c'est la vie

It all seemed simple enough in the beginning. …Was it, really? Sure, there was some weird plush bat that came out of nowhere and spoke, but Risumaru figured that it was just manufacturers getting really intricate with their mascots. Komori mentioned the outside world not being the same, and Risumaru just assumed that maybe the little bat was genuinely looking out for them and their safety. It was a bit extreme, yes, but certainly with some convincing, everyone would come to terms with a solution, right?

Risumaru was personally proud of how accepting he was. But for the first time ever, he thought that maybe, just maybe he was a little too accepting… that, or he wasn’t accepting enough.

What he just witnessed was unacceptable.

Famed for his composure and calm-and-collected attitude, it all meant nothing after the death of Akane made him feel sick. His stomach tied into a knot, he refused to let dread get the best of him as he quickly rushed over to the bleeding body, his fingers checking the pulse in her neck.

“…She’s gone.”

He shot a glare towards Komori. The next words that left him were through grit teeth, after a shaky, sharp inhale.

“You… How could you! She didn’t even do anything wrong…!!”

Breath, Risumaru. In, out, in, out. Slowly, calmly, peacefully. He had to stay calm. Not for him, but for everyone. Allowing himself to see nothing but red would do jack. But it all felt so real, didn’t it?

He gulped. Ignoring the nausea, he forced himself to stand up, looking at the others. He wanted to reassure everyone and their safety, but…

“Um… Are you referring to me?”

Standing yet again pretty far from the rest of you was the girl you had come to know as Akane. She blinked at Komori incredulously as the bat pointed at her. Komori nodded and began stomping squeakily towards the girl.

“Yes! This game is only for Hope’s Peak Academy’s 76th class to participate in, and you don’t even belong here! I don’t know what you think you’re doing here but since outsiders aren’t permitted to participate in the game…”

As if on cue; dozens of razor sharp claws suddenly, and rather comically, extruded from Komori’s wings as she gave Akane a devilish stare.

“You’ll have to be disposed of~!”

“W-What? You can’t be serious-!”

Unfortunately Akane never got the chance to finish before Komori was lunging at her at an unreal speed. What happened next was almost too fast and hectic to make out. As Komori slashed and attacked the girl in a frenzy all you could hear was blood curdling screams as blood splattered the ground and ceiling all around you. When it was all over you heard a hard ‘thump’ and saw Akane collapse to the ground in a puddle of her own blood as Komori landed a couple feet away.

With deep gashes and stab wounds all over, Akane stared up at the ceiling with pained wheezes and gasps as she quickly bled out. In her final moments you could have sworn you saw her murmuring something as the light faded from her eyes.

The strange girl who you barely got to know was dead, and she had died right before your very eyes.

…

“…Oh deary me, I may have gotten a little carried away there. I’m so vewy sowwy you had to see that! …Well! Regardless of the messiness of it all let this all be a lesson to you all my dears~ I am very serious and the Mutual Killing Game will be happening.”

“For now I’m gonna go wash myself off before cleaning up this place. I will also be dropping off your own personal Komori Tablets in your tent- they have the rules, guidelines, and a bunch of nifty features on them so I suggest checking them out. If you need anything else in the meantime don’t hesitate to ask~!”

With that Komori finally leaves you all be. After a display like that you’re not sure what to think.  Komori’s explanation, the mutual killing game, Akane’s sudden death- what was the meaning of this all? You could only hope that no one would actually participate in this messed up game Komori had planned for you.

Just what kind of cruel twist of fate was this…?

Before you had the chance to look the iron door in front of you all suddenly ‘clicks’ before slamming open. There you all see a small plush looking bat standing in the entry way. The squeaks of her steps echoed throughout the cavern as she waddled over to you in concern.

“Phew… Oh thank goodness you’re all still here in one piece! I was so worried something might have happened to you all! I’m so vewy sowwy! I won’t ever leave you guys again!”

“…Oh! I’m sowwy, I didn’t even introduce myself yet! I’m Komori~! I’m going to be your personal caretaker during your stay here.”

As the bat spread out her wings enthusiastically at you her words suddenly hit you… Your stay here? What? Seeing the confused looks on your faces Komori continued on.

“Ah! Now now now… You may be asking yourselves, 'Oh no! What is our widdle sweet Komori-chan talking about?’ I know it’s a lot to take in, but, well… You’ll be staying down here with me, permanently.”

“I know a lot of you must be feeling homesick but you must understand…The world as you know it isn’t the same anymore. It’s so dangerous and scawy now, there is nothing left for you back up there but heartbreak and despair… But it’s okay! None of you have to worry because you’ll all be safe here with me! It might be hard but try to think of this place as your new home. If you need anything at all pwease don’t be afraid to ask! I’m here to ensure your well being after all~!”

You could feel the dread in the pits on your stomachs the more Komori spoke. What did she mean the world wasn’t the same anymore? Were you truly going to be forced to stay down here forever? Live the rest of your days in some dingy underground cave that was god knows where? Could this truly be happening to all of you? As you shared uneasy glances with the rest of your classmate your 'caretaker’ spoke up.

“…But, there is one exception. I realize some of you might not be as willing to stay down here fowever with me. If you truly want to go back home then all you gotta do is win a wittle game we’ll all be playing!”

A game? Just what was she talking about this time?

“It can get pwetty drab and boring spending all your time down here so I’ve prepared a little game for everyone to play! This game isn’t optional either- you all gotta play or else it won’t be any fun, okay? The rules are vewy simple…!”

“If you want to leave the cavern and return to the outside world then you must kill one of your fellow classmates and get away with it. Failing to do so will result in your own death as well. Simple enough, yes? You all must participate in our mutual killing game if you ever wish to leave this place. Breaking any rules or attempting to harm me will also result in your death as well.”

Despite Komori’s cheery smile you could only feel your blood run cold. Mutual killing game…? There was no way any of this could be real- This was all so twisted and absurd. Surely there has to be another way out of here. You weren’t actually going to have to go through something so sick and terrible down here, were you?

“…Though I’ve found that you kids don’t tend to believe me when I explain the nature of this game, fyuuu… And there is one other issue we need to take care of before we can begin. Hmm… Oh! I got it! I think a demonstration is in order!”

Just what was she going to do? Before you could inquire further Komori looked out into the crowd of you all and pointed at someone.

It had only been a couple hours since you all woke up before your teacher Miss Bellerose gathered you all together once more. She sounded urgent but still calm

“Hello? Students? Can you please come over here for a short while? I have something to discuss with you all!”

Thanks to how wide open the cavern was it didn’t take you all long to gather next to the iron door where your teacher was standing by. Clasping her hands together Bellerose looked to you all with a reassuring smile.

“I’ve done a lot of looking and I can only presume that this door may be the way for us to escape… However I cannot seem to find the method to opening it. I’m still searching for other means of an exit but for now… I believe this is our only  way out. I don’t see a key hole or a control pad… So I’m assuming there must be another way to open it…”

Before Bellerose could continue any further however, you all heard a tiny shrill squeaking sound coming from behind the door. As you looked among yourself wondering what on Earth was that you hear the pitter patter of squeaks and someone in a panic.

“Oh no! I’m late I’m late I’m late! Uwaaaa-!”

As Bellerose walks off you all begin to realize there’s someone in the back who doesn’t belong. Leaning against one of the cavern’s rocky walls was a girl around your age with dark hair and a long red skirt. A bored expression on her face as she looked around the cavern, seemingly not even noticing your glances.

“…”

While everyone else around you at least gave you a vague sense of familiarity, a feeling of having forgotten someone you knew quite well, this girl… Well. You didn’t get any sort of feeling from her at all.

You truly had no idea who she even was.

…Though you suppose nothing was stopping you from finding out! There was quite a lot of things busy yourselves with after all. Now that Bellerose was off exploring after all you were left to your own devices. You could look around the strange cavern you found yourselves abandoned in, question your teacher or the mystery girl, or even speak among yourselves to pass the time.

Stepping outside the tent you notice the rocky floor beneath your feet and the various stalagmites and stalactites around you. It seems you had been… Camping inside a cave? What? Were it not for the various lights hanging from above you would have been in the pitch darkness. As you continue taking in your surrounding you also notice nine other tents with people coming out of them as well.

…Don’t you know these people? Everyone’s faces seem so familiar but yet so strange at the same time. You feel like you’ve spoken to the people here before yet you can’t even remember most of their names.

As everyone gathers together your gazes finally drift over to the one who had called you all out here to begin with.

“You all must be rather confused as to why were here… I am as well.”

Standing before you was a studious young woman who you could swear you’ve met before. She was… Your teacher, wasn’t she? After all she did refer to you all as ‘students’ just moments prior.

“I am your sensei however! Cinderella Bellerose, former student at the academy myself!”

“I will however figure this out for all of us… It is unfortunate not to know what is going on… So I must find the answer for us my dear students! I apologize for the trouble this may be causing you all…”

With that your teacher Bellerose wanders off- seemingly to get a head start exploring the spacious cavern you had all found yourselves in. Having nothing else to do while she looked for answers you all at your other peers, wondering what exactly you were suppose to do down here.

The first thing you realize as you come to is that you have no idea where you are.

Pained with a throbbing throbbing and your vision blurry as you blink your eyes open, you awake in the insides of a spacious but rather crowded tent. While the air mattress and sleeping bag you’ve been placed on are comfortable enough they take up a majority of the space. On the other side of the tent you spot another teen waking up in a similar disoriented state as yourself.

Strangely enough you don’t hear anything outside that would expect to hear outside of a tent when camping. Besides the faint sound of other people groggily coming to there no sound of buzzing bugs, no hooting birds, no ambient sounds, nothing. In fact you only hear the occasional echo and see the faint glow of what you can only assume is a florescent light.

If you weren’t camping in the outdoors where were you? …And more importantly why couldn’t you remember how you got here?

As much as you tried to recall the events leading up to your predicament your head feels like cotton. Everything seeming so far away and any key details seemed shrouded in static as you tried to remember. Your summer break had come and gone and it was the start of a new semester at HPA, but why can’t you remember your first semester either? You were heading to class that day, bright and early. You remember the faint murmurs of gossiping teens as you walked down the halls. Had something happened? It’s hard to tell. As you settled into the classroom with the rest of your classmates your teacher spoke up there was… 

What was there again? You strain to remember what exactly happened after that. Weren’t there people yelling somewhere? The sound of hurried footsteps? All you can clearly remember is hearing a door slam shut and suddenly feeling so tired…

Now here you were, sitting in a daze inside a tent you have no recollection even getting into. Before you can question your tentmate about what’s going on you hear a voice coming from outside.

“Hello? Students? If you’re all awake now if could please come out of your tents?”

“Let’s all give a warm welcome back to our 76th class! Did you all enjoy your summer break? Things are going to get a little harder from now on so I hope you’re all well rested and prepared. Well, now with pleasantries out of the way… With the start of the new semester I think it’s officially time for class to get back in session! Let’s start with roll call, shall we?”

Coco Sakurano - SHSL TV Drama Star   - Played by Pider Hibiki Gima - SHSL Virtual Pet Owner   - Played by Laney Iyona Shiaki - SHSL Waitress   - Played by Rei Izana Sakurai - SHSL Charity Organizer  - Played by Shan Kazuo Hayashi - SHSL Zoologist   - Played by Sora Kokoro Kusangi - SHSL Sports Medic   - Played by Leo Manabu Imoo - SHSL Fisherman   - Played by Mae Masataku Hashimoto - SHSL Lets Player   - Played by Mod Hitoshi-san MIUNHŌSEI - SHSL Etiquette Consultant   - Played by Strega Nona Nonon - SHSL Fantasy Novelist   - Played by Finn Ophelia Athanasiou - SHSL Paramedic   - Played by Mod Raku-chan Psalm B. - SHSL Celebrity Chef   - Played by Athena Reina Sato - SHSL Soccer Player   - Played by Kou Risumaru Tengoku - SHSL Choreographer   - Played by Munny Ryōma Hayato - SHSL Mecha Model Maker   -Played by ZetaKen/Ken Shiba - SHSL Arcade Gamer   - Played by Lily Shinichi Kanemoto - SHSL Ceramic Artist   -Played by Coby Toyo Teshigawara - SHSL Female Shogi Pro   - Played by Sarah Tsurugi Tsukiko - SHSL Fencer   - Played by Sissel Yoko Mikhaylov - SHSL Oil Painter   - Played by Mod Koneko-chan Yoingliang Jia - SHSL Cryptozoologist   - Played by Darren

A big congratulations to everyone who made it in! A mod will be contacting soon via discord with a link to the server so be prepared! We’re coming for you…

To everyone else we thank you all so much for applying to our game! We want to assure everyone we truly loved all of your apps and they were such a joy to read! But as it always is with roster decisions with such limited spots we couldn’t accept everyone we liked. Unfortunately a lot of apps we loved were cut due to roster balancing- which we find very important for games like this. We made some very hard decisions but in the end we did our best and we hope you all understand.

As we’ve stated before we wont have time to give any app reviews due to us being busy with game prep. Thank you all again for your interest and we hope to bring both our players and spectators a fun and interesting RP group!