Chapter 1: Part 4

The announcement of the Ultimate Labs got everyone curious about what theirs would be like. Sure, the students from the Ultimate Academy had a fairly decent idea of what their labs were like, but for the Hope's Peak students, they were treading new ground. Some of them had fairly similar labs. Sakura and Peko both had labs in the style of tradition dojos, complete with padding across the floors, training dummies, plenty of protective gear on the sides, and training Gi's to wear.

Mahiru and Hiyoko both had studio style labs, but obviously different focuses to match their talents. Mahiru got a bright white photo shoot set up with plenty of tripods, lights, and different cameras set up around a white backdrop. Hiyoko also had a well-lit studio with light stands, but it also came with plenty of accessories for her to dance with like fans, flags, kimonos, and other dresses.
Teruteru and Mikan's labs were basically repeats of rooms they had already discovered. Teruteru had a small kitchen, although it was closer to home kitchen with a simple oven, stove, and cooking supplies to work with as opposed to the more restaurant style kitchen he had just used. Teruteru smiled a bit as he felt a sense of nostalgia looking at his lab. It felt like home. Mikan's lab was another nurse's office, except smaller. It only had one bed for a patient to sleep in, however, to make up for that the lab had more elaborate medical tools like an x-ray, defibrillators, bone saws. The more intense tools mad Mikan a bit squeamish. Of course, she knew how to properly use them, but the fact they were there made her worry about the chance she may have to use it.

Chihiro, Chiaki, and Ibuki were excited when they saw their labs. Chihiro's Ultimate Lab was a giant computer lab with three giant computer towers connected to four monitors set on a desk. Chihiro had to carefully walk over several trails of wires across the floor in order to reach her desk. She sat herself down at the desk and turned on her computers. She smiled, knowing she could get back to helping everyone. Chiaki had a similar situation to work with as all the gaming consoles in her room left hundreds of wires either connected to the wall, the five TVs or just wired controllers. Yet, Chiaki was used to it. She was never too tidy with her gaming setup. She walked over the wires to face the wall covered with shelves filled to the brim with games of every genre lined up in alphabetical order and in order of console generation. Chiaki wouldn't go to sleep in her bed that night. Ibuki cheered with glee as she stepped into her lab. It looked just like a garage band set up. Cold brick walls, smooth pavement floor, and all the instruments she loved most. Electric guitars, bass guitars, a complete drum set, electronic pianos, synthesizers, all plugged into giant speakers that liked a like a single note would blast your ears drums out. Just what Ibuki wanted.

Hifumi and Nagito had relatively normal labs. Hifumi's was a small library, plenty of manga, young adult fiction, and printed out fanfiction all lined up neatly on shelves. In the middle of the room was a wooden desk with a laptop atop it and a box of tissues to the side of it. Hifumi felt a bit insulted by Monokuma's assumption of what he did in his freetime, but he also couldn't really disagree with it. Nagtio's room on the other hand was relatively empty. It had one desk in the center of the room with a single coin and a set of dice. Nagito was fine with this though. To him, he wasn't worthy of a high-grade room. All he needed was what was presented to him.

Both Celestia and Byakuya had labs with elegant aesthetics. For Celestia, she had chairs, couches, and tables taken directly from a painting of Victorian England with blood reds and pure blacks for the rugs, curtains, and pillows. In the middle of the room was a golden chest which when opened revealed a stack of cards, boxed poker chips, a roulette wheel, a cup of dice, and a numbered board. Celestia smiled. She would finally get back to practicing her gambling. Byakuya's lab wasn't in the gothic Victorian style Celeste's was, but it still high class with a fine wooden finish to all the furniture in the room and a shelf filled with fine literature and historical texts. Off to the side of the room was a massive mirror and a wardrobe with plenty of different outfits to change into. Byakuya narrowed his brow a bit at the wardrobe. That side of him would have to come out at some point.

Mukuro's lab had the most obviously dangerous items in it. Her lab was obvious made in the style of a military weaponry room, with a several glass cases holding high caliber rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, pistols, combat knives, as well as gear like radios, vests, gloves, gas masks, and combat boots. She also had a map of the first floor laid out for her, as if Monokuma wanted her to plan out some murders for her. She sighed as she tossed the map away. "I won't be someone's puppet again," she said.

Leon groaned as he explored his Ultimate Lab. It was baseball themed, much to his dismay. He was so sick of having to slide across dirt, so having a lab with a grassy floor with a drawn baseball diamond was just another reminder of his hate. It got worse once he noticed the pitcher machine aimed directly at the batter's cage.

"Way to rub salt in the wound, jackoff," Leon grumbled.

He at least liked that his lab came with some baseball bats and baseballs in case anyone tried to kill him. Although, he definitely knew he shouldn't use an aluminum bat. He couldn't risk getting involved in a class trial again.

When Gundham first entered his lab, he had very mixed opinions on it. It had everything he'd want at first glance. Plenty of cages to hold animals, bowls for food and water to be placed in, hamster wheels, chew toys, combs and brushes to clean animals, and various medicines to help sick creatures. It was everything he needed to take care of animals. There was just one problem. Gundham couldn't find any animals in the room. None were in the cages, on the wheel, by the food. Nowhere.

Gundham frowned. "A solitary soul I shall remain," he said as he turned to exit the room.

"Chirp."

Gundham paused just as he grabbed the doorknob.

"Chirp, chirp."

Gundham turned around to see where the sound was emanating from. Out from behind a table popped out the head of a bright red cardinal. The bird tilted its head as it locked eyes with Gundham.

Gundham knelt down and extended his bandaged hand out to the bird. "Come here, small one," he said, his deep voice coming across as more soothing than threatening. "I will not harm you."

The bird stepped out from behind the table and slowly made its way over to Gundham's hand. The bird stopped right at it and examined Gundham one last time. The bird nodded its head and stepped onto Gundham's hand. He smiled down at the bird as he lightly petted the back of its head.

"There, there, little one," Gundham said. "It seems the two of us will be companions from now on."

At that moment, the cardinal turned away from its new master to whistle. On cue, three other animals appeared from behind the table. A black and yellow, striped kitten, a blue jay with yellow eyes, and a green snake all approached Gundham with some caution. It wasn't until they got a nod from the cardinal for them to feel safe enough to climb onto Gundham. The blue jay flew onto his left shoulder, the cat climbed onto the right, and the snake slithered and wrapped around his other arm.

Gundham looked at each of the animals. They all seemed to have accepted him. Gundham gave a gentle smile to all the creatures…before laughing maniacally.

"Excellent!" Gundham shouted. "The Overlord of Ice has found new disciples to act along side him! However, to act along with the mighty Gundham Tanaka, you must all need fitting names. What do you say?"

The kitten nuzzled itself against Gundham's jaw, the two birds chirped cheerfully, and the snake licked his hand.

Gundham laughed once again. "Very well! I shall bestow upon you all new names. Cardinal! Your fiery red feathers remind me of the Immortal Phoenix! Phoenix shall be the name you carry with you. Blue jay! Your blue feathers and yellow eyes remind me of the storms that lay waste to the land. Clearly you are a reincarnation of the mighty Thunder bird. As such you shall be known as Raijin, after the Japanese god of thunder! And you, fierce tiger! You shall be Khan! A fitting name that presents the power you possess. And you, serpent. The creature of deception and ruin. Mephisto shall be your title! Wear it well as we bring darkness across this school and escape into the world! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Meanwhile, Taka, Mondo, and Nekomaru had agreed to explore each other's Ultimate Labs as a form of male bonding. They started off with Taka's room, which opened up to show a more traditional classroom. No Monokuma graffiti, no litter, nothing out of place. It was clean. There were eight student desks placed in front of a podium and blackboard, all of them evenly spread out and lined up perfectly.

Taka stared in awe at the room. "Finally," said as he dashed over to the podium. "Finally, some order. Finally, something actually resembling a respectable school environment…" Taka began to cry due to the amount beauty that was before him.

Mondo chuckled a bit before handing his bro a handkerchief. "Getting emotional, bro?" he asked.

Taka took said handkerchief and wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Of course!" Taka cried out. "The structure! The order! It's beautiful!"

"Uh, sure," Mondo said sarcastically.

"Hey, don't downplay his passion!" Nekomaru shouted. "Everyone should follow their passion 100% of the way through!"

"I ain't saying he shouldn't," Mondo said.

"Pay him no mind, Nekomaru," Taka said. "Mondo, while still my brother in arms, is still a stranger to the importance of the education system. Fret not however! With this ultimate lab, I can spread the joy of studying to all!"

"Bro, no one's going to be studying in this place," Mondo said. "Not when we got the damn bear to deal with."

"Ah, but they would actually appreciate it!" Taka disagreed. "If we put our focus on schoolwork, we will not even notice Monokuma after long enough!"

"Yeah, that ain't gonna happen," Mondo said. "Still, glad to see you happy about something of."

"Thank you, Mondo," Taka said. "However, we shouldn't waste time gazing upon my lab. We must continue our agreement and explore our other labs!"

"YEAH!" Nekomaru yelled out. "LET'S GO!"

Mondo sighed a bit. 'How am I the normal one here?' he thought to himself. Still, he couldn't help but find Taka and Nekomaru's energy endearing. He smirked as he followed the two of them out of Taka's room and back out to the hallway.

After a few turns, they arrived at Mondo's room and entered his ultimate lab. Mondo's lab was in the style of a back alley, with a brick wall covered in fences with "keep out signs" and graffiti tags which read "Crazy Diamonds Rule!" There were plenty of toolboxes, work benches, and plenty of bike parts hung up on the walls. To the right was an already made black chopper.

Mondo smirked. "Hell yeah!"

To the left was a spherical steel cage with an opening big enough for the chopper to drive inside.

Mondo's smirk faded away before growling. "Oh, that's just fucking hilarious, isn't it?" he said sarcastically.

Taka frowned a bit and laid his hand on his bro's shoulder. "B-bro," he said solemnly, "just ignore it."

"Kind of fucking hard to do that," Mondo said.

"Look, why don't we just head over to my lab?" Nekomaru suggest. "You seem to have something to take off your mind."

"Yeah," Mondo said, refusing to look at either of them before he exited the room. Taka and Nekomaru looked towards each other before exiting the room after the biker.

It was a short walk between Mondo's room and Nekomaru's, and upon opening the door to his lab the three men saw that it was in the style of a traditional gym. Thick mats across the floor, plenty of workout equipment like treadmills, bar weights, dumb bells, leg weight trainers, jump ropes, and punching bags. Nekomaru's eyes lit up and he explored the room. Immediately, he concocted a workout plan for himself, Leon, Sakura, and Peko. Hell, he was in the middle of planning schedules for everyone when he was interrupted by Mondo hitting the punching bag.

"This will be a good place to relieve some stress," Mondo said as he kept hitting the bag.

"Of course," Nekomaru said with a golly laugh. "I'm already thinking of some workout plans for everyone, so if you have anything to discuss I'd be happy to hear it."

Mondo slowed down his punches before he stopped all together. He rested his hand against the punching bag and looked over at Nekomaru. "Yeah, I got something I'd like to ask you. It's not about me though."

Nekomaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, what is it?"

"I…I want you to train Chihiro."

Taka's eyes widened and turned to Mondo.

"The programmer, right?" Nekomaru asked.

"Yeah," Mondo nodded slightly. "The kid has been through a lot. I know that…she wants to get stronger, but she'll need some help. I'd do it myself, but…things are rocky between us."

Nekomaru listened to the biker's request with a nod. "Well, of course I'll help her, but what about your workout plan?"

"Look, I can handle that myself. I just want you to help the kid, ok?"

"Alright. I'll help her out!"

Taka could feel sweat pouring out of every inch of his body. The topic was causing Taka's body to itch all over. He needed to leave. And he needed to talk to Mondo.

Taka cleared his throat to gather both of their attention. "Nidai, I would like to thank you for accompanying us to our labs."

"No problem," Nekomaru smiled. "It was great talking to you. And feel free to suggest a workout routine! I live to help everyone reach their potentials!"

"I will gladly plan a routine with you, but for now it is time for Mondo and I to return to our rooms!"

Taka waved Nekomaru goodbye before hastily exiting the room with Mondo following behind him. Once both of them were out of Nekomaru's room, Taka dragged Mondo over to the biker's room. He stopped right outside the door before looking at his bro.

"I believe…now is the right time for us to talk," Taka said.

Mondo stared at his bro for a moment before he spoke. "This is about what happened with me and Chihiro, right?"

Taka nodded.

Mondo sighed a bit. "Look, bro, if you don't forgive me that's fine. I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done."

"Bro," Taka held his hand up to stop Mondo. "I can't bring myself to never forgive you. During the trial…I saw the look in your eyes. The regret was real. Your pain was real…I know that you wish you could take it all back…I just want to know…What could have I done?" Taka began to tear up. "Was there anything I could have said before that?! That I could have saved you both?!"

"N-no, man," Mondo fought back tears of his own. "It was a heat of the moment thing! There's no way you could have known."

"Bro…" Taka frowned, he was about to let all of his emotions out, but Mondo placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Bro, don't. Don't beat yourself up for what I've done…I should suffer, not you."

Taka sniffed back up his snot and tears. "Mondo…I'm sorry. I know tomorrow will be difficult for you, but…know that I will be by your side when everyone confronts you."

Mondo nodded slightly. "Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

Before Mondo could enter his room, Taka quickly pulled him into a hug. Mondo was a bit surprised by the gesture, but he ultimately hugged his bro back. They stood there for a moment, just being there to comfort each other. After around half a minute, Mondo let go of Taka and Taka did the same. They gave each other a nod before they returned to their separate rooms.

Kaede had chosen to take a shower after dinner and only just got out to dry herself off and dress herself in pajamas around fifteen minutes after Mondo and Taka had their bonding moment. She hadn't taken the time to check out her lab, so she decided to take a peek. It was set up just her previous Ultimate Lab. A brightly lit room with a shelf full of CDs of classical music and a large piano on a small elevated stage.

Kaede smiled as she approached the piano. She sat herself down and lifted the cover for the keys. She tested out the keys, just to make sure they worked properly. Every note played properly, however something unexpected happened when she got to the G note. The moment she pressed it, something popped out of the key cover. It happened so fast and stared Kaede so much, she jumped back without even getting a good look at what it was. Once she calmed herself down, Kaede finally looked at what dropped out of the key cover. It was a little doll of her with a string tied around her throat. It swung slowly from side to side and its feet brushed up against the piano keys before stopping.

The sight of the hanging doll immediately brought back the memory of her death. It wasn't the kind of hanging designed to kill someone instantly. It was slow, gradually drained her of oxygen as the rope uncomfortably rubbed up against her throat. She instinctively placed her hand against her neck. She was far from any danger, but her throat became dry and itchy. She scratched the side of her neck before she yanked the doll off the piano and chucked it into a trashcan. And yet, she didn't feel better. She looked back at the piano, but the memories of her death kept crawling back. Her one true passion, and she was made to play it was strangled to death.

Tears trailed down her face as she shut the piano closed and stormed back into her bedroom. She threw herself into her bed and buried her tears into her pillow.

"Ding Dong!" the intercom spoke out. "It is now 10 pm! As such all water has been shut off and the kitchen has been closed off. Sweet dreams, and don't let the bedbugs bite…too hard."

Not a lot of major plot going on in this chapter. It's more so about establishing the majority of the Ultimate Labs for the cast of the first two games. Mainly because we already know what the V3 cast's labs look like so describing isn't necessary (for now). Coming up with what the labs would be was really easy. After all, it's just everything relating to their talents. What is a challenge is properly describing the rooms. Let me know if I painted good pictures of them all.

Outside of that, this chapter is about more character development. Mainly, Gundham, Taka, Mondo, and Kaede. Kaede's whole fear of the piano is taken from Danganronpa: Discordant Echoes, the fanfic that inspired this whole story. It's a nice little problem for her to overcome and can still work despite Kaede not being the main character in this story. Gundham gets to have a cute moment with animals. Coming up with names for his new pets was a challenge yet still a lot of fun for me. And then there's the bromance (maybe romance? Still thinking on that). Just setting the ground work for Mondo's whole problem in this story. Taka's arc hasn't been set up quite yet, but this still colors his character more.

As always, let reviews for me and keep on reading. It always cheers me up to see new reviews