HOPE IS AN EMPTY CASKET part 2
Hey guys! Sorry this came late; i've been away and I've been working on other projects but now I'm gonna focus on this! If I get things wrong about your character, please let me know and I'll make sure I don't make the same mistake again! Also, I'd like you guy's opinion on something: do you want me to go straight into the murders or do you want me to write more about character stories and bonding and stuff? Or do you have a completely different suggestion? I'm open to ideas so leave your opinion in the reviews! Now, to recap: Hideki has just been pushed by Monokuma into the hole underneath the ruins of Hope's Peak, which got destroyed in front of Hideki's eyes. Why? I don't know, we'll see at some point. And now Hideki is falling... falling... faaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggg into what looks like an entire new world. What- or who- is behind all this? I don't know, it's 4am and I have jet lag so I'm basically dead inside. Let's just jump into it.
-SSAM
PS: some strong language but don't worry it's not gonna kill ya and also for an explaination make sure to read the author's note at the end of the chapter :))
I don't know how long I could have been falling for. Minutes? Hours? Days? To be honest it probably was seconds. But what I saw was a mixture of grandeur and insanity. We were tunnelling below the former grounds of the academy to a whole new world. The hole was a cylinder encircled by glass, so I could see everything outside. It looked like the entire city of Tokyo had been stolen and had been hidden under ground, like buried treasure. Spiralling skyscrapers and tall buildings covered by scaffolding gave the impression of workers but there was nobody on the streets. The buildings were all blacked out, and the sidewalks looked like they had never been walked on. There was a massive building in the middle of the "city"... a building that was identical to the SensÅ-ji temple. This really was Japan.
The building, upon closer examination, looked way more modern than the original temple. The spire that usually poked out of the pagoda was more like a radio tower and there were several colossal screens stationed around the grounds, which currently screened... what looked like a boy with a black hoodie and standing with a girl with long lilac hair. Both looked like high schoolers, like me.
"Ah, I remember. The first ever killing game. Puhuhu... which one are we on now?." Said Monokuma, floating next to me. I screamed as I kicked him, sending him back and through the glass out to the other side. He was screaming as if he was a dumb blonde in a horror movie, who was about to get stabbed. He then suddenly burst forwards and started gliding towards the temple.
I was taken aback by my sudden harshness. This isn't like you, I thought to myself. This isn't the real Hideki.
Then again, this doesn't feel real, at all.
I realised my interest in nature when I was younger. I was left alone a lot so when I didn't have to babysit for my two little sisters I was in the forest that stretched out for acres and acres behind my house. As there was so much space, I wasted no time immersing myself in my surroundings and all the sounds and smells the forest had to offer. Most of the time there was spent on imagining the possibility of imaginary creatures inhabiting the woods and how I would befriend them all. However, sometimes I would spend so much time on those fictional adventures that I would forget to come home for dinner. So, of course being stuck three miles away from home, I would have to improvise. Berries and nuts became my best friends for most of my time out there, and sometimes I wouldn't come back to my house until early next morning. My parents never checked my room as they were so busy with work, so they always assumed I was asleep and not climbing trees in the middle of the night. I always guessed my fascination with herbs and plants came from this time, and I spent more and more time documenting what the plants did rather than playing around in the leaves. But all the practice in the world can't stop you from making mistakes. A simple misjudgement in the shade of the root and it's all over. And it's all your fault.
I felt myself slow down as I neared the ground, as an invisible force carefully stood me up in mid air and placed me on the ground. I had arrived in the catacombs.
And of course everything went black.
Operation Goosefeather in progress.
Days left until relocation: unknown
Patients: 16 stable, 1 critical
Phase One Successful
Now launching Phase Two
Conecting to MonoLink
Establishing server connections
Startup successful
Phase Two officially underway.
A/N: and so it begins... this shady hint to future story lore is brought to you by anyone who has ever eaten anything.
On a completely unrelated note, this chapter took a lot of work! If your character is a little different to what you wanted, it's just my idea of the character, and the impression I got from them. If you need me to change anything about them prior to future chapters, give me a quick PM and we can talk more. Also I'm starting on a Warrior Cats SYOC ish thing
Chapter One, part 0.5
Innocent until proven a liar
I woke up in the middle of a small garden of flowers. Smelled like some sort of marigold. As my eyes opened, I welcomed their warm glow. As I looked up, I realised the bright sun wasn't there to welcome me. Instead, a huge floodlight was mounted at the highest section of the cavern, and the ceiling was all in a vibrant shade of green. Odd. Now it came back to me. Ah yes, being trapped underground with no visible escape. I slowly sat up, noticing that I was surrounded by an ornate hedge, trimmed to look like bears. Great. Monokuma must be behind all this after all. I also noticed what looked like a sleeping shape to my left. Due to the shape of the body, it appeared to be a female. Then I noticed the big cat ears poking from her head. And the tail poking out from her pinstripe dungaree dress. And that she wasn't actually sleeping, but had been awake the whole time, looking at a ladybug scuttling along the stalk of the flowers. Then she picked it up and stuck it in her mouth. 10 seconds later, she yawned and the ladybug flew out again and back onto the flowers. She then pulled a notepad out from her shirt pocket and wrote something down.
She appeared contented at her conclusive research.
"H-hello?" I said. God, I have so many questions right now.
"Oh, hi. Didn't see you there." she said. Huh. Her voice sounded pretty normal, for a cat. I would have imagined a harsher wail, like a forest stray that I usually saw on my trips. Then she got up, and offered me her hand.
"HAII!~ MY NAME'S HIKILEE INCINE, THE ULTIMATE GENTICIST! NYAH!"
Now I heard the wailing.
Hikilee Incine: Ultimate Geneticist
Age:16
Likes: Cats, Ladybugs and watercolour paintsets
Dislikes: Cat food, moths and summer
Creator: CluelessAuthor0
"Ah." I murmured, taking her hand and pulling myself up. "Nice to meet you. My name's Hideki Takenaka, Ultimate Apothecary." Then I realised what she had said.
"Y-you're an ultimate too?"
"Yeah! We're all Hope's Peak students, but before we could actually get in, the school friggin' EXPLODES and that teddy bear told us to jump down into the catacombs and to wait. Pikomi got bored of waiting, so he became mr Bossypants and got me to wait for any new arrivals, and report them to him as soon as I see them. But I'm too sleepy... nyahhh," She mewed as she layed back down and curled into a little ball. What the hell was wrong with her? Then again, being a geneticist, she probably made herself a cat because she wanted to be one. That's how she got ultimate status. Now that I recall, I read about her before. She's an ambassador for domestic cats and apparently is the leader of a 60- cat pack. I didn't know if I was shocked, impressed or disgusted.
"Oh, you might as well go to the pagoda by yourself. It's a pretty straight path out of here. I would take you myself but...," She pointed her tail towards a small gate behind me then plucked a singular hair off my head.
Before I said anything, she simply replied "Research!", slipped the hair into a small plastic bag with the number 15 on it, and continued her surveys.
I wouldn't be forgetting her in a hurry. Now... I guess I follow the path until I wind up somewhere that isn't here. And hopefully find out what I'm supposed to be doing.
As I was walking, I soon started hearing voices from behind one of the trees. One of them, a male and another, a female. I could barely make out the female voice but the male voice was loud and clear.
"Probably another fake one..." said the female voice. Her voice was almost like how I'd imagine a pidgeon's, soft and gentle but a deep tone.
"WELL, ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!" said the male voice. He seemed to have an accent, but i couldn't pick it up... could it be Irish? No... too low pitched.
Then, I saw a man with long tangled hair resting on his shoulders climbing the tree and poking his head through the blossoms, which were odd to be around in any season except for spring, Seeing them in late november wasn't natural. I guessed they were checking if the tree was real or not.
"Oh, hey! A new recruit! Did President Toshi send you down?" The man jumped down in front of me, towering above my head. His odd outfit, consisting of broken pieces of armour that were mishapen from wear and the massive sword on his back, made me think he was some sort of niche anime character, but as I looked up at the man's wide grin and outstretched hand, I guessed he didn't mean any harm. Now it came to me. This guy is Scottish. I shook his hand.
"Hideki Takenaka, ultimate apothecary. Pleased to meet y-"
He then proceeded to pull me into a massive bear hug.
"THE NAME'S WILLIAM DUNLAP! THE ULTIMATE GENERAL! GREAT TO MEET YOU!"
William Dunlap: ultimate general
Age: 18
Likes: mountain climbing, sports and sparring with a sword
Dislikes: party poopers, grown ups and school
Creator: danieltruong1917
"Oh, is someone with you, Will?" A tall girl with long pastel pink pigtails and a checkered hoodie dress peeked out from behind the tree. She then stepped out and took out a pair of round glasses and put them on. She then looked at me for a good ten seconds, obviously sizing me up and judging me before breaking the silence. "Hello. My name is Lark Rigan, and I am the ultimate chess champion," She then took off her glasses and went back behind the tree, going back to examining the strange sakura blossoms creeping up the branches. It would be considered antisocial to many people, but she didn't seem to mind.
Lark Rigan: ultimate chess champ
Age:17
Likes: books, cinnamon buns and musicals
Dislikes: gum, daytime and mistakes
Creator: SugarSprinklesAndMurder :)
"So, guys... do you know what we're actually meant to be doing here?" I said anxiously, as I still felt Lark's stare burning into me even though she was seemingly focused on the tree.
"We know as much as you do, mate," William replied, sounding the tiniest bit downtrodden. "The best thing we can do is wait it out until we get any extra orders. That Pikomi guy seems to be taking control of everything at the moment, so we're stuck "surveying" until he says we stop, which is BULLSHIT if you ask me," He was obviously not one to be taking orders, being the Ultimate General and all.
"Have you been to the pagoda to see him?" I jumped as Lark was suddenly behind me. "If not, you really should. He'll be pissed if you were sneaking around without his permission," A glimmer of a smirk appeared on her face.
"Well, I guess we're gonna have to take you. C'mon, Lark. We can come back later," William called, and Lark immediately threw down the branch she was carefully examining and took her place next to him. She looked at him with complete and utter fascination, then turned to me with a blank stare.
"Well, you coming Hideki?"
And so I followed them down the winding path leading to the pagoda. How I wished I had turned back then, I may have saved myself for the despair that was about to unfold in this underground hellscape.
Soon we came across a crossroads. One road seemed to lead deeper into the city that I had seen earlier. Another continued into the copse of trees surrounding the temple. Upon closer inspection, the buildings were only half finished. Skyscrapers seemed to be sliced in half and many towers and blocks seemed like they had just started development. The city was still being constructed, I concluded. "Look!" William shouted, pointing at the sidewalk. At first I didn't see it, but then I noticed the little moles burrowing around the buildings. They seemed to be working together to... make a moat in front of the wide structures? No, that couldn't be it... they were forming an outline, but for what? For who? I managed to shake the image out of my head as Lark motioned to a bench directly in front of me slap bang in the middle of the crossroads. A boy was sitting there, his body slumped and still except for the rise and fall of his shoulders. He must have been asleep. He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans. He looked like any ordinary kid, and not some ultimate. Then I noticed his scarf. It was thick and it went down to his hoodie pocket, where the end was neatly tucked in. It had large diamond shapes on it, and it seemed like some sort of sandy brown argyle pattern.
What I didn't know was the scarf was an eastern diamondback rattlesnake. We all panicked.
"GET IT OFF HIM!" William yelled, although not moving himself. He was frozen in panic.
"I-I think he's okay!" I said. "He's still b-breathing!"
"He won't be soon. Do you even know how dangerous rattlesnake bites are?!" Lark hissed. She then walked slowly up to the boy. Although she was acting snooty, I knew she was as worried as we all were. She put on her glasses and reached out hesitantly to touch the snake. Her fingertips hardly stroked the creature's scales when the boy's hand grabbed onto her wrist to stop her. He had obviously been woken up by our panic and was looking at us with a mix of confusion and annoyance.
"Don't touch Mioda when she's sleeping. Snakes are known for their quick reflexes, and if I hadn't stopped you, you would probably be in a coma right now," He said. I could see Lark looking at him with complete horror and gratitude. Then his face returned to normal as he let go of Lark, stood up and looked at me. Not in the way Lark did, but with silent curiosity and sympathy. Then his eyes returned to normal and he sat back down, taking his snake into his arms and setting it onto the bench next to him. "My name's Molo... Deviluke. This is my friend Mioda," He said, slowly motioning to the rattlesnake. "I am the ultimate... snake charmer,"
Molo Deviluke: Ultimate Snake Charmer
Age:16
Likes: venomous animals, reading, Ibuki Mioda's music and pancakes
Dislikes:Cold areas, sports and birds of prey
Creator: MangaToons
He frequently drifted off while talking, staring off into space. At times, Mioda would lightly tap him with her tail to bring him back to earth. Snake charming... an uncommon talent, I thought. He must be from abroad, but he didn't look it. He had dark red hair and pale skin, so I would assume somewhere up North. Possibly Alaska or Canada. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't recall who... somebody I had met years ago.
"Molo, aren't you meant to be looking for Monokuma?" William asked. Molo shook his head.
"He'll show up." Then he went back to his daydream.
"Pikomi's gonna be so pleased with you," Lark muttured sarcastically. I was still confused. Who was this Pikomi? Another Ultimate? Whoever he was, he seemed to be taking charge. I wonder what that would mean for his talent. "I mean, I wonder if he's gonna give you a medal or something for your outstanding service! Oh golly, how fun!" Molo looked at her again and smiled. Then he slumped back down, Mioda slithering around him again and glaring at us.
"I can already tell... you're gonna be a problem for us, Lark... I suggest reviewing your actions before you start criticising ours...," He yawned, before closing his eyes, Mioda with him.
"The fuck you just-" Lark started before realising it was a futile task to confront him now, as he started to snore softly. She scowled and turned to William, who was gasping uncontrollably with laughter. She gave him the same icy glare she gave me when first meeting me. "S-shut up, Will.." She then pivoted on her platform boots and stormed off. We ran to catch up with her, and I could swear I saw Molo smirking to himself as we came past his bench.
"P-please stay focused. We need to get this d-done before Pikomi finds out we've been s-sl-slacking.."
"Oh please, slacking is my middle name! C'mon, Mie! It's easy! You just pick it up by the tail and- AAAAAARRGHHHH! LITTLE TWIRP JUST BIT ME!"
"Oh God! I-I'll go get help!"
Suddenly a girl came out from behind a pile of scaffolding to the left of the path. I suddenly noticed the creatures we had seen earlier... the moles were building! They were making foundations so they could place scaffolding to finish constructing the half-built city! Of course! That was why there were so many of them.
"Th-thank god!" The girl cried before sprinting over to us. She had short white hair cut into a bob and pale white skin. She was wearing a white cardigan on top of a ruffled white dress. The pastel pink beret on the top of her head was the only thing that made her seem living in a sense, whereas without it she would almost blend into the light fog that had started to appear around us. I hadn't noticed it before. Had it always been there? It seemed to block out the "sun", which was at the top of the cavern sun. Except, when it was a plain floodlight before, now it was an actual sun. There were actual clouds in the sky, descending as fog. The sky was now blue instead of the green I had seen before. I thought we were underground. What had happened to the cavern in the space of an hour?
"Y-you've gotta help! Someone's h-hurt!" She panted once she came over to us and pointed over to the pile of scaffolding. Then she looked at me skeptically as she tried to figure out where she knew me from. Then she shook her head.
"I don't think we've met," I said, offering her my hand, which she flinched at. "My name's Hideki Takenaka, the Ultimate Apothecary... and you?"
She looked at me shyly, before extending her had gingerly. "M-Mie Suzuki... I'm the Ultimate Gacha Gamer,"
Mie Suzuki: Ultimate Gacha Gamer
Age: 15
Likes: Cute things, Harajuku Fashion and mobile phones
Dislikes: Brash people, fighting and speaking her mind
Creator: ToastedStrudel
"So, who's been hurt?" I asked softly. She seemed to be extremely shy and I worried that any sudden move might scare her even more than she already was.
"F-Freddie. Pikomi sent us to look at the m-moles and to see w-what they were doing and he... h-he..." Then Mie stopped and looked at me with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry! Y-you haven't met him, because y-you..." She looked worked up for a moment and then relaxed again. "W-well, I guess what's more important is... h-helping him.. y-you can help, if you want t-to." She whimpered before running back to the scaffolding pile. I ran behind her and saw what had happened to Freddie...
"Mate, you're fine! He just nipped you, and you're not even bleeding!" William sighed as the boy he was talking to cried out in agony.
"AAAAAARRRRGHHH! I'm dying! Somebody get the ambulance! I can feel the venom going to my brain... my lungs.. my heart... bleeeeeeh." The boy tossed and turned in obviously fake pain until sprawling out on the floor, flopping his arms and legs and sticking his tongue out. "This isn't funny," Lark said, glaring at him with disgust. "You're a vet. You should know that moles don't have venom," Freddie bolted up and sneered at her. "Well, I've never had anyone come to me with their pet mole! I don't need to know these things! Bleh," and so he went back to being "dead". Then William turned to me. "This is Freddie. As you can see, he's a right wan-"
"Fredrick Gawara, Ultimate Veterinarian at your service," the boy bolted up to cut off William. "But the chicks around here call me Freddie," He whispered.
"HOLD ON A SECOND! ARE YOU CALLING ME A-"
Freddie Gawara: Ultimate Veterinarian
Age: 18
Likes: drama, drag artists and coffee
Dislikes: silence, the dark and pressure
Creator: CluelessAuthor0
"I'm just kidding, Will. Jeez, calm down," Freddie sighed as Mie helped him stand up.
"Well, it's not funny! And don't call me that!" William huffed as he dusted himself off. Where did all this dust come from anyway? As i dusted it off my shirt, I noticed an odd smell, but I couldn't tell what it was... wait, where did the fog go?
"Oh, of course," Freddie sneered. "Only your little bitch-on frise calls you that. My mistake!" (AN: I'm lowkey proud of that diss :DD)
William's face went bright red, either from blushing or anger. It could have easily been both. "And you're totally not crushing over Mie?"
"Hey! Don't bring her into it!" Freddie shouted, his face also turning a bright shade of crimson, like a pomegranate.
"You started it!" William yelled. The two girls were looking on, embarrased but too scared to do anything. It was up to me to do something about it. I stepped between the boys, and took a deep breath in.
"H-hey, you guys! You need to-"
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"
A woman shoved me out of the way and glared at all of us. She had neat navy hair secured in a large bun at the top of her head and small narrowed eyes. Her red pinstripe pencil skirt and black blouse gave the impression that this lady, although her face was young, had knowledge way beyond her years. Then again, I couldn't tell how old she was, and something was off with her. Her skin was too smooth, and her eyes were dull and dark. She folded her arms and spoke into a headpiece. "Yeah, sorry sir. I found a group of unruly students arguing amongst themselves. I shall report them to you as soon as I resolve the issue," She then looked me up and down, then added, "I also located the 16th student. That's all floors filled, so I shall assume that there are no more students to arrive. Yes, I shall report 16 to Mr Toshi and the rest to you after the general announcement. Thank you, sir," she turned off the headpiece and unfolded her arms. "Now can somebody with a little bit of sense tell me what in God's name is going on here?"
"Freddie was bitten by a mole while investigating the scaffolding," Lark said. "And these two imbeciles got into an argument over some elementary remark," She glared at Freddie, but then gave a glance to William, as if to apologise.
"HE CALLED ME A GIRL!"
"HE'S A LIAR!"
A clamour of yells and insults circled around the group, mostly from the guys, and some from Lark. Mie covered her face with her hands, unable to say anything. I was about to tell the girl the whole story before she pulled William and Freddie up by their collars. She brought her face close to theirs and whispered, "Either of you say one more word before we get to the temple, and I'll make sure you both suffer," She turned to the rest of us. "And the same goes for you lot. Just remember who's in charge and where your place is," she sneered before sashaying ahead of us. She didn't seem like a student... then who was she?
"Teraki." Mie shuddered, as if she could hear what I was thinking. "S-she's deputy headteacher of Hope's Peak,"
"Is that all she's called? No last name?" I murmered, not wanting Teraki to hear me.
"I don't think it's a she," Lark uttered. "I bet you guys 1000 yen she's an android,"
"I thought I said NO TALKING!" Teraki yelled from ahead of us, and although she made no physical threat to any of us, I still braced myself for a blow that never came.
AN: Hey guys! This chapter took forever and I've only introduced 7 of the 16 students! I still need to introduce all the other students, so that's why your character may not be here. I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as I could try to cut the already enormous wait short. So yes, I'm working on part 2 where all the rest of the characters are introduced and the big announcement is made! I hope you guys enjoyed the beginning of despair and the end of hope! Next part coming soon, and it won't take as long as it did last time! Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll see you soon!
-SSAM :))