Academyronpa || ACADEMY AU

Chapter 2 - "A BOX?!"

I looked around. "I feel like we're about to die."
I said sarcastically, then looked at Artemis to see if they giggled (which they did).

"Might as well. This is a bunker,, so we don't have a lot of other options!!" Aure said, fidgeting with their hands.

"Alright!! Lets go then!" Star said, looking at me and Mango.

I nodded along with almost everyone in the room (the one who didn't nod being Mae) and started slowly leaving the room.

Everyone kind of followed Pandora who seemed to know the place around here.

We entered a large room with a stage on top of it. A ton of boxes were laid out upon the stage. The curtains had a little icon that I couldn't fully work out. I could see something, a box maybe, but it had horns and wings and... a claw?

I stepped closer to the stage. I inspected the object as much as I could.

It was a box that looked weirdly similar to something I couldn't put my finger on. As I got closer, it turned around.

Obviously, I screamed.

"Woah there! Don't scream too loud!" It said, smiling at me. It had a black little cut in its face (it is not little but I can call it little because I want to!) that seemed hollow inside. It hand one hand and a claw for the other one that looked like from those cringy animation memes I used to watch.

"Thank you all for coming!!" It said, expanding its tail and quite literally enlarging its wings. "Oh my! You all look wonderful! And mortified... I'm not that ugly, am I?"

No one responded.

"I get it!! Its cause I'm a box, but not any type of box!" It said proudly, "I'm Mr. Monobox! But you can of course, just call me Monobox."

A pause.

"Who... what, what are you?" Someone said, and I recognized the voice as Artemis.

"I just told you! I'm a box, and your host!" It said, looking at Artemis. (SIDE NOTE: Monobox probably just thought "god i hope that kid dies first")

"A host? For what?" Star called out, and I could notice xem shaking.

"Well, for one, you're all stuck here unless you win!" It said, and before anyone could ask about what it meant by winning, it spoke again, "You must compete in my game before you can leave!"

"The easiest way to escape is by... well! Following the rules."

"And killing someone and then getting away with it!"

A pause.

"WHAT?!" Someone yelled, followed by other yelps or gasps.

"Oh yes! And, you should all have little boxes in your pouch that light up!"

I quickly my clothing and found a small box. When I opened it, it a had a game like menu on it. There was three things, one labeled "Rules!" another being "Monobox" and the other being just "XXXX"

I clicked rules.

Rule #1: Residents may reside only within the bunker. Leaving outside is an unacceptable use of time.
Rule #2: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
Rule #3: Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.
Rule #4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore 778 at your discretion.
Rule #5: Violence against host Monobox is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.
Rule #6: Anyone who kills a fellow friend and becomes "blackened" will escape, unless they are discovered.
Rule #7: Additional bunker regulations may be added if necessary.

I shivered after reading them.

"You should all take a rest! It's currently 3 pm, so dinner is soon! Whenever you plan on it, anyways." Monobox said, looking at its claw as if it had flawless nails on.

"Enjoy!!"

"Wait!"

It disappeared before anyone could ask anything.

We stood there in silence, looking around.

If we wanted to escape this hell hole, we'd have to kill each other.

I have to kill my friends.

I could die.

And the last thing that wicked home depot clone said was enjoy?!

This is bullshit.