Chapter 4, Daily life

A heart of glass and an arm of steel

When I woke up, I wasn't in my room.

I was in some kind of... School hallway.

It was completely normal, with classrooms and lockers, and everything a school should have, but it had no windows. The walls were a murky yellow and the buzz of the ceiling lights was loud and clear. Everything looked kind of fuzzy, and I had a hard time processing anything I was seeing. I decided to walk around a bit, and eventually walked into an empty classroom. And there, I saw...

Everybody.

Rachel: Ashlyn?

Chloe: Ash! I was starting to think you would be the only one missing.

Sophie: So we're all here then?

Chloe: I guess... So, now what do we do?

???: What do you mean?? You have so much to do already!

Sophie: Who-

From the back of the room, we saw someone. A girl about the same age as us, with strawberry blonde hair, a black shirt, tie, red skirt and...

Chloe: Those hair clips...

Hanako: The Monokuma hair clips! Where did you- No, who are you?

Randi: Are you the Mastermind???

???: Oh heavens no! But I'll tell you who I am! Junko Enoshima! The 54th, to be exact.

Yu Xuan: Junko... I don't think that sounds familiar...

Junko's expression changed immediately, from a cheerful and bubbly girl to a depressed sad sack. That was quick.

Junko: Jeez... I can't believe no one knows who I am... That gives me so much despair that I could just die...

Rachel: Are you Sophie or something?

Junko's expression changed again. What's up with that?

Junko: Little ol' me? As that... Thing over there? Oh no, someone as adorable as me could never!

Sophie: That was rude.

Hanako: So what're we doing here?

Junko: Puhuhuhuhuhu! Do you not get it? But it's so obvious already!

Junko: This is your new fuckin' motive!

Ashlyn: Motive?? Again?

Ashton: Wait, how is this a motive? We're just in this weird, fuzzy school.

Junko: Let me explain, you are all currently asleep.

Randi: What.

Sumana: So... We're dreaming?

Junko: Indeed. I see you're a smart one.

Ashlyn: So that's why this school feels so weird, it's not real.

Ashton: That still doesn't explain how this is a motive.

Junko: You blind fucks didn't see the wristbands?

I looked down at my arm, and the was a black wristband with a word on it. The word was "Trust".

Junko: Don't go telling people your word... You people trust too easily, it'd be really despair inducing if any of you was to tell someone with ill intent...

Chloe: What does this even mean?

Junko: If someone else says your word and then your name while touching the screen on your wristband, you will instantly be teleported into the dream world, or if you're already here, it will make you wake up in the real world. Simple right?

Rachel: Uh, I guess?

Junko: Well here's the thing, only three people can enter the dream world at a time. Well, besides now, of course. But once I dismiss you, the rule will be in place.

Randi: So? Why would anyone want to kill because of this?

Junko: Because there's a traitor among you.

Yu Xuan: We already know that one of us is the Mastermind, this isn't a surprise.

Junko: No no no... Someone who isn't the Mastermind, but is still working with Monokuma for their own personal gain. This person has made a deal with the Mastermind to kill someone this round, so it'd be so much easier for you to find them and kill them first.

Chloe: But that would be the same thing, if the traitor is killed, someone will still be dead and someone will still be executed.

Junko: Nope, because if the traitor is dead within the next three days, no class trial will be held and you all can leave.

There was silence for a while.

Junko: Oh yes, and the other rules for the dream world are, this world is infinite. The hallways and rooms go on forever and ever. Also when you go to sleep, three random people will be chosen to spend their night here until 7am.

Junko: If you remove your wristband, it'll also inject you with a deadly venom and you'll die instantly. Oh, and one more thing, if you die in the real world, your consciousness will be transferred here, and you'd still be alive and able to communicate here, so this doesn't count as the person dying.

Junko: But if you are killed here, your body in the real world dies, meaning there is absolutely no use of killing in the real world as you'd have to kill them here anyway. So make it easier for yourself.

Rachel: This is... Confusing.

Sumana: Couldn't you have made a simpler motive?

Junko: What fun would we have in that? Anyway, it's 7am, I think it's time you all woke up. Class dismissed!

Ashlyn: Wait wha-

I felt myself falling and falling, and unable to scream. I felt like I had been consumed by some kind of jelly. I closed my eyes and when I felt myself hit something like the ground, I opened them. I was back in my room, on my bed.

Speakers: Good morning students! It is now 7am! Get up and have a beeaautiful day!

I sat up and looked around. Everything was the same as the night before.

Ashlyn: That was a weird dream.

I got out of bed and headed to the food court. Not everybody was there, but people began to arrive, and soon we were all present, except Sumana, who was probably still in her dorm recovering.

Chloe: Last night, I had the weirdest dream. I was in some school with all of you and this girl called Junko gave us a-

Hanako: Motive?

Chloe: Hey we just completed each other's sentences!

Hanako: No, I'm pretty sure I had that dream too. We had wristbands and-

Hanako looked down at her hand and gasped. She had the same wristband that appeared in the dream. Everyone began to look down as well, and I realised that I had a wristband on my right arm, with a screen and the word "Trust" on it.

Yu Xuan: I had that dream too... Did everyone have it?

Everyone nodded their heads slowly.

Ashlyn: What if the dream was real? What if that really was the motive? We have the wristbands with the words on them, that means it had to be real!

Randi: So what do we do now?

Ashton: I guess we should just go along with it... That seems like our only option. And we can't break the wristbands or anything like that...

Sophie: So we'll just hope nothing goes wrong like the last three times?

Ashton: Mhm...

Yu Xuan: Like that's ever turned out well.

Sophie: And I think the second floor is finally open. Should we get to checking that out?

Ashlyn: Not yet, I want to go check on Sumana first. Maybe we should bring her breakfast and just see how she's doing.

Sophie: You can go do that, the rest of us will be downstairs.

Chloe: I'll wait for you near the escalator Ash.

Ashlyn: Okay, I won't take too long.

And just like that, the others headed down the escalator to the second floor, and I headed to Sumana's room.