"Is this a church?"

Hikari heard Isana's question then turned to look up at the white building with a cross at the top.

"Looks like it," Hikari said and walked inside first.

The inside was just a regular church with wooden pews and a small stage. Surprisingly there was one person inside staring up at one of the walls.

"Oh sorry," Hikari immediately apologized, "are you praying?"

The person, a girl with short wavy gray hair, was thrown off by the sound of another voice. "What? Oh no, dear. I'm just admiring these colors."

Hikari looked up at the wall she was staring at and saw a colorful stained glass mural of a cross.

"What about the colors?" Isana furrowed her eyebrows.

"They're just so elegant," the girl answered then fully turned to them, "like me." She wore a violet one shoulder dress, a black hat with feathers on it, black sunglasses, and silver heels. Silver jewelry hung from her ears and neck while her eyeshadow that complimented her grey eyes and lips were a darker shade of purple.

"I'm Murasaki Shimada, the Ultimate Fashion Icon. Nice to meet you."

The two introduced themselves back.

Hikari's eyes lit up. "I think I've heard of you before!"

Murasaki laughed. "Of course you have."

"Wasn't there already an Ultimate Fashionista?" Isana asked.

Murasaki became visibly disgusted. "Oh please, that was just some character from those killing game legends. I'm the real deal."

"But are they really fake?" Hikari asked and the girls just stared at him, "never mind..."

"Well, the mastermind sure believes it's real. I guess we're their second causality," Murasaki said.

Hikari blinked. "Mastermind?"

"Have you not watched the news?" Her eyes burrowed into his. "Matsuyama Michio."

"Right!" Isana piped up, "that was his name."

"So, he was the one who spared Ichiro," Hikari said to himself, "but why?"

"Well, since we know who he is we can confront him when he finally shows himself." Isana popped her knuckles.

"You have fun with that," Murasaki said.

"What? You don't want to escape from here?" Isana asked.

"It's not that. I just value my life and won't do anything to put it in jeopardy."

"Well, I would like to have a word with him," Hikari said, "I want to know why he targeted my friend's last class only to leave him be then kidnap him all over again!"

"Your friend?" Murasaki seemed to be putting the pieces together in her head. "Was there not an Ultimate Linguist who was spared?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes. My friend."

"I see. Maybe one of our other classmates was spared this time as well."

Isana crossed her arms. "If that's true then it should've been me."

Hikari sighed. This was all just so strange to him and he hated how he already had a bad feeling before all of this started. It was like he knew this would happen...

Hikari shook his head then turned to the exit. "Let's... let's go explore elsewhere." He then turned back to Murasaki. "Oh! It was nice to meet you too by the way."

Murasaki smiled kindly. "Of course."

Hikari and Isana left the church and Isana rolled her shoulders as they walked away.

"How many more people are here?" She asked out loud, "I'm getting bored."

"We've only met seven students." Hikari laughed. He then stopped his stride when they came across a tall building.

"Woah, a hospital?" Isana strained her neck to look up at the big red letters.

"That's convenient," Hikari said, "hopefully nobody gets hurt while we're here. Let's go inside."

The two entered the hospital and to be honest it looked a little bit creepy. The lights were dim and it smelt like antiseptic and hand sanitizer. There were multiple rooms down the long hallway and a staircase at the end of it.

Before they could take a step, movement came from inside the first room, making Hikari jump behind Isana.

"I was wrong, we should leave," Hikari whispered.

"Don't be so dramatic," Isana said and walked to the first room's door.

"What are you doing?" Hikari hissed, "I'm pretty sure I saw a movie theater across the street, let's go there instead—"

Bam!

Hikari shrieked even though it was just the sound of the door being slid open.

Two people, a guy and a girl, walked out looking at them like they were the weird ones.

"Oh, I didn't know other people were here," the girl simply stated.

The guy stared at Hikari who was clutching Isana's arm. "Were you scared?"

Hikari looked to the ground. "Maybe."

The girl laughed. "Aw, there's no reason to be afraid." She waved her hand. "I'm Umeko Ashikaga, the Ultimate Anatomist!" She had black bangs and two red ponytails. She wore a gothic like dress, red arm warmers, and black ankle boots.

Umeko nudged the guy's shoulder. "Ryohei, introduce yourself."

"You just did..."

"I mean properly!"

The guy sighed longingly. "Ryohei Hattori, the Ultimate Mycologist." He had ash brown hair that fell to his shoulders, green eyes, and wore a black tank top with a dark brown see through jacket over it.

"Horrible introduction!" Umeko criticized.

"I did my best."

"Did you really?"

"No..."

Hikari and Isana introduced themselves too before Hikari turned to Ryohei. "What's a mycologist?"

Ryohei huffed as if he hated being asked that question. "I basically just study fungi, molds, yeasts, and mushrooms."

"Cool!"

Ryohei looked up at Hikari with wide eyes. "You think it's... cool?"

"Yeah!"

Ryohei gave an awkward smile and fiddled with his fingers. "Maybe I can tell you about the risks of fungi pose one day."

"I'd like that."

Umeko clapped. "Look at that, you made a friend Ryohei."

"You two are weird," Isana bluntly stated.

"Aw thanks!" Umeko smiled and Isana just stared at her.

"Let's go to the movie theater now," Hikari suggested, "I don't like this place."

"I think I'll stay here," Umeko said and Ryohei agreed.

"The lighting is perfect here," he said.

Hikari agreed with Isana. They were weird.

"Alright let's get out of here," Isana said and left along with Hikari.

Just like Hikari said, there was indeed a lit up movie theater across the street from the hospital. There were flashing lights and a message in black letters saying 'Coming Soon' where the line up of movies would be.

The two walked inside and the smell of salty popcorn immediately engulfed them. They continued into one of the movie rooms and saw rows of comfy red chairs that sat before a huge wide screen. For the first time there was nobody already present which was what Hikari thought until he heard soft snores coming from one of the chairs.

Hikari looked to his left and saw a girl curled up into a ball fast asleep. She had short lilac hair and wore a baggy white shirt with white and purple joggers. The slippers on her feet were a darker blue and there was a clear purple mini backpack on her back.

"That's odd," Isana commented. She went to lightly tap the girl's shoulder but that did nothing.

"Maybe we should let her be—" Hikari started but was interrupted by the sound of Isana slapping the girl hard across the head.

"Ow!" The girl instantly sat up and glared daggers at the two with pastel pink eyes. "Not cool." She then yawned and attempted to go back to sleep but Hikari stopped her.

"Uh what's your name?" He asked.

The girl stared at him like that was a bizarre question but eventually spoke.

"Nemuri Uyeno, the Ultimate Streamer."

"Ah," Hikari said, "I'm guessing you stay up late at night streaming then. That's pretty interesting too I guess—"

Soft snores surfaced again and the girl was back asleep.

"How is it even possible to fall asleep that fast?" Isana shook her head. "I guess we can't do anything about it."

Hikari shrugged and figured they should leave the theatre since there was nothing else here to do.

They both ended up back at the water fountain where the dining hall was and Hikari pointed to a nearby old looking building they hadn't entered yet.

"Let's go in there," Hikari said but Isana's face fell.

"The library?" She spoke, "I was avoiding that place on purpose."

"Why? Don't you like to read?"

"No."

"They might have some books on Jujutsu for you," he said then his eyes sparkled, "maybe they have books about traveling!"

Hikari rushed towards the library and Isana hesitantly followed.

The inside of the building had wooden brown walls and shelves with a circulation desk at the front but no person behind it. There were also comfy sitting areas and a row of old computers.

Hikari walked in further and saw two people present. One guy was engrossed in a book in his hands and one girl was trying to turn on one of the computers.

"Tch!" The girl sneered down at the screen that wouldn't turn on. "Of course it doesn't work." She finally spotted Hikari and Isana. "Well hello..."

The girl wore a black suit with a blue tie, black slacks and black dress shoes. Her lips were painted blood red and her short hair was black as night.

"Hi!" Hikari greeted her, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to connect to the outside world somehow," she explained, "because if you haven't noticed, we don't have our cellphones."

"Wow you're right," Hikari said surprised and she shook her head at his obliviousness.

"So we have no way of contacting anyone," Isana stated as she stared at the computer, "this was definitely done on purpose."

"I agree," the girl said then stuck out her hand, "I'm Satoko Fujita, the Ultimate Financial Analyst."

Hikari and Isana returned the gesture and introduced themselves.

Satoko observed them both intensely which made Hikari gulp under pressure but then she began to smile. "You two seem way more approachable than that other guy."

Hikari glanced over at the guy still reading his book, not paying them any mind. "Him?"

Satoko raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder. "Huh? Oh, not him. I meant that sketchy guy with the ponytail which for some reason he thinks makes him look good."

Hikari figured that was the same person Daihachi warned them about.

Satoko then walked over to the guy also in the library and yanked the book out of his hands. "Hey, I don't care that you've ignored me all this time but we have guests now. Speak up!"

The guy, still with his hands out, continued to stare at the spot where his book use to be. "Was that really necessary?"

The guy wore a brown vest with white sleeves and a loose white bow was tied around his neck. There was a black satchel around his shoulder and an expensive vintage ring on his right hand.

"Fine, I am Taishin Nakamura, the Ultimate Historian."

"Oh, so you like history?" Hikari asked and Taishin only stared at him before speaking.

"What do you think?"

Isana turned to Satoko. "Are you sure this isn't the guy you were referring to?"

"I'm sure." Satoko laughed.

Hikari pouted at the guy's response. "I was just asking..."

Taishin pursed his lips at the puppy dog look then looked to the side. "I- sorry I shouldn't have acted like that. Yes, I do like history."

Hikari smiled again. "Sounds interesting!"

Isana looked around the library. "This has to be the last place. I feel like we've explored every building already."

"It can't be," Hikari said frantically, "I haven't found Ichiro yet."

"Have you been to the gym center?" Satoko asked.

They both nodded.

"How about the town hall?" Taishin suggested.

Hikari blinked. "Town hall?"

"See." Satoko snapped her fingers. "You haven't been everywhere yet. It's pretty far down the street but you'll know it when you see it."

Isana looked over at Hikari. "Since there are sixteen students in our class, there are only two we haven't met yet. Your friend is bound to be one of them."

Hikari agreed, hoping that was the case, and took off towards the town hall along with Isana.

Hikari only began to slow down once he saw a white two story building with steps and pillars come into view. The words 'Town Hall' in black letters were plastered high above and there were three windows at the top and two more at the bottom.

Hikari climbed the steps in a hurry and burst through the wooden double doors revealing a room with a long walkway with red seats on each side. The second story had the same red seats and they all faced a wooden stage with a large intricate golden painting behind it.

Hikari walked down the aisle then stopped once he saw someone sitting in the back row with their legs propped up.

The person was a guy with long white hair and piercing red eyes. He wore a red long sleeved top with white checkered pants and a black belt. He also wore a pair of black gloves; one had a small red heart on its center and the other had a small red diamond on its center while golden chains hung from his neck.

The guy was flipping a single playing card between his fingers when he noticed the two. All he did was stare at them which Hikari found odd.

An awkward amount of time passed.

"Oh..." the guy finally spoke. "Was I supposed to speak first?"

"It's only natural, you weirdo," Isana said with her arms crossed.

"Well, I believe it's natural for someone who enters the room to speak first."

"Yeah whatever." Isana stared him down. "I can already tell you think you know everything, don't you?"

"But what if I do?"

Isana scoffed and began to get an irritating headache. "Yeah, we're definitely going to get along."

The guy grinned. "I agree, maybe we can even braid each other's hair."

"You little—"

"Enough!" Hikari huffed which surprised Isana but he was only looking at the other guy. "Where is Ichiro?"

The guy cocked his head. "Who?" He then pointed to another guy the two didn't notice who was checking out the stage. "Do you mean him? I've been trying to get him to talk all day but he won't budge."

The guy cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey, are you still not talking to me?!"

The other guy on the stage turned back to the three and stared before going back to what he was doing.

"That's nasty," the guy commented, and pocketed his playing card.

Hikari frowned at the guy on the stage.

That was not Ichiro...

That was the last student so has his friend been spared once again? Something just isn't right...

Isana turned to the white haired guy. "So are you going to introduce yourself?"

"Hmm, I guess I could. But then again I could try to be mysterious like that other guy..."

"Make up your mind!"

The guy gave Isana a pitiful look due to her attitude then looked to Hikari and smiled.

"I'm Yoshito Chikao, the Ultimate Card Sharp."

"So you're just going to ignore me?" Isana confronted him.

"What's a card sharp?" Hikari asked.

"A person such as myself who is extremely intelligent in playing card games," Yoshito explained, "I thought that would be self explanatory."

"Don't they use deception to win?" Isana asked.

"That and or skill," he said, "but trust me, I don't need to resort to cheating to win."

Hikari turned his attention back to the guy on stage and walked towards him.

"Why are you following us?" Isana spoke and Hikari looked back to see Yoshito indeed following them closely.

Hikari shrugged it off and stopped in front of the guy Daihachi told them about.

"Hi," Hikari said politely but the guy didn't even spare him a glance.

The guy wore what looked like a black bullet proof vest, ripped jeans, and a utility belt. A spiked black mask was actually covering his mouth and the boots he wore were black and blue with silver chains.

Like Satoko said, his hair was in a small dark ponytail and his obsidian eyes looked anywhere but at the three.

"How rude," Yoshito said, "can't say that we didn't try."

Hikari huffed and poked the guy's shoulder. "Hey, why aren't you talking?" He then started to feel guilty and gasped. "What if he's deaf?"

"Well, I don't know sign language," Isana said.

Yoshito sighed. "If only we had a phone."

"What would that do?" Isana rolled her eyes.

"I'm not deaf."

Hikari blinked up at the guy who had just spoken.

Yoshito scoffed looking extremely offended. "You talk for him but not for me?" He narrowed his eyes. "Traitor, I'm leaving."

Before the card sharp could take one more step a sound rung out from above.

Ding Dong bing bong!

Hikari looked around for the sound and Isana pointed to a yellow monitor they had not noticed.

"Testing, testing, is this thing working!"

Hikari stared at the chubby silhouette on the screen.

"Alrighty then! All sixteen students need to report back to the water fountain ASAP! Further instructions will follow then!"

"Things just got interesting." Yoshito smirked then turned to the other three. "See you there!"

"This does not seem good," Isana stated the obvious.

The masked guy brushed past them without another word and not too soon after, Hikari and Isana made their way back to the water fountain as well.

- - - -

Hikari waited at the fountain in anticipation with the other fifteen students he had met, preparing for whatever was next to come. The sky was now dusk and the sun was slowly starting to sink.

"I don't like this at all," Akiko said, nervously playing with her pink hair.

Nemuri yawned, obviously cranky from being awoken from her sleep. "This better not take long."

"I'm starting to think this has nothing to do with school," Umeko said and sighed sadly.

Jomei gave her a look. "Really? That was pretty obvious."

"Hush now, hush now!"

Everyone silenced at the new cheery voice and looked around for its source. That's when Hayato finally spotted it and pointed to the fountain's ledge.

"There!" He called out.

Hikari and the others looked to where the race car driver pointed and saw...

A stuffed bear?

"Uh what is that?" Daihachi asked but of course no one had an answer.

"I am Monokuma!" The black and white bear announced, "your headmaster during this fun and exciting killing game!"

Emi tugged at Akiko's dress. "I knew it."

"Of course that's what this is," Murasaki said, "I'm sure everyone had some sort of inkling." She then stared the bear down. "But we already know who you are Mr. Michio."

Monokuma fell silent and Murasaki smirked thinking she'd done something but instead the water fountain started to rumble.

"Get back!" Daihachi ordered, and pushed the others out of the way.

Hikari watched as the fountain rose from the ground revealing a red elevator that was rising up under it. The students waited in silence as the elevator finally stopped and the creaky doors slowly opened where two guys stood.

One guy in particular stepped out first with a massive grin. His dark brown hair fell to his shoulders and he wore a long coat where a fountain pen stuck out one of its pockets.

Murasaki grinned. "I love it when I'm right."

The guy welcomed his students with estatic open arms. "Let me start over. I am Matsuyama Michio."

The columnist looked each and every student in the eye.

"And I am your host of this lovely killing game."

Prologue- Welcome to Town

[END]