Masked Hope (Nagito x Fem!Reader)

End of Prologue

The Monobeast fired off hundreds, thousands of shots all aimed at Monomi. She continued to stand in front of us, shielding us from the rain of bullets, though there were plenty of strays going around the park and into the surrounding trees. At some point, I saw one of the strays graze Hajime's cheek, causing pink to leak from the cut.

"Hajime!" I exclaimed, raising a hand to his face. "You should go see Mikan after-- Gah!" My arm recoiled as I felt a sharp pierce through it; another stray bullet.

Nagito heard my cry and came to my side, worry written across his face. I looked down at the forearm connected to my dominant hand as it began to ooze with my blood. I covered it with my non-dominant hand and glared at Monokuma. My irritated stare quickly changed to shock as I saw Monomi's yellow bow falling slowly to the ground like a feather.

"Wah. . . Waaaaah. . ." Teruteru muttered slowly. "WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

"Wh-What is that!?" Kazuichi shouted.

Ibuki's eyes went dead as she processed, ". . . It's only the first stage. . . and Monomi is already dead. . .!"

Dead. . .?

"I-Is that a demon. . .!? Or perhaps it's. . .a weapon from the future. . .!?" Gundham guessed.

"Monobeasts are dreadful weapons of destruction!" Monokuma announced.

Why hasn't anyone run away. . .? I pondered. Why haven't *I* run away? I'm always so accustomed to seeing movies where something horrible happens and people run away in fear. . . So why aren't any of us running away?

Because no one said you could. . . Now isn't the time.

"Puhuhu. . . That's right, this is what I wanted." Monokuma sighed, satisfied. "This feeling of despair! Giving an example was totally the right call!"

". . .Despair?" I quietly repeated. I clenched my bleeding arm, causing myself to wince in pain. This really isn't a dream. . .?

"Now then, I believe I've made my point. . . Just so we're clear, you guys can't defy me." Monokuma stated. "If you don't want to end up as fish food, you better not disobey me! Just so you know. . . I don't feel mercy or sympathy. Cuz I'm a bear, after all. An excuse like, "I got high off this tropical atmosphere," won't work on me at all!

"Also, in addition to the killing school trip, I've already updated the e-Handbook. There, the rules for the killing school trip are written, so you better read them thoroughly. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse either. Well, that's also true of any society, really. Now then, enjoy the remainder of this liberating and harsh school trip!"

With one last cackle, Monokuma and his Monobeasts vanished, just as Monomi used to. I slowly looked around at everyone and registered their tired expressions. Today was. . . a lot to take in at once.

"Wh-What just. . . happened. . .?" Nagito spoke beside me.

"U-Um. . . Um. . ." Teruteru started. "I-I. . . just won't believe it. . . That's it. . . That's all there is to it. . ."

Nekomaru clenched his fist, looking a little bit defeated, "I-It'd be one thing if we were up against a human or even an animal. . . What the hell can we do against a monster like that!?"

"I-It's impossible. . ." Kazuichi denied. "Why is something impossible happening. . .?"

"Well, it's not. . . really impossible." Byakuya spoke up. "Those Monobeasts or whatever they're called are machines. Thus, Monokuma must also be the same. . . As long as they're machines. . . It means someone made them, and is therefore controlling them."

"Who could be responsible. . .? Why were we put into this unexplainable situation. . ." Peko questioned.

"Hey, who is it!? Who!?" Mahiru shouted.

"Surely, you can't be suggesting it's one of us. . .? Right, Mahiru?" I asked.

"N-No! I just. . ." She trailed off.

"Aha. . .haha, it could be anyone." Teruteru added. "It's not like I believe it anyway. There's no way I'd believe something like that. More importantly, are you guys hungry? Let's stop thinking about this and just eat."

". . .You can eat first." Chiaki responded.i

"No matter how confused or upset you are, I don't mind." Byakuya agreed. "However, remember this. . . I don't know who in the world is orchestrating this but we don't need to be cautious of those machines, or even of whoever's controlling them. More than anything, we must be cautious of. . . Ourselves.

"Being brought to a tropical island with complete strangers, and ordered to kill each other to escape. . . That creates fear in our minds, and the desire to escape that hopeless fear. . . is our worst enemy."

Only a student who kills a classmate can escape this island. . . That thought echoed in my mind as I stared blankly at the stone pavement of the park. Endless thoughts of what could go wrong started to surge through my head. I felt my breathing hitch and speed up as I began to panic.

What are you doing? Dolls don't panic.

The conversations happening around me began to fade as I clenched my arm tighter.

". . .ey. . .Hey! Y/N!" A voice cut through the muffled sounds. It was Nagito's. "Hey, it's alright. . . Everything is going to be fine, but I need you to breathe."

His green-tinted grey eyes filled me with a sense of calm and relaxation. I stared at him through misty eyes and felt my breathing slow down. His gaze glanced down to my arm for a moment and he lightly put his hand over my non-dominant one. His warm touch made me loosen my grip and take a deep breath.

"This looks pretty bad. . ." He noted, examining my arm. "You should go see Mikan before it gets infected."

"Will you. . . come with me?" I asked through breaths.

"Of course, if that's what you want." He agreed.

"Thank you. . ."

"It's no problem."

He loosely held my wrist and walked me over to Mikan, politely asking for her help. Upon seeing the amount of blood, she insisted I go with her to the market to get supplies for treating the wound. I followed her as she gathered the supplies and then to her cabin at the hotel site. She quietly wrapped my dominant forearm in gauze, then in a piece of red fabric, which she fastened with a safety pin.

"I--I hope the colour's okay. . . I w--wasn't sure what you liked, s-so I just grabbed red." She recounted. "S--Sorry if you don't like it! I--I can go back and grab a different c-colour, just p-please don't hate me!"

"You don't have to say that, Mikan, I don't hate you!" I assured. "The colour's just fine. . . Thank you."

"I-It's no trouble, really. Just c-come to me if you need new gauze o-or if the fabric gets ruined. . ." She instructed.

"Will do. I'm going to go see if the others are at the restaurant. . . Would you like to come?"

"N-No thanks. . . I think I'll just g-go to bed."

"Alright then, goodnight Mikan!"

"G-Goodnight. . ."

I left her cabin and took my time walking to the hotel, taking in the distant sounds of the ocean shore. The cool night breeze combed through my (h/c)-coloured hair as I walked. As I soon approached the pool, I noticed someone sitting on the nearby bench, staring up at the stars.

Hajime. . .?