"Welcome to Hope's Peak Correctional Facility, inmates! Judgement will be passed on you shortly and you will be sentenced accordingly. Upupupupu! I'll see you soon, inmates."

I'd know that laugh anywhere and judging by the looks on the faces of my peers, they recognize it too.

Monokuma.

But, inmates?

Judgement?

Being sentenced?

...What the hell is going on!?

Before I can ask Kasumi just that, Luan's voice, usually kind and shy, screams out in an angry and heartbroken tone: "WHERE IS YUKIKO? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER!?"

Shit. I didn't realize Yukiko was in the room when those two came in and drugged us. I was too busy meeting the others.

Surprisingly, he gets a response.

The man in the hooded Monokuma robes appears in front of the bars of our 'cell'. "Do you wish for Yukiko Ishihara to be with you during this trial?" he asks.

Luan stares at the man with a mixture of rage and confusion. "This...t-trial?" he asks and quickly shakes his head. "I do not care what you do to me, just give me my child!"

The man hums, unbothered by Luan's screaming, and pulls out some sort of device from his pocket. He scrolls through it for a moment before looking back at Luan. "You can see little Ishihara after everybody is sentenced." he says and turns to leave.

"S-Sentenced?" Luan repeats confused. He screams after the man, shouting things at him in what I assume is Albanian for 'fuck you' before dropping to his knees when the man leaves our sights, defeated. Luan covers his face with his hands, mumbling sadly to himself.

The silence that enveloped our cell after Luan's initial scream is soon refilled by quieter, idle chatter.

Kasumi tugs on the sleeve of my jumpsuit, pulling me to an empty wall for us to sit against. We're both silent for a minute as we process everything that just happened.

"...Sora?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think I'm cut out for homicide." Kasumi says dryly.

"I-" I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I swear if I get put in a cell with you I'm going to commit the first murder just to get away from you." I say.

"No you won't." Kasumi grins. "And if we don't get assigned the same cell, I'll switch with whoever you get partnered with. We're going to cuddle every night-"

"In fact, the one I'll kill is you. That way I don't even have to go through a trial with you."

As Kasumi instantly rebuffs every jeer I throw at her, I have to admit, her jokes do help ease the anxiety of whatever the hell is happening.

Hope's Peak Correctional Facility. A prison? Are we being punished for something or is this just some sick setup for another Killing Game?

Hm.

Have all 26 of us really done something worth being imprisoned for? I haven't done anything that bad-

...Surely the others haven't done anything worth being imprisoned for. We're all teenagers, we're just kids - well, kids that survived an apocalypse. We're all bound to have done some shady things if we survived that. There's also the chance that they might bring up something that somebody did in their past. Apocalypses aren't the only catalyst for bad behavior.

I look around the room, observing my classmates.

Kasumi, Ultimate Prankster. An annoying little gremlin for sure, but a criminal? I don't think Kasumi has a cruel bone in her body. Just annoying ones. I hate her, she's the bane of my existence and everything that is holy. But if anything happens to her I will kill everybody here and then myself.

Stupid gremlin.

Harlequin, Ultimate Clown. I really…don't know what to make of him. He seemed oddly calm about the sudden appearance of Tenshikuma and Akumakuma and seems to have an aversion to his given name, Yuya. And what's with the eyepatch? I don't think he's dangerous, but then again, no one thought the Ultimate Fashionista was dangerous either.

Luan, Ultimate Land Artist. A teenage father from Albania. He's very kind from what I've seen and he obviously cares for Yukiko, but I don't think he's done anything particularly bad in his life either. But just going by his interaction with Armen when we first met, if Luan kills anybody I think it'll be him or the serial killer. The sociopath or the psychopath, Armen or Greyface; it all depends on who Armen finds to be a greater danger to Yukiko.

Armen, I got a bad vibe from him the second he slammed that doorknob into my gut and now that we're going to be 'sentenced' that feeling has only gotten stronger. I don't trust him at all and that's all I have to say about that.

Kensuke, Ultimate Caregiver. Childish, cheerful, and in the same category as Kasumi. They're both incredibly annoying and cheerful but I don't think he has a bad bone in his body either. Aside from the waffle incident. I'm still angry about that. But would he kill someone? I don't think so. Maybe he'd lull someone to sleep but not permanently.

Hitoshi, Ultimate Rancher. Cheerful but a bit more mature than Ken and Kasumi. The other perpetrator in the waffle incident. He and Ken seemed to be oddly...competitive about being the nicer one? I really don't get what the big deal was, it was just a stupid waffle...I don't think he'd kill someone but something tells me Toshi would be more of a target than a killer.

Toshiro, Ultimate Toymaker. He seemed like the most tolerable between the three until he started encouraging Kasumi and the others to hang out in my dorm room. He, Kasumi, and Ken are in the same boat now. They can all rot. But, between the three of those gremlins…

No, Toshiro wouldn't kill anybody. The personality switch from nice guy to gremlin was a bit surprising but it's not like he's a two-faced liar or an Ultimate Actor like the starring villain Prince Kirishima in the live-action adaptation of Sun Witch Esper Ito.

Anyways.

Candace, Ultimate Ballroom Icon. I'm still not sure what that means. It's not ballroom dancing because her title would be 'Ballroom Dancer' or something if it were. Although this stupid fucking bear has made all of the chances I would've gotten to ask her slim down a lot. And what the hell is Satanist performance art!?

Takeshi, Ultimate Tailor. I still find it a bit weird he's a "fan" of mine. I don't do anything worth being a fan of - I'm surprised he even remembered me. When the Tragedy started, my brother obviously had to stop posting the pictures and since…

Well, he never resumed posting them after it ended. That's that.

Takeshi's strange for sure, but a killer? I don't think so.

Juriya, Ultimate Surgeon. She seems to get along with Armen...somehow. From the few words I've exchanged with the guy, he seems like a sociopath. What the hell could he have done to make someone like Luan angry and why is a doctor of all people hanging around him? Juriya seems a bit cold too, yes, but she seems one thousand times more sane than Armen.

Yosuke Sakurai, Ultimate Priest.

Fuck that guy.

Kanna, Ultimate Influencer. Not anything like Kasumi or the other miniature gremlins but I feel like she'd get on my nerves. A lot. She already did when she expected me to know who she is. But would she kill anybody? No, because I would kill her first. Kanna wouldn't get the chance.

Shun, Ultimate Roller Skater. Another gremlin and the leader of a roller skating gang - the Tokyo Rakshasa, if I remember correctly. She talks a lot but I don't think she would kill anybody. Shun is just as aggravating as Kasumi but like the supreme gremlin, I don't think Shun has a cruel bone in her body.

Kano, Ultimate Gamer. We didn't get to talk much but he too had an interesting reaction to Tenshikuma and Akumakuma. From the few words we exchanged and considering his Ultimate title, I would say he's probably a competitive person.

Maybe a little too competitive for a Killing Game.

Masaki, Ultimate Taxidermist. He's...interesting. It's been a while since the Tragedy ended but he still looks like we're in the middle of it. I have to wonder if it's a mental thing preventing him from eating as much as he needs to or if he just hasn't had access to a lot of food. We'd been at Hope's Peak for less than a day and the guy only got to have one decent meal, two if Masaki went to lunch. I can't say whether or not I think he would kill somebody. Right now he's trembling, from the cold or from fear, I can't tell. Maybe both?

Greyface...the Ultimate Serial Killer.

Seriously, what the fuck is Headmaster Naegi thinking-

"If you truly find me so pleasing to look at, I can make sure my face is the last thing you'll ever see, Sora Sugawara! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I guess I have the freedom to do that now, don't I!?" Greyface cackles, rolling around on the floor while she laughs in glee. "Come on, teddy! Let's get this show on the road so I can spill some blood!"

I quickly look away from her.

Kaori, Ultimate Impressionist. She's the same kind of gremlin as Kasumi and Shun. God, why do they keep multiplying? At least Kasumi and Shun are nicer than her. Kaori insulted my talent the second she found out what it was. Like I can control what I'm good at...jerk. But would she kill anybody? By the way she's looking at that girl I haven't met yet, possibly.

If I remember correctly, the girl she's staring at was the one who said…


"Fuck you, bear. You look like you came from a middle schooler's sketchbook!" a girl with black hair says to the red bear. "You look nothing like a teacher!"


Yeah. I wonder what has Kaori so riled up about her? The girl's insult was a bit childish but...I don't know. I don't know if anything happened between them while Masaki was escorting Kasumi and I to the classroom.

Anyways, where was I?

Harumi, Ultimate Bitch. An Ultimate Confectioner to others. I just don't like her. I don't give a damn about her trustworthiness, she's a bitch. Would she kill somebody? No, I think somebody would kill her first. Maybe me.

Valentin, Ultimate Firefighter. I mean, I don't even have to think about it. The guy fights fires for a living, he saves people. And from the brief conversation we had, Val is a nice guy too. Out of everyone here - aside from the gremlin - I trust him the most, drowsiness be damned.

And lastly, Sasaki Kagaku, Ultimate Veterinarian Pathologist. She seems just delightful.

Apart from Kano who ran off as soon as we met, I think I've spoken with her the least so I can't form any opinion on her right now. However, she was able to reciprocate Kasumi's energy and seems nice enough - and she's a doctor so she took an oath to not cause harm or something, right? But does that oath apply if she's an animal doctor…?

Oh well.

I'm making all of these guesses based on the very few words I've exchanged with everybody (few in regards to everybody but the gremlin who won't leave me alone) so I could be completely wrong. Yosuke could be an actual saint who isn't the conservative piece of shit with outdated and incorrect values that Candace's attitude was implying he is.

But then again, Yosuke is one of the few people I'm pretty sure I have down completely right.

I wonder what the deal is with the other four people from Class 80-B...

I look around the holding cell for the four students I haven't met yet only to find the crazed boy who was excited about being kidnapped staring in my direction thoughtfully.


"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" one of the unfamiliar boys in the room bursts out laughing. "I'm with you on this one, serial killer girl! C'MOOOOOOOON, throw us into a Killing Game!" the green haired boy cheers.


More specifically, he's looking at…

...at Kasumi?

"Kasumi, do you know him?" I ask, nudging her and discreetly pointing at the boy. "I don't know how long he's been looking but he's just...staring at you."

Kasumi blinks. "Huh?" she turns to look in the direction I'm pointing. "No, I don't know anybody in our…" Kasumi trails off when her eyes land on the boy. She freezes, the color draining from her face.

"K-Kasumi?" I ask, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" I ask and glance between her and the green haired boy. "Do you know him?"

Kasumi shakes her head and brings her knees to her chest. "I-I-I don't - I don't know, I just - I just-" she stammers, unable to come up with the right words. "I don't...I don't like him." Kasumi eventually says. "In a different way than I dislike Sakurai. He's just…" she sighs and shakes her head again. "But him…" she glances at the boy again, flinching slightly. "I don't know where I know him from or if I even know him at all, he just - he scares me." Kasumi says the last part quietly.

I frown, turning to look at the boy again only to find him on his feet and approaching us. Kasumi only becomes even more frightened and the boy's expression only becomes more curious so to spare the gremlin any more torment, I jump to my feet and meet him halfway, blocking his view of Kasumi.

The boy grins toothily, revealing canine teeth sharpened into fangs (just...why?). "What the FUCK is up, redhead!?" he asks cheerfully.

I blink, taken off-guard by the sheer joy in his voice. "Uh...I'm...fine? What's your name?" I ask.

"My name?!" the boy gasps and starts laughing. "Alright! Do you want my birth name, my nickname, my street name, my Future Foundation prisoner identification code, my mother's maiden name-"

My expression deadpans when he starts to ramble about every possibility I could've asked for so I take the chance to look him over.

The boy has lightly tanned skin and odd, faded red eyes. His dark green hair is cut short and spiky and he overall just looks extremely disheveled. He's fairly tall and decently muscular. There are bruises and scars all over his skin - and now that I'm looking at him properly he seems to have taken off the top half of his jumpsuit and tied it around his waist, leaving the undershirt from his Hope's Peak uniform in its place.

(Okay, at least this probably means whoever's behind this didn't strip a bunch of teenagers of their clothes to put them in jumpsuits.)

The green haired boy also has a scar splitting his lip and a number of piercings in his ears (more than I have) and a snakebite piercing on his lower lip.

...Wait a damn minute. He said Future Foundation prisoner identification code.

Do we seriously have to deal with a serial killer, a former Remnant of Despair, and Armen!?

But, if that's the case and he is one of the people the Future Foundation took prisoner, why does he look familiar to Kasumi and why was he staring at her like that? What sort of connection could a psychopath and someone like Kasumi have?

I shake it off and interrupt him, "Your name - just, your name. And your talent, I guess." I say.

"OH, you just want to know my name and Ultimate talent?" he asks.

...Why does he keep repeating everything I say?

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA," the boy laughs. "It's S-t-i-n-g: STING! And I'm the Ultimate Snake Charmer! You DO like snakes, right?" 'Sting' introduces himself, wagging his finger at me. "Anyways, let's register each other! Come on, redhead, hand it over!"


The man and the woman watch 'Sting' talk with Sora on one of the many screens in front of them. They're in a different room now and instead of their screens displaying different views of Hope's Peak Academy, they're displaying the views of their new setting: Hope's Peak Correctional Facility.

"Sting…" the man mumbles under his breath and beams. "Sting!" he gasps. "I remember that guy." he says fondly and grins. "I can only wonder what the boss was thinking, putting him in here. If he wanted Sting to come back, he could've taken him from the Future Foundation himself." the man wonders outloud.

The woman shrugs. "I was never the biggest fan of Sting's work so I don't care what happens to him." she says nonchalantly. "That aside, it seems like the boss grabbed him for the sin of Lust." the woman says. "Makes sense."

"Yeah." the man agrees.

"Anyways, back to what we were talking about before." the woman says and frowns disapprovingly at the man. "Don't you think you were a little heartless with Delvina?" she asks. "He's a teenage father and we all know what he went through during the Tragedy. You could've given him a yes or no answer."

The man rolls his eyes, groaning. "Stop pretending like you care - you've literally separated countless parents from their children and even made some watch while you did it." he says. "Are you still seriously trying to tell me you didn't enjoy the look of despair on the kid's face?"

The woman blushes, putting her hands on her cheeks. "That's not what I'm upset about. The yes or no answer would've been so much more delightful, don't you agree? Saying yes would've given him hope that we could've snatched away and the despair would've been so much sweeter!" the woman gushes. "Just saying no would've crushed all of his hopes right there!"

The man is silent for a moment, thinking deeply. "I suppose…" he says. "But right now he's feeling both hope and despair. Isn't that more interesting?"


I frown, taking my PDA out of my jumpsuit pocket. I'm honestly surprised to find it there at all. Why wouldn't they have taken this away from us?

I turn it on, booting back up, and wait.

Welcome, Sora Sugawara - Ultimate Bookbinder. Your Hope's Peak Correctional Facility PDA has been updated.

I roll my eyes.

So our kidnappers took out the Announcements category and added Rules and Evidence and changed registered classmates into Registered Inmates. Ha ha ha.

I guess there's really no getting out of this, is there?

* View Your Profile

* Rules

* Registered Inmates

* Messages

* Evidence

* Settings

I sigh and open up the Registered Inmates category.

POD HOPE

Kasumi Yuan - Ultimate Prankster

Yuya Tanaguchi - Ultimate Clown

Luan Delvina - Ultimate Land Artist

Akifumi Yatagarasu - Ultimate Forensic Expert

Kensuke Oishi - Ultimate Caregiver

Hitoshi Kimidori - Ultimate Rancher

Toshiro Haruki - Ultimate Toymaker

Candace Meyers-Opulence - Ultimate Ballroom Icon

Takeshi Yamamoto - Ultimate Tailor

Juriya Inaba - Ultimate Surgeon

Yosuke Sakurai - Ultimate Priest

Kanna Kawagiri - Ultimate Influencer

Shun Asuga - Ultimate Roller Skater

Kano Hanazaki - Ultimate Gamer

Masaki Takano - Ultimate Taxidermist

Mai Rinzaki - Ultimate Masquerade Ball Dancer

Greyface - Ultimate Serial Killer

Kaori Yoshino - Ultimate Impressionist

Harumi Gen Cho - Ultimate Confectioner

Valentin Del Rio - Ultimate Firefighter

Sasaki Kagaku - Ultimate Veterinarian Pathologist

? ? ? ? ? - Ultimate ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? - Ultimate ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? - Ultimate ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? - Ultimate ? ? ?

Yep, 26 of us in all. I guess I should meet the other three after I make sure this freak leaves Kasumi alone.

I take the PDA he's dangling in front of my face like a piece of meat and tap them together, registering him.

Name Minato Sakamoto

Height 5 ft. 8 in. (172.7 cm.) | Weight 141 lbs. (63.96 kg.)

Chest 32 in. (82 cm.) | Blood Type AB-

D.O.B. November 11 | Age 18

Likes Snakes, pain, outer space

Dislikes Birds, sweets, the color white

Ultimate Snake Charmer

Minato Sakamoto, a.k.a. 'Sting', is a former Remnant of Despair (going by that Future Foundation prisoner comment) and probable serial killer who likes outer space.

...Nerd.

"Ah, Miss Bookbinder, you still have my PDA-"

"Relax. Stay right there." I say and shove my PDA back in my pocket. "If you move from that spot I'm gonna get Toshi to break your nose." I say and walk towards Kasumi who currently has her face buried in her knees. I kneel down in front of her. "Where's your PDA?" I ask.

"M'pocket." Kasumi mumbles.

"Which pocket?"

"...Find out for yourself."

I resist the urge to slap Kasumi upside her head. "I'm not gonna fondle you while you're depressed, stupid gremlin."

Kasumi pauses. "...What if I'm not depressed?" she asks.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Give me your PDA."

With her face still hiding in her knees, Kasumi reaches into one of her pockets and hands me her PDA. I register Sting for her and hand it back, "This is the guy who was staring at you - he calls himself Sting. Does that ring any bells?" I ask.

Kasumi slowly lifts her face up and scrolls through his information. She shakes her head dejectedly. "Not a thing." Kasumi says. "Although...I've never liked snakes." she says, more to herself than to me. "Especially after…"

"Ooo, I'm so sorry Miss Bookbinder but I couldn't help myself!" comes Sting's voice from right behind me. "Who's this girl you're talking to? She looks reeaaaaaaaaaaally familiar for some reason-"

My eye twitches.

"Did you register her in my PDA for me-?"

"TOSHI!"


Kasumi and I are now sitting clear across the room from Sting.

Sting, meanwhile, is sitting in a corner on the other side of the cell with blood dripping from his nose while being guarded by Hitoshi and Ken. The third part of their trio, Toshiro, oddly enough, is sitting next to Sting and chatting with him animatedly.

I sigh, tired and bored. "What's taking these people so long? It can't be that hard to set up a Killing Game in a prison." I scoff. "I mean, Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba did it and they were just a teenage genius and a teenage soldier. From what we've seen, our kidnappers are a grown man and woman." I say. "What the hell could possibly be taking so long?"

"Ha! Don't tell me you're actually eager for this thing to get going like our resident serial killers." comes a vaguely familiar voice. I look up to find the girl that Kaori was staring daggers at - the one who was yelling childish insults at Tenshikuma and Akumakuma.

I roll my eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm just bored. They kidnapped us, put these jumpsuits on us, and now we're just here." I say, gesturing around the room. "What are we supposed to do until they decide they want us to see us kill each other? Kasumi is running out of fuel so that means I'm running out of entertainment."

Kasumi yawns and gives me a half-hearted glare. "Stop trying to convince other people you don't care about me, baby raccoon."

"I don't."

"We both know there's a heart beneath those-"

"SO," I cough, interrupting Kasumi. "What's your name? You were supposed to be in Class 80-B, right?" I ask.

"Oh!" the girl gasps. "Have I not introduced myself yet?" she asks and gives Kasumi and I a small bow. "Hello, I'm the Ultimate Thief. Cuz I'm stealing the show!" the girl beams and poses dramatically. "The Lion of Laughter," she strikes another pose. "the Judge of Jokes," another pose. "the Chaotic Crown atop the peak of Comedy! The Ultimate Comedian, Yume Nii, is here!"

I'm sure Kasumi would've found Yume's introduction hilarious but she's too tired and only rewards the girl's efforts with a yawn.

I, on the other hand, might've found it funny if I weren't tired, hungry, and dying of boredom.

Yume is a girl around the same size as Kasumi and I (finally someone who doesn't make us look like children. There's that girl with the horn and Toshiro but I'm pretty sure the girl is around fourteen and Toshiro is...Toshiro.) with black hair cut into a neat little bob. She has wide green eyes that look just as gremlin-y as the rest of the 'comedians'. Yume looks like she hasn't got much sun in a while (same) and like almost everyone else - bar the gorilla sized homophobic priest - Yume has a relatively slim, healthy build.

There's still not a lot of food to gorge on (despite the Tragedy having been over for quite some time) unless you have the money for it; hence the healthier looking rich kid duo of Kanna and Harumi.

Currently, like the rest of us, Yume is wearing a lovely stereotypical orange jumpsuit. She also has a white headband in her hair with small lace frills on it and a yellow smiley face pin attached to it and a white lace choker.

Kasumi and I stare at the comedian in silence.

"...Aw, come on guys, that was funny!"


The man groans. "They're supposed to be despairing from boredom, not falling asleep!" he whines.

The woman sighs as she taps away on a tablet. "I told them to get ready to bring in the children. We'll just have to take another different approach until everything has been set up." she says.

The man rolls his eyes. "I can't believe they're manipulating the game before it's even started." he says. "First we have to get them before we're ready and now this." he says in annoyance and sighs. "Anyways, Yume Nii, right? What's her deal?"

"High school drama gone despairingly wrong." the woman smirks. "Nii bears the sins of Lust and Sloth."

"Ooo," the man smiles. "there are so many ways that could've gone wrong," he says. "Don't tell me, I want to find out for myself."


"...tough crowd." Yume sighs as she hands me back my PDA. "Sora Sugawara and Kasumi Yuan, huh? It's nice to meet you!" she smiles

Name Yume Nii

Height 5 ft. 2 in. (157 cm.) | Weight 116 lbs. (53 kg.)

Chest 31 in. (78 cm.) | Blood O

D.O.B. February 27 | Age 16

Likes Eating, sleeping, laughter

Dislikes Frowns, silence, humorless people

Ultimate Comedian

She doesn't like silence? Yikes. I'll stick with my gremlin, thank you. But at least I know not to leave her hanging now.

Yume quickly bids us farewell, looking to get laughs out of people more open to her jokes.

But alas, Kasumi and I aren't left in peace for long.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Kasumi and I jump, the fatigue leaving us instantly. "Jesus Christ-" I swear under my breath but he quickly interrupts me.

"Do not use the Lord's name in vain-" Yosuke starts but several people quickly speak up.

"Shut the FUCK up, Sakurai."

I ignore the argument that's starting and turn to the offender: the girl who has yet to speak a word to anybody here, klaxon horn in hand yet again.


"UGH! Can we just get going with this already? I have much more important things to do than wait around for...whatever this gathering is." comes the bitchy voice of a teenage girl.

Before I can turn around and be bitchy right back to her, someone sounds a small air horn from beside me. I turn to see the culprit, a girl just barely bigger than Kasumi, looking at me with the mini red klaxon horn in hand. In her other hand she holds up a notebook, showing me a note.

Are you and the other girl the last two from Class 80-A?

"Yes, but why-?"

She quickly flips to another page, a note already written there.

Harumi Gen Cho is also in your class. She should be the last one you two need to register, then I think whatever we're waiting for will start.


The girl who'd spoken to me with a notebook earlier is still quiet. She looks conflicted, like she finds the bears cute like Shiro, Yukiko, and Kasumi, but the angered, scared reactions of everyone else has her unsure of how to feel.


The reality of our situation hits me and I realize just how young this girl looks.

Like I said before, she's around the same size as Kasumi and I. She has long, deep dark blue hair that ends near her lower back and there are two curly long strands framing the side of her face. She has right parted bangs and droopy, round shaped bright purple eyes. Nearly all of her features make it clear that she hasn't even hit puberty yet: she has a little button nose, small lips, and a youthful and childish physique. The only thing our kidnappers left the girl with is a plain red headband in her hair.

The girl looks a bit frustrated and makes a motion like she's writing on her hands.

It takes me a second to realize what she's trying to convey. "They took away your notebook?" I ask.

The girl nods, a defeated look on her face.

Kasumi sits up and looks at the girl curiously. "You can't speak?" she asks. The girl shakes her head. Kasumi smiles and stands up. "Wait right here." she says and walks towards the evil waffle trio.

I turn back to the girl and she stares back at me with a mixture of curiosity and shyness. "Do you still have your PDA?" I ask and when she nods, I quickly explain what Sting told me. The girl beams and happily hands me her PDA.


The man and the woman exchange a look.

"A child."

"Indeed."

"Not that I'm against this, but what could she have possibly done to warrant being in the game?" the man asks. "Junko Enoshima recruited people even younger than her, as we know from Lady Monaka, but this girl isn't one of us." he says.

"Sloth." the woman answers as she scrolls through the girl's file. She smirks. "Take a look." she says and hands the man her tablet.

The man's expression slowly grows to match the woman's. Then, he laughs. "HAHA! A classic!"


"Nemiko Tamatsuki." I read and look up from my PDA, smiling at the girl. "It's nice to meet you."

Name Nemiko Tamatsuki

Height 5 ft. 2 in. (157 cm.) | Weight 116 lbs. (53 kg.)

Chest 23 in. (28.4 cm.) | Blood O+

D.O.B. January 25 | Age 14

Likes Horror movies, cream puffs, windchimes

Dislikes Teen dramas, alarm clocks, crowded areas

Ultimate Foley Artist

"So, what exactly is a foley-"

"Hey! I brought, um, help." Kasumi says, returning to Nemiko and I. More help than I thought I would get but hey, the more the merrier." she says, stepping to the side to reveal the evil breakfast trio: Ken, Toshiro, and Hitoshi. "I knew that Shiro knew sign language but I didn't know that Ken and Toshi do too." she says awkwardly. "They all want to help."

I raise an eyebrow. "Then who's guarding the snake freak?" I ask.

Kasumi shivers and nods over to the corner Sting is still sitting in. On either side of him sits an annoyed Armen and a bored Juriya.

"And...how did you manage that?" I ask.

Kasumi scratches her cheek. "Uh…"

I narrow my eyes. "What did you do, gremlin?" I ask.

"Well," Kasumi starts, clearing her throat. "Um, between Armen, a scientist, and Juriya, a surgeon...Armen thinks that you, a bookbinder who has read a countless number of books on countless subjects, is the next smartest person here." she says. "Excluding the eight from Class 80-B, he wants even less to do with them." Kasumi adds.

"What does Armen's judgment of my intelligence have to do with this?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Kasumi-"

"I'll tell you later." Kasumi says quickly. "Anyways, boys, this is who we'd like you to translate for!" she says, gesturing at Nemiko.

"Oh, this is one of the girls from Class 80-B, right?" Hitoshi asks.

Ken smiles kindly. "Hello there, my name is-"

Toshiro's eyes widen and sparkle excitedly when he sees Nemiko. "So CUTE!" he beams and moves to sit in front of Nemiko. He starts moving his hands, "We haven't met yet," he says as he signs to Nemiko. "my name is Toshiro Haruki but you can call me Shiro."

Nemiko smiles shyly and signs back to Toshiro, who translates for Kasumi and I.

"'Hi there, my name is Nemiko Tamatsuki. It's nice to meet you'." Shiro translates. "'I know this is going to be an awkward way of communication but I hope you don't mind. Hopefully I can find another notebook when we are released from this room and we can communicate better.'" he finishes.

Kasumi coos and clasps her hands together. "You're so cute! Sora, Sora, can we keep her?" she asks and throws her arms around me.

"Wh-What? What kind of question is that!?" I ask as I struggle to pry Kasumi off of me. "She's not a damn dog!"

"No, but she can be our child-"

"Goodbye."


So, as it turns out, the three boys know sign language for Ultimate related reasons.

For Ken, it's only natural. What kind of caregiver would he be if he couldn't communicate with all of his kids?

For Hitoshi, when going to the markets to sell his crops, he came across several deaf customers and learned sign language to accommodate them.

For Toshiro, he learned sign language so he can effectively communicate to anyone and everyone when marketing his toys.

That aside, they're now preoccupied with entertaining the youngest student here (who has no idea what to do with all of the attention on her) so I turn back to Kasumi and pull her to a relatively secluded corner of the holding cell. "What did you-"

"Oh my, Sora," Kasumi gasps, putting a hand on her chest. "I didn't know you were so bold-"

"Shut up." I say and slap her upside her head. "What did you do?" I ask, referring to our conversation from earlier.

Kasumi mumbles something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I...sidekick…"

"Kasumi, speak up you damn gremlin-"

"I told Armen that I would get you to agree to be his sidekick during investigations and trials."

I stare at Kasumi like she has three heads. "So...you sold my…intelligence to a sociopath when we're all going to be forced to kill each other very soon." I say blankly.

"Well, no, not exactly." Kasumi backtracks. "I mean, yeah, he's a socio-whatever, but he's not interested in the Killing Game in that way. He-"

Before Kasumi can finish her explanation, the TV turns on again, displaying static and emitting Monokuma's voice once again: "Hello again, inmates! Please line up in front of the holding cell door, guards will be there shortly to escort you to the trial room! Are you sinners prepared to be judged for your crimes? I hope so, upupupu…" and then the TV goes out.

The entire holding cell goes quiet. Even the Ultimate Bitch - Harumi - has nothing to say. Out of the 26 people here, Armen looks like he's being inconvenienced the most. Everyone else looks scared, like Kasumi right now, or sad, like Luan.

Wait.

That's right, there's 26 of us in all. I still haven't met everybody-

I turn around when someone taps me on the shoulder. It's an unassuming boy who's a little taller than me. He has wavy jet black hair that's a bit spiky and dead looking gray eyes. He doesn't appear to be very muscular, more slim than anything. He has no accessories like a majority of the other people here and there's nothing too outlandish about his appearance.

"I don't want to tell you my name but I suppose it's inevitable that you'll find out when you register me in your PDA. That aside, I ask that you call me Ryu." the boy says the second I turn around. "I guess I'm the Ultimate Spy here." he says and wordlessly hands me his PDA. "Here. It would be...troublesome if we didn't all register each other before this begins." 'Ryu' sighs. "I already registered your friend there while you were unconscious. Come on, hurry it up."

An Ultimate Spy. That explains the plain appearance - no offense. It just makes sense for a spy to not stand out, right?


"Hm, so they all finally managed to meet each other." the man says and he stands up from his chair and stretches. "Who's this guy again? Ryu?"

"Another Wrath sinner." the woman answers as she gathers her things. "Come on, we can talk more on the way to the trial room." she says and the man follows after her. "Kuro Kamiyama, a.k.a. Ryu, as he just called himself, is another case I find particularly interesting." the woman says.

The man raises an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?" he asks.

"I'm sure you'll find out during the trial. Come on, we don't want to be late."


I barely have time to read over Ryu's information as we're shuffled out of the holding cell by Monokumas in police uniforms. They're all wearing police vests and police helmets with visors and they're carrying riot shields with the word 'KUMA' written on them below Monokuma's iconic red eye.

I admit, it was a bit jarring seeing so many Monokumas at once but from what the world learned from Future Foundation's reports and the testimonies of Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa, this was more or less a normal occurrence during the Tragedy. Of course, some people witnessed this first hand and it was really fucking terrifying to see; but I digress.

I quickly look back down at my PDA, committing Ryu's profile to memory.

Name Kuro Kamiyama

Height 5 ft. 5 in. (165.1 cm.) | Weight 113 lbs. (51.26 kg.)

Chest 34 in. (87 cm.) | Blood A

D.O.B. January 29 | Age 16

Likes Mint leaves, encyclopedias, relaxing music

Dislikes Rumors, disruptions, slackers

Ultimate Spy

Ha. Kuro and Shiro. And he likes music? Interes-

"Get a move on, inmate!" one of the Guard Monokumas snaps, shoving me with his riot shield.

I nearly topple Kasumi over but once again, she catches me and steadies us both.

"Sorry…" I mumble, putting my PDA back in my pocket and shooting the Monokuma a glare.

Kasumi shakes her head. "It's okay. Come on." she says, pulling me beside her.

The rest of the walk to the 'trial room' is in silence with no other disturbances. We arrive at a set of large, fancy looking brown wooden doors. The Guard Monokuma leading us stops in front of the doors and turns to face us. "Alright, inmates-"

"Ugh, would you stop calling us inmates!?" Harumi finally snaps, interrupting the bear. "I mean, I can't speak for the rest of these commoners but I-" the confectioner gets cut off when she's shoved by a Guard Monokuma, his riot shield shoving her to the ground.

"I want complete silence unless you want your life to be forfeit here and now." the lead Guard Monokuma says. Everybody stays silent and Kanna helps a bitter Harumi to her feet. "Good." the Guard Monokuma says. "As I was saying, inmates, you will be sentenced and awarded a fancy collar depending on your crimes." he says. "While Daddy Monokuma is delivering judgment-"

...Did he just-?

"-you will be completely silent. You have no right to a fair trial because you're all sinners that Daddy Monokuma has handpicked to receive judgment. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have questions!" Candace speaks up. "Sixth Amendment rights, bitch! What happened to our right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know what the charges are against us!?" she demands.

All of the Monokumas burst out laughing and I have to admit, even I'm a little confused with Candace.

"Upupupu! This isn't America, sonny!" the Guard Monokuma laughs. "Now, get ready to pay for everything you've done, inmates!"

"Why are they calling us inmates already when we haven't even been sentenced...?" Masaki mumbles under his breath.

"SILENCE, INMATE!"


Prologue END


A/N yes

another chapter tomorrow