Toshi cheers as you head over to her table. "That a boy, Agro!"
Dio shrugs, seemingly unconcerned by your choice, and soon his team, consisting of himself, Tadakatsu, Miyuki, Edwin, Kaori, and Sylvia, leave the cafeteria, announcing that they'll do their work in the gymnasium.
Toshi peers at her team, and you all peer back at her. "I didn't know you were all so good at magic," she says, puzzled.
"That's the thing," Aika says, drumming her hand on the table, "we're really not."
"So why join Toshi's Incredible Club of Magical Amazingness if you aren't all closeted magicians?" Toshi, incredulous, says. "That's, like, the most important requirement!"
"Well, besides Agro," Honzo says, "we all have talents that can entertain a crowd."
You roll your eyes, but one look around the table proves that he's right. Ultimates Magican, DJ, Ballet Dancer, Improvisational Actress, Puppeteer, Pageant Girl, Film Critic, and…Luck.
"A talent show," Honzo continues, "would be a great way to combine our powers and take our minds off this horrible situation. At least, that is what I think." You all seem to respond positively to this idea.
Tatiana nods approvingly. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Honzo," she says.
"Oh my god, I have to get ready!" Ichigo says quickly before running out. Yosuke runs after her, excitement shining on his face, shouting that he has to get his puppet Flopsy.
Aika looks deep in thought. "I've never acted with a puppet before…"
"I'll help transition between acts," Aimi says, her cat eyes glittering, looking more animated than usual. It isn't long before she heads for the Media Center to "prepare."
The cafeteria soon bustles with activity.
Honzo spreads a pile of DVDs out on a table. He looks at one for a moment, muttering to himself, and shaking his head, only to repeat the process with the next disc he picks. Nearby, Yosuke deftly makes "Flopsy," his wooden rabbit, prance across the table, his concentration unbroken by Aika's humorous narration. Tatiana returns in a light blue leotard, and at first you think it's a bit strange to finally see her legs, but then she puts on quiet music and begins to warm-up, and your only thoughts are of her pure talent and grace.
Toshi, watching all the burgeoning acts with you, suddenly sighs. "I guess I'll have to get used to sharing the stage with mere mortals," she says, voice low.
"Well, at least you're going to have an act," you respond. "Not much the Ultimate Luck can do, besides make a mean paper airplane."
Toshi grins, funk forgotten. "That's a pretty cool skill, Luckster," she says. "And if they boo you off the stage, you can always be my assistant to try and redeem yourself!"
"Don't a magician's assistants get cut in half?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Not always, sometimes they drown when the ol' escape-from-a-locked-and-flooded-case fails," Toshi says, elbowing you in the chest. "Relax, Agro, it was just a suggestion." She goes to prepare for her own act, looking more pleased with the talent show idea than she did before.
The rest of the morning, your group works on their acts. You decide that if all else fails, you can show everyone how to make paper airplanes and do tricks with them consistently in the air. You've been entertaining Ichigo with your airplane's flips. Tidus would get a kick out of it, too, you think, wondering where he is.
Once everyone has their routines down, you all decide the order: you will go first; followed by Tatiana; Honzo; the trio of Yosuke, Flopsy, and Aika; Ichigo's "Walk of Desire"; and Toshi's "Magical Suite No. 5" being the grand finale. You look around, and see that everyone seems happy, accomplished. You're the same, somehow, you've seen them in their elements, and they've seen you claw out your own path with nothing but pieces of paper and determination. Personal pride, but also respect, shows clearly on their faces.
You've grown a little bit closer to this small group, you realize, even in this short amount of time.
You're all in the middle of patting each other on the back for a job well done when the familiar bells sound throughout the school, and Monokuma's face appears on all the screens. You glance up at the clock, worried for a moment, but it's still only noon.
"Attention students," the bear says, sipping some orange juice, "please gather in the gymnasium for a beary special announcement. Don't dawdle!" With a cackle, Monokuma ends his little speech, leaving you all floundering in confusion, but with little choice than to do as he said.
"I wonder what happened to Pompadour's team," Aika muses, half to herself.
"Tada…Tadakatsu's with him. Nothing bad could happen to him…" Yosuke says, acquired confidence seemingly lost.
When you barge through the doors, you're relieved to see that everyone is still alive, although a few are slightly singed. Tidus waves to you, and Kanzaki lounges in the corner. Bits and pieces of something are strewn around the polished wooden floor.
Dio, brushing off his leather jacket is shouting even as you walk in. "You're trying to kill us, you bastard!"
Monokuma sits on the edge of the stage, stubby legs dangling off, cackling all the while. "I did warn you that violence against the headmaster was forbidden, did I not?"
"If this is a quibble about semantics," Sylvia says, "Dio technically didn't commit any violence against you." She pauses, searching for the right words. "He just tried to play catch with the wall…using your old body."
Monokuma pauses, considering. "Well, I'll let it slide this time. But next time," it says, leering at each and every one of you, "I won't give you a warning. You'll just be dead as a doornail, no questions asked.
"Is that understood?" You all nod vigorously, its tone too dark for any other reaction.
"Good!" Monokuma's voice was whimsical once again.
"A couple of announcements for you bastards, since you're either pestering me to let you escape or ignoring my game by creating a talent show!" A few questioning glances from the other group follow this announcement, but they don't say anything.
"First," Monokuma begins, "welcome your very first trash collector: Tidus Hayabusa! He gets his very own key to the trash room!" No applause, of course, but Tidus just grins sheepishly as you raise an eyebrow. "I would tell you to make his job as easy and orderly as possible, but I know how you teenagers get! So messy! Oh, there's been another School Rule added, too!" It cackles as you all check your Student Handbooks, and sure enough, there was another rule: The students must keep the trash key on them at all times. No losing it or putting it down somewhere!
Pretty strange rule, you think.
"Is that seriously what you wanted to tell us?" Miyuki says, barging into the conversation.
Monokuma continues as if it hadn't been interrupted. "Second, I can't help noticing that there's still sixteen of you left! 'Why is this,' I wondered to myself, but then I realized!"
Its cackle was long and piercing. "You don't have a motive to kill each other! I'm so sorry for forgetting that important detail!"
Tadakatsu steps forward, as if protecting the rest of you. "If you think a measly motive will magically turn one of us into a murderer, you've got another thing coming!"
"Unexepected alliteration from the cadet, color me surprised," Aika says, smirking despite the situation.
Monokuma hoists itself up. "You all keep saying that, but you have no idea what humans are capable of." It suddenly throws a bunch of papers into the air, and cackles as they fall like diseased confetti to the floor. "Feast your eyes on your motive, you bastards: The Bombed-Out Motive! Enjoy...but not too much..."
You reach for a slip of paper near you, and you notice many doing the same. It's white on one side, but after you turn it over you realize it's not a simple white piece of paper at all, but a photo: a…sexually explicit photo, of yourself and Tatiana.
A photo that couldn't possible be real, and yet here it was, in your hand.
Cries of shock erupt from nearly everyone. The scene is, once more, collectively chaos.
"What the hell is this, Monokuma," Miyuki cries out, ripping her photo in half. "This photo's a lie!"
Dio rips up his own photo. "This is crazy, totally bullshit."
Rage has even infected Tatiana, a perfect picture of fury. "How dare you lie like that, you mean bear!" she shouts above the din, her small voice struggling to be heard.
Monokuma cackles, and waits for the fury to subside slightly before it begins to speak. "If one of you doesn't kill someone within the next twenty-four hours, I'll upload every single one of these sexy photos to the Internet, where they'll be seen by everyone." Its gaze sweeps the room. "Never mind about your careers, all of your lives will be ruined!"
Tadakatsu opens his mouth to speak, but Monokuma doesn't give him a chance. "And if you think people can tell that these obviously are fakes…newsflash: humans are despairingly idiotic!"
The bear lets you all stew on that knowledge for a moment, admiring its handiwork. "Well, my work here is done. Remember, you've got until noon tomorrow, or all of your dreams will be crushed!
"Have fun at the talent show tonight," it quips before vanishing, leaving the sixteen of you alone in the gymnasium.
As if in a daze, everyone begins to leave the gymnasium, a few rip up photos, while most just throw ones they were holding on the floor. It takes only a look to realize that these photos disturb everyone in the group. People leave separately, alone. You feel weird, nauseous and angry, as you stare at the photo you, the unreal you. You feel violated, somehow. Your fingers flex unconsciously.