Chapter Text
“Well, it seems that I am the victor…once again.”
Celeste sat at a round table in the Rec Room on the third floor, playing poker with her entire class, taking all of their money and, in Byakuya’s case, also their dignity. Hifumi, dressed in a butler outfit, served her the most delicious tea she’d ever tasted as she cleared out the last of Hiro’s savings…a feat that brought a delicate smile to her lips. And although the rest of her classmates were outwitted easily, every once in a while, Makoto would get lucky and earn back what little he could. However, even the Ultimate Lucky Student soon fell to her poker face! She was up six hands and once she cleaned out this lot, she would finally be able to procure her castle! She could practically see it in the distance…just waiting for her to claim it!
“All in,” she said confidently, her eyes never leaving the large European castle just beyond her reach.
Victory was within her grasp…she had bet all of earnings, knowing she was about to seize her castle…she laid down the hand that would earn her the life she’d always dreamed of…until those words suddenly roared all around her…
“…Celestia Ludenberg, you have no true talent to refine…”
The instant those words echoed, everything changed. The royal flush she’d laid down suddenly turned into a row of jokers, all of which looked like Monokuma, openly laughing at her for the blunder. A startled gasp escaped her and she lifted her head up to see her opponent, who was holding her previously coveted royal flush, glaring at her. Only then did she recognize that her opponent for this final round…had been Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru!
“Stop!! You can’t!! My dream!!”
The white haired, burning eyes Committee Chairman paid her no heed as he mercilessly set down “her” royal flush, earning victory for himself.
Celestia Ludenberg stood there helplessly as the money she’d earned from this game suddenly vanished from her side and reappeared next to Taka. Even more horrifying, her castle, the vision that had given her strength, also materialized just behind the Moral Compass, a spoil of his victory. Upon seeing that, the gambler’s rage abruptly burst forth and she leapt from her seat, intending to charge him. However, before she even had a chance to move, cold steel wrapped around her neck. She froze for a moment before slowly lifting a hand up and touching the metal collar that had latched around her slender neck.
Fear unlike any other gripped her as she suddenly realized where she was. She wasn’t in the Rec Room sitting at a round table with her classmates…she was standing at her place in Monokuma’s class trial courtroom…with all of her classmates glaring at her unforgivingly.
“No…no!! It’s not possible! I…I should have won! You can’t do this to me!!” Celestia Ludenberg screamed, her voice hoarse and cracking as a chain attached itself to the collar around her neck before suddenly pulling her down a long hallway.
Without mercy, she was drug along the ground toward her fate, her Lolita dress shredded and ripped apart, her hair extensions were cruelly torn out, taking tuffs of her hair with them, and her delicate figure battered and bruised as her lithe body tumbled down the long hallway. Eventually, the chain around her neck tugged her upward, lifting her off the ground for a moment before slamming her already beat-up body against a large wooden stake. Immediately, ropes appeared from all around, tying her to the wooden pole so tightly she fought just to breathe. At the same time, an ominously large amount of firewood was piled at her feet all around her.
Forcefully bound there, breathless and wracked with pain, Celeste barely managed to look up and get one final glance at her castle. However, her crimson eyes widened as she saw a large construction crew demolishing the castle’s pristine glory. She screamed and begged but nothing she said stopped the destruction of her dream home. Once it was completely cleared away, another building rose up in its place. To her utter horror, what appeared there was none other than Hope’s Peak Academy. And there, standing atop the newly risen learning facility, was Taka, bearing down on her with a condescending glare.
Just as she felt her rage return and she struggled against her restraints, an intense heat suddenly roared beneath her. Her terrified eyes looked down to see the wood at her feet had been ignited, the flames inching closer and closer to her. As the raging inferno lapped up at her legs and she felt the incredible pain of her leggings catching fire, Taka’s voice called down to her one last time…mocking her very being…
“…Taeko Yasuhiro, you have no true talent to refine…”
All at once, the fire leapt up, encasing her body in flames and scorching her porcelain skin, burning her alive. A guttural scream of agony and rage ripped from her throat as she was consumed by the blaze…
“EYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”
Celeste shot up in bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. An instant later, she gasped for air, flinging the sheets off her bed in an attempt to cool herself, tossing away her pillow for good measure. Slowly, she regained composure as she realized that she was safe in her own bed, having awoken from her nightmare. Her entire body was slick with a cold sweat that trickled off her forehead, slid down her back, and even lingered on her palms. Her black nightgown was utterly soaked, her hair matted and disheveled. Her eyes shot over to see that both her gothic dress and hair extensions were just where she had left them.
As she continued to sit there, drenched in her own sweat, she gritted her teeth and seethed, “Again! Can’t I even get a God-damn peaceful night’s sleep?!”
As much as she hated to admit it, Taka’s snide remark days ago refused to leave her, and every time she saw him, she was reminded of how deeply his words had cut her. No matter how much she tried to block out those words, they continued to plague her every waking thought. She found brief moments of respite, mainly while coercing Hifumi into attending to her whims, but it never lasted long.
Just like tonight, every night since their encounter had been sleepless. Even when she did manage to rest her eyes, nightmares such as this one had plagued her. She hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep for several days and no matter how much she tried to hide it with make-up, it was starting to show through. It had taken hours for her to fall asleep tonight, a fact that only amplified her frustration.
“I wish he’d just die already! Hell, if it would help me sleep, I’d strangle him right now!” Celeste seethed, getting up to change into a different nightgown.
Tugging the damp black satin upward and over her head, she tossed the expensive nightgown into her laundry bin before opening her closet and rummaging through to find something comfortable to sleep in. She eventually settled on an older, plain white nightgown, one that, if it got covered in sweat, she wouldn’t lament throwing out.
“Who the hell does he think he is?! Destroying my castle like that! I’ll beat him to a bloody pulp next time I see him!”
Using a towel to clean the sweat from her body, she slowly pulled the plain white nightgown over her head and adjusted the fabric to make it comfortable. As she made her way back over to her bed, she took a few deep, cleansing breaths, in an effort to calm down. After all, she knew there was no way she’d get any sleep if she was so pissed off she couldn’t think straight.
Slowly climbing back into her bed, which was fortunately not too damp from sweat, she laid her head down on one of her spare pillows and stared up at the ceiling, still too frustrated to fall asleep. As she lay there, glaring upward, she slowly went over her plan to have vengeance against the bastard who had done this to her.
“It’s been slow, but it seems that I’m not the only one that bastard’s been pissing off. I just need to wait for the right moment. It’ll make all that time listening to that annoying bag of lard talk about his anime fetish worth it if I can just get him onto my side,” she told herself, settling back in for the night. “Sooner or later, Taka’s gonna find out something he finds unforgivable…like finding out what Hifumi’s secret really means…and when he does, he’ll step over the line in order to enforce his ‘justice’. And when that happens…I’ll be there to give Hifumi the little push he needs to take matters into his own hands. My pawn will take the king and it’ll be checkmate! Even if it only ends up a bullying trial, it’ll be enough to make him pay for what he’s done to me!”
A malicious smirk crossed her lips as she let that thought ebb her back toward peaceful slumber. Unfortunately, less than an instant later, a certain annoyance sprang up.
*Ding*Dong*Bing*Bong*
Good morning from Hawaii everyone! Where you all are, it is now 7AM! Time to rise and shine like the beautiful tropical sun that none of you get to experience yet again today! Be sure be on your best behavior while I’m goooooone!
Celeste audibly groaned and her tired eyes shot over to her wall clock to see that, unfortunately, the bear was correct. It was time for her to get up and start the day, despite getting little to no sleep. Knowing that she couldn’t miss the morning meeting, or else she’d have to deal with Taka again, the gambler felt her anger rise once again.
Flipping over and grabbing the edges of her bed, she slammed her face into her pillow and let out a muffled scream of fury.
For the first time in a while, Makoto was actually feeling pretty lucky. The morning meeting hadn’t been as horrible as he’d imagined, but then again, he was becoming accustomed to Taka’s ramblings about regulations while every had their breakfast. Plus, it seemed that everyone was slowly beginning to tolerate the Moral Compass’ morning antics. Celeste, in particular, had kept a sweet smile for the entire meeting, which was great because it meant that she was adapting pretty well.
“Well, she was the one who said we just needed to adapt,” Makoto said aloud, a light smile on his face. “I’m glad that she seems to be doing okay.”
He hadn’t really talked to Celeste that much since they’d been trapped in the school. He’d occasionally spoken to her about her gambling exploits but he didn’t really feel like he got to know her very well. Maybe he should ask if she wanted to hang out with him, Leon and Sayaka some time?
Speaking of which, he’d just finished spending some quality time with both Sayaka and Leon before deciding to head back toward his room to relax for the foreseeable future. It had only been a day since he and Sayaka had become friends again, but already it seemed that they had regained the trust and familiarity they had once shared. Add to it that Leon kept making dumb jokes and seemed to meld well with both of them, it seemed that the three of them were going to become close friends…something that had seemed impossible in this hellish place.
He’d even managed to survive Taka’s ‘detention’, which largely consisted of the Moral Compass shouting about the political structure of Japan and demanding that the lucky student solve math equations that Einstein would have struggled with…
However, now that it was all past him, in this brief moment of peace, Makoto was finally able to dare to hope…hope that they might all make it out of the school alive. Even if he couldn’t do much himself, he truly believed that if they all did everything they could, just like Junko said, they might be able to endure and survive.
As he made his way toward his room from the cafeteria, he happened to see someone standing in the corner of the lobby area. A smile appeared on his face as he saw that it was Kyoko, her gaze downcast, obviously deep in thought about something. At first, he hesitated to call out to her, not wanting to bother her if she was busy with something. However, he also had something important that he wanted to talk to her about and had let his own nervousness stop himself from speaking with her many times before. After weighing his options for a moment, the lucky student decided to see just how ‘lucky’ he really was.
“Hey, Kyoko!” he called out, making her snap out of whatever train of thought dominated her mind. She lifted her gaze and upon recognizing him, he could have sworn he saw a hint of a smile on her face. As he approached, he asked, “Whatcha doing? Thinking about stuff?”
Instantly, Makoto cursed his lack of tact. Obviously she had been deep in thought, otherwise she wouldn’t have been standing in the corner all silent like that. He really should have thought out what he was going to say before opening his big mouth. Just as embarrassment began to overtake him, the stoic young woman closed her eyes and nodded to him.
“I was actually pondering about what Monokuma had told us earlier,” she confessed, keeping her actual thoughts on the matter to herself. “Anyway, did you need something from me?”
Typical Kyoko, she always found a way to shift the conversation away from her and back to him. And while he wanted to respect her privacy, every time she avoided talking about herself in any capacity, it only made Makoto more interested in getting to know who she really was underneath her stoic appearance.
“N-No, not specifically,” he admitted, again cursing that he hadn’t through this out before talking to her.
Because of that, instead of striking up a conversation with her, like he’d wanted, all Makoto could do was stand there and stare at her. It took him a moment to realize that he was staring right into her lavender irises, and she was staring right back, their eyes locked. When his brain finally clicked that he was getting lost in her eyes, his cheeks flushed and he averted his gaze, staring down at the floor and feeling more embarrassed than ever before.
After what felt like hours but was really only about ten seconds, Kyoko cleared her throat, making him lift his gaze up to her.
“Well then, if you don’t need anything, I’m afraid I need to go,” she said as she pushed off the wall and began to walk away. “I have something to take care of. Goodbye.”
“H-Hold on!” the lucky student found himself saying before he knew what was happening. Upon hearing him, Kyoko stopped and glanced over to him again, giving him an expectant look. Knowing that he had only one shot to pull this off, Makoto swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, “W-Would you like to hang out later today? Like, after you’re done with…whatever you’re doing?”
His question hung in the air for only a moment, but to him, it felt like an eternity. All the while, Kyoko showed no sign of whether or not she’d accept his proposal, which only intensified his fears. Should he have been more specific about what he wanted to do? He wanted to talk to her, no, thank her for encouraging him to talk to Sayaka so long ago. Without her, he may never have had the courage to keep trying to be friends with Sayaka, he owed her a lot for that. And…he genuinely wanted to get to know her better. She was a mystery to everyone but she didn’t seem like a bad person. If anything, she seemed to be one of the most kind-hearted people here! If not for her, Makoto knew that he’d never have survived the first class trial. And not just while finding the culprit. She’d stopped him from charging Monokuma just before Leon was dragged away, an act that would have cost him his life.
Just as he was about to retract his own offer and excuse himself, to wallow in how stupid he felt, Kyoko suddenly answered, “That’s fine. I may be a while but if you’d like, we can meet around noon. Is that alright with you?”
For the first time since he’d been given his title, Makoto Naegi truly considered himself to be the Ultimate Lucky Student. A smile brighter than ever before erupted on his lips as he answered, “Uh, yeah! That sound great! I guess I’ll see you then!”
To his surprise, Kyoko let a small smile of her own decorate her lips as she nodded back to him. “Alright then. Later.”
And with that, she departed, heading toward the exit of the dorms. Makoto was barely able hold in his excitement as he also turned and began heading back to his room. He was so excited that he didn’t noticed Hina and Sakura entering the lobby, stopping Kyoko before she left and handing her something.
“Just what are they up to now?” the real Junko questioned, switching between several monitors as she tried to keep track of everyone as they made their way through the various school halls.
The Mastermind had noticed that some of them were acting suspiciously and had been intrigued at the level of secrecy they were displaying. A part of her wanted to believe that a murder was finally in the mix, but as soon as she noticed that all of the students were seemingly coordinating with each other, all of them distinctively avoiding Taka, it became painfully obvious that murder wasn’t in the cards for her. In fact, it seemed to be a secret meeting of sorts, with almost all of the students gathering in the cafeteria.
“Perhaps they are plotting a group murder of Mr. Ishimaru?” Sexy Teacher Junko asked herself, pushing up her fake glasses as she continued to survey the screens. “Wishful thinking, I know. But one can always dream…”
Just as she finished, she noticed that a certain lucky student didn’t seem to be included in the assembly. In fact, he had confined himself to his room for the last few hours…and he appeared to be waiting for something, or someone with lavender hair, to come visit him. She’d seen his exchange with the amnesiac detective earlier, which had made her gag, and promptly ignored him ever since. She lamented that she didn’t have access to Monokuma at the moment, otherwise she would have had a private ‘tutoring’ lesson for him, just to shake him up.
However, at that instant, on another monitor, she saw someone approaching Makoto’s room. A malicious smirk spread out on her lips and while she knew that, even though it would be small, a taste of despair was heading her way.
“Alright, almost time…” Makoto told himself as he looked up at the clock, indicating that it was almost noon.
The Ultimate Lucky Student sat on his bed, shoes already on and ready to get going the instant the minute hand reached the 12-hour mark. He was still ridiculously excited to spend time with Kyoko, and even still a bit shocked that she’d agreed! Actually, he was kind of curious what she needed to do when he’d asked her initially. He’d just been so elated that she’d accepted his invite that he didn’t even question what she needed to do. Then again, he could always ask her…but maybe it was best to just mind his own business.
After all, he didn’t want to be rude, especially if it was something…girl related.
At the same time, he couldn’t deny that he was concerned about the fact that she often disappeared for long stretches of time. He hadn’t noticed it until recently, when he’d begun to try and seek her out to speak to her, but she often couldn’t be found anywhere! One day, he searched all three floors but still came up empty handed! He tried not to be worried about it, but it definitely bothered him. Perhaps he’d bring that up while talking with her today?
With Monokuma seemingly absent from their lives until further notice, things seemed to going in the students’ favor. And while he wondered how long that would last, he tried not to question good things when they happened to him. And though he would admit that things weren’t exactly perfect, considering how much of a Rule-Nazi Taka was being, it didn’t seem all that horrible in the school right now.
“The ‘detention’ wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be, either… even if I did have to do practice questions out of Taka’s personal study guides,” Makoto pointed out to himself as he leaned back onto his bed, taking a few minutes to relax and compose himself before heading out to spend time with Kyoko.
*Knock* Knock*Knock* Knock*
Suddenly, Makoto jolted up from his bed, as someone pounded on his door. His heart became all aflutter as he presumed that it had to be Kyoko knocking. She must have finished early and come to see him! Without any hesitation, he stood up and practically dashed over to his door. Placing his hand on the handle and taking a cleansing breath, he slowly opened it.
“Hey, you’re early—”.
“Hey! Makoto! What’s up, man?!” the overly enthusiastic voice of Hiro invaded his ears.
Disappointment unlike anything Makoto had ever felt took hold as his door was suddenly pushed open and the tall clairvoyant rushed in, slinging his arm over the lucky student’s shoulders. Makoto’s happy mood drowned under a sea of questions, and a surge of panic encased him as Hiro had suddenly latched himself onto him. However, before he had time to say anything, a small piece of paper was thrust before his eyes. It read:
Meeting in the cafeteria! Need to talk about Taka and stuff!
The first thing the lucky student noticed was how well written the message was, he could hardly believe Hiro wrote it. But after digesting its contents, Makoto felt a chill run down his spine. Personally, he didn’t think that Taka had crossed any lines…at least not yet. Yeah, he was getting to be annoying but it wasn’t anything that extreme. Between the way Taka had been acting or the way Monokuma had previously treated them, the lucky student would gladly live under Taka’s dictatorship, no argument.
Even so, Makoto also knew that not everyone was going to be as easy going about this as he was, and so, he decided it was best to hear everyone out…despite the bad feeling he was getting.
“C’mon, man! Let’s get some grub! Hop to it!” Hiro said to him, putting away the very well written note and leading Makoto toward the door.
“Uh, wait! I already have plans—!” the lucky student tried to protest, secretly hoping Kyoko would arrive and save him.
“We don’t want to keep everyone waiting. They should all be in the cafeteria by now,” the clairvoyant interrupted, looking around suspiciously as they entered the hall. After glancing around, he carefully whispered, “We don’t want Taka to know what we’re up to…play along for now, man!”
Although he still wanted to protest, the fact that Hiro had mentioned that everyone was there caught his attention. Did it mean that Kyoko had been called there too? Figuring that might be the case, the lucky student unfortunately decided to go along with Hiro’s insistence and silently headed for the cafeteria with him.
“So much for lucky…” Makoto thought as he let Hiro tug him down the hall.
“The gang’s all here now! Well, most of us anyway!” Hiro announced as he and Makoto arrived at the cafeteria, with all of the students, minus Taka and obviously Mondo and Chihiro, already present.
Each person had a tray of food in front of them, so that if they were discovered by a certain suspicious Committee Chairman, it would seem that everyone had simply, and coincidentally, decided to have lunch together all at the same time. It had been hard to coordinate, with a number of notes being passed between everyone. Not to mention that Hiro had to personally fetch Makoto.
However, somehow, they had all managed to meet in the cafeteria just a little after noon. And now, everything was set for them to discuss the issue that had been plaguing all of them for the last few days.
“Before we begin, we need to appoint someone to watch outside, to be certain that someone does not overhear and suddenly interrupt us,” Byakuya instructed everyone, earning a few disgusted looks due to his authoritative attitude. “Makoto, I believe you will suffice.”
“W-What?! Why do I have to—?” the lucky student tried to say but was unable to finish.
“Because you were the last of us to arrive,” Byakuya swiftly explained, leaving no room for him to debate. “We even had to send the rabble to fetch you.”
“Hey…” Hiro quietly refuted before falling silent.
Ignoring him completely, the Affluent Progeny continued, “We could have begun the meeting much sooner if you had simply been more aware of your surroundings. This exercise should help you increase your awareness. You should be grateful that I’m affording you this opportunity.”
As he spoke, a few of the students glared at Byakuya fiercely. Among them was Junko, who was carrying a large, lavish purse for some reason. And she wasn’t the only one, Sayaka and Leon both sent the Affluent Progeny a disgusted look. Even Kyoko, with her features as stoic as usual, had her eyes locked onto Byakuya, an unmistakable disapproval behind her lavender irises.
However, being the non-confrontational person that he was, Makoto didn’t fight against Byakuya’s reasoning.
“Uh…okay, I guess.”
Without getting a chance to gather any food of his own, Makoto apologetically waved at Sayaka, Leon, and Kyoko, who had graciously saved him a seat that was nestled between Kyoko and Sayaka, with Leon sitting next to the pop idol to complete that little group. This made the pop idol and the baseball star glare even more fiercely at the Affluent Progeny but he seemingly ignored them, probably because he was getting exactly what he desired.
Once Makoto took a seat at the table furthest in the back, his eyes aimed firmly at the slightly open cafeteria door, the meeting officially began.
“I believe that we all know the reason we’ve gathered here today,” Byakuya began, not even taking a moment to thank Makoto for standing watch. “Concerning a certain Disciplinary Committee Chairman…we need to discuss how to proceed—”.
“Yeah, this is getting crazy! For serious!” Hiro loudly complained earning an annoyed stare from Byakuya. “I got a pink slip just for walking down the hall! I mean, yeah, I was talking pretty loudly to myself but that doesn’t mean I deserve a ticket for…” the clairvoyant took a moment to read his slip, “‘Excessive Loudness’! I’ve never been excessive about anything in my entire life!”
Everyone groaned as they all knew just how ‘excessive’ the clairvoyant could be, but they all knew now wasn’t the time to challenge his claims.
“Anyway, we all know that we need to do something,” Leon spoke up, a determined expression on his face. “So, I know this is a bit extreme but hear me out…one of the girls needs to do us a solid—”.
“No!” Junko immediately shot down, glaring at Leon for his subtle suggestion.
“Oh, come on! It’s not like you’d have to marry him or anything!” the baseball star tried to convince everyone, earning more than a few infuriated looks from the girls. “We all know he’d probably loosen up if—!”
“You’re forgetting that sexual promiscuity is unacceptable in a school environment,” Kyoko harshly reminded him, her voice for once not completely stoic.
“Well, yeah, but…”
Before he could speak another word, a hand gripped his shoulder. In utter horror, he slid his gaze over and found Sayaka giving him the most terrifying glare he’d ever seen. If he was pressed, he would have called it more frightening than the one she’d given him during their encounter on that horrible night.
“No…” she said softly, her voice unnervingly calm.
Feeling a cold chill run down his spine, Leon instantly backed down and said, “Alright…fine, but we still have to do something about this! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t take much more of this crap—!”
“You can’t take much more of this?!” Junko immediately retorted, ripping open her large purse and dumping its contents all over the table. To everyone’s shock, the bag had been filled to the brim with nothing but pink slips. “That bastard’s written me enough pink slips that I could recreate the tree they were made from!”
“Yeah, and poor Makoto had to serve detention with him…” Sayaka guiltily added, sending a sympathetic glance toward her friend. Everyone slightly cringed at that news, imagining a fate worse than death.
“How was that, by the way?” Byakuya snidely commented, obviously pleased with himself.
Rather than frustration, Makoto nervously scratched his head and averted his gaze.
“…Is it too late be homeschooled?” he tried to joke, only to have his humor drowned out by artistic wisdom.
“I must say, that is an impressive amount of building material!” Hifumi said to Junko, almost awed by the sheer amount of pink paper before him. “I’m a bit surprised you actually kept all of them. You could certainly use it as building material for a model if you wanted! Recreating a tree might be a waste but I will not stifle your creative intentions!”
With a heavy sigh, Junko answered, “I wasn’t serious about the tree thing…then again…”
As she glanced down at the pieces of scattered paper, a thought snapped into her mind. As the others began resuming their conversation, she carefully began scooping all of the pink slips back into her large purse.
“In any case, we need to discuss what should be done about him,” Celeste spoke up, trying to initialize the discussion. Even she seemed a bit tired, possibly from dealing with Taka in her own time. “We already know that he has some sort of connection with our captor—”.
“Actually, we don’t know that…yet,” Junko interrupted, barely finishing gathering all of her pink slips. A perturbed expression marred her beautiful face as she continued, “Yeah, he’s acting like a jerk but that doesn’t mean he’s a spy.”
“Hmmm, I suppose you are correct,” Celeste surprisingly conceded, much to everyone’s shock. “But that does not mean that we should be subjected to his peculiar form of justice, either. After all, you have personally been victimized by him.”
Celeste’s eyes momentarily glanced at Junko’s large purse, her indication clear to everyone. However, the Fashionista simply picked up her accessory and set it on the floor next to her, out of everyone’s sight.
“Does anyone have any good ideas on how we can help Taka?” Junko posed, sending one last quick glare toward Leon, who hung his head. At the same time, a set of calculating eyes focused on the Fashionista.
“H-Help? You th-think that h-he’s the one who n-needs help!” Toko abruptly spoke up from her place standing behind Byakuya, much to the Affluent Progeny’s dismay. “With h-how he’s been t-treating us, he isn’t the one who needs h-help! H-He’s a monster! He m-might have us all executed just for m-meeting in secret like this!”
With a raised eyebrow, Junko answered, “Does anyone else find it ironic that a known serial killer is accusing someone else of plotting to kill us?”
Toko abruptly turned red upon hearing that insult, pointing angrily at the Fashionista. “D-Don’t compare m-me to her!” the writer shouted, obviously referring to her other half. “And don’t ch-change the subject! Y-You really think that th-that bastard deserves any k-kind of help from u-us?!”
“Well, yeah!” Junko answered, not intimidated by Toko or her question. “He’s obviously unbalanced, right? He’s gone into this…Disciplinary Chairman mode to try and cope with the fact that, twice now, some of us almost died!”
“Indeed, that would appear to be the case,” Celeste again concurred, but not without countering. “However, that does not change the fact that our lives have been put in danger due to his newfound position. While I do pity him, I think that not acting would be a far greater mistake.”
“Oh, so I suppose you think we should tie him up and leave him in the closet somewhere?” the Fashionista fired back.
“I cannot say that I wish for such an outcome,” the gambler calmly retorted, her true intentions hidden behind her perfect mask. “I simply want to be rid of the possibility that he might abuse his position. As it stands, all of us have the same fear, correct? Should we not take matters into our own hands and deal with the situation accordingly?”
“And what exactly do you mean by ‘dealing with it accordingly’?” Kyoko suddenly inserted herself into the conversation, her eyes working to see past the gambler’s mask.
With a light laugh, Celeste continued, “I do not propose doing anything hasty. At the same time, we have little time to discover a solution to our problem. I am simply trying to help everyone realize that.”
“But what about trying to help him?” Makoto asked from his place near the door, continuing to watch just in case Taka appeared. “I mean; we were able to help everyone else that…went down that path.” He paused, feeling a bit guilty for singling out Sayaka and Leon, who hung their heads in shame. However, he pressed on regardless, “But there has to be something we can do to—!”
“At this point, I’m afraid there is little help that can be offered. None of us are qualified to properly handle someone as unbalanced as he is,” Byakuya announced, surprising all of them. However, none of them were shocked by his following words. “Moreover, because of that, he is all the more dangerous. We have to face that fact that, sooner rather than later, his mind will snap completely and at that time, he may order one of us to be executed. And I, for one, will not have my life put in jeopardy over a minor issue like running in the halls—”.
“Now it all makes sense,” Hina abruptly interrupted, glaring at him angrily. “You’re just worried about yourself! That’s why you wrote that message to me and Sakura in the first place! Asking us to get everyone together! You just want the rest of us to come up with a way of stopping Taka for you!”
With a cocky smirk, the Togami Heir answered, “But of course. However, since this matter also has value for the rest of you, as I assume none of you want to be executed, there should be no need to argue. Instead, we should focus on what we need to do to be rid of Mr. Ishimaru and his influence. And besides, if he really is the traitor, then it will be like killing two birds with one stone.”
All at once a cacophony of voice sprang up, all of them shouting at the same time.
“Wait, you were the one who organized the meeting?” Junko exclaimed, obviously upset about this development.
“I thought Junko was the one who called us all here!” Leon protested, feeling tricked.
“I can’t believe you tricked us like that! Have you no shame!” Hina shouted directly at Byakuya, who seemingly ignored her.
“Hina, please calm down. Everyone, we need to stay calm,” Sakura tried to convince everyone but to no avail.
“I was in the middle of completing a very important project! How could you tear me away from that?!” Hifumi complained, adding his voice to the group.
“It’s so nice seeing everyone agree on something,” Celeste chided, not entirely upset about the outcome before her.
Just then, among all of those voices, one of them grew louder than all the others.
“Oh! Hey, Taka! What’s up?”
Everyone immediately quieted down and turned to see that Makoto was no longer sitting at his seat. In fact, the cafeteria doors were open and he appeared to be just outside. He must have seen the Disciplinary Committee Chairman approaching and decided to stall him rather than draw attention by calling out to everyone. At first, everyone wondered if Taka would notice the fact that Makoto had practically shouted his greeting at him, but…
“Greetings, Makoto Naegi! Finishing lunch are you?” they all heard Taka reply, his distinctive voice already annoying them. Nevertheless, they all used that time to return to their seats and resume eating their meals.
“Yeah…just finished!” they heard Makoto answer, some of them feeling bad because he hadn’t gotten to eat anything. “Anyway, I’m heading back to my room for now—”.
“Wait just a moment, Makoto Naegi! I have something I need to speak with everyone about! We need to gather everyone as quickly as possible! Let’s start by seeing if anyone is in the cafeteria!”
“Actually—Taka wait a second!” Makoto obviously tried to delay him, but it apparently failed.
Everyone tensed but could do nothing as Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru burst through the doors of the cafeteria, his hair still a brilliant sheen of white and his eyes burning with scholastic passion. Upon seeing that virtually everyone was present, however, he became immediately suspicious.
“Well, Makoto Naegi,” Taka shouted as the lucky student rushed in after him. “It seems that everyone is already gathered! But why is that?! Were you, perhaps, having another secret meeting without—?!”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you!” Makoto bravely interrupted, shrinking a bit as Taka abruptly turned his burning gaze toward him. “I…uh, I came to eat lunch and almost everyone was already here! I mean, it’s noon and that’s lunch time and…yeah.”
For a moment, Taka glanced around the room, as if to judge each and every student that his eyes came across. However, upon seeing most of them with eating utensils, their plates mostly full of food, he slowly began to nod to himself, coming to a decision.
“Oh, well I suppose that makes perfect sense! It seems I overreacted, my apologies everyone!” Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru unexpectedly announced, laughing heartily before abruptly shifting into a frown. “But now isn’t the time for eating! Everyone, I need you to follow me to the gymnasium! I have found something…troubling. Let’s go now! Single file! And no stragglers this time!”
His gaze lingered on Celeste at the mention of stragglers but quickly shifted away, turning his back and heading out the door, as if leading everyone. For a moment, no one moved, that is until Kyoko abruptly stood up from her seat.
“We’d best go and see what he’s found. It could be vital for all of us,” she quietly insisted, already marching toward the door.
“I suppose she has a point,” Byakuya conceded, getting up from his spot and departing.
Soon, everyone slowly began to pick themselves up and begrudgingly head for the door. Leon, in particular, stomped his way out, glancing back at the sandwich that he’d failed to get a single bite of due to being called away.
Trailing behind all of them, almost unnoticed by everyone, Celeste seethed with a quiet rage as she made her way toward the gymnasium.
“Just be patient…just be patient…” Celeste mentally instructed herself as she followed behind everyone on their way to the gym.
Her fingernails had dug into her palms when Taka had subtly called her out with his ‘stragglers’ comment, which brought up memories of the sin that would eventually cause his downfall. However, somehow, she was able to contain her rage, reminding herself that she had a plan and needed to work toward it.
“Now isn’t the right time to spring the trap,” she told herself as she followed everyone down the hall and passed the nurse’s office. Taking a moment to stare at the closed door, she averted her gaze.
“I won’t let my emotions get the better of me. If I did, I’d be no better than that pompadour idiot. What I need to do now is keep calm and let the distrust fester amongst everyone. Once it’s at its peak, then I’ll see about instigating a clash between that bastard and the manga freak.”
As she rounded the corner behind everyone else, heading toward the trophy room just before the gym, she couldn’t help but smile to herself due to her own cleverness.
“I may not even need to provoke either of them. They might start a clash all on their own. The best case scenario would be that they take each other out. And while that means that I would still be trapped here, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with them for the remainder of my time here. I’d miss Hifumi’s tea but that’s a sacrifice I’d have to make once I ‘graduated’ anyway.”
Making her way into the trophy room, pausing only to catch a glimpse of herself in the display’s reflection, she noticed that her smile was still visible and instantly corrected it. Assuming a neutral visage, she continued on toward the gym to see what Taka had discovered.
“For now, I just need to be patient. Patience is a virtue, after all.”
Walking through the doors to the gymnasium, Celeste instantly noted that everyone was staring at something. Curiosity took over and she began making her way through the crowd of fellow students. However, when she finally noticed what they’d all been staring at, her jaw dropped.
Sitting there, atop the podium that Monokuma often stood on, was a large stack of money. At first, Celeste believe that she was imagining it, that her tiredness was finally catching up to her. However, as if to confirm if it was real or fantasy, Taka went up on stage and pointed to the mass of money.
“Classmates! I found this…astonishing sight only a few minutes ago! Not only that, it came with a note from Monokuma! I decided to gather everyone before reading the notice, so thank you all for being present! I shall now read the message aloud!” Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru shouted, holding up a piece of paper for all to see. Lowering it to read the message, the Moral Compass cleared his throat.
“‘To my wonderful students. I hereby present you with an added reward for any of you who successfully graduate. This stack of…ten billion—” he paused for a moment as he drank in that amount before continuing, “—big ones should be enough to get even the lowliest of you motivated! Yours truly, Monokuma’!”
In truth, Celeste was only half listening as Taka read the message aloud. All she really heard were the words, ‘ten billion’ and ‘graduate’. And perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but to her tired eyes, the way the money was stacked, high on the ends but shallow in the center, reminded her of the towers in a castle. And even though she held a surprised visage, the same as any of them, inside, a part of her was twisting excitedly.
“If I added that to my current accounts…I’d have more than enough to buy my castle! Hell, I could have one built! Two even! One as my main home and one in a separate location to act as a vacation resort! Both of them, just for me, to fill with as much gothic decorum as I want! And with plenty of vampire servants to keep me entertained for the rest of my life…with no one to who will ever know my old name… no one to tell me who I am or am not…and no one who can deny my obviously real talents—!”
Just as she began to get lost in her thoughts, she immediately stopped herself. Unfortunately, she knew that, in spite of being offered such a great prize, it was not worth risking her life over. After all, she could simply win that much after she escaped from here…but…if escape also meant getting ten billion to spend on whatever she wanted—
“No! Stop thinking like that! I need to be patient! If I rush into this, just because of a little more money, then I’m no better than a common thug! If I’m going to live long enough to enjoy my upcoming life of luxury, then I need to keep calm and just wait for the right—”.
As if to interrupt her thoughts, Hiro, who happened to be standing next to her, just had to quietly utter, “Whoa…that’s a lotta cash…with that I could…oh, money…money…money…money…”
…
…
“Who the fuck does he think he is?! That’s my money, bitch!!”
Despite herself, Celeste couldn’t stop herself from quietly sneering at him. The way he was talking not only disturbed her, it insulted her! For someone as pathetic as him to even consider going after a prize that was only fit for someone of her standing…it was infuriating! No, it wasn’t just infuriating or insulting, it was downright insanity! How dare he look at her money and think—!
“No, no, no, no! It’s not my money…not yet anyway! I need to be patient! I need to keep my composure! I need to wait for the right opportunity! I need to convince everyone I’m trustworthy! I need to make sure that—”.
“Classmates! I know this is a startling discovery but please listen to me! Obviously we cannot allow this money to continue to plague or tempt us!” Taka suddenly shouted to everyone, instantly getting Celeste’s attention. Her crimson eyes flared as she glared at him while he continued, “Due to the possibility that it could be used to drive us apart, I suggest that we burn all of it! Just to be safe!”
As his words echoed in her mind, and she envisioned her castle made of money bursting into flames and being destroyed …something inside Celeste hardened, and any reservations she’d had about graduating suddenly vanished. And even though her outward demeanor hadn’t changed, keeping her visage as stoic as possible, on the inside, she felt a fury that no one on this earth could match.
“Fuck patience! I’m not letting that son of a bitch destroy my dream twice!!”
“Perhaps we should reconsider that option,” Celeste said to everyone, a pleasant smile on her face. “After all, this is an official motive from Monokuma. How are we to be sure that we will not be punished for destroying his property?”
No one was surprised that Celeste was the one to suggest sparing the pile of money. However, they also couldn’t deny that her reasoning actually seemed valid. Even Taka, who brought a box of matches and had been prepared to light the stack ablaze right there, hesitated as she brought that point up. At the same time, that didn’t quite deter everyone from feeling more than a little suspicious.
“Oh, and I suppose your reservations have nothing to do with the possibility of taking that money for yourself?” Junko outright accused Celeste, earning a mocking chuckle from the gambler.
“Actually, I have no need for such a trifle amount.” Her words shocked everyone into silence as she continued, “I have already earned over a billion through my own exploits. There is nothing I cannot obtain through my own talents. Besides, I have no need for anything that I have not earned for myself.”
For some reason, she spoke the word ‘talents’ quite harshly but no one seemed to pay it too much mind. And while it was obvious that opinions were mixed on whether they believed her or not, no one felt the need to openly refute her. Instead, the silence paved the way for another to voice their opinion.
“Well, it won’t make a difference anyway,” Hina assured everyone, a happy-go-lucky smile on her face. “I mean, we’ve come this far together, right? We’re not gonna let something like money turn us against each other, are we?”
Almost instantly, an annoyed huff from Byakuya drew everyone attention’s. “Please. Are you incapable of learning from past experiences?”
“And what is that supposed to mean?!” the Ultimate Swimmer refuted, not understanding his comment.
Without even looking at her, the Affluent Progeny scoffed and answered, “Have you already forgotten what both of the previous motives led us to? Even if no one lost their lives, you cannot deny that each time Monokuma tempts us, one of us falls to the temptation. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed in our captor. I would have preferred a motive that didn’t affect only the more destitute of our classmates.”
“Hey! What do you mean destitute?! I’m just in debt, that’s all!” Hiro shouted, immediately aware that he’d just outed himself as having been interested in the motive. “Not that I’d ever consider murdering anyone just to get out of debt! Not me, nope!”
“I rest my case,” Byakuya uttered before folding his arms and falling silent.
Much to Hina’s disappointment and embarrassment, she was utterly defeated by Hiro’s stupidity and could only glare at him accusingly before Sakura tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.
“In any case, we need to decide what needs to be done with this motive,” Sakura said to everyone, caution clear in her voice. “Is it really safe to just leave such a large volume of money out in the open like this? We should find a proper place to store it for the time being.”
“I agree,” Kyoko concurred, a serious look on her face. “If we leave it in the open, one of us might take it for themselves, which could lead to distrust among us. Instead, we should store it in a place where it would be hard to—”
“In that case, I shall confiscate it until further notice!” Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru shouted to all of them, making them all remember that he was still there. And while he didn’t appear upset at being left out until now, he obviously didn’t appreciate them making decisions without his insight. “I shall keep the money in my room until we can find a better place to keep—!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! You can’t keep it all for yourself!” Hiro interrupted, becoming a bit nervous as everyone began glaring at him. “W-What I mean is…should we, like, split it all up amongst ourselves? Ya know…to keep it fair and all that?”
As if expecting that retort, the white haired and burning eyed Taka replied, “As the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, I am the only person who is capable of resisting the corruption this motive might bring to you all! And until we can decide what needs to be done with it, this is the only viable option!”
Without warning Taka grabbed a nearby duffle bag and began scooping the stacks of bills into it.
“I can’t believe I’m gonna say this but…I have to agree with Hiro,” Junko surprisingly voiced, turning more than a few heads. “Now, I don’t agree with the whole splitting it up amongst us thing, but I do think that we shouldn’t just let one student hold on to—”.
“Junko Enoshima! I would appreciate it if you would not insult me like that!” the Moral Compass shouted at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. How would you like me to insult you then?” the Fashionista chided, a confident smirk on her lips.
Stopping for a moment, obviously to help control his anger, Taka didn’t immediately respond. However, an instant later, he turned and glared directly at her and said, “You have questioned my position as the Disciplinary Committee Chairman on multiple occasions, but this is the final straw! I will not take any more insolence from you!”
Hearing that, Junko’s smirk widened as she shouted back, “Oh yeah! And what are you going to do then, huh?!”
Narrowing his eyes at her, Taka finished packing all of the money into the large duffle bag, calmly walked down off of the stage and approached the confident Fashionista. As he stood in front of her, the white sheen on his hair shimmering and the fire in his eyes blazing, he slowly set down the duffle bag and reached into his pocket.
Immediately, Junko tensed, as if she was expecting him to attack her. However, much to everyone’s relief, Taka simply pulled out his large blue pad of paper and quickly wrote something on it. Tearing off the piece of paper and handing it to her, the Fashionista snatched it from him, her eyes widening as she read it over.
“What the…heck…is this?” she questioned, her voice deep and menacing.
Without a hint of remorse, Disciplinary Committee Chairman Ishimaru replied, “Normally, that is a notice for expulsion. And while I cannot have you expelled from school, due to our current circumstances, I certainly believe that confining you to your room should suffice—”.
“Y-You can’t do that!” the horrified voice of Makoto called out as he rushed over. “Junko was just trying to—!”
“What she was doing was being disruptive!” the Moral Compass countered, not backing down from his decision. “If she cannot control herself, then I have no choice but to restrict her actions! I will not have an insolent student running around disrupting the peace of our community!”
It took a moment for Makoto to register everything Taka had said to him, but as he digested it, the normally non-confrontational boy clenched his fists angrily.
“But that’s—!” he tried to say but was instantly cut off.
“Makoto…it’s fine,”
Junko’s calm voice took Makoto by surprise, as did the determined visage she held. An entirely perplexed expression overtook the lucky student’s features as he stared at the Fashionista. Unfortunately, he was so shocked that he couldn’t find the words to refute her.
Taking advantage of his silence, Junko turned her gaze toward Taka and said, “I don’t want to cause any more trouble. I’ll do what you want, Mr. Ishimaru.”
Seemingly pleased with her compliance, the Disciplinary Committee Chairman put away his blue pad and met her firm gaze. He stared at her for a long moment before giving a slight huff.
“Thank you for complying. I will be lenient and allow you to leave your room twice a day. Once for the morning meeting and another for an evening meal. That will be your punishment for inspiring distrust toward your Disciplinary Committee Chairman,” Taka told her, picking up the duffle bag and moving past her, toward the gym’s exit. Just before he left, however, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “Let that serve as a lesson to the rest of you! I will not tolerate insubordination! Good day!”
And with that, the Disciplinary Committee Chairman departed, leaving them all more than a bit shell shocked.
To Be Continued…