1.2 - The Search Begins

We knew that there was a large kitchen area connected to the bistro, so it was a short walk away for us. Barely an inconvenience, actually. Inside, we started to search everywhere for anything that could be used as a murder weapon. The kitchen was actually really exquisite, almost like something I would expect to see in a five-star restaurant. There was a large kitchen island in the middle, beige-colored, with several different pots, pans, dishes, a wide variety of glass cups, and some cooking materials at the very end. On the left side of the kitchen were the dark steel ovens, grills, stoves, some kind of indoor pizza oven, and many other things used for cooking. On the right side there were several white cabinets were kept lined against each other.

The kitchen overall was very well cleaned, as the floor was tiled with white marble and the walls were covered in a luxurious white plaster, too. We decided to search around the kitchen and see what we could find. Connor and I were searching the cabinets first. As we opened the door to the first one, we found that there was a large collection of knives on the first shelf in a knife-holder. They seemed to be used for cooking, but as we took out the blades to see how sharp they were, it was no surprise that they seemed very dangerous.

Connor: "Damn. These knives are extra sharp. Someone could easily kill someone else with one of these. We better find out what to do with them."

Hiroshi: "Good call. We can't let anyone sneak these things out of the kitchen."

We carefully put down the knives on the kitchen island before we searched through the rest of the cabinets. There were many different things that we found. For example, we found a large blender, soup ladles, a few other blades, and mostly just a bunch of other things you'd expect to find in a kitchen. Mariko, on the other hand, found a stash of sharp, iron skewers when she was exploring.

Mariko: "I found these sharp skewers in the back. These definitely could be used in a murder. Where do I put them?"

Hiroshi: "For now, make sure to put next to the knives on the kitchen island, then we'll let the group decide what to do with them."

She did as Hiroshi said and carefully put the skewers next to the knives. Kanon was in the back of the kitchen, taking a look at the wide variety of food and cooking ingredients in the back. She was counting how much there was, probably to see how long this stuff would last us for.

Kanon: "Hey, I got good news for you all. It doesn't look like starving to death will be an issue here. From what I can tell, Monokuma's practically got enough food in here to feed an army."

Mariko: "Yeah, but I bet that food is going to run out eventually, you know. Even if we don't participate in the killing game, that food is only going to last us so long."

Monokuma: "Ah, silly! Don't worry about starving to death!"

Out of seemingly nowhere, Monokuma appeared in front of the kitchen. We were all startled because we didn't expect him to just appear like that. He went on.

Monokuma: "Sorry about that! Didn't mean to startle you! Just so you know, I have access to everywhere in this school environment, so don't be surprised if I happen to show up every now and then! Anyways, the amount of food in here is restocked every day according on the amount of food that you consumed the day prior. Like I said before, we've got a massive budget, so you'll be able to have access to the most scrumptious and delicious foods around!"

Well, at least we won't have to worry about going hungry while we're here, then. Monokuma didn't want to waste any more time, so he quickly got to the point.

Monokuma: "And in case you're wondering, yes, I can even serve you up some of the most exquisite delicacies that we have! I may not be the Ultimate Chef, but I can assure you, I have culinary skill, mais oui! So just ring the bell on the counter if you're tired of any of the cafeteria food or want to order anything from the cafe. Later, kids!"

The bear quickly ran out of the kitchen door, away from our sights. Finally, that stupid bear is gone. It's his fault we've all been put into this crazy game. By the time we checked the rest of the kitchen, we already found most of the suspicious looking items and placed them together. We didn't really know what else to do in the meantime, so we figured we'd get to know each other a little better first. I know we've at least introduced ourselves, but I don't think we really know THAT much about each other. So we four left the kitchen and regathered in the bistro at the middle table to talk each other.

We took turns asking questions about each other. I asked the first question.

Hiroshi: "So, Connor, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. I know that you're a transfer from America, but what made you want to come to Hope's Peak, anyway?"

Mariko: "Yeah! Tell us, what's it like living in America?"

Connor seemed a little hesitant before he answered back.

Connor: "Normally, I'd have stayed back with my recording label, but I heard that at Hope's Peak, I could learn to grow and improve my abilities as a lyricist, and maybe even get my music more well-known, so I decided to go ahead and check it out for myself."

Hiroshi: "So, I guess you did like it, huh?"

Connor: "Listen, Hiroshi, I'm here because I feel like I can improve my capabilities and perfect my talents. In fact, I've even made some collaborations with some of the other Ultimate music students."

Kanon: "Oh, really? Like who? Tell me!"

Connor: "Well, there was this one time I made a song with some girl named Sayaka Maizono and her pop group that got a little popular. She seemed kind of hot, not gonna lie. There was also this other time I tried to make a collaboration with a different girl, I can't remember her name, though, but it didn't work out because she was more into rock, and our lines of experience were very different. She was really hyper, and I mean it, like, really. She was just full of energy."

I was kind of in disbelief. You seriously performed with Sayaka Maizono herself? THE Ultimate Pop Sensation? Unbelievable. I'm not exactly a big fan of her music, but I do know that she is quite popular. Lucky guy right here.

Connor: "Alright, I've talked enough. Now how about we find something out about you three?"

Kanon decided to go next.

Kanon: "I'll go. Besides, I've got a lot of interesting stuff to talk about. Okay, what do you want to know about me? How about you, Hiroshi? What do you want to know about me?"

She gave me a very cute but naughty smile, so I tried my best to respond calmly.

Hiroshi: "Well...tell me about what you do in your street races?"

She seemed very eager to respond to me.

Kanon: "Sure thing! Back home, I usually participate in many high-stake street race events. It's a dangerous life if you don't know what you're doing, but my older brother taught me everything to know when driving. There's a lot of crazy shit when it comes to street racing. Really gets my adrenaline pumping!"

Hiroshi: "Wait a minute. I just realized something. Isn't street racing illegal-"

Kanon: "Damn straight, pretty boy! That's why I do my best to avoid any local authorities on the streets. I'm telling you, the feeling of driving around the city at over fifty miles an hour through the streets feels amazing! It's dangerous, though, I've had experience. There was this one race where I was trying to cut around a street corner, but I was going so fast that I couldn't turn in time, and I ended up crashing into the side of a building. The car was badly damaged, and I got a concussion, and a few other burn marks."

Hiroshi: "That sounds incredibly risky! I mean, I wouldn't have the guts to do anything like that."

Kanon: "Eh, that's how I roll. Besides, after a few weeks, I was just fine. My favorite sports car I own is my purple Ferrari J50. I've won a good amount of races with that beauty. I think you'll find that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

Hiroshi: "Yeah, no kidding."

Ka: "Anyways, what about you, pilot girl? What's your story?"

Mariko wasn't exactly in the mood for talking, but she joined in anyway.

Mariko: "I've trained in the Air Force, you know. And it's intense. Having to pilot a fighter jet across the sky when during war is one of the most intense feelings I've ever felt. But those cases are pretty rare. Most of the time I usually help fly in passenger planes or stunt planes, including helicopters while I'm at it. It takes a lot of skill to manage all of it."

Hiroshi: "Interesting. So you can fly war planes and regular planes? Sounds very hard to do."

Mariko: "It sure is. But I can tell you now, soaring through the skies at speeds of over five hundred miles an hour is amazing. It takes incredible eye coordination to do properly, though. Thank goodness that I have that, though. It really comes in handy for me."

Kanon: "So how about you, Hiroshi? Tell us about yourself."

Oh, me? Okay, I guess I'll just go now.

Hiroshi: "Well...there isn't really too much interesting about me. I'm just enrolled in the Reserve Course, you know. I mean, there are some things I've done that are interesting, but compared to you guys, I'm practically nobody."

Connor: "Wait, I'm still confused. What's this Reserve Course, exactly?"

Hiroshi: "It's a separate branch at Hope's Peak where the kids without an Ultimate talent can go for an education for a high fee. Though I really wished I was enrolled in the Main Course. I know that I'm now technically the temporary Ultimate Lucky Student, but I don't really feel overly talented. I know I have special skills, but I know I'm not the best of the best."

Connor: "Hey, don't stress yourself about it. Back before, I used to be kind of like you. When I first started my career, people didn't take me seriously either. I didn't exactly have full faith in myself, either, too. But I was able to prove them wrong, and show them what I can truly do. And I'm betting, sometime sooner or later, you'll get that chance, too, Hiroshi."

We continued to talk about ourselves for a little while longer before we decided to check elsewhere around the academy, and meet up back at the bistro once we knew everyone was done. It seems that I've gotten a little bit closer to Connor, Kanon, and Mariko today. Really nice to know a bit more about them. We didn't exactly know where to go, though, until Mariko brought something up that caught our attention.

Mariko: "Hey, have any of us checked out the library yet?"

This school has a library? This is the first I'm hearing of this. Nobody mentioned this to me before. I was very curious.

Hiroshi: "There's a library here? How come you know about it?"

Mariko: "Easy. Yesterday, when I was getting bored, I decided to look around the school for a little while to see what I could find. After a while, I noticed that there was the entrance to a large library near the end of the science hall. Well, actually, those were the directions Mizuki gave me, anyway."

Connor: "She knows about this, too? And you didn't tell us?"

Mariko: "What? You all would've found out about it sooner or later."

Connor: "Look, I'm just saying, we need to be on top of things! If there's somewhere we don't know about, then we need to check it out immediately. We need to be sure what's exactly in this goddamn academy."

Hiroshi: "Well, we're not going to go anywhere if we keep arguing like this. Come on, Mariko. Just show us the way to the library and we can check it out, and report it back to the others, too."

Mariko: "You got it, Hiroshi! Follow me, everyone!"

We all followed her along the school, all the way down to the library area. The entrance doors were large and red, and when we went inside, we were greeted with an unexpected sight.

Inside, Mizuki was all by herself, reading a book, sitting next to one of the fine dark-wood tables in the library. I got to say, the area around here was massive. There were shelves filled with all kinds of books in here. There was also a large, golden chandelier that looked fancy in the middle of the room. The area was dimly lit, and I was just as confused as everyone else as to why Mizuki was here and not with her assigned group. Also, she didn't seem to notice us when we entered through the door. She seemed very focused on reading her book.

We quietly tried our best to walk over to her without disturbing her, since it was a library, after all. When we got to her, I tried to give her a memo that we were here.

Hiroshi: "Mizuki, what are you doing here?"

She took her eyes off of her book and looked back at us.

Mizuki: "Oh, hello, Hiroshi. I'm just trying to calm myself down by reading a nice book."

Connor: "So why the hell aren't you with your group? You were supposed to be searching the place for anything dangerous, right? Why are you here?"

Mizuki: "Well, technically, Atsuko and Tenmon got done with searching a bit early, so we decided to head off and do our own separate thing. I think Tenmon is talking to Atsuko right now. He didn't tell me where they were headed, though. I just wanted to spend some time here before I head back to report our findings to the group."

Mariko: "That's not the point. You shouldn't have just split up like that! We at least stayed together when we got here, but you just left the group! You know you have to cooperate, too!"

Mizuki: "Don't worry, Atsuko told me herself that it was fine if I came here. Besides, reading is one of the few things that calms me down when I'm stressed, because believe me, in a time like this, my stress has been acting up."

I don't know...even so, that wasn't the best move, Mizuki. You guys should've at least stayed together. There are plenty of people here I don't fully trust yet. I don't know who's going to turn on who. I spoke up.

Hiroshi: "So, what kind of book do you got there?"

Mizuki: "Oh, this? It's called 'The Portrait of Markov'. It's really dark, but it's a great read. Basically, it's about this religious camp that was turned into a human experiment prison...And then the people trapped inside have this trait that turns them into killing machines that lust for blood. But then the facility gets even worse, and they start selectively breeding people by cutting off their limbs and affixing them to--Oh, that might be a little bit too much of a spoiler..."

The book cover showed a large, ominous dark red eye. I don't know how that relieves stress for you, Mizuki. If anything, reading stuff like that's going to make things worse. But hey, if it works for her, then I'm fine. I didn't notice this at first, but Kanon was searching through the stacks of books to find something, but she was panting back and forth for something. I had no idea what she was looking for, and neither did any of us for that matter.

Kanon: "Damn it! Where's the young adult section? Or the horror novels? Hell, I'd be fine with a graphic novel or too!"

Mizuki turned to her.

Mizuki: "Oh, if you're looking for horror, it's right over there in the top left corner of the room. I doubt they'd have any comics in this library, anyway. Plus, if you're looking for any of those...fanfics, you're definitely in the wrong place. Don't get me dragged into that endless can of worms."

She shuddered when she said those last two sentences. Kanon seemed to take somewhat offense to that, and turned an angry look towards Mizuki.

Kanon: "And's what exactly do you mean by that stuff?"

Mizuki: "Come on, street rider. Most fanfics, or at least most of the fanfics I've happened to read, and trust me, I regret reading them, comprise of erotic fan-art or fan service. It has scarred me, and I refuse to associate with it. Besides, why should you care? You're supposed to be a street racer, after all. I wouldn't expect someone like you to associate with that...low tier creation."

Kanon: "I'll have you know there are plenty of good content creators out there, bitch! And just for the record: why do you assume that just because I like street racing, doesn't mean I can't like other stuff? I like to do others things, too, you know."

Mizuki: "Oh, you poor soul. You just can't see past it, can you?"

While those two argued back and forth very aggressively, we thought it was best that we get going. I certainly didn't want Kanon or Mizuki getting into a fight with one another, so Connor, Mariko and I tried to pull them away from each other. Besides, we were about to head back to the bistro to discuss what we all found, so it was no use staying here for now. I just hope those two can get along better. The last thing we need right now is for someone to get a motive to kill.