Chapter 1: The Woodland King Comes

For a while, all the students only looked at one another, dazed at the recent turn of events. It was simply unbelievable that all eighteen of them were now a killing game's players, the mistrust and wariness rising and thickening the room's atmosphere. It was only when Sorao suggested that they check the rules in their Monopads that the room seemed to lighten up, albeit ever so slightly. The killing game's rules were:

1. The breach of any rule listed here results in death as punishment.

2. Violence against Captain Monokuma is forbidden, as is damage of the amusement park's surveillance cameras.

3. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some restrictions may apply during then.

4. Students may explore the amusement park with few restrictions.

5. Students may not willfully and knowingly throw anything into the sea.

6. Once a killing is done, a class trial to determine the killer (hereinafter the "blackened") is held.

7. If the blackened is caught during the class trial, only the blackened is punished. If the blackened is not exposed, however, all the students but the blackened are punished.

8. A body discovery announcement plays if three or more students (except the blackened) have discovered the body.

9. If two different killings by two different killers happen in the same time period, only the killer of the earlier death is deemed the blackened.

10. Captain Monokuma may not participate in a murder.

11. Captain Monokuma may not harm a student unless the student has broken a rule.

12. Only when the amusement park reaches its destination does the killing game end.

13. Captain Monokuma may add additional rules at any time.

"This… is unbelievable…" Masashi mumbled.

"Th-This is no game!" Kumi said, already shaking. It did not surprise Masashi to see the childish storyteller not taking this well. "H-How can killing be a game?! I… I want to go home!"

"Well, too bad for you, but there's no fucking way to do so," Abraham answered, though he looked a bit uneasy; even someone like him would naturally be bothered by this. "And even if you don't want to play it, it doesn't change the fact that we're all now players."

"Hah! No way I'm gonna do what that stupid bear says!" Sayua yelled. "Class trial? What kind of garbage does he expect me to follow?"

"But if you disobey him, you'll have broken one of the rules," Sorao pointed out. "And, you know, I don't think any of us will doubt that he'll kill you. We all know what happened earlier, thanks to a certain someone."

"I-I've already said I'm sorry!" Arashi protested.

"Well, don't let it bother you," Sister Hikari said gently. "It's all in the past now."

Arashi showed a slight smile. "I… I'll try!"

"Still, right now, you are too reckless and careless not to pose a danger to us," Futaba said, giving him a disapproving look. "I think it best that you watch yourself and be more thoughtful of those around you. In fact, I'm surprised that no one has made you behave yourself."

"Wh-What have you just said?!" Arashi yelled.

Futaba let out a tired sigh. "What I'm saying is that if you don't want to be killed, then you had better be on your best behavior. It's that simple."

"Yes, I do agree," Maiha said, showing a smug smile. "But then again, I'm not surprised if he doesn't listen. He's such a witless commoner that I can foresee his being one of the early victims."

"T-Take that back!" Arashi screeched. "Take that back now!"

Maiha widened her smile. "All right, then. You'll be the first victim instead."

"How could you say such a thing?" Tanjiro asked, who himself looked quite bothered by the recent turn of events. "Can't you hear yourself?"

"What, don't tell me that you're not thinking it, too," Maiha said, crossing her arms. "Recklessness is a drawback in the killing game, after all."

"But the way you said it…" Tanjiro said. "You sounded certain about it. Too certain."

Haruyuki let out a chuckle. "Are you suspecting that she already plans to kill him?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. It was a rather obvious prediction," Maiha said. "And it looks like you too are already thinking about it!"

Haruyuki shook his head. "No… I'm rather skeptical of this whole thing. A killing game is rather interesting as a concept, but in truth, what I've seen so far is rather unbelievable."

"Y-Yeah!" Red Mask let out a laugh, albeit one full of nervousness. "This whole killing game has to be a joke! It has to be a prank, even if it's one that's gone too far!"

"Right! A killing game's something you only see in films and stuff!" Faye added. "It's a dramatic, fearsome, and heart-stopping thing that belongs only to fiction!"

Atsushi scowled. "Fiction, quotha! Why will you fools not admit that this is real?"

"Well, this is off to a fucking good start," Abraham remarked dryly. "A few minutes in, and a few of us are already arguing. How marvelous."

However foul-mouthed and standoffish he might be, Abraham had a point; even though all of them knew the situation's awfulness, a few of them had already started bickering rather than think of a plan to go against what Monokuma had in mind for them.

No… No, this is only natural, Masashi thought. Being told that we're in a killing game naturally makes us think in the killing game's terms. But...

"I'm not worried," Masashi said. "I… I don't think that any of us will kill."

Atsushi looked askance at him. "What makes you think so? Are you not at all aware of the circumstances wherein we have been put?"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Then whence is your confidence that this will end without any deaths?"

"I simply think that killing someone is an incredibly hard thing to do," Masashi answered. "I don't deny that this does look pretty bad, and there are a few temptations to make us kill, but in the end, I'm confident that things will work out. It's easy to think about killing, but if it ever came down to it, we'd think twice about it and see how wrong it is."

As Atsushi widened his snarl, a few of the other students gazed at him and Masashi, wondering at what they had said.

"Egad… What a fool you are," Atsushi said pitifully.

"Well, if he's a fool, then so am I."

Everyone gazed at the voice's root, which was none other than Murphy, who looked quite unbothered by this.

"This whole killing game's nothing to worry about," Murphy said. "I'm certain that this is nothing more than a prank done by some hooligans who wanted to get back at us Ultimates."

"Some hooligans? Are you mad?" Atsushi asked, disgusted. "Do you think that this whole thing has been done by some knaves who had no other means of mirth?"

Murphy, however, looked no less sure of his conclusion. "Yes, and I bet you that if we do nothing throughout this 'killing game', it'll all fall apart, and they'll let us go sooner or later."

"Then you ought to demonstrate for us," Atsushi replied. "Break a rule. See whether they truly mean it."

Murphy sighed. "Even if I do not believe in this whole sham, that does not mean that I should be wantonly breaking their rules. I suggest that we do nothing. Even if they truly aren't playing around, they still can't do anything bad against us if there's no ground for it."

A few of the others began to look more and more agreeing with what the Irishman had said. Masashi was, of course, glad that someone else also thought that things would turn out all right, even though he was not so sure as Murphy that this was a joke; this whole thing seemed too well designed and complicated to be a mere joke. The archaeologist, nonetheless, looked none too pleased, his right hand clenched into a fist.

"You who think likewise will regret it," Atsushi said a bit menacingly. "The killing game will go on, whether you admit it or not. And once the first body pops up, you will rue this. Now, if you will excuse me..."

"And where do you think you're going?" Abraham asked once Atsushi headed toward the exit.

"Back to the room wherein I awakened," Atsushi answered, not even bothering to face the rest of them. "Earlier, I found a keycard in my pockets, and I saw that each of our doors had a lock. Naturally, it makes our rooms the safest place to be in."

It was then that Masashi saw that not once had he checked his pants' pockets ever since he had found himself in this strange place. Indeed, in his pockets was a white keycard that had his name on it. Now that he thought about it, the bedrooms' doors from the outside had key readers and the students' pixelated portraits, so it was clear that those were their bedrooms.

"Shouldn't someone stop him or something?" Sorao asked once Atsushi was gone.

"No, it's quite obvious that he's become a bit agitated about all this," Futaba answered. "But I assure you that after a while, he will come to his senses and rejoin us. In the meantime, we ought to do something else."

"What do you have in mind?" Sister Hikari asked.

"It's obvious, really," Futaba said. "The mastermind to all this may have slipped up somewhere and left behind a way for us to leave this place. I suggest that each of you start looking around, perhaps in groups."

"Uh, all right, then," Tanjiro said. "Then when and where shall we meet up?"

"Let us come back here around 7 o'clock. The clock says that it is 1 o'clock right now," Futaba answered. "You're free to do whatever you want, but if you want to truly help, then you ought not to slack off and instead work to find a way out."

Though Futaba could have said the last part less condescendingly, she had made a good point; maybe there was something that the mastermind had overlooked, and if luck were on his side—he still doubted whether he was truly a lucky student—then they might find a way to escape this horrible nightmare.

"Now, then, I shall see you later," Futaba said. "I have an investigation to conduct."

She left the room, leaving the sixteen of them here.

"I have no business with you commoners," Maiha said. "I too shall conduct my own investigation."

She too left the room, though no one appeared particularly sad at her absence; she must have come off as unbelievably haughty to the rest of them as well.

"I-I'm going back to my room," Hikari said, looking none too happy. "I-If you ask me, the archaeologist has the right idea. I-I'm not safe out here with you."

"I'll just go look around for more pixies!" Kumi said, who still appeared to be quite troubled at this game's nature. "Maybe with their magic, they'll help us escape!"

Arashi gasped, eyes glinting. "They will?!"

Abraham sighed, crossing his arms as he looked disapprovingly at him. "Don't tell me that you believe in all that pixie hogwash."

"N-No!" Arashi answered, looking away from him. "I-I was only surprised to hear that coming from him, that's all! I-I'm not interested in finding any pixies and whatever!"

It was a bit cute to see the pyrotechnician in denial over his belief in fairies, but on a more serious note, Masashi thought that now was not the time to go playing around. But on the other hand, there was a lot of time to kill before they should meet up again, and having a few people not do anything productive should not hinder them too much.

Hmm… Which one of them should I look around with? Masashi thought, looking at each of them. Well, it should be someone I can get along well with, that's for sure.

"Hey, Masashi, look around the place with me, will you?"

To his surprise, it was none other than Sayua, who seemed to have become bored, even though she had denied at first that they were all in a killing game.

"Uh, sure," Masashi answered. She was not exactly his top choice, given her vainness and rough attitude, but he now wondered why Sayua wanted to hang out with him; as far as he was concerned, he was no one special, and in fact, Sayua had made fun of him because of his newly given talent. Even though he preferred someone like Mari or Faye, at the very least, she was not Maiha, who he knew would constantly call him a commoner.

Masashi followed Sayua out of the room, and the two headed to the third deck's playroom, in which he had first met Haruyuki. The room seemed unchanged, the woodland decorations still set where they had been earlier.

Sayua then sat on a nearby stump. "Well, what are you waiting for? Start looking around for a way to get out of here! That's my bidding, and you have to do it now!"

She had said the last part as if it were part of a chant. It made some sense; she was a cheerleader, after all, even though he did not feel rather livened up.

"Uh, why?" he said, bewildered.

"You're a member of my fan club, aren't you?" she said, sounding truly surprised. "You agreed to join it when we first met!"

I'm pretty sure I didn't agree to anything like that, Masashi thought. In any case, he thought to keep his mouth shut here; he had a feeling that it was best to stay on her side if he wanted her not to give him any heartache.

"Speaking of that, how many people are in your 'fan club', anyway?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

"You think I can answer that?" Sayua said, smirking. "Let me tell you, lots of people adore me so much that they call me a star fallen from the heavens."

Masashi was sure that she was simply overblowing it, but a bit of flattery never hurt.

"Wow, so you want to make everyone your fan, huh?"

Sayua let out a scoff. "Of course not. What do you take me for, someone with low standards?"

"Huh?" Masashi thought that she was someone who was self-centered and thus would adore being in everyone's focus.

"I'm not one of those girls that want to befriend everyone, you know," Sayua answered, fiddling with a fringe of her strawberry blond hair. "When you put it that way, you make me look like some kind of lameass girl who's desperate for friends. No, I actually have standards for who gets to be in my fan club."

"Then what makes me worthy to be a fan?"

"You?" Sayua rubbed her chin, thinking. "Well, if I had to say, I'd think you're someone who likes to listen to others."

"I do?" Masashi said.

"Yeah, that's why I even told you to come with me," Sayua said. "You give off that vibe, you know. And don't be ashamed of it! What you have is a good quality, if you ask me."

"Oh, I see…"

Masashi then went back to looking around the playroom, noticing that Sayua was keeping a keen eye on him. It was not too surprising that he had ended up having to do all the work here; given her vainness, Sayua struck him as someone who would have others do the work whenever she could. But from what he could tell, it was not so much that she was lazy as it was that she wanted to be the one who told others what to do. Still, that did not explain the rough attitude, which he thought was counterproductive for her purpose; if she wanted others to listen to her, then would it not be better to be kind instead?

After a while, Masashi stopped, having found nothing noteworthy. It was rather disheartening, given that he had expected that there would be some mistake that the mastermind had made, something that would end this wretched nightmare. Even when they left the playroom and checked the garden, the shop, and the lounge, they found nothing.

"Man, what a waste of time this has been," Sayua bemoaned as they left the lounge. "You know, I'm gonna talk with a few of the others now. It'd be pretty boring to talk to the same person all day, and I'm always looking for a few more fans. See you later!"

Sayua then headed down the stairs, going back to the deck where their rooms were. Even though he wished that she had put it a bit more effort in the search, in the end, Masashi thought to leave her be, finding it a bit of a relief to be away from her; it had been quite a challenge to brook her haughtiness for the last few hours or so.

He then headed to the throne room, where he saw Haruka, Arashi, and Kumi, the last of whom was telling a tale to the other two. This time, Kumi was reading a book that was bound by thick leather and had a greatly embellished blue cover.

"After the knight felled the evil wolf, he kept his way through the woods," Kumi said, both the storyteller and the listeners looking ever so glad. "He soon saw the fastness wherein the evil warlock lurked. There were many guards roaming around the building, and the knight thought of a plan to sneak in so as to rescue the fairy queen's daughter, whom the warlock had kidnapped for his wicked ritual."

"Oh, and what happened next?!" Arashi said, both he and Haruka staring at Kumi with great awe.

"The knight remembered that along the way, he had seen a merchant that sold ale," Kumi continued. "He then headed back the way whence he had come, and—"

"Uh, what are you two doing?" Masashi interrupted.

"Oh, Sir Masashi! I didn't see you there!" Kumi said, looking up from his book. "I was reading Lady Haruka and Sir Arashi a tale that I had come up the other day."

"It's so delightful!" Haruka said, smiling. "It's wonderful to listen to his stories! He makes the fairies and elves feel so real!"

"Oh, make no mistake, they are real!" Kumi said. "They live among us, hiding in the smallest places for their safety. I've seen many elves, those silly little creatures, so I know they're real!"

"And speaking of that, didn't you say that you would catch some fairies?" Masashi asked.

"Oh, I did, but after looking around with Lady Haruka and Sir Arashi for a long while, we couldn't find any!" Kumi said sadly. "The warlock must've scared them all off with his wicked words!"

"Oh, no, whatever shall we do?!" Haruka asked, overblowing her horrified reaction. Certainly, she must be aware that this was simply Kumi's fantasy, and so she had decided to go along with it to make him happy.

"Well, here's what we shall do," Kumi answered. "The fairies are not here with us, but men say that they are creatures that come to rain on merry men's parade. Thus, if we act merrily, we shall draw in the fairies and then catch them!"

Haruka gasped. "I think I can help you with that! As a clown, I'm meant to make others merry! I once cheered up a pet owner who was really, really gloomy!"

"What?! Why was he sad?!" Arashi asked.

"Well, he had become bald, and I thought it unfortunate that he'd lost his every hare!"

Masashi snickered. It might be rather simple, but he found the joke worthy of a few chuckles.

Arashi laughed aloud. "I think it's working! Keep it up!"

"Ah, all right, then!" Haruka said, grinning. "Why do many merchants become seafarers?"

"Huh? Why?" Kumi said, tilting his head slightly.

"Well, they want to raise their sails!"

Now it was Kumi that laughed aloud. "Oh, I get it! You're a funny woman, Lady Haruka!"

Haruka widened her smile. "A clown's job is to make everyone happy! If you're laughing, then I've done my job right!"

Masashi too was glad, not only because Haruka's jokes were a bit funny but also because it was swell to see the three of them laughing at a time like this. It was a sign that they were looking at this killing game situation the best way that they could, and as long as they could tough it out like this, they would have the killing game end in a way that the mastermind did not want.

"Well, have the fairies come yet?!" Arashi asked, excitedly looking about.

"No, but by the next morning, they will have come!" Kumi answered. "I've been watching the fairies and the other creatures for a long time. And I can tell you that they like to come at different times at night. It makes sense since night is when men sleep, so the creatures can sneak into our rooms and begin their plotting."

"R-Really?!" Arashi said, energized, his fists pumped.

Kumi nodded a bit proudly. "But be careful if you want to look for these creatures. A few of them are actually monsters that will attack you, and let me tell you, they're very frightening! I still get a few chills upon thinking about them!"

Haruka quivered. "A-Are these monsters here right now?"

Kumi looked around the room for a few moments before facing his audience. "No, there are none here right now, and I've never seen any in my pixie hunting. But remember: come nighttime, the monsters may come out and try to get you!"


It was seven o'clock, and the students began to gather at the dining room.

"Well, well, look who's come back!" Sorao said upon coming in and seeing Atsushi by one of the tables. The archaeologist had already been in the room when Masashi had come back here.

"Take this not the wrong way," Atsushi said. "I am come only because I have realized that to stay in my room would only make me suspicious. A long while in which no one could account for my actions would only hinder me."

It was disappointing that Atsushi still had the mindset that they were all playing the killing game. Masashi wanted to tell him that he ought to look at this another way, but even he must admit that he needed another way to persuade him.

"And what about you?" Sorao asked Hikari, the spirit channeler. "Didn't you say that you were going to stay in your room?"

"I-If it hadn't been for my hunger, then I would've stayed..." Hikari answered, looking at each of her peers warily.

"Now, now, we'll have much to eat soon," Faye said reassuringly. "It's the least I can do while we're stuck here."

"Ooh, cook me cookies!" Arashi said excitedly.

Sister Hikari chuckled, her expression calm and serene. "Cookies are more fitting as dessert. For dinner, we ought to eat something more usual."

"Well, I'll leave that to you, Sister Hikari!" Faye added. "Later, I can cook us a few tasty, delicious, and mouth-watering treats!"

Arashi smiled, eyes glinting. "Awesome! You're the best, Miss Nirigiri!"

Miss Nirigiri? Masashi found it a bit amusing how quickly Arashi warmed up to her on the promise of sweets. At the very least, it was good that the group on the whole seemed to be getting along well with one another. With friends like these, why would any of them ever want to kill?

"For the whole afternoon, I was seeing whether there were any birds and when the sun set," Mari said. "I saw no birds, but it got dark about two hours ago. I'd imagine that this means that it's about winter right now, but that is true only if we're in the Northern Hemisphere."

"Come to think of it, where exactly are we?" Tanjiro asked, contemplating. "Yes, we're in a ship, but at what part of the earth are we?"

Murphy touched his straw hat's brim. "It's a good question, but I don't think Monokuma will be spilling the beans. He did say that he wouldn't reveal us everything about the killing game."

"In any case, it's not as if the season made a difference, yes?" Haruyuki pointed out. "Though swell to know, it's not important information."

All talk, however, ended once a certain girl cleared her throat and caught everyone's attention. It was Futaba, who stood a bit away from the main group.

"Now then, let us get right to business," she said. "I have looked around the decks, and I am sorry to say that I have found nothing that can help us leave this place. Has anyone made better progress than I?"

No one said anything, however, which made Futaba let out a long frustrated sigh.

"I was expecting that this might happen," Futaba said. "Then it means that for the time being, we must wait it out until help comes."

"What makes you think help will come?" Murphy asked.

"Well, I'm not sure whether you're aware of my reputation," Futaba said, sounding a bit prouder than usual, "but I am a daughter of the CEO of Inoshishi Enterprises. If someone of such repute were to disappear, the disappearance would be made widely known. I am sure that my father has already bidden that every last man of his security find me."

"Whoa… when you put it that way, it makes me glad that you've gotten kidnapped as well," Sorao joked.

"This whole thing is now a matter of waiting, then!" Red Mask said.

"Well, in the meantime, we're stuck out here," Maiha said. "However long we'll be here, we must have some form of order, must we not?"

"Order?" Haruyuki said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we surely must not do whatever we want during our time here," Maiha explained, an odd smile on her face. "Too much chaos will lead to an incident that will likely lead to something worse. I've been thinking about this, and it has become clear to me that what we need now is a leader to manage this."

"A leader, huh?" Masashi said. "And you've thought hard about which of us it should be, right?"

"Of course I have," Maiha answered as condescendingly as always. "It should be someone who follows discipline, who has been highly educated, and who is willing to call out any unruly individuals and put them back in their place. Of course, it is I that is the best for the position."

"I don't know about that…" Sorao said. "If you ask me, Futaba's fitter for it."

"Now that you mention it, I can see it now," Faye added, nodding along. "I think Futaba makes a good, able, and apt candidate for leader."

"Is that so?" Futaba said, though less surprised. "Well, I'm quite flattered to hear it."

"Well, it's not surprising to reach that conclusion," Haruyuki said. "After all, you said it yourself not too long ago: you are a daughter of the CEO of Inoshishi Enterprises. You are far more qualified for the position than the rest of us."

"And you have already been telling us what to do," Mari said, "so I think you're already fit for the role."

"And you don't seem mean at all, Lady Futaba!" Kumi said.

As more and more of the students looked to be in agreement with what Mari and the others had said about her, Futaba let out a modest chuckle. "Oh, I have simply been observing what ought to be done in a situation like this."

"Well, that's already a good token of your leadership, if you ask me," Sister Hikari said.

"Now hang on!" Maiha said while the others seconded her opinion. "Why haven't any of you thought about me?"

"Oh? And what makes you better than she is?" Abraham asked.

"For one, I clearly fulfill all the aforesaid criteria," Maiha replied. "After all, I stand higher than you commoners."

"But are you on the same level as she is?" Sorao asked. "Her father's the CEO of a great business conglomerate. How about yours?"

Maiha grew a bit startled. "My father… Well, he owns a real estate company."

"A real estate company? Is that all? That is much smaller in repute than I thought," Atsushi said. "I see no good ground for your gainsaying, whereupon I say that Futaba be chosen as our leader."

"What?!" Maiha said quietly but angrily, her eyes dead set on him as if ready to kill him for his boldness. However much she wanted to protest, though, the others soon seconded Atsushi's call that Futaba be made the leader.

Well, I think it's clear where this is going, Masashi thought.

Futaba let out a small smile of gratitude once everyone quieted down. "Very well… I have heard your voices, and it is clear what you want. As your leader, I shall guide you and work as hard as I can to make sure that none of you will become the killing game's victims."

Haruka cried out in glee. "Oh, everything's all right now!"

Many of the others showed relief as well; now that they were in a capable woman's hands, the dread that the killing game had aroused in them was slowly going away. The only one who looked unhappy at this turn of events was Maiha, but she had stopped her protests, hiding her anger behind a glum countenance; even she could read the mood and see that it was too late to gainsay this. In a way, it gladdened Masashi, who was confident that if she were in charge, she would make things worse with her nettlesome mindset.

"Now, then, what's your first order of business?" Sorao asked.

Futaba thought for a moment. "There are things that I should like to set as the rules to follow. But to do that, I shall need some help with that. To wit, I need a deputy to help carry out the rules and anything else at my behest."

"A deputy?" Haruyuki said, interested. "Which of us do you have in mind?"

"I prefer someone that has the tendency to work hard and think seriously about the task at hand," Futaba answered. "Thus, I should like to have you as deputy, Atsushi Morokuzu."

"It is I that is chosen?" Atsushi said, the others also looking as bewildered as he. "Wherefore do you pick me?"

"It's rather simple, truly," Futaba said. "You strike me as a rather able and experienced man that is serious about his discipline. Do you agree with my assessment?"

"Yea, I am quite well respected among my peers and have much experience," Atsushi said, rubbing his chin. "For instance, on archaeologist expeditions, I have taught greenhorns the methodology to follow as well as the weightiness of making sure that they be as responsive and cooperative as possible."

"Wow, that all sounds pretty tough!" Red Mask said.

"It certainly is a great responsibility," Murphy said.

But his somewhat unwelcoming personality was the one thing that made Masashi skeptical that Atsushi was the best fit for deputy. The man seemed prone to dismissing those whose talents he deemed lesser, and so he might easily start arguments with them. But on the other hand, the man was doubtless more qualified for the position than most of the other students here, and his intelligence could be of much use to them. A few others looked unsure of this as well, but not so unsure as to openly gainsay this. Nonetheless, it seemed that Atsushi, after much thought, was keen to become her deputy.

"Very well," Atsushi answered, showing a small yet somewhat snide smile. "I thought that it was inevitable that the killing game would go on, but since you have given me this duty, mayhap things can change. Thence, I swear that I will ward us all on your behalf."

Atsushi let out a soft chuckle. Now that he was in charge and would have to talk with the rest of them much more, he would learn to be a bit less irksome. At least, that was what Masashi hoped.

"There is one thing that I should like to take care of first," Atsushi said. "I still need someone to help me split up the work that is needed, and even if the workload be little, I shall find myself wanting someone to talk to, so I ask that I have mine own helper."

"A reasonable request," Futaba said. "Which of them should you like to have by you?"

"The maiden in the dark-blue hoodie." Atsushi pointed at her. "Mari Anzai, was it?"

"Yes, that's my name," she answered, slightly surprised. "You want me to be your helper?"

"Yea. You seem like a rather shrewd maiden," he answered, his smile widening a little. "Phenology is a good choice to study, for knowledge of the changes wrought by the seasons helps mankind greatly. I believe that you will be of great help to me. Mayhap we shall talk about something related to my field of work later."

"I… would like that." Mari now looked much more interested. "All right, I'll be your helper."

Atsushi chuckled. "As I thought. Rest assured that you have made a wise choice. I look forward to working with you."

Once Masashi thought about it, it was not too surprising to see that Atsushi wanted Mari as his assistant; the archaeologist had chided him for not having focused his time on an academic subject, and Mari not only had an academic talent but also was rather easy and mellow. Arashi might fulfill the former criterion with his knowledge of pyrotechnics, but given his childishness, Masashi could hardly blame Atsushi for choosing to avoid him.

"It has only been a few minutes, and the bureaucracy has already widened. How interesting..." Haruyuki remarked. Now that he mentioned it, Masashi too wondered at how quickly that had happened.

"Are we done yet?" Arashi asked, irked. "I wanna eat dinner already!"

Futaba, however, shook her head. "There is one more matter that I think we must talk about. I have been wondering why this killing game is even being held in the first place."

"Didn't you ask Monokuma that earlier?" Abraham asked.

"Yes, but he gave me no answer." Futaba sighed. "It was quite frustrating to waste my time like that. But even if he won't tell me, I can still try to ascertain the answer. I have a theory that the killing game has something to do with us."

"Us? What's there to talk about?" Sayua said dismissively. "We're only a bunch of strangers that some madman's kidnapped!"

"I should agree with you if it weren't for the one inkling of uncertainty in my mind," Futaba replied. "I wonder… do we truly not know one another?"

"Well, two of us know each other, that's for sure."

It was none other than Sorao, who looked unbothered by the gazes that he had now drawn.

"Wait… you already know one of us?" Futaba said, a bit peeved. "Then why are we learning this now?"

"I mean, I haven't mentioned it, but it's not as if it were a great secret or anything. There simply was no right time to bring it up," Sorao said relaxedly. "I guess it's the same for my buddy. He's said nothing about it, after all. But then again, he's more of the quiet kind. Don't you agree, Tanjiro?"

All eyes were directed at the historical novelist, whose face had whitened a bit and whose cheeks had reddened as well.

"Y-Yeah, that's right…" Tanjiro said meekly. "Sorao and I… have known each other for a long time."

"There you go, buddy!" Sorao said gladly, touching a fringe of red hair over his right eye. "You see? That wasn't so hard now."

Now this was a surprise. Neither of them had mentioned a connection with each other when Masashi had first met them. And not only did the two look nothing alike, but the two also acted unalike as well. It was uncanny to see how much the two went against each other.

"What is your exact relationship?" Futaba asked seriously.

"Well, he and I, uh, are… hmm…" Tanjiro said, gazing aimlessly.

"Childhood friends, in a way," Sorao answered as he walked toward the writer. "We live right in the same apartment block, so it's only natural that we see each other a lot. But since we grew up together, I'm more like an extended family member of his."

"I-I wish you hadn't put it that way," Tanjiro said, sweeping away the bangs of his blue hair over his left eye, his face full of dismay.

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Sorao said jokingly as he got near him. "If I were truly family, I'd think you'd be delighted since you surely can't be one of those people."

"Wh-What kind of people?" Kumi asked, confused.

"You know, the ones who feel inadequate from seeing those who outshine them," Sorao answered casually. "Doesn't it make you wonder—"

"That's enough out of you." Futaba looked none too amused by where the conversation had headed. "We simply need to know whether there are any connections among us. There is no need for further chatter."

Sorao groaned, though looking none too dreary about it. "All right, all right, I'll lay it off. It's at least swell to see that you and I are in this together, right, Tanjiro?"

"Speak for yourself…" Tanjiro mumbled.

Futaba shook her head disapprovingly. "Anyway, are there more of you related to each other?"

No one else, however, answered her. It could, of course, be the case that there was a connection, but the ones involved in it were unwilling to divulge it. But Masashi preferred the simpler answer that Sorao and Tanjiro were the only ones who had a connection to each other. He saw no reason why such a connection would need to be hidden, anyway.

"If that is all," she said, sounding somewhat disappointed, "then I am truly at a loss as to why we have all been chosen for this. We have nothing in common besides our being Ultimates, but even then, there are thousands of Ultimates living in Japan. I see nothing particularly special about us."

"Then maybe my being here with Tanjiro is simply a coincidence," Sorao suggested.

"It may be," Futaba said. "I suppose that for now, we must make do with the explanation that we have simply been chosen at random for this."

No one gainsaid her explanation. As far as he could tell, Futaba was right about this; there was no reason why he of all people had been kidnapped and put here. Still, there was something about it that bothered him about this; it might be that he was simply a random choice for a player of the killing game, but could he say the same for everyone else?

Well, in any case, it doesn't matter, Masashi thought. This whole thing will be over without any problems.

"Now, then," Futaba said, looking at the clock in this room, "it is fifteen minutes past seven. It is high time that we ate dinner."

Sister Hikari and Faye headed to the kitchen while the others sat down and began to talk. It was good to see that some form of order had been established, given that things might get out of control, even should no one die. The only one who looked none too happy was Maiha, who sat at a table by her lonesome and had her gaze fixed at Futaba, Maiha's eyes showing a somewhat eerie calmness.


Well, the first chapter has begun. I'm looking forward to exploring how the cast interact with one another and how the group dynamics work. I already have some ideas as to what will happen in this chapter, but I'm still working it out. In the meantime, now that you've seen a bit more of the characters, I'm curious as to what you now think of them, given that a few of them have been given certain roles in the cast, and you've seen a few of the group dynamics starting to form.

Also, it was interesting that some of you thought that there was a certain meaning behind the ordering of the students in the list. I hate to break it to you, but it's random. The only intentional placement that I made was having Masashi be the first one, and I did that only because he's the protagonist. The list is meant to mimic the students' placement in the list at the end of each chapter in the games, which is why the group of male students and the group of female students aren't neatly set next to each other.