A/N: Hello everyone. Shay here with the second chapter in the Everlasting Hope saga. Last time we left off, the 76th class of Hope's Peak Academy woke up in a strange school with no memory of how they got there. Let's see how their first day trapped in the school fares.

Sara decided to check out the kitchen to see if Ayame was correct with the large quantities of food in there. She followed the hallway to the dining room. She watched as her other classmates went off in different directions. Probably to get settled in their rooms and explore the rest of the school. She passed the swimming pool and her eyes lingered on the door as she passed it. As if was reminding her of something. She brushed it off and entered the dining hall. It was a simple cafeteria with tables and chairs set up all over the room and a large table off to the side. Sara walked through the room to the other door in the dining hall that led into the kitchen. Inside, was a large fridge and freezer, both stocked with all kinds of food and ingredients. Inside the large pantry, it was the same. Like there was enough food to feed all 16 students for the rest of their lives. "This is strange. Why do we have so much food? It's like we're expecting to live in this school for the rest of our lives?" She said softly to herself as she went to the corner where there were piles of fresh fruit and she picked up an apple, she also grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and left the kitchen. She decided to explore the library next. She left the dining hall and turned towards the stairs. She took a bite out of the apple. It was sweet and juicy and reminded her of home. She climbed up the stairs to the second floor and crossed the hallway to the library. She walked in and her eyes widened. Yoshiki wasn't kidding with the number of books they had in here. She held her hand out and ran her fingers across the spines of the books. There were so many different genres and volumes. Some even Sara had read to her siblings when they were growing up and some new titles that she had always wanted to read herself. Sara was a big fan of reading. It was one of her many likes, as well as bunnies, cherries, chocolate, or anything sweet. But reading was another love of hers. She would use the stories she read to her siblings and to the children she babysat by putting on a small performance, trying to mimic the character's voices, stuff like that. She wasn't the best but it made the kids smile brightly. Sara finished the rest of her apple and found a bin to throw the core away. She then picked a random fantasy book from the shelf and sat in a bean bag and began to read for a bit. She heard the door open after a while to see Astrid Gatra come in and look around. Sara looked up and smiled. "Hello there!" She announced softly. Astrid waved at her.

"Hey, I didn't see you there. Don't mind me, I was just bored." She chuckled as she grabbed a book from a shelf and sat at a desk to read. Sara thought this would be a good time to get to know her classmate.

"You're weren't the only one who was bored. So... Ultimate Swordswoman. Quite the cool talent. Kind of lame against my one." Sara said softly. Astrid turned to her.

"I think it's an adorable Ultimate. I take it you've worked with kids in the past?" Astrid asked curiously. Sara chuckled.

"More like grew up around them... I was the oldest of 5. I guess taking care of kids care naturally to me." Sara explained, smiling softly as she did.

"That must have been fun. I will admit being around 4 younger siblings would've driven me crazy." Astrid explained laughing. Sara chuckled along too.

"Yeah... I learned to live with it. It... wasn't easy... but anyway. Enough about me. What about you? How did you become known for your talent?" Sara asked. Astrid just rolled her eyes.

"My father was a collector of medieval artifacts, swords included. I always thought they looked cool so I decided to take up the art of swordsmanship. It seems I turned out pretty well!" Astrid explained holding a thumbs up to Sara. She chuckled as she closed her book and put it away on the bookshelf.

"That sounds pretty awesome. There's quite the bunch of Ultimates here, it seems." She said softly. Astrid nodded.

"Yeah. Some of them seem so passive. Especially who was it? Kagami and Chakurasai? What were their ultimates again?"

"Oh, Kagami is the Ultimate Basketball player and Chakurasai is the Ultimate DJ," Sara explained so fluently. She has an eidetic memory so she has managed to remember her classmates and their ultimate talents. Astrid placed a hand on her chin.

"Basketball player, huh? Where do you think he might be?" She asked Sara.

"I think everyone went to their bedrooms once we dispersed from the gym. I'd try checking there first." She explained softly. Astrid nodded and got up from the desk, leaving her book there.

"Then I'll seek him out. It'll be nice to have a friendly competition with an Ultimate basketball player. See ya around, Mazaki." She said, and she left the library. Sara smiled and waved as she put Astrid's book back on the shelf, took one last look around the library, and headed out. She figured it would be best to get settled in her room before exploring everywhere else. She walked down the hallway to the stairs and climbed up them to the third floor. She found her room and walked in. She looked around and placed her bag by the door before locking it. She looked to her left to the small bookshelf, and her eyes fell on a picture that stood on top of it. It was a picture of a toddler, no more than 3. At a quick glance, you would think it was a picture of Sara from when she was a kid, the same colored, curly hair, the green eyes, and a smile that brightened up every room. But if you looked closer at the frame, there was an inscription at the bottom of it. Just a name: Hana. Sara picked up the frame and held it close to her. Next to the frame was a bunny plushie. But it looked old and worn out. There were also signs of water damage to it. Sara put the frame down and picked up the bunny plush. She hugged it for a bit, a tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek. "It's been 8 years Hana... and not a day goes by where I don't miss you. I hope... I hope I can make you proud." She whispered as she put the plush back down. She grabbed her favorite book from the shelf: 'Robin Hood' and sat on her bed to read for a bit.

...

About 2 hours must have passed when Sara finally put her book away. She looked around for any indication as to what time it was. She found a small clock on a bedside table that said: 5:00. Sara felt her stomach rumble, definitely time for dinner. She grabbed her bag and left her room, taking care to lock it behind her and head towards the staircase, heading downstairs to the first floor. As she reached the first floor, she could hear shouting and screaming coming from down the hallway. She walked quickly to find where the commotion was. She stopped at the door to the swimming pool. Her eyes widened as she ran in to see Daiki, Neku, and Yoshiki standing there, shouting and in the pool... was Jae, in the deep end, struggling to swim. Sara's instincts snapped and she flung her bag off and ran towards the group. "IS ANYONE GOING TO HELP HIM?" She shouted as she ran past the group and dived, fully clothed into the pool, and swam to grab Jae before he submerged. Sara heard a splash behind her as Yoshiki swam up to greet them. Together, they managed to pull Jae to the shallow end of the pool and help him out. Jae was shivering uncontrollably. Yoshiki pulled him in for a hug to try to warm him up. Sara's emotions were all over the place. Everyone was glancing at Daiki as if he were the one who threw Jae into the pool. Sara stormed up to him, looking up at him with the angriest look on her face that meant that you were in trouble, big time. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE PLAYING AT?" Sara shouted at Daiki. Neku went over to Yoshiki and Jae to see if he was alright. Daiki just shrugged.

"Choi shouldn't touch me without asking!" Daiki sternly said as if his actions were justified. That did not sit well with Sara.

"IT STILL DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO THROW HIM LIKE THAT! A POLITE NO THANK YOU WOULD'VE WORKED!" Sara kept shouting. This was a side you never wanted to see. Neku and Yoshiki nodded in agreement. Sara could see Daiki clench his fists.

"Stop yelling! I'm right in front of you!" He said, raising his voice slightly. Sara could feel her emotions rising, not because of how Daiki was treating the situation, but because it started to bring up memories that she had tried to forget. She was almost about to punch him when Yoshiki walked up to them and kneed Daiki right in the groin which hurt because Daiki ended up on one knee on the floor. Sara looked down at him.

"I don't give a damn. You could've killed him! We've only just woke up here. And I am not letting anyone die on my watch!" She lowered her voice but it was loud enough to keep that stern tone. Sara then turned and walked out because the memories were starting to get clearer, but she saw Daiki cough, stand up, and elbow Yoshiki in the face. She left the pool, almost running into Kiki. She looked at Sara, concerned.

"W-what's... going on?" She asked softly. Sara sighed and turned away from Kiki.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said softly and ran up the stairs and straight to her lab. There was a reason why she acted the way she did. A reason why she had memories that she wanted to forget. A reason why there's a picture of a toddler called Hana and a water damaged bunny plushie in her room. Hana was Sara's sister and 8 years ago, Hana drowned. Sara ran into her room and locked the door behind her and sat on the ground her back pressed against the door. She started crying softly as the memories resurfaced for the first time in what felt like years

...

"Hana, you need to keep your floaties on when you're around the pool."

"But I hate wearing them, Sara."

"You sill need to wear them. It's to keep you safe and I'm in charge until Mom and Dad get back."

"Fine..."

"Thank you, Hana... Hey Aiko, Tori stop fighting. You have to share the toy for the time being... If you keep fighting, I'll take it away and no one will play with it."

"Sorry, Sara..."

"Yeah, sorry Sara."

SPLASH!

"Hana... HANA! Eiji. Get the twins inside and call for help!"

"Let's go girls."

"Hana... I told you to keep your floaties on..."

...

"Hana? Please wake up... Hana... HANA!"

"Maam, We're here to help. What happened?"

"I turned my back for a second and she had fallen in the pool. I told her that she had to keep her floaties on when around the pool. Please... save her."

"Sara. What happened? We get back to see an ambulance outside... Hana... HANA?!"

"Maam, please, we're trying to work here."

"That's my baby daughter. What happened?"

"She fell into the pool. We're doing our best. You need to stand back."

"How? She should've been wearing her floaties... Why wasn't she wearing her floaties?"

"She was, mom. I turned my back for two seconds because Aiko and Tori were fighting and the next thing I know... Hana was in the pool. I told her that she had to wear her floaties."

"I'm sorry ma'am. We did everything we could... But Hana wasn't breathing when we arrived and we could not attempt to resuscitate her. Hana has passed on."

"No... NO!"

"HANA!"

...

Sara looked up at the photo frame of Hana and the plush next to it. She stood up and walked over to it, picking up the plushie and hugging it close to her as the tears continued to fall. "I'm so sorry Hana. If I was quicker... maybe you'd still be here today... I hope I have managed to make you proud though... I'll find a way to get out of here and reunited with Eiji, Aiko, and Tori. I promise," She said softly as she sat on the beanbags situated by the bookshelf and continued to cry.

A/N: Not the best start to their new lives, right? And look, some backstory stuff for Sara. Again, thank you to the amazing friends that created these amazing characters, and don't worry, we'll soon meet Monokuma and the game will start. I hope you all have a super wonderful day, morning, afternoon, evening, night wherever you guys are in the world and I'll see you all in the next chapter.