Chapter 1: This Could Be Anywhere In The World (Daily Life 9)
Saya made her down the hall, leaving just before Junichi to make sure everyone had gotten to the dining hall. She pressed her hands to the double door of the dining hall, leaning her weight into it and pushing the door wide open to a busy, lively dining hall with the smell of freshly cooked food and the chatter of dozens of her constituents. The first thing she saw was a massive obsidian statue of Monokuma holding up a massive fork over his head, with Airi and Chiwa at the feet of the statue, Airi trying to get her to wear a dress similar to Airi's.
"Come onnnn. You'll look really cuuuute in it." Airi said, holding out the dress in front of Chiwa.
"You saying those words with that tone terrifies me," Chiwa said
"Chiwa, that's my voice. I always sound like that." Airi tried to explain, voice still monotone.
"Exactly! You always sound like that!" Chiwa shot back. Saya walked over to them first.
"Kudo, what are you doing?" Saya asked.
"Saya, help! Airi's trying to make me wear her creepy dress!" Chiwa cried.
"My dress isn't creepy…" Airi said, offended.
"Kudo, refrain from our strangeness for a night or I will be forced to discipline you," Saya warned before turning her eyes to the left-side table, seeing Izumi leaning against the door leading into the kitchen. Saya walked over to her. "Ah, Igarashi. Will Monokuma be requiring your services tonight?" she asked, putting on a rare friendly smile. Izumi just looked briefly to Saya and then looked away.
"Igarashi, I asked you a question," Saya said, Izumi just glaring at Saya before turning her head away again. "You're acting like a ten-year-old, what's the matter?"
"She said she's not talking to you because you wouldn't let her grope Sora," Asana explained, taking a drink of blue punch.
"That's n-not what I-" Izumi said, face turning bright pink.
"Hey if you can't speak for yourself I'm speakin' for ya. I always tell the truth, even if people don't wanna hear it!" Asana protested.
"So, you're refusing to speak to me? That's vexing…" Saya muttered.
"Y-you hypocrite…" Izumi muttered.
"Yeah, how does it feel?!" Touki shouted, from literally dozens of feet away from them at the opposite table.
"Nanashima, tell Minami to be quiet," Saya ordered, Asana downing her punch in one big gulp.
"Sure thing," Asana said as she cracked her knuckles and walked over to the table.
"A-are you having intentions of assault!?" Saya exclaimed, eyes wide in shock.
"That's how I shut people up! You got a problem with that, queen nerd!?" Asana called from the hall, Touki quickly running off from the table with a panicked yell.
"Y-you're not my assistant anymore, Nanashima! You've been terminated from your position!" Saya shouted.
"Man, I just set a record with how fast I can get fired from my job! I'm awesome." Asana said with a chuckle. "Now, where's Miyuki?" she said as she looked around the hall.
"Right… Chiwa, would you mind being my assistant?" Saya asked, Chiwa's eyes lighting up.
"Of course!" Chiwa said, tearing away from Airi.
"Stop. No. Come back, Chiwa." Airi said, barely moving from the fountain.
"Minami, shut up for the rest of the banquet!" Chiwa called as she ran up to Saya's side. Saya chuckled.
"You're proving better than my last assistant already," Saya said proudly before turning to Izumi. "You are now suspended from your position!" she said, Izumi just rolling her eyes and walking out of the dining hall.
Saya sighed and look around, first spotting Koba next to a platter of various cheeses and a plate of crackers. He was putting different cheeses between two pairs of crackers, and eating multiple sets of cracker sandwiching while slamming down a green glass of punch between each one. He was ravenously stuffing cracker sandwiches into his mouth. Past Koba's shoulder, Katsuya was sitting in the corner near the stage's curtains, back against the wall as he was sharpening his knife with a small whetstone. Saya shivered slightly and thought about confronting him about the knife he was carrying, but decided to avoid the Ultimate Hunter for now.
Asana made it around the other side of the table, Miyuki greeting her with a smile despite shivering more than a chihuahua in winter and making her red cup of punch slosh violently between sips. Asana chuckled and gave Miyuki a slap on the back. This made her nearly jump out of her clothes and throw the cup far behind her back from being startled, the cup crashing on the floor in the middle of the room. "Ah! Asana! D-don't do that!"
"Heh, sorry, MiMi! Here, lemme get ya some more punch." Asana said, heading over to the table on the right. Saya's eyes followed Asana to the table, which had three bowls of punch with three different colors. All three had an index card with a name next to them; Red Riot, Blue Blast and Green Growler. Yuuto was stirring the ladle of the blue punch lazily before pouring some into a clear plastic cup. He was shirtless, showing his wiry, long-limbed frame and pallid complexion covered in tattoos of various band logos, none of which Saya recognized. At the Gates, Omnium Gatherum, Gojira, Dimmu Borgir, Strapping Young Lad, The Darkness, Code Orange, Dillinger Escape Plan, whatever those were.
Sora was stood next to him, thankful that Yuuto's shirt was a few sizes bigger than his usual shirts as Yuuto liked to wear oversized, comfy T-shirts over something skin tight. It also had the benefit of making him look less lanky and boney.
Yuuto poured a cup of Red Riot for Sora, handing it to him. "Cheers," he said, tapping their cups together. Surumi skipped over to the table, grabbing the ladle for Green Growler and pouring two cups before skipping off. Rinne soon arrived, pouring herself a cup of red punch. Saya turned her eyes away from the punch table, seeing Daichi in a corner near the door, glaring at everyone and looking as irritable as ever. He turned to a nearby "No Smoking" sign on the wall, giving it the middle finger before giving Saya the middle finger for staring at him.
Saya tightened her hold on her yardstick, ready to march up and strike Daichi when Chiwa suddenly exclaimed "Akada! Stop drinking out of the fountain like a dog!"
Saya turned to see Rokuro at the fountain in the center of the room. The fountain was a statue of a Monokuma posed with arms outstretched, holding a paper fan in each hand and one atop his head. The fans spouted out water into the fountain, where Rokuro was scooping handfuls of water into his mouth and holding his open mouth of the streams coming out of the fans.
"I gotta drink water! All Monokuma gave us is punch! Punch isn't healthy!" Rokuro exclaimed.
"If you wanted water, you can order one from the MonoStaff!" Saya interjected as Rokuro dunked his lower jaw into the fountain water, taking in a big gulp of water. "Also, I don't think you're supposed to drink from fountains like that."
"Girl, don't you believe in Japanese Infrastructure!?" Rokuro exclaimed, water dribbling like a waterfall from his mouth.
"Wh-what? No, but-" Saya began before being cut off.
"Girl, this is municipal water! It's life energy, municipal life energy. I'm not going to rot my insides with sugar, I'm gonna rot it with the fact this water is slightly alkaline from the soil having an excess of magnesium chloride and had been previously treated with minute amounts of chlorine!" Rokuro said, dipping his hands back into the fountain water.
"How… how do you know that?" Chiwa asked.
"Don't ask, just listen! What I do makes sense!" Rokuro shouted. Saya walked over and struck Rokuro in the back of the head with her yardstick.
"Go get a water bottle from the vending machine if you're so thirsty. Cease drinking from the fountain at once, Akada." Saya said, heading for the punch table. Saya began looking over the three punch bowls. "Hm… which one to go with?"
"Red Riot is mostly watermelon with a bit of pineapple thrown in for flavor. It's like two parts missing from a fruit punch. Blue Blast is raspberry, so you can just forget it and Green Growler is melon and strawberry put together." Rinne explained.
"Your knowledge of punch is astounding," Saya said dryly.
"Thank you, I'm an expert," Rinne said in a battle of sarcasm between the two. "I taste tested each one before anyone else touched them. I wanted to make sure Monokuma didn't spike them with poison, narcotics or some sort of virus. I'm immune to most poisons from being fed tiny amounts to gain immunity, and I'm fairly certain when I know something is laced with drugs."
"...Were they laced with drugs?" Saya asked with a nervous glance at the bowls
"One. A world-renowned drug called 'Sugar.' There are pounds of the stuff in here." Rinne said, swirling her glass a few times. "I think it's to make up for it being kind of poor punch overall."
"Very well. I guess I'll go with Blue Blast." Saya said.
"Of course you do," Rinne said, ladling up a cup of blue punch and handing it to her.
"Thank you," Saya said, taking a sip. The taste of blue raspberry hit her lips, Saya swallowing it quickly. The highly processed taste of sugar-laden drinks was not one she was terribly familiar with, but it would do for a time. Chiwa took a cup of Blue Blast as well as the two continued to patrol the dining hall. They stopped at the other table, looking over the assortment of food. Saya grabbed a few sushi rolls while Junichi and Surumi looked at the finger sandwiches.
"Hm… such a fascinating collection of edibles." Surumi said, looking around before picking one up in her hand. "You would need multiple amounts of small sandwiches to facilitate the nutritional properties of one regular sandwich."
"I think it's just something to give people while the actual food is cooking," Junichi said, eating a bite of temaki roll. "You know, like an appetizer. They're technically called tea sandwiches, but I like calling them tiny sandwiches."
"I see…" Surumi said, popping one of the sandwiches into her mouth. "Mmm, ham and prosciutto. Could use some mustard…" she muttered, Saya and Chiwa turning back to the table. Chiwa grabbed a turkey and bacon sandwich, watching from their vantage point as Touki found a safe place away from Asana, who was now chatting with Miyuki. Yuuto and Sora continued to drink and talk, Sora showing a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Koba was shoveling crackers and cheese into his mouth, Rinne sitting back and drinking more punch. Katsuya had finished with his knife and Daichi was still flipping off the "No Smoking" sign.
Rokuro was now switching up to doing a few sit-ups while Airi was hovering around the chip bowl. Eventually, Saya watched as Surumi began walking on her hands towards the fountain, Junichi following after her. She softly tilted herself forward, putting both feet on the top of the fountain and jumping off her hands to stand herself back onto her feet.
"Whoa, that was pretty cool!" Chiwa said, watching as Surumi took a bow. However, Saya was focused more on keeping everyone in her sights. Yuuto, Sora, and Rinne stayed at the drinks table. Asana and Miyuki were picking out sandwiches while Koba continued to eat crackers and cheese as if his life depended on it. Airi was spreading sour cream from one chip to the other. Daichi was in his sulking corner and Izumi still hadn't returned. Rokuro was still exercising on the floor and Touki had finished filling up a plate, heading off towards the door out of the dining hall.
Her eyes returned to Junichi and Surumi at the fountain, Surumi holding Junichi's hand and staring deeply into his eyes. There was a warm smile on her face, but soon the room was surrounded in black. All Saya could see was darkness. She quickly reached into her pocket, grabbing her inhaler as she felt her lungs began to tighten. She quickly coated her lungs in medicine as a loud panic overcame the room.
"The hell!?"
"U-uhh… What just happened? Where'd the lights go?"
"Who cut the lights?!"
"Shit! Get against the wall, MiMi!"
"Try and find an outlet to turn it back on! Hold the wall if you have to."
"Chiwa? Chiwa! Come back!"
"Somebody? Help!? I can't see!"
"And the night just keeps fucking getting better! Are you shitting me?"
"Everyone stay where they are! Don't add more chaos, Monokuma can turn the lights back on!"
Saya's ears were flooded by the shouts of the other students, but she heard the sound of a door opening behind her.
There was a strange, metallic clinking sound hitting the floor nearby.
"Guys, what's going on!? We heard screaming!"
"T-Touki! Be careful!"
"Everyone find each other and exit the room in a single file line!" Saya called from her position, reaching out for Chiwa.
"Tell me where the lights are and I'll turn em back on!"
"Surumi, are you still there?"
"JUNICHI!"
CRASH!
That, by far, was the loudest sound Saya had ever heard in his life. There was the crunch of metal, the smashing of glass, the cracking of the floor, and the deafening velocity of the crash all hitting at the very same moment, her ears ringing in agony as she felt like his body was frozen.
"W-what the hell was what!?" A voice from nearby her said, sounding something like Touki's.
"S-somebody needs to get the lights!" another voice called, Saya was starting to figure it would have been Izumi.
"Why are the lights not coming back on!?" A third asked, sounding like Koba's.
"Hold yer horses I'll get the lights. Jeeze, you guys are dramatic." A voice that was distinctly Monokuma's answered.
"Dramatic? Did you HEAR that noise!? The place sounded like it blew the fuck up!" came a fourth, which he recognized as Daichi's.
After another minute of silent wait, the lights clicked back on, nearly blinding Saya as her eyes were blasted with brightness. Saya quickly shut her eyes shut until a scream pierced through her ears. Her eyes shot open, turning to see Izumi staring, wide-eyed and hands covering her mouth. She looked around the room, seeing looks of horror and disgust on their faces, all looking right at Junichi.
Saya turned slowly, hesitantly to Junichi, seeing that his body was splashed in thick, dark pink liquid. and staring straight ahead, eyes wide in terror. Saya followed his gaze to see a gruesome, visceral sight. The entire chandelier landed right in front of where Junichi was laying. The chandelier itself, almost 10 feet across, had its glass shattered into millions of pieces on the floor, the metal itself bent to the point of disrepair as the metal and glass stopped short of his legs. The golden colored carpet was stained a deep salmon in fresh blood, the same blood that had splattered onto Junichi's face and his clothes in a circular pattern. Saya's eyes drew closer to the center, her eyes growing wider as she looked upon the worst part of the whole display.
A lifeless corpse mangled in piles of broken glass. The weight of the massive chandelier ripping off an entire leg and leaving it separated on the floor. The stomach was nearly bisected to the point he could see the viscera holding the organs together, the messy strands of auburn hair covering what remained of the person's face, reflected hundreds and hundreds of times in the reflections of the glass.
Surumi's face. Her body was almost entirely obliterated underneath the chandelier as Junichi laid on the floor, it was like all the blood in her body was squeezed out to form a target shape in the carpet.
Ding Dong, Bing Bong.
"Uhh… Normally I'd show up on a TV, but since I'm right here," Monokuma said, walking in front of the stunned Junichi. "Sooooooooo…"
"A body has been discovered! Tough luck, huh? Well, after a brief investigation, we'll have ourselves a Class Trial!" Monokuma announced before sweeping bits of broken glass off his hind paws.
"Investigate…?" Saya asked, barely able to pull her eyes away from Surumi's body.
"You'll have to investigate the crime scene and anywhere else that will have relevant info to find all the clues you will need to solve this murder!" Monokuma explained. "Once I feel you guys have gathered everything, I'll call for you all to the elevator so we can begin the Class Trial!"
"Oh, and one more thing. I've uploaded a special bit of information to your student handbooks! Presenting… the Monokuma File!" Monokuma announced, a small series of pings going off. Saya pulled otu her student handbook, seeing the "Truth Bullets" menu finally open up. Saya pressed it, seeing a section deisgnated "Monokuma File #1"
"Well, I gotta get the class trial! Seeya, nerds" Monokuma then disappeared, though Junichi seemed to not even notice that the bear was even there at all. He just stared at Surumi's body, twisted and torn by the chandelier, lifeless eyes staring back at him. His whole body shook as tears streamed down his face before he let out a loud, anguished scream.