Danganronpa: Digital Daze

After breakfast, I had only one goal in mind: Try to get a new plan out of here. I knew Kenchikka had her theory, and Kaito had another. I wasn't about to bother Celeste about her thoughts, but I wanted one more person in the meeting before we held it. I thought to myself.

Makoto? He always seemed reasonable.

Mukuro? I seemed to remember her mentioning a hidden passage to the basement.

Chihiro? Maybe his computer skills could help us out.

In the end, I decided Mukuro would be the best option, since there might be a chance of discovering something in the basement.

I messaged Mukuro, Kenchikka, and Kaito separately.

Bera Haikiko: Hey, I'd like to set up a meeting with Kenchikka, Kaito, and Mukuro in the Courtyard. Since you are one of those three, would you be interested?

I then awaited their answers, hoping they would be willing to meet up.

Kaito Momota: Well, now we're all cooperating again? It's our only chance to survive! I've been saying this all along!

 I got Kaito's response first, followed by Kenchikka's.

Kenchikka Kowareta: Sure, why not. Brainstorming always fun.

Finally, Mukuro responded.

Mukuro Ikusaba: I don't really work well with others, but I'll do my best.

Happy, I awaited their arrival in the Courtyard, at one of the square tables that seated four.

Kenchikka arrived first, followed closely by Kaito. They were already chit-chatting amongst each other, though I couldn't make out what they were talking about.

Shortly after they sat down, Mukuro appeared, eyeing us warily as she approached. She took the final seat.

"Ok, so what are we all doing here?" Mukuro bluntly asked.

"Ask Bera. His idea," Kenchikka replied, staring at me.

I thought for a moment. "Well, I was wondering if any of you have any ideas on how to get out of here, now that we've been here a while."

Mukuro spoke up. "Well, I found a way into the basement via a trapdoor near the stairs on the First Floor. Found some paperwork mentioning the sale of this building and property."

Kaito glanced over. "Really! Does it mention who owns it now, or where they are?"

Mukuro shakes her head. "A lot of the names are redacted, unfortunately."

Kenchikka sighs. "Unfortunate."

Mukuro continued. "Also, the secret entrance to the basement was sealed by Monorakun last night. I can't get in anymore."

Kenchikka shook her head. "Asshole Raccoon, no doubt."

Kaito agreed, figuring no one else would have done it.

Ok, so the idea of sneaking out through the basement was now off the table.

"Hey! What about the entrance! Any way to get that door open?" Kaito suggested.

Mukuro shook her head. "Electromagnetic locks. They're not gonna open."

"Damn," Kaito mutters. "So much for that, too."

Kenchikka spoke up next. "Skylight no good, either. Can see out, but Asshole Raccoon says no one sees in. Had idea for distress beacon, maybe airplane, helicopter flies over, sees it, calls for help."

A thought crosses my mind. "Hey, the Kitchen gets restocked every day. The food has to come from somewhere, right? Maybe someone can sneak into the Kitchen before it closes, and hide inside?"

Mukuro, Kaito, and Kenchikka ponder this.

However, a new voice spoke up from several feet away from us. Monorakun.

"Yeah, maybe, but can you breathe carbon monoxide? The kitchen gets pumped full of it before the food arrives. Makes the meat look fresher and redder. Also kills anyone hiding within."

Dammit! Why him, why now?

"Awwww, don't fret too much," Monorakun mockingly comforts us. "Unlike Mukuro's sister, at least you're all still alive for the moment! But rest assured, none of you are getting out of here, unless you follow the rules of this place."

Monorakun then scurried off, with Kenchikka and Kaito glaring at him.

"Of course he would be tracking our movements," Mukuro bluntly commented. "At least I grabbed what I could the first time I was in that basement."

That caught Kaito's attention.

"Wait, you actually HAVE stuff from down there? Let's take a look at it!" Kaito pipes up.

Mukuro admonished Kaito, telling him to keep quiet. She then agreed to let us come to her dorm room, where she had some documents from the basement kept in her room.

Once Kaito, Kenchikka, and I arrived at Mukoro's dorm room, she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out several folders for us, each containing different amounts of paper.

One folder contained paperwork regarding a bill of sale for a place called "Hope's Peak Academy", from a man named Izuru Kamukura, to an organization whose name was illegible. It appeared someone had blotted it out intentionally, for reasons unknown.

"Why would someone want to hide the name of the buyer on this?" I asked.

Kenchikka shrugged. "Likely not original document. Can always get another one from Department of Revenue. Have to pay for it, though. Still, odd."

Kaito, meanwhile, was looking at another folder. This one had some conversations documented between an "Ultimate Robotic" and an "Ultimate ---------".

"Wow," Kaito remarked. "These two seemed to argue quite a bit in here."

Kenchikka takes a look at what Kaito's talking about.

"Yeah. Lots of arguing about finances, designs, names. Also, disagreements over betting process."

"These are not the communications of a well-disciplined organization," Mukuro remarks, little emotion in her voice.

Kenchikka reads some of the correspondence, then nods. "Lots of bickering. Some compromise, planning at end, though."

I read where she was talking about. The two people were discussing a way to make money, by luring students into a...

Killing Game...

Disguised as an invitation to The Ultimate Talent Enhancement Center...

Or TUTEC for short...

And letting viewers place bets on who dies next, or who the Blackened is? Or allowing plus/minus bets, based on a number of days a given student is expected to live in here?

My eyes went wide. THIS is how we were lured here, trapped here, and forced to play this horrible game?

Kaito looked like he couldn't believe it, either.

Mukuro... I couldn't read her expression at all.

As for Kenchikka, she just looked annoyed.

"So TUTEC people lure us with promise of fake school, lock us in, watch us kill each other, and make money off of us," Kenchikka comments.

"Damn it!" Kaito shouts. "We need to stop this Killing Game NOW!!"

"But how? We need a plan everyone will follow, or another death is inevitable," Mukuro responds.

I was speechless. I had no idea what to say, what to think anymore.

Mukuro looked up at the clock. It was 2pm now.

"We should meet up later, and come up with ideas on our own before we rendezvous," she commented, as she opened her dorm room for us to leave.

So, now we knew. We were trapped here on purpose, and people were making bets on us. If we'd live or die. If we were the Blackened or not. Even how long we would live in here.

What kind of sick people were we dealing with? Where were they?

And was there truly any hope of escaping this place, without being forced to play by these sadistic rules?