-CHAPTER 2- *MANDATORY*

Taro, unlike most of the other participants for this horrid game, slept soundly after the trial.  This wasn't because Taro was a heartless monster.  In a way, it was worse.  Taro was used to death being all around him.  Hell, three bodies was the lowest count he had in a while.  He was rather happy for that reason alone.  Between less bodies and more bodies, he lucked out with the former.  Still, roughly eighteen percent of them has perished with one of them being significantly worse than the other two.  


He waltzed door to door with no real plan of where he was going, but always met with eyes of hatred and disgust tinged with utter confusion, particularly from Willow.  This wasn't strange to him however.  In fact, it was planned.   

Monodouche rang up the school and informed all remnants of the original class to head towards the fountain.  He gave his little narcissistic-riddled speech while he dressed as the fish-face bastard he was.  The motive this round was very simple.  Stay awake or view the reaper's scythe.  This wasn't really a problem for Taro.  After disasters, it wasn't uncommon to have to stay up for days, even weeks, before he could even have a chance to rest.  And even then, Taro didn't take it unless it was in a hospital.  But the thought occurred to him very quickly.  A thought that, even though they all individually distrusts his judgement to varying degrees, must be expressed.  

"I know what someone is thinking.  I have no clue to whom this person may be, but I have to say something very important to them."

He turned around and faced the classmates, some with pure annoyance at his blabbering.  Taro didn't care.  This had to be said.

"Someone here is thinking that the life of twelve outweighs the life of two.  If you are considering murdering someone for the sake of sacrificing yourself and another party to the protection of the other twelve, that is incorrect thinking.  You see..." Taro removed his hat and held it with both hands behind his back, trying to sound professional as possible, "even if, let's say Mariko, being the arguable lowest chance to commit murder amongst the other thirteen of us, kills me in order to save the others from a fate of resting to resting in peace, this will not help anyone.  Monokuma will simple provide another motive to us and the game will continue.  The best course of action is staying awake until Monokuma realizes that the game will be over if we all die and promptly either say we can sleep anywhere or removing the lock on the dorms so we can all get some rest.  Please keep that in mind.  We all want to get out of this alive.  It's best if we do so as a group of fourteen.  Unless, of course, you are curious to see what your execution will be.  Bisection looks......painful,for lack of a better word." 

Taro sat down at the fountain's edge and looked into it's reflection, waiting for the inevitable retort of the fellow compatriots.  That was inevitable.  Everything is inevitable, even death.

Willow had slept deeply the night before. Something he hadn't been expecting. Then again it was probably utter exhaustion from the emotions and adrenaline that he used up during the investigation and trial.  He was glad for it, as he was now faced with the terrifying proposition of staying awake for at the very least, days. 

Because this was a situation of utter survival, he had to keep his eyes on those he cared about. Namely Adrianna, Alexia and Saiorse. He couldn't have any of them collapsing to sleep, getting killed, or killing before  this ended. After that, useful people like Root should also be watched over. He didn't want a brain drain on his hands. Tamashi being dead was already a problem. Intelligent people or people who had useful skills were needed for trials and escape. Iocus and Taro were probably the most expendable.

Someone was bound to kill of course. it was only a matter of time before sleep deprivation or a desire to save the others got to them. Willow was glad that at least in a situation like this, Taro was the most likely suspect and victim. He would either kill for survival or would be killed because he was so utterly unlikeable.

For Willow's part, he had to weigh his options carefully. Sure he didn't want anyone to die, and he wasn't going to kill anyone himself....however getting someone to kill another...that was a possible option.  However something like that would be an act of desperation. A last resort. Giving someone a push would mean that he could possibly control victim and culprit without putting himself on trial.

It would also mean a guilty conscience. And he wasn't willing to do anything like that yet. Couple days with no sleep...he would see then.

"Everyone, Taro does indeed have something of a point. Perhaps Monokuma will not, in the end, be willing to risk his game over us all being unwilling to kill or being to weak to kill due to sleep exhaustion. However the point of a killing game is also useless if nobody actually kills.  Whoever is watching this through these cameras, they are all utter sadists who get off on this kind of thing.  Monokuma probably is streaming this to some dark corner of the web. People who would probably be satisfied if we all drop dead of sleep deprivation. And finding people who can be forced to kill each other for an audience's gratification are a dime a dozen even if they aren't." Willow began.


"My point being our plan should not be to simply sit on our hands. We have to be active here.  Figure out a way to escape this place or try to find out who could be behind this. Besides I am sure watching us fight and struggle for escape shall be more entertaining to our audience, right Monokuma? The viewers at home wouldn't like watching us give up without a fight. " Willow finished.  His goal here was trying to both inspire the group and potentially trick Monokuma into giving something up. As it was the clues to who could be behind this were painfully minimal. Someone with power of course. Probably a group or organization.  And they were likely somewhere with an incompetent and or corrupt police force judging by the lack of rescue after weeks of captivity.


If they could find out who did it...maybe they could get inside their heads. Maybe they could finally come up with a way to get out of this nightmare. The other revelation about a water park was interesting. Who could maintain a water park? Was this place captured recently? Was it built for them?

"A water park huh? I  am guessing swimsuits are provided?" Willow asked. He wasn't thinking of utilizing the swimming facilities, during a situation in which sleep deprivation was a risk and the motive, using up his energy on physical activity wasn't smart. However if someone did kill and they had to remain for longer,  which was a good possibility, then swimming was open as an option. And swimming was just about the only physical activity other than walking the trickster liked. Well that and sex, but sadly that didn't look like an option anytime soon.

[googlefont="Berkshire Swash"]

[/font] Despite herself, Mariko couldn't help but get a little excited at the premise. It was stupid, she knew this. There was no way there wasn't a catch to this, especially since this bear's whole game was to get them to kill each other, as demonstrated with Daisuke and Shiro and Tamashi, but she had to admit that Mariko loved a water park. Brushing her long green hair out of her eyes as the talk turned to swimsuits, eyes flicking between those who she considered friends, Adrianna to Iocus to Root and then quickly to anyone besides Root. God, she hadn't worn a swimsuit in so long, especially around other people. Part of her really hoped that there wasn--

"If you want your beauty sleep, you better kill someone before you even think of saying 'Mirror, Mirror, on the wall'!”

Aaaaaand there it was. Any thoughts of water parks, and swimsuits and fun quickly evaporated and was replaced with an all too familiar feeling of dread, a feeling that she was starting to feel would be all too common very soon. Pulling her purple hood back up onto her head, Mariko bit a knuckle to keep her emotions under control "You mean we have to keep doing this? Why."

She didn't really expect an answer to her question, to be honest she wasn't even talking to Monokuma. Trying not to cry at the fact that at least one of them were probably going to die again, having no fantasies that nobody would kill, not anymore, not after the three of them who were now dead and gone, Mariko stuffed her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt and gazed down at the ground, sadly. "I can't take much more of this..."

[/ul]

Taro silently sat while a mastermind was revealed to be amongst them.  He didn't have time to care about Joaquinn, despite the fact that he was a potential killer.  Who was the mastermind?  And who was the traitor in their midst?

Ignia Brand had the criminal intent to pull this off, but yet seems to be too apathetic about her surroundings to care enough about the game.

Koji Enomoto has experience in the killing and the reason why his gun was brought along with him, but that doesn't explain his overall rashness.  He's too headstrong to construct something that requires a lot of patience.  Otherwise, Monokuma would have done something like have us kill in 24 hours or someone we cherish dies.  Instead, we have a couple of days before someone decides to kill.

Willow Fey is a trickster and certainly has the expertise to design the game and would explain the red-herring last trial, but that doesn't explain his apparent eagerness to solve said trial.

Iocus Hilares certainly has the element of being the least suspicious out of all of us to be the mastermind and certainly enjoying himself, but their is something weird about the previous days before he "realized" it was all real.  The real mastermind would probably want to blend in and being in complete denial about the games even existing is too much of a stretch.

Adrianna Kravenski's personality always bothered Taro.  But I doubt she has the means to construct an entire amusement park.  Plus, according to Root, her video message was flowers.  Flowers are too out there to be the main motive.  She's too likely to be the mastermind, which would go against what being the mastermind was.  Then again, Monokuma revealing this fact might make the most likely suspect disregarded for being a red herring of sorts.

Saoirse Moran is an annoying fuck with all her daredevilness attitude.  A daredevil would easily seek the thrill to become a part of this game, but Taro believes she is too stupid to pull this together.

Mugen is an actual Mononoke.  Unless forest spirits desire to test humanity, there is a very low probability of Mugen being the mastermind.

Mariko Nakazawa, if the mastermind, is doing her job perfectly.  She has at least three people wrapped around her finger, especially Root.  Nobody wants her to be said mastermind, which makes others throw her out of their minds.  Then again, she was petrified during the trial.  Either she is an incredible actor, or that was true fear.  With that much fear, Mariko wouldn't dream of putting herself in the game.

Nana Okabe does have the vocal skill to portray Monokuma in whatever voice given to her, but, like with Koji, she seems too impatient and generally honest about herself to be the mastermind.

Alexander Root does have the scientific expertise to be a mastermind.  This could all be an experiment to determine human resilience.  The only problem is that Mariko is amongst them.  Why would Root put Mariko inside the game?  He could have added himself in to protect her, but I feel like he's not doing enough of that to be the reason.  

Mamuro Shabots isn't the mastermind.  Boxer took too many blows to think up this mess.

Alexia Takana does have the ability to get the others to trust her more do to her cop outfit, but Alexia seems rather unpleased with the murders.  Taro thinks it might be genuine, but who knows at this point.

Taro sat in silence slowly mulling over the possibilities one by one over and over again.  After a little thought, Taro had his number one suspect.  But who knows if he's right.  He'll have to gather more information.  Then he heard Root speak.

"If that high-pitched girlish squeal is supposed to be three separate people, then I suggest that you leave the voice acting to Mrs. Okabe."

Taro stood up and and removed his sunglasses to reveal both his eye, one perfect and the other has the others question how it was still functional.  

"And I, for one, am not stupid enough to believe that this is a quirky family friendly sitcom with the whole trial a very special episode to teach us a lesson about community's resolve to band together after a disaster."

He walked over the the fallen lawyer and bent down to get a better look.

"Joaquinn tried to kill someone.  That much is true.  There is a one in thirteen chance that it was me who was his target.  And that's assuming he wasn't trying to pull a skater trick and pop two or more of us."

He stopped crouching and turned around to look at the others who had their eyes fixed on him while he was talking.

"One of you is a mastermind.  Two of you are traitors, whatever the fuck that means.  But that still leaves ten people to keep tabs on the other nine.  If we are all gonna survive this, we are gonna to have to non-lethally take out anyone who can't get that through their reckless thick skulls with their reckless murderous actions."

He glanced at Saorise to make sure she was listening before returning to the center of the crowd.  

"Root is right.  We are not a team.  We are individual countries who have peace treaties between ourselves to prevent nuclear winter wiping out all life.  So, unless you want to take a nap of the dirt variety, I suggest we "enjoy" the water park long enough to distract us from our tiredness."

As he said that, he turned around and left the fountain towards the gate.  He realized as he was walking a devastating truth about the motive.  The insomnia will cause some people to have a hard time functioning.  If a murd-, When the murder occurs, we will be working at a very big disadvantage.  The longer it takes for a body, the harder the trial would be.  With that in mind, it might be best if the murder occurs first...

"But if you are horny for blood and Joaquinn isn't satisfying you," he yelled, not stopping, "I would prefer if you did so before you get too tired and get sloppy with your kill.  Root would appreciate the challenge."  

Adrianna was happy about this. Unsurprising enough, another motive was another chance to see a dead body. It was clear now that she was in this more for just the excitement of the game. The young girl had devolped a fetish for corpses and a taste for blood. 

Normally this would not have been any sort of concern for Willow. What got someone off was what got someone off. However they were in a killing game and he knew how quickly those who were considered different were isolated and made the enemy. Willow was sure Adrianna wouldn't actually kill in normal circumstances, well as sure as he could be, however in a sleep deprived state....well being tired and horny wasn't the best combination when it came to rational decision making. Especially when you also fear for your life and those of your friends. He would have to keep a close eye on her. He would protect her from anyone, even herself.

"My dear I am sure you would look positively lovely in a bikini. No need to worry about something like that. Best we concern ourselves with things not as certain. Our survival for one." Willow said, in a friendly and charming way. He found this mask was perfect for interacting with Adrianna, it was so similar to her own after all. 

Shortly thereafter...the lawyer died. Another gruesome murder. Another thing to haunt his memories when he gets out of here. The lawyer could have been damn useful too...but if he went off the deep end so easily maybe not. 

Then Monokuma revealed his next motive. Among them was a Mastermind and two traitors.

One Mastermind.

Two traitors.

Thirteen people left. 

This was going to make things a lot more complicated. Honestly he didn't care if one of his friends was a traitor. People did stupid things for survival or a leg up or to help a loved one all the time. The idea of one of them being a mastermind didn't sit as well. It indicated a form of mental illness that was terrifying in it's scope. 

"Two traitors and the mastermind among us? Certainly possible. It would be wise to keep that in mind going forward. However this is Monokuma we are talking about. What he says should be taken with at least a spoonful of salt. No reason to start a witch hunt without any proof." Leader-like voice of reason mask. Check. Jab at Taro. Check

" Still if anyone has any concerns about me being the mastermind or one of these traitors, feel free to come talk to me whenever you'd like. Such a stimulating conversation would do wonders to keep us both awake. However for the safety of both of us, I would recommend meeting in an open setting with witnesses. That way neither of us has to be worried about a murder or an accusation later on." Clever player of the game mask. Check.

"I believe our friend Root here doesn't understand or has forgotten that friendship is magic. Of course we can't trust one another. However the worst thing we can do is stop cooperating. More of us might soon be dead. That is a terrifying possibility. What's even worse is us sitting on our hands and doing nothing while we are picked off one by one." Blunt, vaguely snarky with an attempt at being inspiring mask. Check.

What Monokuma had said was concerning. Every network? That couldn't possibly be true, could it? What the hell was going on in the outside world? In his motive video he had seen buildings that had appeared to be destroyed. But that had to be a conscious effort to target those specific places right? Not something grander? That whole idea put him at unease. This was a group of talented, famous students from a famous school getting kidnapped and help had not arrived. Where the hell were they? What kind of organization could be responsible for this?

Ignia brought up a good point. The whole despair thing had been mentioned before. A group devoted to "despair" as some form of ideology was possible. Willow had seen a good amount of death cults and apocalypse groups on the web and this was a similar idea. Targeting Hope's Peak was a good method of spreading despair. Also it only made sense that "despair" and "Hope's Peak" would be natural enemies. And like all Cults and belief systems it could spread it's beliefs like a virus if it's message was appealing enough. But who would find despair an appealing message? The downtrodden, outcasts and hopeless were the most likely. Which didn't explain how powerful this group appeared to be. More evidence was needed before he could fully back the "despair" cult theory. If it was true, it was all thanks to Ignia that he had put two and two together. He would have to remember to thank her later.

All the trickster heard from Taro were words, words, words. Pointless without any meaning. Invalid coming from their source. Willow was pretty sure at this point Taro was actively trying to piss him off. Another pointless look towards Saoirse. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She hadn't murdered anyone. Taro was the type to point fingers at everyone else and fail to look inward. Self-righteous and dedicated to believing he was right no matter what, not even thinking about looking at anyone else's perspective. How they might feel. No compassion or empathy or desire to learn. It was all about Taro, Taro, Taro. 

Taro was priming himself for a humbling. Or at least an angry rant or two.

Root could be irritating in his consistent cynicism and disinterest in most people. However Root did care deeply for Mariko. Anyone could see it. It reminded him of his relationship to Adrianna. What had started out as secret meetings had eventually spilled over into an open companionship.  He had soft spots for Saoirse and Alexia as well sure but...Adrianna was the person he had spent the most time with. Root even defended him during the trial. Being another reasonable voice drowned out by the likes of Iocus and Taro, it was only natural the trickster felt a certain kinship to the scientist. Still Willow wasn't exactly sure what to make of him.  What mask could he wear around him? What made Root tick? 

Then their was Iocus...an idiot? Or perhaps more? Was their something the Comedian was hiding? Probably not but it would be useful to try and get to the bottom of it. At the very least spending time with him could be an amusing diversion. Talking to fools often was.

With that done, there was little use staying by the fountain. Willow turned and walked away to investigate, certain that others would soon follow. Depending on who decided to tail him, he would decide which mask to use. A personality wasn't just a static shape, it could be molded to fit a given situation. And Willow could mold his easier then most. Traits played up here and there, mimicry and adjusting to certain cultural lenses. As a trickster in a situation like this, that was one of the most important abilities he had.