Prologue

Part 1
This is strange.. You’re pretty sure you just got to the school.. Hope’s Peak Academy. You blink a few times, trying to clear the fog from your head. Yeah, Hope’s Peak. You were going to be attending in the spring. You’d gotten a letter and everything. So why were you here, lying on the floor with such a headache?

You sat up and rubbed your eyes a little. Time to think. You got a letter of acceptance to Hope’s Peak… But the school year wasn’t starting yet. So what were you doing? You definitely remember going to the school…

Oh! That’s right! The school trip! Everyone in the 79th class had been invited to a ski trip at.. Well, at a ski lodge. Was that… Was that where you were? Maybe you fell asleep on the bus ride or something? You feel around the immediate area for your baggage. Huh? That’s strange. It’s nowhere to be found. Maybe it’s already been taken care of? You instead decide to look around the surrounding area.

People. A lot of people. How did you miss them??? At least they looked to be as confused as you are. Many of them are going through the same motions as you: waking up, searching for their belongings, glancing at each other with their confusion evident on their faces. You slowly stood and began to search the room more carefully.

Next to the front door are two large red couches. In the middle of the room is a stone fireplace, with a fire already burning brightly. In front of the fireplace sit two more couches, black leather ones this time. If this is a lodge, then, shouldn’t there be..? You spin around, looking for someone on the staff here. You do find the front desk, tucked away against some staircases that have been sectioned off, preventing anyone from going upstairs. There doesn’t seem to be anyone manning the desk.. You turn your attention back to the room, where other people have begun exploring as well. Some are checking the doors in the room, though none seem to be accessible. Not even the front door. Just what exactly was going on here? Eventually, everyone seems to have given up, gathering in the middle of the room in a bit of an awkward group, since there doesn’t seem to be anywhere else to go.

Now what?

Part 2
After having stood around for more than an hour, the students started to grow restless. Unlike the soft conversation that had previously filled the room, quiet murmurs of discomfort began to take over. Everyone reacted differently: impatience, anger, fear, confusion, but everyone was uneasy in one way or another. Yet it seemed that no one wanted to break the fragile mood in the room. The unease in the room only grew, and the students soon found out that there comes a point where too much of anything becomes unbearable.

“Argh! Enough of this! If they have called us here, they should have been prepared to receive us!”  Angela stomped seethingly over to the front desk, where a small silver bell sat. Immediately pressing it more times than seemed necessary, filling the air with the pealing of the bell.

“Angie, I don’t think –“  Hayate began to call out but he was quickly cut off by an unpleasant sound.

“Upupu.. Upupupu… Upupupupu..!”  The students looked around in confusion. Where had that sound come from? Was it triggered by the bell? Many questions filled their mind but they weren’t given a chance to wonder before they answered themselves. From behind the counter, as if on cue, a small shape leapt up onto the top of the desk. Everyone blinked in confusion. A… bear?

“Upupupu… Welcome to your new home! I hope you bastards like the snow, cause you’re sure gonna see a whole  hail  of a lot of it! Upupupu!!”

More confused looks. Was the bear… speaking?

“Hey! What’s the big idea? You’ve never seen a talking bear before? Well, you can get used to that too! After all,  I’m  in charge here! And just who  is  this gorgeous, wonderful bear, you ask? Well… I’m not telling!”

Silence.

“Tough crowd, huh… Well, I guess there’s no harm in telling you after all… I’m Monokuma! I’ll be your chaperone! Or maybe a more accurate way to put it.. Your chap- bear -one! Upupupu…!”

“What the hell is this?”  Sven challenged.

“Alright, alright. I can tell you bastards aren’t the smartest group of kids ever, so I’ll explain it nice and slow. You guys are now the participants in a Killing Game!”

If the group had been silent before, they were even quieter now. The general confusion in the room turned into genuine discomfort as they began to process what they had just been told.

“Killing..”  Lei Kun started, trailing off.

“Game?”  Koharu finished in a voice that was almost a whisper.

“What kind of chaperone would I be if I didn’t entertain my students? I wanna help you bastards have some fun, so I organized this Killing Game! All you have to do is murder each other! Upupupu!”  Monokuma continued to laugh at the class as they shouted out question after question.

“What do you mean?!”

“Killing?! Th-There’s no way!”

“This is just some kind of joke, right???”

“Nope! No jokes here! This is gonna be a fully fledged Killing Game! Recorded  and  televised! Just take a look above you!”  As everyone looked up, noticing for the first time several cameras and monitors suspended from the ceiling, Monokuma hopped back down behind the desk before returning after just a second, holding a box. He reaches in and pulls out some sort of device before tossing them to each individual student.

“You’re gonna wanna keep hold of these! These are your C-IDs! Your lifeline! Each one is tied to one of you bastards, so don’t go losing it! You’ll wanna pay extra special attention to the ‘Rules’ on there! If you don’t wanna get executed, that is! Upupupu!!”

“What the hell makes you think we’re going to play your  game, bear?”  Though intense, Fuyuki didn’t feel the need to shout.

“Oh, I dunno, maybe the fact that I’ll kill you if you don’t? Besides, where are you gonna go?”

“You can’t keep us here. I’m not staying  anywhere  with you  or  these idiots. Have fun with your stupid game, but I’m out.”  Without waiting to hear a response, Fuyuki turned on his heel and returned to the front door that he had previously been attempting to force open.

“I wouldn’t do that.. I  did  unlock the doors, since we’re ready to start.. But I think you’ll notice, leaving the resort is against the rules!”

“And I don’t give a  fuck  about your rules.”  The door swung open and Fuyuki stepped out into the snow without another word.

“Well.. I warned him! You guys can vouch for me! I guess he was just that eager to get himself killed... It’s not safe out there, that’s why I’m telling you to stay in here! Of course, it’s not gonna be safe in here either… Upupupu!! Well, that’s all I have for you for now! Go ahead and get started with the murdering, if you want! I’m ready whenever!”  With his parting remarks, Monokuma gave a small wave and hopped back behind the desk, disappearing back to wherever he had come from.

Part 3 - End
Though everyone was still uncomfortable about being thrust into such an unfamiliar situation, the monitors turned off shortly after Monokuma finished his announcement. The students stood around for a moment longer before gradually dispersing to go and check out the dorms they had been assigned. Kagari and Kanata were left in the lobby wondering if they really were meant to sleep on the couches.

“Uwahh..~ My mean brother… Making you sleep on these couches… Don’t worry! Magical Miracle Girl ★ Usami brought you pillows and blankets! I know it’s not as good as having a room… But hopefully you can deal with it for now!”  Monomi had popped up out of nowhere, dumping the items on the two before cheerfully waving and disappearing behind a wall.

The two students were baffled but quickly realized that this was their reality. They curled up on the couches next to the fireplace, and before long, all the students were sleeping heavily after having had a long day and night.

Ding dong, bing bong! With a cheery chime, the monitors in every room flickered on, and Monokuma quickly appeared.

“Goooooooooood morning! It’s time to wake up! And before I lose your attention… You might wanna hurry down to the lobby to see what the cat dragged in… Upupupu!”

The monitors deactivated just as quickly as they had been brought to life. The students quickly began heading out of their rooms, without even getting ready for their day. As the students flocked to the stairs from the dorms, they heard an angry shout, which caused them to quicken their pace. As they came into the landing, they rounded the corner into the center of the room. They quickly figured out what had happened.

There, in front of the front door, lay the body of Fuyuki Moriyama, the SHSL Climatologist. He was covered in scrapes and scratches and his clothing was worn and torn. Bite marks and claw marks riddled his body and seemed to tear all the way down to the bone. There even seemed to be bullet holes..?! Near the couches stood Kagari and Kanata, the former seeming to be the source of the yell. Everyone was shocked, but this was nearly the first thing they saw when they woke up. Kanata was visibly distressed and Kagari looked to be quite shaken as well, and the others soon joined them in their reactions. Monokuma had even popped up to mock them.

“Upupupu… I  told  him it was for his own safety… Should have listened to your chaperone… At least none of you will make the same mistake, right? If you’re gonna go outside, make sure you don’t stray too far, or else you might meet your maker the same way Fuyuki here did! Unless you wanna go via animal mauling or machine gun, I suggest you stay on the lodge property! Upupupu! Oh, and speaking of animals…”  Monokuma indicated the body, next to which laid an orange tabby cat, wearing a small purple toque and sweater.

“Guess you guys found your team leader after all! Upupupu! Alright, have fun while I clean up this mess… Jeez, the things I do for you bastards…”  Monokuma walks over to the corpse, dragging it out the front door by the feet. As he leaves the building, he shouts back to the crowd:

“You’re free to do whatever you want now! Explore or kill each other or whatever! Just follow the damn rules!”