Chapter 1: Behind Closed Walls (A)
I did the most logical thing I could think of that anyone would have done in my position would have done: I locked myself in my room. Monokuma's words still resonated in my mind...
"Kill one of your fellow classmates and get away with it! That's all!" Could one of us just off another like that? Is that even possible?
He was just so straightforward with his demands, it's like he doesn't care in a way. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to cope with all this information he gave us. I was starting to feel a little lightheaded so I went to lie down on my bed and started up the e-Handbook Monokuma gave us. Surely enough it displayed my name and all my student information except my talent. I'm not lying, under "talent" has "?" next to it. I was confused, because if he was really all knowing shouldn't he have access to that information or something?
Next I went to read the Rules and Regulations:
1. Students may explore the campus grounds to their hearts content with little restrictions. It is unadvised to search for an "exit".
2. 10 PM-7 AM is considered "Nighttime". At this time certain facilities will be shut down until "Daytime" starts.
3. Sleeping anywhere other than the dorms is strictly prohibited and will be punishable by law.
4. Assaulting Headmaster Monokuma is off limits. You will be punished by the fullest extent.
5. Giving your handbook to someone else is strictly prohibited.
6. In order to "Escape", you must kill someone and get away with it in a class trial. Failure to get away with it will result in punishment.
7. Students will have several hours to investigate before the class trial after the "Body Discovery Announcement" plays.
8. More rules may be added when necessary.
I'm not surprised most of these rules were from the first killing school life. Well, whatever the case was I didn't have much time to think about it as I began to doze off into a restless sleep...
I had been awoken by a knocking on my door. "Akiko?" A voice called out. Was that...?
"Akemi?" I asked as I sat up. I stretched out my body and went to the door. When I opened it I saw Akemi standing there patiently. She was giving me a soft smile, one that felt genuine. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to get you." Akemi told me. "We're having a meeting in the dining commons right now. After the morning announcements we're supposed to head there. That's what we agreed on yesterday... But you, Akihiro, and Hotaru weren't there because you had all gone back to your rooms."
"Oh... I'm sorry." I replied with my usual shy voice. I felt kinda selfish for not helping out in anyway.
"No worries." She said in a gentle tone. That seemed kinda normal for her, like it was her natural self. "Anyways, we're all meeting up at the Dining Commons. I'll take you there." So I followed Akemi to the Dining Commons. Along the way I got a better view of the "Campus" grounds. There were several buildings, a large one in the middle, the dorms, the gymnasium, and two other buildings that paled in comparison to the building in the center. They were all connected by concrete walkways and a sea of really green grass. With the occasional tree here and there. The campus had been surrounded by a few walls that looked difficult to climb up but not as tall as I would have expected. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what also looked to be a bus, however Akemi and I had finally entered the Dining Commons. "Hey guys!" Akemi shouted with a cheerful note. She changed personalities in a sense. It's not like she was a Schizo, but I guess being the "Ultimate Actress" means being able to play multiple parts. I'd have to ask her about that later if I had the time. Everyone else had been gathered, those who chose to remain independent sat at their own table while the others convened at a table in the middle. I was shocked to find a buffet style breakfast laid out and it all looked surprisingly edible. I had seen Juku and Hiroaki grabbing plates full of food before sitting with the others.
"Welcome back Akemi. I see Akiko is finally here." Makoto declared. "We were worried about you three yesterday."
"Really?" Hotaru asked. "My apologies for causing concern... I guess."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too..." I told everyone as I grabbed a plate of food as well and sat next to Akemi.
Akihiro looked on in distaste at the group as he sat at a table with Izanagi. "Don't expect me to apologize." He spat blatantly.
"Whatever. No one would accept your apology anyway." Juku told him.
Chou gave a sigh. "Give it a rest you two. Anyway, this is our first breakfast meeting right? What's on the agenda today?"
"Very well." Makoto chimed in. "Allow me to begin the meeting. I'd like everyone to state their findings from yesterday, to get Akiko, Akihiro, and Hotaru all caught up." Diligent as always, Makoto.
"Ooh, ooh! Let me go first!" Akemi blurted in utter glee. I swear any louder and this girl could make me go deaf. Makoto gave her a nod and all of our attention had been fixated on Akemi. "Okay, so um... I went searching with Miyako and Destiny. We had to look at the dorms and uh... what did we find again?"
"W-we um... found that all the dorms have a single bathroom, bed and desk. Everyone has a key to get in..."
"Okay? Anything of value?" Shin asked. "I didn't search my room thoroughly but I know that much. Tell us something we don't know please." That was worded to be polite but it came off as rude.
"Well, for your information, we found that every room has a set of working gloves and a survival kit. It had a knife, some rope, a water canister, and some crackers."
"No doubt placed by our "beloved" headmaster..." Izanagi muttered.
"Okay. And that was all you found out?" Makoto asked the three girls. They all nodded in unison and Makoto moved on to the next group: Shin, Ryota and Atsushi. "So boys, can you tell us what you found in your area?"
"It was a campus store." Ryota said. "And it definitely came with everything. From snacks, clothes, books..."
"And weapons." Atsushi said like it wasn't a big deal.
"Wait, weapons?" Hotaru asked.
"Monokuma probably put them there. In case the survival kit doesn't work out." Shin replied. "If I remember correctly, it had all kinds of blades and blunt objects. Also a couple fire arms here and there."
"I see..." Hotaru muttered, a little concern had become apparent in her voice.
"There is one good thing." Atsushi added cheerfully. "We can just take anything from the store without having to pay. All the shelves get restocked daily so we don't have to worry."
"How would you know that?" I asked him.
"I asked Monokuma." He said normally. We all sat in astonishment for a moment before Juku spoke up first.
"You're now forbidden from talking. Forever, got it?" Juku told him. Atsushi remained silent but him calm smile remained on his face. Not unsettling but just sad that he listened to Juku.
"Let's move on, and Atsushi you may speak whenever you like." Makoto told the engineer. He nodded but didn't say anything. Makoto shook her head and decided to avoid another shit storm and went on to the next group. "Okay, the one's in charge of the Dining Commons were... Izanagi, Juku, and Hiroaki correct? Would you mind saying what you found?"
"Uh... well, you see..." Juku said.
"We didn't get anything done." Izanagi said with an exasperated tone.
"Huh, why?" Makoto asked sternly.
"Because... well..." Juku stuttered.
"They were arguing." Hiroaki said. "They wouldn't stop fighting over something mundane so I had searched by myself." Wow, that was impressive. But Hiroaki sounded sad when he said that. Did he feel bad for not being able to stop the arguing or not because they left him to work alone. "Monokuma appeared out of nowhere and told me meals would be served at different times of day. Once after the morning announcement, which is 7 AM to 9 AM. Once at 12 PM to 2 PM. And once more at 7 PM to 9 PM. He said we're allowed to take snacks from the store if we got hungry in between dining times."
"Y-you talked to Monokuma too?" Chou asked, sounding nervous.
"Um... yeah but... he said that and left." Hiroaki said. "So I guess we don't wanna miss meal times throughout the day."
"Excellent Hiroaki. You saved your group from failure." Makoto stated, throwing salt into Juku and Izanagi's guilt. "Moving on, we have our last group. Rei, Chou and Ikazuchi."
"Right." Ikazuchi replied. "You know that building in the middle? It's just a lame school building."
"Lame school building?" Akihiro repeated inquisitively.
"Yeah, like classrooms and junk..." The electrician sighed.
"Only you would find classrooms boring." Rei sighed. "But, inside that building we found a library full of different genres of books. Including Manga and some rather... questionable tastes."
"How so?" I asked.
"You would need to see for yourself. That's the best way I can put it..." Chou said. Somehow she seemed to be physically uncomfortable with whatever they found. I didn't want to know.
"I wish I had gone with your group. I could've seen what manga they had..." Hiroaki muttered.
"So that's everyone else's reports?" Makoto asked. No one replied so she took it as a yes and went on. "And finally what I observed as I patrolled alone."
"I was wondering what you were doing." Akihiro stated.
"I went around, getting a good feel for the area and I noticed several things. One, there was a bus right next to a stop. Two, there was a closed off route. Most likely the bus will travel that way... Unfortunately I didn't find anything else noteworthy. Nor could I get beyond that barricade."
"A bus, huh?" Hotaru asked. "It does make one wonder what it could mean..."
"Maybe, there's more areas?" Rei suggested. "Like, to be opened later."
Could there really be more areas? But how could all that work out? So, let me recap everything I know for now. There are five buildings in total: The Dorms, The Dining Commons, The Main Building, The Gymnasium, and the School Store... "Hey...do you guys know about the rules?"
"The rules?" Makoto seemed confused now.
"Yeah. They came programmed in our e-Handbooks..." Miyako said. "... it seems like they're connected to a single server. Someplace where they all can be connected..."
"What...?" Ikazuchi asked with confusion.
"Like... you know how Wi-Fi works?" Miyako questioned.
"Of course." Izanagi said. "We live in the modern era."
"Right. Anyway... it seems the e-Handbooks work with this server similar to a Wi-Fi connection..." Miyako deduced.
"You could tell just by looking!?" Chou asked in disbelief.
"Well, it was just a guess. I don't have any actual proof." Miyako added.
"Coming from you, it sounds entirely possible." I told her. "So whenever a rule gets added or some other thing, we can see it. He sends it to all e-Handbooks through a Wi-Fi connection."
"Well um... yeah."
"Interesting..." Akihiro mumbled to himself. "Well, I hope you don't intend on keeping us here all day."
"One last thing." Atsushi finally said. "I hope I'm not getting in the way or anything but... I think we all should be in the dorms by nighttime."
"I agree. In case someone gets any funny ideas." Izanagi added.
"Of course." Makoto stated calmly. "Alright, today's meeting is adjourned. All dismissed."
And so, that's when our real school life began. I think we had been inside this one area for three days and people were already making habits of where they wanted to be. We all met up at the designated times for our meals, we all searched for some kind of answers, but most of all we kept looking for a way out. Three days of the same routine, of searching the same places, of just trying to live together. It wasn't easy for some, but for others it was a breeze. I spent most of my days getting comfortable with most of my fellow Ultimates. I was starting to get closer and closer to them, almost ready to call them my friends. However, it was the start of the fourth day.
I walked into the Dining Commons for Dinner Time. I saw Hiroaki, Akemi, Makoto, Rei, Miyako, Shin and Ryota all gathered in the building. They all looked concerned about something. "Huh, what's wrong you guys?" I asked.
"Well... um..." Miyako wanted to answer, but she was having a hard time getting her words together.
"Monokuma was just here a moment ago and..." Makoto started, but then trailed off. Her anxiety wasn't apparent on her face, but her voice gave her away.
"He taunted us..." Akemi said in a serious tone. "Like, 'You guys are SLACKERS!'" She tried to do her best impression of Monokuma, which was very convincing but not spot on. "'I've never met students more unmotivated than your group! Group B already has a murder investigation underway and you're all here, being lazy!' Just like that! I swear, that bear is so rude."
"Wait, someone from Group B... Did that?" Just what exactly was going on with Group B? Was he telling the truth? Could a murder really take place? Before I could inquire any further, the monitor blared to life and on screen was Monokuma.
"This is a school announcement. I'd like for everyone to meet up in the Gymnasium for an important assembly." And that was it. The monitor cut off before saying anymore.
"Is this... gonna be a motive?" Hiroaki asked, and his question made me concerned. It's true, in the other game the only reason they could gather in the Gymnasium was just to receive a motive to kill. Is it really...?
"We won't know until we go and see for ourselves." Shin spoke, his words cutting in like a sharp knife.
"He's right. We have to go." Rei said in her usual calm demeanor. We didn't have much of a choice to begin with and we all made our way to the Gymnasium in an almost mechanical fashion. By the time we got there our other peers were already there.
"Geez, slow much?" Juku questioned.
Akihiro groaned at his question but chose not to say anything.
"Well, you all took your sweet time." Monokuma's voice rang through the Gymnasium. Much like the first time he emerged from nowhere and plopped right onto the podium at the front. "Upupupu, I felt I had to make an example of one of you. Like how I did with Group B."
"What happened with Group B?" Rei asked.
"Nothing you all need to worry about. Oh, I also hope you're looking for the spy."
"Why? It seems counter intuitive to help you in that regard." Makoto pointed out. "After all, they're working against you. So why would we reveal them?"
"If you all wanna get out of here you better be ready to point them out!" Monokuma told them. "Whatever, that's not why I called you here. I've noticed your lack of motivation as a group is very low. So 'Bear'-y low..." Ugh, now he's making puns?
"'Motivation'? Look you demented Teddy Bear." Ikazuchi spoke up. "We're not playing your sick game. Group B can do whatever the hell they want but that won't change anything."
"He's right." Akemi said. "Why kill each other?"
"You're no fun. But I'm all out of people to execute for now, so that isn't a good motivation. So I'm just gonna tell you all outright!"
"Huh?" Most of us asked.
He gave that creepy 'Upupupu' laugh he always gives and then said the unthinkable. "I took your memories and you're all actually a whole year older and everything."
"...Come again?" Hotaru was probably the most confused. Was it like, her life mission to ask questions?
"It's been a whole year since you came to Hope's Peak Academy!" Monokuma repeated.
"Right." Destiny said in disbelief. "Let me just get my next ticket for the crazy train. My next stop is probably gonna be 'hubris'. Are you kidding me!?"
"When would I joke!?" Monokuma asked. Sounding offended in a way.
"You're serious then...?" I asked.
"So serious! Anyway, I've got to get back to Group B now. I need to rush and harass- I mean tell them they're time is almost up and they'll need to start for reals." Monokuma said.
"Hey, wait a second you Monochrome Turd!" Juku shouted but Monokuma had already disappeared. Did someone from Group B actually kill? I know I asked that already but this question kept playing over and over and over again in my head. But more importantly, was what he said really true? That we've been going to school for a year... only to have that stripped from us. I couldn't understand it.
"This is a school announcement. It is now officially nighttime. As such, the Dining Commons and Bus Shuttle will be closed for the Evening. Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite." And with that, it was now nighttime... We really couldn't say much else so I told everyone I was going to bed and everyone else followed my example one by one. When I got in my room the first thing I did was shower and went right to sleep. Though much like the first night it was a restless sleep thanks to Monokuma...
I had awoken to the sound of Monokuma's announcement. "Good Morning everyone! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!" I groggily sat up and got dressed in my normal attire and made my way to the Dining Commons. It looked like I was one of the early birds, as usual. This usually consisted of myself, Rei, Makoto, Hiroaki, Atsushi, and Shin. We're what's known as "Ideal Students" I guess, since we're always early.
Then the group of "Average Teenager" walked in. This made up a majority of the group. Hotaru, Chou, Izanagi, Ryota, Miyako, and Akemi fit this category. However all but Akemi walked in. It was fine, I guess. We didn't have to meet up on the dot. So she might show up with the last group.
The people who don't really care for others time. This consisted of Akihiro, Juku, (both of which were always late) Ikazuchi, and Destiny. These people only worked on their personal schedule with no regard for others. We all ate our meals in silence. I watched the doors, anticipating Akemi to come bursting in and being her vivid self. But we had been sitting all the way until 8:30. Akemi never missed breakfast meeting. If it were lunch then it would be understandable but... "I'm worried guys." Destiny finally said, breaking the barrier of silence we had all built. "What if she's oversleeping? I-I'd feel bad..." She said, but we all knew that wasn't the case. Something must've gone terribly wrong somewhere. Deep down I felt that was true.
"...We gotta find her!" I suddenly blurted out, not waiting for anyone else I ran out the door. I didn't want to accept the fact that a classmate could be dead. I couldn't. I started with the first logical place, her room. I banged on her door with all my might. "Akemi, are you in there!?" I cried out.
"...Huh?" A voice came through the other side. "CRAP! I OVERSLEPT!"Akemi shouted. Relief washed over me as I heard her cries of frustration at being late. She had just overslept. When she finally opened her door she was her usual self! It was a little after 9 o'clock. I had told her everyone had gathered in the Dining Hall already, and she seemed upset.
"I'm so sorry!" She pleaded. "I didn't mean to make you worry so much. Not only that, I missed breakfast..." she groaned.
I thought for a moment and then said "Why not try the Campus Store? It should have all kinds of snacks."
"You're right!" She beamed. It was nice to know I helped her. "Um, would you mind coming with me?" She asked.
"Why?" I asked her.
"Well, we have spent some time together before and uh... no it's nothing." She said.
"Sure then. I didn't have much planned for today anyway." I told her. Akemi giggled in a rather girly way. This is actually the longest she's spent as "cheery" Akemi. There were main components to the Ultimate Actress I've picked up on: There's "royal", "tough", "depressed", and "serious" Akemi along with cheery. I attributed it to her career as an actress but could there be another reason?
We went to show everyone that Akemi was well, to which everyone was relieved, and then made our way for the Campus Store. I hadn't been in there too often due to the weapons located inside, but I decided to enter for Akemi's sake. "Akiko, thank you for coming with me here." She said.
"No problem." I told her. We walked over to the snack aisle and went over everything. "Senbei, Kibidango, Kinakobo... wow, this place has so much. Even a few American snacks too."
"Oh my gosh." She said in her "serious" tone. "They have Pocky. I love Pocky!" Somehow, it wasn't as cute since she was still "serious".
"It's a pretty sweet snack alright." I said, "But isn't having chocolate kinda bad for first thing in the morning?"
"Maybe if I swish it around with some coffee I might be able to have enough energy until lunch." She said. "Let me go find some." And with that she stepped away.
"Akiko?" Hiroaki called out.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"I'm here to pick up some Sobaboro. For after lunch break." He told me. We had been getting along pretty well but there was some strange disconnect, like he'd clamp up and not say anything anymore. I think it's what they called "Hermit Mode" maybe?
"But why not pick some up after lunch?" I asked him.
"I tried but someone always takes them all before I can get to it."
"That sucks." I told him. It was right then Akemi came back and noticed I was with Hiroaki.
"Oh hi Hiro." She said with a now relaxed tone. That was a new one. The three of us chatted for a while until Akemi and I went back to her room since she wasn't too keen on going inside the main building often. We sat their eating Pocky and mixing it with coffee, it wasn't as terrible as I imagined but I couldn't see myself doing it on a regular basis.
"Oh man, it's so good!" Akemi said in her cheery tone. "This really hits the spot, especially when I'm pulling all nighters on a set. The sugar helps my mind stay awake."
"So you do this on a daily basis?" I asked her.
"Of course." She said in her regal voice. But then, she seemed to relax again and went on talking. "As a popular actress I'm almost always busy."
"So how exactly did you become the 'Ultimate Actress'?" I inquired. I was interested in her personal life.
The actress gave a moment of thought before continuing in her relaxed tone. "Well, I have been in a handful of movies sure. But what really distinguishes my talent from the other teen actors in Japan is that I also do voice acting."
That must mean she does it for a specific genre... "So for anime and cartoons?" I replied.
"Yeah. That's why I change my expression often, they say it helps for acting." Who on this planet gives that kind of advice? "But it's nice to just take down the facade once in a while, ya know?"
"Akemi..." I found myself saying as she confided in me.
"I am still a person after all..." She seemed to be forlorn as she said that. "Hey... about what Monokuma told us... Do you believe it?"
"With that bear... anything's possible." Of course, I didn't WANT to believe it. But this was reality. He could've somehow been able to do it you know. And there was always a chance that it wasn't true, I guess in a sense I'm just trying to keep an open mind. Could he really take our memories? And is Group B in a worse state than we are? All these questions and no real way to answer them. My response didn't seem to make Akemi feel any better and she was starting to look a little depressed.
"If that's true... I wonder what became of my acting career..." She muttered, just barely audible. "One of the reasons I wanted to come here was to get away from show biz for a while. A little R&R... but what if I never went back!?" Akemi's voice was sounding a little desperate. I hadn't given it much thought because I'm not as famous as Akemi, but what did transpire over a year? Was my family safe? My friends, and just society in general? There was only one way to know for sure-
"-Dammit!" I shouted, realizing what was happening. Monokuma wanted us to think like this, he wanted us to become anxious about the outside world! So we could start killing each other. "Akemi, we can't think like this. It's just what Monokuma wants!"
"Huh?" She seemed surprised by my outburst.
"He wants us to think about the outside; to fuel our desire to escape. To start killing."
Akemi remained silent as I told her this. She seemed to be contemplating my words very carefully until she finally said, "You're right." With a glum expression. "I can't think like that... Thanks Akiko." She gave a soft smile. That smile was probably one of the most genuine smiles I had seen in a while upon coming here. Her smile, it seemed like nothing could be wrong in the world. Akemi's gentle smile must have made all her fans feel relaxed, it was almost bewitching in a way.
"No problem."
"No, really!" She shouted in her cheery version. "I was getting all depressed over that but now I feel motivated! You're an awesome friend!" Friend? Well, we all are technically classmates but friends? It makes me happy to know I've got someone who sees me as a friend. "Well, I want some time to myself. Is that okay?" She asked me. I gave her a nod and left her room in silence. As soon as I shut the door I heard a clank from the other side; Akemi must've locked it. Now what was I gonna do for the rest of the day?
The rest of the day seemed to drone on as usual, but I tried something I never considered. I went to the library in the main building to study a bit. I didn't wanna be considered dumb if we get out of here soon so I went to the library and there I saw Rei and Ikazuchi sharing a book. "Oh, Akiko." Rei called out to me as I approached the two. "What's going on?"
"I just wanted to study a bit..." I told her.
She gave me an expression of approval. "Very nice. I'm trying to teach Ikazuchi some basic math. Apparently he has a lot of remedial classes."
"Y-you didn't have to say all THAT..." Ikazuchi muttered with annoyance. "I'm just not all that smart..."
"And you wanted to improve?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh uh, yeah." Ikazuchi responded absentmindedly.
"Just because we're not taking classes doesn't mean we stop trying to learn." Rei said. I gave her a nod and we all sat together and studied. Before we knew it, it was close to six. Dinner was gonna be in an hour so we parted ways and went to go do whatever else before then. Because after dinner nighttime always seemed to catch up in what normally felt like a matter of seconds.
So it eventually became dinner and everyone filed into the room. Except for Akemi; again. "This girl..." Juku grumbled. He was always angry at something, and his figure kinda reminded me of a bear...
"She's probably just sleeping... again." Ikazuchi sighed.
"Whatever the case is we need to check on her." Makoto added, taking charge of the situation. "Akiko, Destiny and I will check in her room... Everyone else stay put."
"Hey, why me!?" Destiny shouted. She was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "I can understand Akiko but-"
"It doesn't matter right now." Makoto said. She gave a motion for us to follow her and we rushed to get to her room door. "Akemi!" Makoto called while knocking on her door. We didn't get a response and that made my heart sink. If she wasn't in her room then where could she be? My mind was running wild until Makoto spoke up. "Her door is unlocked." She said. The stalwart "leader" of our group opened the door and we scanned the whole room. No Akemi at all. Everything had been left normally, except for one thing. One of the desk drawers was open. I dared to peer inside and found the survival kit had been opened...
Missing was the knife that was supposed to be inside. I let out a gasp which drew the other girls to me and they both realized the knife had been missing almost immediately. Destiny was beginning to panic. "Aw crap! Aw crap! This is bad, right?"
Makoto seemed to do her best to maintain her cool given the circumstances. "We can't draw conclusions just yet." She told us. "We have to find Akemi, that takes priority. Destiny, tell the others she's missing. Akiko and I will begin searching immediately."
"R-right." Destiny replied before taking off to the Dining Commons.
"Akiko." Makoto went on, catching my attention almost immediately. "We have to cover the campus grounds. She has to be somewhere." I gave her a nod and we both took off our separate ways to find where on earth Akemi disappeared. Everyone had scattered in a frenzy looking for her. I had been searching classroom after classroom within the main building. All remained untouched and undisturbed. Where the hell could she be!? I remembered her calm expression; it must have been rare for people to see that side of her. I just hope we find her alive and well. Of course, in games like these, hoping for something like that is virtually impossible.
"Akiko!" Shin's voice called out to me. He came running to me and had a look of dismay on his face. That wasn't a good sign.
"W-what?" I asked, concerned with what might have happened.
"We found Akemi." He stammered out, but he didn't seem relieved. "We have to go to the third floor!" I followed him into the hallway on the third floor and immediately froze. There was streaks of blood across the ground and some splattered on the walls. The crimson liquid now seemingly dry apparently, but still not Akemi. I looked to Shin with panic and anger at the same time.
"Hey, this better not be some kind of sick joke!" I told him.
"D-don't get your panties in a bunch!" Shin said, visibly nervous like myself. "This way...!" He forced himself to talk as we followed the streak all the way into the art room, and that's when things became gory.
From her boots to her face, Akemi had been coated in blood. An abundance around her chest and some even leaking from her head to her face. It have her pink hair an unwanted shade of red. She lay limp against a wall and her face had gone pale with an expression of anguish. The blood streak had gone right under her body along with the debris of what looked to be some kind of stone surrounding her body. Her hands had both a rose and a crumpled sheet of paper, both with a decent amount of blood coating it. The final thing I noticed right away was the discarded knife not too far from her body. "Akemi...!" I forced myself to shout out. I couldn't make any sounds other than that as I trembled in place. Someone did this...? Someone... killed Akemi!? I forced myself to check her arm for any kind of sign for life or anything really. Nothing. To my despair there was not a single sign of life. Akemi was truly dead.
"I couldn't believe it when I first saw her but... she really is..." The artist trailed off. He didn't want to say it, I didn't want to hear it. By saying that it would truly solidify the reality of this grotesque situation. Of course "he" showed up at the worst time.
"Would ya look at that?" Monokuma's irritating voice chimed in. "It finally happened! A murder! Yahoooooo!" He was unusually giddy for this reason. It made me angry that he was enthralled by something this chaotic. "Bwahahahaha!" He laughed like the villain he is.
The others began to file into the art room and looked on in absolute terror at Akemi's corpse and how Monokuma was unusually happy.
"Wh-wh-wh-whwhwhwhwh..." Miyako couldn't form a comprehensible sentence.
Akihiro and Izanagi put on Poker Faces' right away; Juku and Destiny were pissed beyond belief; and everyone else was at a loss for words to fit the situation. An announcement suddenly played almost immediately. "A body has been discovered! A body has been discovered! In a few hours the class trial will begin. You may use this time however you like."
Students Remaining: (30)
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster
Akemi Hanako - X
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer
Shigeo Kyou - Ultimate Connosseiur
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist
Yukio Yuudai - Ultimate Hero
Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. They're not technically an Ultimate if they're dead right?