Danganronpa: Lucky Shot Chapter 3: A Motive to Despair, a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Sayaka dragged me and Junko throughout the entirety of the school grounds.

Or rather she dragged me while Junko just… chased after us…

Room we went to, room that was locked, or at the very least, they reminded us of how we were locked inside this school.

Windows, doors… All of them locked with us being unable to go or see past them. Even the stairs were outside of our access, with a metallic fence blocking our way… The gaps between each beam allowed us to see where the stairs to the higher levels were supposed to be but… yeah we couldn't do anything about that.

Sadly, our initial investigation proved to be fruitless…

Sayaka though didn't seem to mind too much about it.

"By the way, Makoto…" Said Idol spoke to me.

"Huh? What is it?"

"W-Well, it's just…" Sayaka seemed to be looking for the correct words to say. "I know this is kind of continuing the self-introduction thing, but I wanted to ask you something."

"We did get cut off by Ishimaru-san… What did you want to ask me?"

"Makoto... did you… happen to go to Blackroot Junior High? Perhaps... class 2?"

I widened my eyes at that "Yeah… actually... I… did…"

Sayaka beamed at my answer "I knew it! I went there, too! I was in class 4, though. Do you remember me?

I gave a little chuckle "Do I remember...?"

'Of course I did…'

I was more surprised at that… that she remembered me.

We'd never even talked to each other, but somehow she still knew who I was.

Back in middle school, she already was a celebrity with all kinds of amazing people surrounding her, people cluttering around her all the time.

While I… I was just an average kid back then…

"Hey, are you okay?" Sayaka's beam had disappeared.

"Oh- yeah. I'm just… surprised, is all. I never would have guessed that you remembered me. There were lots of students in our grade… Plus, I wasn't the type of person to ever really stand out back then."

Sayaka pouted "I mean, yeah, but we went to the same school, of course I remember! Even if I only saw you for one year."

"…"

This girl's intuition was something that I could not challenge.

'Blank thoughts.'

'Blank thoughts'

'Blank thoughts.'

"I mean, can you blame me? I'm average at everything, and all my hobbies are totally normal. Even "normal" would call me boring."

"What are you talking about? You're so strange!"

I wasn't expecting that reply. "S-Strange? That's-!"

"Hahaha!" Sayaka however would just continue to laugh… even to my dismay…

I eventually joined in the laughter with some small chuckles of my own.

"I really don't like the sidelining here guys! I need my part of the script too, y'know."

Junko spoke from behind us, a little annoyed by being unable to be part of the conversation.

Sayaka was cleaning the tears from her laughter. "I'm sorry… I'm just… I'm just glad that I know someone here. In this… place…"

"Maizono…"

'You don't know the true me…'

'I'm not who you wanted to meet anymore…'

Sayaka seemed a little confused at me after that…

'Did I…'

'Her intuition!'

"I am glad as well to know that I'm not surrounded by complete strangers, Maizono-san!"

Sayaka's smile returned, as Junko left out an "I'm a stranger now?!"

"Thank you, Makoto… Talking to you has made me feel a lot better about all this…"

She then showed me that beautiful smile of hers to me directly. "You're amazing, Makoto!"

"..."

'I'm not…'

'I'm really…'

'I don't deserve that as I…'

'STOP THINKING.'

I shook my head as I answered back to her while avoiding eye contact. "I'm glad I can be of help, Maizono-san."

Sayaka seemed to want to ask something about my reaction, but thankfully Junko stepped in.

"Say, what time it is?"

I instinctively reached to my arm and pulled my sleeve off, but I didn't have any watch on my wrist. "Uh…I don't know…."

Whoever trapped us in here also made sure to not let us see what the outside even looked like. Our sense of time therefore is completely manipulable that way..

"We should probably get back to the others. Do ya know where they could be at, doll face?"

Sayaka frowned at Junko. "When you rudely took Makoto out, everyone went in pairs of three and agreed to meet at the dining hall when they finished investigating."

"Dining hall? Where is that?" I asked.

"Pairs of three? Who did you go out with, then? I don't see anyone else around." Junko asked with a cheshire grin.

Sayaka… stammered? "T-that's not important. I'll lead you there."

Junko then grabbed me by my neck again… "Please do!" That grin of hers never left her face…

Sayaka huffed and started guiding us towards the dining hall…

Yes… I walked the whole way, grabbed by Junko… She stated that this was her 'revenge'.

'What did I do now…?'

When we entered the cafeteria, I was actually a bit impressed with how well it looked. A large oval shaped table placed in the center of the room, to it's left there were two more tables, only smaller, and to the right was a large window with a… "beautiful" yet completely fake view of the outside world painted over it. I could also see the kitchen, but I didn't pay too much mind to it.

'This must be the dormitory dining hall...'

I would quickly break out of my thoughts as I saw some of our newly appointed classmates already taking some of the chairs nearby'.

"Ah, Makoto! Sayaka! Junko!" Taka greeted us when he noticed our entrance. "Come! Sit with us!"

We promptly followed Taka's invitation to join them.

Scanning the cafeteria, I saw that Taka, Mondo, Chihiro and Yasuhiro were around the cafeteria. Only Taka, Yasuhiro and Chihiro were sitting though.

"Were the three of you able to find something?" Taka asked us.

I decided to share what we learned. "We went around and found some places fully locked up. There are some stairs heading to a second floor in this place, but we have no way to go and look, it's shut with a metallic gate."

Taka answered with a nod, as Junko quickly clinged into my back and joined in as well. "We also found a hall with what are our sleeping dorms."

I felt uncomfortable with Junko on my back… once more. 'Blank thoughts, blank thoughts.'

"Great." Mondo, who was standing behind Taka, sneered. "We checked the same shit, we should've looked elsewhere."

It was then when I decided to ask something that was on my mind. "Hey.. Ishimaru-san… Where is Togami-san?"

Taka scratched the back of his head… nervously? "Him and Owada-kun fought once more, Togami-kun abandoned us after we checked our dormitories."

"Fucker left us in the dust. By the time we left our rooms, he had abandoned us."

'This doesn't sound good…' I sweatdropped, picturing the image on my head.

"And you guys?" I decided to steer the conversation away from Byakuya. I turned towards Chihiro and Yasuhiro, who were sitting next to the Moral Compass .

"We didn't find much… There are surveillance cameras everywhere… and more rooms were locked." Chihiro said, as she spoke she sounded deflated by each statement she made… I felt bad for her.

"I also went to check on the nurse's office, to see if there was any good stuff there, but it was locked." The clairvoyant shrugged. "But I wouldn't worry too much, this all will eventually end, y'know."

"Good stuff?" I asked in confusion.

"This all?" Sayaka repeated out of confusion as well..

"The prank I mean. They aren't going to keep us locked for eternity right?"

I didn't see it, but I could feel how Junko facepalmed behind me… she's still on my back!

"This fucking guy…" Mondo said in disbelief.

"You can't be THIS dumb, right?" Junko added in.

Yasuhiro felt offended at that. "What do you mean with THIS dumb?! I'm not the air headed blonde here!"

"HUH?!" Junko questioned in anger.

"EEEH!" …As Hiro squealed in panic…

'hoo boy'

I could hear Sayaka on my side giggling a little.

…To which Junko also seemed to notice…

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh, nothing. I just thought of something a bit funny."

"Well then, enlighten us, share it with the class will you?"

"Oh, but I don't think you'll find it funny, though."

"Why? You don't think I can handle a joke?"

Everyone present at the tables were now staring how both girls argued… This did not look good…

Taka gathered enough courage to try to diffuse the situation. "Ahem, girls, this is not-"

"You stay out of it!"
"You stay out of it!"

And was immediately shot down as both girls answered him angrily in unison.

'I… don't want to get involved in that… But I don't want them to fight either…'

"Hey, girls? There's no need to fight like this-"

"Shut up, Makoto. I'm trying to make a point here." Junko would quickly shut me up.

To which Sayaka responded with a bickering of her own. "You don't have to treat him like that!"

"Girl, I do what I want! It ain't my fault he prefers to spend time with me than you." The fashionista shrugged nonchalantly.

"And when did he say that exactly?"

"Girls?" I, once more, tried reaching out to them, however they seemed too deep into their discussion

'They are not listening…' I scratched the back of my head at this altercation between my two new friends…

"..."

'Can I really call them that?'

'Friends…'

'Do I still deserve something like that?'

'After… everything I've done?'

…

It was then when I noticed a single speck of lavender leave the room in my peripheral vision.

I turned my gaze to it, but I only saw the exit door…

'Huh…'

I turned towards the two bickering girls. They don't seem to stop arguing any time soon, so… it should be alright if I leave for a couple minutes, right?

"..."

…

"I just don't wish to hurt your feelings, you are sensitive to other people's comments from what I see."

Junko shook her head in disbelief. "Wow…Unbelievable… Can you believe this girl, Naegi?" Junko tried to make me part of the discussion, but…

…

"Naegi?"

When Junko ceased her glare towards Sayaka and looked down on my chair… I was nowhere to be found.

"What the?"
"Again?!"

Both girls stammered in surprise.

"He left just a moment ago…" Taka answered, albeit with lower energy than before.

"Haha… you two really have a knack for scaring people away…" Yasuhiro 'teased' both stunned women.

Who in turn started glaring at him.

*gulp* That was not Hiro's smartest move...

I ended up leaving the cafeteria right there and then as my curiosity got the better of me.

Walking through the halls, towards the dormitories but not quite, I ended up following a trail of lavender hair that would disappear just around the corner each time I walked towards it.

I ended up in what I presume was the storage room's entrance, no more trails to follow on sight.

I was about to turn on the doorknob as I felt a presence behind me.

I decided against immediately turning towards it, but rather acted as I chickened out from opening the door and slowly turned around.

And when I did, I was immediately greeted with Lavender Eyes.

"Why were you following me?"

I jumped back to give the notion I was caught off guard. However… Where did she hide in this tight corridor?

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought I saw something coming out of the cafeteria and… followed you here."

The person in question was Kyoko Kirigiri, the ultimate… something. She wasn't in the mood to tell me what her talent was.

Or to anyone, really.

She thought in silence after that.

I decided to try making some small talk. "Are you still investigating?"

"Yes. I wish to learn everything that I can from this place."

"In order to escape, I assume?"

"You could say that."

'What do you mean by that…?'

"Do you… not want to escape from here?" I asked with slight confusion.

"You ask too many questions."

'I mean… you started…'

"W-Well… We don't know anything about you, you know?"

"You know my name."

"Yeah, but that's about it."

"And that's all you need."

I eyed her a little after that. "You know that… there's no need for that, right? We are in this together."

"Hmm?"

I took on the queue to continue. "I mean that you don't have to cut us out from you? or you from us? There's only so much you can accomplish on your own."

"Inspiring words coming from someone I just met today. How am I supposed to trust in any of you?"

"To be fair, It's the same for us with anyone, with you. You barely said your name… you didn't tell anyone your talent..."

"Neither did you." She coldly answered back.

My words died on my throat right there. I kept my composure the best I could, but I was tangled in.

"But that wasn't a problem from what I've seen." She finished her statement.

"...Now that you mention it… you are right…" I scratched the back of my neck… I have to stop doing that. "Technically, no one really asked, so I took it as them not being interested to begin with… Even you didn't, so, it's not really like-"

"What is your talent then? There, I asked. I'm "interested" to know about it."

…She got me…

…She got me good…

I kept my cool as best as I could, but I'll admit that I was panicking. Being fully honest. It's not that I have to hide my talent, but rather the fact that I'm not proud of it. I planned on being blunt on the first day of school and telling everyone about it just so they would leave me alone if they felt scared of me during school life, but things completely changed when we were told that this was a killing game , had I come out about it, I would have been completely ostracized by everyone, maybe even turned into a target.

It's even worse now, because If I do reveal the truth, I will be questioned by not revealing something so important earlier… and they'd be right.

I do not plan to kill any of these people, I swear it on the name of my mother, my father, my little sister and even people that no longer are with me in this plane of existence. They will not break me to do so. They cannot make me.

But they have no idea how to know that… they would have to blindly believe in me…

And honestly… that's more than what I deserve.

I never planned for a contingency for this, because like I said, I wanted to come honest about it… but now… I've got to improvise. And quick.

But what do I even tell her?

Those lavender eyes that scanned my soul at that moment… They remind me of him when he did the same…

I finally spoke up, even though it only took mere seconds to answer. "Allow me to introduce myself then…"

I shuddered a little when I said those words, thankfully Kyoko didn't notice, as I had experienced this multiple times before I could control it.

'I hate those words.'

"My name is Makoto Naegi. It's truly a pleasure to meet you, Kirigiri-san." I beamed the most genuine smile I could muster. I fully meant what I said, despite everything, I'm glad to not be alone in this kind of place.

You can only do so much on your own after all…

"And your talent is?" Kyoko said. I'm not sure if she was annoyed, or just kept me on track in order to learn what she wanted, either way, the moment of truth had come…

"I'm…."

…

"...the…."

…

"...Ultimate…."

…

"...I'm the ultimate….."

…

She was getting frustrated by now. "Will you cut the-"

"I'm the Ultimate Motivational Preacher."

…

We stood staring at each other in silence right there.

"..."

'This is awkward...'

I decided to break the ice. "There, I said it… A bit of a mouthful but-"

"For real?" She asked, a little incredulous... which kind of caught me off guard, honestly.

"Y-Yeah… w-why do you have that look for?"

She then brought her gloved hand to her chin to ponder in her thoughts…

She never replied to me…

…

'I need to get out of here.'

"So-"

"I thought the Motivational Preacher already enrolled in Hope's Peak?"

"..."

'Crapbaskets.'

"I mean… you are technically speaking of the Ultimate Spokesperson…who did start by giving small motivational speeches on the parks and such…" I've got to weasel my way out.

"Yes, but-"

"Former… Ultimate Spokesperson at that."

"...Yes, but it's a little odd to gather similar talents between so few generations apart."

"...I mean… he graduated with the 73rd class… that's already five years."

"But he's not dead. Nor retired, There's no need to replace him."

"And what if it's not about replacing, but expanding? Hope's Peak wishes to spread hope through the entire country… and he hasn't worked with them ever since."

'Where am I even going with this? I have no clue what I'm saying, but it's working so far.'

"...You certainly know about him…" She said with a… 'questioning tone.'

'She's leading me on… I do not like where this is going.'

"I've done my research." I tried throwing away suspicion as I sheepishly scratched the back of my head.

"There's not much about his personal life though." And utterly failed…

…She's got me…again…

"I…."

"How did you know about his… 'humble beginnings'? That is not public information."

'How would you know that?!'

Her eyes were daring me, challenging me, to defy her. She doesn't believe in what I'm saying…

'I guess I gotta tell the truth then…'

*...Sigh…*

"...I know him…"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Like, personally. He's been helping me out..."

"You are telling me that you know J-"

"We've known each other for years now… He's been… a great help."

She… bought it? "How did the two of you meet?"

'Jeez… it feels like I'm being interrogated by the police…'

"We… knew someone in common…" I slowly dejected.

"The two of you?

"Yes."

"Who did you know?"

It was then when I decided that enough was enough. "I told you what you wanted. Now it's your turn."

She eyed me suspiciously then.

"Your talent I mean. I already told you mine, it's only fair for you to tell me yours." I said trying to be as reachable to her as possible. Demanding answers out of her won't solve anything at this pace.

I just want to come clean...

…and take myself out of the end of the questions, being honest.

She seemed a little troubled at first, but she eventually spoke up.

"I...I don't know…"

"What?" I asked incredulously. It took me a couple of seconds to process what she had just said.

'Is she saying she doesn't-'

"I don't know… if I should trust you…" She quickly recomposed herself. "Any of you." She said that last part coldly as she glared towards me.

I blinked for a moment. Then sighed.

I'm not even angry… just… disappointed.

"Look… I get it. This is a pretty… messed up situation. Thrown together and locked to kill each other… I get that you don't want to trust us… trust me… But… There's no need for you to completely cut us. We can work together! We have to, if we want to fight off whoever is doing this to us! We just gotta believe that we can try. Not even do, try, because that is enough for some of us… that is enough for me…"

She stared at me in complete silence after that… I have no clue if I angered her, made her listen to reason, neither or all of the above…

'That stoic mask of hers rivals mine and then some…'

'Huh… she kind of reminds me of-'

"You have your way with words." That's all she said as she walked past me and went towards the storage room…

I decided to not follow her, I felt that prolonging a conversation with her could become dangerous for me. As I saw her lavender frame fully disappear after the door in front of me closed. I headed back towards the cafeteria….

"…"

"..."

'This conversation is going to bite me back, isn't it?'

As I walked back towards the cafeteria, I quickly noticed how much had the room filled since I left.

I noticed some people standing out, as they weren't part of the group of seven we were from before, six without counting me, these being Sakura, Aoi, Toko, Celeste, Leon and Hifumi.

Sakura and Aoi were chatting alongside Chihiro. Hifumi and Celeste were with Yasuhiro while Toko was sitting idly on her own, gritting her nails. Mondo and Taka stayed near each other, to which I honestly can't tell if they got along or not… Taka does… to an extent? I think? I never was the best with people…

The last two in my vision were the renowned idol and the Ultimate Baseball Star. Leon seemed to be talking with Sayaka with high spirits. I couldn't listen to their conversation from the entrance, but Leon was sure engaging with Sayaka.

However, when I saw the idol herself, she… didn't seem as enthusiastic? She didn't seem annoyed or anything, but neither did she seem… pleased to be talking to Leon exactly. It was more as if she was doing the bare mínimum to interact with him. I could feel a different energy from her whenever we spoke before, but now… that wasn't the case anymore…

Did I do something? Or did something happen when I left? Those were the first questions that came to mind.

Had I done something to hurt Sayaka's feelings? That got me worried, as I started walking towards them.

It was then when I felt a new presence behind me.

I had a good idea of who this was, considering the rest of the people in my peripheral vision, there really weren't many options to go with…

And being honest… I truly doubt it's either Kyoko or Togami.

I slowly turned around and, to Lo and Behold, I was greeted with a certain fashionista… pouting…

"Oh, hi Jun-"

I wouldn't be allowed to finish that sentence as Junko grabbed me by my shoulders and started shaking me.

"You left us in the dust! Who does that?! How mean are you?"

"I-I'm…s-so…r-rry…" she wouldn't stop shaking me… even to hear my answers.

"Where even were you?!" She asked, her pout unchanged.

"I…saw… something…curious…that's…all" I answered, my body being swinged every time I spoke.

'Someone help me.' I internally pleaded to any deity out there.

"I think you can stop, Junko. He's got the memo." I heard a voice behind me.

Junko stopped shaking me, from there I could raise my head a little to see the person speaking to us now. I could see how the ultimate pop sensation and the ultimate baseball star walked in tow.

Sayaka's face was… undecipherable… like every time it had been when she was around Junko.

Leon however had an eyebrow raised, probably finding my scene with Junko quite curious.

"Hm." Junko… hummed, before she let go of me.

And of course, since I had leaned over in order to see the two new ultimates, losing Junko's support, I fell on my butt.

"Ow…"

"You're lucky you're cute." The fashionista crossed her arms as she said that.

"H-Huh?"

'I'm lucky? what would've happened if I wasn't then?'

"You okay man?" Leon asked me as he offered a hand out to me.

I accepted his help. "Oh, I've been through worse… no need to worry here!" I answered as I fully composed myself, standing up once more and dusting off my clothes.

I made a quick last scan over the entire cafeteria, and I spoke again. "I'm surprised the cafeteria got this full this quickly… Was I gone for too long?"

"Yeah"
"Yes"

Both women replied to me at the same time. When they realized this they glared at each other.

'Not this again…'

I quickly changed the subject. "Did I miss anything?"

"Well…" Sayaka started speaking.

But our regular fashionista interrupted her. "Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow, Hold the boat there. You still haven't explained what you were doing when you left, mister." She said as she tapped my chest.

"I told you… I thought I saw something curious."

"You thought or you did? And what is 'something curious' in your eyes then?"

I took a breath and… sighed. "Alright, I didn't want to bore you. It was nothing really. When we were at the cafeteria and you guys started talking I swore I had seen someone leave the place without anyone noticing."

"Someone left?" Sayaka repeated. "But everyone was at the table… sort of."

"Yeah. Mondo, Taka, Chihiro and Hiro." Junko listed. "Plus the three of us… until YOU left."

She started pinching my cheeks right then. "J-Junko… please stop."

"Not until I get my revenge!"

"Okay, okay, we get it." Leon spoke up, interrupting Junko's torture towards me. "Who did you see?"

"I swore I saw Kirigiri-san leaving."

"You swore ?" Sayaka catched up.

"I left the cafeteria, turned around the corner and… I lost track of her… or maybe I didn't have any at all."

"And what? you stood around like an idiot for half an hour?" Leon asked.

I think Sayaka was about to say something, but I answered before she did. "I was certain my eyes weren't deceiving me at the time, so I stayed around…"

"So you stood around like an idiot for half an hour."

I chuckled embarrassed at that.

The idol pouted at that. "Le-"

"You're terrible!"

The three of us turned towards Junko, who was… sniffing?

'What?'

"You left us behind to chase after another woman?! You're horrible! A beast! Hideous!" Junko cried as she brought her hands to her eyes.

"W-What?!" I felt as my words choked up on my throat,

"N-No! Th-that's not what I-."

Then she snorted.

"Gotcha." She revealed her not-tearing eyes and blew a raspberry at me.

I sighed and fought the urge to face-palm…

'Right…'

"Fool me once… shame on you…"

"That's what you get for chasing after every skirt you see!" Her Cheshire grin would never stop teasing me.

"J-Junko!"

"She… kinda has a point man." Leon shrugged.

"B-But It's not like that!" I protested, but this didn't stop the Baseball from laughing at my expense.

'What did I do now…?'

Almost everyone was sitting on the larger table of the cafeteria, with only Togami and Toko sitting on other tables individually.

Ishimaru coughed to his fist. "Okay! It looks like everyone's here. Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found out during our respective investigations!" He turned to everyone. "The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!"

The fashionista would stop him. "Wait, hold on a sec!"

"What's wrong!?"

"What about, uh... what's her name? You know, the silver-haired girl… The one who's skirt you were chasing, Makoto."

"Kyoko…" I mused. "Wait… I-I w-wasn-"

"Oh yeah, her!

"...What about her?"

"She's not here."

"What!?"

Everyone turned towards each other, noticing in fact how the mentioned girl was missing.

"Has anyone seen her?" The ultimate swimmer asked.

Everyone just shook their heads.

Me included.

'I already claimed that I didn't see her when I spoke with Junko, Sayaka and Leon. If I said that I actually did now, then they would see me as a liar… not only that… if something did happen…'

"Wait, so nobody's seen her...?" The programmer asked.

"..."

'Did I make a mistake…?'

The moral compass gritted his teeth. "Darn it, Kyoko! You're really going to be late like this on the first day of school!? 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?" The fashionista next to me said.

"Well what do you want me to do!? Punctuality is everything! Now then, I declare that the first session of the Hope's Peak Academy briefing meetings has begun!"

I, however, couldn't focus on the debriefing. The thought of Kyoko's absence was getting to me.

'Did something happen? Did someone go after her after we talked? If so, did they see me? Do they know that I'm lying? Did Kirigiri-san die because of my inaction?

"Makoto?"

'Is this my fault?'

As I heard my name mentioned through Sayaka's voice, I spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I'm getting worried now… Maybe I shou-"

It was then when we heard the cafeteria's door open.

We all turned to see, and there she was.

"Kirigiri! Where the heck have you been!? We already started the meeting without you!" The ultimate moral compass did not was a second.

Neither did the lavender haired girl. Instead of answering the compass, she placed a piece of paper on our table.

I was the first to speak. "Huh? Is this...?"

"It appears to be a map of Hope's Peak Academy."

I widened my eyes.

"Wh-What the...? Where did you find this?"

"It doesn't matter where I found it."

"It DOES matter! You're really freaking us out right now!"

"Never mind that. What's it mean?"

"Just look at it."

We all did that as we continued to hear her explanation. "The building we're in right now is laid out in precisely the same way as Hope's Peak Academy."

"So what you're saying is... that this really is Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Well, in terms of its construction, yes, but it looks like it's had a number of strange... renovations done to it."

I nodded at her. This was Hope's Peak then… but it wasn't the same…

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

"This doesn't make any sense!" Screamed an annoyed Mondo. "This is supposedly where all the elite of our country are nurtured! Why would they do this?!"

"That… we do not know, Owada-san…" I said, trying to calm him down.

Yasuhiro then broke his ice. "Hey, come on, guys. Let's just stop talking about all this... you know, negative stuff…"

I turned to him. "But aren't you worried? Things don't look good for us."

"Worried? What's there to be worried about?"

I was confused by his words. "I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right?"

We all stood in silence…

"..."

"..,"

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

"..."

"Hahaha!"

Until someone in our circle broke out laughing.

"Wh-Why are you laughing? What's so funny!?" Toko questioned the culprit…

Celeste. "I am just happy, that is all. It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all."

"H-Haven't you b-been listening!? Looking around was a t-total waste of t-time!" The stuttering Toko couldn't believe her ears.

"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!"

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

She raised one of her hands, as if she was to explain something. "All we can do is adapt. Adapt to living our lives here from now on."

"Live here...? Are you saying we should just accept it?" The programmer timidly asked.

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

Those words were… sadly… too close to home… She was absolutely right… I'm… the living proof of that…

"As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion."

"Huh? What do you mean?" The biker questioned.

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

I listed from memory. ""Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution." and "Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly." You mean those rules, right?"

"Correct, regarding this "nighttime", I think we need to add a rule of our own."

"What do you mean?" I crossed my arms.

"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."

"B-But why...?" Stuttered Toko.

"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."

"What!?" Sayaka asked with worry.

"If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time." Celeste finished with her explanation.

"So…" Sakura started musing "You're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure."

"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…" Junko carried on. "I think I can agree to that. It's like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."

"On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!" Ishimaru declared… without our voice.

"Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!" Leon reasonably spoke up.

"So everyone is in agreement? Good… Then if you will excuse me…"

"Huh?" Chihiro said as Celeste stood up. "Wait, where are you going?"

"It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives. So... goodbye."

"Very well, if there's no other topics in hand to talk about, then you can be considered dismissed." Taka stated as everyone started leaving.

I walked towards my own room, accompanied by the two girls that had spent the entire day alongside me, however, there really wasn't anything else we could talk about.

We had small conversations until we reached mine and Sayaka's rooms, each being adjacent to the other's one. We greeted goodbye and Junko went to her own room, which was across the other side of the rooms, in front of Sayaka's neighbor's, this being Toko's room.

Sayaka entered hers, and so did I on my own. Used the key we were given and walked right in.

My room was… the same as I had left it. It was pretty eerie to see how neatly cleaned it was. Assuming this was the same for everyone else, considering it was kept clean for us to live in this… killing game, then yeah, It gives me the vibe that whoever is surveilling us has enough power and control for this to happen.

This wasn't a mere kidnapping, nor just a bloodlusted massacre game. This was organized, there were rules we had to follow. This was planned , I had no doubts in my mind. But by who? I have no clue. But I'll do everything in my power to get all of us out of here.

Following Celeste's advice I walked in my bathroom in order to take a quick bath before the water supply was cut-off when Nighttime officially began. I opened the door without any complications, and proceeded to undress myself.

As some of my clothes fell on the floor, I couldn't help but gaze at my own reflection in the mirror.

I don't know why this happens to me, but everytime that I look at myself like this, I just feel… small, worthless. powerless.

My body wasn't exactly scrawny, but I didn't have any rock hard muscles either, despite all my time in Fenrir. I just had a lot of room to develop and improve upon.

But I didn't exactly feel proud of that… I wasn't proud of the state my body was.

Because every time that I took a look at it, I didn't see myself. I saw the ghosts of my past.

Everyone that had to die, in order for me to live, I would see them every time in the mirror.

Their faces were all next to me. I now know that they really are not floating beside me, but it took me a good while to get used to it.

These are the ghosts that will forever haunt me… and rightfully so. My heart is full of regrets, but at the very least I'm grateful for everything they represented for me, everything they've done for me.

I facepalm, my hand runs through my entire face, and when I gain my vision once more, their faces are gone. I see my body, which is almost completely free of scars.

Being fully honest, I don't know if my lack of permanent damage on my skin was a blessing, or a curse.

Most would be outrageous with what I said, but I feel that the lack of scars in my body represents how much more fight I could have given. How much more I could have done for them…

If I could go back in time, and lose a limb in order to save each of them, I would.

Or to stop myself on that day… I would do as well…

Each time I had one of these episodes of me staring at my own reflection, my body would start burning.

I don't know if this feeling was me hurting, coping, or just shame, but I could feel my temperature rising up, and I still haven't opened up the water yet.

But the worst part of this was that certain parts burned with more intensity than others. One in particular did.

I placed my left hand on my right arm, on the side of it right below my shoulder. My hand barely managed to cover the nasty scar that was left there.

That place in particular, burned like hell. As if I had an oven inside my arm..

I know exactly why.

And I can't do anything about it.

I just grit my teeth and squeeze it as hard as I can until the pain soothes out.

It doesn't work out. It never does.

But the attempt is what cools me off eventually.

It isn't until I'm over this entire distraction of mine that I can finally continue undressing myself in order to take a bath.

*Ding dong, bing bong*

"Mm, ahem, ahem." Monokuma's voice could be heard on the announcement. "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…"

…

*…Sigh…*

'Guess I'll wait till the morning.'

(Monokuma Theatre)

A cardboard based Monokuma lowered in a makeshift theater. "In any normal school, Mr. Monokuma would be a kind teacher. But when I think about what's coming up-"

Until a cardboard wolf lunged at Monokuma, taking him out of the scene.

"..."

"Listen up." Another cardboard wolf appeared on the screen. Landing on the same place Monokuma was sitting just a couple of seconds ago. "The Monokuma Theatre has been successfully interjected by The Wolfpack. From now on, you'll only listen to bed stories coming out of me! YOU GOT THAT?!" Said wolf barked on.

"With that being said, enjoy the show… or not. I don't give a *WOOF* "

A long time ago.

But not very long ago.

Just enough time.

There was a… Zoo.

In this… Zoo… All the animals inside of it worked together in order to keep everyone safe.

Their leader, a prideful Lion, with the most condescending and vain mane an animal could muster, led the group.

Why was the Lion in charge instead of… I don't know, A bear? A tiger? I don't know. It just sorta happened.

The point is, The Lion was the ruler of everything. And everyone looked up to the Lion because… he was the Lion!

Most coherent line of thought, I know, but it's what happened. All the animals liked the Lion.

And the Lion liked most of the animals…

Except for our two protagonists.

Firstly, a strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with an astounding fur that left everyone (that had a lick of taste) marbled.

And another wolf… He didn't have any redeeming qualities really… Let's call him Frank.

The strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur (and Frank by association.) were two of the Zoo watchkeepers.

They, alongside other "strong" animals, protected the entire Zoo from outsiders and evildoers.

But you see… The strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur (and Frank by association.) weren't liked that much by most animals.

The other members of the watchkeep would always pick a fight with the strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur whenever he didn't follow orders. Even though those orders were utter *WOOF* as the Wolves outranked everyone but the Lion, but they wouldn't have any of that.

Oh, right, Frank's in this story too… He always followed the other wolf around, he was more of a follower really.

The point is, the two wolves were underappreciated.

One night, as the two wolves kept watch, the strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur and surprising intelligence asked Frank one question.

"Why are we here?" The strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur and intelligent wolf barked at his partner.

Frank was busy munching a bone, or something, he wasn't very reliable.

The strong, handsome, ferocious wolf with astounding fur continued with his rant. "Why are we doing so much for these animals, when they can barely lift their own weight…? Why is it that always when things go south, WE are the ones getting the blame thrown at?"

"To be frank with you, Boss, We aren't always the most receptive towards orders. We do take the best course of action every time, but it may be our disobedience that causes distrust amongst our peers. Sure, we bring results, but is that really worth it over trust and security the others might feel towards us?" Frank was useless as always.

"Don't you see it Frank?" The handsome, ferocious… I got lost…

We'll call him Boss now, that was quite smart of Frank actually, gotta give credit where it is due… Even if it's Frank who we are talking about.

Boss would bark at his partner again. "Don't you see it Frank? These animals… They are weak. They wouldn't last a day in the jungle. They go to their lovely Lion to rely on him when they want comfort. But when things hit the fan, it is US who do the heavy work. WE are protecting this place, not that Lion."

"So what are you saying Boss?"

"That I want to lead people. MY people."

Both wolves stayed up, staring at the sunset, in the hopes for a new day to come, shine and change things for them.

Otherwise, they will make that change themselves.

I woke up to the same dream again, barely getting any rest out of my sleep.

Those voices would not stop haunting me ever since then.

But it's alright. It's what I deserve after all.

And hopefully, there always is another day.

I woke up, half wishing for everything that we've been going through to just be a dream, or a nightmare at least.

I was greeted in the same old room I had fallen asleep last night.

So no… a half black, half white talking bear keeping us all trapped inside a nationwide prestigious school to kill each other, was not a dream I came up with.

Being honest, I would be surprised if I came up with the idea myself in my sleep, because it sounds as outlandish as it does when said out loud.

Nevertheless, I was greeted with a new day. I went to the bathroom, cleaned my teeth, tried bathing myself this time but the water source was still cut as of now, guess I woke up too early.

I weighed my options then and there. A lot of people are probably still asleep as of now, so this could be the perfect time for me to look around the school, by myself. Maybe I can find something out.

I dressed myself properly, gloved my hands once more, and then walked out of my room.

The first sight that I was greeted with was a walking and awakened Kiyotaka. He seemed to be heading back to his room actually.

"Good morning, Ishimaru-san!"

The prefect turned to me surprised. "Good morning to you too, Naegi-kun! I'm surprised you woke up at this time."

I chuckled as I scratched the back of my head. "I could have gotten some more sleep, but it's still nervewracking here."

Taka crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. "I second that. I'm still worried for all of our classmates' wellbeing. That's why I've decided to wake up early and make sure everything is safe and sound."

I smiled at that. "Thank you, Ishimaru-san. You are a great help."

"No, Naegi-san! Thank YOU!"

I blinked at that. "M-Me?" I comically pointed my finger at myself.

"Yes, you! When Monokuma had revealed to us that we had to kill someone, I had fallen into a pit, unsure of what to do, scared of all you… scared of myself."

"Ishimaru-san…"

"But then you broke me out of those thoughts, and I was so terribly ashamed of it. Someone like me can't call themselves the ultimate moral compass if I can't even vouch for my own ideals and beliefs… and at that very moment I had failed."

"But-"

"That is why I will work harder, not smarter!" The prefect raised his fist in pride. "The less I think, the less I'll doubt, and the more I'll act. I will not give up on you. Any of you."

'I don't know if that's the correct way to look at things… but I can tell his intentions are earnest and honest.'

I gained a lot of respect for Ishimaru… He can be a little stiff at times, but his heart is in the right place. It was easy enough for me to see.

"I believe in you, Ishimaru-san." I said out of the blue. "If we work together like this, I have no doubt in my mind we'll escape this place."

"That's the spirit! Kinship and camaraderie is what we need amidst these times!" He heartily laughed. "I'll be continuing my patrol then, Naegi-san."

"Makoto."

"Hmm?"

"Just call me Makoto, please." I asked him.

"Call me Taka then, Makoto-kun."

I smiled like a little kid right then…

Even if I'm embarrassed to admit it.

After my talk with Taka, I decided to use the little time I had before everyone woke up to investigate all the rooms that I can by myself. The lesser eyes on me, the more things I can probably check without being suspicious.

I started with what I presumed was the Storage room where Kyoko inspected without me, which has got to be the most interesting room we've had.

Firstly, it wasn't the STORage room at all, but rather the school's STORE.

This place was filled with so much stuff here that was so catching to the eye that, ironically, they all could be missed with a simple glance.

'Magazines, cups, pictures, stands, armor stands? with actual armor? a whole food vending machine?'

This place was stacked with stuff that, surely something could become useful for us, right?

Well… no.

Most of this junk was… junk…

Props, cosmetic, broken… Even all of the above at times!

The only thing worth noting was a weird machine which reminded me of the "gacha machines" that selled 'limited time' collectibles. This one also seemed to have prizes inside of it…

I took a last glance around the room… and there I found it. A surveillance camera.

'The whole place must be filled with these…'

'And we can't do much about it… Destroying them is against the rules… and if we break them…'

If what Mondo did wasn't a clear message… I don't know what would be.

It was then when it hit me.

I turned around facing the weird machine filled with prizes. The only thing separating me from them was a thin piece of glass…

'What if…'

I turned back to glance at the camera and, especially, the door behind me. The camera still had a clear view of the whole room, but I was more worried about the door, which was closed as I had left it.

'Someone walking in would be… quite troublesome ' I chuckled to myself.

It was then when I locked eyes with the gacha machine for one last time.

It was me… and that glass.

I brought my hand to my chest and balled it into a fist. I breathed slowly to collect myself completely.

It has to be done.

I was determined to throw my strongest punch to shatter the glass in order to find anything of value for us to escape this place.

And it was then when it happened.

"STOP!"

I immediately aborted any attempt.

"STOP! STOP! YOU CANNOT DO THAT!" A familiar two-toned bear appeared in front of me.

"JEEZ! OUT EVERYONE, I NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D CAUSE PROBLEMS THIS EARLY, NAEGI!"

I… need to get used to Monokuma appearing out of nowhere.

"..."

"..." The bear stood idly in front of me.

"..."

"...Jeez, you're no fun! But I can't allow you to break the MonoMachine!"

I couldn't help but repeat after it. "MonoMachine?"

"Yeah!" The bear said while patting the machine I tried destroying a minute ago.

"The MonoMachine holds all kinds of amazing prizes that you can get during your school life!" The bear explained frantically as it shook its arms. "You can get a beautiful hairpin, some killer tea! Or even… a super rare escape button…"

That caught my interest.

"Uh… huh… but how can we get them then?"

"Pupupupupu… You see…"

The bear walked closer to me, as odd putting as that could be, I was relaxed. Whoever was controlling this bear, it had the means to kill any of us, Even me.

But they actively chose not to.

I've got to keep that to my advantage.

It raised one of its paws… and something shined out of it.

It was not its claws, thankfully, but rather… a coin?

"This is a MonoCoin! I've hidden a bunch of these around the school for all of you to find!" Monokuma said as it used its three claws to perform some tricks with the golden coin. "Any student can find them and use them! There's also other ways for you to get a bunch of these…"

"Which are….?"

"You'll see…. Pupupupupu!"

He turned around and placed the coin inside the… 'MonoMachine'.

"You can exchange them for prizes from the MonoMachine! However the prizes are random… so you might not get something you like, but maybe someone else will! Sharing is caring after all."

And one of the prize bulbs came out of it…

The bear signaled its paw towards the mystery prize. "Go on… The first one's on the house…"

…

I grabbed the bulb prize and opened it… only for it to reveal a kitty hair clip

'This is literally a gacha machine…'

'Komaru would like this though…'

"Welp! You win some, you lose some! Better luck next time! Upupu!"

The bear then disappeared from my sight once more…

Being fully honest, the fact that Monokuma can appear and disappear out of nowhere, beating my own reflexes is a concern that I have to work around with. That meant that if it wanted to, it could definitely slash me down with its claws before I could probably react… which is not good…

I looked at the MonoMachine once more, and I still wanted to break the glass containing the prizes inside of it to get that supposed "Escape Button" it had.

However I felt a sudden vibration from my jacket. I realized it was the Monopad given to us by Monokuma.

I lit it up and saw that there was a notification regarding the rules section.

I decided to check it and… while everything seemed normal at first, I quickly spotted the difference.

-Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, such as breaking branded school property, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. -

'Branded school property?'

I took a look at the black and white gacha machine…

'Ah…'

'I'll guess that also applies to the vending machine behind it…'

After visiting the not storage room, but school store, I went back where it all began… The classroom where I woke up…

In short, there was nothing of value.

I didn't find anything.

So I continued backtracking my steps by moving forward from that point forward.

Where I met everyone for the first time.

Standing again in front of the giant metal vault that locked us inside of this school, the first thing I noticed was…

The two mounted miniguns on the ceilings.

'Those were not there before!'

'I would have spotted them immediately!'

'Were they installed recently? Were they hidden from us? Are there more of these hidden in this school?'

'Are we closer to death than we actually realize?'

Dozens of questions quickly rose to my mind immediately.

I haven't felt this whiplash in a while.

'Had these been activated when we were all here… would I have been able to protect everyone from them? A chance to survive them?

'…'

…

'No…'

'I must not think that!'

'If, buts and shoulds are useless! I either will, or I will not!'

'I don't try, I do… my actions must not be deterred by outside factors.'

I scan the mounted gun on the left.

'I called it a minigun, but it's actually a M61 Vulcan. 6.000 RPM, They usually fire rounds of 20 mm, which, by looking at the loading belt on the side, this is easily confirmable… 20 mm. bullets are freaking huge… One of those, and I'd be toast, the other 5.999 are just overkill.'

I knew this weaponry, the thing was…

How?

'How have they got this? This thing… It costs around $59 Million YEN or $400.000 USD. to fire this weapon for…' I mentally calculated the expenses.

"Twelve seconds…" I left out in a murmur

I cleaned the sweat from my forehead.

And then I looked at the other identical mounted gun.

' And there are two of them… maybe even more.'

'You know what? This is probably where I should stop asking how it is possible.'

'At the end of the day, I won't get a clear answer, and Monokuma's existence is already mind boggling enough to ask myself that same question.'

'Instead of how, what?'

'What does this mean?'

'This means that whoever is behind this, not only can kill us, not only has the means and firepower, and these death machines confirm it, they also have the resources and the contacts, or at least the means to get said weaponry.'

'And as intimidating as a Vulcan can be… it's a sloppy purchase. A regular rifle would do just fine, if not more efficiently.'

'However there is a merit to why getting a Vulcan.'

'Intimidation.'

'The Vulcan's six cannons are far more intimidating than a rifle's single one.'

'And its caliber… it's freaking caliber. Each bullet is as large as the average male hand! And getting shot by one of those has got to be nasty, I don't need any experience to know that.'

'These weren't just expensive, but also rare. The gun itself is expensive, and the ammo can be hard to come by. But you don't find them in your grocery store! These are rare weapons that are not legal to buy in most countries! You'd have a hard time finding them on the black market alone!'

'And I repeat! There are two of them here!'

'That just means that whoever made this whole ordeal does not care for efficiency or they allowed themselves to splurge the whole budget. Which honestly, neither sounds too good.'

'There's got to be something I can do about this!'

Both cannons lowered their aim a little, their sights now locked on me.

'Without getting shot, preferably...'

It was then when I thought of an idea.

I ran back as far as I could next to a wall that would normally lead towards the gym. Peeking from the corner of the wall, I have a clean view of the left mounted turret.

I reached the contents of my jacket…

I grab the bayonet knife hidden inside it by the grip.

'If I aim correctly… I can throw the knife from here and shove it between the rotary cannons, forcing the gun to malfunction. If it works, I can go to the school store and get one of those metal props to do the job again for the other turret or this one should the knife give up, and hopefully I can try tearing down the guns safely at that.'

A last scan around the room to make sure no one's around me.

And it's then when I pulled out the knife from my jacket.

With my back leaning against the wall, it's now that I ask some more questions.

'Will the gun immediately fire back? If it gets stuck, will the second turret fire? WIll I get shot preemptively? Can I dodge it in time?'

I mentally slapped myself at the last one.

I clutched the grip of the knife strongly.

I was sweating.

I was nervous.

I felt my heart pumping harder by the second.

This was the closest I had been to returning into armed conflict ever since I left Fenrir and returned home.

It's like I can never escape it, can I?

Mighty grip, prepared to face all odds these turrets had against me.

I quickly jumped out of cover and my arm already recoiled back for my power throw.

It's only when I'm about to let go of the knife that it happened.

"STOP! STOP!"

I immediately hid the knife under my wrist.

Once more, the monochrome bear and I crossed paths.

The gremlin had jumped in front of me, had I thrown the knife, I would have hitted it, breaking the rules and promptly getting executed.

Good thing I pulled out at the last second…

…Wait.

"You cannot do that! You absolutely CANNOT do that!" The bear said while crossing an X with its paws. "It's against school regulations!"

"..."

"..." The bear stood idly in front of me…

"..."

"..." …Again…

"..."

"...But… It's really not?"

I don't think anyone but me has thought of trying to disarm the weapons around here…

I think I'm the only one that noticed that these guns were there…

"I'm making them to be now, then!" The bear angrily said as it pulled out its own monopod and frantically punched the screen of it.

Not so soon after, my monopod vibed once more. I pulled it out to check the new rule notifications.

-Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, such as breaking branded school property and tampering with the school's security weaponry, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. -

"Stay out of trouble!" The 'principal' of the school accused me with its paw before disappearing.

…

'Well that just happened.'

Third time's the charm, right?

This time, I ended up walking all the way to where the nursery is located.

From what Hiro said yesterday, it's completely locked, preventing any access to it.

I tried turning the doorknob of it and, of course, it was indeed locked.

The doorknob had a key opening from my side, so it's plausible that it was locked with a key from here rather than inside the nursery.

I wonder why Monokuma locked this room from us, there's got to be a reason that the nursery specifically is the only place locked for us in this whole floor, without counting the stairs that obviously lead to superior levels.

The reason for it? I could not decipher it right now.

So that's why I would decipher it now… by entering this room myself.

Just as before, I looked at my surroundings and thankfully, no one was around still.

It's now that I actually wondered… Where is Taka even patrolling? How come I haven't found him once ever since we last crossed paths?

I pulled out the hair clip that Monokuma gave me in the store room alongside my surprise tool that I grabbed before that I knew would help me later.

A paper clip!

I found it in the AV room, from all places.

Using the thinner leg from the paper clip, and the sturdy surface of the hair clip to act as platform, I can try locking the pick from the nursery room's doorknob.

…Yeah… picking locks was something that I picked up during Fenrir…

No pun intended.

Tools in hand, I was ready to crack open this lock.

I kneeled in front of the door and touched the doorknob with both tools.

And I immediately felt a touch on my shoulder.

In any other circumstances, I would have immediately grabbed the hand, in order to overpower the assailant behind me.

However, these were not any other circumstances.

Firstly, how did they sneak on me!?

I should have felt them approaching from miles away!

And now they've seen me doing something so suspicious as locking a pick!

They are going to demand an explanation!

But who is it? Taka? Did someone else wake up?

Who is this tiny hand from? Chihiro? Did she wake up? Why is she here?

All these thoughts raced through my mind in microseconds, however, out of instinct I turned my head just enough to see above my shoulder.

The first thing I saw was not a hand.

But a paw.

A black one at that.

I fully turned around and I saw, once more, Monokuma, interrupting me.

The bear seems completely stiff, as if it was tired.

"Don't." The bear merely says. "Just don't."

I pull back from the door, save my tools and… stood up.

"I can't believe it…" The bear muttered. "I can't believe I've wasted the last hour of my life preventing you from breaking my stuff…"

"..."

"..." The bear stood idly in front of me….. for the third time….

"..."

I did not answer back.

How was I supposed to react? I don't want to risk antagonizing our supposed kidnapper more than I already have by all these attempts of mine.

But I also don't want to bend to his will either.

I chose to not talk in the end.

"Silence is a valid option, I guess…" The bear weakly muttered. "You've been at this nonsense since o'five… It's already seven O' two… I can't keep my eye away from you…"

The bear then turned its head in question.

"Seven O' two?"

Their eyes comically widened at that!

"You jerk! I'm late!"

What?

"You're late for wha-?"

Bur before I could react, it had already left…

'And… He's already gone…'

'Nowhere in sight.'

That truly scares me. Disappearing faster than a human can react…

I shook my head.

"Well, I guess I'll try-"

*DING, DONG, BING, BONG*

"Good morning, everyone!" The voice of Monokuma, who was just in front of me a couple of seconds ago, now rang on the… school's broadcast system… "It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"

The announcement came to an end.

…

'Well… maybe I can bathe now?'

I can't say that I didn't feel the hour pass by, but I can say that I was at the very least "entertained" this whole time.

…I can't say the same about finding something of value to help us escape this place though…

But it is what it is.

I arrived at the dorm lounge and even spotted a few people already leaving their dorms, such as HIfumi and Chihiro.

Ironically, I walked past them and entered my room again, in hopes to take a bath.

I threw my clothes aside, and committed the same mistake of looking at the mirror before I even opened the water.

The same faces continued to hunt through my reflection, they will not be going away anytime soon…

And there's nothing I can do about that.

And being honest, it feels just right that I can't.

I shake my head and immediately hit a cold shower for myself. Maybe that will take my mind off of them for a short while…

It still hurts like hell though.

Looking away doesn't help at all.

Maybe it even made things worse, as my body started burning from the inside once more.

My arm hurts like it always does.

I would say that it hurts even more than usual, but usually the pain grows each time, so it feels just like it would any other day…

I clutch it as hard as I can, as I'm used to doing so at this point.

The effort continues to be fruitless though.

One day… I'll face my demons…

Although I don't deserve to.

I finally ended my "short" shower, and walking out I somehow feel dirtier than before I walked in.

I try to pay no mind to my returning thoughts, however it proved to be harder than that.

As I left the bathroom wearing only a towel to cover below my chest, I immediately felt strange about my surroundings.

It's weird to describe, but my room didn't smell, let's say. Before I walked into the shower, the room had an invisible odor. The kind where you literally breathe air and nothing else, almost as if the air was as pure as it could be, yet intoxicating considering we were supposedly trapped inside of Hope's Peak, away from any nature.

But now I smelled… dirt.

Soil…

Mud.

Yet there were no traces of any of that.

The odor also didn't come from any direction, it just felt as if my whole room smelled like that.

I keep scanning around, until I notice something on the ground.

It's… dark? Yet there's light in this room, I can see everything except that… thing from here.

I kneel down on the ground so I can grab the object.

And the closer I get, the more I can tell its features.

It's round.

It's green

And when I bring my hand next to the thing, all shadows finally leave, revealing to me what this was.

A grenade.

My nostrils immediately flare up.

The pin is missing, meaning that this is a live grenade

And that it will blow up any second now.

I have to grab it. Get it as far as I can from me.

"Throw it!" I hear from behind me, yet I'm immobile.

I can't move.

I can't grab the grenade.

And I can't break line of sight with it.

I'm paralyzed once again.

I hate this.

I hate that I freezed up in moments like this.

I can't look away, I can't move an inch.

I can't do a thing.

Why am I always this useless?

Why am I always this weak?

Why is it always my fault that everyone di-

*Ding Dong*

I hear a bell ring out of nowhere, I feel it coming from the door to my room, as I immediately turn towards it out of instinct.

…And it took me a couple seconds for my brain to function again. I realized what I just did.

My concentration was broken, as I turned back to my hand…

…And the only thing I see is that piece of crumpled paper I threw before…

…

I sighed in exasperation as I ran a hand through my face.

I hastily put on a few clothes to dress myself. A shirt and some pants will do for now.

After I clothed myself I turned to the door, opening it.

Thankfully, I'm not as crazy as I thought, considering there's a blue haired idol waiting on the other side of the door, so I didn't hear noises in my mind this time.

'That's good to know.'

"Maizono-san?" I asked, to which she immediately greeted me back.

"Hello Makoto!" she said with a smile.

"H-Hello… Is there something you need, Maizono-san?"

"Some of our classmates saw you walking back to your room, and you were taking quite a while… Everyone was getting worried. Are you okay?"

Sayaka asked worriedly. But why? Why would she check up on someone like me?

Do I really deserve this? I zoned out again.

"Makoto…?"

Sayaka spoke even more concerned than before.

I snapped back to reality and answered her. "Oh, I'm sorry… I guess I've been feeling a little… off ever since we got here." A hand of mine runs through my face, trying to concentrate again on the "real world".

When I looked back at her she gave me a tender smile, as she always did. "I'm pretty sure we all have… Would you… like to do something with me to take our minds off of this?"

"Eh?"

"Everyone's gathering up in the dining for breakfast. Ishimaru san has been calling for us. Would you like to go out for a walk after it?."

'Taka?'

I'm pretty sure I gave her a funny look at that, as Maizono left out another giggle

"The very same one." She spoke, answering my never asked question.

"How did you…- Nevermind." I shook my head. "You are… inviting me to do stuff together?"

"I sure am! I don't mind you tagging along." She gave me again that smile of hers

I wanted to sigh at that, I really don't deserve this.

"Sure thing." I replied to her as I closed the door to my room.

The walk towards the dining was… as you'd expect it to be,

With me being as bad as I am with people as I've been in the last years, I barely dared to speak to Maizono-san.

It's not that I don't like her, it's… complicated.

She'd do better on her own, or rather, away from me.

I don't wish anything bad to happen to her due to me.

But I really just can't say that without being asked about it. I really can't answer that kind of question truthfully.

And I also feel that I have to walk around even more eggshells with her due to her psyc…- Intuition. Let's go with intuition. Her intuition. That bit of hers is both surprising and dangerous, so I can't allow myself any slip-ups.

So, may I be damned, I mostly stayed silent.

SIlence is a valid option, afterall…

Of course, I'd answer any question she had and make small talk where I could, but I didn't have initiative with our conversations. I didn't want her to feel that I was being mean to her, just, you know, that I wasn't a people person.

"Did something happen?" She would ask as we left my room behind.

"Huh? Did something have to happen?"

"Y'Know. Fujisaki-san and Yamada-san said that you walked back into your room, even though the morning announcement had just played out. "

"Oh, that, I woke up early. Or should I say that I barely had any sleep? I was up for a while. I didn't have the chance to take a shower before going to sleep and… the water doesn't open until after the morning announcement is made. So I just…explored the school some more."

"Did you find a way out?"

"I would have told you about it first thing, so yeah… can't say that I did."

"What did you do then?"

And this is exactly why I didn't want to talk much…

Gotta have to answer vaguely.

"I found Taka- Ishimaru-san, we greeted and he left to make his patrol around the school, or at least he said he would. After that I… explored some more places, can't say I found anything useful…"

I decided to grab something from my pocket, hopefully it'll help me move this conversation away from the stuff I was doing.

I pulled out the hairpin I got from the MonoMachine.

"I found the School's Store room and there is this gacha machine which has random prizes. Monokuma called it the… MonoMachine and enticed me with an "Escape Button" as a super rare prize, but now that I think about it, I think he was just pulling my hair."

"I'm sorry to hear that Makoto."

"Eh, it's not an issue. I now have this hair clip which… I don't really think I have any use for it now…"

I give Sayaka a side glance, and I do see her eyeing the hair clip. I raise my eyebrow

"Do you want it?"

"E-Eh? I mean…" Her face flushed red, just slightly noticeable.

"I can't say that it would fit me… but I do think it would look good on you."

…

'Wait… what did I just say?'

I made the mistake of saying the first thing in my mind. I have to make things not weird now. "W-With that I meant that-"

"It's… alright Makoto, you don't have to explain yourself." She said with a… smile?

She then eyed my hand again.

"If… If you don't mind."

"I-I don't… it's all yours."

She grabbed the hairclip and examined it for a moment.

She then saved it in the pockets of her skirt. "T-Thanks" her voice a little embarrassed now…

"Y-Your welcome…" …and I wasn't doing any better…

And as we walked together towards the diner, I felt that I grew a little closer with Sayaka just now…

When we got to the dining hall, we apparently were the last ones to make it there, as every single other student had already gathered there.

From Byakuya to Toko, from Taka, who got everyone there, to Kyoko, who only kept to herself.

"Hello everyone." I greeted with the most earnest smile I could muster. I notice that not many noticed and some barely cared.

"Tsk" Leon even… turned and frowned as we got here?

I looked back at Sayaka, who simply had that smile of hers again. I'm not sure if I have the full picture here…

Taka, as always, dutifully greeted me back. "We see again, Makoto!" The prefect shouted in approval. "I'm glad you made it to this gathering as well."

"About that… what's this about?" I asked, scratching the back of my head. Last time we crossed paths, Taka didn't invite me to this… 'gathering…'

'I don't know how to feel about that…'

'Does he not trust me? Has he seen what I've tried earlier?'' My mind was being filled with all these doubts.

My comment however, gave the Moral Compass his cue to start explaining himself. "I was thinking about it last night, but I wasn't very sure until after we spoke again. You see, I've come to a realization. "

"Which is…?" Mondo, already seated, asked with a slight annoyance.

"We need to work together. Be in unison. Just how Makoto said it. So, I'm making the call that, from here and on, after every morning announcement, we should all come here to the dining hall and have breakfast together. That way we can discuss future endeavors and plan accordingly."

It seemed that most of the class was left in silence.

I tried throwing a bone to Taka's side. "That's commendable of you, Ishima- Taka…"

Taka eyed me for a moment, scanning me thoroughly. It was then that he spoke again. "I do wish to apologize to you, Naegi-kun."

Huh?

What for?

"Wh-Why? Is this about me hitting you? I already told you, I'm not-"

"No no, I simply wasn't able to reach you to inform you about this gathering. I half expected Maizono-kun or Enoshima-kun to bring you here, but I should have reached out to you myself… so for that, I apologize."

He then promptly bowed…

'Oh…'

"Th-There's no need to worry about that, Taka. I'm here anyway. We should focus on what's important, getting out of here."

Determination filled Taka's eyes again. "Right! SO!" He turned to everyone else. "Thank you for making time in your busy schedules to come together."

Leon snapped back at him, passive-aggressively. "I didn't make time for shit. You dragged me here…" He… seemed to be in a bad mood…

Taka continued nonetheless. "I know I already mentioned this earlier, but… In order to get out of here, it is essential that we all cooperate with each other. And the first step is this breakfast meeting, to allow us to become friends and build trust!"

"Now then, let us eat!" He then opened his arms, as if he was gesturing to us to feast.

…

We do need to get some food first though…

Already seated, and with food on the table, we finally started eating breakfast.

Everyone mostly kept to themselves, save for those that had clicked and connected with someone. Sakura and Aoi had become inseparable, and Hifumi and Celeste seemed to start hitting it off?

'That's a weird pair'

Taka, of course, was as open as always, so he didn't seem to have any particular issue.

Yasuhiro, still believing the killing game to be a prank, still talked nonchalantly with everyone without a care in the world, even if the other party wanted nothing to do with him.

The rest seemed to barely engage in conversation, unless their names were Byakuya, Kyoko and Toko, who wouldn't even mutter a word

I also felt some constant glares from time to time, but every time I'd turn to the direction I was feeling said stares come from, I could only see Leon, Junko and Chihiro staring at somewhere else.

I… doubt Chihiro has anything to do with me, in fact, she's been avoiding me for the most part, so I can't say that I've done anything to anger her? Is she perhaps wary of me?

And if so… why?

The other two were more plausible if anything as I have actually interacted with them, however… I don't know why?

'I haven't talked to Junko today, and Leon and I never were even close for us to… disagree on something? So either of them staring daggers at me is just… I wouldn't be able to explain reasonably why they would do so'.

I did stare back at Sayaka, who was eating some yogurt beside me.

'Reasonably at least.'

"...I'm telling you man! There's something going off with these things."

My ears suddenly caught another conversation. I turned around and spotted a sight that… You'd need to see.

Yasuhiro and Mondo were talking with one another.

Or should I say that Yasuhiro was talking while Mondo seemed to angrily crunch at his cereal after every word he said…

'Yikes…'

Yasuhiro then pulled off his Monopad. "I'm telling you. These things were quaking nonstop, I'm pretty sure there's like, something inside them that makes them go wild like that."

"I'm telling you, I don't care." Mondo… you can pretty much guess at this point.

"No man! For real! These things wouldn't let me sleep! I'm pretty sure they were going off the whole night!"

And every word Hiro said, angered Mondo even more every time. Thankfully, Taka seemed to notice their altercation and decided to go and defuse it.

"What is the matter?"

"Oh." Hiro turned to Taka. "I was just telling Owada buddy here about how this hellhound thing wouldn't stop making sounds all night. I think it came from the devil!" He then slunged his arm around Mondo's neck.

"Touch me again, and I'm breaking your arm." The bike gang leader warned, pretty clearly may I add.

"Did anyone tell you that you have to chill?" Yasuhiro said immediately after. Man, I never thought Mondo could get this red.

"Let me look at that." Taka inquired, managing to get Hiro off of Mondo, handing Taka his Monopad.

"I need you to unlock it for me."

"Do I? How so."

"Press here."

Hiro compiled and his Monopad came to life.

The screen flashed with Yasuhiro's name.

His eyes widened at that. Was it the first time he used it? "Woah… wait, so it's like, mine now?"

"That was the purpose of them I presume, yes."

"Sweet! Oh I can't wait to make some cold cash out of this…"

I… can't believe how greedy he is?

I'm starting to believe that it's a coping mechanism, detaching oneself from reality.

Taka continued to scan the contents of Hiro's Monopad, and sure enough, came up with an answer.

"It is what I thought. Unread notifications." He said as he turned around the monopod for Hiro to see.

I could see it as well from here.

"We had three new notifications this morning regarding rule modifications. I assume that the quaking you talk about are those notifications and you simply didn't read them."

"Do I have to? That stuff is usually such a pain anyway…"

Taka clicked at the rules tab, and sure enough, Rule 4 had been modified once more.

-Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, such as breaking branded school property and tampering with the school's security weaponry, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion. -

"It doesn't seem to be a big difference. Simply being more specific on what we can and can't do regarding our 'free will' with exploration."

Celeste unexpectedly hopped into the conversation. "I do wonder what is the meaning of those sudden changes. One change could be an oversight, but three? I notice a pattern here."

Taka's eyes fell on me, and I immediately felt on the defensive.

He seemed to be suspicious of me? It makes sense considering the both of us were awake earlier, and the changes applied after we greeted one another.

However, as soon as his eyes were on me, as soon as they left, he seemed to scan the rest of the class.

Or did he do that to not draw my attention towards him?

Am I overreacting?

I…

I shook my head, and Sayaka's confusion at that didn't stop me.

It doesn't matter in the end. If Taka had discovered me earlier on without me noticing, knowing him he would come to me and ask about it. And if not, could he be keeping it a secret? The thing is, it doesn't change my end goal. I WILL NOT kill Taka, or anyone else for that matter, in order to keep my secret. If it has to come out, it will. I just hope I can defend my case when it does…

Hoo boy…

The rest of the day wasn't that eventful.

We ate breakfast, went on with our discoveries from yesterday, or rather lack of them, and soon splitted paths.

It seemed that the feeling of dread looming was starting to sink in everyone today, as things weren't as lively as yesterday, despite Taka's best efforts.

After all, we were as lively as we could be while being trapped in a killing game by a half white half black bear where anyone could turn on anyone's back at any time. Today felt more like… As it was reality and not some fever dream due to the sheer ridiculousness that yesterday was…

The distrust was visible among each peer of ours.

And while I can't say that I trust everyone, I'll make sure to not misguide any trust going my way.

I looked back at Sayaka, who I had gone with after breakfast to do more exploring.

That is a promise.

Our days were… running stale, if that made sense?

Our lives were endangered, anyone could kill anyone at any moment…

But it never happened?

I won't lie, I prefer this to the alternative, but some people are starting to truly believe that we are never getting out of here.

The cycle was the same for pretty much these few days. Wake up, Breakfast, Explore, Discuss, Sleep. The only thing out of the norm was that I was spending more time with Sayaka.

And even less with Enoshima…

I wondered what's up with that. Maybe I did anger her? I was curious but I wasn't the type to go poke at the bear, so I decided to leave her be with her own devices for now…

As for the literal bear…

"…and nobody's killing anybody!"

It was standing on my cereal.

Monokuma had decided to hop in during breakfast, interrupt our conversations and rant at how we weren't killing each other.

I can't believe it either, but yeah, that's how we got a monochromatic imploding bear to sneer and throw a fit at us…

…

I did not just describe that…

"Think, think!" The two-toned bear grabbed its head with its paws, a very cartoonish way to try to 'flicker the light bulb bright' if you asked me…

"There's nothing you can do to make us kill each other." I decided to snap at him now. I actually liked that bowl. "You can't convince us to do otherwise."

The bear then had gone stiff…

And, I don't know how, but I could feel and see how its grin widened, despite it being immobile.

"But what if I did…" its cheery voice wasn't present, it was as if we were talking to another pers…- bear..-

It didn't sound like Monokuma at all, but the person behind it.

"I've got it!" Monokuma's head bobbed up and down in glee! "It was so obvious, how could I not think that? Maybe I did it on purpose… upupupupu."

"What are you talking about, you freak?" Mondo's ire was bubbling, but he knew he couldn't fight the bear.

But said bear paid no mind to him. "All the mystery ingredients are here… The right people, the right place… so why hasn't anyone killed anyone yet? That's what I couldn't understand. But I just realized there was one very important piece missing!"

We were being led on… This was not something we wanted this early into the day.

"A reason to kill. The drive to do so…"

The bear side-glanced at me and, it was then that I felt a chill go down my spine.

"A motive."

This was not good.

"It was so simple! I just have to give everyone a motive!" The bear said, the 'answer' now being obvious to it… "And speaking about it… There's a little something I want to show all of you!"

"Quit spinning us around!" Mondo snapped once more.

"I have a little video I'd like you all to see. Oh, but don't worry. It's not some pervy "adult" video or anything. Seriously, it's nothing like that!" I can't explain it, but that bear's unmoving grin somehow felt wider and wider by the second. "It's a special video for each of you showing what's going on outside the school."

The bear gestured towards the exit of the Dining hall. "They will be waiting for you in the AV room… you should go now…"

Most of us were quiet, still. We weren't sure what was going on, what was going to happen.

However, one of us didn't stand idly.

Lavender filled my eyes, and soon enough, she had stepped in. "But before we do that, I'd like to know…"

Kyoko Kirigiri, of course she wouldn't relent. I couldn't help but admire her for that.

"What are you? Why would you do something like this? What do you want from us?"

"For the first two… I can't really tell you." The bear said, kicking some imaginary rock on the floor. "As for what I want…"

I felt hypnotized to stare at the bear right in the eyes, as if what he was going to say just now would shift everything I know from here and now.

However, the bear only said three words.

"Despair. That's all."

'Des…pair?'

"If you want to know more than that, you'll have to figure it out for yourselves. However, I love seeing you try to uncover these mysteries of mine. They are entertaining, wouldn't you think so, hmm?"

The lavender girl didn't reply to the bear. so he took it as his cue to go on. "Hmm. Do whatever you need, I won't stop you."

A sinister smile now fell on it, despite it not ever changing physically "Unless you break the rules, that is…"

And just like that, the bear left.

And now… we were stuck in place.

I think the same question was in the mind of every single one of us.

What are those videos Monokuma was talking about?

I saw Mondo glancing at me, however, any words that tried to come out of him seemed to be cut short.

However, I took this as my cue to act.

"Everyone. I'll go ahead and check this out. I'll be sure to return and tell you what this is all about."

I seemed to catch everyone by surprise with this initiative, Mondo himself included, who seemed now a bit guilt-ridden?

I paid no mind to it, and Sayaka seemed to not want to stay in silence. "Are you sure Naegi-kun?"

"More than ever. We can't stay idle now." I reasoned out. Hopefully I didn't seem too pushy about it.

"Then… I'm going with you!" Sayaka mustered up some courage from within her. "It's not safe to walk alone in this place!"

I won't lie. I was fond of the idea. I was happy to see someone care for me while trapped in this building. And I can't say that my heart didn't flutter a bit with what Sayaka had just said.

However, I couldn't abide by it.

I wasn't going to like this… and I know neither would she.

"Sayaka, I thank you for this. But I think it'd be best if I went alone."

"W-What?! But what if that thing is waiting to pounce on you?! While you are on your own!"

"Being fully honest… I truly doubt it would matter if you were there or not if that happened..."

"What?"

It pains me to say it, but I need to make this certain. "We've seen what Monokuma is capable of. And if it wanted any of us dead, it could have done so already. What it wants is a game, for us to take part in it, and I refuse to give into that. But if this is truly a trap, then It's best that only one person goes. That only I go."

"B-But…"

"But don't worry." I gave her a smile to try easen her up. "I promise to you that I'll return, and that I'll tell you all about what's going on."

Sayaka lowered her head and fell silent. I don't think she's very happy with my plan, but it's for the best.

"Very well." The Ultimate Martial Artist jumped in, surprising me. "We will be counting on you."

"I won't let you down." I nodded at her

as I left the room, I squeezed in one last comment. "If… anything happens. Everyone… Be careful."

I didn't receive any reply, nor was I expecting one, right now, I only had one thing on my mind.

What was waiting for me? I had no clue.

I really didn't.

I had already visited the AV Room before. Twice in fact.

Once alongside Sayaka and Junko, and another when I woke up, unable to take a shower while making time.

And both times, the room looked like any other, except for the fact that it had a lot of video players, as that was the AV Room's purpose.

But now… nothing had changed.

It was still that, the AV Room.

What did change was that now there was a big cardboard box in one of the desks.

Looking inside of it, I noticed that the box was filled with DVDs. And each of them had our names tagged on them.

There was one for everyone, and right there in the middle… was mine.

'Makoto Naegi'.

Despite it being an inanimate object, it somehow felt that it was enticing me to grab it. Teasing me.

Or what I would prefer to describe it, testing me. as if I dared to know what was inside these disks.

I took my disk and mine alone. I thought of maybe looking at someone else's disk as well, but it just… didn't feel right…

I hope that this decision of mine, driven by my desire to be as earnest as I could, doesn't bite us back.

But at least I tried. I'd fail a fool, but I prefer that than to become… like him.

I placed my DVD on the disk reader, took a seat and grabbed the headphones attached to the player.

I'm pretty certain of what this is, but I'm scared of what it contains.

The screen lit up, and the scene of a family sitting on a couch looking right at the camera greeted me.

"Ah-!" I left out unconsciously. On that monitor… was my family.

The video started playing and… well…it had something I was expecting.

But I was still surprised.

This was supposed to be a motive .

And honestly… it pushed something inside of me.

My father spoke first. "Hey champ! I'm so proud of you, son. Remember to not push yourself too hard!"

My mom talked next. "You getting picked to attend Hope's Peak Academy is like a dream come true. Make sure you do your best, and don't fool around, you hear me?!

And now my sister, Komaru, spoke up. "Are you really watching this, Makoto? Good luck, and have some faith in you, okay?"

If it had ended there, that would've been fine. A message of love and support from my loving and supportive family.

I truly didn't deserve that.

But the next couple of seconds, really, REALLY made me want to tear up.

My father and mother made some space on the couch, while Komaru just sat on the ground, and right after that, someone else entered in the camera's vision, sitting right in the middle of the couch.

It was…

Him.

The person that convinced me to not give up.

The one that helped me the most after Fenrir.

And the one that I owe the opportunity to make things right.

It was… him .

"Heya Warrior. I know the original idea was to keep it short and sweet, but, I really felt it necessary to give some small talk of encouragement." The man said once he fully settled on my family's couch.

"Hope's Peak is, and will be, hard for the most part, and I know what your original intent of going there was, but try to go soft on yourself, alright? Have fun, study hard and just be yourself."

I lowered my head, denying myself the possibility to watch the rest of the video, however, I could still listen.

"And now is the part where you would be saying…"

"I don't deserve this."
"...that you don't deserve this."

I looked up again on the screen, I genuinely thought for a moment that he was hearing me.

"You may call me psychic too, but I'm fairly certain that's the first thing that comes to your mind, but if you didn't, then I commend you for it! But! If I was ever the slightest right, I want you to remember what we talked about. Don't martyrize yourself, don't ostracize or cut contact with your peers, and do not feel ashamed of asking for help. You would be surprised with the amount of things that you can accomplish by just talking to people. And while we are at it, go make some friends! Go out! Greet and meet, I'd even dare to tell you to flirt around, but your mother is present and I know that's just not within your personality."

I turned a little to see my mother pouting and my father, now next to her, chuckling a little.

"But have in mind what I've said, it's not 'Do or Die…'"

"...You just have to try…"
"...You just have to try…" I repeated in unison with him. My lips formed a little smile from that…

"Because that's enough for some people… That's enough for me. And it will be enough for you, because you are a great person. Not everyone is capable of handling what you went through, but you did. You are a Warrior because of that. Now go out there. Take the world by storm, and EAT. THAT. HORSE!"

I laughed at that, especially after seeing how my family did not understand what he meant with that last line.

"Remember that your parents are proud of you, that your sister is proud of you, that I am proud of you…" And he seemed to want to finish that sentence there, but with the way he was expressing himself… you could feel that he wanted to say one more thing.

"...And that he would be proud of you…"

My lip quivered a bit, and my arm started burning again.

I instinctively reached out to clean my eyes whilst I forced myself to not… break down. I don't know how, but every time I spoke with him, I just end up tearing like a child.

But nothing has changed in the last 3 years, have they?

That was why I wanted to come to Hope's Peak. To make a change.

However, we got trapped here in this Killing Game, and now I just watched my own motive to start killing people.

I hated this. But I wouldn't relent. They wouldn't get to me.

And just as I was about to leave my stall and go back to inform the others, I suddenly heard static.

I turned back to the screen, and saw that the video was cut, now the static I heard showing up, as if it had been damaged or something.

That gained my concentration once more, and before I knew it, the video played again.

However, things had changed completely.

The couch in my living room, in complete tatters. The bright scenery of my home was now dark, moody, and somber.

And behind my couch, I could see the faintest figure of a shadow hung up on a noose.

But all of that were mere details, what gained my full focus was someone sitting on the couch.

The place was dark, and the only reason that I was able to distinguish it from some kind of shadow was its clothes. A long white trench coat, which highlighted its form compared to the dark environment. They were sitting on the middle of the couch, his head hanging low, darkened, not allowing me to see their face. By the figure and the clothes, I can only assume it's some… person.

The figure was just sitting there for a couple seconds. But when enough was enough, they raised their head.

The first thing I noticed were… those eyes…

They were soulless. Huge and white.

Second thing that I saw was black. Yes, the environment was dark and barely visible, but surrounding those vicious glowing white eyes was a whole lot of black, the literal shade, and not just some skin color.

This person was wearing a mask.

I saw white again. An ear-to-ear grin to match those long and exaggerated eyes, a huge contrast with the mask's black. And in the corners of these, there were yellow-to-gold markings, giving these big eyes and smile an even more prominent presence.

But there was… a certain thing that made those eyes so unnerving to me.

And not just the whole "I don't know who this is." but rather, a certain feeling I was getting from this person.

A sadistic enthusiasm.

I was not a fan of it.

I could just feel it, if it makes any sense at all. And their stare somehow felt that it was looking directly for me.

Meant for me.

And the last thing that I could see was the red marking on their forehead.

I've seen it before.

It was Monokuma's eye.

After that, they stood up, the camera getting a full front of view of this person's frame.

At that, I slowly watched how a revolver was being pulled out of this person's trench coat.

And with the newfound gun now being aimed directly at the camera, just as quickly as the video returned, it soon went away after a shot was fired, static taking place once more.

I was confused, angered, frustrated and worried. What had happened to my home? Where was my family? Were they alive? Who was hung behind my couch?

And who was that person?

Just as I asked myself all these questions, the static ended and a black screen took over once more.

And I heard its voice once more.

Monokuma's voice. "Makoto Naegi, accepted into Hope's Peak Academy, his family supported him, making him feel like such a lucky boy… But it seems like... something's happened to this family's well-being! Oh boy, this is bad! What could have possibly happened to this family's well-being!?"

"...There's… One way to find out…"

LOOK FOR THE ANSWER AFTER GRADUATION

Those letters suddenly appeared on the black screen.

I punched the desk. If I left a mark there I didn't care.

Now I see it!

This was the motive. And this was MY motive!

I need to get out of here! Make sure they are alright! That they are safe!

AndtomakesurethatwhoeverdidthisGETSATASTEOFWHATHAPPENSWHENYOUMESSWITH-

I jolted from my seat at that moment. This wasn't helping. I needed to cool down. NOT THINK about it, and come up with a pragmatic solution.

With my hands still on the desk, I looked back at the screen.

So this is the type of motive we were being given now.

I take a look at the cardboard box with the other DVDs.

If I destroyed those… would I be punished?

Being honest, the answer to that would probably be yes, but If that meant that I would be able to avoid giving the others that bloodlust I just felt now, then It's probably worth it.

Even if I may die.

WIth renewed determination, I left my desk, and headed towards the cardboard box.

I was right in front of it, and I knew what had to be done.

I slid my hand inside of it in order to grab as many DVDs as I could.

'Maybe I don't have to destroy them, but just hide them?' I thought of a possible alternative, I blame my cowardice.

I managed to grab a bunch of them within each of my fingers.

But I started to have doubts.

'Am I in the right here? Is it alright for me to deny them to watch these?'

The more I thought it out, the more time slipped by.

And so did the disks, falling from my fingers.

'They also deserve to see what I saw,,, maybe they too have someone they want to see…'

Another disk fell from my hand.

'But this could lead to something dangerous! They could get someone killed!'

Frozen in place, I had entered a stalemate.

'I… I don't know what to do!'

Caught between what I should and shouldn't do, what felt right and wrong to do. My inaction would bring some later found consequences.

Inaction is the worst kind of action at times after all.

The answer to my plight would be given to me soon.

Because I was hearing footsteps nearby.

Hastened ones at that, muffled by the closed doors.

I quickly pulled back from the cardboard box, managing to grab a single DVD.

I subconsciously hid it behind me.

And after that, the door slid open.

"Naegi-kun!" Sayaka's voice was the first to fill my ears.

At that, a bunch of my classmates walked into the AV Room.

"Makoto-kun!" Taka led everyone here. "I'm glad to see you are safe and sound!"

"Y-Yes, Taka-kun… I'm alright."

"Is everything alright though? I notice you a little… startled."

"I…"

I stammered. I couldn't find the right words. I didn't even know what to say.

I decided to ask the obvious thing.

"I thought I said I'd come back and report to you guys…?"

Taka blinked. "Yes, you did, however Maizono-kun here started getting very worried about you."

"I-Ishimaru-san!" Sayaka protested at that, but we didn't exactly pay much attention to it.

"I…I see…" I said as I scanned the whole room.

Everyone was here. And everyone was looking at me right then.

It was then that Junko suddenly walked afront. "Are you alright, Makoto?"

I widened my eyes at that, we hadn't spoken in a while.

'It's… now or never…'

I took a breath and closed my eyes in preparation. "Everyone!" I gathered everyone's attention as I started.

I turned to the cardboard box. "Inside here are DVDs. Videos- These are our motives."

There were a couple whispers with one another, but one strong voice from the crowd asked.

Sakura never failed making herself present. "Do we know what's in them?"

Here we go.

"I watched mine. And it was… it was not good." I tightened my fist. "It started off as a seemingly normal video of my mother, father, sister… the important people of my life, encouraging me. But after that, the video was cut."

Another inhale and I continued. "After that, my home was showed wrecked. My living room a complete mess, and not the unorganized kind, but as if a riot happened in there… My family, gone. and some… some guy sitting there… while someone-"

I didn't know if it was a good idea to include the hung person there or not… I decided not to.

"Someone I didn't know was sitting on my couch… I said guy, but I'm not even sure of that myself. They stood up, and shot the camera… after that Monokuma's voice ringed in, enticing me to… Graduate and find out what is going on…"

"And with graduate, you mean…" Junko was the one that dared ask.

"Kill. We graduate after we kill someone."

Everyone was staring at one another, unsure of what to say, or even do.

"Point is… I beg all of you to NOT watch your motive tapes."

"HUH!?" That surprised a bunch of people.

"These are clearly made to drive us to… to kill. The less people willing to do so, the better odds we have to endure this game!"

"B-B-But-tt Y-You… Al-lready wa-watched yoursss." The mumbling mess of Toko spoke up.

"I… Know… That's exactly why I ask all of you to not do so."

This felt like the biggest stalemate I ever took part in. Because no one was doing anything, no one was saying anything. But everyone was watching me… Watching my every move.

I felt analyzed… judged by what I just said.

It felt… wrong.

I also felt that It wasn't my business to ask everyone for this…

But… It made sense! I don't want anyone to die!

Mondo then decided to walk up to me first, stopping right in front of me.

I stared back at him.

I half expected him to be angry. To hit me again.

But I was met with guilt, sorrow… and shame?

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

I was confused, but Mondo then put his hand on the box and snatched one DVD, the one with his name tagged in it, I presumed.

He then left me in the dust and headed for one of the screens of the room.

After that, a couple more students dared to do the same.

Leon and Hiro didn't spare a glance. Celeste did, however it felt a little condescending.

The next one was one I expected, but it still worried me.

That lavender hair approaching had become unnerving for me.

She would eye me… scan me even. Out of everyone, her gaze was among the more piercing ones.

And as she eventually grabbed her disk, she did say one thing.

"Just so you know…" she started. "This has nothing to do with you."

After that, she promptly walked away.

I.. don't know how to take that…

But nonetheless, it happened.

I turned to my remaining peers.

"Won't any of you grab yours?" I asked, half defeatedly.

It wasn't a surprise who spoke first.

"No, Makoto."

I stared back at the voice.

"I trust and believe in everything you said!" Taka's shouting had returned to normal.

"Y-You do?"

"Of course I do! This is but the most logical thing to do! If we watch those tapes, we are only giving more fire to the wood to the mastermind behind this game. So I refuse to watch mine."

"Taka…"

"I know right!" Hifumi…? spoke next? "You were speaking just like the main character of a shonen right now! We have to join forces and beat this evil away!"

"Ya-Yamada-san?"

"Ugh, I can't say I'm not curious… But if yours was as bad as you said, then I have no reason to watch mine either…" Junko twirled her hair, trying to act nonchalantly.

"Enoshima-san…"

"I'm… not gonna lie… I do want to watch mine, but… I'm just so scared! If that happened to your family… I don't want to see what happened to mine!" Chihiro now spoke up. She was trembling every second, and I could feel her worries and fears. I wanted to hug her…

"Fujisaki-san, I-it's alright! Everyone's scared"

"Na-Naegi is right!" Aoi jumped in. "We can't let ourselves be walked over like this!" She raised her fist?

She turned to Chihiro. "Fujisaki, I'm scared too! It's normal! There's nothing bad about being afraid!"

"I-I know, but…"

"We just gotta not let it beat us, right Sakura?!"

However, the taller friend did not immediately reply to her. The Ultimate Martial Artist seemed… stuck in place, still observing me.

"I-I-I-I-I D-D-Don't know… I th-th-th-think that it'sss stupid to n-not watch our m-motives…" Toko spoke her mind about this.

"This is moronic." The heir simply said that and walked out of the room.

"Th-Thinking it through! W-We cann't give the-them any more a-ammo to use agg-ainst us…" She quickly said as she scurried out of the room as well….

…weird.

I was… very surprised.

All these people… they were… siding with me?

They understood what I said?

I…

I don't know what to say…

Maybe we still have a chance at this!

If we keep morale this up, then maybe! Just maybe!

I then turned and saw the last person in the room that hadn't said anything after my 'speech'.

Sayaka was looking worse for wear, and I noticed her eyes frantically leaving the direction of the cardboard box just as I had turned to her, her eyes now locking with mine.

Her eyes…

She was scared.

She managed to hide it the best she could with that neutral face of hers that she uses as a mask.

But the seed of doubt had been planted on her.

"Sayaka?" I asked, but I just felt wrong with how the Ultimate Pop Sensation had flinched as I called for her name.

"I… I-I'm sorry Makoto… But I… I…"

Her words were betraying her, and she was taking every step closer towards the box.

She didn't even finish her sentence as she fully moved on to search for her disk.

Speaking of which, I remembered that I still had one of those in my hands.

Discreetly, I pulled it out to see whose it was.

I suddenly got cold sweat, as I read the name on it.

'Sayaka Maizono.'

I turned once more towards the blue haired singer, who I saw was still tinkering with the box, fidgeting a little at that.

I felt that this was a break or make moment. I know what kind of things were held up in these disks. Maybe I could spare her that distraught I got when I watched mine.

But would it be fair? I didn't think so.

And despite my logical thinking, and the fact that I would do better if I hid that disk from her, I did what I thought was the only right thing to do.

I walked up to Sayaka once more, and coughed to my fist.

"Are… Are you looking for this?" I showed her the disk with her name.

"Huh?" Sayaka was surprised, of course. "W-Why do you have mine?"

"I… I'm sorry… After I watched my disk and before all of you walked in I… I was thinking of destroying all of these."

"Y-You were?"

"Y-Yeah… I grabbed a bunch without looking and… froze."

She was scanning me now. She was pale a little before, but even still, she still looked firm enough to not reveal her expression to me.

"...Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why didn't you do it? Destroy them?"

"...I was scared…" I said it.

"You were?"

"I feared that… that if I did destroy them, hid them or just… tampered with them, then Monokuma would go after me. Honestly, that wasn't the biggest issue for me, but rather…"

I… I can't say it. My words aren't getting out.

"...But rather?" She led on, prompting me to continue.

"...If it was right for me to do so. To take the choice out of all of you. I hesitated. And all of you showed up. Your disk was the last that I clutched to coincidentally."

I fully extended my arm towards her, handing her the disk.

"I can't force you to do or not do something. It wouldn't be fair if I did."

She took the disk.

"But I still beg of you. Don't watch it. Things will only get worse."

She seemed to be putting a lot of thought to it.

Sayaka was no longer staring at me, but at the disk in her hand, deep in thought. Was she genuinely considering not watching the tape?

Her arm had started to tremble a little, and her eyes were now looking back up to me again. She seemed ready to give an answer as her lips quivered a little.

"I-"

"WHAT THE FUCK…?!" Mondo suddenly shouted. earning us both of our attention.

"There's no way…" Leon was next to murmur. "Yeah… no way it's real… haha… no way." The color in his skin seemed to be leaving rapidly.

"...I see… so this is what he meant with motive…" Kirigiri said next, but I had stopped paying attention.

My whole focus was back on Sayaka, who seemed to be stuck in place once more.

However, it wouldn't be for long.

Her arm trembling, she looked back at me.

Desperation filled her entire core.

"I-I'm going to watch it."

"Please, don't do it."

But my pleas would have been for naught as she walked away to take a seat to watch on said disk.

And as I expected, whatever contents it had, it would soon horrify her.

Celeste explaining the prisoner's dilemma would fall on short ears from me for the most part, as I could only focus on the mortified expression Sayaka now had. Especially once she ran out of the room.

I had decided to give her a little space after… whatever demons she just had to face now.

I will look out for her in a moment, but I just have to make sure of something.

I turned around to see all remaining students in the AV Room. Pretty much everyone bar Sayaka and Togami lingered still in the room.

'One of them… and One of us…'

A hard pill to swallow, but I better be prepared just in case.

'One person in our class might try to kill someone now…'

'Are we prepared? Are we ready in the slightest for what's to come?'

Then I turned once more to see the door which Sayaka had left through.

"Am I prepared for it though?" I couldn't help but murmur.

I would soon learn.

That no.

We weren't prepared.

I wasn't prepared.

I was not prepared for despair.

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NOTES:

WHO DID WATCH THEIR DVDs:
MAKOTO, MONDO, KYOKO, HIRO, LEON, CELESTE, SAYAKA

WHO DIDN'T WATCH THEIR DVDs:
HIFUMI, CHIHIRO, TOGAMI, SAKURA, JUNKO, AOI, TOKO, TAKA.
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