Today started out with meeting Byakuya and the others in the restaurant, he directed the group to Jabberwock Island, where they saw a massive timer in the bronze statue's place. After looking for any clues that would lead them in the right direction, Hajime went to the beach and hung out with Kazuichi, Teruteru, Peko and Ibuki. He then left the beach and found Chiaki hanging around the outside of the Rocketpunch Market, they entered the market and talked about things like Girls' Day. Overall, today wasn't as bad as yesterday. The timer was a big surprise, but Hajime was happy to consider Kazuichi, Peko, Ibuki, Teruteru and Chiaki as friends.
Right now, it was getting close to the time when Monokuma would do his evening announcement. Similar to his morning announcement, he would announce the time for everyone to go to sleep, but that wasn't a rule everyone was forced to follow. If they really wanted to, they could break that rule and... attempt to murder someone in the cover of night. Thankfully, the cottages were basically safe havens due to the locks on the doors.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
Monokuma: "Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's school trip executive committee has an announcement to make. Hello, everyone! The fun time you've all been waiting for is about to begin! I wonder what festivities await you? Oops, don't wanna ruin the surprise! It was a little 'meh' at first, but anyway, please gather at Jabberwock Park!"
Hajime: "Did he just tell us... to go to the park? It's the middle of the night... what's he up to?" He suddenly had a bad feeling about this, and goosebumps sprung up all over his body. "If we're not allowed to defy Monokuma... then there's no way I can ignore this, right? Which means... there's nothing I can do except listen to him. Damn it! What is it now!?"
With no way to get out of this, Hajime left his cottage and made his way out of the hotel grounds. He didn't see anyone else on the way over the bridge, but there was one person standing by the entrance to the park. Peko was most likely keeping watch, making sure that everyone is making their way to the park.
Peko: "Hajime, you're the last one to arrive."
Hajime: "Sorry I kept you waiting, it's hard to be encouraged to do something when you don't have a choice."
Peko: "I understand. After all, the e-Handbook clearly states that defying Monokuma is not permitted. It'd be foolish to resist if it's just going to make things worse, I'm glad everyone is thinking the same thing. At any rate, we better not keeping everyone waiting." Hajime and Peko walked towards the park and were greeted by two separate things. First, everyone was standing around, waiting for Monokuma to explain the sudden announcement that brought them here. Second, there was a stage placed in front of the timer.
Byakuya: "Once again, you're late. Did you lose your nerve?" Hajime wanted to deny that, but he wasn't exactly wrong either. "Anyway, it seems that everyone is here."
Kazuichi: "Ugh, what is it this time? So fricking annoying."
Fuyuhiko: "Then you shouldn't have come."
Kazuichi: "Well, I mean... I don't know what'll happen to me if I don't come."
Fuyuhiko: "Heh, since none of us know what'll happen, maybe you should be the one to test it out."
Mahiru: "Hey! You may talk like you're tough, wise guy, but you wouldn't be here unless you were scared too!"
Fuyuhiko: "What!?"
Mahiru: "I guess even a big bad yakuza like you must've been scared of that monster, huh?"
Fuyuhiko: "What the fuck did you say!?"
Nagito: "S-Stop it, you two. Fighting among friends isn't good!"
Fuyuhiko: "What? Did you just say 'friend'? I'm not your friend, dumbass! When did I ever become friends with you bastards!?"
Hajime: "Huh?"
Fuyuhiko: "Hmph, let me be perfectly clear... I can do it, you know."
Teruteru: "Huh?"
Mahiru: "Y-You... what did you just say?"
Fuyuhiko: "Oh? You didn't hear me? Then I'll repeat myself just once for you. I said... I can do it." The moment he said that, everyone knew what he meant. Being a yakuza probably helps his statement, but it still struck a nerve with everyone present. When worse comes to worse, he basically said that he'll be the one to take a life in order to escape Jabberwock Island.
Hajime: "Hey, Fuyuhiko, why don't you calm down for a bit?"
Fuyuhiko: "Don't talk to me like we're friends or something! I live in a completely different world than you bastards, kill or be killed... that's the kind of world I live in. Heh, the current rules make more sense to me than that 'play nice and get along' crap."
Mahiru: "If you don't stop it right now... I'm going to get seriously angry!"
Fuyuhiko: "Don't treat me like a kid, bitch!"
Peko: "Just stop already, this kind of fighting will not get us anywhere."
Fuyuhiko: "Shut the hell up! There's no way I'm dealing with this kumbaya crap! if any of you guys wanna die, step forward... I'll fucking kill you right now."
Akane: "Sounds fun, give me your best shot!"
Hajime: "What's gonna happen if you're this easily provoked!?"
Byakuya: "Enough!"
Fuyuhiko: "Huh?"
Byakuya: "Fuyuhiko... I understand what you're saying. I do not intend to dismiss your feelings, there was a time when I also thought the same way as you..."
Fuyuhiko: "Are you treating me like a kid too!?"
Byakuya: "But what would reckless killing accomplish? If you fail to get away with it, you know you'll be executed. Or perhaps... that's what you really want? If so, you'd only be killing yourself to run away from this predicament. That's what a child would do."
Fuyuhiko: "W-What do you say!?"
Byakuya: "Listen! As long as we're here, I will not let any of you die! I will not let any of you become a victim! And that goes for you too, Fuyuhiko. I won't let you die."
Fuyuhiko: "What the hell? Everything you're saying... It's just empty promises!"
Byakuya: "It's true my words would ring hollow if anyone else spoke them, but I am Byakuya Togami, and I am destined to bring these promises to fruition."
Ibuki: "Wow! He's so cool!"
Teruteru: "Mmhmhm, I agree!"
Fuyuhiko: "Heh... I don't care what you say. I'm just gonna do whatever I feel like..."
Byakuya: "Do what you will. However, remember what I said earlier. I will not let any of you become a victim, that is the duty I have appointed to myself."
Fuyuhiko: "Tch..." It seems that Byakuya was able to calm the situation for now, but it's only a matter of time until Fuyuhiko snaps again. And next time, it might end with someone getting killed. But even though he's the Ultimate Yakuza, there's no way Fuyuhiko actually meant what he said... right?
Monokuma: "Um... it looks like you guys were arguing, so I wasn't sure when to actually show up. It looks like I showed up at an awkward time!"
Chiaki: "...Um, why are you dressed like that?" What Chiaki was referring to was the fact that Monokuma was wearing a blue suit, a red tie and a white shirt underneath the blazer. His sudden appearance would've surprised the others, but the suit made him look a little more decent and less scary.
Monokuma: "Oh, didn't I mention it in my recent broadcast? It's my costume for the fun time!"
Peko: "Oh, don't tell me you're going to-"
Monokuma: "That's right! Since we're on a tropical island, I'm here to do my two-man comedy routine!"
Mikan: "W-Why does it matter that we're on a tropical island?"
Sonia: "But can you really do a two-man comedy routine by yourself?"
Monokuma: "Of course not, that's why I brought my partner."
Monomi: "W-What is this!?" Right on que, Monomi showed up wearing a lovely pink dress. Monokuma most likely told her to dress for tonight's comedy routine, or maybe Monomi had this dress to begin with, it does look like something she would wear without being told to.
Nekomaru: "Hm, that figures."
Monokuma: "Now then, without further ado, I'm pleased to present 'Monokuma's side-splitting live two-man comedy show'!"
Monomi: "Huh? I didn't hear anything about this! Are you telling me I have to improvise!?"
Gundham: "...I'm speechless." Monokuma and Monomi made their way to the stage and stood behind a microphone, there must be some weird purpose behind this comedy show.
Monokuma: "Hello, I'm Monokuma!"
Monomi: "Um... I'm Monomi..."
Monokuma/Monomi: "And together we are... the Monokumas!"
Monokuma: "Now, I know it's sudden, but I guess I should show you guys my amazing mind-reading abilities!"
Monomi: "Huh? You can read minds!?"
Monokuma: "As practice, I will now guess your favourite food! Hmm... your favourite food is..."
Monomi: "You can do it, it's obvious what rabbits like."
Monokuma: "Ca..."
Monomi: "That's right."
Monokuma: "...davers!"
Monomi: "I'd never eat a dead body!"
Monokuma: "Now then, Monomi's up next! Come on, do a short skit or something!"
Monomi: "W-What!? There's no way I can do that!"
Monokuma: "No worries, it's all good. I know a technique to summon the god of comedy. So, which do you think is better? Taking blood while you're still alive, or after you're already dead?"
Monomi: "Why would you ask such a cruel question!?"
Monokuma: "If I'm gonna summon the comedeity, then I'll need a lot of blood."
Monomi: "So a god of comedy wants blood..." That was so stupid, even Monomi refused to believe it.
Monokuma: "Hngh!... Pretty please?"
Monomi: "No matter how charmingly you ask, there's no way I'll let you take my blood!" Pretty sure she doesn't have blood, you know... because she's a robot.
Monokuma: "You're always so quick to make a scary face, Monomi. You guys better be careful too, you know, since Monomi's actually a bad guy. She's as bad as the first villain the hero fights in a teen manga!"
Monomi: "They're always the underdog!"
Monokuma: "Believe me, It's a fact that Monomi's a villain. I'll let you all in on a little secret of hers. Monomi... went out of her way to erase your memories!"
Monomi: "Say what!? Wait... huh?"
Monokuma: "You guys don't even remember how you all got to this island, am I right? Well, that's because Monomi stole your memories!"
Monomi: "W-What are you saying all of a sudden!?"
Monokuma: "But wait, there's more! She didn't just steal your boring memories, like how you guys got to this island. She completely took away your memories of the years you spent at Hope's Peak Academy! What a shocker!"
Monomi: "Ha-wa-wa!"
Monokuma: "Phew, I feel great now that I've shared that with you. Seriously, memory loss plots are so old hat nowadays. Only a total hack would wait until the end of the story to reveal a cliched twist like that!"
Monomi: "P-Please stop!"
Monokuma: "Puhuhu... wasn't that a huge surprise? In truth, you guys aren't freshmen students at all. You guys just thought you were because you've lost all of your school memories! Quick, somebody get a plagiarist because I feel like I've heard this story before!"
Monomi: "S-Seriously, this is bad in so many ways!"
Monokuma: "I'm through dealing with you!" Repeating what he did after first arriving, Monokuma struck Monomi and sent her flying off the stage. But to change things up a little, he didn't punch her or kick her, he instead hit her with a backhand.
Monomi: "GYAAAAHHH!!! His backhand is far too powerful!"
Nagito: "..."
Mahiru: "..."
Mikan: "..." Everyone was speechless, they all had the same expression on their faces. Hope's Peak Academy, Monomi lying to them, stolen memories... what the hell?
Hajime: "...Huh?"
Nagito: "W-What did he mean?"
Monokuma: "How was it? Was it funny? Or was the comedy too high brow for you?"
Byakuya: "Hey... what were you saying just now?"
Monokuma: "What was I saying just now... oh, you mean when I said that your school memories were completely stolen?"
Hajime: 'Completely stolen? Our school memories... completely... what... is he saying?'
Ibuki: "Ahahaha... hahaha... there's no way... because... I just entered Hope's Peak Academy, and then I was brought to this island... right away..."
Monokuma: "That's because that's how you remember it, all thanks to Monomi stealing your school memories."
Hajime: "W-What are you saying!? That's impossible!"
Monokuma: "Man... how many years has it been since you guys first entered Hope's Peak Academy? I wonder what happened to your friends and family? They're probably worried sick about you... maybe?"
Nekomaru: "Our school memories were stolen!? That's ridiculous!"
Kazuichi: "That's right! There's no way I have memory loss!"
Monomi: "Don't... don't listen to what he says!"
Ibuki: "Damn it! My limit is being breached!"
Teruteru: "I refuse to believe such a thing. Yep, everything's okay... I don't believe it..."
Mikan: "Y-You're lying, right? Stealing our memories... that's a lie, right? You're just trying to make fools out of us, right?"
Monokuma: "Nope, it's not a lie. If it was a lie... then how do you explain this? The moment you arrived at Hope's Peak Academy, you all experienced a strange dizziness."
Hajime: "Wha!? H-How... did you know that?"
Monokuma: "Puhuhu... why, that was the cut-off point. Your memories beyond that point have been completely removed."
Hajime: "W-What the hell!?" Hajime could feel himself getting lightheaded. He couldn't speak, he couldn't think, he could only breath in heavy, gasping breaths.
Mikan: "So... a long time has passed... since then?"
Nekomaru: "I-Impossible! There's no way!"
Monokuma: "On the contrary... why is it impossible?"
Nagito: "Whether or not it's possible... there's no way we can believe it."
Monokuma: "You just don't want to believe it, right? But don't worry, I'm a generous bear! I can give your memories back!"
Monomi: "Huh!?"
Monokuma: "However... there's a catch."
Chiaki: "Don't tell me the catch is..."
Monokuma: "Puhuhuhu... figured it out yet? That's right, you guys have to kill each other! That's my bargaining point!"
Monomi: "Ha-wa-wa!"
Monokuma: "You guys wanna know, right? You want your school memories returned to you, right? Then you better start killing! A penny for your thoughts, and a murder for your memories!"
Akane: "Hey... stop running your mouth."
Monokuma: "My, my... why so angry? I'm just providing you all a motive from the bottom of my big, generous heart! Otherwise, you cowards wouldn't get any killing done! Well, that's not your fault. Humans are natural born cowards, they even cry after their mother squeezes them out. That's why I'm giving you a motive, think of it as an excuse to commit your future crimes."
Byakuya: "S-Stop this at once! Do you really think your delusional rambling will convince us to commit murder!?"
Mahiru: "I don't even believe that memory loss crap in the first place!"
Monokuma: "But more than that, what you guys really don't believe is each other, right?"
Mahiru: "W-What do you mean!?"
Monokuma: "You guys don't know each other. Which means... none of you realize that a traitor is hiding among you, right?"
Hajime: "Huh?"
Monokuma: "Hey, why are there sixteen of you? If a total of fifteen students from Hope's Peak Academy were arranged to come to this island. That's right! There's probably a traitor I don't even know about hiding among the group!... Just kidding."
Fuyuhiko: "What are you saying... all this shit about traitors doesn't make any sense!"
Peko: "It's obviously nonsense."
Monokuma: "For real, you guys. How can you be so sure? You guys don't know anything about each other, you don't even know each other's true natures. That's why, if one of you is planning to kill someone, it's impossible for any of you to know." With those words, everyone fell silent. Not a single person spoke up to argue with him, they just stood there. "Even so, if there really is a traitor, isn't that gosh darn awful? Pretending to be your ally and tricking you guys, it makes sense for someone like that to get killed, right? Come on, make the pre-emptive strike! It's first come, first served and the winner takes all! If you wanna survive, you gotta find that person before they find you. Ahahahaha!"
Even after Monokuma's boisterous laughter faded away, they all just stood there. This situation, this circumstance, this phenomenon, this disaster, this nightmare, this hell, this despair... it consumed them all.
Mikan: "Is it true? Is there really a traitor among us? Ah! It's not me by the way! I know I may look suspicious but... it's not me!"
Nekomaru: "Who is it!? Hurry up and show yourself! You're only making things worse for you by staying silent!"
Byakuya: "Just stop, there's no way there's a traitor. There's no way... it's pointless to even discuss something so foolish."
Teruteru: "T-That's right... I don't believe it... because there's no way I can believe it, there's no reason in the first place to believe it."
Peko: "Monomi... you would know."
Monomi: "Huh!?"
Peko: "Is what Monokuma said true? About our memory loss... and about the traitor?"
Monomi: "Um... I mean... everyone needs to look to the future, that's why... you shouldn't look back to the past. Keep your eyes fixed on the future, l-let's do our very best!" As if she was trying to get everyone to doubt her even more, Monomi made her exit much like Monokuma did earlier.
Akane: "Ah, she ran away!"
Fuyuhiko: "Hmph, how ridiculous. Memory loss... a traitor... it's completely fictional. I can't deal with this bullshit, dumbass!"
Hajime: 'As he said, it's a work of fiction. It's entirely different from the reality I know. Stolen memories? All of my school memories? Everything? A traitor hiding among us?' What really struck a nerve with Hajime was what Monokuma pointed out, he in fact didn't know the others at all. Although he talked to Chiaki and Nagito, that didn't really count. Chiaki did keep her personal life a secret, and Nagito avoided talking about himself and made Hajime's forgotten talent the topic of their conversation.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
Monokuma: "Ahem! Hope's Peak Academy's school trip executive committee has an announcement to make. It is now 10pm. Please return to your rooms and relax, let the sound of the ocean gently rock you to sleep. Now then, sweet dreams, everyone. Good night..."
Chiaki: "...Hey, what should we do?"
Byakuya: "It's better if we call it a night here. We should get some sleep... and try to keep our minds calm."
Chiaki: "I guess... you're right."
Byakuya: "Just so you all know, don't think about unnecessary things. This is your leader's orders. Tomorrow morning... let's meet at the restaurant after Monokuma's morning announcement."
Sonia: "How troubling... I think the saying goes, 'I am frightened so stiff'."
Teruteru: "I feel pretty stiff right now too."
Kazuichi: "That's... not how that saying goes... b-but it's not her fault, she's a foreigner after all."
===========Timeskip===========
In all honesty, Hajime didn't really remember what happened after that. But later, he realized something. He was sitting in his bed inside his cottage, with his head drooping down to his chest. As he sat there alone, a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind. Traitor, could it be someone who's not like the others? Like, someone who doesn't even remember their own talent?
Hajime: "What the hell? I don't understand at all." He put those stupid thoughts out of his mind and collapsed onto his bed. Immediately, he closed his eyes. Closing his eyes was the only thing he could do to escape from this otherworldly reality.
If there is one... who is the traitor? And will their presence make someone commit murder?