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Makoto Naegi.If asked to describe the young boy, most would point out that he appeared to be a completely average individual, average to the point where it seemed as if he actively avoided the spotlight. His interests, personality, looks, they were all basic. The very few unique traits of his, such as his below average height, his ahoge, his kindness, and his optimism did little to set him apart from the normal teenager…However, those closer to him would point out that there was far more to his story than meets the eye. A little searching would reveal that, after the Naegi family took a trip to Europe, Makoto Naegi had been declared missing for seven years. The cause? The boy had been a victim of child trafficking. From the young age of five to the age of twelve, Makoto Naegi disappeared from the face of the Earth. Thought to be dead, the boy surprised the world by showing up to his family’s doorstep, the whole family sobbing upon being reunited with one another. So where was Naegi during those seven years? No one knew. Not even his family. Naegi’s whereabouts was a secret the boy guarded with his life. “Don’t worry about that. I’m back now and we can make up for lost time. Please?” This was what he’d tell his family any time they asked, almost as if pleading with them to drop the subject altogether. True to his words, upon his return, he began living a simple, ordinary life. It was almost as if those seven years of him missing had never happened. Almost. Though his family didn’t know what happened to him while he was gone, they knew that whatever he experienced during those years left an immense mark on the boy’s psyche. There were too many nights to count where Naegi would wake up and suffer a panic attack caused by nightmares, so many to the point where he was put on medication to help deal with what was discovered to be PTSD. Though he did his best to hide it, whenever the Naegi family went somewhere, he always seemed to be on edge, almost as if expecting an ambush of some kind. Another strange quirk of his was that he always wore hoodies and fingerless gloves, even when at home and in bed. He would constantly fidget with them, like he was trying to hide something from the world. There was also the fact that Naegi always woke up at the crack of dawn to follow an exercise routine that would cause even a pro athlete to faint from its intensity, yet he was able to complete it every day without issue. Even when sick, he stuck to the program, acting as if missing one day would lead to some disastrous consequences. And for some reason, he did his best to avoid being the center of attention, content with others taking the stage. While most dreamed of living more exciting lives, it was evident to all who knew Naegi that he wanted to live the most ordinary and uneventful life possible. For a while, the most exciting thing to happen to him upon his return was that he freed a crane trapped in his school’s volleyball net. Well, there was also the fact that he went to school with Japan’s most popular idol, Sayaka Maizono, but that was just a mere coincidence. The two never talked and Naegi highly doubted she even knew he existed, though he could’ve sworn that the girl occasionally shot glances his way…Still, other than those two small details, his life upon his return was nothing special. He was an ordinary teenager living an ordinary, peaceful life. However, despite his efforts to maintain such peace, it only took a single day for his life to spiral out of control once again…0000The day had started like any other; wake up, exercise, shower, eat, and then school. Nothing out of the ordinary. The only remotely unique thing that happened was that Naegi attended his weekly tutoring session after school. Seeing as the boy had been missing for seven years, he needed all the help he could get to catch up to his peers. The fact he was even allowed to attend school with those his age was a miracle. Thankfully, he barely managed to prove that there was no need for him to be held back. The tutoring was there so that he wouldn’t be left in the dust. Afterwards, the boy went to catch the bus, only to discover that the bus he’d normally take was out of service. As such, Naegi had to take a different bus, one further away from his school and having a longer commute than his usual route. It was on this bus that his day shifted away from being yet another weekday. Hopping on, Naegi began to worm his way to the back so he could grab a seat. Doing so, he accidentally kicked someone’s bag. Had anyone been paying attention to said bag, they would’ve noticed how close it was to ripping open. Even the smallest scratch would’ve caused all of its contents to explode on the ground. Naegi’s kick did just that, causing a large mess to be made. “Sor-“ the boy began to turn around to apologize, only for the apology to get stuck in his throat upon seeing what had actually spilled out of his bag. ‘Jewelry? ’Jewelry on its own wouldn’t have fazed the boy, but the sheer amount of it scattered around sent off warning bells in his mind. Something bad was about to happen. A hand on his shoulder and a knife to his neck would prove him right. “No one moves! Or the boy gets it!”Immediately everyone remained still, not wanting to be the cause of a child being killed. Unknown to everyone on that bus, the man they were dealing with was no ordinary man. His name was Jutarō Akafuku and he was an accomplished robber, so much so that details of his crimes were well known in Japan. A man who works alone, he never took a job he didn’t believe he could complete. Ironically, the reason for his success was because of his insane luck. Each time he found himself in trouble, a series of unlikely coincidences and accidents allowed him to escape with both his identity hidden and his stolen valuables intact. Luck was the man’s secret weapon, but due to his massive success, he forgot why one cannot rely solely upon being lucky. Everyone’s luck fluctuates. Even the most lucky person has bad days. Today so happened to be the day his lucky streak ended. Having managed to rob a small jewelry shop, Akafuku took to dressing up as a regular everyday businessman. No one would think twice about looking his way, even if he was carrying several heavy bags. His plan had worked flawlessly until Naegi accidentally hit one of his bags, the one bag that had managed to get damaged earlier while he was booking it out of the store. With his plan now ruined, the thief was banking on another lucky incident that would allow him to escape once more. Until then, he decided he was going to keep Naegi hostage and have the rest of the civilians pick up the mess. “Pick up everything that fell and I promise you no one gets hurt.”Doing as they were told, the passengers began picking up the scattered jewels. Had anyone paid attention to Naegi, they would’ve noticed that he was far too calm for someone with a knife to their neck. ‘His strength is nothing special, ’ the boy thought to himself. He then glanced at the knife. ‘He’s holding it right, but it’s clear he hardly knows how to use it. It’s too far from my neck. ’The boy continued analyzing his situation. ‘His guard’s open. He’s not expecting anyone to fight back. A quick hit to his ribs and he’ll be taken by surprise. ’He took a look at the people around him, paying specific attention to a man on his right. ‘He’s going to move to pick up that ring with the red gem soon. Once he does, I’ll have plenty of space to move my legs. ’Not even a second passed since the man took him hostage and ordered everyone to clean his mess and Naegi was able to analyze his situation and create an escape plan. Now all he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. It didn’t take long to find it, for the man to his right quickly finished gathering the jewels near him and began crawling towards the ring, just as Naegi predicted. “You, don’t forget the-“*BOOM!*While ordering a civilian around, Akafuku didn’t expect to get struck in his ribs by an elbow. “GAH-AH!”He most certainly didn’t expect to be hit so hard that he struggled to breathe. It was as if Naegi had stabbed his liver with a knife. Speaking of knives, the sheer force of the strike caused Akakfuku to drop his weapon and start kneeling over. He had no time to process what had hit him, partly because Naegi made little movement indicating that he was going to strike, and partly because Naegi was already in the midst of attacking once more while he was still processing the pain. Swinging his left leg towards the spot the man he eyed earlier moved from, the boy allowed his body to twist alongside the momentum of his leg, aiming a powerful left hook at the man’s right jaw. *BAM!*If asked to describe how powerful that punch was, Akakfuku would’ve compared it to being hit by a cannonball. Granted, he’s never been hit by one, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it felt like this; a feeling akin to having his skull shattered shooting all throughout his head. He was thankful that he passed out before the pain really kicked in. The civilians themselves couldn’t help but wince. It sounded as if the boy had pelted a large rock at the thief instead of throwing a punch. The blow had also sent the man flying a considerable distance, with only a pole stopping his momentum. What transpired seemed like it could’ve come from an action movie. Walking towards the man, Naegi gently shook him, wanting to make sure that the man was actually out cold. When he determined that he was, he then addressed his fellow passengers. “Someone call the police!” Everyone stiffened up. Compared to the shy and humble boy those who were familiar with him knew, Naegi’s voice was now filled with authority, demanding everyone’s attention and obedience. He sounded like a general speaking to the members of their unit. It contrasted heavily with his otherwise simple appearance, but so did him knocking out a guy that was decently older and taller than him. “And bring me a belt so I can tie him up!”A woman began dialing the police while a man handed Naegi his belt, the boy using it to make makeshift handcuffs. Akakfuku’s luck made it impossible for the ordinary person to catch him. However, his luck wasn’t infallible, and as much as Naegi wished he was, he was no ordinary person. The boy’s talent triumphed over the man’s luck, and thus ended his crime spree. 0000So how did stopping a criminal end Naegi’s normal life?It didn’t. The event happening on the same day was mere coincidence. However, it did mark the start of his day souring. Being the one to capture Akafuku, the boy was the first person the police chose to question regarding the situation. “… To make sure I’ve got the whole story straight, you accidentally kicked his bag, he took you hostage once it spilled open, and you knocked him out?”Naegi rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah…”The policeman nodded as he jotted away in his notepad. “While I commend you for taking action, you realize that you could’ve been hurt, right? You’re lucky to have gotten out of there unharmed.”Naegi stood silent. He could’ve told the cop that the chances of him getting hurt was close to zero. He could’ve mentioned how he had actually been the one in control of the situation despite being the hostage. He even could’ve said that he’s dealt with worse. But he didn’t. Instead he just nodded. “So before we let you go, I just wanna make sure you’re alright up there,” the officer said, pointing his pen at his forehead. “Being held at knifepoint’s a scary situation to be in. I wouldn’t be surprised if it rattled you.”“A-ah, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Naegi said. He completely understood how such a situation could’ve scarred someone. Not him though. He was different. A knife to his neck wasn’t anything new…If anything, he was glad to have been the one taken hostage because it meant no one got hurt. “Alright.” The cop closed his notepad. “You need a ride home? I could get someone to drop you off.”Naegi wasn’t going to deny a free ride home. “Thank you.”Too bad the interview ate up a lot of his time. He had been hoping to have watched Maizono’s concert on TV. Ever since his younger sister introduced him to the idol’s music, Naegi’s been hooked. As such, him missing the concert was another point towards his day being a bad one. However, there was still one final surprise waiting for him, and it was waiting for him at home. When he got home, Naegi had planned to go straight to his room and hopefully watch a recording of the concert he missed. Sure, the concert only ended an hour ago, but Maizono’s super fans didn’t play when it came to the idol. Most of her concerts were uploaded online mere minutes after they ended. Before he could do so, the sight of his sister excitedly running down the stairs stopped him in his tracks. “Makoto, is that you?”Naegi smiled. Despite the fact she was only four when he disappeared and the fact that he wasn’t around for seven years, the two siblings had a strong relationship. Sure, it was awkward at first, but it didn’t take long for them to find their rhythm. “Yeah, it’s me. Sorry for being late. Hey, do you know if-“Naegi had planned on asking Komaru if there was a recording of Maizono’s concert on the internet and if she wanted to watch it with him, but he couldn’t even finish his sentence. The girl urgently shoved something into his hands. “This came for you! It’s from Hope’s Peak!” “Eh?”Hope's Peak was a name Naegi was familiar with, and it was a name the entire world knew. Hope’s Peak Academy was a school praised for being one of the best schools in the entire world. Receiving their funding from the Japanese government, the school prepares their students for the future with state of the art facilities and faculty members who have specialized experience with the subjects they teach. The process of being accepted into this elite school was an extremely strict one. Sure, the Reserve Course only required above average grades and/or a large sum of cash to qualify for acceptance, but the Reserve Course wasn’t what most people paid attention to. It was the Main Course that got all the buzz and it was the Main Course that got the full benefits the school had to offer. To get accepted into the Main Course, there were two requirements one must achieve. First, the candidate must be entering high school. Second, they must be the best at what they do. These talented kids, known as ‘Ultimates’, were whom society saw as the future leaders of the world. Hope's Peak acknowledged various talents, ranging from the simple, such as dancing and cooking, to the completely bizarre, such as one of the current students being the heir of a Yakuza leader. There was also one more way to get into the Main Course at Hope’s Peak, one less known to the general public. Every year, the school held a raffle where they drew a name from the upcoming high school students. The name that is drawn gains admission to the school as the ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’. The reason Naegi even knew about this is because his sister would gush about potentially being selected when it was time for her to go to high school, though she acknowledged that such a thing was only a dream and unlikely to happen in real life. ‘What do they want from me? ’Naegi didn’t apply to the Reserve Course; his grades weren’t good enough to qualify for a scholarship and the monthly fee was too much for his parents to pay. ‘Maybe they’re just advertising. ’ It wasn’t unheard of for a school to send a pamphlet or open house invitations to future high schoolers in hopes of boosting their numbers. Glancing at the envelope immediately destroyed this theory. It was from the Main Course. The Main Course didn’t need to be advertised, the students accepted were hand picked by scouts. It was either you were chosen or you weren’t even glanced at. Naegi’s curiosity only grew. ‘The main course? Did I win the raffle? ’This was where his mind went to next. Yes, the chances of someone winning the raffle were extremely low, so low that he had a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice or winning the lottery, but Naegi couldn’t think of any other reason as to why Hope’s Peak would write to him. “Makoto! Open it already!” His sister’s excitement snapped him out of his thoughts, the girl bouncing off her heels. Naegi couldn’t help but smile at her energy, excitement building up inside of him as well. “Alright, alright, I’ll open it.”Actually reading the letter was the only way he’d get the answer to his question after all. Opening the envelope, Naegi began removing the letter from inside, only to stop. Another theory had burrowed its way into his head, a more obvious one, but one that his subconscious purposely avoided. ‘No, it can’t be… ’Suddenly, the envelope got heavier, much heavier. Sweat began to seep through his palms and his body began shaking uncontrollably, and not from excitement. ‘Please tell me it isn’t what I think it is… ’“Makoto?” Her brother’s sudden shift in behavior worried the younger Naegi sibling. Only moments ago was he almost as excited as she was, but now he looked absolutely terrified. His pupils were dilated, red, and tearing, and she could hear his gasping for breath as his body shook. She knew what was happening: he was having a panic attack. Unfortunately she had no idea what to do or what was causing her brother’s panic. As she lamented her inability to help, Naegi’s heart started to beat faster, begging to shoot out of his body like a rocket. His vision began to blur and distort, and nausea began consuming him. His breathing continued to speed up and it became increasingly more difficult for him to breathe, as if a constrictor snake was strangling his neck. ‘They can’t possibly know, right? ’Upon asking himself that question, the boy began to calm down. ‘Yeah, they can’t. I made sure of it. ’His vision and breathing began to return back to normal, but his body continued to shake. ‘There’s no reason to worry. I’m sure the letter’s telling me I won the raffle or something. ’Such optimistic thinking helped the boy gain the courage to finally read the letter. Pulling it out of the envelope, Naegi began skimming its contents. ‘Dear Makoto Naegi, Every year, Hope’s Peak scours the world in search of gifted youth with extraordinary talent in the hopes of helping them achieve their true potential as the leaders of a better world. It is our pleasure to announce that you have been selected to be a part of the 78th batch of students as the Ultimate Soldier . We look forward to hearing from you should you accept this nomination.
Sincerely,
Hope’s Peak Academy'
*THUD!*“MAKOTO!”The effects of gravity suddenly multiplied as Naegi fell to his knees. The rapid beating of his heart, the nausea, blurriness, and the tightening of his neck returned tenfold. Accompanying his shivering was the paling of his skin, as if he’d just hiked Mount Fuji with only a pair of shorts. To say Komaru was scared was an understatement. She was outright terrified. ‘Makoto’s never had a panic attack this bad before… ’As for the boy himself, his mind was in disarray. ‘I knew Hope’s Peak had a lot of resources, but to find out… how did they do it? ’He could barely make out the outline of Komaru trying to call their parents, desperate to aid her brother in any way possible. However, his mind was in a much darker place to really pay attention to such details. ‘I worked so hard to get out of there. I just wanted to live the rest of my life without being reminded of what I did… what I had to do. ’Makoto Naegi was not an ordinary person. No ordinary person was a child soldier forced to fight a war they wanted no part in. No ordinary person had become so good at warfare that they had a kill count of over three thousand people. No ordinary person could take on entire armies and come out not only victorious, but without receiving even a single scratch. No ordinary person’s existence scared people so much that they became an urban legend. And no ordinary person could’ve survived such a lifestyle just by clinging to the hope that they’d be able to see their family again. Coyote, traitor, hero, monster… those were only some of the names given to Naegi while he lived a life he wanted to forget. All he wanted was to live the rest of his life as an ordinary boy and not be reminded of the fact he was a killing machine…Too bad that no matter how long someone tries to run from it, the past never dies. Yet that didn’t stop Naegi from making one last attempt at doing so…0000
Dear Hope’s Peak Academy,
While I am honored to have been invited to attend such a prestigious academy, I must reject the invitation. Someone like me is unfit to do so and I have no intentions of ever touching my ‘talent’ again. I believe the spot should be given to someone else more deserving than me.
Sincerely,
Makoto Naegi
0000
Dear Makoto Naegi,
You are not the first or the last to have negative feelings towards your talent. We have had several students in a similar position as you. Even if you wish to never use your talent, Hope’s Peak Academy still wishes to have you as a student due to your immense talent. We have a proposition for you: you will be put under the ‘Anonymous Talent’ program. In this program, you will still be part of the Main Course, but you will not be obliged to share your talent with anyone other than the Headmaster, the Steering Committee, and our lead scout. This program was created for students like you, students who wish to keep their talents hidden. We strongly urge you to accept this offer of ours.
Sincerely,
Hope’s Peak Academy.
0000“I still can’t believe I’m doing this…” Naegi mumbled under his breath as he stared at Hope’s Peak Academy. Though hesitant at first, the offer to keep his talent a secret was enough to sway the boy into accepting the invitation. After all, anyone who graduates Hope’s Peak Academy was set up for life, and that was an opportunity he did not want to pass up. The reason he had been willing to pass said opportunity before is because if he was forced to show off his title, it would essentially be him broadcasting that he was a killer to the world. He’d have to kiss his dream of a peaceful life behind. Now though, he didn’t have to do so and he still got to enjoy the perks that came with attending Hope’s Peak. It was a win-win. ‘But do I really belong here? ’Having looked up his fellow classmates on the Hope’s Peak Fan Forum, it didn’t take him long to learn that he stuck out like a sore thumb. His other classmates had remarkable talents, talents that can be used to inspire. He didn’t. Sure, there were also one or two students who also had shady talents, but said talents were nowhere near the level of Ultimate Soldier in that regard. “Ugh, I gotta stop that…”Shaking his head, the boy cleared away his negative thoughts. Now was not the time to be pessimistic. Here he was, making the first step towards his dream. This was a new chapter in his life, one where he had endless possibilities. Making new friends, experiencing new things, that was all waiting for him at Hope’s Peak. “Well, no time like the present…”Filled with optimism, Naegi made his way to the school. Unfortunately, such optimism would soon be crushed upon taking his first step into the school. “Gah!”The moment his foot touched the ground, his vision began swirling, all color being replaced with purple and black. The feeling of something ripping inside of his brain throbbed as the boy struggled to maintain consciousness. Sadly, despite his near inhuman constitution, he quickly succumbed to the darkness…‘What…? ’0000Naegi was right to believe that new experiences were awaiting him at Hope’s Peak. What he didn’t know was that the journey ahead was not one of hope, but one of despair…
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Makoto Naegi: Age 5
Fight, flight, and freeze.
The three most basic categories someone can fall under regarding their responses to danger.
Makoto Naegi was a fighter, but it wasn't always this way with him.
Initially, he was a freezer, remaining still and unresponsive in the face of a threat.
“If you try to fight or run, you’ll at least have a chance at living another day,” he’d be told countless times in the future. “Right now, you’re only good for a meat shield.”
In due time, Naegi would become the fighter he was today, but right now, he was not the Ultimate Soldier. He was only a scared, helpless child.
One moment he was with his family, enjoying the sights of Britain. The next moment, he had awoken inside a small room with no sight of them anywhere.
For three days, he had been stuck in this filthy, disgusting place. Weird brown and dark red stains littered the walls while roaches and rats would scurry across the floors. The air was absolutely putrid due to the lack of windows and the large pile of feces mixed with urine that accumulated in the back of the room.
With no toilet around, his roommates and him came to a silent agreement that the top left corner was the designated bathroom.
Thirty other people occupied the room alongside him. Compared to himself, most of his roommates were older by roughly two to three years. Just like him, all of them were Japanese. He had originally been placed in another, equally disgusting place with children from England, but he was moved once they heard him speak his native language.
Not unlike himself, his fellow kidnapping victims were beyond terrified. Some constantly banged on the door for hours at a time, begging to be released. Others cowered behind, flinching at even the slightest of noises.
As for him, he sat in the left corner closest to the door, body ridged and eyes empty.
For the first day, Naegi could only silently sob, his body unable to produce any noises other than the occasional sniffles. He lost the ability to produce tears by the second day, so using the very little energy he had left, he tried asking the other kids about everything that was happening. None of them had any answers, so he spent the rest of the day sitting in his corner once more, staring at the wall, lost in thought.
‘Where am I?’
‘What’s going on?’
‘Where’s mommy, daddy, and Komaru?’
‘When can I leave?’
‘How long until I get to go home?’
‘I don’t want to be here…’
As desperate as Naegi was in wanting to run away, his body refused to move. The feeling only grew stronger when one of his roommates tried fleeing once their captors opened the door to feed them. It took no effort for one of them to catch the hopeful escapee, and with a swift kick to the gut, the man tossed the child back into the room. The boy had to turn around once the kid started vomiting blood.
At this point, Naegi thought that this was the worst things were going to get for him.
What naive thinking…
It only took one day to prove him wrong. On day three of his imprisonment, two Japanese men came into the room and took two of his fellow prisoners away. They would bring them back soon later, only to take two others in their place. This cycle continued for hours.
Whatever happened during the time the kids were gone, it traumatized them even further.
The fighters no longer fought, instead choosing to sit around silently like him, eyes wide as if they'd discovered some sort of terrible truth. Those who cowered only had their instincts sharpened, refusing to get anywhere near the others and staying far away from the door, even if it meant having to sit next to the pile of human waste.
Naegi watched as each and every one of them would be taken and returned worse for wear. Most of them came back clutching their chests in pain. Some of them however clearly had gotten into some sort of squabble while gone. At least, he assumed as much judging by the black eyes, broken noses, and numerous bruises littered across their bodies.
Eventually, it was his turn to be whisked into the unknown.
“C’mon kid.”
Grabbing his arm, one of the men dragged Naegi away from the room. Despite his body begging him to do something, anything, to try and escape, his mind had completely shut down. All he could do was let the man pull him, unable to resist.
After walking down some dark and damp corridors, the man brought him into a room. In it was a singular metal chair reminiscent of an electrical chair used in executions. Clamps could be found on the armrests, legs, and headrest. More ominously was the fact that the chair had several bloodstains on and around it.
He wouldn’t have the chance to look around any further as the man suddenly took off the boy’s shirt and had him sit down, tightening the clamps so that Naegi couldn’t move even if he wanted to.
To the left, he could hear the man that escorted him talking to another man in a language he couldn’t understand. The conversation was brief though, as not long after, the mystery man came into view.
Unlike the men who fed him and the ones that moved the children between rooms, this one had tan skin and was significantly older in age.
Naegi didn’t pay much attention to that though, for he was far more worried about what the man was holding. In his left hand was a surgical knife. In his right one, a large pen-like machine with a large needle.
Placing the needle down, the older man took out an alcohol knife and began rubbing it on the left side of the boy’s chest.
His body now shaking, Naegi’s eyes followed the man’s movements as he wiped, not knowing what was going to happen.
Eventually, the man finished, tossing the wipe to the side before once more picking up the needle.
“It’ll all be over soon.”
What he said, Naegi did not know as it wasn’t said in Japanese.
Without warning, the man pressed the surgical knife against the boy’s skin, puncturing it and drawing blood.
Naegi winced in pain.
The man then moved the knife across his body, cutting flesh.
The boy screamed in absolute agony throughout the procedure, his wails worsening once the man started using the needle. The searing, unbearable pain and the bloodcurdling screams would continue uninterrupted for five whole minutes...
0000Naegi’s path to consciousness started with the slight twitching of his hands. Though barely noticeable, the sensation was all that was needed to wake him up. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of his sleeves cushioning his head from the hard surface of a desk.
'Huh?’
Sitting upwards, he groggily began to check his surroundings. It didn’t take him long to realize that he was in a classroom of some kind. How he got here, he did not know. ‘What the hell is going on? ’Naegi rubbed his eyes. Confused, he decided to retrace his steps. ‘…I woke up, exercised, ate breakfast, went to Hope’s Peak, and when I stepped in, I… ’A spark of adrenaline shot through his body, which in turn caused him to nearly leap out of his seat. ‘Why did I pass out? ’His eyes furrowed in frustration as he tried thinking of an answer. ‘Was I hit? ’Such didn’t seem likely. From what he remembered, the pain he experienced felt more as if he was suffering a massive migraine rather than having been struck by an object. Still, he wasn’t going to write off the possible explanation just yet. Removing his gloves, he gently prodded his head, searching for any potential injuries. 'No bruises, no stitches, nothing… but… ’Naegi looked at his hands. ‘I should make sure that nothing was done to me…’ Call it paranoia on his end, but the boy knew that one was most vulnerable while they were unconscious. Trapped in an unknown place after having been knocked out…his body could’ve been altered or injured in some way without him knowing. Preparing to strip away his clothes, the sight of a camera from the corner of his eye stopped him in his tracks. ‘…I’ll do a more in-depth check later. I don’t wanna risk that thing being on. ’Instead, he began running his hands over his body, thoroughly making sure that everything about it was exactly as he remembered. ‘…Nothing out of the ordinary… ’With that confirmed, he slipped on his gloves and allowed his mind to wander back to the topic of his unconsciousness. ‘Maybe some sort of chemical’s to blame.’ Once more retracing his steps, Naegi tried to recall if he remembered smelling anything suspicious before he passed out, only for his mind to draw a blank. ‘I don’t remember smelling anything weird, but that doesn’t mean nothing was in the air. ’While he was given the title of ‘Ultimate Soldier,’ he had little experience with chemical warfare. What he did know was that not every chemical could be detected via smell. ‘So a possible method’s been found. Now what? ’Contemplating on his next move, the boy put his hands into his pockets for comfort. However, this had the opposite effect as his eyes shot open with panic.
‘My phone… my weapons?! Where are they?!’
The weapons in question were a small handgun and a switchblade. Though both were extremely old, they were the first weapons he had ever wielded. They had been there whenever he needed to defend himself, and as such, took on a role similar to that a baby blanket does for a child. Light and compact to the point he could hide them in his hoodie, he carried them everywhere. For them not to be on him… it only added to his feelings of paranoia. Shaking his head, Naegi stared at the room once more and began to mentally go over his discoveries. ‘Alright, I’ve been knocked out, most likely from some sort of odorless sleeping gas, moved to wherever this is, and robbed. ’His head turned to the camera in the room. ‘Is whoever’s responsible for this watching me? ’He wouldn't be surprised if there was someone, or some people, on the other side of the camera, observing him as he struggled to piece together the answers to this weird dilemma he was in. ‘But who would do this? ’As the ‘Ultimate Soldier,’ Naegi had made many enemies throughout his life. However, he was confident that none of them would have been able to sneak into Hope’s Peak, much less Japan itself, to set an ambush like this. Even if they could, he knew that if they were responsible for his current predicament, he wouldn’t be alive. ‘Whoever’s behind that camera is someone I don’t know. But what do they want with me? ’Have they somehow managed to find Naegi’s identity? Or was this kidnapping unrelated to his past actions and he was just a random victim? How did his kidnappers manage to enter Hope’s Peak despite the school’s tight security? And if he was still at the school, how did they take over the place?Right now, he had no answers for any of the questions stirring inside his head. Taking another good look at his surroundings, Naegi aimed for finding anything that could provide him with some answers. Doing so, he noted three things of interest. First off, the lights in the room were dim. A bland dark yellow color illuminated the entire classroom. It added an ambiance that Naegi could only describe as being ominous. Secondly, there was a giant metal plate screwed on the wall. ‘If I had to guess, it’s covering a window .’Walking towards it, the boy began to further analyze the mysterious object. ‘But why would a window need to be covered like this? ’Noticing the comically enormous screws keeping the plate on the wall, he frowned. ‘I can see the screw heads, so is this here to keep me in? If it’s really covering up a window, does that mean that there’s another one on the other side? ’He then pressed an ear against the metal before using a hand to knock on it with a solid amount of force. ‘It’s very thick. Reminds me of the metal used in the bunkers I’ve been to.'He had a feeling that this plate was bulletproof, but without any guns, he couldn’t test his hypothesis. Instead of dwelling on it, he decided to use a finger to swab the edge of the plate for any dust. Much to his surprise, his finger got covered with quite a bit. ‘How long have I been here? ’Naegi was someone who’s well experienced with raiding places. As a result, he knew that large accumulations of undisturbed dust were potential signs of a place having little to no activity. Deciding that further research needed to happen, the boy searched every chair and desk he could for more dust, paying close attention to the amount that he could find. ‘It seems like besides the windows, all the dust just started to gather. I can’t tell how long I’ve been in here for, but I can guess that the plate was installed before I was moved to this room.’Once finished, Naegi continued his investigation. With nothing left to do regarding the mysterious metal plate, the boy began examining the final object of interest he located; a sheet of paper that had been resting on his desk. Picking it up, the first thing he noticed was that there was a crude drawing of Hope’s Peak on the top right corner, one that looked as if a child was the artist. He didn’t pay it much attention though, instead deciding to read the message that was on the paper. "Please gather at the Main Entrance by 8 o’clock. The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world. ”“What?”The letter left him with more questions than answers. However, there was one that reigned supreme over the others in terms of his priorities.‘Entire world?’ Something about the way the school was described gave him a bad feeling, as if it was foreshadowing some kind of bad event that was about to occur. Had someone like the headmaster of Hope’s Peak said this during some sort of opening statement, he’d ignore the strange wording. In a situation where he was knocked unconscious and stripped of his personal belongings? These words further put him on edge. ‘What does that mean? ’A nagging feeling in his head caused the boy to do one final survey of the area to see if he missed anything. Such made him aware of the clock in the room. ‘It’s 7:50. The letter said to go to the front entrance, but do I want to do that? ’The letter could very well be luring him into some sort of trap, but following its instructions might provide him with some answers. As a result, he decided to follow the instructions given. ‘I guess I’ll go. But first I need something to defend myself with .’Part of being the ‘Ultimate Soldier’ meant Naegi was a master of hand to hand combat. It also meant that knew keeping a weapon around could easily turn the tides in a fight, especially in the case of an ambush. Better to be safe than sorry. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the room he could use… that is, except for the chairs and desks. Picking up a chair, the boy moved it around, testing its properties. ‘Light enough that I can swing it and light enough that I can throw it if need be. ’A chair was far from the ideal weapon, but it still had its uses. Anyone hit by it would surely go down, he could use it to diffuse traps from a distance, and he could toss it as a decoy so he could get into a more favorable position in case a fight broke out. With his inhuman strength, he didn’t have to worry about its weight being an issue. He’s lugged around heavier improvised weapons before. With the chair in hand, the boy turned the knob on the classroom’s door. Gently, he opened it, and stuck out his chair. If an ambush was waiting for him, he expected that the moment the door opened, people would begin firing. ‘Nothing .’With his decoy not taking any damage, he poked his head out. Doing so, he was greeted by the sight of a large empty hallway, one lit by a crude mixture of green, red, and purple lights. ‘Coast is clear. Guess I can start moving now. ’With a sigh, the boy closed the door to the classroom and began walking towards his destination. 0000Playing things extremely cautious, the boy slowly crept down the hallway, chair in hand. As he progressed, he couldn’t help but notice that there were several more metal plates attached to the walls of the school.
‘Weird…’
He would’ve taken a closer look at them, but reaching the front entrance was a bigger priority to him at the moment. Continuing his walk, he soon approached a door, one which looked to be for another classroom. He attempted to stealthily open it, curious to see if he could find something of note inside the room, but found that the door wouldn’t budge. ‘Locked. ’Several more doors were within his line of sight, and he tried opening each of them as he marched forward. Unfortunately, just like the first one, the other doors refused to move. Eventually, he made his way to the end of the hall, where a set of double doors awaited him. Unlike the other doors, the set was already cracked open. If he had to guess, this was most likely the front entrance. ‘Alright, I’ve made it .’Naegi stared at the door, debating his next move. Does he poke the chair inside and see if someone tries attacking it? Or does he toss it in and hope the sight of a flying chair is enough to disorient his potential opponents long enough for him to close the distance?He decided on the former as it was the safer option. However, before putting his plan into action, the Ultimate Soldier decided to do a little scouting first. Placing his head near the door, he started listening to see if he could hear anything. Much to his surprise, he was able to detect some activity inside. ‘There’s people on the other side. ’Listening further, his mind continued to analyze the situation at hand. ‘A pretty big group too… ’While he couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, he was able to hear their tones. For the most part, it was a wave of worry with some anger thrown into the mix. ‘…I think they might be other hostages. ’Had they been people out to kill him, they would’ve made sure to remain silent until he opened the door. In addition, it made far more sense if the commotion he was hearing came from hostages/fellow kidnapping victims rather than people who were awaiting to perform an ambush. ‘Maybe they know what’s going on… ’The chances of that were low, but he still wished to speak to them. Even if they had no answers, maybe they saw or discovered something he missed. ‘Here goes nothing… ’He began pulling the doorknob, treating it as if it were made of glass. Making sure not to make a single sound, he gently opened the door enough to the point where he could shove his chair through, planning on doing so just to be on the safe side. Before he could, someone called out from within. “Hello? Is someone there?”Naegi’s eyes widened. ‘Wait! I know that voice! ’It was one he’s heard plenty of times once he came back to Japan. One that he’d listen to on the radio whenever one of her songs played and one he’d constantly listen to in his own time. It belonged to one Sayaka Maizono, Japan’s biggest idol. She was to be one of his classmates at Hope’s Peak, so if she was here…‘Then is everyone else inside an Ultimate?’ Still cautious, he decided to swiftly peek inside the room, done with speeds so quick that a normal person wouldn’t be able to react in time if they tried shooting at him. Doing so, he was able to confirm that the voice did come from Maizono and not an imposter. In addition, he was able to make out thirteen other figures of people his age, most of whom he recognized due to his research regarding his fellow Ultimates. ‘These are my classmates…’ Some of the tension he felt within his body began to dissipate once he realized that the room wasn’t a trap. Picking up his chair, he decided that he wanted to talk to his classmates and touch base with them to see if they’ve experienced anything similar to what he has. Opening the door, he walked inside, which caused everyone’s attention to land on him, something that made him feel self conscious. He was not one to take the spotlight to begin with, and having a group of Ultimates focusing on him made him feel so…small. The people standing in front of him were extraordinarily gifted to the point Hope’s Peak believed them to be the pioneers of a better future. They were beacons of hope whose light would shine through despair’s darkness. ‘I don’t belong with them .’He was someone who had robbed people of their futures, someone who’s taken more lives than any other soldier to have ever existed. He was the closest thing to a real life boogeyman and his existence would go on to terrorize countries even long after he was dead. To stand here with these Ultimates, people so full of promise and life… it felt undeniably wrong to him.“Whoa, hey! Another new kid?” A voice brought Naegi back to reality. Who spoke, Naegi didn’t know. Before he could even see whom the voice belonged to, something of far greater importance immediately caught his eye. ‘Is that a vault door? And machine guns? ’Covering the exit was indeed a vault door with two machine guns pointed at it. More peculiar was the fact that he couldn’t tell what types of machine guns they were despite his expertise with firearms. The two mounted on the wall appeared to be custom designed. ‘This wasn’t here before… ’Although he didn’t get a good look at the front entrance before he passed out, he was confident that the door and guns were new additions. ‘If they were installed while I was asleep, and if this is still Hope’s Peak, how long did it take for them to install this? How long was I really out for?’ Before he could give his questions any more thought, a booming voice snagged his attention. “Classmate! Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you were aware the meeting was to start at 8 a.m. sharp! To be late on your first day is unspeakable! I must report you, and you must accept your due punishment!”“Huh?”Glancing at the clock inside the room, the boy saw that it was 8:10, meaning he took twenty whole minutes to traverse the hall. ‘Did I really take that long? ’Slightly embarrassed, he decided to address the person who spoke to him, a tall male who was wearing a white uniform. “Ah, sorry. I, uh, was unconscious…”“Whoa, you too?” Another boy asked. Unlike the boy who scolded him, everything from his hair to his clothes were unkempt. What was even more noticeable however was that he appeared to be a bit older than the rest of the group. To the boy’s left, a girl in a gothic Lolita dress glanced at Naegi, a quizzical expression on her face. “Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.”“So strange…” muttered a boy with a rather heavy build. “I declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a strange situation indeed!”Their reactions served as confirmation to Naegi that his experience wasn’t an outlier. ‘So they were knocked out as well… ’As Naegi was deep in thought, a girl with peach colored hair shot a glare at the boy in the white uniform. “What's your problem? It's not like he *wanted* to be late. He didn't have any control over it.”Before said boy could muster a retort, a girl who was exactly Naegi’s height intervened. “Everyone just calm down! Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves?”All she got in return was a flabbergasted look from a tall boy in a leather jacket. “The hell!? Now's no time for friggin' introductions!”The girl in the Lolita dress stepped forward. “Maybe, but it may be good to at least find out who we all are before digging into the bigger problems here. I mean, how are we even supposed to talk to each other if we do not know each other's names?”“That’s a good point…” A short girl, the shortest person in the room, replied. Judging by everyone else’s mannerisms, Naegi could tell everyone agreed with her. A blue haired girl, a girl Naegi immediately recognized as Maizono, spoke up. “Okay, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sounds good?” Everyone began to mumble in agreement before awkwardly gathering together to exchange names. Personally, while Naegi wanted to take some time to further think about the situation at hand, he knew that introducing himself to his classmates would make it far easier for him to communicate with them. As of right now, they were the closest things he had to having allies, and he preferred to keep it that way. ‘So where should I start? ’0000For reasons unknown even to him, Naegi decided to introduce himself to the boy in the white uniform first. “Hi, I’m, uh, Makoto Naegi. Nice to meet you.”The former soldier suppressed a wince. Yeah, he always knew his social skills could use a bit of work, but to not be able to get through a simple introduction without stumbling over his words was outright embarrassing. Thankfully, the boy in the uniform didn’t seem to have noticed, giving him a polite bow in response. “I'm Kiyotaka Ishimaru, but you can call me Taka. I believe in bold simplicity! Let's work together on our educational crusade!”Naegi mentally ran through the information he knew about the other boy. ‘Ishimaru…He went to a famous private school and won top honors every year. He's basically a flawless honor student... He's also known for the work he's done with his community's Public Morals Committee and it’s said that he respects rules above all else. It’s all of these traits and accomplishments that’s earned him the title of Ultimate Moral Compass.’ “You said your name was Makoto Naegi, right?” Ishimaru asked him. Naegi rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, yeah.”“That's a good name, a strong name! You should thank your parents for giving you such an excellent name.”The compliment took the boy off guard. “Oh, thanks.”“Of course!” Suddenly the Ultimate Moral Compass pointed at him. “And to keep that name from losing its value, you must devote yourself every single day!”‘Too late for that… ’With the things he’s done, whatever value his name had was long tainted by now. He wasn’t about to let Ishimaru know this, so instead he settled for a polite nod, something which pleased the other boy. “Life is worth putting every ounce of effort into it! Right? Right!”‘He reminds me of a drill sergeant or a general .’With Ishimaru’s rigid posture and his booming voice, Naegi couldn’t help but make such a connection. However, much unlike his superiors back when he was a soldier, he could practically feel the aura of passion the Moral Compass was exuding. His sharp red eyes also seemed to be teeming with kindness as well, even if he wasn’t the best at expressing himself. Based on first impressions alone, Naegi had a feeling that Ishimaru was a good person, if not a bit too passionate and stiff for his own good. Once more, Naegi gave him a nod of agreement. “Right.”0000Wrapping things up with Ishimaru, the boy moved on to the next person who was closest to his vicinity. Such happened to be a girl with purple hair styled into twin braids. Upon giving her his name, the girl began her own introduction. “N-not that you'll remember my n-name anyway, but I'm T-Toko... Toko Fukawa.”Even prior to having looked her up, Naegi knew of her name. ‘Toko Fukawa…she wrote a novel when she was ten that got everyone talking and launched her literary career. Then two years ago she released ‘So Lingers the Ocean,’ a love story said to be her masterpiece. The book was such a hit with women that fishermen quickly shot to the top of every ‘Hottest Men’ poll. Despite her age, she's won countless literary prizes and all her books are instant best-sellers. Which is why she's come to be known as the Ultimate Writing Prodigy. I have to say though, she isn’t what I expected… ’Much like him, the girl seemed to do her best to appear smaller, clearly disliking attention. He could sense that she was only doing this whole introduction thing because she felt she needed to rather than because of a desire to meet her classmates. “It’s nice to meet you.”The girl glanced at him in acknowledgement before looking back at the floor. ‘Did I see that right? ’Most wouldn’t have paid the gesture much thought, but in the brief millisecond that they made eye-contact, Naegi saw something that disturbed him. It was a look that he’s seen countless times, one that many of his allies and enemies had. Hungry, sadistic, it was like a wild beast was chained up inside her, eager to be released.It went as quickly as it came though, her eyes resuming their normal appearance of a bookworm who wanted to be left alone. ‘I must be imagining things .’It made no sense to him as to why a romance novelist would have such a look in her eyes. Maybe his PTSD was just playing tricks on him. He had no idea how long he spent being unconscious, so he could’ve missed one or several doses of his medication. ‘Crap! I don’t have my meds either! ’Though it wasn’t a perfect cure, his medicine helped him deal with his symptoms. Going too long without them would cause him to crash and for them to return tenfold. ‘If that happens… I need to be careful… ’“Wh-What? I-It's not polite to stare, you know…”Fukawa’s voice snapped Naegi away from his thoughts. The girl was visibly upset at him, causing him to become embarrassed once more. “Sorry. I just remembered something important.”“F-fat chance!” The girl scoffed at him. ‘She’s such a pessimist… ’Once more, she had showcased how different she was from how one might imagine a romance novelist to act. Naegi raised his hands, a gesture showcasing that he meant no harm. “It’s true. I’m missing some stuff I had on me when I came to Hope’s Peak.”The girl grumbled under her breath, reluctantly accepting his explanation. “S-same. Everything of mine were taken except for my-“Eyes widening, Fukawa stopped speaking, once more trying to avoid his gaze. Her actions piqued the boy’s curiosity. “What were you saying?”The author glared at him in irritation. “S-shut up! Go away and s-stop being so nosy!”Her hostility was recognized.“Sorry. I’ll go now…”Not wanting to anger her more than he already has, the soldier decided it was best to let her be and move on to the next person. 0000Finding the next person to introduce himself to took him no time to accomplish, solely because she approached him first. “Hi!”The person speaking needed no introduction as Naegi already knew who she was. Still, he allowed her to introduce herself anyway. “I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!”As the Ultimate Idol, or Ultimate Pop Sensation as some people took to calling her, Maizono was a world famous superstar. Lead singer of a five girl idol group, she was highly in demand to appear in various forms of media. Such a superstar also went to middle school with him, but that wasn’t very important. It’s not like the two ever spoke. Taking a good look at the girl in front of him, Naegi couldn’t help but take note of her appearance. He had no shame in admitting that she was beautiful, her flawless skin and big blue eyes making him feel as if she was a newly polished doll-“I’m not a doll you know,” Maizono informed him in a cheery voice. “I’m alive!”“Crap! Did I say that out loud?”How could he make such a stupid mistake? Perhaps he was more disoriented than he thought…“Nope! I’m psychic!”Alright, so he wasn’t completely crazy. He was only extremely confused. “…Huh?”The idol smiled at him. “Just kidding! I just have really good intuition.”‘She’s a sharp one. Too sharp…’ Unnoticeable to the untrained observer, Naegi immediately steeled himself, removing any traces of his thoughts, intentions, and feelings from his appearance whilst also doubling down on making his presence less visible. For soldiers, this was a necessary skill to develop, and as the ‘Ultimate Soldier,’ it was one of the many skills that he’s mastered. ‘I need to be careful around her. ’He did not want anyone finding out about his talent. If that meant that he needed to be on guard 24/7, that was something that he was willing to do. “Hey, by any chance…” Suddenly, he found himself being stared down by Maizono. It was as if she was trying to take note of his entire essence. Whatever she was looking for, she found it, as her eyes widened in surprise. “…Yeah, it must be. I’m sure of it. Hey Naegi, did-“Sadly for her, Ishimaru decided to insert himself into their conversation. “Jeez, you guys! How long do you plan to waste our valuable time with this ridiculous back-and-forth!?”Naegi tilted his head in confusion. No one seemed to be waiting for them to finish, so he didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Maizono on the other hand got flustered by the scolding. “S-sorry. Just got carried away I suppose.”Ishimaru continued to lecture them. “Self-introductions are for introducing yourself, not bumbling through a bunch of idle chit-chat!”The idol sighed in defeat. “Sorry Naegi, we can talk about this later.”Not wanting to be lectured by the Moral Compass once more, the boy nodded at her. “Yeah, no worries.”The two went their separate ways. As Naegi walked, a thought lingered in the back of his mind. ‘There’s absolutely no way she recognizes me from middle school, right? ’The boy did absolutely nothing to stand out, so he’d be surprised if this was the case. ‘I guess I’ll find out later. ’0000“Yo! The name's Leon Kuwata. What's up?”The next person he went up to was a boy with spiky red hair. Just like Fukawa, Kuwata was someone he had heard of prior to his research. ‘Leon Kuwata, Ultimate Baseball Star. Rumor has it that numerous baseball teams from around the world already have plans on recruiting him once he’s of age. I gotta say, he looks a bit different than he does in the pictures I saw. ’“Weird question, but did you grow out your hair?” Naegi asked him. “Huh?” Confused for a second, the baseball player shot him an embarrassed grin. “Wait, lemme guess, you found *that* picture of me playing baseball? Seriously!? I hate that picture!”Kuwata groaned in disbelief. “This is not cool. This is SO not cool... Seriously, I'm like, mega embarrassed right now.”“Uh-“ Naegi tried to speak up, but the redhead wasn’t done ranting. “I didn't have a choice, okay? Shaving your head like that is part of national championship regulations!”“I-““But now I refuse to cut my hair. And I'm not gonna dye it back to normal either!”Kuwata sighed before crossing his arms. “Actually, can I be totally honest with you?”“Su-”The baseball star didn’t bother to wait for an answer as he started speaking once more. “I don't like baseball. Like, at all. I've never gone to a single practice.”‘What? ’The other boy’s confession surprised Naegi. ‘He’s never gone to practice yet still managed to become the Ultimate Baseball Star… he must be one of those once in a lifetime prodigies. ’Kuwata huffed in determination. “And as soon as I got accepted here, I quit baseball for good! I have my own dream for the future!”‘I feel that .’ Despite their circumstances being completely different, Naegi felt as if he could relate to the other boy’s sentiments. He was also on the path of trying to secure a future that had nothing to do with his talent. In response, Naegi gave him an encouraging smile. “Sounds tough, but if that’s what you want to do, then I wish you the best of luck.”His words brought a grin to Kuwata’s face. “Thanks man! I'm gonna be a singer, so all I need is a songwriter and someone on guitar, and we're set! This new version of me that's chasing after my dream is, like...super cool to the max!”Whether Kuwata would succeed or not, Naegi did not know, but if music’s where his passion lied, then the soldier would cheer for him from the sidelines. 0000“I...am Hifumi Yamada. But if you want to call me by my nickname, ‘The Alpha and the Omega!’ I don't mind.”‘Huh? ’The person closest to Kuwata happened to be the boy with a heavy build, which made him next in line for introductions. Once Naegi finished introducing himself, the other boy hit him with that interesting piece of dialogue. Naegi had no idea what Yamada was talking about, so he was thankful that the other boy quickly moved on to a different topic. “By the way, how much do you know about the world of 2-D art?”The soldier let loose a nervous chuckle. “Truthfully… not that much.”Much to his relief, Yamada didn’t seem upset by his answer. “Well, in that world, I am well known and supremely well regarded as the Ultimate Fanfic Creator.”‘Ah, Now I remember who he is. ’From his research, he learned that the boy in front of him was both an artistic and literary genius. Unlike Fukawa whose literary talents were centered around novels, Yamada’s talents lied in creating Doujinshi. “I once sold 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival,” Yamada informed him, continuing his explanation. “The event has passed into legend…”The fanfic writer crossed his arms, a frown appearing on his face. “Some of them didn't get it, of course, saying I'd ‘tainted’ the event. How stupid can you be!?”‘Tainted? Even when he sold 10,000 copies of his work and made the event more popular? ’Naegi had almost no knowledge about the culture of fanfic creation outside of the rants his sister would throw his way. As such, he didn’t quite understand why someone would feel that Yamada’s presence ‘tainted’ anything. “The words of such idiots mean nothing to me!” Yamada declared, pride evident in his voice. “I am like Van Gogh--utterly underappreciated in my time. I am a soldier, serving night and day to destroy all mindless preconceptions about fan fiction. I'm sure if you were to observe my work, Mr. Naegi, you would comprehend its greatness immediately.”‘I mean, he is the Ultimate Fanfic Writer, so I probably would… ’“For my work is filled with the deepest meaning…”“Deepest meaning?” Admittedly, Naegi was quite curious. For Yamada to declare that his works had such an intense meaning behind them, it must mean that whatever was serving as fuel for the boy’s creative mind was extremely profound to him. For some reason, Yamada began huffing in a sultry manner. “It's about embracing our basest urges…”Naegi immediately felt his interest in the subject disintegrate.‘And that’s my cue to move on. ’0000Removing himself from his conversation with Yamada, Naegi once again presented himself to the closest person he could find. Such happened to be the tall boy with a leather jacket. “Name's Mondo Owada. Nice to fuckin' meetcha.”‘Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang leader. Head of the biker gang The Crazy Diamonds, he’s said to have a fiery temper and the strength to fight multiple men at once. His influence is undeniable seeing as he’s earned the respect of even the likes of the Yakuza.’ Naegi started to analyze the gang leader. Just like Fukawa, it was clear that he was only introducing himself out of necessity rather than an interest in getting to know his classmates. Though he was standing still, judging by the slight twitching of his muscles, the scowl on his face, and the fact that his eyes would occasionally dart to the vault door, the soldier could tell he was anxious about the bizarre situation surrounding them. ‘I don’t blame him .’Respecting Owada’s clear desire to get introductions over with, the boy decided to wrap things up. “Uh, nice to meet you…”“Hell yeah.”0000Of all the introductions he’s done thus far, this one was the hardest to get through. Yeah, he had several awkward conversations with some of his classmates and there was that thing with Fukawa’s eyes, but the girl in front of him was a whole different story. Just like Maizono, the peach haired girl was the one to approach him. “Hiii! I'm Junko Enoshima. Charmed, I'm sure!”Enoshima was yet another classmate of his that he was vaguely familiar with even prior to doing his research. Her beauty and ability to set trends in the fashion industry earned her the title of Ultimate Fashionista. Her charisma and charm rivaled even the likes of Maizono. So why was it that her presence triggered all sorts of warning bells in his head?“Er, nice to meet you Enoshima.”Just like how he had done with Maizono, the soldier removed all traces of his true emotions from his face and posture. ‘Something’s wrong here… ’He knew that much, but he had no idea what that ‘something’ was. He started analyzing her body, looking for any signs of danger. ‘ …She looks a bit different than I remember… ’It was true that her appearance was a bit different from the pictures he’s seen of her, but that wasn’t what was bothering him. It was her mannerisms. ‘ …It’s like she’s trying way too hard to put up a mask. ’Why she felt the need to put up a facade, he did not know. Was she nervous about their situation?‘No, that’s not it. ’If she was nervous, then her façade wouldn’t cause him to be on edge. ‘Seriously, what about her is bothering me so much?’ “Hey, so like, I know I’m hot and all, but there’s no need to stare.”Great, he was so caught up in his thoughts that he once more got caught randomly staring at a girl. It was very possible that this was where his near nonexistent social life ended. “Ah, sorry.” Embarrassed, the boy rubbed the back of his head. “I sorta drifted off. There’s a lot on my mind today.”Enoshima gave him a smile. “No worries! I get it. All of this… it’s just so weird.”He couldn’t help but agree with her there. “Yeah…”“Hey, after this, if you wanna, like, clear your head or talk or something, I don’t mind lending an ear.”Naegi blinked. He wasn’t expecting such an offer from someone he just met. ‘Man, now I feel bad. ’Here he was, being overly cautious around the girl, and it seemed like she wasn’t even a bad person to begin with. If anything, he felt an upbeat aura envelop her whenever she spoke to him. Naegi knew he wasn’t anywhere near being a social butterfly, but he liked to think that his time as a soldier made him good at reading people. Yet, now his eyes were playing tricks on him. First with Fukawa, and now with Enoshima? He had no idea what was going on with him.‘I really must have missed some doses of my meds.’ He’ll have to find out later. For now, the introductions took priority. Speaking of which, focusing his attention back on the model, he gave her a smile. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”“Hehe, of course!” Once more she grinned at the boy. “If you need anything, just holler!”Naegi nodded. “I will. Same goes for you.”0000“...My name is...Kyoko Kirigiri.”The next person he went up to was an interesting case. Unlike everyone else here, he did not recognize the lavender haired girl in front of him. There was no mention of her name or talent on the Hope’s Peak Fan Forums. “Nice to meet you,” Naegi replied. Kirigiri said nothing, instead giving him a simple nod of acknowledgment. ‘It’s like talking to a brick wall .’The girl was very difficult to read. At best, he could tell that she was analyzing everything around her. From his appearance, to the machine guns on the walls, to the other students, it seemed like nothing escaped her eyes. However, what was going on inside her head, he did not know. “Are you the Ultimate Lucky Student?” The boy asked her. He had yet to meet the winner of the raffle and seeing as he knew absolutely nothing about Kirigiri, it was possible that she was this year’s Ultimate Lucky Student. “…No.”Whelp, there went that theory, which meant there was only one possible explanation for the lack of information about her. “Ah. I guess you’re a part of the Anonymous Talent Program too. Don’t worry, I won’t pry.”For the first time since speaking to her, the girl’s face shifted, her eyes widening in surprise. “Anonymous Talent program?” Suddenly he felt the girl’s attention focus solely on him, her eyes narrowing as she stared him down. “What do you mean by that?”‘I feel like I’m being interrogated .’For what reason, he did not know. Still, he decided to answer her question. “It’s the program Hope’s Peak has for students who want to keep their talents and identities a secret.”According to the letter he got from Hope’s Peak, he wasn’t the first person to be put under the program, so he was surprised that the girl in front of him didn’t know of its existence. “I’ve known about Hope’s Peak for a while now,” Kirigiri told him. “And I’ve been following the school extensively.”Her glare grew sharper to the point Naegi wondered if she was trying to dissect him with her mind. “But I have never heard about an Anonymous Talent Program.”“It’s true though,” Naegi replied. “Why would I lie about this?”Though her gaze remained the same, he could tell the girl was mauling over his words. For a second, he saw a small frown of what looked to be anger or disappointment appear on her face, but it vanished instantly. ‘What was that about? ’“…You are correct,” the girl admitted. “I see no reason as to why you would and your explanation does explain some aspects of the school I’ve been wondering about.”‘Like what? ’ Naegi was about to ask her this, only to find himself suffocating in her presence. Somehow Kirigiri found a way to stare him down with even more aggression. “So with that in mind, why would *you* need to sign up for the program?”The message Kirigiri was sending him was clear. She did not trust him. At all. He’d even go as far as saying that the girl worked out that he was dangerous. However, that would be as far as she’d be able to learn about him. Naegi wasn’t going to risk his life imploding, not after everything he’s been through. “It’s a secret,” Naegi told her. “I can’t say anything about it. Sorry…”The girl raised an eyebrow at his words. If she could sense his fighting spirit, she didn’t let it show. “Well then… I believe we’re finished here.”‘Thank god. ’He really didn’t like how it felt to be interrogated. Deciding that it was best if he moved on to the next person, he gave the girl a polite nod. “It’s nice to meet you.”Kirigiri made no motion of acknowledging his words, letting the boy know he was free to go. Walking away from her, a sudden thought crossed his mind. ‘Wait a minute… I never got to learn what her talent was. ’Had she wished to share it, she would’ve told him. He wasn’t about to go around demanding answers from people who didn’t want to give them to him. That would just make him a hypocrite. As such, that mystery was going to be remain unanswered unless Kirigiri said otherwise. 0000"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki,” greeted the next girl Naegi introduced himself to. Said girl happened to be the one he noted earlier as being the shortest of the group. As was tradition at this point, Naegi had his mind pull up the information he had gathered about her. ‘Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer, is known for all the cutting-edge programs she's created. With her massive technological skills and her gentle and timid nature, she’s gathered quite the fan base. ’Fujisaki let loose a small, bashful laugh. “Sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this…”“Don’t worry about it,” Naegi assured her. “I think we’re all a bit nervous.”The programmer shot him a grateful smile. “Right. Thank you. Anyways I hope we can get along.”“Same here.”Compared to some of the other interactions he had today, he felt at ease talking to the girl. Well, he was, until she started giving him a puzzled look. “...Huh? Maybe it's just my imagination, but...have we met before?”‘Have we? ’Naegi couldn’t recall her ever being in his life. He couldn’t see why she would’ve been present in it either. They didn’t go to the same school and she was most certainly not involved in the conflict that kept him away from his family. “I don’t think we have,” Naegi told her. “You’re probably confusing me with someone else.”Fujisaki hummed in agreement. “Oh, yeah, that’s probably it. Sorry.”“No worries. With everything that’s happened today, I’m a bit discombobulated too.”The girl nodded. “Yeah…this is going to be a dumb question, but do you have any ideas about all of this? Like who might be responsible?”The soldier shook his head. “Not really.”He would’ve explained further, but he didn’t want to shoot out theories without thinking about them first. He hardly had any time to process the day thus far. He didn’t want to leave things on a sour note with Fujisaki though. “If I think of something, I’ll find you, alright?”His answer seemed to please the short girl. “Really? Thank you.”“Of course.”He didn’t have to know much about programming to know that Fujisaki was a genius. The girl was a valuable asset to the group; her intelligence and skills could potentially help them escape if need be. ‘I should take some time later to get to know her better.’0000“Heya! I'm Aoi Asahina! But my friends just call me Hina. 'Sup?”Naegi ended up bumping into the girl who suggested doing introductions shortly after talking to Fujisaki. She was yet another person he’s heard about upon returning to Japan. ‘Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro... She's been breaking records in every competition she's been in since elementary school. She's even been chosen as an upcoming Olympic cadet. Her abilities have been constantly talked about on the forums, though some people were interested in her for… other reasons... ’“So uh...what was your name again?” Asahina asked him. “Sorry, totally forgot!”‘How? ’ He literally introduced himself five seconds ago. “Makoto Naegi.”The girl slammed a fist into her palm. “Oh yeah, I knew it was something like that!”The boy balked at her. “No, not ‘something’ like that. It *is* that…”Asahina waved him off. “Sure, sure, got it! Here, I'll hammer it into my brain right now!”The girl started repeating his name, tracing it on her palm. He recognized the action as one he’s used before. By writing something down numerous times, it increased the chances of remembering said piece of information. “Hey, by the way...how do you spell your last name?”Naegi responded by spelling out his name to her. “Sweet, thanks! Anyways, glad to meet ya!”“Same here.”The two parted ways. ‘She’s got tons of energy, that’s for sure, ’ the boy mentally remarked to himself. ‘ Guess that’s to be expected from a pro athlete. ’0000There were four people left, two guys and two girls. Introductions were almost over. All he had to do was talk to them and he was done. As per usual, he decided to start with the person closest to him, a girl that had over a foot on him in the height department. ‘Damnit, why didn’t my parents' height genes pass over to me? ’He knew that now wasn’t the time to lament about things out of his control, so he shoved the thought to the back of his mind before greeting the tall girl. “I am Sakura Ogami,” she replied, arms crossed. ‘So she’s the Ultimate Martial Artist .’If Owada’s feats of strength seemed impressive, Ogami completely blew him out of the water in that department. This girl competed in a martial arts tournament in America and won, despite her gender. In addition, she’s fought in over 400 matches, and it’s been said that she’s never lost a single one.Due to her reputation, she was feared throughout Japan. He remembered reading a specific comment about her on the forums that warned of ‘avoiding her if they valued their lives’. The way she was described, Naegi was expecting someone aggressive. ‘But she’s nothing like that at all .’Though an aura of raw power surrounded her, so did an aura of calmness. It was a peaceful feeling, as if he was gently floating down a river. While the river could easily turn into a stream of roaring rapids, it was not something he felt he had to worry about unless he somehow provoked her. “Hey, you.”“Hm?”Without warning, the girl went to prod at him. Time started to slow down as his pupils focused on her outstretched arm. He felt his muscles throbbing, bracing themselves for a fight, while his mind began racing, calculating several means of taking down the giant in front of him. There were no signs of aggression on her face nor in the movements she exerted, but his body still responded as if such were the case. Arm shooting forwards, he grabbed her wrist and held on. The two stood like that for what felt like hours, though it only lasted for a few milliseconds. Ogami stared at him, eyes widened with shock, while Naegi’s face displayed no emotion. Eventually, the boy’s brain resumed control of his body, and upon noticing what he was doing, he released the girl’s wrist, face filled with guilt. “I’m so sorry,” the soldier apologized, bowing. “I just really don’t like being touched so when you reached out, I got startled.” Such was true. Naegi despised being touched without permission. It took him a while to be able to even let his family hug him. Just like how wearing his hoodie comforted him, so did having his personal space. Thankfully, the martial artist didn’t seem to be upset. “No, I should be the one apologizing,” Ogami replied, holding her wrist. “It was impolite of me to not ask for permission beforehand.”Staring briefly at her wrist, she then gave the boy a look that showcased a level of respect towards him. “You have an extraordinary amount of grip strength. It far exceeds that of nearly everyone I’ve previously fought against.”She grinned. “I believe you’ll make for a great training partner.”The boy had to admit, the offer was tempting. He could always use the workout, and he was curious as to who’d win between the Ultimate Martial Artist and the Ultimate Soldier. In a setting where the rules of martial arts were enforced, he’d have to give it to Ogami, but in an all out brawl, one with no rules in place, he might be able to snag the victory. She was trained only to fight while he was trained to survive. Looking up at the girl, he gave her a small smile. “I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer.”Ogami nodded, pleased with his answer. “If you wish to challenge me, don’t hesitate to seek me out.”0000If Ogami had a calm aura around her, then the blonde headed boy he went to greet next had an air of arrogance engulfing him. When Naegi introduced himself, the boy merely rolled his eyes in boredom before giving the most half-assed introduction he’s gotten from any of his classmates. “Name's Byakuya Togami.”Togami’s name was very familiar to him. The boy was the heir of the massive Togami financial conglomerate. Despite his age, he’s already started managing business operations, and his own personal assets were, well, vast. Rich and skilled in numerous fields revolving around managing such a powerful conglomeration, he was the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. A moment of silence surrounded the two as Naegi had no idea what else to say. It’s only been a minute and he was confident in declaring Togami as the most unapproachable person of his class. Sure, Owada, Kirigiri, and Fukawa showcased little interest in interacting, but the way Togami looked at him was like that of a god looking at an ant. “We're done with introductions, right?” The heir asked before scoffing. “How much longer are you going to stand there? Go away. I'm sick of looking at you.”Naegi didn’t need to be told twice. 0000The unkempt boy was the next person Naegi introduced himself to, and he was unusually calm, so much so that the soldier had to wonder if he was even aware of the situation at hand. “I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure--Hiro for short!” The unkempt boy greeted him. “Take it easy, yeah? I know I will!”‘Hagakure, aka: the Ultimate Clairvoyant… ’ Naegi noted. Known as ‘Supernova’ in the psychic community, it’s said that his predictions had a thirty percent chance of coming true. Now, Naegi wasn’t one to believe in psychics and fortune tellers, but for someone to be right that many times when all he was doing was looking at a glass ball, he couldn’t help but be impressed. Thirty percent didn’t seem like such a high probability, but no one else can claim to have such odds at predicting the futures of random people they’ve never met before. “Ah, okay, I give up,” Hagakure said, a sigh of defeat escaping from his lips. Naegi had no idea what he was referring to. “Huh? What happened?”“I saw it. I looked right at it... Seriously, I totally saw it!”The fortune teller’s passionate speech only confused him further. “Saw what?”“A guardian angel with a crazy perm chasing after Bigfoot running off with a skyfish in its mouth,” Hagakure explained. “And that guardian angel...is YOUR guardian angel!Naegi’s never been more confused in his life. Yeah, he spent a good chunk of his day disoriented, but whatever Hagakure had just told him made him reach a level of bewilderment he didn’t think was possible. “Nah, I'm just kiddin',” the boy said with a laugh. “But hey, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get real deep into Lemuria and its civilization.”The soldier shot him a flabbergasted look, one so intense that one would think he just saw Hagakure grow a second head. “What? We’re not allowed to drink! We’re in high school.”He wasn’t even going to begin questioning what that last part of his offer was about. “Oh, I’m actually twenty one,” the clairvoyant admitted. “I've been held back a few times, see, and...well, it's a long story.”‘I bet it is,’ Naegi thought to himself. How does one get left back not once, not twice, but enough that they were still in high school despite being old enough to drink?‘Well, he did get into Hope’s Peak, so I guess things worked out for him .’0000“I do not think we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenburg, but I would prefer it if you call me Celeste.”The girl in the Lolita dress was the final person Naegi needed to meet. Though she had an elegant smile on her face, he could feel her sharp red eyes boring into him, analyzing his entire being. It reminded him of a predator stalking their prey. ‘As to be expected from the Queen of Liars, ’ Naegi noted. The girl in front of him was the Ultimate Gambler who's never lost a bet. According to his research, other than her obvious love of gothic lolita clothes, everything about her was wrapped in a veil of lies, including her true identity. It’s said that she entered and won an underground gambling tournament, earning the title ‘Queen of Liars.’ She cleaned out the other players, taking their life savings and laughing as she did so.The boy had half a mind to ask her about her real name, but he decided against doing so. Despite her lack of physical prowess, he could sense that she was a very dangerous individual. Plus, she wasn’t the only one who went by a moniker. The difference between them was that he abandoned his after escaping from a life he no longer wished to live while she seemed to want hers to replace her real identity. For now, he’ll humor her. “Celestia Ludenberg… did I say that right?” Naegi asked her. “I’m impressed,” the gambler replied, a dangerous shine to her eyes gleaming as she spoke. “Almost nobody here could get it right on the first go. “I see… ”“Do you happen to be multilingual?” Once more, he could detect the true intentions of her question despite her polite tone. An opportunist such as herself was checking to see if associating with Naegi would prove beneficial to her. Now, he knew he could try playing ignorant to get her off his back. Having her interested in him could bring him trouble, especially if she tries to rope him into whatever schemes she’s got planned. However, it was obvious to him that such a tactic wouldn’t work on her. A girl whose entire identity was built upon lies would clearly see right through his charade. He could keep her from detecting his emotions, but to lie back to her was impossible. Instead, Naegi decided to let just a tiny piece of his past slip out. If lying wasn’t going to work, then he’d instead lead her on a wild goose by giving her the vague truth. He’d only share what he was willing to, enough to keep her at bay. “Yeah.”The soldier was bashful in the way he presented the fact, but he could tell that his answer managed to pique her curiosity. “Most interesting. Pray tell, what languages are you fluent in?”Naegi listed off the ones that he understood. “Arabic, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, English, Japanese, Mandarin, and some Korean.”How he managed to learn so many different languages was beyond him. He chalked it up to him adapting to his environment, each language constantly being used around him.Now, it should be said that he was by no means a literary master in the languages he knew. In fact, he could barely read English, Arabic, and Japanese at an appropriate level for someone his age. Still, his knowledge was enough for him to hold a basic conversation in each of them if need be. “That’s quite the impressive portfolio you have there,” Celeste replied. Her eyes continued to burrow holes into him as she suddenly switched to speaking in English. “How is it that one like you managed to learn all of that?”“It was out of necessity,” Naegi shot back in English. ‘She’s testing me .’It was the reason why she switched languages mid-conversation. She wanted to know if his claims reigned true. Celeste opened her mouth, having another question she wished to ask, but the soldier beat her to the punch. “I’m sorry, but I feel like Ishimaru will yell at us soon if we keep talking,” Naegi told her, a tone of disappointment in his voice. “I think it’s time for me to go.”He knew what she wanted to ask and it was a question that he wasn’t comfortable answering. If Celeste knew what he did, which he was ninety percent sure that the girl did, she didn’t show it on her face. Instead, a small frown formed on her face. “I see… unfortunately you are correct. We will have to continue this discussion at a later date.”Naegi could only nod in acknowledgment. “It was nice to meet you.”“Likewise…”0000‘Looks like that’s everyone .’Standing near a wall that wasn’t near the machine guns, the boy allowed himself to lean against it for comfort. He looked at the singular lightbulb that was keeping the room lit. ‘That was… a lot .’Talking to his fellow Ultimates drained his social battery quicker than anything he’s experienced since coming back home. ‘Home… ’For a moment, his thoughts wandered to his family. Were they alright? How long has he been separated from them?‘I need to get back to them .’He did not spend seven years of absolute hell just to be taken away from his family a second time. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be a prisoner. Not again. An itchy sensation tickled his left pectoral. Thankfully a quick scratch took care of the issue. Needing a change of subject, his eyes landed on his classmates. ‘There’s a lot of characters here .’Mentally running through his conversations with each of them, Naegi frowned as a thought popped into his head. ‘Will I really be able to hide my talent? ’From Maizono’s insane intuition, to Kirigiri’s distrust of him, to Celeste’s ability to sniff out lies, he certainly had his work cut out for him. ‘I have to be careful around them .’He’d have to be at the top of his game if he wanted to keep his secret. One wrong move and everyone would know what a monster he was. ‘I wish I didn’t need to hide anything from anyone .’The boy was used to being isolated from others. Still, it has been an extremely lonely journey for him. He wanted to be free from his past and to be able to enjoy life without being weighed down by his mistakes. ‘Like I deserve that .’He shook his head, trying to remain optimistic. ‘Hey, maybe I won’t have to actively hide anything. Celeste will probably get bored of me, Kirigiri might see that I don’t mean any harm, and Maizono’s tuition shouldn’t be an issue as long as I don’t talk about anything related to my talent. ’A smile crept on his face. ‘Everything will be alright .’He turned his head to the vault door. ‘Well, once we get out of here that is . Seriously, what’s going on? ’The boy was about to give his question some thought, but the authoritative voice of Togami brought him back to reality. “Okay, time to get down to business. This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons.”Naegi could hear Owada growling at the insult, but thankfully it didn’t seem like he was going to do anything rash. To keep the conversation going, the soldier decided to throw his hat into the ring. “He’s right. Quick question, is it safe to say that everyone here passed out after walking inside the school?”“Yeah,” Maizono affirmed. “We all did.”“Does anyone know what knocked them out?”Kuwata shook his head. “Nope. It just kinda happened, and when I woke up, I was somewhere in the school. So weird…”Everyone gave signs of affirmation to confirm the truth behind the baseball player’s words. ‘My chemical theory’s looking to be correct ,’ Naegi thought to himself. ‘ If no one knows why they passed out, then this is the only possible explanation. ’The boy was going to bring his theory up, but someone else spoke before he could. “Exactly!” Owada shouted in agreement, his face red from anger and stress. “That's why we're all freakin' out!”Ishimaru placed a fist under his chin. “And that's not the only thing. You all saw where all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right? But instead of normal glass windows, it was a bunch of big metal plates! What's that about!?”“Plus, all my stuff’s missing,” Enoshima added. “Even my cellphone...”Fujisaki frowned. “I haven't seen my PDA anywhere, either…”“And then there's the main hall here,” Ishimaru said, taking the reins of the conversation once more. “The front exit is completely blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there wasn't anything like that when I first got here…!”‘Ok, so I was right about that, ’ Naegi noted as the Ultimate Moral Compass continued speaking. “What the heck!? What’s that doing there!?”“I think…” Naegi began. “The plates and vault door are here to keep us in.”The room suddenly became silent. Judging by everyone’s reactions, the boy could tell that some of his classmates had come to the same conclusion as he did. He just so happened to be the one to say it out loud.Owada turned towards the boy, rage still pumping through his body. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean?!”“It’s exactly as he’s said,” Kirigiri stated. “Notice all of the screws on the windows? If they were meant to keep something out, we wouldn’t be seeing them.”“But why would they do such a thing?” Asahina asked.“…I don’t know.”Enoshima shot the lavender haired girl a quizzical glance. “So, uh, you’re saying we got caught up into some sort of crime?”Naegi decided to answer her question. “I think so. But who would want to kidnap all of us? And how did they get into Hope’s Peak?”Once more, a moment of silence enveloped the room, only for it to be quickly broken by a certain clairvoyant.“Come on, don't think like that. Cheer up! I bet this is all just part of the school's orientation procedure.”The soldier held his tongue, the other boy’s words baffling him. ‘I wish that was the case. ’ “Yeah, I'm sure that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a little bit.”“Oh... So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?” Fujisaki asked the older boy, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. Kuwata’s posture relaxed. “Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me. I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye.”The tension started to dissipate from the room, shocking Naegi. Perhaps it was because of his past, but he knew that something nefarious was going on. How so many of his fellow Ultimates didn’t understand this was beyond him.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
‘Huh? ’The sound of a bell echoed around the room. Suddenly, a monitor that was hanging on the wall opposite of Naegi turned on, a black silhouette appearing on the screen. “Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing!” A mysterious voice spoke via the intercom. “Mike check, one two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then...!”The soldier did not like what he was hearing. The voice was cheerful, but in a mocking sort of manner. Despite the clear joy present in its tune, it felt sadistic in its origins. If he had to further describe it, he’d say it was the type of voice that belonged to someone that would laugh with joy after committing a murder.“Ahh, to all incoming students!” The voice continued. “I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...That's all. I'll be waiting!”The machine abruptly turned off, leaving everyone with more questions than before. “...What. The. Hell was that just now?” Enoshima asked, breaking the tense silence that began to form around them.Togami turned around, not interested in talking to his fellow classmates. “Well then, if you'll excuse me…”Without so much as even sparing anyone a glance, the progeny left the room.The model’s jaw dropped. “H-Hey! What, you're gonna take off just like that!?”“Ohh yeah, now I get it!” Hagakure stated, not having heard Enoshima’s question. “This whole thing was just to get us all pumped for the entrance ceremony!”He chuckled to himself. “Man, thank god it was all a joke. I'd be totally freaked if this was real! Alright, guess I'll head out too. Wonder what they got planned for us next…”Kuwata grumbled as he crossed his arms. “Damn, I was totally looking forward to that nap too. Why'd they have to go and kill the mood?”Both boys took after Togami’s example and left the room as well. Seeing this, Fujisaki chased after them.“W-Wait for me! I wanna go with you!”“That is that, then,” Celeste said once the three of them were gone. With a small curtsy, she too began to make her way outside. “I will see you all there.”Fukawa followed shortly after. “N-Not that anyone cares, but I-I'm gonna go too…”Half the class had left, with the others remaining in place. An unspoken understanding was acknowledged by all of them: something awful was awaiting them. “This...this doesn't seem right,” Maizono said, a worried look consuming her face.Enoshima shakily nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that announcement was totally weird.”“Maybe, but just staying put doesn't mean we'll be safe,” Kirigiri informed them. If she had any feelings regarding their situation, nobody could tell as her face remained unreadable. “Besides, aren't you guys just a little bit curious to find out what's going on around here?”Ogami let out a grunt of agreement. “If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead.”Her words were enough to convince the rest of the class to move forward. One by one, they all left, until only a single person remained, his eyes glued to the monitor.‘I know what's coming next isn’t going to be anything good ,’ Naegi monologued to himself. Memories began to flow through his head, memories he wished to forget. A boy who did everything he could to survive. A boy who took lives without mercy, only to cry himself to sleep as their phantoms tormented him. A boy who refused to give up when faced with impossible odds, despite knowing that it would be far easier to do so… These experiences made Naegi the person he was, and because of everything he’s been through, he recognized that he was in immense danger once more.The boy’s heart started beating fast, a rhythmic drumming that informed his body of what’s to come. His muscles were ready to see action, his senses were alert, and his mind was prepared to react to anything thrown his way. His life was on the line, and he refused to go down without a fight.Just like he had before, Naegi made himself a promise, a promise that would force him to keep moving forward until it was fulfilled. ‘Mom, dad, Komaru, I swear that I will come back to you just like last time. ’The boy glanced at the chair he took from the classroom, debating on bringing it to the gym with him. In the end, he decided against it, as having it around while others were nearby would be far from ideal. If he accidentally struck one of his classmates during the windup, he’d have another body to add to his kill count.‘Not taking that chance.’ With his mind made up, Naegi started walking towards the door. ‘I should hurry up. Don’t wanna keep everyone wait- ’…Suddenly, he froze in place, a moment of realization stopping him in his tracks. ‘Hang on a sec… ’The topic of his classmates reminded him that there was another mystery surrounding their situation that needed solving. He had brought it up during his conversation with Kirigiri, but he was so focused on everything else that it escaped his mind afterwards. With the exception of himself, everyone had left for the gymnasium. Anyone with eyes should be able to see that……right?‘No, that’s wrong! ’ There was another student who hadn't left yet. But unlike him, it wasn’t by choice. To claim someone ‘left’ implies that they were once at the location they departed from.So, with that in mind, how could this student exit the front entrance when they were never there to begin with?
‘Where’s the Ultimate Lucky Student?!’
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Makoto Naegi: Age 5
If one were to ask Naegi what he felt the two strongest emotions were, he’d give the following answer without missing a beat.
“Fear and love.”
To the boy, they were opposite sides of the same coin.
Selfish yet Selfless, crippling yet motivating, rational yet irrational; these were just some of the qualities that the two emotions shared with one another. They were beautiful, yet horrifying paradoxes.
However, despite their similarities, they shared one important but obvious difference: love brings out the best in people while fear brings out the worst.
With enough love, even the weakest of people can find the strength to overcome obstacles that seemed impossible. They can be filled with boundless courage and determination, a sense of meaning in their lives motivating them to tackle any challenge that comes their way.
But the moment someone allowed for fear to consume them, then they become a shallow husk of a person. Their strength, skills, and intellect are suppressed as they are unable to function around the source of their fears. Only by overcoming that fear can they reach their true capabilities once more.
For most, how easily they can overcome fear and embrace love is a direct result of their life experiences and their environment.
Even so, there were a small group of people capable of embracing the power of love even in the worst of places.
Makoto Naegi was one of those people. It was only because of the love for his family that he was able to survive in an environment where many others had perished.
Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he wasn’t affected by fear. One can be influenced by both emotions at the same time. The reason Naegi had taken so many lives was because of the fear of what would happen to him if he didn’t, a fear that his kidnappers had made sure to engrave into his heart and mind every chance they got.
The first time they did so was a day the boy could never forget.
Two days after he met the older man who ‘worked’ on his body, he and his fellow prisoners were rounded up and brought into a large empty room. The room was so empty that it didn’t even have any windows. Only a podium was present.
Each child’s arms and legs were handcuffed, preventing them from getting far if they tried to escape. Apparently, a child in one of the other rooms managed to slip past the guards and bolt for the exit. Whether they made it or not, Naegi did not know. He only heard the tiniest bits of the story from the guards gossiping with their peers.
Forced to sit down on the cold, hard floor, the children waited in anticipation of what was to come. By now, none of them had the strength or motivation to do anything else, especially when there were ten guards with guns surrounding them.
Sitting in the last row, Naegi was able to get a glimpse of the amount of victims he was in the room with, counting about fifty other children, all of whom were Japanese. Though fifty seemed like a large number, it was tiny in comparison to the amount of kids Naegi saw when he was accidentally placed with the English speaking children the first day he arrived.
He wouldn’t learn until later that there were even more children that had been kidnapped as well, each from different countries…
Eventually, after what felt like hours of waiting, the door swung open as a man entered. Each of the soldiers saluted him as he walked past them. Naegi couldn’t help but notice that despite the soldiers being Japanese, the man wasn’t, having similar features to the older man he had the displeasure of meeting the day before.
Once the man reached the podium, he tapped the microphone that was on it to make sure that it was working before beginning to speak in fluent Japanese.
“ATTENTION!”
Naegi, along with several other children, winced at the loud noise.
“I will only be saying this once, so make sure you’re listening!”
The man pointed to himself.
“First off, you will only refer to me as ‘Sir’ or ‘General’! Failure to do so will lead to punishment! Is that clear?!”
He got no answer from the petrified children.
“I said…” with the snap of his fingers, he had the other men point their guns at them. “IS THAT CLEAR?!”
A chorus of nervous ‘yeses’ of affirmation echoed throughout the room.
“Good. I’ll keep things brief: you have all been drafted to fight a war.”
‘What?’
Even as a five year old, Naegi knew the weight that these words carried, and so did his fellow prisoners. Some immediately began to cry, though they made sure to be silent so as to not upset the guards.
“I will not lie, most of you, if not all of you, will probably die out there, but if you wanna lower your chances of doing so, then you will make sure that you give it your all this year!”
He stood quiet for a few seconds to allow the children to process his words, but it was not nearly enough time for them to come to grips with their new lives. Not that it mattered to him.
“Yes, you heard me right. I said year. That is how long I have to whip you into shape before I send you out. You will learn the language spoken here, you will learn to fight, and you will learn how to do as you’re told. This year is going to be hell, but it will be nowhere near as bad as what awaits you.”
A quick nod to his guards caused two of them to leave the room.
“You have no choice in the matter. Your lives are no longer your own. Have a problem with that? Well too bad! I suggest you get used to it, because if you try to resist, it won’t end well.”
The doors opened, and the two guards returned. Several of the children yelped in fear due to what they were dragging behind them.
It was another child, and he seemed to be in immense distress. His face was covered with bruises and his left eye was swollen shut. Blood was splattered all around them, with a bit still flowing from their mouth. Finally, on their cheek and neck were large burn marks.
Bringing the child to the man, one of the guards forced him on his knees while the other guard went back to his spot.
“Yesterday, he tried to escape,” the man informed his audience. “He thought he could get away from us, but know this! No matter where you go, no matter how far you run; we. will. find. you.”
He then whipped out a handgun and pulled the safety back.
“Now watch closely…”
He pointed the gun at the child.
*BANG!*
Screams echoed in the room as the man put a hole through the child’s head. None of the prisoners could not believe that they saw someone get executed live in front of them.
Naegi threw up in horror at the brain-matter being spilt all over the corpse’s body.
*Thud!*
The deceased child fell like a sack of potatoes.
“THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FALL OUT OF LINE!” The man shouted at the crying children. “So unless you want to end up like him, you’ll do as you’re told.”
Everything else after that was a blur…
As much as Naegi wished to forget about this day, it was a memory that would always be seared in his mind. The bruises and burn marks, the look of utter hopelessness the child had on him, and witnessing someone not much older than him being gruesomely killed…
All of it was enough to keep five year old Naegi paralyzed with fear.
It didn’t help that he would go on to experience even worse horrors… ones that would truly test his will to survive…
0000
‘Well… here it is…’
Finding the gymnasium wasn’t a tough ordeal for Naegi. Having explored the entire floor already, the boy knew where the room was located. Even so, he took a bit to actually reach the place. Just like when he first woke up, he moved slowly, wary of any traps or ambushes that potentially awaited him. Nothing had changed on that front though, so he completed the trip unharmed.‘I have no choice but to go in… ’He had no idea who or what was on the other side of the door. All he knew was that it wasn’t going to be anything good. Running was unfortunately not an option. The only way to handle this challenge was to face it head on. ‘Maybe I’ll finally get some answers… ’Why were his classmates and himself kidnapped? What did their captors want from them? Who, or what, were they dealing with? How did they manage to not only kidnap all of them, but invade Hope’s Peak as well? The answers to those questions were possibly going to be answered. All he had to do was open the door. Taking a deep breath, Naegi proceeded to do just that and was greeted with the sight of a small trophy room. Quickly but cautiously glancing around, the boy moved forwards. As to be expected, the trophy room was filled with just that, trophies. Awards for various sports were proudly displayed throughout, each one earned by the Ultimates that preceded his class. Of the trophies, one in particular managed to catch his eye. A golden sword resting on a classical wooden sword stand. ‘It looks like they’re not attached .’The former soldier proceeded to grab the hilt of the weapon and attempted to remove it from its resting place. As he predicted, the two were separate items so he was able to do so with no issues.Just by holding the sword, he could tell it was only a prop. Gently tapping the blade with his finger only confirmed this as his experience with blades allowed him to recognize that the prop wasn’t sharp enough to cut flesh. ‘It’s even painted poorly .’Despite how delicately he was handling the faux weapon, it already covered his hand with dry paint.
‘...It’s still better than nothing…’
Though he decided to leave his chair back at the front entrance, having another weapon to use was something he welcomed. Unlike the clunky piece of furniture, the fake katana in his hand was easier to handle. Even if he can’t use it to cleave, he could still use it to parry incoming attacks. New weapon in hand, he once more pushed ahead, opening the set of doors in front of him and walking into the extremely large gymnasium. ‘Why’s this place so big? ’He saw no need for the room to be so enormous, but now wasn’t the time to think much about such a trivial matter. Looking forward, he saw that the rest of his classmates were all there, making him the last one to arrive once more. All the way at the end of the gymnasium was a stage with a small podium.‘It looks like a normal ceremony. ’Naegi’s grip on his sword tightened as he felt his muscles tense up. He wasn’t fooled by the room’s appearance. Unfortunately some of his classmates had fallen for the bait. “See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff,” Hagakure said. It appeared as if his classmates started conversing while he was gone. The boy was about to insert himself into said conversation, but the cheery voice from the intercom decided to pipe up before he could do so, echoing around the room.“Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone *finally* here?”The voice didn’t even bother trying to hide its annoyance at the soldier’s lateness.“Good! Then let's get things rolling!”Naegi slid his left leg back, ready to react to even the slightest sign of danger. A slight rumbling sound started coming from within the stage. A few seconds went by before a figure shot out of the floor and landed on the podium. Now, Naegi’s time as a soldier had exposed him to sights no ordinary person could stomach. Charred bodies, guts painted across rooms, methods of torture that would drive anyone insane… for the longest time, that was his life. It was a life he learnt to live without flinching.But this? This was so far from the ordinary that he was still questioning what exactly he was looking at. “Huh? A teddy bear?”Thankfully, Fujisaki was able to find the words that he lacked.Just as she said, the object that landed on the podium was indeed a teddy bear, but it wasn’t any old stuffed toy. The bear’s coloring was split vertically, with its left half being completely white and the right being black. Only its comical belly button remained the same white color. The left side of the bear was unremarkable. The right side though, that was a different story. Instead of a button eye, a large red lightning bolt took its place. Its mouth was also drastically different, with a full set of teeth being contained in a smile that extended to its cheek. “I'm not a teddy bear!” Said bear replied, the same voice that came from the monitors now coming from the animatronic. “I...am...Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!” ‘What the hell did he just say? ’Naegi had to have misheard him. There was no way this thing was declaring itself as the Headmaster of Hope’s Peak. To do so in such a carefree and jolly manner as if it was common knowledge… it was completely out of place in regards to the actual scene in front of him. The bear’s existence had the soldier’s body begging to move, to use the katana in his hand to take out the robot, but he kept himself in place. As of right now, the bear, Monokuma as he said his name was, hadn’t attacked them. Doing something drastic could change that, and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take when he knew nothing about Monokuma’s capabilities. In regards to how his classmates were handling the news, he didn’t even have to look at them to understand that they felt similarly about Monokuma. “Wh--? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!” Yamada screeched. “Calm down!” Ishimaru told him, trying to prevent the other boy from freaking out, though he didn’t seem to be doing much better himself. “I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it.”Monokuma glared at the students. “I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear… I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!” ‘Alright, I did hear that right the first time... ’ Naegi thought to himself as Yamada continued to freak out. “Waaaaah! It moved!”“Seriously man, calm down!” Owada yelled, clearly not taking the situation well. Just like the soldier, the Ultimate Biker Gang leader was doing his best to restrain himself, but judging by the throbbing vein on his head, he was struggling to do so. “It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'.”“How dare you compare me to a child's plaything!” Monokuma sulked, his mood doing a complete one eighty. “You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench…”His face suddenly became smug. “My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend it!”Chances were that he was completely bluffing, but his bragging still made Naegi’s heartbeat rise. 'If that’s true, then whoever’s behind this is someone more powerful than I could ever imagine .’“Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams,” Monokuma remarked with a wave of his hand. “I just couldn't BEAR that!”Celeste covered her mouth with a hand, eyes widening at the pun. “‘Bear’ that? Really? You are...unfortunate.”The animatronic didn’t bother acknowledging her. “Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started…”Monokuma suddenly stood up. “Everyone stand at attention and bow! And...good morning!”Only one person returned the gesture. “Good morning!”Fukawa gave the Ultimate Moral Compass a critical look. “Y-You don't have to s-say it back…”“Now then,” Monokuma said as he proceeded to look at the fifteen Ultimates in front of him. “Let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!” Naegi’s eyes began locking onto the bear. Things were about to hit the fan, he just knew it. “First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake--you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope…”The pause only added to everyone’s anxiety. Naegi could feel his hands and feet start to sweat. “...you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school.”
‘Huh?’
The soldier’s heart dropped. While he knew that there was a chance his kidnappers wanted to keep them prisoner, hearing it coming from Monokuma’s mouth… it only justified Naegi’s feelings.“Ah, now then...regarding the end date for this communal life…” Monokuma continued. “There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned.”“Wh-What did he just say?” Fukawa asked. “Until the day we d-die...?”Though unnoticeable to everyone else, Naegi started gritting his teeth. ‘I can’t stay here… I refuse to… ’Memories of his family began playing in his head. The patience and love his parents gave him even when he was arguably a stranger to them, the banter Komaru and him engaged in… he was ready for Monokuma to finish giving him information so he could strike. If he had to fight hundreds of Monokuma to regain his freedom once more, he was prepared to do so…“Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences,” the animatronic cheerfully informed them. “That's the least of our worries right now!” Maizono shouted, echoing everyone’s thoughts at the moment. “Yeah, what the hell? You're saying I have to live here forever?” Enoshima asked. “You’re screwing with us, right?”“I am not screwing with you!” Monokuma adamantly replied. “I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure.”The bear’s temper instantly dissipated after shouting at the model. “Ah, and just for your information...you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty land beyond these walls ever again!”‘So I was right about why the plates and vault door were installed… ’ Naegi thought to himself once more. “Come on, what the hell is this?” Kuwata shakily asked, all color having been drained from his skin. “I don't care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke.”“Yeah! Cut this shit out! It isn't funny anymore!” Owada agreed, his face red from anger. “You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you,” Monokuma replied, his tone indicating that he was clearly savoring their reactions. “But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor... Well you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth.”“Having to live here forever would be...quite the problem,” Celeste disappointedly remarked, her voice almost nonchalant in tone. Judging by the almost unnoticeable shaking of her hands though, it was clear to the soldier that just like himself, she was doing her best to hold herself back. The bear tilted his head. “Come, now. What's the matter with all of you? You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave?”‘Yes.’Almost as if he had read the boy’s mind, Monokuma’s smile widened. “Oh but you know... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There *is* one way for you to leave the school…”A glimmer of hope sparked in Fukawa’s eyes. “R-really?” The animatronic nodded. “As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it...the Graduation Clause!”With how enthusiastic Monokuma sounded, the soldier could already tell that he wasn’t going to like what the bear had to say next. “Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!”…And he was completely right. ‘What? ’Naegi felt a pang of nausea hit his head, almost causing him to drop his sword. ‘Is he for real? ’The meaning of Monokuma’s words wasn't lost on him. He knew exactly what the bear was trying to say. It seemed Togami did as well, the blonde shooting Monokuma a powerful glare. “What do you mean by ‘disrupt the harmony’?”“Puhuhu,” Monokuma giggled in amusement before flashing the heir a sinister smile. “Well, you know... If one person were to murder another.”Silence echoed around the gymnasium, the atmosphere feeling as if the weight of gravity had suddenly doubled in intensity. It was the voice of Enoshima that finally broke it. “M-murder?”“Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting,” Monokuma casually listed. “How you do it doesn't matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that.”The bear slid his left foot back so his right side was facing them. Despite the animatronic being, well, an animatronic, Naegi could’ve sworn that his red eye was twinkling with bloodlust. “The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible.”Once more, no one was able to say anything. How could they when faced with a nightmare such as this?“Puhuhu. I bet *that* got your brain juices flowing!” Monokuma laughed. “Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh?”Suddenly, the bear’s posture changed once more, adapting an authoritative stance. “Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know... Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair.”Naegi felt his back shudder. The way in which Monokuma made sure to emphasize the word ‘despair’ was enough to let him know that the bear was truly enjoying the suffering he was causing. His entire body shaking like a leaf, Kuwata stepped forwards. “What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is...It's!”“To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it.”“We know what it means, that's not the problem!” Asahina shouted. “Why do we have to kill each other!?”‘She’s right…’ Naegi mentally noted. ‘ Why does he want us to kill each other? ’Humans were simple in one regard: there was always a reason behind every action one takes. Even when surrounded in the chaos that is war, everything done could be explained. With Monokuma though, he had no idea *what* his motives were, and that made him an extremely unpredictable enemy. “Yeah!” Yamada yelled. “Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!”“...Blabbering?” Monokuma asked, uncharacteristically serious. Without warning, the bear furrowed his brows and gave Yamada a frustrated glare. “Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it do you? ‘Let us go, let us go!’ You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it?”Acting as if he actually needed to breathe after the rant, the bear proceeded to mimic the actions of someone taking a deep breath. “And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!”“Alright, come on... How long are you gonna keep this up?” Hagakure piped up with a hearty laugh. “Eh?”At this point, Naegi couldn’t tell if the fortune teller was really *that* dumb or if he was just trying to cope by pretending that this was all some sort of prank. Based on how earnestly he sounded when asking his question, the shorter boy was leaning towards the former. “You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now.”“Reveal the trick?” It seemed even Monokuma couldn’t believe what he was hearing from the clairvoyant’s mouth. “Yeah, cuz I mean…” The older boy made some obscure gesture with his hand. “Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like…”Owada had enough. “Dude, shut the hell up and get outta my way.”Shoving Hagakure to the side, the gang leader crouched down so he was at eye level with the ‘headmaster’. “Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?”His voice was like thunder. Naegi knew that he was super close to his breaking point. “Joke? What, you mean like your hair?”“FFFUUUUUUUUUUUU--!”…And just like that, he snapped. He charged straight towards Monokuma, his footsteps echoing around the room like that of a bull aiming to rush its target. Gripping the stuffed bear by his neck, the gang leader held him up in the air. “Gotcha, you little piece of shit!” Owada snarled. “I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!”Monokuma began squirming. “Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!”The taller boy didn’t care. “Shut the fuck up! Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ…”All of a sudden, the animatronic went limp. A strange beeping sound came from within him, his red eye flashing to the relatively slow rhythm.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
“What, no smartass comeback this time!?” Owada taunted.
‘…wait!’
Time began to move slower for Naegi as he began turning towards the other boy. To the average person, they wouldn’t think much about the irritating sound Monokuma was producing. But Naegi knew better.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
The song being sung came in many different tunes. In fact, that moment was the first time the soldier has ever heard this particular version. Even so, its message always remained the same.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
It was a warning of what’s to come. A melody prophesying a future of fire, ash, and death. Dropping his sword, the soldier prepared to lunge forwards.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Owada was no longer holding a stuffed bear. What he had in his hands was a bomb, and unless someone did something, the gang leader was going to feel the full force of an explosion. Naegi refused to let that happen. Whether it be through his actions or inaction, he refused to let someone die because of him. Never again…
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Launching himself at near incomprehensible speeds, the shorter boy grabbed Monokuma’s right leg. “What the?!”The taller boy hadn’t expected to be met with such a large amount of force, so he was caught off-guard by Naegi yanking the bear from his hands. His attention focused solely on Monokuma, the soldier held his arm backwards before launching the bomb straight towards the ceiling.
*Beep**Beep**Beep*
While airborne, the beeping sped up until it reached the ceiling, where the bomb proceeded to explode.
*KABOOM!*
With the threat neutralized, Naegi took a deep breath. His body unable to move from the throwing position, he could only stare at the ash left behind by the explosion, the ceiling somehow managing to be unscathed. It was all anyone could do at the moment. Someone had almost died because of a bomb, something that seemed highly unlikely outside of an action movie. A loud ringing briefly reverberated through the boy’s ears as the smell of gunpowder entered his nose. Both were sensations he thought he’d never experience again…His strength returning to him, Naegi straightened himself upwards, more-so than usual. “Is everyone alright?”“The hell!?” Owada yelled, the shorter boy’s words snapping him back to reality. His hands were shaking, no doubt caused by him nearly dying. “Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up…”“But you know…” Fujisaki timidly noted. “This means that the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?”‘No, that’s wrong! ’There was no way that Monokuma would prepare a death trap such as this only to be immediately eliminated. If he was taking up the role of ‘headmaster,’ then that meant that he was an important part of said trap. As such, there had to be more Monokuma. The person or people controlling Monokuma had to have read his mind once more, for not even a second later, another one suddenly popped out from the stage, landing on the podium. “I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!”Kuwata’s jaw dropped. “Uwah! There's another one...?”“You son of a bitch!” Owada growled, clenching a fist. “You seriously tried to kill me just now!”“Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you,” Monokuma replied, once more in a far too casual manner. “You did violate one of the school regulations, after all. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt.”“H-Hey... So does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around here somewhere?” Enoshima asked. The bear nodded his head. “Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes. Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... you all just saw what happened, right?”Another laugh ensued, a laugh Naegi was starting to hate hearing. “Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!”“Th-That's not even punishment,” Asahina tried to argue. “That’s just…wrong…”Monokuma didn’t pay the swimmer any mind. “Now then, lastly... To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you…”Rustling through the back of the podium, the animatronic quickly reappeared with a stack of blue tablets the size of a large cellphone. “This is our official student handbook!” The headmaster explained. “Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it... The e-Handbook!”A fake cough came from his mouth (speaker?) as he was met with silence. “Ahem. Yes, well, moving on... This handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one.”Monokuma made sure that he emphasized that last part. Jumping off the stage, the bear began handing them out. Some students flinched when the bear approached them while others shot him a dirty look. Naegi had to stop himself from swinging his sword once Monokuma gave him his e-handbook. Once he was finished, he climbed back onto the podium. “Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that!”Rather than actually explain said uses, the bear chose to highlight a different feature. “Also, it's completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly!”Turning his head, he glared at Owada. “You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated.”He refocused his attention back to the entire class. “Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws.”Monokuma released one final bloodcurdling laugh. “The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators.”He then clapped his hands. “Okay, well...that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And...see ya!”Dramatically falling behind the podium, the ‘headmaster’ vanished, leaving behind fifteen fearful and confused students. Another moment of silence ensued, no one having the energy to speak. How could they when Monokuma’s words were still fresh in their minds?“So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?” Ishimaru awkwardly asked. “How...? Why...?” Kuwata replied, struggling to even speak. “I don't understand any of this…”Fukawa pulled her braids in frustration. “We have to l-live here forever...? Or...k-kill? Wh-What...? What just happened!?”The tension in the room was at an all time high, perhaps strong enough to vaporize any bug that entered the room. Before things could get any worse, Kirigiri spoke up. “Everyone, we need to just calm down.”If she was even phased by everything that happened, she didn’t show it, her impeccable mask not faltering. “First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices. Choice number one is that we each stay here, living a ‘communal life’ together until the day we die. And the other choice is…”“If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?” Celeste answered, looking and sounding more disappointed than scared. Tears began to spill out of Fujisaki’s eyes. “But...killing someone... That's…”“We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to start killing each other? This is…” Yamada babbled before screeching in distress. “This is...this is just...! What IS this!?”“A lie is what it is,” Ishimaru said. His posture and words were shaky, far from the stern manner he had conducted himself earlier. “All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!”“Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake,” Togami remarked. Just like Kirigiri and Celeste, he too maintained a calm demeanor. “What matters is… Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this...?”The blonde’s words held immense weight, so much so that it became harder for everyone to breathe. ‘Is there? ’No one dared to answer Togami’s question. Instead, everyone began glancing around at one another, aiming to gauge each other’s thoughts. Naegi could feel the occasional pair of eyes land his way, but he didn’t meet them back. Even then, he could sense the emotions filling up the room. Fear…Suspicion…Anger…Hopelessness…Monokuma’s announcement wasn’t just meant to explain their new school life. It was also meant to plant seeds into everyone’s heads, ones meant to instill distrust amongst the people who were supposed to be classmates. After coming to this realization, Naegi started staring at the floor. ‘To get out of here… we need to kill someone .’Even though the means and rules were different, this was a situation that was all too familiar to him. ‘If I want to see my family… I need to kill someone… ’For a second, his vision started to gray. Blood began to spontaneously flow out of his left hand. Screams began echoing around, the sounds of explosions and gunfire following shortly. His heart pounded inside his chest, ready to burst. Flashes of faces entered his sight, faces he knew all too well. Desperation, anger, fear, those were the faces of the people whose stories he ended so his could continue. ‘…No… ’That simple thought was enough to snap him back to reality. His hand was no longer bloody, not that it was to begin with, and the sounds of war dissipated. ‘I refuse… ’Makoto Naegi was a killer, but he had no intentions of returning to that life. Back then, he was a weak little boy who felt that he had no choice but to take the lives of others. He was no longer that boy. He was someone else now, someone who wasn’t going to succumb to the wills of others anymore. For the second time today, the soldier made himself a promise. ‘I will find a way out… and I will do it without killing anyone here .’Clenching his fist, Naegi lifted his head and made sure to face one of the cameras. A blazing resolve consumed his eyes. Whether or not the person or people controlling Monokuma could see it was unknown, but the message remained the same. Makoto Naegi had just declared war on them, and he wasn’t planning to lose. And unlike last time, he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by Ultimates, people with exceptional gifts. If they worked together, then perhaps they could all find a way out. “So? What are you going to do now?” Kirigiri sharply asked everyone, her arms crossed. “Just stand around glaring at each other?” Her comment was enough to bring everyone back to their senses. Ishimaru straightened himself out. “R-Right... She's right! Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward.” His eyes began to water for some reason. “To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!”Owada eyed him as if he were an alien. “Jesus. If you have time to yell about it, you have time to DO something about it.”“Perhaps, but...what is the mission, exactly?” Yamada asked. Kuwata scoffed at the question. “Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!”“And we totally need to find out whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em,” Enoshima vigorously added. “B-But before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook…” Fujisaki said in a soft tone. “It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else.”Celeste flashed everyone one of her signature faux smiles. “True. If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again…”Owada’s eyebrows furrowed as he remembered what Monokuma tried doing to him. “Shit…”Enoshima sighed. “Fine. Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already.”Everyone simultaneously powered their e-handbooks. The first thing that greeted Naegi when he did so was his name at the front and center of the screen. It faded away a few seconds later, a main menu taking its place. Clicking on the school regulations icon, a list was displayed.
Rules:
1. Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
2. "Nighttime” is from 10pm to 7am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so do be mindful.
3. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
4. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope’s Peak at your discretion.
5. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
6. Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes “blackened” will graduate, unless they are discovered.
7. One student has been chosen to be the ,$(‘scjdal. The ,$(‘scjdal will have special perks and a different graduation requirement. Any student who kills the ,$(‘scjdal will instantly graduate.
8. Additional school regulations may be added as deemed necessary.
Turning off his e-handbook, Naegi began to mull over what he had just read. The first four rules were simply odd to him. He had no idea why such arbitrary restrictions existed in the first place.Rule 5 was easy enough to understand, especially when he saw firsthand what happened when Owada tried attacking Monokuma. Rule 6 was where things got interesting. ‘It’s not enough to kill someone. You have to avoid getting caught… ’He had no idea how this rule was going to be enforced. Theoretically speaking, someone could just hide the body of the person they just killed. Will they be forced to find the blackened if someone did kill?Finally, there was rule 7, easily the most confusing of the bunch. ‘One of us has different graduation requirements. Why? ’What made this student so different from the rest that they needed a rule to be made solely for them? What kind of perks did Monokuma mean they’d get? Why was killing them worth an insta-graduation? Why was the name of their role all glitched out? Most importantly, who was this mysterious student?These were questions that were added to the list of ones Naegi had regarding the mystery of the school. “This is bullshit!” Owada shouted. “What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!”Celeste gave him a mocking chuckle. “Well then, why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens? Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules.”“But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him…” Yamada worriedly mumbled. That was enough to change the gang leader’s tune. Looking down, the tall boy clenched his teeth. “I... Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head... When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him.”‘I understand the feeling,’ Naegi thought to himself. It was only because he swore to keep the promise he made to himself that he was still alive today. Enoshima gave him a confused look. “...So what?”“I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's ‘so what’!” Owada passionately shouted. “So I can't afford to die here!”“None of that made much sense to me, but you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?” Celeste casually asked, clearly not caring about the boy’s story. Said boy rubbed the back of his neck. “Huh? Oh, well… yeah, I guess you’re right.”“Hey, um, I have a question,” Maizono said. “For regulation number six...what do you think it means exactly?”Naegi decided to share his theory. “I think that killing someone isn’t enough. We’d need to do it and not get caught. If I had to guess, Monokuma intends to have us find the blackened if there is one…”His words only served to worsen the mood. “B-But why...?” Fukawa asked. “Why do we h-have to do that?”“I don't see any reason to worry about it,” Togami replied, looking down at the novelist. “Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us.”He then scoffed at her. “Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them.”“D-don’t jab at me…"Rather than her usual demeanor, Fukawa was blushing as if she were a schoolgirl in love. Naegi had absolutely no idea why this was.“More like a full-on stab…” Kuwata remarked. “Well for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever,” Asahina declared. “Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!”Ishimaru nodded in agreement. “True. We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies? There are tons of questions we need to answer!”Kuwata was pumped up. “Damn straight! Okay, then let's all start looking around!”“...I'll be going alone,” Togami informed everyone. “What!? Why?” Enoshima asked in disbelief. “That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?”Togami turned to her, an action which brought upon a wave of hostility. “Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?”‘That’s exactly why we should stick together ,’ Naegi thought to himself. If the goal was to get killed and not get caught, then trying to kill someone while in a group would be a stupid decision to make. “W-Wait, hold on a second. That would never--!” Maizono wouldn’t get a chance to finish her statement as the blonde aggressively cut her off. “Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you.”The idol looked down. “B-But…”The heir smugly crossed his arms. “So, I'm simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for me.”Owada cracked his knuckles, his face red with rage once again. “Hold on! Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!”Naegi didn’t need to rely on his talent to tell him that if the two continued to provoke one another, a fight was surely going to break out. “Out of my way, plankton.”From his build and posture alone, the short boy knew that Togami had a basic understanding of self defense at best. So why was he provoking the guy who was capable of fighting several fully grown men at once?“Wh--!? The fuck's that supposed to mean!?”“One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea. So minuscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean.”Like an enraged bull, steam was coming out of Owada’s ears and nose. “I'm gonna kick your ass!”A fight was the last thing that needed to happen right now. With how angry Owada was, someone as powerful as him could potentially kill Togami with a single punch. No one else seemed willing to separate the two, so Naegi decided to step up to the plate. “S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!”The boy mentally cringed. He sounded so pathetic. The good news was that his words managed to grab Owada’s attention. The bad news? Now all of his fury was directed at him. “The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch?” The gang leader asked him. “Who do you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' dad or something!?”“N-No, I wasn't--!” The soldier had no idea why he was even trying to reason with him. The other boy was in a blind rage and it would take more than a few words from a socially awkward person to calm him down. “Fuck you!”Reeling his right arm back, Owada proceeded to throw a devastatingly powerful punch, one which would easily knock out the ordinary person and potentially leave them with a concussion. Terrified gasps were released from several of their classmates. The taller boy’s fist was moving so fast that most of them wouldn’t have been able to move out of the way in time if they were the ones being targeted. For Naegi though, a boy who was able to avoid gunfire without being hit, he saw the punch coming from a mile away. Just like every other time he was in imminent danger, the soldier felt time slow down around him. His mind and body on autopilot, the boy’s right leg slid back. Using the leg for support, Naegi leaned a little to the left. *SMACK!*Owada’s blow never connected. Before he could land the hit, Naegi deflected the attack with a mere slap aimed at the side of his fist. An unorthodox method, sure, but one that was effective nonetheless. “What the?!”The power behind the smack caused the taller boy to stumble forward. It was because of this that the gangster finally returned to his senses. What greeted him wasn’t exactly a pleasant view. He could see the emptiness of Naegi’s eyes, how they were locked onto him as if he wasn’t an individual, but a threat to be eliminated. Before Owada could regain his balance, and faster than he could process, Naegi closed the gap between them. Right fist curled up, the shorter boy took note of his opponent’s exposed neck. All he needed to do was to land a blow on the larynx and the gangster would be de-‘ …No. ’Naegi disengaged, hopping three steps backwards. He looked down to the side in shame. ‘I said I wasn’t going to kill, and I almost broke my promise already. ’Despite his movements suggesting otherwise, the soldier had no desire to kill Owada. His body simply reacted to the danger he was presented with in the most efficient way it knew how. ‘I have to be more careful. The last thing I need is to enter a trance here.’Naegi’s combat instincts were both a blessing and a curse. He owed his life to them, but whenever he let them take over, bodies followed and there was nothing he could do about it even if he wanted to…“…sorry.”Muttering a quick apology to Owada, Naegi’s body took a stance that was very similar to Ishimaru’s own as he began to address his classmates. “…Look… I get it. We’re all on edge, and it’s completely understandable why we are. But fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to solve anything.” The boy gestured towards one of the cameras in the gymnasium. “In fact, that’s what whoever’s controlling Monokuma wants us to do. They want us to start doubting one another. The moment we play into their hands is the moment we lose.”He turned his attention back to his classmates, giving them a look of determination. “I’m not saying we have to like each other, but if we’re going to get out of here, we need to work together.”He looked at Togami. “Which means we can’t antagonize one another.”He then faced Owada. “And we can’t allow our emotions to get the better of us.”Once more, he focused on the collective group. “Alright?”A moment of silence was triggered by Naegi’s words, everyone’s eyes on him. Becoming self-conscious by all the attention that was being thrown his way, his posture shrank back to its usual form. ‘Great, they probably think I’m a weirdo now…’ Ishimaru stepped forwards “…He’s right. We should not be fighting. We should be working together!”The Ultimate Moral Compass looked at his feet, eyes watering. “As the ‘Ultimate Moral Compass’, I should have stepped in, but I failed to. I let fear overwhelm me yet again.”He clenched his fist before staring back at Naegi, eyes still watery, yet filled with determination. “Thank you Naegi for reminding me of what’s important!”The soldier in question raised his hands modestly. “It was nothing…”“Tch…”Both boys turned to Owada. For some reason he refused to look at Naegi. “Alright… I’ll cool it…”The shorter boy smiled. “Thank you.”“So what’s your plan?” Togami asked him, eyes narrowing. “Your words are all nice and dandy, but they’re just that, words.”Naegi bit his lip. As of right now, he didn’t have a plan. “…Well, for starters, let’s see what we’re dealing with. We’ve got a school to explore.”The blonde crossed his arms, unimpressed. “That’s it?”“We should also travel in groups,” the soldier continued. Placing a hand to his chin, the gears in his head began to turn. “You said that someone might use this chance to try and kill, so let’s make it impossible for that to happen. There’s fifteen of us, so if we split off into three groups of five, it’ll guarantee that we’ll be able to find the blackened if someone does try something. Sounds good?”“…I suppose that is feasible,” Togami forced out, acting as if admitting that the other boy had a point was causing him immense pain. “For now I’ll concede, but don’t expect me to play along with your delusions afterwards. I don’t plan on being a vulnerable target.”Naegi knew that this was the best he was going to get in regards to convincing the heir to cooperate. At least, for now. “Well, you all heard him!” Ishimaru shouted. “Assemble yourselves into groups of five and let us search for anything that might be useful.”As everyone began to scatter, Naegi allowed a sigh to escape from his lips. With everything that happened today, he was mentally exhausted. The road ahead seemed bleak and hopeless, and part of him wondered if he’d even make it out of here…However, he refused to allow such thoughts to bring him down. Until the battle was over, he would keep fighting with everything he had, pressing onwards so he may see his family once again. Picking up the fake katana, the soldier stared at the door. He had a building to explore and a small decision that needed to be made. ‘So who should I go with? ’
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Makoto Naegi: Age ??
Camaraderie, friendship, family, brotherhood…
War movies would have one think that such things could be found by joining an army.
Perhaps it was because he himself wasn’t an ordinary soldier, but none of that could describe Naegi’s experience.
There were many ways in which the boy could define his time fighting overseas, and none of it was positive.
Every day was a fight. Sometimes against himself, and sometimes with others.
His superiors were power hungry tyrants, willing to expend countless lives for the smallest of personal gains.
Things were no different for most of his fellow soldiers.
Whereas his superiors were gluttonous kings sitting on thrones made of bones, his peers were like vultures, ready to capitalize on any weakness.
The weak and dull were their primary targets.
It started with a bit of resource stealing, escalating into beatdowns once someone tried to fight back. Then a bit of sabotage, preventing their victims from completing even the most basic tasks. Eventually, the unfortunate souls who happened to be targeted would completely shatter, leaving their tormentors with less competition for necessities.
If one wished to avoid being targeted, they had to establish themselves as a top dog, or they needed to avoid having any attention thrown upon them.
Naegi knew how to keep his head down. For his early years, hardly anyone looked his way, that is, until he was eventually forced to claw his way to the top.
That was a story for another time though.
Simply put, Naegi had no friends. He had no family. For most of his life, he was all alone.
Perhaps that was why he desperately clung to the memories of his family. Even as the years went by, he always remembered their warmth and love.
When he finally found freedom, he was worried that his family wouldn’t accept him. It had been seven years after all.
Yet, they showed that their love for him had never died during his absence. They were unbelievably kind, outstandingly patient, and most of all, they cared about him like no one else had before.
…Unfortunately, old habits don’t die easy.
Even with his family’s unconditional love, he still hid his past from them. He did not want to be thrown back into a world where he only had himself. The things he did… even though his family were a bunch of saints, there’s only so many sins one could forgive. Had they known, he was sure that he’d be tossed away, and that possibility scared him more than anything else.
Camaraderie, friendship, family, brotherhood…
Naegi was someone who loved his family unconditionally.
But he didn’t know if it would be reciprocated.
That’s why it was so hard for him to let others in. It was why he kept even his family at a distance. And it was why he felt his demons were his to face alone.
Until the day he died, Naegi swore that he’d never allow his past to show. He would pretend that everything was fine, even when the nightmares became too intense and during the moments where his senses would be blasted back to the past. No matter how much pain he was in, he’d never, ever, open up, for the rejection would hurt him more than any gun wound. Not to his family. And definitely not to anyone else.
Naegi simply wanted to be with his family again, to be able to bask in their love and to love them back.
If it meant not being vulnerable in front of anyone, if it meant having to pretend he was someone he’s not, then so be it.
After all, it’s not like anyone could love him for who he really was…
…Right?
0000‘So who should I go with?’ Despite it being his idea in the first place, Naegi had no clue on where to even begin in regards to looking for a group. He had only met most of his classmates today, and the one person he happened to know beforehand was someone he had never spoken to prior.Add his less than stellar social skills and suddenly such a simple task was proving to be quite daunting…How was it that he could rush towards a ticking bomb without flinching yet struggled to speak to people in a casual manner?‘Guess the only thing to do is wing it… ’Standing around and twiddling his thumbs wasn’t going to get him anywhere, and neither would entertaining his insecurities. There were far more important things to worry about…‘Alright, let’s see who- ’“Naegi?”The boy spun around towards the person who had called out his name. Doing so brought him face-to-face with a certain blue haired idol, the girl flashing him one of her trademark smiles. “E-eh? Maizono?”The former soldier had no idea why she was approaching him of all people. “I’m sorry, is there something I can help you with?”The girl nodded. “Would you like to explore the school together?” Well, now he knew what she wanted. But again, why him? Maizono could’ve asked any of their other classmates, classmates who were gifted, yet she wanted him to accompany her…“You seem reliable,” the idol told him, almost as if she had read his mind.Naegi winced. “Did I say that out loud?”“Nope!” Maizono replied with a giggle. “Did you forget? I’m psychic!”Seeing the boy’s confused face caused her smile to grow. “Just kidding! I have great intuition.”‘Right, I forgot about that. ’Between Monokuma’s appearance, his missing items, and everything else surrounding the school, the idol’s insane intuition was something he forgot about. Again, he steeled himself, making his eyes and body unreadable. The only thing someone would see if they did try was the facade he wanted them to see. “But also,” Maizono continued. “I know that this is kind of continuing the self introduction thing, but I wanted to ask you something.”Naegi tilted his head. He remembered that she did try asking him a question before being interrupted by Ishimaru. “Sure, what’s up?”“Naegi… did yo-”“Heeey~”A cheery voice interrupted the idol. Spinning around once more, the boy saw Enoshima walking towards them. “Yo, M-Naegi!” The model greeted him. ‘Did she almost call me by my first name? ’The near slip-up didn’t go unnoticed by him. However, what did was how she didn’t address Maizono. Had Naegi been paying attention to the girl beside him, he might have noticed the small glimpse of frustration that threatened to leak out of her mask. “So…” Enoshima crossed her arms and shot him a teasing smirk. “Wanna tell me what the hell you were thinking back there? First you run towards a bomb and then you piss off Owada… you’re either way too reckless or you’ve got a death wish.”Oh, right. He did endanger himself twice like a madman. Compared to some of the other things he’s experienced, both situations were pretty tame. To everyone else though, seeing him run into action had probably been quite the spectacle. “…I couldn’t sit there and do nothing when someone could’ve been seriously hurt,” Naegi admitted, rubbing the back of his head.“Ah, so you’re one of those ‘heart of gold’ types…” the model remarked, her tone indicating that she was amused. ‘I wouldn’t say that… ’Naegi didn’t consider himself to be a good person, not with all the blood he’s spilt. “Whelp, if that’s how it is, I guess I gotta keep an eye on you!” Enoshima declared, much to his surprise. “Don’t want you to hurt yourself pulling another stunt like that.”“I don’t think that’s necessary…” Yeah, what he did wasn’t something any sane person would do, but as much as he appreciated the concern, he didn’t want the fashionista to feel obligated to watch over him. The two of them were essentially strangers after all. Even so, despite the fact his gut still wasn’t fully comfortable around her, he saw no reason to shoo her away. “But if you’re saying that you want to join us, you can. Is that alright, Maizono?”“I guess it’s fine,” the idol responded, her words lacking the enthusiasm she was known for. Though she still had her signature smile on, Naegi could sense a hint of disappointment emanating from her. ‘Maybe she’s upset Enoshima interrupted her… ’That was twice now that the blue haired girl had been prevented from asking him her question. He couldn’t blame her for being a bit annoyed. The model raised an eyebrow at the other girl’s response. For a moment it looked like she wanted to address it, but she quickly turned her attention back to the boy and grinned. “Sweet! So, like, what now? Should we get going?”“We still need two more people before we can head out,” Naegi reminded her. “It shouldn’t take too long to find them.”This was especially true seeing as both Maizono and Enoshima had more than enough charisma to make up for his lack of social skills. Perhaps it was because he himself wasn’t famous, but other than someone like Togami, the boy couldn’t think of anyone who’d be able to deny an opportunity to hang out with two of the world’s most influential celebrities.“A-ah, excuse me?”See? They didn’t even have to search for anyone. Just by standing around, they’ve encountered their fourth member. The trio directed their attention towards the newcomer, a certain ‘Ultimate Programmer’ who was standing in front of them.“I hope I’m not interrupting…” the short girl said. Enoshima managed to beat the other two to the punch in terms of addressing the girl. “Nah, you’re not. What can we do for ya?”Noticing how the programmer was eyeing Naegi, a cheshire grin formed on the model’s face. “Lemee guess, you wanna ask Naegi if you can join him?”Fujisaki flushed at the teasing tone. “…If it’s not too much trouble.”“Not at all,” Naegi told her, causing the shortest of the girls to visibly relax. He did have a question for her though. “But why me?”“W-well… I think I’d be safest if I was with you,” Fujiski explained. “You recognized that Monokuma was a bomb and didn’t hesitate to save Owada. I don’t think anyone else realized what was going on…”“That was nothing,” Naegi bashfully retorted. “I’m sure someone would’ve stepped in if I didn’t…”“Maybe, but it was *you* who did,” the programmer told him. “In this killing game, you could’ve done nothing, but you risked your life for someone you barely know. It makes me think that I can trust you.”‘I wonder if she still would if she knew… ’The former soldier opened his mouth, but whatever retort he was about to spout died when Maizono spoke up. “Actually, I’m kinda curious, how did you know Monokuma was a bomb?” “Uh…”“Yes Naegi, how *did* you manage to deduce that Monokuma was about to explode within seconds of the alarm going off?” Enoshima nearly leaped out of her boots due to the new voice. “Whoa, where the hell’d you come from?!” Right next to her was one Kyoko Kirigiri, who was once more giving Naegi an analytical glare. The long haired girl didn’t even bother to acknowledge the model, her attention remaining on the boy, causing the blonde to sulk. “Alright, just ignore me I guess…”“Uh…” Naegi desperately wracked his mind for some plausible explanation to give to Kirigiri, one that would make some sort of sense. The moment his brain developed one, he opened his mouth. “I’ve seen many action movies.”Only to regret it immediately. Keeping his facade up, the boy fought the urge to wince. He could not show any signs of weakness, especially not around someone as sharp as her. His interrogator crossed her arms, clearly not satisfied with his answer. “Is that also why you brought a sword to the gymnasium?” Naegi blinked, quickly looking at the fake katana in his hand. He had completely forgotten that he had it with him once Maizono had spoken to him. Thankfully it was something he could easily explain without revealing much. “I wanted something to defend myself. Just in case.”Even with such a fair explanation, Kirigiri didn’t relent with her rapid paced questioning. “And the chair from earlier?” The three other girls shot him a questioning look, interested in the answer to that particular question as well. “…Also to defend myself.”“With an object that’s both heavy and clunky? You do realize how impractical that is, right?”She had a point. Who would ever use a chair as a weapon except as a last resort?“It was the only thing I could find.”‘She’s not letting up… ’He had to admit, Kirigiri was doing a great job at pressuring him. He could tell she was trying to back him into some sort of corner, and if she were to do that, then his secret would be exposed. There’d be no way that she wouldn’t spill the beans, especially in an environment where the goal was to kill one another. If his talent was discovered, then he’d be enemy number one…Much to his relief, right as Kirigiri was about to fire another question at him, Maizono stepped forward, releasing a fake cough into her hand. “Ahem. Sorry Kirigiri, but we should get going. The school isn’t going to explore itself. You can join us if you’d like.”Naegi raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t anything rushing them, but with the slight hint of sternness in the girl’s voice, one would’ve thought this to be the case. Seeing the boy from the corner of her eyes, the blue haired girl shot him a small smirk of what seemed to be reassurance. ‘Is she defending me? ’Touched by the gesture, a tint of red spread around his cheeks. If Kirigiri had noticed the idol’s slight tone shift, she didn’t make it known. “You’re right,” the unknown Ultimate replied. “I intended to ask if I could travel with you, so I’ll accept your invitation.”Naegi was about to ask why she wanted to join them, only to stop himself. The answer was obvious, the girl clearly wanted to keep an eye on him. Ever since he introduced himself, Kirigiri had him marked as a suspicious person. Those two stunts of his had to have affirmed her assessment of him. ‘Not that I can blame her .’“S-so that’s five of us, right?” Fujisaki asked. Her question caused the remaining tension to die down. Doing a quick head count, the sole boy of the group nodded. “Yeah… I think we’re ready to start exploring now.”Enoshima crossed her arms. “So…where to first?”“For now, let’s check out each room as we pass them,” Kirigiri replied. “There’s no need to complicate things. If we pass by something interesting, then we’ll do an in depth search.”“I can get behind that,” Maizono said in agreement. With no one else having anything to say, Kirigiri turned around and began walking towards the gym’s exit. “Alright then. Let’s go.”0000With the trophy room being connected to the gymnasium, it was the first place the five teens decided to explore. However, as everyone quickly discovered, there wasn’t anything noteworthy to be found there outside of the trophies. As such, they didn’t spend much time in the room. Before he left, Naegi placed the fake katana back on its stand. He saw no reason to keep it on his person. Upon exiting the room, the group was greeted with a choice. To the left, the hallway continued. To the right, a large gate awaited them. Behind said gate was a set of stairs leading upwards. “The hell? What’s this doing here?” Enoshima asked out loud, eying the gate. “I-I think it’s to keep us out,” Fujisaki replied. “But why?”Kirigiri walked forwards. Gripping the fence, she tried forcing it open, but had no luck. Seeing what she was trying to do, Naegi proceeded to mimic her actions. Even with his immense strength, the gate wouldn’t budge. “This must be what Monokuma meant by ‘minimal restrictions’ in the fourth rule,” the lavender haired girl noted. “It doesn’t look like we can do anything about it. Let’s move on.”Wordlessly nodding to one another, everyone proceeded to walk down the hallway. It didn’t take them long to reach another area of interest, a set of bathrooms. One for males and one for females. ‘Are they open now? ’When he was first walking towards the front entrance, none of the other rooms would open. However, the sole male of the group found it hard to believe that Monokuma would only limit them to two rooms if he expected them to live here forever. Grabbing the door handle to the male’s bathroom, the boy managed to open it with no difficulties. ‘Looks like they are. ’He glanced to his right. Most likely having similar thoughts about the situation, Kirigiri had opened the door to the other bathroom, confirming that it was also accessible.“I guess I’ll check the boy’s bathroom while you all check the girl’s bathroom,” Naegi said with an awkward laugh. As a soldier, he was unfortunately used to raiding places that weren’t meant to be raided. This was not the battlefield though. Even with the chaos surrounding it, this was a high school, and one does not go into the wrong bathroom without looking like a pervert. He’d do it if necessary, but he was sure that the girls had it handled.“That would probably be best…” Maizono replied. Kirigiri turned around. “We’ll meet back here.”One by one, the girls entered the bathroom. Naegi noticed how Fujisaki seemed very hesitant to enter, but the boy chalked it up to her being extra cautious. Entering the boy’s bathroom, the former soldier was greeted with, well, a bathroom. There was nothing to be said about the bathroom because it looked absolutely ordinary. Checking each and every stall did nothing to change his stance. He paid close attention to the walls, curious to see if maybe there was a hidden door, but found nothing. There was a vent on the ceiling, but it was too small for even Monokuma to crawl through. In conclusion, the bathroom was indeed a bathroom and it wasn’t hiding any secrets. Leaving the room, Naegi saw that everyone, aside from Kirigiri, were waiting for him. “Nothing?”“Nah,” Enoshima responded. “It’s just a regular ol’ bathroom.”“Same with the guys' bathroom.”“Kirigiri’s still checking things out,” Maizono noted. “She said that she wanted to be sure that we didn’t miss anything.”“She’s very thorough,” Fujisaki remarked, a sentiment that Naegi shared with her. “Did she ever say what her talent is?”“If I remember, uh…” Maizono began to think to herself, only to draw a blank. “…huh, you’re right. I don’t think she did.”Naegi did not like the direction that this conversation was going. He knew that it would not take them long to remember that he never gave them his talent either. Thankfully, before anything else could be said, the lavender haired girl returned. “I’m done. We can go now.”Not waiting for a response, Kirigiri briskly walked down the hall. ‘Did she hear them? ’ Naegi asked himself. He wouldn’t be surprised if she did and this was her way of shutting down the conversation. If it was, it worked as the rest of the girls followed suit, but not before exchanging confused glances at one another. With nothing left to do, the sole boy of the group joined them. 0000“Locked.”Judging by the white doors leading into the room and the symbol of a medical kit that was on a small plate next to the entrance, the next room they found appeared to be some sort of infirmary. Oddly enough, the doors were plastered with yellow caution tape. Having tried to open them himself, Naegi could tell that the tape was only there for cosmetic purposes. “Locking the infirmary’s definitely a choice…” Kirigiri said to herself, but loud enough for everyone else to hear. Enoshima was not happy. “Yeah, what the hell’re we supposed to do if someone gets sick or hurt?”“…I think that’s the last thing Monokuma’s worried about…” Maizono mumbled, reminding everyone once more about the life the bear wanted them to live. A moment of silence ensued before being broken by Fujisaki. “Um, isn’t it weird that this is the only room so far that’s still locked?”“Now that you mention it… it’s definitely weird,” Naegi noted. “When I first woke up, everything but the front entrance was closed, and the gym only opened after Monokuma’s first announcement… what else has opened up and what else is still off-limits?”“The only way to answer that question is if we keep moving forwards,” Kirigiri responded. The five of them pressed on in silent agreement, nothing else needing to be said. 0000Walking past the infirmary, the group approached a square roundabout. In the center was a pillar. To the left was a room with orange doors and a wooden sign that said ‘shop’ hanging above the doorframe. To the right was a familiar room, that of the front entrance. “I’ve already explored the front entrance in depth,” Kirigiri told everyone. Enoshima raised an eyebrow. “When did you do that?”“I was the first person to arrive there,” Kirigiri replied. “I had more than enough time to look around before everyone started showing up.”“Did you find anything?” Fujisaki asked her. “Outside of the vault door and machine guns, there’s nothing to note.”Maizono flinched. “Wait, machine guns?”Naegi nodded. “Yeah, there’s two pointing at the vault door. I’ve never seen their type before, so they've gotta be custom made.”The boy immediately regretted saying that as he felt Kirigiri’s eyes land on him. He had expected her to interrogate him once more, so he was surprised when she instead switched the topic. “He’s right. We can do a one-over if you’d like, but I think we’ll be more productive searching the unknown first.”With no one having any objections, the group made their way to the set of orange doors. Grabbing the knob, Naegi opened them, revealing a small room full of random items. Full sets of plate armor, a snack/drink vending machine, and a variety of other objects littered the room. A wooden countertop table was in the back, and on it was a capsule vending machine, one colored with an all too familiar black and white pattern. “What’s with all this junk?” Enoshima asked as she picked up something that looked to be a vase. Fujisaki began examining the snack/drink vending machine. “Maybe there’s something in here tat could be useful.”On that note, the group started searching around for anything of interest. Naegi decided to check out the armor first, knocking on it with his hand. ‘It’s fake .’Though it looked extremely realistic, the interior of the armor was actually made of poster boards. If he really wanted to, he could probably rip off an arm. Switching his attention towards the capsule ball machine, the boy couldn’t help but notice that despite its small size, it stood out the most compared to the other objects in the room. ‘What is this thing? ’Just like Monokuma, the machine didn’t feel like it belonged in the school. Getting closer, he tried to see if he could spot what was inside the machine. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything as the interior of the machine was wrapped in decorative paper, one which had a capsule ball pattern, giving off the illusion that it was full. “Ah, I see you’ve found the MonoMono Machine!” A gleeful voice shouted from behind him. Naegi’s heart skipped a beat as his muscles tensed up. Swinging his right foot back, the boy began to turn around while preparing to slip away from any incoming danger, only to abandon the maneuver upon seeing Monokuma standing at the door. ‘How’d he sneak up on me? ’The former soldier believed himself to be very good at remaining alert, no matter the situation. For the animatronic to casually avoid triggering his senses, it reinforced the idea that the bear, and whoever was controlling him, were unbelievably dangerous adversaries. Similarly, Kirigiri swiftly turned around, her attention now on the newcomer. For a brief moment, enough of her mask had fallen to where Naegi could tell that she had also been caught off guard. Everyone else released a small yelp before looking at the source of their surprise. “Hey now, why so jumpy?” Monokuma asked, tilting his head in a manner that could only be described as mocking. Kirigiri wasted no time, firing a question at him. “What’s the MonoMono Machine?”The animatronic’s grin grew. “What’s the MonoMono Machine you ask?”The bear walked forwards until he was next to Naegi and the machine. “This bad boy’s loaded with all kinds of rare goodies.”Monokuma patted the machine. “A bunch of useful stuff can be won, but what you get is decided by chance.”“…How does it work?” Maizono asked him. “All you gotta do is put a coin in the slot, twist the knob, and voilà! You’ve got yourself a prize!”The bear paused for dramatic effect, only to sulk when all he got were blank stares. “You could at least pretend to be excited…”He then perked up. “Oh, almost forgot! The MonoMono Machine only takes Monocoins.”Maizono shot him a confused glance. “Monocoins?”“Yep! I’ve hid several special coins with my beautiful face around the school for you all to find.”Enoshima scoffed. “Egotistical much?”Monokuma ignored her. “There’s other ways to earn them too, but you’ll learn about them soon enough.”Before anyone could ask him what he meant, the bear pulled out a coin from thin air. Where he had hidden it, nobody knew.“Since I’m such a generous headmaster, I’ll let you have one spin for free!”The bear handed Naegi the coin. Though cautious, the boy took it and inserted it into the machine. Twisting the handle, he waited until a capsule came out. Opening it, the former soldier raised an eyebrow at what was inside, a small piece of paper. “Yeah, I wanted a bigger machine so I could fit everything in there, but the school budget’s a bit tight,” Monokuma informed the group. “So I had to improvise. The paper’s got the name of your prize.”Naegi brought the small strip to his face, only to frown upon reading its contents. “Hand bra?”“Ooh, that’s a personal favorite of mine,” Monokuma gleefully said. “Gimme a sec.”The bear leapt behind the counter, a comical rustling noise following immediately after. A few seconds later, he popped out with a mysterious object. “Here ya go!”Taking the item, Naegi’s frown grew. What he had in his hands was indeed a bra, but instead of normal cups, two hand shaped ones took their place. Why such a thing existed was unknown. “What am I supposed to do with this?”Monokuma shrugged. “I dunno. It’s up to you.”A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “You do got a nice batch of women here. How about you have them model it for you? Maybe even make it a contest to see who’s the most sexy…”“Ew.”Enoshima’s simple reaction was enough to convey how the group felt about his suggestion. Monokuma scoffed. “Well, whatever. I’ve already given you a free spin so my work here’s done. Enjoy your price!”The bear walked out of the room, leaving behind five disgusted and confused teens. “…I think we should go somewhere else,” Maizono said. No one had any objections. 0000Passing the roundabout, the five Ultimates found themselves staring down another hallway. At the end was another route split; they could either turn left or right. However, there was another room that needed to be explored first, one behind a yellow door with an 8-bit sprite of a cassette tape. Just like with the bathrooms and shop, the door opened without any issues. The room itself was quite large, though not as large as the gymnasium. Multiple rows of desks filled up the place, each having a screen attached to them. All the way in the back, on the wall, there was a large screen with two boombox shaped speakers on its sides. Fujisaki only needed a small glance to recognize the purpose of the room. “It’s an AV room…”Enoshima glanced at one of the screens, a hopeful look shining in her eyes. “You think any of these can connect to the internet? Maybe we can call for help!”“Maybe.”The programmer walked up next to the model and turned on the screen, frowning when only a blue light flashed. “I had a feeling… these are only DVD players.”Kirigiri, who had been walking past each row in search of anything useful, nodded. “Makes sense. Our kidnappers would’ve been foolish if they gave us access to a means of contacting the outside world.” Taking inspiration from the girl, Naegi and Maizono had also started investigating the room. Sadly, the only thing they had to show for it were three Monocoins that the former soldier found. However, the boy did notice something odd. “The tables are almost spotless too…”Besides the edges of the metal plates, the school was quite clean. Even the various knickknacks in the shop had minimal dust.Having heard the shorter boy, Kirigiri spoke up. “Someone must’ve cleaned everything before we woke up, and made extra sure to be thorough about it.” Maizono tilted her head. “But why would they do that?”The lavender haired girl was about to respond, but Naegi beat her to the punch. “It’s to stop us from finding out how long we’ve been here. If this place had a lot of dust, it’d possibly be because it was abandoned.”“So what you’re saying is that we could’ve been knocked out for longer than we thought?” Enoshima asked. Kirigiri nodded. “It’s possible that we’ve been out for days, or that we’ve only been out for a few hours. I’m leaning towards the former.”The model shuddered. “Creepy…”0000With the AV room properly scoped out, the group was ready to move on to the next room. Arriving at the intersection, they were greeted with a set of large red doors on the right, and more of the hallway on the left. Deciding to tackle the mystery room first, the teens quickly learned that the door was locked shut. “Another one?” Enoshima asked out loud as she watched Naegi’s attempt at opening the door. The boy stopped trying to force it open. “Yeah.”“How curious,” Kirigiri muttered. “What could possibly be behind that door?”No one had any answers as a moment of silence enveloped them. “I guess we should go left now,” Maizono suggested. Agreeing with the idol’s words, the five teens began walking the other way until they were faced with another choice.Going forward seemed to lead to another part of the school. However, there were two rooms to the left that have yet to be searched. “Hey, it’s the classroom that I woke up in,” Maizono said, pointing to one of the two doors. Upon following her finger, Naegi had to do a double take. Next to it, there was a sign that said ‘Classroom 1-A’, but that wasn’t what was troubling the boy. The room the idol was pointing to was also the room he found himself in when he first regained consciousness. Enoshima raised an eyebrow. “Huh? This is the place I woke up in, and I didn’t see you at all.”The two celebrities shot each other confused looks. “Uh, are you sure about that? You’re probably confusing this one with another classroom.”“Nope, no way. It was definitely this one.”The blonde pointed at the sign. “Yep, 1-A. I couldn’t get into 1-B. I remember that for a fact. You probably woke up in the other one.”Maizono adamantly shook her head. “I definitely didn’t."“…how odd.”The voice of Kirigiri snagged their attention. “Because I also woke up in 1-A, and I didn’t see any of you despite being the first person to make it to the front entrance.”“I did too,” Fujisaki said. “And I didn’t see anyone either.”‘What is going on? ’Naegi was stumped. He had also woken up in 1-A and hadn’t see anyone. The latter could be explained as him being the last person to get to the front entrance, but if everyone woke up in the same spot, then one of the girls should’ve seen him. According to them though, they were alone during that time. Placing a hand on his chin, the boy began to think to himself. ‘If we all did wake up in the same place, that means for every time someone woke up, someone else was put into the room. But how did they know the order in which we’d wake up? ’The more he thought and learned about the situation at hand, the more confused he felt. Kirigiri opened the door to 1-A. “Perhaps there’s something inside the classrooms that can clear things up for us.”Once more, everyone began searching for something that could give them answers, and once more, the only thing anyone could find were five total Monocoins that they split between themselves. “Ugh, there’s nothing here,” Enoshima groaned before sitting on one of the desks. “Uh, well, I did find something,” Fujisaki timidly said. Seeing that everyone’s attention shifted to her, the girl continued speaking. “I don’t think it’s anything important, but there’s a chair missing.”One of the desks was indeed missing a chair. The model couldn’t help but smirk in amusement as her head shifted to the sole boy of the group. “I think we all know who’s responsible for that.”Naegi rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. The missing chair was still over at the front entrance. He’ll have to bring it back later. “Well, I believe we’re done here,” Kirigiri said. “Let’s see if the other classroom will open up.”Moving to the next room, which had also been unlocked, the group continued their search. The two classrooms were nearly identical to one another, and as such, there was nothing of note to report. This time there wasn’t even a single Monocoin laying around.There was only one way to go now, and that was the hallway to their left. Making their way through it led them to a pair of large double doors that were already open. Next to them was a sign, one which Naegi moved closer to so he could read its contents. “Hotel Despair…”“Geez, that doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Enoshima snarked. “The hell’s up with this name?”“Well, I dunno about the despair stuff, but a hotel’s a place that you stay at, and we were supposed to get dorm rooms,” Maizono reasoned. “Maybe this is them?”“That would make sense…” Fujisaki agreed. “Rule 3 said that we do get them…”The model nodded, agreeing with their points. “Think maybe we’ll find our stuff there?” Naegi shook his head. “I doubt it. There’s no way Monokuma’s giving us our phones back, and he’s not going to give us anything we can use to escape either.”“Bummer…”Wordlessly, everyone began going through the door, ready to see what was on the other side. 0000Compared to the lighting of the rest of the school, Hotel Despair was illuminated by normal lights, with the exception of the back section, which was a dark red instead. The closest door to them was to their right, and that was the first place they decided to check out. “This has to be the cafeteria,” Naegi said to himself as he surveyed the room. In it, there was a long and large table with enough seats that the entire class could sit together. To the left of the table were two smaller tables that were circular in shape. ‘Is that what I think it is? ’Turning his attention to the right of the bigger table, the boy was greeted with the sight of a large windowed area. He could see several trees outside, a peek at the world he wished he could go back to. ‘Wait, no... ’However, it didn’t take him long to realize that what he was looking at was not a windowed area, but an area painted in a way which made it appear to be a window. The painting was very detailed, so much so that it even managed to fool his eyes for a moment.Not wasting any time, the group began surveying the room. Only finding a single Monocoin, Naegi turned his attention to the back of the room, where an empty door frame was waiting for him. Walking through it, he found himself in what was obviously the kitchen. On the walls and ceilings were various cooking equipment such as knives, pots, and drainers. Various ingredients were neatly organized on a countertop and there were multiple refrigerators and freezers around. Opening each of them revealed different kinds of foods. Dairy products and desserts were stored in a different place than the meat, which in turn was not kept with the fish, and so on. Picking up a fresh apple, the boy gave it a quick sniff. Naegi didn’t trust the food one bit. ‘Don’t sense any poison on it .’He then licked it. ‘Don’t taste anything either .’“The food’s not poisoned, so you can stop being a pansy about it.”Muscles tightening, the boy had to stop himself from throwing a roundhouse kick. At the entrance to the kitchen was Monokuma, who had once again managed to sneak up on him. Putting a hand into his pocket, Naegi clenched his fist as a means of relieving some stress. “How do I know you’re not lying?”The animatronic groaned in annoyance. “Weren’t you paying attention to the entrance ceremony? I want you guys to kill each other. If I did it, it would defeat the entire purpose of this game.”The soldier crossed his arms. He had to admit that the bear had a point there. Biting into the apple, Naegi confirmed that Monokuma was indeed telling the truth. Either that or the poison was the type that would kick in later if he ate too much of it. Speaking of eating…“What happens when we run out of food?”“Psh, that’ll never happen,” Monokuma replied. “We’ve got enough food here to feed you all for more than a hundred years, so you don’t have to worry about food shortages. Old and bad ingredients get replaced daily too!”‘So he’s completely prepared the school for us…’ ’Turning around, the boy continued searching the kitchen, taking count of all the kitchen equipment. Several of them could be used to kill, especially the knives, so the moment something went missing, he’d notice. “Hey! Don’t just ignore me! At least thank me for feeding you. Getting all of that food wasn’t easy ya know…”Oh, right. Monokuma was still there. The soldier didn’t particularly feel like interacting with his kidnapper at the moment. With one final hmph, the bear left the room, grumbling on his way out. A few seconds later, the sound of human footsteps took his place. “Hey, is everything alright?” Maizono asked. “I saw Monokuma walk out of here upset.”“Ah, everything’s fine,” Naegi told her. “He’s just mad that I was ignoring him.”He then decided to tell her about the kitchen. “None of the food’s poisoned, and according to Monokuma, we don’t have to worry about starving to death.”The idol smiled at the news. “That’s good. It’s one less thing to worry about.”“Yeah.”Not eVen a second later, Kirigiri entered the kitchen and began conducting her own research. As she did so, Naegi gave her the news. “Either Hope’s Peak is always stacked with food or our captors had plenty of time to transport food here,” the lavender haired girl said in response. For the hundredth time today, the students couldn’t help but wonder how long they’d been unconscious for. 0000Reconvening with Fujisaki and Enoshima, the group made their way to their next destination, a room that was to the left of them. The first thing that immediately stood out to them was the large blue sign that said ‘bath’ placed on the top of the doorframe. The second thing was that there were no doors. “More tape?” Enoshima asked out loud, giving the room a questioning look. Just as she said, there was caution tape sealing the room’s entrance. “Why the hell does a bathhouse need to be locked?”‘That’s a good point.’Naegi definitely found it odd that the room was closed off. What was inside that Monokuma didn’t want them to see?Walking towards the tape, the boy gently tugged it, testing its properties. From what he could tell, it was just ordinary caution tape. Grabbing it, he was about to rip them apart, only for a voice to stop him in his tracks. “Hey! Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”Instinctively releasing the tape, Naegi prepared to dive out of the way, only to stop when he saw that it was Monokuma who once again managed to surprise him. Enoshima jolted upwards. “Gah! Seriously, where do you keep coming from?”“Don’t you know what caution tape’s for?” The animatronic asked the sole boy of the group, not acknowledging the model. He then sighed. “Ya know, I really didn’t this really needed to be made a rule, but *someone* clearly has no manners!”Huffing, the bear ran away at a surprisingly fast speed.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
The sound of a bell caused the group to look around, their eyes eventually landing on a monitor that had turned on. Unlike last time, Monokuma’s silhouette wasn’t blurred out, being fully visible. “Attention everyone! Due to a *certain* someone, rule 5 has been updated. Please read it at your earliest convenience.”The monitor shut off. *Ding*The group whipped out their e-Handbooks, having felt them vibrate. Turning it on immediately displayed the updated rule.
‘Rule 5: Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of the following: surveillance cameras, monitors, mounted guns, and any barriers marking places that are off-limits.’
Turning off the e-Handbook, the boy frowned. ‘That makes things a bit more annoying… ’It would’ve been far more convenient if he could tear off the caution tape and the mounted guns. Of course, he should’ve expected that Monokuma wasn’t going to make things easy for them. If they wanted to leave the school, they were going to have to work for their freedom. 0000Traversing further into Hotel Despair, a laundry room was the next room the five teens approached. However, there was nothing to note about it as it was a simple laundry room. Washing machines and dryers were there, alongside a pool table and a regular table. Despite not discovering anything of interest, the soldier did manage to find two more Monocoins at least. Upon moving on, the group found two more places that needed exploration. One was a room hidden down a small hallway to the right of them. The other was a set of stairs that were at the end of said hallway. Unfortunately, the stairs were once again locked behind a gate, one that couldn’t be forced open. “Another one?” Maizono asked. “Looks like it…” Fujisaki mumbled. With the stairs being inaccessible, everyone’s attention shifted to the door. Sadly, it was also sealed off, this time with caution tape. Not having anywhere else to go, the group made their way to the dorms. Had this been an ordinary first day of school, exploring the dorms would’ve invoked some feelings of excitement in them. Sadly, between Monokuma running amok and the dark red lights illuminating the hall, an ominous atmosphere clung to the air. The dorms were no longer just a safe place where one could enjoy some privacy. They were a reminder of a new, shaky, potentially hopeless future...“To make things quick, we’ll each check out our own rooms,” Kirigiri said to the group. She then pointed to the closest room, which so happened to be hers judging by its name plate. “We’ll meet up in front of my room. Sounds good?”Everyone nodded, no one having any objections. “Then I’ll see you shortly.”The girl was about to enter her room, only to stop. Following her eyes, Naegi saw that she was looking at what seemed to be some sort of card reader. It took her less than a second to figure out how to open the door. Tapping her e-Handbook against the card reader, a small *ding* rang from the device, accompanied by a clicking noise. “The e-Handbook’s how we unlock our doors,” Kirigiri said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Best we make sure never to lose or forget them.”She proceeded to enter her room, closing the door behind her. Following her lead, the rest of the group began searching for their own rooms. Naegi didn’t have to look too long for his, as it was right next to Kirigiri’s. To the left was Maizono’s room, so the idol didn’t have to go far either.Unlocking the door, the boy entered his room, making extra sure to shut the door behind him. 0000From first glances alone, his room didn’t appear to be anything special. It looked like an ordinary dorm room. In the center of the room was a full sized bed. Next to it was a desk with some shelves. Across from the two pieces of furniture were a small table with two chairs. Finally, a large closet was placed in the corner of the room where the table was at, with a small trash can keeping it company. “Looks normal so far,” Naegi mumbled to himself. Walking towards the bed, he noticed a door that had been out of sight. “Is this the bathroom?”Preparing to open it, the boy was surprised to find that it wouldn’t budge despite the door not having a lock. “Locked but with no lock…”This wasn’t the first time the soldier had been in this sort of situation, so he already had an idea of what he needed to do. Turning the knob, he pulled upwards before pushing the door open. “Looks like a faulty door frame.”Peeking inside, he was greeted with the sight of an ordinary bathroom. A shower, toilet, trash can, and sink were present, alongside a mirror. The boy decided to walk to the mirror, staring at his reflection in the eyes. “I should probably check myself now.”While there was a camera in his room, there wasn’t one in the bathroom. As such, he felt far more comfortable with stripping down there. Doing just that, he began looking around, using the mirror to help him.‘I hate doing this… ’Naegi disliked his body. Immensely. Despite his short size, the boy was deceptively muscular, with visible muscles and a six pack. But that’s where the positives ended.Around his body were numerous scars, each one having its own story. Lashings, burnings, bullets… they were a constant reminder of the life he once lived. There was one aspect of his body though that never failed to put him in a bad mood. To say he hated it was too soft of a word to describe how he truly felt.He outright despised the blemish that occupied his body. It was a reminder of his lost innocence, serving as a tombstone for the life he could’ve lived. Tattooed on his chest was ‘J-78’.Before he was known as ‘coyote’, before he was known as a monster, he was J-78, a small child ripped away from his family for the sole purpose of being cannon fodder. The boy scratched the tattoo. Every time he looked at the damn thing, he’d relive that specific moment of time. Him being paralyzed with fear, him screaming as his flesh was being cut, and him struggling to fall asleep that night, it had been a hopeless situation all around... Shaking his head, Naegi began putting on his clothes, not wanting to look at himself anymore. Before slipping on his gloves, the boy glanced at the back of his right hand and smiled. There was something else about his body that he didn’t hate, and that was the wolf tattoo on the back of his hand. Whereas his scars and chest tattoo were reminders of a bleak time in his life, the tattoo on his hand always reminded him of how he eventually fought back and reclaimed his life. It was a reminder that even in the darkest of places, he still found hope. 0000Exiting the bathroom, Naegi sat on his bed. ‘Nothing new on my body… ’Glancing around his room once more, the boy realized that he still had two things that he needed to check out, the closet and desk shelves. Deciding to search the shelves first, he didn’t even have to open anything to notice something strange. On the desk were three items, one Of which immediately caught Naegi’s attention. ‘Is that my alarm clock? ’Sitting on the desk was indeed an alarm clock, a digital one at that. The clock was the first purchase he made upon returning to Japan, it being used to wake him up at 5am every morning so he could do his exercises. He had sent the alarm clock to his dorm before the first day of school, hence why it was here and not at home. Picking it up, the boy examined it, making sure that it hadn’t been modified in any way.‘Looks good to me… ’It was unfortunate that the clock didn’t display the date or else he could’ve used it to figure out how much time had passed since he fell unconscious. He doubted Monokuma would allow him to have something that could provide him with such important information though, so it’s not like it mattered much. Determining that his clock hadn’t been touched, he placed the device down and set an alarm for 5am. If he was going to stay here for the foreseeable future, then he wasn’t about to miss his exercises. Done with the clock, the boy decided to check out the other items that were on the table, but seeing as they were a notepad and a lint roller, he didn’t spend too much time with them. He then opened up the first drawer, and what he saw inside made his blood freeze.“What? How?”What he was looking at were a small gun, a switchblade, a box of bullets, and three orange bottles. The gun and switchblade were things that he immediately recognized; they were the weapons that he always carried around. “I never sent them to the school…”He definitely didn’t, especially when he had them on his person as he was first entering the school. ‘Why are they here? ’It didn’t take him long to come up with an answer. Monokuma must’ve taken them to his room.Now the question was, why did he? Why would he allow someone to be armed?A pang of worry thumped in his chest, almost causing the boy to drop the weapons. ‘He knows… ’The reason they were in his room was obvious… It was a message. Somehow, Monokuma knew of his talent, and despite knowing of said talent, the person/people controlling the animatronic didn’t view him as a threat. Clenching a fist, the boy stared at the camera, conveying to his captor(s) that the message had indeed been sent and issuing a challenge of his own. If they were going to underestimate him, then he’ll make sure that it’ll be their biggest mistake…Unfortunately, the mastermind(s) knowing his talent did give them a sizable advantage over him. The moment they decided that they don’t want to be silent about it was the moment where he’d lose the support of his classmates. He’d have a big target on his back, with no allies to help…Softly slapping his cheeks, Naegi decided to refocus on the mission. Placing the weapons on his bed, he pulled out the box of bullets and opened it. ‘Sixteen bullets… ’He felt like he had a vague idea as to why Monokuma decided on that number. There were fifteen students currently, and there was a bullet for each of them. Himself included. One bullet would be spared.‘But why? ’ Assuming that his theory was correct, the extra bullet was something which confused him.‘Wait, is it for the Ultimate Lucky Student? ’The mystery surrounding the missing Ultimate Lucky Student was still fresh on his mind. Adding them to the mix would make the total number of students sixteen. But where were they? Did they actually get lucky and managed to avoid being kidnapped? Shaking his head, the boy decided to resume focusing on his room. Right now, it was a bigger priority to him. Glancing at his gun, the boy loaded it with the bullets before pocketing his weapons. Even though he had no intentions of using them against his classmates, he always felt safer with them on him. Plus, in case of an event where he’d need to defend himself, having them would increase his chances of survival. Tossing the empty box back inside the drawer, Naegi picked up the bottles and immediately noticed that they had labels on them. ‘These are my meds!’Just like his weapons, they were on his person when he first stepped foot into the school, so Monokuma must’ve also brought them to his room. Opening the bottles, he popped one pill of each into his mouth. He had no idea how long it’d been since he last took them. ‘Maybe now I can think straight .’Having his medicine was a major blessing as they definitely helped regulate his mental state. ‘But what happens when I run out? ’A bottle of his medicine had enough pills to last a month. Once it runs out…He didn’t even want to think about it. Placing the bottles back in the drawer, he closed it and opened the one below, revealing two items. ‘A tool kit? ’ The first item was indeed a tool kit, one filled with a hammer, a few wrenches, and a few screwdrivers. The second item was a piece of paper. Picking it up revealed to him that it was a note. "To the owner of the room ,” it said. “I have placed specific items in each of your rooms. For the girls, a sewing kit complete with a map of the human body. Just follow the instructions if you wish to use this as a weapon. As for the boys, a toolkit. One swing to the head from most of these tools will be game over for your victim. Happy killing!"Disgusted, Naegi immediately tossed the note in the trash can and placed the toolkit back into the drawer. Shuffling through the remaining drawers revealed that they were empty, so the boy decided to move on to the last item in the room, his closet.However, there was a problem. “What’s with this lock?”On the two handles of the closet was indeed a lock, but unlike the one for his door, this one required a physical key to unlock it, a key he didn’t have. *POP!*The sudden noise from behind him triggered his instincts, causing the boy to throw a roundhouse kick. It never hit anything though, for the source of the sound was out of his reach. Standing in his room was Monokuma, who had a used party popper in his hand. Despite the door being locked, he still somehow managed to find his way inside. “Woah! Easy there Rambo!” The bear said once Naegi noticed him. “You almost broke Rule 5. Thankfully, I’m such a sweet and understanding headmaster, so I’m always ready to accommodate any special needs my students have.”Naegi didn’t like the nickname Monokuma gave him, nor the remark about his reaction. They were obvious taunts. “What do you want?”Monokuma’s smile grew. “Oh, I just wanted to congratulate you on being picked!”The bear was clearly trying to pique his curiosity. Unfortunately, it worked. “Picked for what?”His red eye twinkled with mischief, something that the boy found to be far too human-like in appearance. The fact it came from an animatronic unnerved him. “You, Makoto Naegi, have been picked to be the Coyote of the Killing Game!” A pulse of dizziness shot through the soldier’s body. His muscles tensed up, hardening to the point they felt like steel. “What?!”It took a lot of effort to even say a single word. He felt like Monokuma was physically strangling him. ‘Coyote’ was one of his monikers, one given to him by the people he fought against. The fact that the bear used it meant that whatever this ‘Coyote’ role entailed, it wasn’t going to be anything good. Monokuma blissfully smiled before mimicking the voice of a narrator. “Ah yes, the coyote. Although it isn’t very big, it’s deceptively strong ad very cunning, making it a great predator that can adapt to even the most dire of circumstances.”The bear’s black side turned to face him. “Just like you.”He repositioned himself again so that the two were once more face to face. “You both even have the same hair color.”Monokuma took a second to giggle, speaking again once he was done. “Now, I dunno why coyote was chosen over something like jackal seeing as they’re only in North America and you were in the Middle East, but hey, I can’t say it doesn’t suits you.”Once more, Monokuma was taunting him, this time by showing off how much he knew about the boy. Refusing to let the bear get into his head, Naegi quickly cut to the chase. “What does it mean to be the Coyote?”A sinister grin grew on Monokuma’s face. “I saw all of you reading the school rules like the good students that you are. Don’t tell me you already forgot about Rule 7…”“Huh?” Rule 7, the most mysterious of the bunch. Even with him being occupied with other things, he still remembered the rule. “One student has special perks and a different graduation requirement…”“Yep! That one!”The whole time, that rule was placed for him and he didn’t know it…“But why me?”“Why?”Naegi felt a shudder roll down his back. The way he spoke was different from his usual tone. Sharper, ominous, and hateful were the only ways to describe the shift. “Because I absolutely despise you.”The boy had no idea what he did to make Monokuma hate him so much. Was it because of his past?“And no, it’s not ‘cause of your body count,” the animatronic said, as if he had read Naegi’s mind. He then stared at the boy in a manner that displayed an overwhelming amount of abhorrence, one that rivaled the way the boy looked at himself in the mirror. The black eye glared at him emptily, whereas he could see a wild flame of wrath locked behind the red one. The bear’s right jaw no longer had its sinister smile. Instead, it looked like he was clenching his teeth. Naegi knew that Monokuma was absolutely disgusted by his presence, and with how well he was able to emote this, he couldn’t help but feel even more unnerved. “I couldn’t give a half eaten salmon’s ass about any of that. The reason I hate you is simple: you are the antithesis of everything that I believe in. You are a glitch in the matrix. I want nothing more than to completely shatter you, to drive you into the deepest pit of despair. If I had you play this Killing Game regularly, it wouldn’t be enough to break you, which is why I needed to take things a step further.”Naegi didn’t know how to react to all of that. If Monokuma didn’t hate him due to his past actions, then what was he talking about?Before he could give it any more thought, as if a switch had been flicked, Monokuma resumed his usual posture. “Eh, but enough about that. I bet you’re dying to hear about your graduation requirement and all of the juicy perks you’ll get!”Naegi’s eyes narrowed as the bear continued to speak. “Well, let’s start with your graduation requirement, shall we? Instead of having to kill one person, you need to kill everyone in the school if you wanna leave!”“What?”Once more, the soldier had been caught off guard by his captor’s words. Monokuma nodded. “Yep, you heard me. While everyone else will be playing a boring detective visual novel, you’ll be playing a thrilling and action packed first person shooter!”He then smirked. “By the way, once you kill someone, you have ten minutes to gun down everyone else. If you fail… you’re not going to like what happens next.”Naegi had a feeling that death was what awaited him. What else would there be?“Sounds fun?”Clenching his fist, the boy steeled himself before answering. “I’m not going to kill anyone.”An elegant flame danced in the boy’s eyes, the words coming out of his mouth being said with authority. He had made a promise to himself that he wasn’t going to get out of here without murdering anyone, and it was a promise he intended to keep. Monokuma sighed in faux disappointment. “I knew you’d say that.”A grin took over his face. “Just know that no matter how hard you try to suppress them, your instincts will always be there. After all, you’ve already killed so many people, so what’s stopping you from adding some more to the pile?”Not even giving the boy time to respond, the bear’s posture jumped up. “Oh! Almost forgot. I still gotta tell you about your perks!”Monokuma patted his closet. “I bet you’re wondering how to open this. Well, you’ll need the key, which I have right here.”Out of nowhere, Monokuma whipped out a small key, which he handed to the soldier. “I’ve placed some nice goodies in here that’ll help you. Your closet’s the only one that locks too, so you’ll be able to hide them easily.”Eyeing the key, Naegi opened his closet, weary of what was inside. “Bet this looks familiar to you, right?”In his closet were clothes for each day of the week, but that wasn’t what Monokuma was talking about. “The hell?”Alongside them laid a submachine gun and a box of ammunition. Naegi grabbed the submachine gun and gave it a quick look over. Monokuma was right that the weapon was one he was familiar with, but he never owned one himself upon returning to Japan. This was an entirely new weapon he was holding in his hands.“This outta make killing everyone easier,” the bear gleefully exclaimed. “And by the way, you getting your weapons back is also part of this perk.”Placing the gun back into the closet, the boy pulled out of the boxes of ammunition. Opening it, he was surprised to see that, just like with his handgun, he was given sixteen bullets. “You only have so many bullets, so make sure you use them wisely.”Naegi closed his closet, locking it and pocketing the key. He took a deep breath as the bear kept talking. “You’ll get all sorts of lovely things later on. Oh, and technically these aren’t perks, but I thought I’d let you know that your medicine will be refilled every month *and* I made sure that your talent won’t show up in the e-Handbook’s student profile list.”A small wave of relief washed through the soldier’s body upon hearing that statement. He didn’t have to worry about running out of medicine, nor did he have to worry about his classmates already knowing his talent. The part about there being student profiles was something that caught his attention as well. He’d have to check them out later. The bear grinned evilly before he continued. “But hey, someday I just might spill the beans.”The boy stared blankly at him. Even though the statement did put him on edge, the soldier refused to give Monokuma the reaction he was seeking. “Anyways, that’s it from me. Hope you enjoy your presents and happy killings!”Turning around. Monokuma exited the room, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Naegi collapsed onto his bed, mulling over the bear’s words. ‘He knows everything… and not only that, he wants me to kill everyone in the school. He made a role specifically for me, and gave me weapons no one else has…’It was all a lot to take in. Monokuma had truly built him up to be enemy number one. If anyone found out about his talent or role, then he’d be ostracized by his peers. Not only that, but if someone killed him, they’d instantly graduate, which would be another thing he’d have to worry about.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
Upon hearing the familiar chime, Naegi’s attention immediately turned to the monitor that was in his room. “Ahem! Attention everyone! As you know, there was an issue with Rule 7 that made it appear glitched. It has been fixed, so please read it at your earliest convenience.”The monitor shut off. *Ding*Not a second later, his e-Handbook vibrated. Powering it on, Naegi was greeted with the updated version of Rule 7.
'Rule 7: One student has been chosen to be the Coyote. The Coyote will have special perks and a different graduation requirement. Any student who kills the Coyote will instantly graduate.'
The boy sighed once more. He sure had his work cut out for him. However, for better or worse, he was someone who refused to give up. He may loathe himself for the things he’s done for survival, but even so, he always pressed on. An undying light beamed throughout his body, and no matter what challenge awaited him, he’d fight with everything he’s got if it meant keeping his promises.
‘I won’t let him win.’
0000Done with searching through his room, Naegi decided to reconvene with the group. His encounter with Monokuma had taken quite some time, so he had a feeling that everyone else was finished with their rooms and were now waiting for him. Unlocking the door, the boy nearly swung it open, only to stop when he saw a shadow through the bottom crack. Gripping the knife that was in his pocket, the former soldier’s body tensed up, prepared to retaliate if the owner of the shadow tried anything. However, he relaxed upon seeing that its owner was Maizono. Seeing him exit his room, the blue haired girl’s face lit up. “Phew, you’re okay. You were in there for so long that I started to worry.”Hearing this made Naegi feel guilty. It hadn’t been his intention to make anyone worry about him. “Ah, sorry about that. I’m okay, I promise.”“That’s good… did you find anything?”The boy shook his head. “There’s a toolkit in my room, and I have some extra pairs of clothes, but that’s it.”For obvious reasons, he had purposely left out the details about the weapons he found. “It’s the same here,” the idol told him. “But instead of a toolkit, I found a sewing kit and a note saying that all the girls got sewing kits while all the guys got a toolkit.”Naegi suppressed a frown, being reminded of the note that he had found as well. “Uh, by the way, I saw Monokuma leave your room. What was he doing there?”‘Crap! ’Once more, Naegi had to hide something from the girl in front of him. This time, he was able to think of a convincing lie to cover his tracks. “My door had a faulty frame and he was showing me how to open it.”The blue haired girl nodded in understanding. “Ah, alright. Seeing him leave your room really made me think something bad happened to you, so I’m glad you’re okay...”The boy felt a blush creep up on his face. The fact that *the* Sayaka Maizono was so earnestly worried about him... it was very touching.‘Looks like the rumors are right. ’From what his sister had told him, according to the tabloids, everyone who had ever worked with Maizono could only praise her. Kind and down to Earth, she was said to be a rare example of a genuine person in an industry where faking kindness was common. Deciding to switch the subject, the boy asked her a question of his own. “Where’s everyone else?”As of right now, it were only him and Maizono. The boy found it hard to believe that everyone else would take longer to search their rooms than him, so he was confused as to where they went. “Oh, they’re over on the other side of the hall,” the idol replied. “We thought that it’d be best to explore some more until you were done.”‘Ah, that explains things… ’Another question popped into his head. “Why didn’t you go with them?”Maizono shot him a bashful smile. “Well, if you left your room and none of us were waiting for you, you wouldn’t have any idea where we are, right?“That’s true…”“So I chose to wait for you. We’re close enough to the others that if something happens, we’ll hear it.”The boy nodded in understanding. He had no issues with that line of thinking. “Enoshima wanted to wait for you too,” the idol told him. “But we didn’t need two people waiting for you.”‘She did? ’Naegi had no idea why Enoshima wanted to wait for him too. Once again, the two hardly knew each other. In fact, now that he thought about it, he was surprised that Maizono was the one who decided to stay behind. Just like with the model, the two were minor acquaintances at best.If anything, out of everyone, he would’ve expected Kirigiri to be the one waiting for him. With the group preoccupied with checking out the rest of the area, she’d have the perfect opportunity to grill him without any interruptions. “But also,” Maizono continued. “I stood because there’s still that thing I wanted to ask you…”‘Ah, right .’ Between learning about the Coyote role and exploring the school, the boy almost forgot that she indeed had tried asking him something, only to be cut off not just once, but twice. “Oh, right. What was it that you wanted to ask me?” The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Naegi...did you happen to go to Blackroot Junior High? Were you maybe...in class 2?”“Huh?”The soldier was surprised by the question, not because of what was being asked, but because of what she already knew. He hadn’t expected her to remember that they did go to the same school, much less the exact class he was in. “Y-yeah, I actually was…”Suddenly, the idol’s smile grew, full of excitement. “I knew it! I went there, too! I was in class 4, though. Do you remember me?”Naegi looked at her as if she had grown another head. Unless he ended up suffering from amnesia, there was no way that he’d forget the fact that he went to the same school as Japan’s biggest idol. “Hey, are you okay?”Blinking, the boy realized that he still had to answer her. “Oh, yeah. I'm just surprised, is all. I wouldn't have thought you'd remember me.”Maizono frowned at his remark. “We went to the same school for a year, of course I remember!” It seemed the difference between their statuses wasn’t something the girl understood. “Well, that's true,” Naegi said. “But there were lots of students in our grade that you’ve known for all three years of middle school, right? Plus, I've never been the type of person to ever really stand out.”The only thing the former soldier was known for back in middle school was being ‘the new kid’. He purposely avoided the spotlight, which was easy to do when attending school with a celebrity. “What are you talking about?” Maizono asked him. “You're so strange!”He had no idea how to respond. For once, he felt like his line of thinking was normal. Was it really that weird to her?“S-Strange? That's--!”Whatever retort he was about to spit out died when Maizono started giggling in relief. Somehow, the mere sound of it caused his overly cautious heart to calm down. ‘So this is the power of the Ultimate Idol… ’Whenever he watched her performances, something he noticed about them was the girl’s ability to influence the emotions of the audience. With most of her songs revolving around positivity, her concerts always had an uplifting atmosphere, one that could be felt by someone watching her through a stream rather than in person. Even the most cynical person couldn’t help but crack a smile at seeing Maizono on stage. Other idols have tried replicating this feat, but none of them were even close to being on her level. There was a reason why she was considered the Ultimate Idol after all, and it was because she was the best there was in her field. Her special ability to influence people’s emotions seemed to work in casual conversations as well, for a mere giggle was enough to spread her joy to the boy in front of her. “Anyways, I'm really glad…” the girl said once she regained her composure. “That I know somebody here.”Naegi nodded in agreement. Even if they never had spoken to one another in middle school, just having someone he was somewhat familiar with definitely helped his spirits. “Talking to you has made me feel a lot better about all this... You're amazing Naegi!”“N-No, I'm really not…"The soldier suppressed a frown, making sure his facade stood up. He didn’t feel like he did much to help her mood, but that wasn't the reason why he didn’t feel worthy of such praise. ‘If she knew, she wouldn’t be saying that .’Naegi knew exactly who, or what, he was. A monster, capable of ending lives in the blink of an eye. A greedy coward who sacrificed the lives of many to keep himself alive. In a school full of hope, he was nothing more than a blemish on that legacy, someone who was never meant to step foot in here. “Naegi?”The boy in question blinked. He had gotten caught up in his own little world for a second. Not wanting to make the idol worry, he decided to continue the conversation. “Thanks for saying that, but I’m nothing compared to you Ultimates.”He had hoped that would’ve been the end of the topic, but Maizono was persistent in her efforts to make him accept her compliments. “But *you’re* the one that helped me find my courage again. Not any of those ‘ultimate’ students.”‘I really didn’t do much. ’Naegi gave her a bashful smile. As much as he wanted to challenge her words, he knew that he wouldn’t win this battle. Her words were way too earnest, so even if he felt like he didn’t do much to help her, she clearly felt differently. “Thank you for saying that…”The blue haired girl smiled as she gave him a cheerful nod. “Wait a second…”Suddenly, her expression turned into one of confusion as a wave of realization hit her. “You said that you’re ’nothing compared to you Ultimates,’ but aren’t you an Ultimate too?”‘Crap! ’This was bad. Really, really bad. Why the hell did he have to open his stupid mouth? There was a reason Naegi liked to avoid attention; it was so much easier hiding things when nobody was focused on him. It was much easier for him to stay silent while being tortured than navigating through normal conversations. His brain working overtime, the boy tried to come up with another lie to get himself out of this situation. He could claim to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, but that could and would immediately blow up in his face. So would claiming any other talent. People would begin to question why they never heard of him. Ultimates were some of the biggest celebrities in Japan after all. Even the more niche ones like Hagakure were decently famous. ‘Then again, Kirigiri didn’t have any information about her… ’How she managed to avoid any of her information being discovered without enrolling in the Anonymous Talent Program was beyond him. For now, he’ll have to stall for time. Maybe if he’s lucky enough, everyone else would return shortly. “Haha, yeah, I am, but…”Maizono tilted her head. “But?”“My situation is different…”“How so?”Naegi let loose an awkward laugh. “My talent is…really lame…”That was true. In a school where people like the Ultimate Idol and the Ultimate Programmer existed, people who could cause great change in the world, he was nothing. Even the Ultimate Lucky Student was more valuable than a monster. “Everyone else’s are far more exciting than mine. I can’t really consider myself to be an Ultimate when compared to you.”“Why would that matter?”The boy had to do a double take. “Huh?”“I mean, an Ultimate is someone who’s the best at what they do,” the idol explained. “Whatever your talent is, the fact that you put so much effort and passion into honing your craft is already extremely impressive as it is.”‘Please stop… ’Why the hell did she have to be so kind and earnest? Such a positive outlook about talents, yet none of what she said applied to his story. Ok, well, he did have to put in effort to become the soldier needed to survive his old life, but it was out of necessity. He did not like hurting people, much less killing. Sadly, it was him or the and he selfishly chose to preserve his own life…“Yo, we’re back!”Thankfully, as if he was the Ultimate Lucky Student, the rest of the group had conveniently returned, signaling the end of the conversation. ‘Thank God… ’He could’ve probably stalled for a bit longer, but that was one less thing to worry about now. Now he just had to hope that the idol would forget about the topic of his talent. “Finally done with your room?” Enoshima asked the boy. “Geez, what took you so long?”“Monokuma showed up,” Naegi explained. “Did you guys find anything?”“Not really…” Fujisaki replied. “We found a garbage room on the other side of the dorms, but the incinerator’s blocked off by a gate."“We also found some bathrooms,” the model added. “But there wasn’t anything in them.”“Ah…”An unfortunate, but expected outcome. “We encountered Ishimaru while we were searching the garbage room,” said Kirigiri. “He wishes to have a meeting in the cafeteria once we are finished. It might be worthwhile for us to attend.”The boy nodded. “Yeah...”Perhaps someone found something they missed. “Well, we’ve explored everywhere that we could for now, right?” Maizono asked. “Should we head over?”Enoshima shrugged. “I guess. Don’t see why not…”With that, everyone made their way to the cafeteria. 0000“Ah, classmates! It’s great to see you all again!” Ishimaru shouted once the group arrived. Enoshima winced at the boy’s booming voice. “Argh, my ears…”Glancing around, Naegi noticed that Owada, Togami, Ogami, and Asahina were already seated, either talking amongst themselves or sitting in silence. ‘I didn’t expect them to group up,’ the boy thought to himself. He couldn’t see Togami and Owada wanting to interact with one another, especially after their earlier altercation. He had a feeling Ishimaru somehow had something to do with this. ‘He probably wanted to keep an eye on them… ’The former soldier had to admit that The Ultimate Moral Compass’s decision was smart. Between Togami’s hostility and Owada’s temperament, he could see why the taller boy wanted to keep an eye on them. Bringing Asahina and Ogami along was smart as well. Both were very physically capable, especially Ogami, so if things between the two boys got physical, they’d be able to separate them. ‘That means that everyone else is together… ’Recalling the remaining students in his head, the boy was curious as to how things went between them. He couldn’t see someone like Celeste or Fukawa getting along with the likes of Kuwata, Yamada, or Hagakure. That group was definitely an odd one. Greeting everyone in the room, Naegi grabbed a seat at the table. It didn’t take long for the rest to arrive, the boy taking some amusement from watching Celeste quickly separating herself from her group. Even if she didn’t show it, he could tell that she hadn’t enjoyed their company. Eventually, once everyone was seated, Ishimaru spoke up. “Okay! It looks like everyone's here. Time to start the meeting! Let's all go around and share what we found during our respective investigations! The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we get out of here!”Kirigiri was the first to speak. “Before we begin, I want you all to look at this.”The girl slid a piece of paper onto the table. Glancing at it, the former soldier noticed that it was a map of some kind, one that he felt was quite familiar. It didn’t take him long to realize why that was. “Is this a map of the school?”She nodded. “If you compare it to the one on our e-handbooks, you’ll notice that they’re almost a perfect match…except for some strange renovations.”Several of the students pulled out their e-handbooks, wanting to confirm the truth of the girl’s statement. Whipping his out and comparing the two maps, Naegi noticed that she was indeed correct. For the most part, the two maps were nearly identical. However, one thing immediately stood out to him. There was an extra room on the e-handbook that wasn’t on the paper map, the one locked behind the big red doors. ‘I wonder what’s up with that? ’The map confirmed that they were at Hope’s Peak, so any lingering thoughts about that were quelled. However, a new mystery was revealed. How did their kidnappers manage to install a whole entire room to the school? And what other renovations should they expect to see in the future?“So then...this really is Hope's Peak…” Fujisaki mumbled. “We didn't get kidnapped and taken to some other place…”“*This* is where the country's future elite are supposed to come and learn?” Owada loudly grumbled. “What a load of shit…”Asahina frowned. “But if this really is Hope's Peak, where are all the other students?”‘That’s a good question… ’How come they were the only students to get dragged into this mess. Where were all of their upperclassmen?“Thank you for bringing this to our attention Kirigiri,” Ishimaru said. “Now we know that we are indeed inside Hope’s Peak. Does anyone else wish to share what they’ve found?”“I wanted to try and find some clue as to who's responsible for imprisoning us here…” Togami stated before rolling his eyes. “But unfortunately, since you decided to waste my time and drag me into your little group, I made no such discoveries.”“But that’s not to say that we didn’t find anything!” The Ultimate Moral Compass hastily added. “We spent some time looking around the dormitory, and there we made the discovery of the century! We found that there was exactly one room for each person!”Though Ishimaru looked proud of himself, everyone else eyed him as if he had said something dumb. Asahina shrugged. ”We did, but I figured that out before anything else, so we can’t really call that a big find.”“Speaking of the rooms,” Enoshima began explaining. “Fujisaki and I found out that they’re totally soundproof.”Naegi couldn’t help but feel relieved about that. He had worried that Maizono had managed to overhear his conversation with Monokuma while she was waiting for him, but with the rooms being soundproof, that was impossible.The programmer hung her head. “Your next-door neighbor could scream their lungs out, and you wouldn't hear a thing…”…And all those positive emotions instantly left his body. “Okay, so they got a bunch of rooms ready for us,” Owada said before scoffing. “They're assuming we're gonna be here a while…”“Well, better to have than to have not!” Ishimaru declared. “At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals.”Fukawa let loose a disappointed sigh. “Th-That can't be all you have to r-report, can it Mr. Honor S-Student?”The boy in question flinched. “W-well Owada and Ogami tried breaking the metal plates off the walls… but they had no luck."‘Figures… ’Despite the immense strength both of them possessed, there was no way that they’d be able to remove what was most likely a bulletproof metal slab off of the walls. “We hit it with desks and chairs,” the biker gang leader explained. “But nothin. It was as hard as, like… metal.”“Well, yes. It *is* metal,” Celeste replied, matter of factly, causing the boy to grumble to himself in annoyance. Asahina suddenly jumped out of her seat. “Oh! We also found some stairs leading upwards. But they were behind gates.”“It’s safe to say we can only explore the first floor at this point,” Ogami confirmed. With nothing else needing reporting from his group, Ishimaru pushed the conversation forward. “I believe that is it for us. Does anyone else have anything to report?”Celeste took this as her chance to speak. “If I am being honest, I can't quite say we acted as one. Rather, we did *nothing* as one. We spent the entire time in the gym. Honestly, we are not exactly the types to go running around a school like a gaggle of junior detectives.”
‘…’
Somehow they did even worse than Naegi thought they would. Enoshima shot the gambler an exasperated look. “What the hell were you thinking, just sitting around the gym the whole time?”“W-Well it's not like any of you i-invited me along!” Fukawa fired back. “Nobody said hey, c-come with us! I blame y-you for leaving me out! I-It's your fault!”The model crossed her arms. “If you wanted to go with someone, you should've just said something!”The author glanced to the side. “Hmph. F-Forget it. Like I'd w-want to go anywhere with a dirty s-slut like you…”“Slut...?”“Your mind is as th-thin as your body. You m-make me sick to my s-stomach…”“I...I don't even know how to react,” the blonde admitted. “How can you say something so awful to someone you just met?”With the atmosphere now tense, Ishimaru decided to steer the conversation back on track. “I-I see… is there anything else that needs to be reported?”Not allowing the chance for another argument to break out, Naegi answered the question. “Well, it’s not a way out or anything, but we don’t have to worry about running out of food or water. Monokuma said that there’s more than enough food to feed us and that old ones get replaced daily.”“You saw him?” Asahina asked the boy. “Unfortunately…”“And he didn’t try to eat you or something?” The soldier shook his head. “No. I don’t think that he intends to hurt us himself. He mentioned that the food wasn’t poisoned too, and he wasn’t lying.”“And how would you know?" Celeste asked him, curious. “I ate an apple and I felt fine afterwards.”He wasn’t about to tell her that he had also tested it for poison before Monokuma told him it was safe. He already gave away his secret too many times now, and the last thing he wanted was to further the gambler’s interest in him. The black haired girl nodded, accepting his answer. “A weaponized toy that can just appear from nowhere and won’t hurt us unless we break the rules…” Fujisaki wondered out loud. “I can't tell if we're supposed to be afraid or not.”A moment of silence enveloped everyone, it being broken once Enoshima slammed her head against the table. “This sucks...It *really* sucks! It sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! What the hell are we gonna do!?”“Alright guys, everybody just calm down, okay? All this stress is bad for your skin, y'know?” Hagakure said in response. Owada facepalmed himself. “Oh god damnit…”“A-aren’t you worried?” Yamada asked the fortune teller, surprised by how calm he was acting. “Worried? What's there to be worried about?” The older boy questioned. “I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right?”His words earned him several confused and annoyed stares. “What?”“Hahaha!”Everyone turned to the source of the spontaneous laughter, one Celestia Ludenburg. Even with her pristine mask on, Naegi knew that her laugh wasn’t genuine. The only reason she laughed was to gain everyone’s attention. And it worked.“Wh-Why are you laughing?” Fukawa asked her. “What's so funny!?”“I am just happy, that is all,” the girl replied. “It seems splitting up to investigate was a good idea, after all.”The author gawked. “Haven't you b-been listening!? Looking around was a t-total waste of t-time! We d-didn't find a way out, didn't f-find who's behind this. We still have no idea what's g-going on!”Celeste tilted her head. “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.”Everyone stood quiet. Even though they had long figured this out already, saying it out loud really brought home the severity of their situation. “You didn't h-have to go and s-say that, Fukawa moaned. “I w-was trying not to th-think about it... N-No way out... We're t-trapped in here. What are w-we supposed to d-do...?”Togami crossed his arms. “It’s very simple. If you want to leave, you just have to kill-”Enoshima interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. “Don’t even joke about that!” Maizono tried to ease the building tension. “Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here.”Kuwata began scratching his head, eyes furrowing in thought. “There's gotta be *something* we can do…”“All we can do is adapt,” Celeste calmly said. “Adapt to living our lives here from now on.”The former soldier wanted to question her about her words. Coming from the Ultimate Gambler herself, they felt extremely out of place. Giving up wasn’t what earned her her reputation after all. Was she acting like this as a means of coping?Fujisaki teared up. “Live here...? Are you saying we should just accept it?”“A lack of adaptability...is a lack of survivability,” the girl answered. “Survival is not based on who is the strongest or the smartest. It comes down to who can adapt.”‘She’s right… ’Part of the reason he managed to survive the trenches of war was due to his ability to adapt to whatever was thrown his way. Brains and brawn were definitely huge advantages, but in a situation where the difference between life and death came down to the millisecond, if someone wasn’t able to quickly adapt to using them in different ways, then they might as well not even have those skills. ‘But that doesn’t mean I’m going to accept having to live here forever! ’For some, adaptation meant to settle. To reach a certain point where one could survive, but make peace with the environment around them… it was a strategy that worked. However, Naegi didn’t want to ‘settle’. He wanted to live. He could live out the rest of his days at the school and abandon his family, but that was not him. To him, to adapt meant to evolve. It meant honing his skills and learning about his environment. It involved patience, flexibility, and determination. Eventually, whether by chance or by his own efforts, an opening would present itself, and he’d capitalize upon it in order to get to where he wished to be. Makoto Naegi was great at adapting, but he refused to settle when he could live. “As someone who has come out on top more than once, I have a suggestion.”Owada shot the gambler a quizzical glance. “Huh? What do you mean?”“We all understand that we are trapped here. Which means we will be spending the night. However... You all remember the rules regarding nighttime, right?”“Some areas are off-limits and you’re not allowed to sleep in class, right?” Maizono asked her, earning a nod from the other girl. “Yes. Now, regarding this ‘nighttime,’ I think we need to add a rule of our own.”“What do you mean?” Kuwata questioned. “Going out at nighttime should be prohibited altogether,” Celeste proposed. “The school regulations do not actually tell us not to go out at night, so I would like to make it official.”Fukawa pulled her braids in frustration. “B-But why...?” Celeste gave her one of her signature smiles. “The way things are now, every time night comes we will all start to get worried and anxious. We will be afraid someone might try and come kill us.”Maizono gasped. “What!?”The ‘Queen of Liars’ didn’t acknowledge the idol’s reaction. “If we have to worry about that night after night for who knows how long, it will wear us down in no time.”“So you're suggesting we limit our activity at night as a kind of preventative measure…” Ogami noted, crossing her arms. The gambler nodded. “However, unlike the other rules, nobody can be forced to comply. We all have to agree to follow it.”“I see what you mean,” Enoshima mumbled, contemplating the other girl’s words. She then gave everyone a determined look.“But...I think I can agree to that. It's just like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct."Her words seemed to have made an impact on Ishimaru, as he made a declaration of his own. “On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!”Kuwata gawked at him. “Hey, you can’t just decide to speak for us!”Despite his words, everyone could tell that the baseball star didn’t have any objections to the unofficial rule. However, someone else did. ‘Not being able to leave our rooms during nighttime… that cuts right into my exercise time . I wouldn’t be able to go on my run.’ From an outsider’s perspective, such a thing could seem odd to complain about. However, for Naegi, his exercises were an important part of his daily routine. They put his mind at ease and kept him in shape. To move them to another time would throw everything off balance. ‘But if I’m the only one who’s out at that time, nobody will know .’Such was true. Plus, if anyone decided to break the rule and try something, he’d be there to stop them. With all that in mind, the boy decided to keep quiet and pretend that he would follow the proposed rule as well. “So everyone is in agreement?” Celeste asked out loud, waiting for any objections. Not receiving a single one, she continued. “Good, then if you excuse me.”With a level of elegance that could only come from a high level of practice, the gambler stood up and began to leave the cafeteria. “Huh? Wait? Where are you going?” Fujisaki asked her. “It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives. So...goodbye.”With that, she made her exit. “S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here,” Yamada shakily said. “We'll be spending the night, it looks like.”Ogami closed her eyes as she began contemplating Celeste’s words from earlier. “Adaptability…”Enoshima turned her head towards the Ultimate Moral Compass.“So, Mr. Chairman...what next? One person already left.”The boy in question, having been taken off guard by Celeste’s departure, straightened himself out. “U-Umm... Well then, what say we call an end to today's meeting!? Like she said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!”“Do we really have to stay here?” Fujisaki asked, eyes watering. “We don’t have a choice,” Enoshima reminded her. “We can’t go for long without getting some sleep.”Owada hung his head down in frustration. “So we have to just give up…”“That's all f-fine and good for t-today,” Fukawa grumbled. “But what to we d-do tomorrow?”“Our only option is to split up and look around again, and let everyone know if we find anything,” Ogami told her.Asahina shakily nodded in agreement before pumping herself up. “Yeah, okay. Let's do that...!”“Then we're done for today? Enoshima asked. Not being told otherwise, she too began to leave the cafeteria. “Good, I'm exhausted…”One by one, everyone dispersed, making their way to their rooms. Only two remained. “Naegi, are you ready to call it a night?” Maizono asked the soldier. “… I think I’m going to hang out here for a bit longer,” he replied, much to her confusion. “Are you sure?”He gave her a reassuring smile. “Yeah.”The girl wasn’t swayed, it was very obvious judging by her face. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. Just got a lot on my mind.”“I understand…”Sighing, Maizono stood up and began to leave, but not before sparing Naegi one last glance. “Goodnight. And be careful, alright?”“I will.”Once she left, the boy began scouring the kitchen for something to eat. Not being in the mood for anything big, the former soldier settled on eating some instant ramen. As he waited for his food to finish preparing, he glanced over at the camera in the room. ‘Trapped in an enclosed environment and forced to kill if we want out… it’s oddly similar to what my life was like back then. I don’t know what Monokuma’s deal is, but it’s only a matter of time until I get out of here, and I won’t be playing his game to do so…’ He glared. ‘So whoever’s behind all of this, I hope you’re ready, ‘cause I’m coming for you…’
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Makoto Naegi: Age 5
Naegi hissed as his skin pressed against the worn and torn mattress that has been his bed for the past three months.
Ever since the 'ceremony' his captors held, the boy knew that he would be living a life of hell.
He, however, never thought it would be THIS bad.
Forced to wake up at the brink of dawn, being served food that was barely edible, and having to live in a filthy environment that would make a pig pen jealous…
Calling this hell would be an understatement.
And he hadn't even mentioned the worst part yet.
That honor went to his 'training'.
He had been forced to fight fully grown men, made to do exercises that would make a professional athlete weep at the thought of them, and beaten to the brink of death to 'increase his resistance.'
There was also the fact that he had to learn an entirely different language, which wouldn't be bad on its own, but punishments for failing were severe.
The boy had no idea how much longer he could keep going.
He knew the grim reaper lurked around, eager to add to its ever increasing collection of souls.
Malnutrition, disease, bodily trauma, suicide, Naegi had been exposed to death far more than any child should. In such a short period of time, quite the number of his fellow captees have already perished, being replaced by a new batch quickly after.
At such a young age, he was still able to comprehend the fact that he was expendable, simply cannon fodder to be thrown away. He was never meant to survive for long.
Grunting in pain, Naegi turned so that he could lay on his back.
Today had been yet another day where his body and sanity had been pushed to their limits, and he understood that things were only going to get worse for him.
'Why am I still here?'
He already knew the answer. Like nearly everyone else in the world, he too was scared of death.
Unknown to him at the time, that fear would eventually dwindle as he continued to face worse and worse hardships, but as of right now, it was the only thing keeping him alive.
How odd.
His suffering would cease to exist if he moved on to the afterlife.
Yet he still found himself fearful of eternal slumber.
The human mind was quite puzzling.
Shaking his head, Naegi cleared his thoughts before closing his eyes.
Tomorrow was going to be another tough day, and if he wanted to get through it with as little pain as possible, then he'll definitely need to get as much rest as he possibly could.
Especially after watching one of his roommates puke himself to death not too long ago.
That was an image that he wanted to forget.
Not like sleep would help with that.
But he would have more energy to keep pushing through, and as of now, that's all he could ever desire.
Maybe freedom as well, but at this point of his life, such a thing seemed impossible, so he'd have to settle with making it through the next day.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
And so on…
0000
*RIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGG!*
Less than a second after his alarm clock started blaring, Naegi's eyes shot open, the boy fully awake.
'Guess it's time to get up…'
Getting out of bed, he proceeded to reset the alarm. After doing so, the former soldier took a quick look around, frowning at the sight of the dorm room.
'Damn…'
Now, Naegi wasn't a naive boy. He wouldn't be alive if that was the case.However, he couldn't lie about the fact that he had hoped that all of yesterday was just some twisted nightmare his mind conjured up. That perhaps he had never stepped foot into Hope's Peak Academy and he'd wake up, in his bedroom, to realize that his first day was actually today.Unfortunately, reality was a cruel mistress…
'No matter how weird it all is, this is my life now…'
Somehow, someone or some people managed to take over Hope's Peak. They were able to incapacitate all fifteen Ultimates with ease and barricaded the building before they could wake up.All of this should've taken a long time to prepare, like years of preparation, yet there was no indication that such a large amount of time had passed. His body looked the same, and everyone else seemed to be in his age group.Except for Hagakure, but that was for a completely different reason.
'So similar, yet so different…'
This was the second time now that he had been ripped away from his family and trapped in an foreign area. This was also the second time where bloodshed appeared to be the means of escaping.But that didn't mean both situations were the same.Back then, it was a constant battle for survival. A Red Sea of carnage followed wherever he went. Fights could go on for weeks, and he was lucky to receive any sort of rest. It was non-stop action.Here though, things were definitely less hectic.War was chaos. The strange game Monokuma was having them play? It was controlled. The air around the school was tense, but it wasn't the same kind of intensity that was found in a war zone.He had a safe space in his room, didn't have to compete for food, and didn't feel like he had to spend every second of his life fighting. This time, there were friendly faces, clear rules, and a single enemy. Sure, one of his classmates could snap at any moment and try to kill someone, but unless that happens, they all shared a common enemy in Monokuma. He didn't have to react to a billion things on the spot, he could actually focus and plan beforehand.Obviously, that didn't mean he could lower his guard. That would be asking for death. Just because things were calmer didn't mean that he wasn't in danger.Somewhere, there was an extremely powerful person/group that had set their sites on his class. They held near total control of this game, from the rules to the information he and his class would receive about their situation.If war was akin to a demon, chaotic and unrestrained, this killing game was the work of a devil, sadistically calculated. There was a clear end goal in sight, but that was only the surface of what was going on.
'…and maybe there's a different way to play…'
Going over everything he knew, Naegi felt that there was a possibility that Monokuma wanted them to search for answers. He wouldn't give them any of course, and he was definitely planning on leading them around on a wild goose chase, but he clearly wanted someone to take the bait.
'While everyone else will be playing a boring detective visual novel, you'll be playing a thrilling and action packed first person shooter!'
The bear's words rang through his head.Had the sole purpose of this game been to murder someone, then he would've thrown a pile of weapons on the floor and have them go at it, battle royal style. There would've been no need for him to take over the school and limit the places that they could go to; it would've been far easier to transport them to some kind of underground bunker and have them fight it out there. And there'd be no reason for Monokuma to constantly taunt them and be cryptic in his manner of speech.
'But why?'
That was the million dollar question. That was what Monokuma was dangling over their heads as he waited for someone to take on this challenge. There was something he got out of watching everyone walk around like headless chickens, and that's why Monokuma chose this specific game. It wasn't just about having everyone kill each other, it was about the mystery, the mystery of who's going to choose to chase the answers to a seemingly impossible story and who's going to disturb the peace.
'…crap…'
As much as he hated to admit it, Monokuma's bait worked. There was no way he was going to break his promise and kill his classmates, so that left him with only one option, to unravel the mysteries behind this game.
'But where do I begin?'
Naegi didn't have an answer to that yet. He couldn't just charge in guns blazing hoping that he'd stumble across some clues. He had to be tactical if he wanted to get anywhere.What he did know was that he'd have to be in top shape. Both mentally and physically.
'Which means I should probably get started with my exercises for the day.'
Slipping into his day clothes, the boy left his room, ready to begin his day.0000Though strict in the time that he starts his exercises, Naegi was very easily able to adapt his routine to accommodate any hurdles in his path that might stop him from working out.Rain, snow, and sleet? He knew tons of indoor exercises that he could do.The heat? Japan's heat had nothing against the heat over in the Middle East, so he could handle whatever heatwave the country threw at him.Being trapped in an enclosed environment with limited space and equipment? That just meant he had to create a program that took all of this into account.Thankfully, despite only having the first floor to work with, there was more than enough room for him to do some intensive cardio.There was an issue however, and it had to do with Rule 2. Some rooms were closed until 7am, further limiting the amount of space he had to work with.Which ones were? He didn't know, which was why he decided to search around the school before he began his run.Wandering around the school, Naegi kept a slow and steady pace, left hand in the pocket containing his gun. Monokuma may have mentioned that he wouldn't harm anyone unless a rule was broken, but the boy wasn't going to take his words as gospel. The bear very well could've set some secret death traps, and if that was the case, then he wanted to be sure he'd be able to react to them in time.Thankfully, such a case never happened as the former soldier was able to progress through the hallways unharmed.'…So the gymnasium, classrooms, dining hall, shop, and bathrooms are all closed,' Naegi mentally noted to himself once he finished his scouting trip. 'The only rooms open are the laundry room and the rec room…'He understood why the laundry room would remain open. A lot of people tended to wash clothes during the night.
'But the rec room?'
That one puzzled him.
'Why did Monokuma leave it open?'
He was aware that he could be overthinking the bear's decision, but being overly cautious was how he's managed to survive for this long.Quickly scoping out the room, the boy tried to see if he could find anything that could give him some answers. Maybe Monokuma altered the room during the nights for some bizarre reason.
'Nothing…'
The room was exactly the same as it was when he had explored it yesterday.If Monokuma did have a reason for leaving the rec room open, it wasn't something he wanted to reveal just yet.
'…I guess I'll have to wait and see…'
The boy made a mental note to himself to keep an eye out for anything suspicious regarding the room. Once he did so, he made his way to the gymnasium.
'Sucks that he didn't leave this open…'
It would've been more convenient for him if he could use the gym. Alongside having a ton of space, there were probably some gym equipment that he could've used as well.Instead, he'd have to improvise once more.
'At least the hallways are big…'
Turning his back to the door, Naegi began his routine, deciding that the best way to do so was by jogging around the school numerous times.Perhaps it was because he spent most of his life constantly on the move, but he found running to be very therapeutic. From the way the muscles in his body would come alive to how he felt his senses sharpen once he picked up the pace, nothing beat a good run.It was also a great time for him to let his mind wander. When it came to casual runs, his physical and mental abilities were adept enough to instantly react to his surroundings with ease, so there was no risk in him doing so.Speaking of which, he had a lot on his mind, most notably, how he was going to escape.'So I'm dealing with a power person/organization strong enough to take over Hope's Peak,' the boy mentally went over, continuing his thoughts from earlier. 'And is able to make robots that can move around undetected.'He really didn't like the fact that he could be jump scared by an animatronic at any given moment.
'If I want out, Monokuma said I have to kill my classmates… and I still don't know why my requirements are different…'
The words of the 'headmaster' replayed in his head. Something he did pissed off the person/people running the show, but if it wasn't his kill count, then he had no idea what sin he could've committed to earn their ire.'There's a lot that I don't know about all of this,' Naegi lamented. 'But what *do* I know?'Perhaps thinking over the information he did possess would help.
'I know that this is definitely Hope's Peak… and I know that Monokuma really wants us to kill each other for some reason…'
It was a strange situation all around.
'He also said that he wants this 'game' to be, in his words, a detective visual novel…'
But why? What did Monokuma get out of watching them play amateur detective?
'…I don't get it…'
The former soldier picked up the pace, now moving at a full sprint.
'And why us?'
In addition to everything else, this was another mystery that he didn't understand.Immediately, his mind went to the idea that they were being held hostage. As students of Hope's Peak Academy, his classmates were seen as the upcoming pioneers to a more hopeful future. Plus, they were some of the most talented people alive, with a majority of them being celebrities and other figures of influence.Aka: they were some of the best candidates for hostages.
'But that doesn't explain the killing…'
The point of taking hostages was to use them as a bargaining chip. Sure, hostages were often killed for reasons such as imposing a time limit or as a means of proving a point, but Monokuma could easily pull the trigger himself whenever he desired.
'Is the 'game' the time limit?'
As twisted as it was, Naegi did see some bizarre logic behind this explanation. By trapping everyone inside the school, Monokuma was hoping that one of them would eventually snap.
'Seems too complicated though…'
Again, if they really were hostages, the bear could've made things far more simple by taking things into his own hands. Why wait for someone to break when he could impose his own time limits?
'…So if we're not hostages, then what?'
Were they kidnapped by some extremist terrorist group who set up the whole thing to prove some political or philosophical point?
'Highly unlikely…'
How would people like that get access to such advanced technologies? The wealth that would be required to have put all of this in place… he was certain it was too much for even the likes of Togami to afford.
'Man…'
To go through all that effort… to accumulate a number of resources that would make a country jealous… all of that just for the person/people controlling Monokuma to dump fifteen students inside a school and tell them to kill each other…
'Why?'
What the hell were his classmates and him dealing with?'…'Having completed fifteen laps around the school, the boy increased his pace, desiring a more intense workout.
'My classmates…'
Unfortunately, Monokuma wasn't the only one he had to worry about while he was stuck in his school.As much as he hated to admit it, there was always the chance that one of his classmates would accept Monokuma's terms and kill someone in exchange for their freedom.The boy did have hope, hope in the idea that no one would do such a thing. His classmates were all Ultimates, people who were the best at what they did. By combining all of their strengths… if anyone could find a way out of here, it would be them.However, he was also a realist. He knew that being kept away from the outside world would soon get to them. Even if it didn't, he was sure Monokuma had more planned for them, different ways of draining their sanity ready to be used if things didn't go his way.His classmates may be Ultimates, but they were also human. Humans who could be led astray and commit terrible acts due to desperation...…Just like the little boy he once was, the boy whose desire to survive netted him an individual kill count that would become the greatest in history.As such, even if he believed in them and their abilities, he knew that he needed to be prepared for the worst possible scenario. After everything he went through, he refused to die here.
'I should take note of their strengths and weaknesses.'
If one of them chose to threaten his life, then understanding how they might try going after him would give him a major advantage.
'Let's see…'
For some reason, probably because he had just run past his room, Hagakure was up first.
'Hagakure…'
From a physical standpoint, the fortune teller didn't pose any threat to him.How did Naegi know this?In the midst of battle, one needs to be aware of their surroundings at all times. From the terrain to the movements of the enemy, a good soldier is able to pick up on anything that could change the course of a fight, and that includes the abilities of their opponents.Being the 'Ultimate Soldier,' Naegi knew this better than anyone, having mastered the unique skill of being able to gauge someone's physical capabilities from their posture, body language, and appearance. He understood that even the smallest of gestures could reveal a lot about a person's strengths and weaknesses.Just by looking at the other boy, the former soldier knew that he was lacking in physical strength and had no fighting experience. His posture was way too open, and it wouldn't take much for someone to overpower him.
'Now mentally…'
It didn't take long for him to come on with a verdict.
'Also not very capable…'
After all, the older boy still was under the delusion that Monokuma was just pranking them.It could be argued that Hagakure was using denial as a coping mechanism, but with the way he confidently spoke, it genuinely seemed like the fortune teller really didn't understand that his life was in danger.
'Still…'
Despite his below average physique and intelligence, Naegi knew that he couldn't immediately write the other boy off. There were two things about the clairvoyant that he needed to be mindful about.First was how he'd react once the gravity of his new life finally hit him. He very well could be the first to crack, or he could maintain his relaxing demeanor and not pose any threat.Secondly was his talent.
'A thirty percent chance that he correctly predicts something.'
Naegi wasn't one who believed in the supernatural. His sister was convinced that she could talk to ghosts, but he himself thought it was some sort of joke she liked telling.Even so, he couldn't deny the surprising accuracy of Hagakure's fortune telling abilities. Whether he was actually tapping into some unknown power or if the older boy was just incredibly lucky, it didn't change the fact that he was somehow able to predict the future thirty percent of the time.
'That could be really useful…'
The fortune teller's abilities could potentially thwart a murder attempt, making them a valuable asset. To not acknowledge that wouldn't be wise.
'I think that's it…'
With his assessment of Hagakure completed, the boy decided to move on to one of his other classmates.Oddly enough, Yamada was the next person to pop into his head.
'Hm…'
Like the fortune teller, Naegi could tell that the fanfic writer's physical abilities were mediocre and that he didn't know his way around a fight. The only advantage he had in the physical department was his weight. It could give him the upper hand against most of the others, but it wouldn't be anywhere near enough if he found himself against the more athletic Ultimates.
'I wouldn't be surprised if most of them can bench twice his weight.'
Finished assessing his physical capabilities, Naegi moved on to analyzing his intellect.
'…I don't know enough about him…'
The very brief interactions he had with the taller boy didn't reveal much about his mental prowess.'All I know is that he seems easily startled…' the former soldier noted, remembering how he first reacted to Monokuma.The gears in Naegi's brain continued to turn as he finished another lap around the school.
'And he doesn't seem to be the best socially.'
Not like he had any room to judge.
'But I think it's safe to say that he's above average.'
To be the 'Ultimate Fanfic Writer' meant that Yamada had to excel at writing and art.It also meant that he had to be insanely creative, with constant ideas flowing through his head.
'That creativity could take him far…'
How could those writing skills translate to this killing game?Well, he could easily fabricate a story about where he was after committing a murder to avoid suspicion. His unorthodox thinking patterns might lead to him making some sort of important discovery or realization that others might have missed.Essentially, Yamada was a wildcard. He could be a solid asset or a dangerous opponent.
'I'm overthinking things again…'
Even so, he knew it would be stupid to ignore that possibility.
'All that's probably also true for Fukawa…'
The boy's focus shifted to the author in question.
'She might be a problem…'
It was clear that she disliked people, immensely.Does that mean she's guaranteed to kill somebody? No.What it did mean was that it was going to be hard to get her to cooperate with everyone else and vice-versa. Especially if she kept insulting them.
'Then there's that look in her eyes…'
Under normal circumstances, Naegi would've classified her in roughly the same spot as Yamada in regards to her danger level.However, just by that look alone, he knew that she had the potential to become a huge threat, maybe even being one of the top five most dangerous members of their class.Hungry, savage, and sadistic…That was what he saw in her eyes, a look that he was very familiar with, having met several bloodthirsty people in his lifetime.And hers was particularly intense.How much havoc could she cause? Would she actually kill someone?Naegi didn't know.What he did know was that Fukawa was someone he needed to be alert around at all times. If that animal trapped in her body ever decided that it wanted to be released, then it could be catastrophic.Sadly, the information he had on her was very limited, so there wasn't much more that he could do regarding the potential danger she posed. Making a mental note to be extra vigilant around her, the boy decided to move on to one of his other classmates.
'Who's next?'
A certain heir came to mind.
'He's also going to be a problem…'
Not physically. As he noted earlier, Togami only knew basic self defense at best… and that assessment was him being generous. Strength wise, while Naegi wouldn't classify him as weak, he definitely wasn't anything special. His build was the norm for someone who engaged in minimal exercise.Everything else about Togami however set off sirens in his headThere was no sugarcoating the fact that the other boy's demeanor was that of a stereotypical rich kid. He clearly saw himself above everyone else, and with how quick he was to provoke Owada, he truly believed that he was untouchable.It also showed that he was in a similar boat as Fukawa regarding how likely he is to cooperate with the group, but whereas the author's issues stemmed from her dislike of people, his was the result of having such a big ego.
'Getting him to work with everyone's going to be tough.'
He got the sense that Togami was one of those people who had to be in charge and refused to listen to others in most circumstances.
'I can see why though…'
The blonde may be arrogant, but he wasn't just full of hot air.Despite his age, Togami has already taken over several of the branches of his family's corporation, and he was very successful at managing them.
'To be at that level…'
It meant that the boy had to be extremely intelligent. There was no doubt that he was easily one of the smartest members of his class.His success also meant that he possessed a versatile skill set.Pairing those two factors together… it was a menacing combination.
'He'd make for a tough enemy.'
Despite the fact that he was deprived of the resources and luxuries he often enjoyed, and that his egocentric nature was a huge weakness to have, Togami would still be an extremely dangerous person if he chose to be one.
'Speaking of which, I can say the same for Celeste…'
Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler. A woman who, in her own words, has come out on top on numerous occasions.The girl definitely lacked the physical ability of most of her classmates, but just like Togami, her mental strength made her a huge threat.
'There's a reason she's been called the Queen of Liars after all…'
Between her near perfect poker-face to her ability to string together lies without even trying, the skill of deception was one the gambler had mastered. She was so skilled at it that she even managed to hide her true name from the public.With this in mind, he was aware that if anyone could create a plausible fictional alibi, it would be her.
'Would she kill someone though?'
He had no idea. She seemed willing to cooperate with everyone, being the one to create the unofficial rule where no one could leave their rooms at night, but her actions could simply be a facade she was using to cover up her true intentions.
'…And then there's the fact that she has her eyes on me…'
In regards to who could uncover his identity, Celeste was easily one of the top candidates.As a gambler, she had to know when it's worth taking a risk, and part of that involved exploiting the weaknesses of others. Her analytical skills needed to be top-notch, from being able to read body language to deciphering lies.
'So one wrong move and I'm toast…'
The boy sighed as he began to slow down. He had enough cardio for today and it was time for him to work on his upper body.With nothing around to aid him with such, he dropped on the floor and started doing pushups.
'…My secret is really making things harder…'
Celeste wasn't the only one he was worried about finding his talent. Togami was also very sharp. And Kirigiri too.
'Kirigiri…'
Similar to Celeste, the lavender haired girl was quite the mystery. Outside of himself and the Ultimate Lucky Student, she was the only one who didn't appear on the Hope's Peak fan forums.
'I don't even know her talent…'
The fact that she never told anyone her talent raised some serious red flags regarding her character.Naegi suddenly chuckled. 'Hypocritical much?'He was in the same boat as her in regards to no one knowing about his talent. In fact, he'd be willing to bet a thousand yen that Kirigiri had the exact same thoughts about him.He knew he was on her radar, and based on their interactions, he could tell that she was intelligent. Her analytical prowess had been demonstrated enough times for him to realize that she rivaled Celeste in being the biggest threat to his secret. Maybe even exceeding her…
'Every time we spoke, it was like I was being interrogated.'
The former soldier found her to be like a panther: slick, patient, and ready to pounce upon someone once they showed any signs of weakness.And just like a panther, she was also no slouch physically.From the way she always had one foot back to how her arms never entered the resting position, it was clear that she had some sort of combat training.
'Maybe some judo and aikido…'
Her actions definitely mimicked that of someone taught a defensive fighting style. She always held a protective stance, her eyeing keenly aware of her surroundings. He could tell that she was always anticipating something, ready to react to anything thrown her way.
'She's got a lot of weak spots though…'
While she did have some martial arts training, it was obvious to Naegi that she was no professional. From her body language alone, he was able to determine that her skills were only at a moderate level. She could definitely fend off the average person, but she would lose against the athletes of the class. Her chances against someone with a solid grasp of street fighting and/or martial arts were also low.There was also her reaction time, which was certainly quick, but also wasn't at the level of an athlete's. He had seen this firsthand when Monokuma spooked them while they explored the school. He had already calmed down by the time she was able to react to the animatronic.If he had to fight her, he'd be able to end it before she could react, even if she deciphered from his own body language that he was going to attack her.In conclusion, Kirigiri's mental capabilities meant she could be an important ally or a huge threat. Her solid physique and fighting skills only added to this assessment of her. However, she wasn't infallible, and he knew for certain that he could deal with her if she went after him physically.
'Would much prefer having her as an ally…'
Too bad she didn't trust him whatsoever, and it seemed that earning even a small amount of her trust would be a struggle.
'I'll figure something out later. Time to move on to someone else…'
The strengths of each of the people that he's analyzed thus far had primarily been mental in nature. For simplicity's sake, he decided to keep the trend going, his next target being the Ultimate Programmer.
'An interesting case…'
Out of all his classmates, Fujisaki was certainly the least physically capable, and her timid demeanor told Naegi that she most certainly couldn't fightStill, despite such glaring weaknesses, her strengths made her extremely noteworthy.Fujisaki was arguably the most intelligent person in the school, and was perhaps one of the smartest people to ever exist. Her brain was more than enough to make up for her lack of brawn.This also made her a key asset to the group.While yes, her talent revolved around programming, and yes, there were no computers in sight, being the best of her field meant that she was a super genius, one whose skill set included problem solving.
'And if she can find a way to hack Monokuma's systems, it'd be game over for the ones controlling him…'
Having no computers or similar technology meant that this would be a very difficult task. However, Fujisaki might know other means of doing so.Maybe.Outside of a few exceptions, Naegi's technological knowledge was almost nonexistent, so he couldn't say for sure.
'I should definitely ask her later.'
Either way, the programmer was someone he was more than happy to have as an ally. Her appearing to be the type who'd be willing to work with others was a huge bonus as well.
'Who else would be easy to work with?'
That was an important question. Of the people he's gone over so far, only Fujisaki stood out. He couldn't say much about Yamada and Hagakure due to the limited knowledge he had about them as people, whereas Celeste and Kirigiri were both wildcards in that area. Fukawa and Togami though… it wasn't looking good on that front.
'Ishimaru?'
He was the obvious answer. As the Ultimate Moral Compass, the boy was used to leading and working with others.
'He's got quite a bit going for him…'
Intellectually, he was immensely book smart, so much so that he rivaled the likes of Togami and Fujisaki. This was a guy who was able to achieve flawless grades in an elite middle school.Physically, despite how well his uniform hid his physique, the soldier could tell that he was in great shape. A piece of information he remembered reading about the taller boy was that had also been the team captain of his school's kendo team, meaning that he could defend himself if need be. If Naegi had to rank him in regards to his fighting skills, he'd put him roughly on par with Kirigiri.
'A jack of all trades…'
That was the best way to describe Ishimaru.Unfortunately, the Ultimate Moral Compass had some very noticeable weaknesses.For starters, it was clear that he wasn't at the same level as Kirigiri when it came to analysis, and he most certainly wasn't anywhere near as skilled as Celeste was at reading people.In addition, regarding his abilities in the social department, Ishimaru was certainly a capable leader and a phenomenal team player, but those were sadly his only strengths. When it came to being social outside of those instances, he was possibly Naegi's equal, which was certainly better than being on par with the likes of Fukawa, but it was still quite bad.
'His thinking pattern is also easily exploitable.'
While he was incredibly intelligent, the Ultimate Moral Compass had somewhat of a one tracked means of thinking. His values and priorities were engraved in his very being, and as such, it wouldn't be tough for someone like Celeste to manipulate him by playing into his mindset.However, that also meant that out of everyone in the school, Ishimaru was the least likely person to actually commit murder, and as a result, he was easily the most trustworthy of the group on that front.
'Unless something big happens to change that…'
What could possibly push him to the point of abandoning his principles? Well, whatever could end up breaking his spirit had to be world shattering, something that would hit him right in the heart.
'I can definitely mark Ishimaru as a possible ally…'
With another potential ally added to the list, Naegi continued brainstorming for more.
'What about Kuwata?'
As the Ultimate Baseball Pro, Kuwata had to have some experience with being on a team.
'He seems decently friendly too.'
Now mentally, he wasn't touching the likes of Fujisaki and Togami in the intelligence department, and he was nowhere near as capable of picking up on cues compared to Kirigiri and Celeste. However, he wasn't dumb, definitely being smarter than Hagakure..Physically though? That was a whole other story.The boy was easily one of the most fit students in the class. Seeing as baseball involved a lot of running, the soldier could infer that his endurance levels were immense and that his lower body strength was great.
'He's got to have great upper body strength as well…'
According to the Hope's Peak fan forums, the redhead's max pitching speed was an insanely high 160 kilometers per hour, meaning Kuwata could easily kill someone just by throwing a baseball at them.
'His accuracy's also crazy'.
No one has ever been able to hit a ball thrown by the boy, and each swing of his resulted in a home run. To be able to achieve such feats meant that both his reaction speed and level of precision were beyond the average person's capabilities.Naegi would know, being one of the few who could react to a ball thrown by the baseball star and rival him in the accuracy department.He also understood quite clearly that if Kuwata chose to kill someone, it would be impossible for most to stop him.
'Hopefully it doesn't come down to that…'
Even with his immense physical capabilities, the former soldier was certain that he could easily subdue Kuwata if the baseball star targeted him. However, if somehow the other boy got lucky and nailed him in the head with a heavy enough object, there was an extremely high chance that it would result in his death.
'I think I'm done with Kuwata… and with this exercise…'
Swapping from traditional pushups to knuckled ones, Naegi kept going down the list, deciding to move from one athlete to another.
'Let's see… Asahina…'
As the Ultimate Swimmer, the girl also possessed an insane amount of endurance and strength, particularly in her legs. He was confident that she could knock out most people with one kick.
'Does she know how to fight?'
Judging by her posture, she wasn't someone who was extremely knowledgeable in that department. However, he did remember reading that she was someone who was involved in a lot of sports.
'She might've done some wrestling before…'
Even if she didn't know how to fight, Asahina's physical abilities were to let her hold her own, if not win, against nearly everyone else. But if she did have combat experience, she was even more dangerous.
'Still…'
Just like with Kuwata, he acknowledged that her strength was enough to where she could overpower most of his classmates. However, if she tried anything against him, he knew he could easily take her down.
'Same goes for Owada…'
Without question, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader ranked amongst the top three strongest members of their class.He was also a skilled street fighter, and in turn, one of the class's best fighters as well.In fact, Owada's main claim to fame was his brawn. This was a boy who constantly fought several grown men at once and always came out on top. Crossing him would be a death sentence for most.But not him.Their little scuffle yesterday had given Naegi all the information he needed to come to this conclusion. Despite what appearances would suggest, the shorter of the two was far stronger, faster, and skilled than the gang leader. Owada may have been raised on the streets, but he had been a child soldier for most of his life.Still, like Kuwata and Asahina, the taller boy could kill him with a lucky blow, so that was something the former soldier needed to be mindful of if they were to ever fight again. With his temper, Naegi wouldn't be surprised if he would have to prevent him from attacking another one of their classmates.
'That's definitely going to be an issue…'
Perhaps Owada's biggest weakness was how little control he had over his emotions. He was impatient, easily provoked, and reckless, all terrible traits to have in a situation such as this. He had almost gotten himself killed by Monokuma earlier and he could've easily ended Togami's life had the soldier not stepped in.As a result, the gang leader was a huge threat to the group, and things were shaky in regards to how well he'd be able to work with the others.
'And somehow he's not even the biggest one…'
That honor went to one Ultimate Martial Artist.With everyone else, Naegi knew that none of them held a candle to him in the physical department.Ogami though?She was the only one who could rival him.The girl was currently the greatest martial artist in the world. She has beaten grown men with little effort, once fought 400 matches without rest, and has no public losses to her name.Her fighting prowess was nearly unmatched, and the boy was sure that she could beat the rest of the class even if they ganged up on her.
'If we were to ever fight, she'd be the strongest person I've ever faced… even stronger than…'
Naegi suppressed a shudder. He had fought against some particularly formidable opponents, people who were infamous for their ability to decimate all who've previously faced them.Yet, somehow Ogami's reputation overshadowed even theirs.
'Which means… I'd have to go all out…'
The soldier knew he could never beat her in a fair fight.But if he were to use every trick that he knew…?There was a chance he could win.Naegi had a single yet important advantage over her, and it was the fact that she had been trained to fight whereas he had been trained to kill.Sure, she could definitely kill someone with a single punch, and there were several holds and moves involved in martial arts that could be used to put someone down.However, none that changed the fact that she had never been taught to end a life, nor had she fought anyone like him before, someone who was groomed to be the ultimate killing machine. She lacked the instincts and experience he did when it came to life or death situations.…Now, that did not mean that he'd have a guaranteed victory over her.Absolutely not.But it did mean that one was possible to achieve.
'Yet…'
If he wanted to win, he would have to suppress everything and anything that would hold him back… including his morals.She would not be fighting Makoto Naegi.No, Makoto Naegi could never dream of beating her.Her opponent would be the one known as J-78 and Coyote, the monster that had taken over three thousand lives all on his own.
'And even if I win…'
There was a chance that he'd still die. If not from the wounds, then definitely as punishment for ending the life of his opponent.
'Let's hope that never happens…'
He would much rather have Ogami on his side. Alongside her almost inhuman fighting ability, she was both patient and rational, which definitely made her reliable.
'…Now all that's left are them…'
That was twelve of his fourteen classmates he had now mentally dissected, which meant there were two more to go.Admittedly, he had specifically set them aside to be done last, but the reasoning behind each was different.Shifting from pushups to burpees, he decided to focus the least urgent one first as he continued exercising.
'Alright, it's Maizono's turn…'
Out of everyone in the school, she was the one he was most close to, no contest. Yeah, the amount of time they've actually spent together wasn't much at all, less than a day in fact, but having someone he was on friendly terms with was a huge blessing to be had in an otherwise hopeless situation.
'But even then…'
There was no telling whether she'd continue to stick with him as time went on. Especially if Monokuma decided to reveal his talent.As much as it sucked to think about, she could turn on him, and it was a possibility he needed to be prepared to face.
'Let's see…'
As an idol who constantly had to dance on stage, Maizono was far stronger than she looked. She wasn't at Kuwata and Asahina's level, but she was more fit than half the class.
'She doesn't really know how to fight though…'
The girl was roughly on par with Togami in that she had probably been taught one or two things in case she had to deal with a rabid fan or the like, but otherwise wasn't well versed in combat.In conclusion, she wasn't a threat to him in the physical department, but she definitely was for most of the others.Shifting his focus on her mental abilities, the boy frowned.
'Far too dangerous there…'
Intellectually, she seemed capable, but her ability in that area wasn't what worried him.Sayaka Maizono easily had the best social game in the school, only rivaled by one other person.Being an idol didn't just mean that she was good at singing and dancing. To be successful in such a competitive field, one had to be charismatic as well.The ability to provoke emotions through actions and words, to be able to keep a facade up even when things aren't going well, understanding how to interact with others…Maizono possessed all of those skills.
'She could manipulate almost anyone if she wanted to.'
The moment something seemed off about her… he'd have to listen to his instincts.
'And there's her intuition as well…'
That was another huge problem. The idol had read his mind multiple times, and that wasn't something he liked. Alongside Celeste and Kirigiri, she was the most likely to find out who he really was.
'I can't let that happen…'
Maizono's large skill set made her a fantastic ally, and he had to admit that he really enjoyed her company. Her presence was soothing, as to be expected from the Ultimate Idol.
'Can I consider her a friend yet?'
He had no clue. Quite frankly, Naegi didn't really know how the whole 'friendship' thing worked. Most of the people his age he got to know back in the Middle East either died before he could bond with them, or they became competition.With Maizono however, they had created a quick bond with each other. It wasn't anything special yet, but she did declare herself as his assistant… whatever that meant.
'Is that her saying that she wants to hang out more?'
Well, as long as he kept his guard up, and as long as she continued to be trustworthy, then he'd be happy to do so.
'Komaru's going to have a field day when I tell her that I hung out with THE Sayaka Maizono.'
The boy frowned.
'Komaru…'
The feeling of homesickness swelled up inside the former soldier's heart, realizing that he had no idea when he was going to see his family again.
'Which is why I gotta get out of here.'
A flame of determination suddenly ignited, melting away the negative energy. With newfound motivation, he continued his analysis.
'Alright. Last one.'
Junko Enoshima…There was a reason he saved her for last. The girl was a unique case.
'I… don't really have much about her…'
He obviously knew who she was seeing as her fame rivaled Maizono's, and he could infer that she had a similar skill set as the idol.Yet even so, he couldn't get a good read on her as a person.Physically, she seemed to be on Kirigiri's level, but whereas the lavender haired girl knew judo/aikido, her stance suggested that her fighting style was an unorthodox one.
'Almost like a street fighter…'
Why would a model know how to fight like that?
'How odd…'
There was more that confused him as well, mainly her posture whenever she was around him.
'She's way too casual…'
On its own, this wouldn't really bother him. She wasn't the only one with such a personality. Kuwata and Hagakure were pretty chill too.The problem was that it only occurred when he was around.With everyone else, she was clearly suspicious of their behavior, her gray eyes gauging to see if anyone was going to try anything funny. It was the same look of distrust most of the others gave to each other, which was to be expected in this environment.Yet with him? He could see her body visibly relax whenever she spoke to him.
'It's like she's confident that I'm not a threat to her…'
He knew that her feelings didn't come from her underestimating him. How could she after watching his scuffle with Owada?No, the look in her eyes had a warmth to them, as if she was talking to an old friend.
'But we've never spoken before…'
So why was she so comfortable around him?
'And why don't I feel the same way?'
Did he feel like he was in immediate danger every time he was around her?No.His issue was that, with the exception of her trust in him, nothing about her felt natural. It was as if she was trying too hard to be someone she's not.
'Why is that?'
Naegi knew that as a celebrity, Enoshima was in a similar vein as Maizono in that she was also skilled in maintaining facades, yet it didn't seem that way.In comparison to the likes of Maizono, Celeste, and himself, people with the ability to make themselves unreadable, Enoshima was an amateur.As of now, no one outside of him seemed to suspect something was off, but he wasn't sure if she could keep that momentum going. He felt that she would slip up eventually, and the likes of Kirigiri and Togami would swoop in like vultures to capitalize on her mistake.But who was Junko Enoshima really?
'I don't know…'
The only thing he could say for certain was that, for whatever reason, she felt at ease around him.
'Could she be a possible ally?'
Maybe.He'd have to learn about her true self before he could make that call.With the limited information he had on her, the only course of action he could take was maintaining a close eye on the model. She currently showed no signs of having ill intentions, so he had no reason not to accept her company for now. However, the moment she does, he'd be ready to stop her before she could try anything.
'The more friendly people on my side, the better…'
If there was one thing about her that he could say with some confidence, it was that after Maizono, she was the closest he had to having an ally.
'That's not good…'
He really needed to interact with the rest of his classmates.Too bad his social game was worse than that of a voluntary NEET's.
'I'll figure something out.'
He always did.If there was one thing that he excelled in outside of bloodshed, it was survival.
'I think that's enough for today.'
The boy finished up his exercises, satisfied with both the workout and his little thinking session. While he still didn't have any answers to the strange conundrum he had found himself in, he at least managed to organize his thoughts. Even the smallest of victories were important when facing the unknown.After entering his room, Naegi took a quick peek at his clock.
'6:30…'
More than enough time to shower before the daytime announcement.What would the day bring him?What awaits him in the future?Naegi didn't know.All he did know was that the only way he was going to uncover a means of escape was by taking on everything that came his way.He WILL get out of here, and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. Not his classmates, not Monokuma, no one…His family was waiting for him once more, and he had every intention of reuniting with them.
'I didn't live through seven years of hell for nothing…'
Did he still deserve to be alive?Probably not, especially after everything he's done.Yet, despite knowing this, Naegi was a very stubborn person, a stubborn person with the sole desire of living the rest of his days with his family.
'And no one's going to ruin that for me…'
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Monokuma Theatre
"Under normal circumstances, this would be the part where Mr. Monokuma gives a boring speech about how he wants his students to strive to refine their ideals.
And while these goals are still important, instead I must talk about something urgent: a warning of the highest sort.
You see, we here at Hope's Peak believe in aiming for a new tomorrow!
But some of us don't agree on what that looks like.
I believe in focusing all our efforts onto the cream of the crop. They'll be the ones controlling the future after all, so it makes sense to focus on them, doesn't it?
Of course, not everyone's a genius like I am…
One of my former colleagues believes that we should extend the same courtesy to the less deserving, 'rehabilitating' and 'helping' the people who'll only end up running off to ruin things for everyone else.
Because of this imbecile, we've been forced to accept a scary predator into the mix, one that's lurking amongst you all.
And this isn't just any old predator!
It's an apex predator!
A lean, mean, killing machine that will wipe out towns if it wants to.
Sadly, you have no choice but to allow it into your new home… and you have the head of the Hope's Peak Scouting Team to thank for this, so please direct all your complaints and legal actions towards him…
Now, Mr. Monokuma will do his best to keep the beast in line and turn it into an upstanding citizen similar to you all, but for the safety of my precious students, I felt that it was in your best interest to give you a heads up about this unfortunate situation.
Be careful out there, and cheers to the start of your paths towards a new tomorrow!"
0000
*Ding dong, bing bong*
"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"
*Buop*
Stowing his weapons in his pockets, Naegi sighed. Having showered and taken his medication prior to the morning announcement going off, the boy was ready to face the new day.Well, as ready as one could be considering the circumstances.
'I should probably get breakfast before I do anything else…'
As much as he wanted to continue searching around the school, he knew that getting something in his stomach would be the best thing for him to do right about now, especially since he exercised recently.Now, he could function coherently without food for several days, having been forced to do so in the past, but that didn't mean the soldier wanted to, especially in a situation such as this.
'At least I know the food's not poisoned… '
He did eat that apple yesterday and he felt just fine today, so he at least knew Monokuma was telling the truth about not poisoning them.
'For now…'
With the way things were as of now, a normal person in this situation would take a while before reaching the point of considering murder.Monokuma didn't seem like the type who's willing to wait that long. It was only a matter of time before he got bored and started adding more to this twisted 'game' of his.And what better way to get the ball rolling than by tampering with their food and water?Naegi's seen what a lack of food and water could do to someone. Even the most morally upstanding person would abandon all their principles to eat after being starved for days.
'Which is why I'm surprised he's feeding us…'
Monokuma's actions continued to confuse him.Shaking his head, the boy pushed those thoughts to the side.
'I need to focus on the present right now…'
Doing so, he pressed on.When he arrived at the cafeteria, he found it empty, something which was of no surprise to him. He had woken up far before the morning announcement, and unless someone else had a similar idea, then it meant that everyone else were still asleep or were getting ready to head out themselves.
'Which means I have the whole kitchen to myself.'
Swiftly making his way to said kitchen, Naegi glanced around, doing a quick recount of all the cooking supplies. Even though he believed that no one had cracked yet, humans were unpredictable at the end of the day.
'Nothing was touched…'
Everything was where they needed to be, with none of the equipment having any signs of having been used for anything strenuous.
'Good…'
Done with his little survey, the boy started making himself breakfast. Having completed a workout session that would make even an Olympian athlete cry, he knew that some protein was in order.Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to find just the thing in one of the fridges, and that was eggs.
'Thank god…'
Living on rations and canned foods for most of his life meant that Naegi was no chef. He could hunt and cook a carcass to the point where he wouldn't get food poisoning, but that was something he only did in emergencies. Preparing eggs required little to no skill to make edible and they were high on nutrients, making them the perfect food for someone like him.Quickly whipping up some scrambled eggs, the boy ate in silence, still alone in the cafeteria. It remained this way even after he finished eating and picked up after himself. It was only right when he took a seat again that someone finally joined him."Ah, Naegi! Good morning!" Ishimaru shouted, entering the dining hall."Morning."The other boy smiled at the greeting."Yes, morning greetings are quite a delight! Such an energizing way to start the day!"Naegi never got the chance to respond as Ishimaru continued to speak."So you got here first, huh?"A disappointed look suddenly formed on his face."Too bad… I was sure I'd beat everyone here."The black haired boy clenched his teeth before pointing towards his classmate."I guess that just means I don't have enough fighting spirit yet.""I don't think it has anything to do with that," Naegi quickly countered. "I just like to wake up early. I've been up since before the announcement went off.""Is that so…"The taller of the two gave his classmate an approving look."It seems I have a rival in regards to my dedication!""Huh?""I won't give up! Next time, I swear I'll win no matter what it takes! Justice shall always prevail!"
'What is he even talking about?'
"Make sure not to overdo it though," Ishimaru continued, meaning Naegi would never get an answer to his question."A good night's rest is important if you wish to remain in top form."The soldier nodded."Don't worry, I get plenty of sleep."Once more, the other boy shot him an approving glance."Good! Now if you excuse me, I wish to get some breakfast."The next person to arrive did so just as Ishimaru left the kitchen with the breakfast he had just made himself."Good morning Naegi," Maizono said, greeting the boy.She then turned to Ishimaru."Good morning Ishimaru."The girl took a quick glance around the room, searching for anyone who she had not noticed previously. Not seeing anyone, her attention shifted back to the other occupants of the cafeteria."Am I early?""Indeed you are," Ishimaru replied, impressed. "It's great to know that you too understand the importance of punctuality and the benefits of waking up at this time.""Well, with my line of work, I'm used to it," the idol casually informed the two boys. "If I want to accomplish all that I want to, then I can't afford to sleep in late."Her words clearly pleased the Ultimate Moral Compass."Impressive! As expected from the Ultimate Idol, your work ethic is outstanding!"He then sighed."I wish I could say that I was the first to arrive, but can you believe that Naegi beat me here?"Maizono shot a curious glance at the boy in question."Really?"The former soldier shrank in his seat, embarrassed at the praise and having no idea why the other boy was so passionate about this specific topic."It's really not that big of a deal. It's like I told Ishimaru earlier, I just like to wake up early."The idol nodded in understanding. Glancing at the other two Ultimates, she gave them one of her trademark smiles."I'm going to make breakfast real quick."Her attention shifted solely towards Naegi."Save me a seat?"The boy blinked at her request. Although it was becoming super cliché at this point, he was still getting used to the fact that she, one of Japan's biggest celebrities, wanted to hang around him."Sure?"Maizono's smile grew, pleased with his answer."Thanks. Be back in a sec."True to her word, the girl quickly made herself breakfast and took a seat next to the former soldier.For about a minute, the three teenagers sat in silence, no one having anything in particular they wished to talk about, but that immediately ended once Ishimaru finished eating."Alright, it's decided!"Caught off-guard by the Moral Compass's sudden outburst, Naegi and Maizono stared at him, confused."No matter how intensely the stormy seas may batter me, I will not fall as long as my feet are firmly planted!" The boy continued, standing upright."...You agree, right?"The idol tilted her head."I guess…?"Naegi hesitantly nodded alongside her.'Where's he going with this?'"And if you can't do it alone, just find someone to support you, and you can support them back! That's how you can overcome any storm!"The two continued to stare at him as he spoke."I was thinking about it last night, and...I decided we all need to really come together. Seeing you two here with me… I've realized something. Every morning from now on, after the morning announcement, everyone should have breakfast together!"Not bothering to wait for a response, Ishimaru suddenly marched towards the door."Please wait here. I have to go let everyone else know the good news!"With that, he left the cafeteria with a newfound sense of vigour.Maizono opened her mouth."Um…"As hard as she tried, she was unable to force out any words from her mouth. All she could do was turn to Naegi and give him a befuddled look.The boy gave her an understanding one in response."Yeah, I get that…"The soldier has only known Ishimaru for less than two days now, yet he could confidently say that the Moral Compass meant well. However, sometimes he was a bit too fervid for his own good.
'He did make a good point…'
As he noted during his exercise session, working as a team was their best shot at escaping.And the only way they'd be able to work as a team was if they had a sense of unity. Having breakfast together could raise everyone's spirits.
'Though I doubt everyone is willing to wake up this early.'
Celeste, Togami, and Fukawa immediately came to mind.
'Hopefully Ishimaru can convince them…'
Before Naegi could further think on the subject, a timid voice caught his attention."Um… good morning…"Standing at the entrance was a certain Ultimate Programmer, said girl having quite the puzzled expression on her face.Maizono was the first to greet her."Good morning Fujisaki."Not wanting to be rude, Naegi did the same."Morning."Due to the friendliness of her two classmates, Fujisaki visibly relaxed as she continued the conversation."So… I just passed by Ishimaru," she informed them."He seemed a bit intense. Is everything alright?"The idol nodded at her."Yeah, don't worry. He's just waking everyone up so that we can all have breakfast together."Imagining how Ishimaru must've looked as he passed by Fujisaki, the blue haired girl giggled."I think he's excited."The shorter girl's eyes widened. "Ah… well if we're all going to have breakfast together, I should probably start making my own."Politely bowing, Fujisaki made her way to the kitchen.One more, silence was all that echoed around the cafeteria for a few seconds, only ending due to Maizono."Hey Naegi…"The soldier turned to face the idol, the girl having an expression on her face indicating that she had been contemplating something important."Listen, I have a favor to ask…"Naegi perked up, curious about what it was that she wanted from him."A favor?""Yeah. I would've asked you earlier but I don't want the others knowing about this…"Hearing this caused warning bells to ring inside his head. What kind of favor was it that she wanted to keep it a secret?"Oh, no, don't worry, it's nothing bad!" Maizono assured him.
'Crap, not again!'
Her intuition was way too strong. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if she was actually a psychic."It's just," she continued. "I've been thinking that...there might be something around here I could use for self-defense.""Ah…"In a situation such as this, it was completely understandable why someone would want a weapon they could use to defend themselves. He was lucky to have his gun and knife, but unless Monokuma had given the rest of his classmates special items/tools as well, the only thing the idol had in her room that could be used for self-defense was her sewing kit, which still wasn't particularly suitable for that role."I'm worried that whoever's keeping us here could show up and attack us at any time. You never know…""I understand," Naegi replied.He gave her a comforting look before continuing."I don't think we have to worry about that yet though."Maizono raised an eyebrow in confusion."Huh? Why's that?""Well, if they wanted to kill us, they would've done so already," the boy began explaining."For whatever reason, whoever's controlling Monokuma wants us to do the killing ourselves. Unless we break one of the rules, it doesn't seem like he wants to pull the trigger himself."Maizono leaned forwards in interest as Naegi proceeded with his analysis."If Monokuma really wanted us dead, we would've been locked in smaller rooms with little food and water. To give us our own rooms, to take over Hope's Peak… there's no need to go through all that effort just to kill us. For whatever reason, he really wants us to do each other in. This is all some sick, twisted game to him. He enjoys seeing us suffer and struggle. I don't know if that'll eventually change, but for now I think he's fine with just watching us."The girl silently stared at him, somewhat shocked as she clearly didn't expect to hear all of that from him."…I think I get what you're saying," she replied. "You've really put a lot of thought into this, huh?"The boy avoided eye contact with her, embarrassed."Yeah… I tend to overthink things a lot. Sorry…""That's not a bad thing," she told him. "In fact, it makes me more confident about being your assistant."Naegi tilted his head."Really?"Maizono gave him another one of her signature smiles, this one a bit more upbeat than usual."Yep. It means I can trust you to make safe decisions… and not do something stupid like what Owada did yesterday…"The sound of Monokuma exploding replayed itself in both of their minds."Good point.""But still… I'd like to get something to defend myself," the idol noted. "Just to be safe…"The boy nodded, understanding her concerns."Alright, if you want, after breakfast we can look for something."The girl's smile grew."Really? Thank you!"'It also lets me explore the school a bit more…' Naegi thought to himself.Shortly after the conversation ended, several of their classmates started to enter the cafeteria. Fujisaki was first, emerging out of the kitchen with her breakfast. Asahina and Ogami arrived together a few seconds later, the swimmer passionately talking to the martial artist about something the soldier couldn't quite follow. Judging by Asahina's animated posture and Ogami's relaxed one, the boy could tell that the subject wasn't something he had to worry about.Upon making their way to the central table, the two girls ended their conversation and greeted the rest of the group."Mornin'!""I suppose we're early."Ishimaru returned not long after the girls settled in, a satisfied smile adorning his face."I've managed to wake everyone up," the Ultimate Moral Compass announced to everyone who was currently in the cafeteria. "They should be here any minute now."True to his word, everyone did show up, though much to Ishimaru's dismay, they would take quite a bit to do so.Five whole minutes went by before the next person showed up, that person being one grumpy Mondo Owada. Judging by the gang leader's demeanor, he wasn't happy about being up so early."Yo."Thankfully, he didn't make a scene, simply grunting out a halfhearted greeting before getting food.Yamada barged in shortly afterwards, in a better mood than the boy who arrived before him."My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. My morning, ah, duty took a little longer than usual."The atmosphere suddenly dipped, Asahina and Owada giving the fanfic writer looks of disgust. Though they tried to hide it, Ogami and Maizono were also noticeably disturbed, the martial artist tensing up ever so slightly while the idol shifted herself more towards the soldier as a means of putting space between herself and the source of her discomfort.Meanwhile, Ishimaru and Fujisaki appeared to be absolutely clueless about what Yamada was referring to, and Naegi found himself in a similar boat.
'Morning duty?'
Naegi was by no means a sheltered boy. However, having been away from Japan for most of his life, the boy wasn't caught up with some of the popular phrases and expressions people often used.To him, 'morning duty' was yet another one that he did not understand.Although, with the sultry tone Yamada used when speaking and how everyone else reacted to his words…
'Maybe I don't want to…'
The appearance of the next person to arrive gave everyone a much needed distraction from the situation."Sorry I'm late!" The voice of Enoshima echoed throughout the room. "My makeup just would NOT cooperate this morning!"With a surprising amount of swiftness to her step, the model took a seat next to the soldier, shooting him a wink."Morning Naegi. Sleep well?""I guess?"Once more, Naegi found it odd regarding how fixated she was on him. Ever since entering the cafeteria, she barely glanced at anyone else and she was a little too eager to take the empty seat next to him. And when she sat down, he could've sworn that her eyes started gleaming with some kind of positive yet indiscernible emotion."Eh, that's better than bad at least.""Yeah… hopefully you slept well."Enoshima beamed at his words."Aww, I did! Thank you for asking.""Yeah…"What a great conversationalist he was.The model grinned, clearly amused by his awkwardness."You're not good at talking to girls, are you?" She playfully asked him.Naegi bashfully smiled."Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit shy.""Heh, you do give off herbivore vibes-"
'Herbivore vibes?'
"-but I can't really call you a herbivore after what you did yesterday."Her smirk grew."Ya know, tossing a bomb and fighting Owada… didn't expect all that from someone so adorable."If getting used to Maizono's friendliness was going to take him some time, it was going to take him even longer to get used to the blonde's easygoing nature."Thanks?"Enoshima impishly laughed at his confusion.From the corner of his eye, the soldier noticed that Maizono had been listening to their conversation. Her typical smile was still on her face, but she looked less lively than usual, almost as if she was contemplating something.Naegi decided to check in on her."Hey Maizono, everything alright?"Hearing her name, the idol turned towards him."I am," she replied, her eyes regaining their shine. "I was just thinking about something, don't worry."As much as he wanted to push for more information, the boy knew that the polite thing to do was respect her privacy, so he settled for an understanding nod. The fact that she had perked up when he spoke to her was a good sign that she was doing alright.Unfortunately, he had caught Enoshima staring at them with a hint of frustration.
'What's up with that?'
If he didn't know any better, he'd believe that him paying attention to Maizono was what triggered the model's sudden mood change.Before he could check up on her, the sound of heeled footsteps entered the room, stealing his attention."…I suppose I'm late," Kirigiri said, her eyes analyzing the cafeteria.A quick glance at the clock revealed that she was indeed late, having arrived a whole twenty minutes after Ishimaru had woken everyone up.Without another word, the mysterious Ultimate entered the kitchen.Almost a minute later, another person arrived."Good morning everyone," Celeste greeted with her usual smile. With a small curtsy, she too immediately went to get food.Kuwata was next, the baseball star looking absolutely exhausted."Yo, my bad guys," the redhead apologized. "Took me a bit to get up. Almost fell back asleep."A few seconds later, Fukawa scurried inside."W-what?" The author grumbled, noticing that her presence had caught the attention of some of her classmates."I-is it so awful to be l-late?"Before anyone could try answering, the girl quickly took a seat at one of the smaller tables, keeping some distance between herself and everyone else."Morning," Hagakure said with an awkward laugh, having showed up a bit after Fukawa had sat down."I didn't oversleep, just so you know. Nope, got lost! I blame the Bermuda Triangle…"Ishimaru gave him a disappointed glare while everyone else shot him blank expressions."What?"Togami was the last to appear. Not sparing anyone so much as even a glance, the heir took a seat at the unoccupied small table after getting himself breakfast.With everyone now together, Ishimaru stood up."Okay, looks like everyone's here," the moral compass announced."So then, let's begin our very first 'breakfast meeting'!"Quickly making sure that everyone's attention was still on him, he continued."First off, I want to thank everyone for making time in your busy schedules to come together.""I didn't make time for shit," Kuwata stated in a grouchy manner. "You dragged me here…"Owada huffed in agreement.Ishimaru paid them no mind."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," he further explained."And the first step is this breakfast meeting, to allow us to become friends and build trust! So from now on, let's all meet here in the dining hall every morning after the morning announcement! Now then, let's eat!""You w-want me to eat breakfast with other p-people?" Fukawa nervously asked him as everyone who hadn't eaten already began to do so. "I've never done that b-before. I'm not s-sure…""Yeah, it's been a while for me, too," Kuwata said in between bites."Well anyway…" Enoshima began, deciding to get the ball rolling. "Did anyone happen to come up with any clues?"The silence in the room was enough to give her an answer."Seriously? Nothing at all?"Both her voice and body language started getting more frantic."Anything, it can be about how to get out, or who's doing this, nobody has anything!?"Naegi stood quiet as she spoke.
'Something's off about her…'
The soldier has had many experiences with frantic and panicked people. He's also had tons of experience with people putting on an act.Enoshima's current state was more akin to someone trying to put on a show rather than that of someone suffering from hysteria.Why she felt the need to be so dramatic, he didn't know, but it was certainly something that made him more weary of the blonde.Perhaps he was overthinking things again, but did everything about her have to be such a mystery?"You are going to die," Celeste bluntly cut in, directing a sharp gaze towards the model.Enoshima flinched."Huh?""If you can't stop showing weakness in front of others…" The gambler continued, much to the model's irritation. "You will die.""W-what the hell? Don't even freaking joke about that!"The gambler's poker face didn't move."I am not joking. Adaptability is survivability. Did I not say so? So you'd better hurry up and get used to your new life here.""Have you gone completely insane?" Enoshima asked, staring at the other girl as if she had grown a second head. "Adapt to my new life here? Do you have any idea what you're saying?"Owada angrily scoffed before joining the conversation."Yeah, sounds like the girl wants to live here. And hell, more power to her. But shit…"Body trembling in rage, the boy stood up."No way in hell am I living here! I'm gettin' out of here, I don't give a shit!"'Same,' Naegi thought to himself.The black haired girl waved him off. "Sure, feel free.""Okay, so…" Kuwata awkwardly interjected. "Nobody has any clues?"Asahina suddenly spoke up."One thing I can tell you is who's behind all this. Something who's totally weird and messed up. Why else would we be trapped here in the first place?"The baseball star gave the swimmer a disappointed look in response to her saying something that was already a given."Well, sure, it could be something like that. But for right now, actual clues are…""U-umm…"Though soft, the timid voice of Fujisaki was able to grab everyone's attention.Kuwata raised an eyebrow at her."Huh, what's up?""If you think in terms of people who are really abnormal or bizarre…" the programmer mumbled. "Do you think maybe the person responsible for all this could be a certain murderous fiend...?"Naegi stared at her with curiosity.
'A certain murderous fiend?'
The title was far too vague for him to know who she was referencing."I can't really be certain," she continued. "But…""Certainty is not a concern right now," Ishimaru reassured her. "I'll allow whatever remarks you may have!""O-okay, well…"Fujisaki took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts before speaking again."Have you guys heard of Genocide Jack?"Nearly everyone's eyes widened, suggesting that the figure in question was one many of them had heard about."The monstrous villain who's murdered scores of victims in a brutally bizarre fashion…" Togami noted as his eyes started gleaming with intrigue."The word 'bloodlust' was left at each murder scene, written in the victim's own blood."Fukawa suddenly flinched, an action that went largely ignored."Whoever he is, he's like a ghost. He strikes without warning, and disappears without a trace. And on the Internet, they started calling him… Genocider Jack."It was quite disturbing how passionately the heir spoke about the topic, being a far cry from the apathetic demeanor the class has come to expect from him.Hagakure shuddered. "They say he's claimed over a thousand victims…"
'That's not true…'
With Genocider Jack having made waves throughout all of Japan, Naegi knew a bit about the mysterious serial killer from routinely watching the news with his parents. Although it was a popular myth that they killed over a thousand people, their confirmed kill count was currently thirty seven. A high number, but nowhere near a thousand.
'And even then…'
He highly doubted that Genocider Jack was involved in their situation. As Togami noted, each of their kills were done in the same, twisted manner. A killing game was way out of their usual M.O.Plus, where would they get enough money and resources to take over Hope's Peak?No, whoever was behind this was far more powerful than a rogue serial killer, and that was a terrifying thought to have……But not as terrifying as being reminded once again that if his secret were to come out, everyone would turn against him.If they were reacting to Genocider Jack this way, then he couldn't even imagine what would happen if they learned that his kill count was over three thousand."That's just an urban legend though, right?" Enoshima asked. "I mean, even like, ten people would be totally insane…"Another moment of silence followed."If I may," Kirigiri suddenly spoke up. "I have a theory of my own."The class's attention shifted to the girl."You may speak," Ishimaru told her.Nodding, the purple haired girl began to do so."To start things off, I've done a bit of research on Hope's Peak prior to coming here, and one thing I learned is that each class is made up of of sixteen students.""Sixteen?" Yamada asked, confused.The boy did a quick recount."But there's only fifteen of us here…""Precisely," Kirigiri affirmed. "We're one short. The person we're missing also happens to be a unique case."Owada raised an eyebrow."The hell are you talking about?""Every year, Hope's Peak Academy holds a special raffle where they put down the names of all the upcoming high school students," the girl explained. "Whoever's picked gets to attend the school as the 'Ultimate Lucky Student'."Kuwata shot her a puzzled glance, one showing that this was the first time that he's heard about the raffle."Ultimate lucky student?""Hope's Peak thinks luck is a talent worth studying, which is why they hold the raffle every year."Togami scoffed at the idea of luck being a talent.Kirigiri paid him no mind."As we all know, none of us happen to be that student.""Are you suggesting that this 'Ultimate Lucky Student' is responsible for our situation?" Celeste asked her.The unidentified Ultimate nodded."Possibly. Either that or they're working together with the person who's orchestrated our kidnappings."She crossed her arms."I have nothing concrete yet, but I think we can all agree that it's strange that this year's Ultimate Lucky Student is nowhere to be seen.""M-maybe they never showed up for some reason," Enoshima said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, they ARE the Ultimate Lucky Student after all, and I'd say missing out on all this would definitely be lucky…""That is likely," Kirigiri agreed. "There's also a chance that there is no Ultimate Lucky Student this year. Hope's Peak keeps a lot of secrets from the public-"The girl locked eyes with Naegi, an action that went unnoticed by anyone else. The boy could practically feel the hole she was burrowing in his forehead with her glare."-and it wouldn't be out of character for them to not notify the world about discontinuing the Ultimate Lucky Student Program. It's not particularly well known after all, so they'd be able to do so without anyone really caring."Her eyes shifted back to focusing on the class as a whole."Either way, all of this is something we should keep in mind for as long as we're stuck here."
'I agree…'
If the Ultimate Lucky Student really was their enemy, then alongside their anonymity, there was also a chance that the Ultimate Lucky Student had insider knowledge about the school, whether it was because they were some sort of spy or they somehow stumbled upon such information due to pure luck. Having someone on the inside would partially explain how the mastermind(s) managed to take over the place."So our two biggest suspects are a serial killer and a mysterious person…" Yamada mumbled, speaking his thoughts out loud. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say we're in some sort of strange visual novel…"Kuwata groaned in frustration."Great. Just great. I knew I should'a skipped the first day of classes…"A wave of silence enveloped the room as the atmosphere grew heavier."It's okay! Everything's absolutely, positively, one hundred percent without a doubt gonna be okay!" Asahina spontaneously blurted out. Watching everyone's eyes land on her, she gave them a confident smile."Cuz help's gonna be here soon, I'm sure of it!""Huh...? H-Help?" Fukawa asked.The swimmer aggressively nodded."Yep! I'm sure people are going to try contacting us sooner or later, and when they find out they can't, they'll surely call the police!""AHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"A sinister laughter echoed around the room, taking the Ultimates off guard. Following the general direction of where the noise was coming from, they saw that Monokuma was now in the cafeteria with them, managing to appear out of nowhere yet again."The police? You're putting your faith in the police!?" He mockingly asked the swimmer.Ogami glared at him."What are you doing here?!"Monokuma ignored her."You guys, seriously... Do you understand what role the police exist to fill?"He smirked."All they're good for is being a foil, playing against a villain or anti-hero or evil organization. The bad guys come along and destroy them, and that shows just how badass they really are. Are you sure you wanna rely on such an unreliable group of losers?"The bear's red eye brightened up as he continued flashing the teens his infamous, sinister grin.It was one they were all getting tired of seeing."I mean, come on. If you really, REALLY, wanna get out of here, all you have to do is kill."Hagakure suddenly laughed, an odd reaction for such a tense moment."Why the hell are you laughing?" Kuwata asked the fortune teller, bewildered."I'm just impressed at the total commitment to this whole act."Enoshima gawked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing."…You're still going on with that?"Owada snarled. For a moment, it seemed that he was going to lunge at the older boy. Thankfully, he decided to direct his anger towards the one keeping them captive."So you piece of shit, what the hell do you want?!"Monokuma groaned in annoyance."God, how many times do I have to say this? I want you all to kill each other."The bear made a motion mimicking that of someone rolling their eyes."You really need to get your ears cleaned."He then sulked."Back to business… your life here has already started and nobody's killing anybody. Hell, no one's even made any plans yet. You've just been blindly trusting each other to behave."A sigh escaped from him."Man… and here I thought y'all would've at least been smart enough to start hunting for the Coyote."Naegi felt the air grow heavier. Everyone once again began eyeing each other suspiciously upon being reminded of yet another enemy they may have to face.Ishimaru winced."I…forgot about that…""Whelp, it's a good thing I reminded you all," Monokuma chirped, clearly happy that his words had the desired effect on the class. "Don't forget that they have their own special way of graduating, and let me tell you, when you find out what it is, you’re not gonna like it."The bear brightened up with glee. "They're probably already planning their next move. I'm so excited!""Not counting them, there's fourteen of us," Ogami noted. "How do you expect them to fight against so many people?"The animatronic giggled."Upupupu!"He turned himself to where his black half was facing everyone."Now I can't be giving everything away now, can I? I will say this; things are heavily favored for the Coyote. Don't forget that they do get special perks."His red eye briefly flashed."But even if that wasn't the case… well, I'll let you find out for yourselves.""…"Once more, fear and anger dominated the atmosphere. Savoring their reactions, Monokuma laughed."Have fun now! And maybe consider dealing with the Coyote before they decide they want out. Remember, whoever does 'em in gets to instantly graduate, so if you want to leave and don't have the balls to kill someone else, maybe consider that."The bear began waddling out of the room."Anyways, I gotta go do some stuff. See ya soon!"With Monokuma gone, everyone felt like they could breathe once more.
'Well, that happened…'
As the Coyote himself, Naegi desperately wished he could let everyone know that he had no plans of going after them and that he too wanted to work together to beat Monokuma.
'But I highly doubt they'd believe me…'
Even if he came clean about everything regarding the role, he knew that most of them would rightfully distrust and fear him. Mix that with the automatic graduation that comes with killing him… well, there was a good chance that someone would eventually target him if their situation doesn't improve.If he wanted to survive, the best chance he had at doing so was by keeping his mouth shut and making sure nobody learns that he's the Coyote.That or he could wipe everyone out.
'Not going to happen.'
He was no longer that person. The only blood he was going to be spilling was that of the people who were responsible for his situation… and that was if they gave him no other choice. He would much rather they rot in jail than him having to take more lives.However, he wasn't going to stand around and let them end his, nor was he going to sacrifice the safety of his classmates due to not being willing to put a bad guy down.Whether the person/people controlling Monokuma live or die… it was up to them."So…" Kuwata awkwardly drawled. "What now?"Ishimaru stood tall."Okay then...everyone close your eyes, and whoever's the Coyote, raise your hand!"His words caused several stupefied stares to be thrown his way.Owada pinched the bridge of his nose."Don't be a goddamn idiot. Why the hell would anyone do that?"Scoffing, Togami stood up, having finished his breakfast."Well, if nobody has anything useful to say, then my business here is done."The blonde started making his way to the kitchen.A certain biker gang leader snarled."Hey! Where do you think-"Ishimaru quickly intervened."Leave him. I believe we've discussed all that we needed to for today."He turned to the rest of the class."You're all dismissed. If anyone finds anything of interest, don't hesitate to inform the rest of us."With that, everyone began going their separate ways.Only two remained."Do you still want to look for something that you can use to protect yourself?" Naegi asked the idol.The girl nodded."Yeah. You know anywhere that we could find something?"The soldier began thinking to himself. Immediately, the kitchen came to mind. There were several kinds of knives that they could pick from if they so desired.
'But do I want to suggest that?'
Giving a knife to anyone didn't seem particularly wise. He liked to think that he could trust Maizono not to use it for anything other than self defense, but with how unstable their situation was, there was always the chance that something would push her to do so.
'I'd know if she does so though…'
Only he and Maizono would have possession of a knife, her with a kitchen knife and him with his switchblade. If someone were to die, all he'd have to do is check to see if any other knife from the kitchen had been used. If none of them weren't, then he would be able to conclude that the idol was the culprit.
'Still… better to prevent something from happening…'
With the knives being removed from the equation, the boy focused his attention to some of the other utensils in the kitchen.
'A frying pan wouldn't be bad…'
While not the ideal weapon, a blunt, metal object was going to hurt anyone who was hit by it, but unless it was a particularly good hit, the chances of someone dying was relatively low.He definitely felt more comfortable giving the girl that over a knife."Wait right here," Naegi told her before entering the kitchen. A few seconds later, he came out with a medium sized frying pan."Will this work?"Maizono curiously eyed him, raising an eyebrow."A…frying pan?""Doesn't take much to knock someone out with it," the boy said, twirling the pan around in his hand as if it were a baton.While the idol looked impressed by his little trick, he could tell that she was also trying to hold in a laugh.
'If nothing else, at least it seems like I've raised her spirits a bit…'
"I… don't think this is what I'm looking for," she informed him, gesturing to the object in his hand."We can probably find something somewhere else," the former soldier reasoned. "But you might as well hold onto it for now."With a nod, Maizono took the pan."Thanks."She placed a hand on her chin as an idea popped into her head."How about we check the trophy display case in the gym?" the girl suggested. "Maybe we could find something like that sword you had yesterday. It came from there, right?""Yeah…"He didn't remember seeing anything of note other than the replica sword, but double checking wouldn't hurt."Alright, let's go."With that, Maizono began leading Naegi to the gymnasium.0000
'As I thought…'
A second search yielded no results. All the trophies in the display case were less suitable than the frying pan when it came to being used as an improvised weapon.All except for the golden katana.
'This should be fine for self defense…'
The blade was significantly less sharp than the kitchen knives and his own knife, so much so that someone would have to use a lot of force to cut through skin. It still could injure someone just like any blunt object would, so someone could use it to kill, but it didn't look like it could take a lot of punishment.Even so, it wasn't a bad option. Even someone with no combat training could feasibly ward off an attacker with the fauxe weapon.That is, as long as their opponent wasn't someone like Ogami."Do you want to take the sword?" Naegi asked the idol.The girl stared at the katana, contemplating on whether she wanted to or not."It doesn't really look that strong," she noted.She glanced at the frying pan in her hand."But it's probably better than this."Her head turned towards him."How about you? It could help liven up your room a little, and I'd feel better if you had something to defend yourself with too."The fact the idol wanted him to be safe caused his heartbeat to spike for a moment."I think I'm fine," the soldier told her. "I have a hammer in my toolkit I can use."He also had his gun and knife, but he wasn't going to share that information with her."Okay. I'll take it then."The idol went to grab the sword, recoiling when some of the coating got onto her hand."We should probably wrap this in something.""Yeah…"Maizono dusted off the paint."Well, we can do that later."She then flashed him a warm smile."While we're here, let's hang out a bit more.""Sounds good to me.""…""…""…""…"An awkward moment of silence ensued."Umm… I know I said I wanted to talk to you," Maizono said, breaking the silence. "But now that we're here… I don't really know what to talk about."Naegi rubbed the back of his neck."Same…"The past few days were the most socialization he's done with people outside of his family.His time in war didn't count, unless being ordered around was considered a form of socializing.The idol sighed."And I was the one who invited you to come with me, too. Sorry…""Hey, it's alright," the boy reassured her. "I'm not going anywhere. Just take your time."The girl visibly relaxed due to his words.Another moment of silence occurred, this one being far less awkward than the one a few minutes ago."Hey, um…" Maizono mumbled. "This kinda out of nowhere, but… Naegi, do you have a dream?""A dream?"Makoto Naegi most certainly had a dream and he was only alive because of that dream.Returning to his family… that had been his dream, and against all odds, it was one he managed to accomplish.
'Though now I'm stuck here…'
"I guess… I want to live my days peacefully with my family," the boy answered.The idol looked surprised."Huh… that's pretty tame…"The soldier laughed."Yeah, I'm not a very exciting person.""Oh no, I didn't mean that as a bad thing," Maizono assured him. "I just wasn't expecting that from an Ultimate."He understood her line of thinking. This was a school for the most talented, and with talent usually comes ambition. Most of his classmates were probably shooting for the stars."What about you? What's your dream?""I... My dream is... I've always wanted to be a star, as long as I can remember," she told him."I grew up without a mother, you know... And my dad worked really late every night. I was always home alone... I was just a kid, ya know?"The girl closed her eyes, reminiscing on her life's story."So I was really lonely. But that all changed when I saw a pop star on TV for the first time. She was so pretty, like a princess. And she could sing, and dance… but more than anything…"Her eyes opened, baby blue eyes shining with passion."But more than anything else, there was her smile. Looking at her smile, I could feel my loneliness melting away. I decided that's what I wanted to be someday. I wanted to give that kind of encouragement to others."She took a deep breath and smiled."Eventually that became my dream."Naegi stared at her with awe. The amount of work that had to be put into making her dream a reality… he couldn't even begin to imagine.And unlike him, her dream wasn't completely selfish.He honestly couldn't help but admire her."That's so amazing. You were able to actually fulfill your lifelong dream. Honestly, it's really incredible.""…"The girl looked down at the floor.For some reason, Naegi felt the atmosphere change, having grown heavier.Analyzing the idol's face, he immediately noticed that her pupils were dilated, lacking the shine they usually held."I honestly believed that as long as you kept chasing your dreams, someday they had to come true," she explained, her tone solem."But to do that, you can't take your eyes off of your dream, not even for a second. Even if sometimes it's a bad dream…"Her eyes dilated even more."Whether you're awake, whether you're asleep... To make your dream a reality, you have to keep your gaze fixed on it no matter what."Naegi hated how familiar those words sounded."In that world, if you lose focus for even a split second, you get left behind. You have to keep on swimming against the current, without even taking time to breathe... That's the kind of world my dream lives in."The boy suppressed a shudder. He didn't like the way she was talking. It was very reminiscent of how he felt regarding what he had to do to claw his way back to Japan."…I did whatever it took to reach that dream," she informed him, voice tense. "I mean it."
'I did too…'
Was it him, or was it getting harder to breathe?"Even some things that…"The idol winced, a wince that made it seem as if she had been injured."…weren't so pleasant."Naegi looked off to the side, unable to face her.
'I understand…'
The actions he took constantly haunted him, haunted him to the point where he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror.It didn't matter whether he was asleep or awake, the atrocities that he committed would always worm themselves back into his consciousness like a parasite entering an animal's body.To achieve his dream, he had to end the lives of others, cutting their own dreams in the process.The looks they gave him…The screams they yelled…Someone like him didn't deserve to have their dreams become reality, much less live.He knew he was selfish, living a dream many have died trying to achieve when he should've been one of the uncountable corpses lying on the ground.Yet despite all that, he persisted, hoping that one day, he'd be able to enjoy life to the fullest.
'But sometimes, it's tough to do so…'
"Naegi!"The boy jumped upwards. The girl's words had made him aware that his body was shaking and he was struggling to breathe."Are you okay?"
'Crap…'
Of course he had to have a panic attack in front of the idol.Thankfully, this one was relatively minor.
'Still, I can't be doing that in front of other people…'
The former soldier took a few deep breaths to calm himself down."Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Please continue.""Are you sure?" Maizono asked, shooting him a worried look. "You don't seem to be doing well."Now he felt bad. The girl was clearly venting to him about her own struggles and here he was, having a panic attack. He couldn't imagine how rude he must've been."I'm fine," Naegi told her. "Just a small migraine. I get those from time to time."The idol gave him a hesitant look."Was it really that tough to chase your dream?" The boy asked her as a means of steering the conversation back on topic. "Is it no fun at all?""Oh, no, don't get the wrong idea," she hastily replied. "It's super fun!"Thankfully it seemed that his tactic succeeded.Either that, or Maizono decided to drop the issue on her own accord."But… that's exactly what scares me."A smile adorned her face."I enjoy every single day I wake up and get to do what I do. Everyone in our group is amazing. We're rivals in a way, but they all mean so much to me. We've been performing together since we were young, so they're all like family to me."The more she spoke, the more heavy her words grew. Her smile had been replaced by a nervous frown and her skin was completely pale."Without them, I would have given up on my dream a long time ago. To work together, and fulfill our dreams together, has brought me so much happiness…"It was Maizono's turn to start trembling, her eyes dulling once more. It was as if all of his nerves had left his body to possess her."So that's why I decided to come to Hope's Peak. They say that if you graduate from here, success is basically guaranteed. Which means I could keep on performing with my best friends, forever and ever."Naegi was getting worried. Her voice lacked any emotion to it whatsoever. Far too monotonous."Maizono?""At least, that's what I thought," she continued, too absorbed in her own mind to notice him."I really did believe that, but...now we're trapped here, with no way out. They're probably waiting for me…"The idol wrapped her arms around herself."While I'm in here, the world out there is forgetting about me. Minute by minute, we're all disappearing-""You're not," he suddenly interjected.Seeing Maizono in this state had ignited something in Naegi's body. The desperation in her words hit way too close to home, and he wasn't going to stand by while someone was experiencing a similar pain to the one that plagued his life."You're THE Sayaka Maizono," he told her. His normally timid demeanor had disappeared, being replaced by one of confidence."The idol who has smashed nearly every record in the music industry despite being so young."Crossing his arms, he continued talking."Do you really think the world would forget about you? You and your friends are the types of artists that'll be remembered long after you die."He gave her a smile."When you get out of here, people will eagerly be awaiting your comeback. And the day that you're unable to perform anymore, you'll still have many ways to keep your dream alive. You could be a producer, songwriter, a manager for a younger group…"His brown eyes shined as he spoke, teaming with optimism."I know it must've been difficult for you to reach this point, and you're afraid of losing what you've worked so hard for, but Hope's Peak accepted you the Ultimate Idol for a reason. No one's going to take that away from you."Oh how easy it was for him to help others while resisting being helped himself…Realizing how fired up he had gotten, the boy awkwardly rubbed his neck as his posture resumed its usual form."Sorry if that was a bit much…"
*Sniff*
Tears started falling from the idol's face as she tried her hardest not to break down.A wave of guilt washed over the boy.
'Great. It hasn't even been two days yet and I've already screwed up…'
It took a moment for Maizono to regain her composure."Thank you. I really needed that."
'Huh?'
The girl wiped her eyes."You're right, I am the Ultimate Idol."Although she hadn't instantly reverted to her normally cheerful self, Naegi could practically feel the surge of motivation coming from the idol."And once this is all over, I'll have to put on the best performance of my life."Maizono shot him her signature smile, a genuine one that made Naegi feel happy in return."I'll give you a front row ticket, okay?""R-really?"He knew Komaru was going to be so jealous when she heard about this."Mhm! We just gotta figure out how to get out…"The mood began dampening once more.Not wanting things to go south once more, Naegi spoke up."We'll make it through this," he gently declared. Deciding to take a page out of the idol's book, the boy gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile."I promise."Maizono looked like she wanted to challenge his claim. However, she eventually faltered."Okay. I'm trusting you."Her words earned her a nod from the former soldier.
*grumble*
The sound of a stomach growling caught their attention. Naegi instinctively looked around as an embarrassed simper."Sorry," the idol sheepishly apologized. "I guess all of this made me hungry.""It's alright. I know you're under a lot of stress.""Before we head back, why don't we go to the dining hall and get some food?" Maizono suggested. "I might not look like it, but I'm actually a pretty good cook!""Really?" The soldier asked, impressed. "What's your specialty?"Without warning, she gave him a blank stare."Chili oil."Naegi blinked at her."You mean the condiment?!"His reaction caused the girl to chuckle."Haha. Just kidding!"As she continued to giggle, the boy couldn't help but notice that her earlier mood had disappeared, being replaced by the bright smile he had grown used to seeing from her.A part of him couldn't help but feel happy to see her in such high spirits.The other part though…
'How'd she do that so fast?'
Was she really in a better mood? Or was she merely putting on a mask?He wanted to ask her, but quickly rejected the idea upon realizing that it would be rude of him to do so. If she was pretending, then there was clearly a reason why.Instead, he decided to let it pass and focus on spending time with his fr-er-companion.Could he call her a friend yet?"Since you've got the frying pan, I'll carry the sword for you."0000
'Why am I doing this again?'
After hanging out in the cafeteria for a bit, Naegi and Maizono went their separate ways, with the idol taking the faux sword with her.Alone with nothing to do, the boy chose to explore the school again. As expected, he was unable to find anything new.To finish up his excursion, Naegi decided to check out the shop, or more specifically, the MonoMono machine.The soldier had a lot of Monocoins lying around in his pockets, and even though the chances of him getting something useful out of the machine were next to zero, he couldn't help but think that maybe Monokuma had hidden some sort of clue he wanted them to find.Sighing, Naegi inserted a coin into the slot. Rumbling a bit, the machine spat out a capsule."A rose whip? What even is that?""Here ya go!"Once more, the boy had to stop himself from roundhouse kicking Monokuma due to being jump scared by his sudden appearance.The fact that he managed to stop himself meant that his body had already adapted to his new life.Facing the bear, he noticed that in his hands was indeed a whip.Hesitantly taking the item, the soldier inspected it, learning that the entire object was made up of roses."Well this is useless…"Monokuma huffed in annoyance."Hey, not every roll's gonna be a winner. It would completely ruin the fun."
'I guess…'
Wait? Why the hell was he agreeing with Monokuma?Shaking his head, he put another coin in the machine."Kitten hair clip…"Monokuma spontaneously burst into laughter."HAHAHAHA! I can't believe that you of all people managed to get that! How ironic…""Huh?"The animatronic's words confused him, and that grew when he was handed a simple hair clip that was shaped like a cat."It's just a hair clip…""Heh, you wouldn't get it," the bear remarked. "I'd tell ya, but that would be stepping into major spoilers territory."
'Is he trying to trick me?'
Why was Monokuma getting so much mileage from him finding a hair clip?Was he trying to send him on some wild goose chase? Or was there something about the hair clip that he didn't know about? What 'spoilers' was he talking about?The boy decided to pocket the accessory. He'll figure out what to do about it later."So…" the bear chirped. "You wanna give it another go?""…"Honestly, he did, but there was only so much of Monokuma that he could take."Nope."The boy turned around and left the room."Rude!" The animatronic called out to him, only to be ignored in response.Walking back to the dorms, Naegi took a quick glance at the whip that was in his hand."What am I going to even do with this?"He would receive an answer two seconds later."Yo Naegi!" A certain fashionista shouted at him as he entered Hotel Despair. With how close she was to the entrance/exit, he could tell that she was in the midst of leaving the dorms."What's up?""Uh, nothing much," he admitted. "Tried using the MonoMono machine but all I got was this."He showed her the whip.The blonde eyed the item, completely befuddled."What is that?""Monokuma called it a rose whip," the soldier replied. "I don't know how he managed to find this…"Enoshima continued to stare at the whip, intrigued."It's kinda cute, don't you think?""I guess?"Naegi didn't have any strong feelings about his prize."Do you want it?" He asked, noticing her interest in the item.Said girl's eyes widened, surprised."Eh? Really?""Yeah, I don't really have a reason to keep it and you seem like you want it."That and he was fine with giving the whip away as it was too fragile to be used as an actual weapon. Otherwise he would've kept it for himself."Heh-heh! Thanks!"The model happily accepted the gift."Lemme give you a little peck on the cheek to say thanks!""That… won't be necessary," Naegi awkwardly assured her.Enoshima huffed."Wow, really? You know, most guys would kill to be in your shoes right now."
'I believe it…'
The girl was a superstar after all, so he knew that she'd had her fair share of encounters with guys who were constantly trying to shoot their shot.Crossing her arms, the blonde sulked"I'm really offended, I hope you know that."Naegi had no idea what to say in response. How could he when he didn't even know what he did wrong?"I'm sorry…?"Enoshima laughed, her mood doing a complete 180."C'mon, I'm just screwing with you!" She informed him. "You didn't take it serious, did you!?"
'Kinda, yeah…'
His confused expression earned him a grin from the girl."Aw, I appreciate the thought."Without warning, she gently ruffled his hair.
'What the hell?'
Naturally, most people hated being touched without their consent, and Naegi was no different there…However, his aversion to being touched went far beyond the norm.Any form of physical contact sent his body into overdrive, triggering the battle instincts he's developed due to his time as a soldier. Those who didn't ask for permission beforehand were usually slammed to the ground as the boy unconsciously defended himself from a perceived threat, only recognizing what he had done afterwards.Something similar happened when Ogami reached out to him, his body going into autopilot mode and grabbing her wrist to stop her.The only people who could touch him were his family… and it took a few months before he could reach that point with them.So how was Enoshima, a complete stranger, able to do so without his body reacting negatively?Even more perplexing, the gesture of her rubbing his hair felt familiar, almost as if she, or someone else, had done this to him numerous times in the past.
'Seriously, who is she?'
Outside of everything relating to the school, she had to be the biggest enigma he's ever encountered, and with his past, that was saying something."So, like, I'm going to head back to my room now," the girl told him, snapping him back to reality."Stay safe, alright?"Not wanting to be rude, he responded back to her."You too."With a grin, the model made her way back to her room. Naegi couldn't help but notice that her steps seemed to be quicker than usual.
'Wait a sec, wasn't she leaving the dorms?'
0000Having decided to return to his room as well, the boy sat down on his bed with a loud sigh.
'Today was… eventful…'
Zoning out, the soldier began mulling over his day.He started from the beginning; the time he had spent with Maizono.
'I'm glad we were able to find something for her.'
Knowing that the girl had something to defend herself with was soothing.He hoped she never had to use it though.Continuing his mental replay, the soldier frowned when he remembered some of what the idol had confided to him.
'What kinds of things did she have to do to get to where she is now?'
Maizono had described those acts as 'unpleasant', but what exactly did that mean?He highly doubted that she killed somebody like he had. Did those acts involve bribery? Blackmail? Sexual services?The soldier shuddered at the last one. The girl was still a minor, and even if she wasn't, it would still be horrible.Naegi decided to change the topic.
'She was very open with me…'
The information that she shared about herself definitely wasn't public knowledge. Not once has she mentioned her fears during the numerous interviews she was featured in, nor has she ever been caught crying in public like she did today.Everything that was said and done during their conversation…She had been completely vulnerable with him in a way that would've suggested that they'd known each other for years.
'It's strange…'
Then there was the way she described chasing her dreams…
'Those words could've come out of my mouth…'
That scared him.To constantly chase a dream, to ignore everything else other than that dream… It was a very dangerous road to go down.Naegi had done the same thing, and as a result, he spent his childhood never getting to live. He was alive, yes, but being alive wasn't the same as living.Maizono did have something that he didn't though, and that was companionship. Through her bonds with her friends, she was able to have moments where she could enjoy herself and make positive memories, even when the journey got rough.Could he confidently say she was living? No. He hasn't known her long enough to make such an assessment.But she wasn't alone, and that was a huge boon to have in life.
'Alright, I think that's it for now.'
The boy moved on to the latter part of the day, unconsciously pulling out the kitten hair clip he had gotten from the MonoMono machine.
'What's the story with this thing?'
He didn't need to be a fashion expert to know that the clip wasn't anything special. It was just a cute accessory.
'And where do I fit into it?'
For some reason, Monokuma had found it exceptionally humorous that he won that specific prize, calling it ironic.Naegi didn't have the slightest clue about what he was talking about, and that also went for the 'spoilers'.
'Monokuma's keeping something from me…'
What did the animatronic know that he didn't?Eventually, the boy moved on to thinking about his encounter with Enoshima.
'I really need to keep an eye on her.'
He was a broken record at this point when it came to the topic, but it was true.There's something about Junko Enoshima that he didn't know about, and whatever it was, it had to do with why she was so friendly with him.
'She shouldn't have been able to touch me…'
Was he drugged?
'No, I can still feel everything.'
Whelp, he was out of ideas.One day, he'll have no choice but to confront her and have her give him the answers he's looking for.Right now though, it was far too early.For now, he'll play her game.That is, as long as she doesn't do anything harmful to him or his classmates.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially night time. 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…"
*Buop*
'Already?'
The boy was surprised by how quickly the day had passed."I guess I should get some rest."Quickly preparing for bed, Naegi laid down and closed his eyes.Today had been quite eventful, although he was still as every bit as lost as he was yesterday. Maybe even more so…There was a lot of things to be done if he wanted out, but there wasn't much left for him to do today but sleep.
'Tomorrow's another day.'