I didn't go into detail for the events before the party, because not much changes from the game.

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Someone was taunting him. No, it wasn't just a taunt. It was a challenge. And Byakuya would be damned if he stepped down from it. He would face it like he faced every challenge in life: calm and composed, with the clear intend to emerge victorious.

After Monokuma had used their assembly at Jabberwock Park to announce the same rules Byakuya was already familiar with, he had returned to his cottage, still pondering the situation. The dumb bear actually had the nerve to show up in his room then, staring at him with his head tilted to the side.

"What do you want?" he snapped at the nuisance.

"Oh, I was just wondering, y'know. I have so many fans that even I can't keep up with all their faces. But a TV star like you, there's no way I'd forget about you. Which means you must really be a hardcore fan, if you went out of your way to be able to join my new killing game as well!"

"Don't be ridiculous," was his response. His voice was full of confidence. "I'm not here to participate. I am here to put an end to your schemes once and for all."

Monokuma giggled with his paws over his mismatched mouth. "Puhuhu, and you think I'd let you do that?"

Byakuya gave him a smirk. "I don't intend to let you stop me. No matter what you might try, I won't let you get what you want."

The bear laughed at that. "Oh, really now? You really think you can save those hopeless losers? I think you might have bitten off a bit more than you can chew!"

He ignored the comment that was clearly aimed at his weight. As if petty remarks like that could get under his skin. And even if they did, they would be stopped by the layers of fat he had wrapped himself in. "I know I can. And I will." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Is that all? You bore me."

"Fine, fine, I'm going. But I can't wait to see your face full of despair when you inevitably fail!" And with that, the bear disappeared, cackling madly.

To anyone else, the short encounter might have seemed insignificant, but to Byakuya it held an important clue. The person controlling Monokuma might not have had anything to do with his kidnapping. After all, he had seemed just as surprised about Byakuya's presence on this island as he was. So, could it be there was a third party pulling at least some of the strings? If so, for what purpose and what relationship did they have with Monokuma? Could the rabbit be behind it? He would have to be careful around her until he figured out her motivations.

Something else that raised more questions was the huge countdown that had appeared in the park overnight. What did it count down to? For now, there was no way of knowing. Neither was there anything he could do about it, so he added it to his growing mental list of unanswered things.

At least his status as the group's leader was quickly established, with nobody raising any real objections. He kept watch over any suspicious activities or signs that anyone was about to crack under the pressure for the rest of the day, but there was nothing that caught his attention. The other students just wandered around the island, exploring or spending time with one another. At the end of the day, Byakuya had taken a stock of all the dangerous items on the island and found the Rocketpunch Supermarket to be a paradise for any would-be murderers. The assortment of items ranged from sharp to blunt weapons to means of hiding or tampering with evidence. The vast array of things that could be used in a killing was astounding. Though not too surprising, considering it got stocked by Monokuma. It was a little worrying, if he was honest with himself.

However, everything seemed to stay relatively peaceful, until the next morning when he received the challenge in form of a piece of paper that must have been slipped under his door during the night.

BE CAREFUL! The first kill will happen tonight. Someone will definitely kill someone, it said in very simple letters anyone could have written. So, there wasn't much to go on from in terms of identifying the handwriting.

That meant someone was planning on making the first move and they were gutsy enough to warn him in advance. They had to be very confident in their skills if they thought they could outsmart him. Byakuya was forced to act, and fast. He had one day of preparation to prevent a killing. With no idea of who the challenger and the intended victim were, it would be hard to plan for any concrete event. There were too many options to consider.

That was why he had to make sure to reduce these options drastically. His suggestion of throwing a party was quickly accepted and they even found the perfect location. As long as they were all assembled in the old building, it would be a lot easier to keep them in check and spot the bad egg.

Well, the Kuzuryu heir had declined the invitation rather rudely, both when Peko beat him to asking the yakuza, as well as when Byakuya himself managed to confront him later. Fuyuhiko was someone he definitely had to keep an eye on. He wasn't just rude, but he also had a violent background and expressed no qualms about killing someone else. He also separated himself from the group. It reminded Byakuya of himself and his own behavior at the start of the first killing game. Which was exactly why he knew he had to be careful around Fuyuhiko. If he was anything like Byakuya, he would be able to go through with it, too.

But it was all good. Even if one person didn't come, as dangerous as they may be, if the rest of the students were all together in an enclosed space, there was no need to worry about the outsider. Of course, there was no guarantee that Fuyuhiko was the sender of the letter in the first place, even if he was the most obvious candidate due to his actions. Byakuya tried to analyze the rest of the students to figure out who might pose a threat.

Well, there was Akane Owari, who was obviously a problem due to how violent she was. However, it was hard to imagine her sending a letter like that. She appeared to have even more bust and less brains than Asahina, which was impressive in a negative way. So, even if she did want to kill someone, she probably wouldn't do much planning ahead.

The other brute, Nekomaru Nidai, certainly had the potential to be dangerous with his strength, but while he at least showed a bit more intelligence than the gymnast, he didn't seem like the type either. Peko Pekoyama on the other hand… he wouldn't put it past her. She, too, had been quickly sorted into the 'dangerous' category in his mind after their introduction, due to her talent. And her quiet nature made it difficult to read her.

Another potential threat was Gundham Tanaka. That guy was obviously not quite there. He had yet to express any tendencies towards violent behavior, but the way he was talking about being an overlord of evil indicated a certain willingness to commit murder. Even if it was just part of his weird crazy talk, it was best to take such implications seriously.

Hiyoko Saionji on the other hand was all bark but he doubted that she had any bite to back it off. She was a little brat, nothing more than a schoolyard bully. She had to be kept in check regardless, in case she actually did have it in herself to do more than just move her mouth. Or in case she managed to provoke someone into killing her. That would be just as unfortunate.

Teruteru… well, he was more likely to commit a different kind of crime, but that was not the point. As for whether he might kill someone, that assessment would have to wait until after Byakuya had eaten some of the food he had prepared. A person's cooking could be very telling about their character. That much could easily be concluded by the one and only time he had put Toko in charge of preparing their dinner when they were in the outside world. It had tasted just as disgusting as she was.

Then there was Hajime Hinata. He didn't remember his talent, which was worrying. On top of that, he was pretty ordinary, but that made him stick out even more. He also seemed to be very agreeable and got along just fine with most of the others. Byakuya found it all very suspicious.

Mikan Tsumiki was too much of a doormat to become a killer, but she obviously wasn't mentally stable either. It was probably better to look after her at least sporadically. The musician, Ibuki Mioda, was annoying and obviously a nutcase, but then again, most of them seemed to be at least a little insane. Byakuya was almost thankful that he didn't have to deal with them during his first killing game. Then he reminded himself that he had to deal with them now, which was only marginally better.

The rest of them appeared to be more or less normal, thankfully. Kazuichi Soda, even though he looked like some sort of punk, was actually a bit of a wimp. That foreigner, Sonia Nevermind, was a little strange due to cultural differences, but apart from that, she seemed composed and dignified, as a princess like her should be. That also meant that she was probably quite intelligent.

Nagito Komaeda was peculiar in the way he reminded Byakuya of Makoto, but that was about it. It was quite curious. They had the same talent, the same friendly nature, even the same style to some degree. What was it about lucky students and green hoodies? And, like Makoto, he spoke like he didn't feel he was on the same level as the other Ultimates. Why was it that these foolish commoners always just accepted their roles in life without trying to do anything about it? Byakuya would never understand the sentiment.

Chiaki Nanami showed enthusiasm towards games of all kinds, but thankfully it seemed like she wasn't interested in a killing game. She also gave off the impression of being somewhat lazy, or generally very passive. With the way she frequently fell asleep, and how she didn't have any strong reactions to anything, she seemed harmless enough for the time being. If anything, he might have to watch out that nobody would attempt to kill her while she was sleeping or distracted by the arcade machine.

And as for Mahiru Koizumi, she apparently held a grudge against males in general, though for what reason he couldn't figure out. There didn't seem to be any real ill will behind it, either. It was more like she was expressing a prejudice she had against them. She was a little forceful, but she didn't strike him as a troublemaker.

In the end, he didn't come to a conclusion on who it might have been, even after the party started. But he had taken all the necessary precautions to prevent anything from happening, so he was confident that he would win against the unknown opponent. He had confiscated all the dangerous items he could find on any of the students, raided the supermarket for anything that could be helpful in any kind of situation imaginable and generally made sure that the location was secure. Everything was accounted for.

But even all of that didn't manage to scare the challenger away. That much was evident when the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. There was no way this could be mistaken for anything but an attempted murder. A coincidence was completely out of the question. Which was why he wasted not a single second in reaching for his duralumin case for his night-vision goggles. He just hoped that the culprit was someone in the room. If it was one of the others, like Peko, he might not be fast enough to get there to stop them.

He quickly scanned the room as soon as he had put the goggles on, ignoring the confused remarks of the other students. Immediately, he caught sight of something alarming. Across the room, Nagito was using a power cord to reach the table at the back of the dining hall and was about to lift up the tablecloth.