Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Hope’s Archive Academy. The glorious old building’s spires pierced the clear skies, displaying their majesty in a dazzling display of man made dominance. The school was legendary in both its prestige and its commitment to its mission: foster and study the most talented individuals across Kivotos.

Exclusive wasn’t a strong enough word to describe enrollment. Only those who had been personally scouted by Academy staff were even considered for admittance. Or were lucky. I’d heard that there was a lottery the school occasionally ran. Something about luck being a measurable talent? Never made much sense to me, but if the bigwigs at a place like this thought it was a worthy endeavor, who was I to question it?

Ah, that’s right, I should probably introduce myself. I suppose my case is a bit unusual compared to most others who stand at the edge of the wrought-iron gates. A school isn’t just made up of students, its staff are as important to keeping such an institution running in tip-top shape, and that’s where I come in. On a whim, I’d sent in an application to be a teacher here, not truly expecting to be hired. I’m decidedly average, all things considered, and I figured Hope’s Archive would want teachers as equally talented as their students.

So imagine my surprise when I received an email informing me that I’d been hired, no interview required! I probably should have been suspicious, but word on the internet told me that was how the school worked. Makes enough sense. If they had a robust talent scouting department, then it should extend to scouting out staff as well.

I looked down at my hand and gripped the badge I’d received in the mail so tight that it could have cut my palm. “General Studies,” it read. Even the elites need to pass their math and reading classes I suppose, and my job was to support them in these endeavors so they could best focus on nurturing their true talents. The thought of having to teach such magnificent students made my stomach tighten as I returned my focus to the school’s entrance.

Deep breaths… I could do this. With my future ahead of me and the endless possibilities of students waiting, I took one step after another until I finally managed to cross the boundary and enter the school grounds.

That was the worst mistake I could have ever made.

-

I gasped, jerking my head up with a start. What happened? Where was I? The last thing I remembered was stepping into Hope’s Archive and then… And then…? What? The more I tried to think about it the more my head ached. The most that came to me was the vague sensation of falling and a voice that sounded like it came from far above me.

Okay… memory lane was taking me nowhere, so it was time to figure out what was right in front of me. I was sitting in a comfy office chair, my arms crossed on a wooden desk that seemed straight out of an old schoolbuilding. In front of me were rows of desks neatly arranged in a perfect 4x4 grid for sixteen total. Was this my classroom? Seemed fairly standard, if a bit old-fashioned.

Although, what clearly was not old fashioned were the massive metal plates that were bolted over what I assumed were some windows. Standing, I gave them a couple of cursory tugs. No movement, like I expected, but it was no less unnerving.

“What is going on…?” I whispered to no one in particular.

Suddenly, a buzz from the desk caused me to whirl around. A tablet glowed faintly as if it had just received a notification. That- that wasn’t there a moment ago, I swear. I opened up the notification and was greeted with a bunch of start-up screens before the words “Shittim Chest” appeared along with a button that said “Tap Here!” With no other options, I tapped the icon and a message opened up.

Good morning, Sensei!
Welcome to your first day of teaching at Hope’s Archive Academy!
The Headmaster is sorry that he is currently unable to greet you personally, but rest assured that you will meet him soon enough.
In the meantime, you have been provided with a list of the wonderful students that will be under your care for the duration of your time here.
Please review their information carefully and take time to meet them one-on-one. A good teacher should know his students inside and out, after all.

An announcement will play to begin the opening ceremony shortly, so please ensure that your students are all present and accounted for.
Hope you have a beary wonderful day!

There was no signature at the bottom, only a crude drawing of a cartoon bear. Was that the school’s mascot? Did the school even have a mascot? Still, that was the least of my concerns. The message mentioned that there would be a list of my students, but I didn’t see anything else on the screen no matter how much I fiddled with it.

A click from the other end of the room grabbed my attention. It sounded like it came from the door. Had I been locked in this whole time? I figured a place like this would be eccentric, but this was getting downright creepy!

I hurriedly made my way to the door, eager to get out of this classroom before it locked again. As soon as I opened the door, I was met with a startling sound.

“Ueeeehhhhh?!” A girl just so happened to be right on the other side of the door and leapt back as soon as I opened it. She was cute, if a bit plain-looking, with the most striking thing about her being her chicken (at least, I thought it was a chicken) backpack hanging loose on her shoulders. “The locked door opened!” the girl cried, whirling her backpack around to put it between us.

“Oh um, sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you,” I said. Great job. Not even a few minutes into my first day and I’m already scaring a student.

The girl looked me up and down before her posture relaxed. “Wait a minute. You’re an adult!” she beamed, suddenly much closer to me. “Are you our sensei?! Oh thank goodness you’re here. We all woke up in this strange place and everything is locked and closed off and it’s super scary! But you must be in charge here, right? So you can tell us what’s going on!”

I blanched a little as her yellow eyes sparkled up at me. “Well, about that. I’m afraid I’m just as clueless as you all are.”

I could see her physically deflate when I said that, but she seemed to bounce back rather quickly. “That’s okay! At least we have an adult here in the first place, so it can’t be all bad!”

There were no other adults here? That didn’t make sense. Surely I wasn’t expected to keep an eye on every student at the Academy by myself?! I suddenly had a very strong urge to kick this mysterious headmaster for putting me in this situation. “And how many others are there, Miss…?”

“Oh! I never introduced myself did I? My name is Ajitani Hifumi, and I’m here as the Ultimate Fangirl!” Though she smiled as she said that, I could tell it was a little bit forced.

“Ultimate… Fangirl…?” I repeated slowly. The “Ultimate” title I was familiar with; it’s what Hope’s Archive called their students, but I failed to see how fangirling was considered a talent.

“Ehhh? You think it’s a lame talent, too?” Hifumi said, pulling her chicken bag up as if to hide her face.

I had a distinct impression that my foot was going to get very well acquainted with my mouth today if this was how my first interaction with a student was going. “Oh no, no, no! It’s such a unique talent that I didn’t know how to react.”

Hifumi offered a shy smile. “I know you’re saying that to make me feel better, but thank you, Sensei.” She returned her bag to her shoulders. “And I’m determined to spread the word of Momo and Friends so that everyone can have something that makes them as happy as it makes me!”

I thought about asking her to elaborate, but that would probably lead to a long conversation that I didn’t have time for right now. The headmaster’s message said that there was going to be an opening ceremony soon.

“So, Hifumi, you never answered my question. How many other students are there?”

“Um, I think there’s sixteen of us in total. We’ve all been wandering around here for a while before you came out, so I met everyone. I could take you to them if you’d like!”

“That’d be fantastic. Maybe someone’s figured out what’s going on here. Or found another adult I can talk to.”

“I hope so,” Hifumi said, expression souring a bit. “Anyway! Come on, I bet everyone will be excited to meet their new sensei!”

-

It didn’t take us long to find another student. Rather, it didn’t take long for another student to find us.

“There you are!” An annoyed voice rang out from behind us as we started to make our way down the hallway. Marching towards us was a serious looking girl in a professional looking blazer. “It’s extremely irresponsible to leave your students waiting around like this.”

“I’m sorry?” I said. “I only recently woke up myself.”

“Hmph, some sensei you are then,” the girl huffed. Damn, who pissed in her breakfast this morning?

“Yuuka…” Hifumi said, inching closer towards me. “H-he’s doing his best and he’s really nice!”

Yuuka’s eyes darted between the two of us before he shoulders sagged with a sigh. “You’re right. Sorry about that. I think we’re all a little stressed out by whatever’s going on.” She straightened her outfit and pulled her shoulders back. “Hayase Yuuka, Ultimate Mathematician. I look forward to learning from you, Sensei.”

Mathematician? I was supposed to be in charge of general studies, but with someone like Yuuka present, was I truly necessary? There was probably nothing about mathematics that I could teach her that she didn’t already know. Then again, she may be so far above the rest that it would be pointless for them to try and reach her level.

“Good to meet you, Yuuka,” I said, giving her a small nod. “I take it you’ve been investigating? You don’t seem the type to lay around.”

A phantom of a smile pulled at Yuuka’s lips the compliment. “I have, yes. We seem to be confined to the first floor of this building with the doors and windows sealed shut. I think some of the others are trying to find a way out, but I couldn’t deal with their antics, so I went off on my own.”

“If you’re good at math, what do you think our chances of getting out of here are?” Hifumi asked. “Like a percent!”

Yuuka wrinkled her nose. “That’s not how statistics works. I can’t conjure numbers out of nothing.”

“Oh. Sorry…”

I patted Hifumi’s shoulder. “It’s okay, I’m sure it’s because Yuuka just doesn’t have a clue.”

“Excuse me!” Yuuka’s professional demeanor evaporated almost instantly. “If we assign estimated, but arbitrary, values to common variables in escape then I could absolutely give you an answer!”

Ah, so that’s how she was. A stern front, but ultimately quick to rise to provocations. Thank you “Understanding Teenagers for Dummies, Volume 3” for that bit of info. “Can I ask you to do that, then? I think it would really help morale if we had an idea of our chances.”

Though she grumbled a bit under her breath, Yuuka nodded. “Fine. Though only because I want you all to see what I can do.” With that, she stomped off, head on a swivel. I could imagine the gears turning in her head as she transformed everything into numbers.

“Yuuka means well, I think,” Hifumi said. “Though I didn’t mean to set her off.”

“If it wasn’t you, it would probably be the color of the lights or something else silly.”

Hifumi giggled at the thought and we continued on our way.

-

The area we were in appeared to be the classroom wing of the school. At least, that’s what it said on the sign in the hallway. There were only three classrooms. The one I awakened in was situated around the corner from the other two. According to Hifumi, everyone else woke up in separate rooms, but my classroom was the only one that was locked. All of the other rooms except for the dormitories were completely open.
Peeking my head into one of the classrooms, it was nearly identical to the one I found myself in. Guess there was no Ultimate Interior Decorator if they used the same floor plan for everything. Or would that be Ultimate Architect?

Either way, the last classroom caught my attention because the lights were out. I stepped inside to investigate, only for the door to slam shut behind us.

“Eeeep!” Hifumi grabbed hold of my sleeve and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, another voice spoke.

“You have a lot of nerve coming in here knowing this is my turf.” There was someone seated behind the desk at the front of the classroom, but the chair was turned away from us so I couldn’t see her face. The only light in the room shone directly on her, illuminating her presence like a spotlight.

“Your turf?” I asked, a bit incredulous. Students here had privileges, sure, but I don’t think that included claiming an entire classroom as their property.

Slowly, the girl turned in her chair. A shadow laid across the top of her face, giving her a malicious, almost evil look. Her fur lined coat hung off her shoulders with its sleeves dangling loose. “You heard me. You might be the adult here, but Rikuhachima Aru, the Ultimate Outlaw, doesn’t play by the rules.”

“O-outlaw?” Hifumi stuttered. She started to shake and clung to me tighter.

“Oh don’t you worry,” Aru said, rising from her seat and beginning to walk around the desk. “I’m not the type to hurt someone without a reason. In fact, I consider myself more of a… problem solver, if you catch my drift. You show me the cash and me and my crew can make all your issues disappEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

CRASH

Aru suddenly stumbled face first with a truly magnificent scream as she tripped over something. Maybe having all of the lights off in the room for the sake of drama wasn’t the best choice.

“Wait- Wait- Gimme a second to- Wha- WAAAAAAAAH!”

Another crash. I could vaguely make out Aru’s limbs flailing around as she tried to scramble to her feet, only for whatever she was grabbing to mysteriously move whenever she got hold of it.

I found the lightswitch and flicked it on. With the room properly lit, I could see Aru tangled up in a pile of desks, chairs, and her own coat. Nearby, there was another girl, much smaller and with shockingly white hair seated atop a desk. She kicked her feet back and forth while watching Aru struggle.

“Kufufu! Hurry up Aru, they’re gonna get away! And then we’re gonna be broke so I’m gonna have to eat all your lunch again!"

“I-I-I have everything - ouch! Everything under c-control!” Aru reached blindly for a chair, her coat now covering her face, only for the other girl to hook her foot around it and pull it out of Aru’s grasp.

“Mutsuki!” Hifumi chided. “Were you the one who closed the door when we came in here?”

“Me? No way! I’ve been sitting here the whole time. This is the best seat in the house to watch the show!”

That show being Aru struggling. “Hold on a second, Aru, I’ll help you.” Making my way through the scattered mess, I managed to reach Aru to start untangling her.

Mutsuki gasped in a way that was obviously exaggerated. “Woah! Sensei! Where are you putting your hands? Taking advantage of a helpless girl like that is so gross!”

“I’m not helpless!” Aru cried helplessly.

I took a mental note to ignore most of what Mutuski said from this point onward. Though, I did also make sure not to put my hands anywhere on Aru that could be considered inappropriate. Once I got her disentangled from her coat and on her feet, Aru gave me a warm smile.

“Thank you, Sensei, I appreciate it.”

“Sucking up to the teacher already, Aru?” Mutsuki snicked. “Some outlaw you are.”

“A real outlaw always respects those who show her loyalty and respect,” Aru replied, the tone of her voice radiating absolute confidence in herself despite my severe doubts that most outlaws cared about that sort of stuff.

“Did you get hurt when you fell,” Hifumi asked. “It sounded like a pretty hard fall.”

Aru placed a hand on her hip and tilted her chin up as if she was trying really hard to look down at Hifumi, despite only being a couple centimeters taller, if that. “Don’t worry your pretty head. Outlaws have to be tough to handle all the challenges in their way.”

“And Aru has a lot of challenges,” Mutsuki added.

“D-d-don’t tell them that!”

Don’t confirm what she said if you’re that concerned about your image? I kept that thought to myself, though. I suddenly felt a buzz in my pocket, so I pulled out the Shittin Chest. Whereas before there was only the welcome message, now there was an icon labeled “Student Profiles.” Tapping it brought up the four students I had met so far, along with their basic information and their talent. When I checked Mutsuki's, she was given the title “Ultimate Prankster.”

… Yeah, that tracks.

“Well, it was good to meet you two,” I said. Aru’s posturing was harmless, but I shuddered to think about what nonsense that Mutsuki was going to put me through. Probably best to get a move on before she started getting ideas. “Let me know if you find anything out about where we are, okay?”

“Oh we will - for a price!” Aru said with a hearty laugh.

“Bye bye, Sensei! Don’t go grabbing every cute girl you see!”

That headache I had from earlier was rapidly returning.

-

The next room we visited appeared to be some sort of storage room. Shelving lined the walls from top to bottom with a wide variety of school supplies, furniture, and gym equipment. The further back we went, the more furniture there seemed to be, transitioning from things like desks and chalkboards to lounge chairs and sofas.

“How is this one?” a calm voice asked.

Turning the corner of a shelf revealed two girls. One was athletic looking with gray hair and a small pair of wolf ears that twitched in response to our steps. The other was a smaller girl lying face down on the couch. Her bright pink hair splayed out in all directions as she hummed into the seat cushion.

“Hmm. It’s nice. A bit stiff, but it’ll do for these old bones of mine.”

“You’re not that old…”

“Age is a state of mind, young’un.”

Hifumi perked up and scampered ahead. “Shioroko, Hoshino! Hi!”

The wolf girl faced us, revealing her shocking blue eyes. “Oh, hey Hifumi and…” She gave me a quick once over. “You’re our teacher?”

“That I am,” I replied.

“Hmm. I’m Sunaookami Shiroko, Ultimate Cyclist. ”

“Another old timer?” The other girl, Hoshino I guess, piped up. She lifted one hand up, head never leaving the cushion. “Name’s Takanshi Hoshino. Let me know if you need anything and I’ll help ya out… eventually heh.”

I pulled out the Shittim Chest and tapped on her newly appeared profile. “Takanshi Hoshino - Ultimate Marine Biologist.” Huh, surprising. She didn’t seem the type given her… proclivity for lazing about.

“Hmm.” Shiroko was suddenly looking over the screen.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“What’s that?”

Moving closer, Hifumi peeked at the screen as well. “Oh yeah, your tablet looks different than ours.” She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a sleek phone. “Ours don’t even turn on.”

“It’s because I’m more special than you all,” I said, holding the Shittim Chest slightly higher so that Hifumi and Shiroko couldn’t see.

“Hey!”

“No fair!”

I shrugged. “Teacher privileges.” While I was teasing them, I couldn’t deny that it was another weird facet to all this. If this was a normal situation I probably wouldn’t think anything of it; a place like Hope’s Archive would absolutely provide their students with the best technology, and it would be sensible not to activate them until they’d gone through some sort of orientation. But this wasn’t a normal case.

As I moved to tuck the tablet back into my pocket, I caught Hoshino staring at me. For a split second, I swear the look in her eye was almost analytical, like she was gauging my every move. However, it was quickly replaced by an easygoing grin.

“Well if you figure anything out,” she said while stretching. “I’ll be here taking a nap. These old bones need their rest.”

“You’re not that old,” Shiroko repeated. “If you’re tired, we can go run some laps in the gym to wake up.”

“That’ll only make me more tired!”

I felt Hifumi tug at my sleeve, so we covertly made our escape to leave the other girls to bicker.

-

The academic wing, as I had taken to calling it, was essentially four hallways that formed a big loop. The school library was in the middle of that loop, with entrances in each hallway. Massive shelves with books the size of cinder blocks covered every inch of available wall, and row after row filled in the floorspace. Various reading nooks were scattered between the shelves in open spaces, and the lights inside were much softer than those in the hallway. All in all, it was quite cozy, if a bit intimidating.

“This is where most of us woke up,” Hifumi explained. “There’s some dorms in the next hallway over, but they’re all locked. I guess whoever put us here decided this would be the best spot for it.”

“I see how it is. You all get the comfy library and I wake up with my back aching from being hunched over my desk.”

Hifumi giggled, but before she could respond, another girl appeared before us.

The first thing I noticed was that she was taller than most of the other girls I’d seen before. The second thing I noticed was that her gaze was utterly piercing with those fierce red eyes of hers. “Hello. I take it you are the teacher I’ve been hearing about?”

“That’s right,” I said. Her voice was even and smooth, though maybe intentionally so? It felt like she was trying to put it on more than anything.
“It’s logical that they would not put only students here without any supervision.” She frowned. “Though that is about the only part of this that makes sense. I am Rio, by the way. Tsukatski Rio, Ultimate Rationalist.”

I felt Hifumi lean in closer to me and whisper, “I don’t really get what her talent is.”

As if hers made any more sense.

Rio’s frown deepened. “I can hear you.”

“Ahhh! Sorry…”

Sighing, Rio continued. “It’s alright. It’s logical that you might not be able to discern the meaning solely from the title. Rationalism is the belief that all actions should be informed by logical thinking rather than emotion.”

Shuffle shuffle shuffle

“Wow… sounds like you’re really smart.”

“I’m no smarter than anyone else,” Rio said, though I didn’t miss the way her lips twitched upwards. “I believe my talent comes more from my practical application of my talent than mastery over the philosophy.”

Shuffle shuffle shuffle. Bump. “Owie!”

“What was that?” I said, looking around. A shadow disappeared around one of the bookshelves.

“Oh! So it’s like how I go out of my way to promote Momo and Friends to everyone!” Hifumi said cheerily.

Rio visibly cringed, though she was quick to return to a neutral expression. “I suppose the comparison isn’t inaccurate.”

Shuffle shuffle…

“Anyone else feel like something is about to happen?” I asked.

“What do you-”

“Izuna’s Secret Sensei Ambush technique!”

Before I could react, a girl in a brightly colored outfit leapt from the top of a nearby shelf. How did she even get up there? Why did she climb up there? Why was she barreling straight towards me?!

Fortunately, all she did was jump straight off the shelf, so I just moved over to the left causing the girl to land right next to me. I have to give her credit, she did land on her feet, which was impressive. What was less impressive was the result of her jump.

Creeeeeeaaaaaaakkkkkk

All of us present looked up to see the shelf that she had jumped from leaning away. Agonizingly slowly, the shelf toppled backwards, leading to a cascade of shelves slamming against each other. Books and papers dropped like flies in the summer. When the chaos finally finished, me, Rio, and Hifumi turned our attention to the fox girl who was doing her absolute damndest to disappear into the ground. Literally.

“Izuna’s floor camouflage technique. Izuna’s floor camouflage technique! Izuna’s floor camouflage technique!!!!”

“Um… are you alright?” I asked.

Izuna sprang up, landing in an offensive stance that would be significantly more threatening if she wasn’t clearly sweating bullets. “H-how could you have possibly dodged Izuna’s technique?! I’m the Ultimate Ninja! There should be no one who can evade me!”

“Well,” Hifumi started. “Maybe if you didn’t call out what you were about to do.”

Izuna looked aghast. “The words of a ninja technique are what give it power! Every ninja book I’ve read has the most powerful ninjas screaming their technique names!”

“That makes no sense,” Rio said.

She was the so-called Ultimate Ninja? Really? Granted, I didn’t think there was much competition for the title, so maybe she got it by default? Then again, she did manage to scale the library shelves without much effort, so there could be some validity to her talent. Hope’s Archive does intend to nurture talent, so she could have potential.

“We can discuss what makes a great ninja later,” I said, interrupting the girls’ argument. “But Izuna, you should clean up this mess here.”

“W-w-what?!” Izuna cried. “B-but it wasn’t my fault! My light foot technique would have made it impossible to-”

“No buts,” I said, a bit more sternly. “Your, um, your technique needs more work, so you can reflect on that while you clean.” Yeah, that sounds teacherly enough!

I expected her to be upset or continue fighting me, but instead, her eyes practically glowed. “You can tell what I did wrong?! That’s amazing! Is Sensei descended from a long line of ninjas? Did you study ancient texts for years? Are you the former Ultimate Ninja?!”

I glanced between Rio and Hifumi. “Help?!”

-

After fielding endless questions from Izuna, I eventually managed to get her to back off and clean up the library. Rio elected to stay and help. Something about not trusting the ninja to properly organize the books.

There didn’t appear to be any other classrooms in this wing, which I found slightly odd. I guess when there’s so few students per class, there isn’t much need for that many classrooms. I’d imagine most of the facilities are dedicated to studying talents and the like.

However, there was one more room on this wing, one that Hifumi seemed reluctant to show me.

“Eh, this room’s kinda strange. Can we skip it?”

“Well now you’ve got me curious,” I said.

Strange didn’t do the room justice. The whole place was black and white. From the tile floors, to the countertop that looked like it came from a sideshow scam booth, everything was either black or white, with little trimmings of red here and there. Behind the counter were rows of empty cubes that seemed like they should hold prizes of some kind. The only other thing of note was a bear-themed gashapon machine on top of the counter. Oh, and a little girl trying to reach it.

“C’mon! Ibuki found a coin, so let me play!” She tried a couple half-hearted jumps but ultimately let her arms hang to her sides. “Awww… I wanted a prize.”

“Ibuki!” Hifumi said, rushing over to the smaller girl’s side. “What are you doing here?!”

“Trying to play with the machine! Ibuki found this funny coin and it looks like it goes in there.” She held up a coin that was bilaterally split back and white. The same bear mascot that was at the bottom of my welcome message was stamped onto the front.

“I could give it a shot,” I said.

Ibuki clapped her hands together. Well, sort of. Her sleeves covered up her hands, so it was more like she patted them together. I took the coin and tried to insert it into the slot, but it didn’t take. It was obviously the right size, but no matter how much I tried, the machine just wouldn’t take it.

“That’s disappointing,” Hifumi said. “Sorry, Ibuki.”

“Heehee, it’s okay! Thanks for trying, Sensei!”

I handed her the coin back. “Where did you even get this anyway?”

“Behind the TV in the lounge!” Ibuki said. “I was looking real hard for a way out, but then I saw that and I remembered this machine so I ran back here to try it! Should Ibuki have kept looking around?”

Hifumi patted the hat Ibuki wore. “No, no it’s fine. We’ve got so many of us looking, I think it’s okay to take a break.”

Ibuki beamed with pride, puffing out her chest. “Okay! Cuz Ibuki wants to be a good student at Hope’s Archive.”

Wait. Back up. She’s a student, too?! This had to be a mistake. However, as soon as I opened up her file, there she was: “Tanga Ibuki - Ultimate Cinnamon Roll.”

Oh come on. That is absolutely not a talent. And she is way, way too young to be enrolled at a high school. Besides, I couldn’t stand it if she ended up being bullied because of her age. Someone her size and innocence would be an easy target, and teenagers could be downright cruel when they wanted. Though admittedly, I couldn’t imagine hurting such a cute girl. Her genuine smile, the way her eyes glimmered as she chatted with Hifumi, the earnestness she carried herself with. It all made my heart swell even having only known her for a few minutes.

…

Okay, maybe there is merit to her talent. Serves me right for second guessing Hope’s Archive’s talent scouts.

“Maybe the machine will work when school starts,” I said, gesturing to the empty prize boxes. “Doesn’t look stocked at the moment.”

“Oh! You’re right, Sensei! That means Ibuki should look for more coins so she can get the best prizes!” With that, Ibuki dashed from the room, eager to continue her search.

-

The dorms, as Hifumi had mentioned earlier, were indeed locked. Each one had a faceplate designating who the dorm belonged to. By my count, I’d met a little over half of the students. Though several questions did come to mind. Firstly, why were the dorms locked? Surely the students came with luggage and personal belongings, so they would have to have some place to store them. And why only the sixteen? Were upperclassmen housed on a different floor? Or a different building altogether? My onboarding paperwork promised me free room and board, so where was I supposed to sleep?

“Haaaah, I really hope the dorms unlock soon, my shoulders are killing me,” Hifumi said. “Peroro weighs a ton!”

“Peroro?”

“Oh! He’s a member of Momo and Friends!” She whipped off her backpack and showed it to me proudly. “He’s my favorite. I try to get all of his limited time merch! This bag for example! Only one-hundred of them were ever produced, so I had to go to some sketchy place to get it and-”

“Hifumi, watch out!” I yelled, but it was too late. She had been so engrossed in telling me about her bag that she hadn’t noticed that she was walking right towards a trash can.

“Eep!” a shrill voice cried out as the trash can went tumbling sideways. Luckily, it was probably empty. After the mess in the library, the last thing I needed was trash scattered all over the floor.

I bent down to pick up the trash can, but when I grabbed it, it was surprisingly heavy. I took a glance inside, almost immediately leaping back in surprise as two eyes stared back at me. “W-what the he-”

Biting back a swear, Hifumi and I both watched in horror as a girl climbed out of the trash can to put it back upright. Everything about her body language screamed “timid,” from her hunched posture to the way she kept her eyes on the ground. A cute bunny headband was the most stand out thing about her.

“S-sorry f-for getting in your way,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Hifumi’s brow furrowed as if she was trying to remember something. “Oh! That’s right. You’re Kasumi Miyu. I didn’t see you in the, um, trash can.”

“Th-that’s okay,” Miyu replied, looking like she’d rather become one with the wallpaper than continue this conversation. “I’m used to people n-not noticing me.”

Well that just broke my heart. She looked nice, if a bit shy. “Well it’s good to meet you, Miyu. I’m going to be your teacher, so if you ever need anyone to talk to, come find me, okay?”

Miyu regarded me as if she didn’t quite believe me, and, if I’m being honest, if she was to the point of hiding in trash cans, then I’m sure I would be much the same. Still, the answer seemed to satisfy her. “U-um… okay…”

A painful silence followed. Neither Hifumi nor Miyu seemed to know what to say.

“So, Miyu,” I offered, “What’s your talent?”

“I-I- Well… Th-The letter I got said I’m the U-Ultimate Sharpshooter.”

Huh. Well that’s not what I expected.

“I-I’m really not that good. I’m pretty u-useless actually b-but everyone at the competitions forgets about me, so th-there’s no p-pressure when I’m shooting. One time even my coach f-forgot I entered a c-competition. While it was my turn.”

“That’s awful!” Hifumi said, and I agreed.

“Don’t worry. If you tell us, we’ll make time to go see your competitions,” I assured her.

Despite my good intentions, Miyu only seemed to shrink more. “P-please don’t trouble yourself, S-Sensei. You’ll probably forget about me anyway.”

She was going to be a tough one, but I wasn’t going to give up. Still, probably best not to push her too far right away, especially given how she was inching closer to the trash can, so I decided to leave her be for now.

-

“Holy crap, this place is huge!” First words out of my mouth when we stepped into the dining hall. Family style tables dominated most of the floorspace, with the far wall being reserved for a banquet spread. Finger foods of all sorts adorned the banquet table, as if welcoming the incoming class. To the right of it was a drink stand with huge containers filled with juice, tea, coffee, and water.

Part of me was salivating looking at the spread, though the other part was wondering who had set this all out? And for what reason? Questions upon questions upon questions.

“Oh my, it appears that we have company. Rather, we have new company that may wish to speak with us.”

Two girls sat at the end of the table. One had brilliant, flowing pink hair, and seemed to emanate a cheery, angelic quality, likely helped by the literal angel wings sprouting from her back. The other, the one who’d spoken, sipped her tea gently before reaching up to scratch one of her long fox ears. How and why she held the tea cup with her hand inside her sleeve, I’ll never know, and frankly, it’s probably one of the less weird things I’ve seen today.

“Hifumi!” the pink haired girl said, “And a mysterious man! Are you here to join our tea party?”

Sighing, the fox girl set her tea cup down. “We are not having a tea party. You simply wished to indulge in the sweets, and I needed a rest from the investigation.”

“Ehhhh Seia! Aren’t you having fun?

“I will be having more fun when we have all figured out what is going on here.” She folded her hands in her lap. “The future is clouded even to me in this place.”

Well, it was good to see a couple of the students getting along (I think?) and making the best of the situation here. Though maybe their priorities could be a bit more… focused.

“He’s not here to join your party,” Hifumi said. “He’s our teacher!”

Both the pink girl and Seia looked up in surprise at that. “Oh, you’re Sensei?” the pink girl said, “Ibuki ran through here earlier saying something about you.”

“That’s me. Mind introducing yourselves?”

Seia opened her mouth to speak, but the pink girl got there first. “I’m Misono Mika! They call me the Ultimate Princess ahaha! It’s a pretty title for a pretty girl, don’t you think, Sensei?”

“It is very pretty, yes,” I replied.

Mika gasped. “Are you flirting with me, Sensei! How scandalous!”

“What?! I- No!”

“Then… You were lying when you said I’m pretty?” Her face dropped into instant puppy dog eyes. Oh this girl was dangerous.

“Please forgive Mika, Sensei,” Seia said, pointedly nudging a cake roll closer to Mika who instantly started devouring it. “She can be a bit childish. However, you asked for introductions, so it is only proper I comply. My name is Yurizono Seia, and I have been gifted the talent of the Ultimate Clairvoyant.”

Now that caught my attention. Some of the previous students’ talents had appeared to be more descriptors than anything, but this was the first one I’d heard that was supernatural in origin. While I didn’t consider myself a believer in the occult, something must have caught Hope’s Archive’s attention if they were going to offer enrollment to this girl.

Hifumi hummed impatiently. “Can you foresee a way out of here, maybe?”

“No,” Seia stated. “The future is not mine to request on demand. Glimpses come to be unbidden. I am merely their receptacle.”

“Uhhh…” Hifumi blinked, opened and closed her mouth, and cocked her head to the side in what must have been the most pure expression of confusion I’d seen.

“She means she can only do it when she’s asleep,” Mika said, earning a subtle but sharp glare from Seia. “What? That’s what you told me. Don’t tell me Seia’s mad at me for being honest!”

“I-”

“Well it sounds like an extraordinary talent, Seia,” I interrupted. This discussion could quickly get out of hand. “Just promise me you won’t use it to predict the answers to my tests.”

At that, Seia gave a soft smile. “Foiled my plans before they’ve even started. I see now why you are a teacher at this school.”

“Wait, Seia!” Mika cried leaning over the table. “You could’ve been helping me with tests this whole time?! Why didn’t you?!”

I was about to preempt the surely ensuing argument, but Hifumi beat me to it. “Did you two know each other before coming here?”

Both girls looked at Hifumi. “We sure did!” Mika said. “We went to middle school together! We were hoping that our other friend Nagisa got in too, but I guess not.”

“Given our circumstances, perhaps it is most fortuitous on her part,” Seia said. She took another dainty sip of tea, only to nearly spill it on her white dress when a clattering sound echoed from the kitchen.

“I… should probably check that out,” I mumbled. Wrangling sixteen unruly teenagers was already proving to be quite the task. “You two make sure to clean up whatever you don’t eat.”

“Do we have to?” Mika whined. “Shouldn’t a school like this have staff for that?”

Yep, definitely the Ultimate Princess.

-

“Damn it.”

That was the first thing that Hifumi and I heard as we made our way into the kitchen. As with most things at Hope’s Archive, it was decked out with the latest and greatest appliances around. At least, that’s how it appeared to me. Multiple burner stoves, mirror-like flat tops, and a fridge the size of a small car caught my attention, not to mention the litany of small appliances like toasters, air fryers, rice cookers, and waffle makers. At least we wouldn’t go hungry here.

More immediately pressing, however, were the pots and pans littering the floor and the girl standing in the middle of all of them. She was tall and fit, with a baseball cap pulled low over her eyes and a mask covering her mouth and nose. I swallowed a bit of nerves as I approached the girl, trying to ignore her intimidating presence.

“Are you okay? We heard a crash.”

“I’m fine,” she said simply. “The cabinet up here was more full than I expected. Things came crashing down while I searched.”

Hifumi chuckled nervously. “Were you looking for a way out in the cabinets?”

“You never know what someone could be hiding.” She turned her attention to me. “You’re a new face. Our teacher, I take it?”

“I am, yeah, it’s good to-”

“Not interested. My name is Joumae Saori, Ultimate Mercenary. I specialize in taking out large targets and organizations. If you need my services, come find me. Otherwise, leave me be.”

Well she certainly was… blunt. Still, I couldn’t just roll over and take that; she’d walk all over me if I did, but trying to order her around would probably end with me in the shape of a pretzel. With a bite taken out of it.

“If you’re so disinterested,” I challenged, “Why even come to this school?”

It could be my imagination, but I thought I saw her expression change. It was hard to tell from behind her cap and mask. “Contacts, mostly. If Hope’s Archive is willing to take someone with a talent like mine and that one other girl’s, then they’ve definitely got some powerful connections that I intend to take advantage of.”

“Well if you want to stay enrolled here, then it’s in your best interest to attend my classes, right?”

Her eyes narrowed, and I felt a chill run up my spine. “That a threat?”

Behind me, Hifumi whimpered and grabbed the back of my shirt. “No, I would never threaten one of my students. Only a suggestion to help you reach your goal.”

There was a beat of silence between us before Saori dropped her shoulders. “Well, well, well, you got guts, Sensei. I’ll consider your offer, but you try to force me to attend classes and you’ll be needing a long-term substitute.” I was about to reply when she continued, “Course, going to class beats whatever is going on right now.”

“I hope we can get out of here soon,” Hifumi said, then shrunk back.

“I’m not going to sit around waiting to be rescued. I’ll keep looking around and you should as well.”

“Eeeehh? Yes ma’am!”

Oh Hifumi, you poor thing. “Ah, she’s helping guide me around,” I said. “But we’ll leave you to your search.”

“Whatever.”

-

“Ueeehh… if I had known how scary some of my classmates were gonna be, I don’t know if I’d have accepted this invitation,” Hifumi said as we returned to the hallway. She hadn’t let go of my shirt until we were well out of earshot of Saori.

“I’m sure she’s not so bad once we all get to know each other a bit better,” I said. Whether I was trying to comfort Hifumi or convince myself was a topic that I didn’t feel like being self-reflective on.

“I guess so, but there’s not much left of this floor to see, so you’re almost caught up!”

“This floor?” I asked. “Is there another floor?”

Hifumi frowned. “Yeah, but the stairs are locked behind a really heavy gate. Even a bunch of us together couldn’t get it open.” She pointed behind me.

We’d passed right by it on our way to the dining hall, and I’m not surprised I missed it. The stairs were situated in a small nook between the dorms and the casual area, almost tucked away, and, as Hifumi said, a large metal gate like those seen in closing malls prevented access.
“Let me give it a shot,” I said.

“I wouldn’t do that,” said a voice behind me. You know, the first thing I plan on teaching these girls is how to approach people from the front. Granted there was a gate in front of me, but my point stands!

She was short. Very short. Though she carried herself with poise and confidence. Her voluminous white hair fell in a cascade over her purple uniform. What caught me most off-guard, however, was her presence. Like Saori, there was an undeniable pressure surrounding her, but while Saori’s came from her obvious physicality and willingness to use violence, this girl’s presence simply seemed to emanate from her effortlessly. I felt my mouth dry up just looking at her.

“Wait, why not, Hina?” Hifumi asked. She wasn’t nearly as skittish around this girl as she was around Saori, which I took to be a good sign.

Hina gestured to the wall where upon closer inspection there was a square cutout embedded into it. “Earlier, after you had left, Saori and I tried to lift the gate ourselves. We only managed to move it maybe a centimeter, but the second we did a mounted gun came out of that wall.”

“W-wh-what?!”

A gun? For trying to lift up a gate? It had to be a security measure. Maybe an overactive one, but surely Hope’s Archive had someone monitoring a literal gun that could be pointed at students. Right?

“It appears that whoever put us here,” Hina continued, “Wants us to stay here.” Her eyes flicked to me, and she offered a polite head bow. “I’d heard from some of the others that our sensei woke up. My name is Sorasaki Hina, the Ultimate Prefect. If you need to maintain order, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

Despite her stature, I believed Hina. She gave off the aura of someone who could cow people into submission with just a glance. Plus, if she and Saori could lift the gate, then clearly she was stronger than she appeared.

“Good to meet you, Hina. And, um, thanks for the warning about the gate.”

Hina nodded, then scowled up at the gate. “There’s something not right here. Nothing I read about this place ever indicated any sort of hazing ritual. At least, nothing substantial.”

“Wow,” Hifumi said, “You must’ve done a lot of research ahead of time.”

“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared. Oh, your bag is open by the way.”

“Huh?!”

Hina seemed quite competent. I suppose that makes sense given her talent. She was probably used to ordering around unruly students. Which… would come in handy with the group I had on my hands.

“Sensei,” Hina said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “You truly have no idea what’s going on?”

“Hand on my heart, I’m just as in the dark as the rest of you.”

Humming, Hina closed her eyes and tugged at her gloves, wings flicking behind her. “I see. In that case, I will continue to monitor the situation.” Without another word, Hina turned on her heel and started to walk away.

“Ah! Th-thank you, Hina!” I called after her. “I look forward to working with you. I’m sure you’ll be a big help!”

Hina paused for a moment, turning back towards me. It might have been a trick of the light, but there seemed to be a faint blush across her face. “I will do my best.”

-

Hifumi had flipped a coin (a Momo and Friends commemorative misprinted coin, as she informed me) to decide what our next destination would be. We ended up in a lounge area of sorts. Plus couches and chairs dotted the room haphazardly, usually accompanied by some sort of table in front of them. A vending machine hummed on the far end of the room, though I didn’t recognize any of the items in it. What the hell was “MonoSoda?”

At the center of everything was a large screen TV with every imaginable game console plugged into it, including several that I’m pretty sure weren’t even out yet. In front of that TV sat a small blue-black haired girl. She was wearing a jacket that was slightly too big for her, and her eyes glazed over as she hacked away at a monster on screen.

As the last of the beast’s health disappeared, the creature disappeared into dust while the girl cheered. “Level up!”

“Ahem,” I coughed, though she didn’t appear to hear me. Or didn’t care. “Excuse me,” I repeated, a bit louder. When her attention remained glued to her game, I finally went over and tapped her on the shoulder.

She whipped around so fast that her hair hit my leg surprisingly hard, way harder than hair had any right to hit! “What’s this?” Her mouth moved in silent words for a moment before she beamed. “Bam ba-ba-bam! A random encounter! I have had lots of those today!”

Ummm… what?

“Do you have a quest for me? Or are you offering a trade for a rare item? Perhaps you will turn hostile if I pick the incorrect dialogue option?”

Baffled, I replied, “None of the above?”

“Oh, I see.” She seemed to deflate slightly. “Flavor text is intriguing as well!”

“Ehe, Aris, this is Sensei. He’s here to teach us,” Hifumi said, then whispered in my ear, “She’s talked like this the whole time.”

Her smile only growing brighter, Aris clasped her hands together. “Oh how wonderful. Do I get extra experience or items for completing tutorials with you?”

What was she… wait… I can use this! “Why… Yes you do! In fact, there’s a 100% completion bonus if you attend every one of my lessons!”

Aris was practically shaking at this point. “Excellent! I will be sure to achieve it! Tendou Aris is under your tutelage, Sensei! I hope to learn many combos from you.”

I pulled out the Shittim Chest to see her talent, but… that can’t be right. Instead of listing her talent, her profile simply said “Tendou Aris - Ultimate ???” She had to have a talent; she wouldn’t be here otherwise. Was it meant to be a secret? But why enroll a student who couldn’t disclose their talent? Even to a teacher?

“Aris,” I said, “What’s your talent? It’s not listed here.”

She stared at me for a few seconds before recognition flickered on her face. “Ah! My EX skill! I am… unsure. When the others were sharing theirs, I tried to recall mine, but every time I did my head began to hurt.”

“I bet it’s something super cute,” Hifumi offered. “Like Ultimate Gamer or something!”

“I would like that very much! I love video games. They are magical things that take me to many different worlds and experiences that I otherwise might not get to see!”

Well, at least she didn’t seem too broken up about not knowing her talent. It was still concerning, so I made a mental note to check with whatever medical staff was here to make sure she was alright. If I ever saw them, that is. With each student I met, I became increasingly confident that I was the only adult in the building aside from the mysterious headmaster.

“Would either of you like to play games with me?” Aris asked. “Though others are still searching, I think that we have uncovered all of the unlocks currently available to us.”

“Thank you for the offer, Aris,” I said. “But I still have one other student to meet.”

Hifumi shuffled beside me. “Um, Sensei. Do you think I could stay here? This last student, she’s… well she makes me kinda uncomfortable. Even more than Saori.”

Ah. Wonderful. You know, a teenage mercenary was a little too easy. Thanks universe for the extra challenge. Really appreciate it. Still, Hifumi seemed really freaked out, so I gave her my best smile. “That’s okay. You’ve been a big help, Hifumi. A fantastic guide.”

The blonde girl squirmed in delight from the praise. “I didn’t really do anything, but thank you, Sensei.”

“If you are staying here, then would you like to play games with me?” Aris asked.

“That sounds fun. I wonder if they have Momo and Friends vs Zombies?”

Aris tilted her head. “I am unfamiliar with that. Could you explain it?”

Oh, Aris, what have you done? That gleam in Hifumi’s eye can’t mean anything good. I silently made my escape before Hifumi could rope me into her explanation.

-

Surprise surprise, the gym was an immaculately constructed space. The hardwood floor shimmered under the bright floodlights. The bleachers had been pushed against opposite walls to make room for a makeshift stage in the center of everything. A podium with the Hope’s Archive logo emblazoned on the front stood ready to brace whoever was going to give a speech. I assumed that the headmaster would speak here for the opening ceremony, but the lack of seating for anyone aside from the headmaster stood out.

At the far end of the gym, near a section of bleachers that bordered a support column, a girl in a pretty floral kimono squatted close to the ground. Her tall fox ears swiveled back as I approached. “Stand back.” Her voice was cold, focused.

Not a second after her warning, a thin trail of smoke wafted up from where she was squatting. She rose to her full height before taking a few steps back. Then…

Boom.

An explosion echoed through the gym, sending me sprawling on my back. While it wasn’t large, my ears still rang for a moment. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that the support column was completely untouched aside from some scorch marks.

“Ah, that was Wakamo’s last one…” the girl said.

“Woah! Woah! Woah!” I cried, scrambling to my feet. “You cannot just set off explosions in the middle of the gym like that!”

“Why not?” she asked, her tone hinting at her annoyance. Wakamo turned to finally face me, and in doing so revealed that her entire face was covered by an intricate fox mask. I could barely make out her eyes moving as she sized me up. I could see why Hifumi found her so disconcerting.

I dusted off my shirt and straightened it. “You could have hurt someone! Or brought the whole building down!”

I expected her to fight me like Saori had – a student willing to set off explosives so casually surely had a few screws loose – but surprisingly, she seemed to wilt instead. “I-Is that so… Wakamo didn’t want to hurt anyone. This time.”

“Then why are you setting off bombs?”

Wakamo clasped her hands in front of her, bowing her head slightly. “I-I w-was trying to make a way out. This support beam wouldn’t have caused the rest of the building to collapse.” She made a strained noise in her throat. “But I used the last of my explosives I woke up with.”

Looking around, I saw several other areas in the gym that showed evidence of having explosives used on them. How many of those did she have on her?!

I rubbed my forehead and let out a sigh. “Well, I guess that’s understandable.”

Wakamo suddenly perked up, her ears twitching. “You… understand?”

“Of course. I’m not any more happy about being stuck here than the rest of you, so wanting out is perfectly understandable. And besides, no one got hurt, so no harm, no foul!”

Tentatively, Wakamo reached up and lowered her mask. Not all the way, but enough for me to see her shimmering yellow eyes looking at me with surprising earnestness. “And if I don’t hurt anyone, will you like me?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “You’re one of my students, after all. Promise me you won’t hurt anyone and keep your explosives… productive, and you’ll have my full support.”

Wakamo didn’t reply for a second. Then, she started giggling. Kept giggling. Wouldn’t stop giggling. Hmm… that’s a curious sinking feeling in my gut that this girl was going to be more than a handful. I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything! “These feelings… Ah, Sensei… Wakamo has never felt like this before. Wakamo will do as you say. I promise not to hurt anyone. Much.”

That last word had me doubting her sincerity, but we could work on that later. For now, I opened the now-familiar app on the Shittim Chest, but before I could open her information, Wakamo suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“No! Let me! I must introduce myself properly to you, Sensei!” Backing off, Wakamo tugged at the hem of her kimono, pressing it flat and giving me a formal bow. “I am Kosaka Wakamo, the Ultimate Demolitions Expert. Take care of Wakamo well, okay Sensei.”

“It’s good to meet you, Wakamo,” I replied. “Once we figure out what’s going on here, I look forward to having you as my student.” Demolitions expert… Hope’s Archive talent scouts, we are going to have some very strong words regarding your admittance criteria! Especially because, before she managed to stop me, I did glimpse one part of her profile. She had a warning label attached with the words “Fox of Calamity” next to it. I didn’t even want to know what that meant.

I turned my attention to the stage and podium. “Hopefully the headmaster will show up soon so we can figure this out.”

“Ooooooh did someone call for me?” a shrill voice boomed from above.

Wakamo slipped her mask fully on and dropped into a defensive posture, moving in front of me.

“Attention all students! Attention all students! This is your headmaster speaking. The opening ceremony will begin shortly, so puh-lease make your way to the gymnasium at my earliest convenience!” A pause. “And, uh, the two of you already in the gym just stay there! I usually lock that place but I forgot this time. See you soon!”

The intercom clicked off and silence fell on me and Wakamo. I couldn’t explain it, but that voice set off every nerve in my body. A surge of panic and adrenaline flowed through me, as if every dormant survival instinct came alive at once. I’d spent this whole time asking questions, and it was time to get some answers.

But I had a feeling I wouldn’t like them.

Chapter Text

The girls filed into the gym quicker than I expected. I’d figured some of the more defiant among them would drag their feet, but I suppose the promise of any sort of clarification was too good to pass up. The tension in the room was palpable, and a line of sweat raced down my back as I looked at each of their faces. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to apprehension to fear to annoyance.

“This better not be some sort of prank.” It was Yuuka who spoke up first. Hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised, she marched up to me and jabbed a finger in my chest. “And you better not be in on it, Sensei.”

“Me?!”

“Yes you,” Yuuka continued. “You’re the only staff member here. You have to know something!”

Wakamo stepped in front of me, her voice steely. “If Sensei says he doesn’t know, then that’s that.”

“I-I’m j-just saying! And quit wearing that weird mask! It’s gotta be against the school dress code!” Yes, Yuuka, that will surely convince the demolition expert to back off. The dress code.

Before I could say anything, Hina stepped between them. “That’s enough. There’s no need to argue.”

“Kufufu yeah, listen to Ms. Goody Two Shoes, you guys!” Mutsuki commented. “Or else Sensei might have to put you in time out!”

“Nin nin! Sensei’s punishments are grueling!” Izuna said from the back of the room. I think she’d been trying to climb the bleachers. “I barely endured the one he handed out to me.”

Rio scoffed. “He only had you clean up the library… And I helped you with it.”

“W-well th-that’s.”

“Hmph! Calling yourself a ninja but submitting so easily to Sensei’s punishments. Shameful really,” Aru said, flipping her hair back.

“Yeah! You should’ve cleaned the classroom without being asked like Aru here!” Mutsuki said.

“I w-w-wouldn’t do s-such a h-helpful thing!”

Saori groaned and adjusted her cap. “You’re all giving me a headache.”

“Do you need a healing potion?” Aris asked, then put her hand to her chin in contemplation. “Although, I do not think we have access to an apothecary. Is there still tea in the dining area?”

“Ahaha! Nope! Seia and I drank it all,” Mika said.

Unamused, Seia frowned at the taller girl. “We did not drink all of it. You knocked the container from the counter trying to get another cake roll.”

Before she could retort, Ibuki piped up. “And Ibuki found another coin under it! What a good hiding spot!”

“How many of those do you have, little one?” Hoshino asked, putting her hands on her knees to get down to Ibuki’s level.

Ibuki wiggled back and forth, her jacket pockets clinking from all the coins she collected. “I’m not sure, but it’s a lot! I even found one in a trash can.”

“Ueehhhh I-I-I was in that t-trash can…” Miyu whined, holding her head where a decent sized goose egg had formed. What had Ibuki done to that trash can?!

As if Miyu had never spoken, Shiroko nodded her head in approval. “You’re good at finding those things. That should be useful.”

As the group continued to bicker, I felt some of the tension dissipate. While it wasn’t fantastic that they were arguing, anything that kept our attention away from our current predicament was a win in my book. I suddenly felt a tug on my sleeve and looked down to see Hifumi peering back up at me.

“Sensei…” she said, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. “Are we… going to be okay?”

For as composed as she’d been while guiding me around earlier, it was hard to see her so clearly nervous, but could I blame her? No matter how I tried to spin it, this whole thing was messed up. Even if it was some elaborate prank, what kind of person would pull something like this?

I gave Hifumi a small, hopefully reassuring, smile. “Yes, we are. It’s my job as a teacher to keep you all safe.”

Though still unsettled, Hifumi at least eased up a smidge. “I hope so. I just want to have a normal school experience with everyone, you know?”

“Normal? Why would you want a normal experience when you could have the most heart-pounding school experience around?!”

Immediately, all chatter stopped as the same shrill voice that spoke to us over the intercom filled the room. If that was what the headmaster sounded like, then staff meetings were going to be brutal.

“Wh-who’s there?!” Yuuka shouted. “Show yourself!”

“Patience, patience young lady. Don’t you know that good things come to those who wait? But better things come to those who take! So how about you all take your eyeballs and face them to the podium to greet your illustrious headmaster!”

We all turned our heads as all of the lights in the gym except for the spotlight above the podium clicked off.

“Hey!” Aru protested. “He’s stealing my idea!”

“Oh shush, you unoriginal hack,” the voice said, “And watch how a pro does it!”

An off-key fanfare suddenly blared from the speakers, causing several students to cover their ears. “Introducing… the most wonderful, the most handsome, the cuddliest, bestest, amazingest headmaster to ever master, it’s the one you’ve all been waiting for, the one you sat through sixteen whole introductory scenes for, the one who-”

“Can you get on with it, please?” Shiroko asked.

The lights clicked back on and the music crackled to a halt. “Ugh, you all have no sense of suspense. Where’s your flair for the dramatic? Fine, fine… Here I am. It’s…. MONOKUMA!” From the back of the stage, a small figure leapt forward, tumbled midair, struck a pose midair, then landed belly first on the podium. “Oof! Wait, wait, wait, lemme try that again! I swear, I land it seven out of ten times!”

I blinked. Once. Twice. Rubbed my eyes. Pinched my arm. Nope, I wasn’t hallucinating. Standing there, clear as day, was a half-black, half-white bear, hardly taller than my knees. Its white half looked cute enough, but its black half was marred by a sinister red eye and a wicked smile that promised nothing good.

For a moment, nobody spoke. The students and I were trying to process what we were seeing, while Monokuma was trying to get back into position to attempt his stunt again.

It was Ibuki who broke the silence. “It’s Mr. Coin Bear!”

“What?!” Monokuma was halfway down the podium, and, in his astonishment, ended up falling to the stage floor. He even made a squeaky sound when he landed. “Who’s calling the glorious Monokuma such a weird name?”

Undeterred, Ibuki rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a fistful of coins. “See? You’re the bear on the coins!”

“First off, they’re MonoCoins. Second, you’re not supposed to have those yet! Golly, it’s been a while. I’m super rusty at this. Hold on, hold on, let me get situated here. This was so much easier back in the day…” Monokuma grumbled.

Having finally recovered from the initial shock, Yuuka spoke up. “I knew it. I knew this had to be a joke. You’re our headmaster? Really?”

“And? Do you have a problem with that, math nerd?”

Yuuka sputtered, an indignant blush growing on her face. “Math nerd?! That only proves it! No headmaster would ever talk to a student that way.”

“Or be a bear…” Rio said. I could imagine the gears turning in her head the way she stared at Monokuma.

Finally fully upright and facing us, Monokuma gave a dismissive wave. “Shows what you all know! It’s a good thing you’re at school so we can broaden your horizons. Your first lesson, bears can do anything humans can do and do it better!”

“This is completely ridiculous,” Saori complained, stepping forward. “Stop all this nonsense and tell us where the real headmaster is… or else.”

Monokuma cocked his head. “Or else what? You’ll take me out on a nice date somewhere? Sorry, but I’m not interested. I’m way out of your league!”

I thought Saori was going to lunge for Monokuma, but Hina once again played peacemaker. “I don’t buy this whole bear mascot thing, but if it gets us moving forward, then why don’t you explain to us what’s going on.”

“Now there’s a woman who stands on business! I like you! Well, I would, but I have a thing against purple themed girls with light hair.”

“What?”

“Moving on!” With all of the grace of a one legged ostrich, Monokuma back flipped onto the top of the podium, tapping the mic a few times and letting out an awful screeching sound. “Testing, testing, is this thing on? Doesn’t matter, I don’t need it anyway!”

“I do not like this quest giver…” Aris mumbled.

“Welcome, welcome one and all! I’m so very pleased to be the first to greet the new class of Hope’s Archive Academy. Quite the gender breakdown we got here. And even some age differences. Oh boy, that’s gonna cause some issues with the censors.” Monokuma scanned the group as if it was some massive crowd. Everything he did was accompanied by some over-exaggerated motion. However, when his gaze fell on me, he became eerily quiet.

“Well hello there,” he said, his voice lacking any of the previous flair. “Who are you supposed to be?”

I swallowed hard. Something about the way Monokuma was staring told me that he really wasn’t happy with my presence. But if he was the headmaster, then he would have to know about me, right? I guess the big boss can’t know every employee, but if he’s responsible for putting us here then… There was no use thinking about it at this point, what with Monokuma clearly wanting a response.

“Ah, um, hello… Headmaster.”

“Oh please~” Monokuma’s tone regained its playful arrogance. “Call me Monokuma, everyone does. Except for the people who call me ‘AHHHH GOD GET AWAY FROM ME YOU HELLSPAWN!’ But they don’t call me that for very long.”

I grit my teeth for a second before continuing. “Well, Monokuma, as you should know, I’m these students’ teacher. And as Hina said, we would all like some answers.”

“How interesting…  Well it’s no biggie! Just means I gotta add some very special rules for our very special sensei.”

“This bear angers me,” Wakamo hissed, turning away from the group.

“Hmm, same here,” Shiroko said, though if her jogging in place was any indication, Monokuma was making her quite anxious.

Mika, by contrast, seemed unaffected, even intrigued. Though maybe she was just good at masking her thoughts. “Soooo, are you finally going to explain why you kidnapped us?”

Plopping down on his butt, Monokuma crossed his arms. “With how you’re all treating me, I don’t think I want to.”

“Awww! Pretty please Mr. Monokuma?” Ibuki asked, eyes big. “Pretty pretty please with extra pudding on top?”

“D’awww, don’t anyone ever say I’m not a softie at heart! Okay cutie, just for you!”

“Weak to cute things… got it!” Mutuski whispered conspiratorily.

“With all of the requisite banter out of the way, I once again, for reals this time, formally welcome you to your first, last, and only year here at Hope’s Archive Academy!” The fanfare played again from the speakers before dying out with a scratch.

First, last, and only? What the hell did that mean? I obviously wasn’t the only one confused.

“H-hey what are you saying?” Izuna said shakily. “What happens at the end of the school year?”

Hands on his face, Monokuma pulled a face that I think was trying to be sympathetic. “Oh but isn’t high school such a magical time? Don’t you wish it could last forever? Well, now it will! As of now, you all will never leave this school again! You don’t need to worry about what happens at the end of the school year because there is no end of the school year!”

“Ehhhh?!”

“You can’t truly expect to keep us here,” Hoshino said, one eye open, flashing dangerously. “I don’t have many years left. I’m not spending all of them cooped up in here.”

“You got that right!” Saori shouted. “No way in hell I’m staying in school forever.”

“Do you truly believe our families will allow such things to pass?” Seia asked. “They will surely notice us missing if you attempt to keep us here.”

Aru stamped her foot forward. “There’s no cage that can keep a tried and true outlaw! Even these metal plates have to have a weak spot.”

Through all of the protests, Monokuma stayed stock still. Until… “Hahahahahahaha!” Hideous laughter erupted from his mouth, revealing a row of pinpoint teeth. “I haven’t even gotten to the good part and you’re already worked up. You all are going to be fun! Now listen up.”

It was as if a wave of pressure suddenly washed over the whole room emanating from Monokuma. “Cry, scream, and beg all you want. No one is coming to get you and none of you are getting out of here. You all will have the school experience I’ve decided for you and you will learn to like it.” He paused, silently daring anyone to challenge what he said. When no one piped up, he continued. “But… if you truly can’t stand it here any longer, then there is one way to leave.”

“What?” Mutsuki said with a smirk, “Do we have to kill someone?”

Monokuma stared at her, then… Well, he didn’t exactly smile, but I somehow felt that he was thoroughly amused. “Why yes. If you want to get out of here, all you have to do… is kill one of your classmates.”

...

...

...

“Huh?!”

Immediately, all hell broke loose.

“K-k-kill?! There no- no way!”

“Reject mission! Reject mission! I reject this mission!”

“The cruel hand of fate is nothing compared to the destiny you cast upon us.”

“Ninjas only kill for their just lord, not for their own selfish reasons!”

“I wanna go hooooooommmmmmeeeeee!”

Throughout all of the panic, Monokuma continued to laugh. Every time someone cried out, his cackles only grew louder and louder. And it was pissing me off.”

“ENOUGH!” I shouted, surprising even myself. Almost all chatter died down, and everyone, Monokuma included, looked my way. “I don’t know what sick game you think you’re playing, but these are students! If you want to get your disgusting kicks off, then do it in a way that doesn’t involve innocent students!”

Monokuma cocked his head to the left, then to the right. “Such a brave and noble teacher. Well, Mr. Sensei, here’s a little vocabulary lesson for you. ‘Innocent’ cannot be used to describe most people. Underneath their thin veneers of civility lies depraved and foul creatures that will do anything in the name of self-preservation. Innocence doesn’t exist.” He smiled. “Hope you were taking notes, that’ll be on the test!”

“Surely you don’t expect us to have a free-for-all,” Hina said, as if Monokuma hadn’t spoken. She, Hoshino, and Wakamo appeared to be handling the situation the best. The only sign of stress being how she was playing with the fingertips of her gloves.

“Of course not, Miss Lookalike!” What did that even mean? Who was he comparing her to? “This is a school after all. There have to be rules in place. If there weren’t, this game wouldn’t be nearly as fun. Wholesale slaughter is sooooo last year.”

A beeping noise came from all of the students’ pockets.

“That would be your student IDs. Don’t lose ‘em, they’re the key to your room and have all of the rules written for your easy perusal.”
All of the girls took out their tablets and turned them on. I did the same with the Shittin Chest, finding that several new icons had shown up, including a map and the aforementioned school rules. Tapping on it displayed a list.

General Rules

Rule 1: Students must remain in the school building at all times. Any attempt to leave the school building will be punished accordingly.

Rule 2: Nighttime is from the hours of 10pm to 7am. There will be announcements at each of  these times.

Rule 3: Sleeping anywhere except for a dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and is strictly forbidden. Violators will be punished accordingly.

Rule 4: No one may harm Headmaster Monokuma or Hope’s Archive property. Any attempt to do so will be punished accordingly.

Rule 5: All food must be eaten in the Dining Area, Kitchen, or Dormitory. If a student leaves food outside of these areas, they will be punished accordingly.

Rule 6: Due to water shortages, all water will be turned off during Nighttime.

Rule 7: Monokuma may add new rules at any time.

“Simple enough so far?” Monokuma asked. “Anyone lost already? I sure hope not, cause otherwise you might find yourself in a world of trouble.”

“U-um…” Izuna raised her hand. “That rule about destroying property… That doesn’t count if we maybe sorta did something before we knew about that rule. Right?”

“Oh right. You’re the one who messed up my library!” Monokuma suddenly brandished his claws, causing Izuna to jump behind Shiroko. “Ah, I’m only kidding. Your sensei got you off the hook this time having you clean up. But don’t let it happen again!”

“Waaahhh it won’t, it won’t!”

“Good! Now, let’s move on to the really juicy rules!”

Student Rules

Rule 1: Any student who kills another student will become the Blackened.

Rule 2: There can only be one Blackened at a time, and the Blackened can only kill up to two other students at a time. Exceeding this quota will result in the Blackened’s immediate punishment.

Rule 3: When a body is discovered by three non-Blackened participants, an investigation period will begin.

Rule 4: After a set period of investigation, all surviving students will participate in a class trial where they will attempt to determine who the Blackened student is.

Rule 5: If the Blackened is discovered, they will be punished and the game will continue. If the Blackened gets away, then they will graduate and the rest of the students will be punished.

Rule 6: The game will continue until no more class trials can be held.

“Ueeeehhh th-this is a-awful!” Miyu said, curling into a pseudo fetal position, hands on her head as if to block out the rest of the world.

“So you can’t only kill someone,” Saori said. “You have to get away with it as well.”

“Are you already planning?” Mika goaded. “Think you can escape with all of your mercenary experience?”

Saori huffed. “I have better chances than most here, that’s all I’ll say.”

“No one should be planning anything,” Rio said. “That’s obviously what this bear wants and you’re playing right into his hands.”

“But you can’t be too sure,” Shiroko added. “It’s good to be cautious.”

Ibuki hid behind her sleeves. “But Ibuki wants to be friends with everyone. I don’t want anyone to kill anyone else…”

“We won’t,” Yuuka said, though her voice didn’t inspire confidence. “We’re above this foolish game.”

“How naive…” Saori said, setting Yuuka off again.

I read the rules over several times. This was really happening. Just a few hours ago I was preparing to help my talented students achieve their highest potential, but now I was facing the very real possibility that they would die on my watch, by each others’ hand no less. To my right, Hifumi stared at the ground. She’d been quiet this entire time. I had promised her that everything was going to be okay. Could I look her in the eye and say the same now?

But I couldn’t stand there and do nothing. No matter what that bear said, these were my students, and I was going to do my best to protect them.

“Everyone,” I said, but no one but Hifumi heard me. She looked up at me with tearful eyes, desperately begging me to be a rock in this turbulent storm. “EVERYONE!” I said again, this time finding the power in my voice.

When I had everyone’s attention, I took a deep breath and continued. “Rio is right. We can’t start fighting amongst each other or someone will end up dead sooner rather than later.” I didn’t want to think that way, but my experience in the world had told me that when people were cornered and scared, they acted irrationally. Even the most kindhearted teenage girl could be convinced to kill if it meant she could save her own skin.

“Words are nice, Sensei,” Hina said slowly. “But they’re only words.”

She wasn’t wrong, but that wouldn’t stop me. “Then in that case, here’s what I want you all to do. If you’re having any feelings of wanting to hurt someone, come to me first. I won’t say a word to anyone and we can work through what you’re going with together.” I held out my hand. “You’re all my students, and I’m here for every single one of you. So trust in me and we’ll get through this together.”

The reactions to my impromptu speech were… mixed. I could still see uncertainty across most of their faces. The iron plates and sadistic bear laughing himself silly weren’t exactly great for inspiring confidence.

“I believe in Sensei,” a quiet voice said. I was surprised to see Hifumi had spoken. She was clutching her bag so close to her chest that the eyes were practically popping out, but there was a determination to her that wasn’t present before. “”Even if we only just met, I think we can believe in you.”

“Nin nin! Sensei is clearly descended from some legendary ninja legacy, so I’ll believe in him, too!” While her reasoning was a little off, I was appreciative of Izuna’s support.

Aris smiled softly. “I will vote for Sensei as the head of our party.”

“Look at that, Sensei, you got all the young’uns looking up to you,” Hoshino said with a yawn. “I guess sticking with you will be alright.”

While no others vocalized their support, I noticed their body language relaxed considerably. Miyu managed to find her footing with the help of Yuuka, and Ibuki was being held close between Hoshino and Shiroko. Even the more aloof ones like Saori and Rio were obviously a bit less on edge.

“Ah, Sensei, you’re so amazing…” I heard Wakamo whisper, her voice wistful.

“I’m glad you all trust me. I will make sure to be worthy of your trust,” I said firmly.

“How precious!” Monokuma spoke up suddenly. “You only hear about these types of teachers in bad inspirational blog posts, so seeing one in person brings a tear to my eye. Mostly from laughing at how naive you all are. Do you truly believe that your presence here will make any difference?”

The truth was, I didn’t know, not for certain. “I have to try,” I stated, staring down Monokuma as best I could.

“So cool! But we haven’t gotten to your rules, Sensei.”

“My rules?”

Monokuma rubbed his belly. “Of course! I’m the headmaster. I can’t have my staff running around doing whatever they want either. That’s terrible PR!”

When I pulled the rules back up, I saw that there had been an entirely new section added to them.

Sensei’s Rules

Rule 1: Sensei is exempt from General Rules 3, 5, and 6.

Rule 2: Sensei’s dormitory is considered a “safe zone.” No student may be harmed while in the safe zone.

Rule 3: Sensei may not be intentionally killed. 

Rule 4: If Sensei dies by any intentional means, all students will be immediately punished.

“Intentionally killed?” Seia’s brow furrowed. “That wording is odd.”

“I think it means that we can’t kill him,” Yuuka said. “In other words, he has immunity."

Rio tapped her foot as she reread the rules one more time. “Though this is confusing. These rules seem to be nothing but advantageous. Particularly the safe zone rule. Could we not just hole up in his room and all be perfectly safe?”

“I mean you could~” Monokuma said. “But his room is pretty cramped, I think you’d all kill each other just to get some privacy!”

“And what if he peaks while we’re changing?!” Mutsuki cried.

Mika looked astonished. “Sensei would do that?”

How did this get turned around on me?

“We’re getting off topic…” Shiroko grumbled.

Mutuski’s only response was to stick her tongue out.

“What’s the catch, Monokuma?” Hina said, her gaze sharp as ever. “You look far too happy, so I’m guessing you have something up your sleeve.”

“Huh? What sleeves? Clothes are human constructs designed to limit freedom of movement and inhibit our natural beauty! Bears are above such things.”

Hina’s glare didn’t falter.

Sighing, Monokuma relented. “Oh fine, fine. Upupupu, here’s Sensei’s final and most important rule~”

Rule 4: If Sensei kills an unwilling student (even in a safe zone), the game will immediately end. All remaining students along with Sensei will be allowed to graduate.

… What?

Sixteen pairs of eyes burned into me as I processed the words in front of me. The meaning was clear as day, and I could tell each of the girls in front of me understood it as well: I had the power to end the game at any time. All I had to do was kill one of them.

The faces that had only a few minutes prior been so full of belief in me, now looked on in fear. Several students took a few steps away. In one fell swoop, Monokuma had twisted my genuine desire to reach out and be a support to my students into a potential threat. How could they come and see me if in the back of their minds there was always a chance that I could be plotting their demise.

“Unwilling eh?” Hoshino hummed. “Means one of us can’t choose to sacrifice ourselves.” I shuddered to think why that was the first thing to come to her mind, but she wasn’t wrong.

“This is… this is insane,” Yuuka said, her legs wobbling beneath her. “What are we supposed to do?!”

“I’ll tell you what!” Monokuma said, standing fully upright on the podium. “You’re supposed to kill! Strangulation, crushing, stabbing, burning alive, poisoning! All of these and more are available to you. The world is your oyster, and with such talented students like yourselves, I’m sure that you’ll shine that pearl till it reflects your cold, dead eyes as you stand over the body of your fellow student.”

His expression shifted once more. Manic, bloodthirsty, savoring every second of our fear. “Either accept your fate and live out the rest of your pathetic lives here in this school or embrace your inner demons and kill for a chance to escape. The choice is yours! Aaaaaahahahahahaha!”
With one final laugh, Monokum disappeared behind the podium as if he was never there.

No one moved a muscle, as if doing so would shatter the peace and lead to instant anarchy. The only noise I could hear was the pounding of my heart. Sixteen students. Sixteen young girls in front of me. Their whole lives ahead of them. Now caught in some sadistic game for some ungodly reason. I wanted to scream, to claw my way out of the building with my own hands. But deep down, I knew it was useless. There was no escape. There was no way out except to play by the rules. Could I trust these students to not kill each other? Could I trust them to make the right choices? More importantly, could I trust myself? Rule 4 screamed in my head. I could end this here and now. It was all in my hands. Before my thoughts could spiral any further, a bell chimed through the air.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Good evening everyone! It is now 10pm and officially nighttime! Time to get some shuteye! Sleep tight, don’t let the killers bite!”

Click

There was a brief pause, and then, one by one, each student made their way out of the gym. Though I couldn’t see their faces, I could tell that each one of them were deep in thought. Several were sobbing, and more than a couple flinched whenever someone got too close to them. The last to leave, Wakamo, turned to me as she reached the doorway. She lowered her mask fully, her expression a stormy expression of concern and anger.

“Sensei,” she said. “Whatever you do. Promise Wakamo that you won’t give up.”

Without waiting for a response, Wakamo donned her mask again and left the gym, leaving me utterly alone. I stood there for who knows how long, replaying the day’s events in my head over and over and over again. Every time it felt like I gained an inch, Monokuma would crush that hope instantly. Still, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“I promise, Wakamo…” I said to no one. Then I made the same promise to each one of my students. Wakamo, Aris, Hina, Saori, Seia, Mika, Miyu, Ibuki, Izuna, Rio, Shiroko, Hoshino, Mutsuki, Aru, Yuuka, and Hifumi. No matter what that bear did, no matter what was thrown at us, I wouldn’t give up, for their sake.

The killing game of Hope’s Archive Academy had begun, but even if it was the end of the world, I wouldn’t give in to despair.

Chapter Text

The first thing I did was head to the dorm rooms. The doors had indicator lights that communicated if the rooms were occupied or not. All sixteen lights were green, which made me feel a little better. Part of me had wondered if I would leave the gym to find a body right then and there. However, that did bring up a new question.

“Where am I supposed to sleep?”

I was technically exempt from the rule of sleeping outside of a dorm, but I didn’t relish the idea of sleeping on the lounge couch for my stay here. My back wouldn’t be able to take it.

“Oh right, you’re here.”

I whirled around only to find myself face to face with Monokuma. Rather, his face to my knees. He wasn’t particularly tall. “Where’s my room?”

“You know, back in my day, you teachers taught for the love of seeing students grow into hardened killing machines, not for silly creature comforts like a bed or sense of security!” Monokuma crossed his arms and pretended to spit on the ground. “This is why today’s youth is so soft. They have teachers like you setting a bad example.”

I stared at him, completely exasperated. I did not have the patience to deal with him right after he set in motion an entire killing game. “Rule 2 says my dorm is a safe zone, so where is this supposed dorm?”

“Yikes, what crawled up your non-descript trousers? AND DON’T SAY THE KILLING GAME, THAT DOESN’T COUNT!”

It started to dawn on me that simply being around Monokuma might drive someone to commit unspeakable acts.

Fortunately, he relented after only a few more unnecessary comments. “Alright, look, I didn’t expect you to be here, so I didn’t have a room quite ready for you yet. But don’t worry, while you were being all mopey in the gym, I was a hard working bear who put together a special room just for you! Follow meeeee!” He pranced off in the direction of the classrooms.

As I went to chase him down, something he said caught my attention. He hadn’t expected me to be here? Why not? I was supposed to start that day as a teacher, so surely he would have taken me into account for his plans. Thinking about it further, he seemed almost surprised when he noticed me back during his introduction. I obviously wasn’t so big of a threat that he thought it was necessary to eliminate me (thank goodness…), but I still was an unexpected element to this whole game, and I’d take any advantage that I could get. I’ll keep it in my back pocket for now.

“Here we are!” Monokuma suddenly announced, gesturing towards… a wall?

“Um…”

Monokuma glanced between me and the wall several times before hanging his head. “Dang it, I didn’t want to reveal this functionality yet.”

Tap taptaptap tap tap

As if responding to Monokuma’s knocking, the wall slid open like a pair of convenience store doors to reveal another door, this one with a nameplate with my picture on it. At least, I think it was my picture. It looked more like a child’s doodle than anything.

“Is that supposed to be me?” I asked.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that picture was drawn by the Ultimate Artist! Sort of…”

“It doesn’t look anything like me.”

“Have you tried not being a self-insert and getting a real character design?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Moving on!” Monokuma kicked the door open, so I stepped inside.

The room was surprisingly well furnished. A plush king-sized bed dominated most of the space, with a hearty comforter draped over top and fluffy pillows almost overflowing from it. A kitchenette was tucked into one corner, complete with a half-sized refrigerator, hot plate, and sink. The closet was stuffed full of duplicates of my current outfit, as well as plenty of spare linens. Towards the back, a shower and toilet glistened under the soft lights.

“It’s… nice?” I said incredulously. I was sure that Monokuma would give me some sort of rickety wire frame as a bed with trashcans as pillows…

Would Miyu like that?

“Pish posh,” Monokuma said, hopping up on the edge of the bed. “I made sure to budget in only the best amenities for my beloved staff.” He tenderly stroked the comforter, looking almost… longing.

“This was supposed to be your room and now you have to give it to me, right?”

“WHY IS LIFE SO UNFAIR?” Monokuma cried, throwing himself onto the sheets, arms and legs flailing like a crying child. “I’m the headmaster, I should get the best of the best of the best, but now I’ll have to find somewhere else to sleep!”

As if nothing had happened, he perked right back up. “Oh well! I’ll get over it when I see the despair on your face as you cave in one of your precious student’s skulls!”

I clenched my shirt in my hand. “Not happening,” I said. “We’ll find a way out of here.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Monokuma dismissed. “Heard it all before, teach. Get some original lessons.” Dropping off the bed, he headed to the door so casually that it infuriated me. “One of you will crack. It always happens one way or another, and when you do… Upupupu~ I’ll be sure to lap up your delicious despair.”

He shut the door behind him, and I collapsed onto the bed, all the energy I could have possibly had gone. Too many thoughts warred for dominance in my head to the point that I ended up not truly thinking about anything.

The only thought I could hold onto was that I wasn’t supposed to be here. A selfish part of me bemoaned that I could have escaped this awful game if some mysterious error hadn’t shunted me in here, but I quieted that part as best I could by thinking of my students. I hadn’t even known them for a day, but I felt a profound need to protect them with my life. If my presence here wasn’t intentional, then maybe I could leverage that to somehow stop this game before it started.

Clinging to that spark of hope, I eventually managed to fall into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

MONOKUMA THEATER

Aren't secret passages so cool?

They can lead to all sorts of places or hide all sorts of neat things!

And there's so many ways to hide them.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the classic "behind a bookshelf activated by pulling a specific book" version.

Of course, there are also other fun kinds!

My second favorite are the ones that require a blood sacrifice to open.

-

Ding-dong bing-bong

“Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. Nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine to greet another beautiful day! If you can, that is!”

Click

I let out a groan as I rubbed my eyes. Waking up to that bear every morning was going to be a nightmare. Idly, I wondered what would happen if we all just stayed in our rooms the entire time? Would Monokuma let us starve to death, or would that not be entertaining enough?

Ugh, dark thoughts first thing in the morning.

With a grunt, I forced myself upright, allowing the muscle memory of routine to make myself presentable. Killing game or not, I was still a teacher, so I had to be put together.

When I left my room, the hallways were surprisingly empty. Then again, I was in the academic wing rather than the dorms, so I guess it made sense no one was exactly jumping to get started on their schoolwork. As I passed by the dorms, I looked down either hallway. Eight doors in each hallway, four per wall, perfectly symmetrical.

One of the doors slowly creaked open, and I saw Hifumi’s Peroro backpack peek out of it like it was some sort of scout.

“Good morning, Hifumi,” I called, and, based on how Peroro shook, startled her.

The fangirl poked her head out. Heavy bags clung to her eyes, a feature that I had a feeling was going to be common amongst the student body. Next thing I knew, she dashed towards me, scurrying behind my back as soon as I got close.

“Woah, easy there.”

“S-sorry,” she said, giving me some space. “I didn’t sleep very well and… I can’t stop thinking that someone’s around every corner.”

I offered her a small smile. “It’s okay to be scared. But you’re with me now, so everything’s going to be fine.”

“Kufufu~ You sure you’re not just saying that to get her to drop her guard, Sen~ sei~” That cheeky voice could only belong to Mutsuki who came skipping down the hallway without a care in the world. Aru followed behind her, trying to look confident, but her eyes darting every which way belied her true fear.

“Don’t say stuff like that!” Hifumi cried as we began to walk to the dining hall.

“It’s every person for themselves right now,” Aru said, “A-and we can’t be t-too careful, y’know?”

Mutuski giggled. “Yeah! I heard Sensei giggling to himself last night like he was a supervillian! I bet he couldn’t sleep thinking about all of the ways to get out of here.”

“T-that might be a little too far,” Aru said, then leaned in to whisper, “Don’t make him mad! What if he targets you?!”

I only rolled my eyes, not even bothering to engage. While I’m sure Mutsuki was just being obnoxious, I’d have to nip that in the bud if I started hearing actual rumors about me.

The dining hall was surprisingly lively. Most everyone had gathered and, while they weren’t sitting close to each other, they weren’t at each others’ throats, which I considered a plus. A few were even chatting quietly to one another. To an outside observer, the scene may have almost been quaint, like this was a real school day.

Taking headcount, the only students I didn’t see were Saori and Wakamo. I thought about going to retrieve them, but Seia approached me instead.

“Good morning, Sensei. You needn’t worry about those who are missing. They will be joining us shortly. I have foreseen it.”

“Come on,” Yuuka said from her seat. “I know you’re the Ultimate Clairvoyant, but do you really expect us to buy that?”

Seia puffed out her cheeks. “I can only say what has been shown to me. It’s not up to me what I see.”

“Seia’s totally legit!” Mika said cheerily. “She predicted that one of my club meetings in middle school was going to have zero attendance and she was right!”

“No, I told you to remind others of the meeting time and you forgot,” Seia said.

“Details, details.”

“Riiiiight,” Yuuka said, disbelief still etched on her face. “So Sensei, what’s the plan for today?”

I blinked a couple times. “Plan…?”

I didn’t think it was possible for someone to look as disappointed as Yuuka looked at that moment. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a plan on how to deal with all of this? You’re our teacher, right? And Monokuma’s playing favorites with you, so you’ve got to have some sort of an idea of what to do.”

“Sensei’s totally clueless!” Mutsuki cheered. “We should revolt and become the teachers ourselves!”

“That sounds like a challenge, Sensei. What say you and me face off for a chance to lead this crew?” Aru said, a smug look on her face.

“First off,” I started, “No, I don’t have a plan, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work on one together. Second, Aru, please sit down, you’re about to knock into the juice dispenser.”

“I- Uh- Wah!” Aru stumbled to avoid making a mess, which Mutsuki found utterly hilarious.

“A plan would be helpful. If anything, it would at least give us a sense of stability,” Hina said, having taken the chair next to Yuuka. I didn’t miss the way Yuuka subtly leaned away.

“Hmm,” Shiroko hummed, her arms crossed. “If we all rushed Monokuma at once, we could take him.”

“Mmmfff mmm mmm mmmrfff.” Hoshino said except… she was face first against the table, so it came out all muffled.

Mutsuki nodded enthusiastically. “I think it’s a great idea. You all can go first and I’ll take up the rear!”

Shiroko grabbed Hoshino by the little strand of hair that stood straight up, lifting her head so she could actually be understood. “Uehehe, thanks Shiroko. Monokuma would probably be prepared for that.”

“And it would give him an excuse to punish us,” Rio added. She’d gotten a clipboard from somewhere and seemed to be sketching a map of the school, making notes around the edges where others had found weapons. “There are cameras everywhere, and likely hidden weapons similar to the one by the gate. I don’t think Monokuma would go down that easily.”

“I bet a ninja like me could sneak up on him!” Izuna said, leaping up from her seat and sending her breakfast dishes clattering.

“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about her killing anyone. She’d get caught instantly,” Mika mumbled, and I shot her a stern look.

The group devolved into discussion and bickering. Some wanted to take a more offensive approach, others were simply concerned with surviving, and still others wanted nothing to do with each other. In the meantime, I noticed Wakamo slip into the dining hall, followed soon by Saori, who grabbed a plate and sat down like she owned the place. Wakamo tried to sneak out, but I managed to intercept her.

“Hey, don’t go! We’re making a plan.”

Wakamo paused, but remained facing the door. “I’ll hear about it later,” she said.

“I’d really like you to stay,” I urged, causing her to whirl around, nearly spilling her breakfast. “It’d make me feel better knowing all my students are in one place.”

I guess she didn’t like that last part, because she stiffened and looked at the ground as if in thought. “But… Sensei wants me here, yes?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then Wakamo will stay,” she said, brushing my side as she took a seat in the corner. She lifted her mask just enough to eat.

Okay, that was everyone accounted for. We’d made it past the first night without anyone dead, so that was… something, I guess. Small victories and all that. But we still didn’t have a concrete idea of what to do. Monokuma had opened up my door with a secret fake wall, so that told me there were secrets to this place that we could potentially uncover, but to do that, we had to be alive to search. So when were the students most vulnerable?

While the school was certainly big, there was only so much space on the first floor. It would be difficult for anyone to get away with killing another with so many people around, meaning that the most likely time for someone to try would be at night. I didn’t want to think about my students like this, but I had to be pragmatic about this.

“Um, Sensei?” I was startled when I heard Yuuka’s voice. Everyone was looking at me.

“You look deep in thought,” Seia said. “Have you come up with a plan?”

I scratched the back of my head. “Not really a plan, but you’re right I am thinking. I don’t believe any of you would try anything, but it seems nighttime is when you’re most at risk.”

“W-why n-nighttime?” Miyu asked, holding a plate in front of her face. That only makes you more conspicuous, Miyu… “A-aren’t we n-not allowed out at night?”

Hina shook her head. “No, we just can’t sleep out of our dorms. Anyone could leave at nighttime if they wanted.”

“Indeed. Last night, for example, I could not sleep, so I was playing games in the lounge!” Aris said, causing everyone’s attention to turn to her. “D-did I say something incorrect?”

Saori whistled. “You’re either really brave or really stupid, girl.”

“Don’t be mean,” Yuuka chastised. Saori only rolled her eyes.

“I was not aware that what I did was particularly foolish. My apologies…”

“Hmm, you would have been a sitting duck,” Shiroko said.

“And you didn’t invite Ibuki!” the smaller girl added. She’d been alternating between shoving breakfast in her mouth and coloring.

While I didn’t think that was the biggest concern, the others were right in that Aris had exposed herself. Unbidden images of Aris dead with a controller in her hand flashed through my head.

“It’s not like you can expect us to stay cooped up in our rooms all the time,” Aru said. “Some of us have to be able to spread our wings.”

“There is logic to that. Restricting our movements too much may lead to stress and claustrophobia that could exacerbate underlying negative feelings, resulting in them breaking under the pressure,” Rio explained.

“However,” Hina said, “Unrestricted nighttime movement could give someone a chance to set some sort of trap.”

Hifumi shuffled in her seat. She’d barely touched any of her food. “Would someone really do that…?”

“We need to be prepared,” Saori said, eyes scanning over the entire room.

“But everyone’s been so nice! Ibuki doesn’t think anyone would kill.”

I could tell that Saori wanted to retort, but arguing with the younger girl probably wouldn’t work out well, so she simply leaned back in her seat and sighed.

“What if we mmfff mmrrrmmmff mmmf.”

“Hold your own head up!” Yuuka snapped as Hoshino’s head smacked the table again.

Lifting her head again, Hoshino offered a bashful smile. “Sorry, old timers like me get tired easily. I was saying, what if we had someone patrol at night? Just to make sure nobody gets up to anything?

“Ooooh! Ooooh! I volunteer!” Izuna said, waving her hand. “No one will see me coming!”

“That… doesn’t inspire confidence,” Seia said, and Izuna’s ears dropped, whimpering something about how she’d never hurt anyone.

Hina took a long draw from her cup of coffee. “It shouldn’t be one of us,” she stated. “At least not at first. We have too much incentive.”

“It saddens me that we have already assumed that one of us will kill,” Aris said.

“No one is killing anyone!” Yuuka said, standing suddenly, sending her dishes scattering along the table. “We’ll do what we need to do to protect ourselves, but we’re getting out of here, no matter what that bear says!”

For a moment, no one spoke. Yuuka’s outburst had surprised me. For as fidgety as she was, I’d thought that she was one of the more paranoid ones. Maybe I underestimated her.

“I’ll be on patrol,” I said. “There are lights out of your doors that let me know if someone’s inside, so I can check on you all easily without disturbing you. And if anyone can’t sleep, they can always come find me.”

“But what about your sleep, Sensei?” Shiroko asked. “You can’t be up all night, every night.”

“You’re right, but I can get up periodically. I won’t tell you all when it’s happening, so that way no one can plan ahead.” I was dreading missing out on some sleep, and I’d have to ask Monokuma for an alarm, but I had a feeling that he would be willing to provide one, if only to see what happens.

“Late night party with Sensei!” Ibuki cheered, throwing up her crayons.

“You, young lady,” Hoshino said, “Are staying in bed. If you fall asleep outside your room, Monokuma will punish you.”

“Ibuki won’t fall asleep!”

“Private nights with Sensei…” I heard Wakamo mutter.

“All I ask,” I continued, “Is that you all come here in the mornings, and check in with me before you return to your dorms at night.”

Mika beamed. “Teachers can’t help but take attendance, huh?”

“It’ll help me keep track of everyone and… it’ll be good for my peace of mind.”

I made eye contact – or mask contact with Wakamo, I guess – with each one of them. It wasn’t a perfect plan by any means, but it meant that maybe, just maybe if the unthinkable happened, I could intervene before it got out of control.
“I have faith in you all,” I said. “This will be difficult, but we’ll get out of here. All of us.”

Just like before in the gym, a few students seemed unconvinced, though none said anything. I could only hope that the trust I put in them would be returned with trust in me. And I hoped I could live up to that trust.

“Welp,” Hoshino said, leaning back in her chair. “If no one’s got anything else to say, then the morning meeting is adjourned” She smacked on the table like a judge’s gavel.

“Why do you get to decide when we’re finished?” Yuuka sneered.

“Because I’m the oldest here!”

Shiroko’s ears flattened. “You’re the same age as us.”

Cupping her ear, Hoshino leaned in close. “What’s that? I can’t hear too good in my old age!”

Her impression sent both Ibuki and Aris into a fit of giggles, and I noticed Aru trying (and failing) to suppress a smirk. Even those who didn’t participate seemed to be in a lighter mood as Hoshino started collecting plates acting as if she had a hunchback.

These girls were going to be alright.

-

The breakfast crowd dispersed naturally as various students went to do their own things. Some wanted to keep searching for a way out, while others wanted to explore the facilities in more detail. Aris, in particular, was excited that several girls offered to play multiplayer with her, and I think Shiroko said something about going to work out in the gym.

All that to say, I found myself standing in the hallway alone with nothing to do. I could keep looking around to see if there was anything I missed yesterday, but I figured that an equally good use of my time would be to get to know my students better. If I was going to be an effective teacher, then getting closer was paramount.

>>FREE TIME START<<

I wandered around the school until I bumped into someone, almost literally.

“Oh, Sensei!” Hifumi said, her nose buried in some sort of catalogue. “I found this Momo and Friends purchasing guide in the library! Want to join me and go through it together?” While I wasn’t the most enthused to learn more about the show, I couldn’t possibly say no to the genuine look of excitement on Hifumi’s face.

“Sure, let’s take a look.”

“Great!” She grabbed hold of my wrist. “Let’s go pull up some chairs in the library. There’s a Peroro plush in here that I’ve only ever seen once before!”

I spent the next while getting lectured by Hifumi about the various characters and history of the franchise, as well as insider tips on where to get the best merch.

“Skullman,” Hifumi said, pointing at a chibi figure with a skull as his head, “Is probably the hardest to get good merch of. He’s not super popular, but Skullman fans are next level! You have to be at in-person releases! If you try to order anything from him online, it’ll be gone the second the order window opens.”

Her enthusiasm for the franchise was infectious, and I found myself chuckling at the mental image of Hifumi boxed in with a bunch of other superfans clamoring for a plushie.

“You really like this series, huh?”

She gave her backpack a squeeze. “It’s my favorite thing in the world. I’d do just about anything if it meant getting more Momo and Friends stuff.” She paused, realizing what she said. “W-well… I w-would never kill a-anyone or anything like that.”

I could see her mood souring in real time, so I hurriedly changed the topic. “Who’s your favorite? Per… Perito was it?”

“Pe-ro-ro!” she corrected forcibly. “And his full name is Peroro-sama! He’s by far my number one!”

“What makes him so special compared to the others?”

“A bunch of stuff.” She started counting on her fingers. “He’s so funny, for starters. I mean, look at his goofy face. Isn’t it just the cutest? Some of the gags he does on the show have me rolling on the floor laughing. But it’s not just that! He’s also quietly supportive of everyone and wants them to succeed, which I really admire.” Her expression turned to affection and she traced a small pattern around Peroro’s beak. “It’s someone I hope I can be.”

“Oh? Care to elaborate?”

“Ehe, it’s a little embarrassing but… I know I’m nothing special. I don’t have much that makes me stand out or anything like that. Even my talent is really just me being super passionate about someone else’s work. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be helpful, right? In my own way, I can support others and help them achieve their goals, too!”

She seemed so determined about this, but there was something that rubbed me the wrong way. “You are special, Hifumi.”

A light blush crossed Hifumi’s face, but she shook her head. “I know you’re only saying that because you’re a teacher, but really, it’s okay. I’m happy being a normal girl. As long as I can be with my friends and support those I care about, I’m happy.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed her or not, but before I could argue, she stood up, neatly tucking the catalogue into her bag. “Thanks for spending time with me today, Sensei. I’m gonna rest a bit.”

Hifumi… Do you truly think you’re so average? And are you really happy like that? It wasn’t for me to decide, but I hoped I could boost her self esteem at some point.

-

I still had some more time to kill, so I continued to wander around. I found myself inside the storage room of all places. I found where Ibuki had gotten her coloring supplies and Rio had picked up her clipboard. I also found Hoshino laying on a different sofa from the one I found her on yesterday. Was this going to be a trend?

“Sensei!” she called with a lazy wave. “Come to kick your feet up with this old timer?”

I sat down on the couch opposite Hoshino. It felt cramped with all of the various items stuffed into the storage space, but it was also oddly comforting, reminding me of my grandma’s house too full of knick-knacks.

“So, what have you been up to?” I asked.

“Ah, not much, not much. Keeping up with the younger ones tires me out, so I come in here to recharge. Lots of cool stuff in here to count if I get bored, too.” She paused. “Though no fish plushies, sadly.”

I didn’t really know where to start with Hoshino. She was something of an enigma. Did I ask why she considered herself so old? Or why she sometimes had such a sharp look in her eye? Those might be getting too personal, so I decided to ask about her talent.

“Ultimate Marine Biologist, huh? You must have made some pretty interesting discoveries to get that title.

“Nah, I just like fish.”

 When she didn’t elaborate, I leaned forward. “Any…favorite types of fish?”

Hoshino hummed for a moment. “Whales. Though whales aren’t fish. They’re mammals. Did you know whales hold their breath while they sleep? I’m glad I’m not a whale.”

Following her train of thought wasn’t easy, but it felt like she went with the flow, as if she was perpetually riding on a lazy river. “Would you study whales when we get out of here?”

“Hmm maybe. We’ll have to see what happens. Maybe I’ll die of old age before we escape.” She let out a snort laugh, though I struggled to find the humor in it. “Ah loosen up, Sensei. Can’t let a little killing game get rid of your sense of humor. Especially not when you’re in a room as great as this one.”

“What makes this place so special?”

She patted the couch she was laying on. “Lots of options for naps!”

I was about to respond, but then I remembered one of the rules. “Isn’t it against the rules for you all to sleep anywhere except your dorms?”

“I thought that only applied to nighttime.”

Pulling out the Shittin Chest, I double-checked. “Uh, it doesn’t specify.”

Hoshino let out a massive yawn before holding her arms out. “Guess you better carry me to my dorm, cause I’m feeling mighty tired right now.”

I spent the new few minutes with Hoshino in my arms, scrambling to get her back to her dorm before she fell asleep. When I deposited her at her door, she hopped out of my arms, gave me a wink and said, “Thanks, that would have been a real hard walk without you uehehe.”

That wily little… Ah well, she was safe and that was all that mattered.

-

It was hard to tell time without any clocks or views outside, but I felt that it must be getting pretty late. I saw a few of the girls walking back to their dorms with food in their hands, so it must be getting late. As I was wondering what I should eat for dinner myself, I suddenly heard a horrid scream.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

Taking off in the direction of the scream, I found myself hurtling towards the academic wing, towards the room with the gashapon machine. When I turned the corner and threw open the door, I saw a sight that I never thought I would ever see.
There… lying on the floor, body limp and still, nestled in a pool of Monocoins…

… was Monokuma.

Lording above him was an equally unexpected sight, Ibuki with a fistful of Monocoins.

“Ibuki still has more coins!” she whined.

“Please… stop… It's too much. I can’t keep up!” Monokuma reached a paw towards me, his voice strained. “Sensei, hold back your student! She’s a monster!”

The adrenaline rush started to wear off, and I shook my head, trying to make sense of the bizarre scene. “What happened here?!”

“U-um…” I jumped in surprise as Miyu suddenly poked her head up from the trash can next to me. “I- I- I think that Monokuma opened up the p-prize shop and Ibuki wanted to see what it was about.”

“Monokuma said there were prizes for turning in the coins and Ibuki found lots of them!” She stomped her foot. “But now Mr. Meanie Bear won’t give me any more even though I have more coins.”

Monokuma, who had been trying to drag himself out of the door, realized all attention was on him once again, and he flung himself onto my pant leg. “I want to give her prizes, I really do. But she has so many coins! I can’t keep up! I have to do this whole song and dance, but by the time I finish, she’s put more coins into the machine! I didn’t even realize I hid so many! Sensei! HELP ME!”

“I f-found a c-couple coins t-too,” Miyu whispered. “Bu-but it’s okay if you d-don’t want to give me a p-prize.”

All I could do was swivel my head between the three of them. “So this thing actually works?” I said, gesturing to the gashapon machine.

“Of course it works!” Monokuma scoffed. “The patented Patent-Pending Mono Mono Lucky Machine! Or the pPPMMLM for short! Just put a Monocoin in and watch all your dreams come true as a lucky prize is yours for the taking!”

Scattered around the room were various bits of what looked like dollar store grade toys that Ibuki had won. “I… see. And you’re not giving any more to Ibuki because…?”

“I’ll show you!” Ibuki chimed, causing Monokuma to sweat.

“No, no, please. I’m so sick of the dance!”

Climbing up on a chair that I’m pretty sure she took from the dining hall, Ibuki slotted a coin into the machine and cranked it fully. The machine started to rumble, and Monokuma dragged himself onto the counter.

“Mono mono mono~” he sang half-heartedly, simultaneously employing a silly dance that involved him spinning around several times. “It’s the Lucky Mono Machine~ Try your luck and have some fun, let’s see what you’ve woooooooon!” As soon as he finished the last note, he flopped on his back, breathing heavily. “Twenty-three times in a row…”

The machine stopped rattling, depositing a plastic ball into the shoot, which Ibuki hurriedly opened, revealing a mecha miniature… from a series I used to watch as a kid! Ibuki must have noticed my eyes go wide because she held the toy up to me. “Do you want this, Sensei? Ibuki’s got lots of coins, so you can have this one!”

Gingerly taking it, I admired the surprising amount of detail in the small toy. “Thank you, Ibuki! You’re getting extra credit on your next assignment!”

“Hahhh! Really?! Yay! I’m gonna play lots more so I can give Sensei more toys!”

Monokuma let out a wheezing sound. “Please… no… more… Sensei, talk some sense into her!”

I knelt down to Ibuki’s eye-line and leveled my gaze at her. “Ibuki,” I said seriously, then reached out and patted her head. “You play the machine as much as you want, okay? And help others find as many coins as they can, so they can play, too!”

“How could you betray your headmaster like this?!”

“Weeeeh…” came a small voice from just outside the room.

“And make sure Miyu gets to use her coins, okay?” I said with a wink, to which Ibuki responded with a salute.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Oh thank all the gods!” Monokuma suddenly vanished, reappearing on a nearby TV set, looking decidedly more haggard than usual.

“Good evening everyone! It is now 10pm and officially nighttime! Time to get some shuteye! Sleep tight, don’t let the killers bite!”

…

“And the Mono Store is closed, so get the hell out of there!”

Click

“Awww, no fair,” Ibuki said, eyes downcast.

“There’s always tomorrow,” I reassured her. “After breakfast, you and Miyu can come straight here and keep Monokuma busy.”

Ibuki gave me a sneaky grin. “Will do, Sensei. Come on, Miyu, it’s time for bed!”

“Y-you wa-want to go with meEEEEEE?” Miyu squealed as Ibuki suddenly started pushing the trashcan down the hallway towards the dorms, while I followed closely behind.

Once I reached the dorms, it didn’t take long for everyone to be accounted for, though I had to knock on a couple doors to make sure I saw their faces. Seeing the indicator light was one thing, but actually seeing my students soothed my nerves.

“Goodnight, Sensei,” Hina said. “I wish you luck on your patrol tonight. Please let me know if you’d like any help with it.” She had been the last to return, having corralled Aru and Mutsuki from whatever nonsense they were getting up to.

“Thanks for the offer, but you should rest up. Can’t be showing favoritism, after all.”

Hina smiled. “Indeed. It’s good to have you to rely on.” With that, she headed into her dorm and I heard the sound of it lock behind her.

The lights in the hallway dimmed to just barely allow any visibility. I’d meant to look for a flashlight in the storage room earlier, but it slipped my mind. Though once my eyes adjusted to the low light, it was easy enough to make my way back to my dorm. When I entered, I saw a brand new fancy alarm clock sitting on the nightstand next to my bed. Monokuma’s doing, no doubt.

I hadn’t asked him for it, so he must have been spying on us while we were in the dining area. That revelation didn’t shock me. He’d probably been monitoring our every move since we got here. Though I hoped there were no cameras in the dorms. Or at the very least not the bathrooms. Monokuma wouldn’t stoop that low, would he?

Banishing the thought from my head, I slipped into some sweats and a t-shirt and set the alarm for two and a half hours from now. I didn’t know when would be the best time to do patrols, and, ultimately, there probably was never going to be a perfect time, so I figured I’d try a few a go from there.

I settled down into bed. We had made it through the first day with everyone still alive. That had to count for something? Or maybe I was just deluding myself and things would spiral out of control.

No, I had to stay positive! Had to stay focused on the goal of escaping. Take it one day at a time and get everyone through this.

Feeling sleep start to take me, I let myself drift off, silently praying that every day would be as peaceful as this one.

Chapter Text

The night watch had been uneventful, a fact I was grateful for, although I could have done without stumbling over several chairs while checking around the library. I had gone out twice, each time patrolling for about an hour. I spent most of that time in front of the dorms. The green lights that peeked out in the darkness were little beacons of comfort. They assured me that my students were safe in their cocoons.

Geez, only two days and I’d already grown so attached to them. The idea that any of them could die, could kill at any time never strayed far from my mind. Even when I was sleeping, I never felt rested because of how the nagging sense of dread ate away at my nerves. However, I couldn’t let that stop me. These girls were relying on me, so I was going to keep them safe.

Unfortunately, waking up and walking around from an already poor sleep had only made me more exhausted, so I found myself sinking deep into the soft cushions of the couch with a mug of coffee in hand, watching Aris completely demolish Yuuka at a cart racing game while Shiroko watched on.

If there was one good thing Monokuma did, it was allow me to eat wherever I wanted, because this morning’s breakfast was particularly rowdy. Mutsuki had pressed Saori’s buttons one too many times and it had ended with Hina and Izuna stepping in to stop the mercenary from quote, “ripping that damn brat’s ponytail right off her stupid head.” I sent them both to their rooms after that. They probably left by now, but I hadn’t heard any yelling or bloodcurdling screams, so they were probably alright.

“Oh come on!” Yuuka shouted as Aris proceeded to lap her for the third race in a row.

“You are getting better, Yuuka,” Aris said. She crossed the finish line while Yuuka ran into a barrier. “But you are overdoing it on your turning. You do not need to press the joystick so far.”

“Gee, thanks,” Yuuka seethed.

Shiroko was sitting on the arm of the couch, her legs swinging idly. “You beat your record by three seconds. If you keep that up, it’ll only take you…” She started counting on her fingers.

“Twenty-two races,” Yuuka finished immediately. Sucking in a deep breath, she pointedly put the controller onto the entertainment center. “Which is assuming Aris doesn’t get any better which, she probably will.”

Aris beamed. “You were an excellent opponent!” The way her hair fell into her face only added to the sincere tone of the statement, to the point that all Yuuka could do was turn away and mumble a thanks while a light blush formed on her face.

“My turn,” Shiroko said, sliding down onto the ground. Then she craned her head back so that she was looking at me upside down. “Unless Sensei wants a turn.”

“I’m good,” I mumbled into my coffee, taking a deep, lukewarm sip. Caffeine revive me, please.

Aris and Shiroko began their race, and Yuuka sat on the couch next to me. She examined my face for a moment before saying, “Are you going to be alright with the nighttime patrols, Sensei. You’re looking rough even after just one.”

I waved dismissively. “I’ll be fine. Just have to get used to it, is all.”

Yuuka opened her mouth to argue, but she was interrupted by Aru and Mutsuki barging into the lounge.

“I told you to stop picking on her!” Aru whined. She was holding one of her blouses in her hand.

“I wasn’t picking on her,” Mutsuki countered. “I was offering constructive criticism on how she could not be such a downer.”

“Did you have to do it while she was next to the red paint?!”

With a groan, I sat upright on the couch. “What’s going on?”

“Aru tried painting, but she’s really bad at it!” Mutsuki said with a totally insincere smile.

“Th-that is n-not what happened!” Aru coughed into her hand, then straightened her back. “I heard that my subordinate had gotten into a bit of a scuffle, so as the good boss I am, I tried to mediate.”

“You’re her boss?” Shiroko asked, ear twitching in the pair’s direction, eyes never leaving the game. She was doing better than Yuuka by a large margin, but Aris was still comfortably in the lead.

Scoffing, Aru put a hand on her hip, but Mutsuki spoke up before she could say anything. “Yep! Me and Aru go way back. She’s been bossing me around ever since I remember meeting her.”

“D-don’t make me sound so cruel!”

“She makes me polish her shoes with my tongue,” Mutuski plowed on. “I have to carry all of her stuff wherever we go, and sometimes I have to lie in the street so she doesn’t have to step in puddles!”

Yuuka frowned deeply. “I doubt any of that is true.”

“Y-yeah!” Aru said. “I would n-never make you d-do any of that”

“Wow!” Aris gushed, having finished the race in first place, as expected. “You sound like the villains in several RPGs I have played. The best ones always make their minions do such degrading tasks.”

“Yeah!” Aru said. “I’m such a bad outlaw that I make her do all of that and worse!”

Way to stick to your guns, Aru. Behind me, I swear I could hear Yuuka smack her forehead in frustration.

Mutuski, however, was all too eager to play along. “Oh it’s not so bad! After all, she defends me from big bad mercenaries who can’t take a joke. And she doesn’t make me do her laundry even though she can’t do it herself!”

“S-stop telling p-people that! I can do my own laundry!”

“You couldn’t until you were- mmph!”

Aru snapped a hand over Mutsuki’s mouth. “Silence, chief of staff. No more words outta you!”

Eager to get the conversation away from… whatever this was, I gestured to the shirt Aru was holding. “Mutsuki said something about red paint. Is that why you’re carrying that?”

“Yes. Despite my valiant attempts, the formidable Saori could not be calmed, so she ended up tossing paint at Mutsuki. I, ever the sacrificial one, took the hit for her,” Aru preened.

I was absolutely sure that some part of that story was not true, but elected to not challenge her on it. Instead, I thought about the layout of the school, as well as my room. Mapping it out in my head, I realized that there weren’t any laundry facilities. Even the bathroom in my room only had a toilet, sink, and shower.

“Where are you planning on washing that shirt?” I asked.

Having finally managed to wiggle out of Aru’s grasp, Mutsuki skipped to the door at the back of the lounge. “That’s what we were wondering, too, but Monokuma told us that he converted this room into a laundromat!”

“That’s nonsense,” Yuuka tutted. “When we checked on the first day, it was just an empty closet. There’s no way he could have turned it into an entire laundry area.”

“Only one way to find out!” With a flourish, Mutsuki threw the door open to reveal… well I wouldn’t call it a “laundromat,” but it was certainly a room larger than a closet with several washers and dryers, as well as shelves containing various cleaning supplies.

“I hate that bear…” Yuuka said to herself. “But at least it means we can do laundry.”

“Hmm, that’s good,” Shiroko said. “I’ve been working out every day, so I’ll run out of clean clothes soon.”

“What… were you planning on doing if we didn’t have it?”

Shioko shrugged. “There’s a shower in our rooms. I could make it work.”

“That’s…”

While Shiroko and Yuuka argued over the validity of using showers as a way to clean clothes, I joined Aru and Mutsuki in the laundry room. It reeked of detergent and floral soaps, but the machines themselves were as high quality as everything else in the school. I picked up one of the bottles of liquid detergent and wrinkled my nose when I read the label. “Monoflower Scented - A Gentle Mix of Lavender and Despair.” Hopefully he had some scent-free options.

“How did you even get Monokuma to do this?” I asked.

Aru shrugged. “I dunno. We just called out for him and he showed up. Asked him if there was any way to do laundry and he told us it was in here.”

“I thought he was leading us into a trap,” Mutsuki added.

“Y-you did?! Why did you let us get all the way here then?”

“Kufufu~ What do I have to worry about if I have my big, strong boss here to protect me? Can’t you handle a little trap?”

Aru flushed something fierce. “Y-y-yes! But that’s no reason for us to go into danger!”

“Both of you,” I said, “Please be more careful and don’t take Monokuma at his word.” If one of my students died because Monokuma told them there was candy or something under a box, I think I might just give up on them.

The washing machine whirred to life, and Aru sighed. “Welp, guess we’re stuck here for a while. I once forgot my clothes in the wash overnight and they got all gross and moldy.”

“Do you think Monokuma would get us new clothes if we destroyed all of ours?” Mutsuki pondered. “Or do you think he’d just make us go around naked? Not that Sensei would complain~”

And that was my cue to exit this conversation. “Behave. Please.”

-

After I made sure that Yuuka wasn’t going to throw the controller across the room and washed my coffee cup, I found myself without much to do. I figured I'd stroll around and see who I find.

>>FREE TIME START<<

Making my way down the academic wing, I peaked into one of the classrooms to see if anyone was actually using them. At one point I was worried about making lesson plans and managing classroom behavior. How quaint those worries seemed now.

“Ueeeh… Sensei is th-that you?”

I looked over to see Miyu huddled in the corner of the room. Several pieces of chalk were scattered around her. Her big, sad eyes flitted between me and the door, as if she was contemplating making a run for it.

“Hey, Miyu, what are you up to?”

She blinked a couple times before a small smile formed. “You s-still remember me?”

How could I possibly forget her? “Of course I do. You’re my student.”

“A-ah, I see. We-well th-then, if it’s not a bother, would you l-like to sit with me for a while?”

I pulled out a chair from one of the desks and sat down. “If you’re offering, then sure! Sounds like fun. What are you doing with that chalk?”

“Oh…” Miyu suddenly scooped up the chalk and tucked it in her shirt pocket. “N-nothing… It’s silly.”

I wasn’t going to let her weasel out of it that easily. “I want to hear it. I want to get to know all of my students, and that includes you.”

She searched my face. It felt like she was judging my sincerity. What had this girl been through to shatter her self-esteem like this? Especially to the point that someone taking interest in her was considered suspicious?

“I-I-I… They remind me of… pebbles…” She whispered the last word so softly that I could barely make it out.

“Pebbles?”

“Mhm. I like looking for pebbles sometimes. When everyone forgets about me, i-it’s relaxing, and some of them are really pretty.”

She removed the chalk from her shirt pocket and held them up to me. They were small pieces that had been broken off. From a certain perspective, I suppose they could be considered pebbles. “I guess it’s hard to do that in here, huh?”

Miyu nodded. “Y-y-yeah. Since we can’t go o-outside…” She trailed off, poking the pieces in her hand.

“Do you like that outdoors?” I was bound and determined to get some answers out of her, no matter how many random questions I had to ask her.

Unsurprisingly, she didn’t immediately answer. However, her silence felt different this time. She wasn’t just being shy. She seemed to be considering her answer carefully.

“I don’t know…” she said finally. “I… I’ve spent a lot of time outside t-that I didn’t want to, and…” She clammed up, pulling her legs to her chin and refusing to make eye contact.

I could take a hint, and this clearly wasn’t a topic that she wanted to broach right now. “Hey, it’s okay,” I said, “When we get out of here, how about you and me go find the biggest and best pebble we can?”

“You… you’d want to d-do that with me?” she asked. “A-are you s-sure? W-wouldn’t you r-rather-”

“No, Miyu,” I interrupted. “If I say I want to hang out with you, then that’s what I want to do.”

“Eep!” Miyu tucked herself in tighter, and for a moment I thought I’d pushed too far, but when she relaxed, I saw she was smiling. “Then… then let’s go pebble searching one day, Sensei.”

We chatted for a little while longer before I noticed that Miyu was starting to squirm. She was probably getting tired from all the socialization, so I said my goodbyes and left her to be alone for a while.

-

I was about to go find someone else to spend time with, when the intercom crackled to life. Strange…  It might be hard to tell time here, but there was no way that it was night time yet.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Attention students and staff, this is your glorious headmaster speaking. It has been heartwarming watching you all strengthen your bonds during your peaceful school life! As a reward for such good behavior, I’ve prepared something special for all of you in your rooms! Since this is such a special gift, retrieving it immediately is mandatory! Enjoy!”

Click

A gift? That didn’t sound like Monokuma. Maybe he’d given up seeing how no one was dead yet? No, that was just wishful thinking. He wouldn’t go through all of this trouble to set this up to abandon it after only a couple days. I had a sinking feeling in my gut that this gift was something sinister.

Not wanting to find out what happens if you ignore one of his “mandatory” requests, I started to head towards my room. I was already in the academic wing, but as I neared my door, Saori emerged from the classroom next to it.

“Sensei,” she said evenly.

I still had my apprehensions about Saori, and knowing she nearly got physical with Mutsuki did her no favors in that respect, but she was still one of my students, so I swallowed my hesitation and gave her a gentle smile. “Hey, Saori. Not after Mutsuki anymore?”

“Tsk, the brat’s not worth my time.” She pulled her cap lower over her eyes. “People like her run their mouth to the wrong person and it never ends well for them.”

Was it just my imagination or was there a hint of concern in Saori’s voice? “I’m sure she’ll grow out of it.”

Saori shrugged, adjusting her jacket so that it was hanging just off her shoulders. I guess it was a fashion statement. “So, any idea what this gift from Monokuma is?”

The venom in her voice told me exactly what she thought about the awaiting present. “I don’t trust it,” I said. “But it’s not like we have a choice.”

“That’s where I’m at as well. Glad we’re on the same page.” She peered up the hallway towards the dorms. “Either way, standing around putting it off isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

Unfortunately she was right. Monokuma was probably watching us like a hawk right now. “Can you do me a favor?”

“What’s the pay?”

I stared at her.

“Sorry, force of habit…”

Right. Mercenary. “Anyway, if you see anyone, can you tell them to meet in the dining hall after we all see what this is? And tell them to spread the word.”

Saori rolled her eyes. “You and your meetings. Fine, I guess.”

“Thank you, Saori.” She waved me off and trudged towards the dorm, shoulders hunched and hat low.

Returning my attention to the matter at hand, I stepped into my room, half expecting to see a comically huge present sitting on my bed. Instead, there was a simple envelope sitting on the center of the pillow. The word “Sensei” was written in elegant cursive with a cutesy rendition of Monokuma as the signature. This was his gift? Maybe it was my first paycheck. If it was, he better have included hazard pay!

I tentatively opened the envelope and removed the thin sheet of paper inside. A single sentence was printed dead center.

Kosaka Wakamo’s most precious belonging is her mask. She takes it off when she thinks she is alone.

Confused, I turned the paper over a few times to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I held it up to the light, upended the envelope, and even contemplated holding it over the hotplate to see if there was invisible ink anywhere on it. This was Monokuma’s gift? Telling me about Wakamo’s mask? Hell, I could have told anyone that she adored that mask. I don’t think any of the others had ever seen her without it?

So what was the point? Monokuma wouldn’t have done something like this without a goal in mind. Maybe the second half of the sentence. She takes it off when she thinks she’s alone? Why would I need to know that? It’s not like I was going to steal it from her. She’d probably turn heaven and earth to get it back.

Wait a minute…

If she’d do anything to get the mask, then that means I could lure her anywhere I wanted… such as into an ambush or trap so I could kill her. This wasn’t a gift, this was advice.

Immediately, I tore my door open and started running to the dorms. If the girls had received similar advice, then I wanted to get ahead of it as much as possible. None of them would be able to act on it right away, but the longer ideas festered, the more pernicious they became. Temptation was a powerful thing.

When I got to the dorms, I saw Izuna, Rio, and Wakamo already outside, each clutching a piece of paper in their hands.

“Sensei!” Izuna called, bounding up to me. “What is this?” she asked, holding up her envelope. Hers was unopened. Monokuma never said we had to open the gift, he just said we had to receive it. I bit back a curse for falling for such a ploy.

“It’s nothing good,” I said, meeting Rio and Wakamo’s gazes as they caught up.

“I see we all got the same thing. Monokuma is quite unoriginal in his gifts,” Rio said with a faint smile, though her distant eyes told me that she was putting that rationalist brain of hers to work trying to figure out how to navigate this.

Wakamo didn’t say anything, but she’d torn her paper into little bits. Whether to hide what she received or because it disgusted her, I couldn’t tell, but she flicked her tail back and forth in annoyance. “Sensei wants a meeting, so let’s hurry up.”

“You all go ahead, I’ll make sure everyone shows up,” I said, to which Izuna and Rio nodded. Wakamo’s ears drooped a bit, but she nevertheless listened.

Most of the students came out on their own. I only had to convince Saori (who was being overly cautious) and Aru (who said that she was definitely not hiding anything in her room so don’t bother looking) to come out. Once I’d convinced them, we all headed to the dining hall.

“Okay everyone,” I announced. “Please take your seats so we can talk about what we just received.”

“Izuna still doesn’t know what it is!” the ninja said, waving her envelope cheerfully.

“You didn’t open it?” Saori asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

Izuna shook her head. “Nope nope nope! I’ve read about assassination techniques where they hide poison in envelopes like this, so I wasn’t taking any chances!”

“I don’t think you need to worry about poison,” Shiroko said. “It’s from Monokuma, and he probably won’t hurt us directly.”

“But why place this item in our inventories?” Aris was folding her paper between her hands.

“It’s a motive.” Hina’s voice swept over the room. “I’m going to assume we all received the same thing: information about something valuable to someone else as well as a method to obtain it.”

Several students nodded in agreement, with Seia saying, “A dastardly scheme. One rife with plausible deniability for him as well.”

“So… what do we do about it?” Hifumi asked. She sank down low in her chair like she was trying to hide from the world.

Aru smacked her envelope on the table. “I want to know who has mine! Anyone who dares take anything from an outlaw is going to feel my full retribution!”

“I want to know who has mine, too,” Yuuka said. “Heck, maybe we should just all come clean so that way there’s no secrets.”

“Not a bad idea,” Hoshino mused. “Plus, if we all know what Monokuma said about our favorite thing, we can hide it.”

“But what if…” Ibuki started then trailed off. “Hold on, hold on!” She hopped from her chair and scampered up to me, gesturing for me to lean down to her level. “Sensei,” she whispered. “I got yours, but it’s kind of weird. Can Ibuki tell everyone?”

My first instinct was to say no, self-preservation and privacy instincts kicking in immediately, but then I thought about it for a second. For one, I didn’t even know what I would consider my most valuable item. I had some mecha figures and stuff from my childhood, but nothing worth killing over. Plus, my immunity meant that it was safest for my information to be out.

“Go ahead, it’s okay.”

Ibuki smiled and returned to her chair, standing up on it. “What Ibuki was saying was, what if it’s not a thing because…” She unfolded the paper and slid it to the middle of the table where everyone crowded around to see.

The thing most precious to Sensei is his students. He will always try to protect them, even if it could cause him harm.

“Awww, Sensei,” Mika gushed. “Are you really that smitten with us?”

Hoshino rubbed her chin. “Ah, I see what you mean. Not like Sensei can get rid of all of us.”

“Yeah, he only has to get rid of one of us!” Mutsuki said.

I scowled at Mutsuki, to the point that even her ever-present grin faltered. That one was a step too far. “That aside, is anyone else opposed to the idea of sharing what information Monokuma gave us?”

Almost immediately, Hina raised her hand. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” All eyes turned to her as she continued. “While it is unfortunate that we’re not aware of who knows about our valuables, I assume most of us can figure out what’s important and take measures to secure it. Furthermore, right now, only one other person knows our weakness, so to speak. If we announce it, then everyone will know. That increases the likelihood that someone may try something.”

A hush fell over the students. I have to admit, Hina made good points. I didn’t like the idea of keeping secrets from my students, nor did I want there to be secrets like this between them, but sharing too much could also divide them as well. Wakamo, for example, already didn’t mingle with the others, and she might never take off that mask of hers if she knew it was a potential target.

“W-w-what if w-we tell S-Sensei?” Miyu said quietly. When everyone’s attention fell on her, she squeaked. “S-sorry it w-was a s-stupid idea. I’m so useless.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Mika said. “We could tell Sensei, then Sensei can let us know what the information is individually without telling us who the information came from.”

Rio jotted a few things down on her clipboard. “That’s logical. We can take precautions while restricting access to information. It’s a good compromise in my eyes.”

Looking unconvinced, Yuuka said, “But doesn’t that give Sensei a lot of power? He already has a motive for killing us with his special rule, and his nighttime patrols.” She crossed her arms, glancing at me briefly. “I-I… I don’t think he’d actually try anything, but it’s still something to think about, yeah?”

It seemed we were at an impasse. Everyone seemed to have different levels of comfort with different ideas. Some were fine with everyone knowing, others were okay with just me, and still others didn’t want anyone to know. It wasn’t as if we could have only those who were okay with sharing do it either because everyone had someone else’s information, so inevitably everyone would have to agree.

I sighed, it seemed there wasn’t going to be a neat solution this time. “Okay, since we can’t come to a consensus, we won’t share information. However…” I paused, making sure I had all of their attention. “If anyone is having any thoughts about potentially doing something you might regret, please come see me first. We can talk it out together, sound good?

There were a few “Yes, Sensei,” a few nods, and some half-hearted affirmative sounds. It wasn’t ideal, that was for sure.

Before I could dismiss everyone, Mika suddenly stood up. “By the way!” she said. “Seia and I were talking!”

“I had nothing to do with this,” Seia quickly said, though Mika kept going as if she hadn’t spoken.

“I know this game is weighing everyone down, but I think we should do something to get everyone’s spirits up! Like a party!”

“Is that a good idea?” Shiroko asked. “It seems inappropriate given the situation.”

“The situation is exactly why we should have it!” Mika punched one fist into the other. “We can show that Monokuma that no matter what he tries, we’re gonna come together and be the best class we can be.”

“Ueeh, it would be nice to have some more entertainment around here,” Hoshino said, her chin on the table. “There’s only so many books we can read or games we can play.”

Mika’s eyes sparkled. “Exactly! It’ll be so fun! I saw some old decorations in the storage room, and we can make yummy snacks to share with everyone.”

“It sounds ridiculous,” Saori said. “I can’t believe you think a party at a time like this would do anything other than be a waste of time.”

“Ibuki thinks it’s a great idea! Can we have lots of pudding at the party?”

“It would be good to level my cooking skill,” Aris added. “And socialization will no doubt increase our bond meter so that we may get special perks.”

Suddenly, Mika whirled up to me, giving me the biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster. “Sensei, what do you think? You think my idea is good, right?”

“I…” Truthfully, I couldn’t see the downside of having a party like that. It would be another reason to keep everyone all together, which is when they were safest since it meant nobody could try anything, and Aris was right in her own way. The more the girls got to know each other and me, the less likely they’d be to kill, right? And I think we could all use the occasional distraction.

“I think it’s a fine idea, Mika.”

“Guess it’s decided then,” Yuuka said. “When is it gonna be?”

“We can do it tomorrow evening!” Mika moved next to Rio. “Can I borrow your clipboard to make a sign-up sheet? We’re gonna need some people to decorate and some people to make snacks.”

“There are others in the storage room,” Rio said with a frown.

Mika pouted a bit, but dropped the topic, then addressed everyone. “Ahaha! This is going to be great! I’ll have signups tomorrow at breakfast and we can spend the day getting ready, so if you’re interested, let me know then!”

With that, the impromptu meeting dispersed on its own. My own feelings were torn. While I was excited to see Mika and several others enthusiastic to step up and help us cope with being trapped here, the motive that Monokuma had offered lingered in the back of my mind. He wasn’t content with only waiting, it seemed. If the killings didn’t start, he would apply pressure. If we didn’t escape soon, someone would crack under it. I could only hope I was enough to hold that all together until then.

-

>>FREE TIME START<<

After the excitement of the motive had settled down, I found that most of my students had returned to their rooms. They probably wanted space after everything that went down, and more than a few were probably hiding some of their stuff on the off-chance someone with bad intentions got a hold of it.

All that to say, I found myself grabbing a snack from the kitchen. Rooting around in the fridge, it was a wonder how Monokuma managed to keep this all stocked. Several girls had even reported finding some of their favorite snacks in the pantry. How Monokuma knew all that about us, I didn’t want to know.

“Hm, Sensei?”

I turned around to see Aru standing in the doorway, holding a container of cup noodles.

“Oh, hey Aru,” I said. “Need anything?”

Aru smirked. “Please, I should be asking you that, Sensei. You may be a competent teacher, but I’m sure even you need someone to help out with your problems from time to time. Come, talk to me.”

I think that was her way of offering to hang out, so I grabbed a banana from the fridge and leaned against the counter. “So, you say you solve problems?”

Aru puffed her chest out. “That I do. Me and my crew. We’re not called Problem Solver 68 for nothing!”

“Isn’t your crew just Mutsuki?”

“N-no!” she sputtered. “I have two other underlings. Haruka and Kayoko. They didn’t get invited to Hope’s Archive, but don’t underestimate them! I wouldn’t hire anyone but the best, and they’ve been with me for just a little bit less time than Mutsuki, so I know they’re loyal.”

Ah, I see, they’re her other friends. Hopefully they were a little less… abrasive than Mutsuki could be. “So what does your, um, crew do?”

“Do you really want to know, Sensei?” Aru’s voice dropped low. “If I tell you, you’ll become an accomplice. What will that do to your reputation, I wonder?”

Oh, this was going to be good. “Go ahead. It’s a risk I’ll have to take.”

Nodding with approval, Aru continued. “There are a lot of people out there, Sensei. And they need a lot of things. Some of those things go against what society deems ‘acceptable.’ That’s where my crew comes in. We take any job, any time. No questions, no strings attached, no witnesses.” A shadow fell across her face. “Of course, we expect to be compensated for our time and efforts. And are those in such dire need really in any position to say otherwise?”

I had to applaud Aru. She did that speech so well that I almost didn’t notice that she was reading something on the inside of her coat. Still, I should humor her, especially with how proud of herself she looks. “Impressive, I can see how you earned your title. How’d you get into this line of work so young?”

Aru flipped her hair, clearly reveling in the praise. “It all happened one fateful day when I was coming home from kindergarten. My mother and I walked by an electronics store when I saw him. A legendary outlaw. Oh, Sensei, you should have seen him! He was so cool! Dressed all in black with a cowboy hat low over his eyes. Everyone looked terrified when he showed up, and he got whatever he wanted because no one wanted to cross him. Ah, it was truly amazing! Everything a criminal should be! It was then that I knew that it was my destiny to be just like him!”

Translation: She saw a spaghetti western on TV once and decided that would be her whole personality. That… there was probably something to unpack there, but that could wait for a later time. “Sounds like quite the lofty goal.”

“Hmph,” Aru said, “It’s only a stepping stone! There won’t be a household across the world that won’t know the name Problem Solver 68 and its magnificent leader Rikuhachima Aru!” With a flourish, she ripped open her instant noodle packet and took a bite. I think it was supposed to punctuate her statement.

“I’m sure they will,” I said with a smile. She certainly had passion and spunk if nothing else. “Um, Aru, are you okay?”

“I’m… hah…I’m f-fine!” Aru said, not at all fine. She puckered her lips and sweat beads dotted her forehead. Though she tried to hold them back, a few coughs escaped her throat.

I checked the label on the noodles she had grabbed: “XTRA XTREME SPICY CHALLENGE!!!! WARNING: NOT FOR DAILY CONSUMPTION.”

“I’ll get you some milk.”

“N-no!” Aru cried before coughing into her fist. “I don’t…ack! I don’t need it! I can-” She was interrupted by a coughing fit that left her with tears streaming down her face. “A real outlaw can handle something as m-minor as this!”

“Are you absolutely su-”

“HELP ME, SENSEI!”

We spent the rest of our hang out session shoveling an entire cow’s worth of milk and ice cream into Aru until the spice eventually faded enough for her to make it back to her room. I made her promise that she would read the labels before grabbing random noodle cups from now on.

-

I slipped my shoes on, rubbed my eyes, and prepared for my night patrol. The alarm Monokuma had given blared the charming sounds of an out of tune trombone when it woke me up, which, while startling, had been very effective in getting me up and out of bed. At least this time I had a flashlight so I wouldn’t be stumbling around.

The hallways were eerily quiet. Throughout the day, I was used to hearing the students moving around or chatting to one another. The soundproofing in this school was truly something else, but the public areas still carried their voices and footsteps no matter how effective it was. When I passed by the dorms, I checked the doorways. Yep, all sixteen lights glittering in the dark, just how I liked it.

Satisfied with knowing the girls were safe, I continued my rounds to ensure that nothing had been set up in the meantime. The gym was empty, as usual, though I didn’t like how much it echoed when I stepped foot in it, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that Monokuma was going to pop up and reveal more about this game. The temptation to spit where he had set up his little welcome show was strong.

The kitchen and dining hall were empty as well. No knives out of place, all the tables lined up neat with the chairs pushed in. I imagined what this place would look like on a normal school day. I could envision Aru and Hifumi scrambling to get their work that they put off done while Hina helped them. Seia and Mika would be bickering over whatever tea was served that day while Izuna was trapped between them. I could even see Saori begrudgingly listening to Aris talk about the latest adventures in her game. What I would do to see my students have a normal school experience here.

Finally for this wing, the lounge. I had told Aris that if she wanted to play games at night, she had to come get me first. The way that girl got absorbed into them, if someone did try to kill her, she might not even notice she was supposed to be dead. The lounge was quickly becoming the go-to hangout spot, not that there were many options. Still, it put a smile on my face whenever I passed by and saw a group chatting or playing games or watching one of the movies offered. From the rumors floating around, Rio was banned from picking movies from now on, having chosen a documentary on the history of the avante garde movement. 

I swept my flashlight around the room to ensure that everything was in place and that the laundry room door was shut tight before heading back towards the academic wing. I did another check of the dorms and found something wrong. One of the lights was off. I didn’t have the order of the rooms memorized yet, so I couldn’t tell whose it was, but there was a faint glow coming from the library that clued me into where to go.

Picking up the pace, I hurried over to the library, hoping that it was just someone coming to read instead of plotting. When I arrived, I couldn’t see anyone right away, but I heard them shuffling around.

I knocked on one of the bookshelves. “Hey, whoever’s in here, can you come see me?” I called.

“Sensei?” a voice returned. Wakamo.

I didn’t have the chance to say anything because before I knew it, Wakamo was in front of me, mask off and tail wagging like crazy.

“Ah, my darling Sensei!” she said. Wait… darling? “Wakamo hoped that you would be on patrol!” She looped an arm around mine, tugging me deeper into the library. “Do you want to have some private time with me?”

I let her lead me to one of the reading areas where she had a few books laying around along with her mask. Monokuma’s message echoed in my head.

“What are you doing here so late?” I asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs as Wakamo sat next to me.

Wakamo’s face fell. “Does Sensei not want to spend time with me?”

“I do,” I assured, “But why not during the day?”

“Wakamo does not want to share Sensei’s attention.” She leaned in closer, her eyes looking borderline manic in the low light. “Now, you’re all mine!” She broke into a fit of giggles, kicking her feet in a manner way too adorable to match her usual intense demeanor. “I’m so happy!”

There was… definitely something not right with Wakamo. Then again, I don’t know what I expected from a teenage demolitions expert, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still my student, and I had a duty to her. With how she tended to isolate herself, it was also important for me to reach out to her as well. Even Saori would occasionally talk to someone else for a bit, but Wakamo was almost always alone. That wasn’t a good idea even in ideal conditions, so even though I still had part of my patrol to do, spending some time with her wasn’t a bad idea.

“What are you reading?” I asked.

Wakamo practically glowed as I asked, though she suddenly tucked her tail around her body. “Is Sensei really interested or are you just being nice?”

“I want to know.”

Even in the faint light, I could tell Wakamo was blushing. “Heehee… okay Sensei. Let Wakamo share a part of her with you!” She snatched up one of the books and pushed it into my hands. The title gave me pause.

Scenes of Destruction: A Compilation

“This is… what you’re into then?” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral.

Undeterred, Wakamo nodded. “Open it, open it! Look at the chaos inside! It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”

Not waiting for me, Wakamo leaned over and flipped open the book to a random page. It was a full spread of a dilapidated street, with crumbling buildings and infrastructure twisting up out of the ground. It looked like a war zone of some sort.

“How do you think they did it?” Wakamo gushed. “I bet if you placed a charge at these areas” – she pointed to several spots – “You could cause a chain reaction that would cause the buildings to topple like dominoes!” Her face split into a cruel, ecstatic smile. “The destruction would be simply wonderful!”

In lieu of a response, I simply flipped through the book. Each photo showcased a different place ravaged and scarred by various factors. Some were natural disasters, others were accidents, and some were the results of battles in wars being fought there. I didn’t know quite what to say. Based on the composition of the photos, the reader was definitely meant to feel somber or reflective while viewing them, but Wakamo took an almost perverse enjoyment in the pictures.

That was all in contrast to how… giddy? She looked. If someone told me about a person who found looking at war photos fun, I wouldn’t imagine them sighing wistfully or laying their cheek against the arm of my chair like she was. She seemed, I don’t know, content? That was probably the right word.

“Sensei,” Wakamo whispered. “It’s like you’re reading Wakamo a bedtime story!”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” I said, trying to remain noncommittal. I turned to the final page in the book and paused.

Wakamo sat straight up, her expression deadly serious. We looked at each other as if to confirm what we were seeing.

Unlike the rest of the book, the final page showed an actual fight happening between two groups. One group, holed up in a defensive position, was a group of young girls in school uniforms firing a whole squadron’s worth of guns at their attackers. Said attackers appeared to be looters of some kind, dressed in ragged, scrounged up clothes as they charged the girls. More concerning however, was what they wore on their heads.

Monokuma masks.

What… did that mean? Did Monokuma add a fake photo in here to mess with us? It was absolutely something he would do, but my gut told me no, this photo was real. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t contained to this school. Somewhere, people under Monokuma’s rule – or more likely, whoever was behind Monokuma – were out attacking even students.

“S-Sensei,” Wakamo said, her voice uncharacteristically shaky. While I had been thinking she had put her mask back on. “Look.”

When I saw what she meant, my breath caught in my throat. Though she was out of focus and blurry, it was impossible to mistake that silhouette. The purple outfit, the demonic bat-like wings sprouting from her lower back, the voluminous plume of white hair.

Standing behind the group of school girls, arm outstretched as if giving orders… was Hina.

Chapter Text

Monokuma Theater

Context is everything.

When you lack context, you miss crucial information that could change how you interpret things.

For example!

If I say, “I killed my grandma!”

You’d probably be horrified and think I’m a terrible person.

But you’re missing context!

The full context would be, “I killed my grandma by drowning her in the absolutely hideous birdbath she insisted on keeping in her front yard.”

See? With context, you understand that she deserved to die for her terrible taste.

-

“Seia, make sure the tablecloths hang evenly!”

The morning breakfast had been rushed through by a very excited Mika. Poor Aris barely even finished her rice before Mika was shoving her in the kitchen to be part of the cooking team. Not that there was much to cook, really. Monokuma, for all his many, many, many, many faults, at least kept everything from fresh foods to non-perishables stocked. Where he was getting these things was the least of my questions at the moment.

“So this will be the dessert table, and this will be the finger food table. Should we have one for soups? Silly me, why would there be soup at a party?”

Most of the students were helping out in some way or another, either with making their favorite snacks to set out or to help decorate. Those that weren’t helping were staying out of everyone’s way. I’m pretty sure Saori said something about being a “bodyguard” and then promptly went back to her room, and who knows where Wakamo got off to.

“A little bit higher, Rio! We don’t have much tinsel, so it should go right by the entrance.”

I hoped Wakamo was getting some sleep. After seeing that picture of Hina in the photography compilation last night, we both spent a few hours combing through book after book to see if there were any more. Nothing turned up. What did that picture mean? And why was Hina fighting people in Monokuma masks? Did she have something to do with this? Did she know something that she wasn’t telling us?

“I found some more cutlery in the storage room,” Hina said, managing to finally corral Mika who had been flitting from person to person giving out instructions on how to set up the dining hall. “Where do you want it?”

The thing was, I couldn’t see Hina hiding anything like that. She’d always been so straightforward and helpful, even if she sometimes said things that others didn’t want to hear. Next to Hoshino and Wakamo, she’d been the one to keep her cool the best as well. Maybe it was because she had more information so she wasn’t as worried? I couldn’t just go accusing her of anything with only a blurry picture as evidence.

“Spread them out on that far table and then– No, no, no! Yuuka! The pink napkins go on the dessert table, on either side of the cake stand.”

“Why does this school even have all of this crap?” Yuuka muttered.

I would have to talk to her at some point. I kept the book in my room on the off-chance that another student stumbled across it. In the wrong hands, that could lead to catastrophe. Wakamo had sworn herself to secrecy, and I believed her, if only because of how giddy she seemed about having a “secret between me and Sensei!” That aside, she took the situation seriously and was willing to let me handle Hina, so I was grateful for that.

“Sensei.”

But how was I supposed to even broach the topic? Hey Hina, any chance you’ve fought some masked freaks lately? She’d think I’m crazy. And if she’s involved, then doing so may very well put me at risk, or at the very least spur her into doing… something.

“Sensei~”

Of course, this was all assuming she was complicit with this game. For all I knew, that could be a picture of when she was captured. But if that was the case, then… What happened to the other girls she was fighting with? I didn’t want to think about that.

“Sensei!”

Plus, wouldn’t something like that have made the news? Masked assailants kidnapping prospective students of the most legendary school in the country? That would be bound to make headlines, especially given how intense the firefight looked in that photo.

And that was assuming it was a real photo

Monokuma could, again, just be messing with us. I hated that I had to second guess everything that was right in front of me because it might be a trick, but that was where I was at.

“SENSEI!”

“Wha– OOF!” I grabbed my arm as blunt pain spread from where Mika had hit.

“Oops! Sorry, Sensei. I forget how strong I am sometimes.”

She didn’t look particularly sorry with that cheery smile on her face, but damn did she pack a punch. Not what I would have expected from the Ultimate Princess. “Sorry, I was spacing out.”

“We could tell,” Yuuka said. “I told you those night patrols were going to wreck your sleep schedule.”

“You should listen to your adoptive mother, Sensei,” Seia said with a subtle smile pulling at her lips.

Yuuka turned beet red. “I a-am not that grown man’s mother! Is it so weird to want my teacher to get proper sleep?”
“It is a logical line of thought,” Rio said, securing the last bit of tinsel in place with a piece of tape. “Sensei, perhaps you should rest today.”

“I’m fine,” I said, then turned my attention to Mika. “What did you need?”

Smiling, Mika produced two plates. One had a floral pattern with little Monokuma cherubs on it, the other was a simple white dish with a black underside. No extra credit for figuring out who that was based off of. “Which do you think would look better for the sandwiches?”

I raised an eyebrow. “I really don’t have an opinion. I guess the flower one looks fancier.”

“And it has a devilishly handsome bear on it, too.”

Mika gasped. “Sensei! I didn’t know you felt that way about Monokuma!”

“He doesn’t,” Yuuka said, scowling. “We have unwanted company.

“Oh, I’m wounded!” Monokuma cried, clutching where his heart would be. “Even after I provided all of these fun party favors for you all!”

Rio stepped down from the ladder. “Saying you ‘provided’ them is a stretch. Given the wear and tear, along with the dust we had to wash off, it’s obvious that they were simply tossed in there at a previous point in time.”

Having finished smoothing out the final tablecloth, Seia joined the group. “Ah, so that’s what that dream last night meant. I dreamt that a malignant presence would join us today and so it has come to pass.” She waved him off. “And now that the premonition has come true, you may leave.”

“Oh come on, guys,” Monokuma said, “It’s so lonely being headmaster! All I can do all day is watch you not kill each other! Don’t you know how boring that is?”

“Yeah, well get used to it,” Yuuka said. She crossed her arms and tutted. “It’s not happening and you’re not invited to this party.”

Monokuma recoiled as if he’d been struck by a bullet. “The horror! Being the only one not invited to a teen party! It’s like high school all over again. Literally!”

“Are you really only here to be a nuisance?” I asked. Motive aside, I was rather enjoying not hearing his scratchy voice.

Standing upright as if nothing happened, Monokuma said, “Of course I am! In fact, I’m about to be helpful to one of you ingrates, so come on, tell me how much you appreciate me.”

Crash

We all turned to where Mika was standing, shards of the floral plate at her feet. “Whoops!” she said, “I dropped it and now the little Monokumas are in a million pieces!”

Monokuma stomped up to Mika, expression stern. “You think you’re funny, huh? Do I have to remind you about General Rule 4? No one may harm me or my property. So I guess you’ll be the first one punished!”

“Hmm?” Mika tilted her head, a finger on her cheek. “You would punish me because I’m clumsy? That doesn’t sound like a thing a good headmaster would do! I mean, it’s not my fault I’m such a klutz.”

“It would reflect poorly on you to punish her for an honest mistake,” Seia added.

“Honest?! Princess Butterf****** did that on purpose!” Monokuma shouted.

Rio looked distressed. “Why did you censor yourself? What did you even say? How did you say it like that?”

Whirling his attention to Rio, Monokuma jabbed a stubby paw in her direction. “Because the last time I said the name of that stupid candy bar, I got sued for copyright infringement! How petty do you have to be to sue a bear?!” 

We all simply stared at him. He dropped his paw, dusted off his belly, then turned back to Mika. “Don’t let it happen again, pinkie. I know a thing or two about people’s true intentions.”

Smiling as cheerily as ever, Mika replied, “Whatever you say, Headmaster!”

“Grrrr…” Having gotten whatever that was out of his system, Monokuma hopped up on a nearby table, only to immediately stumble when the table lurched to one side. “Gah!” He fell to the ground and landed with a little squeak.

“Oh no. He fell,” Yuuka said. “So, Mika, I drew up a sketch for plate placement that’s mathematically optimized to fit the most plates. I think it looks okay, but it’s your party.”

“Don’t ignore me!” Monokuma whined. “Gosh, I hate this part where you all get confident and uppity. Means I have to be butt of the jokes until someone dies. Well, someone’s probably gonna eat it at the party, so I won’t have to wait too long! Happens more than you think.”

“No one will die at the party,” Seia said sagely. “I have foreseen that it will be a peaceful affair.”

“The last Ultimate Clairvoyant we had was a complete bum and he was less annoying than you!” One final time, Monokuma climbed up on the table, balancing carefully to avoid the unstable side of the table. “What I’ve been trying to say is that one of you lovely students has left your Student ID in your dorm room. As your attentive Headmaster, I felt it was my duty to inform you! And what a surprise, it’s our favorite clumsy princess who forgot it!”

“Oh? I did?” Mika started patting around her dress. Where… where did some of these girls keep their IDs? Rio and Yuuka had pockets in their blazers, but Seia and Mika didn’t appear to have any. You know what? I didn’t want to know.

“Yep indeedy!” Monokuma chimed. “You better go get it! I’ll be nice and unlock your dorm, but if it’s still there by nighttime, then you’ll be stuck outside all night! And then you’ll have to stay up all night to avoid punishment. Unless someone gets to you first upupupu!”

Monokuma faced me, his head cocked in confusion. “To be honest, I’m disappointed in you, teach. I thought you would have noticed, especially with the way you stare at the indicator lights like their lives depend on them.”

The way he worded that phrase didn’t escape me, but I elected to focus on another part of what he said. “The lights can be on when there’s no one in the room?”

“Yessir they can! They detect the presence of the Student IDs, not the students themselves. That technology was way too expensive. Especially since Sensei demanded such luxurious furniture in his room!”

“I didn’t demand anything!” I said, but it fell on apathetic ears as Monokuma disappeared under the table with a laugh. One day, I was going to punt that bear.

“Mika,” Seia chided. “I told you to be careful.”

“Oh come on, Seia, it’s not that big of a deal!” Mika said. “You’d let me stay in your room, after all. And the worst thing that happens is I just bunk with Sensei for the night.”

Rio pinched the bridge of her nose. “You are truly blasé to the point of irrationality.”

“Let’s go get your ID, Mika,” I said. While obviously I would keep Mika – or any of my students, for that matter – safe in my room if need be, I’d rather not give her or Mutsuki ammunition to tease me.

“E-excuse me…” Aris peeked out from the kitchen entrance, her usual Rapunzel-length hair tied back in a ponytail. “Sorry, but I did not want to emerge from sneaking while Monokuma was present.”

“That’s a sound decision,” Rio said. “It was unfortunate luck that we happened to be here when he showed up.”

“Tell me about it,” Yuuka said with an eyeroll, but she smiled when addressing Aris. “So what do you need?”

Returning the smile, Aris fully emerged from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron covered in stains from the cooking. I didn’t want to imagine what the rest of the kitchen looked like. “I would like to request an assist party member in the kitchen. We are a little overwhelmed, and Hoshino has decided to embark on a quest to find the most comfortable sack of flour.”

“Make sure she doesn’t fall asleep,” I said. We’d already had one close call today, so I doubted Monokuma would be feeling particularly merciful.

“I’ll help,” Yuuka said. “I’m not the best cook, but I can be an extra pair of hands.”

Another head popped out from the kitchen. Hifumi, looking a lot better than the last few days I’ve seen her. “Guys, guys look!” She presented a plate of cookies all decorated to look like Peroro. “Aren’t they cute?”

Rio smiled. “They are, yes. You’re very talented.”

“Ehe, thanks,” Hifumi said. “I’m gonna go make all of Momo and Friends!” With that, she ducked back into the kitchen.

Despite everything going on, the girls were still managing to have fun. I sat back and watched as they gushed over each other’s various creations and talked about how excited they were for the upcoming party. For once, I felt a sense of ease. This was how their school life should be, not some messed up killing game. Once we were out of here, I’d do everything I could to make sure they had the best school experience possible.

“Sensei, sensei!” Mika said. “Come with me and Seia to get my ID.”

“What? Why?”

Seia appeared on the other side of me and before I knew it, both girls had looped their arms around mine. “It’s quite simple, Sensei. This is a trap to lead you to your room so that you can get some rest.”

“You’ve been standing here like a zombie all morning! Get some sleep. We’ll wake you up in time for the party!”

“Girls, really, I’m fine, I just…” But there was no stopping them. I found myself being tugged along as Yuuka and Aris returned to the kitchen, while Rio stayed behind to sweep up the broken plate and continue decorating.

“No you’re not,” Mika urged, pouting slightly. “You barely said a word back there when normally you’d be all over talking badly about Monokuma.”

“I agree. Though it’s only been two nights, the patrols and the stress may be having an increased effect on you,” Seia said.

“So after we get my ID, you’re going to take a nap and come to the party refreshed! Even if I have to make you sleep in my room to do it!” Mika paused. “That, uh, that came out wrong.”

Before I could argue, we arrived at Mika’s door. The pixel art nameplate stared back at us with its deadpan expression. However, when Mika tried to open the door, she found it still locked.

“Ugh! That Monokuma is such a liar!”

“Why would he say he would unlock it, but then not follow through? For better and worse, he has come through on all of his promises so far,” Seia said.

I groaned. “He probably wanted to mess with us. Mika, stay with Seia for the time being, but if she needs space, you can stay in my room.”

“Have you tried your tablet, Sensei?”

We all turned to see who had spoken to find Hina walking towards us. I felt my throat hitch as I imagined her ordering young troops into battle. She definitely had the presence for it.

Seia’s eyes widened. “Do you truly believe Sensei’s tablet will work?”

Hina nodded. “Considering it would make it easier for him to enact Rule 4 of his, then yes, it’s a safe assumption.”

Ah, yes, I had willfully forgotten that I could end the game by killing one of my students. The thought was unimaginable to me, but it made a disgusting amount of sense that Monokuma would give me every possible method to make it happen. My fears were confirmed when I placed the Shittim Chest in front of the door and we heard a click followed by Mika pushing the door open.

“How impudent…” Seia said. She puffed out her cheeks in what I think was supposed to be anger, but to be honest, she just looked rather adorable. “There is no low that bear won’t stoop to.”

Having retrieved her ID, Mika rejoined us. “Ahaha I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Sensei wouldn’t do anything untoward would he?” She gave me a wink.

It had been two days. Two days. If this kept up, I was getting all of the girls together and we were talking about a little something called boundaries. Mika skipped off, with Seia running to keep up with her.

That left me standing next to Hina. Immediately, I started running through all of the different questions I wanted to ask her. Would now be a good opportunity, or should I do it somewhere more private? While the rooms were soundproof, the hallways definitely weren’t. Though that did beg the question…

“How did you know what we were doing, Hina?” I asked. This might be a good way to prod for information without directly asking.

“I overheard you all talking in the dining hall.” When I raised my eyebrows, she continued. “The sound carries. If you’re in this wing, you can hear pretty much anything.”

I hadn’t ever noticed. Then again, that might be what contributed to the eerie silence of nighttime. “You’re pretty observant, you know that?”

Hina looked away, twining a strand of her hair around her finger. “It’s… it’s nothing. I’m only doing my best to help everyone here.”

“Are you helping with the party, too?”

“No. The party will be good for morale, but it’s not something I’m particularly interested in.”

She grew quiet. She was a tough nut to crack, that was for sure. All business. Then again, maybe that was a good thing.

“Mika and Seia are right, by the way,” Hina suddenly said, looking up at me. “You need some sleep.”

This again? “Why does everyone think I’m so tired?”

Hina blinked. “Usually you’re pretty put together. But your fly has been down all morning.”

Damn it all.

-

As much as I hate to admit it, the nap helped considerably. I hadn’t realized just how tired I was until I heard knocking at my door and realized I’d slept for most of the day. Hopefully I’d be able to sleep tonight and not completely wreck my sleep schedule.

Knock knock knock

Right, right. The door.

“My lord, I’ve come to retrieve you!” It was Izuna. Her ears and tail flicked wildly in excitement.

“Thanks for waking me up,” I said as we headed towards the dining hall. “Though what’s with the ‘my lord’ thing?”

Izuna jumped in front of me, walking backwards so that I didn’t collide with her. “It’s what ninjas do! We all must have a lord to serve! And you’ve been so good at leading us, then it’s only natural for me to be your personal ninja. Nin nin!”

I’m pretty sure there was something in the staff handbook about student-teacher relationships, but I didn’t remember if it covered feudal Japanese lord-ninja ones. Either way, I couldn’t really say no given the amount of sparkles in Izuna’s eyes. If it made her happy, why not?

“I see, I see. And did my personal ninja help out with the party?”

Izuna nodded. “Yep! I used one of my secret ninjutsu! Izuna’s Stain Removing Technique!” She mimed washing a plate. “Grime and dirt stood no chance!”

I smiled at her. “Thank you for helping clean up, then.”

“Nin nin! The kitchen was so messy that there’s still more to do. Hifumi went crazy decorating the sweets.” She looked dizzy for a moment. “She used so many dishes, I think we lost some.”

Did that count as harming property? I’m sure Monokuma could twist it that way if he wanted, but given how the girls united against him whenever he showed up, I had faith they’d put him in his place.

We arrived at the dining hall to find the party in full swing. Rio and Yuuka were right by the entrance, both with a plate in hand.

“Sensei!” Yuuka said. “Did you get some rest? You better have.”

“He looks much better,” Rio said with an approving nod. “It may be necessary to skip out on a patrol from time to time if this becomes unsustainable.”

“Nin!” Izuna jumped in front of me. “My lord can absolutely handle it! He’ll keep us all safe. And if he needs, I’ll be there to provide support from the shadows.”

“You mean like when you were ‘hiding’ behind the couch today and we all saw you,” said a teasing voice. Mutsuki and Aru approached us.

“What?!” Izuna cried. “How did you all know I was there? Have I been neglecting my stealth training?”

Aru furrowed her brow. “Wait, when was she in the lounge with us? I didn’t notice anything.”

“Never!” Mutsuki replied.

“Eh? But you just said…”

Sticking her tongue out, Mutsuki continued, “I was just kidding! I didn’t know if Izuna was there or not. Well, until she confirmed it!”

“AHH!” Izuna blanched, whirling around to face me. “My lord! I’m sorry! I must train myself to not fall for such underhanded tactics!”

“Ha! Excellent work, Mutsuki!” Aru said. “If you ever want practice, little ninja, we can offer training sessions at a… reasonable fee.”

“We’ll start you off with Aru since she’s so easy to fool!”

“N-No I’m not!”

Yuuka sighed. “You’re too transparent, Aru.” She turned to me. “But let’s get out of the doorway. Pretty sure it’s a fire hazard to be crowded around it like this.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said. “I’m eager to see what you all put together.”

Making my way into the party, I was pleased to see that everyone was here. Yes, Wakamo was off in a corner by herself, Saori was examining each piece of food before she bit into it as if they were all individually poisoned, and Miyu was hiding underneath one of the tables, but they were here, and that was the important part.

For being put together from whatever they could scrounge up in the storage room, the dining hall really did look good. Most of the tables were in use, lined up around the perimeter of the room, each decorated with kitschy knick-knacks that Mika found particularly cute. Though mismatched and outdated, she’d managed to color-coordinate it well enough that it still looked nice.

Stacks of food lined the tables. The dessert table in particular overflowed with sugary concoctions. From decorated cookies with icing dripping onto the serving plates, to bites of cake cut unevenly so they were all different sizes, to bowls of fruit chopped up with the finesse of a cow on roller skates. It looked like someone even tried to make dango to… questionable results.

Skipping over the dessert for now, I grabbed a plate and headed to where the more substantial foods were laid out. There was no rhyme or reason to the dishes picked, it seemed. I had a hunch that everyone just made whatever their favorites were, cohesion be damned. Piles of clumpy karaage, plump gyoza with the filling oozing out, and sandwiches of every kind imaginable called to my suddenly growling stomach.

One thing I made absolutely sure to grab was a cookie decorated to look like Peroro. That plate was at the very end of the desert table, right next to the one where they had all of the drinks set up. It was honestly pretty well done, especially in comparison to some of the other more… interpretative decorations that the girls had done.

“Sensei!” Hifumi called, bouncing up to me. It made me happy to see her smiling and upbeat again. “Do you think Peroro tastes good?”

I took a bite, chomping right through Peroro’s goofy eyes. The cookie was almost teeth-rotting with how sweet it was, but it was soft and chewy and made by my students. “It’s delicious,” I said. “And it looks just as good.”

Giggling, Hifumi scooped up another Peroro cookie, holding it next to her bag for comparison. The resemblance was spot on. “Ehe thanks! I kinda got swept up in the cooking team, but it turned out to be really fun. And I got to do Peroro-sama justice, so it all turned out for the best.”

“Don’t let her fool you, Sensei,” Hoshino said, walking up to us with Shiroko and, surprisingly, Saori in tow. “Once she got started, it was impossible for the rest of us to keep up.”

“That didn’t stop you from trying to sneak off for a nap,” Shiroko said, chewing on a piece of chicken.

“It was hot in the kitchen, and extreme temperatures aren’t good for old timers!”

Saori sighed, and, for the first time, I noticed she wasn’t wearing her mask. She was quite pretty without it, her intense look only adding to her attractiveness. I wonder why she kept the mask on so much? “This turned out better than I expected,” she admitted.

“Ehe, I’m glad you came, Saori,” Hifumi said, taking the taller girl’s hand.

“Tsk…” the mercenary blushed and looked off to the side, though she didn’t shove Hifumi off. “If it wasn’t for that brat bugging me so much, I wouldn’t have.”

“That brat?” I asked, having a sneaking idea of who she was referring to.

“Mutsuki,” Shiroko clarified. “She followed Saori around singing some song called ‘California Girls’ until Saori agreed.”

“She could be a motive all on her own,” Saori said. “S-sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Hoshino waved it off. “Eh, you worry too much. We’re not a bunch of yellow-bellies like Sensei. We can take a joke.”

“Hey!”

The other girls laughed as Hoshino just shot me a thumbs up and a cheeky wink. What did “yellow-belly” even mean?!

“Sensei!!!” I heard an adorable voice call from across the room.

“Seems I’m wanted elsewhere,” I said, heading over to the center of the room where a table with a big bowl full of plastic containers had been set up.

“Heehee hi, Sensei!” It was Ibuki who had called me over. She didn’t have her jacket on, and her face was covered with frosting and crumbs. Next to her sat a stack of pudding cups that I had a feeling would only grow as the evening went on.

Hina and Seia, both with plates that held a actually reasonable amount of food, sat at the middle table. Seia fiddled with one of the plastic gashapon balls.

“Ibuki,” I chided, kneeling down and taking a napkin to her face. “You need to slow down or else I might mistake you for a dessert.”

Giggling, Ibuki simply let me wipe her face as Hina chuckled.

“I wouldn’t bother,” Hina said, gesturing to a neat pile of napkins on the table. “We’ve tried to keep up, but she’s a machine.”

“Ibuki can’t help it!” Immediately after I finished wiping her mouth, she shoved another scoop of pudding into it. “There’s so much yummy stuff, I wanna eat it all!”

Finally managing to pop open the prize, Seia held up the little plastic bird that was inside. “I have obtained victory!” she said.

“Quite the collection you all have here,” I said. The bowl was practically overflowing with prizes that looked to be from the Monomachine.

“Ibuki won all of them!” the small girl cheered. “I wanted to make the party extra special, and there have to be party favors!”

Covering her mouth politely, Seia said, “She also, by happenstance, prevented Monokuma from interrupting us.”

I raised my eyebrows. “How’d that happen?”

“She exhausted him by redeeming all the coins she found,” Hina explained. “He tried to show up before we sent Izuna to get you, but he got to the door and collapsed.”

“I believe his exact words were ‘Can someone set up a chair for me, or else I can’t attend!’” Seia’s eyes glimmered deviously. “And what a shame, but fate has decided that there were only seventeen chairs, one for all of us.”

“Mr. Meanie Bear was not invited!” Ibuki cried, shaking her head.

I don’t know what Monokuma’s goal was in setting up that room, but I think he underestimated the determination of a young girl when it came to getting toys.

“Excellent work, Ibuki,” I said. “And thank you for thinking of party favors. I’ll make sure everyone gets one.”

Ibuki squealed in delight before running off to go grab more food, with Hina and Seia following closely behind to make sure she didn’t inhale the whole buffet herself.

“Aris, get out of there and enjoy the party already! And Miyu, out, out, out from under the table!”

I looked over to see Mika grabbing Aris in one arm and Miyu in the other. Aris tried valiantly to get back into the kitchen, while Miyu tried less valiantly to scramble back under the table.

“I must complete my cleaning quest!” Aris said. She was still wearing her apron, but her ponytail had fallen into a messy clump.

“A-a-and I don’t want to ruin the party with m-my presence… not that anyone would n-notice it.” Miyu said, lying flat on the ground as if to make it as hard as possible for Mika to pull her.

“I put lots of effort into this party!” Mika said with a grunt. “So both of you,” – she gave one final, mighty tug – “Are going to enjoy yourselves!”

The other two girls lost the battle of wills and were yanked in front of Mika, looking defeated.

“What’s going on here?” I asked.

Aris scrambled to her feet. “S-Sensei! There is still much cleaning to be done in the kitchen. I cannot have tasks incomplete in my quest journal!”

“You’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow!” Mika insisted.

“But what if Monokuma sees the mess?”

Mika waved her off. “Being messy isn’t hurting anything, and if that bear has a problem with it, he can clean it himself.”

I looked down at Miyu, who was trying to army-crawl away from the situation. “Not enjoying the party?”

“Eeeep!” Miyu tried to scurry under the table again, but Mika planted her foot on Miyu’s sleeve. “I-I- I’m h-having fun, b-but it’s very l-loud and I d-don’t wa-want to get in a-anyone’s way…”

I reached down and offered Miyu my hand. “You won’t be. So get up off the floor. For me?”

Tentatively, Miyu took my hand and got to her feet. “O-okay…” she whispered.

I turned to Aris. “As for you, I have a quest for you. And it’s a main story quest, so it’s very important.”

Snapping to attention, Aris fully focused on me.

“Your quest is to be Miyu’s buddy for the rest of the evening.”

“Uuuueeee?” Miyu whined. “A-are y-you su–” 

“Quest accepted!” Aris said firmly. “I will not fail! Come on Miyu, let’s top off our health and then increase our social links with the others.”

Despite her body language saying otherwise, Miyu nodded. “O-okay, if y-you say so…”

“Don’t forget about me!” Mika said. “We’re gonna have loads of fun!”

The trio scampered off to go mingle with the rest of the partygoers. That left only one person who I hadn’t talked to yet tonight.

Tucked away in the farthest corner she could muster, Wakamo stood quietly, mask secure over her face. Even without being able to see her eyes, I could tell she was scanning the room. When she was around others, reading her thoughts was nearly impossible. I hoped that I could get her to open up to them the same way she opened up to me.

“Heya, Wakamo,” I said.

“Sensei…” she whispered. Her rigid posture relaxed a bit, curling in on herself like she was shy. “You came to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

I didn’t think I said anything particularly noteworthy, but Wakamo’s tail swished back and forth when I said that. “Is… Is Sensei happy that Wakamo is at the party?”

“I am!” I said genuinely. “I was worried that you wouldn’t show up.”

Wakamo hummed. “Hina said that you would be… She is smart to take advantage of Wakamo’s feelings like that.”

Ah, so that’s what happened. Hina probably convinced Wakamo by ensuring that I would be here and would be sad if she wasn’t. Underhanded, but clever.

“Have you eaten anything?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation to more positive topics.

Wakamo shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry,” she said. As soon as she said it, her stomach growled, giving her away.

“C’mon, Wakamo,” I said. “I know it’s hard to trust people right now, but even when we get out of here, these are going to be your classmates. I want you to be able to be friends with them.”

“Why?” she asked. “I only need my darling Sensei…”

“Because one day I might not be around, and I want you to have others you can rely on.”

Wakamo didn’t look convinced. Her ears twitched in annoyance, so I figured I’d best back off for now. Still, I couldn’t just have her going hungry.

“Here,” I said, picking up a piece of karaage from my plate and holding it out to her. “Try some chicken. Say aaaahhhh.”

If a girl could spontaneously combust, I think Wakamo might have done it just then. “S-Sensei is g-going to f-feed Wakamo?” She immediately lifted her mask to showcase her full-face blush. Her eyes shimmered with excitement and I think she might have been drooling a bit. “Ah… Aaaaaahhhh.” She opened her mouth, showing off her sharp canines and squeezed her eyes shut.

Gingerly, I popped the piece of chicken into her mouth. She chewed it slowly, as if every bite was the best she ever tasted. I wasn’t enabling anything unhealthy in her, right? This was okay? I hoped so.

“Hah…” she breathed. “Thank you, Sensei… I hope one day you’ll let Wakamo feed you…” The tone of her voice made me question if I would have a choice. Still, I’d gotten her to eat her classmate’s cooking, so I would count that as a win.

Before I could continue the conversation, a commotion stirred over by the drinks.

“Ahh! Peroro!!!” It was Hifumi’s voice.

When I made my way over to the scene, I saw that one of the containers of cranberry juice had spilled to the floor, and the table was lopsided. It was probably the unstable one Monokuma had tried to stand on earlier.

“What happened?” I asked.

Hifumi looked up at me, holding up her Peroro bag with tears in her eyes. A massive red splotch spread from his belly to his face. “I w-was going to get another cookie and I must have bumped th-the table. The juice spilled and it’s all over Peroro-sama!” She gripped her bag tighter. “He’s a limited edition!”

“If you throw him in the wash fast enough, you should be able to get the stain out,” Hoshino said.

“B-but what if the machine’s too rough for him?” Hifumi said.

Aru scoffed. “That thing has a million different settings. I’m sure there’s one that’ll work.”

Still teary-eyed Hifumi nodded. “O-okay. Can… Can someone come with me?”

“I’ll go,” Shiroko offered.

“Me too,” Hoshino added. “It’s getting kind of late anyway, so this old girl will need to be getting to bed.”

Fortunately, the party got back into full swing not long after. Aris quickly cleaned up the spilled juice, and several others moved the rest of the drinks off of the wobbly table and spread them amongst the more stable ones. I even saw Hifumi, Shiroko, and Hoshino return at some point, though Hifumi did look odd without Peroro on her back.

After a while, I stood back and took a survey of everyone. The first couple days, the girls had stuck to their known friends or stayed by themselves, so seeing them all mingling and chatting and getting along was something I needed. Plus, the way they came together to make this party happen so quickly? Truly impressive, and something that I would need to reward them for in some capacity later. 

For the first time since getting here, I felt… truly hopeful. No matter how many assurances or promises I made, there was always a nagging feeling in the back of my head that one of these girls could slip and someone would wind up dead, but seeing them all have a good time and take care of each other – was that Izuna talking to Wakamo?! – it made me feel confident that we could get through this. Together.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Good evening, party-goers! It is now 10pm and officially nighttime! Time to get some shuteye! Sleep tight, don’t let the killers bite!”

Click

“Aww…” Ibuki whined. “But Ibuki almost broke her record for the most pudding cups eaten.”

“And I believe you said that you threw up the last time you tried that,” Hina said, patting her on the back. “Come, let’s get back to the dorms.”

Aris raised her hand. “But what about the mess?”

“What about it?” Saori said. “We can clean it in the morning. Monokuma can shove it if he says otherwise.”

“I agree,” I said. I clapped my hands together to get everyone’s attention. “You all did a wonderful job with the party tonight, and you should be proud. So everyone get some well-earned rest tonight, and we’ll worry about cleaning up tomorrow. Sound good?”

A wave of affirmations washed through the girls as they began to filter out of the dining hall. I checked in with them one-by-one as they returned to their rooms. Once everyone was accounted for, I headed back to my room, ready to call it a night.

-

…

…

…

I couldn’t settle down. Having spent most of the day asleep, the second I laid down in bed, I found myself tossing and turning. With a sigh, I stood up, slipped my shoes on, and grabbed my flashlight. Maybe walking around the school would help tire me out a little, and I did say that I would vary up my patrol times.

I stepped out into the dim hallway, ready for a quiet night. As usual, I headed to the dorms first. However, when I arrived, my heart dropped. Not just one, but several indicator lights were off.

The worst case scenarios bombarded my brain, and I took off towards the lounge, not even taking the time to see who was missing. If anyone was in danger, then every second counted.

I stormed into the lounge, whirling my flashlight into every corner, trying to find a hint of a student or a sign of a trap or something! As my mind raced to figure out the best path to search, I heard a clattering sound in the direction of the gym.

I tore off in that direction. Was someone setting something up? The motive! Had someone acted on the motive and were luring another into the gym? What was in the gym that could be used to kill someone? It didn’t matter because they could have moved something from the storage room.

“Hey!” I called, bursting through the gymnasium doors.

Silence responded. My flashlight illuminated a cone of light as I swept it back and forth.

“I heard someone in here!” I yelled out. “So come out right now!”

Clatter clatter

What was that?! I shone my flashlight in the direction of the bleachers. A shadow scurried under them, just ahead of where I could see, then disappeared into the inky blackness.

Charging forward, I maneuvered under the bleachers. Nothing. No one. Only the metal supports holding the whole array up.

Slam

Another sound, this time behind me. When I looked back, I saw that the doors to the gym had been forcibly closed. Was this bait? Was someone trying to lock me in here so I couldn’t interfere with their plans?!

It felt like I crossed the gym in only a few steps with how quickly I arrived at the door. When I pulled on them, they opened with no resistance, sending me tumbling back with how unexpectedly easy it was.

Hurrying to my feet, I was about to run out when I heard something behind me once again.

I turned around, shining my flashlight into the dark. Sitting there, reflecting the shine of my flashlight, were two glowing red eyes.

“B-b-boo!”

…

…

…

“WAAAAAH!” I screamed, tossing the flashlight into the air and sending it skittering across the gym floor.

“Ahahahaha!”

“Kufufufu!”

A pair of distinctive laughters echoed through the gym, and the lights flickered on, revealing Mika standing by the lightswitch, Mutsuki hovering over my flashlight, and Miyu cowering on the ground.

“Ah we got you good, Sensei!” Mika laughed, flitting over to where I was.

Mutsuki picked up the flashlight and pointed it at her face. “Ooooh! So scary! Your students! Kufufu, don't tell me our teacher is a big scaredy cat!”

With my heart settling down in my chest, and my mind finally catching up to what was happening, I realized that I’d been had. If I had to guess, it was Mika making the noises and Mutsuki climbing under the bleachers. She was small enough to get through without much issue.

The one that surprised me, however, was Miyu. As I walked up to her, she put her hands on her head. “S-sorry Se-Sensei…” she whimpered. “Th-they told me they had an idea and I d-didn’t want to do it b-but I didn’t know how to say no and…” She trailed off.

“Oh boo,” Mutsuki said. “Don’t blame this all on us. You were the one who came up with it after all!”

“N-no I didn’t!”

“You totally did!” Mutsuki insisted. “You’re so easy to miss that it gave me the idea to use you to scare Sensei, so that means it was your fault!”

“Uueeee… I’m s-sorry!”

I sighed, debating how many detentions it would take to make up for the years they just took off of my life. However, my desire to see them disciplined was overruled by my relief that they were safe.

“All of you,” I said sternly. “That’s not the type of prank to be pulling right now.” I fixed Mutsuki in particular with a hard stare. “Tomorrow, you’re cleaning up the rest of the kitchen by yourself.”

A look of disbelief crossed the prankster’s face. “What?! Why just me?”

“Because my gut tells me that you were the mastermind behind this. Miyu obviously got peer-pressured into it and Mika probably did it because you said it would be fun.”

“Hey!” Mika said, “I’m not that impulsive!”

“Is that what happened?”

“... Maybe.”

I crossed my arms. “My point stands. But don’t think you two are completely off the hook either. Both of you will be in charge of making sure everything gets back into the storage room.”

While Mika tried to protest, Miyu simply nodded. I felt bad for her, but I didn’t want to set the precedent that they could just do this kind of thing. Maybe in the normal school year I could laugh it off, but not right now.

“All of you,” I said, my voice much softer. “I get that this was only a prank, but I was scared for you. If something happens to one of you… I don’t know what I’ll do. So promise me something. Keep your tricks lighthearted, okay?”

Even Mutsuki had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. “Sorry, Sensei,” she said, sounding genuine for the first time since I had met her.

“Yeah, we took it too far, didn’t we?” Mika said, clasping her hands in front of her.

“R-really, r-really sorry, S-Sensei,” Miyu added, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Confident that they were being sincere, I let my shoulders relax. “Thank you. Now, let’s get you back in bed. You’ve got a long day of cleaning ahead of you.”

That got a groan out of Mutsuki and Mika. Even Miyu scrunched her nose.

I herded them out of the gym and back to their rooms, wishing them each a goodnight. When the last door was shut, I checked the sixteen lights once again. All of them were lit up and twinkling brightly.

For all of the excitement of the evening, my students were safe.

Monokuma Theater

Dramatic irony is the literary technique where the audience has knowledge of something that the characters don’t.

But what I don’t get is what’s ironic about it?

Because irony is when events or words are the opposite of what’s expected.

So if the audience knows something is going to happen, doesn’t that make it expected?

Words transition meanings all the time, so it could be that.

Or it could be that your literature teacher didn’t understand irony either and was making shit up!

How ironic.

-

Morning arrived much too quickly. Even after all of the sleep I got yesterday afternoon, I still ended up sleeping through my alarm for my second patrol without realizing it. A part of me wanted to roll over and keep sleeping, but I had to make sure that the trio from last night fulfilled their punishment.

Plus, I figured Monokuma would harass me until I got his precious dining hall cleaned up.

I stumbled into the hallway with a yawn and made my way to the dorms. All sixteen lights were still on, which didn’t surprise me. I was sure most of the girls were tired from the party.

Before I passed, however, two doors opened. Hoshino emerged from her room with an even bigger yawn than I ever thought possible, and Yuuka was carrying a bag of what I assumed to be laundry.

“G’morning, Sensei,” Hoshino waved before letting her arm drop. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Is it?” Yuuka asked. How she was always so put together in the mornings, I’d never understand. “This is pretty much routine at this point.”

“Oh yeah? I guess I miss it every morning. Hard to get my creaky joints going in the morning, you know?”

Yuuka rolled her eyes. We’d all grown accustomed to Hoshino’s old age comments pretty quickly.

“Doing laundry?” I asked Yuuka. “Monokuma gave me so many copies of my outfit that I still have plenty.”

Nodding, Yuuka shifted her bag to her other shoulder. “I like to keep on top of things. Don’t want to be fighting everyone for laundry time when we all inevitably run out of clothes to wear.”

As expected of someone as punctual as Yuuka. “That’s a good idea. I might do the same.”

“You should. I’m not going to be taught by a teacher who can’t keep himself clean. And there’s no way I’d ever wash your clothes for you!” Yuuka turned on her heel and strutted off towards the laundry room.

“I… never asked her to?” I said, looking at Hoshino in confusion.

She simply shrugged. “Who knows? Let’s get some grub. I don’t think we put any of the food away last night, so we should get something out of the fr–”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Yuuka’s scream pierced through the quiet of the morning, and Hoshino and I didn’t waste a second before we sprinted through the hallways, into the lounge, and to the doorway of the laundry room, where Yuuka stood stock still, her laundry bag dropped in a lump by her feet.

“Yuuka, what’s–”

The rest of the words never made it out of my mouth.

“Wh-what…?” Yuuka’s voice was hollow.

“No… no!” Hoshino choked out.

I couldn’t say anything. The world simply stopped moving and everything disappeared around me, leaving me staring into the laundry room alone. Grotesque despair swelled into every limb as I took in what had caused Yuuka to scream.

Lying dead on the floor, surrounded by a pool of her own blood, a bag placed over her head, clutching her Peroro backpack…

Was Ajitani Hifumi, the Ultimate Fangirl.

Chapter Text

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will begin!”

Click

I don’t remember falling to my knees, I don’t remember screaming, I don’t remember Hoshino shaking me. I don’t remember anything but the world darkening until the only things remaining were me and Hifumi’s lifeless body.

Even with the bag over her head, it was clearly her. Her simple white top, her twintails poking out from beneath the bag, and the way she clung to Peroro even in death. It was her. It was Hifumi. Hifumi was dead. One of my students who I had sworn to protect was dead. And another one of my students had killed her.

“Sensei… are we going to be okay?”

She’d asked me that the very first day here. I swore to her that we would be, that we’d make it out of here. And now she was dead. The first victim in this sick game. I wanted to vomit, wanted to cry and scream and bash Monokuma’s face in. The only thing holding me back was the sound of the other students storming in and reacting to the scene.

“How… how did this happen…?” Shiroko.

Why her? Why Hifumi?! What had she done wrong?

“Blood– Urk! There’s so much blood!” Izuna.

Nobody deserved this, but especially not her. She wouldn’t have hurt a fly.

“D-does a-anyone have a r-r-revival potion?!” Aris.

She’d been the first student I ran into, the one who introduced me to all of the others.

“Hifumi! HIFUMI! No no no no! Hifumi wake up!” Ibuki.

She was improving. She was smiling! She was making friends. And now all of that was taken from her.

“I warned you all.” Saori.

Finally, all the students were crowded in the laundry room, reactions of shock, disgust, and fear rippling through them. The only one missing was…

“WAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!”

Monokuma.

“That’s what I’m talking about, baby! That’s some grade-A despair right there! OWH! I’m fired up now. Took you weenies long enough, but looks like ol’ twintails finally had the decency to get offed!”

His voice sickened me. The way he cheered for Hifumi’s death, the way he was reveling in our anguish. Before I knew what I was doing, I picked Monokuma up by the neck and slammed him against the wall. I think Aru screamed.

“You bastard!” I shouted. “You did this!”

“Me?!” Monokuma replied, sounding genuinely offended. “Lil ol’ me didn’t do nothing,  y’hear? It was all one of you!” He brandished his claws, holding them close to my throat. “And by the by, I should remind you that you’re not exempt from the rule about harming the headmaster.”

“Sensei, drop him,” Hina said. “It’s not worth it.”

“Please, Sensei,” Ibuki whimpered.

Why?! Why shouldn’t I tear his stuffing out right here and now? No, they’re right. My students are right. Hurting Monokuma won’t accomplish anything. It probably won’t make me feel better, either. Still incensed, but more in control, I dropped Monokuma to the ground. “Say what you’re going to say and leave.”

“So scary! NOT!” He dusted himself off before continuing. “But since I am a bear of my words, someone’s been murdered, that means one of you naughty kids had the audacity to break up our happy school life and have become the Blackened!”

“So it really was one of us,” Rio said solemnly, eyes downcast.

“Yes indeedy! One of you is the culprit, and it’s up to the rest of you losers to find out whodunnit! I kept the crime scene in the exact same condition. Aren’t I a nice bear? I’ll even give you a treat for getting this killing game started: The Monokuma File!”

A wave of beeping caused us all to look at our tablets. The aforementioned Monokuma File mocked me with its garish colors and flashing exclamation mark urging me to tap it.

“I know you’re all super excited to get investigating, but remember you only have a limited time before the best part: the class trial! So don’t dilly-dally, or else the Blackened will get away! Aaaaaahahahahaha!” Like always, Monokuma vanished into thin air.

“S-so now w-what?” Aru asked, her voice shaking. “We seriously have to investigate a murder?”

“Unless you want to be punished while the killer goes free, then yes,” Saori said. She pulled her cap low over her eyes. “I’m going to look around. You’re all free to join me, just don’t get in my way.”

“Hold it!” Yuuka objected. “How do we know you’re not the killer and are going to go mess with the evidence?”

Saori fixed her with a harsh glare that Yuuka, surprisingly, didn’t back down from. “Because I just said you can join me. Or did you get stabbed in your ear?”

“That’s–!”

“Both of  you, stop it,” I said. I wasn’t about to let bickering get in the way of finding Hifumi’s killer. Though it pained me to know that I was about to search for one of my students, I owed it to the young fangirl to see justice. “Everyone pairs up. No one searches alone, not even me. Is that understood?”

Yuuka and Saori exchanged sheepish glances. “Yes, Sensei,” they said in unison.

“A few people should stay and guard the body,” Hoshino added. “Even in pairs, it’d be easy for someone to hide something while their partner is distracted.” All traces of the tiredness I’d associated with Hoshino had vanished from her voice, leaving a cool confidence that made me wonder if her sleepy self was all an act.

“Nin nin! Izuna will volunteer! My ninja senses will alert me if anything’s wrong!”

Shiroko stepped forward next. “Hmm, I’ll stand guard as well. No one will mess with the crime scene on my watch.”

The rest of the students dispersed on their own to go investigate, leaving only me, Izuna, Shiroko, and Hoshino remaining in the laundry room.
“Looks like us old timers are partners, Sensei,” Hoshino said. “Where do you want to start?”

I didn’t want to start anywhere, but saying that would just be me lashing out. Hoshino didn’t deserve that. I turned my attention to Hifumi’s body. We’d definitely have to search it for clues but… not yet.

“The Monokuma File,” I said, flicking on the Shittim Chest once again.

Monokuma File 1 - Ajitani Hifumi

The victim of this case is Ajitani Hifumi. The cause of death is blood loss due to multiple stab wounds. The approximate time of death is 10:33 p.m.

There are multiple stab wounds on her stomach and one on her chest. A bag has been placed over her head.


>>Evidence Added: Monokuma File 1<<

My breath hitched when I read the time of death. I was on patrol during that time. I went into the fucking lounge. Hifumi was on the other side of the door bleeding out, and I was right there. I could have… I could have helped her. If only I had opened that damn door, Hifumi might still be alive!

Why did Mutsuki have to rope Mika and Miyu into playing that prank? I could have checked the laundry room and saved her, or at least given her a fighting chance. What was wrong with them anyway? What they did… it led an innocent girl to her death.

“My lord…” Izuna said, reaching out towards me, then pulling back. “You look angry.”

I didn’t realize how twisted my face had become until I forced it to relax. Izuna’s eyes were wide with fear, and Hoshino and Shiroko both seemed concerned.

She… she was right. I was being too harsh. The others didn’t mean to do any of that, and I had to imagine that they were dealing with their own feelings of guilt right now. I’d have to process that another time.

For now, I needed to focus. I was upset, yes, but anger or grief wouldn’t solve this case. I took a few deep breaths, then a few more just to be sure. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll be okay.”

Hoshino gave me a small smile. “I know it’s hard. But we’re here for you just like you’re here for us, okay?”

Her reassurance made me feel better, especially with Shiroko and Izuna nodding in agreement. I had good students. Even if one had committed such a horrid act, they were still good girls, just thrust into a horrible situation.

“We should search the body,” Hoshino said, her smile falling. “I can do it if you’re uncomfortable, Sensei.”

“If we need to look under her clothes, then I’ll let you handle it, Hoshino. But… I’m the teacher, so I can’t be afraid to get my hands dirty.”

Easier said than done. As I knelt down to examine Hifumi, the first thing that caught my attention was the bag on her head.

“That bag seems out of place,” Hoshino said.

I nodded. “The Monokuma File didn’t mention any sort of head injuries, so why put a bag over her head?” It was something to keep in mind, I supposed.

>>Evidence Added: Bag Over Hifumi’s Head<<

Izuna’s ears drooped. “It seems so mean to do that. Can we… Can we take it off?”

I didn’t see a reason why we couldn’t. If anything, it might reveal more clues the killer tried to cover up. Bracing myself, I slowly lifted the paper bag from her head, and when I did, I felt my heart about to burst.

Hifumi’s eyes were wide open, her cheeks streaked with tear stains. Her yellow eyes, once shining and full of exuberance, now glassy, dead, and empty. An expression of pure terror forever etched itself onto her face. She’d died alone, betrayed by someone who was supposed to be her friend, with the teacher who was supposed to protect her only a room away. A sob lodged in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I had to be strong.

Not seeing anything amiss with her head or face, I took two fingers and gently shut her eyes, then wiped her cheeks with my sleeve. She looked more peaceful that way, to the point I could almost indulge myself in the fantasy that she was asleep. I only hoped that wherever she was, Peroro was there with her to have endless fun adventures.

“Sensei.” Hoshino’s voice broke me out of my musings. She knelt next to me and shifted Hifumi’s bag away from her chest, showing off the bloody stabs that dotted her torso. “There’s something odd about her injuries.”

“Really?” I didn’t see anything different other than their sizes, but there was no pattern to them as far as I was aware.

“Mhm. These wounds on her stomach are all over the place, like she was being stabbed quickly. They’re also fairly shallow. But this one,” – she pointed to Hifumi’s chest – “this one is much cleaner and goes all the way to her heart.”

“Wow! How can you see all that, Hoshino?” Izuna asked.

Scratching the back of her head, Hoshino just chuckled. “Ueeh, when you get to my age, you pick up some stuff.”

As someone decidedly older than her, I certainly didn’t just “pick up” on that, but I decided not to press the issue. It was a good find, so I noted it down for later.

>>Evidence Added: Different Stab Wounds<<

“My lord, check out her fingers,” Izuna said.

Though it pained me to do it, I carefully uncrossed Hifumi’s arms, keeping Peroro steady on her body; it didn’t seem right to separate them. The fingers on Hifumi’s left hand were clean, but the fingers on her right had small amounts of blood particularly concentrated under her nails.

“I don’t see why that’s suspicious,” Hoshino said. “She probably tried to stem the bleeding with her hands before using her backpack.”

Izuna shook her head. “In my ninja dojo, if someone gets hurt and uses their hands to stop the bleeding, blood gets all over the place! But her blood is only around her fingertips on one hand.”

That… made sense. If she had tried to keep herself from bleeding out, I would have expected to see a lot more blood on her palms and such, not just around her nails.

>>Evidence Added: Bloody Fingernails<<

I didn’t see anything else abnormal about her body, so I got to my feet, and when I did so, Shiroko called me over. “Sensei, look at this.” On the far end of the laundry room, over by the shelves with detergent, Shiroko had pulled one of them away and was looking behind it.

“What did you find?”

“I found where the paper bag came from, I think.”

Tucked behind several boxes of detergent and dryer sheets, a stack of paper bags was conspicuously stashed just out of sight. “Nice one, Shiroko,” I said. “What caught your attention?”

Shiroko gestured to the area behind the shelving. Various items were scattered on the floor as if they’d fallen. The powder detergent, especially, was all over the place. Some of it had even gotten on my shoes just from walking around.

“Looks like in their haste to grab a bag, the killer knocked over some of the stuff here, but didn’t clean it up,” Shiroko said.

>>Evidence Added: Powdered Detergent on Floor<<

I was about to wrap up the investigation of this room, when Aris and Rio walked in. “How’s it going?” Rio asked, noticeably grimacing, eyes never quite leaving Hifumi’s body.

“We’ve found some clues,” Hoshino said, “But nothing concrete.”

Aris pulled her jacket closed, burying her chin in its collar. “I wish I could be of more help, but I am not that experienced with the murder mystery genre.”

“Anything you see, Aris, just point out to us,” I said, trying to comfort her. “It all could come in handy.”

Wordlessly, Aris nodded, then appeared as if she was going to go somewhere else, only to stop in her tracks. “Sensei!” she said. “Look behind Hifumi’s b-body. Is that something suspicious? The blood, I mean.”

The blood? Hifumi was laying in a pool of her own blood from her injuries, but that wasn’t… oh I see! Behind Hifumi, the blood wasn’t pooled like I’d expected. Instead, it was more of a streak. Was Hifumi’s body moved at some point?

>>Evidence Added: Streaked Blood<<

“That’s odd,” Rio commented, jotting a note down on her clipboard. “It looks like someone tried to drag her body? Why move it only a few feet?”

“Bodies are heavy,” Hoshino said. “Even a little’un like Aris here probably weighs more than we expect.”

“Hey! My weight limit is fine! You would not be over-encumbered carrying me!”

Hoshino was very quickly becoming a source of levity that I desperately needed. “Any final observations about this room?” I asked. I nearly missed the blood streak despite it being so obvious, so I wasn’t taking any chances.

With everything accounted for in this room, Hoshino and I headed into the lounge. To think I’d been ruminating about how cozy the place was just the other day. It would be hard to play games here now without thinking of Hifumi.

“How’s the search going, Sensei?” Hina said. She had been by the TV set. Ibuki clung to Hina’s uniform, eyes puffy and face wet.

“H-Hifumi…” she murmured before coughing up another sob, then buried her face in Hina’s side.

Though my first instinct was to comfort her, I couldn’t find the words. Someone so young shouldn’t have to deal with this. None of them should. Hell, I shouldn’t have to.

Gently running her fingers through Ibuki’s hair, Hina whispered a few words into Ibuki’s ear. “Ibuki found something, didn’t she?” she said, now addressing me and Hoshino

Ibuki didn’t show her face. Instead, she nodded and jutted out her arm to point at a spot on the rug. At first, I didn’t see what she was pointing at, but  on closer inspection, there was a smudgy, faded, white imprint on the rug in the vague shape of a shoe.

“We’ve tried to match it with one of our shoes, but it’s too smudged to be definitive,” Hina explained. “All we can tell is that it seems the footprint is going away from the room.”

“Anything is helpful, thanks, you two.”

>>Evidence Added: Smudged Footprint<<

After the immediate crime scene, I wasn’t quite sure where to check next, but Hina suggested that we take a look in the dining hall as several students were investigating there.

Once we arrived, I saw Mika and Seia had paired up and were looking around the still messy room.

“Sensei and Hoshino,” Seia greeted us with a small bow. “How are you two holding up? Forgive me for not remaining at Hifumi’s side, but seeing her in such a state is… difficult.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, trying my best to sound comforting instead of stern. I wasn’t mad at Seia, but an unhealthy part of me felt little sympathy after I had just finished investigating her corpse.

“Have you found anything?” Hoshino asked.

With a flourish, Mika produced what looked to be a rubber stopper. “I discovered this down by the wobbly table. It was sitting out in the open, but with all the chaos last night, I don’t think anyone noticed it.

While I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of that, I still made sure to note it down.

>>Evidence Added: Rubber Stopper<<

Seia looked up at and around at the decorations when she suddenly paused, putting a hand to her chin. “Do the decorations look different to anyone else?”

We all followed her gaze. The gaudy tinsel still hung around the border, but a part of it had fallen near the entrance.

“So what?” Mika said. “It probably fell sometime overnight.”

“Can never be too careful,” Hoshino said, heading over to where the tinsel was dangling. “Ah, come look at this.”

Along the bottom of the wall, flush against the baseboards, was a long broom. The very tip of the handle just barely peaked out from underneath the table. Tracing its length, the mop head lined up with the feet at the other end of the table, though it rested away from the wall.

“I wondered where that went!” Mika said.

>>Evidence Added: Broom Under the Table<<

Despite the mess, there didn’t seem to be anything else of note, at least to my eye. Hoshino and I were about to head to the kitchen when Mika grabbed my sleeve.

“S-Sensei,” she said, her voice shakier than I was used to. “A-about last n-night… You… you don’t think that I had anything to do with this… do you?”

Mika, who was usually so brash and whimsical, flinched as she dropped my sleeve. She refused to make eye contact with me. “I… don’t know,” I said. I was disgusted with myself for not being able to say no definitively, but right now, if I cut out any potential lead, then I could inadvertently let Hifumi’s killer go free. My gut instinct told me that Mika was innocent, but my gut instinct told me that my students were safe last night, so I knew damn well what my gut was worth.

Nodding as if she expected the answer, Mika let her shoulders sag a bit. “We’ll… we’ll find who did this. We won’t let them get away.”

I didn’t reply, instead patting her shoulder. I didn’t have it in me to try to find the words right now.

“Don’t touch anything!” That was Yuuka’s voice.

“I’ll touch whatever the hell I want.” And that was Saori’s. The two had probably gotten into it again.

Making my way into the kitchen, Yuuka had her hands on her hips and was staring down Saori, whose glare looked positively venomous.

“This is why,” Yuuka lectured, “We have to be together. The second I look away, you start messing with things.”

Saori took a step closer. “In case your head is too full of numbers and not common sense, the crime scene is across the hall, this is the kitchen. So back off and let me search.”

“Why, exactly, does your search involve going right for the knives?” Yuuka retorted.

“What else do you think killed Hifumi?!”

“Both of you, stop!” I had opened my mouth, but it wasn't me who had spoken. All eyes turned to Hoshino. “Yuuka, you need to let Saori have a little leeway. You’re acting as if she’s already guilty. Saori, work with us. You charging off and doing your own thing is bound to set people on edge.”

Yuuka and Saori tried to respond, but I stepped in front of Hoshino. “I agree with that,” I said. “So tell me what you both are doing.”

“I’m checking the knives in the kitchen to see if they’re all there,” Saori said.

Yuuka blushed. “I’m… keeping an eye on her.” And not investigating went unsaid.

“You know how many knives are in the kitchen?” I asked Saori.

“Of course,” she replied. “First thing I did when we got here was take inventory of the various things that could be used as a weapon. There were seventeen knives of various sizes here in the kitchen.” She pointed to the drawer that I guessed housed them. “But when I looked in the drawer, there were only sixteen. If it’s not in here, then someone took it.”

>>Evidence Added: Missing Knife<<

Feeling rushed, we left Yuuka and Saori with another plea to behave.

“Anywhere else you think we should search?” I asked Hoshino.

“Maybe we should try to find some of the others we haven’t talked to, see if they found anything.”

It didn’t take us long to stumble across a rather unlikely pairing. Emerging from one of the dorms, Wakamo offered us a sharp nod as she passed by, followed by a very nervous-looking Miyu.

“Hey, you two,” I said, “How’s the investigation going?”

“We are searching the dorms,” Wakamo said. “Monokuma unlocked them for the purpose of our search.”

Of course he would. If a student killed someone, it would be extremely easy to hide a weapon inside their own dorm where no one else could search; Monokuma wanted this to be a game, so he wasn’t going to make it that easy for the killer.

“We’ve found a knife covered in blood,” Wakamo said, her tone completely even. “Likely the murder weapon.”

Hoshino and I shared a glance. Saori had been right.

“Where was it?” I asked.

“Hifumi’s room. On the other side. We left it there.”

>>Evidence Added: Bloody Knife in Hifumi’s Room<<

“That’s peculiar,” Hoshino mused. “Why would the killer stash the knife in the victim’s room?”

I had a few ideas, but I kept them to myself for now. It would be better served in the trial when I could get the others’ feedback on my ideas. 

During this conversation, Miyu had been steadily inching towards me and away from Wakamo. The sheer intensity radiating from Wakamo as she marched towards the next dorm was enough to scare even the bravest person.

Suddenly, an idea hit me. If Hifumi died around 10:33, then the killer would have had to be active before them, moving around at the same time as Mika, Mutsuki, and Miyu for their prank.

“Hey, Miyu, can you give me a rundown of how you set up the prank with the others last night?”

“Eeep!” Miyu jumped. “Ah r-right… the prank. I’m s-s-sorry again, Sensei.” Taking a moment to compose herself, Hifumi sighed. “I d-don’t know what time we left, b-but Mika and Mutsuki came to my room not long a-after nighttime. I w-was surprised they r-r-remembered me, to be honest… But! But! Um, we went to the gym and I climbed into the trash can while those two were talking. We were j-just going to w-wait to h-hear you in the h-hallway.”

“Did you hear anything unusual during your time there?” Hoshino said.

Miyu thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “I d-don’t th-think so… Wait! Yes! I re-remember. Right before Mika started messing with the d-door, we heard a slamming noise. We th-thought Sensei had tripped over s-something.”

>>Evidence Added: Miyu’s Account<<

“And if I ask Mutsuki and Mika, they’ll say the same thing right?” I said.

“Uuuueee… y-yes! I’m t-telling the truth!” Miyu cried.

Hoshino poked my side. “Easy, Sensei. You’re getting worked up again.”

Damn it… I’ve got to calm down. I can’t hurt my other students while trying to get justice for one. “I’m sorry, Miyu,” I said. “Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.”

“Mhm…” Miyu mumbled, then ran off to rejoin Wakamo.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I had no idea how much time Monokuma intended to give us, but it would never be enough. I could comb over every micrometer of this place for evidence and still not be sure I was ready for this trial.

“Sensei,” Hoshino said. “Do you need a break?”

“No,” I said too quickly. “I’m fine.”

Scratching the back of her head, Hoshino shrugged, opening one critical eye. “You’re not, but you’re an adult. I can’t force you.”

Somehow, that stung worse than if she had been insistent. But we had an investigation to do, and there was still one pair of students we hadn’t talked to yet. Luckily, they weren’t far. In fact, they found us.

“Oh Sensei~” Mutsuki trilled. “Your favorite students have found something.” She waved me over from the other side of the dorms. When we approached her, she held up her hand. “Hold on! Before you go any further! Do you notice anything about how the dorms are set up?”

I wasn’t in the mood for her games, but I humored her nonetheless. The dorms were divided up between two hallways that split off from the main hallway, acting as a sort of divider between the academic wing and the living wing. Eight dorms were in each hall, with four along each wall. In the middle of every two sets of dorm doors were small recesses that I assumed were simply meant to be decorative or serve as seating areas of some sort. When I explained all of this to Mutsuki, she rolled her eyes.

“Such a teacher's answer. But yes! Check this out!” She led us into one of the recesses where Aru was standing, arms hugged tightly around her torso.

“S-Sensei,” she greeted. “And Hoshino…” She wasn’t looking at us. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the back wall of the recess.

Following her gaze, I saw what Mutsuki was getting at. There was a small stain of blood on the back wall, barely noticeable if you weren’t specifically looking for it.

>>Evidence Added: Blood in Dorm Hallway<<

“Dang,” Hoshino said with a whistle. “You must have some young eyes to have spotted that.”

Aru huffed. “It’s my fault,” she said, “ I wish I could claim that it was my immaculate attention to detail, but it’s only because I fell when we were searching. Don’t you dare tell anyone else, though!”

That… was unlike Aru to not take credit. Out of the corner of my eye, I’m pretty sure I saw Mutsuki bunching the hem of her skirt in her hands. However, I couldn’t explore the issue because –

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Attention all students and faculty, this is your headmaster! Your allotted investigation time is up! Now, head to the gymnasium so we can begin the most exciting part of the day: THE CLASS TRIAL!”

Click

“Guess this is it,” Hoshino said morosely.

“I… I don’t want to do this…” Aru managed, and Mutsuki rushed up to her, taking her arm.

“None of us do,” I said. “But Monokuma won’t take no for an answer.” I extended my hand to the group in front of me. “We’re going to find Hifumi’s killer, and we’re going to figure out why they’ve done this. Then…” I clenched my teeth. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure none of you ever feel like you have to resort to this again.”

Mutsuki looked me up and down, then tugged Aru out of the recess. “We’ll believe in you, Sensei.”

-

By the time everyone had gathered around in the gym, a silence had fallen over the whole school. No one could figure out where to look or where to put their hands. It was as if we were all having the same thought: one of us present was a killer.

“Guys, guys look!” She presented a plate of cookies all decorated to look like Peroro. “Aren’t they cute?”

How could someone find it in themselves to kill someone like Hifumi? How could they even consider it? And above all…

Why hadn’t they come to me? I offered countless times to be a source of stability, an outlet they could vent to. Was that not enough? Were there truly such dark souls amongst my students that they enjoyed what they did?

No, I couldn’t think like that. These were young girls under immense pressure in an unfathomable scenario. I had to hold on to every bit of hope that there was a good reason behind what they did.

“Hey, hey, hey party people!” Monokuma’s voice seemed extra shrill right now, like rubbing sandpaper on an open wound. “Gee whiz, you all look down! Cheer up, cheer up! You all get to participate in your very first class trial, you all should be ready to explode with excitement, and hopefully take out a couple of kids standing next to you!”

“That can happen?” Aris asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

“No,” Hina said calmly. “Monokuma’s simply taking great pleasure in mocking us.”

“I would never mock my precious students! You all mean too much to me! I care about your mental health and self-esteem more than anything in the world!” He pulled an index card out from behind his back. “Oh wait, no. That’s Sensei’s stupid lines. I, as a matter of fact, am mocking you and have earned every right to ahahahaha!”

“Tch, can get this thing started already?” Saori complained. “So do we yell at each other in the gym or what?”

“Now that’s the school spirit I like to see!” Monokuma cheered, pumping his paw in the air. “Someone who can’t wait to interrogate their classmates into giving up all of their deepest, darkest secrets and watch them get punished. You’re my kind of gal.”

“You are truly awful in every conceivable way,” Rio said.

“Why thank you! However, a school event as big as this demands a better venue than some silly gymnasium.”

The ground beneath our feet rumbled, and the Hope’s Archive logo in the middle of the gym floor began to rotate. Gears creaked as a massive circular elevator arose in front of us. When it reached its full height, it released a hiss and the gate opened, inviting us to step into the belly of the beast.

“All aboard!” Monokuma called. “Anyone who doesn’t participate in the class trial will face punishment, and even worse, your peers will talk badly about you behind your back!”

Hina led the way - deliberately knocking into Monokuma with her wingtip on the way -  entering the elevator first, then the rest of the students soon followed, piling into the cramped space that would take us to who knows where. Finally, once all of my students were in, I stepped inside.

The gate slammed shut behind me and the elevator lurched as we began our descent. Tension filled what little space was between us. My lungs burned with each breath, my stomach a twisting knot pulling itself tighter and tighter with each passing second.

All of the trust that I’d worked hard to facilitate, all of the good times the girls had shared with me and each other, it meant nothing. As of right now, everyone was guilty and the only way to weed out the innocent was to tear out our own throats.

Seconds bled into minutes, with the darkness surrounding us encroaching ever closer. Or maybe it was all in my head and this was a perfectly normal elevator. At this point, I couldn’t even trust my own senses.

Finally, the elevator stopped, landing so hard that we all stumbled to regain our balance. Slowly, the gate in front of us opened, flooding the car with light.

This was really happening. Hifumi was dead. One of us was the killer. The killing game had truly begun.

Chapter Text

School Supplies List

Monokuma File 1: The Monokuma file lists the time and cause of death. Hifumi was killed around 10:33 at night and died due to blood loss from multiple stab wounds.

Bag over Hifumi’s Head: A bag was placed over Hifumi’s head. It doesn’t appear to be hiding anything.

Different Stab Wounds: There are many shallow stab wounds on Hifumi’s stomach. There is a singular deep stab wound over Hifumi’s heart.

Bloody Fingernails: There is blood concentrated under Hifumi’s fingernails, but very little on the rest of her hand.

Powdered Detergent on the Floor: A box of powdered detergent had been knocked over. The detergent clings to everything that gets near it.

Streaked Blood: The blood underneath Hifumi has pooled, but there is a streak of blood behind her.

Smudged Footprint: There is a smudged footprint just outside the laundry room door. It is too distorted to make out who it belongs to, but it appears to be facing away from the laundry room.

Rubber Stopper: Mika found a rubber stopper around the wobbly table in the dining hall.

Broom Under the Table: A broom that was used to clean during party setup. It was found underneath the table with its head near the unstable table leg.

Missing Knife: A knife is missing from the kitchen.

Knife in Hifumi’s Room: A bloody knife was found inside Hifumi’s room.

Miyu’s Account: Miyu recounted what happened between her, Mika, and Mutsuki. She reported that she heard a loud slamming right before the prank started.

Blood in the Dorm Hallway: There is a small bloodstain on the wall in a recess by the dorms.

CLASS TRIAL - START: ALL RISE!

The room we stepped out into was something out of a dream. The walls stretched high, disappearing into blackness above us. Stained-glass windows depicting various figures I didn’t recognize sparkled under the artificial lights, bordered by heavy curtains. In the center of the room stood a series of podiums organized in a perfect circle. Each podium had our name plate written on it, so we all took our positions at the assigned podiums. Mine, surely coincidentally, was directly across from where Monokuma sat on a throne, lording over the trial like a specter.

“What is that?” Saori spat, jerking her head to one of the podiums.

In Hifumi’s podium, rather than simply being empty, there was a portrait on a stand set to her exact height. A sloppy “X” was painted over her face.

“Distasteful, that’s what it is,” Seia said with a frown.

“Oh don’t be like that!” Monokuma said. “Isn’t it only fair that Twintails gets to attend her own trial? That way she gets to see her killer punished. Or watch you all fail her. Again!”

I clenched my fist. “Her name is Hifumi…”

“Now then!” Monokuma continued, kicking his feet up on the ottoman in front of his throne. “Let’s begin with the basic explanation of the class trial.”

“During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who you think the killer is, and vote for whodunnit. If you vote correctly, then only the Blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the Blackened, and that student will be allowed to graduate!”

“So th- there are no retries?” Aris said. She was next to me and I could see her quivering, a sharp contrast to Hina on my other side who simply stared forward as if deep in thought.

“Nope! You get one vote, so make it count! But don’t worry. I’ll make sure this is a fair trial. No favoritism here! Not for the lovely Blackened who got this killing game started, nor for my useless staff member who couldn’t do his job.”

So that’s how it was going to be? He was going to continue to needle me about this. I closed my eyes and took a few deep, calming breaths. When I opened them, I looked right at Hifumi’s portrait. I owed it to her to get to the bottom of this, and I owed it to the rest of my students to protect them from whatever punishment Monokuma had in mind.

Fidgeting with a strap on her outfit, Izuna asked, “So… Where do we start? I’m more of a stealthy type ninja than an interrogation one.”

“Let’s all start shouting out names of who we think did it!” Mutsuki said cheerily. “I think it was Hoshino!”

“Eh?” Hoshino jerked awake. Had she really been sleeping during the introduction? “Why me?”

“You and Shiroko went to the laundry room with Hifumi, right? And since she died there, that makes you two the prime suspects! But Shiroko’s little wolf ears are too cute to be attached to a killer!”

Shiroko’s usually calm demeanor broke as she blushed and hid her ears. “That d-doesn’t make any sense!”

“Hoshino would be able to hide her intentions behind a tired facade…” Saori mused.

“C-could she have scouted out the laundry room ahead of time?” Miyu said, barely peeking over her podium.

Yuuka shook her head. “Why are we assuming she’s guilty? Isn’t there something in the rules that proves she’s innocent?”

“Is there?” Mutsuki said. “I wouldn’t know, I didn’t read those things!”

“Hoshino hasn’t said anything in her defense, isn’t that suspicious?” Mika added.

For whatever reason, the students have honed in on Hoshino as a suspect, but I think one of them said something that proves that can’t be the case. Who had the correct answer?

Which student is correct?

>Mutsuki      > Saori       >Miyu      >Yuuka      >Mika

Answer Key:

>Mutsuki      > Saori      >Miyu      >Yuuka      >Mika

“Hold on, everyone, Yuuka’s right,” I said, pulling out the Shittim Chest and opening the rules page. “Student Rule 3 says that when three non-Blackened students discover a body, the announcement will play. Monokuma made the announcement right as Hoshino, Yuuka, and I discovered Hifumi’s body.”

Sighing, Yuuka said, “Maybe if you’d actually paid attention you would’ve known that.”

Undeterred, Mutsuki stuck her tongue out. “Whoops! Guess I made a mistake then. Sorry Hoshino!”

“All good,” Hoshino said with her thumb up. “I knew Sensei would figure it out.”

Is that why she didn’t say anything or was she simply too lazy to answer?

“But in that case…” Aru said, “Doesn’t that make Shiroko our prime suspect?”

“I didn’t do it,” Shiroko stated, having regained her composure from Mutsuki’s earlier prodding.

Saori tugged on her cap. “It’s one thing to say that, but can you prove it?”

“The three of them returned to the party after they went to the laundry room, did they not?” Seia asked. “Though it does not exonerate Shiroko, I don’t see how this proves it was her either.”

“Fair enough,” Saori said with a shrug.

“I think we’re approaching this the wrong way,” Hina finally said. “Sending out baseless accusations isn’t going to help anything. Instead, let’s see if there’s anyone we can rule out.”

“Oh! Oh! Ibuki knows!” The small girl hopped up and down, trying to see over the podium. “Um… Mr. Monokuma, can Ibuki have a stepstool?”

Ruminating for a moment, Monokuma finally blushed. “I was going to say no, to cause you some despair, but as a fellow member of the shorty squad, I guess I can do that for you, Pipsqueak.”

Gears grinding noises echoed through the room as the floor underneath Ibuki rose up so that she could be at even height with us. “Thank you! Ahem! Ibuki is really good at counting! Sensei, Hoshino, and Yuuka all have to be innocent ‘cause they were there when Mr. Monokuma made his sad announcement.”

“My lord can always be ruled out,” Izuna said. “Since we wouldn’t be having these trials if he did kill one of us.”

I didn’t like the implication that there could be more trials, but I figured as long as it kept everyone focused on the matter at hand, then it was fine.

“That is logical,” Rio said. “Is there anyone else that we can rule out, such as those with an alibi?”

Others who can be ruled out? There are definitely a few of them, but who were they?

Fill in the Blank!

The students that have an alibi are                  ,                   , and                   

Answer Key:

The students that have an alibi are Mika, Mutsuki, and Miyu

“The prankster trio themselves,” I said, alternating my gaze between the three students who had pulled a prank last night.

“Is this a new random encounter?” Aris asked, head cocked.

“Last night, Mika, Mutsuki, and Miyu played a prank on me in the gym to scare me. It happened around the exact same time that the murder occurred,” I explained.

“They did, did they?” Wakamo said, a brutal edge to her tone.

“Uuueeee, I’m s-sorry!” Miyu cried.

Mika shook her head. “We only gave him a scare and we already got a lecture for it.”

“Do we still have to clean the kitchen if a murder happens, Sensei?” Mutsuki asked.

“Yes!” Monokuma shouted. “My dining hall and kitchen better be clean enough to eat off the floor when this is all done!”

Ignoring that, I continued, “But that means that the three of them are all accounted for at the time of the killing. Plus, I was in the lounge during my patrol, so it wasn’t like they could sneak by me from the laundry room and make it to the gym.”

Counting on her fingers, Ibuki added up the total. “That’s six people down! That’s a lot! Oh wait… Ibuki is still a suspect…”

I… didn’t think it was Ibuki. Not just because I couldn’t imagine her committing such an act, but also because there was no evidence of it.

“Is there anything else obvious we can get out of the way?” Hoshino prompted.

After taking a moment to consider, it was Rio who spoke. “The murder weapon. There aren’t many things that could cause wounds like that here.”

“Well,” Izuna said, “Izuna found lots of stuff in the storage room that could be used to stab someone.”

“Why were you doing that?” Saori asked, eyes narrowing.

Blanching as if she realized how it sounded, Izuna quickly backtracked. “I w-was just looking for training items! That’s all.”

“We shouldn’t overlook the obvious,” Hina said. “A knife or something similar is the most likely answer.”

Mika looked excited. “What if someone sharpened one of the books in the library to such a sharp point that they could stab someone with it?”

“Why would you even go there…?” Rio asked.

The answer to this one is pretty clear, and there’s definitely evidence for it.

Which student is correct?

>Izuna      >Hina      >Mika

Answer Key:

>Izuna      >Hina      >Mika

“Hina’s got the right idea,” I said. “Saori even noticed the missing knife from the kitchen.”

“We searched the kitchen for the whole investigation,” Yuuka added. “And we couldn’t find it, so it was definitely missing.”

Saori grinned behind her mask. “It’s even more of a mess now!”

“It’s what?!” Mutsuki cried.

Serves you right, I thought to myself.

“Okay, that’s all well and good,” Aru said, “But where do we go from here? We got the easy stuff out of the way, but what next?

Indeed, where to next? The murder weapon was fairly clear, as well as who we could write off as innocent. However, there were still a lot of factors at play, and it didn't seem like anything pointed at one student in particular. We'd have to keep searching and hope the culprit revealed themself.

“I have a question,” Seia said, holding up her hand. “Sensei said that he was in the lounge when the others pulled a prank on him, correct? But if the culprit was in the laundry room at the time of the murder, how would they have gotten past him?”

That… was a good point. I was so busy beating myself up earlier when we were investigating that I completely overlooked that I should have seen or heard the killer come out of the laundry room.

“Perhaps he was in such a rush to respond to the prank that he simply missed the killer?” Rio offered.

“Nin nin!” Izuna leaned forward onto her podium stand. “My lord is way too perceptive for that, it’s obvious they used some kind of ninjutsu to conceal themselves!”

Yuuka frowned. “That’s ridiculous. They probably just hid in the laundry room until Sensei left.”

Shaking her head, Ibuki said, “I don’t think so. They didn’t know what Sensei would do during his patrol. Ibuki would totally run if she didn’t want to get in trouble!”

“Is that a confession?!” Aru yelled suddenly, causing Ibuki to flinch.

“N-no! Ibuki’s a good girl!”

Clasping her hands in front of her, Aris’s eyes sparkled. “It is in times like this that a secret passage would be most useful.
“Hmm, that… doesn’t seem likely,” Shiroko said.

Which student is correct?

>Rio      >Izuna      >Yuuka      >Aris

Answer Key:

>Rio      >Izuna      >Yuuka      >Aris

There was no way… but wait… it was actually possible! “I think Aris is right,” I said. All eyes were instantly on me.

“Darling…” Wakamo said slowly, “Are you feeling alright? Do you need to rest on Wakamo’s shoulder?”

“Such shameless flirting!” Mika gasped, though she looked surprisingly excited about it.

“Oh? Sensei agrees with me?” Aris said. “I was merely reminiscing about a game I played.”

“I know it sounds strange, but secret passages absolutely are a thing here. Isn’t that right… Monokuma?”

“Huh? Me?” Monokuma startled, nearly falling off his throne.

“Our very first day here,” I explained, “You didn’t have a room for me, at least not at first.”

“Here we are!” Monokuma suddenly announced, gesturing towards… a wall?

“Um…”

Monokuma glanced between me and the wall several times before hanging his head. “Dang it, I didn’t want to reveal this functionality yet.”

Tap taptaptap tap tap

As if responding to Monokuma’s knocking, the wall slid open like a pair of convenience store doors to reveal another door, this one with a nameplate with my picture on it.

“Monokuma opened up a door that wasn’t there before to give me access to my room,” I said. “So who knows what else he has hidden in this place? Especially if it would make it easier for one of us to not get caught.”

“Now that I think of it, I don’t remember seeing Sensei’s room the first time we explored the school,” Hoshino said.

Ibuki hopped up and down on her stool. “And it would be a way for the killer to avoid being seen by Sensei!”

“Exactly,” I said, “So if we assume–”

“Hold it right there, not another move!”

“Wha-?”

Saori had ripped off her mask and was scowling at me, her posture combative. “You’re all really entertaining this nonsense? A secret passage? That’s the best you can come up with? All because Sensei got a special treat? Give me a break.”

Classroom Management!

Saori

Even the idea is completely ridiculous.

I thought you were supposed to be the rational one here, Sensei.

But instead you’re going along with these childish delusions.

If you were a merc, you’d be dead on the spot.

Why would the killer need a secret passage?

Sensei

We’ve already covered this. A secret passage would be the best way to avoid my patrol without risking being caught.

ADVANCE!

Saori

Fair enough, but it’s still a dumb idea.

As much as I hate to agree with her, Yuuka probably had the best idea.

Speaking from experience, staying put can oftentimes be the best solution.

So why risk getting caught by moving at all?

And it’s not like there’s any evidence of where the passage would lead to.

NO, THAT’S WRONG!

BREAK!

“No, there is evidence to where the passage would lead.” I nodded in Mutsuki and Aru’s direction. “Those two found blood in the dorm hallway when they were searching earlier, and,” – I took out the Shittim Chest and opened the map icon, turning it to show all of the students – “If you look at the map, the wall where they found the blood is closest to the laundry room.”

Shiroko squinted at the map, hand on her chin. “Sensei’s right. If there was a passage, it could easily lead to the dorm hallway.”

“And if the killer had Hifumi’s blood on them,” Hina reasoned, “Say, from stabbing her, they might have left it behind without realizing.”

“Th-they probably w-were in a r-rush,” Miyu said. “E-especially if they heard the prank going on.”

Despite our reasoning, Saori didn’t look entirely convinced, her face twisting as she considered her retort. I had to get her on board with this theory if we wanted to move on, so I did something I didn’t want to do: ask Monokuma for help.

“Monokuma,” I said, “Can you confirm if there is a passage between the laundry room and that dorm wing?”

“Hmph!” Monokuma crossed his arms like a child pouting. “Why should I? You’ve all been nothing but mean to me since you got here!”

“Plllllleeeeeeeaaaaaaassssssseeeeeee Mr. Monokuma?” Ibuki said, her eyes as wide as she could make them.

I could see Monokuma’s will fading in real time as he desperately tried to ignore Ibuki, but the power of her cuteness was too much. “Gah! Fine! It’ll make you all more dependent on me anyway, so I’ll at least have that satisfaction.” He readjusted on his seat. “Upupupu… Sensei is correct. There is, in fact, a passage between where Twintails ate it and where the killer got sloppy! In fact, there’s tons that you all haven’t found yet!”

A part of me really wished he hadn’t said that. It meant one more thing to worry about. Students in the walls, great.

With a heavy sigh, Saori let her shoulders relax. “Alright, fine. So the killer used a secret passage, but I still don’t know why they needed to get out so quickly. Sensei would have gone back to his room eventually.”

“That’s a good point,” Aru said, “But I’m sure someone else can explain why the killer did that. I c-could, of course, but I n-need to give you all a chance.”

“Perhaps it was to hide that someone was out of their room,” Seia said. “After all, Sensei checked the indicator lights religiously.”

“But how would they do that?” Hoshino asked. “Don’t they detect if we’re in them? If Hifumi was in the laundry room, even if the culprit made it back to their room, Hifumi’s light would still be off.”

Hina shook her head. “No, we found out when retrieving Mika’s ID that they work by detecting our IDs, not our bodies.”

“Niiiiiiiinnnnn….” Izuna mumbled as she thought. I imagined smoke coming out of her ears. “So what you’re saying is that the killer took Hifumi’s ID and put it in her room?”

“That’s right.”

Mutsuki held up a finger, “Ah, ah, ah, but is there any proof of that?”

Actually… Yes, there is proof of it!

Multiple Choice!

What evidence is there that the killer entered Hifumi’s room?

A) Bag over Hifumi’s Head

B) Miyu’s Account

C) Monokuma File 1

D) Knife in Hifumi’s Room.

Answer Key:

D) Knife in Hifumi’s Room.

“While they were exploring, Wakamo and Miyu went into everyone’s rooms…”

“THEY WHAT?” Aru cried, looking pained. “Y-y-you didn’t find a-anything w-weird in m-mine right?”

“No,” Wakamo stated simply.

“Oh… right… because there’s nothing there!”

“We did find this wallet, though.” She reached into her furisode and tossed it to Aru. “It was poorly hidden under the mattress, so I took it just in case.”

Aru fumbled with catching the wallet, but when she did she tucked it into her jacket pocket, then glanced around quickly. “C-continue, Sensei.”

“Um, as I was saying. When they explored Hifumi’s room they found a bloody knife laying in it.”

One of Wakamo’s ears flicked. “They probably dumped it there after the murder to make sure it couldn’t be tracked to them.”

“And during that time,” Hoshino finished, “They put Hifumi’s student ID in her room, thus making it look like she was in the room the whole time.”

“That would explain why Sensei didn’t think anything was wrong when he passed by the dorms on his patrol,” Rio said, jotting something down on her clipboard. She’d been carrying that thing for how many days now? The storage unit was going to run out of paper sooner or later.

“All of this is useful in determining how this occurred,” Aris said, “However, it is not the key item needed to make progress on who did all of this.”

I hummed to myself. Aris was right, while we had a handful who had been eliminated as potential culprits, the majority of the students still could have done it, and there was nothing that we’d discussed that was narrowing it down.

“Perhaps we should discuss other aspects of the case to see if it leads us along an unexpected path of insight?” Seia proposed.

“Hmm, that’s a good idea,” Shiroko said. “If possible, I’d like to return to something we talked about earlier. Why was Hifumi in the laundry room in the first place?”

“Oh? Bringing suspicion back on yourself?” Mutsuki said snidely.

Shiroko frowned. “No, it was only a question.”

“It- It was b-b-because she got juice o-on her backpack, r-right?” Miyu said, but Hoshino shook her head.

“No, we already had returned to the party after putting it in the wash, remember?”

Ibuki adjusted her hat, a determined expression on her face. “So then why did Hifumi go back to the laundry room?”

“She makes a reasonable point,” Rio said. “Nighttime had been called before she retrieved her bag, so the water would have been turned off.”

“But she put it in the wash before nighttime started,” Shiroko said, “We watched her start the wash cycle.”

Why would Hifumi go back to the laundry room? Wait, I think I remember someone saying something that may give us a clue? Who was it?

Call on a Student!

>Ibuki      >Aru     >Yuuka     >Saori      >Rio

“Aru, a couple days ago, when Saori splashed red paint on your shirt, you said something that may give a reason why Hifumi left her room last night,” I said, gesturing to the surprised outlaw.

“I did? I m-mean naturally! I am quite brilliant, after all, but um… MUTSUKI! You’re in charge of keeping my notes. What did I say?”

Mutsuki giggled into her hands. “You say lots of things, Aru, how am I supposed to know what you mean?”

“Help. Me. Out.” Aru hissed.

“Okay, okay. I think what Sensei’s getting at is that you were worried about forgetting your shirt before moving it to the dryer.”

The washing machine whirred to life, and Aru sighed. “Welp, guess we’re stuck here for a while. I once forgot my clothes in the wash overnight and they got all gross and moldy.”

“That’s it!” I exclaimed. “If Hifumi had left her bag in the wash overnight after it had already gotten wet, then it would have potentially grown mold on it.”

Rio tapped her foot impatiently. “I can’t agree with that,” she said. “It’s simply not logical for her to risk going out at night for a simple backpack.”

"Yeah!" Ibuki chimed. "She could have washed it again in the morning."

“But it wasn’t just any backpack,” Hina countered, extending her hand. “At least, not to her.”

“Oh yeah, she was the Ultimate Fangirl,” Saori said. “And wasn’t that bag of hers some limited edition thing? A superfan like her would never let her bag get moldy. ‘Sides, only the water is off at night, so she could have wanted to chuck it in the dryer.”

“So how does that help us?” Yuuka asked.

“We all saw when she spilled the juice and left, yes?” Wakamo said suddenly, causing everyone to turn to her. “Is it possible the killer saw an opportunity to lure her there?”

Yuuka narrowed her eyes. “E-explain.”

“If the culprit noticed her bag was still in the wash, then they easily could have gone to Hifumi’s door after nighttime started and reminded her. They might have even offered to go with Hifumi to make her feel more comfortable.”

“But how would they know it would work?” Mika said. “Hifumi coulda just ignored them.”

“Maybe they cast a mind reading spell on her?” Aris posited.

“Are we back in fantasy land?” Aru said, flipping her hair.

Shrinking back, Aris fiddled with her fingers. “It was only a suggestion, my apologies.”

“Hmph, don’t say sorry,” Saori said. “It’s more than Aru has given.”

Indignant, Aru slammed her hand on the podium… and tried to subtly hide how much it must have hurt. “I-I-I have ideas. It could have just been luck! Didn’t this school used to have a lucky student?”

“But there hasn’t been one of those in a while, right?” Ibuki said. “Maybe they knew ‘cause Hifumi carried that bag everywhere? She really loved it!”

Rio tapped her arm and closed her eyes before quickly opening them as if she had a revelation. “Or… they had Monokuma’s motive telling them her bag was her most precious belonging.”

There are a couple sound ideas there, but I think one student had the most likely idea.

Which Student is Correct?

>Aris      >Aru      >Ibuki     >Rio

Answer Key:

>Aris     >Aru      >Ibuki      >Rio

“Monokuma’s motive makes the most sense,” I said. “After all, if the culprit knew to target Hifumi’s bag, then they would be able to confidently lure her to the laundry room.”

“So if we determine who had Hifumi’s information, then we should have our primary suspect,” Hoshino said with a nod.

“Alright, pipe up,” Saori barked. “If it was you, speak up now before we have to beat it out of you!”

“No one’s beating up anyone, you brute!” Yuuka cried, and I thought she was about to get up from her podium.

“Here they go again…” Shiroko said. “Hmm… though maybe force may be an effective option.”

Ibuki crossed her arms. “No! No one else is getting hurt today! Ibuki forbids it!”

Mutsuki giggled. “Here killer, killer, killer. I got a nice treat for you if you expose yourself!”

“Could you be helpful for once?” Wakamo spat, causing Aru to lash out in Mutsuki’s defense.

Before I knew it, the room devolved into a series of petty arguments, and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. The stress of the trial was finally making itself apparent, and I was at a loss. I knew I needed to get control, but how? And was there anything I could glean from their conversations?

Mass Panic Debate!

“There’s no reason for us to                    “Ibuki doesn’t want to see anyone fighting!”

go in circles when there are
other ways to get info!”         

“Violence isn’t the answer here!”               “Well then what do you
                                                                 suggest we do, huh?”

“This is getting us nowhere…"

“The Blackened is going to...              “How about you help out for once!”

“E-excuse m-me   ...get away, aren’t they?”

I h-have s-something

to s-say…”         “We can’t just give up!”

“Izuna Secret Art: Truth Telling Technique!”

“If we keep discussing this...        "I wonder if there's any cookies left..."

...we can figure it out!”

I hear my student!

BREAK!

“MIYU!” I yelled over the tumult.

“WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

Now that the din of argument had quieted down, I lowered my voice. “Sorry for yelling, but you said that you had something to say?”

Slowly creeping up from where she had crouched down on the podium, Miyu shakily nodded. “Y-yeah… I, um– I had Hifumi’s information.” She reached into her pocket and produced the envelope that had been delivered to all of us. “It… it d-does say that H-Hifumi’s most t-treasured possession is her bag. B-but I d-didn’t tell a-anyone! I promise!”

The group grew quiet. There went our plan to figure out the killer based on the motive. Miyu had an airtight alibi, and assuming she was telling the truth about not telling anyone, then that meant that the motive was useless.

"Y-you had the motive?" Rio questioned tentatively. Miyu offered the smallest nod I'd ever seen in the world.

"Hmm, it was a good idea, Rio," Shiroko said.

“Aww, that’s anticlimactic!” Monokuma whined. “Why did I have to give it to Rabbit Girl?! We coulda had some real flesh-tearing arguments over that!”

“So if it wasn’t the motive, then what tipped the culprit off?” Mika asked.

If it wasn’t Monokuma’s motive specifically, then what was it? Could another one of my students have said the answer?

Which Student is Correct?

>Aris     >Aru     >Ibuki     >Rio

Answer Key (Edited ver.):

>Aris     >Aru     >Ibuki     >Rio

“Ibuki does have a point as well,” I offered, tugging at my collar. Why was it getting so hot here? It felt like we were on the verge of a big breakthrough, yet I didn’t feel any sort of excitement, only a stomachful of dread.

“Yay! Ibuki is a good student!”

That did make me smile a bit. Truly living up to her talent as Ultimate Cinnamon Roll, but I had to focus. “I don’t know if I ever saw Hifumi without her Peroro bag. She went everywhere with it, even after the motive was revealed.”

Hina hummed. “It wouldn’t be hard for a culprit to figure out her weak point.” She closed her eyes and lowered her head. “In addition, if the culprit did figure it out, then they would have a scapegoat in whoever actually had Hifumi’s information.” That last part of her statement felt pointed, but I couldn’t place my finger on why.

“Hold on, hold on,” Yuuka said. She fiddled with her tie as she spoke. “How do we know for certain that the killer used her backpack as bait? It would rely on her backpack being in the wash in the first place, and that was a random accident.”

Hoshino yawned loudly. It seemed more to get everyone’s attention than her actually being tired, though given how she was slouched, I couldn’t be sure. “Are we positive that it was an accident?”

“Huh?”

“Think about it.” Hoshino started gesturing with her hands to recreate the dining hall setup. “The bright red cranberry juice that would absolutely stain the white backpack just so happened to be at the end of the table? And, coincidentally, that’s exactly next to where Hifumi’s decorated cookies were.”

Her eyes shone with a brilliant light. “If the culprit could piece together Hifumi’s love of her bag, then they could also position cookies she’s sure to want to eat right next to something that would require her backpack to need washing.”

When she finished, Hoshino crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Monokuma cried, “The no sleeping rule applies here, too!”

“Respect your elders,” Shiroko shot back, then turned to face us once again.

“It is a valid theory, but the juice also was on the table that had a faulty leg, causing it to be unstable,” Seia said. “It could still be happenstance that the juice fell in such a way.”

It could be all an unfortunate coincidence, but is that really the case? The way Hoshino put it made it sound plausible, but was there evidence to support what she was saying?

Logic Dive!

Where was the juice located?

1) On a stable table

2) On the wobbly table

3) On Hina’s chest

Where were the cookies located?

1) Next to the juice

2) In the kitchen

3) Across the room from the juice

What caused the juice to spill?

1) Hifumi bumping into it

2) The table leg giving out

3) An earthquake

I’ve got it!

Hina suddenly sneezed. “Why do I feel like I’ve just been insulted?”

“When the accident happened,” I recalled. “We all figured that Hifumi had bumped into the table by mistake, but she didn’t even realize that she had. Even with that backpack on, she still should have felt it if she did bump into it, right?”

“But what’s the alternative?” Seia said.

“Something was being used to prop the wobbly table leg up,” I continued. “That rubber stopper Mika discovered, she found it right by the table, didn’t she?”

Gasping, Mika grew wide-eyed. “You’re right, I did!”

Saori huffed. “So what? You said it yourself, the table was unsteady. And Hifumi was the only one near it at the time. Maybe she didn’t bump the table, maybe she accidentally kicked the stopper?

“Through the Telekinesis skill it would be possible,” Aris chimed in, though she shrunk back when everyone looked at her incredulously. “O-or there was some way for the culprit to knock the stopper out of place.”

Something that could knock it out of place… There was something like that, wasn’t there?

Fill in the Blank!

The culprit could have knocked the rubber stopper out of place by using the                    .

Answer Key:

The culprit could have knocked the rubber stopper out of place by using the broom under the table.

“Aris is right. There was something present that could be used.” Similar to what Hoshino had done, I tried mimicking the dining hall scene with my hands. “Underneath the table, we found a broom stashed there. Mika had lost track of it.”

Mika blanched. “D-Don’t make me sound incompetent, Sensei!”

Pressing on, I continued, “The broom was set up in such a way that the tip of the handle barely poked out from the far end of the table. The head of the broom, however, was positioned in line with the table legs.”

“I see where you’re going with this,” Hina said. “The culprit could have kicked the broom’s handle and caused the head of the broom to swing inward, bumping the rubber stopper out, and making the table and juice fall. All quickly and without anyone noticing, especially during the party.”

“Exactly,” I said. “It wouldn’t be an accident and would set Hifumi up to be lured into the laundry room.”

Rio tapped on her clipboard. “Though isn’t that quite risky? Anyone could have tripped over the broom before Hifumi was there and set the whole thing off.”

“I’d camp by the door if I was the culprit,” Mutsuki said. “That way I could guard it.”

“But people were moving around all evening. I don’t think anyone would remember who was where,” Izuna said.

“And!” Aru interjected emphatically. “It sounds like a lot of setup. People were in and out of the dining hall and kitchen all day while we were getting ready. Wouldn’t someone have noticed one of us crawling under a table?”

“I d-didn’t k-know the table was unstable until it f-fell,” Miyu added.

“That’s an awful lot of holes in your argument, Sensei~” Mutsuki teased, though the way her voice shook belied her true feelings.

“Oh no, are we stuck again?” Ibuki whimpered, tucking her hands close.

Were we stuck? No, there was something here. I just had to break it down into its individual parts. In order for my theory to work, the culprit would have had to be by the entrance of the party, had been alone in the dining hall for at least a short period of time so they could set up their trap, and knew the table was unstable. Was there any student who met that criteria?

…

…

…

There… there was… There was one student who fit the bill. Dread crept into my throat as I swept my gaze over all of my students, settling on one. This was it, this was the break point!

The student that fit the criteria was…

Select a Student!

Chapter Text

“Rio,” I said, my voice unexpectedly even. I thought that I’d have more hesitation. I was about to accuse one of my students of something heinous, but Hifumi’s corpse flashed in front of my eyes and I found my resolve.

Rio looked surprised. “Me?”

Eyes darting between us, Izuna said, “Are you sure, my lord? Rio’s been helping us out this whole trial.”

“Except when she tried to mislead us a few moments ago,” Hina spat, her eyes glowing an eerie purple.

“Explain your reasoning,” Rio said, back straightening, gaze meeting mine.

I took in a deep breath, collected my thoughts for a moment, then began. “During the party setup, you were in the group that saw Monokuma hop up on the table and fall, so you knew the table was unstable. Then, when Mika, Seia, and I went to get Mika’s student ID, you were left alone in the dining hall because Yuuka joined the others in the kitchen. In fact, I remember you were the one who offered to clean the broken plate, so you were the last one to have a broom. Finally, when I joined the party, you were hovering around the entrance, right near where the broom was hidden. It all lines up.”

When I finished, the fourteen other heads in the room swiveled to face Rio, who had been jotting down what I said on that damnable clipboard of hers. “Your argument is logical, Sensei,” she said with a small smile. “However, it relies heavily on fantasy and speculation rather than hard facts.”

“Hmm, it makes sense to me,” Shiroko said. Her ears were flat against her head as she stared daggers at the taller girl.

“That is because you are allowing emotions to cloud your judgement.” Rio put a hand on her chest. “Allow me, as the Ultimate Rationalist, to provide clarity. While I won’t deny that I match the profile you’ve built, you are presenting the circumstances in the worst possible light. For example, the rubber stopper. Is it not understandable that I might take precautions to avoid the table toppling? And placing the broom under the table was a way to get it out of the way. Meeting me by the entrance is by far your weakest point. Yes, I was at the entrance, so were all of us at some point.”

She jabbed her pencil at me. “But all of that is irrelevant! For without proof, all of my innocuous conclusions are as valid as your harmful ones.”

“Ibuki is confused… is Rio bad?” She toyed with a Monocoin as she shuffled on her stand.

Hoshino scratched her cheek. “It’s not that I don’t believe Sensei, but Rio is right. She didn’t do anything abnormal, right? So can we say for certain she set Hifumi up?”

“B-b-but it is a- a lot of coincidences, r-right?” Miyu said.

“I don’t refute that,” Rio replied. “However, there is still more to this case that we have not discussed. If we examine that, then you’ll find that your logic is faulty.”

“Care to share some examples?” Saori said, working her jaw in frustration.

“Gladly. It’s our current theory that the culprit used the secret passage to escape, yet we found a footprint clearly leading away from the crime scene in the lounge. Further, we have not even touched on why Hifumi’s body was moved. Those are only two unexplored factors. And I refuse to accept a verdict with things still open-ended.”

Rio… Internally, I understood why she would defend herself, but my every instinct said that we were on the right track with her. That said, her points had clearly swayed some of the students back into uncertainty. For now, I’d need to play her game.

“Somebody moved her body?” Seia questioned, ears perking up.

“That’s news to me,” Yuuka said, “How do we know that?”

The answer to that question… it’s fairly clear in this case.

Multiple Choice!

What is the evidence that the body moved?

A. Bag over Hifumi’s Head

B. Streaked Blood

C. Powdered Detergent on the Floor

Missing Knife

Answer Key:

D. Streaked Blood

“Aris noticed it,” I said, gesturing to the mysterious Ultimate next to me.

After thinking for a second, Aris’s face lit up in recognition. “Ah! That’s right! There was a streak of blood behind Hifumi’s body. It definitely looked like the body moved along the ground.”

“Bodies are heavy,” Saori stated. “Especially dead ones.”

“H-how do y-you know that?” Aru said, inching a bit further away from the mercenary.

Saori rolled her eyes. “Figure it out. Anyway, why would the culprit only move the body a small distance? There’s nothing to gain from it.”

“Precisely,” Rio said. “I hope you have more faith in me than to assume I’d do something so illogical.”

I bit my cheek. That was something I didn’t have an answer for. Maybe if I listened to what the girls were saying something would come to me.

“Maybe they were spooked by Sensei coming into the lounge?” Mika offered. “They coulda been planning something, but had to ditch it.”

Shaking her head, Shiroko countered, “But the streak of blood was heading towards the door. Why move the body towards the lounge, especially when there’s carpet that would soak up the blood?”

“They could have meant to hide her behind the shelves in the laundry,” Wakamo said.

Izuna shot her hand up. “Or they had a ninja cloak to cover the body with!”

“Do you have any ideas that aren’t ninja related?” Yuuka asked incredulously.

“Ehe um…”

“Maybe they were trying to stuff her in the washing machine!” Mutsuki suggested, a sly grin on her face. “It’s definitely big enough. I’ve thought of some fun things I could plant in there…”

Note to self: Always double check the washing machine before using it.

Hina held out a hand. “Hold on, are we certain that the culprit tried to move the body?”

A lot of ideas were thrown out, but there was one that caught my attention…

Which Student is Correct?

>Mika     >Wakamo     >Izuna     >Mutsuki     >Hina

Answer Key:

>Mika     >Wakamo     >Izuna     >Mutsuki     >Hina

“Those are all excellent suggestions,” I said. When Yuuka opened her mouth, I preempted her with, “Yes, Izuna’s included.”

“Nin nin!”

Her idea wasn’t that solid, but the way Izuna’s ears perked up made the little white lie worth it.

“However, I think Hina has a point. We never actually established that the culprit tried to move the body.”

“We didn’t?” Ibuki held her hands to her head. “Mmmmm Ibuki swears she remembers hearing it earlier.”

“I do, too, “Shiroko said. “It was brought up at some point.”

There were a few scattered nods and agreements, so it seemed that something had put the idea in all of our heads. No… Now that I think of it, it wasn’t something, it was someone. Who had first suggested the culprit moved the body?

Multiple Choice!

Who was the first person to talk about the body being moved?

A. Izuna

B. Seia

C. Rio

D. Saori

Answer Key:

C. Rio

“Ah, now I see.” I placed my hands on the podium. “Let me think… Shiroko, Izuna, Hoshino, Aris, Ibuki, and Hina! You all are the ones who remember hearing about the body being moved, am I correct?”

The students I called on all nodded their heads.

“I don’t recall ever hearing about it,” Seia said. “And I have been paying the utmost attention during this trial, so I have been somewhat confused by this insistence.”

“The reason I brought them up is because that’s who was in either the laundry room or lounge when Rio first mentioned the body being moved.”

“That’s odd,” Rio commented, jotting a note down on her clipboard. “It looks like someone tried to drag her body? Why move it only a few feet?”

“That was just after she and Aris had come into the laundry room. Aris spotted the streak of blood and Rio made that comment. Anyone in the laundry room or lounge could have heard it,” I explained.

“I do remember hearing something like that,” Hina said.

“Nin nin! Izuna, too!”

Wakamo lowered her mask slightly, yellow eyes glittering in Rio’s direction. “So you were trying to plant false ideas in our head.”

“No,” Rio said, “It is simply the most logical conclusion. What else could have caused such a streak?”

Despite her calm tone, I noticed that her pen had several bite marks on it. Why so nervous, Rio? What are you hiding? What did you do? Why did you do it?!

“I bet the culprit slipped in Hifumi’s blood!” Aru said. “That would cause it to streak, wouldn’t it?”

“U-um I- I- I don’t think it w-would c-cause th–”

Miyu was cut off by Saori. “The culprit might have tried to clean up the blood. They were surrounded by cleaning stuff. But there’s a lot of blood in the human body.”

“W-would you s-stop saying creepy stuff so casually?!” Yuuka bemoaned.

“Maybe Hifumi turned into a zombie and dragged herself across the floor before dying for real!” Mutsuki suggested, complete with pretend monster hands.

“There are no zombies in my school!” Monokuma said indignantly. “We do not have the budget for a necronomicon in this day and age.”

Smirking, Rio said, “Or, it could be as I’ve reasoned and the culprit moved the body.”

Rio seems determined to get us to believe that the culprit moved the body, but is that really the case? But what else do we have to go on? Maybe it’s time to explore an idea that’s a little… irrational.

Which student is correct?

>Aru     >Saori     >Mutsuki     >Rio

Answer Key:

>Aru     >Saori     >Mutsuki     >Rio

This was a long shot, but when I considered the evidence, there might be something worth digging into. “I agree with Mutsuki,” I said.

I don’t think I’d seen as many confused looks staring at me as I did then. Even Monokuma seemed baffled by what I’d said.

“Uh, Sensei…” Mutsuki said, her signature grin disappearing. “I was kidding. You know that, right?”

Wakamo tentatively reached towards me. “You may rest by my side if you need. The offer still stands.”

“Sensei.” Rio shook her head. “I’m disappointed in you. First you make accusations against me, and now you seem to be making a mockery of this trial with your nonsense.”

I knew this would be a hard sell, and I didn’t blame the girls for not believing me, but… I was onto something damn it! I only needed to prove it.

“Okay, okay. The zombie thing isn’t what I was talking about. Rather, what about the possibility that Hifumi wasn’t moved by the culprit, but what if… Hifumi dragged herself along the floor?”

“Wouldn’t she have to be, you know, um, alive to do that?” Yuuka said awkwardly.

“I think the stress is getting to him…” Mika mumbled.

Before I could retort, Hina suddenly spoke up. “Let’s hear Sensei out. He’s led us this far in the trial, so I think we should have some faith in him.”

“He’s led us to dead ends…” Rio hissed under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Thank you, Hina,” I said. “You’re right, Yuuka. Hifumi would need to be alive, but not for very long. Only long enough to drag herself a few feet towards the door.”

“And if she heard Sensei enter the lounge,” Hoshino mused, “Then she may have tried to get there and get his attention.”

I clawed back a sob that rose in my throat. Imagining Hifumi desperately reaching for the door while bleeding out… No! If I want to do her justice, then I need my full attention on this case.

“But she was stabbed in the heart, yes?” Aris said. “Such damage will fully deplete anyone’s health bar.”

“It’s a nice thought, Sensei,” Shiroko said sadly. “But a wound like that would be instantly fatal.”

It’s true that Hifumi was stabbed in the heart, but is that really how she died?

Fill in the Blank!

The cause of Hifumi’s death was                    .

Answer Key:

The cause of Hifumi’s death was blood loss.

“Hifumi was stabbed in the heart, that’s correct,” I said. “But that’s not how she died.”

Seia’s face lit up. “Ah, yes, I recall reading the Monokuma File that she perished specifically due to blood loss.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Aru asked. “Blood loss due to getting stabbed in the heart makes sense.”

“Sensei is splitting hairs to make his illogical theory work,” Rio said.

“I don’t know…” Izuna said. “I’ve read a lot about evildoers who use really specific wording to do bad things! I bet Monokuma is just like them!”

“I am not!” Monokuma hopped to his feet, expression indignant. “I am so much better than whatever losers you read about.” He paused. “Although, I am pretty particular about my word choice upupupu!”

“So he definitely would have said the stab to the heart was the cause of death,” Saori concluded. “Seems Hifumi managed to hang on longer than the culprit expected.”

Rio sighed. “And this all proves what, exactly? Whether she moved herself or was moved by the culprit, none of it contributes to your assertion that I was the one who killed her.”

“You were the one who wanted us to discuss all aspects of the case,” Hoshino retorted. “So that’s what we’re doing.”

“Tsk…”

“So if w-we h-hadn’t pl-played that p-prank, Hifumi might…” Miyu started to tear up, and I noticed Mutsuki and Mika shuffling uncomfortably.

“Don’t blame yourselves,” I said. “The only person to blame for Hifumi’s death is the culprit, and the true culprit is Monokuma for putting us all here.”

Monokuma blew me a faux kiss. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Teach!”

“We should keep going,” Wakamo said. “I doubt Monokuma will let us go forever.”
“As long as you dorks entertain me!”

I nodded. “Right, does anyone else have anything they want to discuss.”

Hoshino raised a finger. “Rio did bring up something else that’s been on my mind as well. That footprint outside the door. If the culprit did go through the secret passage, then why was there a footprint indicating that they left through the lounge?”

“It was probably left when Hifumi and the culprit went into the laundry room for the first time,” Yuuka said.

It was a sound theory, but there was something about the footprint that disproved it.

True or False!

The footprint was facing towards the laundry room.

True/False

Answer Key:

False

“That’s a good try, but it’s not quite what we found,” I said.

“The footprint,” Hina explained, “Was facing away from the laundry room, meaning that it was most likely made when the killer left the laundry room.”

“But Izuna thought that the killer left from the secret passage!” the ninja said. “Unless they had a cloning technique, they couldn’t go through both, right?”

Rio tucked her pen behind her ear. “You’re correct. Do you all see now how under even the most tenuous of scrutiny Sensei’s narrative collapses? Are we truly going to believe him when there are so many inconsistencies?”

“Well…” Ibuki looked back and forth between us. Several other students appeared uncertain as well.

“If we just keep ta-”

“And another thing!” Rio interrupted me. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing some of the evidence you so meticulously collected, Sensei, but let me draw everyone’s attention to the powdered detergent on the floor.”

“What about it?” Hoshino said, frowning.

“Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the culprit did use the supposed secret passage. That detergent got on everything. I’m pretty sure any of us who searched around the laundry room have some on our shoes right now.”

Izuna lifted her foot, then fell down.

Rio continued, “Therefore, it would be logical that we would find footprints or other evidence of the killer having travelled both to the passage as well as into the dorm hallway. However, all we found was a single bloodstain, which might be there for a multitude of reasons.”

Crossing her arms, Rio ended her case, face neutral but exuding a confidence that disarmed me.

“Hmm…” Shiroko growled lightly under her breath. “I still think we should listen to Sensei,” she said.

“Me too! Me too!” Izuna said, scrambling to get back up.

Mutsuki and Aru didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know… I think Rio might be right that we need a different approach,” Aru said.

“But Sensei hasn’t led us astray so far, and his reasoning is sound, even if we have not illuminated the whole truth yet,” Seia argued.

“What if he’s been leading us wrong this whole time?” Mika said, wings fluttering behind her.

“Or Rio’s just trying to take the heat off of her,” Saori said. “She hasn’t actually offered any defense, just undermined Sensei.”

“Ah… I d-did not mean to actually suggest a secret passage earlier,” Aris whimpered. “It was my mistake that I must apologize for.”

I turned to Miyu who simply looked at the ground. “S-so-sorry, S-Sensei… I d-don’t know.”

“I will always support my darling Sensei,” Wakamo said. “And I dare any of you to challenge me on that!”

Yuuka grimaced. “The math doesn’t add up somewhere, but I’m not sure where. If we follow Sensei, he may pigeonhole us.”

“Sensei,” Hoshino said. When everyone looked at her expectantly, she blinked. “Did I need to say anything else?”

Finally, Hina held out her hand. “I think I’ve made my feelings on the matter clear. I agree with Saori that Rio is attempting to mislead us, and I will do everything in my power to convince you all.”

“Hold on, hold on!” Ibuki said, counting on her fingers. “That’s… even for everybody. Oh, uh, Ibuki… Ibuki doesn’t want Rio to be bad so… yeah…”

Looking uncharacteristically smug, Rio’s red eyes shone with efficient malice. “So what now, Sensei? Your argument has split your students’ opinions.”

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, BUSTERS!

We all turned to Monokuma, who had hopped up on the backrest of his throne.

“Did you say, ‘split?!’ You did! You did! I heard it. I ten million percent heard it!”

“That’s not how percentages work!” Yuuka cried to no one’s acknowledgement.

“If there’s a split opinion, the only solution is to have you all battle it out to see which side is able to move this case forward! And there’s no better place to do it than Hope’s Archive Tactical Challenge Arena!” Monokuma's statement was accompanied by a rather pitiful confetti cannon.

Before any of us could ask for clarification, the podiums beneath our feet lurched upwards, splitting from their circle formation to form two distinct sides facing each other, hovering in midair. Monokuma’s throne shot up to land right between the two sides, a gavel appearing in his hand.

I see… this was a debate. It was up to me and the students on my side to get everyone back on the same page. I didn’t need them to believe me entirely, just enough that we could be productive and solve this case.

Tactical Debate Club!

Who should we listen to?

Listen to Rio                                   Listen to Sensei

                                                                            Rio                                                 Sensei

                                                                            Yuuka                                             Hina

                                                                            Mutsuki                                           Izuna

                                                                            Aru                                                  Saori

                                                                            Ibuki                                                Hoshino

                                                                            Miyu                                                 Shiroko

                                                                            Mika                                                 Seia

                                                                            Aris                                                   Wakamo

BEGIN!

Yuuka: The whole idea of a secret passage is ridiculous

Monokuma confirmed the existence of a secret passage: Shiroko

Aris: Even so, is there evidence the culprit used the passage?

The evidence is the blood stain we found near the dorms: Saori

Aru: But what about the lack of powdered detergent around the area?

The powdered detergent could have made the footprint leaving the laundry room: Izuna

Miyu: B-but d-doesn’t th-that contradict the secret p-passage idea?

It does, but that’s all the more reason to explore the contradiction: Hoshino

Mika: But how do we know Sensei is the one we should follow?

Sensei hasn’t given us any reason to doubt him or his abilities: Wakamo

Ibuki: But Rio hasn’t given us any reason to think she’s bad either!

That’s not true. Rio has lied to or misled us several times during this trial: Hina

Mutsuki: But what if Sensei lied, too? How can we be sure if we don’t interrogate him?

 All of Sensei’s claims have been backed by evidence. It is unlikely he’s lied to us: Seia

Rio: Your evidence is circumstantial. There is still more to the case!

There is more, you’re correct. But that’s why we have to keep digging deeper: Sensei

THIS IS OUR ANSWER!

BREAK!

The podiums levitated back into place, and, after a minute to recover – poor Seia was looking particularly green – I continued my argument. “Rio, you have every right to defend yourself, but all you’ve done so far is obfuscate and try to cast doubt on me without offering anything substantial in your defense. If that’s all you have, then we have no choice but to keep going piece by piece until the truth reveals itself.”

“Tsk… Fine, but don’t blame me when the culprit goes free,” Rio spat, turning away.

Whew… it seemed most of the students were back on my side, but that wouldn’t last long unless I quelled some of their doubts.

“Okay, okay,” Yuuka said, her hand on her head as she thought. “The culprit’s footprint and the secret passage. We haven’t figured out why there is evidence for the culprit leaving in two different directions.”

“Well, it’s obvious the culprit didn’t use the secret passage at all,” Mika said, “And instead left after Sensei came to our prank.”

Wakamo shook her head. “The timing would be tight. And the culprit wouldn’t know where Sensei was, so they couldn’t risk it.”

Hoshino held up a finger. “And, they would have to go stash the knife and Hifumi’s ID, remember.”

“They could have stepped out and then back in when they heard Sensei coming,” Aris offered.

“But wouldn’t Sensei have heard the laundry room door close?” Ibuki said.

“Maybe,” Saori said, “But he was in a rush at that point, right? He’d seen some of the indicator lights were off. So it’s still possible he simply missed the culprit sneaking by him.”

“Hmm, that’s leaving an awful lot to chance.” Shiroko played with the edge of her scarf. “Also, we’re forgetting that Hifumi was alive for a short time after the culprit stabbed her.”

Raising her eyebrows, Aru put her fist in her other palm. “What if the culprit came back to finish the job? A good outlaw never leaves a job undone?”

“Is that really true?” Yuuka deadpanned.

I felt that we had already tread over a lot of this ground, but there was one theory that was new…

Which student is correct?

>Mika     >Aris     >Saori     >Aru

Answer Key:

>Mika     >Aris     >Saori     >Aru

“I think Aru is on to something,” I said.

“I am? I m-mean, of course I am!”

I nodded at her. She wasn’t dumb, just a little impulsive. A little confidence and foresight and she’d be a force to be reckoned with. “Everyone’s right who says that it’s impossible for the killer to have left via the secret passage and the lounge at the same time, but what if they didn’t leave at the same time? What if they came back to finish the job upon seeing that Hifumi was still alive?”

“Ah yes,” Rio said, “More what-ifs and conjecture. How logically rigorous.”

“There would be time for the culprit to return considering the prank occurred at that time. Sensei would have been tied up dealing with that,” Seia reasoned.

“B-but is th-there any w-way to know for  s-sure?” Miyu asked.

There was! When we’d investigated her body, there was something about it that proved it.

Multiple Choice!

What evidence shows the culprit came back?

A. Different Stab Wounds

B. Monokuma File 1

C. Rubber Stopper

D. Blood in the Dorm Hallway

Answer Key:

A. Different Stab Wounds

“When Hoshino and I examined Hifumi’s body,” I explained, “There was something odd about her wounds.”

“Hah… Sensei’s so brave handling that!” Wakamo gushed.

Whether she was ignoring it or simply didn’t hear, Hoshino expanded on my thoughts. “That’s right. Her stomach wounds were shallow and there were a lot of them. But the wound over her heart was really deep and clean.”

Saori nodded. “During the first engagement, Hifumi was alive and kicking, so the culprit had to hit her hard and fast. That would cause those jagged, messed up stomach wounds. But if they came back, Hifumi was a much easier target, so they could line up the killshot.”

While it unnerved me to hear the murder described so casually, Saori’s… expertise in the matter leant credibility to what I was saying.

“But did we not say earlier that Hifumi died from blood loss?” Rio said, grabbing the podium tightly.

“We did,” Hina said, “But it’s still possible for her to have died of blood loss before the killer came back or after her heart was stabbed.”

“Right,” I replied. “The culprit likely saw that Hifumi was still alive after they began to make their escape and returned to the crime scene while I was in the gym to finish the job, then left via the lounge instead of the secret passage."

Kufufu~ Let me play, let me play!

Mustuki covered her mouth as she laughed. “Sorry, sorry, I liked how Saori did it earlier.”

The mercenary did not look amused.

“But for real, aren’t you making a pretty big jump there, Sensei? Don’t worry, your favorite student is here to show you where you went wrong!”

Classroom Management!

Mutsuki

So we’re absolutely positively sure that the culprit went back to the crime scene?

I know they say they always return to the scene of the crime…

But that’s a silly TV thing!

This whole topic falls apart if they only went after Hifumi once!

So you’re super-duper sure the culprit went back, right?

Sensei

Yes. The culprit going back explains both the different stab wounds and why there’s evidence that they left through the lounge and secret passage.

ADVANCE!

Mutsuki

Okay, okay, okay! I was just being sure!

Because that’s where your assumption lies!

You say the killer left through the lounge, but…

Why wouldn’t they simply leave through the secret passage again?

Wouldn’t that be safer? Going through the lounge again risks getting caught!

Don’t you know what they say about assuming?

It makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me!”

NO, THAT’S WRONG!

BREAK!

“There is a reason they might not have wanted to use the secret passage again,” I explained. “In fact, you should be aware of it, Mutsuki.”

“Huh?” Mutsuki cocked her head, but the wry smile remained plastered on her face. What was her goal here?

Mika’s wings fluttered in excitement. “Oh, Sensei! Sensei! Can I answer?”

“Um… sure?”

Smiling, Mika gestured to Miyu. “I heard about Miyu’s Account, and I can corroborate. Right before we started the prank. Literally right before, I mean! We heard a loud banging sound coming from the school.”

“W-w-we thought it w-was just S-Sensei,” Miyu added.

Hina nodded thoughtfully. “That banging sound must have been the secret passage. If it made a loud noise when it was opened or closed, it would make sense for the culprit not to want to risk it again.”

“And if Sensei was with us,” Mika continued, “Then they could get in, finish the job, then get out via the lounge before Sensei had even yelled at us!”

“However,” Rio said, her voice tight. “Sensei would have obviously heard the slam as well, but he didn’t.”

“Not quite,” Hina responded. “Sensei, do you remember what you and I talked about on the day of the party?”

I thought back to when I spoke with Hina.

“I overheard you all talking in the dining hall.” When I raised my eyebrows, she continued. “The sound carries. If you’re in this wing, you can hear pretty much anything.”

“Now I remember… If you’re in the living wing, you can hear most things that happen there.”

“Specifically,” Hina continued before Rio could say anything, “If you’re in the halls or close to a doorway. If Sensei was looking in the lounge due to being panicked by the indicator lights being off, then he wouldn’t have heard the slam, but those in the gymnasium would.”

“Hmph…” Rio looked put out. “Is that your opinion of me? You think I would crack under a surprisingly loud sound? You’re creating stories to fill in for your lack of evidence once again. If your only proof of panic or distress is the account of a scaredy cat –”

“Uuuueeeee!”

“Then you’re even more desperate than I thought.”

“Sensei has more,” Wakamo stated. “I know he does.” She reached up and tapped her mask.

That’s right! There was something weird about the crime scene that could point to the culprit being panicked.

Fill in the Blank!

The                     demonstrates that the culprit was feeling distressed.

Answer Key:

The bag over Hifumi’s head demonstrates that the culprit was feeling distressed.

“The bag…” I said, realization crossing my face.

“The bag?” Mika mirrored.

“The bag!” Mutsuki cheered, earning a glare from several other students.

I swept my gaze over the students. “The bag over Hifumi’s head. Both Hoshino and I felt that it was quite odd for the culprit to do something like that.”

“Nin! Izuna remembers! There wasn’t any evidence or clues hidden under there… just Hifumi looking very sad…”

For as much as I didn’t like thinking about Hifumi’s expression, it did tie in nicely to what I was saying. “I don’t think any of you are truly evil people, and if the culprit had to return to the scene to kill Hifumi, the initial rush that spurred them to kill her may have faded, especially if they were startled by the secret passage slamming closed.

“Looking someone in the eye and taking a life… is difficult to do, even for hardened mercs…” Saori said, tugging her cap low over her eyes.

“Hmm and it was a mess in there,” Shiroko said. “The shelf where all the detergent was is the same shelf that had the paper bags on it.”

Ibuki nodded. “Ohhhh so the culprit was in such a rush that they didn’t clean up!”

“And that doesn’t sound like something Rio would do,” Yuuka mused. “But emotions running high could cause people to make all sorts of mistakes that they normally wouldn't.”

“So… R-Rio r-really d-did do it…” Miyu said softly.

“It sure sounds like it,” Hoshino replied, her expression grim.

We all returned our attention to Rio. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths. Finally, she inhaled, held it, then exhaled. When she opened her eyes, they burned into mine with pure anger.

“So that’s it?” she said. Tranquil fury clawed forth from her tone. “That’s all it takes to convince you all? How disappointing. I had higher expectations for my fellow Ultimates, but it seems that, once again, I can only rely on myself.”

She fixed her gaze on me and only me. “Sensei, ever since you’ve accused me, you have created this elaborate fairy tale and the real culprit is laughing quietly to themselves. Unlike you, I won’t get caught up in my emotions. I will remain clear-headed and logical as I always am, and will dismantle this charade with a final blow!”

This was it! I had her! I only had to face off against her one final time and I’d be able to blow this whole case wide open! So come on, Rio, show your teacher what you’ve got and let this be over… so that I can help you like I couldn’t before!

One-On-One Emergency Intervention

Sensei vs. Rio

Rio

Everything you’ve said has been fanciful stories

Do you even care that Hifumi’s killer is going to go free?

Or are you truly so blinded by your emotions?

Nothing you’ve said makes sense!

It’s all illogical, irrational, inconceivable!

And even if you figured out how the culprit did it.

There’s something you haven’t accounted for!

So allow me to illuminate it for you

Before you have an innocent girl die in vain!

The party setup? Pure coincidence. Unlucky circumstances on my part

The sloppiness of the culprit? Do you truly believe that I would be so clumsy?!

But above all else…

You have no concrete evidence that proves I was ever near Hifumi!

BLO

FINGER                     ODY

NAILS

Bloody Fingernails

THIS IS MY FINAL LESSON TO YOU!

BREAK!

“You’re wrong, Rio,” I said. “There is a way to prove whether you met Hifumi or not.”

“W-what?!”

“If Hifumi survived the initial attack, she probably would try to stop the bleeding. Normally, we’d expect someone to use her hands, so they’d be covered in blood, but Hifumi had her bag with her, so she likely used that instead. That means that her hands were pretty clean. Except for her fingernails. There was a lot of blood caked under them.”

Ibuki held her head. “Waaah… Ibuki is confused… How does that prove anything?”

“It’s like this,” I explained. “How would the blood get there and only there?”

Seia’s ears twitched in excitement. “If the blood wasn’t hers, but instead was the culprit’s!”

“Exactly. Hifumi could have gotten the blood there if she grabbed her attacker at some point. Probably while she was on the floor at some point.”

“That also would explain how the culprit knew Hifumi was still alive…” Hina reasoned. “And it would be quite surprising if the girl you thought that you killed suddenly grabbed you.”

“Th-this proves nothing!” Rio yelled. “So what if she got some blood under her nails?!”

“Well, if Hifumi grabbed hard enough to draw blood, then it no doubt left blood on the culprit, right?” I zeroed in on Rio. “So if you show us your bare legs, we’ll know once and for all if you’re there.”

A beat of silence passed. Rio turned bright red. I think Hoshino coughed.

“Uh, Sensei, might want to rephrase that…” Mika said.

I immediately felt all my "cool guy" momentum disappear as I realized I basically told Rio to strip in front of us.

“Um… well… just your ankle or something. I can turn around or…”

“Oh for the love of…” Saori stepped down from her podium, kneeled down next to Rio and yanked at Rio’s stockings, tearing them right around the ankles…

And revealed several red cuts and markings on her left leg, exactly as if someone had dug their nails in hard enough to draw blood.

“R-Rio…” Ibuki sobbed, her determination she’d held onto through the whole trial crumbling rapidly.

Yuuka gripped the front of the podium, looking like she was about to faint. “How… How could you?” 

“Party killing was forbidden!” Aris cried before hiding her face in her jacket, loud wails barely muffled by the cloth.

“Everyone…” Rio said. She had dropped her clipboard at some point and she looked simply… defeated.

“Sensei,” Hoshino called. “I think it’s time we wrapped this up… Mind summarizing everything for us? So we can finally hear the truth?”

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to put everything together and condemn Rio, my student, as the culprit, but the evidence was undeniable, and I owed it to Hifumi. After this, after whatever punishment Monokuma had in store for Rio, I’d make sure to do everything in my power to get to the bottom of why she did it and ensure it never happened again.

Lesson Summary!

“The case went something like this… It all started before the party, while we were setting up. When they were alone in the dining hall, the culprit – having figured out Hifumi’s most precious possession as a way to lure her in – set up a trap using the broom and the rubber stopper.

That trap was sprung during the party itself. When Hifumi went to get a cookie, the culprit kicked the broom, causing it to knock the rubber stopped out from under the unstable table leg, sending juice all over Hifumi’s backpack.

Distraught, Hifumi went to wash her bag with Hoshino and Shiroko, but came back to the party like normal. After the party, during nighttime, the culprit went to Hifumi’s room to remind her of her backpack. Not wanting it to be damaged by leaving it wet overnight, Hifumi and the culprit went to the laundry room.

Once there, the culprit stabbed Hifumi in the stomach multiple times with the kitchen knife. At the same time, I started my nighttime patrol earlier than usual, and Mutsuki, Mika, and Miyu headed to the gym to get started on their prank.

Realizing that the indicator lights were off, I started frantically searching for the missing students, beginning in the lounge. This caused the culprit to use the secret passage in the laundry room to escape without being seen. However, before they could, Hifumi – who was still alive – reached out and grabbed their ankle, injuring them and leaving blood underneath Hifumi’s fingernails.

The culprit made it through the secret passage, leaving a small blood stain on the wall by the dorms, but realized they had to go back to ensure Hifumi had died. When the secret passage closed, it made a loud slam that startled the culprit. At this point, the trio in the gym began their prank, drawing my attention there.

The culprit used this opportunity to run back to the laundry room, ignoring the secret passage for fear of making too much noise. When they got there, the sight of Hifumi on the ground was too much, so they grabbed a paper bag and put it over her head. When they did that, they knocked off powdered detergent that would later leave a smudged footprint when they left through the lounge.

The culprit then stabbed Hifumi through the heart, though by that point she had likely already bled out. They then ran back through the lounge before I finished in the gym, tossed Hifumi’s ID and the knife into her room to make it seem like she was safely there, then returned to their own room.

That person… was Tsukatsuki Rio. And the injury on her leg proves it!”

BREAK!

Once more, silence reigned except for a few pitiful noises coming from several of the girls. The second I finished my summary, I felt all of the adrenaline I’d been building up leave my system. My limbs felt heavy, and my head pounded in an uneven rhythm. Why had it come to this? What could I have done differently? Why wasn’t I able to protect my precious students? From each other and from themselves?

For her part, Rio stayed looking at the ground, teeth clenched together, arms limp by her side. The injuries, red as her eyes, contrasted against the paleness of her skin, like Hifumi was calling out from the grave to draw attention to the most damning piece of evidence against Rio.

“Damn it…” Saori grumbled, having returned to her podium. “Damn it!”

“How I wish my dreams would have warned me of this fate, even if I could not stop it…” Seia held her head in her hands.

Hina, ever the stoic, simply glared at Rio. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or upset or annoyed, but whatever she was feeling, she wasn’t happy.

“This… doesn’t feel good,” Shiroko said. She took a deep breath from her scarf, ears flat against her head.

Even Wakamo, who had been so aloof towards the rest of the students, seemed down. She’d turned her back on everyone and appeared to be tightening her mask as far as it would go.

“I…” Rio started.

“Don’t,” Hoshino suddenly commanded, voice firm. “Whatever you’re about to say, it can wait.”

The silence resumed, a sanctified agreement to not speak for fear of shattering the tenuous peace the end of the trial brought. That was, until Monokuma decided to remind us of his existence.

“Ahahahaha!” His foul laughter sent shivers of disgust crawling over my skin. “I think we’ve seen enough, though if you want to cry out in despair some more, I won’t stop you! However, it’s time we get to the voting!”

The screens on the podiums sprung to life, showing a four by four grid with the students’ faces lined up. Hifumi’s icon was crossed out, and my icon was off to the side with the words “loner loser stinky do not interact” written above it. Mature, real mature.

“One of you is the Blackened! It’s time to use the screen in front of you to vote for who you think it is! Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!”

“Please, cast your votes! Let’s go!”

Vote for your student!

Chapter Text

“Thank you for voting!”

Those words flashed mockingly on my screen after I pressed Rio’s icon, complete with a Monokuma face and a thumbs-up symbol next to it. Each of my students pressed a button on their podiums as well, some with more hesitation than others. Even Rio herself cast a vote, though who knows if Monokuma was going to show us who voted for whom.

“Alrigthy! That’s all the votes! Let’s see if you all voted correctly or if the Blackened will go free!” Monokuma cackled.

The lights in the trial room suddenly shut off, plunging the room into darkness illuminated only by the lights coming from our podium screens. A spotlight clicked on right above me. Then, it moved to Aris next to me, then to Izuna next to her. Picking up speed, the light flashed above all of us like a roulette wheel until finally it started to slow. Slower… Slower… Finally stopping right above Rio.

A fanfare blared from unseen speakers, and the lights along the perimeter of the room exploded into a celebratory display of colors.

“Cooooooongratulations! You all got it right! Not bad for your first trial.” Monokuma announced, bouncing down from his throne to the center of the podium circle. “The Blackened who killed Ajitani Hifumi was none other than our Ultimate Rationalist, Tsukatsuki Rio!”

Hearing those words come out of Monokuma’s mouth, though I knew them to be true, nonetheless made me feel sick to my stomach. The podiums lowered into the ground, leaving us standing in a crowd, with quite a berth of space around Rio in particular.

“It’s only logical…” Rio said, grabbing her arm. “Your arguments were convincing and well-reasoned, so it’s logical that you would vote for me.”

“We voted for you cause you’re damn guilty!” Saori snarled. “Don’t make this into some sort of thought experiment!”

“R-Rio…” Ibuki sobbed. She was sitting on the ground, her hat fallen off her head. “Rio!”

“Don’t cry, little one,” Hoshino cooed, kneeling down and patting Ibuki’s head. “We found out who did it.”

“But… But Ibuki didn’t want it to be anybody!”

“Oh, so that explains why someone voted for you,” Monokuma said. He cocked his head. “You better be careful voting for yourself. You never know when you might be the deciding vote!”

“Can it, bear,” Saori spat.

“So scary! You’d think that I was the brutal murderer instead of one of you!”

I stepped in between Saori and Monokuma before she could lunge at him. “Please, Saori, calm down.”

“I just…” She dropped her head. “Damn it all!”

Satisfied that she wasn’t going to get herself hurt, I turned to face Rio. She was so brilliant. From the moment I met her, her intelligence shined through, and she always had such a level head. How could it have been her? Part of me didn’t want to believe it, but another part of me realized that I didn’t truly know her at all.

Had I ever spent one-on-one time with her during these past few days? Had I ever asked her directly how she was doing? Did we ever even hang out in a group for a long period of time? I was her teacher, I was supposed to support her. I failed. I failed her and Hifumi. Because of my failure, one of them was a murderer and the other was dead.

“How long,” Hina said, marching up to Rio. The height difference was noticeable, yet Hina somehow towered over Rio through sheer presence alone. “How long have you been planning this?”

Rio looked downcast, as if she was deciding whether or not to answer. With a heavy sigh, she said, “From pretty much day one I was thinking of a way to get out of here.”

That hit like a brick to the gut. How had I missed it? She was always jotting notes down on that clipboard of hers. I had figured that she was simply noting down what others said, but now… Was she writing down ideas for killing the whole time?

“Didn’t you… Didn’t you say we shouldn’t play Monokuma’s game?” Mika asked tentatively. Her wings hung low on her back. She and Seia stuck close to each other.

“I did,” Rio said. “But upon reflection, I found it the most rational course of action to attempt to escape.”

“Why is that?” Shiorko said, her tone carrying a threatening edge to it.

“There were… several things that Monokuma said. The more I thought about them, the more I didn’t like the implications,” Rio explained. She walked over to where she’d dropped her clipboard and began flipping through her notes.

“For example, when he first introduced himself to us, he indicated an odd gender breakdown, as well as mentioning something about censors. These statements demonstrate a couple things. First, there have been other killing games that had more equal male and female participants, or there are concurrently other games going on with a different ratio. Second, the censors imply that not only are we being watched by Monokuma, but that others are watching us as well.”

Other killing games? People watching us? I had been so focused on getting through each day that I never gave much consideration to Monokuma’s words, especially given how much nonsense he tended to spew.

“W-wait… this has happened before?” Izuna said. “W-why haven’t we heard of it?”

“People watching us?” Wakamo scanned the area looking for cameras. “For what reason?”

Seia stepped forward. “But this is all conjecture on your part based on singular statements by Monokuma.”

“There were other clues as well,” Rio continued. “Such as referencing someone who looked like Hina. This implies that there was someone particularly irksome in the past that Monokuma is not fond of. Most likely a survivor of a previous game.”

“I. Hate. Her!” Monokuma said, stamping his foot on the ground with each word. He jabbed a claw towards Hina. “Dye your hair and get a new color scheme already so I don’t have to think about her every time I see you!”

Hina blinked and elected not to dignify that with a response. “Any other examples?”

Rio flipped back to the first page. “A few, but mostly scattered throughout our interactions with him, such as his commentary about usual patterns he’s experienced.”

“So, how does that equate to you killing Hifumi?” Yuuka asked.

“A valid question,” Rio said. “My logic was this: If this game has happened before, and if there are people watching, that tells me that there is some force acting outside of all of this. For every force, there is a counter force. A game such as this would no doubt be protested by someone in some form. If one of us were to escape, then we could seek out the opposition to the game and recruit them to help. The most efficient way for one of us to escape was to play by the rules and kill.”

“So… it was an attempt to help us?” Aris asked hopefully, to which Rio nodded.

“It was, yes. Upon my graduation, as Monokuma puts it, from here, I intended to seek out assistance in rescuing the rest of you all.”

“While we get punished for your actions,” Yuuka added with a scowl. “Or did you forget that part of the rulebook?”

Shaking her head, Rio tucked her hands into her blazer pockets. “I didn’t, no. But you all are strong, and I trusted that you could endure whatever punishment Monokuma would dish out, as could I in the event that I failed.”

“Upupupu…” Monokuma giggled to himself at the mention of punishment.

“Glad to hear you have faith in us,” Wakamo said, fingers twitching. “But Sensei would have been caught in the punishment as well, and I can’t allow that.”

“I wouldn’t want any of my students getting punished,” I spoke up. “So why not simply try to escape with the rest of us?”

“Look around you, Sensei,” Rio said. “We’ve been here for days and not found a single clue how to get out of this place. Who knows how long we’d be stuck here, and I’m doubtful that Monokuma would be content with one motive. He would undoubtedly escalate until one of us snapped.”

“I’ve got a whole binder full of 'em!”

“My point exactly,” Rio said.

“But why Hifumi?” Hoshino asked. “If your plan was to escape, I’m sure one of us would have been willing to sacrifice ourselves to make it happen.”

“Isn’t that against the rules, too?” Aru said. She had pulled her jacket on properly and zipped it up as if she could hide in its fur. I think Mutuski was hiding underneath it.

Hoshino shook her head. “Only for Sensei. For anyone else, it doesn’t matter if the victim is willing or not.”

“I-I see…”

“But how could I be certain that you would not expose my plan to Sensei?” Rio countered. “Though we’ve gotten to know each other somewhat over the past few days, we are still essentially strangers. I couldn’t take that chance. Hifumi… I chose Hifumi because she was an easy target. After Monokuma gave us the motive, it was logical to utilize it as a way to remove suspicion from me.” She glowered at Miyu. “Unfortunately, it did not work out to my advantage.”

“I-I’m s-so useless I c-can’t even be a sc-scapegoat right…” Miyu whined.

“That’s… a good thing, Miyu,” I assured her. 

“Whose did you have?” Mutsuki said, popping her head out from beneath Aru’s coat. Her eyes were red around the edges despite the smile on her face.

Yuuka tugged at her tie. “I don’t think we should go around telling everyone that.”

“Oh please,” Monokuma said with a wave. “I already used that motive, so it’s off the table now. Besides, I’ll tell you all anyway! I gave Rio information about Saori’s precious mask.”

“Huh,” Saori said as she touched the aforementioned mask. “Guess I see why you didn’t go after me.”

Rio pursed her lips. “No, I’m not foolish enough to think that I could take you.”

“Odd coincidence that two people here had masks as their favorite items,” I said, mostly to myself, though it was loud enough that Wakamo’s ear turned in my direction.

“Sensei… had Wakamo’s information? Sensei knows how dear my mask is? It must be fate…!”

“Even if you escaped,” Hina said, barreling through as she had through most of the trial. “What makes you think that you would be released as is? Monokuma clearly messed with our memory before we got here. What’s stopping him from doing it to you when you graduate?”

“His stated goal is to cause despair,” Rio replied, though she furrowed her brow. “Erasing my memories would not accomplish that goal.”

“Still a gamble,” Shiroko said.

“It was, I won’t deny it, but one of us had to do something rather than sit here and throw parties.”

“My party would have been perfect if it wasn’t for you!” Mika cried, hands on her hips.

“Heh, it is funny that the party was part of what exposed you,” Saori said. “Why didn’t you think to clean up the broom and stopper?”

The rationalist shook her head. “I had intended to in my initial plans, but with how things spiraled out of control, I became overly risk-averse.” It was my turn to be glared at by her. “Sensei, for example. You usually leave for your first patrol approximately two hours after nighttime, give or take. But that night, you decided to leave earlier than I expected.”

“I did say I would vary the times,” I replied. “And it paid off, mostly. I wish I had been a little sooner…”

Rio paused for a moment, then turned to Mutsuki. “Your foolish prank also threw a wrench in my plans. It was such an illogical thing to do that I never accounted for it.”

Mutsuki stuck her tongue out, while Mika looked somewhat proud. Miyu had buried herself in a corner.

“But that’s not all, is it?” Ibuki said, wiping her nose with her sleeve. I'd have to remind her to wash that. Though, laundry was going to be hard from now on.

Rio’s eyes widened an almost imperceptible amount. “What do you mean?”

Sniffling, Ibuki continued. “Rio… is really smart. And brave, even if it makes her do bad things. Ibuki doesn’t think you would hide in your room all night just because Sensei and everyone was out.”

“It does seem… illogical,” Hina added. “Going to the dining hall to stash the broom and stopper back in the storage area would not have taken you long at all. Worst case scenario, you could have left your ID in your room and simply avoided Sensei’s later patrols without sleeping that night.”

The way Hina described what could have happened sent a chill up my spine, and I was reminded of the photo of her commanding a group against the raiders that had been attacking them. She was so helpful during the trial. Was the reason she was able to be so helpful because she had insider access?

“I…” Rio grit her teeth. “It simply slipped my mind in my rush.”

Yuuka tutted. “Give us a break, we know you well enough to know you wouldn’t let something like that slip your mind.”

Seia puffed out her cheeks. “You owe us an explanation, I believe. It is the least you can do to begin to atone for your misdeeds.”

Several other students voiced their demands for Rio to explain herself. Rio herself started backing up slightly, her eyes darting back and forth like a cornered animal. Was it really so horrible that she didn’t want to say what happened? Or maybe… It was something more emotional.

“That’s enough, everyone,” I said, causing the chatter to die down. “Rio, can you please explain what happened between you and Hifumi last night from your perspective?”

Rio’s eyes softened a bit as I got everyone off of her back and she straightened her clothes out to return to her more presentable appearance. “I… Okay… After we got to the laundry room…

“Oh thank goodness, he’s safe!” Hifumi held up the damp Peroro. The weight of the water made his already goofy eyes even more pronounced. “You’re coming back with me so you can air dry, mister.”

Rio watched the fangirl hug Peroro close to her body, imagining what it must feel like. The only thing Rio could feel was the cold blade of the knife tucked away beneath her blazer. “It’s a good thing I remembered.”

Hifumi turned and grinned at Rio. “Ehe! I owe you big time! Thank you so so much! With all the excitement of the party, I nearly forgot about him.”

“Think nothing of it…” That smile. Why did she have such a genuine, earnest smile? Why couldn’t she be suspicious and on guard? That would have made it easier. Rio reached beneath her jacket, acting as if she simply had an itch.

“Hey, Rio,” Hifumi said, moving closer. “Are you okay? You’re looking a little out of it. Are you tir–URK!”

Before Hifumi could say one more caring word, before Rio lost her edge, she plunged the knife over and over and over and over into the blonde’s stomach. She didn’t think, she didn’t aim, she didn’t hear a single grunt of pain or anguished word coming from her victim. When her arm stopped moving, Hifumi crumpled to the ground, blood already spilling onto the floor and soaking into Peroro’s recently cleaned fabric.

“R-Rio…” Hifumi choked out, clutching Peroro as tightly to her wounds as she could.

Those eyes… those big yellow eyes that streamed tears hot and fast. Why was she looking at Rio like that? Why was there no hatred in those eyes?! Why was there only confusion and fear?!

Light suddenly poured in from beneath the laundry room door. Sensei! He was early! With the surge of adrenaline, Rio hurried towards the secret passage, taking care not to let the knife drip onto the ground. As she stepped over Hifumi, however, a sharp pain shot up her leg.

Rio looked down to see Hifumi grabbing her ankle, nails digging into her flesh.

“R-Rio…” Hifumi choked out, letting go. “Whatever I… did… I’m… I’m s-sorry…”

The rationalist couldn’t look at her anymore. She opened the passage and stepped inside. She went to close it behind her, but when she did so, she saw Hifumi dragging herself towards the door. There was a beat of admiration that flickered in Rio, but it was quickly suppressed by a need to avoid Sensei and get back to ensure Hifumi was truly dead.

“Sen… sei…” Hifumi said, her voice scratchy and fading and pitiful. “I’m in… here… Help… me…”

Rio bit down hard on her pen, cracking the lid on it. “Why didn’t she fight back? Why did she apologize? What was wrong with her? She should’ve been terrified and hated me. But instead she said sorry?! It was- it was too illogical.”

“So that’s why you put a bag over her head when you came back,” Izuna said, tail and ears equally drooping. “So you didn’t have to see her face when you killed her for real.”

Aris ran her fingers through a long handful of her hair. “If you were feeling so guilty, why did you not call Sensei? I believe that he would have forgiven you, with enough time.”

Taking a moment to compose herself, Rio replied, “I made my choices by that point. After I returned to my room to wait for Sensei to return, I simply couldn’t bring myself to leave again. It was my own irrational, emotional actions that led to my getting caught, so I have no one but myself to blame.”

“Hmm, you still don’t get it, do you?” Shiroko said, sounding more animated than I had ever heard her. “All of this could have been avoided if you had trusted us. If you had talked to any of us or Sensei, if you had shared what you figured out, we could have worked harder to find an escape, we could have brainstormed together, we could have…” Her voice broke. “We could have been a real class.”

Hoshino patted Shiroko’s back as the cyclist’s ears fell.

“We will have to disagree, then,” Rio said. “I don’t think there is anything we could have done together that I couldn’t have done alone.”

“You really think you’re hot shit, don’t you?” Saori said. “We’re all Ultimates here, and you can’t think your way out of every problem.”

Rio didn’t reply, instead opting to return her hands to her pockets.

“Oh, are we done? Can we get to my part now?” Monokuma said.

“I have another question,” Seia said simultaneously, and everyone made a conscious choice to ignore Monokuma.

“Take your time. The wait will make my part all the sweeter upupupu~”

“How did you discover the secret passage in the first place?” Seia asked.

Rio gave a wry smile. “Sheer luck. I was looking around the laundry room when I caught my foot on a shelf. If you push against the back right wall, right next to the last dryer, the wall gives and slides open. I followed it to where it let out into the dorms. However, when I scouted it out, I closed it from the inside, so I could control how fast it shut. From the dorm side, the wall closed too fast for me to catch it and avoid that loud slamming.”

The amount of things I didn’t know… I figured that they wouldn’t share everything with me, but I had believed, truly believed that if I made myself available, that my students would come to me if they found something impactful like a secret passage. Then again, I was holding a secret close to my chest. I had rationalized it as protecting the students from panic and targeting Hina, but how were they supposed to trust me if I was keeping things like that from them? Given Rio’s reasoning for committing the murder, would it have altered her plans at all? Knowing that there was potential violence out there? Or would it have only expedited her plans, feeling all the more urgent? I couldn’t say.

But Shiroko was right. They needed to be a class if we were going to get through this, and I needed to lead this class. I failed Hifumi, but I wouldn’t fail the rest of my students, and the first student who I needed to make inroads with… was Rio.

“Rio,” I said softly, causing her to jerk her head up towards me. She flinched at my tone in the same way she described flinching at Hifumi’s. “You asked why Hifumi didn’t hate you. I obviously can’t say for sure, but I think it’s for the same reason I don’t hate you, despite what you’ve done.”

“Sensei?”

“It’s easy to get lost in our thoughts. It’s easy to get so deep in ourselves that others stop being real, they start being moving parts in a plan. And this game encourages that thinking. Your goal was ultimately noble, and you do have faith in me and the others to endure while you sought help. But you never had to work alone. You never had to shoulder all of this by yourself. You’re brilliant, Rio, you truly are, but what you needed was someone to ground that brilliance. I think Hifumi knew that deep down. And I think she knew you weren’t doing what you did from a place of sheer malice.”

Rio’s expression grew stormy as she processed what I said, eventually resolving in something akin to contentment. “I’ll… take your words into consideration. But killing is still killing, regardless of motive. So I hope, whenever I finish whatever Monokuma has planned for me, I can have the opportunity to assist you all again.”

“Mmmmrrrr…” Izuna grumbled, looking at the ground. “Izuna is mad at Rio, but understands why she did it. It’s not a good feeling.”

“It’ll take a while,” Hoshino said, scratching her cheek. “But maybe one day we can move forward together.”

“Speak for yourselves,” Saori said. “When you’re on the battlefield, turning against your own is the worst sin you can commit.” She shrugged her jacket onto her shoulders and went to sit against a wall.

I stepped forward and reached out towards Rio. “You’ll always be my student, Rio. And I will keep watch over you for the rest of this game.”

“Ummmm about that!” Monokuma chimed. When we all faced him, he giggled into his paws. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt your heartfelt moment? I was about to be sick to my stomach from watching this, so I thought I’d hurry things along!”

“The punishment…” Wakamo said.

“Yes indeedy! Because Miss Tall, Dark, and Scary got found out, she needs to undergo a punishment in accordance with our school rules.”

“You’ve been rather evasive about what this punishment is,” Yuuka said. “What exactly are you going to do with her?”

Monokuma raised his paw in the air. “I’m glad you asked. You see, when a student breaks up our happy school life here at Hope’s Archive, there’s only one punishment suitable for the crime!”

“EXECUTION!”

…What?

Rio paled, her expression losing any semblance of composure. “You… you can’t be serious! That’s… that’s completely illogical!”

“Huh?” Monokuma cocked his head. “It makes complete sense. A life for a life! All things need to be balanced. Sleeping in class? That’s offending me personally, so that’s worthy of execution! Harming the headmaster? Oh boy if I could do worse, I would, but execution would have to do. When you really think about it, execution really is the best form of punishment ahahahahaha!”

“You’re insane!” Hoshino cried. “We don’t want Rio killed!”

“Y-yeah!” Aru shouted, though she looked dizzy. “She’s our classmate, let us decide the punishment.”

“Hmmm… Nope! Denied! You dorks would probably do something stupid like have her write ‘I will not mercilessly gut my innocent classmate like a rotten fish’ fifty times.”

Thinking quickly, I grabbed Rio and pulled her behind me, standing between her and Monokuma. “You’re not hurting my student!”

“Tsk tsk tsk… they’re my students, too. I’m the headmaster, after all. And you really need to brush up on your disciplinary theory if you’re going to work at my school,” Monokuma said. With a flourish, he hopped back up on his throne.

“Sensei… everyone…!” Rio cried, “I never meant… I just wanted to help you all…”

“Blah blah blah, you had your chance to talk, it’s my turn!”

“Stop this at once!” Hina ordered, her wings flaring and eyes glowing.

“Now, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Tsukatsuki Rio, the Ultimate Rationalist! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! It’s……PUNISHMENT TIME!!!”

I lunged for Rio. “NOOOOO!”

[GAME OVER]

Rio has been found guilty.

Time for the punishment!

The class looks on. A spotlight highlights Rio. From the darkness, a chain with a collar shoots out to clamp around Rio’s neck. Sensei reaches for her, but he’s too slow and she is dragged into the depths.

She’s pulled through winding hallways and twisting corridors until she ends up in a pure white room. A machine sits in the center. The chain yanks Rio into the machine where her limbs are spread and shackles clap shut around her wrists and ankles.

“RATIONAL AVANT-GARDE ANTI-HUMANISM

Ultimate Rationalist Tsukatsuki Rio’s Execution: Executed”

A Monokuma science-artist appears before Rio, lab coat covered in burns and artist’s beret tattered. He considers his subject. She’s too normal. He must stretch the limits of humanity!

He lifts his right hand. The machine whirs to life. The corresponding machine arm lurches outward, taking Rio’s arm with it. Flesh stretches but doesn’t tear, bones dislocate, and she screams.

To do the same to the left arm? No! Symmetry is for traditionalists. He must cut through boundaries! Monokuma raises his left arm and a circular saw emerges above Rio’s left shoulder. He drops his hand. The saw slices clean through, leaving a bloody stump.

More! More! The machine must transcend the limits of humanity! That’s it! Human and machine as one! The science artist pats his thighs.

THUNK! THUNK THUNK THUNK!

Pistons shoot out from the machine, piercing through Rio’s legs. How wonderful! A hybrid of machine and man!

But it’s not complete! The rationalist fancied herself a forward thinker, but Monokuma must show her how backwards she truly was.

He places his paws on either side of his head. Two robotic hands emerge from the machine. They grab Rio’s head and squeeze!

Tighter… Rio screams into the white void.

Tighter…! Blood pours from every orifice.

TIGHTER! The machine reaches its limit and…

CRACK!

Rio’s life ends as her head is turned 180 degrees. The shackles disengage and her mangled body flops to the floor. Monokuma leaves the room and shuts off the light.

A failed experiment.

A failed art piece.

A failure all around.

There were no words to describe how I was feeling. It was as if the ground was crumbling piece by piece beneath my feet. The objects in the room faded into meaningless colors and shapes. With every beat of my heart I could feel my blood swirl through my veins like a rushing river. 

Rio was dead. No, Rio was executed in a way that I couldn’t have ever dreamed of doing. Why? Why was this happening? What had we done to deserve this hell?

“Ah… Ah… AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Yuuka’s scream broke me from my trance. She’d fallen to the ground, a terrified look on her face.

“Such c-cruelty…” Seia whimpered, hiding behind her oversized sleeves.

Mika kneeled on the ground next to her, eyes vacant as she stared up at the now-blank computer screen. "Th-that would have been us if we..."

“Wahhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhh!” Ibuki wailed inconsolably, Hoshino and Hina doing their best to comfort her despite the obvious distress they were feeling.

Several students, including Shiroko, Izuna, and Aris had moved closer to me, with Aris clinging to my sleeve. Her hair had gotten even messier from the way she was messing with it.

“Th-this isn’t f-funny…” Mutsuki mumbled. “W-why would you d-do that?”

“Not even the scummiest outlaw would stoop to such a level…” Aru said, holding Mutsuki close to her.

“W-we’re a-all g-going to d-d-die!” Miyu sobbed. She sounded on the verge of hyperventilating.

Wakamo’s tail swished back forth, and she clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly.

“AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! It’s been way too long since I’ve had a good ol’ fashioned execution!” Monokuma appeared back in the room, looking all too pleased with himself.

Saori stomped up to him, face twisted in a mixture of fury and anguish. “Hey, asshole, ever heard of a firing squad? If you’re gonna kill someone, there’s no reason to do it like that!”

“Ah but look at all of this lovely despair! Don’t it make you wanna just nom nom nom nom nom! If this is your reaction to one execution, I can’t wait to see how you all respond to the next ones!”

“There won’t be any more,” Shiroko said, but there was no conviction behind her voice.

“Sounding a little weak there, Wolfy!”

“There will not be any more killings,” I reiterated. I tried to hide the doubt in my voice, though I don’t know if I succeeded. Either way, this was the time for me to step up. “We’re not going to let Hifumi or Rio die for nothing. We’re going to use this to unify us and get out of here together.”

Monokuma cackled. “What a nice speech! You should be a corporate motivator. You can sling buzzwords around with the best of ‘em.” He waved me off. “Look, I’ve heard this all before, so unless you’ve got anything original to say, it’s time to get out of here.”

“So it’s true,” Hina said. She had gotten Yuuka to her feet while Saori and Seia were helping Mika up. “There have been other games, just like Rio said.”

“Upupupu~”

“Helpful as always…” Hina grumbled.

“If there’s nothing else,” Monokuma said, “Then it’s time for you all to get the HELL OUT OF MY COURTROOM. GO ON! GIT!”

The sound of the elevator opening spurred everyone in the room to life. No one wanted to be in this forsaken place any longer than we had to. However, before I left, I noticed that Rio had dropped her clipboard when she had been dragged off. Not willing to let Monokuma have another part of my students, I ran over and grabbed it, tucking it under my arm. Maybe I could go through her notes later and get her insights. That would have to wait for later. Right now, I just wanted to collapse in my bed.

Returning back to the school was a somber affair. There were no sounds except for the occasional sob. I made sure that I saw each and every one of my students enter their rooms and click the lock shut. I had no idea what time it was, but I’m pretty sure Monokuma appeared at some point to say that it was nighttime.

It didn’t matter if he was telling the truth or not. Time didn’t have much meaning here, and I was so exhausted that I might as well have run a marathon. Once Mika shut her door, I stared down at the indicator lights. They’d given me so much comfort just one night ago, but now knowing that they could so easily be manipulated left a sour taste in my mouth. The fact that Rio and Hifumi’s lights would forever remain off only drove a wedge into the fresh wound.

Despite my exhaustion, I didn’t feel I could sleep without doing at least one round through the school. I left no room unturned. In all three classrooms, I checked under the desks and behind chairs. In the storage room, I climbed over whatever I could to make sure there was no corner that I hadn’t seen. In the library I must have walked through each row of books at least five times, fear that I might have missed one preventing me from leaving. In the kitchen and dining hall – both of which had been cleaned despite Monokuma’s statements otherwise – I checked each and every table. All solid. As if that innocuous unstable one was never there. In the lounge, I even made sure to check under the sofa, half expecting to find Monokuma staring back at me.

Finally, I made it to the door of the laundry room. Bracing myself, I opened the door. Relief mixed with anger as I saw that Monokuma had cleaned up any trace of Hifumi’s body. What had he done with it? And where was Rio’s? When we got out of here, their families deserved to have their bodies to lay to rest.

Bile rose in the back of my throat as I did one final scan and noticed something sitting on top of the washing machine. Peroro, with his goofy expression and outstretched tongue, rested there, perfectly positioned, as if Hifumi herself posed him. I couldn’t help but interpret it as Monokuma mocking me, leaving the very cause of Hifumi’s untimely death out for me to find.

Still, just like with Rio’s clipboard, I refused to allow Monokuma any satisfaction. If we ever found Hifumi’s body, I was going to ensure that she and Peroro reunited. I snatched the bag off the machine. It was perfectly clean and smelling fresh out of the packaging.

After wandering around the school a bit more, I finally made it back to my room. I stashed Peroro and the clipboard in the closet. Monokuma could go wherever he wanted, but it at least gave me the illusion that I was hiding it from him.

It was surprisingly easy to go through my nightly routine. The automation of it all felt good to slip into after having been “on” all day for the trial. I had just finished washing my face when I heard something.

Knock knock knock.

A million unbidden thoughts raced through my head as to why someone would be knocking at my door at this time, but given the knocks’ softness and lack of urgency, I figured it couldn’t be too bad.

When I opened the door, I saw Ibuki standing there. She was wearing an oversized nightshirt that sat loose on her small frame. In one hand, she held a pillow. In the other, a well-loved teddy bear. Her comforter hung from her shoulders.

“Se-Sensei…” she said, her voice so thick with tears that my first urge was to scoop her up in my arms.

“Ibuki, what are you doing out here so late?”

Hugging her teddy bear closer to her body, she hiccuped then said, “I can’t sleep. I can’t stop crying. And… and I’m really scared.”

I offered her a small smile and stood aside to invite her into my room. “Come in and let’s talk, I said. You’re safe in my room.”

Wordlessly, Ibuki stepped forward, her comforter dragging on the ground behind her. She shuffled up onto my bed, dropping her pillow on it. “Why do you get so many pillows, Sensei?” she asked, pointing to the pile that I’d made in the corner.

“No idea,” I said, “I guess Monokuma thinks I have a sensitive head.”

A faint smile graced Ibuki’s lips, but it vanished quickly. I sat down next to her, a bit unsure how to proceed. How exactly did one comfort a young girl going through a sadistic killing game run by a freaky mascot bear?

“What’s got you so scared?” I started.

Ibuki nuzzled her face into her bear and stared at the floor. At first, I thought she didn’t hear me, but when I was about to repeat myself, she answered. “Ibuki is scared that she’ll become a bad girl, too.”

I blinked. That’s not what I had expected. I figured that she’d be worried that she was going to get killed or that Monokuma would do something, but the younger girl had surprised me consistently since I’d known her.

“Why do you think you’ll be a bad girl?”

“When Rio was talking earlier. She made some points that Ibuki thought were good. Like the stuff about other games and cameras and things. But she took it too far, right? So if Ibuki thinks some of her ideas are good, what if I end up taking it too far?”

She looked up at me with big, shiny, earnest eyes. They were puffy, but dry, having cried so much that I was worried she might be dehydrated. However, deep within them, beneath all of the fear, was a determination to do her best. She had said she wanted to be a good student on the first day.

I smiled at her, poking her nose. “You’re already being a good girl,” I said. “You had a scary thought, but instead of keeping it bottled up, you came to me. That’s hard to do, even for adults, so I’m very glad that you did it.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. And if you keep doing that, with me or with the others, then you won’t ever have to worry about going too far.”  I reached out to smooth her hair, which got her to smile. “Monokuma wants to divide us, so as long as we work together, he can’t do anything.”

Ibuki sniffled. “I hope so. Ibuki wants to have lots of fun with the others. And Sensei, too!” Her face dropped. “And Hifumi and Rio…”

She started tearing up again, and I simply let her cry. She leaned against me and held her teddy bear as tight as she could. How many other students were in a similar position right now? How many were up staring at their ceilings, wondering they could be next? I couldn’t force them to come to me for support, but a small part of me hoped that Ibuki would spread the word and they’d be more willing to rely on me.

“Can Ibuki ask another question?”

“Always.”

She sat upright. “Is it okay if I’m not mad at Rio? Because Saori was saying some really not nice things and sounded angry, but I don’t feel that way.”

“It’s okay for you not to be angry,” I said, “Just like it’s okay for Saori to be angry. Death is hard even in normal circumstances, and what Rio did… It’s going to take time for that wound to heal. It may never fully heal, to be honest.”

“Can Ibuki kiss it to make it better?”

I chuckle. “You can try to kiss Saori, but she might throw you across the room.”

That got Ibuki to smile. “Then I’ll keep trying! And anyone else who needs it, too! Ibuki will do her best to make everyone happy again.”

She tried to strike a confident pose, but was undermined by a massive yawn.

“Looks like someone’s tired,” I said playfully, standing fully. “You want me to walk you back to your room?”

Squirming in her seat, Ibuki shook her head. “Too tired! Ibuki won’t make it. Ibuki needs… a pillow fort to sleep in!”

And that’s how I ended up spending the next however long using the frankly absurd amount of pillows Monokuma provided for me to make a “pillow fort” (it was more like a pillow raft if I was being honest) that Ibuki promptly jumped onto.

“Tuck me in, Sensei!” she said, raising her arms.

I grabbed her comforter and gave it a few snappy fluffs before draping it over Ibuki, including her face, which caused her to shriek with delight. When she popped out the other end, she had a big, sleepy smile on her face.

“Alright, that’s enough playing around,” I said. “It’s late, so let’s get some sleep.”

I went over and clicked the light off. By the time I got back to my bed, Ibuki was already fading off to sleep. She looked positively precious bundled up in her pillow fort.

This was why I had to be better. This was why I had to protect my students even more fiercely than before. So that moments like this where they could be at peace and have fun were the normal rather than the exception.

Crawling into bed, I found myself drifting off to sleep almost immediately. Tomorrow was a new day, and I’d make sure it was a good one. 

For my students.

[14 Students Remain]

[Sensei Status: Alive]

Continue Experiment?

Y/N

Y

Chapter Text

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Good morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. Nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine to greet another beautiful day! If you can, that is!”

Click

My whole body felt like it had been run over by a monster truck rally. The second I cracked open my eyes, the previous day’s events replayed themselves over in my head at rapid speed. I don’t remember if I dreamed last night, but I was thankful for that. Nothing good could come of unrestrained thoughts right now.

“Awwwaaaawawa…”

A cute yawn next to me reminded me that Ibuki had stayed in my dorm overnight. She’d buried herself so deep under the covers and pillows that she scurried around as a lump before she finally popped up on the far end.

“Good morning, Sensei…” she said, her voice slurred with sleep.

I waved. “Good morning, Ibuki, did you– Ibuki, watch out you’re going to–!”

Too late. Ibuki conked her head on the sink as she half sleepwalked over to the bathroom area. I checked to make sure that she was okay, and she gave me a thumbs up while holding her head then shut the door. I took advantage to quickly throw on my day clothes, pausing only briefly in front of my closet to check that Peroro and the clipboard were still where I put them.

After getting Ibuki awake enough to actually make it down the hallway on her own, I brought her back to her room and told her to meet me in the dining hall once she was ready.

The dining hall was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not the most energetic place to be. Only a few students were even there. Seia poked at a bowl of plain rice, while Saori had her cap over her face and was leaning back in her chair, rocking back and forth on the back legs. Yuuka and Hina tag-teamed Aris’s hair, brushing it out while the mysterious ultimate focused on trying to get a particularly stubborn knot out.

I greeted them and got a few halfhearted responses before grabbing my breakfast. The way everything had been put back together was immaculate. How had Monokuma even managed to do it during the trial? Probably the same way he kidnapped us and put us here, if I had to guess. Everything seemed so normal and in its place, as if two of my students hadn’t died horribly yesterday.

As I ate, a few more students wandered their way in. Any conversation was short and clipped. When there were only a couple unaccounted for, I stood to go get them, but when Hina offered to go instead, I saw an opportunity.

“Let’s go together,” I said.

Hina looked surprised for a split second, but nodded. “If you’d like.”

As soon as we left the dining hall, I said, “Before we grab the stragglers, do you mind coming to my room first?”

I clearly had caught her off guard because she stopped in place for a split second and her eyes widened. “What for?”

“There’s something that I want you to see and get your opinion on before I share with the others.”

“Why me?”

“It specifically involves you.”

I could see her weighing the various possibilities of what I wanted in her head before finally relenting. “Very well, but let’s make it quick.”

Once in my room, I lifted up the corner of my mattress and pulled out the book that Wakamo and I had stumbled across a few nights ago.

“Interesting reading material,” Hina said, a hint of a smirk on her face.

I gave a sort of half-laugh. “You’re telling me…” I wondered if Wakamo had found anything equally as… entertaining to read in her free time.

“But more to the point,” I continued, flipping to the last page. “I found this book a few days ago, and didn’t think anything of it, until I got to this.”

Hina took the book and scanned the page. When she realized exactly who was in the photo, she frowned deeply. “This isn’t a prank, is it, Sensei?”

“Not on my end.”

She ran her fingers over the picture, tracing her outline. “I don’t remember this at all. And I would think that it’d be quite memorable to get into a firefight with costumed attackers.”

“So you have no idea what this picture is about?” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral, but evidently failing.

“If you think I had anything to do with this, the answer is no,” she said firmly. “However I ended up in this photo, I have no memory of it. It’s like I’m looking at a still from a movie or something.”

She didn’t seem to be lying, though it could all be a trick. No, I had to trust my students. There was something bigger going on here. “I believe you,” I finally said. “Do you have any ideas what it could mean?”

“Several possibilities come to mind. It could be a picture of when I was captured and brought here. I wouldn’t put it past Monokuma to hide a photo in order to mock us. It also could be a fabrication, but I don’t think that’s the case. The most likely scenario is that it involves our missing memories somehow, but purposefully lacks context to spread discord between us.”

That last one struck a chord with me. I had hidden this photo specifically to avoid infighting, yet that plan could have easily backfired. What if Ibuki had gone searching around my room and discovered it? I couldn’t imagine her specifically doing something, but knowing her teacher was hiding things like that could damage the trust she has in me.

“You look like you’re overthinking,” Hina said.

“Huh? What?”

Smiling slightly, Hina adjusted her glove. “Your face scrunches up when you’re thinking really hard. It’s funny.”

A faint blush splashed across my face. “Well, you know how our brains are so smart because of all of the wrinkles in it? It’s the same idea but with my face.”

“I will be sure to note that down for the exam,” Hina said. She folded the photo and slipped it into her pocket. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep this. I’d… like a day or so with it, if that’s okay.”

My initial thought was that she was going to destroy it, but I quashed that thinking. Trust, I repeated in my head, I needed to trust my students. “Okay, but I’d like to show the others as soon as possible. Tomorrow at breakfast, deal?”

Hina nodded. “Deal.” She paused. “By the way, Sensei.”

“What is it?”

“Your fly is down again.”

DAMN IT!

Hina and I collected the last few stragglers who were still in their rooms. Miyu took some coaxing to convince her to come outside, while Hoshino had simply overslept. Aru had to be literally dragged out of her room, yelling something about how she was too important as a leader to get murdered. 

With that, we headed towards the dining hall, but as we passed by the stairs, Miyu suddenly stopped. “Th-the gate… It’s g-gone!”

Sure enough, the gate that closed off the second floor had all but vanished.

“Took you weenies long enough to notice!”

“Wah!” Aru screamed. “No one’s dead! We don’t need a class trial!”

Monokuma chuckled. “No one’s dead that you know of!” A beat. “Okay, yeah, no one’s dead. Hey Teach, go grab the rest of the future corpses. I got something to show you all!”

An internal debate raged in me to either argue with him about calling my students such a horrific term or to simply ignore him. I chose the latter. “Excellent suggestion, Hoshino, I’ll go get everyone else so we can explore the new floor together.”

Hoshino flashed a thumbs up. “This ol’ brain still has a few good ideas rattling around in it.”

“DON’T TEACH YOUR STUDENTS PLAGIARISM!” Monokuma called as I walked off.

It didn’t take long for everyone to gather around the stairs, all eager to see the new floor and its potential for escape.

“Now, it’s good to see you’re miserable, dark faces this lovely mor–” Monokuma started, but was cut off.

“So who’s going in first?” Saori asked. “And why is it open now?”

“I’m glad you asked, you see–”

Aris’s expression lit up. “It is a reward for progressing our quest!”

“Well, yes, but–”

“Though I do not like thinking in those terms,” Seia said, causing Aris to quietly apologize. “You do seem to be correct. One does not need to be a fortune teller to predict that should another trial occur, another floor will open.”

“Yes, yes, you’re all very smart now can I–”

“Guess we’re stuck with two floors,” Shiroko said firmly. “But it will be nice to have a bit more space.”

“Upupupu that’s what they all–”

“We shouldn’t get careless,” Hina advised. “More space also means more options for a potential killing.”

“...”

No one said anything.

“Oh can I talk no–”

“Ibuki doesn’t think anyone will do that!” the younger girl said.

“YOU’RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE!”

I stepped forward, maybe or maybe not intentionally knocking Monokuma on his tushy when I passed by. “I’ll go first. I don’t think Monokuma would hurt us directly, but better safe than sorry.”

“Let’s go see what trouble we can get into!” Mutsuki cheered, following behind me and very purposefully stepping on Monokuma’s belly, just hard enough to not “harm” him but still make sure he felt it. Then she backed up and did it again. Then one more time for good measure before Yuuka pushed her along.

“Damn brats…” Monokuma whined.

I quietly hi-fived each of the girls as we went up the stairs.

The second floor looked remarkably similar to the first, at least aesthetics wise. As Seia had predicted, the stairs to the third floor were blocked off by a gate, but the rest of the floor seemed available to explore. While there wasn’t a living area, the floor was bifurcated into an academic half and a more casual half. I idly wondered if the rest of the school would match that pattern.

After I determined there were no immediate traps present, the students rushed off to go explore. Some wanted to see if there were places to escape, while others were simply interested in what new places could entertain them. Miyu, specifically, wanted to see which trash cans were the best to hide in. I was going to have to do something about that girl’s self esteem one day.

Finding myself alone, I figured I’d wander around and see who and what I ran into. A momentary sadness passed over me as I recalled the first day I woke up here. I’d done the same thing then, but that time I had Hifumi with me. I contemplated going back down to get Peroro, but an excited squealing caught my attention from the room directly next to the stairs.

Inside, I was immediately struck by how different the aesthetic of the room was. The rest of the school had a fairly traditional academic feel to it, but this room could have come out of an arcade. Gaudy patterned carpet covered the floor, and the walls were painted dark colors with characters from various franchises painted on them. The few lights in the room were tinted all sorts of different colors, to the point I was worried I’d get a headache if I stood there for too long.

Classic arcade machines lined the far wall, including classic video games, claw machines with prizes I’d seen in the Monomachine, and even a couple of skee-ball units. On the other end, settled under some warm lighting, were big cushy chairs and wide tables along with floor-to-ceiling shelves of board games.

The most striking part, however, was the massive TV set that dominated the center of the room. Bordering either side were stacks upon stacks of video games from all eras that put the collection in the lounge to shame. In the middle of it all, was Aris, who vibrated with glee.

“Sensei! Sensei! Sensei! Look at all of this! It is as if I have entered an infinite item code!” She swept from one side of the room to the other, like an overexcited kitten exploring a house for the first time.

“It is pretty cool here,” I said, rifling through a few of the games to see which ones I recognized.

“You will play games with me sometime, right, Sensei? I will have to organize a game night with everyone. That will surely rank up our relationship levels!”

I chuckled. “You really love video games, don’t you?”

Aris ran up to me, determination burning in her eyes. “I do! I truly do! The others are also missing their backstory, but I feel that I am missing more than most. However, I remember that games and the friends I made while playing them are what gave me strength! So, in this difficult time, I will share that strength with everybody so that no one else must be hurt like Hifumi and Rio!”

These girls… They continued to impress me every day. If they had gone through Hope’s Archive like normal, they would have made an amazing difference in this world. “That sounds like the speech a hero would give.”

“A hero…” Aris hummed thoughtfully before smiling. “Yes! I will be a hero! If I cannot remember my talent, then I will be the Ultimate Hero!”

“Quite the lofty title to work up to, but I know you can do it.”

“You will support me all the way, right, Sensei?”

“Naturally, what’s a hero without her sidekick?” I replied, though Aris didn’t seem to like that answer.

“No! You will not be my sidekick! You will be my mentor that I remember fondly in the great final battle against the secret boss that is purposefully overleveled to provide me with an extra challenge!”

Okay, Aris, whatever you say.

…Wait, don’t those types of characters die at some point?!

Directly across the hall from the game room, the ground shifted from tiling to a variety of flooring styles geared towards different activities. It appeared to be some sort of training dojo. Wood, tatami, foam, all with equipment accompanying them. If I had to guess, the sheer variety came from trying to accommodate the different talents that would be at the school.

I ran my hand over a row of shinai that rested in their stands. Even from my limited knowledge of kendo, they were high quality.

Thump thump!

Saori was in the corner hitting a punching bag that hung from the ceiling. She’d taken off her mask, cap, and jacket with her hair in a ponytail.

“Hey, Sensei,” she said, giving the bag a few more thuds. “Finally got some equipment to work out with. No weights or anything from what I can see, but at least I can work off some steam.”

“I take it that mercenary work keeps you in shape normally,” I said, earning a wry look.

“Not exactly something you ask about,” she said. “But yeah, I guess so. Being cooped up in here has been driving me crazy. Can only run around the gym so many times or do so many pushups before it gets old.”

Thump thump thump!

“Besides, always have to be prepared. Never know what could happen.”

I frowned. “You really think someone will kill again? Especially given we know what ‘punishment’ involves.”

Saori paused her workout. “That’s wishful thinking. Doesn’t matter where you go, people are people, and things might get better for a little while, but inevitably it’ll all go to shit.”

“Kinda pessimistic, don’t you think?”

“Realistic, more like.”

I couldn’t accept that. I had to believe that things could get better and stay better. There might always be someone hurting, but that was no reason to give up. “Agree to disagree, but I’m going to do my best to change your mind.”

Sneaky sneaky sneaky

Saori regarded me for a moment before shaking her head. “You’re free to try, but I’ve seen enough to know what the world is like.”

Sneaky sneaky Ow! My tail! Oh right… Sneaky

“Well even if the world is a bad place, we can still try to change it, right?” I said.

“You can try. You’ll end up crushed,” Saori replied.

Sneaky…

“To your right,” Saori said, jerking her thumb to the left.

“She fell for it, my lord! Izuna Strike!!!”

Izuna launched herself from behind me right as I stepped to the side. Instead of trying to stop, she continued hurtling towards Saori.

“I won’t let you talk poorly about my lord’s beliefs!”

For her part, Saori reacted instantly. She snapped into a defensive stance, deflecting Izuna’s extended leg, then leaning her weight in and taking Izuna down into a roll, ending up on top of Izuna, pinning her to the tatami floor.

“Ah, so fast!” Izuna cried, her face smushed against the ground.

“Thought you were going for Sensei,” Saori said, easing up so as to not hurt Izuna, but still keeping her on the ground. “It would have been faster.”

Groaning, the ninja tried to wriggle free, but to no avail. “Waaah… I’m sorry my lord, I failed my ambush to protect your honor!”

“Um, don’t worry. I think my honor is still intact. Saori and I are just having a small disagreement.” I also didn’t ask her to defend my honor. Saori, please get off of her.”

“Hmph.”

Saori released Izuna from her hold. However, rather than hopping up like I expected, Izuna flicked her tail. I barely caught the shimmer of a thin piece of wire before something swung down from the ceiling towards Saori. The mercenary tried to duck, but was too slow to react and was hit in the face with… a foam ball.

“Heehee! Don’t underestimate Izuna!” the ninja said proudly sticking her chest out.

I followed the piece of wire and saw that she’d slung it over the rafters running the entire length of the dojo.

“How the hell…” Saori said, tapping the ball. I was surprised she wasn’t mad. “How’d you move around so freely with the wire attached to your tail?”

Izuna preened, moving her tail so we could see it. “Most of the wire is spooled around Izuna’s tail so I could give it slack when I needed it! Wait! Forget I said that! I shouldn’t give out my ninja secrets.”

Looking impressed, Saori tugged the ball free from the wire and tossed it to Izuna. “Not bad. Caught me by surprise.”

“Why were you up there in the first place?” I asked.

Izuna pointed to the clerestory windows that lined the interior perimeter of the room. I hadn’t even noticed them when I came in. Now that I thought about it, there were also some in the game room.

“I wanted to see if those windows showed the outside.” Her ears fell. “But the ones that should face the outside only have bright lights in them acting like sunlight…” 

“Tsk… damn bear,” Saori said. “I’d pluck out his stupid red eye myself if I could.”

Fake windows were one thing, but making it seem like there was sun coming in was another level of petty. Getting our hopes up for no reason like that. Then again, I guess that’s how Monokuma operated.

Between the game room and the dojo, the smell of chlorine wafted through a pair of double doors. Pushing them open, I found myself in a pool area. A small sign stood dead center.

“Please shower and change in the appropriate changing room.”

A men’s and women’s changing room were to my left and to my right, respectively. In a class that wasn’t all girls, I supposed that would be necessary, though it seemed only I would be using the men’s changing room, if I used it at all.

Before I could head into the pool area proper, Hoshino and Shiroko exited the women’s changing room.

“Hey, Sensei,” Shiroko said. “Come to check out the pool, too?”

“Hopefully not to stare at younger girls, right?” Hoshino said with a grin.

“Nope, only the older women,” I replied.

Hoshino laughed and slapped her knee. “Ah, you got me there, Sensei.”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! No ogling the students!” Monokuma suddenly appeared. “At least not without inviting me!”

I scowled at him. “The least wrong thing with that statement is that it’s illegal.”

“Not if you’re a bear! Bears don’t have to listen to silly human laws. If you became a bear, you could stare as much as you want. Though, if you were a bear, I don’t think you’d attract the kind of attention you wanted, if you know what I mean.” If he had eyebrows, I’m pretty sure he would have waggled them just then.

“There’s a spot where you can get a good view,” Shiroko said.

“Eh… that seems out of character for you,” Hoshino replied, scratching her face.

Sweat beaded all over Monokuma’s body. “Where, where?! Give me the deets!”

“Hmm, it’s at the bottom of the pool. You should stay there until you drown.” The way she twirled her hair around her finger gave an uneasy casualness to what she said.

“I’m pretty sure that doesn’t fit your characterization!” Monokuma cried.

“I don’t know… The other day we were talking about ways to make money and Shiroko suggested robbing a bank.”

Blushing lightly, Shiroko turned away. “I wouldn’t actually do it. Unless I needed to.”

“Anything interesting in the changing rooms?” I asked, desperate to get back to a productive topic.

“Not much. Seems to be pretty standard changing rooms,” Shiroko said.

“You can’t get into the other gender’s bathroom,” Hoshino explained. “You need your ID to unlock them. It’s all automated.”

“I would have had a gender neutral changing room installed, but I don’t care enough,” Monokuma chimed “helpfully.”

“Anything potentially dangerous?” I asked.

Shaking her head, Shiroko said, “No, though I guess someone could use the lockers as a place to hide if they wanted to.”

“All of our swimsuits are in there!” Hoshino added. “In case I ever want to doze in the pool.”

“No sleeping outside of dorms!” Monokuma said. “Unless you want to be punished, of course~”

Hoshino’s gaze grew sharp. “You should really relax that rule. There’s lots of spots I want to nap in.”

“So scary!”

All of a sudden, the previously still water in the pool started to undulate. The pool itself was massive, larger than any I’d seen before, and the water was crystal clear, with lanes marked out for competitive swimming, casual swimming, and whatever the hell “semi-casual, semi-competitive, post-relaxation” swimming was. In addition, there was a section at either end dedicated to more laid back activities.
The waves rippled across the pool in a rhythmic pattern, unlike natural waves. Whatever was causing them had to be man-made.

“Ah!” Monokuma said, “I see someone’s found the wave pool function.”

“Wave pool?” Shiroko said.

“State of the art! Meant for everything from a chill ride on the waves, to simulating horrific storm conditions, to trapping someone in the current so there’s no escape!”

Shiroko’s idea of putting Monokuma at the bottom of the pool became more and more appealing.

After searching around the edge of the pool, we managed to find an open door where Mutsuki and Aru were fiddling with a complicated-looking piece of equipment labelled “Pool Controls.”

“Don’t break anything,” I said in greeting.

“W-we’re not!” Aru cried before trying to subtly screw something back on.

“All we’re doing is expanding our horizons as good students should,” Mutsuki said in a sing-song voice.”

Shiroko huffed. “Looks to me like you’re pressing random buttons.”

“They’re not random!” the prankster insisted. “Watch, if I press this button, it causes the pool to rise to a nice warm temperature, like a beginner’s onsen.”

“I wonder if Kasumi would like it…”

Mutsuki walked up to Monokuma, taking his paws in her hands. “Try it, Mr. Monokuma! Please. Make a young girl’s heart happy?”

There was no way he was going to fall for–

“Aww shucks, since you did so well figuring out the controls, what the hell!”

Waddling over to the pool deck, Monokuma did a couple of stretches before getting a running start. “Cannonball!” He jumped from the deck into the pool with a huge splash.

A few seconds passed and then…

“KKKKKKYAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

Monokuma launched straight up from the pool, landing in a wet heap in front of us. Were those icicles hanging off his fur?!

“Y-y-y-you!” he cried, teeth chattering. “That w-w-w-was f-f-f-freezing.”

“Was it? Oh no! I must have hit the wrong button. I’m still learning after all!” Mutsuki clasped her hands in front of her, the absolute picture of innocence.

“Look on the bright side, Monokuma,” Hoshino said. “If we put a stick on you, you can be a popsicle!”

“H-H-HOW IS TH-TH-THAT A B-B-B-BRIGHT S-SIDE!” He turned to where Aru was reaching for a dial. “Don’t touch that!”

Was he only pretending to be cold for a gag?

“H-huh?!”

“That dial,” Monokuma explained, “Turns up the wave pool function you were just playing with. It shouldn’t go any higher than level three.”

“Why not?” Shiroko asked.

Holding up a paw, Monokuma prepared to respond, but stopped. “I don’t actually know.”

“Kufufu~ Let’s find out then!” Mutsuki pushed Aru aside and cranked the dial up to level four.

Immediately, the pool began aggressively forming waves that sloshed up onto the deck. “Mutsuki, be careful, our shoes are getting wet.”

“It’s a pool, Sensei, you should have thought of that.”

Looking much more uncertain, Aru touched Mutsuki’s shoulders. “W-We should probably listen to Sensei!”

“Oh come on, Aru!” Mutsuki whined. “Wouldn’t a real outlaw want to push boundaries?”

“I… You’re right!” Aru grabbed the dial and turned it up two whole notches. “Let’s see what this baby can do!”

The waves grew even bigger, to the point that Shiroko, Hoshino, and I had to climb on pool chairs to avoid getting wet while Monokuma yelled at Mutsuki and Aru to stop.

“STOP!”

Yeah, like that.

“If it goes any higher! Well… again I don’t know what’ll happen, but it can’t be good!”

Mutsuki suddenly grabbed Monokuma and placed him on the controls. “Well, that’s just not right! We’re students. We’re supposed to be learning. If you don’t know what something does as the Headmaster, then how are we supposed to learn from you?” She nudged him closer to the dial.

“Mutsuki…” I said, warily eyeing the growing waves. “I really think you should–”

“Are you going to let society’s rules dictate what you should and shouldn’t do?” Aru claimed. “You’re always going on about how bears are free, well now is your time to prove it! Show us that freedom!”

“Oh no, she’s gotten into it,” Hoshino mumbled.

“You know what… You’re right.” Monokuma grabbed the dial and cranked it as far as it would, then cranked it even more until finally…

Crack!

The dial popped clean off.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a deep rumbling emanated from the center of the pool. A single ripple spread out over the surface, followed by the wave mechanism going completely haywire.

All of the water was drawn into one end of the pool, creating a bigger and bigger wave until it held at its peak.

“Um… Uh-oh,” Monokuma said, looking genuinely panicked.

Aru paled. “We m-m-might’ve made a mistake…”

“Kufufu~”

…

“We did.”

As the impossibly large wave ever so slowly began to tip forward, I turned to Shiroko and Hoshino and said, “We should r– when did you two get into your swimsuits?!”

Shiroko snapped her goggles on her face and adjusted the straps of her school suit. Hoshino meanwhile simply shrugged off her light sweatshirt to reveal a simple but pretty white two-piece beneath it, holding a whale pool toy in her hands.

The pink-haired girl looked at me with a dull smile on her face.

“Hoshino?”

She squeezed the pool toy.

Squeak squeak

The wave came down.

WHOOSH!

The wave ended up washing everyone out of the pool room, down the stairs, and into the lounge. After getting dressed in dry clothes and Monokuma cleaning up the water via “really good drains, trust me,” I returned to the second floor. Hoshino and Shiroko were free to keep exploring, but I put Saori in charge of making sure Aru and Mutsuki stayed inside Aru’s room. Having to convince Monokuma not to punish them because it was technically his fault had made me decide they were staying put for the time being.

Back on the second floor, I moved to the academic half. Like the first floor, there were rooms in the center of a u-shaped hallway and a couple of rooms branching off from the edges. The middle rooms all appeared to be some sort of specific type of classroom.

I opened up the first one to be greeted with row after row of computer screens, each showing the same screensaver of Monokuma doing some sort of weird dance. Comfy desk chairs were placed in front of them, and a massive server setup dominated one wall. Most of the chairs were neatly tucked in, but several looked as if they’d been moved. I found the ones responsible when I saw Mika’s pink head pop up from one computer and move to the next. Seated at another computer on the other end of the room, Seia idly twirled around in her seat until she noticed me.

“Hello, Sensei, have you come to meditate on the exercise in futility as well?” she asked.

“Um… no?”

“This isn’t pointless, Seia!” Mika said. “There’s gotta be something useful on one of these things!”

“There will not be. I dreamed last night of this very scenario and it said that our search would prove fruitless.”

Mika waved her off. “That was your dream, this is real life. And I’m sure we can find something helpful here! Nope, this one’s just another word processor.” She stood from that computer and moved on to the next one.

“I’m surprised she has access,” I said, waking up the computer nearest me. “It requires a password.”

Seia smiled. “That appeared in my dream as well. The password is ‘Monokumaiscool.’”

Of course it is. Why would it be anything normal? “So your dreams, they’re accurate?”

“Yes they are,” Seia said. “I have long been able to foresee events before they happen when they come to me in dreams.” Her face fell. “Though it’s also made me realize the pointlessness of most things. It is difficult to work towards a future if you know that work will be for naught.”

I supposed that made a bit more sense than Saori’s more general cynicism, but still, I couldn’t have my students, who were supposed to be the hope for this world, being so down about its future. “Have your dreams ever been wrong?”

Seia shook her head. “Never. Though I do not receive them every night, nor can I control what they show me. Sometimes they are quite vague as well.”

“I think,” Mika said, having tried two more computers since she last spoke, “That she just likes saying that because it gets her out of helping!”

“That’s not true, I simply don’t want to expend energy on pointless tasks.”

“So you think I’m being silly for doing this?” Mika said, joining Seia and I.

The clairvoyant’s ears fell. “I didn’t say that.”

“But that’s what you meant! You don’t think very highly of me, do you?”

“I definitely didn’t say that!” Seia replied.

Before the two of them could descend into bickering, I stepped between them. “That’s enough. No one called anyone anything.” Between Izuna leaping to my defense and Mika jumping to conclusions, I added “conflict resolution” to my list of things to make lessons for in the future.

In the interest of preventing further fights, I typed in the password to the computer in front of me, intending to have them make fun of Monokuma, but when it loaded, there was a small document titled “To-Do.”

“Now look at that,” Mika said smugly. “We found something.”

“Sensei found something. I predicted that neither you or I would find anything,” Seia retorted.

“Let’s see what it is before arguing,” I said and clicked on the document.

It was… almost entirely blank except for a header that repeated the title of the document and a singular line underneath.

“Remove Sensei’s student record access”

“Wonder what that’s about?” Mika said. She grabbed the mouse from me and highlighted the entire document, as well as changed the text color to be sure there was nothing hidden. When her search turned up blank, she suddenly deleted the line.

“Why did you do that?” Seia said, “Whoever put that there will know we tampered with it.”

“Because they obviously didn’t get to everything.” Her eyes sparkled. “If they need a to-do list to remember, then let’s help them forget.”

“I still don’t like it,” Seia grumbled.

“You don’t like anything.”

“There’s pros and cons to each approach,” I said diplomatically. “But what’s done is done, let’s move on before Monokuma gets suspicious.”

None of the other computers that we checked had anything out of the ordinary, and none were connected to the internet, which didn’t surprise me. Although, I did see Seia check a couple computers despite her earlier concerns. Since we turned up nothing, I said goodbye to the two girls and continued my search.

“Okay,” I said after staring at the collection of gibberish that Yuuka had written on the whiteboard in the classroom neighboring the computer room. “What am I looking at?”

“The Riemann zeta function,” Yuuka said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Along with several of my attempts to demonstrate whether the real part of every non-trivial zero is one over two.”

I stared at her with a blank smile on my face.

“Sensei… I don’t expect you to have a comprehensive understanding of analytical number theory, but at least try to present yourself as intelligent.”

“Ouch, but I guess I deserve it.” I gestured to the board. “Still, this is an amazing amount of work for such a short period of time. You’re incredible.”

“Th-that’s!” Her head snapped to the ground. “D-don’t go saying things like that out of nowhere.”

“Should a teacher not praise his students when they do well?”

She didn’t reply to that, only turned even further away, though I could see the tips of her ears turning red.

The room we were in was probably the most standard-issue of those I had seen so far. The only things that indicated that it was intended for mathematics were the abundance of calculators, excessive amounts of chalk and whiteboards, and textbooks the size of cinderblocks on various number theories. Nothing that seemed immediately helpful, unfortunately, but I was happy that Yuuka had a place to flex her talent a bit.

Yuuka walked up to the board and started erasing some of her work.

“Was it not right?” I asked.

“Hm? Oh, I don’t think so. I’m not really trying to solve this, I was just doing some exercises. Pretty sure I was using the wrong function at one point.” She chuckled. “This game has really rattled my head, you know? I’m like Rio in that I like things orderly and logical. And this place, nothing makes sense in it, so I get… stressed.”

I could definitely see how a place like this, which required us to kind of go with the flow of things, would make someone like Yuuka unhappy.

She continued, “It’s weird. I almost wish I had a budget to balance or something, you know?”

“Were you a treasurer at some point?”

“I was, yes. I held the position in my science and mathematics club back in middle school,” she explained, then blew a strand of hair out of her face. “You wouldn’t believe how mismanaged the money was until I got there.”

“An example?”

“They were spending money on science fiction action figures, Sensei! I’m all for having hobbies and such, but those come after the needs of the club are met! Could you imagine buying toys instead of proper food or supplies?”

The image of my apartment back home popped into my head. Namely, the image of my shelves worth of figures and my fridge that had a singular head of cabbage in it. “Um…”

“Sensei…” Yuuka looked distraught. “My opinion of you is falling the longer you make that face.”

I had to swear at least one hundred times that Yuuka could help me budget properly when we got out of here in order to make my escape from her wrath.

I had intended to go check out the other two classrooms in the center, but across the hall from the math classroom, I heard the whirring of machines, so I figured I probably should check inside and try to prevent any more chaos from happening. My worries were alleviated when I saw that it was only Hina and Miyu in the room. My worries were elevated again when I saw what Miyu was working on.

The room itself was like a craftsman’s dream. Tools of all kinds were spread out through the space. Everything from basic hammers and screwdrivers, to power tools like circular saws and hand drills. More hefty machines occupied one corner. A belt sander and drill press were the only ones I could identify at a glance. Notably, a cabinet labeled “Personal Protective Equipment” was wide open and completely empty. Monokuma’s doing, no doubt.

I walked over to where Miyu was hunched over a workbench of some sort, and while I didn’t know what the machine was, I did know what she was making.

“Is there any reason you’re making bullets?” I asked.

For a second, I thought we might get early access to the third floor with how high Miyu jumped in fright. “S-S-Sensei!” she squeaked. “D-d-don’t do that!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you, but, um, could you answer my question?”

Glancing back to the bullets, Miyu’s eyes widened. “N-n-n-no you’ve got it a-all wrong! These a-aren’t r-r-real bullets. They’re just for show.” She held up a casing and offered it to me. Instead of metal like I expected, it was more of a hard rubber consistency. It would sure hurt to be shot by one of these, but it probably wouldn’t kill.

I handed the casing back to her. “And you’re making these because?”

Miyu shrugged. “The stuff w-w-was here. And I m-m-miss shooting. It’s the o-only thing I’m g-good at…”

I had a hard time being stern with Miyu. She looked like she’d fall apart at any moment. “Okay, okay. I get it. But warn me next time, and let me store them for you. Sound good?”

Miyu was about to agree when the world’s worst mascot appeared. “Oh c’mon Sensei! You gotta let these girls have some freedom! So what if she wants to do some arts and crafts and make a perfectly good tool for murder?”

“I-I-I w-wouldn’t!”

“Can it, Squeaky. Or did I call you Bunny Girl? I don’t remember, you’re so unremarkable!”

“Uuuuueeee I’m s-sorry!”

Monokuma giggled. “And another thing–” He froze in place, expression quickly morphing to one of shock. “There’s a really scary girl right behind me, isn’t there?”

There was, in fact. Hina towered over Monokuma, her wings displayed prominently and her eyes glowing purple. She snapped her glove to announce her presence. “You’re not causing trouble, right Monokuma?”

Seemingly recovering from the fright, Monokuma winked. “Me? Never! I’m advocating for my students!”

“By encouraging us to make weapons…”

“Learning about gun safety is important. Though you already know about that~”

Hina and I briefly made eye contact. “What was that?” I asked.

“Upupupu~ Nothing, nothing. Back to your regularly scheduled wandering you lo– OW! Who threw that?” Monokuma whirled around, trying to find who had thrown one of the rubber bullets at him, but it was only Hina and me, neither of us were close to the workbench. “Oh when I find you… Gah! It went in my ear!”

With that, he vanished, and Miyu stepped out from behind the work station. “Did… D-did I d-do the r-right thing?”

“Tormenting Monokuma is always the correct answer,” I replied, earning a small smile from Miyu.

Hina sighed. “It’s nice to see him scurry off like that, but he’s definitely messing with us. If he really wanted to see who had thrown it, he could’ve checked the cameras.”

“I-I-It’s really weird th-that he can a-always see us,” Miyu said. “Eep! C-can he s-see us in the b-bathroom?!”

If Monokuma had any lines that he wouldn’t cross, I really hoped spying on us showering was one of them.

The next classroom I checked out was obviously an art classroom. From the cabinets that didn’t fully close because of how many colors of paints were stacked inside them to the free-hand art that decorated the walls, floors, chairs, and pretty much any surface that could be defaced in some way. There were even more advanced art supplies such as sculpting stations with containers of every conceivable material, even chucks of pure marble. A soldering station sat unused beneath another fake clerestory window, covered in dust that made it an obviously unpopular choice.

Standing in the middle of everything with an easel slightly too tall for her, was Ibuki, who happily painted, her sleeves already covered in a mish-mash of color.

“Sensei!” she called, hopping down from her stool to run up to me. “Look, look what Ibuki painted!”

Her painting was quite good for her age, far better than anything I could have ever made, and charming in its amateur nature. It was a picture of the dining hall, and I could recognize every student lined up at the table, all with simple smiley-faced expressions. Hifumi and Rio were included, which was a nice touch. At the head of the table was a taller figure that I think was supposed to be me, however…

“Why did you draw me like that?”

Ibuki giggled. “It’s your nameplate! It looks so silly, so Ibuki had to draw it!”

I sighed internally that somehow, that silly doodle of me was going to be how I was remembered for the rest of time. Still, it warmed my heart to see Ibuki following through on her commitment to try and make everyone smile. “I love it, Ibuki.”

The young girl beamed. “Heehee thanks, Sensei! Ibuki really wants to be a good student.”

“How did you get accepted here anyway? You’re definitely a little young to be in a high school.”

“I don’t know!” Ibuki said cheerfully. “Ibuki has always studied super hard and gotten really good grades, so I guess they decided to move me up. And then Hope’s Archive gave me a letter saying I was invited to study here.” She blushed and looked down at her feet. “I don’t really know what Ultimate Cinnamon Roll means, but the lady I talked to when I joined said that I should just focus on being a good student and go along with my teachers!”

“I see,” I said. “Well, I can say that you’re for sure doing a great job.”

Perking right back up, Ibuki threw her hands up, sending a splattering of paint all over my pants. “Oh… uh… sorry, Sensei.”

“It’s alright,” I assured her, “I’ve already had to change clothes once today.”

“Huh?!”

There was only one student that I hadn’t seen so far, and I wasn’t shocked to find her in the science classroom. Wakamo sat at one of the reflective phenolic resin desks with her mask off, a smattering of chemicals, powders, and strips surrounding her. She twisted a shiny metal strip into a thin string before threading it through a small hole inside the top of a spherical shell. I… Did she just make a bomb?!

“Hey, Wakamo,” I said, keeping a bit of distance between me and the hazardous waste site that she’d surrounded herself with.

Her yellow eyes glimmered with delight when she looked up and saw me. “Darling!” she said, “You’ve come to check in on Wakamo?”

“Yeah, I’ve been checking on all of my students.”

The fox girl pouted. “You should’ve checked on me first.”

“Save the best for last?” I countered.

Pink tinted her cheeks and her eyes went wide. “Ah, Sensei, you’re always such a charmer. Wakamo would do anything to have you by her side all the time.”

“That can be arranged!” Monokuma said, climbing out from behind the teacher’s desk. "If Sensei kills someone and then you blow the rest of them up right as they think they're leaving, he's all yours!"

“Do you have a quota of how many times you have to appear?” I asked.

“Can’t a headmaster want to see the relationship blossom between teacher and student. And this way I can stop you if you get too close! That’s be a PR disaster!”

“Too close…” Wakamo muttered with an uneasy smile on her face.

I pointedly turned my back on him, returning my attention to Wakamo. “So did you find anything here that could help us escape?”

“Is it Ignore Monokuma Day or something?!”

Wakamo shook her head. “There’s plenty in here that I can use to make small explosives, but nothing strong enough to affect the school’s walls.”

“Why are you talking about destroying this beloved school?!”

“That’s what I figured,” I said, “Still, between this and the workshop, we can fashion some ways to defend ourselves.”

“Or kill each other~”

I smiled and put my hand on Wakamo’s shoulder. “Good job, regardless. I’m glad to have you with us.”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! No touching students.”

“Ah! Sensei!” Wakamo said, grabbing my hand. “Praise Wakamo more! Nothing makes me happier than seeing you pleased with me!”

She moved my hand to pat her on the head when Monokuma hopped up between us.

“No! No! NO! I have to draw the line here! Shoulder pats lead to head pats which lead to cheek caresses which lead to… WAH?!”

Wakamo tossed the bomb she was holding into Monokuma’s paws. He desperately tried to juggle it.

“You’ve gotten in the way of my alone time with my beloved Sensei!” Wakamo’s face broke into a twisted, manic grin. “So why don’t you explode into a million pieces and learn your lesson?”

The bomb’s fuse began to glow a brilliant white, making it hard to look at directly. What the hell did she put in there?! I felt my hand being grabbed, and Wakamo pulled me to the exit of the classroom.

“Wait for meeeee!” Monokuma yelled, following behind.

However, as soon as he reached the door, Wakamo slammed it shut and lodged a chair she’d grabbed under the handle so it couldn’t turn.

“You’re going to the top of my punishment list!” Before the light faded, Monokuma vanished from view.

I braced myself for impact, but none came. Instead, the bright light simply faded away.

“Teeheeheehee!”

“What did you do?!”

“You don’t need to worry, Sensei. That was a strip of magnesium. It burns bright, but it’s harmless.” She looked off to the side. “Mostly…”

“Mostly?” I asked.

“Ah well, it can hurt your eyes to look directly at it. And it’s hard to extinguish. But I used so little that it’s not a problem!” Tears pricked the corner of her eyes. “Did Wakamo… do something wrong?”

I sighed, letting my shoulders relax. “No, you didn’t do anything bad. Please be careful if you’re gonna mess with Monokuma, though. No explosives. If you hurt him and he punishes you, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.”

“Sensei…” Wakamo suddenly burst into tears. “W-Wakamo won’t ever do a-anything to displease or h-hurt Sensei! I promise!”

It took a few more reassurances to calm Wakamo down, but once I did, she seemed happy to be able to talk with me for a few minutes by ourselves. As per usual, it didn’t last long, as several others rounded the corner.

“Sensei, Wakamo,” Shiroko greeted. She’d gotten re-dressed in her normal clothes, though her hair still appeared damp from the earlier events at the pool.

Next to her, Izuna and Seia said their hellos as well, while Wakamo donned her mask, reverting to her more stoic persona. I really wished she’d open up a bit more. She was actually a very sweet girl.

…

Once you got past the love of destruction and obsessiveness. But we could work on that!

“I believe we’ve covered almost every room on this floor,” Seia said, then faced the final unopened door in the hall. “This is the last one, I believe.”

“Nin nin! What are we waiting for? Let’s get in there?” Izuna tried to open the door, but found it locked. “Myeeh? I can’t open it!” She jumped up on the wall, bracing with her legs and tried yanking the door as hard as she could with no progress.

“Hmm, there’s a scanner, maybe our student ID?” Shiroko said. She swiped her ID, but the light above the scanner remained red.

Seia’s expression lit up. “Ah, Sensei, does yours work?”

“Worth a try,” I said. “Izuna, get down before you hurt yourself.”

When I swiped the Shittim Chest, the light flickered green and a partition opened just above it, revealing a touchscreen. The screen lit up, displaying several options under the header “Automated Student Record Retrieval System.” The options beneath listed basic information such as age, hometown, and medical records, ending with an option to input custom requests.

“Student information?” Shiroko said. “Do you think our info is here?”

“Worth a shot,” I said, tapping the “Student Age/DOB” option.

As soon as I tapped it, a slot in the door shot open and a sheet of paper printed from it. It listed all sixteen of the girls with their ages next to them in alphabetical order. However, something caught my attention.

“How old are you all?” I asked the group.

“Fifteen,” they all replied.

I frowned. “That’s not what it says here.” I lowered the paper so that they all could see it, each student quickly finding her age.

“Seventeen?” Seia said. “I surely haven’t missed two years of birthdays.”

“Hmm… and if we’re all entering school at the same time, shouldn’t we be the same age? Shiroko said.

Izuna pointed to her age. “But Izuna’s age is right! And so is Ibuki’s! She told me that she’s eleven.”

“Wakamo is eighteen… that means that it’s legal for me and Sensei to…!” She cut herself off when she realized we all were looking at her with baffled expressions.

Moving on.

“Could the list be inaccurate?” Seia proposed.

“Nope!” a squeaky voice said. “I keep excellent track of every student that comes in my halls.”

For once, I wasn’t entirely upset with Monokuma’s appearance. Notably, despite his cheery tone, he looked frazzled, with his fur matted with sweat.

“Nin! Why do we all think we’re fifteen then?” Izuna demanded.

“Well, you think you’re fifteen because you’re fifteen.”

“That’s not what Izuna meant!”

With a laugh, Monokuma twirled around. “I know, I know~ As for why? Figure it out! I can’t hold your hands for everything. That’s bad pedagogy!”

Wakamo took a step towards Monokuma. “So then why have you returned? I can show you why that was a mistake.”
“Perhaps we should obtain more information from the records,” Seia said.

“Bzzzzt! Wrong!” Monokuma shouted. “That information is for admin only! Sensei never should have had access to it! Could you imagine if your teacher knew all of your most private, sensitive information?”

“I’d rather him have access than you,” Shiroko hissed.

“Oh well! I’ve revoked Sensei’s access, so too bad, suckers! You want into that room? You’re going to have to wait!” He made like he was going to disappear, but paused. “I could’ve sworn I made a note to do that before you got here. Not worth thinking about!”

As soon as he left, we reconvened over the age list. Aside from Ibuki, all of the girls were somewhere between fifteen and eighteen, reasonable ages to be in high school, but normally they’d be in different classes. Given that Ibuki was accepted early, I could buy the idea that they accepted students of different ages, but if that was the case, why make them believe that they were all the same age in the first place?

And why give us access to this kind of information? Monokuma said that we would have to wait for more access, so  he clearly intended for us to find it, but for what reason?

I looked back up at the Student Records door.

I couldn’t place exactly why, but the longer I looked at it, the tighter the knot in my stomach got.

Chapter Text

Monokuma Theater

I was walking to the store the other day when I stopped to pet a dog.

The owner insisted the dog was friendly.

But when I patted its fluffy head one too many times, it bit me!

And the owner laughed, can you imagine?!

So I tried to show the owner how it feels by petting him.

Then he bit me! And the dog laughed!

Some days just aren’t your days, you know?

I couldn’t lie and say that breakfast went perfectly. Hina kept her word and showed everyone the picture Wakamo and I had found, with the fox and I offering our own explanations. As a whole, the students seemed understanding. Yuuka and Ibuki were upset at me for keeping secrets. Mika wanted to know if we found any pictures of her. Saori interrogated Hina the entire time until she was satisfied.

The picture itself was passed around, with students offering guesses for what could be the context. Ultimately, we all agreed that it had been placed deliberately, especially when Wakamo told us that the book had been laying out on a table, which I hadn’t known.

Unfortunately, that caused a whole new discussion about why it had been placed there. The most obvious answer was as a motive to kill, but Hoshino pointed out that it was too specific for that, since only Wakamo would probably open that book and it would only incite her to target Hina. Aru suggested that it was part of some larger game at play, which seemed plausible. Mutsuki thought that it was Monokuma being jealous of Hina’s previous modelling career, which seemed less plausible.

Then Izuna brought up the age discovery from yesterday. That was a circus. I immediately had most of the girls clamoring over me, demanding to see their ages. Ibuki was particularly disappointed to find out that yes, she was still eleven, at least until Seia pointed out that it meant she could keep growing. Overall, I’d say the general reaction to the new information was unsettled. Nothing had changed about themselves physically as far as they knew, and we’d figured out early on that our memories had been altered. It brought the question of how much was altered to the table, which no one was really willing to discuss at this point.

The result of all of this discussion was essentially that we got nowhere and knew nothing, but at least we made no progress together! That didn’t inspire confidence, but it was a big relief to finally get that out in the open. I couldn’t get complacent, though. Despite their assurances that they didn’t see Hina any differently, I noticed several of the girls side-eyeing the prefect throughout breakfast and sitting a bit further away than usual. If Hina realized or it bothered her, she didn’t show it, simply asking everyone if it was okay if she kept the photo with her.

I never considered how this would impact her, specifically, beyond the immediate ramifications to the killing game. This was supposedly a piece of her past, no doubt something that would leave a lasting impact if her memories of an otherwise normal upbringing were to be believed. To have no recollection of it had to be unnerving. But she was strong, that much was apparent. She dutifully reported to breakfast each morning, was friendly with her fellow students, and was always put together when she was out and about.

Some of the other girls were starting to show signs of their hygiene standards slipping. Their hair was greasy or not done in their usual styles. Their outfits, while all identical (couldn’t have given us some variety, Monokuma, really?) would show signs of being worn multiple days in a row. I could imagine several were dreading doing laundry. However, I couldn’t say for certain if this was because they were stressed or because they were simply getting comfortable with each other. Something to keep an eye on.

All of that to say, I didn’t see any obvious signs that anyone was planning something. I’d failed with Rio. No, I had failed Rio. I should have made more of an effort to get close to her, to get to know her. There were times when I read or simply had some alone time in one of the classrooms that I should have spent one-on-one. Not just with her, but with all of my students. She’d killed because she felt that was the only way out, because she thought she had to do everything alone. If I had known she held that mentality, it would have set off a red flag right away.

Rectifying that mistake was my number one priority. The bad part of it was that it meant I was hypervigilant about the girls at all times and I never had a moment to myself beyond nighttime. The good part of it was that it meant I got to spend time playing skeeball with my students.

“Another 100?!” Aru cried indignantly as Yuuka sunk another ball into the corner slot. The difference between their scores grew wider with each turn.

The mathematician gave an uncharacteristically smug smile. “I’m sure you’ll catch up.”

“H-How am I supposed to catch up when you’re basically cheating?!”

Yuuka’s smile dropped. “Using math is not cheating.” The notebook that she had filled with equations and measurements to determine the optimal force and angle to throw the ball sat pointedly on a stool behind Yuuka.

“I think that Yuuka’s EX skill is most effective!” Aris said with a little clap. She was next up to face off against Yuuka, and I think the both were looking forward to seeing who came out on top given Yuuka’s abysmal video game abilities.

“Hmph,” Aru pouted. “At least I’m doing better than Sensei.”

“In my defense, Mutsuki switched one of my balls with an orange,” I said, and the mischievous giggle from behind me told me that a certain prankster regretted nothing.

“You need Vitamin C, Sensei!” Mutsuki said, poking me in the back. “If you get sick, who else is going to come in last place?”

“I believe it would be you, Mutuski,” Aris said with an innocent smile. “Given your tendency to recklessly throw the ball at random.”

Mutsuki clicked her tongue. “We don’t need to point that out!”

“Don’t tell me you can dish it out but not take a little trash talk?” Yuuka said with a raised eyebrow.

“Trash talk?” Aris said.

Clutching her chest, Mutsuki purposefully fell off her chair. “It hurts even more knowing she meant it!”

“Are you okay?! Did my ‘trash talk’ harm you?” Aris said, sounding genuinely worried.

“Ignore her,” Yuuka said, “She’s doing it for attention.”

“D-don’t talk about my subordinate like that,” Aru sputtered. “She may be… difficult to work with sometimes, but…”

Aru stopped to think.

“What are your redeeming qualities again, Mustuki?” she asked with a sly smile.

“How could you, Aru?!” the smaller girl cried. “My own boss who I have protected with my life countless times has turned against me once again!” She used my shirt sleeve to haul herself up. “Sensei! I need… I need extra dessert at dinner tonight to make up for all this emotional trauma.”

“Make that triple!” Aru said, a shadow falling across her face. “The boss will, naturally, demand a tribute from her worthless underling.”

Mutsuki threw herself at Aru’s feet. “Oh please, boss, please have mercy. I have seven kids and they are all starving!”

“You sound like a terrible mother,” Yuuka commented.

Aru flipped her hair. “You should have thought of that before you failed your last three and a half missions.”

“A half mission?” I asked.

“I, uh, I may be, possibly, was kinda responsible for setting someone’s lemonade stand on fire,” Aru said. “B-But Mutsuki brought the fireworks, so we’re equally responsible!”

“W-wait!” Aris said. “My quest log has not updated yet, so I am confused. Why does Mutsuki have to eat fireworks?”

The sheer earnestness in Aris’s voice broke Aru and Mutsuki out of their little skit, sending them into a fit of laughter. Yuuka calmly explained that the two of them were joking and messing with everyone.

“I see,” Aris said, “But is it not usually Mutsuki who teases Aru? Did Aru level up and is now immune?”

“Please, Aru is still as gullible as the writing on the ceiling,” Mutsuki said.

Don’t look, Aru. Don’t fall for it. Don’t do it.

Aru looked up at the ceiling. “There’s nothing written up there?”

Yuuka let out the heaviest sigh I’d heard from her yet. “I’m just going to take my next turn.”

“H-hold on!” Aru cried, head snapping down. “L-let me look at your notes first. It’s not fair that you have them but I don’t!”

Yuuka shrugged and offered Aru her notes. When Aru, predictably, couldn’t make any sense of them, Yuuka started trying to teach her how to measure the angle or something. I tuned them out.

I was more focused on Mutsuki trying to play her orange prank again, this time on both Yuuka and Aru, but before I could reprimand her, Aris beat me to it.

“Cheating will result in a permanent server ban!” she chided.

Mutsuki must not have expected to be caught, because she startled when Aris spoke, causing her to throw one of the balls she was holding out of the room.

“Aha… oops.”

The three other girls started fussing at Mutsuki about letting them have one game without her shenanigans, so I figured that someone should rescue the wayward ball. Stepping out into the hallway, I looked around for the ball, but couldn’t find it. Not until Izuna and Saori stepped out of the dojo, with Saori tossing it up in the air.

“This yours, Sensei?” she asked.

Both girls were wearing makeshift workout clothes from what they could scavenge from their normal outfits. A thin sheen of sweat covered the skin and they seemed a bit out of breath.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking the ball from her. “You two were working out together, I take it?”

“Nin nin! We were sparring!” Izuna said. She pointed to her thigh where a small bruise was forming.

“Oh don’t look so concerned, Sensei,” Saori said. “There’s boxing gloves and safety gear in the dojo that we used.”

“Izuna fell and got this bruise!”

She sounded way too cheery about that.

The fox girl snapped to attention and bowed deeply towards Saori. “Thank you for assisting with my ninja training! We should do it again soon! And invite Shiroko. Oh! And Hina, too. She seems really strong!”

Saori didn’t get a chance to reply as Izuna dashed off. Hopefully she would shower before inviting them.

“That girl.” Saori shook her head. “She’s infuriatingly optimistic, but I have to give her credit, she’s tougher than she looks.”

“Give you a good match?” I asked.

“I can definitely take her in a proper fight,” the mercenary said. “It’s clear she’s never seen actual combat, but… she’s tricky. There were times she seemed to disappear right in front of me and come from an entirely different angle than I was expecting. And she’s not afraid to fight dirty. She threw her glove at me at one point as a distraction.”

“You sound impressed.”

“A little, yeah. I’ll admit, I thought all that ninja talk was her being annoying, but she’s got some real talent.”

Hearing that from Saori, of all people, made me happy. She was still tense whenever I saw her, and I don’t think her eyes ever fully stopped moving, but the fact that she was willing to train with Izuna and wasn’t opposed to inviting others, it was a good sign that she was opening up.

“Sensei!” A voice from behind me called. “There you are.”

I turned to see Aris waving at me from the game room. “Sorry for the hold up. I got the ball. It rolled into the dojo.”

“So that’s where that came from,” Saori said. “The rooms are right across from each other, so I can see how it happened.”

“Would you like to join our skee-ball tournament?” Aris asked, eyes shining. “It is most fun and Yuuka is currently in the lead! We are also seeing if anyone will get a lower score than Sensei!”

I could feel Saori’s smirk without even looking at her.

After finishing up with the tournament – Yuuka had won, with Aris in a close second, and me in dead last – the students scattered to do their own thing, so I found myself alone. It was probably a good chance to spend some one-on-one time with someone.

FREE TIME START!

I wandered around for a bit, when I found Seia curled up in a chair in the library reading a book.

“Ah, Sensei,” she said. “My dreams told me that I would have a fortuitous encounter here today, I am glad it was you.”

“Hey, Seia. How are you?”

Putting a hand to her forehead, Seia fluttered her eyes. “It seems that I am feeling symptoms of some unknown affliction. Perhaps it’s best for you to stay here in case I grow unable to walk back to my room.”

I think that was her way of asking me to hang out. “Sure, I can sit with you, if you’d like.” I pulled up a chair and plopped down next to her.

Seia sat upright, back straight. “I hope you’ll forgive my poor deception. I didn’t know when you would be arriving, so I was unable to adequately prepare my malady before you arrived.”

“You didn’t need to pretend to be sick.”

“But then for what reason would you have to stay with me as I hoped you would?” Seia asked.

I felt like the answer was obvious. “I’m your teacher? As long as I don’t have anything else going on, I don’t really have a reason to say no.”

Seia considered this before nodding with a gentle smile. “I see. I shall endeavor to be more forthright with you in the future.”

“Is being, um, evasive? Something you do often?”

“I think the term ‘diplomatic’ is more fitting,” Seia corrected. “But yes, I have often had to consider my words and actions carefully.”

“Why’s that?”

Setting the book she was reading on the table, she pondered for a moment, as if deciding how much to tell me. “My talent,” she finally said, “It’s quite useful, do you agree?”

I nodded.

“You and many others would find it so. When my family discovered my abilities, they sought to benefit from them. I am lucky that they aren’t greedy or malicious people, but knowing the future before it happens is a blessing to many.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, “But I’m not seeing what that has to do with you being diplomatic.”

A sadness crossed Seia’s eyes for a fleeting moment. “If I told you I dreamt that you would lose the love of your life in a car accident, how would you feel?”

The question caught me off guard, to say the least. I tried thinking about how I would react. It was hard to say considering I didn’t have anyone I thought of that way, but connecting the dots between her question and our topic of discussion…

“I see. If you predict something tragic and tell them, they may have a poor reaction.”

“As expected, you have understood it well,” Seia said. “I have been screamed at, threatened, and had all manner of abuse hurled at me for my predictions, so I’ve learned to craft my statements to soften the blow, so to speak.”

She crossed her hands in her lap. “To use my previous example. I might encourage the couple to spend as much time with each other and create many happy memories.”

“Why not warn them of the accident?”

Her ears dropped considerably. “The future is decided, Sensei. I can only view, not change it. This theoretical accident will happen. The couple’s actions leading up to it will not be any different based on my advice, but if they follow it, the surviving member may find comfort in the belief that they heeded my warning.”

She rose from her seat, offering me a small bow. “Forgive me, but I must take my leave. Talking about this expends a great deal of energy that I must recover with sweets. Thank you, Sensei, for your ear today.”

As she walked off, I couldn’t help but consider what she said. Is the future truly set in stone? Seia’s predictions had all come true since I’ve known her, so there was obviously merit to her talent, but did that mean nothing we did could change the future she foresaw?

She also seemed so… defeated by it. Like a candle burned down to its last few embers.

“Seia…” I muttered.

I hoped I could help her light that candle once again.

The halls were pretty quiet today. It was impossible to tell what time it was, but an afternoon nap seemed to happen about the same time every day, usually led by Hoshino. I meandered into the workshop to find Saori polishing what looked to be a custom-made knife. I… should probably check on that.

“If you need a knife, there’s some in the kitchen,” I said after having gotten her attention. There was no way I was sneaking up on her – intentionally or not – while I was in stabbing distance.

“Monokuma chained them to the wall,” Saori replied. “Guess he doesn’t want any repeat murders.”

He really was insistent on this being a “game,” wasn’t he?

“Well I’d still prefer not to add more knives.”

Saori chuckled. “Don’t come to my room, then.” When I was about to ask what she meant, she set the knife down. “I’m kidding, this is the first I’ve made and I’m going to dull it. Want to join me?”

I didn’t know how dulling a knife actually worked, but it was a good chance to hang out with Saori, so I agreed.

Turns out, dulling a knife can be a lot of fun. Saori and I had gone to the art classroom where she hauled a bag filled with marble meant for sculpting. We took turns striking the pieces, with Saori giving me tips on how to swing it so any chunks flew away from us. Once the knife had lost its edge to the point that it couldn’t even cut jelly, we started cleaning up the mess.

“Any blade will dull with use,” Saori explained. “Any gear will, really, but knives are especially vulnerable because the blade is so thin.”

“You learned that from your mercenary work?” I asked.

“Yep. You have to know how to make and maintain your equipment. Can’t just wander down to the store and pick up a new knife when you’re neck deep in the jungle somewhere ‘cause your target is hiding there.” 

I don’t think I would ever get used to how nonchalant Saori could be when discussing the things she’s done. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

She lugged a particularly heavy piece of marble and shoved it into the rest of the pile. “I could be, or I could be taking something from a movie as a cover.”

The underlying message there was clearly ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ so I let the topic go. I doubted I would get a straight answer out of her, but the curiosity was killing me. “How did you get into mercenary work so young?”

“How do you think people get into it normally?”

“Well…” I had to think about it for a bit. “If I had to guess, former military guys? Private contractors? Some really bored losers with guns?”

Saori let out a hollow laugh at the last one. “Not entirely wrong. Obviously most mercenary work isn’t exactly above board. ‘Private security companies’ can sometimes be fronts.”

We finished up with the marble, so Saori flipped the dulled knife in her hand as she spoke. “As for me, who knows?”

Yeah, that’s what I expected. “You won’t even give me a little hint? What if I ask really nicely?”

She stared at me long and hard, and for a second I was worried how dull that knife really was. “Fine, a tiny hint. I’ve been doing it longer than you think.”

Turning sharp on her heel, she stormed out of the room, jacket flowing behind her.

For longer than I think? She wasn’t that old, so that must mean… Was she raised to be a mercenary? That was the only thing that made sense. I couldn’t imagine a mercenary unit accepting an eight year old, no matter how talented. Then again, child soldiers were a thing, so it wasn’t completely impossible.

The fact that she had entrusted me with that little bit of knowledge was encouraging though. I had a feeling, deep down, that Saori wanted to be able to trust us. She didn’t tolerate nonsense, and she was quick to jump to threats, but there was an underlying protectiveness to her that I don’t think even she realized. If I could draw that out, would she use her mercenary talents for good once we got out of here?

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Good afternoon students and faculty, it’s you illustrious headmaster speaking! I see that several of you have been enjoying our deluxe game room. As a reward for all your hard work, I’ve added a new feature to it that I’d love to share with you all. Please head to the second floor right away. If you don’t, I know where your insides are!”

Click

A pit formed in my stomach when the announcement ended. The last time Monokuma had done this, it led to the motive, and I had a sneaking feeling that this was going to be no exception. Part of Rio’s concerns had been that Monokuma was going to escalate the severity of his motives. Would this be the first step in that goal? What kind of mind-bending hell had he come up with that was supposed to spur someone here to take a life?

I began my trek towards the game room, thoughts ablaze with potential different scenarios and how we could counter them.

“Okay what the hell is this?” I asked nobody in particular. We all gathered in the game room around the new addition. It was a rectangular structure about as tall as I was, placed right next to the claw machine. It was ornamented with swirling designs that mimicked the look of wood covered in gold leaf, but when touched revealed to actually be plastic with a thin paint of cheap spray paint. The bottom was solid except for a small slit in the center of the base, while the top was all glass, but we couldn’t see what was inside because of heavy curtains inside the glass hiding its contents. Lastly, a red button flashed conspicuously on a small panel where the base and glass top met.

“Monokuma said it was some kind of feature?” Yuuka said.

“Knowing that bear, it’s probably nothing good,” Shiroko added. Her ears flattened against her head as she scanned the box from top to bottom.

Saori walked up and gave it a solid kick. “Seems cheap as hell to me.”

“W-well don’t b-break it!” Miyu said. “I-it’s M-Monokuma’s so h-he might p-punish you.”

“I’m guessing it’s the newest motive,” Hina said.

“I’m guessing it’s the newest napping spot,” Hoshino said at the same time.

Both girls looked at each other, Hina’s expression incredulous.

“Uhehe, sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.”

“What’s the button do?” Mika said, leaning down to get a closer look. “Can I push it?”

I held my arm out in front of her. “No one is pushing any buttons until Monokuma comes out and explains what this is.”

We waited for a while for Monokuma to pop out of nowhere, idly speculating about what this could be, but he never showed.

“Ugh, didn’t he call this meeting,” Aru said with a frown.

“Maybe he’s in the shower,” the prankster next to her said.

“I do not believe that bears shower,” Aris said. “Though perhaps we have not set the correct flag for him to appear?”

Izuna gave Aris a blank look. “Eh? Flag? What flag? Were we supposed to bring a flag?”

“It’s programming speak,” Yuuka explained. “Basically we have to do something before Monokuma will show up.”

“I think I know what that something is~” Mika trilled, pointing to the button on the box.

Seeing as the bear apparently had no intentions of showing himself, I stepped forward. “Okay, fine, I will press the button. But I want all of you to stand back and get ready to run at the first sign of danger.”

“If Sensei is in danger, Wakamo will protect you with her life!”

“Please don’t,” I said. With a deep breath, I held my finger over the button, looked around to be sure my students were a decent distance away, and pressed it.

The box suddenly lit up and craggly mandolin music started blasting from an unseen speaker. The curtains parted to reveal… Monokuma? Although, this Monokuma only had his top half. He was wearing a turban that was probably appropriated from somewhere and a fake crystal ball flashed between several colors in front of him.

“I am the great Zoltarkuma!”

Somehow, Monokuma’s voice sounded even worse coming out of a terrible speaker.

“The secrets of the future have revealed themselves to me. That which is hidden amongst the fog of ages cannot remain so under the gaze of my divine eye. Yes, I see it, the fog of the unknown is lifting, petitioner, and your path is laid bare. Your future is yours, but tread wisely, as foreknowledge is a gift few can handle. It may lead to a road from which you can never return. Also, check out our giftshop for more Zoltarkuma merchandise and events!”

The slit in the base of the machine spat out a piece of paper. I snatched it up and held it out so that the gaggle of girls that now surrounded me could read it as well.

Surrounded by those you must protect. 

The singular guardian preventing great sin. 

But your own temptation must be checked. 

For you will soon be in a place with water and skin.

“It’s a fortune machine?” I said.

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen those at festivals and stuff,” Hoshino said. “They give out vague fortunes that can be easily applied to anyone and charge a ton for them.”

Seia scowled and turned her nose up. “Such things mock true clairvoyance with their foolishness. They’re cheap imitations of those of us with actual abilities.”

“Hey! They’re as real as it gets!”

Oh look who decided to show up.

We all turned to where Monokuma had deigned to grace us with his presence. “Don’t be so full of yourself. You’re not even the first Ultimate Clairvoyant in a killing game! Your ‘precious gift’ or whatever you call it can probably be ordered online at this point.”

Puffing her cheeks out, Seia snatched the fortune from me and tore it in half. “I will not stand for this!”

“Then sit down,” Monokuma said, gesturing to a nearby chair.

I placed a hand on Seia’s shoulder and gave her a stern, silent message to cool it.

“Anyway,” Monokuma continued. “You should be impressed! This is an ultra rare Zoltarkuma machine! They can see the future with one hundred percent accuracy. And unlike what Sleepy over there said, they don’t give vague nonsense, they give predictions that are tailored to your future and your future alone!”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Shiroko said. “Sensei’s was pretty vague.”

“But it called him a guardian for us! That’s true, isn’t it?” Ibuki pointed out.

Hina crossed her arms. “That’s easy enough, but his prediction essentially said that he will go to the pool.”

“What?!” Monokuma cried. “No spoilers!”

Aru looked uneasy. “And how’d you figure that out?”

“Water and skin,” Hina replied. “If Sensei is in the pool area with any of us while we’re in our swimsuits, he’ll be surrounded by water and skin.”

“S-so… The p-predictions are j-just silly stuff?” Miyu said.

Mutsuki snickered. “Oh I doubt it. I bet Sensei got the easy one because he went first.”

“Or maybe Sensei has a boring future ahead of him,” Monokuma said. I think it was supposed to be an insult, but I would absolutely love to have a boring future at this point.

“Can you request specific revelations?” Aris eyed the machine.

“Nope! Sorry mystery girl, no asking about your messed up head!”

“I see…”

“So then… what’s the point?” Yuuka tapped the base of the machine with her foot.

Monokuma tutted and put his paws on his hips. “Don’t you all have any curiosity about the future? Wouldn’t you want to know if your fate is to be buried six feet under in the next few days?!”

“Izuna does not want to know that!”

“Besides,” Mika chimed, clapping Seia on both shoulders. “We have our own fortune teller right here. We don’t even need this silly game.”

Seia puffed up a bit at Mika’s praise. “Indeed. While I cannot give specific predictions upon request, I will always reveal what I know if asked.”

“We should steer clear of this thing to be safe,” Saori said. “Someone help me check if there’s a hand truck or something in the storage room later and we can move it someplace out of sight.”

“Hey! This is part of the game room! It’s absolutely key to the spatial balance of this room that it remains here!” Monokuma spat, then grew suddenly calm. “Besides, I bolted it to the floor!”

“Regardless,” Hina said, stepping forward. “If you want us to use this thing, then we probably shouldn’t.”

“Everyone,” Seia said with a soft smile, “Please rely on me so you don’t have to bother with this fraud.”

“Upupupu~”

“What’s so funny?” I said.

Cocking his head, Monokuma stifled a few more giggles. “Oh, nothing. I just feel that I’ve heard that before. Once you put an idea in someone’s head, it’s hard to get rid of it. So I could simply wait for one of you to consult ol’ Zoltarkuma, but I have another idea.”

“Whenever you get your first fortune from Zoltarkuma, I’ll throw in a little bonus. That student records room sure is interesting, huh. Lots of juicy information in it. You all already got your mitts on a pretty spicy piece, too! And given the unprecedented mass amnesia you’re all suffering, getting some clarity on who you are would be awfully nice. Think of it like a two-for-one deal. You get your past and your future!"

He held out a challenging claw. "So go ahead, see what the future has in store for you. Sadly for most of you I think it'll be in a morgue aaaaaahahahahaha!

He zipped behind the couch and never reappeared.

“That damn…urgh…” Saori grumbled.

“He does have a talent for twisting the knife, doesn’t he?” Seia said.

Ibuki shuffled from one foot to the other. “We’re still not gonna use it right? Ibuki definitely won’t!”

“We shouldn’t,” Yuuka said. “This is obviously some sort of roundabout motive. If we don’t engage with it, then we’ll be fine.”

“B-But how can we guarantee no one will do it?” Aru said. “It’s not like we can station a guard here all the time.”

“Sensei, don’t try to volunteer,” Hoshino got in quickly.

I closed my mouth.

“We’ll have to go by the honor system,” Shiroko said. “And trust that no one will use it.”

“Yeah! Trusting the goodness of our hearts worked out really well last time!” Mutuski said with a big grin.”

“Th-that’s n-not nice…” Miyu said.

Mika shrugged. “She’s not entirely wrong.”

I could see that this was going to devolve, so I stepped in. “No one should use this machine,” I said firmly. “Whatever Monokuma’s planning, this is a part of it, so Yuuka’s right. If we keep up our lives as we have been, then this motive can’t hurt us. However, I’ll be realistic. The temptation is strong. If you do use the machine, please come tell me. I know I promised no secrets, but I won’t let the rest of the group know unless it’s something that concerns all of us. Same for whatever information you redeem from the student records room.”

“Student-Sensei confidentiality,” Hoshino summarized.

I nodded at her. “Exactly. I won’t lie and say that I’m not curious as well, but the stakes are too high to let that get the best of us. I believe in you all.”

I let the statement hang in the air for a minute as I searched my students’ faces. The student records were like a siren’s call. The promise of the past we’re missing was no doubt at the forefront of their minds.

“What about you, Sensei?” Aris asked quietly. “You have used the machine, so that means that you are allowed access to the student records.”

“Yeah, what’s stopping you from getting info and not telling us?” Mutsuki said.

“Sensei wouldn’t do that…” Aru said.

Their concerns were reasonable, but I already had a plan for that. “Tonight after dinner, I’ll go to the student records room and redeem my piece. Anyone who wants to join me is free to do so, and anyone who doesn’t, I’ll report what I get first thing in the morning. Does that sound fair?”

Mika smiled. “I’m in, I’m in! I hope we get something embarrassing!”

“Why…?” Yuuka said, looking concerned.

“It’ll be fun!”

Seia smirked. “If you want embarrassing stories about Mika, I can tell you some.”

That got Mika to balk. “W-wait Seia! You don’t have to, really! Just one will do. Definitely not the time we went to the beach at least!”

“Oh?” Saori raised an eyebrow. “That sounds fun.”

“Kufufu~ After you’re done, I can–”

“No!” Aru cried. “I already know what you’re going to say and it’s not happening! I have a reputation to maintain!”

“You really don’t…” Yuuka said, looking more concerned.

“I would like to hear the beach story!” Aris chimed sincerely.

“Ibuki too! Ibuki too!”

Seia’s smirk turned devilish. “So we were at the beach and Mika forgot to put sunscreen on and…”

“You’re so mean!” Mika whined, trying to stop Seia, but being held back by Saori.

I chuckled to myself and eyed the quiet machine. Zoltarkuma had forgotten in favor of silly gossip. As it should be.

The excitement from the motive had eaten up most of the day, but there was still a little bit of time before we would gather again for dinner.

FREE TIME START

I wasn’t sure exactly how much time I had; the students were always better at that than I was, so I figured that hanging around in the dining hall would be a good idea. I could hang out with whoever came in as well.

What I didn’t expect was to enter the room to see that Ibuki had pushed the tables to the side and laid out her comforter on the ground, her teddy bear on one end with a plate stacked with pudding cups in front of it.

When she saw me, she waved me over. “Sensei, Sensei! Ibuki is having a picnic! Want to join?”

A picnic in the middle of the room we usually ate in was a strange choice, but I suppose it was better than the kitchen and nobody else would come if she held it in her room, which were the only other areas she could even eat.

I lowered myself onto her comforter, and something in my body cracked. Hoshino sure liked to pretend she was getting old, but I wondered if that would continue when she actually started feeling age catching up with her.

“Here you go!” Ibuki said, having run into the kitchen to get another plate. There was a single pudding cup, a handful of carrots, and a package of gummy candy on it.

“Thank you,” I said, taking a bite out of a carrot. I had to hand it to Monokuma, however the hell he was getting these vegetables, at least they were fresh.

Plopping herself down next to me, Ibuki began digging into a pudding cup. “I hope we get more people for our picnic soon!”

“Me, too. Picnics are always better with friends.”

“They are!” Ibuki took a bite of pudding and murmured happily. “That’s one of the reasons Ibuki was so excited to come here. I wanted to make lots of good friends!”

“Did you not have friends at your last school?” I asked, a bit of worry creeping into me.

“I did! But now I get to have even more friends!”

That was a relief. I couldn’t imagine someone as cheery as Ibuki not having friends. Frankly, the thought of her being alone was almost incomprehensible to me.

“Were you worried about the older students at all?”

The blonde thought for a moment. “A little. I didn’t know if they were going to want to play with me, but everyone has been super nice! Wakamo even let Ibuki see her cool mask!”

Now that was impressive. I was sure that Wakamo only tolerated being around everyone else because it would make me sad if she didn’t.

“I think it’s really important to have friends,” Ibuki continued. “Because you might have family, but families aren’t always nice, so friends can make up for that!”

She scooped up another pudding cup from the plate in front of her teddy bear.

“Don’t ruin your appetite for later,” I said lightly.

“Ibuki won’t!” she assured me. “Ibuki is a good girl who always eats her dinner.”

I snatched Ibuki’s hat from her, which caused her to giggle and try to grab it back from me. When I held it too high for her to reach, I rubbed my victory in her face by ruffling her hair.

“You’ve been a great student,” I said. “I can’t wait to have you in a normal class with me.”

She grinned. “I’m glad. I always want to be a good student! Because there was this one time I was bad and…” She trailed off, her grin suddenly falling.

“Ibuki?”

“Um… I think my teddy has a tummy ache, Sensei. I gotta take him back to my room!”

I think even she realized the excuse was weak because she rushed to clean up the plates and her comforter before I could respond. Whatever she was about to say, it was clearly something she wasn’t ready to talk about.

“That’s okay,” I told her. “You take care of him and I’ll see you later.”

Still looking unsure, but more comfortable that I wasn’t pressing her, Ibuki nodded. “Bye-bye, Sensei!”

For as carefree and cheerful as she was, even Ibuki had her share of things she'd like to keep private. I hoped that whatever it was, it didn't traumatize the girl at such a young age. There was no way her happy demeanor was an act, right?

“So how does this work?” I said, standing in front of the student records door once again. Not as many students as I thought joined me. Some were tired and wanted to rest, and others weren’t in the correct headspace to process whatever I was going to be given. I ended up with Hina, Hoshino, Aris, Miyu, and Wakamo with me.

“What’d you do last time?” Hoshino said. She’d taken a seat and leaned her back against the wall, eyes closed. I was always concerned she was going to fall asleep at any time when she did that.

“I used the Shittim Chest, but I wasn’t supposed to have access to it, so it won’t work anymore.”

“Is there anything on the fortune?” Hina said.

I had managed to get the two scraps of my fortune back from Seia, and upon examining the back, I saw there was a bar code. It took a few attempts, but I managed to get the scanner above the screen to accept it. A loading screen popped with an estimated completion time of five minutes.

“Weird, it was pretty much instant last time,” I said.

“M-maybe M-Monokuma’s in th-there picking it out,” Miyu suggested.

“Or he’s being petty,” Wakamo said. I hadn’t expected her to come with us, but she said something about not wanting anyone to know anything about me before she did.

“Anything you guys are hoping to find out?” Hoshino asked.

“I would accept any and all lore concerning myself,” Aris said. “I feel that there are many blank entries and I would like to see them filled.”

Hina hummed. “I’d like more information on that photo of me. What could possibly have led to me doing something like that?”

“I-I-I don’t think th-there will be an-anything about me…” Miyu said. “I’m n-not important en-enough. They pr-probably forgot my r-records.”

Aris took Miyu’s hand. “You are part of our class as well, so I am sure that you will be included. This school is the most prestigious in the country, so it would be horribly unprofessional for them to not submit your records.”

“It’d be unprofessional for any school,” Hina added.

“Mmmmm it’s h-happened before. I w-wasn’t on my t-teachers’ attendance l-lists for a month because they f-forgot to put me on it.”

“Hear that, Sensei?” Hoshino called, having sunk even lower towards the floor. “Make sure Miyu is first whenever you call roll!”

“Th-that’s n-not necessary!”

“You’ll always be on my roll call list, Miyu.” I turned to Wakamo. “What about you, Wakamo?”

The fox girl bowed her head. “Not sure. I want to know more about Sensei more than myself.”

“There’s gotta be something,” Hoshino said, nudging Wakamo with her toe.

For a second, I thought Wakamo was going to storm off. Instead, she said, “I want to know what ‘Fox of Calamity’ means. It’s on Wakamo’s student profile, but I don’t know why.”

“Th-that s-sounds r-really s-s-scary!” Miyu whimpered, huddling behind me.

“It sounds like a boss title!” Aris said, eyes sparkling. “Perhaps you were a boss fight and playable character hybrid!”

I don’t think any of us knew what Aris was talking about.

“We’ll keep workshopping it, kiddo,” Hoshino said.

Hina tugged at her glove. “It could be related to the photo I found. The book was left out for Wakamo to find, after all. And if the incident that spurred me to take command of people fighting was as serious as it looks, a ‘Fox of Calamity’ wouldn’t be out of place.”

Do dodo dooooo

The screen let out a little ditty as it finished loading.

“My encounter jingle is better,” Aris pouted.

The slot on the door opened and a piece of paper spat out. I picked it up and read aloud, “Disclosure of Criminal Activities for Hope’s Archive Class… One?”

“Criminal activities?” Hina said.

“Class one?” Hoshino said at the same time.

“You both have got to stop doing that,” I commented, though they had good points.

“W-we a-aren’t the first class here,” Miyu said. “I- I remember reading about other Ultimates graduating and d-doing incredible stuff.”

That was true. It was trivial to find information about past classes, predictions about people who may be in future classes, high-profile staff members, and about anything else you wanted. Hope’s Archive was the premier school in the country, and the only way it could have even gotten that reputation would have been to put several successful classes through.

“Is it perhaps an odd numbering system?” Aris said. “Or a codename of some sort?”

Hoshino shook her head. “I can’t see why they’d do that. The school is all about promoting its students after they graduate, so they’d want to do everything they could to make it easy. Naming the classes randomly wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Weird…” Hina muttered. “Keep going, Sensei, I want to hear about what crimes we’ve supposedly committed.

That was the part I was most interested in as well. It wouldn’t be out of place for Hope’s Archive to have these kinds of records. The school had never hid that it admitted criminals if they were talented enough. The more diplomatic reason given was to offer a second chance to those who proved they earned it, though a lot of rumors swirled around online that claimed crime syndicates would fund Hope’s Archive in exchange for enrolling their members. 

As far as I was aware, the only one of my students who could be a proper criminal would be Saori. Mercenary work wasn’t exactly smiled upon in most places. Given Wakamo’s love of destruction and explosive expertise, I wouldn’t put it past her to have crossed the law a few times. I guess Aru was considered the Ultimate Outlaw, but if I was being honest, she was the only student who I hadn’t figured out why she was given her title.

“The following is a brief overview and disclosure of past crimes committed by the future students of Hope’s Archive Academy. Following their admittance to this school, all criminal activity listed here is considered forgiven, and all criminal records are to be expunged. This document serves solely as a transparency measure and is not to be used in any future criminal proceedings against Hope’s Archive Academy students or graduates. If further details are required, please contact the administrator.”

“E-e-expunged? S-so anything you d-did before you came here…” Miyu said.

“It’s like it never happened,” Hoshino finished. “You could literally get away with murder if you get accepted.”

“I guess that’s why Monokuma thought we’d be so willing to participate in the game,” Hina said.

I knew that Hope’s Archive was influential, but to completely erase a person’s criminal history as if it never happened? Just how far did its influence reach? Was it really okay for the government to permit this? And above all, how involved were my students.

“The next section is the list,” I said. “It’s… woah…”

“What is the matter, Sensei?” Aris asked, pulling at my sleeve. “Your eyes have gotten considerably wider!”

There was no way. This couldn’t be real. I knew my students well enough to say with confidence that this list couldn’t be real. Though Monokuma insisted that everything in the records room was genuine. He could be lying, but when thinking about it from the perspective of what would make the game more interesting, it was much more likely for him to tell the truth.

“Sensei,” Wakamo said, her voice tight. “What does it say?”

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I read out the list of crimes that my students had ostensibly committed.

Ajitani Hifumi - Armed Robbery, Grand Larceny, Purchase of Illicit goods

Asagi Mutsuki - Extortion, Illegal Detonation of Explosives, Public Nuisance

Hayase Yuuka - Aiding and Abetting the Commission of a Crime

Joumae Saori - Destruction of Property, Mercanarism Possession of Illegal Weaponry 

Kasumizawa Miyu - Littering, Loitering, Possession of Illegal Weaponry 

Kosaka Wakamo - (See Reverse)

Kuda Izuna - Assault and Battery, Stalking

Misono Mika - Attempted Assassination, Treason, Unlawful Departure of Prison

Rikuhachima Aru - Extortion, Mercenarism, Public Nuisance

Sorasaki Hina - Desertion and Dereliction of Duty

Sunaōkami Shiroko - Armed Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Grand Larceny

Takanashi Hoshino - Armed Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Extrajudicial Vigilantism, Grand Larceny, 

Tanga Ibuki - Aiding and Abetting the Commission of a Crime, Conspiracy to Incite Violence

Tendo Aris - [REDACTED]

Tsukatsuki Rio - Embezzlement, Kidnapping, Production of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Yurizono Seia - Breaking and Entering, Espionage

“Wha… What?!” Hoshino cried. “I haven’t done any of that!”

“How could I possibly have deserted anything?” Hina said, “I’ve never been part of the military.”

“Waaaaaahhhh whatever I d-did, I'm s-sorry!”

Some of these crimes – most of them, actually – were severe. I physically couldn’t picture my students committing even half of these. These were teenagers! Saori and Wakamo alone were exceptions rather than the rule. It wasn’t possible that all of my students had committed such heinous crimes. Hope’s Archive was lax with who they admitted, but an entire class full of delinquent students? That seemed like a stretch even for this school.

“Why is my information redacted?” Aris said, her voice twinged with annoyance. The fact that everything about her was shrouded in mystery had to be frustrating for her.

“It’s especially concerning given this type of document,” Wakamo said. “It said it’s for transparency, right? So why are they hiding what Aris did?”

“I did not do anything, I promise!” Aris replied. “At least… I hope I did not. I wish to be a hero, not a villain.”

“You’re not a villain,” I said. “None of you are. I don’t care what this thing says, you’re all my students and this won’t change how I see you.”

“Haaaah…” Wakamo swooned. “I can barely contain my feelings when you say things like that.”

Hina wasn’t as swayed. “That’s all well and good, but it’s not you that I’m concerned about. Some of these crimes are quite violent. Knowledge of what we’ve ostensibly done could be used to divide us further.”

“And somehow I don’t think any further information Monokuma gives us is going to be stuff like our blood types,” Hoshino said. Her heterochromatic eyes were far away, as if deep in thought.

“S-so wh-what do we d-do?” Miyu asked. “D-do we keep this a s-secret?”

“No,” I replied instantly. “I promised that I wouldn’t keep anything from you all unless you tell it to me in confidence, and I told everyone else that I’d report what I found, so I intend to follow through on that.” I glanced over the page one more time. “Besides, this is all the more reason why we should stay away from that machine. If Monokuma gives us more information like this, it’s bound to lead to tensions rising, so hopefully this will serve as a warning.”

“Or entice people more,” Hina said, then sighed. “But there’s no right answer here, so I’ll follow your lead, Sensei.”

“That Monokuma…” Aris said, her fists clenched.

I shared her sentiment. I had no idea of the validity of this document, or if there were extenuating circumstances, but it was easy to see how someone could be convinced into killing if they felt they were protecting the others from a student they felt was dangerous. At the same time, if all of the students had criminal histories to some degree, that meant they were in the same boat. Granted, the severity of the crimes were magnitudes different.

Regardless, these were my students. It was as my fortune said, I needed to protect them, and even when we escaped, I would still make it my mission to teach them regardless of their pasts. They couldn’t move forward if they were shackled by the past or something like that.

Still, some of these supposed crimes were... intense. Supposedly Mika attempted to assassinate someone, and Rio was involved in producing weapons? I couldn't wrap my head around it. Something had to be missing here.

And while I had a group of level-headed students with me, how would the others react? I'd have to plan my strategy for informing everyone without causing a mass panic while I was on patrol tonight.

“By the way, Sensei,” Wakamo said, tapping my shoulder. “Could Wakamo see the other side of that page? My crimes weren’t listed.”

“Oh, I guess, sure.”

Flipping over the page revealed… Oh… Wow… The entire page was covered. Literally. Even the margins were filled with crimes I didn’t even know existed.

Hoshino whistled. “That is quite the list.”

“When did you even find the time to do all of this?” Hina asked.

“W-why do you have m-multiple militaries after you?!” Miyu said… from the other end of the hallway.

“How does one invade an independent island nation all on their own?” Aris said.

Despite myself and the other girls being decidedly unnerved by the sheer amount of charges against Wakamo, the fox girl herself put her hands on her face and I could tell was positively giddy underneath her mask.

“I’ve caused so much destruction!” she cried. “I need my memories back so I can relive it all!”

I was starting to see where the “Fox of Calamity” title came from.

Deep that night, after Sensei's patrol.

Click

"I am the great Zoltarkuma!"

Chapter Text

Morning came far too quickly, and with it, the need to tell my students what I had discovered. The list I’d received from the student records room sat on the kitchenette counter. It was unimaginable still. Even in my worst nightmares, I couldn’t visualize the students doing their best to get along committing even half the crimes that they were accused of.

There had to be some angle to it. Something Monokuma wasn’t telling me. A lie by omission. Maybe it was some weird play that they all performed where they were criminals trying to reform themselves. That probably wasn’t it, but thinking of someone managing to drag Saori on stage helped soothe the anxiety of having to let them know.

I’d done an extra two laps around the school trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject. One of the more ridiculous ideas involved gathering up all of the students in the art room and having them draw out the crimes they were accused of only to say, “Surprise! It’s you guys!” Not my finest idea, to say the least.

Ultimately, I was going to simply have to rip the bandaid off. If I didn’t, I’m sure Hina or Hoshino would. Wakamo wouldn’t do anything that could possibly upset me, and I already knew that she could keep a secret if I asked her to. Aris would probably be too unsure of herself to go through with it and would wait for me. While Miyu –

“UUUUUUEEEEEEEE!!!!”

– Was outside my door?

Even through the soundproofing, Miyu’s muffled cry reached my ears and I leapt from my bed, barely managing to pull on pants before throwing open my door, only to be greeted by  fourteen riled up girls.

“Sensei!”

“What’s this about a list?”

“You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“I’m not surprised I have a record.”

“Izuna wouldn’t do anything, my lord!”

“If this i-is a prank it’s not funny!”

“If this is a prank, it’s hysterical!”

“Ibuki is a good girl!”

Voice stacked on top of voice as the crowd pushed closer to me. Front and center, looking like she was about to pass out, was Miyu.

“Weeeeh… I’m sorry, Sensei!” she cried. “They asked me and I tried to say wait but they kept asking and I didn’t want to be useless so I told them and now they’re mad and it’s all my fault and I should just disappear!”

The tumult continued to rise, to the point that my ears were going to start ringing.

Seeking any sort of solace from chaos, I made eye contact with the others who were with me. When I got to Hoshino, she flashed me a thumbs up and then stuck her fingers in her mouth. A loud whistle cut through the noise and caused everyone to turn to the pink-haired girl.

“Eyes up here,” I said, which made everyone turn their hands back towards me, which I have to admit was kind of amusing. “Everyone please. I know you all want to know what it says, but let me at least get dressed first.”

Yuuka huffed. “These are serious allegations against us. I think we have the right to be upset about them!”

“You do,” I replied. “But you can be upset about them in the dining hall until I get dressed.”

“But–”

“End of discussion. Go wait in the dining hall. I’ll call you out into another room and we’ll talk about it there."

There was some assorted grumbling, but I think they got the message. It helped that Hina convinced most of them to follow her and trust that I’d tell them. It also helped that Wakamo threatened to strap C4 to anyone who didn’t listen to her darling Sensei. They made an effective, if brutal, team.

Overall, the reveal went pretty well! I had the students come up to the art room, since that was probably the most neutral room, in groups so I could tell them. Most students were simply confused. No matter how hard they wracked their brains, they couldn’t think of anything in their past that would have led to them having those charges on their record. Except Saori, that is. She was shocked that she didn’t have more until Seia pointed out that it meant she never got caught.

I didn’t intend for Saori to walk out of the room with her head held high, but I wrote it off as supporting student self esteem.

The last group I had was the one I was most concerned about. It had the students with the worst crime sans Wakamo. Okay, that wasn’t entirely truthful. It had Mika in it. I’d reread her entry more than any other. Attempted assassination, treason, and unlawful departure from prison. The princess I knew was flighty, impulsive, and a bit childish. What possible combination of events could have led to her committing treason?!

Attempted assassination was striking as well. As the old saying goes, only important people get assassinated, us regular folks simply get murdered, so that meant she would’ve had to target a high profile individual.

“Sensei~” The star of the show skipped into the art room, a cheery smile on her face. Trying to reconcile that with the image of a plotting assassin was… not going well.

Mutsuki and Hoshino followed closely behind, both sitting at a position where I’d placed crayons and paper. I may have gone through with the whole “draw your feelings” idea anyway.

Mika, however, marched right up to me and leaned in conspiratorily. “So, what crimes did big, bad Mika commit?” The amused smile on my face told me that she found this thoroughly amusing.

Without a word, I showed her where I had written down her crimes individually; I’d done the same for all of my students so they could see only what that had ostensibly done without exposing anyone else.

As Mika read, her expression fell, brow furrowing and frown deepening. Her eyes seemed far away, as if she was trying to piece together an incomplete puzzle. “I… I wouldn’t,” she said slowly. She reread the line several times, tracing her finger along as she did so.

“Listen, it doesn’t matter what this says, I–”

“Of course it doesn’t matter!” Mika interrupted, her face bursting back into her usual smile. “This is so ridiculous that it has to be a setup by Monokuma.” She covered half her face with her hand, probably to simulate his black half. “Hahaha! I’m evil and I’m going to make everyone else seem evil too so they kill each other!”

“Not a bad imitation,” I said, though my voice was strained. As much as I wanted to believe that Mika was being sincere in her doubt, the cold look in her eyes never quite disappeared. Come to think of it, she was the Ultimate Princess. I’d never asked about her title, and she hadn’t mentioned anything about it either. Given Princesses were involved with the upper echelons of government and royalty, it would put her in a position for treason and assassination to be possible crimes.

Rio flashed through my head. I had believed that I knew her well enough, but that obviously wasn’t the case. As Mika headed out of the room, humming a tune to herself, a sense of creeping dread built in my stomach. There was so much about my students that I didn’t know. How could I possibly protect them all if there were entire histories behind each one that I’d have to unravel bit by bit?

“Ye-ow!”

Hoshino’s sudden yelp broke me from my thoughts, and I rushed over to where she was holding her leg. A thin trail of blood leaked from her ankle. Next to her, a set of novelty teeth that had been filed down to points chattered away on the ground, flecks of blood on the tips.

“What happened?!”

Mutsuki approached us and Hoshino fixed her with a glare. “I think a youngin’ needs a lesson in respecting her elders.”

Opening her mouth like she was about to say something cheeky, Mutsuki suddenly stopped when she saw the blood. She grabbed the novelty teeth set and pulled out a remote control, clicking a button to deactivate them.

“These things did that?” Mutsuki asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

“Sure did,” Hoshino replied. She took a pair of fabric scissors and snipped away a section of her shirt, then wrapped it around her wound. “Typical Monokuma not giving us any sort of first-aid.”

“Woah… I’m… I’m sorry,” Mutsuki said. “I thought the sharp teeth were just for show.”

I never expected I’d actually hear Mutsuki apologize for anything, but with the way her eyes were stuck on Hoshino’s injury, I could tell she meant it.

“Where did you even get them?” I asked.

“I found it in the storage room. And I found a remote control car there, too. One trip to the workshop and some begging Yuuka to help later and ta-da! Remote control prank teeth!” Her lips twitched into a smile, but it quickly fell as neither Hoshino nor I looked entertained. “Um, it was supposed to be surprising, not actually hurt you.”

Sighing, Hoshino carefully rose, testing how much weight she could put on her foot. Fortunately, it appeared that the teeth didn’t do too much damage. “Should know better than to trust anything in this place. I think it would tickle Monokuma to no end to see one of us die via fake teeth.”

Mutsuki bit her lip. “I’ll be more careful.” 

It was odd to see the usually flippant prankster so remorseful, but for as much as she was willing to push buttons, she never wanted anyone to actually get hurt from her mischief. “Please do,” I said, “We don’t need any accidents happening. My guess is Monokuma considers accidental killing the same as intentional killing.”

Mutsuki’s eyes grew wider, and Hoshino scratched her face. “Uhe Sensei, I think she gets the point. I’m a tough ol’ gal, so no need to hammer it in.”

“Y-yeah, Sensei, what are you trying to do, give me nightmares?” the prankster said with a half-hearted smile.

“Trying to keep you all safe,” I replied. “Hoshino, you need to go wash that out.”

Nodding, Hoshino started to head to the door, but then turned around. “Wait, I want to hear what I did in the past. Was it something silly like sleeping where I wasn’t supposed to. I could go for a nap now.”

I showed Hoshino her section.

…

“Sweet.”

Once the buzz around the information I received died down (Aru was indignant that her rap sheet wasn’t as long as she expected), I found myself with some more free time.

FREE TIME START

I turned a corner and nearly ran face first into Aris.

“Woah! Sorry about that.”

Aris, however, didn’t respond. Instead, she seemed focused on the ground in front of her like she was searching for something.

“Um, did you lose something? Do you need my help?”

Blinking, the small girl looked up at me, her face brightening. “Ah, Sensei, would you like to party up to complete this quest?”

Seeing as I had nothing else going on, I agreed. “Sure, but what quest are we completing?”

“Oh it is an unmarked, secret quest!” she said. “So it is not listed in our quest log, but when we complete all the steps, we will be handsomely rewarded.”

I had no idea what she could be referring to, but who was I to question her fun? “Lead the way then.”

We spent the next while going from room to room in search of “ritual objects” or doing random “tasks.” When we went into the lounge, Aris instructed that we had to lie on the carpet and count the ceiling tiles. In the math room, we looked high and low for a legendary object able to graph the curve of the universe. It was a graphing calculator, one that we returned to Yuuka, who was very grateful.

With each task checked off her invisible list, Aris insisted that we were getting closer and closer to our reward. After we finished up in the pool (searching for the water that sustains all life, of course), we headed into the game room when Aris whirled to face me, hand out in a challenging pose.

“Now, Sensei!” she proclaimed. “We must battle in one-on-one combat to test our resolve. The reward will only show itself to those who prove themselves worthy!”

“Do we have to?” I said, looking down at Aris’s diminutive form. “I really don’t want to fight you.”

She giggled. “We do not need to actually fight. Any fiery competition will do, and I have already set up our fated encounter!”

She grabbed my wrist, tugging me to the couch in front of the massive TV. After pressing the power button on one of the game consoles, she scrambled up next to me, handing me a controller. Ah, so that was it, we were going to play some games together.

When the screen finally lit up, I couldn’t contain a giddy smile from emerging on my face. Street Mechs Ultimate Battle Royale Combat Death Fight 3 was a classic from when I was my students’ age.

“Oh, Aris, you have no idea the beast you’ve unleashed,” I said, leaning forward as we both quickly selected our characters.

Matching my energy, Aris shifted to be in a more focused position. “Let us have a fair battle, Sensei. We shall show our hearts to the universe and prove ourselves heroes worthy of a great reward!”

I have no idea how long we spent going back and forth in the game. While Aris was a naturally better gamer than I was, I had spent my formative years obsessed with the franchise and the muscle memory came roaring back in force. We started out as a best of three, but that rapidly morphed into a best of five, then a best of seven, then we swapped characters, then we did different stages.

Soon enough, the nighttime announcement was playing and we were completely tied. Sighing happily, Aris slid off the couch and turned off the game console.

“Bam bababaaaaam!” she sang. “Quest complete, Aris has received her reward!”

“Oh? Did we really finish the quest?” I asked. “How come I didn’t receive anything?”

“I must have forgotten, but the reward is something that only the Aris-class can equip.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So what’s the reward exactly?”

With an absolutely shining, brilliant smile, Aris spread her arms. “Getting to spend all day with Sensei!”

Her declaration hit me right in the heart. “You could always ask and I would have spent time with you.”

“But this was a lot more fun, wasn’t it?” she said. “Doing quests with friends is always better than solo queuing. When we get out of here, I hope you will play games with me and my other friends some day.”

I smiled. “It’s a promise.”

Aris was a bit of an odd girl. She seemed to view everything in video game and RPG terms, but beneath all that was a heart of pure gold. I wondered what her friends were like. I couldn’t imagine they were anything but the exact same.

It was getting late, so I went room to room to start rounding up the girls to head to their dorms for the night. Most of them were already there, but I found Aris still playing in the games room, her face glazed over as she focused on some platformer. Shiroko had taken to doing laps in the pool, and was trying to get a few more in until I threatened to quite literally fish her out.

When I passed by the dojo, right before I peeked in, an arrow whizzed by me, forcing me back from the doorway.

“Myeeeehh! Sorry, my lord!” came Izuna’s voice, followed by the fox girl poking her head out. She was holding some sort of bow behind her back.

“What was that?!” I said. Walking over to where the arrow had landed, I saw that there was a boxing glove attached to the end of it.

“There’s a big closet of bows and arrows in here,” Izuna explained. “We were playing with them. But we didn’t want anyone to get hurt, so we were going to file off the tips. Then Monokuma showed up and told us it would count as damaging school property, so Saori went and got some tape and did this!”

Inside the dojo, Saori, Aru, and Hina all held bows with a pile of modified arrows next to them. Some of the arrows had gloves on the tips, while others had things like pillows from the lounge or plush painting sponges from the art room. They really had gone out of their way to make sure the arrows couldn’t accidentally hurt anyone. At the other end of the room, a line of posters with Monokuma’s face drawn on them were stretched over the practice targets.

“Sensei,” Saori called, pulling an arrow back then letting it fly. The weighting was all messed up because of the sponge on the end, but it flew straight enough to hit a Monokuma’s nose with a soft thud. “Want to try? It’s good stress relief.”

“You can get on your hands and knees to thank me for the target idea,” Aru said before proceeding to drop the arrow she was carrying.

“Nin! Yes, my lord, give it a try! Show us how a real ninja snipes his arch nemesis!” Izuna shoved the bow into my hands.

While I was certainly not opposed to pelting Monokuma’s visage with a few arrows, I had never fired a bow before in my life. “I’ve never fired a bow before in my life,” I said, having never fired a bow before in my life.

“It’s okay if you’ve never fired a bow before in your life,” Hina said to reassure me even though I never fired a bow before in my life. “These are the beginner bows, so they are designed for people who have never fired a bow before in their lives.”

“Check it out,” Saori said, drawing another arrow so quickly that it seemed easy even for someone like me who had neve–

“My lord, please stop doing that.”

“Sorry.”

Still somewhat clumsy, I nocked an arrow with a small pillow taped to the end and held the bow up. Despite the string being easy to draw, the pillow made it hard to see the target, and the head of the arrow kept dipping, so when I fired it, the arrow ended up hitting the ground.

“Nice one, Sensei!” Aru said, pulling back her own shot. “Now watch how a real outlaw does it.” She fired the bow and to perhaps no one’s surprise, ended up going completely wide. “Th-that was a fluke!”

Hina gingerly took the bow from Aru. “Considering you were the one who somehow fired the bow backwards, maybe archery is not your strong suit”

Aru crossed her arms and pouted. “If it was a sniper rifle, I bet I’d be a good shot.”

“No way,” Saori snorted. She’d fired three more arrows, each one hitting the target. “A rifle of that caliber is hard as hell to fire even with training.”

“I’ve fired one before, it wasn’t too difficult,” Aru shot back, causing all of us to turn to her.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Izuna said, tail wagging. “When? How? Was it fun?”

Preening, Aru put her hand to her chest as if to brag, but then paused and looked confused. “I’m… not sure.”

“How convenient. Next you’ll tell us that you infiltrated an opera house or something equally ridiculous.” Saori shook her head. “Izuna, don’t listen to her, she’s a fraud.”

“I-I am not!” Aru cried. “I swear! I’ve fired a sniper rifle before. I know I did. I just can’t recall the specifics. I wouldn’t ever puff up my resume! Clients have to trust I’m the real deal if they’re going to hire me after all.”

“Heard that a lot,” the mercenary said. “Talk is cheap.”

“I’ll take you on right here, right now!” Aru threw her coat over her shoulders, sticking out her chest. It didn’t help her look particularly intimidating when Saori walked up and towered over her.

“You really want to go?”

“I-I… Hmph! I’ll t-take on a-anyone who d-dares question me!” 

After removing her mask and jacket, Saori cracked her knuckles. “I’m serious. You want to pick a fight, I’ll give you a fight. You’d think that me chasing after your loudmouth lackey would be enough to get you to understand. Or do I need to rope her into this, too?”

Aru’s expression darkened and for once, I genuinely felt a chill as she did it. “You’re not laying a finger on Mutsuki.”

“Aww? Is the little girl going to give me a whole speech about the power of friendship? Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work in the real world.”

Izuna tentatively reached forward. “But Saori, weren’t you telling me about your friends?”

Whirling to face the fox girl, Saori spat, “It’s not the same.”

“Oh ho?” Aru said, a smug smile creeping onto her face. “Is someone not nearly the tough girl she pretends she is?”

Before Saori could respond, both Hina and I stepped between the two fighting girls. “Settle down, both of you,” I said. “There’s no reason to fight, especially not getting into anything physical.”

“She started it!” Aru protested.

“And now I’ve ended it,” I said. “We’re all going to go to our separate corners and cool off, sound good?”

Neither of the sounds that came from Aru and Saori sounded anywhere close to “sounding good,” but it made the opportunity for me and Hina to get some distance between them. Izuna snatched up Saori’s jacket and mask and brought them to her, mentioning something about making Saori some “ninja snacks” in the dining hall.

Hina returned to where Aru and I were standing. “My apologies for not stepping in earlier. I didn’t expect it to escalate as quickly as it did.”

“Not your fault,” I said. “I should have been quicker, too.”

“You shouldn’t have let her badmouth me like that,” the outlaw said. Her words were tough, but her voice shook and she was desperately blinking back tears.

“Were you telling the truth about the sniper rifle?” Hina asked.

“Yes! Why does everyone think I’m lying about it?!”

I held up my hands. “Look at it from our perspective. You’ve fired a sniper rifle easily, but you can’t remember any details? Sounds fake, right?”

“But it’s not,” Aru insisted. “I swear on the honor of Problem Solver 68 I’ve fired a rifle before.”

Though I still had my doubts, Aru usually folded by now if she was bloviating, so it was possible that she genuinely did remember something. Maybe it was part of the memories that Monokuma messed with? Could it be that the memory wipe was incomplete, or perhaps temporary?

“Is there anything else you can remember?” I asked. “Anything at all, even if it’s only an association?”

Aru traced one of her horns with her finger, staring at the ground intently. “Red wine,” she finally said. Both Hina and I must have made a face because she quickly continued, “I know it sounds weird, but red wine is what I think of. Maybe I really am making something up…”

We left it at that. I didn’t know what to make of Aru’s stubbornness regarding the topic, but I filed it away in the back of my mind just in case.

Monokuma Theater

Why is it that knowledge always comes with a price?

It’s not like knowledge has a production cost associated with it.

Unless you’re printing a book or something, but who reads those nowadays?

I think that it’s a consequence of when turbo nerds get superpowers.

They think that makes all of their knowledge “forbidden” and “dangerous” so they have to charge for it.

Let’s spread the knowledge they’re hoarding by giving them all wedgies!

The next morning was pretty quiet. Some bickering over who ate the last of the melon, but beyond that, it was pretty uneventful as everyone went about their day. I should take advantage of the peace and find someone to hang out with.

FREE TIME START

“Sensei!” a voice called from down the hall. Aru poked her head out from the math classroom and waved me down. When I approached, she yanked me inside.

“W-woah! What’s going on?”

On the whiteboard, Aru had written a series of word problems that all seemed to revolve around money or business negotiations. “I’m glad you asked! It’s time for the teacher to become the student!”

“What am I supposed to be learning?”

“Business!” Aru said, thrusting her finger towards me. “Money-handling in particular. You’ll also need to learn negotiation strategies, but that will come later.”

I blinked at her. “Why do I need to learn this?”

“Because you’re going to need these skills when you join Problem Solver, obviously. After we escape from this place, our names are going to be in headlines, and I don’t intend to squander the opportunity to make our group known across the continent! Problem Solver 68 will be a household name, which means tons of business opportunities, but also tons of vultures around us. Every member will need to be in tip-top shape to differentiate the good deals from the bad.”

Ah, right, Problem Solver 68 was that group of her friends that she was telling me about last time. She and Mutsuki had made it when they were kids and they did odd jobs around the neighborhood. I guess with two of their members attending Hope’s Archive, the dream of continental recognition wasn’t unreasonable. There was only one issue.

“When did I agree to join your group?”

Aru looked genuinely surprised. “Hm? Why would you not want to be a part of it? I figured you would agree anyway, so I went ahead and signed you up.”

Sign up? Isn’t she the boss? Does she really need to sign me up? “But I’ll be teaching after you graduate, so I won’t be able to join you in your… activities.”

Slamming her hand on a desk, Aru grinned. “That’s all part of my plan! You’ll be in charge of recruitment via Hope’s Archive! You’ll rope in new students and get them to use their talents to reject the norms of society and join the criminal underworld where they’ll be free to use their gifts to further our goals!”

I’d have to read the teacher’s handbook again, but I’m pretty sure recruiting students was against a rule somewhere. “And what does all of this have to do with money?”

“Sensei, these are Hope’s Archive graduates. They’re going to ask for tons of cash to be part of our group. We need you to soften ‘em up so that way we can pay them reasonably instead of exorbitant prices,” she explained. “But to do that, you have to understand the basics of finance first!”

“I’m surprised you’re even considering paying them at all,” I said. “I would expect an outlaw to try and keep as much cash for themself.”

Aru looked confused. “What? Why would I do that? If they do good work, they get good pay. I even used my allowan– money from jobs! Money from all the jobs we do! I use that to pay Mutsuki and the others.”

Now I understood a bit more why Mutsuki willingly put up with Aru’s shenanigans. Though it did make me worry that she was taking advantage of the poor outlaw.

“So! Are you ready to learn?”

“Now hold on a second,” I said with an appraising look. “We still haven’t discussed my pay for when I join.”

Aru waved me off. “We can talk about it later. The first thing you have to know–”

“No way. You’re the most ruthless outlaw this side of Kivotos; I have to make sure I know what I’m getting into.”

“Fine,” she said with a groan. “You’ll get paid standard rate for–”

“Standard rate?!” I interrupted, sounding more offended than I actually was. “It sounds to me like I’m the lynch-pin of your expansion. I think I deserve more than the standard rate.”

“W-well I’m s-sure a-after a few years–”

“Years?!” I exclaimed. I made a big show of turning around and slowly walking towards the door. “I suppose I’ll have to find another group to recruit for.”

“Wait!” Aru called after me. “I g-guess I can s-skim off more of my allowance, though I won’t be able to get that music box for a while. W-w-whatever they offer w-we’ll double it!”

I paused, letting the silence hang in the air.

“If I take more jobs…” Aru muttered. “TRIPLE IT!”

Deciding that I had let her freak out for long enough, I faced Aru once again and smiled. “So who needs negotiation lessons now?”

The outlaw’s face was wiped completely blank. “I… You…”

For a second, I thought she was going to be mad, but then…

“Sensei! You played me so well! You have to be part of Problem Solver now! You have skills that could rival even mine! I’m going to make you a uniform right away!”

She pushed past me and dashed out the door. With a sigh, I began to clean the white board from her attempted lesson. The word problems actually weren’t bad. They covered realistic scenarios and there were a couple that I had to think about before I came to a conclusion. For all her blustering, Aru really did care about her little group, and from the sounds of it, she was a good boss.

I wonder how else that outlaw will surprise me.

That evening, I was sitting in the kitchen, definitely not seeing how many cup noodles I could stack on top of each other when Seia and Mika grabbed my attention.

“Sensei,” they both said at the same time.

“Hey, girls, what can I do for you?” I said, carefully placing a shrimp flavored cup at the very top of one of my towers. To help combat Monokuma, you see.

Each of them sidled up on either side of me, Mika fluttering her eyes lids, and Seia looking away bashfully, though the glint in her eye told me that she was doing it intentionally.

“Have we ever told you that you’re our favorite teacher?” Mika said, crawling two fingers up my arm.

“Your wisdom and insights are valued highly among not just us, but all of our peers,” Seia added. She brought her hands together, though they were blocked by her sleeves that I think she pulled down to give her an even more innocent look.

“And we’ve been so good, always listening to you.”

“Looking forward to the day that lessons with you will become commonplace.”

“You’re so funny, too XD”

“Please don’t do that, it unnerves me every time you do…”

I let out a heavy sigh. “What do you want that you don’t think I’ll agree to?”

The girls looked at each other and then back at me, having the decency to at least pretend to be embarrassed by my callout.

“Ah, you see,” Seia said, “We would… We would find it most agreeable if you accompany us… No, um… We’d–”

“We want to use the Zoltarkuma machine!” Mika blurted.

“Excuse me?” I said, not quite believing them. I would have hoped that after seeing what kind of stuff Monokuma intended to show us, my students would be dissuaded from using that cursed thing.

“We understand that we are asking much of you, Sensei. You have warned us to not use it at all, but…” Seia trailed off, nudging one foot with the other.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. That machine was obviously some sort of motive, and the more we messed with it, the worse things would get. “Why do you want to use it so bad?”

The duo exchanged glances, silently agreeing to allow Seia to go first.

“I wish to determine its ability to tell the future in comparison to mine. While I don’t doubt that it’s fraudulent, I want to figure out exactly how it works. My current theory is that Monokuma will give a fortune and then actively interfere to have the fortune come true in some capacity.”

“Like if he threatened one of us to make you go to the pool!” Mika added.

Nodding in agreement, Seia continued. “Yes, just like that. I figure that he’ll use this to add validity to his claims and encourage more students to use the machine.”

Was that really why she wanted to use it? Or was she maybe feeling insecure? After all, the machine was encroaching on her talent, the very thing that had gotten her admitted here, so it was natural for her to want to debunk it. Before I gave her an answer, though, I wanted to hear Mika’s reasoning.

The pink haired girl crossed her arms, an uncertain expression on her face. “It’s… it’s what you showed me this morning. I can’t get it out of my head! Did I really try to kill someone? I don’t think I’d do something like that, but… What if the memory nonsense made me a better person or something? I need to know more, so I want to redeem the fortune for information. Even if it’s a chance, I can’t leave things as they are.”

I bit back a curse. My plan to dissuade them had backfired. It only made Mika more curious, and I doubted that she was the only one to have similar feelings. Transparency was good and all, but what people did with that transparency was hard to predict. Still, I made this bed, so I have to lie in it.

“Alright,” I said and both girls looked up at me in shock. “I’ll let you use it. However, there’s a couple stipulations. Seia, if you do any experiments to test your theory, I need to be there. Mika, I want to screen any information you receive first.”

Mika squealed in excitement, while Seia smiled softly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sensei!” Mika said, grabbing my hand and hopping up and down. “That’s totally fine! If it’s something super awful, let me know and I’ll close my eyes and sing lalalalala!”

“That’s not necessary,” Seia said, but her smile didn’t fade. “I find your terms agreeable as well, Sensei.”

We left the kitchen and began our short hike to the game room. While we walked, I thanked the duo for coming to me instead of using the machine on their own.

“Ahahahaaaa… About that,” Mika said with a blush. “I admit I was going to use it without talking to you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I spent all last night thinking about what you told me, so once breakfast was over, I ran straight to the machine.”

“Fortunately,” Seia cut in. “Aris was already in there playing games, and she stopped her.”

“She gave me the biggest guilt trip ever!” She clapped her hands to her face. “By the time she was done, I couldn’t go through with it, so I found Seia and we talked about it and agreed to ask you.”

“I’m glad you did,” I said. “Even if I said no, it shows great maturity to come and ask for help.”

“Hooray! We got praised even if I almost did something dumb!” Mika cheered.

That… was not the lesson I was trying to impart.

When we stepped into the game room, we were greeted with the flashing colors of the big screen TV showing some sort of sci-fi RPG. Aris sat cross-legged on the couch, eyes vacant as she dispatched a horde of skeletons with ease.

“Aris! You’re still here!” Mika said. “Have you been playing all day?”

The gamer didn’t respond, only continuing to tap away at her controller.

“Hey, Aris,” I said, shaking her shoulder gently.

She shook her head and blinked, and her character took a fatal hit and went down. “Sensei,” she said quietly. “Mika and Seia…” She rubbed her eyes.

“It’s not good to be in front of a screen for extended periods,” Seia said, taking the controller away from Aris. “You should take a break.”

“I see, it has gotten later than I expected. I became so engrossed in my adventures that I did not realize how much time had passed.” She slid off the couch, straightening her uniform and hair as she did so. “I hope you all make good use of the room. Better than using the Zoltarkuma machine.”

“Eh?!” Mika squeaked. “Yeah… you told me off good. Especially when you got all serious and scary! How’d you even do that whole red eyes thing?”

“Red eyes?” Aris said. “My eyes are blue if I am not mistaken.”

“Well normally, yeah, but they totally turned a terrifying red color earlier!”

The mysterious ultimate looked at Seia and I distraught.

“It was likely the lights in the room,” Seia said. “With how stressed Mika was along with her imagination, she probably mistook the glare for your eyes changing color.”

“Why are you making me sound so silly?!”

“How about we call Aris’s eyes purple and call it a day?” I said, earning a giggle from Aris herself.

“Purple eyes are often a signifier of great power! I accept this responsibility, Sensei!”

“Excellent. Your first quest is to go get something to eat and then get some rest.” As she said her goodbyes and left the room, I called out, “And no staying up on your handheld!”

“Trying to manage all of us must be a real headache, huh, Sensei?” Mika said, her tone halfway between sincere and mocking.0

I flicked the tip of her wing. “You could make it a lot easier on me, you know.”

“That is hardly any fun,” Seia replied. “But to the matter at hand.”

Now that I was face to face with the Zoltarkuma machine again, I realized just how gaudy it was. Painted flecked off its fake ornamentation, making a mess of the floor. The Monokuma animatronic’s fur was patchy and uneven. Its mechanical joints showed through, ruining the idea that it was actually him. Several of the lights surrounding his name had burned out already, and the “t” hung lopsided.

Despite the rough appearance, the thing made me feel uneasy. Zoltarkuma’s beady eyes seemed to follow me around the room, and the flashing button reminded me of an alarm going off. I wanted to drag Seia and Mika away from the cursed machine, but I had already promised that they could do this, and I’d rather they do it with me than alone. If there was one thing I knew about teenagers, it’s that if they wanted to do something, they would find a way to do it.

“So who wants to go first?” Mika said, a bit of trepidation sneaking into her voice.

“I will,” Seia replied. “I must prove this thing is phony so that we have no further reason to use it.” She stepped forward and clicked the button.

“I am the great Zoltarkuma! The secrets of the future have revealed themselves to me. That which is hidden amongst the fog of ages cannot remain so under the gaze of my divine eye. Yes, I see it, the fog of the unknown is lifting, petitioner, and your path is laid bare. Your future is yours, but tread wisely, as foreknowledge is a gift few can handle. It may lead to a road from which you can never return. Also, check out our giftshop for more Zoltarkuma merchandise and events! We have a variety of gifts that are perfect for any age or occasion!”

“Is that last part new?” Mika said, only to be shushed by Seia.

As with my fortune, the machine spit out a small piece of paper which the fox girl hurriedly grabbed. She read out loud.

Greetings my fellow visionary

The All-Seeing Eye granted to another one

Shock and relief will marry

As your entire world becomes undone.

Seia scowled. “Even my dreams are never this vague.”

“Sounds like something really awful is going to happen,” Mika said. “But it won’t be entirely bad for you?”

“I don’t see how your entire world coming undone could provide relief,” I said. In this place, there were a lot of reasons that Seia’s world could be shaken. “Though I don’t think we should go around testing it.”

Though still obviously frustrated, Seia nodded in assent. “You’re right, Sensei. It wouldn’t shock me to find that Monokuma gave me a fortune that I couldn’t experiment with.” She tore up the fortune into little pieces.

“W-wait!” Mika cried, scrambling to grab a few of the scraps that were floating to the floor. “Seia! We could’ve gotten something from the student records with that!”

“My interest only lies in the fortunes themselves,” Seia said. “I don’t wish to engage with Monokuma’s games any more than I must.”

“Our memory’s all screwy! We have to get everything we can!” Mika argued.

“I think Seia is right. Who knows what that bear is going to give us. It probably is something meant to turn us against each other,” I said. “It’d be best if we left it alone entirely.”

Mika frowned at me, crossing her arms. “You’re not gonna back out after Seia got her turn, right?”

“No, I won’t. I told you I’d let you do this, and I will, but I still think it’s a bad idea.”

The princess whirled around and clicked the button. “Whoopsie, finger slipped XD”

“Don’t do that!” Seia urged. “It’s weird in written format!”

“I am the great Zoltarkuma!”

Mika made a “hurry up” motion with her hands. “Yes, we’ve heard it before.”

“Well excuuuuuuuse me, Princess!”

The machine spat out the piece of paper with so much force that it required Mika to scramble after it. Of course Monokuma would program his toy with attitude.

“Got it!” Mika said and began to read.

The princess rests on the window sill

Contemplating her inevitable fall from grace

Her impulse she will need to still

Or else her fellow’s goodwill she’ll erase

“This one sounds like a fortune cookie,” Seia said.

“It does sound like it’s trying to give advice more than anything,” I agreed.

Mika shrugged. “Whatever, I don’t really care what some busted machine says.”

“The great Zoltarkuma heard that!”

“I only wanted the information anyway. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

At Mika’s urging (and shoving), we made our way to the student records room. I didn’t even have the chance to protest before Mika scanned the barcode on the back and the loading screen popped up.

“Remember, I get to take a look at it first,” I said.

“I know!” Mika replied. “You all are acting like this is the worst idea ever.”

Seia chimed in. “It is up there with some of the bad ideas you’ve had.”

“You used the machine, too!” Crocodile tears formed at the corner of Mika’s eyes. “Why does everyone bully me? I’m just a poor, innocent princess!”

“Would you really like us to answer that?”

“Only if you’re gonna say nice things about me.”

Seia didn’t say a word.

Do dodo dooooo

The loading screen disappeared as the door dispensed its information. Mika closed her eyes and grabbed the paper, then handed it to me. Or well, she handed it to the wall first, then to me when I moved her arm.

“Thank you,” I said. I steeled my nerves, preparing for whatever bombshell information Monokuma would no doubt hit us with to spread despair. I read the first line of the document. “Oh… um…”

“What is it, Sensei?” Seia said, looking worried. “Is it something horrid and foul?”

Mika balked. “Maybe I don’t want to see it, after all.”

“You… probably don’t want to know,” I said. “In fact, I wish that I hadn’t read this.”

Any signs of hesitation vanished from Mika’s face as she snatched the paper from my hands. “Well now I have to know!” As she read, I saw in real time her face morph from excitement, to confusion, to despair, to anger. She crumpled the paper in her hands. “Where is that bear? I’m going to have his stupid fluffy head for this.!”

“Will someone please inform me of what it says?” Seia said.

Shoving the paper in Seia’s face, Mika pointed to the very first line which said–

Hope’s Archive Academy Class One Cup Sizes

Chapter Text

Monokuma Theater

I ate a sandwich today. It was pretty tasty.

…

That’s it. That’s all I got.

I guess I could tell you what kind of sandwich it was.

But then how do I know you’re not going to judge me for my sandwich preferences?!

You don’t need to know what kind of things I put between two pieces of bread!

It’s pretty rude for you to even assume you could be privy to that kind of private information.

I’ll take compensation for my pain and suffering by check, thank you very much.

Something was going on with my students. Something they wouldn’t tell me. It started with whispers, then notes passed between them at breakfast when they thought I wasn’t looking, then a few of them dashed out of the dining hall as quickly as they could. When I asked them about it, they only offered giggles and the occasional “you’ll see.” It clearly wasn’t anything bad if they were all in on it, but I was getting flashbacks to them setting up the party yesterday. Being out of the loop set me on edge, but even Wakamo wouldn’t divulge any information.

I decided that as long as they weren’t getting up to anything dangerous, I could let the secret slide, but only for the day. If they kept up the charade, I was going to find a way to get it out of them, one way or the other. I would probably end up spending a lot of time with Wakamo.

At least their scheming left me with some time to myself, and maybe if I hung out with the girls I’d gleam some helpful info.

FREE TIME START

At first, I had difficulty getting any of the students to agree to hang out, but when I wandered into the science room, I found Mutsuki hard at work fiddling with… something that was probably going to be used for some prank she was planning.

“Sensei~” she said playfully. “I know you’re watching. I bet you’re hoping I’m going to lean over and give you a peak under my skirt.”

“I w-was not!” I said, trying to force my face to stop blushing before she turned around.

“Kufufu. You’re too easy, Sensei!” Mutsuki twirled around, making her skirt flourish outward in a way that had to be intentional. “But I could use your help with something. You’re not going to leave a student in need all by herself, right?”

Whatever she was up to, it was probably better I supervise rather than leave her to her own devices.

“Fine, what do you need help with?”

Grinning, Mutsuki held up a box of matches. “Great! Now take this hammer and start breaking up the heads of these matches. I found some silver fulminate in the cabinet and I’m gonna mix it with these!”

…

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Sensei, that's my ear!”

I pinched Mutsuki’s elongated ear and started to pull her out of the science room. “Whatever you’re up to, it sounds explosive, so it’s not happening. We already have one demolitions expert, we don’t need another.”

“It won’t hurt anything!” Mutsuki cried as she managed to wriggle free of my hold. “Haven’t you ever played with those snaps that you throw on the ground and they make a loud pop? That’s what I’m making!”

“And how do you know what chemicals are in those things?”

“Sensei, please. I’m the Ultimate Prankster. You think I don’t know the ins and outs of every novelty gag you can think of?”

Looking at her setup, she appeared to be telling the truth, but this was Mutsuki after all. “I don’t know…”

Her entire demeanor suddenly fell, shoulders slumped and cheeky grin falling. “You really don’t trust me, do you?”

“Wh-what?”

“You’re thinking that I’m lying to you right now, huh. I guess that’s how it is. I brought it on myself, though, so I don’t blame you or anything.” She picked up the pack of matches, shuffling it between her hands. “Maybe I’m just too much if even my hardworking sensei doesn’t believe in me.”

“Now hold on, I never said that–”

A single tear rolled down her cheek, though she gave me a sad smile. “It’s okay, really. I’m used to it. Only Aru ever put up with me. I’m pretty sure the other two members of Problem Solver don’t actually like me all that much.”

That couldn’t be the case, could it? While Mutuski could be frustrating to deal with, she never went so far as to be hateable. I didn’t know her other friends, but if they were part of Aru’s crew, then I’m sure they had their own quirks that made them compatible friends with her.

“You promise that these will be harmless?” I asked.

Mutsuki’s eyes shimmered. “I pinky promise with all of my and Aru’s pinkies!”

I’m pretty sure you can’t claim someone else’s pinky fingers. “Okay, but no throwing them at some of the more flighty students. I don’t want to have to drag Miyu out of a trashcan. Again.”

“Yay!” Mutsuki cheered, grabbing my hand and bringing me back to her workstation. “Hit the head of the match carefully and I’ll mix them together.”

We spent the next while making what Mutsuki called snap bangs. At one point I asked for a demonstration and she threw one to the ground causing a loud pop to reverberate through the room, but the only evidence was a few granules left over.

“Isn’t it fun?” the prankster said, her hands now full of snap bangs. “I can’t wait to see Aru’s face when I set off a couple behind her.”

“You sure pick on Aru a lot,” I said.

“Well someone has to keep her in check! Could you imagine her ego if I wasn’t there? She wouldn’t be able to fit through any doors with how big her head would be!”

I didn’t quite understand their friendship, but if it worked for them, then who was I to judge? It probably was nice to have a familiar face in a place like this anyway.

“Well, I hope you can become as good friends with the rest of Problem Solver as you are with Aru.”

The snap bangs crinkled in her palm as she rummaged through them to find a particularly big one. “Sensei, you remember what I said earlier?”

“Yeah, about how you’re not sure if the others like you.”

“No, not that.” Her face split into a devious grin. “About how you’re way too easy!”

“Huh?!”

Mutsuki threw the snap bang at my feet. This one exploded with a bit more force than the rest of them, causing me to take a step back.

“Oh no~ Looks like I put too much in some of these. Better hope I don’t drop them!” Another snap bang fell at my feet right as she said that.

“Mutuski!” I yelled, being herded back to the door by Mutsuki throwing snap bangs at me. Eventually, I had to make a hasty retreat or suffer the mild pain of stinging novelty pranks against my legs.

As I was leaving, however, I swear I heard Mutsuki say, “Kufufu… I had fun today, Sensei.”

It was quiet… Too quiet… So quiet that I had to resort to using clichés to describe just how quiet it was. While after lunch around here was usually a bit less hectic, usually one of the girls was getting up to something, so the fact that no one was in the halls set off alarm bells in my head.

I searched the entire first floor, but all of the rooms were empty. The dorms’ indicator lights all remained off. I picked up my pace as I approached the stairs to the second floor. However, when I arrived, there was a single piece of paper waiting for me.

Your fortune is at hand, Sensei.

My fortune? What could this thing possibly be talking about? Wait… my fortune from the Zoltarkuma machine. Hina had mentioned that it probably meant I was going to head to the pool at some point. But I’d already been there prior, so surely that couldn’t be it.

Feeling a bit panicked at this point, I took the steps two at a time and nearly slipped as I turned down the hall to the pool. A million different scenarios flashed through my head, including one particularly gruesome thought of my students drowned at the bottom of the pool.

With a surge of adrenaline, I forced my way through the door to the pool area and saw…

“Sensei!”

A pool full of my students in their swimsuits.

It was Mika who had called out to me, and she was flanked by Seia. Mika’s swimsuit was a surprisingly simple white two piece, while Seia wore a yellow sweatshirt over an equally white one piece. She also had some pretty snazzy glasses that I didn’t take for her type.

“What’s going on here?” I asked, slightly out of breath.

“It’s a pool day!” Mika said as if that explained everything. Water dripped from her wings. Were those things waterproof? If not, how long did they take to dry?

“Before you got to breakfast this morning, we decided to have a pool day,” Seia explained. She adjusted her glasses so that the pool lights glinted off them. “We thought it would be funny to not tell you about it.”

“If giving me a heart attack is considered funny, then yeah, it was pretty funny.”

“Heh, sorry, Sensei,” Mika said. “It really was a spur of the moment thing. We were talking about your fortune and decided that spending some time here would be fun.”

Scanning the area, all of my students were here, including ones I didn’t think would be interested like Wakamo and Yuuka. The only person I didn’t see was Saori, though that wasn’t entirely surprising. I hoped she’d join us at some point.

“Well c’mon,” Mika urged, pushing me towards the men’s changing room. “Get changed! You can’t have a pool day while you’re wearing your teacher outfit.”

“But I don’t want to get in the water.”

“Being all dressed up will guarantee that you’re ending up in the pool one way or another,” Seia said.

Reading between the lines, I acquiesced, scanning the Shittim Chest to be allowed into the changing room. Hoshino was right in that it was profoundly normal. Lockers surrounded communal benches, and an area to quickly shower off stood unused at the far end. After a quick rinse off, I found the locker that had been labeled “Sensei.” I didn’t actually own a swimsuit, so Monokuma must have picked something out. Fortunately, it was a simple blue suit and white shirt. I’d half expected it to be covered in his face or have “loser” written across the butt.

Once I finished changing, I stepped onto the pool deck to be immediately greeted by Aru and Mutsuki. Both girls were wearing two-pieces, with Aru having a shawl around her shoulders and Mutsuki wearing a floral wrap on her legs.

“Aww, Mika and Seia got to you first,” Mutsuki lamented. “I was totally going to push you into the pool with all your fancy clothes on!”

“At least you admit it,” I said.

Aru pulled her shawl a bit tighter around herself. “What if you damaged his Shittim Chest doing that?”

“Don’t worry! These things are waterproof. I tested them.”

“How exactly did you test that?” I asked.

The prankster grinned. “I put Aru’s in the kitchen sink when she wasn’t paying attention!”

“W-what?!” Aru cried. “Is that why my ID was wet the other day?!”

“Kufufu.”

Well, it could have ended worse, I suppose. Still, it was good to know that these things were hard for us to accidentally break.

“Have either of you seen Saori?” I asked. “She’s the only one not here.”

“Really? Aru said, sounding confused. “She was here when we all got changed.”

Snickering, Mutsuki added, “She did seem embarrassed when she put on her swimsuit. Hers wasn’t even that revealing!”

“She wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the pool idea this morning, either,” Aru said. “I wonder if she snuck out before you got here.”

“I didn’t see her anywhere on the first floor, but I didn’t search that hard,” I said. Dread began to fill my stomach, but I forced it down. “Do you two mind going to look for her? I’d feel a lot better knowing she’s safe.”

“Heehee! Sensei’s telling us to go streaking through the school. How naughty!”

“Th-that’s not what he said!” Aru grabbed Mutsuki’s wrist. “Now let’s go! Problem Solver 68 never fails a mission once it’s been given!”

“Except for the times we do!”

“JUST MOVE IT ALREADY!”

After slipping on some sandals, the two headed out in search of Saori while I headed to the edge of the pool. The water was a brilliant blue and crystal clear. From what I knew, swimming pools were a lot of work to maintain, so while Hope’s Archive having one wasn’t unexpected, the fact that Monokuma kept up with it was. Hell… how did he manage to keep the school in such good shape. While none of the girls were particularly messy, they did still leave personal items strewn about and make use of the facilities. Ibuki alone must be costing the school a fortune in water bills from all the times she’s had to shower off paint.

As I ruminated, I noticed a figure moving towards me at the bottom of the water. It was moving quickly, but I couldn’t quite tell what it was until…

SPLASH!

A wave of water gushed out of the pool that I only barely managed to dodge so that just my legs got wet.

“Objective unsuccessful, returning to home base,” Shiroko said, kicking off the side of the pool to return to where Hoshino and Hina were floating on pool toys.

“And here I thought you had wolf ears, not fins,” I said, having made my way to the other end of the pool where the trio were relaxing.

“Hmm. I’m a rare wolf fish.”

Hoshino reached out and grabbed Shiroko by the shoulder. “My first legendary discovery as the Ultimate Marine Biologist!”

“Don’t sell me off to science,” Shiroko said, lightly splashing Hoshino.

The pink haired girl had practically made herself a boat of pool floaties that allowed her to lay fully flat while the water rolled beneath her. “I could never sell my cute junior to anybody. No matter how much debt I had to pay off. Well… maybe for some good quality pillows.”

The jab caused Shiroko to dive beneath the water again and come up under Hoshino, sending her flailing into the water.

Hina gripped her floatie for dear life as the water grew choppy from their antics. “B-be careful!”

Reaching from the edge, I steadied Hina’s floatie, for which she was thankful. “Nice swimsuit,” I said. “As expected, the prefect wears a proper school suit.”

Holding onto my arm, Hina looked uncharacteristically uncertain. “Th-thanks… It’s actually my m-middle school uniform. I thought Monokuma was just messing with me, but it still fits.”

Her despondent expression told me all I needed to know. “Hey, you’ve still got a few years ahead of you,” I said, opting not to tell her that girls usually stopped growing around her age.

Having finished their splash fight, Shiroko and Hoshino popped up on either side of Hina. Hoshino scratched under the rubber duck head as if it was real. “Did you have this floatie since middle school, too? It’s cute.”

“It’s a Disciplinary Committee approved flotation device,” the prefect corrected. “But yes, I’ve had it for a while. I haven’t had much time in the past to go to the beach, so I’m not the strongest swimmer.”

“That’s no good,” Shiroko said. “Swimming is an important survival skill.” The wolf girl grabbed Hina’s free arm. “We should practice.”

“That’s not necessary!” Hina said, clinging tighter to me.

“Nonsense!” At some point, Hoshino had climbed back onto her rubber raft. “We can have swimming lessons. I think Aris said she wasn’t a good swimmer either.” While her words were altruistic, the shine in her eye belied her mischievous intentions.

Hina pleaded with me with her eyes to get her out of this, but I simply let her go into Shiroko’s grasp. I certainly didn’t want to mess with the determination in the cyclist’s eyes.

“Sorry, Hina, but I should go find Aris and see if she wants swimming lessons, too.”

“So I think we should start with a warm-up of one-hundred laps…” I heard Shiroko say as I headed to where Aris and Miyu were sitting, their feet dangling in the shallow end of the pool.

Both girls wore cute, simple suits, with Miyu’s being decorated with light symbols. “You two having fun?” I asked.

“Oh S-Sensei!” Aris said, startling. “Y-yes I am enjoying this optional area.” 

“You sure? You don’t sound sure.”

“Well you see, I do not possess the swimming skill, so I cannot go deep into the water.”

I pointed to where Shiroko was showing Hina proper swimming form. “They’re helping Hina out over there, you could always join them.”

Aris shook her head. “No thank you! Shiroko’s swimming lessons are a boss fight that I am not high enough level for!”

I was about to reply when I saw Miyu draw her legs to her, and I realized I hadn’t let her answer. “What about you, Miyu? Are you having fun?”

Though she blushed and didn’t quite make eye contact, a small smile graced her lips. “Y-yeah. I w-was surprised that Aris in-invited me. I thought I would be forgotten.”

“You are an important party member!” the smaller girl said. “We can not progress in our raid if all members are not present.”

Miyu’s smile grew a bit wider and she leaned towards Aris, who bumped shoulders with her, leaving both girls in a fit of giggles. It made me happy to see that the others were including Miyu. She really did disappear into the background sometimes.

“Are you a good swimmer, Miyu?” I asked.

The sharpshooter kicked her feet in the water. “Um… I’m n-not good, but I’m n-not bad either. I actually can fish pretty well, though.”

“Oh really?”

“Y-yeah, but it’s b-because fi-fish don’t notice me e-either. So they bite my b-bait a lot.” Miyu shivered. “Mmmm one time I ca-caught a really b-big one and a whole bunch of f-fishermen knocked me off the dock b-because they thought it had jumped up on its own…”

Oh…

Aris remained undeterred. “Your fishing skills will surely come in handy when we unlock the fishing minigame. It is often the best part of a game. In fact, I just unlocked one!”

I remembered finding Aris glued to the TV in the game room yesterday, so I said, “You’re not spending all day on that thing, are you?”

Blushing, the gamer stammered trying to find an excuse. “I p-perhaps should be more attentive to not spend as much time there.”

“Please do,” I said, then turned to Miyu. “Can I ask for you to hang out with her some more so she doesn’t go blind from staring at a screen all the time?”

“Video games can inflict the blind status?!”

“I c-can do th-that, Sensei. If… if Aris is o-okay with having s-someone like me around.”

Aris smiled. “I do not mind.”

Leaving the two girls to chat for a while, I meandered around a bit until I ran into Yuuka and Izuna lying on a pair of lounge chairs. Yuuka was wearing a simple black suit that fit her more down to earth sensibilities.

Izuna, on the other hand, was a splash of color with a striped top and yellow visor. Even in her swimsuit, she wore a piece of her ninja outfit around her neck. I expected someone like her to be running all around the place, but she was sitting cross-legged on the lounge chair, fists together, eyes closed in intense concentration.

“Izuna are you–”

“Wait, Sensei,” Yuuka said, holding her arm out. “Don’t… She’s quiet. Finally.”

I raised an eyebrow as Izuna’s tail flicked back and forth, so she surely heard Yuuka’s comment. “You had something to do with this?”

“Me?” Yuuka asked innocently. “Of course not. I merely suggested that ninjas should be disciplined and practice restraint in places where they are even more excited that usual. Such as a pool.”

The fox girl grit her teeth together.

“Ah, so she’s meditating to train and you’re enjoying the quiet,” I filled in.

Shrugging Yuuka said, “As quiet as it gets around here. Mutsuki tried to push my chair into the pool earlier while I was relaxing. I think she forgot we can’t actually sleep anywhere.”

Izuna began vibrating.

“You can swim, right?”

“Of course,” Yuuka said. “I wouldn’t get anywhere near this place otherwise.”

A quiet murmuring came from Izuna’s direction.

“I wouldn’t have come anyway,” Yuuka continued. “But someone has to keep an eye on these girls, or else who knows what disaster will strike.”

“You can always just say you wanted to hang out with them,” I said, poking at her knee.

“W-well that was i-implied!”

I’m pretty sure that Izuna was about to literally explode with how tense she was, so naturally, my duty as her sensei was to mess with her. A single touch on the side of her stomach was all it took.

“Kyyyyaaaa!” The ninja launched upwards in fright, managing to land in something akin to a combat pose mixed with a “I just woke up” shamble. “My lord! I didn’t realize you were here. I was too into my meditations.”

“Sure you were,” Yuuka deadpanned.

“I was!” she insisted, stomping her foot to show just how serious of a ninja she was.

“I’m sure Izuna worked very hard to keep focused,” I said. “So I think you’ve earned a chance to play.”

Izuna’s anger disappeared faster than you could say “ninja.” “I can?! If I have my lord’s permission…” She dived under her chair and pulled out a beach ball decorated with a fox face. “Come on, Yuuka. Come in and let’s play!”

“I’d rather not,” the blue haired girl said. “I actually wanted to look at the pool’s controls, but Monokuma sealed it off for some reason, so I think I’ll wait heEEEEEH?!!”

Evidently bored by Yuuka’s reluctance, Izuna jumped into the pool. Unfortunately for Yuuka, the fox was a bit more clever than she got credit for and had used her tail and momentum to bump Yuuka just enough to send her toppling into the pool as well.

I could only smile as Yuuka started berating a laughing Izuna looking all too much like a wet cat.

“S-Sensei…” a tiny voice called. When I turned around, I saw Wakamo standing there, a towel wrapped around her whole body.

“Wakamo,” I said. “I’m glad to see you here.”

Even through her mask, I could tell that she was ecstatic to hear me say that. “R-Really? Ah, that makes me so happy to hear! Hina told me you would be, but your voice makes it much more real.”

“Are you going to swim at all?” I asked.

“Possibly… If Sensei will join me.” She extended a hand, but her towel slipped slightly causing her to rush to cover herself.

“If you’re not comfortable with being in a swimsuit,” I said, “Then you don’t have to. You can always change.”

Furiously shaking her head, Wakamo gripped the towel even tighter. “No! It’s not that. I’m simply overwhelmed by the thought of Sensei seeing Wakamo in her swimsuit!”

It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen everyone else already in their swimsuits by this point. “Seriously, if you’re not comfortable…”

“I must! I must overcome these reservations and expose myself fully to you!”

“Please don’t phrase it like that!”

Ignoring my pleas, Wakamo let the towel drop to reveal a – admittedly rather revealing – bikini covered in pastel purple flowers. I wasn’t sure how to respond, honestly. While she was objectively good looking, I felt that commenting on her appearance like this would be inappropriate, but saying nothing would probably send her into a depressive spiral.

“You look beautiful!”

Wakamo squealed. “Ah S-Sensei! My darling S-Sensei! You’re so b-bold and–”

“That wasn’t me,” I said, only mildly offended that she got my voice mixed up with a prepubescent girl’s.

“Wha-?!”

“Ibuki said it!” The aforementioned girl bounced up to us, a bucket and shovel in either hand. Her suit was covered in so many ruffles I wondered how she actually swam in it.

“Where’d you get beach toys?” I asked.

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff in the closet over there,” Ibuki said, using the shovel to point to where Shiroko was pulling out some arm floaties for Hina. “Though I’m sad that there’s no sand to make a sandcastle.”

“We’ll go to the beach proper once we’re out of here.”

All of a sudden I felt something that I think I’d only ever heard of in anime. Pure bloodlust.

Wakamo’s tail poofed up angrily, and her ears stood straight and forward. She glowered at Ibuki through her mask. “You dare interrupt Sensei when he’s about to praise Wakamo? I will show you the error of your–”

Before she could continue with her threat, Ibuki shoved a pool toy at Wakamo. “Do you wanna play with me?”

“I… What?” The fox’s menacing aura collapsed completely in the face of Ibuki’s innocent question.

“Yeah! It’s really fun! When you throw this in the pool, it sinks to the bottom so you have to dive to get it! We can take turns or you can throw it for Ibuki!”

Completely blindsided, Wakamo turned to me, so I shrugged.

“It would make me really happy to see you getting to know the others.”

“But I–”

Ibuki pushed the toy closer. “Please, Wakamo? Ibuki needs lots of exercise so I can grow up to be as strong and pretty as you!” 

I finally found Wakamo’s one true weakness besides me: sincerity. The sheer earnestness emanating from Ibuki annihilated the walls that Wakamo put up around herself. While students like Yuuka and Saori could be standoffish, I knew that deep down they wanted to be friends with everyone. Wakamo, however, was genuinely uninterested in anyone here other than me. I wanted to change that. Most were somewhat scared of the demolitions expert, but not Ibuki. Coupled with her ability to pierce through even the most surly demeanor, she was my key to getting Wakamo to open up.

Time to lay it on thick. “It always warms my heart to see older students playing with younger ones, especially when they be good role models. It makes me so proud and want to spend lots of time with them.”

“We’re playing now,” Wakamo stated, taking the toy from Ibuki and lobbing it into the pool.

“Hooray!” The younger girl dropped the shovel and bucket she was carrying and cannonballed into the pool, eager to retrieve the toy.

Begrudgingly, Wakamo moved to follow her, but before she could, I caught her wrist. “Thank you, Wakamo. Seriously, I appreciate it.”

Her tail curled around her leg. “Anything for you, Sensei…”

“And for what it’s worth,” I added, “Ibuki’s right. You’re a very pretty girl.”

I somewhat expected an exaggerated reaction, but Wakamo simply raised her mask to show a smile. “Thank you, Sensei.”

While Ibuki and Wakamo played, I noticed that most of the others had migrated to the shallower part of the pool and were playing some sort of game.

Right before I could join them, however, Saori burst through the pool door with Aru and Mutsuki close behind her. She wasn’t dressed for swimming as much as she was dressed for being outside, but it was a far cry from her usual getup.

“Alright, alright,” she grumbled. “I’m here, so no more pushing.”

Aru strutted up behind her and waved to me. “Mission accomplished, Sensei. We’ll put it on your tab!”

Realizing that I was the one to request her presence, Saori stormed up to me and yanked me aside by the arm. “Why are you forcing me to be here?”

“Is it weird that I wanted to see all my students having fun?” I asked, rubbing my arm. I hope it doesn’t bruise.

“Well, here I am! Can I go now?”

“You don’t seem to be having fun.”

Saori rolled her eyes. “What’s fun about a pool?”

I gestured to where the others were goofing off; Mika had just been dunked under the water by Shiroko and now was chasing her around the pool with a pool noodle as her weapon. “Do whatever they’re doing, I guess?”

The mercenary stared at the group for longer than I considered normal. Aru and Mutsuki slipped into the pool and were now “It” in whatever game they were playing, so they began to coordinate with each other.

“Never knew a pool could be used like that…” Saori mumbled.

“How? Did you grow up without pools?” I said, causing Saori to tense up.

“Forget I said anything.” She faced away from me and crossed her arms. “It’s irrelevant. I can swim just fine, so I don’t need any of this.”

My gut told me that it had to do with her mercenary lifestyle, but I knew better than to try to push. “Well, this is a school, right? So you can learn how to have fun in a pool! Consider it your homework.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I can and I am.” I gently guided her back to the rest of my students. Ibuki and Wakamo had joined them. Well, Ibuki did. Wakamo tucked herself in the corner of the pool and snarled at anyone who came too close to her, but she was present, so we’d take that as a win. “I think they’d really like it if you joined, too.”

“Yeah, come on in, Saori!” Mika shouted. “But if you do then you have to be ‘it!’”

“Don’t worry, Izuna will be ‘it’ with you!” the ninja said. She peeled off her soaked shorts and threw them onto the deck. “Now we can be super speedy!”

“Why are you stripping in front of Sensei?” Yuuka said.

“She’s wearing bottoms,” Hoshino commented. “So it’s all good.”

“It’s still weird!”

Ibuki swam in front of Yuuka. “It’s okay! You just need to relax! Or else…”

“Or else what?”

Mustuki giggled into her hands. “Or else this! Now, Miyu!”

The quiet girl upended Ibuki’s bucket over Yuuka, drenching her with water. While it was funny, I would have to remind the girls not to peer pressure Miyu into these things.

For her part, Yuuka wiped the water from her face. “Fine. You want to play it that way, we will! I’ll be ‘it’ too and show you all what for!”

“How frightening,” Seia said with a smirk. “I will be sure to predict your movements specifically.”

Shifting uncomfortably next to be, Saori still looked unsure. I gave her a small nudge. “Go on. It’ll be fun.”

Finally relenting, Saori let her shoulders sag. “Don’t expect any mercy from me,” she said, sliding off her shorts and tossing them next to Izuna’s.

I spent the next few hours watching my students make up silly games and competitions, race each other across the pool, and get into splash fights. At one point they had a contest to see who could get me into the pool. Hina won that by virtue of me not expecting her to play along.

Once I was in the water, I was fair game and was dunked, splashed, and tagged every which way. That was, until Ibuki and I fused (as in, she got up on my shoulders) to form the towering pool monster that took the combined efforts of the rest of the girls to take down (as in, Ibuki got knocked off my shoulder and told me that we were defeated).

By the time exhaustion ran supreme, I was thoroughly waterlogged, but happy. Seeing the girls getting along and bonding with each other would make any teacher content, but given our circumstances, I couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside. Monokuma hadn’t even made an appearance despite my expectations that he would. I gave myself a little bit of leeway to hope that he may be discouraged by our camaraderie, though my rational part reminded me that he was likely lying in wait.

I pushed those thoughts away and leaned back on a lounge chair, overjoyed watching my precious students having fun.

Our pool adventures eventually wore everyone out, so after cleaning up the pool deck so Monokuma had no reason to pay us a visit, we all retired to our dorms for the afternoon to shower off and get dressed.

I hadn’t meant to take a nap, but swimming tired me out, so when I sat down for just a moment, I was out like a light. Fortunately, I wasn’t out for very long judging by the fact that the hall lights were still at full brightness. About half of the dorm lights were on, so some students were out and about.

I figured since my sleep schedule was probably messed up anyway, there was no harm in spending some time with someone.

FREE TIME START

My steps echoed through the hallway as I made my way through. When I passed by the storage room, I nearly jumped out of my skin as Seia popped out, rubbing a towel against her long ear.

“Ah, Sensei, if I may trouble you for a moment,” she said, handing me the towel. “Would you mind drying off the tips of my ears, it’s a bit tricky to get them on my own.”

“Sure thing,” I said.

Seia hummed as I rubbed the towel over her fluffy ears. It reminded me of a neighborhood dog that would constantly get into puddles back from my childhood. Once her ears were all dry, I handed the towel back to her.

“Thank you. I would have spent all evening contorting myself into various positions to get dry.”

“Do you always need help? Like after you shower and stuff.”

Shaking her head, the clairvoyant gestured for me to walk alongside her. “I don’t need help, but it makes it go faster. Usually I shower at night, so it’s not an issue since I can let the fur on my ears air dry”

I nodded. “That makes sense.” Now that I thought about it, quite a few of the girls had extra parts that I didn’t that required special attention. How Hina cleaned her wings or how Izuna and Wakamo kept their tails so fluffy were beyond me.

“It’s not truly a hassle. I grew up like this, so I’m quite used to it.” We stepped into the library and began wandering through the books as if sightseeing on our impromptu walk. “Sometimes people ask if my predictions startle me, though they are much the same.”

“You’ve been able to do it since you were a kid?” Last time we hung out, Seia had mentioned that her family used her abilities for their benefit, but she never mentioned exactly how long that had been happening.

“Indeed. Though I didn’t realize what was happening for several years. It’s easy to chalk things up to coincidence. The best comparison I can make is that it felt like déjà vu. It was only when I connected it to the dreams that I was having that I realized I could foresee the future.”

We continued our walk through the main hall, past the dorms, and into the gym. “What did you do after that? If I was your parent, I would’ve thought you’re making things up.”

Seia giggled. “That they did. It didn’t help that I had gotten in trouble for stealing sweets earlier that day. It was while I was pouting in my room that I came to that conclusion.” 

After making several laps around the gym, we went to the second floor and began walking around the academic wing.

“At first, it was exciting to realize my gift. When you and I were first introduced, Mika offhandedly mentioned using my power to cheat on tests. There is a grain of truth to that.” She lifted a finger and made a straight line down in the air. “I had a dream that a test would consist entirely of the answer “C,” and the next day my teacher did just that.”

I made a mental note to ask Seia if she had predicted my tests before giving them in the future. “You said ‘at first’ just now. What happened?” Despite my asking, I had a feeling where she would go with the topic.

“As a child, I would often try to change the future, particularly if it showed something unsavory. I once managed to convince my parents not to buy meat because I dreamt that we would all get sick from it. However, unbeknownst to me, our neighbor had brought us some excess of theirs. My parents, believing we were safe, cooked it for dinner last night and my prediction came true.” Her shoulders sagged as she talked.

“Such was the case for all of my attempts. Thus, the only logical conclusion is that the future is predetermined. Any actions we take to accelerate it, avoid it, or let it pass are the actions that we already would have taken and lead to that very future. In time, I have come to accept this.”

Despite her assurance, I swore I felt a tinge of disappointment in her conclusion, as if she was truly hoping that the future she saw wouldn’t come to pass. We walked in silence for a while, letting the silence hang in the air for a while. When we had circled the academic half of the hall several times, I decided to broach the topic again.

“Have your predictions ever been wrong?”

Seia thought for a minute. “Not that I can think of. The closest to being incorrect have simply been when my predictions are so vague that they are ineffective. I have dreamed that I would be extremely happy before, but given no indication when or how that happiness would come to pass.”

A genuine smile crossed her face as we entered the other half of the second floor and made our way towards the game room.

“I got my answer when I met Mika,” she said. “When word of my talent spread around school, many treated me like I was a freak. Mika, however, came right up to me and asked me if they were serving bell peppers with lunch the next day.”

“Sounds like her,” I said. Getting closer to the game room, I saw the flickering of the TV screen, so someone was probably inside. However, when we peeked inside, I didn’t see anyone. The TV itself was only showing static, so someone probably forgot to turn it off.

“How careless,” Seia said with a pout. “Allow me, Sensei.” She scampered towards the screen, continuing to chat. “Anyway, meeting Mika was one of–”

She cut off, her arms dropping to her side, eyes growing blank.

“Seia?” I said, inching my way towards her. No response. “Seia are you alright?” I got closer. “Hey what’s wr–”

Time stopped. My blood froze in my veins. My whole body fell numb, to the point that I nearly collapsed as I turned the corner of the couch. How… how could this happen? Earlier today we were all laughing and having fun at the pool. So what kind of sick joke was the universe playing to have this happen?

A crack split the TV screen from the bottom, and at the source of the crack, with an arrow lodged through her skull, pinned dead to the screen…

Was Tendou Aris, the Ultimate ???

Chapter Text

Why was Aris not moving? Why wasn’t she sitting on the couch playing whatever game had caught her attention until I came and got her for dinner? Why wasn’t she greeting me with her genuine smile, her optimistic outlook? Why couldn’t she make some reference to a video game mechanic that I only partially understand?

Why was another one of my students dead?

Why had another one of my students killed?!

“I’m going to get help!” Seia said. I think she said that. The world was sludge, as if I was drowning in a pool of mud. Moving towards Aris’s body was like fighting a hurricane. No matter how much I struggled, I never got any closer.

Until I appeared right on top of her. Her hair splayed around her body like a coat. After the last trial, Hina and Hoshino had helped her brush it out. The others had all taken turns so Aris could spend more time out and about than getting ready. So how had one of them found it in the darkest part of their soul to kill her?

Footsteps, a million miles away and right in my ear.

My students. I had to get up. I couldn’t wallow, couldn’t be weak.

“Sensei what’s going on AHHHHHH!” Yuuka, punctual Yuuka, screamed at the top of her lungs.

“N-not again…” That wavering voice. Miyu’s. I told her to look out for Aris! Why couldn’t she have done that?! No, I shouldn’t blame her. I was supposed to protect the mysterious girl.

“Fucking shit…” Saori, foul mouthed as ever. How many dead bodies had she seen in her time? How many had she created? Was she the one behind this? How could I think like that?

“Sensei.” Hoshino. Her voice cut through the sludge. She stood next to me, eyes glued to Aris’s body, and tugged my sleeve.

“I know,” I said, my voice scratchy. We’d have to investigate, go to a class trial, and condemn another to death. Or send us all to our deaths.

Soon after, the rest of the students filed in, heartbreak spreading like a virus.

“What’s with the glum mood, chums? Did someone get a bad fortune?”

It took every ounce of my willpower not to shove Monokuma through the glass of his own damn machine.

“You know why we’re here,” Hina spat, unfurling her wings to their full length.

Pretending to clean his ear, Monokuma brushed past Hina and toddled up to Aris’s body. “Jeez, one of you either has really bad aim or really good aim!”

“S-stop it…” Ibuki sobbed. “Stop making fun of my friends!”

“Friends? You call someone who turns an amnesiac’s head into a donut your friend?! Jeez, get some standards, kid.”

“That’s not what she meant,” Aru said. It made me sick to my stomach to hear none of her usual bravado.

“Get some hearing aids,” Mutsuki suggested, though the lack of bite behind her quip made it fall flat.

“Ahahahaha! Now this is what I like to see!” Monokuma said. “So much better than that silly pool party you were having. Do you know how many fingers I was crossing for one of you to get sucked into the filter?!”

“I’ll shove you in the filter, rules be damned,” Saori said, taking a threatening step forward.

“You guys are so rude! It’s not like someone died. Sorry, that was insensitive of me. It’s not like someone important died!”

Izuna chucked a pillow which Monokuma ducked under. “Aris was our comrade, and ninjas always look after their allies!”

Tossing the thrown pillow up in the air, Monokuma tutted. “And yet here she is. Dead by one of your hands. It always happens this way. You all talk a big game, have some laughs, swear this is the last killing, and then BAM!” He hurled the pillow back at Izuna, but it was caught by Saori. “Someone ends up a rotting corpse ahahaha!”

“Give us the Monokuma File and leave…” Mika said, her eyes empty. “And wasn’t an announcement supposed to play or something?”

Monokuma froze. “Oh crap! I forgot!” He turned himself sideways and vanished as if he had only two dimensions.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“A body has been discovered! After a certain amount of time has passed, a class trial will begin!”

Click

“He didn’t forget,” Wakamo said. “He did it so we couldn’t figure out who’s innocent by timing the announcement again.”

“Ibuki… Ibuki doesn’t wan– Doesn’t want to…” A cough ripped through her words. “Ibuki doesn’t want to do another investigation. I don’t want to have to suspect anyone again! I want to play games with Aris!”

As the younger girl’s tears started up again, Yuuka knelt down and took her hands gently. “You and I will be partners this time, okay? We can rest in the dining hall if you’d like.”

“But… I want to help, too…”

“Do what you can, but don’t push yourself too far,” Hoshino said. “That goes for all of us.” I didn’t miss how she glanced at me when she added the last part.

Beeping bounced between our IDs which meant that Monokuma had gotten around to giving us the file. The last thing I wanted to do was read it, as if this was all a dream and reading it would make it reality.

Monokuma File 2: Tenrou Aris

The victim of this case is Tenrou Aris. The cause of death is an arrow through the back of her head. The approximate time of death is 5:03 p.m.

There is a single arrow wound at the back of her skull. The arrow penetrated about half way through her skull. She fell against the TV screen and cracked it.

>>Evidence Added: Monokuma File 2<<

“Never saw it coming…” Hina said, closing her eyes in solemn respect.

Saori shoved her hands in the pocket. “At least Rio had the decency to kill Hifumi face-to-face. Though this is probably more practical.”

“Don’t praise the murderer!” Aru shouted.

“It was only an observation.”

“Well please keep them to yourself if they don’t have to do with the case,” Mika said with a hollow, polite smile. A perfect princess smile.

I’d been silent this whole time. Failing another student drained me of my voice. I felt like someone had poured concrete in my shoes. As much as I wanted to discover who had done this to Aris, I knew that doing so would only lead to more death. However, there couldn’t be any more mysteries around Aris. The girl didn’t even know her talent. I owed it to her to let her rest with the knowledge of what happened.

“We’ll split up like last time,” I said. “No working alone. Anything you find, please report it to me. And if you were the one who killed Aris…” I drew in a shaky breath. “Come find me at my dorm before the trial.”

I wanted to promise that things would be okay, that I’d fight Monokuma to keep them alive, but at the moment all of my promises were meaningless. Anything I said, it would only be a barely comforting lie.

There were a few murmurs of acknowledgement as the girls went to start investigating, with Shiroko and Izuna once again volunteering to guard the body. However, as the group began to move towards the door, they all stopped.

“Why are you back?” Yuuka hissed, tucking Ibuki behind her legs.

Monokuma was just… standing in the doorway. It was like he was a statue. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly jolted to life. “Upupupu… Before you eager beavers get started, I think there’s something about our little victim that you all should discover.”

“And we will,” I said, pushing past the group to stand in front of the bear. “So get out of our way already.”

“If that’s what you think is best, but I’m not letting anyone out of this room until you uncover her secret. Not until the class trial, at least. So go ahead, waste all of your time!”

“Let’s do what he says for now, Sensei,” Hoshino urged. “There is something weird about this scene that I can’t quite put my finger on.”

We all stared at Aris’s body for a moment before Miyu spoke up. “B-b-blood… There’s n-no blood…”

She was right! On closer inspection, there was no blood anywhere around Aris’s body. Not in her hair or on the floor or on the TV screen. No matter how thorough the killer was in cleaning, there was no way they’d be able to get all of the blood.

“So… what does that mean?” Seia asked. “How does one end up… like that… without any blood around the wound.”

“They don’t,” Shiroko said. “We’ll have to… check her body. Up close.”

Silence fell over the group. While we had done the same with Hifumi’s body, all of her wounds were apparent and didn’t require us to examine them deeply. As the teacher, I braced myself and prepared to step forward.

“I’ll do it,” Saori said.

“What?” I was prepared to take care of it, but Saori was already walking towards the body.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done this. You all keep your hands clean.” She squatted right by Aris’s body, tenderly moving her hair out of the way.

“Upupupu…”

The mercenary tried to lift Aris’s head to get her at a better angle, but her brow furrowed when she struggled. “Damn… why is she so heavy?” With a grunt, she managed to heft Aris onto the floor so she laid flat, face-down.

Turning to face us, Saori warned us, “I’d look away if I were you, I’m going to remove the arrow. It’s possible that’s what’s keeping the blood in.”

Several of the girls averted their eyes, but I remained fixated on her. I wouldn’t look away. Now wasn’t the time to be cowardly.

“Last call,” Saori said, taking hold of the arrow. She tugged with controlled might and… the arrow came right out with no resistance. Confused, she checked the wound directly, but when she did, her entire face went pale. “What the fuck…?”

“What is it?” Hoshino said, taking a couple steps closer.

Izunea trembled with her hands over her eyes. “Please don’t say it’s super gross…”

“No… that’s not it.” With eyes the size of dinner plates, Saori stared straight at me. “Aris… is a robot.”

For a second, anger flashed through me. How dare Saori tell a joke like that?! But in that split second, I read clear as day on her face that she wasn’t joking. My body moved before I registered what I was doing, and I found myself knelt by Aris.

My heart jumped in my throat when instead of blood and flesh where the arrow had penetrated, there was circuitry and metal. The torn skin even looked off compared to normal wounds, like it was made of something else.

“W-what…?” Hoshino dropped next to me. “A robot? How?”

“That’s… that’s not possible!” Yuuka shouted. “There’s no way anyone could make a robot that lifelike.”

Mutsuki rubbed the hem of her skirt between her fingers. “Guess we know why she didn’t want to get in the pool.

“No, she was in the pool,” Yuuka corrected. “She was just in the shallow end because she couldn’t swim. Or… that’s what she said.”

“Why would she hide such a thing?” Seia said.

“This is a k-killing game. I wo-wouldn’t want to get close to her knowing she was a robot,” Aru said, backing away from the body.

“With how heavy she is,” Saori said, her voice settling back down to normal. “I doubt any of us could take her one versus one.” She rapped her knuckles against Aris’s back. It sounded like skin.

Miyu trembled. “Sh-She could have k-killed us at any t-time if sh-she wanted.”

“She’s not that durable,” Wakamo noted. “Considering an arrow did her in.”

How did I not notice? Were there any signs? She had an odd way of speaking, but given the eclectic personalities, that wasn’t a given. Not going into water had already been covered. She might have sunk if she did go in deeper. She could play video games for excessive amounts of time, but given my habits back in high school weren’t too dissimilar I had to dismiss that line of thought as well.

“Stop it!” Ibuki suddenly cried, startling everyone into silence. “Stop talking about Aris like she wasn’t our friend! Ibuki doesn’t care if Aris was a robot or not! She was our friend and she was super nice to everyone. She’s not some evil killer robot. And… and now she’s dead. And you’re all being so mean to her. And…”

“Ibuki…” I said. She was right. Robot or not, Aris was my student. She was my student with hopes and goals and dreams. She had friends, both here and outside of school.

I rose to my full height, my fists balled so tight that my nails threatened to pierce skin. “We need to start investigating. Monokuma’s gone, so that’s clearly what he wanted us to find. We’re going to search like Aris was any other student. We’re going to find who did this and why, and we’re going to work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Is that understood?”

I hated how I sounded, how direct and stern, but if I was anything else then I’d collapse in on myself.

With the blockage now out of our way, the students were free to scatter and explore the school. Shiroko and Izuna took up their posts around Aris’s body, and Hoshino came up to me.

“Want to partner up again, Sensei? I think we made a pretty good team last time.”

“We did,” I said. “Always happy to work with you.”

I took a few deep, settling breaths. It was time to focus and get to the bottom of this. First things first, I should make a note of Aris being a robot. I wasn’t worried I’d forget, but my gut told me it was important.

>>Evidence Added: Aris’s Nature<<

While it wasn’t going to be fun, it was probably best to start at the body like last time. Even the smallest details could matter when our lives were on the line. I huddled back down next to Aris and cradled her head in my hands. Saori was right that she was heavier than she looked, but it was enough for me to turn over her head to ensure that there was nothing beyond the arrow wound.

>>Evidence Added: Arrow Wound<<

I couldn’t help but brush some of her hair out of her face. She always did have a pesky strand or two that had fallen. The nature of the afterlife was a hot topic for humans, but if there was one for robots as well, I hoped it was filled with games and adventures for her.

“Look at this,” Hoshino said, catching my attention. She had removed Aris’s jacket. While doing so, the bottom of her shirt came untucked and lifted up, revealing what looked to be pretty nasty burns.

“Where did she get those?” Shiroko asked. “They look like electrical burns.”

“Let’s see how far they go,” Hoshino said, beginning to lift Aris’s shirt even more. “Um, Sensei, maybe you should look away from this one.

Even in death, Aris deserved her dignity, so I got up and started pacing around the room. Saori stood in the corner of the room by the Zoltarkuma machine, looking like she wanted to smash it to pieces.

“Surprised you’re not out there searching,” I said.

She sighed and adjusted her cap. “I will, but in a bit. Still processing the whole robot thing.”

It was a lot to take in. Finding out one of my students was a robot this whole time made me wonder what other secrets these girls had. Ultimates were strange enough people, but I had a feeling that this crop was unique even amongst that group.

“I just can’t figure out why anyone would target her,” Saori said. “She was so sweet. Yesterday, at the pool, she sat with me in the shallow end while we took a break from that crap you made me go through.”

“You had a good time, you can admit it.”

Her face flushed, but she continued, “I wish I had talked with her more. I never had much in common with her, so I didn’t care to get to know her, but… She was so sweet that I regret that.”

“Did you talk with her at all before this?”

“Not much. Some small talk here or there. The only time I had an in depth talk with her was the other day. She asked me about the generator in the workshop. I showed her how to use it and she thanked me, but that was it.”

>>Evidence Added: Saori’s Account<<

“Generator?” I asked. “What generator?”

“I’m not surprised you didn’t see it.” Saori mimed the corner of the room. “It was tucked all the way to the side under a tarp. Easy to miss. I only found it because I needed it to power an angle grinder.”

I frowned. “What were you  doing with an angle grinder?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Before I could retort, I heard Izuna call for me, so I walked back to where they were standing.

“We finished searching the body, my lord!” Izuna said with a bow. “And found a couple things.”

Hoshino held up a finger. “First, the burns are pretty extensive. They go all the way up her torso, but they don’t seem fresh. Obviously we don’t know how her synthetic skin reacts to burns, but I’d wager they’re only a day or two old.”

“Hmm, if she hadn’t worn a one piece yesterday we would have seen them,” Shiroko said.

>>Evidence Added: Electrical Burns<<

Aris… what happened to you? And why didn’t you say anything? If the burns were severe enough to remain, they must have hurt. That was assuming that she could feel pain. I’m pretty sure she would whine when untangling a knot in her hair. How could she and why did she endure this pain?

“The second thing!” Izuna said, holding up a strip of paper, exactly like the kind that came out of the Zoltarkuma machine. “We found this in her jacket pocket.”

“What’s it say?” I asked, so Izuna read aloud.

“Of flesh you were never born.

 Unknown to you your future was etched in stone. 

As a great machine you shall mourn. 

For when time runs out, you shall destroy and end alone.”

>>Evidence Added: Aris’s Fortune<<

“So she used the Zoltarkuma machine,” I said quietly. Damn it! Mika and Seia coming to me had given me hope that the students were beginning to believe in me, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“I can’t blame her,” Hoshino said. “She knew less about herself than the rest of us, so she’d be tempted.”

Swishing her tail, Izuna turned the paper around. “But we only found this! Where’s the info from the student records? It comes out on a piece of paper, right?”

“It has so far,” Shiroko said, “But it’s possible Monokuma could have done something different.”

“Or she hid it,” Hoshino said. “Especially if it was something difficult.”

Regardless of the reason, the fact that Aris felt the need to hide anything from me stung. I knew, deep down, that there was only so much I could do, but that was difficult to believe when a student’s dead body was in front of me.

“Is that everything?” I asked, trying to force my negative musings away.

“Hmm, we did find something else odd around her stomach, but we didn’t know what to make of it.” Shiroko pointed out a small crease that ran from Aris’s hip up to the halfway point between her ribs and hip.

Running my finger up the crease, it seemed slightly indented. If you weren’t looking closely, you could easily assume it was a scar. As I was about to add it to my notes, my finger suddenly sunk in and a hiss escaped from her body.

“What the…?”

It was as if I had unlatched a box and it sprung open. Swallowing hard, I tenderly lifted the section of her stomach, revealing the complex machinery within. The intricacies of the craftsmanship eclipsed my rudimentary knowledge of robotics; it felt like I was looking at a diagram out of a sci-fi novel more than a person. However, there was one part that was notable.

“Why is there an empty space?” Izuna said.

While most of Aris’s internal workings left so little room to even get a fingernail between them, a notable gap sat at the very center of it all. Several ports were empty, but given the density of circuitry and machining, I had to assume they should be in use.

>>Evidence Added: Empty Space Inside Aris<<

“Wow, good find, Sensei,” Hoshino said. “We investigated that mark, but it didn’t do anything like that. I guess you have the magic touch.”

The compliment didn’t feel great, but I understood she was only trying to make me feel better.

“Doesn’t it look like the electrical burns stem from the opening?” Izuna said, and upon closer inspection, I agreed with what she said. The burns grew outward from where her stomach cavity had opened. Did Aris try to open it on her own?

>>Evidence Updated: Electrical Burns<<

“Careful, Mika!” I heard Seia say from across the room.

“I better go see what they’ve gotten into…”

At the entrance to the game room, Seia and Mika surrounded a pile of broken glass, with Mika’s eyes wide. It seemed she nearly stepped on a piece.

“Almost cut my foot open there!” Mika said with an uneasy giggle. “Thanks for the heads up, Seia.”

The fox girl curtsied. “Naturally. Though we’re lucky that no one stepped on when we came in here. If the light hadn’t caught it, I wouldn’t have seen it blending into the carpet.”

“Where did it come from?” Hoshino said, looking around at the various screens in the room. “It couldn’t be the TV, that’s too far away, and it doesn’t appear to be from any of the game screens.”

We all searched the area until Mika happened to look up. “There!”

One of the clerestory windows that lined the perimeter of the room had a hole in it, like something had punched through it.

“That would explain the glass,” Seia mused, then turned her attention to the hallway. “There’s also some glass here, and the window to the dojo is broken as well.”

“Who would break such pretty windows?” Mika said with a pout. “And how do you even get up there to do that?”

“Is the glass in the hallway, Seia?” Hoshino asked. When she nodded, the biologist turned to me. “You should note that down, Sensei.”

>>Evidence Added: Broken Glass<<

>>Evidence Added: Broken Clerestory Windows<<

“Good finds, girls,” I said, earning a round of pleased smiles. “Given the dojo’s window is broken, that should be our next stop.”

However, as we crossed the hallway, I noticed Wakamo heading towards the stairs. Alone.

“Wakamo,” I called, and she instantly whirled to face me.

“Ah, darling! Do you need anything from Wakamo?”

“Why aren’t you paired up with anyone?”

Her tail drooped as disappointment set in. “Everyone else has a partner. Saori is still in the game room. I don’t need someone to babysit me.”

“It’s not about that,” Hoshino said. “This way no one can get accused of tampering with the crime scene.”

“I would never. It would make Sensei unhappy…”

While I wished that there were other reasons that she didn’t want to screw up active crime scenes, I’d take what I could get. “Well, have you seen anything that might be helpful? Or anyone?”

“Not right now. After the pool, I spent most of my time in the dining hall.” She adjusted her mask as if to gather her thoughts. “Aris did come in and tell me she was going to play games, but she seemed off, distracted. I didn’t think much of it. Mutsuki also came in and said she was looking for something, but I don’t remember what.”

>>Evidence Added: Wakamo’s Account<<

None of that seemed immediately helpful, but I noted it down just in case. The part about Aris acting abnormally in particular caught my attention. “Thanks, Wakamo. I appreciate it.”

“Anything for you, Sensei…”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh really, anything? Then would you mind taking Saori with you if you’re going to keep investigating. It’d make me feel a lot better.”

Sighing in frustration, Wakamo nonetheless nodded. “Very well… If that will make you happy.”

The fox trudged off to grab her soon-to-be partner.

“She’s an odd fish,” Hoshino commented and I couldn’t find it in me to disagree.

Either way, we had an investigation to continue. Hoshino and I made our way into the dojo, where Aru and Mutsuki were standing over something.

“Sensei~” Mutsuki called. “We found something interesting!”

“It’s all thanks to my guidance,” Aru said, hand on her chest.

The prankster grinned. “Or dumb luck that you charged in here before anyone else could find the obvious thing laying on the ground.”

“I-It wasn’t luck! Aris was… killed… with an arrow, so it obviously came from here.”

Aru’s logic was sound, but I was more interested in what they found. A bow laid on the dojo floor with some sort of string attached to it.

“How’d this get here?” I asked. “Did you all forget to clean up when you were playing with them?”

“No, of course not,” Aru said, sounding highly offended. “I have standards, so I’d never leave a room in disarray.”

“That’s how you know she’s a real outlaw,” Mutsuki whispered, earning a blush from Aru.

“What’s with the rope at the end?” Hoshino picked up the bow and tugged on the rope attached to its string. “It’s not a rope, it’s some kind of stretchy cord. Looks like it was cut at the end.

>>Evidence Added: Bow with a Cord Attached<<

“But where’d it come from,” I wondered aloud. We definitely would have noticed something lying on the ground like that when we passed by the dojo given how out of place it was.

“Kufufu… Care to tell them, Aru?”

The outlaw began to sweat, coughing into her sleeve. “H-how should I know? It certainly didn’t fall on my head because I got overexcited and accidentally ran into the wall!”

How in the…

Mutsuki burst into laughter. “You should have seen it, Sensei! She was all pumped to investigate, but bumped the wall on the way in and the bow fell on her head. She got so disoriented she fell, too”

“MUTSUKI!”

I bit my cheek to stop myself from chuckling at the mental image of Aru stumbling around all dizzy. Instead, I looked up to the rafters. “So the bow was up there? How the hell did it get there? I wish we had some way of getting up… Maybe Izuna can help.”

“She did get up there before,” Hoshino said, but then the strand of hair at the top of her head twitched. “Were those punching bags always there?”

Jogging over to the far side of the dojo, Hoshino pointed out how several punching bags were lined up against the climbing wall.

>>Evidence Added: Moved Punching Bags<<

Moving the bags wasn’t too hard because while they weren’t light exactly, they were definitely not the biggest in the room. Once we had them out of the way, we discovered… precisely nothing.

“What a productive waste of time!” Mutsuki cheered.

“Not exactly…” Hoshino gave a test pull on one of the handholds. Once she was sure it was solid, she began to scale the wall. It was a decent sized piece of equipment, but I was confused why she was bothering with it until I realized that at the very top, she was right next to one of the rafters. With a huff, she swung her leg onto the rafter and hauled herself up. “Whew! That’d be a lot easier in my younger years.”

>>Evidence Added: Climbing Wall Rafter Access<<

“Do you see anything up there?” I asked.

Hoshino shook her head and began shuffling across the wooden beams. I stayed under her, so in the event she fell, I was ready to spot her.

“Ooooh Sensei, taking the chance to look up your student’s skirt? How risqué!”

When this case was over, I was going to ask Monokuma to put a rule in place that limited how many words a day that Mutsuki was allowed to say.

“I’m impressed she hasn’t gotten any splinters,” Aru said. “Those rafters must be old and worn.”

“This is Hope’s Archive,” I replied. “I would expect them to keep everything in good shape, especially something as important as building structures.”

“Found something!” Hoshino yelled down. “Looks like the other end of the cord It’s tied to a rafter here at the back. Doesn’t look very long.”

>>Evidence Added: Cord on Back Rafters<<

An image was starting to form in my head about what might have happened, but I figured it would be best to wait until the trial to see what ideas my students could present. “Anything else?”

“Not really. Oh hey a Monocoin!”

I was about to instruct the girls not to tell Ibuki about that because she would try to get up there and find more, but then I remembered that Mutsuki was standing next to me and that would ensure that Ibuki not only heard about it, but had an accomplice.

While Hoshino began her shuffling to get down from the rafters, I remembered something that Wakamo told me.

“Hey Mutsuki, Wakamo told me that you were looking for something earlier, what was it?”

“My teeth!” the prankster said with a put out expression. “Someone stole my teeth!”

“Aren’t they in your mouth?” Hoshino said from above.

Mutuski looked like she was about to retort, but she ended up smirking. “I walked into that one… Anyway! Yeah, someone took my prank teeth. The worst part is it happened at dinner last night when everyone was there, so I have no clue who did it.”

>>Evidence Added: Mutsuki’s Missing Prank Teeth<<

“Well, hopefully they’ll show up at some point,” I said placatingly as Hoshino finished her climb back down the wall.

“I think that’s everything here,” she said, dusting herself off. “Where to next?”

“Saori said something about a generator, right? We should head to the workshop.” I faced Aru and Mutsuki. “Thanks for your help, you two. Keep an eye out and let me know if you find anything else.”

“Sure thing, Sensei!” Mutsuki replied, but Aru looked a bit forlorn.

“Y-yeah…”

I moved a bit closer to her. “You doing okay, Aru? Do you need a break?”

With a halfhearted pout, Aru shook her head. “O-of course not! I’ve seen far worse in the seedy world of outlaws, but…” She tucked her coat closer around her body. “I talked to Aris right before all of this, a bit after we got done with the pool. She said she was going to play games, and asked me to join her. I said no, but… should I have said yes? A boss looks out for her underlings.”

>>Evidence Added: Aru’s Account<<

“Aru…” Mutsuki said with surprising softness and took Aru’s hand in her own.

I knew what Aru was going through well, how different scenarios played out before your eyes, wondering if one decision was between life and death. If I hadn’t accidentally taken a nap, would I have run into Aris and played games with her, stopping her death? If I had been a better teacher, a better leader, a better confidant, would whoever had done this felt like they could rely on me instead of succumbing to despair?

“It’s not your fault, Aru,” Hoshino said. “It’s no one’s fault but the culprit’s. And even then, I blame Monokuma more than anyone else. He put us here, so he’s ultimately responsible.”

Aru didn’t reply, instead only nodding and relaxing her shoulders a little. She offered a small smile to Mutsuki. Despite everything, they were good friends.

Leaving the dojo, we made our way towards the academic half of this floor. While on our way, Yuuka turned the corner and grabbed my attention.

“Sensei, come to the science room. Ibuki and I found something.”

When we got there, Ibuki was sitting on a table, swinging her legs back and forth. Her eyes were puffy, and she slowly ate a spoonful of pudding.

“Hey, Ibuki, how are you feeling?” I asked.

She shrugged, glancing up at me with her big yellow eyes. “I don’t know…” Seeing the usual beacon of joy so upset shattered my heart even more so. It was hard the first time, and if there were somehow more after this… I didn’t want to think about what that would do to her.

“Ibuki found something, though,” Yuuka chimed, pointing to a piece of paper on the floor. “We came in here to decompress a little and she happened to notice it. We haven’t touched it because we wanted to wait for you, Sensei.” She rubbed Ibuki’s head. “It’s all that Monocoin hunting.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at Ibuki’s lips, especially when Hoshino gave her the one she found in the dojo. I grimaced when Hoshino then proceeded to tell the younger girl about where she found it. How soon was I going to have to go Ibuki hunting if she got up into the rafters?

Returning my attention to the piece of paper, I had to crouch and reach under the teacher’s desk to get it. It was like someone tried to hide it, but hadn’t done a very good job of it. Instantly, I recognized it as the same type of paper that came from the student records room.

Memo to Administration and Teaching Staff Regarding Tenrou Aris.

It has come to our attention that admittance of the student Tenrou Aris may cause friction within the student body, particularly with students Tsukatsuki Rio and Hayase Yuuka. Please refer to the following two transcripts for examples.

“Aris, your existence is essentially that of an evil lord born to destroy this world.” - Tsukatsuki Rio

“Lucky for you that your friend Aris is already in custody. …locking her up alone, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to have some company.” - Hayase Yuuka.

As demonstrated through these quotes, the potential for conflicts between students is incredibly high. Further, given the nature of Tenrou Aris as [REDACTED], it is likely that other students will come to form the same opinion and take extreme action. All staff is advised to avoid disclosure of Tenrou Aris’s status as [REDACTED] and ensure Tsukatsuki Rio and Hayase Yuuka are kept separated from her to facilitate a peaceful coexistence at Hope’s Archive Academy.

>>Evidence Added: Student Records Memo<<

“H-huh?!” Yuuka said, her whole body stiffening. “I n-never said that! I didn’t know Aris before coming here! Th-that has to be fake! It has to be! I’d never do anything to a sweet girl like her!”

“With our memories gone, anything is possible,” Hoshino pointed out.

“I know myself!” Yuuka’s voice grew shrill. “And I’m telling you that that memo is a fake!”

Ibuki drew her legs up close. “Is this about Aris being a robot? Ibuki doesn’t think we’d react badly about that.”

I shook my head. Something wasn’t adding up. While Aris being a robot would surely cause a reaction, I doubted that the others would do something extreme like what was being described in the memo? Then there’s Yuuka and Rio… While Rio had already shown herself capable of horrible things, she wasn’t a cruel person, not at heart. Saying something so… melodramatic didn’t fit her. And Yuuka, for all her bluster, wanted to do right by everyone, so what possible reason could she have had for locking Aris up? How could she lock Aris up?

“Sensei!” Yuuka cried, on the verge of hyperventilating. “You believe me, right? You know I’m not like that… I…”

“It’s okay, Yuuka,” I said. “No one is thinking anything bad about you. If this is from the student records room, then it’s obviously something Monokuma put together to cause this exact sort of reaction. Look, part of your quote is missing, so I bet, if this is real, you said something that Monokuma doesn’t want us to know because it would change our perception.”

“Yeah, I hope so…” The mathematician pulled at her tie, tightening it to the point that I was worried it was going to choke her.

Fortunately, we had the power of Ibuki with us who wrapped her arms around Yuuka and gave her a big squeeze. “My turn to make you feel better.”

Initially flinching, Yuuka relaxed into Ibuki’s embrace and returned the hug. Hoshino and I silently decided to let the two of them be and headed to the workshop.

The workshop was much the same as I remember it, though a bit messier from the girls tinkering around in it. Yuuka had taken quite a liking to it, saying something about applying mathematics to practical uses. Saori and Miyu even bonded over talking about guns and ammunition, though I did have to coax the sharpshooter out of a hiding spot when Saori started talking about how lethal different bullet types were, followed by a lecture to the mercenary about how Miyu was a sports sharpshooter, not a soldier.

For now, Miyu and Hina were searching around various pieces of equipment.

“S-Sensei, e-everything seems to b-be in place,” Miyu said. “Though I might have m-missed something. I wouldn’t be s-surprised.”

“I’ll trust your judgement, Miyu,” I replied. It was a relief to know that most of the dangerous equipment appeared untouched, though there was always the possibility that something less noticeable was missing.

"U-um..." Before I could leave, Miyu caught my attention.

"What's wrong?"

Tears pricked the corners of the sharpshooter's eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Is this about what I said at the pool earlier?"

Miyu nodded. "I... I... She was s-so n-nice to m-me and you t-told me to k-keep her company b-but I didn't so..." Tears streaked down her cheeks, demonstrably more from sadness than her usual anxiety.

"Hey, it's okay," I said. "You were a good friend to her while she was alive. I saw you two playing in the pool, and I know that can be hard for you, so I'm proud. You don't need to bear the burden for this. You made her last moments truly happy, and I couldn't ask for any more."

Sniffling, Miyu wiped her face. "O-okay. In that case, I'll... I'll keep l-looking around. For A-Aris..."

With Miyu comforted, I beelined it to the corner of the room where, as Saori had told me, there was a fancy looking generator with a tarp lying next to it.

“This thing looks like it’s got some kick,” Hoshino said.

“It does,” Hina said, coming up behind us. “Wakamo was using it a few days ago to run electric current through something she found in the science room. I think she was trying to make an explosive, but it ended up blasting her out of the room.”

“That does explain why she came up to me covered in scorch marks…” I said.

“Oh? Did she ask you for assistance?”

“She wanted me to bathe her.”

Hina blushed. “I see…”

“I said no!”

Hoshino gave me a pat on the back. “We believe you, Sensei. But back to this thing, is there any way to tell who used it?”

“Not specifically,” Hina replied. “However, if you look at the back, you can see a display that records a log of when the generator was used.”

It took some funky twisting that my body will definitely not be happy about in the morning, but I managed to crane my neck and read the log. For the most part, nothing stood out. The times were spread fairly evenly across the last few days since we’ve unlocked this floor. However, the day after Monokuma gave us the motive, there were a series of recordings bunched close together, as if someone had repeatedly turned the generator on and off.

>>Evidence Added: Generator Logs<<

Something in my leg cracked as I contorted myself upright. While there were some pieces of this puzzle I could put together, others seemed to be entirely unrelated. I would have to put them together at the trial if I wanted to survive this.

“Does anyone else have anything they’ve found or want to share?”

The three girls shook their heads.

“Not now, but we’ll keep looking,” Hina said.

“We h-have to g-go through th-the trial a-again?” Miyu asked, though from her tone it was clear she knew the answer.”

Scratching her face, Hoshino glanced to the side. “I don’t think Monokuma will let us be absent, sadly.”

“If that’s all, then I’m going to head back to my room until Monokuma calls us.”

“Do you really think someone’s going to confess?” Hina said incredulously.

I… couldn’t answer that. Maybe I was clinging to pointless optimism, or maybe I was hoping for a miracle. Whatever the case was, I wanted to at least give the culprit a chance to come clean to me. The crushing knowledge that I couldn’t actually do anything to help them pressed down on me as I took each step into towards my room, but if I did nothing, if I didn’t offer even a modicum of resistance to Monokuma’s game, I would be even more of a failure than I already was.

Aris was dead. Another student had killed her. Hifumi and Rio stalked behind me, glaring down from the top of the stairs when I reached the bottom. They called out to me, Hifumi crying for help to the sensei who was too clueless to save her, and Rio screaming as she was tortured before her unjust execution while her teacher only watched through a screen.

Vomit clawed its way into my throat, but I choked it back down. My students were relying on me, I couldn’t crumple now. Their hopes, their dreams, their futures, they relied on me being able to pick up the shattered peace and put it back together, stronger and more permanent.

I reached my door, but didn’t enter. I simply stared at the doodle-like representation of me. How I wish that was how my students saw me, as the silly, carefree teacher whose class they looked forward to every day. Though I was hired only as a general studies teacher, I knew that I’d have been able to bond with these wonderful girls all the same.

“Sensei…”

My breath hitched and fear gripped my heart as Hina called out to me. Was she there to confess? It couldn’t have been her, could it?

“It wasn’t me,” she said like she was reading my mind.

“Then would you please go wait somewhere else in case the culprit does come?” I couldn’t tell if my tone was harsh or not despite my attempt at neutrality.

Hina appeared unaffected regardless, remaining in front of me. “Are you okay, Sensei? You looked… rough in the workshop, so I came down to check on you.”

Instinctively, I ran my hand through my hair to neaten it and straightened my posture. If I was getting sloppy, then my students would surely notice and feel less secure. Even if I felt awful inside, I had to keep up appearances for their sake. As for Hina who had already seen through my attempts.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Well, as fine as I can be, obviously. It’s not easy going through this, but you don’t have to worry. I’ll keep moving forward with all of you and be an adult that you can lean on.”

Hina narrowed her eyes, searching me up and down. “I see. Well, please take care of yourself. This is difficult on all of us, so it’s okay if you need to step back for a moment.”

No, it wasn’t, I wanted to say. I’m a teacher, I have to be there for my students through thick and thin. If a student comes to me and I say “oh I’m on break right now, try again later!” then why would they ever believe they could come to me again. I’d remain at my post, ready and willing to help any student in need so I could protect them all until we could escape together.

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Hina opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound I’d been dreading most of all.

Ding-dong, bing-bong

“Attention all students and faculty, this is your headmaster! Your allotted investigation time is up! Now, head to the gymnasium so we can begin the most exciting part of the day: THE CLASS TRIAL!”

Click

“Looks like that’s our cue,” I said with a heavy sigh.

“Indeed it is.”

Hina and I made our way to the gym where we were greeted by several early arrivals. Once everyone was inside, the elevator to the trial grounds opened up once again to bring us to the trial grounds. I’d rather it take us straight to Hell.

As I had in the previous trial, I scanned the backs of my students’ heads. One of them was hiding something, one of them had killed Aris. The thought replayed over and over in my head so loudly that even the grinding gears couldn’t drown it out.

The elevator came to an abrupt stop and opened to the trial grounds. One-by-one we took our places, this time joined by the portraits of Rio and Aris.

The second case was about to begin.

Chapter Text

Schools Supplies List

Monokuma File 2: The Monokuma file lists the time and cause of death. Aris was killed around 5:03 in the evening and died due to an arrow penetrating her skull. She then fell forward and cracked the TV.

Aris’s Nature: Upon searching Aris’s body, it was discovered that she is a robot.

Arrow Wound: An arrow pierced the back of Aris’s skull, killing her.

Saori’s Account: Aris asked Saori how to operate the generator a few days before the murder.

Electrical Burns: There are electrical burns all over Aris’s torso, originating from the access point to her internal workings.

Aris’s Fortune: The fortune Aris received from the Zoltarkuma machine.

Broken Glass: Shards of glass were found on the inside of the game room and in the hallway.

Broken Clerestory Windows: There was a broken window in both the game room and the dojo.

Wakamo’s Account: Wakamo saw Aris before she was killed. She also spoke to Mutsuki, who said she was missing something.

Bow With a Cord Attached: A bow that fell from the rafters in the dojo that has a stretchy cord attached to its string.

Moved Punching Bags: Several punching bags had been moved from their original position to in front of the climbing wall.

Climbing Wall Rafter Access: It is possible to reach the rafters in the dojo by scaling the climbing wall.

Cord on the Back Rafters: There is a piece of stretchy cord tied to the back rafters in the dojo.

Mutsuki’s Missing Prank Teeth: Mutsuki reported that her prank teeth were stolen from dinner one day and she has been looking for them.

Aru’s Account: Aru spoke to Aris before she went upstairs. Aris was going to play games and invited Aru to join her.

Student Records Memo: A memo found in the science room from the student records room. It details how Aris was considered dangerous by several students.

Generator Logs: Logs that show when the generator in the workshop was used. There is a cluster of times abnormally close together.

CLASS TRIAL - START: ALL RISE!

The trial room was much the same as last time. Same gaudy, faux-religious stained glass, same circle of podiums, same oversized throne for Monokuma to sit on. The only difference was that two fewer students were here and another one wasn’t going to leave with us.

Aris’s portrait towered over me. I dared to glance at her smiling face and had to look away. In my periphery, I swore that the stand was about to fall over on me. Gripping the podium, I squeezed until my fingers ached to bring me back to reality.

“Sensei,” Hina said. “We need you right now.”

She was right. My students were smart, brilliant even, but I was their teacher and it was my duty to guide them through this.

“Now then!” Monokuma’s voice was like ice in my veins. ““Let’s begin with the basic explanation of the class trial.”

“During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who you think the killer is, and vote for whodunnit. If you vote correctly, then only the Blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the Blackened, and that student will be allowed to graduate!”

“The punishment is the same as last time, I take it?” Saori said.

Pumping his paw, Monokuma cheered. “Yes indeedy! Vote for the Blackened and they’ll be executed. Get it wrong and everyone else will be executed instead. It’s the only fair punishment.”

“What part of that is fair?!” Izuna cried.

“The part that I say!” Monokuma laughed. “This is my courtroom, so I make the rules!”

“Ignore him,” I said. “Let’s focus on the case in front of us.”

Yuuka played with the end of her tie. “I can’t believe we have to do this again. How could someone kill Aris of all people?”

“People can do all kinds of stuff if they’re motivated enough,” Shiroko said.

“I know, but it still hurts to think about.”

Hifumi's death had hurt the girls to be sure, but based on their reticence to actually begin speaking, I could tell that Aris had hit them harder. Having those extra few precious days with her made a considerable difference. Days of interaction here were equivalent to months outside.

“Let’s start where we did last time,” Hoshino said with a yawn. “Is there anyone that we can rule out right away?”

“We can rule out Sensei right away!” Mika said. “His special rules make him not a suspect!”

“It’s obvious that Sensei would never do it,” Wakamo added. “But I did see Mutsuki before the murder, so it’s probably not her.”

“Two for two that I’m in the clear!” the prankster cheered.

Unamused by her antics, Shiroko frowned. “If we’re talking about rules, then Seia should be innocent, too, since she was with Sensei when discovering the body. So the announcement wouldn’t have played if she was guilty.”

“Monokuma was late with the announcement, though, so we were all present when he made it,” Aru pointed out.

“What about Miyu?” Izuna said. “She was getting to be pretty good friends with Aris, so I don’t see her being the culprit!”

“I w-wouldn’t… n-not to Aris who w-was so nice to me…”

Saori scoffed. “That doesn’t mean shit. If anything, she could have used their friendship to create an opportunity.”

“It sounds as if no one has a concrete alibi at the current time,” Seia said, her brow furrowing. “So is it only Sensei that can be proven innocent?”

“Hey! Wasn’t I totally innocent?!” Mutsuki cried.

It would be helpful to know who to rule out, but the time between when we last saw Aris and when she died makes it difficult to determine. Is there anyone we can rule out?

Which Student is Correct?

>Wakamo    >Shiroko    >Izuna    >Seia

Answer Key:

>Wakamo    >Shiroko    >Izuna    >Seia

“Unfortunately, I think Seia’s right,” I said. “We went to the pool, there was a short period of time, and then the culprit killed Aris. Most of us were in our rooms during that period, so it’s almost impossible to determine who had an alibi.”

“Never have I wished to be wrong more…”

“But what about Mutsuki?” Hoshino asked. “Wakamo said she saw her.”

I nodded. “She did, but according to Wakamo’s Account she saw Aris, too.”

“Ah, I see… I did see both of them before they went upstairs, but not after they left the dining hall,” Wakamo said, her ears dropping.

“Does that mean I’m not innocent?” Mutsuki asked innocently. “I didn’t do it, but I don’t think my word alone is gonna cut it.”

“Ibuki didn’t do it either!” the younger girl shouted suddenly. Once again, she was never really a suspect, especially given how she broke down in the game room earlier. Unless she was a good actress but… I couldn’t let myself think like that.

“I don’t think going down this line of thought is going to lead us anywhere. We’ll have to find something different to explore,” Hina said.

Not one of my students could be ruled out. That idea broke my heart. Any of them could be the culprit, and I might be staring the guilty one right in the face without knowing it. My mind could twist any of their personalities into some motivation to kill.

“Oh no! Ibuki dropped her shoe. H-hold on, let me grab it…”

…

My mind could twist most of their personalities into some motivation to kill.

“Wh-what a-about the m-murder we-weapon?” Miyu said.

“Oh yeah, that’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Hoshino said with a thumbs up.

It’s pretty clear what killed Aris, I think.

Multiple Choice!

What killed Aris?

A. Electrical Burns
B. Broken Glass
C. Moved Punching Bags
D. Arrow Wound

Answer Key:

D. Arrow Wound

“The arrow wound through the back of her head is pretty obviously the weapon,” I said. “The Monokuma File 2 even confirms it.”

“You betcha!” Monokuma piped up. “My knowledge of this school is all-encompassing. I can see all the creative ways that you butcher your friends~”

“Hmm, you can?” Shiroko said.

“Are you doubting your headmaster?”

“Not at all, but I did have a question.” The cyclist cocked her head almost casually. “Could you gouge your eyes out so you can't anymore?”

“Bwuaaaahhhhh?!” Leaping from his seat, Monokuma jabbed his claw in my direction. “Hey! Sensei! Control your students.”

“Extra credit for Shiroko,” I said, much to her pleasure and Monokuma’s dismay.

“While the arrow killed Aris, that’s for sure, how did it get there?” Saori said.

“Well, I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I’d guess that it was fired from a bow!” Mika offered.

Yuuka shook her head. “While that’s the most obvious answer, it’s possible the culprit took an arrow from the dojo and stabbed Aris from behind.”

“But that would require you to be super sneaky!” Izuna said. “Only a highly trained ninja could be that sneaky!” Realizing she just implicated herself, the fox girl girl quickly backtracked. “O-or they could’ve thrown it really hard?!”

“They’d have to be super duper strong to do that!” Ibuki pointed out.

“Could they have tricked Aris into falling on it?” Wakamo mused. “It’d be a good way to cover up what they were trying to do.”

The girls had strong ideas… most of them, but which one made the most sense based on the evidence?

Which Student is Correct?

>Mika    >Yuuka    >Izuna    >Hoshino

Answer Key:

>Mika    >Yuuka    >Izuna    >Wakamo

“We found a bow with a cord in the dojo while we were investigating, so that’s most likely the murder weapon,” I said.

Mika’s smile widened. “I got it right? Three cheers for Mika!”

“We’re not cheering right now,” Seia deadpanned. “But Sensei’s logic is sound. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct one, and I believe that to be the case here.”

Mmmmmmmm...Well then, let's get started, shall we?

Wait… what?

Wakamo stood in an aggressive stance, eyes burning beneath her mask. “I apologize my darling, Sensei, but I think you’re ignoring Wakamo’s theory too much. Please listen to my feelings so I may persuade you!”

Classroom Management!

Wakamo

There are a lot of different ways for an arrow to end up in someone’s head.

A sufficient explosion, for example.

Sensei is utterly magnificent!

But Wakamo thinks that Aris was fooled!

Tricking her and causing her to fall on the arrow!

Sensei

But it’s just like Seia said.

Why go through all of that trouble when using the bow is more straightforward?

ADVANCE!

Wakamo

Don’t listen to the others!

Only listen to Wakamo right now.

The culprit is using the bow as a distraction!

We don’t know how Aris’s body ended up like that.

So the culprit could have moved it to mislead us further.

NO THAT’S WRONG!

BREAK!

“I see where you’re coming from, but there we do know how her body ended up in its position.” I took out the Shittim Chest to pull up the Monokuma File 2. “It’s specified here that she fell forward and cracked the TV screen, so that means she had to have been attacked from behind. Getting hit with a bow could easily force her forward if she wasn’t expecting it.”

“Mmm… yes, you’re right, Sensei. Wakamo is sorry for the interruption.”

“Good, now with that out of the way–”

“You don’t hate Wakamo now, right?!” the fox girl cried, her mask slipping to reveal her face completely covered in tears. “I was only trying to help! I’ll do better, I promise!”

“Is she okay?” Yuuka said with an exasperated expression.

I held up my hands slowly. “I don’t hate you, Wakamo. That’s why we’re discussing this case. We can help each other out that way.”

Sniffling, Wakamo put her mask back on. “O-okay… If you say so.”

Why did I have a feeling that I was going to have to praise her a lot to get her to feel better?

“I still am curious about the bow,” Aru said. “When I was investigating, it fell on my he– I discovered it up in the rafters and got it down!”

Smooth, Aru. Real smooth.

“Why does that matter?” Shiroko asked.

“How would the culprit shoot Aris if they were in the rafters?” The outlaw answered. “They would have to be on the ground.”

Yuuka frowned. “Would they really have to be? It’s not like they had to be right behind Aris or anything. It’s a bow, after all. They’re pretty versatile, right?”

I wonder… is there anything that possibly shows where the culprit shot the bow from?

Logic Dive!

What weapon did the culprit use?

A.Kitchen Knife

B. Bow and Arrow

C. Shard from TV Screen

Where did the culprit fire it from?

A. Directly Behind Aris

B. On the Dojo Floor

C. From the Rafters

What shows the arrows were shot from the rafters?

A. Broken Clerestory Windows

B. Mutsuki’s Prank Teeth

C. Aris’s Nature

I’ve got it!

“The clerestory windows,” I said. “Both the windows in the dojo and the game room were broken, as if an arrow broke through them.”

Izuna raised her hand. “Sensei… Um… what does ‘clear story’ mean?”

It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about the word “clerestory.”

“I… wasn’t gonna say anything, but yeah… What does that mean?” Shiroko asked, followed by several of the girls and Monokuma nodding in agreement.

“It’s… it’s the small windows at the top of the walls in the dojo and game room. The long, skinny ones.”

“Huh, so that’s what those are called!” Monokuma said. “I just called them ‘opportunity windows.”

Aru balked. “W-why would you c-call them that?”

“Upupupu~”

Shaking my head to refocus, I continued. “Not only that, but there’s more evidence that shows that the culprit likely fired the bow from the rafters.”

Fill in the Blank!

There was             in the hallway and inside the game room.

Answer Key:

There was broken glass in the hallway and inside the game room.

“The broken glass!” Mika said. “If an arrow had broken through the windows, then the glass would have broken outward, so it ended up in the hallway and then in the game room. Glad my near accident helped out the case.”

“So the culprit fired the arrow from the rafters, through the windows, and into the game room where they hit Aris, do I have that right?” Hina summarized.

“Is it even a straight shot?” Shiroko said.

Flicking her hat up, Saori nodded. “Yeah, it’s actually really easy for stuff to get between the two rooms. Like when Izuna and I were sparring.”

“Sensei!” A voice from behind me called. “There you are.”

I turned to see Aris waving at me from the game room. “Sorry for the hold up. I got the ball. It rolled into the dojo.”

“So that’s where that came from,” Saori said. “The rooms are right across from each other, so I can see how it happened.”

“Hell, I think you could see across the hall into each room if you wanted to,” the mercenary said.

So the culprit was most likely in the dojo while Aris was in the game room, so that could potentially narrow it down to students who were familiar with the dojo and–

“Could it have been… Izuna who did it?” Mutsuki asked, a grin barely covered by her mouth.

“Wha–?! It’s definitely not me!” Izuna cried and jumped into a defensive posture. “A ninja only goes after people who deserve it and we always incapacitate rather than kill!”

Hina narrowed her eyes. “Why do you think it’s Izuna?”

“And you better have a good reason or else Ibuki will be really mad!” The pout on the blonde’s face really sold how mad she would be.

“First~” Mutsuki drawled, holding up a single finger. “We know that it has to be someone familiar with the dojo, right? Izuna spent tons of time there.”

“So what?” Saori said, eyes razor focused on the smaller girl.”

“Kufufu~ So protective! But that’s not all! There’s also a cord wrapped around the bowstring. Little Miss Ninja was so proud of that stunt she pulled on Saori when we explored the second floor. The one involving a string and her tail. If she’s as good of a ninja as she claims, then she’d have no problem making a shot like from the rafters.” She paused, gaze sweeping over everyone. “Finally, who’s the only one who could have gotten up there? Unless you brought a ladder or something, only Izuna has the skill to reach the rafters!”

“Mutsuki…?” Aru said, sounding confused.

However, before I could process Mutsuki’s claim, all hell broke loose.

Mass Panic Debate!

No! No, it’s not true!                                                    Ibuki dropped a Monocoin… I’m clumsy today!            

That’s bullshit and you know it!                                     

                                                                                                                                             It does sound convincing…

Izuna is innocent!                                                                                                                                        
I would never kill anyone without my lord’s permission.                                                                                   W-what I-Izuna? B-b-but she’s s-so nice.

                  Who do you think you are, targeting Izuna like that?!

Was Izuna really the culprit?

Suspicion is cast on one unforeseen by me…                                                 

                                                                                Wait! Gotta focus!                                                Isn’t there a way to get up to the rafters?

No… wait, I wouldn’t kill anyone at all! Waaaaaahhhh! Izuna’s Truth Telling Technique!                                            

I hear my student!

“Hold up, everyone, Hoshino has something she’d like to point out,” I said during a lull in the arguing.

Hoshino opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a yawn. “Oh man. Could go for a nap. Anyway, thanks, Sensei. If you scale the climbing wall, you can get up onto the rafters pretty easily. If this old girl can do it, so could any of us here.”

“The other evidence is pretty circumstantial, too,” Hina added. “Izuna wasn’t the only one to frequent the dojo.”

“The cord is totally different from the string she used on her tail, too!” Ibuki said. “She showed me the trick later.”

“And those bows were shockingly easy to use. Once you took off the stuff we added to make the arrows safe, it’d be easy to get a straight shot,” Saori added.

Mutsuki appeared nonplussed by the counter arguments. “You guys really showed me! Guess I was wrong!”

“Eeeeeh uuuhuh… Apologize to Izunaaaaaa…” the fox girl whined.

“Why? It’s not like you’re cleared, yet!”

“Weeeeeeh!”

Aru frowned and hissed, “Mutsuki, what are you doing?”

“Tossing ideas out! Or am I the only one who’s not allowed to be wrong?”

“That’s not the issue. You were in the room with me, Sensei, and Aru when we investigated the climbing wall, so why did you accuse Izuna using that as evidence?” Hoshino asked.

Looking surprised, Mutsuki brought her hands to her face. “Oh that’s right! I was there! Guess I forgot~”

The insincerity bled through her words like a waterfall. The question was why she was playing around now of all times. All she had accomplished was making herself look like a bigger target? Could… could she be the culprit and is treating this as a big game? She does have a tendency not to take things as seriously as she should, but I could never imagine her being so callous as to commit murder and make light of it, especially if Aru’s life was on the line. So what was going on?

“Hmm, I think this is another dead end for now,” Shiroko said, wolf ears wiggling. “But something did get brought up that I’m wondering about.”

“The cord!” Ibuki announced, causing Shiroko to do a double take.

“Y-yes… The cord. Why did the culprit tie a cord to the bowstring? Even if the bows are easy to fire, that would still interfere with firing it, right?”

“That’s a good point,” Seia said, adjusting her sleeve. “Could it be to balance the bow better? I’m not familiar with archery, so I cannot say for certain.”

Saori shook her head. “Tying anything to the bowstring is a risk. They’re finicky things.”

“W-what if th-they used it in c-case they d-dropped it?” Miyu added. “Th-they could r-retrieve it w-without coming d-down from the rafters.”

“It’s possible,” Yuuka said, “But still unlikely. If they dropped it, then their plan was probably doomed, so I don’t think they’d plan that far ahead.”

“I-I-I’m s-sorry!”

“Could they have used the cord to attach the bow to something?” Hina asked. “I’m not sure why they would do that, but it’s a possibility.”

“That would still throw off the bow’s balance,” Saori said. She removed her mask and shoved it in her pocket. “This is difficult, because there’s no logical reason to do something like that.”

Hmm… one of them said something that I agree with, and there’s evidence to prove it!

Which Student is Correct?

>Seia    >Miyu    >Hina    >Saori

Answer Key:

>Seia    >Miyu    >Hina    >Saori

I stepped as far forward as the podium would allow me. “I think Hina’s on the right track. When Hoshino explored the rafters–”

“I’m still surprised she didn’t get splinters,” Aru commented.

“–she found a cord attached to the back rafters that looked similar to the one on the bowstring.”

“It’s true,” Hoshino confirmed. “They were the same color, same stretchy material, same everything. In fact, it looked like they had been cut.”

“Cut?” Izuna said, turning her head. “Why would they cut the cord if they went through the effort of attaching it to something?”

“Seems like a lot of extra work if you’re just going to get rid of it all,” Mika said.

“Especially if you plan to fire the bow,” Saori said. “Climbing the rafters with a bow and a cord, only to cut the cord you tied to the bow? I’m not trying to be combative here, but it doesn’t make any sense.”

“That’s because we’re assuming the culprit fired the bow,” Wakamo said suddenly, causing all eyes to turn to her.

For a beat, no one spoke, but eventually Yuuka came forward. “Well how else were they going to fire the arrow?”

Tail swishing behind her in agitation, Wakamo continued. “The culprit would have to be closer to the front of the dojo to get an accurate shot into the game room, correct? If they tied a stretchy cord to the back of the rafters, then it would pull the bow string back. Put the bow at the correct angle and notch an arrow and you have a bow primed to fire once the cord is cut.”

Could that be possible? That the culprit didn’t actually fire the bow, but instead set a trap? Bows surely didn’t work like that. Then again, when I used the bow myself, it was so easy to draw, and the arrows flew fairly straight despite having a heavy weight attached, so the bow had to have a good amount of strength to it.

“Upupupu… I can tell what a lot of you are thinking, so I’ll throw in a freebie because I don’t like how a certain someone is acting,” Monokuma said.

How a certain someone is acting? Is he talking about the culprit?

“Those bows can fire straight even if you attached a brick to the string! They’re precision engineered to work even in the hands of the least coordinated klutz of a killer!”

Seia hummed. “So if someone wanted to, setting a trap like that wouldn’t be hard at all.”

Massing her temples, Yuuka let out a groan. “Okay, so let’s say that the culprit did set a trap using the bow, that still doesn’t answer the question of why they would do that instead of firing it normally.”

“She’s right,” Shiorko added. “The culprit would still have to be there to cut the cord, and if the bows are as easy to use as Monokuma makes them out to be, then why not just fire it in the first place?”

“Maybe it was part of a secret ninja ritual to ensure their accuracy!” Izuna suggested, making a couple of fox signs with her hands.

“We’ll… keep our options open on that one!” Hoshino said through a strained smile.

“I bet the culprit was worried about fingerprints,” Mika said, wiggling her own fingers. “So they used the trap to avoid getting them on the bow.”

Placing a hand on her hip, Hina closed her eyes. “The culprit would still have to carry the bow up with them, which would get fingerprints all over it. Plus, we don’t have any way to search for them, so it’d be pointless.”

“Could they have done it so they wouldn’t have to be present?” Aru asked. “It’d make it easier to get away with it if they weren’t even in the dojo at the time of the killing.”

“Or the cord could be a fake out!” Mutsuki said quickly.

“Oh! So the culprit could trick us into going down the wrong path!” Ibuki said, eyes wide. “How sneaky!”

“I’m not sure about any of these ideas…” Seia mumbled.

I wasn’t entirely sold on any of them either, but one stood out to my gut more than the rest…

Which Student is Correct?

>Izuna    >Mika    >Aru    >Mutsuki

Answer Key: