Just noticed on this fic's view chart that the first and latest chapter have A LOT more views than the investigation and trial chapters. It's almost like people read the lighthearted parts and then skip the deaths. How fascinating...

Chapter 2.3 - Prisoner of Despair

DING DONG DING DONG

"All Beacon students are called to Gymnasium immediately. Failure to show up will be met with severe punishment."

Jaune's head started racing, realizing what that announcement meant.

It was time for another incentive.

Quickly, he made his way to the designated place, running into Emerald and Ren on the way, who looked just as worried as him. The three of them barged into the gym, and found that the rest of the class was already there. Nobody wished to be late and find out what severe punishment meant, especially after seeing what had happened to Yatsuhashi. Besides, as much as they would want to ignore an incentive, their lives could depend on it.

Tension built up as the twelve survivors waited impatiently for the headmaster's appearance. It was taking just a little too long, enough to make them wonder if the lateness was on purpose. He looked around, seeking some form of comfort, but found none. Every Pyrrha seemed to be nervously avoiding his gaze.

"You're all here. My, my, I'm impressed."

The monochrome toy appeared from behind them, forcing the group to disperse so he could pass. He leaped towards the stage, almost comically not making the jump, and after wiggling a bit stood back up next to the podium and looked at them."

"So, kiddos, let me cut to the chase: I'm getting bored here, it's about damn time you killed someone else. For that reason, I'm giving you another incentive." The class voiced their displeasure loudly and all at once, but the bear ignored then and kept talking. "This time I decided to do something different."

Monokuma kicked the stand, which fell over as if it was made of cardboard. Behind it was revealed a wooden chest, encasing some kind of unspeakable booty within. When the stuffed mascot tapped the lid, they almost expected a monster to jump out of it.

"Alright, let's see who's first. Hmmm... How about... Ruby Rose?" He pointed his fuzzy fingerless hand at the red-hooded girl.

"Huh?" She froze in place, too afraid to move."

"Yes, you! Come over here, chop chop!"

The crowd moved away to give her space to obey. She walked tentatively forward, until she was by the stage, and waited for further instructions.

"Okay, now the second one... Pool Noodle, what about you?"

It took Jaune a moment to remember who the headmaster's nickname referred to. He swallowed dryly and moved to Ruby's side.

Monokuma turned his back on them, and opened the chest, leaning inside. They tried to peek inside, but it was hard to see over the bear's side. He then hummed eagerly, and stood back up. In his hands was a pair of handcuffs.

"What the..." Before the blond boy had time to react, the mascot was already upon him. There was a metallic clank coming from below, and when he looked down there was a shackle wrapped around his wrist.

Ruby shrieked loudly. The twin to his cuff was wrapped around her wrist too, binding them together through a chain that was not more than a meter and a half long. They traded a panicked glance, just now realizing what this meant.

"I now declare you husband and wife."

"You can't do that!" "Let me go now!" They both yelled at the same time, their voices becoming a incomprehensible mess. The rest of the class was completely silent, waiting to see where the show would take them.

"I'm joking! What kind of sick person would want to kill their spouse? No, I want you to think of each other as prisoners."

"What?"

"You are bound to one another until someone dies. The key to your freedom is right in front of you, you just have to get it by force." After the explanation, Monokuma resumed his manic cackling.

"MONOKUMA, I SWEAR-" Yang began trotting forward, positively fuming in rage, but she was interrupted by the animal.

"I have one for you too, Blondie."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, did you think only those two got it? Everyone is getting cuffed, that's the incentive of today!"

The general murmur set in once again.

"So, Miss Xiao Long, since you're so eager, come on over. And for you I have... Blake Belladonna!"

Jaune and Ruby moved away from the stage and from each other, momentarily forgetting they were bound. The pull of the chain on both their wrists reminded them, however, and they ended up leaving towards the same direction.

Yang and Blake took their place, and received a similar treatment. After them came Weiss and Pyrrha, then Ren and Sun - to Nora's great dismay, who herself was tied up to Emerald. Velvet and Nora were the last of the bunch.

"Now what?" Emerald stared bewildered at the handcuff in her hand, posing her question to the air more than to someone in particular.

"What do you mean now what? Now you kill each other!" The headmaster's furry face grew red with impatience.

"Why would we kill if we're stuck in pairs? That would make it too obvious." Blake sounded calm, even too much for her usual demeanor.

"Yeah, we're not going to kill anyone!"

"What a stupid idea!"

"You really fucked up this time!"

Monokuma grinned. "Oh, is that so? Well, just remember: Those cuffs aren't coming off until another murder happens. That means meals, sleeping, even going to the bathroom!"

"What..."

"Is he serious?"

"We can't even pee?"

"Have fun, kiddos! Upupupupu" With that greeting, he took off, never ceasing to laugh all the while.

The room was left in complete disarray. Everyone seemed to be panicking to some degree, offset by the prospect of being shackled to another human being for an indefinite amount of time. Despite all they'd been through, and all the trials that were still to come, the degree of trust and comfort required to be okay with that situation was hardly achievable. As much as Jaune appreciated Ruby's company, this was obviously too much.

"I can't believe this!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Weiss Schnee spoke up, but ice-blue eyes were shut off. Whether that was meant to shield her emotions or display how much she cared for their petty existences, it was hard to tell. "We keep living as normal."

"Easy for you to say, you're tied up to another girl."

"Do you want to commit murder?" She was completely devoid of expression as she uttered those words. "Because if you don't want to adapt, that's the only choice you have left."

Before anyone could answer, the singer touched Pyrrha's arm for just a fraction of a second, and when the redhead nodded, they departed without looking back. Well, Weiss did not look back, Pyrrha couldn't avoid one last worried glance back.

However crude or harsh, they knew she was right. They were either willing to kill, or had no choice but to submit to the new order. The hard part was accepting it.

One by one, the pairs starting leaving as well, as there was not much else to be done at present. There was a strange aura hanging above their heads, a dark cloud that predicted the incoming storm. Jaune and his new partner too began crossing the way outside, but a hand grabbing his arm, pulling him back and the sniper along with him.

He turned back, and found the Ultimate Boxer staring him directly in the eyes, with Blake behind her looking away with an uninterested look.

"If something happens to her, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Yaaaaaaaang!"

He nodded imperceptibly, to signal he understood the message. They had just received a reason to kill, and even if she didn't actively doubt him, there was a danger lurking that all of them had to be very careful about. It was not about his personal value, but the safety of someone Yang cared deeply about."

"I still get to act like your older sister, little miss!" The shift to a playful tone was almost immediate. The brawler and her dark-haired companion took to the exit, but not before one last quip. "And no pervy stuff, Jaune!"

"I told you that's not what happened!"

She threw out her tongue, before disappearing through the door.

Left alone, Jaune sighed, and faced Ruby. "I guess we're stuck together, huh?"

"Yep, looks like it."

"So... what do you wanna do?"

"Second date?"

Oh, not this again! "We didn't have a first one, remember?"

"Pfffft, of course we didn't!" Ruby proceeded to wink at him in the most conspicuous way possible.

He sighed inwards. There was nowhere to run, not with those cuffs binding them. For a lucky student he sure had a troubled relationship with fate.

I guess there are worse people I could be stuck with...

"So, where should we go this time?" She was bouncing on the ball of her feet, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Jaune had to admit, it was pretty cute. "We already did the AV Room... The gym doesn't have anything to pass the time, and the library would be a little too... OH, I know, we could go to the gift shop! It's almost like a carnival, right?"

He could almost hear her say 'and carnivals are romantic' in her head, but at least for once she didn't say it out loud. Funny, I didn't know she had a filter.

Without warning the short girl turned away from him and started running, forcing him to sprint goofily while trying to keep up the pace, the chain dragging him by the wrist.

"Ruby... Slow down..."

"Come on, slowpoke! Stop wasting time!"

We're chained to each other, we have nothing but time! Luckily the gift shop wasn't too far, because he barely managed to stay on his feet the whole way. What was even her deal with running around?

The lucky student had forgotten what the inside of the gift shop looked like, having only peeked inside once and not paid it much attention. It was a cramped room, the walls covered from top to bottom in colorful memorabilia. It didn't even look like it was all from Beacon, but more like a collection of souvenirs from all over Remnant.

"Why would a school even have a gift shop?" He only realized he had said it out loud when he saw a pair of silver eyes staring at him in confusion.

"Huh? Now that you mention it, it does seem weird."

He reached his hand out to a pin Beacon Academy pin that was on the wall. In another life, he would've been ecstatic to see one, or even be able to wear it, a medal awarded only to those with great talents. That was what his life back at home felt like, a distant dream that he would never find again. They hadn't been there for that long, but the place had a way of seeping into one's mind, festering and taking over everything else.

"Hey, that looks like a gum machine!"

Ruby pointed at a large round glass ball on top of the store counter. It encased in it a lot of colorful plastic balls, and had a small mechanism below that seemed to be the way to operate it. Before he could even react, the girl was already inspecting it up close and touching all the buttons.

"Doesn't it need coins to work?"

"Aww, I guess you're right." She ogled the little slot where change would go in, making a little pout. However, it only took a second for her eyes to sparkle again. "Hey, what's that?"

He followed the direction of her finger to the top of the machine, and there it was: a round copper-colored coin just waiting for them. He moved to grab it, and looked at it up close. It had a little bear on its face, on both actually, featuring that same twisted smile they were all too familiar with. After everything, the fact that the headmaster had manufactured his own currency wasn't even surprising anymore.

"And they say I'm the lucky one. How did you even see it, it's so tiny?"

"Special eyes, remember?" She tapped a finger to her temple, and then nabbed the coin from his hand. "Besides, maybe I only found it because you were here with me, transmitting your luck."

"Yeah, right." Jaune played it off as a joke, but it was strangely uplifting. "Wanna do the honors?"

The sharpshooter slid the tiny disk into the slot, and the machine sprung to life, lighting up and playing a eerie 8-bit tune. She punched the button, and the whole thing wobbled before spitting a red ball that fell on the floor.

She picked it up with an eager smile, which soon died down as she opened the spherical box. Inside the prize was a black leather whip, rolled up to fit the small space it had been given. On the side of the handle was a red rose engraving adorning it.

"Oh…"

"I mean… It has a rose on it… Like your name..." The tiny room felt so unbearably heavy all of a sudden.

"Yeah, but it's so…" Jaune at least was glad he didn't have to explain to her what that thing would be used on. He would rather not even think about it himself.

The girl put down the tasteless offering on top of the counter, and sighed heavily.

"Hey, huh... You okay?"

"I think I'll survive that terrible gift, Jaune." She jested, but there was something about her face, something disconcerting.

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Ruby looked him deep in the eyes with a glimmer of uncertainty, and opened her mouth despite not saying anything with it. After a couple of moments trying to gain courage, she finally spoke.

"I know we aren't supposed to say anything about those letters, but... Do you think they're real?"

"I don't know. I hope not."

"But there's a chance."

He sighed. "There is. We don't really know much about the outside, someone made sure we were well isolated."

The youngster fell silent.

"You're worried about your uncle, aren't you?"

She nodded, looking down at the floor. It was unbelievable how fragile she could seem in contrast to her usual energetic and delighted self.

"What's he like?"

"Drunk. But not like a violent drunk, or anything!" She hurried to add when he visibly cringed at the earlier statement. "He's cool, never laid a finger on us."

"But he is like drunk all the time? How is that even possible?"

"Yang says he's a 'hair of the dog' kind of guy, whatever that means." Jaune didn't know either, but he wasn't about to admit it. "He evens as a little flask he carries around, like in the movies. Although now that I think of it, that have anything in it, not just alcohol... Nah, his breath always stinks, it's gotta be."

He laughed internally at the rambling girl, glad that the topic had managed to distract her from her worries. For some reason, he figured that was often the case with her - sorrow buried under all of that spark. Whatever the case, for now she was fine, and maybe she would stay that way for a while.

"What does he do for a living?"

"...I don't really know."

"Sorry?"

"I think he's like a spy or something, but he never actually tells us. I just know that he works with guns, goes out on missions for weeks in a row, and never answers when I ask him."

"Wow, that's... wow."

"I know, right? So cool!"

That's not the word I would've used...

They scoured the place for more coins they could use in the machine, but found none. The length of the chain proved to be quite bothersome, even in such a small area. The constant push and pull from the wrist was slowly wearing his patience, but he knew that was what the bear was counting on - for one of them to snap.

The search ended, after much time had passed, with a faint roar coming from Ruby's stomach, putting an embarrassed expression in her face. "I guess it's time to head for dinner, huh?"

"I guess..."

There was only one other pair of shackled students in the cafeteria. Nora and Emerald were sitting at the empty table, in what seemed like some form of blood ritual. There were two lit candles and a trail of red dust forming a circle between them.

The Ultimate Lucky Student looked at his partner with uncertainty. "Should we..."

"I'm curious, but... Let's not."

On cue to avoid forcing them into interaction, the door opened and inside came something very strange. Not strange at first, of course, it was something they were very used to seeing, but the kind of strangeness that slowly creeps on you, building up until the realization strikes with full force. In any other day, it would have been normal, but not today.

Ren walked into the cafeteria, and closed the door behind him. He walked past them, and up until the table, where he saw the red circle and stopped.

"I told you the spices aren't toys, Nora." He looked somewhere between disappointed and amused, although not much feeling passed through his face.

"Em is doing a ritual to..."

Ruby was the first to call it out, dragging Jaune with her closer to the other classmates. "Where is Sun?"

Emerald's red eyes widened in the realization. "Did you..."

No, that can't be right. Ren wouldn't... There has to be another explanation.

"He's still alive, don't look at me like that."

"Then where are your handcuffs?"

The response to that most relevant questions did not come from the chef, but from the entrance to the cafeteria, making all the students turn around at once.

"Pffffffft as if some silly handcuffs could stop me." Sun was smiling smugly, holding a pair of open shackles in his hands as if they were the prize of a winning hunt.

Does everyone in this school have to make dramatic entrances? "You... unlocked them?"

"Yep, they don't call me the Ultimate Thief for nothing. That silly lock was no match for my mad skills."

"And it didn't occur to you to tell the rest of us?" That took the shit-eating grin off his face.

"Oh, yeah... I guess I should've, huh?"

Nora practically jumped off her chair. "That means you can get this off us too?"

"You backstabbing wretch." Emerald feigned being offended, but with not too much effort being put into it."

The monkey faunus walked up to them and grabbed the chain. "I can, but should I? I hear you've been a very bad girl..."

"Guys, please..." Ruby pleaded for the constant innuendos to stop, and Jaune found himself agreeing. They always took it just a little too far.

Sun retrieved a pair of lockpicks from his shorts' pocket and started to work on breaking through the chain binding the two girls. Not before long there was a loud clank, and the cuff around Nora's wrist opened, falling on the floor with quite a ruckus. He then moved over to Emerald's, and the same happened.

Ruby got in line next, and Jaune went along with her. While the semi-naked scoundrel was doing his own magic, Weiss and Pyrrha joined the cafeteria.

"What's going on here?"

The blacksmith raised her fists in the air with overjoy. "FREEDOOM!"

"Wait, you can open the handcuffs?"

"Not so villainous after all, huh?"

The ivory-haired girl grimaced, but did not retort, kept from such by her pride. That, of course, did not stop the thief from being all smug about it, a smile of victory permanently on his face as he released Jaune, and then moved on to the two newcomers. He did not tease her further, however, which was probably wise on his part. Velvet and her partner came in not long after, when Ren was already starting to bring platters of food to the table. The rabbit faunus voiced her surprise for how easy it had been to bypass the mastermind's plans, and Neo… well, she said nothing as would be expected. Nevertheless, they both accepted the treatment, and the sweet taste of liberation.

Yang and Blake were the last to arrive, but those two had quite a different reaction than the rest thus far.

"Wow, what the heck is going on here?" The blonde barged in through the door, and took almost no time in realizing what was wrong. Behind her, they could see Blake mentally count the total of students, trying to figure out who had died.

"Sun can pick the lock on the handcuffs!" Ruby leaped in excitement, wanting to share the good news with her dear sister.

Her dear sister, however, did not seem to overjoyed. "He can?"

"I thought you'd be more excited." Sun almost looked hurt by the way she asked that question. Blake was the one to clarify.

"Are we sure that's a good idea?"

"What?"

"Of course it is!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Monokuma. What do you think will happen when he finds out you all broke free?"

"Huh… Hadn't thought of that."

Yang stood by her partner's position. "She's right. In hostage situations, it's usually safer to collaborate with the criminal."

"So what? You want us to kill each other? Is that the kind of collaboration you're suggesting?" Weiss raised her voice, precisely striking at the vulnerability in her opponent's argument.

"Of course not. But maybe we should stay cuffed for now." Blake spoke confidently and the blond nodded, it almost seemed like the two had discussed it at length during their time alone.

"And I think you should do the same, Ruby."

"But I don't wanna sleep with Jaune…"

Sun did not let the opportunity slip by. "Ha, sucks to be you, man."

"I'm not gonna force you or anything. It's your call." Yang pretended no to hear the joke.

They ended up switching seats around to accommodate the two girls who refused to be unshackled from each other, and had dinner together. No one touched the subject again, and the usual cheer returned in no time.

After the meal was done, Pyrrha volunteered to help Ren with the laundry, and they started to get up to leave. Blake, however, stayed put, and called out for the monkey faunus.

"Hey, Sun? Can we have a word?"

The boy looked at her, and at the other woman sitting by her side, and shrugged. "Sure."

"I smell a threesoooooome!" Nora laughed boisterously as she left the room.

Having nowhere to go, he idly strolled through the hallway, moving very slowly onwards back to his room. He didn't exactly want to go to sleep yet, but what other option was there?

"Hello, Jaune."

His head followed the source of the sound, and found Pyrrha standing a few feet behind him. She was wearing her golden t-shirt and red shorts, the casual outfit for when she did sport-y things, and was holding in her hands a long black sports bag.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha. Weird to see you without her around."

"It was only one afternoon..." Sure, it hadn't lasted long, but he had kept his distance as much as possible. For every ounce of enjoyment he took from the redhead's company, the constant glaring from Weiss took away in equal measure. Also, his hands had been quite full with Ruby's sugar-driven madness.

"So, huh..."

"Would you..."

As luck would have it, they spoke at the same time, and then immediately stopped talking, each waiting for the other to continue the sentence. It would have been endearing, if it didn't look so mind-numbingly idiotic.

"Please, you go first."

"I, huh... had nothing to say." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by the confession. "You?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a swim."

"Now? Isn't it kinda late?"

"Nighttime shouldn't be for a while, but if you don't want to it's okay." So she said, but he could tell she wanted him to go.

"No, sure, why not?" He smiled at her, and she beamed back in glee. "Let me just go grab a towel and a swimsuit."

He headed to his room, noticing that she was following him closely. In fact, she was still staring at him intently as he prepared to enter the bedroom, almost like she wanted something.

"Do you... want to come inside?"

"Thank you." The way she looked at him... Was that her intention all along, or was she just pressuring him to get ready hurriedly? He couldn't tell, that woman remained a complete mystery to him.

She followed him inside, and waited patiently while he went into the bathroom to fish for his swimming gear. It took a little longer than he expected, he hadn't exactly left the place tidy and spotless, or perhaps it was just the fact that Pyrrha was waiting distorting his perception of time. He made a little victory noise when he finally found the prize he sought, and left back into the room.

"I should dust this place, huh?" She was facing away from him when he appeared, and was slightly startled by his sudden voice.

"I don't think it looks that bad." Now, she was just lying out of kindness, and he knew it. What other reason could she have to be staring at that side of the room? There was nothing in there that would interest her, just the bedside table, the monitor on the wall, and his bed. "Is that… a little bunny on your towel?"

He followed the direction of her finger straight to the outline of a rabbit in his bath towel, feeling his cheeks burn up immediately.

"Yeah, I mark my stuff to make sure I don't lose it. It's silly, I know." He thought of telling her about his shoes, but reconsidered, the current level of embarrassment was more than enough.

"Well, I think it looks adorable. Are you ready to go?" She walked to the exit, and he took off behind her. The two quickly made their way to the entrance to the pool on the second floor.

When he went past the stained-glass door, it hit him that he still had never been there.

The area they were in at the moment seemed to be some sort of an antechamber. It wasn't large, but there was also very little inside it: a couple of shelves packed with pool gear, foam boards and the like; a camera and a monitor, as always; and two doors, one marked with a little sign for Men and the other for Women.

His lean companion was already accessing the changing room, oblivious to his confusion, so he decided to repeat after her. The door had an electronic lock, requiring his Scroll to unlock. Monokuma was certainly invested in keeping their privacy sacred.

Walking into the changing room, he shallowly inspected that new place. It was all tiled in white, and was divided in two areas by a wall across the middle. On one side there was a row of curtainless showers, on the other were some benches disposed in a square and some hangers on the walls.

So much for the privacy. He complained, but with only two other boys in the school, there wasn't much threat of being intruded on when inside.

Approaching one of the lockers, he opened it with the intention to store there the clothes he was about to remove, and was surprised to find a whole arsenal of training gear in there, from weights to flexibility bands. He checked the one to the side, and the other after that one. It would seem all lockers had been outfitted with such gear.

Yang would probably love this. He could almost bet the boxer had found out about those things way before him, and had wasted no time putting them to use.

Only after that final observation did he realize how much time he had spent already. Pyrrha was probably already ready and waiting for him, so he hurriedly got undressed and put in the swimsuit. Crossing the rubber curtain separating the changing room from the pool itself, Jaune was met by a sight that he really should've expected, but caught him off-guard nonetheless.

The redhead was sitting at the edge of the pool, submerging her feet underwater. She was wearing a red one-piece swimsuit with golden highlights on the sides and a considerable opening on the back, and it complemented her figure quite admirably. He tried his best not to stare at the unsuspecting girl, at her bare skin, the curves hidden underneath the elastic material, the smooth and well-toned legs.

He cleared his throat to call her attention, not knowing how else to terminate that tense moment.

"Oh, there you are."

"Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting."

She giggled. "It's fine."

Without warning, she jumped into the pool, and after a couple seconds of hesitation he followed suit. As it turned out, Pyrrha Nikos was quite the competitive swimmer, lapping around at a speed that he could only wish to keep up with. He tried, oh did he try, abandoning his expectations of a relaxing trip and embracing the feel of the fresh water in his soon-to-be-aching muscles.

After an indeterminate amount of time, as having brought the Scroll to a pool would've been foolish, he gave up and just let his body float around the surface like an inflated starfish. Exercise was hard, he had done so much more of it just over the past two weeks than for the whole of the year before applying to Beacon. There was no reason he couldn't have a little moment of pointless drifting around.

The redhead took a while to notice his inertia, so engrossed in her swimming that she seemed like a mermaid late for work. It was when she stopped to breathe, or rather, pant heavily, that she saw the floating boy, and started laughing. He jumped at the sudden sound, and accidentally swallowed an unpleasant amount of water, falling into a coughing fit.

"You okay?" She pat him on the back, easing the strain on his lungs.

"Yeah, better now. But I think that's enough pool for me." Jaune walked up to the edge of the pool, and hoisted himself over to sit down. When she came over, he felt compelled to stop her. "Don't worry about me, you can keep doing… all of that you were doing."

"Sorry, I guess I got too immersed into it." He could bet the pun was not intended, that didn't seem like her style.

"It was pretty impressive, honestly. I had never seen anyone swim that fast."

"Thank you."

They fell into a weird silence, neither knowing how to continue the conversation.

"You can go back in if you want to, you know?" He could see that she was restless, itching to move again, and did not want to be holding her back. After all, he was just plain old Jaune.

"I'd rather you accompany me…" Walked right into that one, didn't I?

He opened his mouth, but found no retort to that one. It was hard coming up with the right words when your conversation buddy was an attractive woman in a tight-fitting swimsuit.

"I know, how about we try something less demanding?"

Pyrrha stood up, and walked to the wrack where the boards, balls, and other supplies rested, but as soon as she started digging through them, the bell rang.

DING DONG DING DONG

"This is a School Announcement. It's 11 PM. Nighttime is now in effect. The cafeteria doors will be closing soon, so make sure you're not inside. Have a good night!"

"Oh, I guess it's already late…"

"Time flies when you're having fun, huh?" I'm the cheesiest person alive.

Regardless, she smiled at him, feeling comforted that he had a good time. "We should probably go."

"Yeah. Good night, Pyrrha." With a small wave, he retreated into the changing room, where her alluring figure couldn't haunt him any longer. It sure had been fun, if slightly different than usual. The redhead had been a good friend ever since they found themselves in that school, and he knew he could count on her to soothe any worries he'd have.

He washed all the pool chemicals from his skin with a quick shower, and put on some clothes, not even bothering with underwear. He would get them off as soon as he made it to his room anyway, so it didn't matter.

The run back took no time at all, and soon he was resting on his bed once more. He felt exhausted like every day, but this time there had been plenty of reason. Chased down by an angry boxer, handcuffed to someone for hours, and a trip to the pool late at night, only now was he finally able to stop. He felt good, like things were finally looking up.

The Ultimate Lucky Student woke up feeling disoriented. For the first time since he had come to Beacon, he hadn't been awoken by Monokuma's unbearably cheery voice.

Must've been really tired if I slept through the freaking thing. He checked the time in his Scroll, and finding that it was already 9, he got ready in a hurry. Still getting dressed, he left the room and headed to the cafeteria where the others would certainly be already, if they hadn't left yet. He had no obligation to see them at breakfast every day, but the routine kept him grounded in reality, it helped.

"We were starting to wonder if something had happened to you!" The greeting as he walked inside was instant. It was not just for his sake that they gathered,

"Sorry, slept through the announcement."

"Well, you weren't the only one. Blake and Yang haven't shown up either."

"Huh? That's weird."

"They must really be loving the handcuffs." Nora fired off with her profanities, as always.

"I'm right here!" The sharpshooter was not pleased with the insinuations about her sibling's sex life.

"Hehehe, oops. Sorry, Ruby."

They waited, but neither of the two girls showed up. After a while, Emerald took off, too bored to remain still, and Weiss would follow soon after. They all abandoned the stakeout and returned to whatever lives they had to run.

Jaune was, however, feeling uneasy. There was something on his mind, something bugging him that would not leave as much as he wished it. He recalled the weights on the pool's locker room, and wondered if Yang had seen them, or if they were on the woman's changing room as well, since he had no way of knowing.

It was, of course, an excuse, a pretext to look for the blonde and her dark-haired companion without facing the ugly possibility. The possibility that Beacon's gears were once again turning, fueled by the students' blood.

For that reason, he was drawn to the second floor, and found himself approaching the classroom in which he had found the boxer two days prior, the one she had mentioned liking to meditate in. He looked at the slightly ajar entrance, and breathed in deeply.

"Yang? Are you there?" When no response came from inside, he pushed the door open and took a step in.

The first thing that struck him as he was crossing the doorway was the smell. A stench of iron filled his nostrils, coming from seemingly everywhere at once. Deep down, he knew what he'd find in that classroom, but that small detail was what sealed the deal in his mind.

He swallowed dryly, feeling iron in his taste buds, and looked to the front with all the courage he could muster. He wasn't ready for what he'd see.

On the furthest side of the classroom, above the small wooden stage, was Yang Xiao Long, strung up by her wrists to the edges of the teacher's blackboard. A large metallic pipe was protruding from her abdomen, carved deep into her flesh. Blood trailed all the way down from her wounds until the floor, where it pooled down in a glimmering sea of red, although it had long since stopped flowing. Her lilac eyes were still slightly open, but light had faded from them entirely.

Jaune took a step back.

Then he took another.

His back struck a desk, violently toppling it over, but he did not remove his sight from the body. He simply couldn't, unable to process the gruesome scene in front of him.

It wasn't possible, it couldn't be real.

Not Yang. She was too strong.

He heard his own voice screaming, but it felt like it wasn't coming from his own body. It all felt so surreal, so unbelievable.

"Jaune? Is that you? Is everything okay?" He barely registered the innocent voice coming from outside, too lost inside that spiraling madness. When he finally did, it was too late.

"RUBY, DON'T-" He ran to the door, holding his arms out to try and keep it shut, but he did not make it in time, and the girl walked in.

TO BE CONTINUED

Students Alive - 11

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