After staggering back to his cabin, exhausted from his time in Nagito's presence, he found himself taking a shower. Despite sitting in the shade beneath the palm trees, the summer heat had continued to beat down, and Hajime found himself wondering how Nagito didn't straight up pass out wearing that heavy jacket.
He dried his hair with his towel as he walked back to his bed, sitting down with a sigh. He pulled out the monopad, casually swiping through the student profiles once again. He paused, surprised, realising that a new Hope shard had appeared on Chiaki and Nagito' s profiles since meeting with them earlier that day. Flicking back to his own profile, he stared blankly, willing the Ultimate ? to give way to something new. He scanned the same page over once more, noting that nothing had changed since the first time he'd opened the profile.
How'd they even find out my favourite food, anyway? Interviews, maybe? It's a weird detail to include.
He hesitated, finger hovering over the pad, before releasing the breath he was holding. He swiped right, landing on Izuru's page. Only the very first page was filled in, containing the same unnerving picture as before. Uncaring red eyes seemed to glare from the screen beneath a thick wave of dark brown hair, set in a face that was obviously his own.
The details remained the same, as well, including the mysterious 'Ultimate Talent/Ultimate?" he had observed previously. It was silly and a bit childish, but seeing "Ultimate ?" listed on Izuru's profile as well as his own made him feel just a little bit better. Like his chance of having a talent to call his own was more than just a long-lasted dream.
"No new details, huh?" he murmured. "Hey, Izuru, the student profiles work on these so-called Hope Shards, right? And to get a Hope Shard requires some sort of...familiarity, maybe? Or a bond? Why is it I have a shard with you, but Nagito doesn't? And I thought we'd started getting to know each other pretty well over the last day; but there hasn't been any changes."
You're somewhat correct; however, rather than familiarity, Hope Shards are collected based on the level of 'trust' between two people. I would assume that each new shard would require an exponential increase in amount. For most people, obtaining the first shard would simply require a successful introduction with another person.
"An introduction? That's it? I mean, I guess that matches up to what's already happened, but I'm not sure what trust has to do with it." Hajime brow furrowed as he automatically replied aloud. He continued to flick through the different profiles, noting the likes and dislikes of all of his new classmates.
An introduction, or more specifically, a truthful introduction is essentially entrusting another person with details about your life, including your name and background. In a world such as this, filled with technology, it gives them a certain level of access to your life, does it not?
"...That makes some sense. I guess." Hajime nodded slowly. He paused, as a new thought came to him.
"Wait, doesn't that mean that this thing can tell if you're telling the truth? Or at least measure the level of trust between people? Isn't that impossible?"
Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be true. Of course, who's to say what's impossible? You and I are here, at the same time and place, nonetheless. Many would say that's quite impossible.
"That's a pretty cool quote; I feel like I've heard it somewhere before though." He massaged his temples, and sighed. "You're definitely right about the impossible thing though; this entire trip has been nothing but impossible things, right after another."
The entire scenario he had found himself in was becoming more and more strange the more he gained insight into his situation. Even this Hope Shard system, which he normally wouldn't have paid much attention to, was suspicious at second glance. And wasn't it something that Monomi, not Monokuma, introduced?
What a surprisingly astute observation of you.
Glancing at the time, he was surprised at how late it had gotten without him noticing. How he had managed to spend so much time with just two people was frankly beyond him. He locked the tablet and fell back onto his bedspread, listening to the sound of waves crashing in the distance.
To think it hasn't even been two days since I arrived on this island. It feels like I've been here for weeks. Will I...really ever be able to leave?
The thought was sobering. He didn't trust that black and white helltoy as far as he could throw it. And since even touching the damn thing was pretty much against the rules...well, to say he didn't trust it all wouldn't be wrong to say. Would they really just be 'let go' if they killed someone? What was the point of holding a game like this? He sighed, rolling over and burying his face in the cool sheets. This wasn't getting him anywhere.
Moping and asking myself stupid questions like this is a total waste of time. In reality, I should head out, see if anyone is around at the restaurant. Maybe someone else figured something out.
He slid from the bed to the floor, pulling himself to his feet. Quickly straightening the sheets, he turned and reached for his shoes, before being interrupted by a burst of static originating from the screen perched in the corner of his room. It was quickly followed by the chime he'd very quickly come to associate with the feeling of dread.
"Oh no...that bell…" Hajime muttered. "Please don't tell me…"
"...Ahem…Attention...Please." Monokuma's image filled the screen. "Hello everyone; don't panic, it's just me! Or do panic, it's not like I care. Anyway, Hope's Peak Academy School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make. It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The big reveal! It's finally time to really get this show on the road! Meet me at Jabberwock park, pronto!" With a burst of static, the screen went black.
Hajime swore. Refusing Monokuma's orders fell under the same umbrella as the tempting concept of punting the damn bear off the island; that is, it was forbidden. In other words, he had no choice but to make his way to the park. Finally grabbing the shoes he'd reached for initially, he pulled them on, before pocketing his monpad from its place on the bed, and exiting the cottage. The jog to the central island was a grim one; Hajime didn't speak a word, mind churning anxiously, and Izuru...well, Hajime wasn't sure whether Izuru actually gave a damn about the current situation, but that didn't mean the man didn't decide to read the mood now and again.
Somehow, he didn't meet a single other student on his walk to and over the bridge leading to the central island. Perhaps they'd set out immediately, or started closer to the bridge than he had, but the eerily silent night air combined with the lack of actual people made his skin crawl.
He almost wanted to cry with relief when he encountered Peko hovered at the signing marking the path that led to the central park. She was frowning, unnaturally still except for her silver hair dancing lightly in the ocean breeze. Hajime didn't need to speak a single word before she turned his way, nodding once.
"So...you came too, huh?" The words slipped out, bitter, in the place of a greeting. Peko didn't seem to mind, and contrarily seemed to relax a little at the tone.
"Of course," she replied. "I would be a fool not to. You know the rules written in the e-handbook as well as myself. Defying Monokuma is not permitted. This situation...it's already complicated enough. Angering Monokuma needlessly would make it all the worse. I just hope everyone else feels the same way." She met his eyes as she spoke, tone sombre.
Hajime felt a thrill of unease run through him at the last line. The implications of somebody pushing Monokuma after that last display of power made his stomach churn. He prayed that everyone else had felt the same way, and that he'd arrive with everyone still safe and sound.
"At any rate, we must enter the park eventually," Peko continued. But she hesitated, looking like she was about to step forward, but turned to him instead. "I am concerned about whatever it is that Monokuma is planning for us. I am sure that it will be nefarious in nature. However," her eyes rose to meet his, filled with unwavering determination. "We must not forget that this could also be an opportunity to procure more answers. Let us step forward with courage."
Hajime replied with what he knew was a weak grin. Nausea churned in his stomach, and it was like every nerve in his body was yelling 'run away!' at the prospect of entering the park and listening to Monokuma's rambling. But he held firm. One part of him was almost emboldened by peko's strong words. "You're right," he said. "There's no point hanging around here anyway, right?"
He was unsurprised when he found that Peko and himself were the last ones to arrive at the park. Students were scattered across the open park, some talking in groups, and some fidgeting and worrying on their own. In the centre of the park was a huge stage, which had sprung up overnight. Gaudy fabric and coloured lights were strung around the space and hung off the framework in an imitation of a cheerful festival scene. In reality, the cheerful decorations felt forced, and simply fed the feeling of unease that gripped his heart.
"Nice of you two to finally join us," Hajime turned to find Byakyua glaring in their general direction. "I was going to suggest that you'd lost your nerve and decided not to show up. But apparently," his eyes flickered between them, "you were just too busy chatting instead. Is this but a joke to you?" he asked venomously.
Hajime opened his mouth to answer, but Peko moved first. "I don't believe that's any of your business," she said simply, yet coldly. Byuakyua's expression closed down, becoming more stony. . His eyes flickered between them once more. Hajime just shrugged in response and retreated, following Peko's back as she turned to leave. .
"Ugh!" Kazuichi's voice echoed, rising above the cacophony of murmured conversations. "Why'd he drag us out here this time? This is so annoying!" The mechanic moaned. He was pacing back and forth, chewing on a fingernail. The bite marks already engraved in the nail betrayed his true nervousness. He would wear a path into the grass at this rate, Hajime thought idly.
"If you didn't want to come, you should've locked yourself in your cabin. Stop complaining! What are you, a child?" Kazuichi flinched at the harsh tone, turning to meet a snarling Fuyuhiko.
The mechanic gaped silently for a moment, formulating a response, and bearing a fantastic resemblance to a shark out of water. "W-Well, ya know, bad thing's could'a happened if I hadn't come, ya know?" he finally mumbled back. Fuyuhiko didn't look impressed; rather his expression of disgust deepened further.
"Then maybe you shoulda been the one to test it out. Let the rest of us know, first-hand, what the punishment is for breakin' the rules. Now, shut up or be useful, moron!" he snarled.
A useless proposal. It should be obvious that the most likely penalty for breaking the rules is death. Please resist experienting, Hajime. The rest of these idiots may attempt to test the boundaries as they please, but it would be rather inconvenient if you died so early in the game.
Was that comment really necessary? Of course I'm not going to test it! I'm not suicidal, nor an idiot, despite what you seem to think! I listened to the damn bear and turned up, didn't I? And hey, what do you mean inconvenient - !?
"Ah, um," a new person joined the fray. "Please calm down, Fuyuhiko." Nagito pleaded. "Friends shouldn't fight, after all."
"I'm not anyone's fucking friend!" Fuyuhiko whirled, eyes flashing dangerously in the lantern light. He approached Nagito menacingly, causing the lucky student to back up nervously. "Back off, or I'll fucking kill you."
As Nagito sweated nervously, Kazuichi took the chance to scuttle backwards to a safe distance, jaw dropping in shock.
"Oi! What's the big deal? You can't threaten people like that!" Mahiru stepped in, expression outraged. "What are you, special? I bet you're just lashing out at the rest of us because you're scared too! So what, you think being a big, bad, Yakuza means you get a free pass to attack other people and swear?" Mahiru, bless her incredible courage and personal sense of justice, met the yakuza's furious gaze evenly with one of her own.
Fuyuhiko went bright red in the face, splttering incoherently for several seconds. "YOU- You can FUCK right off! I'm not like the rest of you suckers! You're all nothing but cowards!" He all but spat the words, his hands going white as he clenched them tight. At his side, Hajime heard Peko shift somewhat uncomfortably.
"Yeah, but like...you're here too, yeah. Doesn't that make you a coward, right along with the rest of us?" Akane casually interjected into the conversation, dropping the bombshell of a comment as casually as asking for a menu.
Nobody spoke for several seconds. Fuyuhiko's already red face quickly deepened to the shade of a ripe tomato, and a vein visibly began to throb in his forehead. He opened his mouth to speak twice, before his mouth snapped shut. Eventually he took a deep breath, and his face paled back to normal. Perhaps what was more terrifying was how his stance suddenly shifted; suddenly the fire-hot rage seemed to fade away, replaced with an ice-cold demeanour and a dark aura.
"A coward, huh?" he murmured. A twisted, malicious grin spread slowly across his face. "I already told you guys, it's not like that. I'm not like the rest of you suckers."
"Oh please," Mahiru began.
"I could do it, you know," Fuyuhiko interjected slowly. Everyone stilled, the implied meaning hanging in the air. "I could kill someone. If it meant getting off this shitty island; I don't even need another reason."
"Hey-hey," Hajime laughed nervously. What the fuck am I DOING- "Maybe we should all calm down? There's no point in getting angry, right?"
"Don't act like we're friends, goddammit!" Fuyuhiko snarled. Hajime flinched. "I'll say it again. The world I live in is kill or be killed; something like this is natural to me!" he grinned. "So stop trying to act so goddamn chummy with me, dumbass! I'm nobody's friend!"
"You...how dare you! Take it back; take back what you just said! I mean it!" Mahiru growled. Hajime gulped. Somehow, Fuyuhiko's outburst had made the photographer even angrier, and he suddenly felt caught in the middle.
"Not a chance in hell, bitch." Fuyuhiko laughed. "I mean it," he grinned. "Ya wanna die, I'll kill ya right now!"
To Hajime's shock, Akane stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. "If it's a fight ya want," she grinned maliciously. "I'll take ya on. Bring it." She flexed her fingers, cracking them one at a time. She's serious. Hajime realised. "She's gonna fight him? Now?!"
He didn't realise he'd spoken aloud until Peko gave him a sidelong glance. Face set in stone, she stepped forward, blocking Akane's advance. "That's enough," she said. She glanced between the two parties. "Fighting won't change anything in this situation," she said firmly.
Fuyuhiko's smile twisted into a grimace, and he made a face like he'd tasted something sour. "Don't treat me like a child," he said coldly. Peko met his gaze evenly, but didn't speak another word. Instead she crossed her arms, unmoving from where she stood. Fuyuhiko scowled, opening his mouth. Probably to spit more angry curses, Hajime thought.
"ENOUGH!" a deep, booming voice shut down the entire encounter, echoing throughout the entire clearing. Whatever heads weren't already turned and focused on the scene were now firmly focused on the group at the entrance, as Byakyua strode forward. Clearly, he'd been listening in the entire time, and now he'd finally decided to step in.
Finally, Hjaime thought, exasperated.
"Fighting is pointless." The heir said firmly.
"Huh? What, now you're tryin' to treat me like a kid too?"
"Not at all; I simply mean what I said," Byukyua said smugly. "Do you really want such an obvious killing on your hands? You'd be executed immediately, I'm sure you're aware. Unless you want to die. In which case, you really are a coward and a child."
You could hear a pin drop in the following silence. Mentally, Hajime screamed. He imagined himself slamming his head against one of the sturdy-looking poles in frustration. They were so close to resolving this stupid, pointless situation. And then, what? He instigated it again? Did no-one here understand how critical the situation? How deep the conspiracy obviously went? He nearly growled in frustration, but settled by exhaling heavily and burying his face in his hands. He wanted to cry. It was day two, and he already wanted to give up.
They're...they're so...argh..
I very much understand your pain. I tend to feel that way towards everyone I've ever met. You really must learn to lower your standards, Hajime.
I think that's just called being a dick, Izuru.
He lifted his head and looked for an unlikely saviour; not his classmates, no. Though he doubted he'd show when such juicy drama was going down, Hajime, as bile the sensation was, really wished that Monokuma would just turn up already.
"I have arrived!" To his shock, his least favorite stuffed animal rang through the park, dragging everyone's attention to the stage in the centre. "Now that's everyone's arrived, we can finally begin the show!"
Everyone arrived a while ago. Hajime thought bitterly. You were just having too much fun watching, I'd bet. He'd surprised himself how quickly he'd gone from panic to bitterness in regards to the bear's presence. He pinned it on the irritating yet reassuring presence of Izuru in the back of his mind. His thoughts must've shown on his face, because Monokuma sent a wink his way, twirling around the microphone he had in one paw, the sequined black tuxedo jacket he wore sparkling in the stage lights.
"Don't I look fabulous?!" the manical toy cackled. He posed one, twice, as the crowd of students looked on with disgust. "Hm...not much of a reaction. Too bad. I was so excited as well. Now, I feel I'm forgetting something?" Monokuma looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping his...paw? How does that-
Don't even.
Okay.
"I haven't introduced my new co-host!" Monokuma exclaimed brightly. There was a clack, followed by the sound of whirring. Slowly, a trap door opened up on stage, and the faint sound of sobbing reached Hajime's ears. As he watched, somewhat both bemused and horrified, Usami, or Monomi, as she was now known, was dragged on stage. She'd been dressed up in an equally sparkling red dress with a bow pinned to one ear.
"P-Please...I don't...wahh…" she sobbed.
What followed next was one of the longest yet nonsensical skits Hajime had ever seen. It had obviously been written with comedy in mind; and yet it was obviously Monokuma's sense of humour that had been woven through it, not of any sane person's. Monomi stumbled her way through the whole thing, dragged back and forth through the act, verbally mentally and occasionally physically. Not a single student laughed, yet no one could look away.
And then, Monokuma dropped a bombshell of his own. "Ya guys better be careful ya know," he said casually. "Cause Monomi's actually even a badder guy than me! She's the worst! An actual villain! And that's a fact. Cause ya know, she went all the way out of her way just to erase your memories!"
"Huh? Wait? What? Oh..ah…" Monomi stammered.
I KNEW IT
Congratulations.
Just let me have this, Izuru.
Hajime turned to meet Peko's eye. She studied him for a moment, obviously taking in his poorly hidden sense of victory.
"I mean, none of you even remember arriving here, right? But she took even more than that!" Monokuma paused suspensefully for the big reveal. "She took away the memories of all the years you spent together at Hope's Peak Academy! What a shocker!"
Several members of the class went pale in shock, and one even stumbled a little. Byuakyua's face was tense and even Fuyuhiko's face went pale.
"..OR NOT!" Monokuma roared. Everyone flinched backwards at the sudden change in tone. "How the hell do you think I feel? I had this big plan, ya know? All the crumbs I was gonna feed ya along the way, leading to glorious murders! But no! One of you brats," he ran his eye over the crowd and Hajime shuddered as he felt it slow and settle on him. "Decided that they were too good for memory erasure and just had to remember some of his memories and blab! My big reveal is absolutely ruined!"
Hajime flushed red under the scrutiny, even though he knew he never had a choice in the matter. Besides, blabbing? Of course he'd ask questions when something was obviously off! It was common sense! Slowly, everyone's eyes followed Monokuma's gaze and fell on Hajime, who was fidgeting awkwardly. He coughed nervously, trying not to look too guilty.
"You...you had what?" Fuyuhiko snarled. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?!"
"I-I don't remember much!" Hajime protested. He bit his lip as everyone began to scowl. "Look, I just...woke up with my memories all wonky. When I woke up; on the beach," he added, "Everyone was saying things about being first years." He frowned. "But I vaguely remembered already attending Hope's Peak for at least a year or two. I couldn't remember anything specific; for some reason the details are really hazy. But I definitely attended Hope's Peak as a student! That much I'm sure of. Plus," he glanced in Chiaki's direction, "...some of you were strangely familiar, though I couldn't remember any names." Chiaki responded with an encouraging smile, urging him on.
"Honestly, though, I'm probably missing more memories than I remember, honestly," he admitted.
"Your talent," Sonia realised.
Hajme nodded sombrely. "It's...hard to tell what's there and what's not. Because it doesn't feel like you're missing anything until you're searching for a specific memory. And from what I can tell, I'm missing bits and pieces all over the place, all from different points in my life. Not just my talent, but I can't even remember my eleventh birthday for some reason, for example."
Kazuichi's eyebrows furrowed. "Dude, how did you even realise something like that?"
Hajime just made a face and shrugged. "Look, we're stranded on an island, with nothing to do, and I realised I had holes in my memory. Of course I went poking around."
"Yeah...I dunno. It seems kind of suspicious," Kazuichi muttered. "Sorry dude."
Gundham crossed his arms, frowning. "Pray tell, why didn't thou inform anyone?"
"I...kinda thought I'd be considered crazy. I mean, I didn't have solid evidence! Just a really strong feeling and some hazy memories. And then with everything that happened afterwards," Hajime's eyes slid towards Monokuma, who was still sulking on stage. " I kinda thought I'd look suspicious. Everyone already had more important things to worry about, I guess? Though I did talk to one person about it, I suppose, so I wasn't really meaning to keep it a secret."
"Ha? What, so you were colluding with someone? Having a secret alliance maybe?" Hiyoko giggled. A malicious, razor-sharp smile slowly spread across her face.
"It was nothing of the sort." Peko stepped forward to stand beside him. "It was me that he confided in. I noticed that Hajime looked...troubled, on that first day. I had decided to attempt to connect with some of my classmates on the encouragement of our...teacher."
Monomi stopped her whimpering for a moment, ears pricking in attention. She brought her paws to her mouth and squeaked in surprise. "Peko...you really…"
"Please shut up," Peko said curtly. "As I was saying. I approached him because he looked troubled. Afterwards, he asked me some strange questions. Whether I was actually a first year student, or had previously attended Hope's Peak. Whether any of our classmates seemed familiar." She shifted her stance, crossing her arms as she closed her eyes in thought. "Of course, I had no such recollections and I told him as such. However, I too was somewhat suspicious of our circumstances and chose to further interrogate him. I mostly attributed his strangeness to heatstroke, perhaps, or a nightmare. I didn't have much time to ruminate on the matter, as Monokuma arrived soon after. It seemed like an insignificant matter with a murderous toy throwing the island into disarray." Peko concluded. She spoke plainly, with no room for argument.
As she finished speaking, she opened her eyes, running them across her various classmates, daring them to speak against her. Many of them cowered somewhat, their previous outrage and suspicious quelled beneath the ice-cold gaze. For a few moments, there was silence. But not everyone had given in to Peko's stare.
"Right." Hiyoko said dryly. " So, what I'm hearing is that, we have two liars now?"
What a brat!
Hiyoko's comment seemed to reignite the crowd, sending murmurs scurrying yet again. Peko frowned, obviously unnerved by the crowd's suden turn. One by one, once again, the eyes turned to study him.
Hajime shrunk under the gaze of his classmates. Rather than teens his own age, it was like he was suddenly surrounded by a group of shadows, full of suspicion and murderous intent. He curled his hands into fists, feeling as his fingernails dug painfully into his palms. He felt Izuru's presence uncurl in his mind, slithering forward like a weighty serpent.
Hajime, let me-
"Stop it." a crystal clear voice clearly cut through the doubtful chatter. Suddenly, there was a girl between him and his classmates. Grounded and determined, hands gripping her backpack straps tightly, Chiaki stood in front of him, cheeks puffed out in annoyance.
"Please stop. Didn't we just agree there was no point in fighting?" Her eyes ran over the crowd, her eyes softening. "Fighting like this, dividing ourselves; it's what Monokuma wants. Besides," she glanced back at Hajime, smiling. For a short moment, his heart seemed to skip a beat. "Hajime's already explained himself. You can't blame him for ignoring something like that, when we're stuck in such a weird scenario. We have to trust each other!" she declared.
Slowly, the murmurs died down, leaving the group looking vaguely ashamed. Some rubbed the back of their heads, others refused to meet Hajime's eyes. Some, like Akane, just looked perpetually confused.
Aaaannywayyy!" Monokuma sighed, "Now that you've finished with your little 'Friendship is Magic' speech, can we puullease get back on track? Finally! So, the whole memory thing is kaput. Almost." Monokuma's grin to stretch even further, and everyone's attention quickly turned to the stuffed bear. "Cause guess what? I still know things that I know you don't remember. Brat. Now," Monokuma walked to the side of the stage, grabbing a fabric pool chair hidden somewhere off to the side. Slowly, he dragged it to the centre of the stage, before very dramatically plunking himself into it.
We all know that you've spent several years at Hope's Peak Academy. Making friends! Learning useless shit! Yada Yada! Boooring! But what'cha don't know is what happened after." He cackled evilly.
"...After?" Byuakyua muttered.
"It was glorious…" Monokuma said dreamily. He reached one paw out to grab something that the students couldn't see. "Perfect...ahem." he coughed. "I mean...Look, I'm a generous bear. So I'm not gonna beat around the bush, ifyouknowwhatImean. I mean, you could kill someone to escape this place, but I'm not really sure why you'd want to?"
"Hey, hey, isn't that like, the complete opposite of what you were saying earlier?" Ibuki complained. "Is the stuffing in your head loose? Do we need to restuff you? Do we even have a needle and thread? Wait, we have a nurse! Quick!" she turned to Mikan. "Can you operate on teddy bears?!"
"Uh...m-maybe? But uh, I d-don't have any needle or thread r-right now…"
"Drat!" Ibuki swore.
"SHUT UP!" Monokuma snarled. "Look, the outside world is dead."
...Huh?
"Gone. Not-alive. Useless. Empty. Deceased. Expired. Passed on. Lifeless. Peris-"
"What do you mean, dead?" Sonia asked sharply. "You imply that there's nothing left of the outside world. But something like that is impossible!"
"What Miss Sonia said is right!" Kazuichi yelled. "Whaddya mean 'dead'? That doesn't make sense!"
"Dead is dead!" Monokuma snarled.
Dead? The world is dead? Hey, Izuru. What...what does he mean by that? That the world is dead?
"Wait, so like, someone bombed the place or something?" Akane asked, looking uncharastically shocked.
"Ahaha. No. No. Nonono. Nononononononononononono. S-Something like that. It can't be possible." Teruteru stuttered. "This is all a bad dream," he muttered. "J-Just a bad dream…"
"We won't be fooled by your foul-tongued lies, demon." Gundham growled, pulling his scarf tight. "Such a thing...falls directly into the realm of impossibility."
In his own disbelief, Hajime ran his eyes over his classmates. Mikan was not holding up well, trembling violently where she stood. Nekomaru stood tense and stone faced, looking mildly ill, if somewhat disbelieving. Ibuki was...passed out of the ground apparently, frothing at the mouth.
Is she...gonna be okay?
Nagito appeared almost as bad as Mikan. His face was even more pale than it's already sickly shade, and a look of horror was plastered firmly across his features. He didn't seem to doubt the news even a little.
The rest of his classmates wore similar looks of disbelief and concern, slowly beginning to mutter amongst themselves.
"If the world is as you say...dead." Byakuya said slowly. The chatter quickly died. "How did it happen? Nuclear war? A pandemic of some sort?" His glasses flashed gold in the lantern-light as he pushed them into place on his nose. "Please answer that."
Monokuma stared back expressionlessly. "...Violence." he said eventually. "Beautiful, senseless violence! One day, everyone just decided to beat each other to death! How amazing is that?!"
Hajime released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. That's it? People just...decided to beat each other to death? Everyone on the whole planet? Is this some sort of twisted joke? I actually took him seriously for a moment.
"..Haha. I actually took him seriously for a moment." Kazuichi muttered, echoing his own thoughts.
"Oi, oi, you're saying people just decided to beat each other up? That's so stupid?" Akane complained.
"...I don't really think you're one to talk, Miss Akane," Teruteru laughed nervously.
"Eh? Why not?"
Everyone else seemed to echo similar sentiments.
"...You're joking." Byakuya muttered. "Do you think this is a game?" he growled. "Is this your sense of humour?!"
"...Huh?" Monokuma tilted his head. "A game? Well, of course! This is the Killing School Trip, after all!" he cackled. "Now, I should clarify; the world you knew is 'dead'; that's a fact! But what's any good apocalypse story without a band of hardy survivors?"
"You mean some people are still alive?" Hajime blurted without thinking.
"Of course!" Monokuma cheered. "Hell, there's whole cities still standing in some places. But if you're wondering about your friends and family…I'M NOT TELLING!" he cackled.
"You dastardly demon…" Gundham muttered.
"Of course, that doesn't mean I don't know everything about your loved one's wiki status. But, like I said, my lips are sealed. Lips, mouth? Do I have lips? I'm a bear, I don't know! But, I might spill the beans on one condition…" His red eye glowed brightly as he spoke. "That is, of course, to kill another student on this island!"
"It all comes back to that. I see." The prodigy muttered.
"Yep, yep ahaha. That's the dealio." Monokuma grinned. "One murder is equal to one escape ticket and three, count' em, three questions about the outside world! What a deal!" he winked.
"So that's supposed to be our motive for murder?" Fuyuhiko's eyes flashed dangerously. He scowled, and spat at the ground. "What a fuckin' farce."
"Hey now! This is a great motive! A fantastic one! And I'm telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! After all, bears can't lie!"
"They can't?!" Ibuki gasped.
"Well, normally, bears can't speak, idiot!" Hiyoko snapped.
Monokuma sighed. "Honestly, this is the messiest killing game I've ever witnessed. Which is saying something! I mean, first they let in not one, but two students that shouldn't even be here, and then they botch the memory wipe on some brat, who go blabbing about and forcing me to make up new plans on the fly. It's very annoying!" he roared.
Wait, two students? Not just Izuru? But another one? Is it...is it maybe me? No, that would be...silly, right?
"Anyway, it's officially night time! Off to bed kiddos! Better get on those murder plans before someone beats you to the punch! Or the stab! No? Okay. I admit, even I think that was terrible. Good night! Bye-onara!"
And with that, Monokuma disappeared from the stage, dragging a silent, shell-shocked Monomi from the stage.
"...Two students…?" Mikan whispered.
"Looks like we get a witch hunt after all." Hiyoko commented.
…..
…..
Interesting.
Hey so, I'm alive. It's been a hell of a year. I graduated my final year of university. I began to learn how to art. I fell into like 5 different fandoms. Had an existential crisis. Fun times. I'm gonna be honest with you guys; I have no idea if I'll every finish this story, considering we've only just gotten to the chapter 1 motive. But, I'll keep plodding along, so, as along as you keep coming back, I'll keep writing. This story is NOT dead. It. Just has a really stupid writer. Thank you for all the wonderful support I have received. As always, I'm a self-centered idiot, so if you want to send an ask or get some old tumblr memes on your dash, my tumblr is BritishRaptor.