Flowers are liars.

Having your secrets revealed is…kind of scary, not going to lie. Perhaps you even considered killing someone to keep your’s safe- it’s not anything to kill over though. Maybe. It hasn’t been a full week since he gave you this motive, but the closer it get to being a week, the more nervous you get about it.

You find yourself heading into the library, and ahead you see another one of your classmates. Ahead is Daniel, seemed stopped at the entrance to the library, you approach as he heads in slowly. When you come to the door, you notice him approaching Clara’s sleeping body. Daniel starts lightly shaking her to wake her up. Though, she doesn’t seem to budge. He tries to be a little more forceful but there’s still no reaction. At a closer look, you notice that…she isn’t breathing-

Oh god.

“Ping pong pang pon! Students, a dead body has been found! Investigation will commence for the next 7 hours! Upupu, see you at the school trial!”

MONOBEAR FILES: Case 2 Victim: Clara Rosalinda Montes - SHSL Botanist Time of Death: ???

The school again, has been quiet for about a week, the bear not showing his face since the trial. It’s odd really- there’s this quiet sense of dread floating through the school since the trial. Two people died and you wonder if that could’ve been prevented. There was a new level of the school opened to explore but that’s it, really.

While you ponder the quiet and stillness of the school, you hear the grating voice of Monobear over the loudspeakers of the school, echoing in the halls and every room possible. Great, you were hoping that nothing would happen but this bear seems set on getting you to kill each other.

“Can I request that everyone hurries their asses over to the gymnasium again, thank you!”

You and the remainder of your classmates comply, making your way to the gymnasium. Once inside, you notice 16 envelopes on the floor in a line, each with your individual names on them. Monobear is sitting on the stage, just kicking his feet back and forth. Once the last of you arrive, he pushes himself onto the floor and makes his way to the envelopes.

“Hello hello! I’m glad to see no one’s wimping out just yet, it’s not fun to have to kill anyone myself.”

He gestures to the envelopes.

“Everyone, if you could, take your envelope. Inside is your most kept secret, something you wouldn’t want anyone but yourself and your close friends to know. And before you ask how I know them, I just do, okay?”

Anxious, you hurry to grab your envelope, as does most of your classmates. Some of them opening them immediately and hiding them immediately after reading them- does he really have your secrets?

“Now, since I know these, it’s a really bad situation for you all, right? I’m really bad at keeping secrets. I’m itching to tell others what you’re hiding. But I’ll hold out! But only for a week! However, I may be inclined to keep them secrets forever if someone kills before hand.”

He chuckles.

“Or, you can just wait until I spill your secrets to everyone. Your call.”

Something about his voice makes you think he’s smiling more than what his eternal smile already suggests.

“Have fun.”

“Ah! So someone caved early hm~?”

He chuckles, walking over to the body.

“Well, it’s time to get investigating!”

You look at him, kind of confused. What does he mean by that..? He notices your look and sighs.

“I’m not going to give you the information on how this murder happened or who did it, you have to figure that out yourselves, dumbasses. All rooms are open to investigate, though you’ll have to ask your classmates for permission into their dorms.

“Then we’ll hold the class trial, I’ll tell you more then~”

About four days have passed since the food was taken away. It’s…gotten unbearable but the human body can survive three weeks without food, so it’s not the end of the world…yet. As you pull yourself out of your room for water in the morning, you notice Kohaku making their way out of the changing room, face even more pale than you recall them being.

“H- Ueha-san-”

They frantically look back into the room, pointing.

“Th-The sauna-”

Ignoring the fact that Kohaku really shouldn’t be going to the sauna on an empty stomach, you decide to walk with them back into the room to figure out what they’re going on about. They take you to the sauna entrance.

“There was a chair in front of the door ss-so I moved it to open the door, I was confused why it was there but-”

They push the door to the sauna open to reveal…

“Ping pong pang pon! Students, a dead body has been found! Investigation will commence for the next 7 hours! Upupu, see you at the school trial!”

After a week of nothing happening since the “reveal” that you were meant to kill others, no one has turned up dead. It really makes you question if this is serious or it’s just a really long orientation period.

It’s hit Monday, and as promised, you hear that annoying voice over the speakers again, calling you once again to the gymnasium. Is this going to happen every week? You and your classmates (you count to make sure it is everyone) arrive at the gymnasium. The bear is sitting on the podium, looking at his paw as if he’s admiring his non-existant nails. Once the last person enters, he turns towards everyone with a sigh, lowering his hand. Overdramatic, much?

“I see you’re not taking my words seriously, it’s really boring if I have to push you all to do this, but I guess there’s no other choice.”

He pushes himself to stand up and hop onto the floor to walk around.

“Like I said, I’d give out motivation to murder if no one wound up dead by now. So I though long and hard about this, what would drive someone to murder besides the fact that it’s their only way out of here?

“THEN it hit me.”

He saunters to the back of the room and turns back towards everyone.

“Quite literally actually! I was eating my lunch yesterday then it hit me! Right in the face then fell on the floor! How terrible a fate for such good food.”

He seems almost sad for a moment, completely going off topic of what he was originally talking about.

“It made me so mad that I just tossed out ALL of the food in the building! That’s right, there is no food left, you still have access to water, but food? Nah. It’ll take about…a week to get new food, which a human can survive that long without, but I’m sure it’d feel like it was actually killing you after that long, hm?

“And it’s not even guaranteed it’ll get here that fast! Maybe it’ll take two weeks! Or three! However long it will take, you’ll all still be without food.”

He starts to walk back to the fron of the room.

“Thouuughhhh I might be able to sneak the food in faster if someone kills. I mean, wouldn’t that be great? not having to wait and possibly die from starvation? I’ll leave it up to you all.”

He hopped back up onto the podium.

“You have all the time in the world to make up your mind, but you might want to do it before you die of starvation.”

It took her a minute for what had just been said to dawn on her. A killing game? With them? Clara wasn’t quite sure if she had heard right. When it hit her though, it hit her all at once. 

Clara was afraid. Probably more than she had ever been in her life. She wanted to believe that none of this was real but she knew it was. This was her reality now whether she liked it or not. Despite this though, she wanted more than anything to just go home. If she hadn’t trusted anyone before, she definitely didn’t now.

The words, they didn’t hit right away. His breath caught in his throat when he first heard them, and he let his mouth hang open slightly as the announcement was made. He seemed to be frozen in shock once everything was said and done, his small frame standing still in the middle of the gym with a shocked look on his face.

“No kidding. This is probably just some stupid joke. They’d be stopped if they tried something like this.”

She blew out a puff of air, crossing her arms over her chest. Clara had a lot on her mind, making it hard to organize her thoughts. There was so many things she wanted to say but knew it would be better that she not say them. The last thing she wanted was to draw unnecessary attention to herself.

You open your rules on your ID and find:

Rule #1: Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus 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 Hope’s Peak Academy at your discretion.

Rule #5: Violence against headmaster Monobear is strictly prohibited.

Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow student will graduate, unless they are discovered.

Rule #7: Additional school regulations may be added if necessary.

Rule #7: Once a murder takes place, a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students. The only exception is if a student is too ill to move.

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: The guilty party may only kill a maximum of two people during any single “Killing Game.”

Rule #11: Attempting to break into locked rooms is strictly prohibited.

It’s been about a week since you arrived, and you may hav noticed that you…haven’t had any classes? There’s no teachers in the school at all in fact, it’s just been you and your classmates the past week. Perhaps this is just a welcome week to prepare you for the campus. As you’re going about your daily routine, there’s an announcement over the loudspeakers.

“Hello again! Come to the gymnasium immediately for an announcement!”

It’s the bear’s voice again. Reluctantly, you make your way to the gym like asked. You notice that the black and white bear is walking back and forth on the stage while he waits. Once everyone’s in, he looks over the class and goes to his podium, tapping on the mic.

“Ah, hello again, it’s lovely to see your faces again.”

There’s a hint of sarcasm in the voice he used, but anyways.

“I figured a week was enough time to get you all acquainted with one another, so now that everyone is aware of everyone, I can tell you why you’re all here!”

Why you’re all here? You’re going to school because it’s mandatory. What else is he going to tell you besides that?

“By now, you should’ve noticed something’s different about this school atmosphere- I mean, there’s not even a single adult in the building! And you’re not allowed to access the next floor, haven’t you thought that was odd?

“The reasoning for that is…You’re all alone here in this school besides me!”

You look around to your classmates in confusion.

“Like, no one’s getting into or out of this building.”

…What?

“I have placed some school rules into your IDs, but I’ll explain your predicament to your faces as well~!”

“You are all  here to kill each other for my entertainment. There’s no way out of this. The person standing next to you could kill you at any time they wish. After someone is found dead, you will then hold a class trial to figure out the culprit and you will execute them.”

…What? This joke is going a little too far…But you can’t help but be concerned over this coming of events. He doesn’t actually expect you all to kill each other, right?

“Or, if you don’t want to kill someone, you can always allow them to go free!”

That’s…a little better. But no one has to die at all, right?

“But if you let them go free, you and your other innocent classmates will be executed instead, sound good? Great, cause there’s no other option.”

This isn’t actually happening, someone will get you out before then. There’s no way your families aren’t looking for you.

“If no one has killed in one week, I will push an incentive to murder on all of you.”

There’s silence in the room, and the intimidating aura the bear was giving out disappears.

“Let’s hope I don’t have to go to drastic measures like that. Upupu…I’ll see you around. If you need me, just call for me!”

And with that, he hopped behind the podium once more and disappeared.

Clara nodded back and followed after Otoha, finally happy to get moving. She would be much more comfortable interacting with her classmates once she had at least a little time of her own to relax. It wasn’t that she hated them, but she definitely didn’t trust any of them. 

She wanted to believe in them more than anything, and she was going to try her best no matter what was thrown at them. Part of her knew deep down that she likely wouldn’t get along with many of them though, especially after seeing the “talents” that had been listed. The idea that some of them were deemed good enough by Hope’s Peak gave her a headache.

She cleared her throat. It wasn’t up to her to decide and she wanted to stop thinking about it anyways.

“So uh you’re a pastry chef, right? What exactly is it that you do? I’m not good at much more than tending to my plants so I’m a little curious.”

Otoha was somewhat in the same boat. She didn’t consider it wise for anyone to drop their common sense just because they were classmates, after all. When the time would come for all of them to enjoy their high school lives together, maybe then she would loosen up. But for now there were no bonds she wished to extend; there were only strangers all around.

And that was all she could currently see. For the time being, her sights were focused on Clara. She appeared to be a respectable individual, after all. And she should treat her as such. She considered her words then looked to the other girl with a small smile.

“I am… I’m the heir to my family’s business. Hitsujigumo has existed since the 19th century, so to learn how to maintain it in the future I was trained to bake Japanese pastries and bread. However, our shop sells a much wider variety, so I’m trained to keep up with those assortments.. I specialize in baking French-styled goods like mille-feuille or choux pastry.”

Her voice and words were particularly clear. It was partially a question she answered often, but there was something more important to Otoha that motivated the professionalism in her cadence. She wished to present herself and by extension, her family in a deserving way.

She continued to keep her attention to where they were going, though she looked to Clara with her returning, more lax self.

“Sorry if I rambled off for a bit. I guess it’s just important to me, hehe♪”

It was natural to be so easily taken with one’s topic of interest, after all. She wondered how much that applied to the other students here. And since she had a clear idea of where they were going, passing the time with idle words was almost as instinctive as silence.

“I’d like to ask about you, though. I’m not the most knowledgeable of course but I still have some interest in my heart.” More than just for the charming floral designs that they offered to her haori. “Did your interest stem from personal interests or something else…?”

“Well I can’t say I’m very fond of floral arrangements in general but that would take a little too long to explain.”

Clara thought back to when her interest in Botany had began. It had never been the pretty flowers that drew her in. Flowers were liars, after all. They draw you in with their pretty colors only to get what they need to live in the end. She could think of a lot of people like that. There were others reasons too. Ones she didn’t like to think about. 

Clara almost sighed with relief. She had expected to be immediately shot down. She shoved her hands into the shallow pockets of her leather jacket, running her thumb over her ID absentmindedly. 

“It means a lot, thanks. I’ve never been good at finding my way around.”

She continued to shift her weight back and forth, nervousness not allowing her to stay still for long. Clara had never considered talking her strong point. Needless to say, she was winging it. All that she wanted was to get away from all the people. 

“Let’s get going then, yeah? We can talk about whatever on the way but it’s better to rip the bandaid off now and get moving. I’d rather not wait until that creepy bear comes back.”

“It’s no problem, Montes-san. I think it’s fair enough. It’s not like finding your way around is easy. Reading maps and putting them together can be kind of screwy…” She gestured to the pieces of the map on ID, holding it towards her. “It’s sectioned off so it fits together oddly… It took a little while to figure out, but we can get going now.”

Otoha took a step forward, looking back to Clara with a nod, waiting for her to follow her lead. Her composure was her strongest point, or at least she would like to think so. Even if it was just in her own head, she would use that mental image to fortify her real self further in this sea of amiguity.

She wanted to believe in them more than anything, and she was going to try her best no matter what was thrown at them. Part of her knew deep down that she likely wouldn’t get along with many of them though, especially after seeing the “talents” that had been listed. The idea that some of them were deemed good enough by Hope’s Peak gave her a headache.

She cleared her throat. It wasn’t up to her to decide and she wanted to stop thinking about it anyways.

Clara considered asking her for directions but quickly decided otherwise. This girl couldn’t know much more about the situation than she did. She didn’t exactly look very threatening either. A passing thought dawned on Clara that this girl was actually sort of pretty. Embarrassment quickly followed when she reminded herself that she didn’t even know Otoha. Shaking off her rambling train of thought, Clara remembered she was supposed to respond.

“I guess there is something I could ask but it’s a little embarrassing.”

Clara wrung her hands behind her back, shifting her weight as she spoke. She wasn’t exactly used to being around so many eyes and would honestly rather be at home in her garden. She was nervous to say the least, afraid of slipping up at any moment. 

“Are you any good with navigating? I’m not the best with directions and I’d probably get lost on my own. I just need a little help finding my room. I’m.. not comfortable being around so many people like this.”

“Feel free to. I don’t really think there’s room for me to make any judgments with the little we have to go off of.”

She usually voiced her own thoughts with ease, but considering she wasn’t familiar with the environment herself, there was more of a risk of her being ignorant with her words than usual. Not that she would make any harsh assumptions on Clara in the slightest, but in general she didn’t feel the need to sugarcoat anything if she thought that others should be more aware one way or another.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m the best at it but I think that I can help with that… I can understand being overwhelmed in a setting like this. A good chunk of the people here have– quite the presence,” she said, starting to trail off with the last few words.

Otoha felt around the pleats for the ID again, bringing it out once again for reference. After some scanning, she nodded to Clara, keeping the feature on for clarity.

“It means a lot, thanks. I’ve never been good at finding my way around.”

She continued to shift her weight back and forth, nervousness not allowing her to stay still for long. Clara had never considered talking her strong point. Needless to say, she was winging it. All that she wanted was to get away from all the people. 

Clara immediately jumped upon hearing Otoha’s voice. She had been so focused on what she was doing that she hadn’t even noticed her approaching. Mentally chastising herself, she worked up the nerve to respond. 

“Yeah, I think I’m fine. Just getting myself a little worked up is all.” She blew out a puff of air, trying to force herself to relax. After all, they weren’t in any real danger at the moment, right? 

Clara looked the girl in front of her up and down, trying to put a name to the face from what she could remember in the brief glances she had given her classmates’ profiles. After a moment it hit her. 

“Oh, you’re Otoha Ueha right? I’m Clara but I guess you already knew that.” She laughed nervously, rubbing her right arm with a gloved hand. 

“Fair enough… There’s a lot that I wish would reveal itself somehow. A little more information would help, though I guess if a stunt like this is being pulled then it would defeat the point of it to tell us anything.”

She kept her hands folded in front of her to iterate her lack of malintention. To anyone in general, she didn’t want to make it look like she had anything to personally hide. This entire thing was shifty enough in her opinion, so there was no need to increase that with her own behavior, right?

Otoha hoped that she wasn’t alone on that, no matter how many oddballs this school may or may not hold. And all she cold hold out for after that was a peaceful remaining high school life.

“I guess there is something I could ask but it’s a little embarrassing.”

Clara wrung her hands behind her back, shifting her weight as she spoke. She wasn’t exactly used to being around so many eyes and would honestly rather be at home in her garden. She was nervous to say the least, afraid of slipping up at any moment. 

Clara wasn’t really sure what to do. She was scared, confused, and more than a little angry. What had she done to deserve this? No, that was a stupid question. Nobody deserved to be locked in a building with 17 other people. It was probably better for her to stay calm. 

“Mingle. With these people.” She muttered to herself as she pulled her ID out of her pocket. She scanned it’s contents quickly, checking each of the names and talents of her classmates. It was better to at least know what she was dealing with. She frowned at a few of them. 

“These people look crazy. I need to find my room and stay there.”

Shaking this off, she took a deep breath and looked around at her classmates. They seemed to be just fine without her. Pulling up the map, she let out a shaky breath. All she needed to do was find her way there. Unfortunately.. she wasn’t the best navigator.

After checking the contents of her ID, she had slipped the device back into the pocket of her skirt and started to move off to make her own observations. At the very she would least to familiarize herself a little more with the structure of the building. However, she spotted an individual while walking and slowly turned herself around, carefully straightening the sleeves of her haori as she spoke.

“Ah.. I know that it’s a bit confusing and such but… May I ask if you’re alright–”

She moved her hand to take the ID out, navigating through the student information with her hand before letting it drop back into the pleated pocket.

“Yeah, I think I’m fine. Just getting myself a little worked up is all.” She blew out a puff of air, trying to force herself to relax. After all, they weren’t in any real danger at the moment, right? 

Clara looked the girl in front of her up and down, trying to put a name to the face from what she could remember in the brief glances she had given her classmates’ profiles. After a moment it hit her.