Chapter Text
Kzzzrrrt!~
“Testing- testing! AHEM- Is this thing on?”
Makoto groaned, a dull pain throbbing in his mind as he forced himself awake. He opened his bleary eyes to an out of focused view of his bedroom. What happened? He didn’t remember coming home yesterday…. He had been at the store with his mom… they were trying to hurry and make it back before-
“This is a school announcement!”
School Announcement? How was he at school? School had been cancelled-
“If everyone could please make their way to the gym at their earliest convenience- we have a LOT to talk about!”
… This wasn’t his bedroom.
Fear shot through him like lightning, he was not in his room. Not his home. Not his bed.
He flung the blanket off himself and stumbled over onto the floor, a dull pain shooting up his nerves at the impact as he tried to observe the mostly empty bedroom he found himself in.
A strangled scream caught in his throat as he shakily pushed himself against the back of the bed, his attention snapping up at a monitor hanging from the ceiling as a voice spoke through the static filled screen again.
“Oh- and not to be too pushy: but ‘at your earliest convenience’ actually means now. Puhuhu~ I just HATE waiting!”
Kzzrrt!
The screen abruptly went black, leaving Makoto fumbling over his own fears alone in his room.
Not his room. A room. He was not in his room.
With an uncertain breath, he lifted himself to his feet, using the bed to steady himself. He tried to calm down, have a rational thought or two before he could muster the courage to leave. He needed to focus on the facts:
He was in an unknown location, being spoken to by an unknown person. Off to a bad start, but okay.
He was still in his clothes from when he went shopping with his mom, but that pocket knife she had given him for protection was no longer in his jacket pocket.
He seemed to be safe, he wasn’t strapped down or trapped. He was just in a bedroom. A weird but mostly normal bedroom with a weird monitor and bolted metal over the windows-
Bolted Windows?
Makoto stared at the metal for what felt like an eternity, a deep sense of dread filling him as horrific ‘what if’s’ began clawing at his brain. He numbly backed towards the door, suddenly staying here felt suffocating. he fumbled with the doorknob and nearly tripped backwards into a hallway.
Someone suddenly cried out, he turned on his heel just in time for someone to throw themselves onto him.
“Oh thank GOD another person!” Arms were wrapped around him as he was forced into a frantic excuse for a hug. Blue hair covered his vision for a moment as whoever had grabbed him exhaled a shaky laugh of relief into his jacket.
“I- uh-“ he fumbled for words, head still throbbing and body still numb with shock. “Did you just wake up here too?”
The person released him, backing up a bit to reveal a girl around his age. Long, blue hair fell down well past her shoulders, she reached up to tug at a strand as she cleared her throat. Her panic finally settled down enough for her to smile at him, the smile was almost familiar.
“Yeah... I woke up in that room just now with the announcement. I- I’m surprised you couldn’t hear me screaming.” She laughed nervously, panic surging across her face again for just a moment. “Uhm. I mean… I- I’m Sayaka.”
Makoto blinked through his migraine.
“Sayaka… Maizono?”
“Yeah, why?” She tilted her head. And Makoto felt just a fraction of the fear ease out of him.
“I’m Makoto Naegi- didn’t we used to go to school together?” He couldn’t help but flinch as she gasped, relief and recognition in her smile as she grabbed his hands suddenly.
“Yes! I remember you! You’re the one who shooed that huge bird away from the lake! It was a crane- right?”
That had been years ago, before she moved onto bigger things- before the riots started, too. Birds never even showed up around Makoto’s hometown anymore, his parents always said the gunshots must’ve scared them away.
“R-right, yeah. I’m surprised you remember that.” He would normally be insanely nervous holding hands with a girl- or anyone, really. He wasn’t usually a fan of physical contact… But right now this fraction of normalcy was practically a lifeline. “Do you… have any idea where we are?”
Her smile fell, her grip on his hands tightened. “No. I just woke up in my bed. I-I have no idea where we are.” Makoto’s own fear bubbled up again at the way her voice hitched while she talked.
“Then I suppose that makes three of us.”
Both of them startled at the voice, turning to see another boy walking towards them. Blue eyes stared coldly at them from behind his glasses, his appearance was a stark contrast to both Makoto and Sayaka at the moment. They were both disheveled from their panic filled wake up- he looked perfectly situated. It was like this was nothing to him.
“You have no idea where we are- but do you know why we’re here?” He crossed his arms at the statement, looking from Makoto to Sayaka and back again as he spoke.
“No…” Sayaka practically whispered, moving one hand to push her hair from her eyes and keeping the other firmly clasped in Makoto’s own. “Do you?”
He was quiet for a minute, Makoto could’ve sworn he saw fear in his eyes as he glanced away at the wall.
“I have my suspicions.” He answered curtly. “Byakuya Togami.”
Oh. That was his introduction. Okay. Makoto held his free hand out for him to shake. He sort of looked European, this is what Europeans do, right?
“Makoto Naegi, nice to meet…. You?” He faltered as Byakuya walked right past them, continuing down the hall as tho they had never been here in the first place.
He and Sayaka stared numbly at each other, only moving again when Byakuya called back to them.
“There’s a sign that says the gym is this way. Hurry up.”
Makoto’s legs moved almost automatically, he supposed he had no other choice at the moment but to follow this new stranger. Sayaka hurried along beside him, he could feel her hand shaking in his, or maybe he was shaking- he couldn’t tell. They could both be shaking, the situation certainly called for it.
They caught up with Byakuya, trailing behind him as he proceeded down the hall, past several doors with… numbers? What was going on?
08, 14, 03… What’s with all these numbers?
…
Wait a minute.
He didn’t get the chance to look back and check his own door, anxiety buzzing through his veins with renewed force at the thought of what number might be on it. It was a hardly a thought, really, some terrified part of him already knew-
He wasn’t focusing on that. That wouldn’t help him right now, he was going to focus on things he could actually understand. There was another person up ahead- he could focus on that- someone standing next to a pair of closed doors labeled ‘Dining Hall’
His skin was almost as pale as the full white uniform he was wearing- it looked like a school uniform, almost, or maybe scrubs- his black hair a stark contrast to that. He didn’t notice them at first, tugging the red arm band off his shirt with a grimace; but when his eyes snapped up to see them Makoto nearly jolted at the bright red hue of them. Were red eyes normal? That didn’t feel normal.
“Ah, good- everyone is awake now!” His voice was loud, the smile that he seemed to haphazardly force onto his face was too cheery for this situation. The red band that had been around his arm was quickly shoved into his pocket as he hurried closer to them.
“Are the three of you okay? How are you feeling?” He asked, Makoto struggled to pull his focus from his eyes and onto his questions. “When I met Asahina earlier and she complained about a migraine.”
Byakuya regarded this newcomer with open suspicion, eyes glaring him up and down before answering.
“It’s bearable.” He responded for the group before Makoto and Sayaka could, “Who exactly are you?”
“Kiyotaka! It’s very nice to meet you, despite the circumstances.” He gave them a quick bow, before returning back to a stiffly straight posture. Makoto absentmindedly noted he had gloves matching the rest of his uniform as he continued.
“You can all call me Taka, if you’d rather, that’s my… nickname…” he trailed off as Byakuya stared every inch of him down. Red eyes flickering around the hall nervously before he cleared his throat. “We should hurry and meet with the others who have woken up.”
Byakuya seemed satisfied with that, once again resuming his silent trek through the halls of this strange new environment.
Taka stepped in pace with Makoto and Sayaka, his eyes now practically glowing in the bizarrely lit halls.
“We are being monitored…” he spoke softly to Makoto, who followed his gaze to the corner of the hall, A camera situated right at the top with a softly blinking light.
“Oh.“ Makoto’s voice wavered with fear. Sayaka didn’t seem to notice, her stare fixed pointedly at Byakuya’s back. Her expression was strangely neutral, almost determined- like someone who was trying to solve a math problem they’d been stuck on for an entire class period-
… that was a weird metaphor. He had more important things to focus on right now.
The gym doors loomed ominously before them, and Makoto couldn’t tell if the emotion that surged through him at the sight of new people was relief or more fear. He wasn’t sure it was a good thing for there to be more people here yet, not until he knew why exactly they were here.
A girl with dark skin and curly hair pulled back in a ponytail perked up at their arrival, “Oh- Taka, right? Is everyone here now?”
Byakuya walked past her, trudging into the gym alone. She looked to Makoto and Sayaka instead.
“I’ve been asking everyone and getting the same answer, but…” she began, a hopeful smile on her face despite the worry evident in her eyes, “Do either of you remember how we got here?”
Makoto numbly shook his head, Sayaka’s gaze went down towards the floor. The other girl’s smile turned sad. “I guess that makes sense. I’m Aoi, by the way. Aoi Asahina. Y-you can just call me Hina, if you want.”
“I think we should hold off on further introductions.” Yet another new voice spoke, a girl with long white hair walking up to them from the group she had just been with. She spoke to everyone who was lingering outside the gym’s entrance, voice calm and monotone.
“We need to move into the gym, until we know exactly who’s brought us here it won’t do us any good to stand around aimlessly.”
“So what?” A gruff voice challenged, a muscular blonde with a pompadour stepping forward to question her. “We just supposed to take orders from whatever creep was talkin’ through the TV?”
She seemed unbothered, no emotion crossing her face as she looked up at his scowl. “Unless you somehow already have an escape plan, it would be in all of our best interests to play along for now.”
He seemed ready to argue, but she turned on her heel and walked into the gym. The others gathered around the doors hesitantly followed, muttering amongst themselves.
Makoto jolted as Taka patted his shoulder before moving into the gym himself, and he allowed Sayaka to tug him along into the next room.
He was surprised at how many people had gathered, there must’ve been thirteen…. Fourteen of them in here now. All of them looking around at one another with gazes that varied from wariness to open suspicion. The tallest, most muscular human being Makoto has ever seen in his life spoke over the crowd.
Her voice was surprisingly gentle despite how gravelly it sounded, “Does anyone know why we’ve all been brought here?”
“I DO!”
The new voice startled everyone, turning towards the gym stage to see who had spoken. A trap door suddenly opened from the floorboards, and out popped the black and white figure of a stuffed bear, sitting cheerily on the stage’s podium.
“Is that a t-t-toy?” A girl with glasses and long braids asked hesitantly.
“A toy?” Everyone gasped as the bear on the stage suddenly spoke, stomping animatedly over to the edge of the stage. “A TOY??? I assure you all I am NO silly stuffed play thing!”
It- he? Makoto wasn’t sure yet- placed one paw proudly on his chest, the other reaching up to the sky. “I am your new caretaker, authority figure, life guide, and educational overseer! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves with all the formalities and titles- I… am Monokuma!”
There was a pause, Monokuma’s arms lifted above his head like this was some grand reveal. Finally a boy with piercings and red hair spoke what everyone was thinking.
“… What the hell?”
“Now then!” Monokuma continued, waddling along the edge of the stage with a satisfied hum, “I’m sure you all have many questions, concerns, anxieties, etcetera, but for now let me explain the basics!”
He turned to face them once more, now center stage. “You are all exceptionally special children! So special that this horrible, cruel world wants to take you and rip you to shreds!!!”
Makoto had forgotten about Sayaka holding his hand until it left, both her hands coming up to cover her mouth as the teddy bear continued.
“And we here at the benevolent institution of Hope’s Peak have rescued from that fate. To put it simply: You- my wonderfully weird little mutant children- were saved from the horrific clutches of the Future Foundation.”
That got a reaction from the crowd, Makoto felt a chill down his spine just the mention of the Future Foundation. What was once a shining beacon of hope in this world was now one of the main reasons it was hanging on the brink of another world war. Makoto had heard rumors just before his high school shut down about how they were the ones responsible for all the disappearances that had been growing in frequency, and it had already been proven that the strange machines that patrolled the cities at night were under their authority.
“Excuse me?” Byakuya was the one that spoke, eyes glaring daggers at the strange bear on the stage. “What do you mean by ‘exceptionally special’?”
Makoto couldn’t ignore the way Sayaka’s breath hitched, or how a smaller girl in a green shirt next to him suddenly grabbed at her own skirt nervously.
“Puhuhu~” Monokuma tilted his head, “I’m only telling you what you already know, Mr. Togami. Or should I say 78-10? That’ll help clear things up for everyone, right?”
Byakuya’s entire demeanor shattered- his confident air completely swallowed up in sheer terror as he glanced back at the others.
The room exploded into a cacophony of outcries. At Monokuma, each other, several of them immediately backed away from the group. Makoto’s hand instinctively went to the mark on his chest. He couldn’t bring himself to shout like the others, shock and confusion rendering him speechless as his fingers pressed down through the fabric of his jacket. He had seen his numbers a million times by now, it had become almost inconsequential in his mind after so many years of not knowing what they were. The only reason he ever had to think about it is when he had to worry about hiding it during gym class or something.
But now…..
“HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW-“
“Who are you?! How’d you find out?”
“We’re g-g-gonna die here!!! I always knew this would ha-happen eventually!”
Monokuma raised his hands to silence everyone. “ENOUGH!”
The room went silent, Makoto’s panicked mind filled with the thudding of his own heartbeat as his fear muddled in with his still lingering migraine.
“You’re all riled up!” The bear cackled, “Relax! You’re all safe here! In a way- this is like a homecoming!”
“What do you mean by homecoming?” A girl dressed in a goth Lolita styled outfit questioned coldly, some foreign accent Makoto couldn’t identify lacing her words. “I have never been to this disgusting place before.”
“Of course you have!” Monokuma argued, suddenly looking inquisitive. “Although I suppose I can’t blame you for not remembering, not after everything that’s happened since then.”
The bear continued, pulling a beige envelope from behind him- ominously labeled EXP. 78. “You all have a sweet little personalized tattoo, don’t you? Most of you should have seven, eight, and your own personal designation on them!”
Makoto furrowed his brow at the phrase ‘most of you’, his hand slipped down from where he had subconsciously covered his, 78-07… So he was seventh? There were fourteen of them here. Was this… all of them?
“Experiment Seventy Eight was the culmination of over a DECADE of scientific progress!” Monokuma stored the file away wherever in the world he had been keeping it, “After the world was devastated by war and violence, the brilliant minds of Hope’s Peak Institute sought a way to protect people and put an end to all the horrible fighting that plagued humanity. They figured if they could make a force of exceptional individuals to keep the peace, maybe the violence and bloodshed could finally come to an end… or somewhat of an end, at least.”
“But unfortunately- as is humanity’s tendency: this brilliant innovation was cut short by small minded meddling and corruption! The subjects of Experiment 78 were released from testing and shoved off onto unknowing adoptive families- for the better or worse of how their enhanced abilities may develop with age- and Hope’s Peak Research Institute was shut down and ultimately absorbed by the dreaded Future Foundation… and all notes and information on the dear kids of 78, eventually rediscovered.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The red haired boy spoke up again, visibly nervous, almost shaking. “I’ve never heard of ‘78’ or any of this! This is insane!”
Monokuma hummed, sounding almost amused. “Leon Kuwata, 78-04.” He chuckled at the way Leon’s face blanched at the number. “Your adoptive father mistook your abilities for a natural athletic talent! Nothing could stand in your way, you were unstoppable! But it never felt right did it?”
The bear leaned forward. If Leon hadn’t been shaking before, he was now.
“It was almost too easy, wasn’t it, Leon? Baseballs, basketballs, arrows, knives!” Monokuma yelled the last word, the girl in the green shirt whimpered. “Doesn’t matter! You never missed. Puhuhuhuhu… and you never will. You’re a real wonder there Mr. Kuwata. It’s such a shame you had to leave us before you reached your full potential!”
Leon looked nervously around at everyone else, Monokuma went back to addressing the group.
“Starting now you will be spending the foreseeable future in the safety of Hope’s Peak! There are no exits, and explicitly NO contact with the outside world.”
The yelling started again, everyone’s panicked outcries blending into background noise as Monokuma ignored them and continued.
“Now I’m sure this will take some adjustment, I’ll leave you alone to calm down. Feel free to explore to your heart’s content! After all- you’re home now! We’ll be having another- hopefully calmer- meeting this evening, attendance is mandatory. And lastly: I have gifts! Personalized, digital handbooks for each of you! No need to thank me, the joy in your expressions is thanks enough. These tablets will get you into your individual rooms, and unlock certain areas of the school. Try not to lose them!”
He cackled again, disappearing through the same trap door he had come through.
No one could speak for a moment, the tension in the air so thick Makoto could hardly breathe.
Finally someone with long and wild dreads clapped his hands together, giving the group a lopsided smile.
“Welp….. breakfast, anybody?”
________________________
“Alright, everyone: I am officially bringing this meeting to order!”
They had moved slowly into the dining hall, met with one large table in the center and a few smaller ones scattered around. People had milled uneasily around, standing off by themselves or starting awkward conversations about the food in the kitchen.
Taka had set to work almost immediately, looking like a man on a sacred mission as he pushed a few additional chairs to the large table and corralled the anxious teens into the kitchen for food. They were all at the table now, nervously picking at the food they had found in the surprisingly well stocked kitchen.
Now he stood at the head of the table, gloved hands pressed against the table’s metal surface. No one seemed especially enthusiastic when he began speaking, but he carried on regardless.
“I’ll be the first to admit this situation seems grim, but we can’t lose hope! Until we know more about who’s keeping us here and what’s going on, I think it is of the utmost importance that we remain a strong unit together!”
There were a few grumbles in response, Leon was the one who finally spoke up.
“No offense man, but I don’t really think we count as a unit.” He gestured with his fork around the table. “We’re like… teenagers, dude.”
“Apparently weird experimented on teenagers...” Hina added, setting her donut down on her plate. She frowned down at the table. “D-did anyone else not know they were adopted?”
A few people shook their head, others looked down at the table. Makoto always knew he was adopted, his parents were open to any questions he had about the whole process. They could never answer anything about the number on his chest… his mom speculated that it may be customary from whichever country he had come from originally (His mom always assumed it was Thailand, his dad always joked that it was the moon). They had been trying to adopt for over a year before they got him, and it had all happened so fast they never got to learn about Makoto’s birth parents or anything about where he came from.
There was no way they could’ve explained all this, anyway.
“I always knew,” the blond with the pompadour spoke again from where he sat reclined in his seat. His legs had been up on the table, but Taka had swatted them away the moment he noticed the blond’s boots. “My brother told me. But I mean, I coulda’ guessed. Don’t look anything like my other folks’ pictures.”
“I-I guess I should’ve known.” The girl in green, who had shyly introduced herself as Chihiro in the kitchen, spoke. “It’s always just been me and my dad, I never really asked if I had a mom or not…”
“I knew.” Hiro supplied lazily, “My mom used to joke that I had been dropped off by aliens, heh….” His smile fell, “That uh… woulda’ been better than this, actually.”
“Since we could be here indefinitely, let’s focus on the positive for now.” Taka redirected the conversation. “I believe I woke up a bit earlier than most of you, and did some investigating before the announcement. There’s a whole warehouse full of supplies- I haven’t done a thorough inventory but I’ve already seen clothes, blankets, even medical supplies. So we at least know we’re being…. Well cared for.” He finished awkwardly, frowning a little.
“I am also fairly certain that the kitchen is restocked weekly, so we should have no troubles as far as food supply goes.” He continued, Byakuya raised an eyebrow at that.
“How exactly did you come across this information?” He questioned, a weird edge to his voice. Taka continued as though he had never spoken, but Makoto noticed the twitch in his smile.
“There’s also at least one more floor for us to investigate as well. So I recommend splitting into search parties later. But first things first:” Taka stood up straight, hands on his hips with an enthusiastic grin. “We should all introduce ourselves!”
The pompadoured punk scoffed, “What is this, daycare?”
“Your tone is not appreciated, Owada,” Taka retorted, “But… basically, yes. We’re starting over from square one in a strange new location. Getting back to the metaphorical basics seems like a great idea to me!”
His eyes locked with Taka’s, a confused and almost accusatory look on his face as he stared up at the paler teen.
“I think it’s a good enough idea,” The raspy voice from the big girl spoke from her spot next to Hina, startling Makoto a bit. “However, I don’t know if I’m comfortable divulging personal information where cameras can hear us.” She gestured with a nod towards the two cameras in opposite corners of the room.
“Oh, they can’t hear us in here.” Chihiro spoke up suddenly. “I didn’t think it was smart to mess with the video, but I disabled the audio function on the cameras when we came in.”
All eyes were suddenly on her, and she drastically faltered at the attention. “U-Uhm. I’Il go first, I guess.” She awkwardly stood, smoothing out her skirt and fidgeting.
“My name is Chihiro Fujisaki, uhm… My number was 78-15. I’ve known about my… ability for awhile.” She took a deep breath, like this introduction was taking everything out of her. “I’ve always been able to sort of manipulate machines. It started with things like turning them on and off, and after I practiced more I was able to sort of sense them- if that makes sense? I can read their code too if I can touch them…” she trailed off, awkwardly sitting again.
“Thank you, Chihiro. That was very brave of you!” Taka praised, Chihiro shrunk into her seat like she wanted to disappear.
“Who wants to go next?” He urged enthusiastically, trying his hardest to usher in some semblance of normalcy.
Hiro stood next, waving to the group. “Hi, I’m Hiro. Number 2. And I’m psychic.” The girl with braids scoffed, Hiro shrugged.
“It’s fine if you don’t believe me, a lot of people don’t. But to sorta clarify I guess I get visions about the future. Sometimes on purpose…” he paused, sitting back down. “Sometimes not.”
Taka nodded in response, Leon sighed in his seat. “This is unbelievable, man.”
The redhead stood, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “I mean, you guys heard what the bear said. I’m Leon Kuwata and I… I dunno man. I never miss. Ever. I’ve got perfect aim- I guess?” His tone was more confused than prideful, awkwardly scratching at the back of his head.
“Celestia Ludenberg.” The goth girl stood next, not waiting for Leon to sit back down. “I am what some refer to as an empath. I have always been able to sense other’s emotions. You may occasionally feel me reading your emotions. Please understand I do not mean to pry, it often happens instinctively.”
“What was your number?” Byakuya asked before she could sit back down. Her expression didn’t shift, but the tone of the whole conversation did.
“I do not see why it matters.” She blinked, like it was a challenge. Byakuya glanced up at her over the rim of his glasses.
“Humor me.” he responded, glancing around the room. “I’m trying to test something.”
“Eleven.” She responded curtly, finally sitting down.
“Why do you ask?” The big girl leaned forward.
Byakuya stood, “I am Byakuya Togami, I posses telekinetic abilities.” At Hiro’s confused expression, he rolled his eyes and clarified. “I can move things with my mind.”
“Like Star Wars?” A boy with glasses interjected excitedly. Byakuya ignored him.
“I noticed that Chihiro claimed her number was 78-15.” He spoke the number with disdain. “Does anyone here have a number higher than that?”
There were a few exchanged glances and murmurs, Byakuya continued. “If no one does, that means we’re missing someone. There are fourteen of us here, and apparently fifteen number designations. Given how thorough our captor was to collect all of us, it seems highly unlikely that they would simply forget someone.”
“How can we figure out who’s missing?” Hina asked, Byakuya removed a pen from his coat pocket.
“If someone could hand me a napkin, we can all write out names and numbers here and determine it that way.” It was more of a demand than a suggestion. The white haired girl slid him a napkin anyway and watched as he began writing.
The blond, apparently Owada, cleared his throat. “Well, I’m Mondo. Mondo Owada.” He grumbled, not bothering to stand, “Uh, 78-08, whatever, and I’m indestructible.” He grinned a bit, excitement seeping into the cracks of his hardened expression. “Ya may have heard of me by the name Crazy Diamond, though.”
“Crazy Diamond the vigilante??” Leon asked excitedly, “The guy that crashed his bike into a stolen armored vehicle and managed to avoid the cops catching him?”
Mondo nodded, obviously pleased with being recognized. Makoto felt a weird unease building in his chest… he was beginning to realize a huge gap between himself and the others.
“Oh! I saw you on the news once! You rescued that family from a burning building!” Hina added, Mondo was grinning wider now, almost looking embarrassed with the positive attention.
He seemed to realize this slip from his previous attitude, and quickly shifted in his seat, leaning forward with the scowl on his face he seemed to favor. “I ain’t the only vigilante in here though, right?” His eyes went to the muscular girl next to Hina. Who nodded.
“My name is Sakura Ogami.” She began, “I suppose I’m just…. Unnaturally strong. I’ve been using my skills to protect my home town for years.” She smiled, barely. “Although I never got a name as cool as Crazy Diamond.”
This got a few quiet laughs from the group, Byakuya glanced up at her.
“What was your number?” He asked curtly. Sakura leaned back in her seat, not seeming put off by his tone.
“Nine.” She answered, followed by a thoughtful hum, “I always wondered if there were more out there like me. I always assumed…” She trailed off, the girl with braids finished for her.
“Th-that we were dead, right?” She stuttered, fidgeting uncomfortably, “I-I always thought everyone else must be dead, and that they were g-g-going to find me next!”
“Well we aren’t dead.” Taka spoke up, ignoring the quiet mumble of “yet.” From Leon and continuing, “Why don’t you introduce yourself?”
She panicked, looking like she wanted nothing more than to run away and hide, “Why? What’s th-the point of all this anyway? I d-d-don’t owe you people any explanation!”
“Chill out, man,” Hiro tried to soothe her from the opposite side of the table, “Listen, we’re all mega stressed right now, we just gotta try and make the best of it.”
She glared at him, crossing her arms and sinking into her seat. “Toko. My number was 78-05… I’m just fast. Th-that’s all…”
“How fast?” Byakuya questioned without looking up from what he was writing.
“Really fast. Whatever.” She mumbled in response, looking down at her lap. The group moved on.
“Anyone else feel like introducing themselves?” Taka prompted, looking around the hopefully. Sayaka hesitantly stood up next to Makoto.
“I’m Sayaka Maizono, And I can sing…“
“Yeah no shit, pop star.” Mondo snickered. “I think we all recognized ya from the posters ‘n stuff. Your songs are on the radio all the damn time.”
She smiled nervously, “W-well I’m not talking about that. I can sing, um, really loud. Like… make someone’s ears bleed loud. Knock someone unconscious loud. Knock over an old building loud…”
She stopped short, her gaze distant for a moment, she quickly recovered with a sweet smile. “Oh- and my number was three. I always wondered what it was for.”
She sat again and nudged Makoto’s arm, prompting him to go next. Hina stood before he could protest.
“Like I said before you can all call me Hina,” She began cheerfully, but faltered a little as she continued, “And… My stuff isn’t really as cool as all of you guys. I’m just a little bit better at athletic stuff, more endurance- I guess? I can also hold my breath for like…. A couple hours.”
“That’s still really cool!” The kid with glasses insisted, “Ya know if I could be underwater for that long- I’d get a job at one of those underwater shows where people pretend to be mermaids.” He leaned on his hands, obviously daydreaming.
Byakuya cleared his throat to regain attention. “Your number.”
“Oh- sorry! Uh,” Hina pulled her sleeve back, letting Byakuya see the tiny numbers tattooed onto her wrist.
“78-06…” He wrote that next to her name, looking back to the boy with the glasses. “And what about you?”
“Hifumi Yamada!” He replied enthusiastically. “And I~ can shape-shift!”
Leon scoffed, putting his head in hands, “No way, dude. Listen, I know this is all like a crazy situation or whatever, but you can’t expect me to believe that- GAUGH!”
His scream startled everyone, he nearly fell from his chair when suddenly the chubby boy across from him became a mirror image of himself, smiling deviously back at the real Leon.
In a blink Hifumi had returned to normal, snickering at Leon’s utter panic before finishing, “Oh! And my number was twelve.” He also tugged his his sleeves back to show Byakuya. “I normally cover it up, but…”
Byakuya nodded, writing his information down and glancing at the white haired girl next to him.
“You. Go.” He ordered.
She hesitated, face showing some emotion Makoto couldn’t quite decipher before speaking.
“Kyoko Kirigiri.” Her voice was calm and quiet. “78-14. I can create fire.”
“Pyrokinetic abilities. Interesting.” Byakuya noted, and suddenly his eyes met Makoto’s
“Naegi. Your turn.”
Makoto tensed, a weird kind of stage fright he hadn’t felt since middle school hitting him full force. He sheepishly stood.
“I’m… Makoto Naegi. My tattoo says I’m number seven.”
“Oh!” Hiro perked up. “Lucky Number!”
Makoto awkwardly returned the grin, hoping it would help him through the next sentence.
“I don’t have any powers?”
Byakuya raised an eyebrow, like he didn’t believe him. Hiro’s smile turned into a thoughtful expression that didn’t seem to fit his personality.
“Hm… maybe not lucky then…” the psychic mused quietly, Makoto could feel his face heating up. It was Taka who rescued him, his naturally loud voice getting the attention away from Makoto.
“There’s nothing to look embarrassed about, Makoto.” He began, “I don’t have any powers either!”
“Really?” Makoto was relieved, grateful to not be completely left out in this situation. He ignored the feeling inside him that the other boy’s appearance was too… off for that to really be true.
“None at all! Unless a good work ethic counts as a super power.” He joked awkwardly.
“Your number.” Byakuya looked to Taka now, and the red eyed teen seemed reluctant to meet his eyes.
“I’m sorry?”
“Your number, Taka. You’re either one or thirteen and I need to know which so we can begin to figure out why someone is missing.”
Taka’s smile twitched, the corners of his mouth threatening a frown as he responded. “I don’t have a number.”
“What?” Sayaka asked, “You don’t have a tattoo like the rest of us?”
“I… have a tattoo.” Taka responded- carefully, it sounded too rehearsed- like he was trying to remember his line in a play.
“Then what exactly is it a tattoo of?” Byakuya was once again bristling with suspicion, the relatively friendly air they had all created in the room dissipating quickly.
Taka was quiet, his eyes flickering around the table as everyone awaited his response.
“You kids sure do ask a lot of questions!” They all jumped at the sound of the new voice, a string of panicked expletives escaping Mondo as Monokuma appeared from who-knows-where and climbed up onto the table.
“Why are you here?” Mondo groaned, moving his plate away as Monokuma began walking the length of the table.
“Well, when I noticed my cameras weren’t picking up any audio- I had to come see what you were talking about myself!” The bear turned on his heels, a claw pointed accusingly at Chihiro.
“I’ll have to keep an eye on you, Fujisaki.” He laughed, Chihiro let out a nervous squeak and sunk down in her seat.
“Now then! I was planning on saving all this numbers talk until tonight, but since you’re all such go getters-” He sat down in front of where Taka stood, the teen stepping back to avoid the bear. “Go ahead and ask me all your silly questions, we’ll see which ones I feel like answering. Puhuhu…”
“Why are we missing two people?” Byakuya demanded immediately. Monokuma tilted his head.
“Huh? Everyone that needs to be here is here!” He replied in a cheery tone, Byakuya rolled his eyes.
“The numbers 78-01 and 78-13 aren’t here.” Byakuya elaborated, holding his napkin up to show the bear. “If Taka truly doesn’t have a number like the rest of us, it means we’re missing two people.”
“Yeah and why’s his tat different?” Mondo added, feet once again going up on the table now that there was a bear in between him and Taka.
“One at a time! One a time!” Monokuma waved a paw in the air. “To answer your first question: numbers one and thirteen aren’t here for one simple reason: They’re dead.”
“Dead?!” Hina exclaimed, Monokuma nodded.
“Sadly we were late in our efforts to rescue you, and two beloved little mutant freaks suffered because of it…” he put a paw to his forehead in dramatic fashion. “The Future Foundation rounded them up when they were just tiny little tots, they never stood a chance.”
Byakuya seemed skeptical, Mondo mouthed the word ‘bullshit’ to the group while Monokuma was distracted with his own theatrics.
“Now for your second question: The reason ol’ Kiyotaka has a different tattoo is simply because he’s different. I dunno what else to tell you.” Monokuma shrugged.
“Different how?” Kyoko asked as she looked back at Taka, who had moved till he was almost behind Sayaka.
“It’s not my business to tell you, sorry.” The bear shrugged, “Same as the rest of you- he was rescued before the Future Foundation could get their hands on him. I would say ask him yourself,” He turned to look at Taka, an insincere sadness in his voice. “But you can’t talk about it, can you?”
Taka visibly flinched, eyes squeezing shut like he was in pain for a moment before responding.
“No. I can’t.”
“Oh, what a shame….” Monokuma hummed, picking himself back into a standing position as Celeste asked another question.
“How can we trust that you are actually going to protect us?” She began, hands folded perfectly, “For all we know you could be working for the Future Foundation yourself- and this is all some elaborate way to study us.”
Makoto hadn’t even considered that, the fear from before began creeping through him again. Monokuma stomped his foot, appalled by the suggestion.
“Honey, if you had been found by the future foundation they would’ve ripped you open like a fish by now!” He snapped, Chihiro flinched at the sudden noise. “This may be hard for you all to accept- but you are safe here. I’ll see to it personally that they never get their hands on you.”
He flexed his claws to prove his point, which may have been intimidating from someone who wasn’t a foot and half tall.
“Uhm,” Chihiro spoke up suddenly, awkwardly raising her hand. “I have a question…”
“Go ahead, little one.” Monokuma prompted, claws retracted once more as he settled down.
“Who made you?” She asked softly, Monokuma tilted his head.
“Now that was a question I was not expecting!” He exclaimed, “I’m afraid I can’t answer though. There’s not really a straight answer, anyway.”
“Made him?” Mondo asked, about to add something else when Monokuma interrupted.
“I understand being curious about the mesmerizing mechanical marvel that is your new caretaker,” The bear giggled, “However I’m afraid information about my origin- and your own for that matter- are strictly CONFIDENTIAL, at least for the time being.”
“Can you at least tell us where we are?” Hina asked, “And why we’re here?”
“You’re in Hope’s Peak, A hospital turned research facility turned medical school turned old ruins.” Monokuma rambled quickly, “And most recently: turned safe haven for some of it’s original occupants! And I don’t know how many times I’ve explained that you’re here to be kept safe while the Future Foundation turns over the whole countryside looking for you.”
“They’re looking for us?” Sayaka brought a hand to her mouth, “W-what about the people we know? Our families and friends- are they in any kind of danger?”
Monokuma shrugged, “There’s no tellin’ at this point. Normally I’d say no but…. They’ve been a bit more bold lately.”
The group began to murmur amongst themselves, worry and fears for those they left behind seeping in. Makoto thought about his mom. How what may be the last time he’d ever seen her was on the stupid produce aisle at the grocery store. He may never see his sister again, never greet his dad when he came home from work, never just walk down his street because he was bored and couldn’t think of anything else to do while the world fell apart all around him…
“Now, now, don’t be so sad!” Monokuma tried to cheer them up, “Let’s focus on the here and now!”
“Okay, fine,” Byakuya moved a stray hair from his face. “What are we meant to do ‘here and now’ exactly?”
“Grow!” Monokuma exclaimed, paws raised over his head excitedly, “Become the shining young beacons of hope you were always meant to be! This place has everything you need to become the best version of yourself. That’s the way it was always intended, and now we’re back to see it through to the end!”
“Who is we?” Kyoko questioned quietly, Monokuma ignored her.
“Now I’m very busy, you know how it is, bears always gotta do something.” He hopped off the table, waddling off towards the doors. “I’d appreciate the cameras remaining unbothered so I can check in on you occasionally.”
He turned to give them one final wave.
“Enjoy your day, kids!”