Art by stormy_aozora71

After the Monokubs and Monokuma left, an alarm went off throughout the entire gym. The seventeen Ultimates all reached into their pockets and pulled out a black device. A message popped up on the screen.

Students must live at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future.

Once a murder takes place, all surviving students must take part in a class trial.

If the blackened is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.

If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining students will be executed.

If the blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate and re-enter the outside world.

The killing game and class trials will continue until only two surviving students remain.

'Nighttime' is from 10 pm to 8 am. The dining hall and gymnasium are off-limits at night.

Violence towards Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, is strictly prohibited.

Monokuma will never directly commit a murder.

Your Monopads are very important items. Please do not damage them.

The body discovery announcement will play when three or more students discover a body.

With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the campus at your discretion.

Students who violate these rules will be immediately terminated by the Exisals.

The headmaster may add new regulations to this list at any time.

Ryoma was the first one to speak. "The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles School Regulations... so these are the rules..."

"I do not understand why someone... would force us to this?" Kirumi said, placing a finger to her chin.

"It's as if we are being forced to do this for the entertainment of someone or something." Ichika said.

"But these rules are pretty cut and dry. This game doesn't seem like it'll be boring." Kokichi piped up while putting his arms behind his head.

"That's not the problem!" Tenko barked and glared at Kokichi.

Korekiyo wrapped his arms around himself. "Please lower your voice, it's ruining the atmosphere."

"Hey, hey! What does this sixth regulation mean?" Angie waved her arm around to get out attention. "The killing game and class trials will continue until only two surviving students remain. Only two surviving students? What would be the reason for that?"

"That would probably be because you couldn't do a class trial with only two people..." Shuichi explained.

"Nyahahaha, I see, I see. You're so smart, Saihara-kun!" Angie appeared to be sparkling.

Kaito clenched his eyes shut and balled his hand into a fist, "Q-Quit screwing around! Killing game... school regulations... To hell with that crap! Who'd go along with something like that?"

Kaito raised his Monopad, ready to smash it on the ground.

"Wait, Momota-san, don't do that!" Ichika yelled.

"Huh? Why not?"

"The school rules say you can break it or else the Exisals will dispose of you." Rantarou explained.

"I don't care about the rules! No way I'm gonna play this messed up game!"

"This isn't about playing this game. Unless you want to end up a bloody, mangled mess of a human, I suggest you follow the rules~!" Ichika chirped.

"Tch, forget about him! Just means one less dumbass for the world to deal with!" Miu yelled crudely.

"Hey! Who you callin' a dumbass?" Kaito punched his fists together and glared at Miu.

"HEY! QUIT FIGHTING ALREADY!" Kaede's voice rang through the hall, startling us all.

"Whoa! Wh-what the-?"

"We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. Right now, we *need* to work together! Honestly... I'd be more inspiring if I played a song than gave a speech... Chopin's 'Military polonaise' would definitely help us unite!"

"Yeah, I could get behind some bolognese, and I don't even like meat or tomatoes." Kokichi chimed in.

"I agree with Akamatsu-san too! We must remember who the real enemy is!" Tenko chirped. "Master told me that strength must always be aimed in the proper direction!"

"A-anyways... you're all panicking too much... j-just stay calm like me..." Himiko started to tremble violently, sweat pouring down her face.

"Woah! You're shaking so much!" Angie placed both hands on her cheeks and looked at Himiko.

"Even I can't handle these intense vibrations! And trust me- I've got loads of experience!" Miu butted in.

"Anyway..." Kaede continued, ignoring Miu's comment. "Why don't we work together and search for an exit one more time!"

"But... we looked all over that wall and there wasn't a single hole..." Tsumugi cupped her face with her hand.

Kiibo interrupted, "Now wait just a second... If there's no opening in the wall... then how did we get inside these walls in the first place?"

"...Oh, that's a good point."

"That means there's an opening somewhere! We just have to find it! Whoever trapped us in here wants us all to fight... So, let's show 'em that we're not gonna let that happen! We're not gonna fight each other! We're gonna work together! Okay!?" Kaede enthusiastically said.

...

Silence filled the room for a long period of time. "Why are you all quiet...? Did I say something wrong...?"

"On the contrary, you have made your case with such succinct aplomb that we have all been rendered speechless." Kirumi explained with a small smile.

"Heh, I was gonna say the same thing, but you beat me to it." Kaito scratched the back of his head. "You're exactly right! We can let them get to us!"

"Then let's split up and try and find the exit!" Angie chirped. "Ohhhh! God give us strength!"

The students were about to split up when Gonta shouted. "Oh, wait!"

"Nyeh...? What is it? We were just about to get started..."

"Umm... it might not matter that much, but I found a manhole earlier. In the grass, behind the school building."

"A manhole...?" Kaede repeated.

"I peeked in and saw a big underground passage. I thought that maybe it lead to the exit... Sorry, it is probably not that simple."

Tenko pointed at Gonta. "Y-you gotta mention important stuff like that much faster!"

"Ipeekedinandsawabigundergroundpassage! Ithoughtthatmaybeitleadtotheexit" Gonta bellowed out quickly.

"N-Not that fast!"

"The boiler is behind the school building. We must corroborate to Gokuhara-kun's claim at once." Kirumi spoke in an authoritative tone. "Please lead the way, Gokuhara-kun."

"Okay! Everyone follow me!"

The students all started to follow Gonta out the gymnasium with high hopes and made they ways over to the boiler room.

"Looks like we're all here." Rantarou said. "So, where's this manhole?"

"Umm... over there, in the grass..." Gonta pointed to a bronze lid in the ground.

"So... there really was a manhole, huh?" Ichika said. "This looks really heavy; can anyone try and lift it?"

"Let me try." Kiibo walked up and placed his hands on the manhole cover, and lifted with all his might. "Grgh...! Grrrrrrrrrrgh...!" Yet it hardly budged. "How embarrassing. It won't even budge."

"Huhhh? A robot's not even strong enough to lift it?" Angie placed her hands on her cheeks.

"Oh, don't worry. My physical strength is approximate to that of a strong senior citizen!"

"Th-that's fuckin' pathetic!" Miu exclaimed,

"Th-the professor did not want to repeat the tragedy that occurred during trial production..."

"Oh, then allow me! I'll lift the cover up to peek inside. I should be able to pick the cover up too!" Gonta walked over to the manhole and grabbed hold of the cover and lifted it up with little to no effort. "There we go."

"So easily!?" Tsumugi exclaimed in shock.

"His strength...must be due to my magic." Himiko nodded. "Yup... there's no mistaking it."

"Ooooh! You're amazing Yumeno-san!" Tenko chirped.

"What should I do with this now...?"

"Please leave it somewhere else. Be careful not to hit anyone with it." Kirumi requested.

"Umm, actually, I don't think I should do that... It's not good to litter." But despite saying that, he begrudgingly tossed it aside.

"Kehehe... what wonderful strength... you could easily crush a child's skull with that strength..." Korekiyo spoke in a slow and creepy tone.

"I am a gentleman! I would NEVER do that!"

"Gentleman or not, *no-one* would ever do that!" Tenko spoke up, sweating slightly.

"But Gokuhara-chan is sooo much more reliable than some bean-counting robot." Kokichi piped in.

Kiibo turned to Kokichi, looking rather confused "Are you... talking about me? Because I can count many things, not just beans..."

"That doesn't really help you, Kiibo-san." Ichika snickered.

Tsumugi looked down the manhole. "Th-This is place is kinda creepy... We're really going in here?"

"I'm sure it's fine. At the very least, we definitely won't die down there." Kaito reassured.

"If anything happens, I'll protect most of you! But the males are one their own!" Tenko barked.

"Then... I will protect the men." Gonta said.

"Awfully quiet... Where are Monokuma and the Monokubs?" Rantarou asked suspiciously.

"I was certain they would show up at some point and crush us like rotten gnats..." Korekiyo responded.

"Nyahahahaha!" Angie laughed cheerfully. "They probably haven't noticed yet!"

"Then lets hurry before they show up to mess with us!" Kokichi chirped.

The seventeen students all proceeded to go down the manhole one by one, descending into a large, dark abyss. Once they all had climbed down the ladder, they looked around and saw an open area.

"It's more spacious than I thought it would be," Ryoma commented.

Kokichi cupped his hands around his mouth. "Yodelay-hee-hoooooo!"

"What is this place...?" Maki asked, still looking at the chamber.

"An old industrial passageway, I suspect... Perhaps factories once existed here?" Kirumi suggested.

"And this is all that's left of 'em." Kaito continued.

"Hey, take a look at this." Rantarou pointed at a sign that said exit, and it was pointing to a dark tunnel.

"How considerate... Monokuma was so kind as to leave us some directions." Ichika giggled.

"Considerate? You don't think it's weird that someone would went out of their way to write 'exit'?" Tenko sweated.

"Hah-haha! Don't piss yourself in fear! Your natural scent is bad enough!" Miu laughed obnoxiously.

"I-I'm not scared! And I smell just fine!"

"Well then, go on ahead. No point just standing around here." Rantarou said.

"Ah, yeah..." Shuichi trailed off nervously.

"No need to worry!" Kaede exclaimed cheerfully. "It looks a bit dangerous, but we're all Ultimates here! As long as we work together, everything will work out just fine!"

"Y-Yeah... you're right."

"That's exactly what I was gonna say!" Kaito grinned. "We're really on the same wavelength, Akamatsu! Gimme a hug!"

"Um... no."

"Typical delinquent behaviour!" Tenko growled. "You were trying to trick her into pressing her boobs against you!"

"How about we stop this fun banter and start the tunnel? We need to use the breast of our abilitittys to get through it!" Ichika chirped.

"D-Did you just make two boob puns in one sentence!?" Miu exclaimed, her face growing red.

They all decided to move forward and headed into the tunnel with Kaede leading them.

***

The seventeen students were all on the ground, trying to get back up. They all racked their brains to try and remember what just happened. There were bombs and flying obstacles, and platforms that would appear and disappear. Everyone sat in stunned silence and a sobering sadness filled the air.

"Geez, this is quite the pity party you sadsacks are throwing for yourselves!" An annoying, high pitched voice exclaimed. The students all turned to the source of the voice and saw Monokuma giggling with his Monokubs behind him.

"Wow, you all look exhausted. Poor things, I feel sorry for you." Monophaine said.

"Sheesh, this place is filthy. It's murder on my cashmere skin." Monotaro commented.

"I bet Monodam's feelin' lucky right now! His body's a cheap piece of junk!" Monokid yelled.

"..."

"Why don't you respond to him, Monodam?" Monosuke asked. "It'll liven things up a little."

"Tch..." Katio glared at the bears. "So you guys crawled outta your holes. I guess you finally noticed what we were up to."

Monokuma tilted his head. "...Noticed? I've known for a while that you guys would botch whatever escape plan you had."

"What?" Kaede exclaimed.

"If you knew all along, then this was just a trap." Maki snapped.

"Then there *was* no exit! You tricked us!" Tenko barked.

Monophanie shook her head. "...No, there's an exit."

"I think you guys'll manage to reach it if you all work together!" Monotaro chirped.

"Yeah! There's nothing you seventeen Ultimates can't accomplish if you work together!"

"Puhuhu." Monokuma giggled. "And if at first you don't succeed... try, try again. Try as many times as you want until you accept reality! Ah-hahahaha!" The Monokubs joined in on their father's laughter then hopped away.

"Nyeeeeh, so we can escape if we work hard enough?" Himiko asked.

"No way, you little moron! They'd be freakin' out if we could actually reach it!" Miu barked.

Ryoma pulled his hat down. "That's probably why they let us try. They want us to try the underground passage so we'd learn that escape is impossible."

"Instead of blocking off every exit completely, they leave that little bit of hope..." Rantarou grumbled. "They want us to be desperate to go home. Corner us mentally."

"That's just rotten..." Tsumugi mumbled.

"Yeah, but we can't just give up. We can't give up this early, right?" Kaede said.

"But... isn't getting out of here impossible?" Himiko groaned.

"No, it's not. It may take one more try or a lot more tries, but it's not impossible. Forget about Monokuma. It doesn't matter what he says to us. I don't wanna lose to him! And I don't want any of you to lose, either! I refuse to lose to someone who would do these terrible things to us!"

"Akamatsu-san..." Shuichi said with a small smile.

"And once we get out of here and make it to the outside world... Why don't we all stay friends?"

"...F-Friends?" Gonta repeated.

Kaede nodded. "Yeah... After going through an experience like this, I think we'd all be the best of friends. I mean, it's not every day you get to meet other Ultimates..."

Ryoma chuckled. "Hmph... that might not be bad."

"Yeah. That's a great idea." Tsumugi smiled.

"Then we've got all the more reason to escape this place, no matter what." Kirumi said.

"My body is ready! You can tell by how outta control my pit sweat it!" Tenko exclaimed energetically.

"E-Everyone!" Kaede exclaimed happily.

"Isn't it a bit premature to say what we'll do after we escape?" Kiibo asked. "Assumptions are all but useless."

Kokichi sighed. "Geez, you're clueless... Why am I not surprised that a robot can't read the air?"

"Robots can read the air! Thanks to innovations in pollutant-detecting technology, I-"

"Kiibo-san, you're just proving his point." Ichika interrupted Kiibo with a slightly amused smile.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter if Monokuma says it's impossible! We'll show him what we can do!" Kaito exclaimed, punching his fists together.

"Yeah! You're right!" Kaede agreed.

"It seems like a pain... but I guess I'll try." Himiko said with a small smile.

"Yeah, let's work together!" Kokichi chirped excitedly. "We messed up last time, but I'm sure it'll go well this time!"

"I'm sure we'll be fine. A divine wind will blow through and lift us to victory." Angie put her hands together in a praying motion.

Korekiyo shivered. "Aaah, humanity is *truly* wonderful. The way you all confront adversity is beautiful."

With new and lifted spirits, the seventeen students went ahead and tried to tunnel once again.

***

Everyone awoke, groaning in pain on the hard, metal surface of the basement. Kaede woke up and got the other students to try the tunnel again. And again. And again. And again. Every time they tried and failed; they lost more hope. So many people would fall behind, unable to keep up and get injured.

Kaede had gotten up again. "G-guys come on! One more time, this time we'll-"

"Knock it off already..." Kokichi interrupted.

"H-huh?"

"You're free to keep trying on your own, but forcing us to join you is basically torture... You know what really hurts? Being denied the right to give up in an impossible situation... you won't let us give up, no matter what we say, you have the moral high ground... that... doesn't sound like torture to you? When you say we can't give up, you're not inspiring us, you're strong-arming us!"

"I-I didn't mean it like that..." Kaede tried to speak but seemed to lose her voice.

"Hey delinquent, stop being so selfish!" Tenko interjected.

"I'm not being selfish... the others feel the same way..." Kaede froze for a moment as Kokichi's words sunk in.

Kaede looked around. "E-Everyone...?" They all looked drained and tried.

"My spirit... is nearly broken..." Korekiyo panted. "This hardship gnaws at me..."

"Given the circumstance... the most logical course of action would be to give up..." Kiibo sighed. looking at the ground.

"Yeah... I feel like Hisashi Mitsui in the second half of a basketball game..." Tsumugi said.

"I knew this was impossible from the start." Maki said bluntly.

"Kh... This bullshit is a waste of my precious time and energy." Miu snapped.

"I can't let you all rely on my magic... Besides, I don't have enough MP left."

"I'm just relieved that no one was seriously injured. Praise be to God."

"P-please wait! We can't give up yet!" Gonta cried out.

"You guys! Are you really okay with not getting out of this place!?" Kaito added.

"Wait a damn minute why can't that small ass midget get out!?" Miu pointed at Ichika. "Isn't she a fuckin parkourist?"

"I would be able to do it if you all didn't keep getting in my way." Ichika snapped back with a pout. "You're all too reckless and jump without thought, and it's hard to focus on reaching the end when I had to help some of you guys get out of some less than charitable situations!"

"Ah..." Kaede stares at Ichika quietly with a look of guilt.

Ichika sighed. "And all of that has worn me out, some of you guys are heavy." She cast a sideways glance at Miu.

"Wh-Why are you side eyeing me!?" Miu screeched.

"We shouldn't have to push ourselves... let's just find another way out." Kokichi put a finger up to his lips.

"What!?" Kaede exclaimed

"...You're talking about the killing game, aren't you?" Rantarou spoke slowly with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, so you're gonna interpret it like that, huh?" Kokichi smirked.

Tenko glared at Kokichi. "W-what are you saying!? There's no way we can do the killing game!"

"Nee-heehee, calm down! Want some bubble-gum? You can blow some pretty big bubbles with it!"

"Oh-hoho... looks like this little delinquent wants to have his head smashed into the ground..." Tenko said ominously, still glaring at Kokichi.

"Please calm down, we don't need any more injured people, no matter how tempting it may be to smash his head in the ground." Ichika sighed.