Chapter 3: Act 1: A Whole New World: II
Location: Dining Hall, Hotel Despair
Day: 11
Time: 7:15 AM
The dining hall was surprisingly empty when Akira and Sayaka arrived. They were used to seeing a large group of people, but today, it was different. What had happened the day before still hung over them. Such a horrible set of circumstances had revealed the kind of people that were among them. Akira didn't blame the others for wanting to keep their distance. Regardless of what had happened, he knew everyone had to move on, but that was something that would take a long time to achieve.
Hajime had been speaking with Peko, who looked far better than she had the day before. She still had a look of immense sadness on her face, but it seemed as if she was trying to keep going. Mikan had also been with her, likely speaking to her about her emotions. The Ultimate Nurse had started acting more like a mother hen, ensuring everyone was doing alright mentally and physically. He was glad someone like her was with them. She had gone through a lot in her life, but she had flipped her life around and put on a brave face. She was far stronger than most of them.
Celeste had been the only other person in the dining hall. Normally she would be having her morning tea, and playing a game of solitaire, but today, it was different. She had an unreadable look on her face, far more unreadable than normal. He wasn't sure if she had been disturbed by what happened, but no one would hide their emotions forever. How she had managed to hold herself together this far showed a true testament to who she was as a person. The only other person who had held it together was Kyoko. He always wondered how they managed to hold themselves together.
The Ultimate Lucky Student kept his focus mostly on his journal, as he summarized the events of what had happened the previous day. Normally, he would detail everything that had taken place right after, but he had been far too affected by the Class Trial. Everything was fresh in his mind, so he was able to write down everything to the finest detail, including the things that Monokuma had said to them after Hiro's Execution. He set his pen down, just as Sayaka had returned with his breakfast, sitting across from him.
"Are you doing alright, Akira? You've barely said a word since we got up."
"I'm fine. I was just trying to focus on what happened yesterday. I've been keeping a journal since the first day, making sure to write anything of importance down. Someone…" he paused, taking a deep breath. "Someone has to make a record of what's going on in here. So that everyone knows what happened here."
"So that's why I always see you jotting things down. That's smart, it might be useful for us later on." the blue-haired girl said. "Can I read it?"
"Sure, though it isn't anything you haven't already seen before," he admitted, pushing the journal forward. She flipped to the first page, reading the words he had written down. She silently read it as she ate, allowing him to do the same.
As they did so, ever so slowly, the others made their way to the dining hall. Eventually, seventeen students were present and accounted for, with Byakuya being the only one who was missing. Kiyotaka cleared his throat as he looked around the room, his usual happy expression being replaced with one of anguish.
"Good morning, everyone. I know we usually begin this a little earlier but I figured we could afford breaking the schedule a bit. Before we begin, I'd like to ask… is everyone alright?"
"We're as well as we can be, I guess," Mahiru replied, setting her coffee mug down. "How exactly are we supposed to feel? After something so horrible happened?"
"It won't be easy making peace with it all, but we must remain positive. The deceased wouldn't want us to mourn them forever. They would want to press onward and figure out a way out of here!" Hikari cheerfully said.
"Tch… I have no idea how you can be so fuckin' peppy all the time." Mondo said, shaking his head. "Seriously, how do you do it?"
"I'm just a naturally positive person, Mondo! I didn't have the best life growing up, but I couldn't just let myself fall into despair either. It was through hard work that I managed to get into this academy. And while this game is terrible, I try to make do with what I've been given!" he replied, smiling. "I have everything I need, I got fresh air in my lungs, several notebooks to draw in, food, water, and pleasant company. I'm quite alright."
"It seems as if you are following my suggestion quite closely. Adapting to our surroundings is how we all survive. Yet it seems that is becoming far harder to accomplish." the Ultimate Gambler said, crossing her arms. "The previous Class Trial has shown us one thing, at any moment, we can become a victim of the Mastermind."
"That won't happen again!" Chihiro confidently said fists balled tightly. "We're going to be just fine. The Mastermind might have a lot of dirty tricks to play, but we'll be able to counter them too!"
"Hell yeah~ Chihiro has a point! We just gotta keep positive and move forward!" Ibuki said, her energetic voice bouncing off the walls. "Nothing will come between us!"
"Indeed, I showed a great deal of weakness yesterday. The loss of Fuyuhiko has hit me very hard, but instead of moping around and giving into despair, I am going to do my best. I will stop at nothing until I am free, and when I am, the Mastermind will pay for their crimes." the Ultimate Swordswoman boldly announced.
"That's all well and good, but what about Byakuya…?" Kazuichi asked, looking around the room. Just mentioning his name made him frown. "The dude's seriously fucked up. I mean look at what he did. We're gonna have to do something about him."
"I agree with Kazuichi. Desecrating the dead the way he did is disgusting, and we need to make sure it doesn't happen again." Kiyotaka added, a look of seriousness on his face.
"But what can we do? This was done after Fuyuhiko's passing. If it happens again, how can we make sure it won't be done again?" Mikan asked, looking scared. "O-one of us could be… Oh God…!"
"That won't happen again. Because no one else is going to die." Akira said. Everyone turned to him, seeing the firm look on his face. "This last motive proved to us all that anyone can be turned into a victim. We have to trust each other, wholeheartedly. If we do that, then the Mastermind won't be able to use anything against us. Eliminating that piece off the board ensures our survival."
"In the long run, yes, but we'd still be stuck here. I don't want to keep living in this academy, Akira." Hiyoko said.
"Be that as it may, we have everything we need. Food, water, clothing, and anything that we may need in our mundane lives. It might be hard getting used to, but we've already been here for 11 days. I'm certain we can stick it out a little longer," the Ultimate Princess said.
"Eleven days, huh? It feels like such a long time." Hina said, a distraught look on her face. "I was hoping the police would come and get us out of here but… I'm honestly starting to lose hope."
"No one is going to get us out, Hina. The faster you make peace with that, the easier everything will be." Sayaka said, handing Akira his notebook back. "We're gonna have to figure out a way ourselves."
"Even so, we can't deny the danger Monokuma presents us with. He doesn't care about anything other than our suffering. It's all part of some elaborate punishment for some grave sin we committed." Kyoko said, breaking her silence. "The elaborate executions, the drawn-out trial, they go hand in hand with his sick little game. To make us all feel less than human."
"Agreed… The Mastermind is clearly putting us through this for a reason. If we can figure out what that reason might be, we might be able to get away." Hajime said.
"Come now. Getting away is but a fever dream, something that will likely end in many more deaths. We simply have to make the best of things, do our best to get along, and live here together, in peace. Forget about the outside world, and accept this new life. That is the only hope we have now," the gambler said, smiling at everyone.
"Hey, if you wanna live here until your hair falls out, feel free to, but I don't. I got shit I gotta get back to. Not to mention this shithole isn't the best place to make a life with anyone." Hiyoko said, shaking her head. "Do you expect us to just live here, pick one of the guys here, have kids, and grow old together, get real?"
"K-kids?" Hina asked, shuddering. "Oh, I'm not ready to have kids!"
"No one said anything about having kids!" Mahiru replied.
"Meh… I like kids but I don't really wanna have any." Ibuki said, grinning. "Wouldn't mind trying to make some though, that's the fun part~"
"Can we please focus here?" Kiyotaka cried out, clearing his throat, a blush on his face. "While living here for the rest of our lives wouldn't be ideal, it is a far better option than dying. However I will say this right now, no one will engage in sexual intercourse within the academy. It is unbecoming of a school environment."
"Do dildos count?"
"Hiyoko!"
"What? I was just asking." the dancer said, smirking.
"Alright, that conversation aside, we need to get back on track," Hikari said, taking the lead once more. "It's been a day since the Class Trial, right? That means we should have gotten access to the third floor. How about we take in our new surroundings and see what we can find."
"You know, I had completely forgotten about that," Akira said, leaning back in his chair. "The third floor, huh? I doubt we'll find a means of escape through there."
"We should take the time to check the areas we've already been familiar with. New things might've opened up to us. Everyone else, let's do our best on the third floor." Hikari said, rising to his feet.
Akira followed suit, as he had been one of the first to finish his breakfast. It wasn't long after that Sayaka had joined him. They walked in silence, not having much to say as they climbed up to the second floor. Reaching the stairs to the next floor, they noticed the metal gate covering it was indeed gone. Sharing a nod, the pair started walking up, noticing the iron plates blocking the windows, a common occurrence now.
The light shifted from soft ocean blue to a vibrant violet, throwing Akira off for a moment, making him cringe a bit from the strain on his eyes. There was a neon sign reading "Hope's Peak Academy 3F" glowing brightly on the wall, but it didn't say anything else. He turned to his companion, smiling at her.
"Well, it's your choice. We can go left or we can go right."
"Let's go left, something tells me we're gonna find something important in that direction," she said.
"Alright, you take the lead then, Miss Maizono."
"Why thank you kindly, good sir~" she replied, giggling.
The left path opened up the more they ventured forth. Three sets of doors greeted them when they made it to the end of the corridor. There were visible signs above them, reading Classroom 3-A, 3-B, and finally, 3-C. The doors resembled the ones from the other classrooms, it was likely they weren't going to find anything there. But they checked them nonetheless.
Stepping into Classroom 3-A, they didn't find anything of note. There was a drawing of three Monokumas on the board, each wearing a vastly different costume. "Despair Squadron Monokuma" was written in bright colors. Much like the other rooms, the windows had been boarded up tight. Sayaka stood in front of the board, looking at the drawings on it with a frown.
"You know, I'd like to know who took the time to draw that disgusting little robot on every single chalkboard."
"Someone with far too much time on their hands. Did you see the banner next to it?" the black-haired boy said, pointing to the words written on the large white banner, hidden slightly by the surveillance camera. He shook his head, hands on his hips as he read it. "Long Live the Despair Squad… ugh… I wanna burn it."
"Maybe we should save that for later." the idol said, giving him a grin.
They went through the same routine as always, checking the metal plates, finding they were firmly affixed to the windows. They checked the cubbies, all of the books, the inside of the desks, and even the tops of the high shelves, just in case they missed something. But they found nothing. Classroom 3-B was similarly the same, nothing of note was found there, other than a drawing of Monokuma with the phrase "Pick my nose" written beneath it.
Classroom 3-C was far different. All of the desks had been pushed to the very back of the room, neatly stacked on each other. All of the chairs had also been placed there, leaving the entire classroom nearly as a big open space. It was filled with cardboard boxes, most of them being sealed up with tape. The back shelves were filled with books on various subjects, each of them looking as if they hadn't been used in a long time. Akira knelt down next to one of the boxes, pulling at the flaps, peering inside.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, reaching into it. He pulled out what looked like a birdcage, setting it down on the ground. He reached into it, seeing more items inside. "Birdseed, tiny mirrors, a perch… Guess this class had a pet."
"I really hope someone took it before the academy closed. It would be awful to find out it died trapped in here." Sayaka said. Akira put everything back into the box, pulling the next one open. The blue-haired girl leaned forward a bit, very confused. "Are those dog toys?"
"Yeah, there's a ton of them in there too." the boy said, reaching into the box. There were a myriad of toys inside, from squeaky toys, to rope toys, dog treats, tennis balls, the whole shebang. He looked around, seeing something at the very bottom, a black dog collar. When he pulled it out, he looked at the tag, eyes widening a bit. "Wait a minute…"
"Is something wrong?"
"This collar…" he narrowed his eyes for a moment, as he ran his thumb over the tag, turning it over. "キャスパー the way this is written, it's the same as-"
He tightened his hold on the collar, swallowing the lump in his throat. "This collar, and this tag… This is Casper's."
"Casper? Your puppy?"
"Yes. This is the same tag that I got for him when I took him to his first appointment. This was before he was neutered, I got him chipped and as an official welcome to my family, I bought him the best collar and tag I could find." he said, glancing back at the box. "All of these toys… I don't remember buying them, but if his tag is here…"
"Did you bring him with you when you came to the academy?" she asked.
"No. I did consider it, but I wanted to check in with the headmaster to make sure I had permission. My sister was the one who agreed to take care of him. Monokuma's goons caught her and took her hostage… she was probably with Casper." he said, closing his eyes tightly, holding the collar close to him. "I hope my dog is safe… but if they have Maki then…"
"You can't give into those emotions! This was probably placed here by Monokuma, to get you riled up. This probably means nothing! I mean… what sick bastard would do something to hurt an innocent animal?"
"I dunno… We're talking about the same person who executed two of our friends and encourages us to kill each other," he said, sighing. He rose to his feet, pocketing the collar as he did so. "You're right though, I shouldn't fall for this. We should keep looking through these boxes, to see if there's anything of importance in them."
For the next few minutes, the pair looked through the boxes, finding a vast array of items. From textbooks to school materials, but there was nothing that stood out to them. Sayaka did find another collar, this one having the name "Grand Bois Cheri" etched in a very fancy script. She decided to keep it, placing it into her skirt pocket.
Heading back the way they came, they noticed a door leading into another room. The sign above it read "Rec Room". Akira was greatly confused, considering there was an Arcade down on the second floor. But he shrugged it off, stepping inside the room.
Celeste was the only one present in the room. The walls were blue and white, in a pattern that made his eyes hurt more than the lavender lights. There were neon signs around the room, glowing in bright colors. An Othello set had been placed in the center of the room, alongside a pool table. The back wall had a dartboard, as well as a rack filled with magazines. Overall, it was a very cozy-looking room.
"I never would have expected a recreation room to be up here, given the arcade downstairs," he said, causing Celeste to look at him.
"It seems as though the Arcade was built as a later addition. Perhaps the rise of gaming paved the way for titles in video gaming and eSpots. It would make sense." she replied, smiling a bit as she gave the room another once over. "There's Othello, shogi, darts, billiards, and even a remarkable collection of magazines. Those should be enough to keep boredom at bay if video games aren't your forte at least."
Sayaka wandered over to the magazine rack, seeing a few of the ones on display. She noticed one hidden behind a motorcycle magazine, pulling it out. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw what it was. "W-what the fuck is this doing here?!"
"Huh? What's wrong, Sayaka?" Akira asked, only for her to turn around, putting the magazine she had found behind her back.
"No! You can't see it, okay?"
"Why's that? Oh… perhaps it's an embarrassing cover photo of yourself?" the gambler asked, holding back a laugh. "Darling, I doubt you look that bad."
"It isn't that, I just don't want anyone to see this thing, alright? I paid hundreds of thousands of yen to make sure they were destroyed. Please just let me have this?"
Akira adopted a pensive look, wondering what it could be, only to recall how angry she had gotten the last time he brought it up. He cleared his throat, a firm look on his face. "It's the summer collection, isn't it?"
She let out a sigh, nodding. "Yes… I fought so hard not to participate in this, and my agency still forced me into it. It's the only time I had to force my hand. I don't want anyone to see it, so please, just don't ask about it."
"If it's that serious, then you may keep it. I'm not going to make a fuss over something as trivial as that," Celeste said, looking unbothered by her request.
"Aw, here I thought that magazine would give people some happy vibes~"
The three turned to the entrance, seeing the familiar visage of their psychotic captor. Monokuma gingerly stepped in, the grin on his face ever-present. "I had to spend a lot of money to find that, young lady, and I am not going to let you take it."
"I'm not putting it back." Sayaka challenged, glaring at the bear. He quickly caved with a shrug.
"Meh, fine. But be sure to hide it from your roommate, he might take it in the middle of the night. Though what's the point of jacking it to a picture when you can do it to the real thing, hehe."
"Do you have anything useful to say or are you just here to mess with us?" Akira asked, clearly annoyed by the bear.
"Of course, I'm here to say something useful! I just wanted to say that you are free to read all of the magazines you'd like here. We got all kinds! Fashion, motorcycles, martial arts, video games, baseball, anything in between!" he said cheerfully, only to grow angry. "But no dirty mags! This is a school, after all. If you want a quick fix, then you'll have to make do with the swimsuit mags… or you know, wait until Sayaka is asleep."
Unbothered by his statement, Celeste addressed the bear. "Will you be adding to our collection as new issues come out?"
"Oof… sorry, no can do. Even if I wanted to, right now, magazines are kinda…" he trailed off, causing Akira to frown.
"Kinda what…?"
"Oops! Nothing, never mind, no no no! Anyway, that's all for my expoundation! Bye-bye~" he said, swiftly leaving. It was quiet for a moment, the silence broken by the Ultimate Gambler, who had a pensive look on her face.
"What he just said…"
"Yeah… it bothers me too. What could he have meant by that?"
"Maybe he just doesn't want to bother replacing them?" Sayaka asked with a shrug. "I mean, realistically, how many of us are going to read these? It would be troublesome to get more."
"Life here would be that much nicer if he could add some new issues once in a while. How disappointing,"
"What could he have meant by that? What's going on that would make it hard to get magazines? It's not like magazine companies are suddenly going to stop. Unless he just doesn't want us to have access to current events. I'll have to make note of that." he thought, pulling his notebook from his pocket, quickly jotting this down, beneath the small note he made about the collars he had found.
"Celeste, this might come out of nowhere, but you have a pet cat, right?" Sayaka asked.
"Why yes, I do. I miss him quite dearly, he did wonders in keeping me relaxed," she said, a genuine smile on her face.
"Is his name Grand Bois Cheri?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
The Ultimate Pop-Sensation reached into her pocket for the collar she had found, handing it to Celeste. She looked at it closely, a neutral look on her face. "Where did you find this?"
"Classroom 3-C. There were some boxes filled with stuff there, three of them had pet supplies. Akira found his puppy's collar inside one, and I found that one there as well. We didn't see any cat toys, but there was a lot of cat food, litter, and other things there."
"Hm…" the gambler mumbled. She forced a smile onto her face. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Sayaka. I shall take a look for myself."
"Sure, it only feels right given it's your close friend," the idol replied.
"I shall be taking my leave. Akira, if you have the time, I'd love to play a game of shogi. I'm certain you'd do well."
"I suck at regular chess, I doubt shogi would be any better," he admitted, chuckling softly. "But sure, I don't mind."
With her departure, Sayaka and Akira were left to their own devices. After a quick look around the room, they ended up leaving, finding nothing of interest. As they moved further into the third floor, confused as to how expansive and snake-like the corridors felt, they spotted a familiar violet-clad young woman, leaning against a wall, clearly lost in thought. Having heard their footsteps, she looked up, giving the pair a nod.
"Have you found anything of interest?"
"There were some boxes in Classroom 3-C filled with pet supplies. I ended up finding my puppy's collar inside one. Sayaka found the collar belonging to Celestia's pet cat." Akira said, digging his hand in his pocket, holding out the collar, which she briefly examined.
"Hm… interesting. I wouldn't have expected to find something like this here, but given the Mastermind's track record, I wouldn't put it past them to leave this as bait."
"There was something else," Sayaka said, looking away for a moment. "The Rec Room has a shelf filled with magazines. When Celeste asked if new issues would be added, Monokuma said no. He alluded to something going on, making it harder for magazines to be procured."
"Another riddle, then…? Fantastic, as if we needed more of those," she sarcastically replied, shaking her head. "Anyway, I conducted a brief investigation, it seems like there's a physics lab and an art room. I also found a huge machine of some kind in the physics lab, though I've got no idea what it does."
"We'll check it out, there has to be something of interest there," Akira said, grinning. "Why don't you take a break? You gotta give the ol' head meat a little break or else you'll just overwork yourself."
"Sure. I suppose I can give the ol head meat a little break, as you've eloquently put it. I wish you luck, though with you, I'm sure you don't need it." she answered, quietly excusing herself.
The main third-floor plaza was larger and far more spacious than the second floor was. It had large vaulted ceilings and giant support pillars as well. Gone was the purple light, and in its place, was the sea blue light from the second floor. The windows were, as expected, covered in thick steel plating. There were scuff marks on the walls, as well as what looked like patched holes.
"What the hell?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he looked closer at the wall. He traced his finger over the patched holes, frowning. "These are bullet holes."
"Huh? Bullet holes? How can you even tell?"
"I just can. From the looks of things, they look like 9mm bullets. Something must have happened here that led to people using guns. There's a lot of them, you wouldn't be able to notice unless you looked closely, though." he said.
"What do you think happened here? If they patched those holes up, I mean?" Sayaka asked.
"Not a clue. Though it is rather worrying knowing that something happened here that ended up in a shootout. Let's keep this one to ourselves, we don't need people getting freaked out about it."
Continuing on ahead, the pair arrived at the Art Room. Its arching entranceway looked welcoming. There was a window off to the side, the only window that wasn't covered in steel plating, but only because it was inside the building. Stepping inside, they were greeted by white light. There were several art stations around the room, large wooden tables, and chairs neatly in place. There were stone statues placed all around the room, along with sketch pads, displaying very well-drawn versions of those statues.
The back wall was covered in a collage of drawings. Much like every other area of the school, there was a large surveillance camera, scanning the room as if on a cycle. Hikari was standing near the center of the room, a very pleased expression on his face. Along with him was the Ultimate Mechanic, Kazuichi, who looked rather depressed, the expression on his face reflecting immense sadness. There was a door at the back of the room, which was left open, voices coming from beyond it.
Sensing their presence, Hikari turned to them, his eyes practically glowing with excitement. "This Art Room is among the largest I've seen in a long time. It's full of art supplies of very kind! Though I'm more experienced in digital art, pencil art is something I enjoy doing. I am definitely going to enjoy this room."
"I'm happy to hear that, Hikari. It must be rough to be a graphic designer without anything to draw. I know you said you had supplies downstairs, but the stuff here is far better than what the store has."
"Mhmm! I have paintbrushes, paints of every color imaginable, several canvases, and then some! If you have any requests, do feel free to let me know! I usually charge a premium for my services but for my friends, I don't charge a cent." he said, a look of pride on his face. "Come on! Give me a request, I'll have it done tonight!"
"Hm… if that's the case, would you mind drawing Sayaka like one of your French girls?"
"Excuse me?!" the girl cried, causing the pair to laugh.
"It was a joke, Saya, don't worry." the boy said, pursing his lips a bit. "I don't have any specific requests but maybe… Do you think you could draw a portrait of our friends? The ones that aren't here with us?"
"Sure, I can do that. In fact, I think it would be very appropriate given the circumstances. We can place it in the dormitory plaza, so they'll always be with us. If we find some candles and some incense, we'll be able to light it in their honor." the hazel-haired lad said cheerfully.
"I like that. Though I'm not sure if we're going to find incense or candles. I guess we'll keep an eye out for that stuff." the idol replied.
"Did you find anything else while you were here, Hikari?"
"I did, aside from the stuff I mentioned, there are a lot of sculpting tools. The back room has various carpentry tools as well. Hammers and mallets of different sizes as well as large marble blocks and larger pieces of equipment. Hope's Peak Academy kept this place quite well stocked for their more artistic talents." he said, his mood souring a bit. "Though if I care to admit, there's one statue that throws off the entire room."
He gestured to the Monokuma statue across the room, their mood instantly souring. Sayaka's nose scrounged up a bit, blanching at the sight. "How gross."
"It's quite well detailed too, whoever did that had a lot of time on their hands," Akira said, sighing. "Do you think we can break it?"
"Wouldn't that be considered violence against the headmaster?" the graphic designer asked, making him sigh.
"I'm gonna take a look around, Akira. How about you talk to Kazuichi? He's been standing there looking at the wall for a while."
Stepping toward the mechanic, he noticed the man was staring at a portrait. It featured what looked like an angel, sharing a kiss with a human man. The angel was nearly nude, her hair covering her modesty, her wing shielding the rest of her body. The man looked quite handsome as well, and was holding a rose in his grasp. It was a very beautiful statue, clearly whoever had sculpted it had put a lot of time and effort into it.
The pink-haired boy let out a sigh, glancing away from the statue for a moment, meeting Akira's gaze. "Hey, Akira."
"Hey man, what's up? You're looking kind of depressed."
"That's because I am. I fucked up man, I made an ass out of myself and now Miss Sonia doesn't want anything to do with me," he said.
"Christ, that the hell did he say to her?" the boy thought to himself, coughing into his fist. "I'm uh… sorry to hear that."
"It's all my fault, I accused her and you of being involved with Leon and Makoto's deaths, and just yesterday, I did the same with Fuyuhiko! Not only that, but I never bothered to get to know her. I was too excited and only cared about her looks. Now it's too late…" he said, clutching his head tightly. "I'm a jackass! I deserve to be treated like this!"
"Look man, I'm not gonna pretend to agree with your approach, but you came a little bit strong. Sonia is a tender kind of woman, she's clearly had a lack of friends growing up. She came to Japan to make friends and forget, for however long she was here, that she was a princess. So when you only bring up how pretty she is or the fact she is a princess, of course, she's gonna get mad."
"I know that now! I should have gotten to know her better, I should have asked her about her likes… but instead, I pressured her to go to the pool, blamed her for two deaths she didn't commit, and was generally an ass around her." the mechanic said.
"Wait… I'm sorry, did you say you pressured her into going to the pool?"
"I'd rather not talk about that man. I just…I need some advice. What can I do to fix it? I genuinely want to start over. To get to know her as a person." Kazuichi said, a pleading look on his face. Akira didn't know what to say, he was honestly a little disturbed by what the young man had confessed.
"You want my honest opinion?"
"Yeah! I mean, you and Sayaka get along super well! I figured you'd have something I could use to fix my relationship with Miss Sonia." he said, a small smile appearing on his face. "I mean dude, you are dating the Ultimate Pop-Sensation, any piece of advice that comes from you is worth its weight in gold!"
"Me and Sayaka aren't dating, Kazuichi," he said, scratching his head. "We're just super close because of the circumstances."
"Oh… but I thought… I saw you holding hands last night."
Akira took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Look, I'm gonna be 100% real with you. I think you should leave Sonia alone. She's made it obvious she doesn't want you to be near her. I can't imagine a scenario where she'd agree to even speak to you again. At least not right now. Give it time, and let her be the one who initiates things."
"But.. but how will she know how sorry I am?"
"By not speaking to her. The fastest way to get in her good graces is by doing what she asks of you. Let her cool off and maybe, just maybe, she'll forgive you. And if not, then you have to let it go. Sometimes, people aren't meant to be together, friends or otherwise, and you have to respect those boundaries."
"That's… not fair."
"Of course, it's not fair, but we have no room to argue. We're stuck in an academy with the incentive to kill each other and have watched two of our friends be brutally murdered. We don't have room to talk. Just leave Sonia alone and things should get better." he said, swiveling on his foot. "Oh, and don't call her Miss Sonia or Lady Sonia or Princess, just Sonia will do. She isn't a Princess here."
"I… yeah, you're right, you're absolutely right. If you see her, will you apologize to her for me?" he asked, a hopeful look on his face. Akira sighed, giving him a nod. "Thanks man, I appreciate it!"
"Sure."
Akira decided to head to the back room. It was there that he found Sayaka, lost in conversation with Mondo and Taka, who were boisterously laughing, being extremely close to each other. Looking around, he noticed all of the tools and things that Hikari had made note of, including the large marble blocks that had been placed at the far end of the storage room. They were a sight to behold.
He approached the trio, a small smile on his face. "So, the Brotherhood continues?"
"Hell yeah! And it's all thanks to you, Akira! You serving as our witness was the birth of this awesome relationship! Taka and I have been discussing things and we'd like for you to be an honorary bro too!"
"Yes! Let us engage in brother-like activities! This expansive art room has given me many ideas! Especially because we have plenty of supplies to get creative!" the Ultimate Moral Compass said, making the boy swallow the lump in his throat.
"Ah… as fun as that sounds, me and Sayaka are sort of busy exploring. Plus I'm not that good of an artist, or a sculptor, or a carpenter."
"Don't worry about that stupid shit man! I'll teach ya how to be a carpenter. I was planning on becoming one after high school. I'm really good at breakin' shit, so I figured I'd be good at building it instead. We can start small, making birdhouses for the birds and shit."
"That sounds like fun! I remember making a birdhouse out of popsicle sticks when I was in elementary school." Sayaka happily said, grinning. "Would you mind if I joined you?"
"Um… well, this is supposed to be a brotherhood-building exercise but-"
"Taka, bro, it's alright. It wouldn't be right if we invited Akira and didn't invite his girl along with him. We gotta be inclusive. 'Sides, she's practically a bro too." the Ultimate Biker said, causing the pair to share a look for a moment.
"Mondo, I'm not Akira's girl, we're just friends."
"Yeah sure, whatever you say." the man returned, clearly not believing her statement. "Anyway, once we get real comfy here in the art room, we'll build some bitchin' birdhouses. They'll be able to take care of their bird families and will be the happiest birds ever!"
"Bro, you are so kind-hearted to think of something like this! This makes me so glad to have met you, man!" Taka said, breaking into tears. Mondo hugged him, rubbing his back.
"It's alright man, just let it out. We're gonna be here for a while," he said. Sayaka turned around, grabbing Akira's wrist, pulling him along.
"Well, we've got other places to check out so, see ya," she said. She let out a sigh the moment they left the Art Room, shuddering. "I get why Hina said their brotherhood felt like sexual harassment."
"It isn't that bad, just let them have their fun. It keeps them distracted at the very least." the Ultimate Lucky Student said. "Now, if only the others could be like them."
"I'd rather not."
Akira rolled his shoulders, an apologetic look on his face. "Hey, about what they said? I'm sorry. They're not the only ones, Kazuichi said the same thing to me."
"Don't worry about that. It doesn't bother me at all! Though I'm surprised they immediately think we're a couple." she replied, her smile dropping a bit. "I suppose being so close to you would leave everyone confused."
"Eh, let them think what they want. We're just close friends, that's all," he said with a shrug. Staring ahead, he spotted the rest of the spacious third floor, the lights becoming a bit dimmer the further the floor opened up. "I guess that way there leads to the Physics Room. I want to know what that machine Kyoko found is for."
"Just as long as you don't touch it, you didn't make it this far into this terrible game to die from electric shock." the idol said, causing the boy to chuckle.
"Is Miss Maizono concerned about me?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I don't want you to die, dummy," she said, walking past him, nose held high. He rolled his eyes, following after his friend. The pair noticed a set of doors, leading into another room. There were two solid wood boards nailed in front of it, stopping it from opening.
They stopped in front of it, reading the sign that hung above the doorway. "Virtual Reality Room? Hope's Peak Academy was working on Virtual Reality?"
"That's news to me… all I know about that is that it was in its infancy. It was anime like Sword Art Online and .hack/Sign that got people really into the idea. Movies like The Matrix did it too. But to think they'd start taking something like this seriously."
"You watched Sword Art Online?" Akira asked curiously.
"It was mainstream, and I liked it a little bit better than Attack on Titan. Though now that I think back on it, Sword Art Online was really mid," she said with a shrug. "Oh well, we can't go in here, so let's not worry about it."
The Ultimate Lucky Student let out a hum, a pensive look on his face. "You don't think… What if all of this is a virtual reality game? What if we're just victims of some psychopath who mind-trapped us in something like that."
"I'm sure we'd have access to a menu or something like that."
"Fair enough, I guess."
Akira and Sayaka kept moving forward, their exploration leading them to the Physics Lab. The room was gigantic, filled with various machines and artifacts of various kinds. Just like Kyoko had said, there was a massive machine in the center of the room. It had various screens on the front, along with a large glass orb which was pulsing slightly. A catwalk had been made, along with a ladder leading up to it. There was a giant series of fans attached to the machine, various pipes, valves, and other odds and ends being attached to it. It was truly a sight to behold.
Hajime, Sonia, and Chihiro were also there, searching around the room. Chihiro seemed to be the only one who seemingly knew what everything was. Of course, being the Ultimate Programmer likely granted her some degree of expertise when it came to machines. Having heard them enter, the short girl smiled at them, shortening the distance between them.
"Hi Akira, Sayaka! How's your search gone?"
"Fairly good, I'd say. The Third Floor certainly has a lot of interesting places, though sadly, no means of escape," he said, placing his hands in his pockets. "What about you? Have you found anything of interest?"
"Hm, aside from this large machine? Not really. There are a lot of items meant for physics experiments. Those glass cases back there have large oxygen tanks, and there's a room in the back containing a lot more equipment."
"We've already looked through the back room. We found a lot of deadly chemicals, including formaldehyde." Sonia said, looking away for a moment. "We um… also found embalming fluid."
"It doesn't seem to be used but… the fact that it exists doesn't really sit well with me," Hajime said, sighing. "It makes me wonder what Monokuma does with the bodies after they're… gone."
"I hope he at least has enough respect to give them a proper burial," Sayaka said, rubbing her arm nervously. "I don't like thinking about that sort of stuff, but the last thing I need is someone doing some messed up shit to my body. Especially knowing people like Byakuya exist."
"You aren't going to die, Saya, I won't let that happen. So don't even think about it, alright?" Akira said, having taken her hand into his own. "We're gonna get out of here, trust me!"
"Hehehe~ Alright, I trust you!" she replied, glancing at the machine. "Though now I gotta know what this thing is. It looks all futuristic!"
"Why, it's a time machine!"
The four jumped at the voice, seeing Monokuma's form waddling into the room, stopping right next to the machine. "This baby here can take you to any time period you want! However, I don't recommend going to the B.C. area. You might not make it back alive."
"Get real, time machines aren't real, they're all science fiction." the boy said, crossing his arms.
"No, they aren't! Do you not remember Doctor Brown? He successfully managed to create a time machine! It is one hundred percent possible."
"Sonia, that was a movie." Hajime deadpanned.
"Dah… I'm just messing with you guys! No, but for real, this giant machine is an air purifier. All of the delicious air that you are currently breathing in is being made by this puppy. So don't touch it, because if you do, it'll be bad for all of us." the robotic bear said, looking at the giant machine with a close eye. "We have to take care of it, it was made by the Ultimate Physicist. But sadly they don't go here anymore, since they were, you know, killed in the Tragedy."
"The Tragedy?" Chihiro asked.
"Oooo… shoot, I wasn't supposed to say that, huh? Just a… pretend you didn't hear that, yeah? All you need to know is that this thing is keeping you alive, and if you wanna stay alive, you can't touch it. Either that or you'll end up joining the other students who are all pushing daisies right now, hahahaha! Have fun kids, but not too much fun!"
Just as fast as he had arrived, the mechanical bear was gone. Akira stared at the machine, eyes narrowed in thought. "The Ultimate Physicist… died in a Tragedy? What could that mean?"
"He's probably pulling our leg. I mean, if an Ultimate Student were to die, wouldn't it be on the news? Hope's Peak Academy has its own Television Channel, and I'm sure that'd make national news." Hajime said, in a dismissive tone. "It's all probably just some fabricated story."
"If you say so," he replied. "I'm not sure I agree with you, Hajime. Monokuma tends to let clues slip out from time to time. Whatever Tragedy the Ultimate Physicist was in must have been big. But if that's the case, why don't any of us know about this? Who even is the Ultimate Physicist?"
"We must remain steadfast in our search, everyone! Don't let Monokuma distract you or fill your head with lies! We'll be just fine without his useless words!" Sonia cheerfully said.
"Hey Sonia, do you think we could talk real quick? It's kind of important." Akira said, remembering his previous conversation with Kazuichi. She nodded, a worried look on her face. He led her away from the others, near the other end of the physics lab. He gave her a warm smile, trying to keep her relaxed. "You aren't in trouble or anything and nothing bad has happened, okay?"
"I understand. Though if you are speaking to me in private, it likely has to do with a certain someone, doesn't it? If it is then I don't want to hear it."
"Look… I'm not going to put in a good word for him or be a wingman or anything, I just want to hear your side of things. He told me he pressured you into going to the pool?"
"Yes, he did. I tried telling him no, even told him that we had another chess game planned out, but he kept insisting. Not only that, he also kept talking about seeing me in a swimsuit. He made me feel so uncomfortable, and didn't stop. Hajime arrived shortly after, but by then, I just wanted it to be over and done with."
"Oh… sweetheart, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You don't deserve that."
"No, I don't. You must understand, Akira, ever since I was young, I've had so many people like him speak to me. All of them suitors, never caring about me, or my personality, my likes or dislikes. It's become painfully hard to make true honest friends. I came to Japan to forget the hardships I've faced in my life, to forget I was the Ultimate Princess, and Kazuichi kept reminding me of that."
She looked away from him, a genuine look of pain on her face. "The way he looks at me, how he speaks about my body so openly. How he boldly suggested he sleeps in the same room as me, how he'd be soothed by my perfume, it's all so disgusting and gross. It makes the hair on my neck stand on end just thinking about it. So I did what I should have done in the first place, I told him to stay away from me. And no one, not even you, not even Hajime, will make me falter on my decision."
"I'm not here to talk you into anything or to make you reconsider what you said. I just wanted to tell you that he said he was sorry."
"If he was, he wouldn't have done it. The only thing I want from him is to leave me alone. I've already told him that given time, I might consider starting over. But how do you expect me to be friends with someone so creepy? Someone who blamed me of murder twice?" She asked, looking away from the boy, shuddering a bit. "If I'm being honest, I wouldn't shed a tear if he died. It'd give me peace of mind, if anything."
"Now Sonia, you don't really mean that, do you?" Akira asked. The silence he received spoke volumes to him. He sighed, hugging the princess, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. If something happens like that again, if Kazuichi does that to you again, you tell me and I'll take care of it, okay?"
"Of course! Thank you for understanding, Akira. You're a great friend." she said, smiling at him. "Now then, shall we continue our exploration?"
"Indubitably!"
"Hey, Akira, look at this!"
Having heard Sayaka's call, the pair headed back toward the main part of the room. The Ultimate Pop-Sensation was holding something in her grasp. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a digital camera. She held it out to the boy, who looked it over for a moment. "Where'd you get this?"
"It was inside one of the drawers over there. It looks alright but I don't know if it works," Chihiro answered. Akira checked it over, noticing the scuff marks on the front. It was pink and featured an odd-looking anime character which he vaguely recognized.
Holding the power button, he saw the screen lighting up. "Well, everything is in working order. Let's see what's on the memory card… Hm… looks like there's a single picture."
The four crowded around him as he opened the photo up. Much to their surprise, it was a picture of Fuyuhiko, a look of joy on his face. He was pointing at Hiro, who had slipped on what looked like a banana peel, having face-planted on the floor. There was a blonde girl in the picture, who had a look of genuine amusement on her face. She was dressed in a school uniform which looked very familiar to Akira. It looked like it had been taken in the First Floor Plaza. The lights were normal, and the doors to the Entrance Hall were wide open. The thing that stood out the most was the missing steel door.
"This is…" he started, completely at a loss for words.
"Fuyuhiko and Hiro… and they look happy. Peko's there too and look, the giant steel door isn't there!" Chihiro pointed out. Akira zoomed into the photo, seeing parts of the Entrance Hall. The sun seemed to be shining brightly, and he could even see shadows just outside of the doors.
"What could this be? There's no way Hiro and Fuyuhiko were this friendly with each other. And who's that girl behind them?" Sonia questioned curiously.
"Natsumi Kuzuryuu." the Ultimate Lucky Student quietly answered. "She's Fuyuhiko's little sister, a member of Hope's Peak Academy's Reserve Course. That uniform she's wearing is the one from there. I didn't think they'd be this close with Hiro, given how he owed her money."
"What could this mean? Do you think this picture is fake?" Hajime asked curiously.
"I don't think so… But it's kind of hard to see if it is, since it's on a camera. We'd have to look at the data on the card itself." Chihiro said, her eyes widening. "Oh! I think I can determine if it's real or not but um… I can't say how. You just have to trust me, okay?"
"I guess…?" Sayaka replied, confused.
"Don't worry, I'll let you all know what it is soon. I just can't because…" she paused, gesturing to the camera with her head. "You understand, right?"
"I figured you were cooking something in secret. Don't worry, we trust you." Akira said, handing her the digital camera. She removed the memory card, placing it in her pocket, giving the device back to him.
"I'll let you and everyone else know soon. We should probably start heading back, I'm sure the others are done with their own investigations." the Ultimate Programmer said.
"Agreed, we should do our best to remain together as much as possible. That's how we prevent more tragedies from happening." Sonia said, adopting a firm look. "Though we must still talk about Byakuya and his actions. He cannot continue behaving the way he has. Loose cannons like him will lead to nothing but trouble."
"What exactly can we do? It's not like we can imprison him or something. That wouldn't be right. That'd make us just as bad as the Mastermind," Hajime said, crossing his arms. "We should just avoid him as much as possible. Though that's easier said than done."
"I'll talk to him."
The four looked at Sayaka, curious looks on their faces. Akira quirked a brow, lips pressed into a thin line. "Sayaka, I dunno if that's a good idea."
"Someone has to make him understand that what he's doing isn't right. I'll be fine, what's the worst he can do, kill me?" she jokingly said, giggling. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Hm… I don't know, the last thing I need is that bastard doing something to you. Maybe I can come along?"
"Why? You know how much he dislikes you. If you go with me, he'd likely just walk away. Just trust me with this, Akira. Okay? I've got good intuition, you know? I know things will be fine."
He gave her a firm look, earning one in return. He held her gaze for several seconds before relenting, looking away from her. "Fine, I'll let you talk to him. But do it in an open place, I'll be on the same floor. All you have to do is scream and I'll be there in seconds."
"That works! Let's get going then, I'm sure I know exactly where he is." the pop idol said, a knowing look on her face.
Location: Library, Hope's Peak Academy 2F
Day: 11
Time: 2:00 PM
Just as he had predicted, the Archives within the library were finally open, allowing him to venture inside. The room was rather spacious, filled to the brim with hundreds of books. There were shelves packed with files and other things. Byakuya noticed there was an entire shelf that was empty, likely being files that had important information about the school. There were other things strewn about, papers flung in all directions, extra podiums, and other things. Despite that, it was a treasure trove of information.
Stepping into the room, his blue eyes scanned the shelves, finding exactly what he was looking for. It was a black file, one that normal people wouldn't have access to. Pulling it free, he looked at the cover, smirking.
The Murder Cases of Ryouma and Oryou: Top Secret
"I'm quite impressed with Hope's Peak Academy. When they said they boasted a top-secret network capable of getting any kind of information… Well, I didn't think it was true. Color me surprised." the man thought to himself.
He flipped through to the middle pages, looking at one of the grisly pictures that had been taken by police. It was the aftermath of a bloody battle, with bodies strewn across the floor. There were shell casings of various types all over the floor. There was a picture of a man, slumped over on the ground, with a butter knife sticking out of his eye socket. Another picture was of an armored man, whose head had been blown off with a shotgun. The Coup-de-gras was the image near the end, showing the deceased body of a man, with a pencil sticking out of his skull.
He turned to the front of the case file, reading the preamble. "Though they have not been discovered, there is CCTV footage from one such battle depicting two figures. They move so fast and with such expertise that they cannot be identified. However, eyewitness reports claim one of them is a young, school-aged woman, with a preference for firearms. It is theorized her partner is a young man of similar age, who seems to use his environment in his attacks.
Both are quiet and methodical. They seem to be trained in mixed martial arts and have shown prowess with a myriad of weapons. They do not seem to be affiliated with any gang or criminal organization across Japan. Similar reports around the world have tied to these two individuals. Netizens seemed to be fascinated by their brutal attacks, and the fact that they only seem to go after criminals. The internet has named them Ryouma and Oryou, about popular video game characters of the same name. Upon further research, it seems the name Ryouma seems to tie to the legendary Sakamoto Ryouma. Reports have been made all across Japan. These two are very dangerous and have been put on Japan's Most Wanted List by the National Police.
The International Police is also looking into the matter, as there are signs they have been active in various parts of the world. The United States of America is working closely with the Japanese Government as several high profile criminals and politicians have been assassinated similarly."
Byakuya snapped the file closed, slipping it back in place. He grabbed the files behind it, seeing they had been labeled with Ryouma and Oryou's names, separate from their joined files. There were pictures of many victims, each one being just as bad or worse than the previous one. The heir devoured each word, memorizing every single detail of every single image.
"Though this information is very useful to me, I can't exactly confirm my suspicions. What are the odds that Hope's Peak Academy would bring someone with his talents in, disguised as another talent entirely?" he thought to himself.
He didn't know how long he had stood in place, reading all of the related files contained within the Archives. None of them even came close to identifying the pair. But something in his gut told him his hunch was right. All he had to do was figure out a way to bring it to light. It would certainly keep this game he was in very interesting. He returned the files to where he had found them, swiftly leaving the Archives, only to come face to face with the Ultimate Pop-Sensation.
His smile dropped the second he saw the look on her face. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Cut the crap, Byakuya. I didn't come here for pleasantries, I came here because we have a serious issue," she said, looking him right in the eye. "That shit you pulled yesterday isn't going to fly. We can't allow someone like you to continue walking freely among us knowing you could do something so heinous and terrible to someone."
"Tch… As if I would waste my time staining my hands with your blood. Sweetheart, if I wanted to kill someone, I already would have." he said, looking away from her. "However, if I do wish to get out of here alive, I'm gonna have to rid myself of the largest thorn in my side."
"The way I see it, the only thorn in anyone's side is you. There was no reason for you to do what you did with Fuyuhiko."
"On the contrary, what I did needed to happen. After all, we needed to figure out the true extent of Akira's Ultimate Luck. I wanted to know if the last trial was a fluke or if he was an actual threat to me. And as it turns out, he's not just a threat to me because of his talent." he replied, brushing past the idol. "He's a threat to everyone in this academy. It's interesting how easily he managed to fool all of you. He's crafted a lie far better than Celestia did, and you all bought it hook, line, and sinker. But not me."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sure you'll figure that out soon. There's a plethora of information in the Archives, why don't you give it a read? Perhaps once you see the truth for yourself, you'll distance yourself from him."
"As if, I don't turn my back on my friends, because I value them. But this has nothing to do with whatever you believe. This has to do with your actions. We can't have someone like you hanging around us, especially knowing you could desecrate someone's body at any time." Sayaka said firmly.
"I certainly doubt the dead will care what happens to their bodies after they die. It's not like they need them in the afterlife," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "Whatever the case may be, now that so many of us are dead, the game is going to become far more interesting. If I were you, I would make sure I know who it is I'm spending time with. Any one of them could drive a dagger into your back. That'd be the end of the Ultimate Pop-Sensation, and I'm sure Japan would mourn that loss. Or maybe not… there are so many of you it's hard to keep track."
"Just keep your distance from us, alright? We won't hesitate to take drastic measures against you if you pull that shit again."
"Duly noted," Byakuya said, taking his leave. Sayaka let out a sigh, shaking her head in disdain.
"That accomplished nothing. But what the hell was he talking about? The way he spoke, made it seem as if Akira did something bad." she thought, looking over her shoulder, spotting the entrance to the Archives. Though she was curious, she shook her head. "No, I trust my friends, I know Akira is a good person. Whatever Byakuya found is bullshit. He's probably just trying to get us to start fighting amongst ourselves."
Though the serious look on the man's face did send a tingle down her spine. She was usually an intuitive person, being able to read people's expressions easily. She would have easily figured out if Byakuya had been lying to her. And yet… he was far, far too serious for him to be lying. She took a deep breath, calming herself down.
"I have to trust my friends. They're the reason I'm still sane, and alive. He wants nothing more than for us to continue playing this game. We can't let that happen." the girl said, a confident look on her face. "Alright then! I have to stay cheerful, I wouldn't be a good idol if I let a douchebag like Byakuya get into my head! Come on, Sayaka! You've made it this far, let's make it to the end!"
She headed out of the library, keen on getting back to her friends. Whatever the archives contained didn't concern her. Unless it was information about what was going on in Hope's Peak, she'd pay it no mind. After all, she needed to trust in her friends, that was how she'd make it out of school alive.
Of course, with Monokuma always watching, she knew it would take a long time and courage to earn her freedom. But she wasn't going to give up. She couldn't. She had people counting on her, after all.
A/N: A whole new floor has opened up! And with another floor comes way more suffering, hehe