[PG-16] [IC] Danganronpa

Ralsei · July 19, 2018

Prologue

Shining Hope's Arrival

The morning sun was beginning to rise as the lucky students of Hope's Peak Academy's 91^st class started to arrive at the campus. The orientation guide that had come with their acceptance letters had mentioned that arriving to stay the night before the morning assembly was required, and anyone who didn't show up was going to be excluded from the school year. So obviously, the students had made plans to arrive the day before the opening ceremony.

Included with the orientation guide was a key for each student. The key had a picture of their face in a pixelated art style on a little keychain attached to it, which the guide said was their room key. Each student would have their own individual room to sleep with, no need for sharing! With each student being dropped off into the prestigious academy's grounds, their dreams for the future grew brighter...

Once the students entered the building though, they seemed to be brought back down to reality. Things were quiet. There was almost no point to roaming the hallways, each door seemed locked and unable to be opened up. The only room that was even labeled was the one that was almost directly across from the entrance, the gym. The main hall had cases with trophies and memorabilia in them, but once again... Everything was closed. When the hall split off into two directions, only one side had anything of note! The left side just led to a staircase, which was once again closed off and inaccessible, blocking the second floor from the students, along with more locked rooms. To the right were a few more locked rooms, leaving the students to only imagine what were locked away behind them... And what appeared to be the dorm section of the campus.

The dorm area was small. At least, it was small compared to the rest of the school from what they saw on the outside. There were a few assorted rooms, one larger one that was actually open for the students, and the obvious dorm rooms... All of which had a plaque with pixelated art of the person who's room it was! As students arrived, the dorm area grew more active, though not by much.

The first two arrived with no reaction to each other, a boy in a white jacket, his hand brushing at the back of his head, along with a girl wearing a flowing, but not long, blue dress. They gave each other a brief nod as they began to explore the dorm area, splitting apart to do so. The boy frowned as he found most of the doors were locked, a small sigh escaping him... While the girl found her room, a little smile appearing on her face as she entered.

The next arrivals were a little spread out, with the first of the three being a girl with one of her eyes bandaged up. She rubbed at her cheek as she took a little glance around the dorm building, before just shrugging and heading off down the hall towards her room.

Ten minutes after her arrival, another girl entered the building with sluggish movements. She yawned as she brushed brown hair out of her eyes lazily, her gaze locked onto some of the trophies in the display cases, which she just shrugged at as she moved towards the dorm area. She rubbed at her cheek as she entered the open, larger room, taking a seat at a table as she pulled a book from her bag.

Twenty minutes after that, a smaller boy wearing a track suit entered the building and he seemed to be spending his time trying to get into the locked rooms. He turned the doorknobs, rattled at them when no one was around, and was carefully trying to examine the locks, but with a heavy sigh, he seemed to resign himself to failure each time...

Noon began to roll around as another batch of arrivals entered the school building. A boy wearing a scarf entered the building as he carried a laptop bag over his shoulder. He made his way towards the dorm area after trying to open the gym door, moving to sit down in the cafeteria. He gave a brief nod to the other girl there, but sat on the other side of the room.

An hour later, another student arrived, this one with fiery red hair and a very tired look on her face as she rubbed at her forehead. She entered the building and immediately slumped against the wall, just basking in the feeling of air conditioning on a warm day. She leaned back against the wall, a small yawn escaping the small girl as she started to doze off, right there...

Three PM rolled around with three more students arriving. One girl and two boys. The first boy rubbed at his neck, a pair of headphones dangling around it as he glanced around the campus grounds. He shrugged as he entered the prestigious academy, thrown off for a moment by the sleeping girl against the wall. He debated waking her up, but ultimately decided on moving towards the other side of the school. He stepped into the cafeteria with the few others gathered there, nodding them as he took a seat and slipped his headphones over his ears.

The girl held onto a stuffed plush as she walked into the main entrance, her grip on it tightening as she took a little glance around. Her focus shifted around the different trophies, the girl on the ground, and as she progressed, the locked rooms. She found her room in the dorm and slipped into it, leaving the door cracked open behind her.

The second of the two boys arrived last, his gaze lingering up at the massive Academy as his hands rested in his pockets. He smiled softly as he took a deep breath and walked towards the building, entering it and walking towards the gym. He tried to open the door to it, but when met with the fact it was locked, he sighed and turned towards the dorms instead.

Around five, two more students arrived at the campus grounds, two girls in fact. The first entering the building had a bow slung over her shoulder, a little sigh escaping her as she made her way into the building. She blinked at the sleeping girl, reaching down to give her a small prod, before heading off to the dorm area. She entered the cafeteria, setting herself down for the inevitable gathering there.

The other girl though, she jogged into the school hardly having broke a sweat as she began to look around. She entered the building, and without wasting much time at all, she made her way to the dorm area and began her search for the cafeteria. Once she found it, she ran past the students inside towards the door to what was likely the kitchen and disappeared.

One more student entered as the sun had begun to set, the day close to ending as the boy stopped outside the main entrance. He held a lit cigarette in his hand, taking one last puff of it as he dropped it to the ground, stomping it out with a little sigh. He drug himself into the building, entering the main hall with a heavy sigh as he found the dormitories...

Eight PM rolled around with little fanfare, and the gathered students in the dormitories were left to their own devices for the evening. There had been a brief moment where the students hadn't been talking, but as the sun went down, one of the students had an idea. The boy in the white coat began to move around the accessible parts of the school, knocking on dorm rooms, and each time someone answered the door, or he came across another person, he would say the same thing.

“Meeting in the cafeteria.”

Then he would leave. He wouldn't give them a chance to respond, a chance to deny what he said, nothing. He just left and moved on to the next, until all fifteen students had been alerted. He returned to the cafeteria, waiting for them to arrive as he sat down at a table in the middle of the room, waiting for the group to gather. Once everyone had arrived, he stood up, a grin on his face.

“Alright. If we're going to be in the same class, we should take the time to introduce ourselves to one another. Since no one else took the initiative, I gathered you all here myself. My name is Declan Barnham, the Ultimate Lawyer!" He slammed his hand down on the table in front of him, "Introductions are key to getting along, so let's get things rolling!"

The girl in the blue dress scoffed a little bit, rolling her eyes as she mumbled to herself, "You really dragged us out of our rooms to do this? Fine... I'm Elise Beaumont, the Ultimate Drawer, and I really just want to go back to my room. I was in the middle of my work-"

"Overruled, you're staying." Declan rubbed at his chin as he took a glance around the room, pointing towards the boy with his laptop, "You're next, speak up!"

The boy jumped as he looked up at the larger guy, his hand brushing at the back of his neck as he mumbled, "W-Why are you singling me out?! U-Um, my name is Brian Scott. Hope's Peak said I'm the Ultimate Blogger, or... Something. I didn't even know this was a talent..."

"That doesn't really sound like a talent to me either!"

"Well if you're so sure about that, what's your talent?!"

"I'm the Ultimate Gardener, Hana Evans! It's a way better talent than something so... Abstract."

A small huff escaped Brian as he heard that, but things grew a little hectic as the students murmured to each and themselves. Declan raised a hand into the air, trying to calm down the gathering, but it was questionable just how much he was succeeding...

Around the room, other students were rolling their eyes at the little argument breaking out between the two, while others seemed content to just watch the drama unfold.

Yui · July 20, 2018

She was actually here. Hope's Peak Academy. Honoka was still having trouble believing that she - of all the people in the world - was attending such a prestigious school. They'd recognized her as the Ultimate Sculptor... it meant that there was nobody better than her at her craft. That was a weird thought, and a bit unsettling too. Did that mean she would want to pursue sculpting as a full-time career after her time at this school was done? As she stepped onto the campus, her head couldn't stop bursting at the seams with thoughts about how she was actually here, this had to be a dream, how was everyone back home holding up without her, were the other students nice people, would she be able to keep sculpting while she was here, would the school ask her to make decorations for school events...

So overwhelmed by her thoughts was Honoka, that she failed to notice that she wasn't quite walking toward the door. Instead, Honoka walked face-first, smack into the wall just next to the door, snapping her out of her thoughts and causing her to fall onto her rear. A clattering noise came from a bag on her side, as various wooden figurines of assorted animals fell out of the bag and onto the ground around her. "Ah!" Honoka scrambled to pick up the little sculptures, checking each one to make sure they weren't damaged before putting them back into her bag. Hopefully nobody saw that. Honoka stood back up, and entered the door. Correctly this time.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do once she was inside. Most of the school was locked off. That made sense. As Honoka got to the dorms, she couldn't help but look at the pixel-style portraits of each student, on their doors. They're actually pretty cute. Once Honoka found her door, however, she unlocked it, and entered the dorm. There was decorating to do, and on top of that, she'd been working on something ever since she got accepted to Hope's Peak. It wasn't quite done yet.

The next few hours for Honoka had been filled with unpacking and decorating. By eight PM, Honoka's room was filled with wooden sculptures, and pictures of her family. Her favorite sculpture of the lot was the life-sized penguin, situated in a corner from which it could look at any visitors to Honoka's room. The room had a desk, surrounded and covered in wood shavings, as Honoka carved and cut away at a small block of wood that was almost done its transformation into a horse sculpture, about the size of Honoka's hand. It was as she was cleaning up some finishing touches with the sculpture that there was suddenly a knock at her door. Honoka flinched, and the chisel in her hand slipped off the sculpture and right across the back of her left hand, leaving a small cut. "Ow!" She'd have to get a bandaid for that, to keep it from getting infected.

Fortunately, she kept a small box of them on her desk, for precisely this scenario. This was far from the first time Honoka had cut her hands sculpting, and she was certain it was far from the last. The so-called Ultimate Sculptor took a moment to apply the bandage over the back of her hand, before getting up and answering the door. She was met with a single sentence, and nothing more.

“Meeting in the cafeteria.”

Before she could even respond, the boy - he wore a pretty expensive-looking suit - was already leaving for the next dorm. "Okay..." she said, to nobody in particular. Honoka briefly returned to her room, filling up a white bag adorned with prints of pink cupcakes, with a total of fourteen sculptures. She then picked up the horse she'd been working on, looking at where she'd left off before cutting her hand. That last stroke of the chisel had fixed everything. The sculpture was ready. That was certainly some convenient timing. Honoka put the horse in her bag with the other sculptures, and made for the cafeteria, for this meeting that the suited boy had suddenly called for.

Once she - and the other students in her class - had arrived, the boy in the suit stood up, and explained the purpose of this meeting.

“Alright. If we're going to be in the same class, we should take the time to introduce ourselves to one another. Since no one else took the initiative, I gathered you all here myself. My name is Declan Barnham, the Ultimate Lawyer! ntroductions are key to getting along, so let's get things rolling!"

The next three students to introduce themselves after Declan were Elise Beaumont, Brian Scott, and Hana Evans, who respectively were the Ultimate Drawer, Blogger, and Gardener. Blogging is a talent? I... I guess that makes sense when computers and the internet are such an important part of today's society. Hana didn't seem to get it. Neither did Brian for that matter. However, tensions were rising between the two, Things were getting hectic. Something had to be done. Nobody else was trying, except for Declan. He wasn't succeeding very much. Maybe Honoka could? She'd dealt with hectic situations before; it was part of being in charge of the house when there were so many siblings running around.

"Excuse me!" she loudly started, standing up to her feet. She seemed to get the attention of a few students, but none of the ones involved in this sudden argument. It would have to do. Honoka reached into her bag, and started placing the wooden animals on the table in front of her, one at a time. No two animals were the same, and among them was the newly-finished horse. The other sculptures were of a similar hand-sized stature. "I'm Honoka Oda, and apparently I'm the Ultimate Sculptor. I'm still not sure if it's a fluke or not that I'm here, but I'm honored to be able to attend Hope's Peak Academy, and hope to get along with all of you. I made these so that I could give each of you something as a present to start the year off. Please pick your favorite animal from the bunch, but don't fight over any particular one. I can always make more if I have to."

Blake · July 23, 2018

Xander arrived at the school around 4 PM, managing to slip in between the other groups of his classmates. With a sigh of relief, the small boy wandered the halls, glancing about. It looked like the school wasn't even really open, despite the entrance being unlocked... and it seemed like the only way he could go was to the dorms. Fine by Xander.

Quietly walking into the dorm area, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the girl drooling against the wall, certain that no one had entered the school in the last 20 or so minutes. When he realized that she was catatonic, he let go of his breath softly, scampering to his room. All the way at the end of the hall, where going to it would draw the most attention. Great.

Arriving at the door, Xander began to scowl. Of course they would put "Mobius" on the door for his sprite portrait. Why wouldn't they? Grumbling as he entered the room, he began to unpack, making sure to lock the door behind him. He looked for ways to lock it beyond the handle, such as a sliding lock, but found nothing, to his dismay. He just knew that having to open the door to talk to someone would end in him getting dragged out against his will. Shaking his head, he moved to place his gear out. Wigs, outfits, even contacts. If one didn't know better, they would probably assume that Xander was the Ultimate Cosplayer, as opposed to his actual talent.

Losing himself in making himself at home, he hardly realized that so much time had passed, until he heard a knock on his door. With a sigh, he quickly donned his "Mobius" outfit and cracked the door open.

"Yessir! How can I help you?" He boomed, opening his mouth to speak again... only to be cut off.

“Meeting in the cafeteria.”

"Huh!? I'm a bit busy here, so maybe you could come back later? Alright, catch ya lat-"

To Xander's chagrin, the door didn't close. Instead, a foot held it in place. Declan forced the door open suddenly, one quick thrust being all it took to cause Xander to stumble back, the larger male stepping into the doorway properly, "It wasn't a request! It's an emergency meeting, everyone is going to be there. That includes you." He grabbed the back of Xander's shirt, forcing him out of his room and towards the cafeteria with little else to say, "Lucky you, too! You're the last one I had to alert. Isn't it great to be the last room?"

With a disgusted look on his face, Xander accepted his fate as he was dragged down the hall, gritting his teeth at the mention of being the last room. He already knew it sucked, he didn't need this schmuck reminding him.

As the meeting began, Xander sat at the edge of the room, keeping to himself. He listened to the first few intros, tryign to build up the confidence to speak. After all, the sooner this was finished, the sooner he got to leave, right?

"Yo, you can call me Mobius! I'm the Ultimate Commentator, y'know? I'm pretty sure most, if not all of you know me, right, right?" The huge grin appeared on Xander's face as he put on his act, hoping for it to just be over, "Other than little Ms. Elise, I'd say I'm the most well known, ye? I'm with her, let's get going, people to do, things to see!"

"Come on, let us go...!" Xander stressed internally, keeping his hip and fun demeanor consistent on the outside.

👀 REP 👀 · July 23, 2018

A wide grin stretched across Kai's face as he stood in front of Hope's Peak Academy. He had been anticipating this day ever since he received the invitation, for this very moment as he laid his hands onto the door. What adventures lied ahead behind these doors, and who else would be joining him? Excitement filled his veins as he opened the doors wide open, stepping into the building.

When the doors open, Kai was a tad disappointed to see that no one else was here. Had he arrived too early? Or maybe the others had gotten here earlier than him!? "Nah... that'd be nuts." Kai said to himself, remembering that it was still fairly early in the morning. As he walked down the halls, he quickly realized that almost everything was either blocked off or locked, not leaving much else for him to do. "Bummer..." He muttered to himself, before shrugging. All this meant was that he had more time to fix up his room. It didn't take him too long to find his door - the bright yellow locks on his pixelated made it pretty easy to find.

Time flew by as Kai unpacked his stuff, decorating the place with various seashells and other knickknacks from home. Next to his bed was his surfboard; he doubt he'd actually get to use it while he was here, as he didn't see any signs of a beach, but that wasn't important. His board went with him no matter where he went. Kai grinned as he placed the lei on top of the board, satisfied with how he set up the room. It was then that he heard someone knock at his door. Jumping over his bed, Kai opened the door, excited to see who had visited him.

“Meeting in the cafeteria.”

Before Kai had a chance to say anything, the well dressed boy had already stormed off. Kai stuck his head out to see where he was going, seeing him knock on the door next to him. Not quite the interaction he was hoping for, although the idea of a meeting was exciting in and of itself. Shrugging, Kai got out of his dorm and started making his way towards the cafeteria.

The meeting started with Declan introducing himself. It didn't take all too long for the meeting to dissolve into an argument about each other's talents. Kai shook his head. "These dorks are killin' my vibe!" He sighed, shifting his attention to Honoka, who had some rather rad wooden carvings.

He made a note to talk to her about them later. Right now, he decided that he had enough of this bickering. He stood up on one of the tables, trying to get as much attention from everyone as possible. "Yo! The name's Kai, Ultimate Surfer!" He grinned at those that were looking at him. "Let's have a killer time with whatever this place has to offer, aight?" Once his intro was done, he got off of the table, watching all of the other introductions.

Ralsei · July 24, 2018

"My talent is... Weird, but perfectly fine! You can't talk to someone like that!" Brian huffed as he crossed his arms, sitting back with a little pout on his face as the argument seemed to just be getting worse. Off to the side, Declan took a deep breath as he was about to call out to the group, hoping to restore order to the chaos, but he was seemingly beaten to the punch...

"I'm Honoka Oda, and apparently I'm the Ultimate Sculptor. I'm still not sure if it's a fluke or not that I'm here, but I'm honored to be able to attend Hope's Peak Academy, and hope to get along with all of you. I made these so that I could give each of you something as a present to start the year off. Please pick your favorite animal from the bunch, but don't fight over any particular one. I can always make more if I have to."

Declan seemed to have heard her, but unfortunately, the little argument going off to the side kept him from coming over to examine the statues. While he focused on that, a small group seemed to join Honoka and gathered around her. A girl with white hair approached the statues as she picked up one, a little wooden owl, turning it over in her hands as she smiled, "The detailing on these is really nice, Honoka. I can see why they invited you to join the class."

Another boy clicked his tongue as he dragged himself over, a giving a lazy glance at the statues as he mumbled. His hand brushed at his cheek, "Man, I wish my talent was more... Creative like this. I'm Casper Keller, they call me the Ultimate Therapist. I fix people. It's not glamorous and I can't even talk about it." He picked up a wooden statue himself, holding up a statue of an elephant, "I think I like this one... But..." He leaned in to Honoka, "Ya know the boy in the argument over there? I heard he's a fan of cats, one of my clients talked about him before. His mascot is this purple cat, but like, anthropomorphic. I would save the cat statue here for him. He might need it after what this girl is putting him through..."

A girl wearing what appeared to be a tracksuit nodded as she walked over to the group, a grin on her face as she laughed gently, "He's definitely right. The poor kid's really getting laid into over something that isn't even a problem! I'm Olivia Powell, the Ultimate Food Critic. I hope you don't mind if I take a closer look at some of these statues." She leaned in as she looked over them, letting out a little gasp as she clapped her hands together, plucking up a carving, "Definitely this one! They're all so impressive though. I can't create, all I can do is eat things..."

Sure enough, Hana seemed to be carrying on about how Blogging didn't seem like a REAL talent, her fingers point towards people, "Sculpting! Gardening! ...Uh, what's your talent?" She stopped with her hand pointing towards the girl with the bird statue, tilting her head slightly as she did.

"Oh. My name is Aletta Romero. I'm the Ultimate Bird Keeper..."

"Hana! Let's move on, you can bother Brian about this later." Declan seemed to have finally gotten an interjection in, letting Brian sigh in relief.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Declan turned and was about to call someone else out, but luckily, there was a volunteer just in time!

"Yo, you can call me Mobius! I'm the Ultimate Commentator, y'know? I'm pretty sure most, if not all of you know me, right, right? Other than little Ms. Elise, I'd say I'm the most well known, ye? I'm with her, let's get going, people to do, things to see!"

"I'm glad someone else here seems to have half a brain... Even if he's a bit of a loudmouth, he's got the right idea. We'll have plenty of time to get to 'know' each other over the school year, and I was hoping to settle in tonight." Elise rubbed at her eyes for a moment, her fingers pinching at the bridge of her nose as she shook her head gently...

And from the other side of the room, another boy spoke up, pulling the hood of his hoodie up and over his head, "We all have things to do, sure... But we need to at least learn each other's names. If nothing else, stay here until everyone has introduced themselves and then leave. It won't kill you. I'm Kane Nagami, Hope's Peak said I won their annual lottery and was chosen as the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"It will kill me! I have commissions to do and send out before the end of the month. Even if the tuition here is fully covered, I would like to be preparing for my future."

The boy with bandages wrapped around his arms and neck seemed to roll his eyes as he listened to the complaining from Elise and Xander, his arms crossing as he puffed his chest out, "I don't get why ya'll are in a rush! It's not like we're gonna be here too long. Complaining about it just makes it take longer. Trust me, I wanna get outta here too. I'm Tempest, the Ultimate Thief. I want to look around the school some more and learn the layout, but it'll be easier to just let them do their thing."

"None of you understand. Except maybe Mr. Megaphone, he seems to have an idea of why time is valuable..." Elise gave one last roll of her eyes before conceding to the group's wishes, the gathering would go on despite her disapproval of it, it would seem.

Kane gave a small nod to Tempest, acknowledging his help as he turned to Xander, "Everything I said for her goes for you too, Mobius. There will be plenty of time for you to hide in your room later, for now, you'll just have to deal with being social for a little bit."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

A little bit of time passed as the muttering and arguing started to calm down, only for the surfer to make his grand entrance by standing up on the table now...

"Yo! The name's Kai, Ultimate Surfer! Let's have a killer time with whatever this place has to offer, aight?"

The poor surfer didn't seem to get the reaction he was looking for from the majority of the cafeteria, with the distractions from Elise and Xander's complaints, there was a bit of a sour mood lingering in the air. It might've been disheartening...

Except that the girl who had her eye covered with wrappings had turned to look to him. She smiled a little bit, throwing an arm into the air, "Hell yeah! There's somethin' I can get behind. All this arguing and bickering isn't gonna get anything done. We need to just enjoy ourselves! I'm Raegan Kane, and Hope's Peak dubbed me the Ultimate Channeler!" She grinned as she put her hands on her hips, her eye closing as she tilted her head downwards, "...But I don't think the others are exactly listenin'."

Nearby, the headphone-wearing boy finally took them off his ears, a little laugh escaping him as he shook his head, "There's no way any of them are listening. Their hearts are moving to a different rhythm right now, all we can do is watch and hope they calm down. Unless, we... I dunno, pry them apart? Any of you got any ideas?"

The girl in a suit brought her hand up into the air slowly, "Cassidy Bennett. I'm the Ultimate Proofreader, uhm. In most fiction stories, the best way to get a group's attention is to make a loud noise like this." Without even waiting, the girl grabbed a chair and tossed to the ground, a loud CLACK ringing into the air with the students.

A number of students flinched, a couple jumped back, and Brian yelped out as he scooted away from the impact. Declan groaned out as he rubbed at his head, a little mumble escaping him as he did. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be... Okay! We've almost all introduced ourselves, I think we've only had a few people not do it yet..." He gave a quick glare to the headphones boy, "You're up."

"My name is Alex Mills! I am the best, the only Ultimate Electronic Composer!" He pointed a finger up into the air, giving a dramatic pose as the group looked at him.

Hana puffed her cheeks out a little bit as she rolled her eyes, about to say something as she took a deep breath, only for Declan to stare at her with firm glare. She paused, closing her mouth before just pouting instead. "I was just gonna say that's a mouthful..."

"If I kept count properly, that leaves one more..."

Declan turned to the doorway, where one girl had kept quiet. She was polishing a bow that she had drawn from her back, humming gently to herself as she finally noticed the room had gone quiet. She looked up, her eyes widening for a moment as she realized the attention was on her... "O-Oh! My name is Talia Skye, I'm the Ultimate Archer according to Hope's Peak Academy. It's, uh, nice to meet you all? We were doing introductions, right?"

Yui · July 28, 2018

"The detailing on these is really nice, Honoka. I can see why they invited you to join the class."

"Ahahah, thank you." In the end, of course, it was still just a hobby. Now wasn't the first time Honoka had thought of making sculpting a full-time job, but would it still be a hobby she did to relax if she took that path? Shortly after the white-haired girl had praised Honoka's work, she was met with a boy who introduced himself as Casper Keller, the Ultimate Therapist. That must have been an incredible talent to have! He suggested that she save the cat statue for Brian. As he suggested it, Honoka brought the cat sculpture closer to herself, covering it with her hands as she gave Casper an understanding nod. He didn't seem too happy with his talent though. Honoka was about to suggest letting him tell her his problems - being the eldest of nine siblings tended to mean Honoka was used to hearing and helping others with their issues, after all - but before she could suggest it, yet another person made for the sculptures, and commented on them.

"He's definitely right. The poor kid's really getting laid into over something that isn't even a problem! I'm Olivia Powell, the Ultimate Food Critic. I hope you don't mind if I take a closer look at some of these statues. Definitely this one! They're all so impressive though. I can't create, all I can do is eat things..."

A lot of the talents in this class were certainly more unconventional than Honoka was expecting. She would have imagined an Ultimate Chef before an Ultimate Food Critic, for instance. But even if they weren't the most obvious or normal talents, they were still talents that each student had honed to where they were the best in the world at it! That was still pretty impressive.

"Sculpting! Gardening! ...Uh, what's your talent?"

"Oh. My name is Aletta Romero. I'm the Ultimate Bird Keeper..."

"Hana! Let's move on, you can bother Brian about this later."

"Yo, you can call me Mobius! I'm the Ultimate Commentator, y'know? I'm pretty sure most, if not all of you know me, right, right? Other than little Ms. Elise, I'd say I'm the most well known, ye? I'm with her, let's get going, people to do, things to see!"

"Oh, I've heard of you!" Honoka exclaimed, with a hand raised. "I've got a younger brother who likes to play baseball, and he's always loved your commentaries!" Maybe when there was a sufficiently long break from school, Honoka could try to convince him to come with her to commentate on one of Tsubasa's games? It was a bit of a stretch to think he'd have time for it, but anything was worth a shot, right? That would definitely be a day he'd never forget if Honoka managed to pull it off. However, she wasn't so caught up in suddenly being in the same room as a household name like Mobius that she'd forgotten to listen to the other students. Indeed, there was a Kane Nagami who had won a lottery and was accepted as the Ultimate Lucky Student.

She couldn't help but wonder how that must have felt. To be accepted not because of an outstanding talent, but because of a lottery.

"I don't get why ya'll are in a rush! It's not like we're gonna be here too long. Complaining about it just makes it take longer. Trust me, I wanna get outta here too. I'm Tempest, the Ultimate Thief. I want to look around the school some more and learn the layout, but it'll be easier to just let them do their thing."

Honoka reflexively moved the cat sculpture covered by her hands closer ot herself, gripping it even tighter. She felt guilty for doing something like that just because of somebody's talent - she didn't even know if that meant Tempest would make an active effort to take the belongings of his classmates - but the cat in particular was a sculpture she had plans for now.

"None of you understand. Except maybe Mr. Megaphone, he seems to have an idea of why time is valuable..."

"Everything I said for her goes for you too, Mobius. There will be plenty of time for you to hide in your room later, for now, you'll just have to deal with being social for a little bit."

Some time passed before the next introduction. Kai, the Ultimate Surfer. That sounded like fun!

"Hell yeah! There's somethin' I can get behind. All this arguing and bickering isn't gonna get anything done. We need to just enjoy ourselves! I'm Raegan Kane, and Hope's Peak dubbed me the Ultimate Channeler! ...But I don't think the others are exactly listenin'."

"There's no way any of them are listening. Their hearts are moving to a different rhythm right now, all we can do is watch and hope they calm down. Unless, we... I dunno, pry them apart? Any of you got any ideas?"

"Cassidy Bennett. I'm the Ultimate Proofreader, uhm. In most fiction stories, the best way to get a group's attention is to make a loud noise like this."

CLACK!!

Honoka flinched away from the chair and Cassidy who had thrown it down, nearly falling out of her own seat in the process. If she hadn't already been paying attention, she definitely was now. The remaining two students - as per Declan's instructions - introduced themselves after Cassidy's display. The boy with the headphones was Alex Mills, the Ultimate Electronic Composer. That left a girl Honoka didn't even notice before she spoke up. She had a bow? Like, an actual bow, used for real archery that shot real arrows? That was kind of neat, actually. Her name was Talia Skye, and she was the Ultimate Archer.

Now that everyone had introduced themselves, and the room was quieter than before, Honoka stood up, and said again, "In case anyone missed it earlier, I sculpted these as... I suppose housewarming gifts? Hopefully we can all get along. Please, take one you like, but don't fight over them; I can always make more." With that, cat sculpture in hand and relatively hidden from view, Honoka made her way over to the unlucky boy that had been caught up in the argument earlier. Brian Scott, the Ultimate Blogger.

"U-Um, excuse me, but somebody told me you might like cats? I'm sorry if I heard wrong, but..." Honoka opened her hands, and set the wooden cat down on the table, in front of Brian. "You can have this one if you'd like."

👀 REP 👀 · July 30, 2018

Kai was a bit disheartened as basically everyone ignored him, too busy in their own bickering. However, he did manage to get some of his fellow student's attention. "Hell yeah! There's somethin' I can get behind. All this arguing and bickering isn't gonna get anything done. We need to just enjoy ourselves! I'm Raegan Kane, and Hope's Peak dubbed me the Ultimate Channeler!" Kai grinned, glad to see at least someone else in here had a sense of fun. "...But I don't think the others are exactly listenin'."

"There's no way any of them are listening." Kai shifted his attention to another kid, this one with headphones. "Their hearts are moving to a different rhythm right now, all we can do is watch and hope they calm down. Unless, we... I dunno, pry them apart? Any of you got any ideas?"

As Kai was thinking of a way to get the attention of the others, he heard a loud CLANK noise as Cassidy tossed a chair onto the ground. That seemed to work as everyone stopped due to the loud noises, and finished up their introductions. Kai wasn't sure what to make with the rather interesting group of students he was here with. He had done nothing to learn about them beforehand, preferring the excitement of going in blind. Which made it strange that some of them seemed to be famous to some degree. Kai turned his head towards Cassidy, pointing a finger gun at her. "Nice thinkin' there, Cass!" He said, before placing both of his hands behind his head, taking another glance around the room. "So... guess we're just chillin' here now? Not like we can do much else..."

Blake · July 31, 2018

"I'm Kane Nagami, Hope's Peak said I won their annual lottery and was chosen as the Ultimate Lucky Student."

"I'm Tempest, the Ultimate Thief."

"Yo! The name's Kai, Ultimate Surfer!"

"I'm Raegan Kane, and Hope's Peak dubbed me the Ultimate Channeler!"

"Cassidy Bennett. I'm the Ultimate Proofreader, uhm."

"My name is Alex Mills! I am the best, the only Ultimate Electronic Composer!"

"O-Oh! My name is Talia Skye, I'm the Ultimate Archer according to Hope's Peak Academy."

Xander held a grin as he listened to the other students, only paying enough attention to each student to catch their name and talent. Classmates or no, he didn't have much intent of interacting with them, so he just had to grit his teeth and bide his time... until it finally ended with Talia.

"Well, aaaaaaalrighty then! Everyone is here! We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later, so I'm just gonna slip out, ye?"

Xander stood and bowed somewhat dramatically as he prepared to leave the room. He gave curt nods to those he passed, his persona quickly wearing thin on him in such a decently sized personal group. However, as he neared the door, a noise from the corner of the cafeteria caught his attention...

"Huh? What's that?"

Looking to where he head hear the sound, a TV monitor that no one had noticed flickered to life with a sort of whine. Xander cocked a brow as he looked at it, unaware if the others had noticed it yet or not.

Ralsei · July 31, 2018

"Everyone needs to calm down!"

Declan raised his hand into the air, hoping to catch people's attention at this point, but unfortunately, the chaos in the Cafeteria just seemed to keep going, on and on. His hand fell back down to his side as he let out a loud sigh, just closing his eyes as he sat down with his face in his hands. He seemed to have just gave up judging by the fact that he didn't bother saying anything else, his eyes rolling for a moment as the Cafeteria Chaos continued around him.

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Brian looked up as Honoka walked over to him, his hands tensing up for a moment as he seemed to steel himself for another argument. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath, about to speak before Honoka started talking first.

"U-Um, excuse me, but somebody told me you might like cats? I'm sorry if I heard wrong, but... You can have this one if you'd like."

He seemed to deflate for a moment as he looked at the cat statue, a little smile appearing on his face as he sighed with relief, "Oh good... I thought you were gonna come lay into me about my talent too... Especially since you've got that woodworking skill." He sheepishly rubbed at his neck for a moment, glancing to the side as he coughed gently, "...Sorry for judging you before we even said a work to each other."

He picked up the little cat statue that she had set down in front of him, his eyes widen a little bit, "Oh, you heard right! Don't worry, I love it." He beamed up to her as he held his hand out to her, offering it as he grinned, "It was really nice of you to make all these statues. I'll have to see if I can make you something in return. I can... Sorta bake."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

"So... guess we're just chillin' here now? Not like we can do much else..."

Cassidy twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers, "...I think with introductions done, we can leave now, personally. I'll be heading out now." She grabbed her bag and book as she began to walk towards the exit to the room, prepared to leave as she hummed gently.

"And there she goes, off on a new adventure." Raegan sighed as she shrugged her shoulders, her head shaking a little bit as she rubbed at her cheek some. She glanced around the room for a moment, "But I think she's right. Everyone is just arguing now, so maybe we should just cut our loses here and prepare to sleep."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

"Well, aaaaaaalrighty then! Everyone is here! We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other later, so I'm just gonna slip out, ye?"

Before Xander could slip out, Aletta slipped towards the door. She was about to speak to him as he got closer to the exit, but before she could...

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

A little click sounded into the air through the bickering, before finally...

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

In the corner of the room, a monitor that was previously just ignored sprung to life. The screen flickered on as the Hope's Peak Academy Insignia appeared on the middle of the screen, a soft, soothing voice began to speak.

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcasting System. It is now 10 PM. It is officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the Cafeteria will be locked, so please exit the room now. Please return to your rooms and prepare for sleep."

And as soon as the voice started talking, it was over, leaving the room in a stat of pure quiet. No one said a word for a brief moment as they processed the announcement, before finally...

"So, Mr. Barnham. I'm going to assume you'll stop holding us hostage now? I would like to go back to my room and finish getting ready for the evening." Elise crossed her arms as she stared at the frustrated male, a little grumble escaping him as he just stood up, walking out of the Cafeteria without saying anything to anyone else. Elise nodded her head as she followed him out of the room, no doubt to return to her own...

The group was slowly dwindling down, with Raegan being the next to leave, a hand being held up into the air, "Well, this was fun! I'll see you all in the afternoon, don't bother trying to wake me up."

Aletta blinked as she shook her head gently, a little sigh escaping her as she slipped out the exit herself, "You're not going to be able to sleep in, there's the entrance ceremony tomorrow. There's no doubt they're going to get us up early for it."

Slowly students trickled out of the Cafeteria and back to their rooms, the night beginning to get darker as they were sent to sleep for the evening, or just wind down in their own ways. Aside from the desk and few counter tops their room had, there was another door that led into a bathroom complete with a shower, giving them all a personal space to use the washroom and a dresser and closet for them to store clothing and other items.

Most of their heads hit the pillows with a heavy sigh, as the day came to a close...

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

Once again, across the school, the monitors began to flare to life. Each student's room had one, and with the loud nose, there was no doubt that each student was going to wake up. Whether they wanted to wake up or not.

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcast System. It is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over. Please rise and shine, and prepare to gather in the Gym for the Entrance Ceremony in 1 hour."

With that, the monitor turned off in each room, leaving the building quiet once again. Students began to rise at their own pace, some getting ready and dressed faster than others. Students exited the dorms steadily, heading off towards the Gym to prepare for the upcoming Ceremony...

15 minutes before the Ceremony, most of the students had arrived. The notable missing ones... (Aside from the player characters, who may or may not be around yet) Elise had yet to arrive, as well as Casper and Talia.

Raegan stood with her back against the wall next to the Gym door, a low grumble escaping her as she rubbed at her eye, "Damn it, I just wanted to sleep in... That stupid alarm ruined a great dream..."

Hana yawned softly as she tilted her head slightly, sitting down on the ground as she looked over the Gym. The hardwood floor was bright and reflective, shining with the light that hit it, while there were bleachers off to the sides. Declan sat one on the base floor of the bleachers as he waited for the ceremony to begin, his arms crossed with his eyes shut tight.

Brian was not far from him, typing away on his phone as he hummed happily. His legs seemed to kick for a moment as he focused on the screen in front of him, not noticing the rest of the students. Cassidy sat on the other side of the Gym from Brian, reading the manuscript she seemed to have started the day before in the Cafeteria.

Aletta sat in the middle of the Gym floor, waiting for the ceremony with her legs folded as she did. Her face was neutral, with no sign of any thoughts, aside from perhaps mild annoyance. Olivia sat next to her, her legs folded as well as the two sat in complete silence, occasionally giving each other a soft nod before turning back to their own... Thoughts. Underneath the duo was a massive insignia, the logo of Hope's Peak Academy once again.

Kane sat on a seat in the bleachers with a little sigh, occasionally glancing up to the stage at the far side of the Gym where the stage was, looking at the podium with a microphone on it. Next to him was Alex who was listen to his headphones, occasionally tapping Kane on the shoulder to let him listen to them instead. They exchanged a few words now and again, but Kane always seemed to shift his attention back to the podium.

Tempest was walking around the top level of the bleacher Declan and Brian were on, a concerned look on his face as he started to run down, "Yo, did anyone else try to... You know, open the front door to the Academy today? Just me? Cause that door was locked. I couldn't get it open. Maybe we should be a little concerned?"

None of the students around him bothered to reply, but Kane glanced up from the other side of the Gym as he raised an eyebrow, "It's a little weird, I guess, but... They'll probably tell us what's up with that during the ceremony, right? Maybe there was a weird guy running around campus and they just didn't want him to get inside..."

Yui · August 3, 2018

"It was really nice of you to make all these statues. I'll have to see if I can make you something in return. I can... Sorta bake."

"Really?" Honoka asked, rather excited at the idea of home-baked treats. "I'd love to bake something with you sometime!" This year wasn't going to be so bad, after all. It still felt odd to be here, but it seemed more and more like Honoka was getting worried over nothing.

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcasting System. It is now 10 PM. It is officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the Cafeteria will be locked, so please exit the room now. Please return to your rooms and prepare for sleep."

And, as per the announcement's warning, the students dispersed. Honoka gathered up the leftover sculptures from the table - seemed that not everybody had taken one - and made for her room. Overall, today wasn't so bad. She got to meet her classmates, perhaps make a friend, and get settled into her dorm room. As she lied down on her bed, she replaced the events in her mind. The arguments weren't necessary, but other than that, the whole thing went pretty smoothly... kind of.

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcasting System. It is now 10 PM. It is officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the Cafeteria will be locked, so please exit the room now. Please return to your rooms and prepare for sleep."

Wait... did they know we were in the cafeteria?

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcast System. It is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over. Please rise and shine, and prepare to gather in the Gym for the Entrance Ceremony in 1 hour."

Honoka rose from her slumber rather peacefully. She'd slept well, despite her last-minute concerns about somebody knowing the class was in the cafeteria. The first thing she did after getting dressed was to step out of her room, and make for the kitchen area. There were... sixteen people in total, right? But maybe some of them would feel bad or offended that I cooked for them. Breakfast for eleven then. Herself, plus ten other students. What a coincidence. Eleven was a number she was used to cooking for anyway.

Of course, she had no idea what anyone liked, or if anyone was allergic to anything. She'd have to try and keep things varied. Honoka glanced around the kitchen. There were plenty of things to make with what was available. Eggs, bacon, toast, salad, and more. As expected of such a prestigious school! I should get started. Honoka tightened up her ponytail, stretched for a brief moment to finish waking up for the morning, and started pulling out the things she'd need. Hopefully her efforts were appreciated; this was her first time cooking for people outside of her own family.

👀 REP 👀 · August 6, 2018

Kai nodded along as the two girls came to the same conclusion. "Bummer... but I guess y'all ain't wrong." He shrugged, leaning back against the wall as he watched one of them make their way out of here. Suddenly...

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcasting System. It is now 10 PM. It is officially nighttime. Soon, the doors to the Cafeteria will be locked, so please exit the room now. Please return to your rooms and prepare for sleep."

"Woah... it's that late already?" Kai said, surprised at the time. "Well, it ain't look like we partyin' any time soon so..." He was a bit peeved that the place locked down like that. What if he wanted to hang out in the middle of the night here? It didn't really matter, though. As he made his way out the room, he flashed a peace sign to whoever was in the room. "Catch y'all on the flip side!"

As Kai woke up, he heard a similar dinging and bonging from the night prior. He was used to waking up early anyways, but a mandatory curfew? This was way worse than the whole cafeteria thing. He'd have to complain about it later. Maybe it was just for the ceremony, after all. With a yawn, Kai got up and got ready for said ceremony.

As he got into the gym, he overheard people talking about the locked front doors. Everything about this place was starting to irk him. "Maybe they're all just a bunch of control freaks?" He blurted out, a tad annoyed. "I mean they did wake us up at 7 in the morning, and locked down the Cafeteria at 10." He shook his head. "Sure, they wanted us to get here on time and everything, but fuck man. Ya don't need to blast a damn alarm in my room! I'll wake up when I want, thank you very much!"

Blake · August 11, 2018

As the announcement began, Xander noticed Aletta attempt to step between him and the door. Using the distraction as cover, he quietly slipped into the hall and headed back towards his room, surprised to find many of the same monitor through the area. Hell, even his room had one of them. After some more preparation, and a securley locked door, Xander found some early rest, exhausted by the events he was forced to endure.

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

"This is the Hope's Peak Broadcast System. It is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over. Please rise and shine, and prepare to gather in the Gym for the Entrance Ceremony in 1 hour."

Xander sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn. Wandering to the bathroom, he jumped back in shock as he saw his reflection, having forgotten to get out of the Mobius persona. With a grumble, he quickly shed the getup to begin his morning routine, only to slide into another copy of the outfit, with the wig, hat, and contacts returned, as well. With a resigned sigh, the boy forcefully pulled the corners of his lips into a smile, managing to hold it as he looked at the clock. 5 to 8...

With a forced spring in his step, Xander headed towards the Gym, managing to slide in mere moments before the opening ceremony began, finding himself a place against the wall to watch it begin. Others might have found his lack of speaking thus far strange, especially given how loud Mobius was... but Xander himself was used to days without using his voice, and thought nothing of his lack of morning greetings.

Ralsei · August 12, 2018

Talia stepped out of her room with a quiet yawn, her hand brushing at the side of her cheek as she mumbled to herself. She tugged a lock of her hair back over her ear as she walked down the hallway, starting to pause as she sniffed at the air. Her attention was directed towards the Cafeteria as she started to move into it, sniffing still as she got closer and closer to the kitchen door, "Is someone making food in here...?"

She paused as she saw Honoka slaving away in the kitchen as she started to prepare the food, a little frown on her face as she rubbed at her cheek a little bit. She coughed softly, about to speak up as she rubbed at her cheek, "You know we don't have time to sit down and eat, right...? We all need to be in the Gym for the ceremony like... Right now almost... Uh... I'm sure everyone would be happy to eat what you made once the thing is over though! Come on..."

She walked over and grabbed Honoka's hand, tugging the poor girl out of the kitchen before she could get a chance to protest, shaking her head a little bit as she did. She sighed gently, her eyes closing as she mumbled under her breath, "Alright... To the gym."

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"Maybe they're all just a bunch of control freaks? I mean they did wake us up at 7 in the morning, and locked down the Cafeteria at 10. Sure, they wanted us to get here on time and everything, but fuck man. Ya don't need to blast a damn alarm in my room! I'll wake up when I want, thank you very much!"

The others in the room listened to Kai's complaint, a few of them nodding along while Tempest continued to pace around, his hand rubbing at his chin lightly. He narrowed his eyes a little bit as he glanced around, "You really think it's just them bein' control freaks? I dunno... I'm sorta feeling cramped up already... I would like to be able to take walks when I feel like I could use them..."

Brian looked up as he narrowed his eyes, before letting out a little sigh, "I can't imagine it's anything really important. Maybe the janitor just hasn't gotten here to unlock the doors yet. I know we stay here, but that doesn't mean the entire faculty does. Maybe teachers and the headmaster..."

"We'll have to wait and see." Declan looked up from his seat as he leaned back, his arms and legs crossed as he grumbled a little bit, "It's too early to say anything for sure. We have to let them tell us what's happening, that's all. There's no point in speculation on this one."

From the ground, Aletta nodded her head as she started to speak, "He's right. We're still running blind on what's happening, so we just have to wait for the school to start the ceremony." From beside her, Olivia nodded her head in agreement with her arms crossed, before the door to the Gym opened once again. This time with Elise stood in the doorway, a little sigh escaping her as she walked over to seat that was a fair distance away from the others.

After a slight delay, Talia entered the room, still dragging Honoka with her as she mumbled, "Geez... You get up and the first thing you start doing is try to make breakfast for everyone, uh... You can let them know there'll be food after this... How many are missing now?"

She took a little glance around the room as she rubbed at her cheek, her eyes doing a quick count as she mumbled under her breath, "...Two. Should I go get them?"

Right as she was about to do that, Casper walked into the Gym behind her, muttering lightly as he did, "I'm here, I'm here, don't bother going to get me. The other kid is probably gonna be here soon, I think I saw him leavin' his room around the same time..."

Sure enough, the Commentator seemed to walk in behind Casper's arrival, and the attempt to be sneaky was, unfortunately ruined! Some of the other students let out a collective sigh, before Cassidy started talking, "Now that we're all here, this is the point where we get some really bad news, right? Usually that's what happens when there's a lot of people. One of us is sick and dying, the school is actually shutting down, maybe lunch is something like brussel sprouts?"

"Don't say something like that! We're just here for orientation, that's all. They're gonna tell us about the school year and then things are gonna be fine. There isn't anything bad about what's happening!" Hana grumbled as she puffed her cheeks out a little bit, her arms crossed as she glared up at the others from her spot on the floor.

Kane smiled gently as he nodded his head as well, his arms spread out on either side as he spoke up, "She's right! We're just here to learn about how we're going to be spending the school year. There's no reason to be worried." He smiled to the others, but didn't get much in response.

Casper leaned back against the wall next to Xander, reaching into his pocket to pull out a lighter, fiddling with it as he took a quick glance at the 'Commentator' as he did, "You think the school would mind if I lit a cigarette in the building? I would take it outside, but apparently the doors are locked... Plus I think that loud guy would threw a fit if any of us left right now with the thing about to start."

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👀 REP 👀 · August 19, 2018

The people in general seemed to agree to at least some part of Kai's complaints, although they had doubts of the intentions. He thought about it, maybe there was something sketchier going on. Or maybe it was just the janitor. Either way, it was pissing Kai off. Especially since they could only wait and see what happens.

It was then that Talia entered the room, dragging statue girl from last time. Honoka, he remembered. As they started gathering around, eventually all of them were in the gym. Now to wait to see why they were called in. Some thought it was for bad news, while others were in better head spaces. "Everything about this place is pissing me off..." Kai commented, puffing his cheeks as well. "Still, I guess there's not much else we can do but chillax for a while." As he said this, he made his way to the bleachers, laying down on the lower steps of it. "No sense in worryin' bout what might happen 'til it happens, ya dig?"

Blake · August 19, 2018

With his plan to slip in foiled, Xander decided to play it up.

"Good morning, everyone!"

Quickly moving to lean against the wall, Xander decided to keep his mouth shut, because the ceremony was about to begin... before Casper slid next to him, ruining his second plan for the morning.

"You think the school would mind if I lit a cigarette in the building? I would take it outside, but apparently the doors are locked... Plus I think that loud guy would threw a fit if any of us left right now with the thing about to start."

"Do what you want, I say. What's the worst that could happen for infringing on a school rule? Death by stabbing?"

The commentator laughed, somehow a bit sinister, as he finished delivering his line with a shrug.

"Though, maybe don't do it during the opening ceremony. Don't wanna get kicked out the first day, right?"

Yui · August 20, 2018

"You know we don't have time to sit down and eat, right...?"

"...eh?"

"We all need to be in the Gym for the ceremony like... Right now almost..."

Honoka looked at the nearest clock. Indeed, it was time for the ceremony! She then looked at the food that she'd just started cooking. If she'd only just started... it would be fine if she packed it all back up and started over after the ceremony, right? Already, she started turning off the stove, and putting away the food that would become her grand breakfast.

"Uh... I'm sure everyone would be happy to eat what you made once the thing is over though! Come on..." As she put the last of it away, Honoka turned, and was going to agree, but found her hand being taken by Talia as she was dragged away to where the ceremony would take place. It took a short walk, but when she entered, Talia was saying "Geez... You get up and the first thing you start doing is try to make breakfast for everyone, uh... You can let them know there'll be food after this... How many are missing now?"

Of course! Offering another polite bow to the class, Honoka said "After orientation, I'll provide breakfast. I'm used to cooking for a lot of people anyway, so it's really no trouble. If anyone has a particular preference, please let me know."

Headmaster Monokuma · August 21, 2018

Once everyone had assembled in the main hall, before any more chatter and talk could begin, a loud voice rang out from the stage. There was a malevolence behind that voice, a hint that whatever was about to happen wasn't about to be good... "Is that everybody? Finally? Are we ready to begin?!"

There was a sudden pause where that voice stopped, and for a brief few seconds, all the students were just left with their own thoughts and gazes, blinking between each other and the stage...

And out flew a teddy bear.

It definitely wasn't the standard teddy bear, with a half-black half-white color scheme, and that strange red eye instead of another button. That awful stitched on grin that it was sporting just made it look like it was mocking the students. Declan stood up with a wild look on his face, throwing his arm into the air beside him, his hand splayed out, "Just what is the meaning of this? Does the greatest school of all really intend on toying with us like this?!"

There was a murmur among the collected students as Tempest pointed towards the podium, "Come on, ya gotta be kidding me! You woke me up early for this? I'm leaving." He threw his hand in the air, making his way towards the closed doorway to the Gym.

Before he could open the door, the voice from before rung out into the Gym once again, "Leave? You can't leave! You're my precious student and I am this school's Headmaster! I am Monokuma!" The bear stood up on the podium, waving its stubby hands in the air towards the students, "It's a little known fact, but bears are the smartest animal in the animal kingdom, so I can see why it's a shock for me to be the Headmaster. But don't worry! Under my guidance, you will all reach your fullest potential!" The way the bear spoke was light and carefree, as if there wasn't a weird thing in the world about what was happening. No, it was less more than carefree. It was downright... Delighted.

Hana stared at the plush bear on the stage, her face scrunching up a little bit as she stared at it. She clenched a hand in front of her, "Alright, I know what we do! Someone grab the bear and rip it open, that'll show the school for trying to mess with us like this!"

Cassidy turned a page in her book without looking up from it, shaking her head a little bit as she did. She held a finger up in front of her, "You probably don't want to do that. In all the stories, the strange, first-act appearance is either a mook with no importance or a reoccurring villain. I don't think you want to take the chance."

"Are we... Are we really gonna be arguing over if we should respect this bear? I'm with Delusions over here, I'm leaving too." Casper mumbled under his breath as he turned towards the doorway, starting to walk towards it, at least until Talia shifted to block the exit, a little frown on her face, "Hey, what do you think you're doin-?"

"She blocked his exit! She must know I'm really important after all!" The bear posed with a hand behind his head, the other up in the air behind him as he snickered, "Phuhuhu, like I said, I am your Headmaster, and I will be guiding you all on this school life! Now, you all have surely noticed that there are a lot of... Locked doors! Well, from now on, none of you will be leaving the school grounds! This is your home now, so you better get used to it."

"Something isn't right here... Casper, right? Just... Stay. I get the feeling this bear isn't here just to mess with us..." Talia's hand noticeably gripped onto the edge of the doorway as she mumbled to him. From the podium, a wild laughter came from that strange bear as it rose up again.

"She's right! I'm here to tell you all, well, all about your school year! C'mon, let's really get pumped! It's time for the Hope's Peak Academy Entrance Ceremony!"

A murmur of disbelief ran through the students, before Brian stood up, a big frown on his face as he scowled towards Monokuma, "You can't... You can't mess with us like this, seriously... Just bring out the actual Headmaster already." Declan nodded his head from beside Brian, but that just got the bear shake its head a little bit.

"Unbelievable... You kids don't trust anyone these days, do you? I am the Headmaster! But more importantly, let's talk about your time here. You all are the Hope of the World. Everyone expects great things from you, so to make sure you all grow to your fullest potential, you'll never be allowed to leave the school again! From now on, you all must live together entirely within the school!"

Monokuma held a hand out in front of him as the black side of his body turned to the students, showing off that stitched on grin. Olivia gasped as she held a hand up in front of her mouth, "You can't be serious! That... That can't be legal! This is kidnapping!"

The bear tilted its head for a moment as it stared at Olivia, "Kidnapping? But you all agreed to attend the school, right? You could have backed out before even getting here! It's not kidnapping at all, it's just a restriction! A little legal loophole! It's not my fault you didn't read the fine print!"

Yui · August 25, 2018

The headmaster was... a stuffed bear? Honoka had to admit, she wasn't really expecting a bear. Or anything besides a tall bearded man in an expensive-looking suit, who was definitely showing signs that he was getting old. But it was a bear. Even Honoka had to admit, she had some trouble believing that was really the case. Maybe he's just really shy? However, this bear was what they were stuck with. And speaking of stuck, the bear - he'd introduced himself as Monokuma at some point - noted that the students were all stuck in this school now.

Honoka wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. But at the same time, he did have a point. It would be terrible if somebody left the campus and got targeted for being able to attend Hope's Peak! And a school as important as this one must be incredibly well built. I bet it's one of the safest places to be if there's an earthquake or typhoon or something else that awful. I would have liked to visit my family during breaks, but if student safety is that big of a concern, I wouldn't want to make the headmaster worry by leaving. The more Honoka thought about it, the more everything made sense. Yes, this was definitely for everyone's protection!

"Excuse me, Headmaster!" Honoka exclaimed, raising a hand. "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you in person for letting me attend Hope's Peak Academy! I can understand why the other students might be worried about your, er... heavy-handed approach to security, but I think I get your reasoning, sir. That's all."

Honoka then gave the bear a polite bow, taking particular note of his appearance as well. She really wanted to make a sculpture of this Monokuma. Returning to the majority of the students, Honoka picked one in particular to go over the events with. She chose Kai, the Ultimate Surfer. He'd seemed pretty relaxed during introductions yesterday. Maybe he also didn't jump the gun on Monokuma's security choices? "The headmaster's kind of cute, in an odd way... if it really is the bear. Right?"

👀 REP 👀 · August 27, 2018

Kai kept quite during the entire introduction of their apparent headmaster. It was hard to believe that this was all happening, although the oddities of the rest of the school suddenly made a lot of sense. He could feel his teeth gritting, and was about to speak up once everyone as done when another on of his classmates spoke up. Kai remembered her from yesterday... Honka? That wasn't right. Either way, he recognized the sculptor. She was also taking in the whole situation rather well, moreso than everyone else.

Kai chuckled a bit, shrugging. While the tight leash they were in was a drag, and the stuffed bear being the headmaster was obviously a loud of bullshit, he had to admit this was not what he was expecting. "So we're just stuck here, huh?" He thought out loud, before laughing a bit. "Not the adventure I was imagining, but that's alright in it's own way."

He watched as Honoka bowed, making her way back into the crowd... and towards him. "The headmaster's kind of cute, in an odd way... if it really is the bear. Right?"

"Cute?" He said, taking another look at Monokuma. He did seem to resemble a plush animal, although whether it was a cute one or not was questionable. "I mean I guess... if that's your kinda thing." Kai responded, shrugging. "Either way, there's no way that's the actual head master. Probably some stuffed animal with a speaker in it or sometin'." He turned around, scowling at all the security measures in place. "Still, the actual head master must be some kinda nutter butter, eh? Who put so many security measures for a school in an area like this?"

Headmaster Monokuma · September 3, 2018

"Excuse me, Headmaster! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you in person for letting me attend Hope's Peak Academy! I can understand why the other students might be worried about your, er... heavy-handed approach to security, but I think I get your reasoning, sir. That's all."

Monokuma tilted his head as he brought one of his hands (paws?) up in front of that sinister smile, "Puhuhu... You're a good kid, ain'tcha? I bet you're the sort to do all the housework, just cause your parents aren't able to, right? Right?!"

Monokuma placed his hands on his stomach as he leaned back, "Phew, here I was worried my entire class was gonna be a buncha deviants after all! It's good to know I've got at least one good kid!"

"So we're just stuck here, huh? Not the adventure I was imagining, but that's alright in it's own way."

As soon as Kai said that, it was as though the other students turned towards him immediately. Brian pointed a finger towards the surfer, "How can you say that?! Being stuck inside all the time is no good! We should be able to leave if we want to..."

Hana stood up and nodded her head, but before she spoke up, a loud growl came from the podium, "Hey now! Come on, you can't go and start arguing with each other already! I haven't even finished explaining things yet."

Elise brushed her hair behind her ear as she leaned forward, "Excuse me? You've just told us that we're going to be trapped here, you don't expect us to have a conversation among ourselves? What kind of teacher are you if you can't even predict that?"

"You might not want to pick fights with him, Elise..." The drawer turned to stare at Aletta as she spoke up, giving her a firm glare. Some of the other students had their attention drawn away from Kai, all while the white haired girl started to speak again, "Right now, he has all the information. If we make him mad..."

"Oh, smart girl!" Monokuma 'beamed' from atop his podium, holding a paw out towards the students, "Now if I can continue... You will all be staying here for good! You will build a communal life together, and grow as people... And there will be no more contact with the outside world! But don't worry, all your basic needs will be take care of. And even your more expensive ones too! Now, the only way this gets undone... If you reaaaally wanna leave..."

Brian perked up at this, leaning forward as he held a hand out into the air, "A-Are we still able to opt out of the semester, sir? If so, I think... I might like to revoke the privilege..."

"If you wish to leave Hope's Peak Academy, there is a way to graduate early! It could be as soon as tomorrow, but... There's only one way to graduate the academy. If one of you lovely students were to hurt our little communal life, and cause some strife then you and you alone would be allowed to leave the school! That's all there is to it! Any questions?"

Casper spoke up from the far wall next to Xander, leaning back against it with one of his feet propped up behind him. He yawned out softly as he rubbed at his neck, "...What do you mean by 'cause some strife'? That's some really vague wordin', can I smoke a few cigs and get booted out?"

Hana scoffed from her seat, "Clearly he means stealing things. We do have a thief in our midst, after all. That's gotta be a warning for Tempest."

"H-Hey, I haven't done anything! I'm the one who found the super useful locked door information!"

Monokuma looked over the students with his arms down by either side of his body, his eyes looking down to the ground, "Man, you guys never stop... It's really nothing much. Just kill one of the other students. It's no big deal, really. Kill someone and well, we can't keep you around."

There was a silence after the bear spoke that time. It was as if a collective forced silenced the entire gym, one could hear a pin fall to the ground if it was dropped. It wasn't until Declan began to move that any sound built up in the room once more, "...This has to be a sick joke. You can't really be serious, so tell us the truth. Locked in here forever? We can only leave by killing each other?"

Raegan grabbed the front of her coat and closed it around her as she looked down at the ground, a serious look on her face as she shook her head gently, "No way. I'm not gonna believe that. What kind of sick school would be able to tell its students to kill each other? Somethin' is up here, and I'm going to find out what."

"This is crazy!"

"D-Did he just say kill someone?!"

"What the hell is wrong with this school?"

Voices raised up one after another, the bear on the podium getting visibly more anger as a red tint appeared over his stuffed face. He threw both hands up into the air as he leaned out, "I am serious! If you want to leave this school, you have to kill someone! End. Of. Story!"

👀 REP 👀 · September 8, 2018

"How can you say that?! Being stuck inside all the time is no good! We should be able to leave if we want to..." Kai nodded his head.

"Of course we should!" He responded, before cupping his hand over his mouth. "Still, doesn't the idea of breaking out of a high security school seem exciting?" He whispered, a small grin on his face. Before much else could be said between them, the supposed headmaster interrupted them.

Kai decided to stand back and listen to what the stuffed animal had to say, before jumping off of the wall he was leaning on when murder would be their way out. "What the fuck are you on about!?" He shouted at the bear, joining the rest of the people in the commotion. He made a fist, shaking it at the bear. "Alright, cut the funny crap! The joke got stale since you showed your fluffy face!" Something told him, however, that the bear wasn't joking. "Murder... no, there's got to be another way outta here!" He shouted, before turning to Honoka. "Don't worry... we'll... we'll find a way outta here... Without murdering." He tried to comfort him, although it was pretty clear he was more so comforting himself.

Blake · September 18, 2018

Xander had remained silent through most of the scene, rather uncharacteristically for Mobius... froze as the bear's words came out as if they were the most simple explanation ever heard.

"I am serious! If you want to leave this school, you have to kill someone! End. Of. Story!"

Stepping back against the wall, his own joke from mere minutes before rang in his ears. With a gulp, he shakily turned to Casper, visibly sweating as his voice matched his body.

"H-hey, you know I was just joking, right? A-about the death by stabbing? I-I had no idea th-this clown was going to show up! How could I?! This is all just a joke... Yeah, that's it. This is just a weird entrance exam, ye?"

With his booming voice reclaimed, Xander walked across the room with his head held high, his persona back where it belonged. He climbed the stage from the front, before walking over to the bear and hoisting it up by its head, grunting slightly.

"Bit heavier than I expected, but it's clearly just a toy. This is just some prank by the faculty on new students, there's no way it isn't!"

Headmaster Monokuma · September 22, 2018

"What the fuck are you on about!?" Kai shouted at the bear, joining the rest of the people in the commotion. He made a fist, shaking it at the bear. "Alright, cut the funny crap! The joke got stale since you showed your fluffy face!"

Monokuma just brought his hands up to his mouth, a little 'Phuhuhu' escaping the stuffed animal as Kai yelled at him. He seemed like he was about to respond to the surfer, but before he could, the surfer turned away as Monokuma tilted his head. "Murder... no, there's got to be another way outta here!" He shouted, before turning to Honoka. "Don't worry... we'll... we'll find a way outta here... Without murdering."

That stuffed bear laughed again as he stood up on the stage, "You're getting all riled up! But sorry, there isn't any leaving this school without murdering, nope. Becoming Blackened through the Graduation Clause is the only rule that allows you all to leave this school, but don't worry..."

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

At the same time, near the back of the gym, Xander's growing nervousness definitely seemed to catch Casper's eye. The male rubbed at his neck for a moment as he listened to Xander start to speak up once again, a little sigh escaping him as he glanced up at the ceiling.

"H-hey, you know I was just joking, right? A-about the death by stabbing? I-I had no idea th-this clown was going to show up! How could I?! This is all just a joke... Yeah, that's it. This is just a weird entrance exam, ye?"

"I think if you knew about this, you wouldn't have made a joke like that. But..." He paused as he saw Xander start to walk up towards the stage as Monokuma spoke up, his brow furrowing as he tried to get Xander's attention again, "You might not want to do that, we don't know what's up with him..."

When Xander climbed up into the stage, Monokuma jumped backwards a little bit, though not enough to avoid being grabbed. The bear held his hands up to his chest, sweat drops falling from his head as he spoke, "Ack! Put me down, this counts as violence! And violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited!"

"Bit heavier than I expected, but it's clearly just a toy. This is just some prank by the faculty on new students, there's no way it isn't!"

"A prank? Are you sure about that?" Monokuma seemed to go entirely silent upon that being said, the room going eerily quiet as a result. The students could practically hear a pin drop on the ground with the complete lack of noise... At least until Alex suddenly looked up, calling out to Xander, "Hey! Get rid of it, there's some kind of ticking coming from it!"

As soon as he said that, Tempest glanced up from his spot near the back of the gym, before booking it towards the podium. He pushed aside Aletta on his way there, quickly glancing back to her to give an apologetic look, but it didn't last as he jumped up onto the stage. "I hear this all the time, give it here!" His hands moved quickly to pry Xander's off of Monokuma's lifeless body, before chucking the bear up into the air above the stage, "Move!"

Once the two had a chance to get off the stage, the bear exploded in midair. Wind rushed around the students as bits and pieces of Monokuma fell onto the ground around them, most of them charred beyond recognition. They clattered to the floor, the explosion thankfully not going out too far around the initial blast, and even stranger there was no fire spreading either.

Aletta frowned as she looked at the remains on the ground, bending down to prod at one piece, "...Does this mean the bear is dead? If it's a machine, it probably has backups, right?"

Declan stepped down from the bleachers as he clenched his fist in front of him, "There's no way he would have exploded if he only had one copy of his body. I expect that we-"

Before he could even finish his thought, that carefree voice spoke up once more. "As I was saying, before I was so RUDELY interrupted! I wouldn't leave you empty handed! I present to all of you... The E-Handbook!"

Sure enough, as he said that, the bear reappeared on the stage with a sproing. He had his hands on his stomach as he leaned back, "But you all really shouldn't be attacking me like this! You're lucky I haven't explained the handbook, I would have had to punish you, Mr. Mobius! Now, the E-Handbook here has all of the information you'll need to live a happy and health school life! Inside of it, you'll really want to check out the Regulations page, it'll tell you all the rules of Hope's Peak Academy! If you break them, well..."

The handbooks were laid among the front of the stage, each one of them having a little sticky note with its owners name attached. He just turned his back to the group and held a hand up into the air, "I guess you'll see! That's all for this morning, kiddos! You'll be experiencing the time of your life here, so take this moment to bond over your Killing School Life! You're all going to love it..."

Monokuma disappeared just as soon as he had appeared and left everyone in a state of shock. Students seemed to be glancing around, giving each other shady looks before turning away before they were noticed. The air seemed heavier, almost ready to weigh down and crush them all with the tense that had been created. The unease wasn't getting any easier on the group, but none of them could bring themselves to say anything.

Yui · September 24, 2018

"What the fuck are you on about!? Alright, cut the funny crap! The joke got stale since you showed your fluffy face! Murder... no, there's got to be another way outta here!"

It all has to be some sort of joke. The idea of a school that encouraged its students to kill each other simply didn't seem right. Such a place wouldn't stay open, right? Besides, there was still a perfectly obvious way to leave the school, even with the tight security.

"Don't worry... we'll... we'll find a way outta here... Without murdering."

"Of course we will! We can still graduate without killing each other, after all."

"Now, the E-Handbook here has all of the information you'll need to live a happy and health school life! Inside of it, you'll really want to check out the Regulations page, it'll tell you all the rules of Hope's Peak Academy! If you break them, well... I guess you'll see! That's all for this morning, kiddos! You'll be experiencing the time of your life here, so take this moment to bond over your Killing School Life! You're all going to love it..."

Honoka moved forward toward the books, picking up the one with her name on it. She was starting to feel unsure on how she was to take all these developments with the headmaster. Either his sense of humor was pretty off-kilter, or something was wrong with him in the head. The atmosphere had been left heavy in the headmaster's departure, and there wasn't really any talk of how to proceed. In the end, Honoka was the first one to speak.

"Um... I understand if everyone's worried about the headmaster's announcements, but even if his sense of humor is kind of morbid, we're still classmates. As a follow-up to the meet-up Mr. Barnham started last night, I'd like to invite everyone to some homemade breakfast. I'm used to cooking for a lot of people, so I don't mind doing all the work myself..."

👀 REP 👀 · September 29, 2018

The bear quickly dispersed any idea that they could graduate without killing anyone. Kai grimaced, grinding his teeth. He still couldn't completely believe what was happening, and neither could his classmates. One of them now grabbing the bear, which Kai was kicking himself for not doing first. However, he was glad he didn't when the bear suddenly exploded. "What the funk!?" Kai shouted, stepping back from the explosion. "W-Well... I guess we don't have to kill each other anymore!"

And just as he said that, a new bear popped out to replace him. "God damn it!" Kai cursed out loud, shaking his head. He gave the bear a look of disgust as he continued rambling about whatever the hell it was talking about.

Kai made his way towards the front stage as soon as the dumb bear disappeared, grabbing one of the handbooks the bear was talking about. Rules. Great. His favorite. The tensions was high in the atmosphere; he couldn't blame them. He was sure the others were thinking was Kai was thinking - who would break first. His eyes darted towards Honoka, who wanted to invite everyone for breakfast.

"Breakfast? This is no time for breakfast!" He let out, shaking his head. "We just got told we're playing in some depraved lunatics murder game! We need to find a way out of here!"

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[PG-16] [IC] Danganronpa

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