Chapter 1.1: The First (Un)official Class Meeting
The walk to the dorms with Kyoko was a quiet one. I hadn't really expected anything else. Although I was fairly surprised that she was able to carry Makoto so easily—but admittedly also a little impressed. While he was a pretty small person, it was still a lot of weight; however, it seemed that she was able to carry him with hardly an issue at all.
The room was not hard to find. The dormitory hall was bright red, and each door was labelled with the name of a student as well as an accompanying picture for good measure. We found his room, no trouble. It had a sprite of Makoto on the door. Using his room key, we were able to enter the room with his name and lay him on the bed.
The room was red like the halls and sparse in decoration with plain-looking but otherwise adequate furnishings that included a matching wooden desk and drawers. On the desk was a notepad for writing. A small monitor was built into the wall and in the corner of the room was another camera. The room's most distinguishable feature was the fact that steel plates were bolted to the wall, just like the ones in the empty classroom.
A small noise of discomfort came from Makoto as he was laid on the bed. I checked his pulse. He seemed ok for the time being, but I decided that I should probably check on him before we assembled in the cafeteria, to make sure nothing was wrong. He needed to recover. If he wasn't awake by then, I could always inform him about the meeting's content later. At the moment, it was more important that he was safe.
"Thank you for accompanying me," said Kyoko.
I nodded in response. We stood in silence for a mome before I added, a thought coming to me, "Since we're already together... let's just stick together while we investigate, ok?"
While I preferred investigating alone, I wanted to comply with the agreement.
"Actually, I'd better be going now—"
I frowned. "Do you have some sort of private business to attend to?"
No response.
"The agreement was to stick together," I added, my tone a little harsher than I had intended.
That was the trouble with first impressions. Sure, she's piqued my interest—I mean, how could I not be entranced? But that didn't mean we were quite ready for trust. I didn't know how I felt about the whole lone wolf act. Even I could be sociable on occasion.
"It's nothing... Forget about it."
Perhaps it was just my imagination, but she seemed on edge. But when I met her eyes, I saw none of that. She was back to her normal impassive demeanor.
"Actually, you know what? Have you seen the locked corridors? There's one right down the hall." To my surprise, she shifted her tone, somehow willing and cooperative.
I shook my head. "I didn't have the time. I was already late."
She nodded. "I'll show you."
Without a glance back, she walked out of the room, undoubtably expecting me to follow behind.
I kept pace alongside her, despite the fact that her stride was surprisingly quick in her high-heeled boots.
It was silent except for the click of shoes against what was the same tile floor as in the other hallways. The (once again) dimly lit halls were not exactly inviting for the prospect of friendly conversation. More than anything, I was wary of wandering off. I was uneasy. The idea of being left alone with Kyoko was finally starting to hit me.
She lead me to the end of a short corridor. It was barred from access, but you could see right through the metal screen to the other side. However, there wasn't much to see. It just lead somewhere off-limits.
Perhaps I was getting my hopes up, but could it have been a way out?
"There's another another area like this next to the gym, but it leads up the stairwell," said Kyoko. "Would you like to see that one as well?"
"I'll take your word for it." I peered through the cage. There was no indication of anything suspicious, but I still ached to know what was behind this barrier. "And there's no way past?" I turned to look at her. She shook her head. "Do you think either is a way out?"
She shook her head again, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a map of the school. "As far as I can tell, the only exit is through the entrance hall." She pointed to where it was located on the map.
"Where did you get that?" I asked. I eyed her, partly curious, mostly suspicious.
I tried to read her. Nothing. She was blank, as usual.
As much as I'd come to respect her in such a short time, everything about her behavior indicated to me that I should trust her about as far as I could throw her.
Kyoko looked away. "It doesn't matter."
She didn't falter under my suspicious gaze, so after a moment I turned to scrutinize the map instead.
"You sure it's accurate?" I asked.
"As far as I know. It's been reliable thus far, and we don't really have anything else to go on."
I sighed in resignaiton. "Alright."
She pointed to another section on the map. "There are also rooms blocked off by caution tape. Judging from the map and what I saw, they're the infirmary and storage room."
We looked through the cage screen. There was an ominous feeling coming from the restricted area.
"Something about this place..." my voice trailed off leaving my sentence unfinished, but she seemed to understand what I meant. I could tell.
We stood together in silence for a short while before Kirigiri murmured, "We still have a good thirty minutes left. We should put it to some use." She hurriedly crammed the map into the pocket of her uniform. "Would you accompany me a little while longer?"
I was intrigued.
"Lead the way."
Our destination this time was an empty classroom, similar to the room where I woke up.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, looking around the room.
"This is the classroom I woke up in. I assume you woke up in an empty classroom as well?"
"Yes..." I answered slowly. Where was she going with this?
"You are the Ultimate Detective, are you not, Mukuro?"
I straightened my posture, suddenly acutely aware of her piercing gaze on me, as she were analyzing my every move.
"I am."
I tried to say it with as much dignity as I could muster.
Her gaze lingered for a moment before she finally turned to pick up a paper sitting in on desk beside her and hold it out to me. "Tell me what you make of this."
I took it gingerly from her, flipping through what I now realized was a pamphlet and examined it carefully. "This looks... nearly identical to the one I received. Handwriting is messy, writer was either hasty or unsteady, perhaps they just didn't care? Looks like it may be the latter, although I don't know what to make of that..." I looked up at her at her for any sign of a response or a reaction. When I didn't get one, I took this a queue to continue. "This handwriting looks familiar to me although I can't quite place it." This time there was a reaction, if ever so slightly. Her eyes widened in what could only be surprise. I pretended to continue examining the pamphlet, but I could see the new look of suspicion in her her eyes.
"You don't recognize this handwriting, do you?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"That's what I thought." I hid my disappointment.
"And the metal plates, what do you think of them?"
I approached the metal-plated walls, cautiously removing my glove and running my fingers along the smooth metal as I examined it. I could feel the coolness of the steel even through my gloves. The bolts were large and fastened very tight. "Steel, most likely they'd be impossible to remove manually. Fairly new. Based on the strategic placing of the plates in each of the rooms, I'm guessing their function is most likely to block off access to windows, for obvious reasons." I felt comfortable, in my element. I moved on, examining the rest of the room as well. "At least one camera in every room, judging by what we've seen. No mobility. Can't know for sure, but I think we should proceed on the assumption they also include some sort of microphone system."
Kyoko remained silent.
Curious to what was going on in her head, I turned to face her. "Kyoko?"
She looked deep in thought. My question broke through her reverie, and she blinked, looked up at me. "Yes?"
I hesitated to voice my question, but I went ahead with it. "You don't seem like the type of person that's keen on relying on other people for help. Why are you asking for mine?"
I waited for an answer, but there was none.
At last she shrugged and said, "You are the Ultimate Detective. Your input on our predicament is valuable to me." I said nothing. "My own pride is of little importance when it comes to survival. It is in my—and I am assuming everyone else's as well—best interest to make sure that we are as prepared as possible to face our current situation."
"But you still don't trust me."
It was a statement, not a question.
"I don't trust most people. Comes with the job. Let's just say I prefer to work alone."
She stopped, but I noticed a hesitancy in her voice.
"But?" I asked.
"But... I still need your help. As far as trust is concerned... There has not been enough time for me to make a proper decision."
She did not meet my eyes.
"So that's a 'no' then."
"I never said that," she snapped, her response much too quick, her gaze averted. She was typically so much more difficult for me to read than people usually were, but even the best sometimes faltered.
I smirked. I really don't know why I felt the need to press the matter, the last thing I needed was a super soldier as an enemy. But I did. "It was implied. And you're reaction just confirmed my suspicions." I resisted the strong temptation to wink.
I glanced over at the clock, which read 9:25.
"It's nearly time for the meeting. I'm going to go check on Makoto." I hesitated."I think you should show everyone that map. Although I don't know what you're going to tell them about where you got it, since you wouldn't even tell me." On that note, I left the room.
I quickly made my way down the dim corridors and over to the dorms. Since we had left his key in his room, I had no choice but to just ring and hope he hadn't left already. I was reaching my hand out for the buzzer when...
The door swung wide open, connecting right with my head. There was a loud smack right as I felt a sharp pain shoot across my forehead. I lost my balance, falling over and hitting the ground with another loud thump.
"Mukuro!"
I heard Makoto's panicked voice through the haze of pain, my ears ringing. I looked up, seeing a very apologetic Makoto Naegi hovering over me, eyes wide and anxious.
I grimaced, rubbing my forehead in an attempt ease the pain. "Aren't you supposed to make sure the hallways are a safe environment?"
"I'm so, so sorry Mukuro," said Makoto, offering his hand to me. I took it, and he helped me to my feet. "Are you alright?"
"I'm ok, don't worry."
"Are you sure?" he asked, hands wringing as he looked at me in earnest.
I tried to lighten up. "Better a door than a fist, right?"
He didn't laugh, but continued to look at me with a guilty expression.
"I'll be fine, Makoto," I tried my best to reassure him. "The more important question is are youalright, since, well... That's the reason I came to check on you."
"Y-you came to check on me?"
I nodded. "Yeah... To see how you were doing. Mondo hit you pretty hard."
"Oh! Well I'm doing much better now. Thank you, Mukuro. Although my head still hurts a little." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, at least you're ok. Actually, while you were out the rest of us took it upon ourselves to search the school. We're supposed to be meeting in the cafeteria right about now."
"Oh, I guess we'd better go straight away then. Thank you for letting me know, Mukuro."
"O'course. It's important we all show up."
It was a short walk to the cafeteria. Everyone was already gathered inside. It seemed that most of the students were making small talk, but the eyes of everyone were on us as we entered the room.
"There she is!" Junko exclaimed upon seeing me. "Thank god. It's about time, we were just about to start without you guys."
"Well, thank you for waiting for us," I said gratefully.
"Mukuro, it is 10:07. I would've expected better punctuality from the pair of you," said Taka, giving us a disapproving look. He tapped his watch.
"My apologies for being late, but it can hardly be helped when Makoto was unconscious," I answered, maintaining my patience.
"It's ok, Makoto! We're just glad that you're alright."
Sayaka smiled her white, even smile reassuringly at him.
"Thank you, Sayaka."
He was blushing slightly, the way one does when greeted by a girl as pretty as Sayaka.
Mondo shuffled awkwardly, avoiding looking at him. "Yeah, uh... Sorry about that earlier, kid. I got carried away," he said, voice gruff and low.
"Apology accepted, Mondo. Really, it's fine."
Even after being punched so hard that he was knocked out, he still managed to put on his most winning smile. No hard feelings, no indication of any grudge. It was impressive.
"Can we get this meeting started already? Unless you plan on wasting this time with more pointless chatter." It was Byakuya, of course. "The soon we start the sooner it can end."
Hina frowned. "Hey, it's not really necessary to be like that, ok?"
"Indeed," said Sakura, quick to to Hina's aid. "Hina is correct."
At this, Hina beamed up at her in response.
Sakura continued, paying her no mind. "This open hostility is hardly necessary. Rather, it's best to work past misunderstandings in order to truly communicate."
"I'd actually like to start the meeting as well."
Kyoko finally spoke up. She was such a quiet presence. I hadn't even noticed that she was in the room.
"Why don't you go first?" I said. I was egging her on, just a little, testing her.
"I don't think that's necessary."
"Sure it is. Tell them about the map you showed me."
"Map? What map?" Byakuya inquired suspiciously. His eyes narrowed behind his lenses.
Kyoko pulled out the map from her jacket pocket, glaring at me momentarily, which I pretended to ignore. Still scowling at me, she threw it unceremoniously on the large table in the middle of the room.
Makoto reached out, taking it in his hands and examining it over. "Where did you get this, Kyoko?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
"Kyoko?"
He looked up at her, almost wounded by her lack of response.
"Don't avoid the question," said Byakuya, his annoyance apparent.
Junko rolled her eyes. "Oh, let her be. I mean, does it really matter where she got it?"
"She's right, I mean isn't it just good to have something that's of use?" asked Hina, expression anxious as her eyes darted back and forth between Junko and Byakuya.
I refrained from saying anything, but I could already tell that those two were going to be get along just peachy.
"No matter how useful it may be, if we don't know where it came from then it's suspicious," countered Byakuya.
I decided to chip in my own two cents, siding with Junko on this one. "Even so, I don't see a point in fretting over it. It's just a map." Even if she hadn't been my sister, I figured we might as well just let it go. Then perhaps Kyoko could rest a little easier.
I felt that it was necessary to defend it, since I was pretty much responsible for getting Kyoko caught in everyone's crosshairs.
Hiro laughed. "'Right! Well-said, Mukuro! No harm, no foul."
Hifumi held up a timid hand. "Uhhhh... Mister Makoto Naegi, now that we've got that issue sorted, would it be out of the question to reveal the results of our exploration?" He adjusted his glasses.
"What? Oh! Yes, of course!" said Makoto. "As long as Kyoko has concluded with her findings."
She nodded.
"Alright, perfect! Then would anyone else like to go?"
"I will!" Junko announced, raising a hand enthusiastically and waving it around. "Chihiro and I looked through the dorms together!"
"There's one designated specifically for every one of us. And they're soundproof as well," said Chihiro quietly, continuing off Junko's train of thought.
"Yup! Chihiro and I tested it out ourselves," said Junko, grinning broadly.
An image flashed by in my mind of Junko and Chihiro banging loudly on the dorm walls and yelling their heads off before I quickly suppressed it.
Chihiro looked as if she were in thought. "And... I believe that's all."
"Thank you, Junko and Chihiro," said Taka. "As for myself, I was with Mondo and Hiro, and we came across the dry-cleaning room."
"It took th-th-three people t-t-to-to find the washroom?" muttered Toko, sounding skeptical, but she was ignored.
"There's several washing machines and dryers, so we don't have to worry about dry-cleaning," said Hiro, sounding pleased.
Junko snickered. "Lucky for you, right, because you wear like twelve layers of clothing."
"Junko!" I chastised her in hushed whispers.
Thankfully, Hiro either was blissfully unaware of what she had said, or he just didn't care.
Sakura spoke up. "Hina, Hifumi, and I went to the entrance hall. There we found that the front entrance was blocked by a huge iron door."
Hina added, "Sakura tried her best to bust down the door, but even she couldn't do it!"
Sakura nodded. "I gave it my best effort, but it would not budge."
"'Course, Sakura!" said Hina with an encouraging nod. "No one's doubting that."
Hifumi sighed. "It appears as though we are truly stuck in this horrid asylum of a school."
Celeste spoke. "Well, naturally if the mastermind behind the whole ordeal wants to keep us here, simply busting down the door isn't going to happen, even with some of the strongest people in Japan in our company."
It was a bit of a somber thought, so I tried to conclude it on more positive note. "Although I commend you for trying, Sakura."
She nodded in thanks.
Celeste smiled. "Well, this isn't too bad! We have comfortable living quarters and the kitchen looks well stocked. We should be thankful for what we have instead of worrying about what we cannot change."
"Even with so much food, it will still eventually run out," said Hifumi mournfully.
"If we do th-then you can eat birdseeds," Toko hissed scathingly.
He was indignant. "Excuse me? Am I a man or a parakeet? A genius such as myself who is still yet to be recognized should be well nourished!"
Toko grumbled under her breath, "B-B-B-rate smut author."
"Glorified plagiarist."
"I've read doujinshi that give women better depth."
"Your vocabulary is so stunted a third grader can do better."
"Unrealistic and indulgent."
"Cliché and predictable."
Junko stepped in between them, holding out her hands as to stay "stop".
"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." She cut in then, stopping the argument before it could escalate any further, although judging by her expression, she seemed to be enjoying herself tremendously.
"Besides, you guys," said Sayaka, still looking anxious over what had just taken place. "We don't have to worry. The kitchen is restocked every day! Monokuma told us."
"You saw him?" asked Chihiro in surprise.
"Yup." Leon grimaced. "Popped up outta nowhere and disappeared just as quickly to who knows where."
Mondo clenched his fists, jaw set in anger. "Next time I see that bear, he's gonna get what's coming to him."
"Pardon me, but I would like to bring to your attention that it says in the rules that violence against the 'headmaster' is forbidden."
It was Celeste. Her pleasant formality, no matter what the subject, was unmistakable.
"Personally I'm curious to see what the punishment is for breaking one of the rules. What with our unique form of 'graduation', I'm sure it's nothing pleasant."
She giggled, and I shivered as I felt a chill go up my spine.
For a moment, he seemed to be stunned speechless. At last, he hung his head, embarrassed. "I ain't dying. I mean I'd love to beat the crap out of that monochrome little shit, but... I made a promise to my big brother a while back."
"Wh-What does that have to do with-with anything?" cried Toko hysterically.
"Yeah, Mondo, what gives?" asked Junko.
He glared. "It means I have promises that I still intend to keep. So there's no way in hell I'm dying."
Celestia's smile never faltered. "So then I'm presuming we'll have your cooperation when it comes to compliance with the rules?"
He nodded, his calm demeanor was strange compared to his chaotic rage.
"Now that we've come to the conclusion they punching our way through all of our problems is obviously not the way to go, are we quite done already?" said Byakuya.
"Says the computer geek who can't hold a conversation to save his life," deadpanned Junko. "Hey, are those headphones around your neck? Tell me, Byakuya, what exactly are they hooked up to? Because my phone's gone, so you may just want to check your pockets. I don't think there could be anything sadder than just wearing them for the aesthetic."
She smirked at him while everyone, at hearing those words, began rummaging around frantically for their own devices. There were several cries of shock when the others realized that, yes, their electronics were indeed missing.
I checked my own pockets as well and found them to be empty just like with everyone else.
Byakuya's expression did not change, but I could have sworn that he went slightly ashen as Junko's statement. Junko, obviously still not satisfied, continued. "Anyways, what's the rush? Why so eager to leave? Don't tell me you've got some prior commitment. 'Cause even disregarding the fact that we're stuck in this mess, I find that pretty hard to believe. Unless it's some sort of 'keyboarders anonymous' support group."
Byakuya didn't go completely red, but the pink tinge on his pale skin was enough to convey his embarrassment. He said nothing.
"Actually, Junko does have a point. We aren't finished. Toko, Celeste, what have the two of you been doing all hour?"
I was surprised to hear Kyoko's voice again after she had spent so long in silence.
"Actually, we stayed in the gymnasium the entire time." Celeste looked considerably less cheerful than she had been previously.
"Huh? You seriously stayed there the entire time?" asked Junko, incredulous.
"Well, n-n-nobody asked me if-if I w-wanted-wanted to-to-to g-g-go with them!" It took her ages to get the sentence out. Toko seemed to be getting herself worked up, her stuttering getting even worse.
"Toko, you could have just asked someone yourself if you wanted to come along," said Hina, trying to appeal to reason.
Toko just shook her head, muttering something to herself.
Celeste sighed. "To be perfectly honest, the whole 'exploring' thing is not exactly my cup of tea."
"Very well." Kyoko shifted her gaze over to where Byakuya was standing. "And you, Byakuya?"
Byakuya, who by this time seemed to have recovered from Junko's mockery, answered, "I found nothing." He seemed completely apathetic, perhaps feeling shut down after Junko's remarks.
"Nothing?" Her piercing eyes were fixated on him, one eyebrow raised questioningly, but he kept his eyes averted.
"If I had found anything worth reporting, I would have said something earlier." His irritation was apparent in his voice.
She nodded and shrugged. Perhaps it was my imagination, but for a moment I thought I recognized the barest traces of of a smile cross her lips. And then I blinked, and it was gone as if it had never existed.
The loud ringing of a school bell echoed throughout the room. "Ahem." I heard a familiar voice. Looking around to find the source, I saw that the monitor on the wall was now on and displaying on the screen was Monokuma.
"Attention. It is 10 P.M. Night Time is now in effect. The dining hall will be closing momentarily. Sweet dreams, everyone!"
And with that, the screen went blank.
The room was quiet.
The first person to speak up was Kyoko.
"Seem's like it's about time we wrap this up."
"Oh! Uh, yes," said Makoto. "Does anyone else have anything else they would like to add before we do?"
"One last thing." It was Celeste. "The announcement has brought this issue to my attention. I would like to propose something."
"O..kay?" asked Makoto. "What is it, Celeste?"
"I would like to propose a rule for Night Time. It it not in the handbook, I think we should establish it now. Nobody leaves their dorms during those hours. Personally I'd like to be able to sleep without having to worry what might happen."
"It's... a good idea, but unfortunately we have no way to really enforce it," said Makoto thoughtfully. "But if everyone is ok with it, I think we should give it a try."
The group murmured in agreement.
"Very well," said Celeste. "It's just that... I have this premonition that the first murder will be during the Night Time, and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible." Her somber attitude felt strange in opposition to her usual eerie cheerfulness.
"Don't worry Celeste, I'm sure nothing of the sort will happen!"
Celeste ignored Sayaka's efforts to cheer her up.
She sighed, sounding absolutely forlorn. "We'll see."
And on that ominous note, the meeting concluded and the sixteen of us parted ways.
