And then the familiar tolls of the morning bells reverberated throughout the school, causing everyone to tense slightly despite themselves, and a screen on one of the walls, which you hadn't noticed before, flickered to life. At first there was only static, but soon a faint outline of something appeared. For a moment, all any of you could hear was the sound of static, but then a voice, a lighthearted, whimsical voice, came over the school's intercom. As it spoke, it gradually filled you with a sense of discomfort.

"Mic check, mic check! Attention all new students...I would now like to hold an entrance ceremony…so please assemble in the gymnasium—immediately. Catch you later!"

As quick as the broadcast ended, it seemed, it was over. The sixteen of you were seemingly alone once again.

Kanzaki strolled away, whistling as he went. "You heard the boss. I'll be at the gym." He waved a hand. "Later."

Kaori looked uncertainly at the rest of you, but followed him. "We've got to check this out, at least!"

Others followed her in quick succession: Ichigo skipped away, Aimi left silently, Dio swore and stalked out, Honzo rubbed his chin as he went.

Tadakatsu was comforting Yosuke, who was trembling. "Chin up, Puppeteer. This is just how they do things at Hope's Peak. We're going to be fine."

Yosuke sniffled, adjusting his hat. "You mean it?"

Tadakatsu nodded, and the pair left began to leave, and almost everyone else followed. You don't move yet, however, but instead glance over at Tidus, the last one to move for the door. He looked a bit shocked.

You wave a hand in front of his face. "Hey man, you doing all right?"

Tidus jumped a little, but he nodded. "Thanks. I-I'm all right." His gaze moved to your Frisbee again. "I, uh, noticed you brought a Frisbee with you…you want to play catch later?" He seems unsure of himself, and something tells you this isn't something he does very often. Sigma, alone in a corner, flashes through you mind.

You nod. "Sure. C'mon, we're going to be late."

The two of you follow the others and walk together mostly in silence.

Tidus kept muttering under his breath as you walked, and you were going to ask him to either spit it out or stop when a question blurted from his mouth just as you began to walk under yellow lights instead of green. "You think we're safe going to the gym?" His voice was still slightly shaky.

You nod, after a moment's consideration, and the two of you round the corner, passing a blocked-off staircase. A plain wooden door was nearby, clearly marked to be the door to the gymnasium. Everyone else was inside already. You turn the handle, take a deep breath, and step inside, Tidus nearly bumping into you in his haste.

Well, it wasn't quite the gymnasium proper, but a magnificent trophy room. It was different from all the other rooms so far. Gone were the cold, checkered tiles, and in its place were wood floorboards, a red carpet, and warm lighting. Hope's Peak banners lined the ceiling, flushed red with victory, and multiple display cases lined the walls, packed with golden trophies of every shape and size. Not everyone had rushed past this sight. Miyuki stood staring wordlessly at one trophy in particular, and surprisingly Dio stood by as well. He notices the two of you staring, but he doesn't move. He seemed to be in a better mood than a few minutes ago.

"You two," he calls, waving you ahead, "the others went inside. Go on, already."

Trophies never interested you much, considering you were never the one in the family earning them. You look at Tidus, and you both shrug and continue on. Maybe it's just the light, but your traveling partner looks a little bit better. The last things you notice as you follow the red carpet and leave to meet the rest of the group was another screen above the door and another security camera mounted firmly to the ceiling. It sours the room a little bit, you think.

The gym was exactly what you'd expect of a place like Hope's Peak Academy. Large and clean, which were two words that did not describe your last school's gym. Quite the opposite, really. You went to join the others, who were standing around the group of chairs next to the stage. There was nobody on stage. Nobody besides you Ultimates were here. Why did that voice ask you to come here?

Ichigo spoke up first, hands on her hips. "I don't get it. Why the no-show?"

Aimi sat in one of the chairs. "It's a little strange…"

Toshi sat in a neighboring chair, examining her closely, but trying not to look into her eyes. "Do your eyes see through walls?" Aimi did not respond.

Edwin began to walk up the stairs as Dio and Miyuki, the last two, entered. "I will get to the bottom of this."

"Hold on, don't you dare go up there!"

Edwin stopped at the voice's insistence, and reconsidered, deciding to take a seat. The voice spoke again. "All of you, take a seat as well! I won't begin until you're beary comfortable!"

"Beary?" Aika muttered, her head in her gloved hands. Tatiana giggled.

Once all of you were seated, the lights dimmed, and a lone spotlight shone on the empty stage. And then, all of the sudden, it was not empty anymore, for a large teddy bear, split white and black down the middle, with a grin that was both cuddly and terrifying, jumped up onto the podium!

"Hiya!" the bear said. "I'm Monokuma, your headmaster!"

You had no words at this moment. Neither did anyone else, for that matter, for how could any human, even an Ultimate, contemplate what had just happened? A bear was talking. Not only was it talking, but also it just proclaimed itself the headmaster. What on earth was going on here?

Tidus jumped up, knocking away his chair. "The bear…what?"

Tadakatsu put forth a reasonable suggestion. "Relax, classmates, for it is not an actual talking bear. In the military, there are similar technologies used all the time, speakers and such—"

The bear turned a little to the right, the black side of his face, the horrible side of his face with the toothy grin and evil red marking now being fully displayed. The cuddly side of his face was discarded, unimportant. Ichigo screamed.

"Another remark like that, Tadakatsu Yamamoto, and I won't be very happy."

Silence. A slight shift, and the bear was again both cuddly and terrifying. "As I was saying, I'm not a teddy bear or the military's pet project! I'm Monokuma, and your headmaster, and I would love it so beary much if you stop trying to shatter my dreams!"

More silence. The bear sniffed. "Thank you. Quiet in the audience is so much appreciated. Rise, bow, good morning! All of these things at once and none at all, because who knows what time it is with all those pesky windows blocking out the outside world…" The bear laughed, filling in the imposed silence. You were afraid, like everyone else, just what he would do if you spoke up.

The laughter soon stopped, and the bear hopped from the podium to begin pacing the length of the stage. "Now, to business: you guys are to carry out your lives together here within the academy walls!" A delicious pause, and then it spoke one word.

"Indefinitely!"

Chaos.

Her hands balled into fists, Miyuki could not control herself any longer. "You can't keep us here, bear!"

Dio nodded and stood up, grinning, confidence back. "Yeah, we'll just take you apart!"

Tatiana's voice wavered up. "Is this what the school wants?"

Yosuke looked down at the ground. "Our…whole lives…"

Everyone else looked shocked. You were sure you did too. If the bear had its way, you were never going to see your mom or friends again…

The bear just chuckled from its throne. "Well," it began, "that's not quite true. I mean, there is a way to get out of here, a special system put in place thanks to the one and only Monokuma!"

Sixteen teens were waiting on bated breath.

"Graduation! My system is built on order absolute, but if someone were to destroy that order, by a little thing called murder, only they would be allowed to leave!"

Aika was the next to stand up amidst the gasps. "Hey, 'Beary,' what do you mean by murder?"

The bear giggled. "Anything your depraved little heads can come up with. The important thing is…you can't get out unless you kill someone. Kill to your heart's content!"

Everyone was silent, grappling with his or her own disbelief, anger, or a combination of the two. You were no exception.

Monokuma watched with glee. "Oh, and don't bother attacking me. It won't do you any good…and it will only lead to you being punished. Oh, but you won't know what not to do until I've given you these, huh?" As if on cue, the lights came back on again. Suddenly, the bear threw something at each of you. You caught yours without a problem, and looked at it. It was some kind of electronic tablet.

"This is your Student Handbook!" Monokuma called out proudly. "It displays your name, and it won't break! But more importantly, it has a list of the school rules. Make sure you read them carefully, or you'll regret it: breaking the rules is not permitted under any circumstance!"

The bear sighed, suddenly sad. "I think that's the end of our little ceremony…I'll see you all again really beary soon…" And then you faced an empty stage.

"Hey, Agro, check it out."

You turn to Tidus, who's glancing down at his Student Handbook, the screen aglow. He took a deep breath, running a hand through his red hair. "The bear was right—there are rules to follow."

You check your own handbook, and it's easy to find what Tidus was talking about.

Under "School Rules" there are currently seven entries.

Rule One: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.

Rule Two: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

Rule Three: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.

Rule Four: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.

Rule Five: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of the surveillance cameras.

Rule Six: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.

Rule Seven: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.

They were…terrible rules.

Dio threw his student handbook across the gym, roaring in anger. It clattered on the gym floor.

Honzo said, "If you were looking to break it, I am afraid you will always be disappointed. Do you remember what Monokuma said?"

When Dio snorted, his hair wobbled. "I don't give a fuck about what that bear said!"

"You'll probably die, you know," Aika butted in.

"Listen, I—"

Tadakatsu cut Dio off. "Stop fighting! We must search for a way out. There are sixteen of us, so if we split up and explore we should be able to find a way out! We'll meet in the cafeteria in an hour!"

The sixteen of you began to splinter off into smaller groups and leave the gym. Tadakatsu, trailed by Yosuke, Honzo, and Kaori, left first. Dio muttered to himself as he grabbed his handbook, and left when Ichigo, Aika, and Miyuki did. Edwin was murmuring to Tatiana, who looked close to fainting, and took her by the arm and gently led her out. You stayed where you were for the moment. There was only you, Kanzaki, Tidus, Toshi, Aimi, and Sylvia left in the gym. Most of them, it seemed, had no intention of leaving yet. You saw, out of the corner of your eye, that Tidus was getting jittery, and glancing at your Frisbee.

You had an hour. There were other groups exploring, and you'd promised Tidus you'd throw the Frisbee with him. It might take your minds off the horror of your situation for a moment. On the other hand, you saw the value in exploring the school, too.

What do you do? Whatever you choose, it seems like it's the beginning of your life at Hope's Peak Academy…