I woke up the next morning from an awfully strange dream. All I could remember about it was being in a room full of Monokumas, and we were in a theater watching Monokuma give a speech about something called "Danganronpa: Despair Never Dies", whatever that was. It sounded like the name of a terrible fanfiction. I couldn't remember much else, though.

I rolled over in my bed, and reached out for my phone upon the nightstand. The time was 6:58 am, and morning was almost here. I was awfully worried that I would come across a dead body. What if it was Masaki? I shook my head around, trying to shake that feeling. There was absolutely no way someone would commit murder right now, right? None of us had the capacity to do such a thing. If anything, we were all going to find a way off of this wretched train and beat Monokuma's sadistic little game.

Right?

Before I had the chance to ponder about this little game any longer, Monokuma's smug face appeared on the monitor in the corner of my room. He was sitting down in his chair and was holding a glass filled with water in his hand. "Good morning, students!" Monokuma called out to us. I gave a yawn as Monokuma's image on the monitor disappeared, and then I jolted awake as I suddenly remembered. We were all supposed to meet up every morning to see if everyone was okay. I knew that I would raise some suspicions of I was not there.

I hurried to dress myself up again, frantically buttoning up my shirt and sliding my skirt on as I stepped into my shoes. I opened up my desk drawer and pulled out my favorite camera. I had completely forgotten to take any pictures yesterday, but I knew I would have plenty of opportunities to do so much later. If I made it out of this twisted game alive, I knew I would have quite the story to write about it. An editorial like this would certainly catch the attention of important figures in news media everywhere.

Trying not to sidetrack myself from the morning meeting, I rushed out my door, and in my haste, I almost bumped into Masaki, who was just to my left and seemed to have just left his room. I immediately blushed and almost lost my balance, trying to regain my composure. My heart beat as soon as I made eye contact with him, staring into his warm gray-blue eyes and gazing upon his rugged smile.

"O-oh, good morning, Masaki!" I greeted him, trying not to seem as flustered externally as I was internally. "Y-you just getting up too?"

Masaki shrugged and tilted his head at me. "Good morning to you too, Kanon." My heart skipped a beat as he said my name aloud. I couldn't help from giggling a bit in response, to which he gave a soft chuckle himself. "Yeah, just going to the morning meeting like we all agreed to last night." I nodded, being at a loss for words at this point. What was I supposed to say? I could barely even open my mouth without thinking of something he might misinterpret. I didn't want him to think I liked him. First I needed to win him over, and so far it seemed like he had better things to say about the other girls than he did me. "So, Kanon, wanna walk to the food car with me? I can understand if you'd rather go alone."

Instantly my heart stopped and I felt like I would fall over onto my face. Was Masaki asking me if I wanted to walk with him?! The butterflies were starting to take over as my brain overloaded with ideas for responses. "Uh... y-yeah, sure!" I replied, trying to keep my cool around him. Awkward as I was, though, he could probably read me like a newspaper article.

He gave a sort of half-smile as he tilted his head left, toward the food car. The two of us walked side-by-side, but I remained silent. What am I supposed to say now? I asked myself, trying to come up with a good conversation topic. I twiddled my fingers a bit as the two of us just kept walking. How could Masaki just remain so cool about this? Was I not attractive or charismatic enough? Was he just blissfully unaware of my own nervousness? Or was he just that good at masking his own insecurities? Damn, I really needed to learn from him.

"Man, I really hope no one died," Masaki stated after a few minutes of awkward silence. That's when it all clicked in for me again - there was the possibility that someone died overnight. I really hoped that wasn't the case, though. I took in a deep breath and gulped, trying to keep my mind off of the fact that many of us may as well die here and now.

The two of us made our way to the food car. I noticed this time that in addition to the two tables situated next to either wall there was a third, shorter table in front of the exit on the other side of the room. Ryo and Saeko were sitting at the leftmost table, Hideki was sitting at the back table, and the rightmost table was empty. Masaki and I took a seat at the empty table. I looked back at the front of the room to see that Michiru was standing at the entrance, holding a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it. She pushed her glasses up as she wrote something down.

"Good morning to you, Masaki Domoto and Kanon Amari." Michiru greeted us, not taking her eyes off of the clipboard. "It appears that everyone else is asleep, or on their ways here..." she then muttered something indistinct under her breath as she continued scribbling whatever it was she was writing down.

"Kanon! Masaki!" Ryo greeted us with a wide smile spread across his face. Despite it being the early hours of the morning, Ryo seemed to have plenty of energy. Must be the hard work of an athlete. "You guys sleep well?"

I gave a nervous chuckle, and shrugged. I didn't really have much trouble falling asleep last night, as the day tired me out. That said, besides the surreal dream involving the Monokumas, I didn't quite remember much of my sleep. Maybe that was an indicator of a good night's sleep? I wasn't quite sure.

Masaki leaned back in his chair and just gave a subtle shrug. "Kinda, I guess. Better than sleeping on the floor, that's for sure," He replied.

Hideki sneered at Masaki as he finished his sentence. Masaki rolled his eyes in response, and promptly ignored Hideki.

"Ryo, do you have a basketball collection?" I heard Saeko ask Ryo. He gave a quick chuckle.

"Yeah, I do!" he replied. "They're not for playing with, though."

Saeko's eyes lit up as soon as Ryo finished that sentence. "That's awesome! I admire anyone who can keep up a collection for so long!" she cooed, her eyes glimmering at Ryo. "I have two very rare basketballs myself, if you'd ever like to see them..." she mused in a sultry voice. Ryo raised his eyebrow in response, and then just chuckled.

"Are they signed basketballs?" he asked her. "Those are worth even more."

Saeko winked at him and tilted her head up, before giving a suggestive "Maaaaayyybeeeee~. I'll even let you touch 'em, if your hands are clean enough."

Michiru raised an eyebrow at Saeko and sighed. "Basketballs, Saeko? Really? All the euphemisms in the world, and you decided to go with "basketballs"?"

"Euphemisms?" Ryo and Saeko asked at once. They both looked at each other, and then at Michiru. Masaki and I looked at each other, and just shrugged.

"Wh-what? I'm just talking about basketballs!" Saeko defended herself. "You know, the big, round, bouncy ones?"

I leaned back, suddenly understanding what Michiru was talking about. Saeko sure had a weird idea of seduction. Especially at seven in the morning...

"Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is." Ryo stated.

"Hey, kid." Hideki began. "What kinda "basketballs" do you think she's talkin' about?"

"I'm just talking about normal basketballs! They're part of my big collection!" Saeko continued to defend herself, getting beet-red in the face. It didn't look like she was doing herself any favors here...

"Hey, leave them alone!" Masaki interrupted them. "Just let them discuss whatever without butting into their conversations."

Michiru pushed her glasses up and cleared her throat. "Ahem... my apologies, Saeko. I never really... thought about it, but I suppose it is entirely possible you were referring to... actual basketballs. Just... don't speak with that sort of voice when you discuss said basketballs."

Saeko puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms. "If I were talking about that, I would have said so..." she muttered.

After a few awkward seconds, Lorenzo and Yuki were the next to enter. Lorenzo was dressed in his suit from yesterday, ironed to perfection with nary a hair or wrinkle to be seen. Yuki, on the other hand, was in a gray tank top and gym shorts, sort of like she had been wearing pajamas. Her snow white hair was a mess of knots and tangles, and a pair of dark circles formed underneath her eyes. She wore a tired, neutral expression as she propped herself right next to me, and Lorenzo sat across from us.

"Morning!" Lorenzo called out, waving to us as he gave a wide, beaming smile. His teeth glimmered and shone, being almost blinding to the eyes. What kind of toothpaste did he even use?

Yuki took the seat right next to Lorenzo, and rested her head on the table. She mumbled something indistinct as she closed her eyes, about to drift off to sleep again.

"Yuki!" Michiru snapped. Yuki's eyes twitched as she lifted her head up.

"Leave me alone..." she yawned. I guess she wasn't so fiery when she was tired.

"Heh... Miss Yuki here is a bit tuckered out from last night." Lorenzo stated to us as Yuki's head swayed back and forth.

"I kinda figured." I replied, trying not to focus too much on Yuki. Who knew what she was even capable of when she was angry? She was tiny, but anyone able to win a snowboarding competition with a broken leg was worthy of respect in my book.

Lorenzo then nudged Yuki a bit, giving her a short smile. "Hey, why are you sweating, anyway? It's only like 70 degrees in here."

Yuki puffed her cheeks out and glared at Lorenzo as he finished his sentence. "It's way too freakin' hot, okay?" she replied, groaning at him. "Now leave me the hell alone, 'kay?"

I turned to Masaki, who just gave me a shrug. "I dunno, she seemed a lot less hostile last night. It wasn't even that hot last night..."

The next ones to arrive were Daquan, Guadalupe, Hikooki, and Kaemon. Daquan and Guadalupe looked bright and ready for the day, while Hikooki looked like his usual gloomy self while Kaemon, like Yuki, looked tired and sleep-deprived.

"Good morning, Daquan, Guadalupe, Hikooki, Kaemon," Michiru greeted each of them. "Good to know you are all still here."

"No shit," Kaemon snapped at Michiru. "Why are we here? I stopped in the middle of my stream for this."

Michiru rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated huff. "Just making sure everyone is alive and well..." she replied, scribbling down everyone's names.

Kaemon sat next to Hideki, while Daquan sat between Saeko and Ryo. Guadalupe took her seat next to Yuki while Hikooki sat in the corner, distanced from everyone else.

"Morning!" Guadalupe called out to each of us, beaming wide. She held a plastic water bottle in her right hand. "Kanon, Masaki, you two look ready and raring to go! Figure it's gonna be a good day, huh?"

"Y-yeah!" I replied to Guadalupe. I enjoyed talking to her, as she was always so upbeat and positive. Still, it amazed me how anyone could have so much energy so early in the morning. Yuki and Ryo certainly didn't, and they were athletes as well.

Masaki chuckled at Guadalupe and clasped his hands. "I guess I'm just ready for anything, really. Kinda what being a thief is all about."

Hideki grinned at Masaki after he finished his sentence. "Y'know, kid, you really remind me of a famous thief I keep hearin' about. But I wouldn't worry too much. I feel like he'd be taller than you."

Masaki shrugged and leaned back in his chair, not paying much mind to Hideki. Honestly, it was always just so fascinating how every situation which came his way, he would remain cool and collected about.

The next ones to arrive were Toko, Rai, and Sen. Toko strutted inside and pointed both of their guns into the air, flashing a wide grin.

"Hate to ruin the fun, but the show's over!" Toko shouted out. My heart skipped a beat as I jumped in panic, along with seemingly everyone else. Except for Masaki, who remained with that unfazed expression on his face.

"Don't worry, guys. They didn't load those guns." Masaki reassured everyone. "The rule about ammunition, remember?"

Everyone gave a collective "phew!" as Toko took their seat next to Saeko and Daquan.

"Man, you gotta stop scaring everyone like that!" Saeko nervously laughed. "You almost had me on the ropes a second ago!"

Daquan chuckled too, leaning back as if nothing had happened. "Just don't go too overboard with it next time!"

Rai took his seat between Masaki and Hikooki. Immediately Hikooki turned to face him as the two began a conversation about the weather, or something to that effect. Sen took his seat in the corner between Ryo and Kaemon, and immediately began scribbling something down on a sheet of paper, without saying much.

That guy is so quiet... I thought to myself. Perhaps he was just more introverted, but he was even quieter than Hikooki and Tame. Perhaps he just felt lonely?

"Hey, Sen?" I called out to him. He was still fixated on that paper. Kaemon looked over at him, trying to sneak a glance at that paper. Sen immediately shielded it with his other arm, blocking Kaemon's view.

"Oh, uh." Sen then looked up at me and cleared his throat. "Pardon me, Kanon, I'm just quite busy at the moment. See, as a doctor, I don't get an especially large amount of downtime." He continued scribbling on that paper, without even allowing me to say anything else.

Well, that was kind of rude...

Kenji, Aiko, Tomoe, Utamuro, and Azizah were the next to arrive. Kenji sat across from Saeko, and promptly opened up a book he was reading. Aiko sat next to Yuki, diagonal to Rai.

"So that's why the cumulonimbus-" I heard Rai rambling to Hikooki. As soon as Aiko sat down across from him, Rai stammered over his words and pushed his glasses upward, taking a minute to catch his composure. There was definitely something adorable about his geeky and awkward nature, it just... was still jarring that he was interested in Aiko.

"Dark Lady Aiko Amane has awakened from her deep slumber!" Aiko called out, clasping her hands over the table as she gave a soft grin. "Is there anyone who would like to have a meeting with me? We can discuss how we are going to survive in an environment such as this."

Rai instantly jumped as she finished that sentence. "O-oh, I'd love to! I, uh... I'm pretty free today!"

Hikooki sighed and raised an eyebrow. "I dunno... it seems a little shady to me." He replied to Aiko.

Aiko just shrugged, and then focused her attention on Rai. "I look forward... to seeing you." she replied, raising an eyebrow and widening her grin. Rai's face flushed with a beet red as he turned to Masaki and I.

"Guys... she talked to me! She actually talked to me! This never happens!" Rai whispered, his eyes lighting up with a sort of excitement. I smiled in return.

"Great!" I replied to him. On the inside, I was a bit irritated that he thought that Aiko was the first to actually talk to him, even though I had talked to him too, just the day before. What was he even going on about?

Tomoe took her seat at the back table, somewhere between Hideki and Hikooki. "So, what're we all gathered here for?" Tomoe asked, putting her feet up on the table. "Aside from the fact that all of us gathered up here makes for a scene picturesque enough for a film."

Michiru sighed again. "Tomoe, didn't I tell you all last night? We're all gathered here right now because we need to keep track of everyone. If we're all here, we're all alive. Does that make sense?"

Tomoe shrugged and poured some lemonade from a glass pitcher into a clear glass, which she proceeded to drink from. "Sure, somethin' like that."

Utamuro took a seat between Lorenzo and Yuki, and took a minute to adjust his top hat. "Sorry, but a fashion designer like myself needs his beauty sleep." He informed us all.

"Don't you think that's kinda girly?" Hideki asked him.

Utamuro side-eyed Hideki. "Yeah, I heard your girlfriend is into men in touch with their feminine sides." He replied, grinning at Hideki.

Hideki tried to say something back, but gave up before he could think of anything.

Then, Azizah sat down next to me. "Morning, Kanon!" Azizah greeted me, flashing a big smile on her face. "You ready for the day?"

I chuckled a bit, giving a sort of half-smile. "Yeah, kinda."

"Good!" she replied. "Anyway, I can't stay long, there's something I must do before it's too late today." Azizah announced.

Michiru raised an eyebrow at Azizah before taking the time to write down whatever it was she was writing. "Hmm? Well, I already got your name down, but I think it would be best for you to wait for everyone else. I'm sure this meeting won't take too much longer."

Azizah bowed her head down and muttered something indistinct, supposedly in a language I couldn't understand.

"Hey, if you're gonna pray, don't do it in front of me, 'kay?" Kaemon shouted out. Everyone turned toward him and glared, with the exception of Azizah. "What?"

Azizah took a deep breath and looked up. "No, I wasn't praying," she clarified. "I was just talking to myself, that's all. I don't pray when I'm in big groups, unless I'm worried about something."

Kaemon rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Your God isn't real. There, I just saved you hours of your li-"

Before Kaemon could finish his sentence, Ryo smacked him on the back of the head. His glasses fell off and onto the table.

"Hey!" Kaemon shouted at him. "Am I not allowed to speak the truth?"

"Shut the fuck up." Ryo snapped at him.

Kaemon mumbled something indistinct as Kenji looked back at him and glared. "Are you quite finished yet?"

In the midst of all this, Asa, Shiro, and Tame entered the room. Without so much as a word, Tame took a seat right next to Kenji as the two sat together in silence, just like before.

"Good morning, everyone!" Asa greeted everyone in the room. She wore a big smile on her face as she brought in a large bag full of yellow sugar cookies. "Sorry I'm late, I was making cookies!"

"Heh... don'tcha think that coulda waited?" Lorenzo asked her. "But hey, I like cookies, so you get a free pass from me."

Guadalupe gave a chuckle. "Man, I could really go for some cookies right now! I mean, I'm supposed to be on a diet, but... rules are meant to be broken, who cares?"

"Uh huh..." Tame noted, beginning to doodle something in her sketchpad as per the usual.

Shiro then sat down across from Rai and next to Aiko. "Morning. Sorry, I'm not exactly a morning type of person."

"You and me both," Hikooki replied with a sigh.

"Well~." Aiko began, grinning in Shiro's direction. "If you'd like to improve yourself, and get better at dealing with the harsh rays of the morning sunlight, I would be more than happy to help you in that regard~."

Shiro sighed at Aiko. "I'm not interested," they replied. "Is it something to do with what you believe to be magic?"

"I can do that too, but no, this doesn't involve any sort of real magic." Aiko replied to them. "Rai is joining me for a meeting today, if you'd like to come along as well."

Instantly I noticed Rai tense up for a moment, before Shiro side-eyed Aiko and just gave a stern "No.". Rai breathed a sigh of relief at that moment.

"Hmm, suit yourself." Aiko replied.

Ignoring Aiko, Shiro turned their head toward Michiru. "Hey, can we make this quick? I might have made a scientific breakthrough last night and I'd like to continue my research."

"Just wait until attendance is finished!" Michiru snapped at him. Suddenly, the room went very quiet as there was an awkward pause.

"Hey, uh... you alright?" asked Lorenzo, scratching his head.

Michiru took a deep breath and adjusted her glasses. "Yes, I'm... fine. Sorry, I just want to get this over with... and it seems Amy-chan isn't here yet."

That's when it sunk in again. What if... she was dead? No, there was just no way. No one here would kill anyone! Not even the suspicious ones like Sen or Aiko! We all knew better than to actually kill! Why, we would live out the rest of our days on this train before that! After all, it had everything we needed.

Before my thoughts could go into full swing, Amy-chan burst through the door, dressed in her flashy clothes and makeup. "Here I am!" she called out, doing a twirl and bringing all the attention of the room to herself. "Sorry, an idol has to be presentable at all times~!"

Michiru nodded, writing her name down. "Alright. Good news is, we're all alive, and now we have to make plans. So, does anyone have any ideas for getting out of here?"

Lorenzo raised his hand.

"Yes, Lorenzo?" Michiru called upon him.

"I'm actually totally cool with just staying here," He admitted. I sighed in relief, as I wasn't the only one thinking that.

"Wh-what?" Masaki called out. "But... don't you miss your family, your friends, your life?"

Lorenzo leaned back in his chair and shrugged. "I don't see what's so bad about the train life, honestly."

There was a short silence thereafter. Yes, it was nice aboard this train, and we would probably make good friends with each other, but we all had lives before coming here. After all, we were all Ultimates with promising futures and excellent talents. There had to be important people in our lives who missed us and wanted to see us again. Was Lorenzo seriously suggesting that... he was fine with not going back? His family must have been worried sick about him. If not, he must have had friends who missed him. Surely there was a life he had back home which he thought about periodically. The point was, there was simply no way any of us would be okay with just spending the rest of our lives here on the Monokuma Express.

Before Lorenzo could finish his thought, or someone else could speak up, the door burst open as Monokuma entered the room. As always, he was wearing that sadistic grin upon his horrible face.

"Upupu~," Monokuma chuckled as his red eye glowed with an eerie light. "I figured that someone would say something like that... after all, why commit murder to escape from a place anyone else would kill to live in?"

Lorenzo clapped his hands as his eyes lit up. "Yes! See, finally you say something I actually agree with. See guys? Monokuma understands us."

For some reason, I couldn't help but feel that perhaps Lorenzo was being naive, or idealistic. I didn't trust Monokuma for a second. There was simply no way there wasn't a catch to what he was about to say.

"Sit down and shut your mouth for a second!" Monokuma snapped. Lorenzo jumped, and sat back down, instantly going silent. The whole room got silent as Monokuma spoke. "But if you would like to survive, follow me into the computer room. If you're not in there within five minutes, you can consider yourself as good as dead."

Kaemon rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yeah, like you can actually do anything. You're all talk."

Monokuma turned his head toward Kaemon, and grinned widely as he dashed toward the Ultimate Game Livestreamer. Before Kaemon could even react, Monokuma swiped at him with his right paw, from which three sharp claws extended. Kaemon ducked down and held his arms over his head, gasping as Monokuma stopped himself right before he could strike Kaemon.

"Still think I'm all talk, kid?" Monokuma growled. Kaemon was gasping and quivering with an unwavering sense of fear, and he was unable to say anything in response. Everyone went silent and focused their attention on Monokuma, not daring to say a word. He then jumped back into the center of the room as he walked out, motioning for us to follow him.

We all got up and headed toward the computer room. Masaki walked right next to me, and nudged my shoulder.

"What?" I asked him, whispering. His face was fixated in front of us, not really looking in my direction.

"I'd be careful of Lorenzo," Masaki whispered to me. "Someone as carefree and naive as him... they don't stay that way. And once they change... boy, do they change."

Lorenzo walked up from behind us. "Hey, did Masaki just say my name?" Lorenzo asked. Masaki shrugged, not answering his question. I similarly stayed quiet, trying not to make Lorenzo feel targeted. "Hey, I asked you two a question! When I ask a question, I want an answer!"

After a few minutes of walking, we all walked into the computer room. Each monitor displayed a picture of one of us, indicating which computer seat we were supposed to sit at.

"Hey!" Kaemon called out. "This isn't the computer I sit-"

Monokuma turned to Kaemon and bared his claws one more, and Kaemon shut up instantly. "Now, just sit down, and put on those headphones."

Just then, we heard a J-pop song blaring from Tame's position.

"Yes, you too, Tame!" Monokuma shouted out. Tame sighed as she took off her headphones.

Each of us sat down in our assigned seats as we placed large, bulky headphones upon our heads. They were heavy and faded with a dark brown, like the ones used in the Nineties. I noticed that Masaki's seat was right next to mine, and Lorenzo's was on the other side.

"It'll be okay," Masaki told me, nodding at me. I gulped, afraid of what Monokuma would showcase to us.

"Nice, we get a cool train ride, and a fun little video!" Lorenzo mused as he leaned backward.

"You ready?" Monokuma asked us.

"Yeah." Masaki replied, nodding.

"You betcha!" Lorenzo responded.

"Why not?" asked Michiru.

"Sure, whatever." Yuki muttered.

"Actually, I need to take a second to-" Amy-chan began, but before she could finish her thought, Monokuma pulled a remote control out of... seemingly nowhere, and pressed a big red button on the front. Suddenly, my computer screen flashed with a bright white light... and one would not believe what I saw.

I saw a video of... myself. I was taking pictures at what appeared to be Hope's Peak Academy. I snapped photographs of the clouds, of birds, of a few students playing games. I was developing film and typing up stories to go along with the pictures. I could see myself writing the school's newsletter, and asking people questions. But that's when I saw Masaki. He approached me, standing outside the school's office and handing out copies of the newsletter. Although I couldn't hear what he was saying, I looked very pleased and happy talking to him, as he did talking to me. I wanted to turn to see what Masaki was viewing on his screen, but I couldn't take my eyes off of my own screen.

But... what exactly was this? When was this? How did Monokuma obtain this? Did any of this actually happen?

Before I could get an answer to that question, my computer screen shut off and the sound stopped.

"There we were, class!" Monokuma announced to all of us. "What was that, you ask? Oh... it's sort of just what your lives would be like right now had you never gone aboard this train."

A few of us gave a long gasp. Kaemon, Lorenzo, and Yuki in particular seemed the most shaken up.

"What?!" Lorenzo shouted out, red in the face and beginning to shake profusely. "No... I... I won't believe it!"

Monokuma snickered. "Upupu~... Weren't you the one talking about how much you actually like the train life?" He asked.

"N-not anymore!" Lorenzo shouted at him. "I... I want my life back!"

Not even taking the time to listen to Lorenzo, Monokuma dashed out of the room. We all sat there in silence for a few seconds, before the chaos began again."

"I need a way out of here!" Kaemon screamed. "I could be at home, all alone right now!"

Yuki shivered in her seat. "I could be out snowboarding! I can't be here any longer!"

"I want to be the writer of a newsletter!" I called out, giving in to the pressure myself. "I don't want to be here..." I whined.

Masaki patted me on the back. "It's okay, we'll find a way out... I promise."

I blushed as Masaki touched my back. His hands were just so... gentle. So caring.

"I want a massive audience!" complained Amy-chan. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she cried into a tissue.

Kenji closed his eyes and sat down, sighing. "I need to be in peace right now."

"Settle down!" Michiru commanded to all of us. All eyes in the room fixated upon her.

"Everyone, just remain calm! The most we can do is try and find a way out."

Tomoe shrugged and scoffed. "Look, we've already checked everywhere. There's no way outta this place."

Mihiru chuckled and gave a grin. "You're obviously thinking in only one dimension," Michiru stated, before showing us her clipboard. A detailed map of the train and the garden stop was present on the sheet of paper. "As you can see, most of the exits are blocked off... but with a little bit of prying, and perhaps learning Monokuma's true intentions, we can find a way out of this forsaken hell."

Aiko grinned. "But, why would we want to escape from hell?"

Shiro rolled their eyes. "Aiko, we're not actually talking about hell..."

Hikooki sighed. "What's the point? Monokuma knows this place better than us. And it's not like my life is any better outside of this train than in it. I'm heading out." Before anyone could say another word, Hikooki exited the room.

"F-fine then!" Michiru snapped. "Everyone else who is interested in finding a way out, why don't you come with me? There's bound to be an exit somewhere around here."

Before Michiru could walk away, Amy-chan slowly began to raise her hand. "Umm... Michiru-chan?"

Michiru turned her head toward Amy-chan. "What is it?"

"Umm... well, Azizah, Asa, Daquan, and I were all planning to hold a big concert here... and as much as I'd like to get out too, I was thinking... do you think we can hold it off until after the concert?" she suggested.

"Yes, that's a perfect idea!" Azizah added onto that. "We'll be able to think more clearly if we're not stressed."

"Hey, my uncle Nelson always told me that! 'Always make time for yourself', he told me," Daquan stated, with a calm smile spreading across his face.

Michiru sighed, and then sat back down. "Fine... we'll focus on this later. Besides, a concert would bring us closer together. We need to make sure no one actually kills anyone else. It's harder to kill anyone when we're all together." she noted.

I nodded in response. As much as I wanted to get out of here, I didn't know how much use it would be trying to escape. And I loved Amy-chan's music, so there was no way I would miss this concert.

"Anyway," Michiru began, looking up at all of us. "Why don't we begin setting up for the concert? It may take us some time to begin. I'll help plan everything. Asa, Azizah, Daquan, you three know what to do. Amy-chan, why don't you begin rehearsing?"

Amy-chan grinned real wide. "Yes! I'll do that!"

Azizah, Daquan, and Asa all dashed to their stations immediately afterward.

"Well, everyone else, you all have some free time. I suggest finding something to do in this time. May as well get used to this." suggested Michiru.

I supposed she had a point. I had a little bit of free time.