Davis popped back into his seat and saw everyone was speechless.

"So, what did I miss?" Davis asked and all anyone could do was point at the screen.

"Murder!" TK almost shouted. No one believed what the bear told them. They couldn't, or wouldn't believe that the way out is murder. The few people that still believed that the whole thing was a prank, started to believe that they were actually trapped or were hoping for the faculty to jump out and surprise them.

"WHAT!" Davis exclaimed.

"That's what we said!" Yolie told him.

"Now's not the time, Yolie. There are bigger problems at hand," Cody scolded her.

"This has to be a joke! You expect me to believe a stuffed bear trapped a bunch of students and expects them to kill each other!? That's a load of BS!" Matt yelled as both TK and Sora tried to calm him down.

"You need to calm down or else I'll ask The Voice to take you out of here," Sora threatened the older blond.

"Yeah, and you may be right, but screaming won't do anything to fix it. Just breathe," TK told his older brother and Matt did as he was told. He took a few deep breaths and started to settle into his chair.

"I'm feeling better now."

"That's good or I was gonna knock you out," Tai joked to lighten the mood. It didn't completely work out as intended.

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible," Monokuma said with sickening glee.

A chill shot down TK's spine. 'If I want to leave I must kill someone.' TK felt his blood go cold as he thought those words.

"TK, don't you dare!" Kari warned her best friend.

"I wasn't going to do it! I find it a little insulting that you think I would," TK shot back.

"I know you won't, but I don't like that you could possibly think about doing it. We all wouldn't," Kari said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Puhuhu. I bet that got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know…" Monokuma stared out into the sea of students, soaking in the dread they were feeling. "Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so… darn… exciting!"

"What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is… It's…!" Leon was at a loss for words as he tried to comprehend what the bear is telling them.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it," Monokuma mocked them.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other!?" Hina argued.

"That's what I wanna know," Izzy spoke up. "What exactly does Monokuma gain from all this? Plus, if it is a prank, then why are they letting it go on for this long?"

"Maybe this is one big social experiment," Davis suggested and he got some weird looks.

"If it is, then I won't hit you if either you or any mention of your future self says or does anything perverted," Yolie offered and Davis agreed.

"Yeah! Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!" Hifumi shouted.

"... Blabbering?" Monokuma repeated. The air started to chill as the students felt a dark aura coming from Monokuma. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on!"

"You guys just don't get it, do you? 'Let us go! Let us go!' You keep saying the same thing over and over and over and over…!" He mocked them for their hope of freedom. "Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

"Alright, come on… How long are you gonna keep this up?" Hiro asked, still believing this whole thing is a prank.

"Eh?"

"You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now," Hiro said.

"Reveal the trick…?" Monokuma didn't fully grasp the idiocy spewing from the clairvoyant's mouth.

"Yeah, cuz I mean… Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like…" The cogs started to slowly turn in Hiro's head as he started to realize that this might not be a trick.

"It really took him this long to figure out that they were trapped," Sora said in an embarrassed tone.

"Maybe he chose to be ignorant for as long as possible," Kari theorized. "Wouldn't you try to keep some type of positive attitude if you were in their situation?"

"I know I did when Myotismon held me hostage in the TV station," Davis told everyone. "I tried to think of it as one big game or party."

"Dude, shut the hell up and get outta my way," Mondo said as he pushed past Hiro and placed himself in front of Monokuma.

"Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?" Mondo's voice thundered throughout the gymnasium.

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" Monokuma jokingly said, which enraged the biker gang leader and planned to punish the bear severely.

"FFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-!" Mondo roared out as he kicked off the floorboards and launched himself into the air. He flew at Monokuma, fast and straight as a bullet.

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fucking shreds!" Mondo shouted after he held Monokuma in the air with one hand.

"Destroy him!" Yolie cheered as Ken tried to calm her down for the umpteenth time.

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" Monokuma cried as he kicked his feet in Mondo's grasp.

"Shut the fuck up! Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ…!" Mondo was interrupted when Monokuma started to beep.

"What's going on?" Mimi worriedly asked.

"Well, if I know anything from action movies, beeping means something bad is gonna happen," Yolie answered.

"What, no smartass comment this time!?" Mondo mocked. Monokuma responded by beeping faster.

"Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!" Mondo yelled.

"Watch out! Get rid of it!" Kirigiri yelled. The beeping noise from Monokuma was getting faster.

"Huh…?" Mondo said in confusion.

"Hurry up and throw it!" Kirigiri ordered and without a second thought, Mondo chucked Monokuma in the air. And as soon as he did, Monokuma blew up.

"So, uh… I guess we can all agree that this isn't a prank," Tai said, stunned.

"My brother is gonna be trapped in a school with a psychotic bear where he'll have to kill someone to break out," Matt summarized in a monotone voice.

"At least we know how to prevent this from happening. TK just needs to decline Hope's Peak offer and he won't be in this mess," Cody said.

"But what about the others? How can we save them from being imprisoned by Monokuma?" Ken asked. "It's not like we can tell them about this, they'll think we're crazy."

"What if we don't tell them," Matt suggested.

"That's horrible!" Mimi argued.

"It's not like we know them, and we were brought here to figure out how to save TK!" Matt rebutted.

"No, we were brought here to stop this from happening in the first place," Tai shouted, getting in the blond's face.

"I'm more worried about my brother. You would do the same thing if you were in my shoes if we were watching Kari!"

"And I'd expect you to do what I'm doing to you!" Tai shouted back and Matt froze. "I get that you're worried about TK, I am too but it would be horrible for us to leave the others in there if we know what's gonna happen!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I knew that I could stop people from dying and I did nothing," TK added. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Matt slightly eased up as he retreated into his chair.

"Fine, but if we can't find a way to save them then we're only saving you, got it!?" Matt told his brother and TK nodded.

"The hell!? Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up…" Mondo was shocked and terrified that he was so close to being blown up.

There was a painful ringing in some of the student's ears, as the scent of gunpowder filled the room. Explosions in entertainment are awesome to see, but when you see them up close, they're nothing short of terrifying.

"But you know… This means the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?" Chihiro pointed out. She was right, with Monokuma gone there's no one around to hold them captive.

"With all the commotion that was going on I completely ignored that Monokuma blew himself up," Yolie realized.

"So that means they don't have to worry about Monokuma from terrorizing them," Mimi cheered.

"They're still trapped, Mimi. Don't forget that," Joe reminded her.

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" And just like that their hopes were dashed as another Monokuma stood where the previous one was standing.

"Oh, come on!" Davis groaned.

"Uwah! There's another one…?" Leon said in horror.

"You son of a bitch! You seriously tried to kill me just now!" Mondo said angrily, though he didn't do anything after seeing what happened last time.

"Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you. You did violate one of the school regulations, after all," Monokuma's red eye glowed as he showed off his claws. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt."

"If that's a warning then I don't want to find out what he considers a punishment," Sora commented.

"Probably something horrible if I had to guess," Izzy told her.

"H-Hey… does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around somewhere?" Junko asked after regaining some of her composure.

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes," Monokuma answered. "Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere."

"And if you're caught breaking any rules, well… You all just saw what happened, right?" Monokuma started to chuckle. "Puhuhu… And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!"

"So not only do they have no privacy, but also Monokuma can come out of nowhere and punish them if they break any rules," Kari summarized.

"I don't know how long they can live like that," TK said. "Who's to say that Monokuma won't try anything to get one of them to do his bidding?"

"Well, in the short time we've known him I feel like he already has something planned out," Ken said grimly.

"Th-That's not even a punishment. That's just… wrong…" Hina said, looking extremely disturbed.

"Now then, lastly… To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you…" Monokuma pulled out fifteen digital tablets, each of which had the school's logo on them. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh?"

"As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it…" Monokuma paused for an imaginary drumroll that he could only hear. "The e-Handbook!"

"That's pretty cool," Izzy commented on the device.

"Izzy, I like technology almost as much as you do but could you please not gush over a tablet a psychotic bear made," Yolie pleaded with the boy.

His reveal was met with silence as no one was amused by his theatrical antics. "Ahem. Yes, well, moving on…" he said awkwardly. "This handbook is vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it!"

Monokuma handed each of the students their own personal handbook. "When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that!"

When TK received his handbook he turned it on, and just as Monokuma said the screen displayed his name and physical appearance.

Name: Takeru Takaishi

Height: 6 ft. 2 in. (187 cm.)

Weight: 165 lb. (75 kg.)

Chest: 32 in. (81 cm.)

Special Ability: Ultimate Lucky Student

"Ooo, tall and strong," Mimi doted, causing TK to sink into his seat.

"Can you not do that, Mimi, please," TK pleaded.

"Don't worry, you're not my type… yet," Mimi teased, causing TK to grumble which made everyone laugh.

"Also, it's completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant!" Monokuma said when he returned to the podium after handing out the handbooks.

"It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly!" Monokuma told them. "You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators."

"Okay, well… that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And… see ya!" Monokuma said as he disappeared, leaving a room full of shocked and confused students.

It was quiet for a little bit, everyone was trying to process what they saw and listened to.

"So, guys… How would you define what we just experienced?" Taka asked.

"Confusing and slightly traumatic," Davis answered.

"Yeah, and I still don't know how we'll be able to save any of them yet," Ken added.

"We know how to save TK, but how can we convince the others about not attending Hope's Peak without sounding crazy?" Yolie pondered.

"We could try befriending them," Mimi suggested. "You could even start with Sayaka since she already goes to your school."

"I don't think stopping any of them from going to Hope's Peak would solve anything. Since this is happening to my future class who's to say that it won't happen to another class?" TK said, causing everyone to think.

"TK's right, we need to figure out who is behind this whole thing and stop them," Tai stated.

"Who do you think is doing this then?" Kari asked.

"I don't know, but if we keep watching then maybe we'll get an answer," Tai answered.

"How…? Why…? I don't understand any of this…" Leon said slowly.

"We have to l-live here forever…? Or… k-kill?" Toko questioned as she grabbed her head. "Wh-What…? What just happened!?"

"Everyone, we need to just calm down," Kirigiri said, taking charge of the group. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices. Choice number one is that we stay here, living a 'communal life' together until the day we die. And the other choice is…"

"If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?" Celeste answered.

"She is way too calm for my liking," Yolie commented.

"Yeah, it's like everything Monokuma said didn't faze her," Davis added.

"She is the Ultimate Gambler, so she must have an excellent poker face," Ken told both of them. "I bet she's freaking out on the inside.

"But… killing someone… That's…" Chihiro struggled to speak as she was trying not to cry.

"We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to kill each other? This is… This is… this is just…! What IS this!?" Hifumi screamed.

"A lie, is what it is. All these ridiculous things we've heard… This all has to be fake!" Taka stated in denial.

"Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake. What matters is… Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this…?" Byakuya asked everyone.

No one answered. Keeping quiet to himself, TK looked at the others. They all stared at one another, trying to read each other's thoughts. The suspicion and hostility were clear. And that's when it hit him…

The true terror of the rules that Monokuma told him.

"You must kill someone if you want to leave," rang throughout their minds as they looked at each other. They each became suspicious of one another and were forced to wonder, would someone betray them?

"I don't think you have to worry about that right now. They're just teenagers so I don't think they're contemplating murder," Sora said.

"Right now they aren't because they're all scared, but how long until you think one of them will snap?" Mimi asked everyone. "If you were trapped and someone told you to do something to escape, how long will it take for you to do it?"

And that's how TK's new school life began. This school, which was built to raise its student's hopes high, has become…

A school of despair.

"I really don't like where this is going," Joe whined.

"Me neither, but all we can do is hope that my future self will stop anything bad from happening," TK said.