I wasn't completely sure what time it was but I had a feeling that it had to be somewhere during the evening, seven at least.
I was lying on my bed, just staring at the ceiling and lost in my thoughts. It was silent, just the small sound of the light buzzing. Everything was quiet till the sound of two knocks on the door was heard, it grabbed my attention. I got up to open the door and saw a wrapped box with a ribbon on it sitting in front of my door. I looked down the hallway to see if anyone else got a box, some of the dorms had the same box planted in front of their doors.
"Strange" I said to myself as I decided to grab the box before closing the door.
I set it on my desk before sitting back on the bed and stared at it. I was contemplating if I should open it.
"What am I debating for?" I thought "I grab it so why not?"
I decided to go over and proceed with caution as I opened it. Pulling the ribbon apart, tearing at the paper, and opening the poorly taped box. The product inside was a dark 3-piece suit, possibly black if not a dark gray, and a black tie.
"A suit?" I questioned out loud "What would this be for?"
I pulled the suit out for anything else, to notice a golden envelope at the bottom. Pulling it out and opening it, the context came to me after reading it.
"Dear fellow student,
As a warm welcome to our new pupils, we've decided to host an open house for you all to make you feel at home! We have also provided you with a formal outfit for the occasion as we wish for you all to show up in the finest looks. We hope to see you there!"
"Oh yeah, the open house" I had remembered
Glancing back at the suit and then the letter, I concluded that I was going to the open house. Recalling back from earlier, it would be a good way for me to know my fellow students more. As I was changing clothes, I felt my brain starting to question a lot of things:
"What if only I show?"
"What if I don't go?"
"Would I miss anything?"
"What if someone..."
That last one I had to stop myself from saying, I just knew it was gonna be too much to even think about.
After I completely switched, I glanced in the mirror in the bathroom one time before heading out. Opening my door, I was greeted by Seara who was about to knock on it.
"Oh, hey seara" I greeted
"Hi, san! I was about to ask if you were going to the open house" she responded
"Yeah, I thought about it and just decided to go"
"Well, I was going to go either way"
"Figure, that's sort of why I decided to go"
"Well, we can go together then!" She quickly grabbed my hand "Come on! We don't wanna miss out"
I quickly closed the door before she pulled me away and led me to where it was being hosted. To my surprise, I thought it was just gonna be us two, Kiara, and Nera but to my surprise, almost all of us were there.
"San!" I heard my name being called. It was Shuvi, waving at me as he made his way and proceeded to shake my hand aggressively.
"I'm so glad you made it!" he let go of my hand "My, black looks so good on you"
"Thanks, I noticed you're wearing black too" I noticed
"Oh yeah, apparently everyone had to wear black. Huh, you kept your hat on?"
"Oh uh yeah, I did"
"Fits your outfit!"
"Alright shuvi" another voice said "give him some space"
"Okay okay, I will" Shuvi moved away
"Oh hi Ed" Seara greeted
"Hi seara" Ed greeted back
"Seara! San!" we both turned, Kiara and Sanera came up to us
"You came!" Sanera said
"Can you believe it? Almost everyone is here" Kiara stated
"So I heard" Seara said
"Who's missing?" I asked
"I think kinro?" Kiara answered
"And Ayami" Nera added
"Hi everyone!" a female voice said from the top of the stairs
"Nice to see ya miss Ayami!" Shuvi greeted "You too kinro"
"What? Are we at a funeral or something? Why do we all have to wear black?" Lynn asked
"I mean, I don't expect you or anyone else to bring an outfit for these kinds of occasions" Ed shot back
"Hey, man! You could go back upstairs" Sky shouted
"I was answering the question, no?"
"But it didn't have to be so aggressive"
A bit of silence had flooded the room before Shuvi came in
"Now now everyone! Let's calm down. Remember, we're here to get to know each other more and congratulate ourselves for making it in"
"He's right" we all yelped again "For Pete's sake, does a two-sided bear really scare you?"
"You keep just showing up out of nowhere" Kiara said
"Are you a magician?" Nera asked
"Huh, I never thought about it" The bear titled before shrugging "Nope, I'm not a magician"
"Hmm-"
"But I'll give it a try sometime. Anyways, help yourselves! Drink, Eat, I don't care, Just don't get too close to each other" the bear said before walking back upstairs
"Well, I'm helping myself to the drinks" the blonde girl said
"You don't mind sharing, do you?" Shuvi asked
"Get your own" she responded before drinking out of the bottle
"Hmph, rude" Shuvi whimpered before grabbing another bottle.
"I'm grabbing a drink too!" Mitsuru announced
"Pardon, but you're Yuna right?" seara asked
A sense of fear blew past me as I was worried if seara was gonna get attacked or not but I tried to ignore it, she wouldn't hurt her, everyone is watching, she couldn't.
"Yeah? So what?" Yuna responded
"It's nice to meet you" Seara said
"If you're trying to be friends, the answer is-"
"I wish you the best of luck on surviving this game"
Yuna was silent for a bit as she stared at her. She then tilted her head to the side
"You're an odd one" she said before putting her hand out "Well then, good luck to you as well"
Seara shook her hand, I sighed in relief.
"I can't imagine how trashed these people will be in the morning" Kinro said
"I can't imagine how trashed the place would be" The person he was standing next to said
"Didn't you say you were a cleaner?"
"Ren Anamei, ultimate housekeeper" He put out his hand
"Kinro Kumari, ultimate cameraman" Kinro shook his hand
"Looks like people are already getting along" I noted
"Right? I never got along this well with people when I was younger, I'm confident that we might be fine for a bit" Kiara responded "I wonder if the punch is good"
"I could get some if you want"
"Yes please"
I made my way over to the table and poured a small glass.
"I wouldn't drink that if I were you" A voice said from the corner
"Wouldn't?" I asked
The person nodded.
"Not good?"
"Try it and you tell me"
I looked at the glass, it was a bright pink color and almost looked thick but I was still able to see my reflection. Bringing the glass to my lip, I took a small sip before setting it down. It didn't taste like your average punch, it had a citrus feel, maybe salty? But also sweet.
"Well?" the person said
"Not good, there's too much going on" I responded
"I figure"
"Not joining everyone else?"
"I'm too shy. I might get in the way"
"Have you tried?"
"....No"
"Well, I'm here for you if you wanna just stick to one person. I'm also with Kiara and she's a little shy too"
Dead silence
"I promised I won't backstab you if that makes you feel better"
The person hesitated before coming out of the corner.
"See? I promise you can stay by my side and if you want, I'll even form an alliance with you"
"Really? Or are you lying?" the small person said
"I'm being serious" I stuck my pinkie out "I promise to not kill you and if I do then you can come back and haunt me. Deal?"
The person smiled as they crossed their pinkie with mine
"You're kind gesture reassures me that you won't hurt anyone" they commented
"Thanks. Oh, I'm Sanro by the way, but you can call me San for short" I greeted
"I'm Miku, Miku Tomigato" Miku greeted back "Just so you know, I'm a boy"
My mind blanked
"...Pardon?' I questioned
"Yeah, I know my name and outfit say otherwise but I'm a boy"
"...Oh! Uh...thanks for letting me know"
Embarrassing! I was almost convinced that he was a "they"!
"Well if you want, I'd like you to meet Kiara. I think you two would be great friends" I suggested
"...yeah, I'll be fine with that" Miku agreed
As he was making his way over to her, I stopped as I heard a voice behind me
"How's the punch?" I turned to see Monokuma
"No offense but not the best" Monokuma started stirring it as I spoke "It had a citrus taste but it was a little sweet but it also had a salty taste"
Monokuma stopped stirring and his eyes widened
"Salty?" he said
"Yeah, it tasted salty"
"Oh dear, my apologies. The punch was supposed to get rid of that salty taste, so we tried to add citrus and sugar. Ah, forget it. You guys don't have to drink it"
"Ah I see" and then I had thought "What... exactly was the salty stuff?"
"Don't worry about it" the bear said before getting off the table
The thought of the salty substance shook me a bit, I had taken one sip of it.
I didn't want to know what it was.
I didn't want to know if it was what I thought it was.
"Sanro?" Miku said
"Are you okay?" Kiara asked
"Yeah... just lost in thought" I responded with a slightly nervous expression "Just.. Don't drink the punch"
"Uh, okay?" Kiara responded
"Trust him" Miku said
I tried to enjoy the rest of the night, hoping to distract my mind from the punch.
"Do you want a sip?" a student said "It's just water, you can use it to clear the taste"
"Yes please" I said, quickly taking a big gulp of it. "Thanks"
"Keep it, I just snagged it from the table"
"Right"
Awkward silence, being honest though he seemed like the silent type.
"What's your name?" he asked
"Oh uh, I'm Sanro Renroji, you can call me San"
"Kyo tatsu, nice to meet you renroji"
"You too, I wish-"
"Renroji"
"Uh yes, kyo?"
"Promise me that you won't backstab me. You and Seara seem like the only two that are in the safe zone and don't show signs of killing anyone"
"Oh, uh yes! I promise not to"
"Hm" he smiled, closed his eyes, and leaned back on the wall "I'm looking forward to cooperating with you"
"Me too"
I'm impressed, No one died yet and I was already making alliances with people. I have a feeling I might be in the safe zone for a while.
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Prologue: Hope's Peak, here we come
[END]
Students remaining: 16