Chapter 1
I finally opened my eyes. The force to lift my heavy eyelids was nearly impossible. The lights above me were off. It was quite a dim atmosphere. Where am I? I sat up, hearing the sound of the bed. I noticed that I was gripping onto the white wrinkly sheets, and that a purple quilt was scrambled at the front. I glanced at the ceiling. There was a security camera. Was someone watching me?
I should get out of this room to see what's going on.
I left the room and closed the door behind me. Then I noticed that the door was labelled with my name. Akira Yasu. What is this place? How did I get here?
It was between two other doors. Isamu Akechi and Kage Hikaru. Whoever those were. I sighed and turned around. "Ah-!" How long was he standing there for? It was a boy who looked around my age. He wore a black beanie with purple locks of hair peeking out. A large black hoodie with jeans and sneakers. He also wore a black mask that covered that bottom part of his face. Exposing the sharp rose pink eyes that he had.
"S-Sorry," He mumbled, shuffling his feet. "I didn't mean to scare you. Akira isn't it? I saw you walk out that door."
"Yes," I said before asking, "Who are you?"
"I-I'm Kage. Kage Hikaru. The Ultimate Graffiti Artist.”
"Oh." I said, before glancing at the other doors after Kage's.
"What is this place?" I asked him. "And what are you doing here?"
"This is a hotel," He replied. "I think. I was going to my dorm."
"Dorm?"
"Apparently we have rooms," He explained. "I'm not sure how long we'll stay here. Actually...I don't remember how I got here."
"You too, huh?" I asked.
His eyebrows rose. "You don't know either?"
"Not a clue," I replied, with a shrug. "Anyway, who are the other doors for?"
"The other students," he answered. "Some are in this building and some are outside. I already introduced myself to them but…” He turned away. “I got really nervous each time.”
"Okay then," I said, trying to ignore the awkwardness. "Then I'll do that and we'll leave."
"About outside," He started. "There's a wall around the land."
"I'll see that for myself." I said before leaving.
The second floor had more dorms. I made my way down and found three people on the main floor.
There was a girl with long blond hair tied into a ponytail that swayed to one side. She had amber eyes and wore an orange crop top and shorts with socks and sneakers. "Wow, a new person, I am so excited!" She squealed. Before I could say anything she immediately introduced herself. "I am Hikari Ryuusei, the Ultimate Motivator! How are you feeling today?"
"Strange," I answered. "You seem pretty hyped for a person who most likely doesn't know where they are."
She cocked her head to the side. "It's true, but it's always better to look on the brightside, right?"
"I guess."
"What's your name?" She asked, her head straight back up.
"Akira," I said. "Don't ask for my Ultimate, I don't know what it is."
She gave a nervous laugh. "That's weird."
"Yeah."
"Well, let's hope we can get along."
I glanced around. “Again? More security cameras?”
She laughed. “They’re everywhere. Just ignore them.”
Okay. I gave an awkward smile and turned to the next person. It was a boy with long dark brown hair and golden colored eyes. He had several silver earrings, necklaces, and golden bracelets with a silver watch. He wore rings on each finger, including the thumb. And he wore a simple gray shirt with a pair of jeans and black and gold boots.
"Hi," I started. "I'm Akira. My Ultimate is a mystery. What's your name?"
"I'm Kazuya Sakurai," He replied, before gently lifting up my hand. My ears started to ring. He kissed my hand softly. I was frozen. "K-Kazuya!" A girl with glasses and a formal outfit stammered.
Hikari giggled at me. "He did that to me too."
"It's the matter of being polite," He explained, before crossing his arms. "Don't worry, I don't find you suspicious. Just let me know if you need a piercing or piece of jewelry. I'm always here, as your Ultimate Jeweller."
"R-Right." I said, finally retrieving my voice again. Without a second thought, I turned to the girl with glasses. She had dark blue hair in a ponytail with a pen tucked in. She wore glasses, and was dressed as if she was interviewing someone. "You are?"
"Oh-right! I forgot to introduce myself," She started. "Well-then again, I am pretty forgetful sometimes. Oh no, I'm rambling again!" She sighed. "I am Hisoka Date. The Ultimate News Reporter."
Before I could say anything, a sudden whiff of something unpleasant came by.
"Does anybody else smell that?" Hisoka asked, her nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Like something burning?" Hikari asked. "Yep!"
"I assume it's from the dining hall." Kazuya said.
"I'll check it out." I said, before leaving the main area.
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I pushed open the dining hall doors. Black smoke was filling up the room. I heard a cry. "Ahhh! My cupcakes!"
I made my way through the black smoke and noticed the stove light flashed in red. I turned it off and put on some oven mitts to take out the tray of muffins that were black as coal. I dumped it in the trash and the sprinkler turned on. I was soaked, but at least I could see better. There was a girl who looked relieved. She had her hair tied into two low ponytails that were swirled and it was in light and dark shades of brown. She had a headband with a small cupcake on it and she was wearing an apron over a long dress with sprinkles on it. Once the sprinkler stopped spraying water, the girl rushed toward me."You saved me! Thank you so much!"
"What on earth happened?" I asked.
"I was just trying to bake cupcakes to ease off my stress from this strange situation, but I accidently let it in for too long."
"I see," I said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Yua Yona, the Ultimate Baker," She said, before sighing. "Look at the irony in that, I almost burned the whole kitchen."
"We should leave and dry ourselves a bit."
She nodded and followed me out of the dining hall.
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Well, that was exhausting, I thought, walking out the main doors of the hotel. I still need to meet more people. That's when I noticed two people who were looking like they were guarding the door.
"Who are you?" One of them asked. It was a man with a low voice and dark hair with emerald eyes. He was wearing a military outfit.
"Um,why are you guarding the door?" I asked.
"This dude keeps saying there's this demon looking black and white bear." The other person replied, scratching his head. He had orange hair and orange eyes with a bandaid on his nose. He wore a simple white shirt with cargo pants and runners.
"A black and white bear?" I asked. "You mean, a panda?"
"No, it's not a panda," The military guy replied. "It looks dangerous."
"What's your guys' name?" I asked them.
"Tsuyoshi Katsu, he replied. "The Ultimate Military Soldier."
"I'm Kenji Hinote," the other guy said. "The Ultimate Geologist."
"Oh. Hey, how did you get that bandaid?" Did he already injure himself?
"Oh, that," Kenji started, trying not to look embarrassed. "It was a really stupid thing. I threw a rock at the wall one time in anger and it bounced back and knocked me out."
"A rock knocked you out?" Tsuyoshi started. "Pathetic."
"W-Well, it was a big one!"
I focused on the huge letters written on the hotel. The Unnamed Hotel. Is this hotel abandoned?! What in the-? I decided to walk away from it. There were small houses lined up in rows. Only three of them. I wondered what they were for. I shrugged and headed to a building that was labelled, Fitness Room.
I opened the door and there were two guys there. I introduced myself to one of them which had a blue hat with brown hair sticking out of it. He wore lots of blue which matched his eyes. He had a small goatee.
"What's up? I am Haruto Saiko. The Ultimate Skater."
"Um...the ceiling?”
"Hah! I love it when people reply to it like that!"
"Okay, you can stop laughing now," The other guy said. He also wore a hat which was black and it had an E with a symbol of lightning on it. He had silver hair and bright eyes, with black and white clothes and ripped jeans. "The name's Hideki Gushiken. The Ultimate Electrician. Nice to meet you!"
I waved. "So I'm assuming that you talked to everyone already?"
They nodded.
"You still have more people to talk to right?" Haruto asked. "Be careful with Akemi. She's quite harsh."
"Really?"
"Yeah. She's mean."
"She's not mean, Hideki said, scratching the back of his neck. "She's just immature."
Immature, I thought. I'll keep that in mind.
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Found her outside. When I heard immature, I imagined a child. Akemi Ezura was pretty short. She had shoulder length blue hair with a bun on top. She had violet eyes and was dressed as if she was going to the spa. Which was quite close since she said she was the Ultimate Cosmetologist.
"Your looks don't intimidate me." She said.
"I wasn't trying to look intimidating." I said back.
"Whatever. What do you want?"
"Um. Nothing? I was just coming by to introduce myself."
"Well, at least I can tolerate your looks," She said, looking at her purple painted nails. "Unlike glasses," She giggled. "She looks like a pillar."
I didn't know what to say, So I just waved and walked away.
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"That's not loud enough for you?" I heard. It came from around one of the small houses. I followed the voice. It was from a girl with a huge side ponytail that was in a light shade of pink and huge headphones. She was talking to a guy with short light brown hair and jadestone colored eyes.
"No, no, it's loud." He cried, waving his hands.
"You're right!" She said in excitement. "Let's test it out."
"You don't have to do that!"
She inhaled deeply. But then stopped when she noticed me. "Oh. Hey. Didn't notice you there."
I stole a glance from the guy who now looked relieved.
"I'm Akira," I said. "You?"
"Isamu Akechi," She said with triumph. "The Ultimate DJ."
"Nice," I replied, before turning to the guy. "And you?"
"Oh me?" He asked, waving his hands. "I thought you didn't really care about who I was. I am Daisuke Abe. The Ultimate Psychologist."
I gave a nod. "Am I missing anyone?"
"You talked to Tsuyoshi and Kenji, right?" Isamu asked back.
"Yeah."
"Oh! If you haven't, talk to Aimi! She's a charm!"
"Okay. Um, where is she?"
"She should be inside the hotel. That's where I last saw her."
"Okay then."
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I wish there was a list of students, I thought in exhaustion. How am I supposed to know how many there are-The sound of a crash interrupted my thoughts as I fell back. Suddenly I'm on the floor. Argh...my head. I tried to focus on what was in front of me. There was a guy on the floor, sitting down and rubbing his head. He had lime green hair and that was wavy and the top. He was wearing a lot of green and he was wearing rectangular glasses. He made eye contact with me and immediately looked panicked. "S-Sorry! I didn't see you there," He stood up and went up to me. He held out his hand. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." I said, holding his hand as he helped me up.
Then I noticed that there was a flower pot that was tipped over and most of the soil fell out. "I'm sorry about your flower."
I tried to help pick it up.
He sighed. "It's okay. It usually gets ruined anyway."
"Hey, I don't think we've met before," I said, trying to change the subject. "I'm Akira."
"I'm Mizu Yukata," He said. "The Ultimate Gardener."
I let him know not to ask about my ultimate. He seemed okay with it and I helped with his potted plant. After that, I went back to searching for Aimi.
I assumed that she was in her dorm, so I knocked.
The doorknob turned and opened. There was a short girl with purple hair tied into two ponytails wrapped with ribbons in the shape of scissors. Her sleeves had cuts and her dress looked somewhat messy. "Are you here for a haircut?"
"No," I said. "It's just that we haven't met. I'm Akira."
"Aimi Ayano," She announced. "The Ultimate Hairdresser is at your service!" She ran her eyes all over me, as though she was going to judge me based on my looks. "Now that I think about it, You don't need a change in your hair after all. It looks so cool the way it is!"
"Thanks." I said, sheepishly.
"Have you met Ayako?" She asked. "She's so pretty and talented but she always stays in her dorm! Grr," She shrugged. "I mean, what can I do?” Then she gasped. “I have an idea. Introduce yourself to her and ask her over to my dorm."
"Uh, okay." That probably won't work, but I'll give it a go.
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Ayako's door was just a few doors away from Aimi. I glanced at the name labelled. Ayako Saisaki. With a slight hesitation, I knocked.
"It's open." I heard.
I opened the door. There was a girl sitting at a desk with maroon hair with red streaks, ruby red eyes And a mic in the shape of a music note. She was dressed formally and was writing. She looked quite busy, and I kind of regret even listening to Aimi.
"Can I help you?" She asked, not looking at me.
"You're Ayako right?" I started. "I'm Akira. I was thinking if we could hang out with a…" My voice trailed off. "A friend of mine." I finished.
Still not looking at me, she asked, "Did Aimi put you up with this?"
I froze, perplexed. "How did you know?"
"She keeps asking the others to ask me to hangout with me for her." At last she looked at me.
"Why don't you go then?" I asked.
She went back to writing. "Can't. I'm busy."
"Busy?" I asked.
"Busy writing poetry." She replied.
"Oh, you're a poet?" I asked. "That's awesome!"
I noticed a sudden hint of pink in her cheeks. "Oh-uh, no need to feel embarrassed."
The pink in her cheeks vanished. "Embarrassed. No. I hardly feel anything."
"What?"
"I lack emotion in my face," She explained. "As the Ultimate Poet, it is more preferable to express feelings on paper rather than on my face.”
"Oh. Okay." Feeling awkward, I waved and closed her door. I suppose I let Aimi know.
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Aimi said there were sixteen students, I thought. I've met all of them. But what do I do now? Just then, a sudden announcement occured. "This is your headmaster for the hotel trip. Please come to the main room in the hotel!"
Headmaster? I thought in confusion. School trip? I opened the doors of the hotel and everyone was there. I was at the back. There was a huge desk at the front. We all waited. Then, a bear jumped up and landed on the desk. It was half black, half white. It's right eye was in a strange shape and was glowing in red. Kenji gaped. "Tsuyoshi, you were for real?"
He facepalmed.
"Hello, I am your Headmaster. Monokuma! Welcome to the hotel school trip." The bear announced.
This is our headmaster? I thought.
"Uh, a bear is our headmaster?" Kenji asked.
"It looks more like some programmed robot bear." Hisoka said.
"Yes, I am your headmaster," Monokuma started. "Now let me tell you the instructions. All of you have an E-Handbook. It says the rules."
"I get that," Mizu started. "But...what's 'blackened'?"
"I'm glad you caught that!" Monokuma exclaimed. "This is a killing game. The blackened means the killer. The ones who kill to leave."
"Killing game?!" Hideki cried.
"What the heck?!" Akemi snapped.
"You're joking." I said, trying not to sound panicked.
"Not a joke," He said. "But before I explain about that I would like to talk about the places outside. As you probably have noticed, there's a fitness centre. And, there are three small houses. Those are research labs, they are themed to your Ultimate. Now, you'd probably think that this place is too empty. We'll that's because more will appear the more you kill! Every once in a while I'll give you motives that make you want to kill. Once someone is killed, we'll start a class trial. I'll explain the procedure once we get out first killing. Oh yeah, also. If you help someone kill you don't get any benefit. In other words, you won't leave."
"What is this?" I asked aghast.
"Like anyone would fall for your bullshit!" Akemi yelled.
"So the wall is to keep us from leaving?" Hisoka cried.
Monokuma nodded. “And, by the way, I know everything that happens here! That’s what the security cameras are for. So you can’t try to defy the rules.”
"But we can just call the police." Isamu pointed out.
"Hah, you can't depend on the police. Not when no one knows you're here and especially if you don't have your phone."
"I don't have my what?!" Isamu diggered her hands in the pockets of her skirt. The others struggled to find their phones.
Monokuma just giggled and announced before leaving, "Good luck on the killing!"
We all glanced at each other with worried expressions.
"This is a lie right?" Yua asked. "Killing? That's not possible."
"Exactly," Hikari said. "And we'll keep it that way," She gave an assuring smile. "I'll make sure of that."
"Oh, Hikari," Hisoka said in relief. "You're a lifesaver."
"Will you relax?" Kenji asked. "She didn't even do anything yet."
I wish I could relax, I thought. I could feel sweat rolling down my forehead. But how can I? When the point to why we're here was to kill?
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and then Add to home screen.