Hello, everyone! I wanted to quickly say thank you again to all who've decided to comment and follow this story as well as giving me input on things I'll need to consider as the story moves along. Even though Kaede and Shuichi didn't win as far as first awakened don't worry! They won't be lost in the mist of things. Each character in this is more or less the protagonist of their own journeys as they try to remember each other, a way out, and themselves. Now that the pair known as artsy yin and tennis yang have been chosen we'll see how things either change or stay the same as this goes.


Ryoma Hoshi liked to think of himself as a realistic guy who didn't buy into things like supernatural phenomenon.

Getting sent to prison wasn't done by some mystic powers that be, but simply the consequences of things. The consequences of being young, overly emotional, and hot tempered enough to fall for the allure of a lady named revenge when he was younger. The question hovered around him on exactly what and who's actions lead to being stuck in a killing game with a bunch of strangers. Who if any of them provoked the attention of some psycho and this being the consequence for it?

He wasn't the resident SHSL detective nor did he plan to make a title change in the future but these were still things he couldn't help mulling over. The future was a funny thing to think about for someone who still felt they'd already thrown their own away. Kaede's last words from their last talk still popped up in the back of his mind off and on. She said he spent to much time sulking about his past and what couldn't be changed rather then the things in the future he could look forward too with others if he let them in. That at least being what he assumed she meant by their last talk.

He knew she might not of been entirely wrong and he regretted more then a little that his last parting words were for her to leave him alone.

Kaede had seemed determined to make him look forward instead of back on life in the short time he'd known her. He couldn't stop the killing game, nor did he completely feel like giving tennis another try. Still he supposed he could at least not distance himself as much as he had in the beginning. If nothing else it would be his own way of honoring their last conversation. It was possibly a foolish thing to try in a killing game of all things but as the old cliché yet classic saying went, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Out of all the types of teens in Japan to be stuck with in a game like this, at least these few were okay-ish.

Some a bit too nosey about his tennis history which he'd rather they just quit reminding him of. Despite only being here a few days it seemed everyone had formed some small group or another in the cafeteria. The only exceptions being himself , korekiyo, and Maki since the trio enjoyed just eating breakfast at lunch in solitary tables without having to talk much. He still had a ways to go before anything happened in even this small a group.

He could feel more then a bit of tension in the air after yesterday which only made sense all things considered. In any civil society if you commit a crime then a punishment should be dealt. Though that didn't make watching the poor young pianist meet her demise any less brutal. Her wish for them to escape as friends with no more killings was touching and in a perfect world it could possibly become true. Ryoma of course knew they didn't live in a perfect world and this cruel game they'd been thrown in only emphasized that.

When Gonta came charging into the room yelling about some odd letters in the grass Ryoma assumed it was likely just a prank by Monokuma. If not then someone like Kokichi or possibly Angie with how eccentric both were. Both of them however seemed just as confused as everyone else by the letters though.

"What's with you guys? Are you guys still talking about that graffiti?" asked Kaito

Kaito who had previously left to get Shuichi had returned with the navy blue haired detective behind him. This morning he was missing his usual head gear they'd been used to seeing. It was a bit odd how just adding or removing a piece of clothing could change a person's perspective of another in small ways. Ryoma thought he didn't look all that more confident then he did when they first met but he could tell it was a subtle sign he was making the attempt. Out of everyone, him and Kaede seem pretty close from the get go with one another despite things.

After some chatter about food, shuichi being hatless, and what to do about the possible meaning in the graffiti, Kokichi decided to rile paranoia within everyone. That at least is what Ryoma thought he was going for when he told Gonta he'd die if he kept being so gullible. On one hand he didn't entirely disagree that being to gullible whether in or out a killing game like this could be dangerous. On the other hand the last thing anyone wanted to think about was death this soon after losing 2 classmates. Before anyone could scold him about his comment Monokuma and his remaining cubs appeared in a poof of smoke. Flanking them were 2 cubs they didn't recognize.

"Ugh, you bred more of those little fuckers to annoy the hell out of us that quick!?" Miu said with a grimace.

"Their designs are a fairly different from the others. Why have your cubs replaced with new cubs rather then j ust get their spares made?"Korekiyo asked.

"Hey! All my precious cubs are one of a kind cuties who can't be replicated! That and I'd never bother doing or making the same thing twice. Besides these cubs are special cousins I invited over since I didn't want my remaining ones to get lonely. Introduce yourselves kiddos, pupupup." Monokuma really was

Compared to the cubs the "cousins" as he called them were as big as monokuma. On the left of monokuma was a bear with light green one with fuzzy and curly fur on the green side of it while the other half was regular un-puffy white like the others cubs. Its arms looked like they could extent and it had almost finger-like rubber nabbers where it's paws should be. Instead of feet it had had 4 small treadwheels that looked like they could roll on all terrain. It was like some odd monokuma fused with a monster truck toy. It even had 2 antennae on the top of it's head which again made it look like a weird racing toy.

On the right of Monokuma was less fuzzy but still oddly designed monokuma clone like the other one. It was half light purple with a more felt rubber like material on one side. Diagonal black squiggled lines were imbedded within the purple. The other half of it was regular white. Unlike the other bear it's feet were normal but it's arms were the same as it's cousin. The odder part of it was it looked like it had those little spinners that hover droids have on it's back which implied it could possibly fly.

The green one made the first move by rolling in front of it's companion and trying to bend it's head forward as if trying to politely bow, despite not really having a much of a neck to do so.

"Hello there dudes and dudettes, I'm Monocroft or call me crafts if that's to hard to remember. I like racing and collecting things that aren't mine so if your stuff goes missing later it was likely me." said the fuzzy green cub.

"Wow, a robot who's a fellow thief! I bet you'd make a way better team student robot for us then dull old Kibo."Kokichi chuckled excitedly.

"Why would you want to be friends with a thief? It would be more logical to hangout with a robot that won't get you arrested whether your a supreme leader or not." Kibo said.

"If you were good enough at it then you'd never have to worry about something like that. Just goes to show your not a good enough robot for my organization." Kokichi continued to tease.

"I could be if I-. NO I mean I wouldn't even want to be in it anyway!" Despite his protest Kibo looked upset.

"Hey, why does your voice sound sorta familiar?" asked Shuichi

"I don't know what you mean. I've been in a few robot movies though so maybe you recognize it from them."

Ryoma wasn't really sure what Shuichi meant by that remark. It sounded like someone talking through their teeth with a mocking Californian accent to it but nothing that familiar.

"Hey ya bastard, your suppose to save question for after everyone's introduced themselves not before. Ain't yuz got any manners!? Introduce yourself already big cuz." Monosuke yelled.

"Oh yeah, sorry I had a blonde moment there and forgot to say anything after him. I'm Monobreve and I hope I'll make sure he puts back anything he takes in as much of one piece as I can or I'm gonna tell our Mom. I like holding hands and gossip." said the purple cub.

Like Monocroft she attempted to bow but unlike him she seemed be moving back and not look directly at anyone's face completely. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was nervous. Each cub had some kind of theme so it was probably just that.

Later that day

After the cousins had introduced themselves, the monokubs presented the teens with random items they claimed were keys to unlock different labs and areas hidden on campus grounds. Kaito was the first to volunteer Shuichi as the lead in finding out where the items belonged. With the help of the others it wasn't long before the labs of Ryoma, Kirum, Maki, Gonta, Miu, and Himiko were discovered. They also found a pool and weird love hotel thing.

Ryoma wasn't all that interested in the last two things and decided to go to his room when suddenly something landed almost directly on top of him near the pool side.

"Huh? A broken tennis racket? Why would something like this just randomly fall from the sky.?"he wondered.

Before he could think further on it, another ruined racket fell from the sky but this time he saw where it was coming from.

"My lab? Why is someone throwing things out my lab window?" He questioned this until he saw the familiar fuzzy green head of Monocroft poke out the window and look at him.

"Oops! I hope I didn't hit anyone down there!" It yelled pretty unnecessarily since Ryoma was directly below the window. He was pretty sure it was staring dead at him to.

"What are you doing up there?" Ryoma asked it.

"Oh this? Well, I heard orange and pink were your favorite colors so I'm gonna paint poke-dots here those in those colors. I'm having a hard time opening these cans by bashing them with these racket shaped openers though. Soon as I'm done don't worry, I'm gonna do your close next!" It said this like it was the most logical reasoning in the world.

The short tennis playing teen couldn't face palm harder if he tried.

"First off those are my least favorite colors and don't go together in the slightest. Second, why would you use a racket to open anything? Thirdly, don't touch my stuff!" Normally he wasn't the shouting type. He really didn't want to be shouting this early in the morning but this bear seemed extra annoying compared to the rest. It did that weird half head tilt thing at him before responding in confusion.

"Whatcha say dude?! I can't really hear you from up here, I think paint got in my ears but if you want me to just skip to your tennis clothes in here I will!" It shouted back at him before retreating back into the room before he could reply.

Imprisonment, paranoia, a killing game, new robots, weird messages in grass, and now having some dumb robot bear trying to dye his clothes the ugliest two colors possible. As mentioned before he didn't believe in the supernatural things but he was starting to feel like he had to have done something even worse then he did in this life to have all this happening. He could at least control the latter of these issues since the school rules only said attacking Monokuma was prohibited.

By the time he made his way up to his lab he was prepared to see the worst pain job in the history of paint jobs desecrating the tennis court but to his surprise the room actually looked cleaner. Monocroft was rolling into the shower room just as he stepped in the lab and closed the door. It looked like he was carrying a bucket and dragging a bowel of some kind. "Is he dying my stuff in there? That's an odd place to do it but these bears are odd altogether." he thought to himself.

Not wasting time thinking about it he swiftly followed the little green robot inside the showers and shut the door so it couldn't run off.

"Okay, you've had your stupid childish fun, now give me my clothes or I'll-!" He cut his own self off when he realized the bowl was just filled with some odd green potato chips and the bucket had toilet paper in it. His clothing and ugly paint of any kind were no where to be seen.

"Sorry I had to lie but I knew you wouldn't do this if I just walked up to you and asked you to go somewhere alone with me." It said with it's back still turned to him.

"Go somewhere alone with you? Did you trick me up here just to see some weird skit of yours or something?" He was really not in the mood.

When the green bear turned around there was something about it demeanor that seemed to change. The little lighting bolt eye on it's colored side started to light up in a yellow hue and was flickering softly. It put the items down and rolled closer to him. Ryoma felt an odd uncertainness as he watched it slowly approach. He didn't feel in danger and knew the cubs weren't meant to cause a real threat unless you broke the rules but he still felt something unsettling about to happen.

This time when it spoke it's voice wasn't the overly cheery and loud tone it had before. In fact it's accent was dropped almost altogether and it spoke in a hushed tone of voice. It was as if it didn't trust that even as secluded as they were in this room that someone wasn't listening in.

"I actually have something very important to tell you and I know everything I'm about to say and show you isn't going to seem like anything but a lie. You've been through so much in your life already and I want you and the others to escape to live happily. Unlike Monophone or Monodam I'm not just saying that to be ironic in poor tastes either. In no way do I expect you to believe me completely or automatically but be open minded with what I show you then decide for yourself. Okay?" For the first time since meeting it, Monocroft sounded serious.

He was taken aback by the sudden seriousness in it's voice. It's voice that sounded extremely familiar now but he couldn't place why. Still unsure what was happening he simply nodded. He hoped he wasn't about be given some kind of motive by monokuma or something.

Monocroft's eye and antennae both started to glow from yellow to pink in rabid flickers and suddenly the entire room transformed. Everything in the room was now green with black outlines on them as if they were drawn there rather then actually existing. He felt that odd unsettling sensation again before looking at Monocroft confused in hopes it would explain the weirdness. Only it simply added to the weirdness by shooting projecting a blue beam of light from it circular eye and forming a small hologram of someone who he instantly recognized.

Rantaro Amami or at least the upper torso of Rantaro was looking up at him no bigger then his arm.

"Nice to see you again Ryoma. I'm sure this looks as weird to you as it feels for me believe it or not" Said the mini Rantaro.

"This is messed up even by Monokuma's standards." He was muttering more to himself then Rantaro.

"This has nothing to do with Monokuma but I can get why you'd think that. Well it's not entirely about him. I'm not here to mess with you or give you any kind of motive to play the killing game if that's what you think this is though. I'm here for the opposite of that."Rantaro stated.

"Wait, wait, first explain why the weird change in the room. I'll be honest this is really unsettling in many ways." he said.

"All they explained to me was that these monokub avatars could do a lot of stuff to mess with camera servers both in game outside to a degree. I didn't know it would do this when I got someone alone though.". Rantaro tried explaining the best he could.

He could tell by the questioning look on Ryoma's face that he had many questions about that statement but was waiting patiently for the explanation.

"Like I said before I don't expect you to believe all I have to tell you but I need you to be open mined okay? Hold all and any question for when I'm done."

Taking a silent nod as his cue Rantaro went into quickly summing up what happened to him after he died and met up with Kaede. Ryoma had a look of unsureness throughout the explanation but still listened patiently and silently until he was finished.

"Okay so just to rephrase all that in a nutshell. All of us know one another but everyone was kidnapped and brainwashed for some weird gameshow. No one dead is actually dead yet but will be at the end of this. You and some hackers are trying to stop all this by restoring our memories by making us remember ourselves with passwords. Then me and those who remember ourselves need to just stop one another from killing each other till help gets here right?" Asked the tennis pro.

"That was quicker then I phrased it but yeah pretty much." Rantaro nodded.

"This is a lot to take in but you telling me all this doesn't feel like something to motivate killing so I can somewhat believe your not lying about working for Monokuma. How do you know if the people who sent you back here won't get caught at some point though or if we'll be able to confront each case of an attack before a death happens? I've been to prison with people convicted for spur of the moment unplanned murders. Things not even they themselves assumed they'd commit that day. Prison riots tended to happen the same way. " Ryoma worried.

"Someone could be eating peacefully with someone one minute and have a fork in their neck the next before you could blink. If these people can manipulate our mindsets and emotions with the flick of a switch then the same might apply here."

Rantaro crossed his arms while contemplating his words and sighed before speaking again.

"Well to answer your first question, they've been able to get as far as hacking into plus infiltrating the base with some pretty advance tech. Them and those coming are former ultimate students from hope's peak like us so I've just got a good feeling of hope they'll be able to hold fort till the time for the second one, it won't just be you and one other person but me and Kaede will be able to help you too. Unlike you guys we've got access to some of the cameras here. All together that's four sets of eyes, ears, multiple sensors on campus, and more once the others get their memories back. Just keep your guards up and eyes open the best you can."

Rantaro then motioned to the robot with his see-through hand and thumb.

"These are more then just disguises that mess with cameras and speakers. They loaded them with a whole bunch of stuff. We haven't really figured out all the accessories but if we need to stall for time till you or someone else comes to stop a killing from happening we can. I'm sure you guys have figured it out already but Monokuma and the cubs have little tunnels to pop up anywhere within a second. If something is happening we can be there to assist the injured or those near death from dying even if the room is locked."

He couldn't deny that didn't sound like a bad plan but he still wanted a bit of proof this wasn't all just something to get his hopes up to high. The entire plan sounded good on paper but still felt like there could be some problems. Before he could voice his concerns the robot's right antennae started to flicker and Rantaro's hologram went back inside the Monocub avatar.

"I think Monokuma or one of the monokubs is coming. They must think it's weird we've been in here eating chips like this for this long."

"Eating chips?"

"Yeah, like I said this messes with the cameras so I've been making it look like we've been playing rock, paper, scissors and eating chips. Take some when you leave to make it convincing along with the paper to carry it with. I know you probably still have your doubts. Just know whatever your memories show you from here on when I tell you the next words are the truth. I want you and everyone set free with the truth. Grab my paw before you leave."

With that the room returned to normal and as instructed he took a few chips then wrapped them securely in the clean toilet paper. Right as they were about to part ways through the door he grabbed the robotic paw of Monocraft. The small green robot leaned next to him and spoke softly.

"Remember Yvonne hitto" The second he said this an almost electric warm shock flowed through Ryoma's body. Time seemed to slow as rushed images of names, scents, locations, and faces all flashed before his eyes. He suddenly felt dizzy and a bit dazed.

"Looks like you win this round you jerk, but I wasn't really trying to win anyway." Monoscroft said with his voice back to it's former self. Ryoma still felt a bit disoriented but could see not to far from them was Monodam in his lab's doorway.

"MONOCROFT-WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING-WITH-RYOMA-IN-HERE? WHY-ISN'T-HE-BOUNDING-AND-GETTING-ALONG-WITH-HIS-FELLOW-BASTARD-CLASSMATES?" asked Monodam.

"Oh, I just wanted to play a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors, with him and we bet chips while doing it. He won so he gets to eat them all or share with his friends." Monocraft explained.

"HMMM,SHARING-SNACKS-IS-GOOD-WITH-FRIENDS." He said with an approving beeping noise.

"Um, I'm actually not feeling to good right now. I might of over ate but I'll share them later after a quick nap." Ryoma added a quick fake yawn for affect.

"AFFIRMATIVE,A-FRIEND-THAT-IS-SICK-IS-NO-FUN-TO-GET-ALONG-WITH. DO-YOU-REQUIRE-ASSISTANCE-TO-YOUR-ROOM?" Monodam asked worriedly.

"No, I've woken up with worse head aches at night in prison so I can make it. Thanks for the offer. Before I go though, I want to know if you guys will let me or the rest of us know when you plan something to motivate us to get along in the future. You know just maybe some group stuff since you guys are so determined to get us be more active with one another. I'd like to be prepared in case I have to do something crazy. Then I'll really believe you mean what you say." Ryoma made his way to the exit as he spoke but stopped to look back at the cubs.

Monocroft got the not so subtle hint of what he actually meant and nodded, while Monodam just gave him a positive ringing noise before speaking.

"YOU-ARE-ALL-OUR-PRINSONERS-BUT-OUR-FRIENDS-AS-WELL-WITH-THE-EXCEPTION-OF-FATHER. WE-WILL-LET-YOU-ALL-KNOW-AT-ONCE-THE-FUN-WE-HAVE-PLANNED. YOU BASTARDS ARE IN GOOD PAWS." Monodam said.

After waving goodbye to the two green robots he made his way to his room while trying not to wobble to much. The second he got there he collapsed on his bed and fell unconscious.

Ryoma's dreams

2:45 PM- Sendai Airport

"Last flight to Grenoble, France leaving in 20 minutes. I repeat, last flight for Grenoble France leaves in 20 minutes. Any and all passengers planning to leave for Grenoble please check in all luggage, tickets, and credits before boarding. Have a nice day!."

For the second time in his life Ryoma's found himself waking up in an unknown location but this time not in a weird abandoned classroom. Crowds of actual people of all shapes and sizes were walking around. He knew he had just fallen asleep but usually the few times he dreamed over the years it was about days before his crime or not so nice dreams involving it. Why was he at an airport? He never really recalled being on a plane of any kind. His first instinct was to ask someone where exactly he was but just when he was approaching the receptionist desk he heard a voice that sent a bittersweet chill up his spine with it's familiarity.

"Hurry up Akio we don't want to miss the plane!" A man with brown hair like his own and only a little taller then himself screamed.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can Yosuke, even if we did miss the plane the Olympics aren't going anywhere. Calm down." A women with darker brown hair then the man and just as tall replied.

"I don't want to miss getting a good window seat though. Besides sides just cause they aren't going anywhere doesn't mean our rooms might not be taken up."Yosuke argued.

"That's why your were suppose to reserve a to reserve a room ahead of time." Akio didn't even hide her accusing glare.

"Uh, can you just not start with that again?

As the small couple Ryoma would have to be blind to not recognize as his own parents were bickering, he noticed his own younger self coming up behind them. He then remembered one of the more non-criminal but still horrible decisions of his past.

"What in the name of all that is unholy was I thinking with that color?" He wondered this out loud to himself as he stared at the awful lime dark green dye job he let his teammates give him. They might of dared him to dye it randomly for a match but he had only himself to blame for the color choice.

"Well everyone makes bad choices at some point or another. I'd say you could of choose worse." A female voice beside him spoke.

"Hmm, true I could of gone with neon pink and orange polka dots." Only after responding did he realized that someone he'd never seen before had just asked him a question while in what he assumed was his dreams. He looked up to see a young girl with a pink bunny backpack standing beside him.

"Hello, I'm sure Rantaro already told you who I am but my name is Chiaki. Do you remember any of this Ryoma?" Chiaki asked.

Then former tennis pro had to rub his head in thought for a moment on that question. A part of him felt like he should remember since he did go many places during his brief career. Watching the Olympics with his parents was what inspired him to want to try tennis when he was 10. This was before he'd ever even heard of the special Olympics made for people of his height or with other physical conditions.

"I just heard them say we were going to the Olympics but I don't recall going to it or not entirely I think. I can tell by looking at myself there that I'm at least 14 and I do kind of remember a big event happening at that age but I don't recall." Ryoma replied.

"Don't worry, as things go on you'll remember stuff slowly about your past." She gave him a reassuring smile.

As she said this there was someone passing by his family that caught his eye for a moment. A tall muscular girl with short brown-ish pink hair walked by and her outfit oddly reminded him of Kokichi's. It had the straps, checkered scarf, and crown looking symbol on the shoulder. Only difference being that the outfit was red. Before he had enough time to contemplate why that bothered him, both the girl and everything around them warped into fast forward. Ryoma only got to blink a few times before he was standing in what looked like stadium.

Grenoble, France- 4:40 pm.

"Well back to the action folks! If your just tuning in then you just missed Ryoma Hoshi, the little guy with big speed win his very first gold for Japan! Unfortunately he sprained his ankle a little so he'll be out for a bit. His coach will be having his teammate Ji-hun fill in for tomorrow's match if he isn't better by then. " A male announcer voice screamed.

True to the announcer's words he saw himself on the side benches with his teammates. Coach Nekomaru Nidai was giving him some sort of peep talk as the younger Ryoma tended to his ankle with ice. It felt like eternity since he seen his big old but lively coach and he couldn't help but smile at the scene fondly.

"That man was real rock for us you know? Our looks, backgrounds, or sizes didn't matter. He made sure we didn't let going to Hope's peak and having the title of "ultimate" go to our heads. Some of use definitely had more baggage then others and unlike most coaches he sincerely wanted to help you with it. Even when it took up his time or almost made him run late he'd help regardless of what it cost him. Not many people like that in this world anymore." There was an unmistakable nostalgic joy in his voice as he spoke.

Chiaki noted that despite how positive he sounded as he said all that there was a look of guilt on his face.

"You know the reason you went to prison might not even be for as bad a reason as you think Ryoma. Even if it was for what your mind currently believes, do you think Nidai would feel ashamed of you?" she asked.

"Am I really that easy to read?" He asked while turning to speak to her.

"Yeah I know he would of understood. For that matter he'd probably tell me something similar to Kaede about not letting what can't be changed hold me back. Both of them are right but still. Even if I didn't commit murder and somehow all of us escaped I don't know what would be my next step. Other then possibly my cats I'd just feel if there's anything or anyone waiting for me out there." Ryoma admitted.

"Well you can create those people and things yourself here ya know? One way to improve momentum is to continually have greater goals right?" She asked.

"Was that Micheal Korda? I mean I do get what you mean. I'll try to keep that spirt in mind if I can." If anything positive could come from all this he really did want to believe a bit more.

"That's all I can hope for."

Before more could be said, the announcer from before spoke once more. Apparently while they spoke things had sped up a again and now instead of a tennis field the scene before them was a sandy volleyball field. The crowd cheered loudly as a bunch of girls of various small to medium heights made their way to the field. Each girl was dressed in a aquamarine blue-ish green uniform with there numbers in white on their backs and fronts. The French flag was on each of their sleeves.

"Alright everyone, lets give these lovely young ladies playing for the 2nd time on our own beautiful French terra firma. The Setters in the rye! Leading them at number 42 is new upcoming star Yvonne hitto!"

Ryoma wasn't sure if he was more shocked to have forgotten what his former girlfriend looked like or to see among the approaching opposition to her team was the girl from the airport. The uniform now even more unsettling.

upupupupupupuppupupuppppupupuupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupupuppuppup

Okay, I just want to start off by saying I AM SO SORRY AGAIN for how long it's been since I updated this fic.

Originally I was going to stop this at where Ryoma falls asleep but felt not enough had happened yet. Hopefully you guys like this so far and this dream sequence will only go on a little longer next chapter but not for to long.