Chapter 11

Another day passed by, and once again, no murder was committed. Leon dug his fingers into his arms folded over his chest as he and the others awaited Monokuma's appearance. His pale-blue eyes glanced over at Naoko to see the teen visibly shaking in fear. While the sprint runner had no fear of being selected again, Leon understood the teen was still frightened due to the memories of being trapped in the safe were still fresh in his mind. Suddenly the baseball player found himself drawn away from his thoughts upon hearing the sounds of metal scrapping along the ground.

He turned his head just in time to see Monokuma pushing in a large cage full of bats. The nineteen year-old couldn't help but raise a brow in puzzlement, wondering how the robotic bear even managed to acquire a large cage full of bats. But with the shake of his head, the teen pushed away that confusion, remembering that he was questioning the same robotic bear that managed to create elaborate sets for executions.

"So based on the looks on youse guys' faces, ya'll probably wondering who has a fear connected to bats? Well one of you know the answer to that obviously. It's that person's worst fear after all." Monokuma spoke up with a chuckle.

Everyone was confused about who the bear was referring to until they heard the sound of someone collapsing. Immediately upon hearing the sound, everyone turned to see Kiyoshi on her hands and knees with her body trembling terribly.
The cartoonist's eyes were wide as she began to hyperventilate. She didn't want Monokuma to stuff her into the cage with the bats. The flying creatures of the night deeply terrified her after her encounter with them as a child. The horrifying memory raced through her mind, images of her as a child running screaming out of a cave after accidentally disturbing the bats' habitat.

"Please... don't put me in there! Please don't!" she pleaded in a small tone.

"Oh don't worry, there's a cage within the cage. That way the bats won't be anywhere near you. Of course it is quite the small cage, so it may seems like at times the bats are in the same cage as you. But like I care about that, this is meant to terrify you after all! Puhuhu!" Monokuma replied.

Kiyoshi's body began to tremble even more as she began to hyperventilate. Her mind was full of panic, desperately trying to think of a way out. Her turquoise eyes glanced up at the bats in the cage; her pupils shaking rapidly when she heard a few loud shrieks from the bats. She wanted to run, but sadly she knew she had no where to run.
Shizko snarled in anger with her hands clenched into two firm fists. Her icy-blue eyes glared hatefully at the demented bear with a twisted grin. She refused to allow him to put her friend in such a terrifying scenario. With hope filling her, she sighed as she let her hands relax.

Doing her best to stay clam, she spoke up in a stern tone "Put me in there instead."

"Wha wha?!" the robotic bear exclaimed in confusion, stunned the sculptor was stepping forward.

"Put me in there in Kiyoshi's place. I'm... also terrified as bats. All that matters is that you terrify at least one of us right?" Shizko replied.

Leon's teeth clenched from the scene he was watching unfold before his eyes. It was obvious to him that Kiyoshi was the only one terrified of bats and that Shizko was simply lying in order to protect her friend. He didn't want to imagine what snarky comment the bear would come up with, believing that the robotic bear was able to easily see through the sculptor's lie. But much to his confusion, Monokuma didn't utter a single word. He watched as the black and white bear hummed to himself while tapping his foot on the ground in thought.

After a few moments in thought, Monokuma finally said "You're right, I do recall you are afraid of bats. Alright then, I'll stuff you inside instead of shaky over there!"

Stunned expressions immediately formed on Leon's, Shizko's, and Kiyoshi's faces. They found it hard to believe that the demented bear actually believed the lie told to him, leaving them to wonder why he had accepted the offer. Unfortunately the trio didn't get to think about it long as Monokuma began demanding for the teenage girl to enter the now open cage.
Shizko took in a deep breath as she approached the cage, not daring to look back to avoid seeing Kiyoshi's face. Without a word, she lowered her self in order to crawl in the small opening of the cage.

Once inside, the nineteen year-old watched as the psychotic bear slammed the cage door close, causing the bats to immediately start swarming. Her teeth clenched whilst she slapped her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sounds of the shrieks from the panicked bats.
Monokuma giggled to himself as he locked the cage with a key similar to the one he used to lock the safe, prompting a timer to activate at the top of the cage. Just like the one on the safe, the timer displayed twelve hours.

"Well you chumps know the drill. Go do stuff until it's time to get your friend out. Just like runner boy there, she'll be locked in there for exactly twelve hours. Well, see ya then!" the bear proclaimed.

With the last of his words, Monokuma left the room with a sly grin, not bothered by the angry glares being burned into the back of his head.
Kiyoshi stared at the cage with wide eyes, unable to find the will to move nor speak. She stared blankly at her friend who remained trapped in the cage with no escape; the cage that was originally to hold her.
Seeing that the cartoonist needed help, Seiichi placed a firm grasp on both of the girl's arms and helped her stand up. He frowned in concern as he helped the girl walk out of the room, hoping he could preoccupy her until twelve hours were up.

Seeing that once again they had little choice in the situation, the group went their separate ways, following the same routine they did with Naoko the previous day.
Leon stuffed his hands into his pockets as he made his way to the lunch room. Despite not having much of an appetite, the red-head hoped he could at least find a snack he could munch on. It only took a few minutes for him to reach the lunch room. But once he entered the room, much to his surprise, he saw it wasn't empty like he thought. Sitting one of the tables, the nineteen year-old saw none other than Naoko.

His eyes narrowed as he studied the teenage boy leaning on top of the table with despair lingering in his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that the sprint runner was still suffering from being locked in a safe for twelve hours. Figuring it would help pass by the time, Leon sighed before walking over to the table and sitting down next to the teenage boy.

"Hey, Naoko, you doing okay?" he asked out of worry.

The ginger-headed teen gasped whilst jumping slightly from his seat upon hearing Leon's voice. He breathed frantically with his hand clenching his chest, desperately trying to calm himself down. Fortunately it only took him a few seconds to regain a calm state before he turned toward the teen seated next to him.

"Sorry about that, Leon. I was in the middle of some serious thinking." the nineteen-year old apologized while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Was it about Monokuma's motive?" the red-head replied.

The sprint runner was unable to prevent himself from flinching at the mention of the motive. He took in a shaky sigh as his hands clenched, his eyes glancing downward.

"Sort of... it's just..." the teenage boy began to speak up, taking nervous pauses, "I'm not... I'm not going to end up like... like Kazuo am I? He was driven to murder out of... despair. He wasn't the type you would ever expect to murder someone. Well... at least I didn't expect it. At least... not after our talk on the first day."

Naoko panted as he ran through the hallways, trying to burn off as much adrenaline as he could. He barely paid notice as he ran past Jin who was currently dragging Leon to her room despite his objections. He managed to round the corner before coming to a screeching halt. Rapid pants escaped his mouth with a happy grin painted on his face, satisfied with his sprint through the factory. His yellow eyes glanced throughout the hallway, managing to see Isamu disappear into her room and Kiyoshi walk around the corner toward the lunch room.

With the two girls gone, the only one that remained in the hallway with him was Kazuo Tatsuo. He watched as the guitarist started strumming the strings, creating intense and entertaining rock and roll music. The ginger-headed teen couldn't help but admire the music, understanding how Kazuo managed to earn his title as the Ultimate Guitarist.

"Whoo! It sounds as good as it looks!" the guitarist exclaimed with one last strum.

Naoko found himself both amazed and intrigued by the teen's skill with the musical instrument, leaving him to wonder how he managed to gain such skill.

Wanting answers, the nineteen year-old asked "Hey, Kazuo, where did you even learn play like that?"

The orange-haired teen jolted in surprise, having failed to take notice that he wasn't alone in the hallway. But his shock quickly disappeared, replaced with an energetic smirk.

"I've been at this for awhile, bro. Ever since I was a kid. I got inspired ever since my first encounter with my idol!" he explained, "Ever heard of the Ultimate Musician Ibuki Mioda?"

Naoko's brows raised in shock as his body stiffened in discomfort. He easily knew of the musician thanks to his parents' tales from their time during The Tragedy. He learned that she was one of the members of the Remnants of Despair, formerly known as the Ultimate Despair, which was the group responsible for the world falling into devastation. Hearing tales about the musician that spread despair through her music, managing to create large riots, all of it disturbed the teen. He found it hard to believe that Kazuo could even like a person that did such horrible deeds.

"Wasn't she one of the Remnants of Despair? Don't tell me you were one of those people that liked her despair filled music." the sprint runner asked.

Upon hearing the question, Kazuo tilted his head slightly as he replied "Dude, why would I have listened to the whack version of her music? I was barely learning how to talk when she did all that twisted stuff. Besides, you're forgetting the detail of the Remnants of Despair disbanding a few years of the Tragedy ended. She was one of them, but not anymore. Now she's a wicked awesome musician again that's sharing her rocking work with the world again! No despair attached!"

The nineteen year-old laughed as he twisted his guitar in his hands. He didn't waste any details as he revealed the story behind his encounter with the famous musician. He could remember the scene perfectly of him on the way home from school. The idea of school life in general always seemed dull to him, making him yearn for something to liven up his life. The guitarist laughed when he thought about how his younger self had never expected to hear the sound of the guitar on his way home. He couldn't help but find himself drawn to it.

The memory of himself rushing into the park to seek out the music remained fresh in his mind. He remembered his heart pounding in amazement and awe when he had stumbled upon a concert in the park. Each detail was burned into his mind, easily able to recall of the image of a young woman in her late twenties with purple, blue, and white highlights in her hair, shouting in joy as she rocked out on her guitar.

"So I have to admit, her singing leaves much to desire. Never was too fond of the heavy metal theme." Kazuo admitted with a small smile, "But the thing I can't deny is that she was absolutely rocking with her guitar, I mean really. I never heard such sweet tunes before in my entire life. I was so amazed that when the performance was over, I kind of snuck backstage."

"You did what?! How did security not catch you?" Naoko explained.

With a laugh and wink, the guitarist answered "When you're a small kid, it's pretty easy to find places to sneak around. I mean how could I not pass up the opportunity to try out her guitar? At the time I wanted to see if I could recreate those awesome tunes. I managed to play a few notes, but then I got caught by my idol."

He remembered how shocked she was at first to see a child with her guitar, trying his best to play music. He was worried that she was going to call for secuirty, until that worry got replaced when shock the moment she began to laugh.

"Turns out she thought I was pretty good and encouraged me to keep playing. After receiving her advice, I couldn't help but chase my dream of becoming a popular rock and roll guitarist. You can't imagine how happy I was when my school had me officially declared as the Ultimate Guitarist. When I get out of this hell hole we're all trapped in, I'm going to keep chasing my dream. Just you watch dude, some day my name will be everywhere and you'll be able to always catch my rocking performances!" Kazuo finished before laughing one last time.

"To think, he was so happy and ready to chase his dream. But now he can't chase that dream at all; he died before he could accomplish what he set out to do. I... I don't want that to happen to me too." Naoko sighed with his head resting on the table.

Leon remained speechless as his eyes glanced sideways, unable to give the sprint runner eye contact. He easily guessed that Kazuo was a good person despite his deed. He could tell from how the guitarist desperately pleaded for his life before Monokuma executed him. But now he understood exactly how much despair the orange-headed teen experienced before his death, especially with his final words.

Out of desperation, Kazuo immediately stood up and pleaded "No! No! No! No! I can't die here! Please don't let me die here! I want to live! I want to become like my idol and become a popular rock and roll guitarist! I still want to live my life! Please don't kill me!"

"Please, Leon. Please tell me that I'm not going to end up like Kazuo. I don't want to die here!" Naoko pleaded in a broken tone, unaware of the tears starting to form in his yellow eyes.

The red-head sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of the right words to say.

After a few moments in thought, he finally answered "I'm not going to sugar coat it, Naoko, we're all at risk of being killed as long as we're trapped in here. I just can't force a smile and tell you that you'll be okay, because I don't know what will happen. That's why everyone, even me, are scared to death of this situation. But despite being scared, the best we can do is try to stay calm. The moment you give into fear and paranoia, that's when you seal your fate. That's exactly why Kazuo died."

The sprint runner lifted up his head silently, staring in shock at the baseball player next to him. He didn't know why, but he could almost swore he could hear a hint of regret in the teen's word. He couldn't figure out the reason why the nineteen year-old could be feeling regret; the only reason he could think of is that Leon experienced those feelings himself. With a grunt and the shake of his head, the ginger-headed teen quickly brushed away that thought. He didn't see how it could be possible because, as far as he knew, Leon had never been in a killing game before.

The wait felt like ages to the group of teens when twelve hours had finally passed by. They were all gathered in the main factory room with concerned faces as they stared at the cage containing Shizko. They could see the teenage girl was curled into a ball with her hands still firmly placed over her ears, not daring to move so as to avoid disturbing the bats again.
Kiyoshi bit her lip as she anxiously awaited the appearance of Monokuma. The sooner the demented bear released her friend, the sooner she could relax a bit.

Much to her relief, the robotic bear finally entered the room with key in hand.

"Well looks like time is up once again. Hope little Shizko in there didn't go all batty during those twelve hours." Monokuma laughed as he unlocked the cage.

Wasting no time, the moment the cage was unlocked, Shizko quickly scampered out of the cage. She breathed heavily with and exhausted look painted on her face; her arms and legs wobbling ever so slightly.

"Shizko!" Kiyoshi cried out as she ran over to her friend.

Tears were streaming down her face, with her heart pounding in panic. It terrified her deeply that her friend took her place and now seemed to be in a sick state. More tears poured down her face as she helped the sculptor stand back up, feeling the guilt of allowing her friend to take her place weigh heavily on her shoulders. Thoughts of regret constantly ran through her mind, wishing she had been brave like Naoko and faced her worst fear.

"Well, that's all for now. But if you guys don't want to keep going through with this, I suggest you get killing. Though if you guys really want another one of your friends to suffer, I have been considering a certain red-head in the room to be subjected to his worst fear. It's absolutely hilarious that he makes runner boy's fear over there seem reasonable! Puhuhu! Catch you chumps later!" Monokuma laughed as he left the room.

Leon's breath hitched as his face turned pale. Much like Naoko and Kiyoshi, he didn't want to get subjected to his worst fear. Especially when that fear only reminded him of the execution that claimed his life.
With fear and dread filling them all, the group of teens left the room, unsure what the next day would hold for them.

That very next morning, Leon struggled to keep his body from trembling as he made his way to the lunch room for breakfast. While he didn't have much of an appetite for food, the nineteen year-old was desperate for anything to delay the motive he would soon have to face. Unfortunately, the moment he entered the lunch room, he heard the sound of something being thrown. He quickly turned to see none other than a baseball speeding toward him. The red-head sucked in a sharp breath as he jerked out of the way of the baseball, allowing it to hit the wall next to him.

His pale-blue eyes were wide with his body trembling in fear, unable to acknowledge the footsteps running toward him.

"Geez, Leon, I'm so sorry!" Naoko apologized as he picked up the baseball, "Seiichi and I found a few baseballs in here and decided to toss it around a bit. I did not mean to almost hit you! I accidentally threw it too high for Seiichi to catch. Please don't be mad!"

But the ginger-headed teen frowned when he received no response from the baseball player; instead he was greeted with of a pale, trembling teen.

"Well Naoko, it seems you accidentally uncovered Leon's worst fear." Toshiro chuckled in an amused tone, "Apparently the baseball player is terrified of a baseball being hurled at him. Ha! How ironic! Well that explains the appearance of the baseballs. Monokuma was obviously preparing for the motive, he did mention that Leon was next on the list."

"Baseballs? How can a baseball be scary?" Naoko asked out of confusion, accidentally holding the ball in front of Leon's face.

The red-head couldn't help but snarl slightly out of frustration. While he understood it was impossible for the sprint runner to know how he managed to develop his fear, it still angered him from witnessing the teenage boy's naivety. He inhaled deeply while pushing away his terrified thoughts, doing his best to calm himself. But the moment the nineteen year-old calmed down, an important question had entered his mind. If those baseballs were meant for his motive, why were they left in the lunch room instead of the main factory room. The only reason he could think of was that Monokuma didn't bother to move the baseballs because the motive was no longer required.

With the panic of realization hitting him, Leon immediately asked "Hey, is everyone here?"

Knowing what the baseball player was implying, the group of teens glanced around the room. Everyone was accounted for except for Hisoka and Shizko.

"Maybe Monokuma was just lazy and forgot to move the baseballs. It's possible that Shizko and Hisoka could only be running late." Seiichi suggested in a nervous tone.

"There's only one way to find out. We need to split up and find them. Hopefully they're both okay." Leon replied.

Without another word, everyone began searching around the factory, seeking any sign of the two missing teens. Leon's heart kept pounding as he searched around the rooms, hoping that the two possibly over slept. But as much as he was hopeful that the two were fine, a part of him feared to worst outcome. He kept searching until, suddenly, Isamu's scream filled the air. Sweat formed on the teenager's brow whilst he spun toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Wasting no time, he quickly darted up the stairs along with Isas and Mineko who had also heard the girl's scream.

Leon took in frantic breaths as he kept running as fast as he could, dreading the answer for the cause of Isamu's scream. It only took a few moment for him and his companions to locate the teenage girl, but his body stiffened from seeing the state the girl was in. He saw Isamu on the floor backed up against the wall, her eyes frozen in fear and her hands pressed against her mouth. His eyes glanced to the area in front of the girl to see she was staring inside of the open supply closet. Despite a part of him fearing what the robotic's expert had found, the red-head slowly approached the supply closet. But once he had reached the front of the open closet; he gasped as his body froze in fear at what he saw. Lying in a slumped position with multiple stab wounds in his neck and chest was none other than the lifeless body of Hisoka Yoshio.

Killing Game Students - 12 Remain