Rise and shine, students! It is now 7am, and daytime hours have commenced! Most off-limit rooms are now free to enter and the heaters have been turned back up! Happy murdering!"
'Happy murdering'? Really? Seishiro wanted to close his eyes again and pretend that he was anywhere but here, but he couldn't will himself to do that after fully processing what he had been forced into.
He stood up, head spinning, and tiredly stumbled over to his boarded window. Flinching at the frigid cold of the metal coverings, he peeked out to see mostly darkness, a faint twilight covering the landscape. It was desolate. Too desolate, even for Antarctica, Seishiro suddenly realised. He had something to tell everyone else.
Seishiro checked his ElectroID, showing the date and time. 7:04 a.m., 21 April. Based off that, he supposed that the sun wouldn't rise for another hour or two. Going through his regular morning routine, trying to create an illusion of normalcy, he finished and headed towards breakfast. 7:45, he repeated to himself.
In his haste, the pyrotechnician found himself in the cafeteria twenty minutes early. The only other inhabitant of the room was Toshimi Yoshikazu, the overall-clad gardener working the coffee machine in the kitchen. He noticed Seishiro and opened his mouth to speak, but seemingly reconsidered and closed it again.
"So," started Seishiro awkwardly.
"Yeah?"
"How're things?"
"Fine."
"For a murderous hellhole."
"That's true."
Fourteen tired students filed in as haphazardly as they left last night, in a half-asleep jumble. Food was served quickly and calmly.
Shigeko poked her pancakes tentatively. "You know, if this were any regular restaurant, this would barely pass 2 out of 5 stars." The pigtailed food critic pressed a finger to her chin, appearing deep in thought. "But if I take our...circumstances into mind, I'd bump it up to about 4 stars."
Yuji grinned, mumbling a thanks through a mouthful of food. He turned to Seishiro, whispering. "Has the great deity Yamamoto Shigeko taken mercy on me? Oh, I feel blessed!" He proclaimed as dramatically as he could at a volume that Shigeko couldn't hear.
Seishiro laughed back at him. "Hey, Yuji-kun. Remind me to say something about where we are, later."
The barista raised an eyebrow, nodding.
The rest of the meal passed as uneventfully as last night, and the short meeting commenced.
Yuji nudged Seishiro under the table and mouthed something unintelligible at him.
Oh, right. "Uh, everyone?" Seishiro stood, suddenly commandeering the group's attention. "I know it's a little early to be speculating and solving the great mysteries of the world, but I don't think we're in Antarctica."
"Makes sense for that bear to lie about our location, makes it harder for rescuers to find us." Etsuko agreed.
"Hey, hold on. How do we explain the temperature and the landscape?" Amaya yelled, leaning forwards.
Naoki shrugged. "Greenscreens? And maybe we're in some giant refrigerator?" The discus thrower said half-jokingly.
"A giant refrigerator," echoed Komi, deadpan.
"Just as logical as a sadistic, talking teddy bear," Takehiko replied, giving her a piercing stare.
"Look," said Misaki, shaking her head. "We can figure out the great mysteries of the world after we get rescued, or break out, or whatever."
A few other students murmured their assent, and after another few pointless discussions, everyone scattered around the room and left to explore.
Seishiro busied himself with emptying the dishwasher, finding solace in monotonous tasks. Just as he finished, Umeko approached from behind and greeted him.
"Nishimura-san? I apologise for interrupting," she said, adjusting her white fascinator.
"Huh? You weren't interrupting, it's fine. Did you need something?"
Umeko nodded serenely. "Oh! Well, then. I noticed an entire corridor that I hadn't explored yesterday, and in accordance with the rules, I am not allowed to be alone." She held out her ElectroID and motioned at a corridor to the north. Rather disturbingly, the room at the end was labelled with Monokuma's face.
"I haven't been down there either, I don't think. But that place," he pointed at the Monokuma room, "seems pretty foreboding."
"True," replied the mortician. "But I doubt that Monokuma will execute us for exploring."
Seishiro shrugged. "We don't know his limits."
The pair made their way to the aforementioned corridor. Two doors lined the hall on each side, and at the end lay a large set of menacing metal doors blocked off by a grate.
"Maybe...maybe we shouldn't go over there," Seishiro said fearfully, stumbling into the first door on his left.
"Perhaps later," replied Umeko, following him.
The room was an infirmary, stretching down the hall and encompassing the other door on that side as well. Rows of neatly made beds under boarded windows lined the room, and cabinets and drawers filled with medicinal supplies rested against the walls. Rifling through a chest of drawers at the far end of the room was Oshima Katsuo, who noticed the two enter. Shitori Amaya sat on one of the beds, aimlessly swinging her legs.
"Ah, I see you've come to seek me out," the suit-clad playwright mused. "Simply couldn't stay away?"
"Shut it," called Amaya. "No one needs to hear about your inflated ego. And besides, you followed me here just to heckle me the whole time, right?"
"Your words, they wound me!" Katsuo cried. "And, as you've undoubtedly forgotten with that minuscule intellect of yours, no one is allowed to go alone during daytime hours."
Amaya snorted. "Piss off. I can handle myself. Comes with the talent, y'know?"
Umeko shook her head at the darker-haired girl. "And what if you were planning a murder?"
"Mm. True," she conceded.
"Ahem," said Katsuo, drawing attention. "There are far too many chemicals in this place that could be used as poisons. I suggest we take inventory of the medical supplies." He took a clipboard, pen and some paper from a drawer.
"I shall come with you," spoke Umeko. "After all, you seem hardly like the most trustworthy of characters."
He swooned melodramatically, mocking her. "My, the most beautiful rose has the sharpest of thorns..."
Amaya rolled her eyes at the exchange before patting the bed opposite hers. "Hey, Nishimura-kun. Sit!"
Seishiro obliged, landing on the hard mattress. "I feel like we should be doing something," he said to her.
"Nah. I mean, not now. Uh, sorry about the yelling and breaking the broom last night." Amaya ran a hand through her hair.
"Huh? That's fine! I wasn't fazed, really."
She sighed. "I jump to conclusions really easily, so I guess you should be prepared for a crap ton of misunderstandings."
"Hey, sorry if this is a personal question, but do you...uh, have-"
"ADHD?" She interrupted him suddenly. "Wait, is that what you were going to say?" When Seishiro nodded, she gave a little fist-pump. "Most people don't think of that. Or, y'know, go up to me and say it. Not that I mind."
Seishiro shook his head. "I did a lot of people-watching. And my little sister has...er, had it. If she grew out of it, I'm not really sure now."
"I feel like I haven't grown out of a lot of things, and I guess I'm pretty immature sometimes."
"You're mature enough to recognise your shortcomings, at least." Seishiro replied.
"Pfft. Not mature enough to act on them," she said before loudly cracking her knuckles, making Seishiro wince. "So the thing is, when I was younger, my parents were police officers, and I was all 'I'm gonna deliver justice to the world!'" She singsonged in a mock falsetto at the last phrase, making air quotes. "I thought I forgot about that, but I guess I've still got those desires in the back of my head somewhere."
Seishiro nodded. "Hey, sorry to pry, but what's your thing with Fujiwara-san? Wait, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he backpedalled.
She shook her head in reply, but her expression flickered for a moment at the mention of the blue-haired cheerleader. "Nah, it's fine. I get the feeling that I don't know the full story, but I can give you a rundown. So, Fujiwara-chan and I went to the same middle school, and well, she was this huge bitch. I did meet her and I'd say she wasn't...pleasant."
"I don't know about you, but from first impressions she doesn't seem much like that. I just think she's reserved and snarky, I suppose." He shrugged, recalling his minimal interactions with Komi.
"That's why I feel like there's more going on than I know." Amaya rubbed the back of her neck, cracking it a little. "Anyway, I'd heard that she got one of my friends to steal the answer sheets for the end-of-year exams. He got in so much trouble, and I kinda freaked out and punched her in the face. Repeatedly," she winced.
"That was...that was personal, I guess," Seishiro replied.
"Dammit," said Amaya, realisation dawning. "She's probably gonna kill me if she hears that I told people. Just keep it between us."
He cracked a smile. "Sure, secret's safe here." He paused suddenly, looking around. "Hey, where did Aihara-san and Oshima-san go?"
"Probably exploring. We should go find them, hey?"
"Why not?" Seishiro grinned.
The duo found Umeko and Katsuo in what Seishiro presumed was the laundry, as a few washing machines and dryers rested against the wall. Otherwise, the room was rather empty. Most interesting was now the fact that Shigeko had somehow come into the room, and was fuming in front of the other two. The many people and small space made Seishiro feel a little claustrophobic.
"Honestly, you were running around alone?" Katsuo muttered, pressing his fingers to his temple. "I'm all for playing this game, but it's hardly any fun when someone dies so preventably. Then again, your death would simply be chalked up to natural selection, so..."
The food critic huffed. "I don't need to listen to what you commoners say- Hey! You!" She noticed Seishiro and Amaya enter, and pointed suddenly at them. "Get over here and defend my case!"
"What?" Seishiro whispered, making eye contact with Umeko.
The mortician silently cocked her head, shrugging slightly.
"I told you," complained Shigeko, "that all we have to do is sit here and wait! Daddy will find me, and he's gonna rescue us!"
"Have you that much faith in your father?" Umeko inquired.
"Yes! He's the owner of the Golden Leaf restaurant chain, so of course he has the time and resources to rescue us! In fact, there's probably worldwide outrage at the fact that I've gone missing!"
"Lucky rich child," whispered Amaya.
Katsuo drummed his fingers against the wall. "Golden Leaf...that's one of the high-end ones, isn't it?"
Umeko pursed her lips. "There is merit in your statement. However, we cannot ascertain the state of the outside world at this present moment."
"What I'm saying is that none of this is necessary!" Shigeko replied.
"Better to be safe than sorry, I guess," said Seishiro.
"Fine, fine," conceded Shigeko. "But you'll be wrong!"
The pyrotechnician let out a sigh before questioning the other students. "Anyway, did you find anything useful?"
"The other room is a storage room, good sir." Katsuo said loftily. "We were caught up here, and didn't have time to inspect that strange gate.
"It gives me the creeps," shuddered Shigeko. "Could be, like, a morgue or something."
Umeko looked a little offended. "There is nothing wrong with a mortuary," she asserted.
With minimal complaining, the small group made their way to the imposing double doors. They seemed akin to an elevator, but Monokuma's face was engraved shallowly on the front, the gap between the doors splitting its white and black sides apart.
Shigeko stuck her hand through the vertical bars in front of the door, tracing the engraving. "Jeez, what a narcissist."
"Hey, ya think this is the way out?" Amaya called.
Katsuo shook his head. "It's far too obvious for that," he replied.
"Ding ding! Mr. Casanova is right!" Monokuma's voice blasted twice as loud as usual from the speakers on either side of the door. Seishiro jumped in surprise, and Shigeko instinctively retreated from the door. "Oopsies! Sound production team, you're fired!" The voice returned to its normal volume.
"M-Monokuma!" Seishiro yelled, as if the bear couldn't hear him. "Where does this lead, and and will I be executed for trying to get in?!"
"Well, since you asked so nicely, that's the elevator to the Trial Room! It's where you'll go to debate out the whodunnit when one of your classmates kicks the bucket!" Monokuma replied cheerily.
Umeko stiffened. "Let us pray that we never have a need to go in there."
"Fair," said Seishiro. "We should...let's get out of here. See if anyone else found something useful."
The truth was, no one else did find anything remotely of use. Much to Yoshikazu's chagrin, there had already been multiple efforts to break out from the greenhouse, none of which accomplished anything.
One day of captivity. One day of vehement denial and silent acceptance. One day of getting to know the person who could turn and kill you at any moment. And if Seishiro knew what was to come, he would want this one day to last forever.
