Part 29: Chapter 2 Daily Life, Part 3

: Classroom 2-A is our first stop.





: Sakura's the only one here. The chalkboards in the classrooms all have different images. They're mostly nonsense.



: This must be what he meant by a "new world"...
: I should probably take a really close look around...



: Up the hall, there's another barred staircase.



The gate's blocking my way. So there's still another floor... Which means not everything has opened yet.



: There's a large foyer in the hall. You can see chairs lined up alongside what must be window seats. Presumably, students could do their schoolwork in the sun but with the iron plates there there isn't exactly much sun coming in is there?



: Further down the hall in the greenlit area is Classroom 2-B.



: There's actually nothing in here but I wanted to show it off. The classrooms play very little role in the game. Occasionally you can find a student in there during Free Time but other than that, almost nothing important happens in them.



: Back in the big foyer, there's a double door to the Library.





: There are a bunch of people in here, as well as plenty of things to examine.





The shelf is packed tight with books. But looking at it... the whole thing is incredibly dusty. It looks like this library's been neglected for a pretty long time. As nice as the school itself is, whoever's in charge of upkeep has been pretty lazy. Strange...





: ...But still, this library is most interesting...

: Huh? What's interesting about it?

: Oh, nothing. I was just thinking out loud.





: You must be pretty happy to have all these books around, huh Toko?

: N-Not particularly... Nothing's really c-caught my attention so far.

: Indeed. There's a plethora of books, it's true, but the content seems...lacking.





: Where's the comic books!? Where's the young adult section!?

: Comic b-books? Young adult? That stuff's a w-waste of time...

: I've seen what you write, Miss Fukawa. Talented as you are, your stuff isn't any more "worthwhile."



: My stories are filled with true love and pure feelings! Don't compare them to that garbage of yours! Your writing doesn't even m-mean anything. It's just a bunch of j-jumbled up letters...! S-Someone should just...burn it all.

: Ooh, the lady doth protest too much, methinks! I bet you're secretly into boy-on-boy action!

: Boy-on-boy...? I don't care if it's a-anime or comics or fanfic or wh-whatever!



: It's all filth! Throwaway culture that'll be trashed and forgotten in half a decade!
: Ugh...just t-talking about it makes me sick to my s-stomach. I feel like I'm g-gonna throw up...



: Grr...! You've insulted me, and you've insulted my honor!

These two are really starting to freak me out. I've never seen anything like it...



: Don't worry, they're not done yet!



: I'm absolutely shocked!

: ...How come?



: They have all these books here, and not ONE copy of ANY of my works!

: W-Well, yeah... Why would they have c-comics in a library?
: Plus, most "fanfic" is j-just porn drawn by a bunch of a-amateurs...

: You just don't get it. Not. At. All.



: I-I do too get it... And w-with a face like yours, anyone can tell n-nothing you do is worthwhile.

: Say whatever you want about me, but never judge a book by its author!



: Now hear this! Appearances mean nothing at all! What you see before you is nothing more than the rind that contains the meaty pulp of my genius!
: My creations are what determine my meaning and value!

: You're so f-full of it...

: Hmph. I'm used to being misunderstood. You think weak attacks like yours will drop my HP?

Those two...really worry me.







: It's remarkably dusty in here. And the lighting is less than ideal. For a library, it's not the kind of place I'd want to do much reading in...





It looks like a laptop... The laptop looks pretty old. And it's all covered in dust.



: It's broken. I tried pressing the power button earlier, but nothing happened.

: It's broken, huh? Too bad.

I was hoping I could use it to go online and see what's going on in the outside world. If it's broken, there's nothing I can really do about it.





The shelf is covered in dust. But on the shelf is...a letter. What's this...?



: Hope's Peak Academy...?



: It was buried under a thick layer of dust. It must have been sitting there for quite a while. Well, shall we see what's inside?

: But...we shouldn't read other people's mail without their permission.

: What we *shouldn't* do is leave this here without finding out what's inside.

: O-Okay...

I broke the seal on the dusty envelope, and pulled out the single sheet of paper I found inside. I unfolded the paper, and read what was written there...





"From the Hope's Peak Academy Executive Office"

"Throughout the years, we have been committed to shaping the youth who will one day shape the world. We have a long, proud history as an institution of higher learning with full government support. Out graduates enter society ready to take on active leadership roles in every major job field. However, Hope's Peak Academy must now lower the curtain on its glorious history, for the time being. This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake--this is not the end for Hope's Peak Academy. We intend to reopen out doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved. That being said, this is the end for now, and I would like to personally and sincerely thank everyone for your help and support over the years. For now, we are awaiting official governmental authorization to formally cease operations."



: What does this mean?

: Hmm... The contents of this letter are quite interesting indeed.



: It would seem Hope's Peak had stopped functioning as a school. And judging by the amount of dust the letter had collected, it doesn't seem to have happened recently. If I had to guess, I'd say this letter could be at least a year old.

: So...you're saying Hope's Peak closed down at least a year ago?

: Most likely, the mastermind took over the abandoned school in order to put on this little performance.

: B-But that would mean it was closed when I got here just a few days ago.



: But I didn't get that sense at all. Plus, if the school *had* shut down, don't you think it would've been in all the newspapers and stuff? I mean, you're saying it could've happened over a year ago, right? But before I got here, I looked stuff up online about the school, and never saw anything about this.



: That must have all been part of the mastermind's plan. They lured us all in here. Someone who could create a place to judge and execute people could potentially be capable of anything.
: Of course, that's all assuming that this letter is real.

: If it *is* real, though, that does solve one mystery surrounding the school... The reason there are no other students here could be because the school had already closed down.

: That would be a nice, simple solution, it's true.

: But then...what about this other part?



"This decision was not an easy one to make, but serious issues beyond our control have made it necessary. But make no mistake--this is not the end for Hope's Peak Academy. We intend to reopen out doors as soon as the issues forcing our closure have been resolved."

: What did they mean by serious issues? That's apparently why the school had to close... Is there any connection between that and what's happening to us now...?



: If the two events are in fact connected, uncovering that connection would be a useful clue, on top of figuring out the mastermind's motive. Although I can't really say any more until we find more details.



: So in other words, only the mastermind knows the truth right now.

The mastermind's motive... If we can figure out why they would want to imprison us all here will that be enough to get us out of here? Or...?





: Anyway, now I have a pretty good idea what's on the 2nd floor.

But I didn't see anything that might lead to any kind of exit or anything... All I can do now is hope someone else found something worthwhile... Okay, I'd better head back to the dining hall as soon as possible!







: Okay, ladies and gentlemen! How'd it go? Did anyone discover any interesting new anything!?

: There's a library!

: And a pool! A freakin' pool! And locker rooms filled with exercise equipment!



: There was not, however, anything resembling an escape route.

: Yeah...she's right...

: Well hey, there's no reason to get all sulky! Wait till you hear about my amazing discovery!



: The warehouse and bathhouse on the 1st floor of the dorms are now open!
: And the warehouse is chock-full of food, clothes, whatever you want. There's so much it's insane!
: So go ahead and stuff yourself to the gills whenever you feel like! Ha-ha-ha!

: Keep in mind, of course, that going out at nighttime is still prohibited. Please do not forget...



: Okay, and what about a fuckin' way out of here? You find anything like that?

: Oh, well...umm...

: There wasn't anything in the warehouse we could use to get our asses outta here? Nothin'?



: U-Unfortunately, no...not that I saw...

: You fuckin' people...





: Who gives a shit if we have a goddamn pool now!? Or a warehouse, or whatever the fuck!
: We're still trapped in this piece of shit school! We need to find a goddamn way OUT!

: Now, now. There is no point in taking your anger out on us. Adaptation is the key, yes? For now we must each find a way to enjoy our current situation.

: Whatever you say, ya fuckin' loon...

: For now, let's just continue our investigation, and let everyone know if you should discover something...



: So, are we done for today?

: W-Well...yeah, I guess so.



The air seemed to suddenly grow heavy again. Was this the mastermind's plan? To give us hope, just to turn around and betray that hope?

: ...









: Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...



We all promised not to leave our rooms during nighttime... There's not much else to do. I guess I'll just go to bed.







: Mr. Monokuma... Mr. Monokuma, do you have a second? I...I don't really like myself. I don't have any kind of skill or hobby I can say I'm super good at... And my grades are totally average, too. My reflexes are okay. Not great, not awful. I could get into a decent college, where I'd make a few friends. Maybe even find a normal girlfriend... Which is exactly why I don't like who I am! I understand that now! My life is just one giant copy-paste! I don't have any imagination! I'm a perfectly average cardboard cutout! You see what I mean, right Mr. Monokuma!?