The day after the first execution was as if nothing had ever happened, let alone a murder.

"So..." Natsu cleared his throat, "anyone know how to play Hangman's Gambit?"

"We can't pretend like nothing happened."

"But we don't have to remember. The only thing remembering will bring up is recurring despair, which is exactly what that stupid bear wants." Kirito contradicted Kaori's statement, "so the best we can do is move on and forget what happened."

"Hey, Celty." Luffy looked over at the transporter who sat across the table from them in the dining hall, where everyone was gathered, "that phone. Can you do anything useful with it?"

Celty started typing rapidly, then showed them her screen, >> Unfortunately, no. I only use this phone for communication. Any access to the outside world or the internet is blocked. <<

"Well..." Korra sighed, "we should probably find some ways to do some research..."

Ash looked around, "maybe the library? It might have some useful things that we can use."

"Hey..." Haru looked around, "we're missing a person."

Mitsuha looked around. Hm... Looks like he's right.

Soon after, the door to the dining hall opened and their missing comrade walked in.

"Hey!" Taiga gripped her hands into fists, "where the hell have you been?!"

"Sorry." Eren walked up to the table, "I was checking something out. When I passed the hallway to Naruto, Haru, and Mitsuha's Ultimate Labs, I noticed... Remember the blocked-off staircase? It's open."

We all went straight to the staircase and explored the second floor. We learned that the second floor opened up to us a new lounge area, a classroom, a storage room, two work-out rooms, a theater, two bathrooms, a locked room labeled "Secret Love Event", and three new Ultimate Labs.

Mitsuha tilted her head, "What's a 'Secret Love Event'?"

"Who knows..." Taiga groaned, "it sounds disgusting."

"What were the three Ultimate labs?"

Eren replied, "they're the labs for the Ultimate Pirate, Violinist, and Avatar."

"Alright!!" Korra stood up.

"Ultimate Violinist Lab?!" Kaori smiled, "I hope they have a violin that I could play in there! I'm sure they do!"

"Having all this access to new stuff is nice, but..." Kirito cleared his throat, "it's not all good... That only makes picking out a murderer even harder, now that we have more places to investigate."

"He's right..." Tamaki sighed, "but at least we have more to live with if we're going to live here for the rest of our lives..."

"Don't say that... That only makes me worry about how this entire thing is going to end..." Mitsuha chuckled weakly, "so what now?"

"Let's keep our promise. No matter the circumstance," Eren stood up, "no one's killing anyone."

"I agree." Tamaki nodded, "now then... If you don't mind, I'll be going off to the game room."

"I'll get going, too." Haru stood up, "with all this free time, I can swim even more than I used to."

Naruto chuckled, "swimming all day... By the time he comes to dinner, he'll be a human-sized prune."

"That'd be hilarious!" Natsu laughed.

"I'm going to go check out my new lab!" Luffy smiled as he set his straw hat back on his head and headed towards his Ultimate Lab.

Every day for the next week went exactly as planned. Everyone went about their business without a single care in the world. Closer bonds were made, friendships were forged, and no one died, as promised.

"Basketball again?" Ash laughed as he joined a small group in the Old Gym, "you wanna go?"

"You bet!" Korra held the basketball up in front of her, "Ash, Eren, and Natsu versus Naruto, Luffy, and me!"

"No way, that's hardly even fair!" Luffy retorted, "Naruto can't even throw a ball straight!"

"Ah, I'll have you know..." Naruto cleared his throat, "I can throw a throwing star straight."

"I'll play, then." Taiga cracked her knuckles as she walked up to the group.

"Hey, uh, any idea where Haru or Kirito are?"

"Nope. Anyways, let's get started." Korra grinned, shrugging off Natsu's observation.

"What's so special about those two to you, huh?" Taiga rolled her eyes.

"Nothing..." Natsu replied, "it's just that..."

"If you're still upset with them," Mitsuha sighed, "that's understandable, so you don't really have to say anything."

Natsu looked at her and sighed, "I just can't bring myself to trust them."

"You're going to have to if we all agree to not kill each other."

___________________

"'Secret Love Event'..." Kirito stood in front of the locked door just as Monokuma appeared behind him from a cloud of smoke.

"Kids your age are always hungry. So, I had this room installed!"

Kirito turned around to look at him, "what are you talking about?"

"This room is only open at night in your dreams. Never during the day." Monokuma explained, blushing a little bit as he spoke, "you and a certain random someone get to spend the night in this room."

Kirito crossed his arms, "we're in the middle of a killing game. I don't think we'd have the time for that stuff..."

"Well, every pervy mind is always dreaming and fantasizing, so you'd never know!" Monokuma cackled as he vanished in another puff of smoke.

"Hm..." Kirito sighed as he turned on his heel and headed back down the stairs to the first floor. On his way down, Haru came out of his Ultimate Lab, hair wet from swimming, "oh, Haru."

"What were you doing up there?"

"I was looking around." Kirito walked beside him as they headed to the Dining Hall, "got a little more info on that 'Secret Love Event' room."

"And?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'll get it one night..."

Haru blinked a few times, wiped his face with the towel slung over his shoulders, and made his way to the kitchen.

"Hey, Kirito!" Kaori waved from a seat at one of the Dining Hall tables, Celty sitting next to her.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We're preparing some food for lunch later." she smiled as she waved a few pieces of paper with recipes printed on them, "come choose a recipe!"

"Can you really make all this stuff?" Kirito stared in awe at the recipes, "this rabbit stew sounds good..."

>> I mean, we can try. << Celty shrugged.

"We can totally do it." Kaori laughed as she took the recipe and made her way into the kitchen where Haru was drinking a glass of water.

"So..." Kirito and Celty followed close behind, "how's this week been?"

"Not bad, actually." Kaori answered as she gathered the ingredients, "I mean, of course, I miss my family and friends, but I've made new friends and accepted living here."

Celty nodded and held up her phone, >> I'm enjoying myself. <<

"I hope things stay the way they are now." Haru added, "if no one kills."

"So!" Kaori set down a pot on the stove, ignoring Haru's frank remark, "let's go!"

About an hour later, everyone met in the Dining Hall, ate rabbit stew, talked, and laughed as if they'd known each other for years.

"I wish days like this could last forever..." Mitsuha smiled.

"Yeah..." Haru smiled, "I hate that we got into this situation, but meeting everyone here... I'm actually glad I ended up here."

Mitsuha laughed and nodded in agreement, "me too."

Just before Haru could add anything more, the speakers in the building all played an announcement tone.

"Hey, Y'all!" Monokuma's voice broke the cheery air in the room, "everyone, meet in the old gym in five minutes! Monokuma is not happy!! Not at all!!"

The click of the microphone was followed by silence.

"Oh, yeah..." Korra muttered, "this is a killing game... How could I forget."

"We should probably go..." Tamaki cleared his throat, "if we don't want to die, that is."

"Let's go. It's probably important."

https://youtu.be/3WZb20NinCs

A few at a time, they all eventually made their way to the Old Gym and waited for further instruction from Monokuma, who appeared a couple of minutes later.

"Children, Daddy is not happy!"

Everyone stared at a fuming Monokuma as he paced back and forth on the stage of the old gym.

"Okay, Monokuma..." Natsu sighed, "what's this about?"

The bear stopped and threw his fists in the air angrily, "I'm not happy! Not happy, not happy! Nobody's died yet, and I'm getting bored!"

Korra snickered and crossed her arms, "then stay bored..."

"So! I've got a lovely motivation for you all!" Monokuma pulled out what looked like a ticket.

"Motivation?"

"Yes sir! Motivation to kill! And here it is! Your ticket to graduation!"

There was a hushed tension that arose in the air as Monokuma waved the ticket in the air.

"So..." Luffy looked around, "who's gonna get it?"

"Puhuhuhuhu, now that's the fun part! These just aren't ordinary tickets. This is a ticket to Hell!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, "what are you saying?!"

"Don't you guys get it?!" Taiga shouted, "he's gonna kill us himself!"

"No." Eren shut his eyes, "that's not it."

"Looks like little titan boy's got it!" Monokuma cackled, "this is a special ticket that can bring the dead back to life."

Bring the dead to life?! Th-that's impossible... Mitsuha paled.

"There's no way..." Tamaki muttered, "can you really do that?!"

"It's all a trap." Kirito clenched his hands into fists, "it has to be... No one can raise the dead back to life."

"Well, I can!" Monokuma danced around, waving the ticket, "the next killer gets it!"

"That's insane!" Eren clenched his teeth, "this is all just a lie! No one would fall for that!"

"Well... We'll see." Monokuma giggled and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, "puhuhu, see ya later!"

"Damn, this idiot." Korra rubbed her head, "let's just go... As long as none of us actually fall for the bear, we can continue living like this, right?"

The room was silent before Mitsuha cleared her throat, "we should do something about this." 

"Or," Taiga crossed her arms, "we could just ignore it." 

"Someone here is going to take the opportunity to bring someone back to life." Mitsuha sighed, "there's no denying it. We've all lost someone we want to bring back to life." 

Naruto pursed his lips, "but at the price of killing someone? Who would--"

"No one is innocent here." Eren peered his eyes at them, "we all have the ability to kill. Therefore, we have to address the elephant in the room." 

Natsu rose a brow, "What... Elephant?" 

Eren shut his eyes, "I need that ticket... I've lost so many friends and companions... And my mother was killed... All by titans. But I'm not about to kill anyone for it." 

Everyone stared at him in horror before Luffy stepped forward, "I lost a brother..." 

Naruto wiped his nose, "my parents died after I was born." 

"We've all lost someone..." Kaori rubbed her elbow, "and I guess telling each other openly about it will keep us from getting out of control, right?" 

"But..." Natsu gripped his hands into fists, "we can still save some of our lost friends!" 

"Like..." 

"Yuri! Or Maya, especially! She wanted to live more than us!" Natsu gritted his teeth, "we could save Maya..." 

Mitsuha shut her eyes, "you guys... It really helps to know how you feel. We have to stick out for each other."

"She's right." Haru looked at them, "I have friends who lost someone they cared deeply for. But there's no way we can kill someone just to bring them back. It's not right." 

"Just to be sure, though." Korra added, "we'll stick together in groups of three. Four groups of three, one group of four. With that incentive hanging in the air, we can't be too careful." 

"Good." Taiga came up behind Haru and Mistuha and grabbed their arms, "we've got our group of three right here." 

Naruto smiled at Luffy and Natsu, "we'll stick together." 

"I'll stay with Celty." Kaori smiled as Kirito walked up to them and crossed his arms. 

"Eren and I will stick with you two." He told them, "we'll be the group of four." 

"Then." Tamaki looked at Korra and Ash, "it's us three, then." 

"At least we have some way of monitoring each other, now." Mitsuha chuckled as she, Taiga, and Haru left the old gym and headed toward the main school building." 

"But..." Haru muttered, "the ability to bring someone back from the dead... That's insane." 

"Well, this is coming from a teddy bear..." Taiga grumbled as she scuffed her shoes against the floor, "what makes him think we should believe a word he says?" 

"Because!" 

The trio froze when the bear himself appeared in front of them, "what the hell?!" 

"Please, children." Monokuma cackled, "if I can bring 15 kids here and pit them all against each other, I think I should have the ability to bring someone back from the dead." 

They waited until the bear disappeared before they continued on, "it has to be a trick. There's no way. He's just playing us." 

Mitsuha swallowed hard, "I'm just worried about those guys." 

"Who?" 

"You know, Eren, Luffy, Naruto, even Natsu seemed pretty upset about it. They all have good reasons to get that ticket, but are they strong enough to resist that urge?" Mitsuha crossed her arms as Haru studied her face then shrugged. 

"In any case, Kirito's a good guy to keep Eren in check. Putting those other three all on the same team should keep them on their toes. If they're all trying to get the ticket, they can't just kill each other without someone else noticing." Haru leaned his head back, "unless, of course, one person kills two, but then we'll know who did it." He smiled at Mitsuha and Taiga, "I don't think anyone will die." 

Mitsuha rose a brow, "you think?" 

Taiga snickered, "we'll see about that, water boy." 

___________________

Three days have passed, and just as they hoped, there have been no deaths. 

"Rise and shine, everyone! It is now 7 AM! Time to wake up and start the day!" 

Monokuma's voice blared over the PA system as Mitsuha turned over onto her front and shoving her face into her pillow.

I swear, if I have to hear that voice one more time, I might tear out that speaker. I hate my alarm, but this makes me want to kill... Her train of thought faded away. She knows that she can't make jokes about killing anymore without letting it have some emotional effect on her current state. That joke might just become reality if she's not careful.

She forced herself out of bed when she heard knocking on her door. She opened it and rubbed her eyes as she gave a tired greeting, "good morning... Haru?" 

"Hey. Did you hear?" 

"Huh? Hear what? I just woke up." 

"I've been awake for a while, but..." Haru crossed his arms, "Monokuma met with me personally." 

"What?!" Mitsuha stared at him, "what did he want?" 

"I don't know what he was thinking, but he thought I was the most capable person to kill someone for him. I refused, of course. But this guy's getting desperate. It won't be long before he comes out with another motive." 

"That's not good." Mitsuha turned around, "is that it?" 

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he'll be making an announcement in the near future." He sighed, "I'm heading to the Dining Hall. There are a few others there." 

"Okay. I'll go get dressed, then." Mitsuha thanked Haru before shutting the door and getting ready. 

I knew it... There's no way Monokuma could just let us live peaceful, happy lives here. It's time to brace for the worst.

______________________

"I've never seen a group of children as annoying as you thirteen standing here before me!!" Monokuma's voice boomed in the Old Gym once he got the whole group together about an hour after Haru visited Mitsuha with a warning of this very moment, "you're all so annoying, you almost make me want to kill myself! Almost!"

"Heh. Go ahead. We wouldn't be sad." Taiga shrugged with a snicker. 

"Well, if you're going to be that way, then the ticket to Hell has been nullified! Meaning no more!" 

There was silence. 

"Oh? Is that not enough?" 

"How old do you think we are?" Kirito rolled his eyes, "we wouldn't fall for something like that." 

"Puhuhuhu! Then maybe you'll fall for something like this!" Monokuma pulled out a large black and white timer, "Ta-da! The ultimate countdown!" 

"Countdown... We're being put on a timer?!" 

"I'll give you children 24 hours before I pull the plug on your little happy life here! If no one dies, then you all die! Got it? And trust me, it's one thing bringing someone to life, but killing is a billion times easier! Puhuhuhu! Class dismissed!" 

The group stood there for a long time after Monokuma left. They didn't know what to do or what to say. 

"So, uh..." Taiga crossed her arms, "what would Monokuma do if we all just killed ourselves?" 

"That's such a low blow." Tamaki sighed, "what now?" 

"Do we wait until time's up?" Kaori looked around, "I kind of believe him when he says he can kill us a little bit more than that last motive..." 

"I refuse to kill anyone." Naruto spoke up, "even if it means we all die. This is freaking Utilitarianism!" 

"One for all or we all fall..." Kirito pursed his lips, "I say we wait." 

"I'd rather die a sane person than kill for my own life and end up dying in the end anyway." Ash shook his head, "there's no way out of this, is there?" 

"None." Haru shut his eyes, "I'm going to go swim. I'll see you guys later." 

"Someone, go keep an eye on him." Natsu watched as Haru walked off without another word. No one really moved. 

At this rate, I don't expect anyone to kill anymore. Are we just going to accept death? Defeat? I might... Mitsuha pursed her lips and walked off to her dorm room. 

"Hey, Mitsuha." 

She turned as Taiga ran to her side, "Taiga." 

"I'm worried... I don't want anyone else to die, but I... I don't want to die either, okay?" 

"It'll all be fine. Maybe it's just another trick." Mitsuha smiled sadly, "we'll be fine." 

Taiga looked down at the ground and nodded, "I think I might just go to my room." 

"Okay. Me too. See ya." 

Mitsuha watched as Taiga went into her room before turning and going into her own room. She dropped herself onto her bed and shut her eyes. 

Can I just fall asleep forever? Maybe this nightmare will be over when I wake up...

Before she knew it, Mitsuha drifted off to sleep. It felt as though she'd been sleeping for hours before she felt something cold against her neck. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with someone pushing her down into the bed, a blade against her neck. She was too horrified to do, say, or even think anything. She couldn't even make herself scream. 

"... Wh-what the..." She stared at the mask-covered face as her attacker brought the blade closer. She inspected it and it looked like a simple kitchen knife. 

Suddenly, the blade moved and everything flashed white. She screamed out and sat up, waking from a cold sweat. She panted heavily when she heard pounding on her door. 

"Was that... A dream?" She quickly gathered herself and forced herself to the door until the pounding stopped, "wh-what...?" 

She opened the door to find nobody was there, "this is really starting to scare me." She checked the clock on her wall. 

Man... It's only 12:31. I've only been asleep for a couple of hours, but... That dream... It felt so real... 

"Mitsuha!" 

She peeked into the hallway from her room and found Kaori running towards her, "hey, everything okay?" 

"Yeah. We're all in the basement playing in the game room." Kaori smiled, "you should come down and join us! We're all down there! Except for Haru, who's swimming in his lab, I think." 

"Oh, okay, yeah sure." Mitsuha rubbed her eyes, "is he okay?" 

"I think he just prefers to hang out on his own, I guess." 

"Yeah..." Mitsuha looked around as she shut the door to her room behind her, "hey, uh, did you see anyone else up here before you got here?" 

"I don't think so." She looked at her curiously, "did something happen?" 

"I think I was just dreaming." Mitsuha chuckled sheepishly, "I've think I've just been pretty on-edge lately." 

"I feel you." Kaori sighed as they made their way down the stairs into the basement where everyone was yelling at each other. 

"Do you not know how to play foosball?! The ball goes into their goal! Not your own!" 

"How was I supposed to know that!?" 

"It's friggin' soccer, dumbo!" 

"Calm down, people!" 

"I could barely hear myself think, idiots!" 

"Let me live how I want! It's our final 24 hours being alive! If I want to throw this game of foosball, let me do it!" 

"Not at your team's cost, you idiot!" 

>> This is too much... <<

Mitsuha stood and watched Natsu, Naruto, Korra, Luffy, and Celty figure out how to play foosball. 

"Heh..." Kaori scratched the back of her head, "I guess it got pretty hectic." 

Mitsuha scanned the room and spotted Eren come out from what was labeled as the Laundry Room, "hey, Eren." 

"Oh, I guess you came down after all." Eren looked at her as he folded his brown jacket.

"I completely forgot we had a laundry room. That's pretty handy." Mitsuha smiled. 

"Yeah, it's nice. Especially if someone spills juice on your jacket and stains it..." Eren rolled his eyes and slung his clean jacket over his shoulder, "where've you been?" 

"Sleeping, actually. Hoping I'd never wake up." Mitsuha groaned and leaned against the wall, "how long have they been doing this?" 

"For a while, actually. Ever since Monokuma's announcement, we all came down here, with the exception of you, Haru, and Taiga." 

Oh, that's right... Taiga. Last I saw her, she seemed really scared. I never thought someone as fierce and strong as her could still be as scared as she was. She wouldn't admit it, but I could definitely tell she was, "has she not come down yet?" 

"Not that I've seen." Eren looked around, "Kirito, Tamaki, and I hung out in the media room for a bit before I left to use the restroom and found someone had spilled their drink on my jacket..." 

"Hey! I apologized, didn't I? I said I was sorry." Naruto called from the foosball table. 

"Yeah, yeah." Eren chuckled. 

"Taiga might still be up in her room." Mitsuha glanced up the stairs, "think I should go check on her...?" 

"She's probably fine." Kaori sighed, "I tried to visit her earlier, she just yelled at me to go away. She probably just needs time to cool down." 

"Understanding who she is, you're probably right." Mitsuha smiled. But I can't help worrying about her... Taiga...

Suddenly, she heard it. She's not sure how she heard it over the loud yells of the foosball players, but she did. 

She felt her eyes open wide when everyone else froze. They heard it, too. 

"No... No..." Once she heard that tone, her heart stopped and the world around her froze, "no... No... No...!" 

She fell to her knees as Monokuma's voice spoke through the PA system. 

"Well, folks! It gives me great pleasure to announce that a body has been discovered! Everyone, make your way to the Basement Media Room immediately!" 

"N-No..." 

Nobody moved. They just stood there, staring at each other. 

Someone died. 

They don't know who, but someone died. 

Again. 

And it's going to keep happening until they get out of the killing game. 

And there's no way they could do that if they just keep pretending as if nothing happened. They knew they had to go see who it was. 

Eventually, everyone slowly moved to the library just a few steps away from where they were and they were back in the killing game, once again.