"Motive? What the fuck are you talking about!?" Exclaimed Mondo.
"Oh, by the way!" Said Monokuma. "There's something I wanna show you guys!"
"Stop changing the goddamn subject!" Yelled Mondo in frustration.
"I have a little video I'd like you all to see." He continued. "Oh, but don't worry. It's not some pervy "adult" video or anything. Seriously, it's nothing like that! It's a special video for each of you showing what's going on outside the school."
"Outside the school…?" I muttered. "What are you talking about?"
"Heh-heh!" He chuckled. "Ooh, Master's so impatient today! Why don't you just watch it and find out? Here in the school, there's a specific place you can go that has everything uou need to watch the video."
"Good, then we can go watch the video right now." Said Kirigiri. "But before we do that, I'd like to know… What are you? Why would you do something like this? What do you want from us?"
"What do I want from you…?" Monokuma repeated as he cocked his head in confusion. Well, if you must know…"
What he said next sent a chill down our spines.
"Despair. That's all. If you want to know more than that, you'll have to figure it out for yourselves. Do whatever you need to uncover the mystery hidden within this school. I won't try and stop you. Cuz to be honest, it's entertaining as heck watching you guys search so desperately for answers! So I guess I want amusement from you, too."
After his speech he went back under the table and disappeared.
"He's gone…" Said Maizono is disbelief. "And once again, he left before we could find out anything useful."
"Really?" Questioned Kirigiri. "I think we learned something VERY useful. He has no intention of standing in the way of our pursuit of the truth. Interesting…"
"Perhaps, but what about the video he mentioned?" Asked Sakura. "I'm very curious to see what's on it."
"Same here! Okay, so…!" Mondo started glancing around the dining hall. But when his gaze landed on me, he stopped. "Hey, Naegi! Check this out for is, would ya?"
"Huh? Why me!?" I asked.
"Cuz you're closest to the door! That's the rule, right?"
"R-Rule…?"
"Hey, hey…" He began repeating that word until he eventually screamed it at the top of his lungs. "HEEEEEY! You see how passionately I'm begging you!? What's the big deal? Just check it out real quick!"
His anger put me into a state of shock into which I couldn't speak. But I did say something so I wouldn't get punched again. "O-Okay… I guess I'll get going then."
"Awesome, thanks!" He said while giving me a thumbs-up. "I owe ya one!"
"…If Naegi's going, I'm going with him." Maizono said suddenly. "It's not safe to walk around this place alone."
"Yeah, sure thing." Mondo agreed. "Then we're counting on the both of ya! If anything happens, just yell and I'll come runnin'!"
"I can't decide if Mondo is totally dependable or completely terrible…" Said Maizono as we walked out of the dining hall.
"Yeah, I'd say he's kind of both." I replied. He's not exactly a bad person, but I definitely can't say he's a good person, either.
"So then, where's this "specific place" Monokuma mentioned?" She asked. "It must be somewhere you can watch DVDs, but…"
If it's a place set up to watch DVDs, then it must be the A/V room I saw on my way to the entrance when I first got here.
"The A/V room?" Maizono asked suddenly. "Okay, let's head there!"
"Huh?" I asked as I cocked my head in confusion. "Don't tell me. Intuition, right?"
"No, I really AM psychic." She said seriously before giggling again. "Kidding, kidding! You were right!"
She's really curious-quenching, she is. Anyway, we headed down to the A/V room. Unaware of what we were all about to witness…
When we entered the room, there were loads of high-end DVD players scattered about. Each one baring a roll-out chair in front of them. In front of them all was a large monitor that was currently blank at the moment.
On top of one of the DVD players was a cardboard box with Monokuma's face on the front. Curiously, I opened it up. Inside it was…
"…A bunch of DVDs." Said Maizono. "And each one has a label on it with someone's name."
"That must be the "video for each of us" he mentioned." I assumed.
"I'd better go tell everyone!" Maizono then ran off. I didn't follow after her. I just stood right there where I was. The DVDs in front of me had robbed me of all awareness. I was rooted in place…
Without anything better to do, I rummaged through the box. Fukawa, Chihiro, Sakura… Yep, all of us were in here. I then thought.
"Maybe I'll watch mine really quick before everyone else gets here." I said to myself.
I sorted through the DVDs and found the one with my name on it. Then I slid it into the expensive-looking player. Next to each DVD player were a set of headphones. I put mine on, sat down, and stared intensely at the darkened screen. And then…
I yelled out loud without realizing it, and my heart started racing. Because what I saw on that monitor…
It was my family.
My mom, my dad, and my sister Komaru were all sitting at the couch in our living room. They seemed happy as if I was just going to school and not whatever personalized hell this was.
"You getting picked to attend Hope's Peak Academy is like a dream come true." My mother said. "Make sure you do your best!"
"I'm so proud of you, son." My father said next. "But remember; don't push yourself too hard!"
"Are you really watching this, Naegi?" Komaru said excitedly. "Good luck, okay?"
If it had ended there, that would've been fine. A message of love and support. After leaving my family behind to attend Hope's Peak, it would have given me hope, given me strength. If this was a normal school, I would've been happy, if a little embarrassed. With my family's support to rely on, I would've been motivated to do even better.
But here, now, it was totally different.
I wasn't living an ordinary school life, so I had a pretty strong feeling that the video wasn't going to end there.
I hated having that feeling, but it turned out I was absolutely right.
The next instant, the screen turned to green static, and when it went back, I was mortified. The couch was torn up badly, stuffing was everywhere, the window behind the couch had a huge hole in it, and my family was nowhere to be seen.
This time, I couldn't even make a sound. My voice just… Died. Where'd everyone go…? It looks like warzone or something…
As if in reply, an all-too-familiar voice came floating through the speakers.
"Naegi Makoto, accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. And his family, who supported such a lucky boy… But it seems like something's happened to this family's well-being! Oh bot, this is bad! What could have happened to this family's well-being!?"
After Monokuma finished speaking, the text "Look for the answer after graduation!" was seen. Then the video stopped playing and the DVD ejected.
"Wh-What is this?" I panicked. "What happened to everyone?!"
I started trembling. I could feel the fear and anger building up inside me, like hot magma.
"GOD DAMNIT!" I yelled as I slammed my fist against the desk over and over again. A single thought was racing through my mind. What else? How could I think about anything else?
"I have to get out of here." I said to myself. Still shook up. "I have to get out, right now! I need to make sure everyone's safe!"