Before we get into this chapter, the results for the poll have been finalized! Not too many people voted, but we have some clear winners here. Tied for first with four votes it's Satou Kazuma and Miles "Tails" Prower! Sayori, Dimitri, Bede, and Tsuyu got three votes, making them the runner ups. Saki, Sakaki, Ray, Finn, and Minori received two votes, and the rest only got one each. Another poll will be made for next chapter's free time events after the first trial ends.
However, I have to address something real quick. I am my own person. I have my own life and make whatever decisions I believe are right. That's why I end up procrastinating sometimes and can only have one or two chapters come out per month. That's why I appreciate it a lot when someone takes time out of their day to leave a comment/review on the websites I post these stories on. But I just need to flat out state this:
I write the stories I want to tell, and I can't just include any character out of the blue. I set up the scenarios and casts ahead of time before figuring out what happens during each chapter. If a person requests that a character I have no knowledge of, (or interest in), I just can't do it. Please understand that I am not a professional, just a guy who enjoys bringing characters I like together in a story that may not make sense. I am also not your servant, just because you constantly leave reviews or comments demanding a character you want, that doesn't mean I have to listen to you. I write my own stories, so don't act like you run things around here. Go find someone else to fulfill your request elsewhere. And if you repeatedly try to annoy me to death with your "ratio"s or "I SHOULD GET WHAT I WANT"s, those statements will fall on deaf ears.
Ahem, so as I said before I appreciate it a lot when someone leaves comments and reviews, even if they don't have much to say. But not like this.
Sorry everyone who has been politely reading through and I hope you enjoy the chapter and the free time events! This will hopefully be the last time I address this.
Chapter 1: Early Graduation or Early Grave? Part 3 (Daily Life)
Remaining Students: 18
Yūgo Hachiken (Silver Spoon): Ultimate Tutor
Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles): Ultimate Tank
Pietro Maximoff "Quicksilver" (Marvel Cinematic Universe): Ultimate Speedster
Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic The Hedgehog): Ultimate Pilot
Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Fire Emblem: Three Houses): Ultimate Prince
Satou Kazuma (Konosuba) Ultimate Thief
Bede (Pokémon): Ultimate Gym Leader
Ray (The Promised Neverland): Ultimate Strategist
Finn (Star Wars): Ultimate Rebel
Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club): Ultimate Poet
Konata Izumi (Lucky Star): Ultimate Otaku
Saki Nikaido (Zombie Land Saga): Ultimate Biker Gang Leader
Tsuyu Asui (My Hero Academia) Ultimate Amphibian
Kokomi Teruhashi (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K): Ultimate Beauty
Minori Ichinose(Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure): Ultimate Bookworm
Sora Takenouchi (Digimon Adventure Original): Ultimate Love
Kale (Dragon Ball Super): Ultimate ?
Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh): Ultimate Animal Lover
Hachiken's POV
There's a lot of time until 5:30, maybe I should go get some fresh air. Don't want to lie here in my room thinking about what that bear has planned, clearing my head would be a good idea.
Free Time Start
Insert Song: Beautiful Days (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)
I check my pockets and see that I still have those Monokuma imprinted coins on me. I'll check if I could use them at the student store Ray mentioned. Let's go shopping for a bit.
The student store was pretty sizable, but nothing that special. Ray was on the money about there being so many Monokuma branded college merchandise. It got me thinking about whether or not this school was built recently, or if it was an old property that got taken over by that Sird lady. I couldn't find anything relating to this school's history, although I haven't really done enough searching.
Back at the store, there was a large vending machine in the back and a capsule machine as well. The capsules looked quite bigger than those smaller ones I'm used to seeing, and the vending machine items were more than just chips and candy bars. I saw a bag of mint candies in the vending machine, so I inserted five of the coins I had into the slot.
Obtained Present!: Mint Candies
After grabbing the candies, I turned my attention to the "MonoMono Machine". I don't really believe that I'll get anything too valuable, so I just inserted one coin in. Opening my large capsule I got… a video game? A game that I haven't even heard of before, maybe it's from another world?
Obtained Present!: Myriad Swords 1&2 Remastered
I'm not too into games, and I don't really want to eat all these candies by myself. I should go find some people who would like these gifts. Making a few new friends out of this "traumatizing" experience could be helpful in the future!
Hm… who should I hang out with?
I considered going to Sayori at first, but I should try to give her some space. She might need time to relax her emotions. Plus if I keep hanging out with her repeatedly, then the others may start getting the wrong idea. I thought about the items I got from the store and wondered who would like them. I have two ideas, so I went forward with the first one that came to mind.
To find someone who likes games, I better look in the arcade. Lo and behold, I found Kazuma leaning against an arcade cabinet.
"Oh hey, you're… Hachiken, right?" He asked.
"And you're Kazuma?" I responded while nodding.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm Kazuma. So what's up? You want to play a quick game?" Kazuma points over to the air hockey table where we first met.
Do I really want to take him on when I saw his tactics firsthand?
After thinking about it more, I just sighed and walked over to the table. He followed with a smug grin on his face, making it even more obvious what he's going to do. Kazuma and I had a pretty one-sided air hockey match, but I feel like we grew a bit closer.
Oh yeah, the thing I didn't want to keep myself. I handed him the game case, and his eyes widened.
"W-W-WHAT?! How did you get this?!" Kazuma begins questioning me loudly as I'm just slowly stepping back.
"I, uh, got it from the student store's capsule machine." I explained.
"Man, that's some good luck then… not as good as mine but still. This is an excellent find! I'll gladly take it off your hands then, if you don't want it." He chuckled a bit.
"Sure, you can keep it." I told him.
"Thanks, pal. Y'know… you're probably the most normal guy here, huh?" Kazuma assumes.
"Pretty much…" I answered.
"Ah, kind of a shame that you got dragged into a situation like this then, huh?" Kazuma states and I nod in agreement.
Yeah he's definitely right. There's so few people here without some kind of special power, and even then some of the "normal" people have likely had extraordinary things happen to them. Meanwhile I just simply chose to go to an agricultural high school, instead of anywhere close to home. Makes me stand out a bit more than I would want to in a killing game.
"Y'know, it is hard getting used to a whole new world after being so used to the old one. This is like my second time going through this, well… third technically." Kazuma sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
Wait, he's been to other worlds before? I feel like I shouldn't be too surprised, but I'm curious.
"You've done this before?" I asked him.
Kazuma turned to me so he could answer, "Uh-huh, not the killing game thing though, just ending up in another world. First time it happened I was on Earth, died and got reincarnated in a fantasy world by a… goddess. Second time was when one of my party members pressed a random button and we got sent to a school."
If someone told me this before today I would have just walked away slowly, but now I have to suspend my disbelief. This sounds a lot like the plot of an anime or manga, or rather a lot of anime or manga.
"You're probably thinking that it's similar to a lot of anime or manga plots, huh? Well yeah it pretty much is." He assumes.
Man, he knows his stuff. Based on how he reacted when I gave him that game, he might have been like an otaku or something back on his Earth. I am quite curious about this fantasy world he's been to, so I should at least ask him something.
"What's life been like for you in that fantasy world?" I ask.
A sweat drop rolls down Kazuma's face before he answers, "Well… it's been traumatizing to say the least."
"Oh…" I responded with a bit of pity.
"Let's just say that being an adventurer is like hell, to the point where I'm fine with just hanging around if I have enough cash." Kazuma sighed.
Fighting monsters does sound like a pain in the ass. If I had to deal with a lot of that on a daily basis, I'd have trauma too. Still though…
"You've got to have some things that are enjoyable over there, don't you? Maybe some friends from your… party? I think that's the word for it."
"Ugh…" He cringed when I asked that question, touchy subject?
"I'd tell you more, buuuuuut for now I'm just gonna head back to the dorms. I've wanted to try this game out for AGES. See ya!" He said as he waved goodbye.
I may not know everything about Kazuma yet, but I feel that I managed to learn a few good details. Not everything though, I can tell. Hopefully I can trust a guy like him.
Afterwards I decided to head back into my dorm for a while… except that I was locked out.
"H-Huh?!" I let out in confusion.
I checked my pockets and found out I left my e-Handbook inside my room. Just great, now I'm gonna have to sleep outside tonight unless someone comes by…
"Well hi! Got locked out of your dorm?"
"GAHHH!" I yelled as Monokuma popped in front out of nowhere.
"Jeez, don't you know it's impolite to scream in people's ears? You'll break someone's eardrums like… like… OH NO I'VE GONE DEAF!" Monokuma panics as he holds his ears.
"Do you… even have eardrums?" I reluctantly ask.
"WHAT?!" He replies.
"I said do you—"
"WHAT?!" He repeats himself.
Why do I even bother even talking to this psycho bear? I wanted to avoid seeing him for a while, but now I have to deal with him right in front of me AND at that meeting of his later on.
"Oh! I'll just open this door up as well as your room for now! Remember not to leave your handbook anywhere… and no one can loan you your handbook either! I should really add that onto the list of rules…"
Monokuma gently pushes open the door to the dormitory, before he kicks down the door to my room.
"Sheesh! Be careful!" I warned him.
"WHAT?!"
I simply put my face into my hands and groaned heavily.
"Now don't forget your handbook next time, and don't forget the meeting later! Puhuhu~!" The bear guffaws as he finally leaves.
Thank god, I don't think I could have listened to his voice for another second. I closed my door and layed down on my bed and took a short nap.
An hour later and it's 4:00 pm, an hour and thirty minutes until the meeting. Looks like I still have time to myself until then, how should I spend it?
Free Time
I still have these mint candies with me, I'm thinking I should share them with one of my dormmates. I walked into the living room and I just so happened to see Tails continuing his work on his Miles Electric. I'm thinking the kid needs a break, so I sit down on the couch on the opposite side and take out the candies.
"Huh? Hey, where'd you get those?" Tails suddenly perks up when he sees them.
"The student store, you want some?" I ask as I offer him one piece.
Tails grinned, "I'd love some! Thanks a lot, Hachiken!".
We sat around for a bit and ate the mint candies, though I only chose to eat a few and he finished the rest easily. While doing so he explained some info about what the Miles Electric does, although I couldn't follow along too much. Despite that, I'm sure Tails and I grew a bit closer.
Y'know, maybe I should change the subject to something not technology-related, it's starting to get more confusing. I am very curious about Tails's, well, tails after all.
"So were you just born with an extra tail or…?" I present the question while looking at his two tails.
"Ah, yeah I was. Used to not enjoy it, since I got bullied a lot." Tails told me as he sighed.
Man, that's pretty rough. It's never okay to treat anyone badly, much less a person that has an abnormality. Feel bad for the kid.
"Jeez… I'm sorry about that."
Tails shook his head, "Don't be, it's been a long time since then. I ended up meeting someone who helped change my life for the better."
"Glad to hear, so you're okay with having those tails now, right?"
A smile returns to his face, "Yeah, they're a part of me and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. Besides, they help me fly as you've seen, as well as other things!"
"Really? For example?"
One of his tails reached over to the coffee table and grabbed a bottle of water for him, which he drank from. Impressive control! I clapped as a sign of me being impressed.
"Wow, that's handy… I mean, tail-y? If you know what I mean." I joked a bit.
Tails chuckled half-heartedly at my pun, "Ha, I get it."
An awkward laugh was shared between us before I decided to move on quickly.
"So about that person who helped you, Saki mentioned him earlier. The 'Blue Blur', was it?"
"Yup! Sonic The Hedgehog, I'm his best friend and his sidekick!" He grinned proudly.
"I see… and his nickname suggests that he's fast as well, correct?"
"Definitely!" Tails nods.
"About as fast as Pietro or…"
Tails ponders for a bit before answering, "I'm not too sure myself, since we can't really compare the two, at the moment. Knowing him though, I'm sure he'd say he was faster.
"Ah… it seems that the two of them share big egos along with super speed too then." I sigh in exasperation.
"Right? Ha ha! Although as arrogant as he is, he's still an amazing hero. I hope to make it out soon and see him again."
Tails really seems to have a lot of respect for his hero, makes me really hope we'll all make it out of here together so they can reunite. Glad he managed to overcome some past events and appreciates his tails as a gift rather than a curse.
We bid farewell for now and I went back into my room to rest for what little time we both had left.
*Ding dong bing bong*
My e-Handbook acted as my alarm as I switched it on and found Monokuma in a large chair with some kind of alcoholic drink on my screen.
"Everyone, come on down to Hall M in the student center for an important announcement! Get there immediately by 5:30pm and you will not be dragged there by one of our resident guard Pokémon! You have about 30 minutes, so chop chop or you'll be chopped chopped!"
I certainly don't want to get hurt like some of the others had while facing them, it's time I get going. I make sure my e-handbook's on me before I join up with the others. But there's only four of them here….
"Where's Sayori? We can't be late." I ask and Reyn just shrugs.
"Wonder what's taking her so long…" Reyn groans.
"Hm… what if she's y'know…" Konata ponders.
I immediately interrupted her in denial, "No way! That could never happen! Besides, if someone had planned on… killing her, they wouldn't be able to get into her room."
"Still, you never know dude." Konata replied.
"... Fine, I'll go get her then." I volunteered.
Tails raised his hand, "Same here, she's our friend."
"Ugh, I'll come too. Just to be sure Bow Girl is alright." Saki speaks up.
"Be sure to make it on time, you two!" Reyn warns us as he leaves off with Konata in tow.
Saki, Tails, and I made our way over to Sayori's room and knocked on it.
No answer.
That's… far from a good sign here.
"Sayori, it's time for the meeting! Are you awake?!" I shouted as I knocked again.
Still, nothing. Oh god, no…
"Sayori, it's us. Can you please answer?" Tails gives a knock of his own, but no luck.
Saki then grit her teeth, "C'mon, Sayori! Open up, we need to go see the bear or he'll give us hell!"
Silence once more.
Sayori…
"Y'know what, sorry, but we have to get goin'!" Saki yelled.
Wait, sorry for wha—
CRASH!
"HUH?!", Tails and I let out loudly.
Saki just kicked Sayori's door down! It's starting to come apart at the frame, why the hell did she do that?!
"What're you trying to do, freak her out?!" I asked Saki, exasperated.
"Just trying to make it easier. Huh?"
Saki then notices something inside Sayori's room. The two of us enter at the same time and then…
…
…
…
"S-S-S-Sayori?!"
I stumbled on my words as I saw something horrifying.
"What the hell…" I hear Saki say next to me.
Tails's mouth was agape, "T-That's…"
The three of us were just standing there confused… our eyes were widened with immense fear.
…
…
…
"What… are you doing?"
That question fell out of my mouth as I saw her standing on top of a chair, tying a rope to a ceiling fan.
"H-Hachiken, Tails, Saki…" Sayori notices us with tears flowing down her face and shakiness in her voice.
"Were you planning on… no, it can't be." Tails couldn't wrap his head around what he saw, same as me.
"I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry…" Sayori crumbled to her knees as she sobbed atop her bed.
Saki just picked up the rope, staring at it in disbelief. Tails held Sayori close in an embrace. And I just stood there, trying desperately to find out why…
Why would Sayori try to hang herself?
After a few minutes of explanation, it was as I feared.
Insert Song: My Feelings (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
"Depression, huh?"
She nods sadly in response to Saki. I never imagined such a bubbly and excitable girl like Sayori really felt like this for most of her life. So many years believing that you did not deserve any love from everyone around you, it hurts to think about.
"The fact that someone like me is even here shows that I'm being punished. Before I even got here I was acting so selfish, and now because of that… I've been sent here to be killed, that's what I deserve…"
The three of us just sat on her bed listening, staying silent respectfully.
"I really tried to find some kind of hope in this situation, but in doing so I ended up making someone angry. If I continued on with trying to help, then it likely would have happened again. I have always tried making people happy to see if that would help me feel happy, but after what happened with Bede… I know now that I can't help anyone."
Man, knowing now what she's been going through, those words that he said to her are even worse. I don't even know if he'd feel remorse, even if he did know that she had depression. Perhaps he could, but I can't even think of that at the moment.
"That's why… During our investigation earlier, I was looking at this rope. The rain clouds in my head began to storm and turn into thunder clouds, my thoughts telling me that I could make things better by ending my life."
So that's why she was eying that rope, I should have connected the dots right then. But I just refused to even think of the idea that she could commit suicide. I'm so stupid.
Tails decides to bring something up, "Sayori, before you noticed us, we saw you hesitating to put the noose over your neck. So… were you starting to have second thoughts?"
Sayori was quiet for about a quarter of a minute before nodding solemnly.
"It was because… I started thinking of the people that I could hurt if I did this. You guys of course, but there's also those back home. My friends at the literature club… and him."
"Him?" I questioned.
"My best friend, I call him MC. He's the reason I was being so selfish back home, due to being in love with him."
The three of us softly gasped.
"I introduced MC to my club and he became a member, hoping that he'd be able to make friends there. He did, but even still I wanted to be with him. I liked him so much that I wanted to die, so… I guess the universe decided to make that second part come true. I truly deserve this…"
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"
I suddenly stood up and yelled, instantly silencing her.
"Sayori, you do deserve much more than this. Don't think that you are being punished for trying to be kind, it's not your fault…" My fists tightened as I spoke to her.
Tails stood up from Sayori's bed as well, "He's right, there's only a single person to blame and that's not you. Choosing to make people happy is the most selfless thing for a person to do, and you've been doing that."
Saki then gritted her teeth, "Don't believe the crap that your brain has been feeding ya. The universe didn't send you here, that bitch Sird did! "
The lights suddenly flicker on and off in her room, but we just chose to ignore that for what's more important: Sayori.
"No, don't try to waste all your energy you three. It's already too late." She shakes her head.
"It is never too late. We cannot just move on from this after we just saw you trying to off yourself, not even if we tried to." Tails states seriously.
"I don't believe any of us are experts, but regardless we will be here to lend a hand. We'll help you clear those clouds around your head, and we will make sure that you get back home to MC." I tell her, my tears starting to well up behind my glasses.
"What if we can't? I'm too weak to be able to help, and besides we don't know if there's a way out." Sayori says as her head lowers and she's staring at her feet.
"Then we just have to keep at it until we find one." Saki replies.
Sayori stopped talking and the three of us just approached her for a large hug. I can hear her sobbing into my chest as we hold her tight.
My e-Handbook then went off and I saw some messages from Reyn and Konata in the chat option.
"Ten minutes, what's keeping you three?"
"C'mon, the bear's gonna be livid if you don't get here on time."
"We should go now. Sayori?"
I looked at her face, she still seems like she's hurting. I don't think our words helped too much, though it's a bit of a start.
Tails takes the three of us to the student center, making me feel bad that he had to carry three of us at once. When we got into Hall M, everyone was already seated. There were four empty seats just for us at the front of the hall. As I sat down at the end of my row, I got tapped on the shoulder.
"Hey. Why were you four so late?" Ray asked.
I didn't answer vocally, just pointed at Sayori using my head. Tails was patting her on the shoulder as she wiped her tears from her eyes. Ray's mouth opens in surprise before he nods in understanding.
"I see, if she needs more help I could volunteer." Ray offers.
I nod my head, "That would be nice yes. Thank you."
I looked over my shoulder and at the end of the row behind me was Bede. Sayori's depression may have already been quite bad, but Bede ended up cutting her down a lot. My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at him for a bit, which he only noticed for a split second before turning away from me.
I turn back to check on Sayori and she's taking some deep breaths in. Her expression suggests that she's calm, but probably still has some "rain clouds". It'll be a while until Sayori can be able to overcome her depression, but as long as I'm here, I will help her through this. We will help her through this.
"Puhuhuhu~!"
Oh no, here we go again…
The lights in the hall flickered then flickered, so this problem isn't just affecting the dorm…
BANG!
"YOWWWWW!"
Uh… what just happened?
Monokuma slowly rose up from behind the podium with a large bump on his head. Did he hit something?
"Ugh… who woulda thought this stupid motive would be affecting me too?! Damn it…" Monokuma groaned in pain.
"Motive?" Ray then spoke up with a question.
"Eh?" Monkuma responded.
"Oh I see, you're here to give us a motive to make us start the killing game. Am I right?" Bede assumes as he approaches the podium.
"Y-Yeah… man I really should have chosen something better… regardless, that's what you all have to deal with! Until someone gets murdered, the power on campus will be unreliable. Eventually, it'll also shut down completely, leaving you all in darkness, a perfect opportunity to assassinate a classmate! Ha ha, ow!" Monokuma began to laugh, but clutched his head again.
"No power?!" Teruhashi cried out in shock.
"I see… you won't be able to see your killer without any source of light. Although… couldn't you use candles as an alternate light source?" Ray asks.
"We only have them in limited supply, 18 each for all of y'all!" Monokuma answered.
"Tch…" I heard Dimitri grunt next to me, "No matter what you take from us, we won't fall victim to your game."
Kazuma sighed, "I don't know man, I don't think I can go use the bathroom in the dark."
"These flashlights I found in the student store don't come with the batteries either, and the battery section was cleared out as well." Pietro took out a flashlight and demonstrated how it doesn't work.
I then heard Monokuma whistle as I clearly see a huge stack of batteries being dumped out the window.
All around me I saw the others complaining about this motive, but would anyone really kill over this? Honestly… I don't completely doubt that possibility. Who knows when we'll COMPLETELY lose power?
And how will everyone react?
Happy early Valentine's Day peeps, love y'all. Note that if you want someone you like to give you chocolate on the 14th, just listen to Kazuma. Reach out both your hands and say "GIVE ME, CHOCO!". It will work, guranteed…. *snort*. Anyways, hope you all liked this chapter. We're gonna delve more into Sayori's depression as we go through this story, so don't expect it to just be ignored within the coming chapters. So how 'bout that motive, huh? Honestly this could be a difficult one to deal with, could you really stand to live without any kind of power? As well as very little alternative sources of light? I wouldn't last a day. Well, I'll see you all next time, thanks for reading as always!