"Kaori Hotaru, the Ultimate Weaver, finds her school life to be far different from what she expected. She meets 15 others, only for them to find themselves at the mercy of Monokuma, trapped in a strange facility in which the only way out is to kill...
Monokuma: Now then, I might as well get you all started!
Yukiharu: With what?
Monokuma: These!
Without warning, Monokuma produced several small, translucent, cyan cards, and began throwing them one by one to each and every one of us. Some caught their cards easily. Others... didn't.
Kozue: Got it- wait, Umiko! What happened?
Umiko: Ow! He threw it right at my head!
Hirou: You should've been more careful!
Monokuma: Well tough luck! This is my world, and my rules! By the way, you might want to swipe on them and you'll get some rules, ha!
I reluctantly did as he asked me to, and it displayed a list. On it were those words:
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Rules and Regulations of the Mutual Killing Game:
Rule #1: Students may reside only within this place. Leaving this place 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 class and punished accordingly.
Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore this place 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: Once a murder takes place, a Class Trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.
Rule #8: If the guilty party is exposed during the Class Trial, they alone will be executed.
Rule #9: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed.
Rule #10: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.
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Kaori: This clearly has to be a joke.
Mugen: Oh, I assure you, it's not.
Umiko appeared to burst into tears. Clearly, she's not handling this well.
Kozue: I'm going to keep an eye on her!
Souta: Well, isn't that nice?
Kozue: Yeah. And it's the right thing to do.
Ayane: Excuse me, sir. What is this card?
Monokuma: That's an e-Handbook. It'll be a trusty tool during your stay here for, well, uh, everything! Practically everything!
Haruhi: I see...
Ren: Dude, what do you have to gain from all of this?
Monokuma: What do I have to gain from this? Thrills, chills, kills... and a nice, juicy paycheck on top of that!
Ayane: ...You're doing this for money?
Monokuma: Yep! I'm nothing more than hired help for the mastermind lurking within your midst!
Yukiharu: Bullshit!
Luka: Say what?!
Umiko: ...Can I please go home now? I don't want to do this...
Madoka: Umiko, I suppose we play along for now, then strike back against him? Capiche?
Umiko: (sniff) Okay, then...
Monokuma: It's the truth. One of you is the mastermind who I am serving in the name of despair. The good part about that is that if you manage to nail the mastermind, everyone else wins! Sure, you'll have blood on your hands, but it's the mastermind's blood, so no big loss to the world at large, eh?
Impossible... Not only would I have to put my life in the hands of complete strangers, but I would have to do so with the knowledge that one of them had put me, and everyone else, into this... place.
Monokuma: Now, now, introductions are over and done with! Class dismissed!
With those words, the gymnasium doors swung open by themselves, and Monokuma stood and watched as we walked away, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. I could hear some of my classmates muttering to themselves...
Kozue: There's no way we're going to kill each other... right, everyone?
Hirou: Is this for real? No... it can't be... this is just some dream... I hope.
Daigo: (sigh) I just can't believe it...
Neither could I. This whole situation sounded outlandish and surreal. A teddy bear trying to get us to commit murder? But there was the gnawing possibility at the back of my head that I would have to remember... I could die. They could die. We could die.
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