Sitting on the podium before us all was Monokuma in all his glory. I'm terrified, but I'm also excited. THE Monokuma is standing before me. I feel like I'm going to faint.
"I am the god of this new world...and the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy!" Monokuma shouts out in excitement. His voice sounds sweet and innocent. How misleading.
"The one, the only... Monokuma! Nice to meetcha!" His voice turned harsher towards the end, sending shivers up my spine.
"Yayyyy! Father's here!" Monotaro cheers.
"Hell yeah! Another epic entrance from Papa Kuma!" Monokid boasts.
"Daddy is soooo cool!" Monophanie exclaims in awe.
Monokuma starts shaking, "My cute little cubs! You're all so freakin' cute!" His face darkens, "The only reason I can tolerate your tiresome antics is cuz you're all so cute. Even when the prologue is going way too long, I'll allow it because you guys are cute."
At the word prologue, my head snaps up. Damn bear.
"In fact, the very first prologue ever was only short cuz you cutie-patooties weren't there."
Looking around the room, I spot others react to this.
Kokichi's eyes narrow dangerously next to me before it's replaced by a blank look moments later.
Rantaro's expression darkens, and his lips twitch into a grim smile as he watches us closely.
Tsumugi's eyes brighten at the word, eyes full of curiosity.
Ryoma looks down with a thoughtful expression.
No one else reacts. So, some people are noticing things early on, that's interesting.
Lowering my head, I try to think about what that could mean for me.
Tsumugi's reaction could be a fluke though, she does watch lots of anime. The word prologue could mean something to her, I suppose.
Rantaro and Kokichi make sense, but Ryoma reacting is strange. I didn't think that he noticed anything during the original game, did he? Maybe he did. He does seem observant. I don't remember much of his interactions from the game, so I could go talk to him later.
"How many times do I gotta say it! I'm not MAD!"
"Ahhhhh! Father just transformed into a Super Monokuma God Super Monokuma!" Monotaro shouts.
"That's only possible when six Monokumas of pure heart are gathered together!" Monophanie cries.
What. Looking back up, I see...Monokuma beating up his cubs? I really can't tell.
"It's the power you burst out when you really wanna fuck the world's shit up!" What the hell is Monokid on about!?
"A power ya only see when the gods themselves do battle!" Monosuke exclaims.
Monodam says nothing. Again.
Then It's over.
"Anyway, I'm really not mad. In fact, I gotta admit that I'm actually proud of you guys. You kids really stand out from the rest of the second-generation failures in the world." Monokuma giggles.
Stand out? More like stand out in a crazy way.
"Isn't that a little harsh? I'm sure there are some second-generation success stories..." Monophanie timidly questions.
"I can't think of any, though-"Monosuke is interrupted by Monokuma punching all the cubs again.
"If you can't think of any, It's cuz there's none worth remembering!" Monokuma says gleefully.
"But Father remembers! Cuz he knows everything!" Monotaro cheerfully replies. Oh, you poor thing.
"Holy shit! That's right, Papa Kuma! You know all kinds of useless crap!"
Monokid roars out cockily. Yeah, no sympathy for you, Monokid. Sorry.
"Cuz Daddy gets all his alternate facts from the most trusted names in fake news!" Monophanie supplies. Eh?
After that, Monokuma stops as he sits back down on his podium, sweating the whole time.
"Heehee! I love embracing my children! They're so cute, I just can't help myself!" Monokuma cries happily. "Usually ratings will plummet when mascots appear in sequels too much...But in this case, ratings are through the roof! All thanks to the cute Monokubs!" Monokuma cheekily adds.
Incredible, he did it again! This is driving me nuts, how did no one notice how many hints Monokuma was giving out, and right from the start too! A quick glance shows that only the same people as before reacted, no one else did. Unbelievable! This is so unfair, I want to cry.
"Wh-What is this? What's going on?" Kaede stammers out, her face drenched in sweat, a look of horror placed upon her face.
A dark look crosses my face. So now you talk? I can't judge, I didn't speak up either.
But weren't you doing that more out of self-preservation than anything else? A voice chimes in, I pointedly ignore it. But I don't deny it either.
"-That is no ordinary teddy bear. I can see it...the despair and madness swirling around that cursed thing..." Kiyo calmly observes.
I grimace, he's not exactly wrong.
"Whoa... first of all, I'm no teddy bear. I'm Monokuma." Monokuma angrily retorts. "And show some respect! I'm the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles!"
"...Headmaster?" Maki questions quietly.
"It appears to be some sort of autonomous robot with a built-in A.I., like me..." Keebo heatedly replies, sweat dripping down his forehead as he glares up at Monokuma.
"Dong dong dong!" Monotaro cheers.
"The exisals are different, though! They're brainless buckets of bolts!" Monosuke happily informs us.
"They're mindless pretty killing machines that can only be controlled by us, the Monokubs." Monophanie casually carries on.
" Autonomous robots piloting weapons platforms...This is certainly turning into quite the story." Ryoma huffs while tiredly tugging on his beanie.
"Well that may be, but what I'm worried about is this killing game you mentioned." Rantaro points out with his arms crossed and a slight glare directed towards Monophanie, who cowers back. "What exactly does that mean?"
"Puhu...puhuhuhuhu..." Monokuma's chuckles fill the room.
"What is so amusing?" Kurumi questions, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"It's just...when I said it before, I kinda just phoned it in, and now I feel awkward..." He calmly replies, before his grin widens before he laughs,
"I want you students with your Ultimate-level talents to participate in a killing game."
Silence fills the room following that declaration, and I feel someone's hand tightly grip mine, I don't check who it is, my eyes never leave Monokuma. I squeeze their hand back either way.
"K-Killing game? Us?" Kaede questions, looking sick from even uttering the words.
"Please stop joking! Why would we agree to participate in a killing game!?" Keebo shouts back, yet even as he says that he somehow inches closer to Kokichi and me.
"Huh? You guys don't wanna do it?" Monokuma questions, confusion filling his voice the more he speaks.
"C-Course not! Gentlemen not hurt people!" Gonta retorts. Oh, Gonta.
"But if you've looked around the academy, then you already know, don't you?" Monokuma innocently questions. "The academy is surrounded by a huge barrier. You can't escape to the outside world...As long as we have the exisals, you can't defy us. In other words...I hold the power of life and death over each and every one of you." Monokuma slyly informs us. Bastard.
"So, do what you say if we don't want to die," Rantaro replies.
"Y-You gotta be kidding me! Why would friends kill each other!?" Tenko shrieks.
Are we really all friends, even if we were, we could still be driven to kill. Knowing Monokuma, he'd be able to make it happen.
"...Who said you guys were friends?" He asks slowly. It's such an innocent question, yet right now, it's a blow to us. A big one.
"You guys aren't friends at all...You're enemies out to kill each other." Monokuma declares smugly.
"E-Enemies...?" Shuichi stammers out in shock.
Is it sad that this is one of the first times that I've heard him speak, even if it's not directly to me? When we met, he hardly spoke a word to me. He didn't bother to introduce himself, Kaede did it for him. The thought that this is most likely the first time I've even heard him speak fills me with grief. What did I do wrong? Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I look around to see everyone else's reactions to Monokumas words.
Kiyo had straightened up at those words, staring hard at Monokuma with narrowed eyes.
Kirumi's hands had gripped her dress tightly, her face otherwise remaining passive.
Ryoma and Maki's stances changed to be slightly more defensive
Kaede, Shuichi, Gonta, and Tsumugi looked shocked.
Kokichi's expression was blank, but his fists were clenched tightly, and his eyes were slightly narrowed.
Keebo looked shocked, but by now, he'd also reached Kokichi and me and now stood before us in a slightly more defensive stance than before.
Himiko's eyes had darkened, but otherwise, nothing had changed there.
Tenko, after seeing how Keebo had moved closer to Kokichi and me, briefly scowled before moving to stand near Himiko.
Kaito looked outraged, while Rantaro's expression was hidden by his hair.
The grip on my hand tightened, and finally looking over, I saw Miu standing next to me, shaking badly, looking deathly pale with wide bloodshot eyes. I squeezed her hand again and pulled back slightly, and when she looked up with watery eyes, I pulled her closer to me. Intertwining our fingers more carefully than she had to comfort her, helping her calm down. After her shaking had reduced, I pushed her head gently down onto my shoulder. My heart at this moment was crying out in sorrow, we're all teenagers, no matter how skilled we are with our talents, we're just kids.
"All this talkin' is buggin' the shit outta me! I gotta beat up Monodam, to relieve the stress" Monokid roars out angrily.
My head snaps up at his words as I send a death glare right at Monokid. Insensitive little rat.
"But...I don't like that. I'm not good with violence or gore or sad situations." Monophanie whimpers out. Then why are you here!?
"Um, Daddy... instead of a killing game, could we do a rock-paper-scissors tournament?" Monophanie quietly requests.
Is she stupid, in what universe, would Monokuma, of all people, agree to that!?
"Who'd wanna play a game where no one dies!?" Monosuke asks incredulously.
Um, I would! I would say that out loud just to mess with them, but I don't want to make Miu any more on edge than she already is. How did she make it through this the first time? Was she desperately trying to hold it in? Poor Miu.
"Well, you do have a compassionate personality. It's so cute I can barely stand it." Monokuma replies slowly while looking directly at Monophanie. "Why it's cute enough to eat! Cute enough that I wanna eat it!" He declares.
"...Eh?" Monophanie trembles like a leaf.
"Hey Monophanie, you might wanna dial back the cute shtick a bit," Monotaro suggests, not even looking at Monophanie as he says this.
Ryoma, deciding enough was enough, joins the discussion, "Cool it with the stupid banter. I want to ask something." He pauses, making sure he has their attention before continuing, "How are we supposed to kill each other? Are you going to give us weapons?"
"What the hell, man!? What are you asking?" Kaito cuts in, a horrified expression on his face.
"We need to get info from them first. We can't do anything if we don't know anything." Ryoma replies, not looking at all offended by Kaito's remark.
"Weapons? Huh? What kinda barbaric display are you envisioning?" Monokuma asks. "You couldn't be more wrong. Why at the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles..." Monokuma pauses for a moment then, "The killing game is quite a refined, sophisticated experience!" Monokuma howls in anger.
"Sophisticated experience?" Maki questions, doubt in her voice.
"Yes... here, the killing game is punctuated by class trials," Monokuma replies softly.
"Class...trials...?" Kaede repeats, looking much calmer than before but still shocked.
"Okay, let us explain!" The monokubs chime in.
Feeling Miu shift slightly I tune out their explanation, I already know the gist of it, and turn towards her. She looks better, her skin no longer looks as pale as it did before, and her breathing is even, scanning her over the only signs of her previous distress are her eyes, which are still bloodshot and have a hundred different emotions bouncing off one another.
"Are you feeling better?" I ask in as soft of a whisper as I can manage.
Miu lifts her head from my shoulder and looks down at the ground while slowly nodding her head, our fingers still intertwined.
"T-Thanks," She whispers back, her voice cracking, as a blush covers her face the moment she realizes what just happened and how she must've looked. A stray tear rolls down her face as I lean closer to wipe it away, making her blush deepen in the process.
"You don't have to thank me, I just wanted to help" I whisper back.
"Tch, Of course, you'd help me. I'm Miu fuckin' Iruma, the most important person you'll ever meet." Miu retorts boastfully, but even so, she still tries to keep her voice quiet enough so that no one else can hear us.
"I can't disagree," I reply while giggling slightly, causing Miu to blush again as a genuine smile spreads across her face. Why did everyone hate you in the game? Why couldn't anyone care enough to try and be your friend?
"Ahhh, too much! That explanation revealed way too much! You gotta be more coy! Flirtatious! Seductive! Just like your old man!" Monokuma instructs, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he sweats.
"Gross..." Himiko mumbles from across the room, yet everyone still hears as her voice bounces of the walls.
"The point is, it's not enough to kill someone. You also have to survive the class trial." Monokuma continues.
"Kill without being caught, and then survive the class trial..." Rantaro repeats while staring at the ground with a thoughtful expression, "Sounds eerily similar to the real world." he casually remarks.
"You think so? Then the outside world must be masterfully designed- even at its cruelest." Monokuma laughs.
"One can likely imagine...but I shall ask, just in case...What is the punishment you mentioned earlier?" Kiyo questions in resignation.
"Simply put, It's an execution!" Monokuma yells in delight.
"E-Execution!?" Gonta repeats, looking horrified.
"If you do a crime, you get punished for it. That's, like, the most basic rule of society." Monokuma dictates cheekily. "But this is a killing game, so the punishment for murder is a bit more...permanent," Monokuma ominously adds.
"All right, I'm over all this boring exposition-" Monokuma takes a deep breath before shouting, "Let's get this heart-pounding killing school semester started already!" Leaning over the podium he carries on, "You have free rein to murder however you like, too. Like bludgeoning! Or stabbing! Feelin' cheap? Try strangulation! Feelin' lazy? Try poisoning! Whether you shoot, burn, drown, blow up, crush, electrocute, or laugh your victims to death... You can use any method to kill anybody you like, any way you like! At the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, you will realize your murderous potential! Sixteen talented teenage prodigies, all competing for first place in a killing game... There's no better setting for an event like this than the Ultimate Academy!" And with that Monokuma leans back on his podium, his speech complete.
"Killing school semester...It's like a game." Rantaro comments, a dark look on his face as he smiles.
"Kehehe...risking our lives for some silly game is absurd," Kiyo retorts.
"It doesn't seem like it'll be boring, though." Kokichi comments slyly, a finger pressed against his lips
"Hey, how can you degenerates be so calm!?" Tenko yells while pointing an accusing finger at some of them.
"Th-This has to be a lie...r-right? It's...a lie, right?" Tsumugi questions, looking sick.
A lie? Miu's grip tightens on my hand. If only. This is our reality, It's not a lie. It's not a dream. This is and forever will be their reality.
"I-I don't want this... to be in a killing game... It's wrong. I... I'd never do that." Shuichi speaks up, his voice so quiet it's almost a whisper.
"Puhuhu... well, if you don't wanna participate in the killing game, that's gonna be a problem... Cuz the killing game is the only reason you're here," Monokuma replies cheerfully.
"...What?" Shuichi questions, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Now then, unleash your talents and have a happy, homicidal, horrific, hilarious killing game!" Monokuma shouts in rapture.
"W-Wait just a minute!" Kaede yells
"...Hm?"Monokuma hums in reply.
"No matter what you say... We won't do it!" Kaede points an accusing finger towards Monokuma, "We'll never participate in a killing game!" Kaede lowers her arm, and clenches her fists, "Whatever you have planned, I'm not gonna let you get away with it!"
"Idiot," I hiss softly under my breath, she's just making herself a target.
From the corner of my eye, I see Kokichi nod in agreement, but Kaito shoots me a disapproving look. It doesn't matter anymore, though, when I hear Miu's muffled laugh.
"K-Kaede you shouldn't rashly defy-" Tenko starts, only to be interrupted by Monokuma.
"No, no! I welcome her resistance! That kinda defiant spirit is important to the killing game. It's fun to watch the defiant one eventually snap, and get their hands dirty..." Monokuma retorts happily.
I shiver, causing Miu to tighten her grip on my hand, the problem with what he said is that he's right, she did get her hands dirty. She was the first one to do so.
"Wh-What do you mean by that...?" Kaede questions, looking apprehensive.
"Everyone loves that kinda brutality in a death game! Especially me!" Monokuma replies casually, "It never gets old! It's so fun and entertaining that I just get un-BEAR-ably pumped up! Plus, as the headmaster, it's my job to force you to do it." He announces.
"Ahahahahahahah!" Monokuma laughs, and soon after,
"Kyahahahhahaha!" The monokubs join in.
We all just stand in silence and watch as they laughed and laughed for a long time.
As the laughter continues
Miu Iruma sharply inhales, and her grip tightens on Angie Yonaga's hand as she sinks her head into Angie's shoulder, shaking all the while.
Kokichi Oma inches slightly closer towards the two and further behind Keebo, his face full of shock and his eyes full of emotion.
K1-B0 stands before them all in a defensive stance, firm and unmoving. Willing to defend his newfound friends.
Maki Harukawa glares at Monokuma in disgust, while on the inside, trying desperately to calm her roaring emotions down.
Rantaro Amami watches the reactions of his classmates, unable to look at the laughing beasts anymore.
Tenko Chabashira stood side by side with Gonta Gokuhara, in a defensive stance, with Himiko Yumeno and Tsumugi Shriogane hidden behind them.
Ryoma Hoshi watches all of his classmates with sadness in his heart and anger in his eyes, they were all just kids.
Korekiyo Shinguji stands near Kirumi Tojo, both watching Monokuma and their classmates carefully.
And finally, Shuichi Saihara stood at the front of the room frantically pulling his hat lower and lower while Kaede Akamatsu stood in the center of this all, glaring at Monokuma with determination.
I hate those damn bears.
That's the end of the prologue 'A Classroom and a name' onto chapter one!
Also, a brief note. I'm on half-term right now, so I have more free time to write the story. But when school starts up again, things will most likely go back to one chapter a week with the odd extra part every now and then. Currently, I'm already in the process of writing the next piece to this story. Now that the prologue is over, the story is going to start changing from the original game a bit more, seeing as I didn't find it too realistic, to change things in any big way in the prologue.
