Chapter -1 Investigations

"You must kill someone if you want to leave."

His words echoed through my mind, each syllable dripping with a weight that felt almost suffocating. Here we were, students brought together to enjoy our school life, to learn and grow. Now, we faced a perverse ultimatum—kill to escape. But deep down, I doubted that even if someone committed murder, freedom would come so easily.

The mastermind behind this sinister game had an agenda. But what could it be? I couldn't fathom any logical reason, which led me to one conclusion: the person orchestrating this was a psychopath.

As I pondered these thoughts, the tension in the room became palpable. Suspicion hung in the air, thick and stifling. It took only a few sharp words to cut through it.

"So? What are you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?" Kyoko's voice sliced through the silence, a cold dose of reality. Her words jolted us back. We needed a plan.

"That's right. I don't think we are in immediate danger. We should look around and investigate things," I suggested, hoping to alleviate some of the anxiety.

"R-Right... They are right! Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you must step forward! To forget such a simple fact... I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!" Taka's outburst was almost comical, his voice breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Jesus. If you have time to yell about it, you have time to DO something about it," Mondo snapped, clearly irritated.

"Perhaps, but... what is the mission, exactly?" Hifumi asked, his nervousness apparent.

"Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!" Leon retorted. "And we totally need to find out who was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em."

"...B-But before we do all that, maybe we should take a look at the handbook... It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else."

"True. If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again…"

"Shit…"

"Fine. Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already."

I turned on my e-handbook. As it powered up, my name appeared on the screen, just as Monokuma had said. Navigating the Main Menu, I selected the School Regulations icon. An itemized list appeared on-screen. These were the rules being imposed on us.

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

2."Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

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

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

5.Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is the destruction of surveillance cameras.

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

7.Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.

Reading through the rules, one thing became clear: the mastermind behind this wasn't ordinary. They were exceptionally intelligent.

"This is bullshit! What the hell kinda rules are these!? I'm not gonna let them control ME!" Mondo's frustration was palpable.

"Well then, why don't you wander around the school without a care in the world and see what happens? Personally, I would love to see what happens when someone breaks one of the rules," Celeste remarked,in a joking tone .

"But if he got punished like what we saw before, I don't think there'd be a respawn waiting for him…" Hifumi trembled slightly.

"I... Ever since I was a kid, I grew up with my older brother pounding this into my head... When a man makes a promise, he has to keep it, even if it kills him," Mondo said, his voice carrying a hint of vulnerability.

"...So what?" Junko's response was blunt.

"I've made a ton of promises that I still have to keep, that's "so what"! So I can't afford to die in here!" Mondo retorted.

"None of that made much sense to me, but you are saying you will follow the regulations, is that it?" Junko pressed.

"Huh? Oh, well... yeah, I guess you're right."

"Hey, um... I have a question. For regulation number six... what do you think it means exactly?" Sayaka asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"You're talking about the second half, right? Where it says "unless they are discovered"? I was wondering about that myself."

"It means that if you want to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Kyoko said, her voice calm and analytical.

"I don't think it's that simple," I interjected, scrutinizing the rule.

"Oh, and why do you think so?" Byakuya asked, his interest piqued.

"Notice how vaguely written this is. They don't tell us how the killer will be discovered—whether it's if someone accidentally sees the killer, someone guesses the killer, or if we should investigate it. They also don't mention a time limit for discovering the killer," I explained.

"I see… So what you are saying is that even if someone kills somebody, they won't be able to leave easily," Kyoko deduced.

"Exactly."

"B-But why...? Why do we h-have to do that?" Toko asked, voice trembling.

"I don't see any reason to worry about it. Just worry about following the rules as they've been explained to us. Frankly, I don't want to hear anything from someone who waits for others to decide what to do for them," Byakuya said coldly.

"D-Don't jab at me…"

"More like a full-on stab…"

"Well, for now, let's forget all that silly junk about murderers or whatever."

"Now that we know the rules, let's start exploring the school!" I suggested, trying to steer the conversation towards something productive.

"True. We need to find out where exactly we are. Is there any way out? What about food and supplies?"

"There are tons of questions we need to answer!"

"Damn straight! Okay, then let's all start looking around!"

"I'll be going alone," Byakuya stated flatly.

"What!? Why? That's a pretty stupid idea, don't you think?" Junko countered.

"Someone here might already have started thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should stand around with them in our midst and make it that much easier for them?"

"W-Wait, hold on a second. That would never--!"

"Don't bother saying it couldn't happen. You can't deny the possibility. That's why you all seized up with fear when that graduation rule was made clear to you."

"Am I wrong?"

"B-But..."

"He's right," 

"Wh-what, not you too, Rimuru…"

"Sorry, Sayaka, but it's the truth. But even if it is, I think we should stick together and try not to fight."

"Alright…"

"So, I'm simply acting according to what I think is best for me," Byakuya continued, unyielding.

"Hold on! Like hell I'm gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!"

"Out of my way, plankton."

"Wh--!? The fuck's that supposed to mean!?"

"One tiny bit of plankton, drifting across the sea. So minuscule, so insignificant, they couldn't possibly have any kind of influence on the boundless ocean."

"I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"S-Stop it! We shouldn't fight!" Makoto pleaded, stepping between them.

"The fuck you just say? You some kinda goody-goody little bitch? Who do you think you are, talkin' to me like that? You think you're my fuckin' dad or something!?"

"N-No, I wasn't--!"

"Fuck you!" Mondo roared, rushing toward Makoto with his fist clenched, ready to strike.

*WHAM*

---

Makoto closed his eyes and went into a defensive position, waiting for the punch to land. But it never came. As he slowly opened his eyes, he noticed a fair, delicate hand had stopped Mondo's fist just inches from his face.

"Calm down, will ya?" The owner of the hand asked in a calm voice.

It was none other than Rimuru, leaving Makoto and everyone else stunned. They never imagined that the seemingly delicate Rimuru possessed such strength. Whether it was the shock of his punch being blocked so effortlessly or the realization of his actions, Mondo lowered his fist.

"...I am fucking calm now. So what now?" Mondo asked, clearly irritated.

Everyone's eyes were on Rimuru, whose expression remained calm and composed.

"Honestly, I would suggest everyone stick together, but now that Byakuya is gone, we can't force him to join us. Anyway, we should go around in groups and look for clues around the school."

"That's right! And when we're done, we'll gather at the dining hall and share our findings at 7:00 p.m."

"Alright then, that's settled. Now let's form groups."

With that, everyone began approaching those they wanted to pair up with.

Rimuru walked over to Makoto and Sayaka.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked Makoto.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks for protecting me," Makoto replied.

"It's alright. We are friends."

"Friends, huh? Even though we met a few hours ago?" Makoto chuckled.

"Hey, if you can't trust each other in a situation like this, you'll never survive," Rimuru replied with a smile.

"Rimuru is right! Anyway, we should get going. Rimuru, do you want to join our group?" Sayaka asked, smiling at Rimuru.

"I would love to but I have to somewhere else. You guys continue your own ivestigations," Rimuru responded with a smile.

"Then, let's go!" Makoto exclaimed, a hint of newfound determination in his voice.

---

Kyoko moved through the school methodically. Though she didn't remember her ultimate talent, it didn't matter. Finding an exit was the priority. She passed by several rooms without entering, deciding to start with the dorms. Just as she was about to enter, she stopped and turned around.

"Why are you following me?" she demanded in a cold voice.

"Oh, you noticed… anyway, don't you think the hallway is kind of weird?" Rimuru replied, his tone easygoing.

"Don't change the subject, Rimuru. Why are you following me?"

"Sigh, I can't get around you, huh? Well, I was following you to ensure you wouldn't do something stupid."

For the first time, a hint of irritation crossed Kyoko's face; her eyes twitched.

"Of all the people here, you think I would do something stupid?"

"Yeah, I think you are a bit reckless and would get yourself in trouble."

"Yeah, and how do you know that?"

"Nothing, just intuition. Anyway, let's investigate together."

"… do whatever you want."

—

Kyoko sighed but didn't object further, and the two of us began our investigation. Despite her initial resistance, I could see the gears turning in her mind, analyzing every detail. But the reason for following her wasn't just that.

**FLASHBACK**

Spotting my next target, I walked over to her. She was a girl with striking purple hair and matching eyes, her pretty face bearing a neutral expression that added a mysterious charm to her aura.

"Hello, we introduced ourselves earlier, but I didn't tell you everything. I am the Ultimate Analyzer. It's nice to meet you," I said, extending a hand.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replied calmly, not taking my hand.

...

...

An awkward silence settled between us.

"Um… what is your ultimate?" I finally asked, breaking the quiet.

"Do I have to tell you?" she responded, her tone slightly guarded.

"Huh, no, I'm not forcing you," I quickly assured her.

"Okay," she said simply, leaving the question unanswered.

...

...

That's weird, she was cooperative earlier. Maybe because of the weird situation, she is being cautious?

<<No, there is something suspicious about her,>> Ciel's voice echoed in my mind.

Huh, why do you say so?

<<It's a long story; I will tell you at night.>>

Alright then.

**FLASHBACK ENDS**

Even though I didn't know why Ciel found her suspicious, I knew I would have to keep an eye on her. Junko too—she was in a group now, so I didn't think she'd do anything immediately, but it was best to stay vigilant.

"Alright, how about we check our own rooms and meet here again?" I suggested.

"You are very adamant about following me, huh?" Kyoko asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, like I said, I think you might do something reckless," I replied with a slight smile.

"..." She stared at me for a moment, her expression unreadable, then turned and walked into her dorm room without another word.

"Guess I'll check my own room too," I muttered to myself.

Entering my dorm room, I found it to be rather plain. It had all the basics: a bed, a desk, and a small bathroom. On the desk, there was a key with my face on it, a notepad, and a few other essentials. The simplicity was almost comforting, a stark contrast to the chaos outside.

After a brief inspection, I noted the surveillance camera in the corner. They were watching us everywhere. Just as Monokuma said, we couldn't escape their eyes. I sighed and sat down on the bed, contemplating our next move. If Kyoko was indeed hiding something, I needed to find out what. But for now, I'd gather as much information as possible and ensure we all stayed safe.

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[A/N]

Now the story is really starting and please forgive my mistakes if you find any I am new here and just trying to figure things out .i hope you would tell me if something is wrong or something you would like to add to the story .

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