Chapter Text
.........
.....Ngh…
...Ah!....
Kaede jolted awake, her heart beating out of her chest. She breathed heavily, reaching for her neck. She took several deep breaths until her heart and breath finally slowed down.The last thing she remembered was being hanged by the bear’s execution all while using her body to play the piano and then…nothing.
She fought back the spikes of panic, and soon after, she finally noticed her surroundings.
“Huh? W…where am I?”, looking around the room.
She noticed she was sitting down on a school desk in what appears to be a classroom. But this isn't a classroom she has ever seen, the windows were bolted and welded shut! She slowly got up, holding on to the desk. She slowly looked around the classroom, but outside the sea of desks, the chalkboards, and the windows, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Her fingers brushed against something smooth. A pamphlet made of notebook paper and written in crayon.
“Come to the gym!” the pamphlet said.
Using all her strength, Kaede tried to unscrew the window’s bolt, but it didn’t budge even slightly. Defeated, she reluctantly decided to head to the gym, familiar dread washed over her.
When she stepped out of the classroom… when a red-haired girl with the black camera strapped around her neck looked around the hallway, with her red-and-white checkered tie swinging around.
“No, not again,” the girl looked though her camera
“Again?” Kaede had tried to remember her name, but Kaede hadn't met her before.
“Um, are you okay?” Kaede asked the girl.
“No! I’m supposed to be….” the girl stopped herself.
Kaede couldn’t place it, but that felt familiar somehow.
The girl took a deep breath.
“I’m Mahiru Koizuma. The Ultimate Photographer".
“Ultimate!” Kaede eyes shot up
“Yes?” Mahiru turned her head, the bob tilting slightly
“Right! I’m Kaede Akamatsu. The Ultimate Pianist”. She wanted to ask more, but held off for now.
“Would you like to go with me to the gym?” Kaede asked Mahiru
“Of course!” Mahiru put down her camera and began walking with Kaede.
During their walk, Kaede saw two men exiting the men’s bathroom. A was a bald man with glasses wearing a serious expression, a buttoned down shirt and light khakis. He picked at his brown beard, flicking away debris. The Bald man kept glancing at the other man who wore a blue and white track suit with a blue vest held closed by a red-orange number 10. The man had his blue goggles which sat on top of his blue cap, but the biggest thing about him is his mustache. The mustache seemed to point in different directions horizontally in a perfect line. The bald man noticed us and the trackstar man followed.
The bald man was old but seemed ordinary, Kaede thought he could be a teacher of some sorts.
The bald man smiled, “Hello” . The bald man shook both Kaede’s and Mahiru’s hand.
The bald man introduced himself, “I’m Walter White, The Ultimate Chemist ”. This man to my left is…
The blue man smiled and loudly said, “I’m Sportacus, The Ultimate Athlete. " Sportacus did a triple backflip and triple front flip immediately afterwards.
“Whoa!” Kaede was shocked at what she saw.
“Name Please? Sorry, teacher’s habit!” Walter chuckled. Sportacus chuckled too.
“I’m Kaede” she said. “And this is Mahiru.” Kaede pointed to Mahiru.
“We’re heading to the gym, would you like us to walk with you?” Sportacaus offered.
The four headed to the gym and opened the doors, inside they saw twelve other people.
Mahiru looked around before she spotted someone familiar, based on her facial expression. She quickly made her way to a short, chubby male wearing a chef’s hat.
“Teruteru!” Mahiru hugged him, before quickly shoving him away.
“H…How are you here!?” Teruteru asked.
Kaede walked to where Mahiru and Teruteru were. As soon arrived, she regretted it. An unsettling smile appeared on the chef’s face.
“I’m Teruteru Hanamura. The Ultimate Chef! ”
Teruteru continued in a low surly voice “But you can call me…”
Mahiru dragged him away before he could finish that awful sentence.
Kaede thanked her lucky stars that she didn’t hear the end of that sentence.
She made her way to a pale blue-haired girl with large braided pigtails stopping at her waist while sporting a brown crop-top talking excitedly to a…raccoon that was wearing an orange and black spacesuit and standing upright.
The raccoon ears perked up and turned around sharply.
“Where do you think you’re going blondie” the Raccoon said
The pale girl ran toward her, and shook her hand vigorously.
The pale girl smiled wide and introduced herself “Name’s Jinx. Ultimate Explosive Specialist"
Jinx pointed her fingers to the air and “fired” a shot.
“My turn.” the raccoon said.
Kaede looked down at the raccoon
“Name’s Rocket. Ultimate Weapon Specialist” Rocket smiled proudly.
“Who’s you?” Rocket pointed at Kaede .
“I’m Kaede, the pianist”
“So yous play the piano?” Rocket crossed his arms
“Pretty much” Kaede nodded.
Rocket walked away with Jinx and Kaede decided to talk to someone…nicer.
She made her way towards the orange-haired girl wearing a green jacket with black glasses and a youngish lanky man with brown hair and a gray jacket. The glasses girl was leaning talking rapidly and leaning towards the lanky man.
“Hey” the lanky man waved to her.
The glasses girl hid behind the lanky man.
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation” Kaede truly meant no harm.
“It’s fine” the lanky man turned towards the glasses girl.
“She’s fine, Futaba.” the lanky man said, stepping aside.
Futaba shrank and stuttered “I..I’m Futaba S…sukara…The Ultimate Hacker”
Futaba didn’t look her in the eyes and hid behind the lanky man again.
“Yeah,don’t worry about that. She was like this to me.” the lanky man cleared his throat. “I’m Hughie Campell Jr. I’m the Ultimate Tech Support” He held out his hand and Kaede shook it.
“Mind telling me your Ultimate…Thingy?” Hughie asked.
Kaede told her ultimate talent and after a few minutes of polite conversation, she said her goodbyes to find someone else. She came across a girl wearing a green jacket with a gray skirt , stretching with a blond spiky-haired boy wearing a black jacket, black and red plaid pants and a loud yellow shirt saying “No More Rules!” The green girl looked up, ran, and saluted Kaede , while the blond boy strolled toward her.
“Oh! Nice to meet you! My name's Chie Satonaka and I’m the Ultimate Kung Fu Artist!” Chie delivered a flurry of kicks, Kaede flinched when some of those kicks came too close to her body.
“Sup. My name is Ruyji Sakamoto. I’m the Ultimate Trackstar, but you can call me the ultimate gangsta!”
Kaede looked at Ruyji, he looked more like the Ultimate Delinquent than Trackstar, but then again she met stranger people back in the killing game, Kocichi and Mui came to mind.
“I wonder if they stopped the killing game” Kaede pushed those thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time for that. She just had to hope they stopped the killing game. Ruyji and Chie went back to talking to each other and she wandered around to find someone new to talk to.
She spotted a Barrel-chested man wearing a black shirt, a blond pompadour, and dark sunglasses indoors. The sunglasses man was talking to the blond-haired girl who wore a gothic dress and jewelry. Her hair was in pigtails, unlike jinx, the goth girl’s was far shorter and was held with red bands. The sunglasses guy was talking to her and the goth girl was smiling politely, enjoying the attention.
The sunglasses man noticed Kaede right away.
“Hey there, pretty mama.” The sunglasses man did a quick series of flexes, in a poor hope to impress Kaede.
The goth girl walked up to her, smiling all the while.
“Misa’s very happy to meet you!” Misa smiled brightly, which in turn made Kaede smile in turn.
“I’m Misa Amane, The Ultimate Actress!” Misa struck a pose and the sunglasses man decided to introduce himself as well.
“Hey. I’m Bravo, Johnny Bravo. The Ultimate Flirt!” He flexed his biceps.
Kaede made polite conversation with Johnny and all too quickly excused herself to do something else. Johnny and Misa continued back to what they were doing. Kaede spotted a blond-haired woman with a white doctor’s outfit with black glasses talking to an older man wearing a black business suit. The businessman looked younger than Walter but seemed older than Sportacus. Kaede decided to introduce herself but the doctor noticed her.
“Ah, Hello young lady!” the doctor said.
“I’m Angela Zieglear, but everyone else calls me “Mercy”. I’m the Ultimate Combat Medic. Put your care in my hands.”
“Hey, it’s fine, miss…” the business seemed like he was trying to remember her
“Kaede Akamatsu” Kaede answered.
“Ke-aid-a Aka-ma-tsu. Is that right, kid?” The businessman asked.
“Yes, Jimmy,” Mercy interrupted.
Jimmy cleared his throat “I’m Jimmy McGill, The Ultimate Lawyer!” After Jimmy said that, he looked like he was reminded of something.
“He won’t bite, I’ll make sure of that” Mercy noticed Kaede seemed a bit overwhelmed.
“No, I’m fine. It’s just the whole situation, is…a lot.” Kaede was overwhelmed by everything, returning to life, a killing game, and wondering how or if her classmate beat the killing game.
“You can say that again, kid.” Jimmy grumbled.
“If you’re having trouble or need someone to talk to, let me know.” Mercy said.
Kaede nodded and after a couple of minutes of small talk, Kaede excused herself to talk to more people. As the Doctor and Lawyer went their separate ways, she wondered if that was everyone, when she spotted a girl with purple hair wearing a gray school uniform with a dark blue skirt on the corner of the gym. Unlike Futaba, The school girl sat all alone with a book for company. Keade walked up to her to introduce herself.
“Hey, what book are you reading?” Kaede asked.
“I…it’s Edgar A…Allen Poe’s s…short stories” Yuri looked away, not making eye contact.
“That’s a really interesting book, my favorite story is ‘The Raven’. What’s yours?” Kaede replied.
Yuri stared at her for a moment, “The Telltale Heart” Yuri shrunk into herself.
Kaede introduced herself, after some time Yuri introduced herself too.
“I…I'm Y…Yuri. …The Ultimate Novel Enthusiast”, Yuri stammered.
Keade was shocked, compared to everyone else’s talents, Yuri’s seemed rather the most ordinary out of all of them. Not wanting to bother Yuri and Yuri wanting to continue reading, Kaede quickly said her goodbye and left.
Kaede made her way to Mahiru, who was arguing with Johnny, when an all too familiar bell rang out in the gym.
*DING! DONG! BING! BONG!*
The sound of the bell stopped the conversations to a murmur. A familiar sense of dread washed over her as she noticed Mahiru who stood in shock covering her mouth. Mahiru looked at Teruteru who was petrified from hearing that bell. Soon after the stage curtains opened and…that evil black and white bear, Monokuma, popped up from the podium on the stage.
“Ahem, Thank you all, for arriving on time! I’m your headmaster, Monokuma!” the bear said
Kaede looked at the crowd. Jimmy and Walter were baffled at the sight of Monokuma. Sportacus and Hughie looked skeptical at the sight of the robot. Johnny was scratching his head at the whole thing. Keade returned her attention back to the stage.
“Your lovely and handsome headmaster welcomes you to your time in Hope Peak Academy!”
“Hope’s Peak? This a school or something?” Rocket asked.
“Correct! My fellow furry friend!” Monokuma covered his mouth as he giggled.
“I’m VERY sure a few classmates have returned to show you around the academy! You know who you are, so don’t be shy now! PUHUHU!!!” Monokuma continued.
Misa raised her hand.
“Excuse me. Misa wants to know how long we need to stay at Hope Peak?” she asked.
“Excuse me, Monokuma. I was wondering, when do we get to leave?” Jimmy had a worried look.
The bear paused for a moment. Kaede already knew the answer.
“That’s the neat part, you don’t.” Monokuma let the answer settle over the gym.
“Excuse me. C…can we leave?” Walter faltered.
“I dunno, can you leave? The bear did a motion that resembled a “wink”
“There isn’t even an exit to the academy anyways.” The headmaster shrugged.
“Well Exceppppttttt…. Ending the school life” The bear said.
“Ending the what now? Also, how do you end that?” Johnny was baffled at the headmaster.
The headmaster fetched a pipe from behind himself. “Elementary my dear ultimate, simply kill someone and get away with it!” The Bear blew the pipe and bubbles came out.
The word kill casted a deafening silence over the gym.
“I..I can’t. I CAN’T just kill someone!” Chie shouted.
“You’re joking…right?” Hughie was in shock.
“Nope!” The Bear perked up.
“To make things fair, I injected some of you with a highly advanced serum to strip away all of your supernatural abilities and took all of your weapons and technology on you. For our athlete, the serum reverts your natural abilities into a tip-top human of real world athleticism! There is no need to thank me!” Monokuma did a friendly wave.
Ruyji, Misa, Chie, Futuba, Jinx, Rocket, Mercy and Sportaucus were shocked they had either their stuff taken or had something injected into them while they were unconscious.
Johnny stepped up to the robot bear.
“Now listen, half and half, I’m not killing any one! You’re letting us out. NOW!” Jonny picked up Monokuma.
“Violence against the headmaster is against the rules!!!” Monokuma flailed his arms and then…his red “eye” began blinking and started to blink faster.
Johnny was shocked.
“WHAT’S GOING ON???!!!” Johnny shouted.
“Toss it!!!” Teruteru shouted.
Johnny tossed the bear to Ryuji.
“WHAT THE EFF!” Ryuji screamed.
Sportacus ran, picked up the bear from Ryuji’s hands and tossed it as hard as he could towards the stage.
*BOOOOOMMMMM!!!*
The explosion was deafening. Rocket covered his ears. Yuri collapsed to the ground, which Futaba helped her up shaking all the while. Jinx looked a mix of impressed and horrified about the explosion. Time stood still as the smoke cleared, along with their doubt of the killing game. Seconds later, the bear popped up again, good as new.
“Well, that was something.” the bear strolled across the stage.
“This is your last warning, next time you’ll be punished!” Monokuma growled.
“Now it’ll be nighttime soon, so get some rest, you’ll need it to kill someone in the morning!. Also I left a surprise in each of your dorms. Please take the time to read it or don’t. I’m not your parents.” As soon he reappeared, he disappeared, likely for the final time today.
Mercy finally spoke.
“Maybe we should…retire for the night” No sooner did she finish speaking. An announcement rang.
*DING! DONG! BING! BONG!*
Monokuma appeared on the gym’s monitor
“Now it is 10pm, the doors to the gym and dining hall will be locked. Goooooood night everyone!” The monitor shut off.
Everyone silently left the gym and went to their dorms. Tonight was the end of normalcy and the start of their time at Hope’s Peak.