Welcome to Despair's Peak Academy!

Waking up with heavy eyes and drool dripping from his mouth, Koutarou lifted his head and began to face the emptiness for a while, waiting for God return his soul to the body.

After recovering the senses to the point where he could analyze his surroundings, Koutarou wiped the drool on his mouth and realized he was in one of the room's of the Hope's Peak Academy.

As in the work, the windows were sealed with thick iron sheets and cameras in each corner, he did not bother to analyze the room much more.

"How problematic..."

Koutarou started looking for something, until he finally found what he was looking for: the "welcome" paper with notice of the meeting time in the lobby at 8:00 am.

Pausing for a moment to look at the clock above the blackboard, Koutarou realized it was still 07:10 am, so it was still too early to meet there.

Leaving the classroom, he observed the surroundings of the corridors and quietly started walking around, in order to familiarize himself with the place.

Despite recovering his memories of the anime, for very vague parts that he did not pay attention to, as the structure of the building, it was especially difficult to remember.

The ground floor is separated into two main parts; the dorm and the school area.

The living room contains 16 bedrooms (one more than in the work, probably due to the insertion of Koutarou), a trash room with an incinerator, toilets, a substantial storage room, laundry, a shared bathroom, swimming pool and sauna, and a large dining room attached to a service kitchen. The bathroom appears to be the only place without cameras, probably because steam would interfere their visibility.

The school area on the ground floor contains two classrooms (1A and 1B), an A/V room, the school store, an infirmary, bathrooms (although there was one in every bedroom), a data center, the entrance to the building (which was sealed off by a large vaulted door) and the entrance to the gym.

Analyzing each available corner cost Koutarou a long time and, without realizing it, it was already 7:50 am, with ten minutes to go to the meeting in the gym.

Thinking about it, he decided to go to the gym and wait for the start of the show that Monokuma planned to create, but when he got there, he realized that some people were already present.

'Ishimaru, Kirigiri, Byakuya, Ohgami and, surprisingly, the lazy Hagakure.'

Noticing the arrival of one more student, they all turned to cast a look towards Koutarou, who just smiled in a relaxed way until Ishimaru took the initiative to speak quickly.

Ishimaru: "Oi! Are you also a student at Hope's Peak Academy? I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru."

'You should change that name to Despair's Peak Academy soon...'

"Hello, Ishimaru-kun. I'm Koutarou Kajiyashiki, I can't remember how I got here, only that I suddenly woke up in a room."

Ishimaru: "Hoh! So you are also in the same boat as all of us."

Ishimaru nodded in understanding, for which Koutarou just shrugged his shoulders.

Ishimaru: "Anyway, the notice mentioned that everyone should meet at the gym at 8:00 am, but people are still missing. We will wait for them."

Koutarou nodded in agreement and withdrew to Ohgami's side. Despite her intimidating appearance, Koutarou felt that she was someone quite loyal, despite having been forced to be a spy by Monokuma, which was proven after her suicide.

"Hello, you must be Ohgami Sakura-san, right?"

Ohgami: "Hmm? You know me?"

Ohgami's voice was hoarse and even a little masculine, but Koutarou found it quite pleasing to the ears.

'Maybe I'm developing some kind of different taste... Just kidding.'

Koutarou mentally mocked himself as he answered Sakura.

"I watched your fights, 400 consecutive victories is no joke, it's not for nothing that you were invited to this academy, especially with your martial arts skills."

Koutarou was not lying, after waking up in this place, his mind was automatically flooded with memories of the previous body, and some of Ohgami's battle's were recorded in it.

Ohgami smiled briefly at Koutarou's appreciation, after all, due to her intimidating appearance, there were few who had the courage to speak to her so openly.

Ohgami: "Are you a fan of martial arts?"

"Uhn... I wouldn't say that I'm particularly a fan of martial arts, as I don't like fights, but I really admire the masters who dedicate their lives to that."

Koutarou started talking to Ohgami about his opinions of the martial arts, waiting for the others.

As time passed, more students began to arrive, which Ishimaru took the initiative to welcome as the good representative of the morals he is.

When Chihiro entered, Koutarou automatically fixed his gaze on him.

As the man of culture that he is, how could he not appreciate a cute femboy when it is bouncing in front of you?

Unfortunately for Koutarou, he didn't have time to interact with Chihiro when all the students gathered in the gym, except for Naegi who had just entered the door.

Koutarou could see that the poor boy felt a little intimidated by the "Ultimate aura" that each student exaled, especially being seen by everyone like that.

'Wait... Do I also have an Ultimate aura or something like that shit?'

Koutarou thought seriously, distracting himself from the discussion that would come between the students.

After some time of reflection, which made him thown away his previous thought to the back of his mind, Koutarou realized that he was being faced by Naegi, who seemed lost among so many people... Specials? I think that will do.

Koutarou waved at him with a smile and Naegi waved back, looking like she was going to speak to him only to be interrupted by Maizono Sayaka.

'He's so naive...'

Byakuya: "Until when are they going to talk nonsense out there? Let's talk about what matters soon."

The conversation was directly interrupted by Byakuya, the rich bastard.

Koutarou referred to him as a bastard because he didn't really like him as a person, especially after what he did to Chihiro's body in the work simply to "test" the other students.

Naegi: "What does it matter?"

Byakuya: "First, why is this happening? If it is someone else's doing, then who is it?"

Fukawa: "This is like a captivity..."

Junko: "Talking about that, where did my stuff go? And I miss my cell too."

Ohgami, who was at Koutarou's side, spoke.

Ohgami: "Mine's gone, too. So it was stolen?"

"Someone must have taken it from us while we slept."

Koutarou explained, to which Naegi asked.

Naegi: "But why would they do that?"

"Who knows..."

Koutarou just shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't just go around rushing things, or it would not be as interesting for the [Spectators] above.

Hagakure: "Don't be so discouraged. It's probably some kind of guidance that the college organized, don't ya think? That's what my Divination is saying!"

Hagakure exclaimed, picking up a crystal ball from who knows where.

Leon: "Really? Does that get it right?"

Hagakure: "I get 30% of my Divination right!"

Fukawa: "Only 30%...?"

The discussion was about to start again when a sudden squeak came from the auditorium on the gym stage, a strangely cheerful voice that disregarded the students' current situation echoed through by everyone's ears.

Voice: "Testing. Testing! You can hear me, right?"

Everyone seemed confused, but the owner of the voice completely disregarded the group's bewilderment and continued.

Voice: "Ehem... New students, I want to start the new years ceremony."

Hagakure: "Did ya see? These are the welcome from Hope's Peak Academy!"

Exclaimed Hagakure, convinced.

Kirigiri: "No, it isn't that."

Naegi, who was close to Kirigiri, seemed in confusion when she refuted Hagakure. Then, when a suspense song started playing in Koutarou's mind, a half white and half black teddy bear jumped out from behind the bench on the stage, leaving everyone more perplexed than ever.

Naegi: "A teddy bear?"

Monokuma: "It's not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma! I'm the director of this school, it's a pleasure."

Hifumi: "Arrgh! The teddy bear has moved!"

The fat man exclaimed, which made Koutarou wonder if this was something really strange that required such an overreaction.

Monokuma: "I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma! And I'm the director of this school!"

Naegi: "Director?"

Monokuma: "Yes, right. Let's get started. Stand up! Bow! Good morning, guys."

Said Monokuma, to which Ishimaru bowed, responding seriously.

Ishimaru: "Good Morning!"

Fukawa: "Don't answer the bear, you weirdo!"

Monokuma: "Eh, talented high school kids like you are the hope of the world. And to take care of that wonderful hope, you will live the rest of your high school lives just inside this college."

All: "Huh?!"

Naegi: "Wait—"

Junko: "What the hell?!"

Naegi looked like he was going to ask something, but Junko interrupted his.

'Don't worry, Naegi-kun! When everyone starts to die, no one else will interrupt you!'

Koutarou thought playfully, though he dared not reveal his foolish thoughts.

Monokuma: "Eh, well, about the period of your high school life... It doesn't exist! In other words, you will have to live here forever!"

Monokuma exclaimed excitedly, while his small body danced on top of the bench, again disregarding the students' surprise.

'Tsc, tsc, tsc, what a terrible director he is...'

Leon: "W-how so?!"

Chihiro: "To live here... forever?"

Monokuma: "But don't worry. We have a lot to offer, they won't be missing anything."

Maizono: "Wait a minute! Is not it—"

Junko: "Hey, that's a lie, isn't it?!"

'It looks like Maizono will have the same fate as Naegi from now on.'

Koutarou remained in silence the entire time, as this was the beginning of the Killing Game and practically a prologue for everyone else, so he didn't have to interfere a lot.

Naegi: "It can't be! Those iron plates in our class were to arrest us?!"

Monokuma: "That's right. No matter how much you shout here, no one will come to help you."

Celestia: "If that is true, it is a problem... It is impossible for us to live forever in high school, after all."

Monokuma: "Ehem! So, there is a special rule for people who want to leave this school."

Byakuya: "Rule?"

Monokuma: "The act of killing."

Monokuma jumped off the bench and made a triple mortal in the air as he continued his explanation.

Monokuma: "Only the student who kills someone will be able to leave here. It's a simple rule like that! Beatings, stabbing, decapitation, crushing, suffocation, strangulation, dismemberment, shooting. Upupupu."

Taking a salmon from who knows where, Monokuma continued his speech while the fish thrashed in his plush arms.

Monokuma: "That feeling of the heart jumping... It's like a salmon suddenly starts attacking humans."

Throwing the salmon away, he turned to face the students with his bright red eye.

Monokuma: "A hopeless situation where the world's hopes are going to be killed. It's just too exciting."

Not to mention that he seemed really excited... To the point of sweating, even though he was a teddy bear, lefting Koutarou perplexed.

Leon: "Is this serious?!"

Maizono: "Why do we have to kill ourselves?!"

Hifumi: "This, this! Don't talk about this idiocy! Lemme go home soon!"

Monokuma: "Idiocy? What are these idiocy?"

'Oops, Monokuma has entered berserker mode...'

Koutarou thought when he saw Monokuma walking among the students, who opened the way like Moisés opening a path between the waters.

Monokuma: "Listen well. From now on, this college is your home, your life, your society and your world. We will let you do what you want, so do everything!"

Owada: "Do you want us to kill ourselves? Your stupid pranks are going too far!"

Exclaimed Owada, who blocked Monokuma's path.

Monokuma: "Stupid joke? Are you talking about your hair?"

Owada: "Urgh! What did you say, you little shit?! I don't care if you're a pet with a radio, I'm going to stomp you all over!!!"

'It's interesting how Chihiro managed to create a strong brotherhood with a hot head as Owada...'

Monokuma: "Wuaah! Violence with the director is against the rules!"

Exclaimed Monokuma before his left eye flashed red and a repetitive sound started to echo from his body.

Owada: "What is that noise?"

"Eh... You should throw this out, it's probably a bomb."

Koutarou warned him while shrugging, interrupting Kirigiri who was going to say something similar.

Owada was skeptical about what Koutarou said, but he still threw Monokuma with all his strength away, whose body then exploded, causing a deafening sound.

Cold sweat fell from Owada's body after realizing the danger of his near death, causing him to thanks Koutarou mentally.

Naegi: "What the hell was that?!"

Owada: "It... exploded!"

Chihiro: "Did the teddy bear die?"

"He wasn't alive. It's probably some kind of robot with a self-detonating device with detecting movement, controlled from somewhere in this building. Still, to have such a advanced technology, it's quite impressive."

Koutarou replied Chihiro.

Chihiro: "Eh, do you know about it? And how do you know there is a motion detector?"

"Nah, probably not as much as you are. As for how I know about it, it's simple to deduce that the controller of this robot is staying somewhere in this school, so a remote-activated explosive would be inconvenient because if the controller lost the control or fell into our hands, it would have no more power."

Monokuma: "Hmm, your mind is very fast, as expected from the Ultimate Critic. And again, it's not a teddy bear, it's Monokuma!"

Everyone turned to see how another brand-new bear emerged from under the counter.

Monokuma: "This time I will let it pass just as a warning. But if I find someone acting against the rules, I will activate a brutal corporal punishment like the one you saw."

Said Monokuma, threatening them with his non-threatening claws.

Monokuma: "Okay, okay. The entrance ceremony is over now. Enjoy your quiet and macabre high school lives, please!"

Monokuma said goodbye to everyone, waving his hands, disappearing under the counter.

Celestia: "So, by killing someone from here, someone else can leave, right?"

Ishimaru: "This absurd story..."

Chihiro: "Hey... This is a lie, isn't it?"

Koutarou observed everyone's skepticism, including Chihiro on the verge of tears.

Byakuya: "Huh! The problem is not if it's a lie or not. The problem is if someone among us believed in this story or not."

With Byakuya's words, an exchange of suspicious glances followed, without realizing that the seed of despair planted by Monokuma had already begun to have an effect.

And so, this fantastic collegial life of continuous murder began.