"Wait, hold on a sec!" Junko spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

"What's wrong!?" Taka asked with annoyance.

"What about, uh… what's her name? You know, the silver-haired girl," Junko said, trying to remember their name. "Uhh… oh yeah, Kyoko!"

"...What about her?" Taka asked.

"She's not here," Junko said, shocking everyone in the room.

"What!?" Taka exclaimed. Everyone quickly looked around the room, and just like Junko said, Kyoko wasn't there.

"I wonder where she went. Has anyone seen her?" Hina asked worriedly. Nobody said anything as they shook their heads.

"Wait, so nobody's seen her…?" Chihiro said what everyone was thinking out loud.

'Why hasn't Kyoko shown up yet? It couldn't be because…' TK thought back to what Monokuma told them, and the conditions he placed for them to leave. "Is it possible? Has she really been…'

TK shook his head to get rid of those negative thoughts. 'No, I can't think about that! She's just late, that's all.'

"Darn it, Kyoko! You're really going to be late like this on the first day of school!?" Taka whined like it was the worst thing to happen. "Not only is she late, she didn't tell anyone she would be late! A most unbecoming personality trait…"

"You're being a real jackass right now, you know that?" Junko said.

"Well what do you want me to do!? Punctuality is everything!" Taka exclaimed, trying to defend himself but everyone just gave him a weird look.

"Now then, I declare that the first session of the Hope's Peak Academy briefing meetings has begun!" Taka stated, brushing off what previously transpired.

"TK… Actually, first of all…" Sayaka whispered to the blond boy as she gathered her thoughts. "I've talked enough. Maybe we should listen to what everyone else has to say."

"Sure," TK replied.

"Hmhm. You know…" Sayaka hummed.

"What?" TK asked.

"I feel like I really have become your personal assistant, don't you agree? I may not be the best assistant in the world, but I'll give it everything I've got," Sayaka said and TK couldn't help but smile from her determination.

'You've done so much already,' TK thought.

"Okay, so since you're in the dark about all this, let me lay out what's going on," Sayaka started to explain. "Everyone split up to investigate different parts of the building, but Byakuya and Taka each went on their own, and so did Kyoko. Leon, Hiro, Junko, and Chihiro grouped together. The same goes for Hina, Sakura, and Mondo. Celeste, Toko, and Hifumi were left over, so they joined up."

"I wanted to try and find some clue as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here…" Byakuya spoke up. Both he and Toko were sitting at a separate table from the group. He chose to sit there even before all the seats at the big table were taken, while Toko sat with him when there wasn't any space left.

Byakuya then sighed. "But unfortunately, I made no such discoveries. That's all from me."

"Really? That's it?" Taka asked.

"If I'd uncovered anything, naturally I would have more to say. But I didn't. So I don't," Byakuya responded rudely.

"R-Right. Understood," Taka quickly said before clearing his throat. "As for me, I spent time looking around the dormitory, and there I made the discovery of the century! I found that there was exactly one room for each person!"

Everyone felt underwhelmed by Taka's big reveal as everyone knew of the dorm rooms.

"Well yeah, I figured that out before anything else," Hina shrugged.

"Each door already has a nameplate on it, so I guess all the rooms have been assigned already," Junko explained.

"And each room key was attached to a keychain with the owner's name precision-etched onto it," Sakura added to what Junko said.

'I guess that means the room I woke up in was my room,' TK pieced together.

"And Chihiro and I found out that all the rooms are totally soundproof," Junko revealed.

"Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out, and you wouldn't hear a thing," Chihiro said, freaking some of them out.

"Well, each room also had a private bathroom, which could also lock," Celeste said happily.

"But it looked like there were only locks on the bathrooms in the girls' dorms," Junko added, but Celeste didn't seem to care.

"Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us. They're assuming we're gonna be here a while," Mondo concluded, bringing everyone's mood down.

"Well, better have than have not! At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals," Taka said to make everyone feel better. It didn't work, though some appreciated the attempt.

"Th-That can't be all you have to r-report, can it Mr. Honor S-Student?" Toko managed to stammer out.

Taka paused for a few seconds to think. "That's all for my report! Let's move on to whoever's next!"

Junko raised her hand, gaining everyone's attention. "For what me, Chihiro, Leon, and Hiro did, we went all up and down the school, double-checking the windows in all the hallways and classes. We wanted to see if we could get any of those metal plates to come off. And what happened was…"

"Nothing. Not a damn thing," Leon interrupted the fashionista. He laid his head down on the table and groaned. "We couldn't get a single one to budge even a little bit."

"There wasn't any hope of escape anywhere. The school really has been totally cut off," Chihiro said while tearing up.

"This sucks," Junko said bluntly. "It really sucks! It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What the hell are we gonna do!?"

"Goddamn, calm down! You're starting to make me nervous!" Leon said with a light chuckle.

No one said anything for a few seconds after Junko's outburst. TK knew that things may look bleak now, but that doesn't mean they should start freaking out. Someone will come and rescue them and they can all forget about this nightmare afterward.

"We thought maybe we could find some way to communicate with the outside, so we went looking all over!" Hina spoke up, breaking the silence. Her shoulders sagged as she wore a gloomy look on her face. "But… we didn't find a thing. Sorry."

"I went back to the main hall, thinking maybe we could do something about that giant hunk of metal," Mondo said while rubbing the back of his head. "But even with Sakura and me both, it wouldn't budge. We hit it with desks and chairs, and nothin'. It was hard as, like… metal."

"Well yes, it is metal…" Celeste said curtly as she twirled her hair.

"Anyway, if we're gonna get outta here, it's not gonna be through there," Mondo finished what he was saying earlier.

"I feel like I could just cry… But no, I have to hold it in! I have to manage my hydration…!" Hina said, worrying TK a little bit. From his friends' past experiences he knows that it's not a good idea to hold in your emotions. Though they're not in the Digital World, nor do any of the other Ultimates have a connection to the Digital World, that he knows of, he didn't have to worry about the Dark Ocean taking them away. But it's still not healthy to bottle up your emotions.

"I shall tell you what happened next," Sakura said, continuing to tell the others what their group found. "It has nothing to do with communicating with the outside world, but it's still worth worrying about. In both the school and dorm areas, there was a set of stairs leading up to another floor."

"But there were gates there, and we couldn't find any way to open them, so we couldn't check it out," Hina finished for the martial artist.

"In other words, at this point we are only able to search the 1st floor," Sakura summed up. "We can further assume that there is potentially something above the 2nd floor, as well. And if that's the case, there is at least a chance it may lead to a way out."

'So we're only limited to the first floor, it's not the best thing nor the worst thing to hear,' TK thought. 'But why only the first floor? Is there something we're not supposed to see on any of the other floors? And could there really be an exit on one of the upper floors? Hope's Peak is a giant building so it would be quite a fall.'

"If I am being honest, I can't quite say we acted as one. Rather, we did nothing as one. We spent the entire time in the gym," Celeste revealed what her group was doing. "Honestly, we are not exactly the types to go running around a school like a gaggle of junior detectives."

"What the hell were you thinking, just sitting around the gym the whole time?" Junko asked, annoyed that the gambler and her group did nothing.

"W-Well it's not like any of i-invited me along! Nobody said hey, c-come with us!" Toko stammered out a defense. "I blame y-you for leaving me out! I-It's your fault!"

"If you wanted to go with someone, you should've just said something!" Junko shouted at the author.

"Hmph. F-Forget it. Like I'd w-want to go anywhere with a dirty s-slut like you," Toko said quietly to herself. Too bad she wasn't quiet enough because everyone heard her, especially Junko.

"Slut…?" A stunned Junko repeated. Seeing that everyone heard her, Toko decided to not let up on the fashionista.

"Your mind is as th-thin as your body. You m-make me sick to my st-stomach…" Toko said, which baffled Junko.

"I… I don't even know how to react. How can you say something so awful to someone you just met?" An angry Junko asked. Junko appeared as though she was about to attack the stuttering author, but Hiro and Sayaka got in between them, preventing any confrontation from happening.

"Alright guys, everybody just calm down, okay? All this stress is bad for your skin, y'know?" Hiro said cautiously.

"Yeah! It sounds like you two are so close now you're fighting like sisters!" Everyone gave Sayaka odd looks after what she said.

'I don't think sisters fight like that, Sayaka,' TK thought.

After everyone got over what Sayaka said, the pop star decided to speak again. "So that's what they have to say, huh? Then I guess I'm the only one left."

Sayaka then started to tell everyone what she found.

"I went and had a look around the dining hall. I found a fridge in the back of the kitchen, and it was overflowing with all kinds of stuff. I guess we don't have to worry about food, at least."

"Sure, for now. But even with all that, there are fifteen of us. How long can the food last…?" Hifumi complained, drawing the ire of Toko.

"Y-You can just eat sesame s-seeds or something."

"Huh? What am I, a parakeet?" Hifumi responded.

"I don't think we have to worry about it. All the food gets restocked automatically each day," Sayaka said, extinguishing their concerns. "At least, that's what Monokuma said."

"You saw him!?" A concern Junko asked. She wasn't the only one concerned for the pop star, everyone was worried about what the bear did to her.

"Yeah, he came out of nowhere while I was checking the fridge, told me that, then disappeared again. He was so fast, I can't believe someone could have been moving him around with a remote control," Sayaka said, which calmed everyone down knowing wasn't hurt.

"A weaponized toy that can just appear from nowhere," Chihiro summarized. "I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not."

"But was everything okay? He didn't try to like, eat you or anything?" Hina asked worriedly, looking over the pop star for any bite marks.

"E-Eat her…?" Hifumi repeated. He started sweating and drooling profusely. "Um, what do you mean by that? I mean, when you say 'eat,' what kind of eating are we talking about?"

"C-Come on, man!" A grossed-out Hina exclaimed.

"What the hell, fatty!? You're acting like some kind of sleazy drunk dude," Leon yelled at the fanfic creator.

"Not like there's a good kind of drunk dude," Hiro said to himself.

"Hey! Stop screwing around, all of you!" Junko yelled at the three boys. "Are you still asleep or something? We're prisoners here! We could all just die any second!"

It started to sink in that they were trapped in the school after hearing Junko say it out loud. Sure, Monokuma told them that they were trapped, but why should they believe what a talking teddy bear tells them. TK thought she was overreacting when she said they could all die any second, but after thinking about it, maybe she's right. Maybe Monokuma would get bored and just kill them all, or, and TK hoped it would never come to this, someone will get desperate and kill one of them to escape.

TK shuddered just thinking of that last part. He didn't want to believe that someone amongst them would kill to escape from here. But he didn't know these people, could he truly say that none of them would kill each other to save themselves?

"She's right. We can't be makin' stupid jokes right now. We gotta do something, or-!" Before Mondo finished speaking, he was interrupted by a sharp feminine voice.

"You're all spending an awful lot of time yelling and carrying on."

Everyone turned to the door to see Kyoko with a stoic look on her face and a piece of paper in her hands.

"Do you really think you can afford to do so? Have none of you accepted the reality of the situation?" She said as she moved to the table.

"Kyoko! Where the heck have you been!? We already started the meeting without you!" Taka exclaimed.

Kyoko didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she slid the piece of paper towards the middle of the table, allowing everyone to get a good look at it.

"What is it?" TK asked. It looked like a map that schools would hand out on the first day of school to new students to help them find their way around.

"It appears to be a map of Hope's Peak Academy," Kyoko answered, causing multiple raised eyebrows.

"A map?" TK repeated.

"Wh-What the…? Where did you find this?" A bewildered Taka managed to ask.

"It doesn't matter where I found it," Kyoko said bluntly.

"It DOES matter! You're freaking us out right now!" Taka retorted and TK agreed with the moral compass. It's not a good look to be missing for quite some time and randomly show up with a map of the building you're trapped in.

"Never mind that. What's it mean?" Junko asked, brushing aside Taka's concern.

"Just look at it," Kyoko said, pointing at the map. "The building we're in right now is laid out in precisely the same way as Hope's Peak Academy."

"You're saying that this really is Hope's Peak Academy?" TK clarified.

"Well, in terms of construction, yes. But it looks like it's had a number of strange… renovations done to it," Kyoko answered, raising more questions.

"What do you mean?" TK asked.

"I don't know all the details yet. All I found was details about the 1st floor," Kyoko told them.

"But then… this really is Hope's Peak. We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place," Chihiro said, looking a little pale, paler than normal.

"So stupid it's not even possible. This is where the country's future elite are supposed to come and learn?" Mondo growled, gripping his fists.

"But if this really is Hope's Peak, where are all the other students?" Hina asked, causing a few of them that they haven't run into any other students.

The whole time they've been there they haven't seen any signs of other students being in the same building. In fact, TK doesn't remember seeing any teachers. Not when they were walking in the halls earlier, not when he woke up in the classroom, and he definitely didn't see any teachers when he first arrived at the school. It's like a ghost town there.

"Hey, come on, guys. Let's just stop talking about all this… you know, negative stuff," Hiro said.

"Aren't you worried? Things aren't looking good," TK said, but Hiro didn't seem to bothered.

"Worried? What's there to be worried about?" Hiro asked. "I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right?"

He started to laugh.

"Man, if I got stressed every time something like this happened, I'd have ectoplasm shooting out my mouth! Good things come to those who wait, right? So we just gotta chill and everything'll work itself out!"

Someone else started to laugh, but it was more feminine than Hiro's. Everyone turned to see where it was coming from when they saw that it was Celeste who was laughing.

"Wh-Why are you laughing? What's so funny!?" Toko asked worriedly, though she wasn't worried about Celeste, but was worried about herself and what the gambler might do to her.

"I am just happy, that is all. It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all," Celeste said in a cheerful tone, worrying everyone in the room.

"Haven't you b-been listening!? Looking around was a t-total waste of t-time! We d-didn't find a way out, didn't f-find who's behind this. We still have no idea what's g-going on!" Toko argued.

"Huh? Is it not crystal clear to you what is going on?" Celeste said sarcastically like she was surprised. "It is perfectly obvious that we have been imprisoned in some secret location, with no way out."

No one had a response to what Celeste had said, or didn't want to believe what Celeste said. Reality seemed to sink in that they really were trapped, well except for one but they decided it would be best for him to remain ignorant about their situation.

"You didn't h-have to go and s-say that. I w-was trying not to th-think about it," Toko said while gripping her head. "N-No way out… We're t-trapped here. What are w-we supposed to d-do…?"

Byakuya had an answer for her.

"It's very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill-"

"Don't even joke about that!" Junko interrupted him.

"Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here," Sayaka pleaded.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Leon begged.

"All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on," Celeste answered the baseball player.

"Live here…? Are you saying we should just accept it?" Chihiro questioned tearfully.

"A lack of adaptability… is a lack of survivability," Celeste said. "Survival is not based on who is the strongest or smartest. It comes down to who can adapt."

TK knew that she was right, for the most part. Back in his first adventure in the Digital World, he knew that if they didn't adapt to how things work they wouldn't have survived. But he also knew that if it wasn't for his friends the world would be a much different place than it is today.

"As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion," Celeste said, which got everyone's attention.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Mondo aggressively asked.

"We all understand that we are trapped here. Which means we will be spending the night," Celeste explained. "However, you all remember the rules regarding nighttime, right?"

Everyone nodded, signaling that they understood what the gambler said.

"So regarding this 'nighttime,' I think we need to add a rule of our own," Celeste proposed.

"What are you thinking?" TK asked.

"Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether. The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night. I would like to make it official," Celeste suggested, which was met with some backlash.

"B-But why…?" Toko asked.

"The way things are now, every time night comes we will all start to get worried and anxious. We will all be afraid someone might try and come kill us," Celeste grimly explained.

"What!?" Sayaka explained.

"If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time," Celeste continued after Sayaka's outburst.

"So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure," Sakura said, simplifying everything Celeste suggested.

Celeste nodded. "However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it."

"I see what you mean. But… I think I can agree to that," Junko said. "It's like the gothic lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."

"On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!" Taka said firmly.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leon argued and TK agreed with the redhead, though he would have agreed to the terms, he would've liked to speak himself.

"So everyone is in agreement? Good. Then if you will excuse me…" Celeste said before getting up from the table and heading towards the exit.

"Huh? Wait, where are you going?" Chihiro timidly asked.

"It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives. So… goodbye," Celeste left the dining hall with pure elegance, leaving everyone speechless.

"S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here. We'll be spending the night, it looks like," Hifumi said, breaking the silence.

"Adaptability…" Sakura repeated what Celeste said earlier.

"So, Mr. Chairman… what next? One person already left," Junko said to the moral compass.

"U-Umm…" Taka shook his head and cleared his throat to regain his composure. "Well then, what say we call an end to today's meeting!? Like she said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Do we really have to say the night here…?" Chihiro worriedly asked.

"We don't have a choice. We can't go for long without getting sleep," Junko stated.

"So we have to just give…" Mondo sighed.

"That's all f-fine and good for today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?" Toko asked.

"Our only option is to split up and look around again, and everyone know if we find anything," Sakura answered the author.

It wasn't what she or anyone in the room wanted to hear, but what other option do they have. Until someone realizes they're missing, all they can do is look for a way out or any clues of who trapped them in Hope's Peak.

"Yeah, okay. Let's do that…!" Hina reluctantly agreed.

"Then we're done for today? Good, I'm exhausted," Junko left with a yawn and was followed by a few of the other students.

"TK… Are you ready to call it a day?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, might as well," TK answered.

The two left and separated to their assigned rooms. After entering his room, TK quickly looked over the room that he'll be staying in for the foreseeable future. He wasn't as worried as the others because he knew that when his friends realize he was missing they'll come and rescue them. He can already picture Greymon and Garurumon breaking down the front entrance.

"I should take a shower before they shut off the water," TK moved to, what he assumed to be his bathroom door, but when he turned the doorknob the door wouldn't open. He started to jiggle the doorknob more but no matter how much he tried the door would open.

"I thought they said only the girl's bathrooms had locks?"

"Bzzt! Wrong! Not locked!"

TK jumped when Monokuma appeared out of know where.

"Oh, Crap!"

"Jeez, talk about an overreaction. It's like you just saw a ghost or somethin'!" Monokuma giggled, but then had a quizzical look on his face. "Like… some kind of… robot bear… ghost."

"What are you doing here!? Better question, how did you get in here!?" TK exclaimed. He didn't hear his front door open like Monokuma just popped into existence.

"Takeru Takaishi, this is super duper majorly bad! So bad it's almost magical! Ultra magical awful awful attack!" Monokuma exclaimed, ignoring all of TK's questions.

"In point of fact, I acknowledge that the bathroom in your room has a problem with the doorframe!" Monokuma said in a calm manner.

"Wait, so the reason it won't open isn't because it's locked? The door just… doesn't fit?" TK said as he looked at his bathroom door.

"Didn't you see the notice? What, can't you read?" Monokuma asked, mildly annoyed thinking that the blond boy in front of him disregarded his note. "The bathroom in the boys' rooms don't have locks! I mean, a lock on a boy's bathroom is kinda pointless, don't you think?"

'Not really, I don't want anyone walking in on me when I'm using the bathroom,' TK thought to himself.

"Well, it's not that it's pointless, I guess. But I'm no expert on the birds and the bees and all that," Monokuma said, all sweaty with the top of his head turning a shade of red. He then sighed, regaining his composure. "Anyway, there's a little trick to opening this particular ill-fitting door. And that's what I'm here to teach you!"

"Okay, ready?" Monokuma didn't wait for TK to give a response as he went ahead on giving his instructions. "So you just gotta turn the doorknob, then lift up while you pull! Go ahead, give it a try!"

TK did what Monokuma instructed and, lo and behold, his bathroom door opened without any problems.

"Puhuhu… See? It opened right up!" Monokuma started giggling to himself like he just heard a funny joke. "Isn't that crazy, though? Your door's the only one that doesn't quite fit right! You're supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, right? But it looks like you're not lucky at all!"

Monokuma stopped laughing all of a sudden as he held a neutral look on his face. "Anyway, I suddenly don't feel like being here anymore. Bye!"

Monokuma suddenly disappeared, leaving TK bewildered at what he had seen.

"How did he…?" TK didn't get to finish his thought as the bell rang. The monitor in his room turned on to show Monokuma sitting in a chair holding a drink.

"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then… sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"

"I guess I'll have to take a shower in the morning then," TK said to himself as he got ready for bed. He placed his hat, vest, and shirt on the dresser close to his bed before getting underneath the covers.

"We all promised we would be in our rooms at this time," TK said to himself as he yawned and rested his head on his pillow.

'I'm so exhausted that I feel like I played basketball all day or the first night I spent in the Digital World,' TK thought as he drifted off to sleep.