#rd open

Katsurou had obviously jumped at the chance to spend time in the recording studio. This was his element, it was where he felt at home. It was super exciting for him, that stress weighing him down being lifted from his shoulders for the time being.

For the next several hours, he slaved away in the studio where he could be alone and truly express himself. It was rare for him to actually sing, a more private thing for him. He didn’t like other people hearing him, even though he always received compliments. These few hours of solitude were spent at the mic, where he sang one of his favorite songs, then went out to get instruments for the actual music.

The process took awhile, it was a wonder that somebody didn’t walk in on him while recording. But it would seem that the self-conscious music nerd was in luck, for he never got interrupted once. Once he had the music and vocals recorded, he took a bit to fit them together, and his cover was made. With a small grin of satisfaction, he was ready to listen.

Turning up the volume, he felt a great twinge of happiness as the first few notes sounded, being followed by the first few lines. It was definitely one of the better covers he had done in his lifetime so far, not that he had done that many in the first place. Katsurou was very happy with the end result, lip-syncing along with himself until the recording finished playing.

It was around then that he had noticed someone else was there, and had most likely been there long enough to hear his entire cover. Anxiety crashed into him with a tight feeling in his chest as all kinds of thoughts raced through his mind. Oh god, oh god, oh god, they definitely hate it..!

Stupid. All that work of figuring out who killed the bastard, and he ended up killing himself. Still, she felt bad for the poor son of a bitch, he just wanted to commit murder and get out of here, and yet his own stupidity lead to his demise. 

She found her legs getting weak as she walked out of the court room, waves of fatigue and anger rushing over her and swallowing her whole. Before she knew it, she was face up on the floor, a little bit down the hallway. She was tired, and most of all she was pissed.

This dream has gone on long enough, and she was done with it. She wanted to wake up and be home, this was all too much for her to handle.

     Kouta... was astonished. Someone had actually taken matters into their own hands and killed a person he himself did not even know yet. This saddened him... a poor soul who had never even been graced with his presence. He felt more weary about his currently wavering reputation than mournful over the deceased student. 

     Nonetheless, he had to play the part. His eyes widened and he stood before the corpse with (hopefully) a few tears falling down his cheeks. And within seconds, that expression faded into that of clear anger as he tried to appear the obvious hero and leader in these trying times. 

She felt awful. 

‘Course, she felt fine two seconds ago; not anymore, thanks to that stupid bear. So this was real, huh? Why did it take so long for it to catch on? Was she really that stupid? Oh God, Oh God.

Her fingers clenched the tulle of her skirt; she had to grab onto something– anything. Her head felt like it was spinning. Did she eat anything? If she did, she couldn’t remember. 

Tears beaded up in her eyes and began to fall frantically. Was murder really an option here? In a place like this? Tsubaki hiccuped, sniffling in an attempt to compose herself.

     At least the bear had a little class.

     A ball was a great way to get to know the other students, at least. He decided he was quite fond of the idea and decided to put on his best attire. He had a reputation to uphold, and the best way to do so was at a party. That was how he always made companions. 

     He went to his room, obeying the bears’ orders, and dressed himself finely. Then, he strolled into the ballroom, readying himself for a night of fun dancing and pleasant conversations. He was met with a nearly empty room (perhaps no one had arrived yet?) and busied himself with exploring around a little, getting a good eye on everything. 

     He was interrupted by a student clumsily bumping into him, to which he turned around, a bright smile on his lips as he offered forgiveness. He extended a hand warmly, not only to help them up, but to ask perhaps the most important question at a time like this. 

    The courtyard was... absolutely astonishing. However, the bear that greeted them there was far from that. At first, he was nothing more than eerie, if not slightly condescending, but he was certainly not a threat. Kouta himself assumed it was a mere teddy bear propped up for entertainment purposes. But my goodness was he wrong.

    It was when the bear began to speak that the poor vigilante felt a little sick. Murder? This could not be serious! No one in their right mind would kill simply because a children’s toy said so?

    “My heavens, this certainly is... something...” He said, trying to compose himself and appear calm, just for everyone else’s sake. “But fear not, together we can stop this. How about that?” He extended his hand to the nearest person, a smile gently crawling across his face.

    Nonetheless, it was Kouta’s job to be helpful. After all, as a vigilante, he worked with this sort of thing often... and he was good at it (at least, according to all the newspapers he starred in and the like.) So, he nudged the first person with his foot, gently stirring them awake from their slumber, before kneeling down beside them.

Ow.

The light hurt her eyes as they slowly blinked open, unaccustomed to the brightness.

This must be the place, though, right? The retreat for Hope’s Peak Academy’s latest class? It had to be. That being said, why did she, among several other students scattered around her, appear to be sleeping on the floor? Maybe they hauled them all in after a long train ride.

Her gaze wandered to the nearest person waking up, and her face immediately lit up. She approached them, excitedly, though somewhat cautiously.

“Hey! I’m Tsubaki Shí, your classmate, I think!”