Here's Chapter 3!

Akari belongs to me

Nove and Zhen belong to FireDusk

Nikhil belongs to Nikhilbhavani

XxXxXxXxX

A monochrome bear plushie was sitting on the podium. It had a microphone and a glass of water next to it like it was about to say a speech. The right side of its body was pure white, and retained a pure teddy bear personality. But on the left side, it was pure black, with a red slash for an eye.

"A teddy bear?" Chihiro spoke, looking confused at the bear.

"Why is there a teddy bear on the podium?" Nikhil wondered, messing with the silver ring on his finger, hoping that this was all just a dream.

"I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma! And I'm the headmaster here!" It suddenly spoke, spooking most of the students in the gym. Its voice was lighthearted and whimsical, it was almost like it came from a children's cartoon. The amount of discomfort in the room intensified and transformed into muted terror.

"Gaaaah! The teddy bear, it speaks!" Hifumi exclaimed, looking terrified at this new development.

"Relax. It's just had a speaker installed, that's all" Kiyotaka insured, trying to calm down Hifumi.

Monokuma, looking rather upset about being mistaken for a teddy bear, said,"Weren't you listening? I said I'm not a teddy bear… I'm Monokuma and I'm your headmaster!" It stood up on the podium, anger evident on its face.

"Noo! It can move!" Hifumi yelled, his constant outbursts started to annoy Akari.

"Calm the fuck down, man! It's probably just being remote controlled or something…" Mondo proclaimed, also tired of Hifumi.

"That hurts guys… That cuts deeper than the Mariana Trench. I'm not just a silly children's toy.." Monokuma moped, looking down at the floor.

"I've been equipped with a long-range control system that would put NASA to shame… so I would beary much appreciate it if you refrained from trying to shatter my dreams!" It concluded.

" 'Beary?' What a horrible pun." Akari decided to speak. Celes quickly agreed.

"Please be quiet.. A-hem! Rise everyone. And bow! Good morning you guys!" Monokuma said, actually believing that they would bow to it.

"Good morning!" Kiyotaka exclaimed and bowed to the bear.

"Really? Are you seriously bowing to this…. Bear!" Zhen stated, seriously concerned for Kiyotaka's mental health.

"You don't need to.. respond.." Touko quietly added.

"Now, in commemoration of this momentous occasion, I would first like to say a few words concerning the new lives you guys are about to begin here. Ahem, yes. You guys-with your overflowing bounty of talent-are our world's greatest hope! Such that we might be able to protect and ensure the survival of such a wondrous resource...you guys are to carry out your lives together here within the academy walls. It is our hope that you will be able to maintain order and dwell together in friendship and harmony!" Monokuma concluded.

'What? Carry out our lives?' Akari thought, gaining a sick sense in her gut.

"And um… well, you see… The duration of this assignment… is indefinite! To put it simply, you all are required to live the rest of your lives in the school!"

"What did you say? The rest of our lives here?" Nove asked, looking scared.

"Our whole lives?" Touko wondered out loud.

"Yup yup. But there's no need to worry. We've got plenty of money, so we'll make sure you're comfy!" Monokuma declared happily.

"Th-that's not the problem!" Sayaka stammered.

"Like, what? You can't be serious…about making us live here forever?" Junko hesitantly asked, with sweat appearing on her complexion. Surprisingly, her makeup didn't smear with all of the moisture.

"I am not a liar! I can assure you that much! Oh, right, yes, and you might like to know… that this school has been entirely cut-off from the outside! So forget about that filthy place!" Monokuma loudly declared.

"Cut-off?" Makoto said, piecing together what Monokuma stated. "So you're saying.. that those iron plates in the rooms and the halls… are to keep us inside?!"

"Bullseye. You can cry and scream until your lungs fall out, but nobody's coming to rescue you. Anywho, with that said… You guys enjoy your lives here in the academy!" Monokuma confessed.

"Hey… What the hell, man? Even if it is a joke, I'm sure this crosses the line- especially since the school is behind it…" Leon denied, refusing to believe Monokuma's words.

"H-Hey, asshole… I've heard enough… Cut the crap now, and I'll even let you say it was just a prank…" Mondo stuttered.

"The accusations just keep coming, don't they? Monokuma said, looking quite disappointed. "What a suspicious bunch… Welp, I can't really blame you, though. It's a bear-eat-bear world. Ah, whatever. You guys are free to verify whether I'm lying or not on your own later. I'm sure you'll come to realize that everything is say is the pure, unadulterated truth!"

"That's a problem. I don't plan on living here forever…" Celeste said.

"You guys are so silly. Didn't you all come to Hope's Peak Academy of your free will? And now you want to leave in the middle of the opening ceremony…. Well, to tell you the truth, it's not like you can't get out of here…"

"Really?" Touko exclaimed.

"I, your headmaster, have put in place a special system for anyone who wishes to leave! AndI call it 'graduation'! Now, if you would, I'd like to tell you a little bit about that system. As I said, you guys are responsible for maintaining order here within the academy, but… should someone decide to destroy that order… they, and they alone, will be allowed to leave. And that's graduation!"

"When you say 'destroy the order'... what exactly do you mean?" Byakuya asked, saying the current question in everyone's minds.

Monokuma laughed. "Upupu… I'm talking about… murder."

"Murder?!"

"Beating, stabbing, pounding, cutting, burning, crushing, strangling, slaughtering, hexing… The method doesn't really matter. What's really important is that you can't get out unless you kill someone. Do whatever it takes to obtain the best results from the worst method."

'I-I have to m-m-murder someone here to leave?' Akari stood there shocked. Were Monokuma's words true? Did she have to murder someone here? Or would they kill her first?

"Upupu… it's a carnal thrill, a flood of endorphins you can't experience just from attacking someone. As I said, you guys are our 'world's greatest hope'... and just imagine the despair of that hope into a coliseum and turning it against itself… It's so exciting!" Monokuma said, looking excited.

At this point Akari stopped listening to the 'opening ceremony'. It took all of her mental strength to not drop to the floor and cry. She was trapped in this school. No one could save them. She would die in here. When she looked up from the floor, she saw Mondo grab Monokuma. He threatened to destroy the bear. Akari then heard it. Constant beeping emitting from Monokuma. The beeping became more consistent when she realized what was happening. And she wasn't the only one who recognized it.

"Get rid of it, now!" Kyouko shouted

"Mondo, Throw Monokuma, quickly!" Zhen shouted, looking rather worried.

"And throw it away from us as far as you can, please!" Nove pleaded.

Looking shocked, Mondo obeyed and quickly threw Monokuma into the air. And as the beeping sounds blended together, Monokuma exploded.

The smell of gunpowder filled the room as some began to cover their noses, none of the students dared to look away from the pollutionous cloud. Having seen many explosions in her life as an actress, Akari wasn't afraid of the bomb but rather what it could have done to them if Mondo hadn't chucked it.

"T-That could've been me!" Mondo stammered, looking at the remaining smoke.

Chihiro decided to speak up. "If the teddy bear was blown up, then we can leave, right?"

But as soon as she uttered those words, another Monokuma popped from the podium.

"I'm not a teddy bear, I'm Monokuma! Now, let's make sure that you all will follow the rules!" Monokuma stated as he threw something in the air.

"Here, these are ElectroIDs! They are your keys into many places like your rooms, so don't lose them!"

Akari caught the ID, inspecting the technology. The ID held lot of of information on her like her weight, height, likes, and dislikes. Akari dismissed the bundle of info as information gathered from her interviews. When fiddled with, it displayed the school rules.

"Now, it's time for the opening ceremony to close! Happy killings!" Monokuma concluded, disappearing from the podium.

The gym was silent. No one knew what to say. They were trapped in Hope's Peak Academy. And no one was going to help them escape.