-Hajime P. O. V.-

"Hello students!" The cheery voice from before rang out.

We all looked at a stage with a podium on it at the back of the gym. Suddenly, a black and white bear popped out of the podium.

I have a really bad feeling about this.

"What... the hell  is that thing?" I asked aloud.

"It looks like... a black and white teddy bear?" A girl with a sword on her back said.

"I am not a teddy bear!" The bear spoke. "I am Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!"

The manga boy threw a scalpel at Monokuma, but he missed. "Damn. I missed." So HE'S the one who threw that scalpel at me.

"What the fuck do you mean by 'headmaster'!? You're just a bear!" The short blonde said.

"I'm not just any bear, I'm your headmaster! Monokuma!"

It was so strange. The sight that we saw was the strangest thing we'd ever seen.

"So, can we eat this guy and get on with the normal stuff?" A tan girl with huge... endowments said.

"Yeah, this stupid teddy bear is creeping me out! Look at his dumb little face!" A girl with weird blonde hair said.

"I told you, I'm not a teddy bear!" Monokuma yelled again.

"Everyone! Nobody panic! It's just a trick! There's some kind of device inside it, like a speaker or something!" This big tough guy with a chain around his neck yelled.

"How dare you compare me to a mere toy! My control system is so complicated, it would take someone such as the Ultimate Programmer to even come close to creating it!" Monokuma cheered.

This is some weird stuff.

"Now, since everyone is here, let's go over the rules." Monokuma said.

"You are the 77th class of Hope's Peak Academy. You students represent the hope of the world. You will all live a communal life together within the confines of this school! All of you will live together in peace and harmony while adhering to the rules and regulations of the school! Now, about the end date of this life... It doesn't exist! All of you will be living here until the day you die!"

We all were shocked, not believing what he said.

"Wh-Wh-What!?" The yellow jumpsuit guy yelled.

"What kind of devilry is this!? A mighty forest warrior has captured me among a group of mortals! This cannot be!" This weird guy with a purple scarf yelled.

"W-What do you mean, until we d-die!?" A girl with choppy purple hair wailed.

"Quite literally, dying is the only way out of here! If someone was to disturb the communal life, they would become blackened! And we cannot have a blackened soul running around our peaceful communal life, so only they would be allowed to leave. And naturally, the only way to disturb the communal life without breaking the rules is to murder someone!"

We were paralyzed. I couldn't believe what we were hearing.

"You mean that we have to kill someone in order to leave here!?" The guy with the marshmallow hair said, stunned.

"Of course! I don't care how you kill them. Stabbing, burning, shooting, strangling, bombing, smoking, choking, cutting, poisoning, drowning. Anything goes!"

"You... you've gotta be joking, right? The real headmaster and all the teachers are just hiding somewhere and playing a joke on us, right?" The jumpsuit guy said, starting to panic.

"Oh, this is real, Grease Monkey. but don't worry. The fridges restock everyday, so you won't run out of food, and each of your has a private room, and there's a bathroom, a trash room, a laundry room and a dining hall to eat in, so you have everything you need!"

"Grease Monkey...?" The jumpsuit looked hurt, but more confused.

"Great! I'm starving! I'm going to filling my gut every morning, every day!" The tan girl grinned widely when saying that, almost as if she was oblivious to what was happening.

"I should also tell you that you are completely cut off from the outside world! Your cellphones and other means of communication are gone and the front door has been locked!"

I remembered back to the entrance hall. I didn't really comment on it, but I'm sure there was a giant metal hatch covering the door, and even two bigger security cameras with what looked like guns attached to them. I also then remembered back to the classroom I woke up in.

"Is that what the metal plates on the windows are for?" I asked.

"Yep! Exactly right!" Monokuma told me.

"And... those security cameras?" The fat guy added.

"Right again! And don't get any ideas, Grease Monkey! I know you're just creaming your pants to take those things apart, but if you lay a hand on one, I'll spear you right in your liver!"

"Again with the Grease Monkey...?" The jumpsuit guy looked more hurt this time.

"You... Stop fucking around with us! What's going on!?" The short blonde guy was really angry.

"I'm telling you the truth! You want to leave, kill someone!"

"Shut up!" The guy walked up and picked up Monokuma. "You think you're funny? Do you know who I am!? I'm a member of the Kuzuryu clan! My people are going to come and kill you!"

Monokuma flailed his arms and legs. "Hey! Wait! No violence is supposed to come to the headmaster!"

"Shut up! I'm gonna smash you to pieces unless you knock this shit off!"

Suddenly, Monokuma stopped flailing. There was a loud beeping noise in the room.

"Why the fuck are you beeping? You trying to scare me? Don't fuck with me!"

"Stop that! Throw him away, now!" The girl with the sword bag yelled.

"What?" The blonde guy asked.

Before he could respond, the sword bag girl rushed at him and pulled an actual bamboo sword out of the bag. She swiped and hit Monokuma with that. He flew threw the air...

And exploded.

We all were shocked, horrified and terrified.

"Wh-Wh... WHAT!?" The jumpsuit guy screamed.

"I told you to no violence against the headmaster! I'll let you off with a warning this time." Monokuma popped out of nowhere, like nothing happened.

"What!? I thought you just exploded! I can definitely remember at least that!" The long red haired girl yelled.

"Relax, there a whole bunch of me all over this place. I won't run out." Monokuma explained.

"Well, that's a great thing." I said sarcastically, quietly.

"Anyway, before I go, I should give you guys this!" Monokuma suddenly pulled a bunch of electronic looking devices out of nowhere. He then threw one to each of us. "This is your e-Handbook! It contains all your personal information about yourself, a map of the school and the hotel, a list of rules and regulations, and it can keep bits of information I'll give you later! So you'd better not lose it!"

I turned my handbook on. It displayed my name. Then I found how to view the rules.

Rule 1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.

Rule 2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

Rule 3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in and punished accordingly.

Rule 4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.

Rule 5: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.

Rule 6: Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.

Rule 7: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.

"And that's all I need to tell you guys. Good luck!" And with that, Monokuma disappeared, as quickly as he appeared.

The gym was silent. I looked around. That girl with the long red hair was quickly scribbling things down in a notebook.

I have a bad feeling about this.