Danganronpa: Shuri's School

Chapter 35: The Staff Meeting Room

I looked over at Peko, then Maki. If something was, indeed, dangerous in that room, I wanted someone who could defend themselves well, and those two immediately came to mind. Looking at the time, it was 6:35pm.

"Maki? Peko? Would either one of you care to join me?" I asked.

Peko shook her head. "I have already witnessed what lies within. I do not wish to view this again."

Maki stood up. "If Peko won't, then I will. I haven't seen this room yet, and if what Peko and Nagito say is true, then I want to see this for myself."

I decided against asking Maki what those two said, and instead headed out of the Dining Hall, with Maki at my side. We made a left, past the bathrooms and empty classrooms, and gradually made my way to the Fifth Floor.

Passing silently past the empty Courtyard, we finally reached the Staff Meeting Room. Taking a deep breath, I looked over at Maki, who was staring intently at the door. Nodding, more to myself than to Maki, I opened the door and walked in with Maki.

Nothing could have prepared me for what awaited inside.

Inside was an oval table, with a few stands, containing a living student's face crossed out, much like the Courtroom. But that wasn't the worst of it, as my eyes darted around the room.

All of our dead classmates were inside, each strapped to a chair by their wrists, around their neck, and at their waists. They were seated based on where they would have been seated at the Class Trials, with Hina's corpse seeming to stare right at us. Their heads were positioned facing forward, as if having some grotesque meeting of the dead.

Two skeletons were here, seemingly sewn together somehow. One was much larger than the other, seated where Gonta would be. The other must be Soda. Taking a closer look at Gonta, I noticed threading between the bones, like clear fishing wire, connecting each individual bone to reform their skeletons. This must've taken hours, maybe even an entire day, to complete.

Akane and Hina had bluish discoloration on their lips and fingers, and Kirumi's eyes looked bloodshot. Ibuki had dried blood going down the side of her face, but she still had her Oni Horns. Keebo still had that speaker jutting out of his chest. Taka's face was still bruised around his nose.

Then my eyes settled on Miu...and I wish they didn't. She had blood on her chin and nose, but the worst part of her were the two large holes in her chest, from where the spikes had penetrated her during her execution. You could see right through those two holes, and see the chair behind her back.

Instinctively, I tightened my throat to stop the vomit rising up, and swallowed it back down. My face started feeling tingly, too. Maki must've noticed this, and promptly asked if I was ok. I nodded, unable to speak, and leaned against the wall, willing myself to keep my composure.

Eventually, I was able to speak again. "This...this is...simply disgusting! Despicable! And THIS is the room where those crossed-out stands come from, while our dead classmates sit in here? I...I just..."

I couldn't even finish my train of thought. I was, completely and thoroughly, dumbfounded.

Maki, at the meanwhile, was glaring at her own stand, with her own crossed-out face on it, silently. I decided to call out to her, rather than approach her directly.

"I...I think I've had enough of this room. I'm leaving."

Maki didn't say a word, just nodded, and I showed myself to the door, heading back downstairs to my room in a mental daze, still processing what I just witnessed.

As I passed the Laundry Room, Peko came out, wiping down the sheathe on her back. Needing a way to distract my thoughts, an idea suddenly popped into my frazzled head.

"Hey Peko, would you mind joining me in the Game Room? I need to take my mind off of things."

Peko looked at me, confused. "Me? I'm not particularly good at games, but I can join you anyway."

"No worries, it's just for fun anyway. I was thinking maybe pool or darts."

Peko considered. "I have played pool in the past, with Young Master. I'd like to try that first."

We made our way to the Game Room together and played several rounds of pool, with Peko not really saying much. Peko was surprisingly good at Pool, I suppose due to her sword training helping her in some way. She actually beat me all 4 rounds we played. She was decent at darts, though I had to explain the points system to her, but Peko was a much better Pool player than Darts. However, after one game of Darts, we went back to playing Pool.

Maki joined us midway through our first game back to the Pool table, but was mostly focused on the dartboard. She would stand at random places within the room, and throw the darts towards the bull's-eye. She told us the Bull's-eye was zero points, and however high she scored at the end of each round, would be how many push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks she would have to do.

Not surprising for someone with her talents, she rarely missed the bull's-eye, no matter what angle she wasn't. I did manage to beat Peko on the first game, but she beat me on the next two, with me scratching on the 8-ball on the second game.

I decided to head back to my room before the 10pm Nighttime announcement, and get some extra rest. Today was a VERY mentally taxing day, and I needed my rest.

The next morning, around 6:30am, I got up, got dressed, and started heading for the Dining Hall. As I passed the Trash Room, I noticed the door wasn't shut all the way, like it usually is. Feeling a sense of dread, I opened the door.

A camera went off, taking my picture. I noticed the incinerator was still running. I turned off the incinerator, noticing a dart from the Game Room on the floor, not far from the incinerator. Suddenly VERY concerned, I looked, and froze.

Inside were human bones and a distinct ring, with "ademy" visible.

No. Oh, no.

I immediately went to the camera's screen to check its screenshots. The only other screenshots were taken at 5am, of Nagito walking in by himself. I remembered the ring I gave him with "Hope's Peak Academy" engraved into it.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to see Mikan and Byakuya behind me, looking at me oddly. I waved them over, and the camera took their pictures as they stepped in. I pointed at the incinerator and waved them over. Byakuya, looking annoyed, walked over and peeked in, with Mikan behind him.

Just then, an alert went off over the monitors. "We've got 3 sets of eyes on a dead body. Come to the Trash Room, now!"

Monokuma showed up afterwards, crawling out of the trash compactor (somehow), and landed on his side on the floor. Rolling to his feet, he addressed the three of us.

"I've got a special announcement for everyone when they show up, but you'll have to wait until they get here!" Monokuma told the three of us. Byakuya just snorted and stared at the entrance to the Trash Room, clearly waiting for everyone else to show up.

So we've got Nagito, dead in an incinerator, and Monokuma waiting to make an announcement. And the pure insanity of today was just getting started...