MAIN QUAD
The warm, Autumn breeze greeted me ass I stepped outside. It was a beautiful day, the blue sky gleaming. But there was something odd about the specific color blue that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It was... purpley. Off.
I found myself in a large, grassy area surrounded by four buildings. There were large fences between the buildings, blocking off access to other parts of campus. I was somehow not particularly shocked or surprised by this; being trapped already just felt like part of the situation.
There was a large monolith in the center of the quad; it looked like a sculpture that a talentless artist had left unfinished. The rock was jet black and shiny; it glistened in the daylight.
As I looked around the space, I realized I was not alone. Monokuma stood next to the dorm's wall, several feet away. He was dipping a sponge into a bucket and muttering to himself. On the side of the wall in front of him, someone had written, in hot-pink spray paint: THE BEAR IS A LIAR
He noticed me and waved cheerfully, even as he scrubbed furiously on the message. "Isn't it a delight to see you, my dear student!" he called. "Please ignore this shameful piece of vandalism! I wanted to have it cleaned up by now, but the beginning of the semester is always a bit of a rush!"
I looked at the graffiti. Then I looked back at him.
"Eh heh heh!" he giggled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Students can get restless before classes start, so sometimes they pull silly pranks."
"Am I trapped here?" I asked.
"'Trapped' is such a philosophically complicated word," Monokuma replied, turning away to scrub at the graffiti some more. "College is about broadening your ways of thinking!"
"Do you..."
"All your questions will be answered during our introductory class session," Monokuma interrupted, not turning around. "If you want to meet all your classmates, you should try the other buildings!" He gestured over to the building to the right of our dorm. "I saw someone head into the student union just a few minutes ago." He began scrubbing harder, humming.
I looked at the student union he'd indicated, then back to him. I felt ridiculous doing what he suggested, but I felt even more ridiculous considering him so dangerous that I avoided doing what he suggested. I realized that the song he was humming was "Nasty" by Janet Jackson.
Honestly too confused to keep thinking about it, I walked blankly to the union and went inside.
STUDENT UNION: ENTRANCE
The inside of the building looked moderny, that vaguely dated-looking, everything-is-glass-and-sharp-edges look I'd seen in office buildings. I saw stairs heading up to a hallway that appeared to be lined with small meeting rooms, a large hallway leading to my left, and another large hallway directly ahead.
Just when I was trying to decide which way to go, the decision was made for me: I heard a loud crashing noise coming from the hallway on my left, along with gruff, shouted cursing. Stupidly, naively, I ran towards it.
STUDENT UNION: CAFETERIA
I found myself in a large, clean cafeteria. Compared to even the high-class, swanky private high schools I'd visited, this place was nice. A variety of comfortable-looking tables and chairs filled the space, and sparklingly clean counters protruded from shuttered-off windows. The only food currently in sight was a Keurig coffee-maker and a row of cereal dispensers, but this was still obviously a new and expensive place.
Another crash captured my attention, and I looked over to my right. There was a young man standing next to an overturned chair, fuming and quaking. He was tall and muscular, with a yellow headband pushed up against his dark brown hair, wearing a dirty, brown, badge-covered jacket and tattered, black jeans.
Another young man sat at a table nearby, head encased in large earphones and eyes closed. He was pale and much smaller, wearing a large, black T-shirt and baggy jeans. He appeared to be pointedly ignoring the other guy.
"Oi!" Headband Man shouted, smacking over another chair. "Look at me! Hey!" Headphones didn't reply.
I took a hesitant step forward. "Um, excuse me?"
Headband Man whirled on me, frantic, then simply glared. "You know this bloke?" He had a British accent too, but I recognized this one: working-class Manchester. "Hanging motherfucker gets all up in my face, then sits down like nothing." He suddenly whirled on the other man. "You hear me, mate?! Oi!"
I was grateful Lucina hadn't come with me; she'd be completely freaked out by this. "Uh... maybe it's a misunderstanding? I..."
"Fuck, I ain't got time for this." Headband Man walked towards the door, glaring at me and pointing an angry finger at the other guy. "You keep that fucker away from me, or I'll blow him to fucking pieces, you hear me?"
"Blow him to pieces...?" I asked, but he had already stormed out.
NAME: Barrett Wood (XxxInquisitorXxx)
TALENT: Ultimate Demolitionist
:::::::
Q: Last question. If your life was a story, what would the genre be?
BW: Is fuck you a genre?
Q: I think you know perfectly well it's not.
Bewildered, I turned back to the other man, who waved to me, a friendly smile on his face. He pulled his headphones off, electronic beats echoing softly from them. "Hey, are you a student here, too?"
I blinked. "Um, yes. Saya Wild, Ultimate Chess Grandmaster."
He reached a fist out. After a moment of confusion, I walked forward, my own fist outstretched. He gave me a jarringly powerful fist bump. "I'm DJ Rocky K, the Ultimate House Music Producer. Repping NYC."
"Oh." I hadn't known anyone actually fist-bumped in real life, but compared to Headband Man, Rocky seemed so friendly, I was willing to go along with anything. "I'm from Miami."
"Miami!" Rocky grinned. "Sweet." He appeared to have nothing else to say on the subject.
I scratched the back of my head in confusion and pointed at the door. "Um, what was the deal with that guy?"
Rocky rolled his eyes. "Said his name was Barrett or something. He's a total asshole, right? Pissed me off hardcore. But I medicated before I took a swing."
"Medicated?" I pointed at his headphones. "You mean, the music?"
"Yeah. Tip, because you seem pretty cool: I get kinda out of control sometimes, but get me listening to my music, and I'm sweet as a little baby."
NAME: DJ Rocky K (gamergirl101)
TALENT: Ultimate House Music Producer
:::::::
Q: If your life was a... could you remove your headphones please? Thank you. We're almost finished. If your life was a story, what genre would it be?
DJR: Story? Fuck, man, this is the only story I need. [taps rhythmically on the tabletop]
Q: For the sake of the transcribers, could you do your best to put your answers into words?
DJR: [increases the volume of his tapping]
I nodded. "Um, so I'm trying to go around to meet everyone, and try to figure out what's going on. Do you... want to come with me?"
"Nah, I'm cool." Rocky slipped his headphones back on. "I'm just gonna hang here. I don't really give a shit, as long as I can make my music." He reached into a backpack next to him and pulled out a small synthesizer, connected to his headphones with a long, black cable. "Hey, but see you later, huh? Feel like we got a vibe, here."
I could not hide my blush, but luckily his attention was entirely on his synthesizer. After a moment standing there awkwardly, I stepped out of the cafeteria. I supposed I should check out the other big hallway.
STUDENT UNION: STUDENT STORES
I found myself in a large store, chest-high rose of merchandise spread out in all directions. The area nearest to the entrance seemed just like a normal convenience store: snacks, soda, soap, and so forth. But just nearby, things got a bit stranger. In one direction, a sign hung that said LANDSCAPING TOOLS, and in another direction a sign said CHEMICALS AND COMPOUNDS.
Nearby, a young woman stood with her back to me, critically examining some T-shirts hung on a rack. I approached, reminding myself that the hit-rate for terrifying classmates was still less than 50%. "Um, hi!"
The woman turned, and I got a good look at her. She had brown skin, her black hair pulled into a ponytail, with white feathers braided throughout. She wore a large purple duster with stars and butterflies embroidered on it, with a black, v-neck shirt and lace-up jeans. Every element of her presentation was ridiculous, but it somehow came off as chic rather than garish.
She looked at me silently for an uncomfortable moment, then she blinked. "Oh. Hi! You're... hm." She tilted her head and eyed my plum-colored jumper and jeans. "That's... a choice."
I looked down, suddenly insecure. "Uh." It actually hadn't really been a choice; I'd just determined that these clothes were comfortable and wouldn't make me stand out too much, and that was it. But I had no idea how to say that. "Do you... not like my outfit?"
The woman stared, then suddenly met my eyes with a smile. 'Oh, hey, I'm Nicole Archina. Ultimate Fashion Designer. Hey, what do you think of these?" She turned to the rack of shirts and held one up. A cartoon Monokuma grinned at me. "Creepy, huh? I'm already so over this bear thing. Oh!" She dropped the shirt on the floor and turned directly to face me, indicating her very tight jeans, the lavender strings laced in more complicated patterns than I'd thought. "You like my pants? I just made them. I was a little nervous about wearing them on move-in day, you know, meeting a bunch of white people, no offense, but I think they turned out great."
I noticed she had a spool of thread and two knitting needles hanging from her belt. "They look really good," I tried to enthuse while also trying not to look at her lower-half too closely. "I'm Saya, Ultimate Chess Grandmaster. I'm just trying to go around to meet everyone. Do you remember how you got here?"
But Nicole was already turned away from me and wandering down the aisle towards the athletic wear. "Ugh, what's with the neon socks? Never wear neon socks!" She muttered to herself for another moment, then whirled back suddenly, holding up a finger. "Hey! There's a guy walking around in like a brown jacket with a bunch of patches and badges. Watch out for him, he's kind of violent."
"I met him," I said. "Barrett, I think? Yeah, he seems like trouble."
"There's a monk, too!" Nicole added enthusiastically, now tugging on some pantyhose. "Like, suuuuuuper hot monk boy. Hey, do you like Call Of Duty?"
"I..." But there was no point to even finishing my sentence, because Nicole, immediately after asking the question, wandered off around a corner, deeper into the store.
NAME: Nicole Archina (HeadphonesLynx07)
TALENT: Ultimate Fashion Designer
:::::::
Q: One last question before we finish up. If your life was a story, what genre would it be?
NA: [inaudible]
Q: I'm sorry, please speak more clearly for the recorder.
NA: Like, a gritty street romance. Struggling on [inaudible] and getting out of the ghetto. Coming-of-age, is that what they call it? [inaudible]
I stood still for a moment. Even after meeting a mute, a paladin, a child soldier, and a tank commander, this had been my most perplexing conversation yet.
STUDENT UNION: ENTRANCE
I returned to the entrance, still bemused. The student union seemed like a place I'd be going to a lot... maybe for every meal for the next four years! But I was still curious to explore the other buildings on the quad.
MAIN QUAD
As I walked outside, I noticed that both Monokuma and the spray-painted graffiti were gone. Instead, a man I didn't recognize stood next to the central monolith, gazing at it critically with his chin resting in his hand. He was wearing baggy, loose clothing stained with multicolored paint splotches.
As I walked closer to him, he turned and waved. "Hello!" he called. He gave the kind of friendly smile I'd rarely seen: closing his eyes and opening up his mouth like a little kid. I noticed that his hair, which was just brown from a distance, was made up of individual strands that were every color of the rainbow, seemingly randomly distributed all over. It was either the most impressively intricate dye job I'd ever seen, or he was some kind of genetic marvel.
He noticed me staring. "Heh! It's natural, believe it or not. Had it all my life."
"I've never met anyone else with..." I began, and then realized my statement could be taken as an insult. "I mean... it looks really cool."
He tilted his head and regarded me, still with genuine-looking warmth on his face. "You're really pretty, you know?"
"Oh!" I sputtered, blushing for the umpteenth time that day. "Thanks."
"I mean it! I'd love to paint you!" He reached forward and we shook hands. "I'm Morgan Lee, I'm a painter. Um..." he blushed slightly... "the 'Ultimate Painter' according to the university recruitment people."
"I'm Saya Wild," I greeted. Ultimate Chess Grandmaster."
Morgan whistled low. "Wow, that's so impressive! Are you really a grandmaster, even so young?"
I nodded, feeling quite embarrassed. "I mean. There's a four year-old in Taiwan with a better record than me."
"Oh, come on, here I am talking to a super-genius and she's being all humble." Morgan shook his head, smiling. "I'm kind of envious. Sometimes, I wish my talent was something measurable, you know? Less subjective. Some people think I'm a terrible painter."
"Really?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, just typical starving artist stuff. But the people at this school believe in me, and I'm focusing on that right now."
NAME: Morgan Lee (ThatOneFireEmblemFan)
TALENT: Utimate Painter
:::::::
Q: If your life was a story, what would be the genre?
ML: Oh. I never really think in terms of story. Mostly image.
Q: That's fine, just answer the question as best you can.
ML: All right. Um, I guess my life is Expressionist. Or Fauvist. Real, but there's something missing that makes it not real at all. Colorful. Violent. [laughs] I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I said that.
I nodded; he was bringing up an uncomfortable point. Of all the chess grandmasters out there, they chose me. Can I really complain about robot bears and ether rags? "What about... if we were kidnapped? I think we might be trapped here."
Morgan shrugged. "You can't just do normal things with extraordinary students, right?"
I frowned. "I guess."
He gave a thumbs up, friendly smile still splashed across his face. "Come on, we have to trust the university, right? They're gonna teach us how to excel at our talents."
I couldn't bring myself to explicitly agree or disagree, so I just shrugged. "I'm exploring and trying to meet everyone. Want to come with me?"
"Nah," Morgan replied, turning back to the monolith. "I'm going to try to figure this out. Find the beauty in it."
I grimaced at the hideous statue. "It would take a genius artist to be able to find the beauty in that thing."
He looked back, grinning. "It's nice to be appreciated. See you later!"
Feeling better about my classmates, I waved goodbye and walked to the building directly across the quad from the student union.
GYM: ENTRANCE
I found myself in a clean, calm reception area for what appeared to be a work-out gym. It was nice to find a place I'd be able to get some running in, even trapped on campus, but the whole place felt eerie when it was completely deserted.
I heard voices coming from a nearby room, so I hesitantly stepped towards it and went inside.
GYM: WORKOUT ROOM 1
The room was large and almost completely empty. There were a row of rolled-up yoga mats along one wall and a large, blank television screen on another wall. Standing in the middle of the room were two young women.
The first woman looked about as embarrassed as anyone I've ever seen. She was pale, with dirty-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and large, round glasses on her face. She wore a black T-shirt with the NASA logo on it and navy blue leggings, and on top of them she wore a spattered lab coat that looked far too big for her, hiding most of her body from view.
Leaning in close to her, smirking oddly, was a girl with odd, ice-blue, almost silver hair. It hung all the way down to her waist in two long, shiny tails. She wore a dark-green top with a lime-green skirt and ludicrously tall stiletto boots. Unfortunately, she did not have on a large lab coat, and she seemed happy to show off her toned legs and arms and her kind of stupidly enormous breasts.
Twin-tail girl noticed my arrival and straightened up, casting a sly look in my direction. "Oh, my my," she remarked and then said nothing else.
Glasses-girl seized the opportunity, though. She strode towards me, casting a nervous glance back as she did so. "Hello!" she greeted, her posh, English accent quavering slightly. "I'm Emily! This is Katy. She's very nice, but..." She paused. "...Yes."
The other girl... Katy, apparently... just reached her hand out languidly. "As I was about to say, my dear, the last thing I'd want is to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I sometimes have a hard time keeping my poise around beautiful ladies, but I will never direct myself towards anyone who wishes me to stop."
Emily had literally positioned herself so I was between her and Katy. "Yes. Um. Please don't do that? Direct yourself at me, I mean. Please understand, you're just lovely, but I don't... you know?"
Katy sighed. "Of course. It's a terrible shame, but I understand. Platonic friends, perhaps?"
Emily took a half-step out from behind me. "Y...yes. If that's all right."
Katy smiled warmly at Emily. "Of course it is! I look forward to being friends!" She then shifted her gaze to me, and her smile got much, much hungrier. "And who might you be, dear heart?"
"I'm Saya I'm straight!" I yipped, practically involuntarily.
Katy pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and swooned dramatically. "Ohhh," she wailed, eliciting a giggle from Emily and almost from me. "Such is my tragedy! To be surrounded by beautiful, untouchable girls! How will I survivvvveeeeeee?" Her speech ended with a silly, protracted groan, finally pushing me over the edge. I chuckled.
Katy grinned at us both. "Friends?"
We both nodded at her, the energy in the room now completely copacetic. "I'm Saya Wild, the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster," I greeted. "Are you students here, too?"
"Yep!" Emily answered cheerfully. "I'm Emily. Voss. Emily Voss, I mean. The, um. Ultimate Astronomer. That still feels so odd to say!"
NAME: Emily Voss (TheRealKatsuma990)
TALENT: Ultimate Astronomer
:::::::
Q: If your life was a story, what would its genre be?
EV: Oh goodness, what indeed? Just a normal one, I suppose. Nothing grand. [laughs] That doesn't sound like a story anyone would want to read. Um, so I'll just make something up: a space opera, with lasers and aliens and a beautiful princess trying to reach her home planet before it explodes! [laughs] I'm sorry to be so silly.
"I'm Katy Thorson, the Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author." Katy even posed a little as she announced this. "That doesn't feel weird for me to say at ALL."
I blushed. "Lesbian... romance?"
"Oh yes!" Katy replied nodding vigorously. "Lesbian romance is an important genre! I'll fill you in, sometime."
NAME: Katy Thorson (dashunterman)
TALENT: Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author
:::::::
Q: If your life was a story, what would be the genre?
KT: Romance! Tragic romance. But less tragedy as it goes on.
Q: But always some tragedy?
KT: Well, it's not really romance if it doesn't have any tragedy, right?
Emily clasped her hands in front of her chest. "My word! I can't believe how diverse the talents here, are! I'm simply pathetic at chess, and I can't write, either."
"Says the prodigy scientist!" Katy exclaimed. "I took one astronomy class once, and I immediately dropped it! I couldn't handle the math."
Emily blushed, looking up at us sincerely and pushing her glasses up her nose. "Oh, but the math is the beautiful part! When your models fit your observations, you have no idea..." She trailed off, suddenly realizing her enthusiasm. "I'm sorry! I get excited talking about my mathematical models."
Oh my lord, I almost could not handle how adorable this girl was. "Chess is math, too," I said, trying to at least slightly change the subject. "But it's all intuition... I have a hard time being methodical about things."
"I'm completely intuition!" Katy announced, grinning. "Whew, I was worried after, you know, being kidnapped and everything. But with classmates like you, I think this is going to be a wonderful learning experience."
And then, as if on cue, static crackled from hidden speakers and a voice I recognized as Monokuma's filled the room: "Attention all incoming students! Please gather in the lecture hall for the first class of the semester! We will begin in five minutes! Any students who are tardy will be severely punished!"
Emily reflexively glanced at her wrist, then blushed when she saw it was blank. "Oh, right," she said. "I had a smart watch, but when I woke up, it was gone."
"So was my phone," I mused. "Did they take them...?"
"Students are not allowed phones, tables, or smart watches on campus!" Monokuma's voice boomed.
We glanced at each other. "Um," I said, "Can he..."
"Students are monitored at all times!" Monokuma barked.
I glanced up at the cameras, scattered across the ceiling of this room, like all the others I'd been in. "Marco," I called.
"Polo!" Monokuma's voice answered.
The three of us eyed one another uncomfortably.
Fact 9: There are four buildings surrounding a large, grassy quad. There is a large, eerie monolith in the center of the quad. All exits to the quad appear to be fenced off.
Fact 10: One of the buildings is a student union, and another is a gym.
Fact 11: The student union contains a cafeteria and store. The store has a very wide variety of items for sale.
Fact 12: Someone defaced the outside of the dorm with an anti-Monokuma message, just like the inside of my room.
Fact 13: Monokuma can apparently hear and see everything we're doing. It's still not clear if he's being controlled remotely or if he's an A.I.
STUDENTS MET SO FAR:
-Barrett Wood, Ultimate Demolitionist
-Rook
-Punkish, angry
-Physically violent and aggressive
-DJ Rocky K, Ultimate House Music Producer
-Bishop
-Apparently has an anger problem, but he calms down when he listens to his music
-Is pretty easy-going about this whole situation
-Seems nice
-Nicole Archina, Ultimate Fashon Designer
-Knight
-Friendly, but... let's say 'distractable'
-Doesn't like my clothes
-Her clothes are great
-Morgan Lee, Ultimate Painter
-Pawn
-Sweet guy
-Underappreciated as an artist, until he was recruited here
-Has faith and trust in the university
-Has no idea how handsome he is; maybe kind of an accidental playboy
-Katy Thorson, Ultimate Lesbian Romance Author
-Rook
-Hardcore flirty, but kinda... 'performy'
-Seems really cool when not in her romance mode
-Super pretty, but has her hair done up like Sailor Moon for some reason
-Emily Voss, Ultimate Astronomer
-Pawn
-omg just so damn cute
-She's all british and nerdy aaa
-Straight. Me too.
-A little insecure, but obviously really smart
AUTHOR'S NOTES
To clear up any confusion, the chess pieces assigned to each character are not meant to indicate their role in the game, but rather Saya's categorization of their personalities using something she understands.
Hey, who do you think the mastermind is? Have the clues I've dropped been too blatant?