A half white, half black bear sprung onto the gym's stage, a sadistic look on one side of his face as his red eye glowed menacingly. Even though it had the appearance of a cuddly stuffed animal, his aura gave off vibes of anything else. A chill ran through the air as it began to speak, it's automated and cheery voice unsettling everyone in the room.

"Yes, yes. I am...Monokuma, your headmaster! This is where..." It suddenly grinned wider. "Oh, screw the formalities! You guys already know the drill. It's time for a killing game!"

"...What?"

"Oh, that's right, you all have no idea now. Well, basically, I'm going to speed through this...you all will never, ever leave this school!"

"Y-You've gotta be joking!"

"Nope! Just look around at the windows; well, lack of windows. You guys are trapped. The only way to graduate from this school is to kill someone and get away with it. Simple as that! Murder one of your classmates, get through a class trial without anyone figuring it out, and boom! That's the only way to escape."

"T-That's crazy! We'd never do anything like that just to escape!" Tanya's indignant voice echoed throughout the gym. To this, Monokuma just laughed.

"You don't count, you have no idea what I'm even talking about! You'll catch on quick, don't worry about it."

"S-Something a-about what he says is v-vaguely familiar..." Toko muttered unhappily as she chewed on her pointer finger. "I-Is that j-just m-me...?"

"No, it does seem familiar," Hajime crossed his arms. "But why...?"

"...I have no idea what you guys are talking about, this all seems pretty new to me," Lyra laughed nonchalantly, completely dismissing anything Monokuma had said as a threat.

"I mean, I think it sounds familiar, but..." Hiro shrugged. "No way are we going to kill each other! That's just ridiculous."

"Puhuhu...That's what you think!" Monokuma cackled loudly. "I have a gift for all of you! These are E-Handbooks. Everyone gets one that is personalized to you! It gives you the rules and regulations, which I'm about to go over..."

"...Wait. I have a question," Kyoko interrupted, a pensive look on her face. "Is this really Hope's Peak Academy?"

"What? Of course!" Monokuma sneered. "Okay, let's start it off!"

He began listing out the rules, which consisted of the following;

#1: Students must live at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future unless they manage to escape as a blackened.

Honestly, I feel like you guys should know this by now, but I'll explain for our newbies. Okay!

#2: Once a murder takes place, all surviving students must participate in a class trial.
#3: If the blackened is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.
#4: If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining students will be executed.
#5: If the blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate and re-enter the outside world.
#6: Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dining hall and armory are off-limits at night.
#7: Violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, is strictly prohibited.
#8: Monokuma will never directly commit a murder.
#9: Your E-Handbooks are very important items. Please do not damage them.
#10: The "Body Discovery Announcement" will play when three or more students discover a body.
#11: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the campus at your discretion.
#12: Students who violate these rules will be immediately exterminated.
#13: Further, there may be new additions to the school rules according to the convenience of the headmaster.
#14: If two multiple murders by different murderers occur at the same time, only the one whose victim was found first will be the blackened.
#15: The incinerator in the garbage disposal can only be turned on from seven P.M to nine P.M.

Got it? Great! Your dorm keys are in your pockets, by the way. Alright! Enjoy your lovely year...of death!"

With an obnoxious giggle, Monokuma suddenly disappeared, leaving behind the baffled students. The same mutual feeling was going around everywhere; distrust. When would someone snap? Trapped in this school, Hope's Peak Academy, with no way out, with only these strange people, someone was bound to feel the pressure and abide by Monokuma's rules...someone was bound to snap and kill someone just to try and get out of here...!

The dreadful silence was suddenly ended not by anyone's hopeful speech or anything, but by Lyra's sudden and loud laughter.

"That's a funny joke, right? As if we'd all kill each other! Hah!" Lyra chuckled, her smile wide and slightly intimidating just from how nonchalant she was, given the circumstances. Even so, her words were enough to ease the tension. Other people
began to chuckle and nod.

"Yeah, you're right...This has all just gotta be one big joke," Akane agreed. "Killing game...like that would ever happen!"

"Yeah...you're right!" Makoto smiled, rivaling Lyra's in cheerfulness. "We would never kill each other. None of us are that desperate to get out of here!"

"Don't be stupid. We don't even know each other," Byakuya sneered. "Do you really think people would spend our lives trapped in this school for some people they don't even know?"

Lyra's grin grew wider, turning almost sardonic as her eyes glimmered.

"Well, why don't we just change that?"

"She's got a point!" Aoi agreed, a little more hesitant than Lyra, but she still agreed with Lyra's point. "I mean, if we all get to know each other, we'll never kill! Cuz...we'll all be friends!"

"Such ignorance," Byakuya continued to hurl disagreements, one after another. "You really think that a friend is enough to stop someone desperate enough to leave? You all must be stupid. You all can stay here. I refuse to be a part of this stupidity."

Without another word, Byakuya turned on his heel to leave. As soon as he did, the frigidity of the room seemed to decrease as Lyra began to speak comfortably again. Without Byakuya's constant butting in, everyone introduced themselves to each other. While a couple of people, namely Hajime and Soda, were off-put by Maki's talent of assassination, Lyra and Makoto worked together to reassure everyone else that she wouldn't be a danger.

"So counting the guy that left, there's eighteen of us," Makoto counted. "Only eighteen of us in Hope's Peak. I expected more students...Well, assuming we're even actually at Hope's Peak."

"The note said Hope's Peak, why wouldn't it be Hope's Peak?" Akane asked absentmindedly, not even thinking about the possibility that they had been lied to.

"I don't think that this is that simple," Himiko said flatly. "I tried to use my magic to get us out of here, but it would take a lot more MP for that..."

"Magic...? Is that perhaps some sort of occult spell?" Sonia immediately perked up. "I happen to know quite a bit about that, maybe I could help!"

"Gah! No, the occult is the worst!" Hiro flipped out. The conversation continued on with lighthearted fun, completely ignoring the dread of the killing game. Everything Monokuma said as well as the barred off school had practically been wiped from their minds as they just talked as if they were indeed all long time friends.

"...Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. If we take into account what Monokuma said, we should be actively trying to search the school," Kyoko finally interrupted the flowing and active conversation. Instantly, the smiles began to fade from everyone's faces as the thought of having to face their reality sunk in once more.

"But...If this is all fake, we have nothing to fear," Janelle played with the end of her purple dress. "I am not saying Monokuma's words are entirely fake, but I do not think we should all be so worried about what he said. There is no proof that he is not lying."

"True...But regardless, I think exploring the school is important anyway," Shuichi tilted his cap away from his face, revealing amber eyes and a pensive expression. "It'd be best to get acquainted with our surroundings."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad," Hajime agreed. "Well, why don't we travel in groups? That way we can all get to know each other while looking around. Let's see...Seventeen of us now. How about five groups of three, one group of two?"

"That sounds perfect!" Soda flashed a toothy grin and a thumbs-up. "Could I perhaps be part of Miss Sonia's group? I feel...some connection. I'm not sure why though..."

"I am not quite sure I would call it a connection, but you do seem vaguely familiar. Just like this whole killing game concept in general..." Sonia murmured. "Ah, never mind. My mind must be hazy. I do not mind being paired with him as long as we are not the group of two."

"I can go with them," Himiko volunteered, and thus, the first group was set. They began to go into separate groups, and then, exploration of their new surroundings began.

Unknown to all of them, though, deceit had already begun to trickle into three student's hearts, their utter excitement to begin the killing game just waiting to be unbridled...