The Mastermind's Thoughts - Sometime Later That Day

In a dark room hidden from the reach of the other students, there was someone staring at a wide variety of monitor screens across the room, each one showing the video feed of the cameras placed across the school. It was made to keep track of the students every movement, to keep tabs on them constantly, and for other...sick reasons.

Ah, I see you're all familiar with the rules of the game by now. All of your reactions were expected of. "We seriously have to kill someone to get out of here?! That's horrible! No way I'd do that!" Pathetic. That type of thinking is just pathetic. You're all so filled with hope, aren't you? Well, this is only the beginning, so that's no surprise to me. They can keep lying to themselves all they want, but sooner or later, one of them is going to take the bait and start the game. It's only a matter of time and of motives. They can't stop my killing game from happening. Someone will be dead before they even know it...

Hiroshi's Bedroom, The Next Day - 7:00 A.M.

The next morning, after all the students went back to their assigned bedroom and fell asleep for the night, in Hiroshi's bedroom, he was fast asleep in his luxurious bed before being woken up by Monokuma's morning announcement. The sound of a grandfather clock's ringing could be heard. *Ding dong, bing bong*. A moment later, Monokuma's voice went over the intercom system.

Monokuma: "Good morning, students! This is a school announcement. It is now 7 A.M., which means nighttime period is officially over. Time to rise and shine! And I better not see you sleeping in for too long! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

Apparently, it's morning, though with the lack of windows, I wasn't so sure at first. Hiroshi felt very tired, anxious, and afraid, considering he barely got any sleep at all last night. He made sure to keep his door locked just in case any of his other classmates would try to break into his room and kill him in his sleep. I can't believe I was so quick to doubt them, but I'm not taking this chance. There are a few people I trust here, but then again, I should always keep my guard up. I'm betting the others are getting anxious, too.

Last night before I went to bed, I hoped that this was all some kind of twisted nightmare, some work of my imagination that I could just wake up from. This situation seems so insane that I'm still having a hard time accepting it. But I think I'll have to move on and accept reality at the moment. If I don't, I won't be going anywhere. I just wished this wasn't real.

His room was actually pretty nice and comfortable. Feels kind of awkward that even though that sick bear wants us to kill each other, he's also given us these amazing-looking rooms and other stuff. It feels strangely out of place. The floor below him was tiled with light brown, smooth wooden planks, with the walls covered in a light blue color. There were a few pictures near the door, and it also came with Hiroshi's private bathroom. The best thing was that at least there wasn't any cameras monitoring him in his restroom. That would be incredibly creepy.

He had a nice, large modern dark-wooden bed, with dark green sheets and a very comfortable mattress and pillows. The yellow security camera was situated in the bottom right corner of the room, keeping Hiroshi in check. There was also a large dresser in the corner of the room, too, with a miniature marble statue of a bull on it. As Hiroshi took a few minutes to adjust himself and wake up, he quickly realized something he completely forgot last night.

Wait, I remember. Before I went to bed, I promised Ayano I would meet with her and the others in the bistro cafeteria at around 8:00 A.M. today. I think we all split up afterwards because we weren't feeling safe. It was Atsuko's idea to regroup in the morning to discuss the current situation, so that we could sleep on it and wake up to discuss it when we felt calmer. I've got to say, I thought her idea was good. Anyways, I've got a little time left before then. I'll just freshen myself up and get ready for now.

After his morning refreshments, Hiroshi exited his bedroom, and noticed that on the back of the door, there was his name-plate on it. There was a name-plate on everyone's door, to be precise, probably to label which room belongs to who. He then proceeds to make his way to the bistro, which took him a little longer to get there than he expected since he still wasn't exactly used to the place. A little while later, he found himself at the bistro.

Not everybody was in the bistro just yet. There was a clock in the bistro that read out 7:45 A.M., so it was normal that not everybody was here yet. The only people that were there at the moment were Ayano, Isamu, Atsuko, Tenmon, Mizuki, not surprisingly, and Ema. They were all sitting down at the same table near the left corner of the room, discussing their current situation. Hiroshi decided to walk over to them and took a seat next to Ayano, who was left of him.

Atsuko: "Good morning, everyone! Although I wish it was under different circumstances."

Ayano: "Alright, I'm glad some of you came here early. We can get a head start on this, then. Now, I know you're all probably very scared because of this killing game, and I don't blame you for it. We just need to make sure that no one here tries to start the game."

Mizuki: "I came here because I couldn't sleep last night. I've been thinking so much about this killing game that I can't fall asleep without feeling in danger. My paranoia's been acting up more than ever!"

Isamu tried his best to calm Mizuki down.

Isamu: "Just don't let this get the best of you, Mizuki. Monokuma is trying to get us right where he wants us. He wants us to be paranoid, for us to doubt each other, to make it feel like no one here can be trusted. He's trying to get inside our heads."

Mizuki seemed to start blushing when Isamu noticed and spoke to her. I mean, I suppose that's much better than when she was staring at him yesterday. At least she's making progress.

Mizuki: "That's right, Isamu. Thanks for getting my priority straight. I appreciate it."

Hiroshi: "I didn't exactly get any sleep last night, either. With everything going on, it's kind of hard to sleep without feeling somewhat afraid."

Tenmon was acting very quiet, seemingly kind of worried, actually. The others quickly noticed this.

Atsuko: "Hey, Tenmon, you okay, buddy? You've been very quiet recently. Is this about the killing game? You can tell us if you want. Or you can just tell me in private, too."

Tenmon was one of those asocial kind of people. He didn't really enjoy talking or interacting with the other students here, except Atsuko for some reason. Her sweet and caring attitude was probably what made him feel comfortable around her. He spoke up slightly.

Tenmon: "Uh...uh...I'd feel better if I just told you."

Atsuko: "Sure thing! I want to make sure that we're all on the same page. You can just tell me later, Tenmon."

Tenmon: "Thank you, Atsuko. I'm glad you understand."

While he seemed kind of shy and lonely, overall, he appeared to be a decent guy. He's just not the best when it comes to talking to other people, I suppose. The conversation continued.

Ayano: "Let's start by discussing the new rules that were added to our Monopads. The ones regarding the killing game."

We all pulled out our Monopads to see what rules were added to them. Apparently, the ones that were crossed out before were now as clear as day. We read aloud the following new rules:

Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.

Rule #7: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.

Rule #8: If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be punished.

Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be punished.

Rule #11: The guilty party may only kill a maximum of two people during any single round of the killing game."

Isamu: "There's the thing about Rule #9. If a murder takes place and we can't figure out who did it, then we'll all be punished? Why is that? And what is this punishment Monokuma was talking about yesterday?"

Ayano: "I, for one, don't think it's going to be anything light. If this is a killing game, I feel like there is something very messy in storage for whatever this punishment is."

Ema: "Which is why we all must work together if we want to get out of this alive! If we do it alone, we won't go anywhere. If we do it together, we'll have a better chance of discovering the murderer, if the killing game actually starts."

Once I read over the rules, I started thinking deeper about them. So for every round, a maximum of two people can get murdered? I honestly don't know why that's even a rule in there, but I think it's to prevent this from becoming an all-out Hunger Games scenario. At least in this killing game, there are certain rules and restrictions, although I'm not feeling any better about it. Murder is still murder, and it's not making me feel less worried, either. The conversation continued.

Atsuko: "That's why we need to do everything we can to prevent this killing game from ever starting! I know it might be a matter of time until someone dies, but other than to leave this place, we don't really have a motive to kill each other, right? Don't you think that's a little odd?"

Ayano: "I wouldn't get your hopes up. Monokuma is probably thinking of the exact same thing. I'm betting he's going to do something else to make us start the game."

Mizuki: "I know what I'm about to say is going to sound random, but when exactly is everyone else going to get here?"

Hiroshi: "I'd say they should be coming here any moment now. It's almost 8:00 A.M."

And I was right, because in a few minutes, the next wave of students arrived. Most of them seemed to be either on edge or incredibly anxious, except Ronin, who seemed to be oddly calm at the moment. The only students that weren't in the bistro at the moment were Connor and Jin for some reason. The present students took a seat at the table in the middle of the bistro, where there were plenty of chairs and room for everyone to sit at. Kanon decided to sit right across to the right of me.

Kanon: "Morning, Hiroshi! Or should I say the new Ultimate Lucky Student! Must've not been expecting that to happen, huh?"

Hiroshi: "Well, Kanon, if I'm being honest, I don't really feel any different. Besides, I'm not even sure why being lucky is a talent at all, or why Monokuma just gave me this title so frantically, either."

Kanon: "Don't stress about it too much, Hiroshi. From what I've heard, the Ultimate Lucky Student is usually chosen by a random school lottery, and which ever lucky person gets chosen becomes the Ultimate Lucky Student. But don't feel bad about it, pretty boy. I bet you still got some other good qualities."

Hiroshi: "Thanks, I guess. I didn't know about that."

We talked for a little bit more about our lives before focusing back to the main discussion. Ayano and Kiyoshi seemed to be leading the meeting, bringing up all of the crucial points.

Kiyoshi: "Everyone, now that most of us are all here, except for the Ultimate Lyricist and the Ultimate Scientist, we should break down the basics of our situation before we get breakfast."

Haruto got somewhat concerned about this.

Haruto: "Wait, Connor and Jin...hey guys, you don't think anything happened to them, do you?"

Ronin: "Now that you mention it, it does sound kind of suspicious that they're not here just yet. We should probably check on them, just to be on the safe side."

Kiyohi: "You really think someone's already been killed? Sure, given our circumstances, it could happen, but it's highly unlikely it would happen this early."

Ronin: "Highly unlikely, not impossible. And besides, this is a killing game, after all. If something happened to either one of them, we should be sure to check on them first."

Mariko spoke up.

Mariko: "I don't think we need to do that anymore, everyone. Look! I think they're walking in right now!"

We all turned our attention to the front of the bistro, and at the front of the bistro entrance were Jin and Connor walking through. We stared at them for a little bit before I realized it was getting creepy. Neither of them looked like they were in the best mood. They took their seats and prepared to listen to the meeting.

Saburo: "Took you two long enough! We were wondering where the hell you two were!"

Connor: "Listen, I've had a rough night, and frankly, I forgot all about this meeting! I was so damn tired I practically didn't even hear the morning announcement!"

Ayano: "That's no excuse for being late, Connor. You should have known better. And you, Jin, what is your reason for arriving late?"

Jin: "I'm truly sorry, Ayano. I was trying to look around the school some more before I realized we were having a meeting this morning. I ran back into Connor a little while before we got here."

Well, look on the bright side. At least nobody is dead yet, and everyone is present and accounted for. Time to finally get started with the current situation, I suppose.

Ayano: "Everyone, it's time for a quick evaluation of our given circumstances. While we are here, we need to figure out what our next step will be, or if there's any chance of us getting out of here without having to participate in the killing game."

We all wondered about this for a second before Mizuki spoke up.

Mizuki: "Wait, what about the police? Don't you guys think that the authorities would go searching for us? Especially since there are fifteen of us Ultimates - oh, well, I guess you sort of count as an honorary one now, too, Hiroshi. Not trying to sound mean or anything."

The others quickly jumped in.

Atsuko: "Well, of course they'd be looking for us by now! There's only a handful of Ultimates scattered across the country, you know!"

Ronin: "We've only been gone for around a day at most, I think. If they are looking for us, it's probably going to take them some time to track us down."

Mariko: "And even if they are, I wouldn't get my hopes up on escape. I don't exactly believe that we were simply evacuated from Hope's Peak Academy. I think we were all kidnapped. That bear clearly knows more than he's going on about."

She's right. Hope's Peak Academy was created specifically to encourage the growth of the talents of the Ultimates, in order to make the best use of them and provide a hopeful future for society. There's no way they would ever put us in a situation like this willingly. Ayano considered all of this before responding.

Ayano: "If we were kidnapped, then it's safe to assume that whoever was behind it is much more powerful than we think."

Saburo: "So whoever kidnapped us must be pretty damn strong, huh?"

Isamu: "That's what I was thinking! Capturing an Ultimate is hard enough, much less fifteen of them! I have to agree with you, Ayano. But how exactly do we find out who brought us here?"

Kiyoshi corrected him.

Kiyoshi: "I don't believe we should be focused on *that* just yet. Right now, we have no clues regarding it. And given our situation, we should be more focused on staying alive and preventing this killing game from happening than finding that out. Or we should at least map out our environment before jumping to any more conclusions."

Myoki: "So, you're saying we should explore more of the school? I can get behind that! What about all of you?"

Haruto eagerly agreed with this.

Haruto: "Yeah, that makes sense. I don't think we've explored the entire academy yet, so hopefully, we might find something new in store for us!"

I'm not exactly raising my hopes on this. On finding an extra way out, that is.

Kanon: "Sure! We can split up into groups to cover more ground!"

Ayano: "And perhaps a murder would be less likely to occur like this. With a decent amount of people in each group, we should be keeping a good eye on each other."

Atsuko: "Alright, then. Let's get to making the groups, then."

For this, we started trying to figure out who would work best together if paired in a small group or not. Ayano decided to form her group first.

Ayano: "Okay, Jin, you're with me. Also, you're coming along too, Isamu."

Isamu: "Wait, why me? I get that Jin is a scientist and what not, but why do you need me?"

Ayano: "You seem to be good when it comes to some observations, Isamu. I'd normally have gone with Kiyoshi, but I feel like he should be paired in a different group instead. So you two are coming along with me to explore the entrance area."

Ayano, Jin, and Isamu left the group to go on searching. In the meantime, the others were still forming their own groups. Kiyoshi was weighing his options.

Kiyoshi: "I guess it's my turn now. Let's see here...I think I'll bring along Ronin and Myoki. We'll be exploring some of the other abandoned classrooms we overlooked."

They nodded in agreement, and followed Kiyoshi as they left the group to explore. Six have already been paired, now for the other ten, I guess. Atsuko decided to form her group now.

Atsuko: "Hey, Tenmon, Mizuki, you can come along with me if you want."

Tenmon was a little skeptical, but he eventually agreed. Mizuki did, too, and the three of them left the group table to go off exploring. It was down to the final seven students now. Haruto seemed keen on forming the next group.

Haruto: "Finally! Alright, Saburo, Connor, let's go check out some more of the gymnasium and the pool area!"

Connor and Saburo, however, were very opposed to this idea, mainly because they were a little on-edge with each other.

Connor: "No! No way I'm working together with him!"

Saburo: "Same here! I ain't working with this guy! Besides, I think I can handle myself."

Then, Ema decided to barge in to break up the issue.

Ema: "If you two don't mind, I think things will work best if Saburo goes with Haruto and I, and you, Connor, work with Hiroshi, Kanon, and Mariko. You two won't be near each other. What do you think?"

They both agreed to this plan, and so Saburo, Haruto and Ema went away to begin exploring, leaving Hiroshi and the others in the bistro together. Well, this isn't exactly the group I wanted, but I guess it will have to do for now.

Connor: "So, where to now?"

Kanon: "Let's check the kitchen area first. I don't think we've checked that place yet. Plus, there could be knives or other weapons in there, too. We need to make sure to keep those out of our reach if we want to prevent the killing game from starting."

Mariko: "Sounds like a good idea. The last thing we need right now are clear murder weapons. If we find anything and present it to the group, we can discuss what we will do with them. Right, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi: "Yes. Let's go check out the kitchen area first. I think it's somewhere near here, actually. If you see anything that you think could be used as a murder weapon, be sure to report it in."

And with that, we went off to search the kitchen area.