"Aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Escapist?"

"And aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Pilot?!"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?!"

"I don't know! I thought we were just talking about each other's talents!"

"You fucking idiot, you know what I meant!"

"And I told you already that if I could find a way out in five seconds I would but escaping a situation that I literally know nothing about is going to take time!"

Sunrise looked at me with annoyance but backed down. Guess he finally realized that he was in the wrong!

I mean, what does he think I am? A superhuman? I just woke up in a strange place with strangers and what looks like no way out. Even the Ultimate Escapist is going to struggle getting out of this one…

Heh, I should probably introduce myself, huh? My name is Takumi Kyoshi and I am the extraordinary Ultimate Escapist…!

Just kidding, I'm not that full of myself.

I woke up in this strange place after completing a weird puzzle, found a note telling me to call myself a plant, and then ran into this guy, Sunrise or something. Apparently he's the Ultimate Pilot.

I have no idea what's going on here.

"Well look, this key I got in the incinerator room looks like it has the same design of this door right here." I say, changing the subject. "My guess is…"

"It probably opens that door, obviously." Sunrise cockily says, snatching the key from my hand. I roll my eyes but watch as he unlocks the door and we both step inside.

Inside is what looks like a normal bedroom…

Buttt, if there's anything I've learned from being an escapist, it's that everything is not what it seems! I wordlessly ignore Sunrise's complaining as I tear through the room, looking in every single nook and cranny to find…

Nothing. Not a single thing of interest other than a vial of purple liquid.

"What the heck?" I groan. "This is just a regular room."

"Yeah, I could've told you that much, dumbass." Sunrise sneers.

I frown as we begin to make our way out of the room. "Hey! Did you even stop to think why there's a bedroom in this place, on top of a kitchen and dining room? Don't you find it weird? This is like an escape room on crack or something!"

"All I know is you haven't done shit to find us a way out of here." Sunrise argues back.

"What, do you think this is easy for me? That I'm loving being stuck with you and not finding a way out of here right away?" I groan.

"I don't fucking know, alright? Aren't you supposed to be the expert, anyway?" Sunrise rolls his eyes.

"Escaping requires a lot of time, a lot of information, and a lot of items." I sigh. "It's not as easy as you think..." I add, reiterating for the 50th time.

"Ugh, whatever, you haven't helped me out at all," He shakes his head, and then raises a brow. "Hey! You two, you know the way out?"

I turn my head in surprise to see two new faces: a boy with red eyes and a boy with red eyes.

Er, I mean, a brunette boy with short hair and a short boy with long black hair in a ponytail.

They walk over to us following Sunrise's question.

"Nope, we're just as clueless as you are." The brunette boy answers. Huh. Something about him seems interesting.

"God damn it..." Sunrise mutters.

I should probably introduce myself now to ease the tension Sunrise is making…

"Hello," I smile. "My codename's Cotton, a shade of white, and I'm the Ultimate Escapist, as in escape rooms and stuff. It's nice to meet someone who doesn't have anger issues!"

"Who the hell are you saying has anger issues, you little shit?!" Sunrise yells in my ear. I ignore him.

The brunette boy awkwardly laughs. "Er, my codename is Crimson, a shade of red. I'm the Ultimate Actor if you recognize me."

"And my codename's Azure, a shade of blue!" The long black haired boy beams. "The Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast!"

Interesting, interesting…

"So an actor, and some shit called a cryptid enthusiast? So it looks like I still have the most useful talent here." Sunrise smugly smiles.

Douchebag.

"And, uh, what might that be?" Crimson asks, looking a little annoyed. I don't blame you, Crimson…

"Tch," He scoffs. "I can't tell you my name, but you're telling me you don't recognize me? I'm THE Ultimate Pilot. In this stupid ass situation, my codename is Sunrise, a shade of orange."

Geez he's really annoying…

"So, Cotton, what's in the room?" Crimson asks, turning towards me.

"I guess it's supposed to be my bedroom," I answer. "You should have a key too; from the incinerator room."

"Why do we need a room key?" Crimson questions, curiously fiddling with the key in his pocket.

I shake my head. "No idea. It's almost as if our kidnapper is setting us up in a bed and breakfast." I add, thinking about the kitchen and dining room.

Azure is also fiddling with his own key. "So, Crimson, should we check out the inside?"

"There's nothing there," Sunrise interjects.

"I think they can see for themselves, Sunrise..." I sigh, crossing my arms.

"Go fuck yourself, little shit." Sunrise too crosses his arms, giving me a threatening look.

Why the hell did we decide to investigate with each other again?

"Sure, Azure, let's go." Crimson replies. "I'll, uh, see you two around once we find an escape."

"Not if I find it first!" I smile, trying to be hopeful.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sunrise looks very uninterested.

After Crimson and Azure leave, I turn to speak to Sunrise but he immediately begins to yell at me for making him look like an idiot in front of them with my 'rudeness'...

I'm gonna get along great with this guy, aren't I…

After investigating and realizing there was no way out of this place, Sunrise and I are left with no other choice than to return to the dining room to regroup with everyone.

After that, a strange voice directs us to the announcement room where the weirdest thing I've ever experienced happened…

All of a sudden, with the flip of a light switch, a weird (but kinda cute) bear thing appears before us, sitting on a podium.

"Oops!" The bear (?) suddenly says.

Woah, and he can talk?! Just what the heck is going on here?

"Sorry you guys, I flipped the wrong switch!" The bear explains. "I meant to turn the microphone on, but I accidentally turned the lights off...How beary careless of me!"

I find myself speechless, along with everyone else. All we can do is watch and listen to the strange bear.

"Annnyyywayyyssss, I'm sure you're all feeling very eager to find out why you're on this ship!" The bear giggles.

Huh?

"Ship?" I repeat, finally finding the courage to speak up.

"That's right!" The bear nods, suddenly standing up to reveal his full, unimpressive height of 2'1". Geez, he's tiny.

"My name is Monokuma, and I am the pilot of this ship, the HFH Enterprise!" He reveals. Wait, pilot? If we're on a ship, then surely captain would be the proper term, right?

Suddenly, everyone begins spitting questions at Monokuma, who then begins to look frazzled.

"Woah, woah, woah! One at a time people! Contrary to popular belief, bears can not answer more than one question at a time while on top of a podium." Monokuma frantically holds up his arms in defense.

"Uh, I'm not sure that that's a popular belief..." Cherry remarks.

"What the hell are you?!" Sunrise asks from next to me.

"I am Monokuma!" Monokuma answers, looking angry. "I am a member of the Urisdae family, also known as BEARS! Don't you people get it already?! I'm not a teddy bear, or a robot, or a teenage girl with big boobs!"

"But you're talking..." Onyx frows. "I may not be the smartest guy out there, but I'm pretty sure bears don't usually talk..."

"Thanks to the lessons bestowed upon me by my school teacher, I've been able to talk since I was a cub," Monokuma remarks. "That's how I was able to tell my mom and dad that I bagged my school teacher!"

"You put a bag on your teacher?" Rose raises a brow.

"Uh, no, Rose..." Crimson sighs.

"Why are we in this place?" Diamond asks, finally asking something useful. "You mentioned you're a pilot of the HFH Enterprise. I fail to see any of our connection to such a ship, so why were we taken here?"

Monokuma giggles. "Oh, trust me, one of you definitely remembers the connection with the HFH Enterprise..." He ominously says. "But, you asked for an answer and you shall receive! The HFH Enterprise isn't only a ship...it's your very own brand new world!"

…HEH?

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Merigold asks, her voice a little shaky.

"It means what it means! This ship is to become your new home! Enjoy the many amenities that it offers, because it's what you'll be surrounded by for the rest of your life!" Monokuma reveals, smiling widely as he holds a claw up to his face.

"You can't keep us here forever!" Emerald protests. "We'll just find a way out!"

"Puhuhu...good luck with that!" Monokuma cackles.

"But w-why?! W-Why us?!" Cloud cries.

"Grr, I have a grudge against students of Hope's Peak, that's why!" Monokuma answers angrily. Then he giggles. "Just kidding! You're going to have to wait a teeny tiny bit longer to find out!"

"OK, this is totally not funny anymore." Royal frowns, crossing her arms.

"If this is supposed to be a ship," Azure suddenly asks. "Then where's the water? Are we on an upper deck, or something?"

Finally, someone wondering the same thing as me!

Monokuma giggles once more. "I never said it was a ship on water!"

Wait a sec…a ship not on water…but wouldn't that mean-

The wall on the right of the room suddenly started opening. It was not one wall, but rather two put together, and they slowly moved away from each other, revealing a window behind them. And the window revealed to us a sight completely out of this world.

"That's right, kiddos! Toto, I don't think we're on Earth anymore," Monokuma says, acting like he was about to faint. "We're hundreds of miles away in OUTER SPACE!"

The window showed us various, vivid celestial bodies, all twinkling with the stars. Is that Mars in the distance I see?

"Th-that's impossible!" Diamond remarks, ever so slightly flustered. "This 'ship' is nowhere near equipped for space travel."

"Oh, honey, times change and money does wonders!" Monokuma replies. "This ship is equipped with the top notch of top notch equipment! Anti-gravity, O2 cleaner than on any place on Earth, water tanks that will last hundreds of years, you name it!"

Ugh, this bear is starting to make me angry.

"But what about like waste and stuff?" I question with a frown. "Isn't that why astronauts wear diapers?"

"Not to sound like a bad Star Trek movie, but onboard the HFH Enterprise, human waste and trash are incinerated by laser beams and evaporated into O2!" Monokuma answers.

I'm pretty sure that's impossible…

This whole situation is beginning to make my heart race, and I can feel my breath quickening.

I begin to experience a state of panic. Someone telling me what to do? That I'm gonna live here forever? And that I have to go by the name of a crop?!

Unfortunately for me, when I panic, I tend to say and do things without totally thinking them through…

"Then explain this to me," I say, my mouth moving on its own. I stand up from my chair and walk over to the front of the stage. "Why do we have codenames?"

Monokuma's smile vanishes and is replaced with a neutral expression. "The reason for your codenames isn't important! Just use them!"

"Heh, really, can't offer up an answer?" I smirk. "Y'know, I doubt anything would happen if we used our actual names..."

I could see Monokuma growing visibly angry the longer I spoke. I think I'm finally getting to him!

I turn towards the other. "C'mon guys! Let's just tell each other our real names! What's this tiny ball of fur going to do?" I laugh.

"You first..." Sunrise says, rolling his eyes.

"OK then!" I nod. "My name is Tak-"

As soon as I begin to speak my name, I start to hear an odd beeping. I look down and realize it's coming from my ankle monitor.

"Huh?" I frown. The beeping was the only thing odd; otherwise I was completely A-ok!

"Um, as I was saying," I continue, projecting my voice louder. "My name is Takum-"

BEEEEEP

OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

I begin to feel the most pain I've ever felt in my entire life. It feels like acid is running through my bloodstream, burning and melting my insides. It's awful…

"C-Cotton?" Crimson calls, looking rather scared. "Are you OK, man?"

I can't speak, beginning to feel blood rising up my throat. That's when my legs give out and I find myself on the ground. And then the worst feeling ever: blood beginning to gush out of my mouth, as I begin to struggle to breathe.

"AHHHH!" Someone screams. I can hear more of them begin to scream, yell, and even cry..

I can hear Crimson rush out of his chair and kneel by my side. "Cotton! Tell me what's wrong?!"

I obviously can't answer but I point to my ankle monitor, the obvious culprit: I could feel the injection as soon as the final beep sounded off.

Crimson positions my body in a way that I won't choke on my blood and then puts his hand on my ankle to look at the monitor, which is when he probably notices the blood.

That's about when I begin to lose consciousness…I'm losing blood at such a fast rate through my mouth, plus that acid feeling was beginning to get worse.

I can't focus on what's being said anymore, and I only turn my head once I hear someone mention something about killing.

I feel...funny...this hurts so much, but...

What is this feeling? I'm dying aren't I...? So why...

...

...

...

Finally, my eyes begin to shut and I drift off into the world of unconsciousness…

…

…

…

I slowly begin to wake up, opening my eyes. I look down and I'm wearing some weird gray gown. Looking around at my surroundings, it looks like I was in a hospital room or something of the sort.

"Am I…home?" I hopefully whisper to myself.

But the sudden appearance of a certain somebody quickly dispels that thought.

"FINALLY!" Monokuma exclaims, wearing a nurses outfit as he crawls out from under my bed. "I've been waiting for you to wake up! It's been years!"

"Y-years?" I repeat with wide eyes.

Monokuma cackles. "Just kidding! It's been a few days. Your, uh, friends, are worried sick about you, you know!"

"They are?" I smile.

Monokuma nods. "Mhm…mhm…maybe now you'll think twice about doing something so utterly, stupendously, and tremendously stupid!" He adds, beginning to look quite angry with me.

Sheesh, what did I do to piss him off?

I frown. "I just wanted to tell them my name! Names are powerful things given to us by our family. Why should we be forced to hide it?"

"BECAUSE I SAID SO BITCH!" Monokuma bitch slaps me across the face.

"Ow!" I whimper, my hand moving to my cheek.

"Here, you are to go by Cotton, no questions asked! Maybe one day you can tell them your real name but for now that stays between you and ME!" Monokuma crosses his arms. "I have spent far too much time planning this thing to have your panicked self ruin it by blurting a name the others absolutely can't hear!"

"Planning? Absolutely can't hear?" I repeat with a curious expression. "Just what the heck would happen if we did hear each other's names?"

Monokuma growls. "...Just know that you WILL regret it! This just isn't for my sake, ya know. I'm trying to keep you kids from having your minds explode!"

Minds explode? I think Monokuma is being a little too dramatic.

"Well, fine." I sigh. "I'll go by Cotton. But just know that as the Ultimate Escapist, I will find out what you're hiding. And I will escape from here! That's a promise."

Monokuma laughs in my face. "AHAHAHAHA, sure, sure, keep telling yourself that, Fushi. Do you know how many people before you have said the same thing? Sure, maybe in the end they did end up getting out, but at the cost of a few lives and therapy sessions for the rest of their lives. You're no different, escapist boy!"

I smile. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting out of a bad situation with as little repercussions as possible. I'm able to do so by listening to my gut instinct. And something's telling me that Monokuma is…

"Wrong. You're wrong." I smirk. "I know I can get out of here! And everyone will be A-ok, too. It might take me a while, but I will get all of us out of this place!"

Monokuma growls again. "Why are you so STUBBORN?!" He screams, waving his paws around like a mad man. Er, bear.

I look up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment.

"Because I want to live. I've always wanted to live. I've escaped a burning building, a room filling up with water, a psych ward with a psycho killer on the loose. What drives me is my gut instinct and my desire to live! Not only that, but I want the others to live too. So I'll save them too, and we'll all go home together!

You underestimate me and everyone else. I'm smarter than you think and I think I've come to realize something…"

"Realize what?" Monokuma frowns.

I smirk. "Sorry, but that's a secret for now."

Monokuma rolls his eyes. "What-ever! I'm Monokuma and I know everything, and I know that you're just a brainless idiot who's still recovering from having your insides nearly melted! So keep quiet while I go get your medicine." He struts away, walking out of the room.

I stare down at myself once again. For now, I have to recover. And then I'll have to investigate…

And then…

…

…

…

Present Day

"I'll get out of here." I smile.

I look down at my hand, a key with a Venus design in it. I nod, closing the key in by forming a fist, and look up at my surroundings.

A messy room with weapons and tools strewn about. Exactly what I needed.

I have to do this quickly, Monokuma will definitely catch me soon.

"Where is it, where is it…" I mutter, looking around. My eyes dart around and I finally spot it, exactly where I told him to put it!

A syringe of purple liquid, labeled 'TOXIC'.

I smile, picking it up. "Toxic, huh…"

I stab it into my arm.

I feel the pain instantly, but can't help but laugh. Monokuma failed to prevent my great escape.

The effects of the poison quickly begin to take hold of my body, as I grow weaker by the minute. But I need to do this!

I need to…

…

…

…

I pick up what I need.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

And stab myself in the heart with it.

Because…

I, the boy who desperately wants to live..

…

…

…

Needs to die.

A/N: Takumi has now died three times xoxoxo love him thank you to my sister Sempiternity for making one of my favorite characters! It's been a pleasure from having him go from Prologue death to making it all the way to Chapter 4. Will this be the last time we see the Ultimate Escapist?

Tell me, did you realize what he did? :pepecurious: