Chapter 1: Accidents Happen

You stand up from your chair, five pairs of eyes on you. You look at Tidus, and grin. "Come on, we've only got an hour. Let's see what sorts of trouble we can get into."

Tidus scrambles to his feet. "Thanks, I'd thought you'd never ask." He casts a sidelong glance at your Frisbee, but quickly follows. You can always play catch later. While it might have done some good to take your minds off of the situation for a while, you and Tidus both realize that confronting the situation will help more right now. The other four stay where they were. You swear you even saw Kanzaki yawn right before the door closed behind you.

You both dismiss the trophy room as containing anything relevant to escaping after a quick glance around, and move on.

"Where do you think we should start looking?" Tidus asks. He tests the shutters blocking the nearby staircase, but try as he might, he can' t get them to budge.

You shrug. "Everywhere?"

Tidus flashes you a grin. "That sounds perfect to me! I need to keep moving around." He chuckles weakly, running a hand through his red hair. "Mom thought I was a demon growing up."

You chuckle, nodding in complete sympathy. "My mom thought the same."

Bathrooms are nearby, but besides the odd fish tank, they contain nothing out of the ordinary. At least, the boy's bathroom was normal, but you were afraid of what Monokuma would do to you if you opened its companion.

"He'd probably blow us up," Tidus says, shivering.

After your thorough investigation in the bathroom, you see Edwin and Tatiana standing outside pink doors with hearts on them. Edwin shakes his head and says something to her you can't quite hear, and then notices you. He clears his throat. "I thought the infirmary would help. It's locked."

You and Tidus try the doors as well, straining with all your might, but the doors don't budge.

"It's a shame," you say. You glance at Tatiana. "You feeling all right?"

Tatiana nods quickly. "Sorry, fine," she says, quietly. "It was a bit much…for a moment."

Edwin adjusts his glasses, and clears his throat again. "Tatiana, you should rest. Come with me to the cafeteria." He offers her his arm, and she accepts it slowly, nervously.

Tidus watches the strange pair go, and then kicks the pink doors ruefully. "For all the bear said about giving us free rein of the school, a lot of things are blocked off."

You nod, thinking the same thing. "It's definitely weird."

The pair of you discovered that Dio and Ichigo were investigating the entrance hall. "Hey guys," you call out, "find anything yet?"

Dio punches the metal hatch, obviously frustrated and tired. "I've been trying to get this damn thing open, but no dice." He exhales. "How about you?"

"Nothing," Tidus says, shaking his head. "But we did find a fish tank in the bathroom."

Dio rolls his eyes and stalks out, muttering that he'd be in the cafeteria.

Ichigo smiles wide, gesturing to the mailbox on the table next to her. "Not much in here, but I found something interesting!"

You go nearer, and stare into the mailbox. So close to Ichigo, you smell a faint hint of strawberries. "It doesn't have anything in it, Ichigo…"

She's unfazed, tapping her long pink fingernails on the table. "Well, yeah, obviously, but this random mailbox is important, I know it is!"

"You waiting for fan mail?" Tidus quips.

Ichigo winks. "Oh, I'm waiting for a certain type of letter…" She walks away, giggling. "Bye, boys…"

You couldn't help but stare. That strut is definitely worthy of the Ultimate Pageant Girl…

Tidus breaks you out of your reverie. "Doesn't look like there's much here," he says, looking around. You quickly see that he's right. Besides the hatch and the mailbox, there isn't much here that could help with your escape, unless the welcome bulletin boards somehow held the key. You doubted that.

When you take a second glance at the hatch, however, you notice something you hadn't before, right next to the distracting blue light that rings your prison's defense. "Hey, what's the panel?"

Tidus walks over to it, and shrugs. "Looks just like a normal, everyday keypad. We'll probably need some sort of numbered code to get out of here, I guess." He looks at you, and smiles. "Pretty useless at the moment."

"Maybe…" you say. Perhaps what you needed to look for was some type of code, and not an escape route? You hadn't seen anything like that, though, and the two of you leave the entrance hall soon after the keypad's discovery. Across the hall was a pair of bright orange doors.

"Hope's Peak Academy really can't decide on a color scheme, can they?" Tidus asks, trying the handle. He shakes his head. "No good. Locked again."

You notice a small screen near the frame, and a sudden wave of inspiration hits you. You get out your Student Handbook and hold it to the screen, and the two of you hear a faint click. Tidus now has no problem pushing open the door, a look of amazement on his face. "Agro, you're a genius!"

Behind the door was a large carpeted exercise room. Treadmills lined the far wall, and Hope's Peak hosted rows and rows of various machines, suited for many diverse workouts. You noticed more bathrooms, conveniently placed, along with multiple drinking fountains. Stacks of large, heavy weights littered the room. All in all, like the gymnasium, the room was much nicer than what you were subjected to at your other school.

"I bet Dio and Tadakatsu will be happy with this discovery," you say, turning to Tidus. He doesn't look too interested in the room's haul. "You don't look too happy, man."

Tidus shakes his head. "Nah, exercising has never been my thing. Plus, I was kind of expecting secret treasure of some sort."

You nod, understanding. "Well, if you ever want to, I'd be glad to help you out."

He smiles, and begins to say something, but his words are cut off by Monokuma's cackle. You both visibly jump: the laughing bear had materialized out of nowhere next to you. "Hello, you two! Enjoying the new exercise room? It used to be a boring old shop that sold trinkets, so I improved it!" It sighed dreamily. "Just think, so many possible weapons you could use to kill someone…"

"Oh, get out of here," you say, trying to be intimidating and, probably, failing.

Monokuma slouched over, feigning sadness. "And this is what I get for caring about the health of today's youth. You both are so ungrateful I won't even tell you you're almost late for your meeting in the cafeteria!"

You and Tidus glance at each other in alarm, but then Tidus's brow furrows. "Wait a minute, it hasn't been an hour yet."

"Oh yeah," Monokuma cackles, "I forgot, bears can't tell time! Have a beary good search, best of luck, sayonara!" It's gone as quickly as it came, but its laugh rings in your ears. The two of you had enough of the exercise room after that.

The cassette tape door to the "Media Center" was now open, you realize, and the pair of you head in. A large screen dominates one wall of the room, and speakers dot the walls. There are many smaller screens in the room, all accompanied with a slot to insert discs if one so chose.

Tidus sat in one of the many computer chairs, and immediately began spinning, faster and faster, becoming an indistinct blur of red and blue. You couldn't help laughing at the spectacle.

"Could you not do that? It is distracting."

You turn in the direction the voice came from, and discover Honzo in his own computer chair in the corner. You didn't notice him when you came in, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The Ultimate Film Critic would probably feel right at home in a room like this…

Tidus slowly stops spinning, looking more than a little dejected. "Sorry."

Honzo nods, seeming content. "I would not usually care what you choose to do with your time, but when I am trying to figure something out, distractions are something I cannot tolerate." He glances at his watch. "So, nearly time to meet up, then." He stands, straightening his suit coat. "Would you care to accompany me, or not? Either way, there is only a few minutes left."

You glance at Tidus, who shrugs, and back to Honzo's orange glasses. "We'll pass. See you there."

When Honzo leaves, Tidus immediately begins spinning again. "Looks like we know to not invite him on our fun misadventures!" he calls, the constant movement distorting his voice.

"He's got a point, though. We should probably cut this one short."

Tidus stops again, and gingerly stands. "Yeah, I hear you." The two of you head out again, with one destination in mind: the cafeteria. You hoped that the others had more luck than you did in their own searches, but you doubted it.

"I'll miss you, spinning computer chair," Tidus calls back he closes the Media Room's door.

It took the two of you a bit of time to find the cafeteria, but as it turned out there was a passageway that lead to "Hotel Despair." At the end of this passage was an entirely new area, but one you didn't have time to explore now. The cafeteria door was plainly marked with a blue display of cutlery, and you hurried in.

The first thing you realize is that the cafeteria boasts red tiles, and that there are many tables, some small and circular and one a much larger rectangle. The second thing you realize is there are windows that aren't covered up with iron plating, although the view outside, a few trees and the school's gray walls, doesn't help your situation. The third thing you realize is that everyone else is already there, sitting, waiting, and staring at the two of you.

You and Tidus grab the last empty seats at the large table.

Tadakatsu claps his hands together. "With our stragglers here, we can begin!" His red eyes rove around. "Did anyone find a way out of here?"

A pause. "Well," Toshi starts, "I was definitely going to find a way out of here, but I didn't even get to leave the gym!" Confused glances follow that statement. "Mr. Bear locked some of us in, and forced us to do…Monokuma Tai Chi," she says, spitting out the name of the exercise regimen like a poison.

"That's right," Sylvia says, nodding wearily. "We were there until only a few minutes ago, as most of you know."

Aimi seems to have worn her punishment better than the others, her cat's eyes are bright and alert, but crumpled Kanzaki looks miserable in his seat, utterly drained. You feel a certain amount of satisfaction at his fate.

"Looks like we made a good call to leave when we did, partner," Tidus says, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. You nod. Monokuma Tai Chi did not sound like a fun way to spend an hour.

Edwin, Tatiana, Dio, Ichigo, and Honzo all reported their findings to the group, things you were already aware of. In their investigations, none of them had discovered a way out.

"There's a keypad near the hatch," you say. "Maybe we're supposed to look for a code?"

Tadakatsu smiled wide. "Has anyone seen this code?" he asked, looking around frantically.

Silence.

"We'll all keep a look out," Tidus said, grinning. "There certainly wasn't a code in the exercise room."

"I opened all the doors that could open," Miyuki called out from the far end, "and I didn't see an exercise room. Where was it?"

"The orange doors won't open unless you hold your Student Handbook up to the small screen," you explain quickly. "It's a pretty nice room, though."

She flashed a small grin your way. "Thanks for the info, I'll have to check it out."

Kaori was next to report. "Monokuma talked to Yosuke and me when we were investigating the dorms. We've each got our own rooms, clearly marked."

"Dio might appreciate Monokuma's choice in labels," Aika says, a smirk on her face.

Dio, of course, took the bait. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Yosuke puts a bundle of keys on the table, forestalling an argument. "There's one for everyone."

Talk stops for a moment as you all grab your specific key. As you put the key with your name on it into your pocket, you briefly wonder what your room looks like.

"Besides finding the laundry room, I too must admit defeat," Tadakatsu says quietly after a moment. "No one found a way out. We're stuck here for the time being."

Stuck. The word sounds strange coming from Tadakatsu, who was so confident only a little while before. That single word sent a chill through the entire room.

Bells filled the silence, and soon Monokuma's face filled every screen and its whimsical voice flowed out of the intercom. "The time is now 10:00 pm. "Nighttime" is now in effect. The cafeteria is now off-limits, and the door will be locked momentarily. I wish you all a good night. Sweet dreams…"

You all glance up at the clock. It read just as Monokuma said, but that didn't make sense.

"I thought it was ten in the morning!" you say.

"We all did," Tadakatsu says. "We thought it was morning, when really…"

"That explains why I'm so damn tired," Kanzaki says, head on the table.

"What…does that mean?" Yosuke asks, a tremor of fear in his voice.

Aika stands up and begins to walk to the door. "It means that we were asleep for a lot longer than we thought." She pauses at the threshold. "Good night."

The rest of you don't move for a moment, but remember Monokuma's words on the intercom and hurriedly follow her out. No one wants to find out what happens when they break a rule.

The group breaks off shortly thereafter, promising to meet for breakfast at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Nearly everyone heads to the hallway lit with blood red lights, anxious to find their own room and sleep. You muse that perhaps they think they'll wake up and realize this "School Life" was just a terrible dream.

Soon, it's only just Tidus and you standing there. "Hey, he says, "I know you're probably tired, but do you want to go throw the Frisbee around, just for a little bit?" He looks away. "I don't mean to pressure you or anything, dude."

He's right, you are tired; today has been a whirlwind of strange events that have left you exhausted. You too want to sleep, but you did tell Tidus you'd throw the Frisbee around with him. You pause, considering.