Hope's Peak Academy.
Up close, the building was quite intimidating. The school itself was enough to make me feel even more anxious than I already was on my very first day! The school had actually scouted me out, as well as many others like me! Ultimates. People that are known to be the best of the best! Since I was young, ultimates had always fascinated me, and it was my goal to be one in my own field!
I wouldn't personally say I was the best, however. So the fact that Hope's Peak scouted me was so exhilarating! I couldn't believe my eyes upon getting the acceptance letter. And because of that letter, before the gates for the ultimate school full of ultimate students, stood me; Sayaka Maizono, Ultimate Pop Sensation! Ultimate Pop Sensation is a little much for me personally. Ultimate Pop Star feels a little better, or much simpler Ultimate Idol. However it's the title I received from Hope's Peak, and I wouldn't dare argue it.
I continued my monologue trying to pump myself up and bury my anxiety before realising the time! The clock striking 7 on the dot as I hurried my way past the gate and inside to the main hall. We're set to meet at 8, but I try my best to always be punctual! You cant make it in the idol business without always making a good impression~
"Yeah... Yeah let's do this!" I say to psyche myself up one last time, taking my first step into the school building.
It's a little awkward, to say the least. No one else is here at all, though that does make a little sense. I have plenty of time before the scheduled meeting time, but I'm not really sure how to use it. It takes me checking the time thrice, playing eye spy with myself, as well as just rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet for a while until someone else shows up. It's about 7:10 am when I see him, but I can never forget that boy. In walks none other than Makoto Naegi, someone I had never really talked to, but knew very well back in my old school! I'm so excited to see him that... well...
Everything spun. All the walls, the floor and the ceiling began to spin, my vision going dizzier than ever in my life as I feel consciousness leaving me behind on the floor...
...
W-What...?
I woke up with my head resting against a hard wooden desk, in a classroom I'm sure I've never been in before. Dimly lit with little to no decoration, spare a few odd posters saying things like "Despair" on them. None of it was making sense, and the pounding headache forming wasn't helping. My body feels heavy like I've been bedridden for ages. I get out of my seat a little too fast, my vision going blurry and full of static. Rubbing my eyes hard, I stumble my way out of the room like I'm learning to walk again. The hallway is covered in purple light, but what's stranger than that are the windows.
Each window is boarded up by giant metal sheets, along with large screws and bolts to hold them in. Taking a glance back, the classroom has them too. Letting go of a breath I didn't realise I was holding, I soldiered on, trying to find my way around. The sound of people talking down the hall gauges my attention, rounding the corner to my surprise is a wide range of people of all shapes and sizes, and looking carefully at the room they're in, minus the odd situation about the door, this is definitely the main hall I was in moments ago! That makes a lot of sense actually, I probably passed out from the stress and was carried into a room by Makoto! With a sigh of relief, I scan the crowd. There are 14 other students here, myself not included, however, I cant seem to find Makoto among them. Putting that thought aside, my eyes land on a few girls in the corner.
"Um... Hi! I'm Sayaka Maizono, I look forward to getting to know you!" I smile with my eyes closed, trying to sound as polite as I can.
"Oh hey! Another new kid, whats up!" The blonde one says very enthusiastically. With a peace sign, she happily gives me her name "I'm the Ultimate Fashonista, Junko Enoshima~"
"Aoi Asahina, but you can just call me Hina! Oh, I'm the Ultimate Swimming Pro too!" The brunette adds with a smile, mumbling my name under her breath as it looks like she's... writing it on her hand?
"And I am Celestia Ludenburg, Ultimate Gambler. But please, just call me Celeste, dear?" She looks a lot like a doll, dressed up in fancy victorian gothic clothing, and paler than a vampire.
"Were you knocked out too?" I ask before I can stop myself. This is gonna be embarrassing.
"Uh... yeah, wait how'd you know that?" Hina's cute shocked face almost makes me smile a bit.
"Oh, I'm Psychic!" I stare at the three of them with the best straight face I can give, before caving in. "Haha, just kidding, I just have good intuition... Also, the same happened to me."
More and more of them start to notice me as the new face, and come up to greet me! The Ultimate martial artist, baseball star, fanfic creator, moral compass, biker gang leader, programmer, and clairvoyant all say hi! Though not all are as quick to say hello to a new face it seems. The ultimate affluent progeny as I'm informed by Hina sulks in the corner by himself, the ultimate writer not far away from him, as well as a girl with long pink hair, whose ultimate no one seems to know, is also by herself, scanning her surroundings inspectingly. Conversation all but comes to a halt when Yasuhiro, the ultimate clairvoyant, points out at the door as Makoto walks in.
"So counting him, that's 15... A good cut off point but, I wonder if this is everyone." Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fanfic Creator says to the group.
"Sorry I'm late, a bunch of odd stuff happened and then I was... asleep." Makoto half laughs, but that causes almost everyone to perk up.
"'A bunch of stuff'? Did you also encounter nausia and discomfort before coming unconcious?" The pink-haired girl all but interrogates him. His simple nod is all she needs, and she looks content with just that.
"Oh! I'm Makoto Naegi! The Ultimate Lucky Student!" He says with a smile to her, which she stares up at him for a moment before sighing.
"My name is... Kyoko Kirigiri." She folds her arms and looks away in disinterest. But at least I know her name now!
Makoto looks content with the response, and moves on to the next person, casually greeting everyone up until he gets to me. I happily give him my name, but it looks like he blanks out for a moment. I wonder if he recognises me? He's still lost in thought for a few moments before I lean in to say; "I'm... not a doll you know, I'm alive!"
"Huh? Did you hear me!?" He looks flabbergasted, it's almost cute how easy he is to read.
"I'm psychic." I try my best not to blink as I stare into his eyes.
"...Huh?"
"Kidding! I just have really good intution." I giggle as he sighs a breath of relief, before we know it we're both giggling. I've put him in a good mood, I might as well ask if he remembers me. "Hey by any chance-"
"Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our time with this ridiculous back and forth!" Kiyotaka, the ultimate moral compass, barks at us. Looking around it seems I'm not the only one who wants to introduce myself. I give Makoto a polite nod as he goes to talk to the rest of the students.
No one but Makoto has really given her any attention, so I decide to spend my time trying to talk to Kyoko. Walking up to her, I grab her attention with a quick wave. "I'm Sayaka Maizono, the ultimate pop sensation! It's nice to meet you!"
"Kyoko Kirigiri." She says matter-of-factly.
"Kyoko, huh? What's your ultimate talent?" I smile. Her expression doesn't change, but it does falter for just a quick second, so quick most wouldn't notice.
"..." She's silent for a moment before looking away to avoid eye contact. "Why should I tell you?"
"Well, you don't have to, but It'd be nice if you did!" I watch her carefully, making note of any weird body language. "Do you... know what your ultimate talent is?"
"Wha-" She actually looks taken aback that I'd even suggest such a thing, "How did you..."
"Oh, I'm psychic!" I smile. "Kidding, I just have good intuition, but not knowing your own talent is a little odd."
"It's not that I... Nevermind." She seems to be trying to build that wall back up. I'll break it someday!
"I don't mean to interupt everyone, but I think we should discuss... what happened. Just after I got to the main hall, I lost conciousness for a while, and it seems this happened to everyone else, right?" Leon scratches his head as he looks out to the group.
"Yeah, b-but that's just weird! Why would something like that happen..." Makoto looks worried, and I don't blame him.
"Exactly! That's why we're all freaking out!" Mondo suddenly yells.
"That's not just it. You've all seen the windows, yes? All of them boarded up tight." Taka adds.
"Plus! All my stuffs missing! Even my phone!" Junko scoffs, sulking as she crosses her arms.
The second she says it, my hands go to my pockets to check, and it's the same for me. Looking around, it seems everyone else was doing the same.
"M-My PDA is gone too!" Chihiro's lip quivers.
"And the main hall here... The front exit is completley blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there was nothing like that when I first got here...!" Taka stares at said hatch intently.
"Maybe we got caught up in something bad... some sort of crime?" Junko says.
"What, like a kidnapping?" Leon's face pales, and I can't help but shudder at his words.
Before anyone else can add any more, the monitor above us flicks to life, a staticky silhouette stares down at us. The bell chime eventually captures everyone's attention as we stare back at it.
"Ahem, ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then! Please make your way to the gymnaisium at your earliest convienience... That's all, I'll be waiting~!" Just as quick as it came, it was gone. The high pitched and eerie voice was so out of place it made my skin crawl.
"What. The hell. Was that just now?" Junko is the first to speak, but just as she does, Byakuya, who had still been ignoring everyone, walks right out of the room.
"Well then, If you'll excuse me;" Are the first words I've heard him speak, but just like that, he too was gone.
Junko yells something out after him, but I'm too busy trying not to freak out to notice. Something about that voice makes my body want to escape this situation like nothing else. My head snaps backward as I feel a hand get placed on my shoulder by Yasuhiro, the ultimate clairvoyant.
"Hey relax, this whole thing is probably just to get us pumped up for the entrance ceremony. Man, thank god this is all a joke!" Before I can thank him for cheering me up, he too walks out of the main hall towards the gym. I frown a little, walking over to Makoto with a small skip to catch up.
"W-Well, shall we go?" I nudge him playfully, trying anything to distract myself from the situation. He nods, and off we go to the gym. Slowly, everyone arrives.
"Where are all the other students... Why are we the only ones here?" I think aloud as we enter. Most students were faster than us, leaving just Makoto, Kyoko, Junko and I to walk in.
I look at Kyoko. Stoic and Silent. I'm not sure if her calmness is an act, it could be she's just a lot stronger than I am, or maybe I'm just overthinking things. Junko, on the other hand, is shaking just like me, murmuring: "This is bad..." to herself over and over. I gulp as I clutch onto Makoto's arm, thankfully he doesn't seem to mind. The gym looks like a simple entrance ceremony, and that puts my nerves at ease. Was Yasuhiro actually correct? Speaking of the devil, he seems to be very content with himself, but I can't tell if that's from overconfidence or ignorance of our situation.
"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceramony stuff." He grins wide, helping some of us, myself included, calm down.
"Hiro was right..." I say, letting out a shaky breath. Everything was looking up.
Then he spoke.
"Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!" The same eerie voice from the monitor speaks seemingly from nowhere. Many of us are looking around for the source of the disembodied voice until our attention is grabbed by the stage.
A bear. A teddy bear half painted white half black jumps onto the podium, sitting atop it. It would almost be cute if not for the situation at hand. We all just stare until someone breaks the silence.
"A... A teddy bear?" Chihiro questions.
"I am not a teddy bear!" it replies "I... am... Monokuma! And I am this schools headmaster!" His static face stuck in a smile was so jarring, so creepy. All of my anxieties from this entire evening have just turned to outright fear.
"T-That teddy bear can talk?!" Hifumi screeched.
"I'm sure it just has a speaker in it, calm down." Taka tried to stay stern, but it was obvious he was just as afraid as the rest of us.
"Hey, come on now! I already told you, I am NOT a teddy bear!" The red symbol that I assume acted as one of Monokuma's eyes lit up. "I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!"
"I-It moved!" Hifumi once again screamed.
"Man, relax. It's probably some remote control toy or somthin'." Mondo scolded, only for Monokuma to growl at him.
"Okay! One more time. I'm not a teddy bear, I'm not a toy, I am Monokuma ! Your headmaster !" He stomped his foot in anger. "Anyway, welcome to your new living quarters! So now I'm guessing, you're wondering how long you'll be guests of our program? Well the answer's easy! Just the rest of your lives."
"Y-You... You cant be serious!" Leon tightened his fist.
"We'll be here... forever?" Chihiro's lip quivered.
"Aww don't fret, we have an amazing budget, and your needs will be satisfied as long as you stay!"
"That's not the issue!" I yell up at the bear. "Some of us have families and friends to go back to, we cant stay here!"
"Well, if you all want to leave so bad, there is a loophole!" Even though his face doesn't move, I could feel the grin grow wider on Monokuma's face.
Byakuya's head snapped up in focus. "Please, do enlighten us on this loophole."
"Why; graduation of course! If you graduate, you get to leave!" Monokuma put his hands on his hips.
"Ah! See you guys, nothin to worry about, he's just tryin to get us psyched up for the semester!" Yasuhiro added.
"Oh! But it's not your normal graduation... In order to graduate, you must become Blackened, and not be caught!"
"...Blackened?" Kyoko asks.
"Yep! In order to become Blackened, you must disrupt the harmony of the communal life everyone else staying here is living! If you disrupt that harmony, you and you alone will be blackened, and if you're caught as the culprit of disrupting the harmony, you'll be punished instead!"
"What do you mean by 'disrupt the harmony'?" Byakuya's fists tighten, and it seems he already has the answer to his question yet wants confirmation.
"Oh? Well that's quite simple. Murder ." The gym is left in silence for just a few moments, before a sudden uproar from all of us.
"M-Murder?!" Makoto yells.
"S-Say whaaaaaat?!" Hifumi clutches his heart.
Byakuya looks down, seemingly angered. Kyoko is the only one who seems to not be freaking out, but rather is analysing Monokuma and his movements. If only I was like her. Thankfully for me, Makoto hasn't let go and is holding me protectively.
"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting! It doesn't matter how! The student who kills and gets away with it gets to leave! The rest is up to you, give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible! Oh I can't wait to see how you kill each other~" Monokuma gives a wave goodbye but is stopped.
"W-What the hell do you mean? Kill each other!?" Leon screams.
"To kill each other is to kill each other. This is a school, I'm sure you can find a dictionary somewhere." Monokuma puts a hand to his chin.
"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to do that?!" Hina's on the verge of tears.
"Listen, I'll only say this one more t-" Monokuma mimics choking as he's suddenly grabbed by the throat. Mondo is holding him up with a single hand, the animatronic bear flailing in his grasp.
"Listen up asshole, this shit's gone way too far. 'Hell kinda joke is this?" Mondo's voice booms like thunder, none of us can do anything but watch him.
"H-Hey! Attacking the headmaster is a violation of school regulations!" Monokuma yelps as Mondo tightens his hold.
"Shut the fuck up! Let me out of here or I swear to christ I'll-" Mondo stops talking as a loud beep comes from Monokuma. He just keeps beeping. "What? Is that all it took to break you?" But the beeping only got more intense. "Stop that beeping and say something!"
"Shut up and throw it!" Kyoko yells with ferocity, enough to stun Mondo. "Hurry up and throw it!"
Mondo was stunned for a moment but in the end, gave Kyoko a nod. Just as he pulled his arm back ready to throw, Monokuma exploded in his hand. The bright flash and ear-piercing noise caused me to scream. I couldn't hear anything but the ringing and my heartbeat. I had dropped to the floor with Makoto with me, clutching my head trying to protect myself as I got down. It took a while for me to calm down, tears still pouring down my face as I slowly looked up. Mondo was lying on the stage barely moving, a large burn scaring up the arm that held Monokuma. Most of us were still reeling from the shock, but Kyoko was on the move. Jumping atop the stage, she ran to Mondo's side. Wincing at the sight of his arm, she tried to move past it and check his vitals. A hand on his neck and one over his mouth to check his breathing and heart. Before she could do anything more, another Monokuma jumped onto stage seemingly out of nowhere, shoving her onto her back.
"Alright that's it. Out of the way!" he grumbled, picking up mondo on a stretcher with a second Monokuma before carrying him out of the gym. It would be comical on tv or in a game. Finally, a third Monokuma jumped up on stage.
"There's four of them!?" Hifumi yelled, only to be hit in the arm by Leon.
"Is that really where you're focusing?! We could've died!" He yelled.
"Alright alright settle down. He'll be fine, and get to live. But if any of you dare to defy me again, I'll bring all my might!" Monokuma stands tall and proud. "Here, I'm delighted to hand out these! The E-Handbooks!" Before any of us can react, one by one he comes up to us holding a tablet. No one dares to refuse it after what we just saw.
"Now, these devices have a lot of nifty features! Such as a map of the school, a record on each student, the rules and regulations, and more! Go see for yourself, and happy killing!" Before anyone can say another word, he's gone.
I just stare. I stare at where Mondo was standing, the scorched ground that could've been the death of both him and more of us. My hands are trembling uncontrollably, and I can't process anything that's happening. My mind is screaming, my heart's pounding. I can't even hear what Makoto is trying to say to me, but I can feel his presence. I clutch my head as I cry. I just cry and cry until everything goes black.
~ ️~
I slowly open my eyes as I wake up, taking in my surroundings slowly. Half of me wants to pretend all of today was a dream but, I know too well it wasn't. I'm laying in a bed in a room neither of which I've seen before, probably the school's dormitories. Leaping up out of bed, I rush to the bathroom, splashing my face with water over and over. My breathing is unsteady and shakey. How can any of today be real? Staring at my reflection for a moment, I sigh, slowly exiting the bathroom back into the main room. A large note on the table grabs my attention, listing many things. The girl's bathrooms have locks, all girls have a sewing kit, the boys get a set of tools and that all the dorms are sound-proof. Remembering something important, I search my skirt's pocket and retrieve my e-handbook. I make sure to read the rules several times, after seeing Mondo hurt, I could never break one of these.
Rule #1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time. Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution. Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly. Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. Rule #5: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of surveillance cameras. 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 executed. Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed. Rule #10: There may be new additions to the school rules according to the convenience of the headmaster.I shudder reading them, tapping away from the rules to the map as I make my way to the exit, walking out of my dorm towards the dining hall. I don't care who, I just need to find someone. I push open the door with as much strength as I can muster, gaining the attention of all 11 people inside. Par from Byakuya, Toko and Mondo, everyone was here. Makoto gets out of his seat and rushes over to me with a smile.
"Sayaka, I'm glad you're okay!" He beams, and his smile is enough to refill my hope that we'll be okay.
"W-What happened? Did I miss anything after I..." I trail off.
"Not much, we learnt Mondo was going to be in the nurse's office for a few days, but it's locked for the rest of us." Makoto rubs the back of his head, meanwhile, Yasuhiro walks up to greet me as well.
"Hey! Glad you're alright. I had to carry you to your room after you passed out. But I did predict you'd be fine, glad I was right!" His grin is wide and proud.
"Oh? Thank you Hiro." I give a polite nod, not really sure what to say as Makoto guides me to the table. I pull up a seat between him and Celeste.
"Ah, Sayaka dear. Are you alright?" Celeste puts down the cup of tea she was nursing.
"Oh, yeah I'm okay! I know how I look, but I'm pretty strong! I've built up some pretty good muscle jumping up and down on stage!" I try not to worry anyone, meanwhile, a tray of food is placed down before me by Sakura.
"Eat up, you've had a stressful day." She has a soft smirk. Despite her natural intimidating look, Sakura's quite friendly.
As I'm almost finished with my food, Byakuya walks in with Toko ghosting behind. The two sit at a table off by themselves, the former not seeming happy with the latter's company. Taka takes the opportunity to clear his throat loudly, standing up and placing his hands on the table to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, despite Mondo's absense, I believe we should discuss everything we've found around the school!" He happily leads like a class rep. "The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!"
"Guess I'll start?" Junko crossed her arms. "There's a dorm for each of us, and each dorm has a nameplate and drawing of us on it, so they've all been assigned already."
"And each room key was attached to a keychain with the owner's name etched onto it." Sakura added.
"Chihiro and I tested that thing the note said too, about them all being soundproof. I totally screamed my lungs out and they couldn't hear me." Junko twirled a strand of her hair in betwixt her fingers.
"Y-Yeah, that's right." Chihiro smiled cutely.
"Sakura and I went around testing all the metal plates to see if we could get one loose, but none of them are budging." Leon sulked.
"I tried as hard as I could, I am sorry." Sakura looked away. "However in the process we noticed a blocked off staircase, we were unable to unlock the next floor as well."
"There are quite a few of locked rooms. The nurses office, the sauna, both sets of stairs and the room behind the dining hall are all locked." Byakuya stated.
"I mainly just checked out the kitchen, Hina was with me too!" Makoto beamed. "It's got quite the assortment of equipment, cutlery and food. So... if we are staying here, we'll at least be well fed!"
"Something I'd like to add." Kyoko said without a hint of emotion in her voice. "The rooms I've seen and the map on the e-handbooks do not match. All of the locked rooms do not appear, so we could be missing even more locked areas than we're aware of."
I looked back at Taka who immediately checked his handbook. "S-She's right... But, what's the point of all these locked rooms?"
"I doubt if we just ask Monokuma he'd tell us." Hifumi sighed.
The meeting wasn't much longer. More talk about the first floor and everyone's theories. Who's kidnapped us, whether or not someone would actually kill, which I was very thankful for the next change of topic after that. The 14 of us started to talk and most people here were a lot more friendly than they look. Byakuya didn't engage in conversation with anyone, however, the affluent progeny didn't straight up ignore us either. With Makoto enriched in conversation with Chihiro and Hina, I scooted my chair over to sit with Kyoko, as just like Byakuya she was merely listening in.
"Sayaka, how are you holding up?" She greets me. I can't help but look at her hands, despite eating she's still wearing her gloves. Kyoko tenses up the second she notices, and I get the hint and look her in the eye instead.
"Better, but it's probably not good to adjust to this place, right?" I ask, returned by a nod from Kyoko.
"Exactly." She smiles a little, a rare sight I'm sure, before looking me up and down as if she's thinking...
"I'm not a doll you know, I'm alive!" I say like I say every time. It's a common enough thought I can tell exactly when they think it.
"Wha- How did-" Kyoko actually blushes.
"I told you, I'm psychic!" I stare for a few seconds. "Kidding, I just have good intuition!" And it's enough to cause her to chuckle softly. At our first meeting, I'd assume she'd be like a block of ice, but it seems I'm melting her already.
"Right, right. Sorry for thinking that, even if you're not actually psychic."
"Well, you never know." I bring my hand up to my chin, pulling a thinking pose. "I may just be the ultimate psychic in disguise."
We continue talking for a moment, before the same bell as last time chimes, the monitor above flicking to life. All conversation comes to a halt, and it's hauntingly silent. Monokuma sitting in an office chair holding a martini comes on the screen, rather than the staticky image like last time. All eyes are on the monitor, terrified of anything he has to announce.
"Mm, Ahem, this is a school announcement! it is now 10p.m. As such, it is officially Nighttime. Soon the doors to the Dining Hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly forbidden! Okay then... sweet dreams, everyone! Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..." And with that, the screen flicks off.
Byakuya gets out of his seat with a scoff. "Very well then, goodnight." He says it almost rudely, but it's better than I thought he'd give anyone. One by one, each of us makes our way out of the dining hall, and with Junko as the last one out the door, said doors slam shut with an audible lock.
Taka was walking side by side with Celeste, and after hearing something she said into his ear, he runs ahead to the front of the group with a shout. "Everyone! Celeste has an idea that I believe we should all do! The dining hall opens at 7 a.m. We believe we should meet there for breakfast every morning as a head count. In case..." His trail off is more than he has to say, no one misunderstands what he's implying.
"That's not the worst idea." Byakuya sighs, "Very well, I'll see you all at morning." Before anyone can say anything else, he's pushed past Taka and slammed his door shut. Celeste smiles at the agreement to her idea that everyone seems to give, even Toko who up until now acted like she wanted nothing to do with anyone here. One-by-one everyone walks into their rooms with Makoto, Kyoko and I as the last ones outside. I happily say goodnight to them as I enter my own room, making sure my door is locked several times that night before going to sleep.
End of prologue.
Students Remaining: 15