1st Arc: Our Fun, Twisted, Broken Killing Game

Daily Life

Soon after explaining to us our participation in the killing game, Monokuma and the Monokubs left us to take in the despair of our unchangeable situation. It was dead quiet in the gym, no one daring to make a sound. I swear I could hear the sweat dripping from our foreheads. And that's when multiple notification alarms went off. The noises were from all our monopads. I took mine out and looked at what had been added. Seemed like Monokuma sent us all the rules for the killing school semester for us to review.

Rule 1. Students must live at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future.

Rule 2. Once a murder takes place, all surviving students must participate in a class trial.

Rule 3. If the blackened is exposed during the trial, they alone will be executed.

Rule 4. If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining students will be executed.

Rule 5. If the blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate and re-enter the outside world.

Rule 6. The killing game and class trials will continue until only two surviving students remain.

Rule 7. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dining hall and gymnasium are off limits at night.

Rule 8. Violence towards Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, is strictly prohibited.

Rule 9. Monokuma will never directly commit a murder or be directly involved in a murder.

Rule 10. Your Monopads are important items. Please do not damage them.

Rule 11. A body discovery announcement will play when three or more students discover a body.

Rule 12. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the campus at your discretion.

Rule 13. Students who violate these rules will be immediately exterminated by the Exisals

Rule 14. The headmaster may add new regulations to the list at any time.

"You...gotta be kidding me… I will never… I will never participate in a killing game…" Kaede muttered quietly as she looked through the rules. I can't really blame her for reacting like that. This whole scenario is unreal by a large margin. I look to see that most of the others who bothered to look at the rules give similar expressions of displeasure.

"The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles School Regulations… So these are the rules…" Ryoma says.

"I do not understand why someone...would force us to do this?" Kirumi pondered.

"But the rules are pretty cut and dry. This game doesn't seem like it'll be boring." Kokichi smirked.

"'Not boring' is putting it lightly…" I groaned.

"Yeah! That's not the problem!" Tenko agreed.

"Please lower your voice. It is ruining the atmosphere." Kiyo said as he took in the despair that was pouring out from each of us. He really wasn't kidding when he said he finds even the ugly parts of humanity beautiful.

"Hey, hey! What does this sixth regulation mean?" Angie asked. I looked at my Monopad again to see what she was talking about. Rule 6. The killing game and class trials will continue until only two surviving students remain.

"Now that you mention it… why does it say only two surviving students? There must be a reason for that?" I asked.

"Perhaps it's because you couldn't do a trial with just two people…?" Shuichi said, though he sounded unsure about his statement.

"Nyahahahaha, I see, I see. You're so smart, Shuichi." Angie praised.

"Q-Quit screwing around… Killing game… School Regulations… To hell with all that crap! Who'd go along with something like that!?" Kaito yelled, looking as though he might pop a blood vessel. He then began to raise his Monopad above his head. He looked as if he might…

"Wait! Kaito, what are you doing!?" I asked as I ran and grabbed his hands to prevent him from doing something stupid.

"What does it look like? I'm not going to play along with this stupid game!"

"Whoa, hey now, don't do that. School rules say you can't break it." Rantaro explained.

"If you violate the rules, then the Exisals will dispose of you." Maki elaborated.

"I don't care about the rules! No way I'm gonna play this messed up game!" Kaito said.

"This isn't about 'playing' the game. It's too dangerous to disobey him now." Rantaro said as he put his hands on his hips.

"Forget about him! Just means one less dumbass for the world to deal with!" Miu said with a pissed off tone.

"Hey! Who are you callin' a dumbass!?" Kaito yelled.

"This is getting us nowhere…" I moaned. Maybe I should say something. I am supposedly the oldest one here, so it should be my responsibility, right? But what would I say to them? I'm pretty sure I'm not a motivator or leader by any means. Besides, who would listen to a boring amnesiac who is just a normal dude anyway. I mean, compared to everyone else, what do I have to offer? Why would any of them listen to my advice anyway?

"HEY! QUIT FIGHTING ALREADY!" Kaede screamed at the top of her lungs, effectively shutting everyone up.

"Whoa! Wh-What the-!?" Kaito stammered, completely taken aback by Kaede's forwardness.

"We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. Right now, we need to work together." Kaede said sternly. "Honestly...I'd probably be more inspired if I played a song than gave a speech… Chopin's 'Military Polonaise' would definitely help unite us!" She continued as she raised her arms up, pumped just by imagining the song.

"Yeah, I could get behind some bolognese, and I don't even like meat or tomatoes." Kokichi added. That got a few laughs out of some of us, me included. That might have come off as rude, but it seemed like Kokichi might have been trying to help lighten the mode. Maybe. He could just be an ass.

"I agree with Kaede, too! We must remember who the real enemy is!" Tenko said as she entered a fighting stance. "Master told me that strength must always be aimed in the proper direction!"

"A-Anyway…you're all panicking too much… Just…stay calm...like me…" Himiko stammered as her whole body shook.

"Wow! You're shaking so much!" Angie pointed out.

"Even I can't handle these intense vibrations! And trust me-I've got loads of experience!" Miu said. Ok… didn't need that in my head.

"Anyway…why don't we work together and search for an exit one more time?" Kaede said with confidence.

"But...we looked all over that wall and there wasn't a single hole." Tsumugi said dejectedly.

"Now wait just a second. If there's no opening in the wall, then how did we get inside these walls in the first place?" Keebo asked.

"...Oh, good point."

"That means there must be an opening somewhere! We just have to find it!" Kaede cheered. "Whoever trapped us here wants us to fight each other, so let's show 'em that we're not gonna let that happen! We're not gonna fight each other! We're gonna work together! Okay!?"

"Why are you quiet…? Did I say something wrong?" Kaede asked a little nervously.

"On the contrary. You made your case with such succinct aplomb that we've been rendered speechless." Kirumi explained with a smile.

"You really are amazing, Kaede." I said with a smile.

"Heh… I was gonna say the same thing, but you beat me to it." Kaito said while rubbing the back of his head. "You're exactly right! We can't give up so easily!" He continued with a big grin.

"Let's split up and try to find the exit!" Angie cheered. "Ohhhh! Atua give us strength!"

"I must admit, I admire your spirit." Rantaro said with a nervous smile. It seemed like Kaede managed to pull us all from that dreadful atmosphere from earlier. Now everyone looks a lot better. Now, all that's left to do is to find this supposed exit. Where could it possibly be?

Gonta found a manhole that leads to an underground passageway.

Gonta did...what!? "Gonta! I have something to ask you!"

"Nyeh…? What is it? We were just about to get started." Himiko asked me.

"Yes Rin? What is it?" Gonta asked.

"Did you happen to find anything earlier? Like… I don't know… a manhole or something like that?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah! Gonta find manhole earlier. In grass, behind school building. Gonta was unsure if it mattered, though." Gonta admitted.

"A manhole?" Kaede questioned.

"Gonta peek in. See big, underground passage. Think maybe it exit…" Gonta explained. "...Sorry. Is probably not so simple."

"Y-You gotta mention important stuff like that much faster!" Tenko cried out.

"Gontapeekin! Seebigundergroundpassage! Thinkmaybeitexit!" Gonta shouted, doing literally what Tenko said.

"She meant 'say it sooner', Gonta. Still, that's a great find!" I said.

"The boiler is behind the school building. We must corroborate Gonta's claim at once." Kirumi stated. "Gonta, please lead the way."

"Okay! Everyone, follow Gonta!" With that, everyone began to leave the gym, except for me, Kaede, Shuichi, and Rantaro. I was about to go until I heard Rantaro say something.

"...Kaede, that was pretty cool back there." As he spoke, he motioned for me to stay behind as well. What could he want?

"Huh? What was?" Kaede asked, somehow oblivious to what she had done.

"The way you changed the mood completely. Seems like everyone looks up to you."

"L-Looks up to me? C'mon, that's ridiculous. I… just spoke from the heart, is all."

"So it just comes naturally to you, then. That's even cooler." He then turned to Kaede with a darkened expression. "You have what it takes to win…"

"What…?" Kaede asked.

"Win?" I also asked.

"I was just thinking, what you said back there would have pissed off whoever's running this. They definitely don't want us holding hands, workin' together. They're going to come for you, Kaede. With everything they've got. I'm a little worried about you. You're just so…straightforward." With that he started to walk out of the gym, motioning me to follow him. I turn back to look at Kaede and Shuichi, giving Shuichi gestures to cheer up Kaede, which, thankfully, he understands. With Shuichi taking care of Kaede, I follow Rantaro as we made our way to the boiler room.

"What was that about?" I asked Rantaro. "If you wanted to come off as intimidating, then mission success." Rantaro laughed nervously after I said that.

"Is that how I came off as? That wasn't my intent. It's just… what Monokuma said bothers me. Like he's gonna try his best to break Kaede down."

"That may be true, but it wouldn't hurt to be less cryptic and weird. Seriously, and with how you had introduced yourself, it's like you're trying to be suspicious." I sighed. Rantaro just chuckled.

"You may be right. I'll try to be more approachable. Still, I stand by what I said, and it also applies to you too."

"Me?"

"Monokuma seemed to be interested in you, saying how he looks forward to how you'll break and such. I'm sure he has plans for you, just like Kaede. He's probably going to come after you just as hard. Make sure you're careful."

"I see… I'll keep that in mind." With Rantaro's warning in mind, we made our way to the boiler.

As I opened the door, the first thing I noticed was how much more plants and weeds were here compared to other places. The metal in the building was rusted over as well. How long has it been since this academy was properly operating? Actually, the Monokubs said this academy was built for us (though I'm not sure if I should count myself in that). If so, then why is this place so run down? If it's just for us, then shouldn't this place look new? Well, that doesn't matter right now. I need to focus on the manhole. Not long after me and Rantaro arrived, Kaede and Shuichi also arrived.

"Looks like we're all here. So, where's this manhole?" Rantaro asked.

"Umm… Over there, in grass." Gonta responded while pointing to a pile of grass that was hiding a large bronze manhole cover.

"An important hole near some bush!? Sounds familiar, am I right ladies!?" Miu cackled. I gave an instinctual loud sigh.

"Awwwww, this manhole cover looks heavy. Can we even lift it?" Angie asked.

"I can try." Keebo offered. Keebo made his way to the manhole cover, bent down to firmly grip the cover, and with all his strength he-. "Grgh…! Grrrrrrrrrrgh…!" Managed to not lift it by even an inch. "How embarrassing. It won't even budge."

"Huhhh? A robot's not even strong enough to move it?" Angie asked.

"Oh, don't worry. My physical strength is approximately that of a strong senior citizen." Keebo explained.

"K-Keebo…" I tried to say but Miu beat me to it.

"Th-That's fuckin' pathetic!" She cried out, probably just as shocked as me since she's an inventor.

"Th-The professor did not want a repeat of the tragedy that occurred during trial production." Keebo nervously stated.

"Umm… Now I'm just plain curious about what happened during that trial." Tsumugi pondered.

"What did you do that required the professor to give you the strength of an old guy?" I asked. I made my way to the cover and gave it a try. Keebo wasn't kidding. This thing feels like it weighs way more than 100 pounds! "Yeah… there's no way that any normal person can lift this."

"Oh, then allow Gonta. Gonta lift cover before to peek inside. Should be able to pick up cover too." Gonta placed his hands on the manhole cover, and, with just his thumb and index finger, lifted the cover like it was a feather. "Upsy-daisy."

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed.

"So easily!?" Tsumugi asked.

"His strength… must be due to my magic. Yep… there's no mistaking it." Himiko commented.

"I don't think-."

"Ooohh! You're amazing, Himiko!" Tenko interrupted me.

"...What should Gonta do with cover now?" Gonta asked.

"Please leave it somewhere else. Be careful not to hit anyone with it." Kirumi instructed.

"Um, actually...Gonta no can do that… Very rude to litter."

"D-Don't worry about it Gonta. It's not littering. We're just… putting it off to the side for now." I said. After a little convincing, Gonta begrudgingly tossed it aside. The cover easily traveled 5 yards before it hit the ground. God he threw it like it was a frisbee…

"Kehehe… what wonderful strength. You could likely crush a child's skull with ease." Kiyo commented.

"Why would you even make that comparison?" I asked sternly.

"How ungentlemanly! Gonta NEVER do that!" Gonta cried out.

"Gentleman or not, no one would do that!" Tenko added.

"But Gonta is sooo much more reliable than some bean-counting robot." Kokichi chirped.

"Are you...talking about me? Because I can count many things, not just beans." Keebo said.

"That's not helping your case there." I chuckled. While we were talking, Kaede and a few others took a look down the manhole.

"Th-This place is kinda creepy… We're really going in here?" Tsumugi asked worriedly.

"I'm sure it's fine. At the very least, we definitely won't die down there." Kaito said.

"If anything happens, I'll protect most of you! But the degenerate males are on their own!" Tenko said.

"Then…Gonta protect menfolk."

"Does Keebo count in that? If not, I'll make sure he's safe." I jokingly said.

"That's robophobic!" Keebo cried out.

"Awfully quiet… Where are Monokuma and the Monokubs?" Rantaro asked.

"I was certain they would show up at some point and crush us like rotten gnats…" Kiyo commented.

"Nyahahaha! They probably haven't noticed yet!" Angie cheered. I highly doubt that, but I'm not going to bring everyone down because of that.

"Then let's hurry before they show up to mess with us." Kokichi said. With that, we each began to descend down the manhole cover. Once we all had climbed down the ladder, we looked around and saw an open area. We were in what looked like a metal factory. There were cranes hanging from the roof and pipes everywhere.

"It's more spacious than I thought it'd be…" Ryoma mentioned. Kokichi cupped his mouth before crying out.

"Yodelay-he-hoooooooo!" His voice echoed for a bit before fading.

"What is this place…?" Maki asked.

"An old industrial passageway, I suspect. Perhaps factories once existed here?" Kirumi speculated.

"And this is all that's left of 'em." Kaito added.

"Industrial passageway? Underneath a school? Why?" I asked while placing my hand on my chin. Rantaro walked up to an opened pathway and gestured to it.

"Hey, take a look at this." He motioned to the sign in front of the pathway that had the word "exit" on it that pointed to the inside of the path. "What a considerate sign… Apparently, the end of the tunnel is the exit."

"Considerate? You don't think it's weird that someone went out of their way to write 'exit'?" Tenko asked him.

"Hah-haha! Don't piss yourself in fear! Your natural scent is bad enough!" Miu added unnecessarily.

"I-I'm not scared! And I smell just fine!"

"Well, since we're already here and this pathway is the only one we've found that could be an exit, we might as well check it out to see if that's true." I said.

"Ah, yeah…" Shuichi began to say before stopping himself. He probably thinks it's a trap too.

"No need to worry!" Kaede reassured. "It looks a bit dangerous, but we're all Ultimates here!" Well… not all of us. Nice of her to include me though. "As long as we work together, everything will work out just fine!"

"Y-Yeah...you're right." Shuichi hesitantly agreed.

"That's exactly what I was gonna say! We're really on the same wavelength, Kaede!" Kaito said. I chuckled a bit. Sure Kaito. Sure. "Gimme a hug!" Kaito suddenly said.

"Um...no." Kaede politely declined.

"Typical degenerate behavior! You were trying to trick her into pressing her boobs against you!" Tenko accused. I laughed at that. She would think that. I then walked up the entrance of the "exit". It's really dark. I can't make out what could be inside. Well, I'm sure it's fine. What could go wrong?

The tunnel is booby trapped. It is filled with multiple bombs, fire hazards, moving platforms, pitfalls, and other traps and obstacles to make escape seem impossible. There is an exit, but it only exists to bring despair to the group due to how impossible it seems to reach it.

"What…?" I questioned as I took a few steps back, staggering as I did. My head began to hurt again as I did. Is that… true? This random knowledge hasn't been wrong yet, so… is this just false hope?

"Rin, are you ok?" Kaede asked me as she came up to the entrance.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Perfectly fine." I said, quickly putting on my reassuring smile again. She narrowed her eyebrows a bit before sighing. I can't let her or the others know. How would I even explain it to them? Hell, maybe I'm wrong and the exit is actually just on the other side of this tunnel. C'mon Rin… you can't lose hope now. With that in mind, we each stepped into the tunnel.


I was right. What was inside the tunnel was worse than I could have imagined. Traps were everywhere. There was no escaping them. One by one, people fell off the platforms into the water below. I didn't even know if they were alive or not. We barely made it a few yards in before it was just down to 5 of us: Me, Kirumi, Kokichi, Maki, and Ryoma. Everyone else was knocked off. We had discovered a sign before we encountered the traps. It said "Death Road of Despair". Those words were completely accurate. Dread had filled each of us as we tried to continue down the path. I doubt any of us believed we would be the ones to make it. Sure enough, more traps appeared. Ryoma was caught in a cage that was then pulled away. Kokichi missed a jump when the platform suddenly jerked away from him. Maki was caught off guard when bombs rained from the ceiling without warning. And then there was me. I saw bombs fly out the darkness and pushed Kirumi out of the way. She can make it. I'm just an average guy. She's an incredible Ultimate. If anyone has a chance to get out, it will be an Ultimate, not me. She'll get out I'm sure. The force of the explosions pushed me off the ledge, causing me to fall towards the water. Is this how it ends? Well, I guess it doesn't matter either way. I felt my eyes begin to close as I fell. Yeah… This suits me just fine.

..i.

..in.

…"Rin!"

I immediately shot up, sweat pouring down my face. I was panting heavily. I felt cold. I felt like I was going to throw up. I brought my hand up to my face, feeling just how damp and cold I was. I could feel bile slowly rise in my throat, forcing me to push it back down. What...What happened? "Rin…?" I looked at who was talking to me. Kirumi, with a few bandaids, towels, and bottles of water in a bag, looked at me worriedly.

"K-K...Kirumi? Wh-What…?" I tried to ask, though I couldn't really speak for some reason. My voice was shaking badly. Gulping a bit, I tried to steady my voice. "Wh-What happened? Where…are we?" I asked, not fully grasping everything.

"After you fell, you were brought back here. The water everyone fell in brought them back near the entrance, allowing them to come back here to the open area under the manhole. You, however, along with Kaede and a few others fell unconscious, so Gonta had to carry you back." That's right. The tunnel. Right… it's good everyone is alright.

"Wait! The others!" I quickly looked around. Everyone was here too. Everyone was sitting in stunned silence. I can't imagine how they must feel after that.

"Rin!" Kaede rushed over to where I was sitting. She looked extremely relieved.

"H-Hey, Kaede. What's up?" I asked, trying my best to not sound injured or tired.

"I was so worried! You weren't waking up, so I…" She trailed off at the end, averting her eyes.

"Hm?" I looked down at myself. Ah. Now I see. On my body were multiple cuts, bruises, and light burns. Some of the cuts already looked like they were cleaned and had bandages on them. Now that I'm looking at it, I can tell my body is incredibly sore. Guess that's why Kirumi has those bandages. I see a few others looked a bit injured as well, having a few bruises and bandages too. Guess that Death Road really messed us up. I put on the best smile I could and looked at Kaede. "Don't worry! I'm fine! It doesn't even hurt that much." I say as I attempt to get up. I immediately regret it as my legs give in as soon as I try and I fall right back on my butt. "Umm… I'm just… going to take five for now." I chuckled. That didn't stop Kaede from looking close to mortified.

"Rin…" Kirumi starts to say. "You seemed to be having a nightmare while you were unconscious. You were tossing and turning, and you were mumbling while you slept. Are you really ok? You look as though you've seen a ghost." My forced smile immediately fades. A nightmare? Is that why I feel horrible? If I did have a nightmare...what did I see?

"I...don't really remember anything." I said softly."What...What did I say?"

"You...kept repeating the phrase 'I'm sorry.' over and over." Kirumi told me.

"I...sorry?" I repeated. At that moment, a sharp pain in my skull hit me hard as I was forced to grasp my head.

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Please!

I clutched my head as the thoughts faded away, leaving nothing but the pain. Those words… what...what was I apologizing for? What...did I do? And why do I feel so horrible because of it?

"Rin?" Kirumi broke my train of thought, seemingly concerned by my actions.

"I…" I shook my head as I turned my head. "I'm sorry, but...I don't think I want to talk right now." Kirumi understood immediately and dropped the topic.

"Geez, this is quite the pity party you sadsacks are throwing for yourselves!"

"M-Monokuma!?" Kaede shouted. Monokuma just popped out of nowhere, startling multiple people.

"Rise and shine, ursine!" The Monokubs also suddenly appeared. Great…

"Wow, you all look exhausted. Poor things. I feel sorry for you." Monophanie said, though it might have been sarcastic.

"Sheesh, this place is filthy. It's murder on my cashmere skin." Monotaro complained, though he doesn't really have that right all things considered.

"I bet Monodam is feelin' lucky right now! His body's already a cheap piece of junk!" Monokid bullied Monodam, though nothing got him to respond.

"Why don'tcha respond to him, Monodam?" Monosuke asked. "It'll liven things up a little, y'know?"

"Tch… So you guys crawled outta your holes. I guess you finally noticed what we were up to." Kaito barked.

"Noticed?" Monokuma asked coyly. "I've known for a while that you guys would botch whatever escape plan you had."

"What?" Kaede gaped.

"Y-Yeah, I also...kinda...pretty much knew, too…" Monotaro tried to brag.

"That's a lie." Monosuke pointed out. That's something to take note of. Monokuma knew what we were doing, but how? There aren't any cameras. There must be hidden cameras or bugs for him to know, or perhaps there is someone working with Monokuma within our little group. The fact that the Monokubs didn't seem to know like Monokuma also shows how they aren't in the same loop as their father. What could all this mean?

"If you knew all along, then this was just a trap." Maki pointed out.

"Then there was no exit! You tricked us!" Tenko cried out.

"...No, there's an exit." Monophanie clarified.

"I think you guys'll manage to reach it if you all work together!" Monotaro said.

"Yeah! There's nothing you 17 Ultimates can't accomplish if you work together! Even if one of you claims he isn't an Ultimate, we're sure he can keep pace and help as well!" Monophanie cheered.

"Puhuhu. And if at first you don't succeed…" Monokuma laughed as he gave us a menacing glare. "...try, try again." He then burst out into hysterics laughing. "Try as many times as you want until you accept reality! Ah-hahahahaha!" The Monokubs also started laughing too as they all left us.

"Nyeeeh, so we can escape if we work hard enough…?" Himiko asked.

"No way, you little moron! They'd be freakin' out if we could actually reach it!" Miu yelled.

"That's probably why they let us try." Ryoma pointed out. "They wanted us to try the underground passage so we'd learn that escape is impossible."

"Instead of blocking off every exit completely, they leave that little bit of hope…" Rantaro further explained with a huff. "They want us to be desperate to go home. Corner us mentally."

"That's just rotten…" Tsumugi responded. I couldn't help but agree. That's beyond just twisted. How could anyone be that cruel?

"Yeah, but we can't just give up…" Kaede said, determination lighting up in her eyes. "Right, you guys? I mean, we've only failed once, y'know. We can't give up this early, right?"

"But...isn't getting out of here impossible?" Himiko asked.

"No, it's not. It may take one more try or a lot more tries, but it's not impossible. Forget about Monokuma. It doesn't matter what he says to us. I don't wanna lose to him! And I don't want any of you to lose, either! I refuse to lose to someone who would do these terrible things to us!" Kaede said fiercely.

"Kaede…" Shuichi said in awe.

"So let's all work hard to escape this place together! And once we get out of here and make it to the outside world, why don't we all stay friends?" I blinked at her words. Friends? Us?

"...F-Friends?" Gonta asked.

"Yeah… After going through an experience like this, I think we'd all be the best of friends. I mean, it's not every day you get to meet other Ultimates." Kaede then looked at me with a warm smile. "That includes you too Rin. You may not think you're an Ultimate, but I can tell you're just as amazing as one!"

"K-Kaede…" I began, but I couldn't continue. I was too moved by her passionate words.

"...So, what do you say?" Kaede asked everyone.

"Hmph...that might not be bad." Ryoma said with probably the first smile I've seen on him.

"Yeah. That's a great idea." Tsumugi agreed.

"Then we've all the more reason to escape this place, no matter what." Kirumi said happily.

"My body is ready! You can tell by outta control my pit sweat is!" Tenko said, though it wasn't really necessary to know about her b.o.

"E-Everyone!" Kaede smiled brightly. We were all coming together, just like in the gym. Rantaro was right. She really is a natural at this.

"Isn't it premature to say what we'll do after we escape? Assumptions are all but useless." Keebo said.

"Geez, you're clueless… Why am I not surprised that a robot can't read the air?" Kokichi gaped.

"Robots can read the air! Thanks to innovations in pollutant-detecting technology, I-" Keebo defended before being cut off.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter if Monokuma says it's impossible! We'll show him what we can do!" Kaito yelled out.

"Yeah! You're right!" Kaede nodded. It seems like a pain...but I guess I'll try." Himiko said with a small smile.

"Yeah, let's work together! We messed up last time, but I'm sure it'll go well this time!" Kokichi agreed.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. A divine wind will blow through and lift us to victory." Angie said while praying.

"Aaah, humanity is truly wonderful. The way you all confront adversity is beautiful." Kiyo commented.

"Alright then! Let's go!" Kaito cried out, resulting in the others yelling in agreement.

"Hold on for a second. What about Rin?" Rantaro asked. Everyone's faces turned to me. Now that we are just about to enter the tunnel again, it only now dawns on me that I'm still the only one sitting, since I couldn't get up earlier. "Are you ok to go on?" Rantaro asked with a concerned look. I nodded fervently as I tried once again to stand up. My knees didn't buckle like they did before, but I felt a sharp pain shoot through my legs. I winced, but I did my best to hide it. There's no way I'm going to drag everyone down because I'm injured and can't walk properly. I refuse to be a burden like that.

"I-I'm fine. I can go again. This time we'll get through, I'm sure!" I said, doing my best to hide the pain I was feeling just from standing. Rantaro and a few of the others, namely Kaede, Kokichi, Shuichi, Maki, and Kirumi, didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure? You look really pale." Shuichi asked.

"Huh?" I'm pale? Do I look that bad? I mean, I feel like my legs are on fire, but do I really look that bad?

"Yeah, I'm not sure you're up for another round, Rinny. You look like you're about to fall over." Kokichi said with a smug grin. "If you enter the tunnel like that, you'll probably just hold us back."

"H-Hey! Don't say such things!" Tenko yelled at Kokichi, who just responded with a shrug. He was right, though. I don't even think I can walk properly. But even still…!

"I-I'll be fine! I can handle myself. I'm not gonna-."

"I do not believe that is wise, Rin." Kirumi interrupted. "You couldn't stand just a few moments ago, so I doubt you are fully capable of the movement needed to complete the passage."

"But I can still-!"

"Don't argue. You're wasting our time here." Maki cut me off with a glare. "You're clearly not up for it. You should stay back until you're able to actually walk."

"I said I'm fine!" I said, trying to take a step to prove my point. Bad idea, cause as soon as I did I felt even more pain rush into my body. I bit the inside of my mouth to keep me from screaming in pain.

"You're clearly not." Maki sighed.

"Maki is right. I believe you should stay here and rest a bit. You were unconscious longer than anyone after all. You're also more injured than anyone else." Shuichi pointed out. I cringed at his words. Damn it! I hate the fact they're right. I'm so useless…

"They're right, Rin. If you're injured, you shouldn't push yourself." Kaito said. "But don't worry! We're not going to leave you behind! You can count on that!" I averted my gaze, trying to hide just how disappointed I am about this.

"...Fine." I said through gritted teeth. I have to stay. I'm starting to feel my legs shake a bit after all. I'll only be a huge burden on them. I take a few painful steps towards one of the walls. Once I reach it, I place my back on it and slide down to the ground. "I'll...stay here. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it." I turn to them with a serious expression. "You all better make it to the end! If you don't, then no matter what I'm coming for the run afterwards!"

"Haha! That's the spirit!" Kaito said with a thumbs up. "But don't worry! We'll make it this time!" Everyone else nodded fervently. They all look so determined to make it out. The only one who doesn't look so sure is Kaede herself, but from how she looks, she might be blaming herself for my condition, or how I might be left behind if they make it to the exit.

"Kaede, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Besides, if you guys are able to make it, then that means I should be able to as well. So just go for it. The others are counting on you!" I say reassuringly. Kaede looks at me with a bit of doubt, but it soon turns to admiration and determination.

"Okay!" With that, the others start walking into the underground passage. I sighed as I looked up at the cold metal ceiling above me. I hope they make it out. No one deserves to be trapped in a place like this. And once they escape, I'll be right behind them. I'm sure. Nothing bad will happen, right? I close my eyes in an attempt to try and rest, but...

Kaede's determination will backfire after multiple attempts to pass through the underground passage. The others will turn on her and her confidence will be shattered.

My eyes shoot open. What!? The others are going to turn on Kaede!? That doesn't sound possible!? But… if they keep failing the tunnel, but Kaede keeps encouraging them to try again, then maybe that'll cause it. My intuition hasn't been wrong yet, so I should prepare for the worst. I'm not going to let the others gang up on Kaede for this.