I gulp as I slowly turn my gaze to the floor underneath my feet. There was a silence that hung around in the air, making me uneasy. No one spoke a single word, only casting glares at one another.

"Are you just going to stand around and glare at each other?" Kyoko states, arms crossed. Her comment was directed towards everyone in the room. It somehow pulls us all back into reality.

"R-Right! Kyoko is right! Even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward! I am ashamed of myself for forgetting that!" Taka clenches his fists, "someone! Please, hit me! I can't forgive myself! Punish me!"

"Well, if you really want-" I was soon cut off by Mondo.

"Jesus. If you have time to yell and whine, then you have time to do something about it," Mondo comments.

"P-Perhaps...but what is our mission exactly?" Hifumi states, biting his nails nervously.

"Dude, you idiot! It's to look for a way outta this school, duh!" Leon shouts, pointing to his head and furrowing his eyebrows.

"And we, like, totally need to find out who is working with that weird teddy bear kid and beat the hell outta them!" Junko yells, glancing at her red acrylic nails.

"How do you know that Monokuma is working with someone?" Kyoko asks, sending a glare at Junko. Junko flinches a bit.

"Well, if you think about it, doesn't Monokuma seem to be a little young to be a headmaster of an entire school? All on his own? Working with another person seems like a likely possibility. Thank you for pointing that out, Junko," I respond, smiling widely at Junko. Junko just nods, a smile making its way onto her face.

"I see, thank you for clarifying. I didn't think of that possibility," Kyoko states, looking at the ground in thought.

"A-Anyway, before we do that, maybe w-we should look at the e-Handbook?" Chihiro suggests, smiling nervously. "It's probably best to check out all of the rules M-Monokuma mentioned before we do anything else."

"That's a good idea, Chihiro," I state.

"That's true. If we just stumble around the school with no clue about the regulations, something like that...incident earlier might happen again," Celeste remarks, clasping her hands together and smiling.

I gulp as I remember the incident from earlier, when Monokuma pointed a gun at Mondo. The scene was rather...unexpected and a tad bit exciting. Of course, I don't wish death upon my classmate, but the scene reminded me of a scene from a movie I acted in, of course.

"Fine! Let's check the stupid rules," Junko whines as she grabs her e-Handbook.

I grab my e-Handbook and power it on, seeing my name printed on the screen; just as Monokuma stated, the first thing that pops up is your name. After a few seconds, the main menu opened up. I clicked on the regulations tab and watched as the rules popped up onto the screen. I began to read through the rules.

1. Students may only reside within the school. Leaving the campus is prohibited.

2. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits during this time, so please be cautious.

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

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

5. Violence against the headmaster, Monokuma, is strictly prohibited. The same rule applies to the destruction of surveillance cameras.

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

7. Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.

I slowly raise my head and pry my eyes from the screen, looking at everyone else in the room; they seemed to have the same expression.

"This is a load of bullshit! What the hell are these rules?! I ain't letting them control me!" Mondo yells, an expression of anger on his face.

"Go ahead, then! Wonder the school without a care. Why don't you go ahead and break all of those rules then? I would love to see what happens," I snicker, earning a glare from Mondo. I could see Celeste let out a small giggle herself.

"B-But if he gets punished like before, I'm sure that he won't have a respawn awaiting him!" Hifumi shouts, biting his nails again.

"That's the point," I giggle, earning a few shocked glares from the other students.

"Aww, bet you didn't know (N/n) was a sadistic one, huh?" Junko laughs.

"B-But then she is p-probably the one who will first kill someone!" Hifumi screams.

"I was just joking, idiot. After all, it's just an act. Remember? She's literally the Ultimate Actress," Junko scoffs, rolling her eyes and glancing at her acrylics.

I laugh a bit, "sorry for scaring you! Just wanted to have a little fun!" I could practically feel the tension leave the room as everyone lets out a sigh of relief.

"Don't think that your little "acts" will get me to trust you or something. A peasant like you will probably be the first to die," Byakuya scoffs. I simply roll my eyes.

"A man like you can probably just trample a killer with those long legs," I mumble, quiet enough so no one else would hear it.

"Um...I have a question. For regulation number six, what does it mean exactly?" Sayaka questions as her eyebrows furrow.

"You're referring to the part where it says, "unless they are discovered," right?" I question, looking down at my handbook.

"It's saying that if you wish to graduate, you have to kill someone without anyone finding out it was you," Byakuya states, crossing his arms.

"B-But...why? W-Why must we h-have to do that?!" Toko stammers as her eyes widen.

"I do not see a reason to worry about it," Byakuya declares, adjusting his glasses. "Just worry about following the rules that have been explained to us. Frankly, I do not want to hear from somebody who awaits for another to make decisions for them."

"D-Don't jab at me..." Toko mumbles with a blush on her face.

"More like stab," I snicker quietly.

"Well, I guess, for now at least, we should forget about all of that silly stuff about murderers or whatever!" Hina exclaims, pumping her fists in the air. "Now that we all know the rules, let's go explore the school!"

"True. We should really explore our environment. Is there any possible way out? What about the situation regarding food and supplies?" Taka taps his chin in thought, "so many questions that we must find answers to!"

"Damn right! Let's all start looking around!" Leon yells as a determined look spreads across his features.

"Alright. I will be going alone," Byakuya states, glaring at everyone in the room.

"What?! That's pretty damn stupid, don't you think?" Junko shouts, crossing her arms.

"Someone here might already be thinking about murdering one of us. Are you saying we should travel in pairs of two like a bunch of kindergardeners and make it easier for the killer?" Byakuya remarks, sending a harsh glare at Junko.

I watch the scene unfold before me in silence, my lips seeming like they are sealed shut. I didn't really know what to do after all; the other Ultimates seemed better than me in so many ways...

"W-Wait! Hold on one second! That wouldn't-" Sayaka was cut off by Byakuya. "Don't say that it wouldn't happen! It's definitely a possibility given the situation. You all seized up in fear when the graduation rule was announced; you know that murder is a likely possibility. Am I wrong?"

Sayaka stays silent.

"That's what I thought. By traveling alone, I am simply acting in accordance to what I think is best for me," Byakuya announces.

"Like hell I'm just gonna let you run off like that and do whatever the hell you want!" Mondo blurts, cracking his knuckles as he casts a terrifying glance at Byakuya.

"Out of my way, pest," Byakuya growls, walking up to Mondo.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"One bit of pest, traveling all on it's own. So insignificant, so idiotic, it has no purpose in the world other than to annoy other's with it's presence," Byakuya scoffs.

"I'll kick your ass!" Mondo yells, stomping over to Byakuya.

"Stop! You shouldn't fight for such a petty reason!" I shout, standing between the two boys. I glare up at Mondo, who simply chuckles.

"The fuck did you just say to me? Are you some goody-little-two-shoes bitch?" Mondo raises his fist, "who do you think you are?! Talking to me like I'm some kid! Are you my mom or somethin'?!"

"No, I didn't-"

"Fuck you!" Mondo then swings his fist, aiming his punch straight towards my face. My eyes widen as I hear Junko scream out my name. I hold my arms in front of my face and shut my eyes, waiting for the impact of the punch.

Except it never came.

"W-What the hell?" Mondo blurts.

I slowly open my eyes to see someone standing in front of me, someone I never expected to see.

"Throwing a punch at a girl? Wow! I thought you had at least some dignity, Mondo!"

There, standing in front of me, was Monokuma. He had caught Mondo's fist, which was quite surprising; he didn't look all that strong.

"W-What the fuck?!" Mondo yells, trying to pull his fist away from Monokuma's grasp.

"Ah, ah, ah! No getting away from this one, Mondo! Why would you throw a punch at poor (Y/n) just for saying not to fight? Wow! I thought you held some dignity!" Monokuma laughs. "Should I break your arm right now? Or should I let you off with a warning if you promise to not hurt (Y/n)? I believe you're the type to not break a promise."

"What the fuck? Why should I-" Mondo then yells in pain as Monokuma slowly begins twisting his arm. "Alright! I won't fucking hurt her! I promise!" Monokuma then releases his arm.

At this point, Junko had rushed over to me and attacked me in a hug. She cried dramatically, as though I had actually been hurt.

"Oh my God, (N/n)! I was so worried! Don't worry! I'll protect you next time!!" Junko cries, hugging me tightly.

"A-Alright, Junko...you can stop crying," I chuckle as I pat her back. She sniffles and wipes away her tears; I could tell she was grateful for wearing waterproof makeup.

I could hear Monokuma laugh behind me, causing me to turn my head. Junko also looks at Monokuma, sending him a grateful smile for saving me from that punch.

"Now, (Y/n)! Aren't I your prince in shining armor? Saving you, the princess, from that ugly dragon! A.k.a. Mondo Owada!" Monokuma blurts, earning a glare from Mondo.

"Um, I don't know...I don't think-"

Monokuma cut me off by saying, "of course I'm your prince! Now, don't I deserve a little thank you for saving you, princess?~"

"Don't call me that...and thank you," I state, sighing and crossing my arms. Monokuma then ruffles my hair, earning a growl in response from me.

"Alright! Time for me to take my leave! After all, I am a headmaster~ I have business to attend to! See ya," Monokuma declares before leaving the room.

Everyone else in the room was silent in shock and disbelief; the same bear that told them that they were going to kill each other, even aimed a gun at a student, just protected a student. And that student was you.

But why?