Chapter Text

Bring

My alarm clock started ringing. I turned over and tried to hit the snooze button, but apparently I had hidden it today. I groaned as I sat up. I looked around to see where I had sat it, before turning it off.

“Now, why did I set an alarm for today?” I asked myself. I always started my day forcing myself to use my accent, as otherwise I might forget to use it.

I stepped out of my room, and went to my kitchen to see the reason why setting out on the counter. An open letter addressed to me:

Celestia Ludenberg

We at Hope’s Peak Academy have heard of your exploits at recent tournaments,

and would like to offer you the opportunity to be the Ultimate Gambler in our

next semester. Included with this letter is an orientation

guide. We wish to see you soon.

Normally an offer like this would be meaningless to me, however, graduation from this particular academy came with a guarantee for success. With that, I may just be able to fulfill my dream, and get far away from here. It also gave me an opportunity to graduate from the academy that someone I hated was expelled from, which will prove that I am better than him. With that reminder of what I was doing, I set my tea kettle to boil, and started to get ready.

I got dressed in one of my more comfortable outfits, a black tiered skirt, and a white blouse with my red tie, with an intricate butterfly pattern. Next I put on a black jacket with a lace underlay, and pulled on some black stockings. I looked through my closet to see what shoes I had not already sent off to the academy. There was a pair of brown loafers, or red high heels, and the heels much better suited what Celestia.

I walked into the bathroom to start to work on my face. I used my makeup to make my skin appear as white as porcelain. I considered using contacts to hide my red eye color, but I decided it would be easier to answer any questions day one, rather than have to use those lenses constantly.

I fixed my short hair into shape, then took my black twin drill extensions, and clipped them onto my hair. As much as I wanted to grow my hair out that long naturally, it simply was not feasible to constantly fix my naturally straight hair into those curls. I used a lace bonnet to hide where the clips lay.

Finally, I took out my jewelry, first two golden earrings that I had one in a recent tournament. I took great pride in the times I was able to force others to bet personal belongings alongside their cash. The other piece was an armored ring. I had had if for as long as I could remember, and as much as I wanted to destroy it like everything else from back then, I could never bring myself to, as it had various uses for such a simple item. I reluctantly slid it onto my right index finger.

I returned to the kitchen to fix my tea, I was going to be late, but that was okay, they could wait for me.

As soon as the grandfather clock struck 8:00, the world began to warp and spin, until suddenly it all went black.

I woke up suddenly in a strange classroom. I knew I didn’t leave my apartment, so how could I have gotten here? Next to me was a pamphlet that read “Orientation Guide”. I’d read the one that came with my invitation, and I didn’t need a reminder.

I first made sure to check that my hair was still properly fashioned, and that the desk had not heavily wrinkled my skirt. Next, I turned to see what was around me.

It looked like a normal classroom, with desks facing a chalkboard, cork-boards for other notices, and a monitor that looked like it was used for class announcements. There was a camera in the room, although that was not entirely unexpected in a school. The only real oddity was that a metal plate covered everywhere a window would normally have been. I walked over and hit it, and it reverberated like solid metal.

Since I was still a little dazed from whatever had happened to me, I went ahead and walked out of the classroom, and went to the entrance hall of the school, where I hoped to find some answers. I didn’t pass anyone in the hallways, and from what I could see, there was no natural light in the building either, with the lights giving off an unnatural red tint. The further I walked, the faster I went, hoping for a way out.

I opened the door to the entrance hall, which was just as devoid of life as the halls, however the lighting gave off a more natural feeling, which was somewhat comforting. What was not comforting was the large vault door where the entrance to the building would normally be. I walked over to it, and put my hand on it. I pulled my hand back whenever I felt the layers of dust on it. Whatever this door was, it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time.

“What is this place?” came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a disheveled man who looked to be in his 20’s, with wild hair. “Hey, lady, are you supposed to be a teacher or somethin’?”

I looked around to see if there was anyone else around who I had missed, but it appeared that he was referring to me. “How would I be your teacher?” I asked indignantly, “You are the one who looks too old to be in high school.”

“I may have been held back a couple times,” he said, “but you’re like, dressed really fancy.”

“Some of us,” I tried to hide my sneer at his outfit, “like to give off good impressions.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged, “hey, so if you aren’t a teacher, who are you.”

I didn’t glare at him, even though I wanted to. “I am Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler. You may call me Celestia if you wish.” As much as I didn’t want to interact with this guy, I would have to introduce myself at some point. “I was supposed to start class at Hope’s Peak Academy today, do you have any idea where we are?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen this looks like Hope’s Peak entrance hall, but I only saw it for a moment before I blacked out.” He scratched the back of his head, as if trying to find a bump.

“You blacked out?” I said in surprise, “I had a similar experience myself this morning. Whenever I awoke, I was just, in a classroom.”

“Hellllooo!” An obnoxious voice sounded from just outside the door, “is anyone in there?” In strode the very picture of a model, yet for some reason I found her absolutely terrifying.

“Oh there you are,” she smiled what should have been a pleasant smile, but it filled me with dread, “I have been looking all over the place, but I couldn’t find anyone.”

“Hey there,” the obnoxious man slid up next to her, “I’m Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant, would you like me to read your future?” He looked as if he was trying to flirt with her, but the look of disgust on her face showed that she hated him almost as much as I did.

“So that is your name,” I said, dragging attention away from him, “luckily you have already made me dislike you, otherwise I might have had to change my stance on that name.”

“What? Hagakure is a great name!” He looked pleased at himself, and bringing him down would make me feel marginally better.

“I meant Yasuhiro,” I said bitterly, “every person I have ever met with that name has been a loser, luckily for me, you continue that trend.” The shock on his face at my hatred of such things was very satisfying. I turned to face the newcomer, as much as I didn’t want to. “I am Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“I’m Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashions,” she wore a smile that said she was proud to be able to wear that name, and from what I had heard, she deserved it.

“I think I recognize you,” I said, “you are on the cover of many different magazines.” That was true, but somehow her face did not exactly line up with what I’ve seen. I don’t remember her looking nearly as freckled on the covers.

“In, on whatever,” she looked dismissive of the praise, “they use so much photo-shop these days that I don’t even care anymore.” That would explain any differences from her photos. “Do either of you have your phones? It looks like they took mine, but I could’ve dropped it.”

Hagakure quickly went through his pockets, “Aww man, I had so much stuff on that.”

“So,” came a haughty voice, “it would appear I am not the first one to awaken.” The man who stepped through the door had a look of disdain upon his face. After looking around at us, he said “Since you appear to be the types who would need to look up this information, I am Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.”

“I have heard of you, I just did not expect to see the heir to the Togami corporation here,” I said as if he had not just insulted me. The heir to the Togami Corporation had a reputation even among the groups I operated in.

“Before any of you bother to introduce yourselves I already know who you are,” he had a smug smile on his face, “I made sure to know the names and faces of my classmates before I came here.” He said that as if any of us were complete unknowns. I knew that every year there were a few students who weren’t commonly known, but the three of us each had our own followings.

“So?” Enoshima had annoyed look on her face, “Do you know anything about where we are Mr. Ultimate Affluent Progeny?”

“Obviously we are in Hope’s Peak Academy,” he smirked as if that wasn’t the obvious statement, “now, let me take a look at that hatch.” We stepped aside to let him through to check the door.

After watching him make no progress for a while, I turned around to see that a mountain of muscle had stepped through the door. “Hello,” I tried not to jump back in surprise at how quietly it had entered.

“I’m sorry for not speaking up sooner, but I didn’t want to intrude,” came a deep, but feminine voice, “I am Sakura Ogami, the Ultimate Martial Artist.”

“Wait,” paused Hagakure, “I thought that was the name of the World’s Strongest Man.”

“I am often called the World’s Strongest Human, but that title belongs to someone else.” She said unflinching.

“Oh,” I said, “who would that be?”

“No one you would have heard of,” she said without offering further explanation.

We all went around and introduced ourselves in return. Hagakure whispered to me “Don’t expect me to hang out with the Ogre.”

“Do not act as if I am any sort of confidant,” I returned, “because as you do not expect to be around her, I do not expect to be around you.” He ignored me and kept staring at our classmate.

A few moments passed before the next person, a rather large man, arrived. “Uhh, hi there,” he stumbled in making a bunch of noise. “I am Hifumi Yamada,” he proudly declared, “but if you want to call me by my title, ‘The Alpha and the Omega!’ I don’t mind.” That name is incredibly pretentious, and this is coming from someone who made up their own name. “I am the Ultimate Fanfic Creator.”

After everyone returned with their own introductions, Hagakure went over and started talking with him. Whatever got them to stop talking to me was good.

“Yo,” came a new voice, “any of you know what’s up with the lights?” The person who said this had spiky red hair.

“No,” replied Togami, “no one here knows anything, now introduce yourself to these people and leave me alone.”

“Come-on man,” he sighed, “I blacked out, and now I’m here. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“The same thing happened to each of us,” Ogami replied, “the only thing to do now is wait.”

“Alright,” his face returned to a smile, “the name’s Leon Kuwata, and I’m the Ultimate Baseball Star!”

We all introduced ourselves, at which point he looked down, “Aww man, I was really hoping there’d be someone with a musical ability here.”

“Why?” I asked “Surely music has nothing to do with baseball?”

“I’m done with baseball,” he yelled, “I’m gonna be a musician. For now, I just need to find more members of my band.”

“Well,” I returned, “there will probably be some more students who show up, perhaps one of them will be good with music.”

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll just wait and see.” He looked excited to see who came in next.

He didn’t have to wait very long before the door opened. The person started to enter whenever Kuwata shouted “Hey, who are you!” they let the door close for a moment, but before we could go check on them, they stepped into the room, revealing a girl with brown pigtails and glasses.

“Oh, sorry if I scared ya,” Kuwata apologized.

“NO!” She shouted excitedly, starting to stick her tongue out before pulling it back in, “I mean, just don’t do it again. The names G- I mean, Toko Fukawa, The Ultimate Writing Prodigy.” I had heard of her; her first book had made people mistake fishermen for being attractive. That book came out several years ago, and they were still at the top of the most attractive men polls. While not exactly as romantic as I pictured, she still fit the image of a writer, she must be trying to impress us with how much she’s holding back.

“Yeah, well, I’m Leon Kuwata, and I was wondering if you’d like to join my band?”

“A band?” She looked up before quickly looking back down, “I’ve always wanted to join a band.” She walked over to Kuwata and whispered something before backing off.

“Alright,” He smiled.

“ACHOO!” She let out a huge sneeze, switching from looking sad but excited, to panicked in an instant. “Who are all of you, why are you looking at me?” She asked.

“We’re your classmates,” Kuwata smiled, “like I said before I’m Leon Kuwata.” The rest of us went around introducing ourselves, and letting her know what had happened.

“I suppose I need to say who I am,” she said slowly.

“Nah,” Kuwata responded, “you told us already.”

“I did?” she looked completely panicked, “I-I mean, of course I did.” I tried not to look too hard at her, fearing she would pass out. Kuwata avoided looking at her, but he was clearly happy with whatever she had told him.

“Alright!” A gruff voice shouted, “There’d better be a good explanation for this, otherwise,” the door slammed opened to reveal a tall man in a long black jacket. “Good,” he said upon realizing we were there, “explain this,” he gestured around.

“Unfortunately,” I tried to look as innocent as possible, “we are just as confused as you are.”

“Humph, well, someone’s bound to explain this eventually, and when they do,” he slammed his fist into the wall, “I’m gonna show them why they shouldn’t get on the bad side of the Crazy Diamonds.”

“Crazy Diamonds,” said Hagakure, “like the largest biker gang in Japan?”

“Yep, and I’m Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader,” he smiled with pride for his gang, “so, who are all you?” We told him who we were, to which he seemed pleased.

The door opened once again, revealing a girl wearing purple gloves.

“Hmm,” she looked to be deep in thought, “did any of you look around the school before you came here?” We all shook our heads no. “Interesting.”

“Pray tell,” Togami looked over from the door, “who are you?”

“I thought you knew everyone who was in here,” Enoshima said in mock surprise.

“No, I only claimed to know who you were,” he said as if it made a difference.

“I’m Kyoko Kirigiri,” she went around to the corners of the room, analyzing everything to see if it could yield a potential clue.

After waiting for her to continue, I said, “Pleasure to meet you Kirigiri, may I ask what your talent is?”

She hesitated a moment before saying, “No, you may not,” and returned to her search of the room. Despite her refusal to tell us anything about herself, I went on to introduce everyone to her. By the time I was done, she had gone over to the vault door.

“The door won’t open,” Togami said, “I have searched all of it, and nothing works.”

“All that tells me,” she returned, “is that there is nothing for you to find. I knew it wouldn’t open before I even came in here. So far I have only looked at it and I’ve already learned one important clue.” Togami jumped back in shock that in a matter of seconds she had figured out something that even he hadn’t been able to. “Now if you’ll leave me alone to investigate.” She continued looking at the door, trying to find any new information, while we tried to see what she had worked out so quickly.

Some time passed, before the door opened once again, revealing a girl with a brown ponytail. “Oh, good,” she smiled, “I was starting to think I was alone here.” She walked over and said “Hi, I’m Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro.”

We all returned our introductions, except for Kirigiri who I introduced for her. After that Asahina went over and started talking to Ogami.

The door burst open revealing a girl with blue hair in a school uniform. She looked around briefly before focusing on Kirigiri. “There you are,” she said excitedly “I called out to you but you didn’t answer.”

Kirigiri looked up from her investigation, “Because you were about to enter this hall, you were close to meeting everyone.”

“Yeah,” she crossed her arms, “but you looked like you knew something, so I wanted to speak to you.”

“Unfortunately I don’t know anything solid yet,” she said without showing any emotion.

“I thought you found a clue,” Togami smirked.

“I did,” Kirigiri looked him dead in the eyes, “that does not mean I know something. Just because there is a clue, doesn’t mean it’s important.”

“Then have you found any important clues?” his expression didn’t change.

“Maybe,” she said, “but I need to verify that they are true before telling anyone, otherwise we’d just be more confused.”

“Just as I thought, you don’t know anything.” He was clearly gloating with that.

“If you must know something conclusive,” she stood and turned to face him, “every room in here is equipped with a camera, meaning our every move is being watched, and whoever put us here plans on constantly watching us.”

“Well-” Togami started.

“I wasn’t finished,” she interrupted him, “there is no one else present in the downstairs of this school, and I don’t just mean we can’t find anyone, we all woke up in the same classroom, but we didn’t see anyone else in there at the time. Whoever is behind this is keeping an eye on us, and whenever we leave the classroom, they lock the door and put someone else in there.”

“How do you know all this?” asked Owada.

“Because unlike you, I made sure I knew what all was around before I went where they wanted me.” She said. “Now, I believe is the time where you introduce yourself,” Kirigiri said to the blue haired girl, before returning to the vault door.

“Oh, right,” she shook her head before saying, “I’m Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation.”

“Sweet,” Kuwata said, “I was hoping to meet someone who knew about music, I’m looking to start a band, and I was wanting some help.”

“I’m not going to leave my friends to join another band,” she said, “if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Nah,” he shrugged, “I just need some help getting started.”

“Uh, hello,” we turned to see that someone else had entered the room, “I’m, Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer.” It looked to be a young girl, wearing a brown skirt. “Is that what I’m supposed to say?” she asked nervously.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you come in,” said Asahina, “how much did you hear?”

“A bit, I don’t really know what was going on,” she said nervously.

“Do not worry too much,” I said, “we can explain after we introduce ourselves.” After that we went around giving our names and titles to Fujisaki and Maizono, before explaining what we knew.

We waited a while, before the next person arrived. He wore a white formal school uniform. “Hello there,” he cheered at us, “I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru.”

I then realized that his eyes were red like mine. “Hello,” I smiled and walked up to him, “Celestia Ludenberg, although you may call me Celestia.”

“Ah, I haven’t met someone else with red eyes before, I’m sure we can bond over this.” He gave me a large smile.

“I have heard they are more prevalent among Ultimates,” I said, “but I did not expect to actually have someone else in my class have them.”

“Ah yes, my Ultimate ability, I forgot to mention that,” he outstretched his hand, “The Ultimate Moral Compass, at your service.”

“Oh my,” I took his hand, “well as I am the Ultimate Gambler, we may be at odds with each other more often than not.”

“That may be,” he took his hand back, “but we can still be on good terms can’t we?”

“I believe so,” I said, “just try not to be too boring.”

“And you stay out of trouble,” he said, before freezing. I realized it to, we had just said that as if we had said those very words a thousand times, but we had never met before. I don’t normally say things like that to people, and by the look on his face neither does he. “Uhh, who shall I speak to next?” He walked away, unsure of what had just happened, but on his way to meet everyone else.

The clock struck 8:00, and as we were thinking about whether or not to go look around, we saw a new student enter. He had messy brown hair with one particular strand standing straight up.

“So counting him, that makes fifteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone…” Togami man said. The new one was looking around in awe, as if he did not believe he should be in the same room as everyone here.

“Um,” he seemed to finally get a hold of himself, “how’s it going? My name’s Makoto Naegi. Sorry I’m latte, a bunch of stuff happened, and then all of a sudden I was just… asleep.”

“Woah, you too?” Hagakure asked.

“Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser…” Naegi was the first to have described his situation as asleep, and seemed to have somewhat accepted that as normal. I had to wonder if this was something he experienced often, or if he had been somewhere where falling asleep while inside the school had made sense.

“So strange…” Yamada said, “I declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a strange situation indeed.”

“Um…” Naegi seemed unsure of something, “what are you talking about? I honestly have no idea what’s going on right now.”

“First,” Ishimaru said, “there is something we must address. Naegi! Your tardiness is unacceptable! Surely you were aware the meeting was to start at 8:00 a.m. sharp!”

“What’s your problem?” Enoshima asked, “It’s not like he wanted to be late. He didn’t have any control over it.”

“Everyone calm down,” Asahina suggested, “Why don’t we all introduce ourselves so that he knows who we are.”

“What?” Owada shouted, “Now’s not the time for introductions!”

“Maybe,” I said, “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?”

“Okay,” Maizono cheered, “let’s get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sound good?” With that we began our last rounds of introductions. After everyone else had spoken to him, he came over to me.

“I do not think we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenberg.” I gave him a pleasant smile.

“Celestia…Luden…huh?” He said confused.

“Celestia Ludenberg, but you may call me Celestia.”

“You are Japanese right?” He seemed to question who I claimed to be.

“Of course. Why do you ask?” I tried to make it seem like the question he was asking had an obvious answer, so he would stop going on.

“If you don’t mind… could you tell me your real name?” he actually asked. Very few people realize that the name I use is fake, and even fewer question why. Not one of them ever actually asked me to tell them my real name before.

“Heh-heh,” I tried to laugh off his question, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Celestia Ludenberg is my real name.” He doesn’t seem to buy it, but he at least he’ll stop questioning it.

“Oh yeah,” he said after a moment, “I’m Makoto Naegi.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, I am known as the Ultimate Gambler.” I smiled pleasantly.

“I had heard, rumor has it that you cleaned out an underground gambling tournament, earning the name Queen of Liars,” he said.

“Yes, well,” I said, surprised out how much he knew and yet still questioned me, “it is probably nothing compared to your ability.”

“Well I don’t really have an ability.” He said nervously.

“Don’t have one,” I was surprised to hear that, “then why were you invited?” I was genuinely curious at what his story was.

“They held a lottery, and apparently I won. They gave me the title of Ultimate Luck, but I just got lucky once, it’s not a talent like yours.”

“Do not doubt yourself,” I said, “luck is not an ability to be discounted. Lives are won, and lost based solely on luck. Everyone here is only here because they were lucky enough to be noticed. However, while we all have something else to draw their attention, you were able to gain it only with luck. You may just have the strongest ability here.”

“I don’t know,” he still looked nervous, “but thanks for the vote of confidence. See you around Celeste.”

“My name is Celestia, not Celeste.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to remember it.” He looked embarrassed that he had already messed up my name. We separated after that. I waited a little while for everyone to finish their conversations and then we got started.

“Okay,” Togami said, “Time to get down to business, this is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons.”

“Oh,” Naegi asked, “you said something about a bigger problem or something? What was that about?”

“Well, you see,” Maizono started, “you said a bunch of stuff happened, and then you were just asleep right? Well, that’s what happened to all of us.”

“Just after we got to the main hall,” Kuwata said, “we lost consciousness, and whenever we came to, we were somewhere here in the school! That’s what happened to you, right?”

“But for every one of us to get knocked out like that,” Naegi started.

“Exactly,” screamed Owada, “that’s why we’re freaking out!”

“That is not all,” continued Ishimaru, “you saw all the windows in the classes and halls? They were all covered with metal plates!”

“Plus all my stuffs missing,” Enoshima said worriedly, “Even my cell-phone.”

“Yeah,” Said Fujisaki, “I haven’t seen my laptop anywhere.”

“And then in the main hall, the front exit is completely blocked by some giant hatch,” said Ishimaru “but there wasn’t anything like that when I first got here. What’s it doing here?”

“Maybe we got caught up in some kinda, like, you know… crime or something?” suggested Enoshima

“Like a kidnapping?” Kuwata’s expression became nervous, “you think maybe someone grabbed us and hauled us off and we’re not actually at school?”

“Come on, don’t think like that,” said Hagakure with a grin, “cheer up! It’s probably part of the orientation procedure. Yeah, I’m sure that’s it! So I’m just gonna take it easy for a little bit.” Hagakure went to sit down and lie against the wall.

“Oh…” smiled Fujisaki, “so you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?”

“Huh,” Kuwata said, “well if it is naptime for me. I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye.”

*DING DONG BING BONG*

Static filled the monitor in the entrance hall. “Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two!” The voice was grating on my ears, a highly processed voice that didn’t feel natural in the least, but acted as if it was playing. “This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then…! To all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony right now! Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. That’s all. I’ll be waiting!”

“What the hell was that just now?” Enoshima asked in confusion.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me,” Togami left without waiting for anyone else.

“Hey! What, you’re gonna take off just like that?” Enoshima looked at him in confusion.

“Ohh yeah, now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped for the entrance ceremony! Man, thank god it was all a joke. I’d be totally freaked out if this was real!” Hagakure is an idiot. “Alright, guess I’ll head out, too. Wonder what they got planned for us next…”

“I was totally looking forward to that nap, too. Why’d they have to go and kill the mood?” asked Kuwata. I got the feeling that the reason they had announced that right then was specifically to kill the mood.

“Wait for me! I wanna go with you!” Fujisaki followed close behind.

“That is that, then. I will see you all there,” I smiled pleasantly. If everyone was just going to head off, no reason trying to hold them back.

I walked through the empty halls until I reached the gym. There was an entryway with shelves full of different trophies, and another security camera. I kept walking into the gym, where I saw everyone who left before me waiting. There was a podium facing toward us, with two rows of chairs for us to sit in. We waited a few minutes for everyone to arrive, and that is when it began.

“Hey there, howdy, hello!” The voice from the monitor returned. I had expected it to sound more natural in person, but somehow that just mad it all the more unnatural. “Is everyone here? Good! Then let’s get things rolling!” Suddenly a stuffed bear came flying out from behind the podium. It’s right half looked normal, just a white teddy bear, with a button eye, and a smile that ended with its snout. It’s left half, while still maintaining the same shape, was anything but normal. The first oddity was that it was a different color than the left, black, and the mouth was a toothy grin that extended to the edge of its face. However, the really strange part was its right eye, a red arc, with jagged lines on the bottom. Just one look at its eye gave me a sense of unease.

“Huh?” came from a surprised Fujisaki, “A teddy bear?”

“I’m not a teddy bear!” replied a voice. I was waiting for a person to come crawling out from behind the podium, but the voice continued “I am Monokuma! And I am this school’s headmaster! Nice to meet you all.” The teddy bear suddenly stood up. Whoever was controlling it was clearly trying to put us on edge with its carefree attitude, and judging by our expressions, it was succeeding.

“Wh-? Waaah! That teddy bear can talk!” screamed Yamada.

“Calm down!” said Ishimaru “I’m sure there’s just a speaker inside of it.”

“I told you already,” said the bear with what sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth, which is impressive for something that can’t open its mouth, “I’m not a teddy bear, I am Monokuma!”

“Waaah! It moved!” Yamada was in a complete state of shock.

“Seriously man, calm down,” came from surprisingly Owada, “It’s probably just a remote control toy or somethin’.”

“How dare you compare me to a child’s plaything!” Monokuma tried to look sad, but failed, “you’ve cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench… My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can’t recreate or even comprehend it! Ah, but don’t make me say stuff that might destroy NASA’s dreams, I just couldn’t BEAR that!”

“Bear, that? Really? You are… unfortunate.” Puns are a low form of humor, and I will not tolerate having to be- listen to them.

“Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started…” Monokuma continued.

“Giving up already?” asked Enoshima, “No other stupid bear puns?”

“Quiet down now, quiet down. Ah, okay, so…!” Monokuma looked to be upset that we kept interrupting him. “Everyone! Stand at attention… now bow, and good morning!”

“Good Morning!” Ishimaru followed all of his instructions before returning his greeting.

“You don’t have to answer him back,” Fukawa objected to him.

“Now then,” Monokuma ignored her and continued, “let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony! 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. To protect such splendid hope, 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. Ah, now then… regarding the end date for this communal life… 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 die?”

“Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won’t lack for all the common conveniences.” Monokuma attempted to give off a pleasant vibe.

“That’s the least of our worries right now!” Maizono exclaimed.

“What? You’re saying I have to live here forever?” Enoshima’s face went blank, “you’re screwing with us, right?”

“I am not screwing with you! I am no liar; of that you can be 100% sure.” Monokuma screamed. I have met with countless people who lie constantly, and they are the only people I have had tell me that they don’t lie. Honest people still lie, and will more often than not admit as much. “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!”

“Cut off?” Naegi said confused, “so all those metal plates all over the school… they’re there to keep us trapped in here?”

“That’s exactly what they’re there for.” Monokuma replied. “No matter how much you may yell and scream for help, it will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!”

“Come on, what the hell is this?” Kuwata asked “I don’t care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke.”

“Yeah! Cut it out! It isn’t funny anymore!” Owada screamed.

“You keep saying this is a lie or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you.” Monokuma looked at us, “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 figure out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you’ll see with your own eyes that I speak the undeniable truth.”

“Having to live here forever would be… quite the problem,” I said, remembering my dream to get away.

“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?” Monokuma acts like this hasn’t changed things. “And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you’ve already decided you want to leave? Oh, but you know…. I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school. As headmaster I’ve crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it…. The graduation clause! 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. 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!”

“What do you mean by “disrupt the harmony”?” growled Togami.

“Well, you know, if one person were to murder another.” Monokuma said frankly, “stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn’t matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It’s as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all o achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible. 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 shadow of despair. And I find that just so exciting!”

“What are you talking about? To kill each other is…” Kuwata couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“To kill each other is to kill each other. I’m sure there’s a dictionary here somewhere if you need it.” Monokuma acted as if such a simple statement meant that the act would be just as simple.

“We know what it means, that’s not the problem,” Asahina looked determined, “Why do we have to kill each other?”

“You guys just don’t get it, do you,” Monokuma did something akin to a sneer at us, “Let us go, let us go!” You keep on saying the same thing over and over. Listen, from this moment onward, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it? And you can kill as much as you want! So go ahead, go on a killing spree!”

“Alright, come on,” Hagakure looked up for the first time in a while, “how long are you gonna keep this up? You got us, okay? You scared us, so you can go ahead and reveal the trick now. I mean, this is obviously a trick.”

“Dude, shut up and get out of my way,” Owada pushed his way past Hagakure, and grabbed Monokuma. “Listen up, this has gone way too far. Let us go before I rip you to shreds!”

“Waaah!” Screamed Monokuma, “Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!”

“Shut up and let us out of here!” Owada screamed. Monokuma stopped struggling, and started beeping.

“Watch out!” Yelled Kirigiri, “Get rid of it! Throw it!” As if on command, Owada turned and threw the stuffed animal as hard as he could. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, as Monokuma self-destructed. We stood in stunned silence, until we heard an odd sound. We turned to see Monokuma pop back up behind the podium

“You just tried to kill me!” screamed Owada.

“Well yes,” Monokuma said, “I was serious about trying to kill you. 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. Just to explain so you don’t try that again, Monokuma’s have been placed all throughout the school, so I have plenty of backups. Plus, the surveillance cameras installed will let me know instantly if you break a rule. If you do, well, we just saw what happened. And I won’t be so forgiving with my punishment next time.”

“That’s not even punishment,” Asahina said, “that’s just wrong.”

“Now then lastly… to commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you. This is the official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see it’s fully digital so we call it the e-Handbook!” Monokuma looked around at all of our shocked expressions, “Ahem, 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! Now this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that! And it’s completely waterproof. It can also withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly! You’ll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society would fall into utter chaos without laws. The same applies here, which is why it’s crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators. That brings our opening ceremony to a close. Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And see ya!”

“So how would you define what we just experienced?” Ishimaru asked.

“I don’t understand this…” came from an unmoving Kuwata.

“We have to live here forever? Or kill?” Fukawa was holding her head in disbelief.

“Everyone we need to calm down,” said Kirigiri, “First let’s just take a second to summarize everything we just heard. Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choices. Stay here living a communal life together until the day we die,”

“If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?” I finished her thought.

“But killing someone,” said Fujisaki.

“We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school,” Stuttered Yamada, “and now we’re supposed to start killing each other? This is…”

“A lie,” said a shocked Ishimaru, “All these ridiculous things we’ve heard… this all has to be fake!”

“Right now it doesn’t matter what’s real or fake,” Togami said, “What matters is there anyone here who’s seriously considering all this…?” We all looked around at each other, trying to see if anyone looked like they would actually do it. We stood around looking with fear and hatred at all those around us.