(3rd Person's POV)

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

As soon as that noise filled their air, a shadowy figure made its way to a nearby monitor.

"Ahem! Ahem! Testing, testing! Mike check, one two!" The figure said in a high-pitched tone of voice. "This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everyone hear me? Okay, well then...!"

Something about the voice didn't feel right. It was so playful, so unconcerned...and not in the good laidback kind of way. Sora couldn't help but tense up as a sense of dread crawled up her back. It was like someone jumping for joy at a funeral, or hearing someone laugh at the scene of a terrible accident.

"Ahh, to all incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at...right now!" The figure cheerfully announced. Please make your way to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience. ...That's all. I'll be waiting!"

And just like that, the monitor shut off.

"...What. The. Hell was that just now?" Junko wondered in fear, her face turning a bit blue.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me..." Byakuya said, not even remotely concerned as he turned his back to the students and walked off.

"H-Hey! What, you're gonna take off just like that!?" Junko asked, but he was already gone.

"Ohh yeah, now I get it! This whole thing was just to get us all pumped for the entrance ceremony! Man, thank god it was all a joke. I'd be totally freaked if this was real!" Hiro laughed. "Alright, guess I'll head out too. Wonder what they got planned for us next..." With a content smile on his face, Hiro walked away.

"Damn, I was totally looking forward to that nap too. Why'd they have to go and kill the mood?" Leon complained as he walked off as well, silently grumbling.

"W-Wait for me! I wanna go with you!" Chihiro said, right behind the redhead.

"That is that, then. I will see you all there." Celeste said with another flag-raising smile as she left.

"N-Not that anyone cares, but I-I'm gonna go too..." Toko stuttered as, with a slight stumble in her step, she left, too.

Most of the students took off, but Sora stood still. The dread she felt...it wouldn't go away and certainly wouldn't let her go so easily. ...But, it looks like she wasn't the only one.

"This...this doesn't seem right." Sayaka said.

"Yeah, that announcement was totally weird." Junko agreed.

"Maybe, but just staying put doesn't mean we'll be safe." Kyoko told them. "Besides, aren't you guys just a little bit curious to find out what's going on around here?"

"If we do not move forward, we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead." Sakura said.

Sora sighed. They're right. Even though this whole thing is really strange, it's not like she had a choice. She has to go.

"They said to go to the gym, right?" Makoto asked.

---

After walking around the floor and being cut off at multiple dead-ends (seriously, they really should've given them maps to this place), the students finally found the door to the gym.

"God, I had no idea this Hope's Peak Academy place was gonna be such a pain in my balls." Mondo groaned. "It really ain't that much different from the time I spent in juvie. Hell, this place is even worse!"

"...Juvie?" Sora tilted her head.

"Don't ask." Mondo told her. "It hurts just thinkin' about it."

"And why isn't there anyone here? Walking through the halls, I didn't see a single person..." Sayaka pointed out.

"Isn't that like, seriously not good?" Junko asked, sweat forming on her forehead.

"Th-They're just trying to spook us!" Taka said. "They'll take those metal plates down later, I'm sure of it..."

...You don't seem to sure...  Sora though, rolling her eyes. Though deep inside, she did feel some hesitation going in as well.

"All we can do now is hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Sakura said. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"Well hell, it ain't like I'm scared or nothin'. Let's just get this over with!" Mondo said. "Hey! Where's whoever called us here!?" He yelled as he bolted into the gym.

"Owada, stop! No running!" Taka followed him, his actions going against his words.

"I too shall go." Sakura said as she casually walked in.

"H-Hey, wait! Don't leave me here all alone!" Hifumi cried, running through the door with the others.

"Oh, good grief..." Sora put her hand on her forehead, sighing. Guess there's no going back now...

---

Just like all the others, Sora walked through the door, anxiousness written on her face. And what greeted her was...

"...Eh?"

"Oh. It really does look like an entrance ceremony..."

It was just like Makoto said. Nothing in the room seemed out of the ordinary.

"Well, that was anti-climatic." Sora muttered under her breath.

"See? Told ya! It's totally normal entrance ceremony stuff." Hiro said. He was right. But, in a way, that just emphasized how completely not normal all of them were.

"Hey there, howdy, hello!" Suddenly, the high-pitched voice entered everyone's ears. "Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!"

The students all turned to the source of the voice: the podium. And what jumped out was...

A.. black and white teddy bear...?

"What...?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"T-The..." Makoto continued.

"Fuck?!" Mondo yelled.

"Huh? A teddy bear?" Chihiro asked, confused.

"I'm not a teddy bear! I...am...Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!" Oh, it can talk. Great. "Nice to meet you all!"

Such a bright and carefree tone of voice was completely out of tone. If Sora wasn't nervous before, she definitely is now.

"Wh--? Waaaaaah! That teddy bear can talk!" Hifumi yelled.

"Calm down! I'm sure there's just a speaker inside it." Taka said, though he, too, looked confused at the bear's appearance.

"I told you already, I'm not a teddy bear..." Monokuma said. "I'm Monokuma! And I'm your headmaster!" He jumped up on the podium.

"Waaaaah! It moved!" Hifumi yelled again.

"Ah geez..." Sora sighed at Hifumi's antics.

"Yeah, seriously man, calm down! It's prolly just a remote control toy or somethin'." Mondo said. Monokuma seem to take offense to that, as he lowered his head in sadness.

"How dare you compare me to a child's plaything!" He said. "You've cut me deep. Deeper than the Mariana Trench..." Monokuma then lifted his head up to chuckle. "My remote control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can't recreate or even comprehend it! Ah, but don't make me say stuff that might destroy NASA's dreams. I just couldn't BEAR that!" He joked.

...Good grief. Sora thought, rolling her eyes at the terrible pun.

""Bear" that? Really? You are...unfortunate." Celeste sighed.

"Now then, moving on! We really must hurry and get started..." Monokuma said.

"Giving up already? No other stupid bear puns?" Junko asked.

Don't give him a chance to say another one...

"Quiet down now, quiet down." Monokuma told them. "Ah, okay, so...!"

"He has abandoned the gag..." Sakura said.

"Good..." Sora mumbled.

"Everyone stand at attention and bow! And...good morning!" Monokuma said. But would actually be foolish enough to...

"Good morning!!!" Taka shouted back.

Of course...

"Y-You don't have to s-say it back..." Toko said.

"Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!" Monokuma said. "First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake--you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope..." He made a smile as he continued. "...you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school.

...Excuse me? Sora asked in her head.

"Ah, now then...regarding the end date for this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned."

Sora blinked twice. She has to live here...with everyone?! Now this is torture!

Toko widened her eyes. "Wh-What did he just say? Until the day we d-die...?"

"Oh, but fear not! We have quite an abundant budget, so you won't lack for all the common conveniences." Monokuma told them, but that did little to ease them of their nerves.

"That's the least of our worries right now!" Sayaka said.

"Yeah, what the hell? You're saying I have to live here forever? You're screwing with us, right?" Junko asked, looking up at Monokuma.

"I am not screwing with you! I am no liar, of that you can be 100% sure." Monokuma replied. "Ah, and just for your information...you're completely cut off from the outside world. So you don't have to worry about that dirty dirty land beyond these walls ever again!"

"Cut off...?" Makoto spoke up. "So all those metal plates all over the school... They're there to keep us trapped in here?"

"That's exactly what they're there for." Monokuma confirmed. "No matter how much you may yell and scream for help...help will not come. So with all of that in mind, feel free to live out your life here with reckless abandon!"

"Come on, what the hell is this?" Leon nervously asked. "I don't care if the school or whoever else is behind it all, this is just a really bad joke."

"Yeah! Cut this shit out! It isn't funny anymore!" Mondo shouted at the bear.

"Implying it was funny to begin with...?" Sora raised an eyebrow.

"You keep saying this is a lie, or a joke. A bunch of skeptics, all of you." Monokuma sighed. " But I guess you can't help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you're taught to doubt your neighbor... Well you'll have plenty of time to find out whether or not what I say is true. And when that time comes, you'll see with your own eyeballs that I speak the undeniable truth."

"Having to live here forever would be...quite the problem." Celeste said to herself.

"Come, now. What's the matter with all of you?" Monokuma asked, tilted his head. "You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave?" He said before he smirked. "Oh, but you know... I guess I did forget to mention one thing. There is one way for you to leave the school...

"R-Really...?" Toko asked, desperate to know what it is.

"As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it...the Graduation Clause! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school." Monokuma explained. "That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!"

"What do you mean by "disrupt the harmony"?" Byakuya asked, glaring at Monokuma.

"Puhuhu..." He laughed. "Well, you know... If one person were to murder another."

...

...

...

"...Come again?" Sora deadpanned.

"You heard me! We're doing things all Battle Royale up in here!" Monokuma grinned. "Or Hunger Games if you prefer...you freaking weirdo's..."

"H-Hold on!" Makoto said. "Did you just say m-murder?!"

"Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter." Monokuma said, listing off some murder methods. "You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that." He looked at them with a dark grin. "The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible.

Sora raised an eyebrow. You have to kill someone to leave, huh...?

Monokuma saw the students flabbergasted expressions and laughed. "Puhuhu. I bet that got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world." He told them. "But you know... Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so...darn...exciting!"

The first to speak was Leon. "What the hell are you talking about!? To kill each other is...It's!" He trailed off.

"To kill each other is to kill each other. I'm sure there's a dictionary here somewhere if you need it." Monokuma said, tilting his head.

"We know what it means, that's not the problem! Why do we have to kill each other!?" Hina yelled.

"Yeah! Stop blabbering on with all this nonsense! Just let us go home already!" Hifumi shouted.

" ...Blabbering?" The bear started getting irritated as his lone red eye started blinking. "Blabbering, blabbering, what do you mean blabbering!? Stop blabbering on about blabbering on! You guys just don't get it do you? "Let us go, let us go!" You keep on saying the same thing over and over and over and over...! Listen. From this moment on, this school is your home, your life, your world. Got it?" He said. "And you can kill as much as you wanna kill! So go ahead, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!"

"Alright, come on... How long are you gonna keep this up?" Everyone looked at Hiro, who looked way to casually, considering what they just heard.

"Eh?" Even Monokuma looked confused.

"You got us, okay? You scared the hell out of us. So you can go ahead and reveal the trick now." Hiro said.

"Reveal the trick...?" Monokuma questioned.

"Yeah, cuz I mean... Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like..."

Sora faceplamed. He still thinks this is a prank?!

"Good grief..." Sora muttered.

"Dude, shut the hell up and get outta my way." Mondo demanded.

Shoving Hiro aside, he placed himself in front of Monokuma, his voice rumbling like thunder.

"Listen up, asshole! This shit's gone way too far! What the hell kinda joke IS this!?" He yelled.

"Joke? What, you mean like your hair?" Monokuma snarked.

Ooooof... Sora winced in her head. Not even the Ultimate Nurse could heal that burn.

"FFFUUUUUUUUUUUU--!" Mondo roared out, and then there was a sudden BOOM! It was the sound of the floorboards as he kicked off and launched himself into the air. He flew at Monokuma, fast and straight as a bullet. He'd locked on to his target...

CRASH!

Mondo grabbed Monokuma by his non-existent neck as he lifted him up, with the former trying to wiggle out in vain.

"Gotcha, you little piece of shit! I dunno if you're a toy or a stuffed animal or whatever the hell! Either way, I'm gonna rip you to fuckin' shreds!" Mondo yelled.

"Waah! Violence against the headmaster is in violation of school regulations!" Monokuma said.

Wait, school regulations...?

"Shut the fuck up! Let me outta here, or I swear to Christ..."

Right in the middle of Mondo's threat, Monokuma suddenly went limp as a faint beeping noise can be heard.

"What, no smartass comeback this time!?"

"..."

It's getting faster....

"Stop that goddamn beeping and SAY SOMETHING!" Mondo barked.

"Watch out! Get rid of it!" Kyoko spoke up, catching Mondo's attention.

"Huh...?"

"Hurry up and throw it!" Kyoko sternly told him.

Sora doesn't know if it was Kyoko's ferocity that did it or what, but without a word, Mondo did what he was told. He chuckled Monokuma into the air. And as soon as he did...!

BOOOOOM!

"The hell!? Th-That sure as shit wasn't a joke. It blew the hell up..." Mondo widened his eyes, surprised.

There was a painful ringing in all the students ears. Sora could even smell gun powder from the explosion. She's seen a bunch of explosions in fiction, but when it happened it real-life, right in front of her...

"But you know... This means that the teddy bear's been destroyed, right?" Chihiro asked, still trying to recover from what just happened.

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" Everyone whipped their heads to the podium to see Monokuma safe and sound, like nothing ever happened.

"Uwah! There's another one...?" Leon gasped.

"You son of a bitch! You seriously tried to kill me just now!" Mondo snarled.

"Well, yes. I was serious about trying to kill you. You did violate one of the school regulations, after all." Monokuma said as he raised his paw as in intimidation method. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but you'd better be careful from now on. Any naughty boy or girl who violates my rules won't get off with just a little swat on the butt."

"H-Hey... So does this mean there's like, a bunch more of you around here somewhere?" Junko asked, stuttering.

"Monokumas have been placed all throughout the school, yes. Plus, don't forget the surveillance cameras installed everywhere. " Monokuma explained. "And if you're caught breaking any rules, well... you all just saw what happened, right? Puhuhu... And I won't be so forgiving with my punishment next time. So don't let it happen again!"

"Th-That's not even punishment. That's just...wrong..." Hina weakly commented.

"Now then, lastly... To commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you..." Monokuma said as he pulled out a bunch of tablets. "This is our official student handbook! Pretty cool, huh? As you can see, it's fully digital. So naturally, we call it... The E-Handbook!

"..." The students were silent.

"..." Makoto was silent.

"..." Sora was silent.

Monokuma awkwardly coughed into his paw. "Ahem. Yes, well, moving on... This handbook is absolutely vital to a healthy school life, so don't lose it! When you start it up, it will display your name. Always make sure you have the right one! Now, this is not your everyday notebook. It has so many more uses than that!" He said with pride. "Also, it's completely waterproof. Splash it, wash it, drown it, it'll keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten tons. Very resistant! It contains all of our school regulations, so make sure you review them thoroughly!" Monokuma then glared at the students. "You'll hear me say this a lot, but any violation of school regulations will not be tolerated. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be utter chaos without laws. The same thing applies here! Which is why it's crucial we have strict punishments in place for violators." He then took a deep breath. " Okay, well...that brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life! And...see ya!"

And with that, he was gone. Monokuma disappeared into the floor, leaving the students in a state of shock.

---

"So, guys... How would you define what we just experienced?" Taka spoke up.

"How...? Why...? I don't understand any of this..." Leon said, his face losing its color.

"We have to l-live here forever...? Or...k-kill?" Toko asked as she put her hands in her head in fear. "Wh-What...? What just happened!?"

"Everyone, we need to just calm down." Kyoko's calm voice cut through the atmosphere. "First, let's just take a second to summarize everything we just heard." She put a thinking pose on. "Based on what Monokuma said, we essentially have two choice. Choice number one is that we each stay here, living a "communal life" together until the day we die. And the other choice is..." She trailed off.

"If we want to get out of here alive, we have to kill someone. Right?" Celeste bluntly said.

"But...killing someone... That's..." Chihiro weakly said.

"We were abducted out of nowhere and stuffed into this place meant to look like a school. And now we're supposed to start killing each other?" Hifumi rhetorically asked. "This is...This is...this is just...! What IS this!?" He yelled.

"A lie, is what it is." Taka replied, shaking his head in denial. "All these ridiculous things we've heard... This all has to be fake!"

"Right now it doesn't really matter if it's real or fake." Byakuya said. "What matters is..." He turned to the rest of the students. "Is there anyone here who's seriously considering all this...?"

To that, nobody responded to. Keeping quiet as usual, Sora's eyes flickered around the rest of her peers.

Everyone was staring at one another, trying to gauge each other's thoughts. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

And that's when it hit her. The true terror hidden within Monokuma's rules. "You must kill someone if you want to leave." Those words had planted vicious thoughts deep within each of us. Each of us became suspicious of everyone else. We were forced to wonder, "Is somebody going to betray us?"

And that's how Sora's school life began. Hope's Peak, which had welcomed her with open arms...it wasn't a school of hope.

But rather...a school...of despair.

Prologue Part Three: End

Surviving Students: 16

To be continued...?