Chapter 2: Day 2
Ding dong, bing bong.
Togami's eyes shot open at the sound of the monitor on the wall clicking on. Rolling over in bed, he growled as the image of Monokuma appeared on the screen. The bear appeared relaxed in a computer chair, with monitors of all sorts behind him showing blurred images.
"Gooood morning!" the bear exclaimed, piercing through the silence of the room. Togami scowled and ignored the rest of the message as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. He had half a mind to cover the monitor with one of the pieces of artwork hanging on his dorm room walls, yet he knew it would only muffle the sound at best. Instead, he waited for the message to conclude before sighing heavily and pushing himself up to a seated position, the bedsheets falling to his lap.
Togami never denied reality, but for the first time in his life, he wished that what he experienced the previous day had been a dream. Leaning forward, he placed his head in the palm of his hand and closed his eyes. "I am trapped here…" The fact hit him hard as he let his hand fall to his lap. "I am trapped here with an animatronic bear and a bunch of idiots. I'm being forced to create...whatever the hell that thing was that we made yesterday. For an ill-mannered bear."
A Monokuma Casanova. The name still made Togami shudder in sheer embarrassment. "I need to get out of here. I need to-"
Ding dong.
Togami blinked at the sound of the doorbell to his room. Frowning, he pushed the blankets off and stood. For a second, he thought about quickly getting dressed, then shrugged when he realized it was no doubt one of the other students knocking. "Forget it. I have better things to do than entertain that lot." Pulling on a pair of black slacks, he soon began buttoning up his white, long-sleeve shirt when -
Ding dong.
Togami shot a glare at the door. "Can't they take the hint that I'm in no mood for their games?" Finishing the buttons and straightening his cuffs, he grabbed the nearby crossed tie.
Ding dong. Ding dong.
"Enough!" he shouted. He slammed the tie down on the table, swiftly put on his square-framed glasses, and strode up to the door. He pulled it open -
"Good morning!"
And was greeted by a smiling, overly-energetic Ishimaru Kiyotaka.
"Why do you keep ringing my doorbell?" Togami seethed as he looked the hall monitor up and down. Ishimaru was fully dressed in his white school uniform, the badges of his station across the chest of his button-up jacket and the red armband tightly wrapped around his left arm. His short, black hair spiked in all directions, while his thick eyebrows seemed to rise up to the temples of his skull. Behind Ishimaru, Togami watched as Hagakure Yasuhiro trudged groggily in the direction of the dining hall, his wild, brown hair and undone jacket even more untidy than the previous day.
"Because it's morning, and we must prepare our bodies and minds for the day!" proclaimed Ishimaru, his red eyes blazing with passion. Hagakure, or 'Hiro' as he had requested to be called, shot Ishimaru an annoyed look before moving on, which told Togami that the Ultimate Moral Compass hadn't just decided to bother him that morning. Unfazed by any of this, Ishimaru continued, "Therefore, we will begin our preparations today with a breakfast meeting! Every morning from here on out, everyone is expected to meet in the dining hall for breakfast no later than 7:30am sharp!" Smiling and holding his hands out, Ishimaru added, "I must admit, it was my idea! It's a great idea, is it not? We will build strength in numbers and overcome the trials before us!" Saluting Togami, he concluded, "Well, I must spread the good news to the others! Be there no later than 7:30!"
Togami slammed the door shut.
A headache was developing between his eyes, and he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a small, sardonic chuckle. "This must be Hell," he thought. "There is no other possibility."
He walked back to the table and began fastening the tie across his chest. With ease, he used one of the buttons on his shirt to hold the tie in place after positioning it carefully. He then grabbed his black jacket and straightened the creases out of it with a swift brush of his hand. Entering the bathroom, he checked himself in the mirror.
Then, he sighed. Again.
"If absolutely nothing else, I'm going to need coffee if I'm to deal with this ridiculous crisis," Togami reflected, grabbing the edges of the sink and staring at himself in the mirror. "But to do that, I'm going to need to go to the dining hall, where everyone no doubt has gathered thanks to Ishimaru's absurd decision." Taking a moment to reflect on his options, Togami realized he was simply in a no-win situation. But he needed food, and he needed to escape. "Fine, let them have their meeting. I won't let their foolishness dictate my behavior. If they want to have some sort of communal breakfast, let them. But I'll get my coffee and leave them to do whatever the hell they wish."
Releasing his hold on the sink, he straightened his jacket one final time and walked out, making sure to grab his dorm key off the table. He then exited out into the hallway, shutting and locking his door, before making his way towards the dining hall. He could hear Ishimaru far in the distance shouting his speech to some other victim, so Togami briskly walked, hoping against hope he could beat the Ultimate Moral Compass to breakfast.
He sauntered into the dining hall and smirked. Clearly he was not the only one unamused by the sudden morning ritual.
Sitting at a large table were a majority of the other students, all with their heads down, eyes glazed, and looks of disgust or boredom across their expressions. On one side were the mysterious Kirigiri Kyoko, the annoying pop singer Maizono Sayaka, the duo Asahina and Ogami, and the programmer chick Fujisaki Chihiro. At the end of the table sat a very groggy Hiro. On the opposite side were the moronic biker Owada Mondo, the fat slob writer Hifumi Yamada, the goth lolita Celeste, and Naegi Makoto.
Out of all the students, only Naegi turned around in his seat and offered a light smile. "Good morning," he called out in a soft tone.
"Hmph." Taking a seat at a nearby, circular table, Togami leaned back and crossed one leg over the other. He then looked around only to blink in realization.
"There are no butlers, no maids, no service at all. Meaning...there's no chef to make us breakfast. Or coffee." It hadn't struck him last night when the other students had prepared a large [and, Togami had to admit, shockingly varied] meal to lift their spirits. But this morning, with the reality that they were stuck in this building settling in… Togami closed his eyes and slowly inhaled a breath of air. "Gods give me strength for this day…"
The doors to the dining hall opened, and Ishimaru strolled in, that ridiculous smile across his face. Behind him trudged the miserable writer Fukawa Toko, the baseball star Kuwata Leon, and the fashionista Enoshima Junko. "Good morning!" Ishimaru's voice rang out.
Nobody responded.
"Thank you all for attending! We will begin our 7:30am meeting now!"
"Wh-wh-what are we supposed to d-discuss?" Fukawa asked. Togami watched as she slowly approached his table but didn't take a seat.
"How 'bout how the fuck we get outta here?" answered Owada, who leaned back and set his feet on the table.
"Oh, that's an easy one!" Everyone jumped at the high-pitched noise, and Togami turned, along with everyone else, to face the direction of the voice. From the kitchen, the Monokuma bear popped its hideous head out. Smiling and waving, he all but danced his way to the center of the room, grabbing everyone's attention. "I already told you all yesterday! I need my backups! And once you have the backups made, well, then the real fun begins and you can escape!"
"Didn't we make a backup of you yesterday?" Ogami inquired, arms crossed over her broad chest as she spoke. "That, uh, Casanova thing that we made after dinner?"
"Oh, that was just a test run!" Monokuma answered. "I mean, I had to make sure you all knew what side of a wrench to use. Otherwise, this whole thing would be kaputt before it began!"
"So now we gotta make another one of ya?!" Kuwata shouted, plopping down in a chair at the large table as he did so.
"I told you all yesterday, I have a bunch of plans for you fine, hopeful students!" Walking towards the wall, Monokuma began pulling a seemingly random, sliding chalkboard across the tile flooring. "Though I'll admit, it'd be nice if someone could help me move this so I can show you my next beautiful idea!"
Once again, nobody moved or responded.
"Oh, what a pitiful future we all have, when the younger generations refuse to help their elders. You know, you kids are terrible! Your parents should be ashamed!" Dragging the sliding chalkboard across the room, Monokuma finally sighed and turned it around for all to see. Togami's eyes widened at the childish drawing and writing.
"Is this a joke?"
"Is this a fucking joke?!" Owada jumped out of his seat. "That's what we built yesterday!" Indeed, on the chalkboard was the same image of the Monokuma Casanova from the day prior, with the name written in cursive letters above.
"Yes, but I want another one!" explained Monokuma. "And here's the thing. Yesterday was a tutorial of sorts. I gave you all the materials you needed, and you just had to follow the diagram and put it all together. But today-" Slapping his paw against the chalkboard, he said, "Today, you all need to find the materials yourselves! Can't expect handouts your whole lives, now can you?"
"And where would we endeavor to find such items?" asked Celeste, who up until now had been quietly twisting her bangs with her fingers in boredom.
"Why, throughout the school! Search high and low. I promise on my honor that all the items you require are here, either readily available or waiting to be made!"
"And just how do you have any honor?" asked Asahina. "You trapped us here, after all!"
"Did I? Hm, I don't recall that." Shrugging, the bear continued. "Anywho! You all have five days to find the items and put together another Casanova. But as you're searching, you're obviously going to be making messes, and that's just no good at all. So I need some of you to keep the place clean as well. Otherwise…" At this, Monokuma stepped forward and growled, showing off a set of animatronic bear claws. "I'll get reallllly mad. So mad, I'll keep you from finding stuff and make you all clean the baths and toilets with toothbrushes!"
Kirigiri crossed her arms over her chest. "So what you're actually saying is that we will find all the items required in this school? And we'll be building similar models for the next 50 days, at which point, you will let us free?" Her serious tone cut across the room, somehow captivating everyone's attention. Despite himself, even Togami found his gaze drawn to her. Her words and tone were yet another wake-up call that this wasn't some dream. If they were going to get out, they needed to take this bear seriously, no matter how silly or embarrassing it was.
The school ceremony from yesterday replayed in Togami's mind. "This is reality," he thought. "We're actually stuck here…"
"Of course!" Monokuma exclaimed as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't know why you all keep harping on and on about leaving, but yes, if you all do what I ask, in 50 days I'll let'cha go!"
"And we have to keep the place clean while we search the building?" Fujisaki reiterated. "Otherwise, you'll keep us from searching?"
"Exactly! See, you're all getting the picture! You can use your e-Handbooks to find the places where items will be found, but keep in mind you might need to make some items on your own. That's just the way it is!" Giggling, he added, "Man, don't I sound like a video game character or something? I gotta be here to help you all out, right? Puhuhuhuhu!"
Togami watched as Kirigiri and several others pulled out their e-Handbooks. Monokuma, sensing the shift, smiled once more and concluded, "All right, I'll check in on you all occasionally and when it's done, but otherwise, you know the drill. Besides, you already built one of these - it should be a piece of cake! Mmm...cake. Sounds like breakfast to me!" Rubbing its tummy, the bear turned and exited the dining hall, leaving them all alone once more.
Only the sound of someone's stomach growling brought them all back to reality.
"S-Sorry," Kuwata awkwardly said.
"That's it. We need breakfast!" Ishimaru pointed at several of the girls. "Ladies, eggs and bacon, on the double!"
"Hmph, you'll have to do better than that," Celeste retorted. Glancing at Hifumi, she demanded, "Make me some milk tea. Only the best will suffice."
"M-Milk tea?" Hifumi repeated. "But, I, uh…"
"We should indeed eat some breakfast, as we'll need our energy if we're going to be finding these items," Kirigiri noted. "There are classrooms and locations on each floor that are highlighted as potential locations for necessities, and the diagram and required materials are also loaded onto our e-Handbook. It looks like he plans on having us use this as our primary tool for putting his backups together."
"Well, then why don't we split up into groups?" Naegi asked, his hopeful tone sounding almost comical in comparison to Kirigiri's thoughtful voice. "Maybe two or three of us can tackle each room. That will still leave a few to do whatever cleaning needs done."
"Naegi, that's a brilliant idea!" cried out Ishimaru. "Breakfast first, then we'll divide everyone into groups. I'll lead the cleaning team. Kirigiri, you seem to understand the e-Handbook. You and Naegi can assign the groups that will begin searching this school."
"W-Wait a minute!" Naegi cried out, waving his hands innocently in front of him. "I didn't-"
"Meh, just accept it," Enoshima remarked. "'Sides, I'd rather be assigned a room by you than Morality Watch here." By now, Asahina, Ogami, and Hifumi were standing out of their seats. Togami watched as they entered the kitchen and realized that these three would be preparing whatever meal he was about to have for breakfast.
"Please let whatever concoction they make for coffee just kill me outright," Togami solemnly prayed as mindless conversation began to fill the dining hall. "Just make it quick and painless."