❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀

I open my eyes, only to blink several times at the darkness on the other side of my eyelids. There's a disconnect from the fact that it looks exactly the sa-

Whatever I'm leaning on suddenly gives away, spilling light sharply enough against my retinas that I groan and close my as I come falling out of the locker.

Wait, locker?

A pair of arms catch me by the underside of my arms to keep me from getting familiar with the floor. Everything is spinning, and opening my eyes still hurts.

"Whoa, there..." The deep masculine voice huffs as he helps steady me, prompting me to eventually open my eyes enough to see who it is. As soon as the green locks come into view, I let out a breath of relief. It's just Rantaro...

"Oh, it's just you..." I smile up at him before glancing around and blinking the last of the blurriness out of my vision. It's the same classroom we first woke up in, and I frown at the sight. "Why are we back here? D-did they really shove us back in the lockers again...? I thought they were joking when they said they were going to start over..." I comment, shivering as I become aware of the chill in the room now that I'm out of the locker.

...

Confused by Rantaro's lack of input, I look up at him from where I'm half laying, only to find a peculiar expression on his face that I can't quite identify. I blink and cock my head slightly to the side with a concerned frown.

"...Rantaro? Are you okay? I-Is something wrong...?" I ask timidly, feeling my nerves spike up just the slightest when he doesn't make an attempt to answer. The moment I say his name though, I see his shoulders square slightly. I feel my cheeks start to turn red when he gives me a curious once over, causing my anxiety to sky rocket into oblivion right then and there. I crawl back just a little and jump to my feet, bumping my hip painfully into a desk in my attempt to increase the space between us. "Ow-!"

He's acting just a little too weird for me right now...! What even happened? Did the people that brought us here do something to him?

"...I'm sorry," Rantaro suddenly starts, laughing nervously and running his hand through the back of his hair. I relax only a little as I settle my gaze on him, waiting for him to explain what's going on. "You obviously know me somehow, but...I honestly can't remember seeing you before. My head is sort of jumbled up right now, and... Did you say we were shoved inside lockers before? As in this already happened?"

Playing with my hair and feeling rather anxious under his scrutinizing eye, I manage a quiet nod.

"...What's your name? Maybe it'll ring some bells," Rantaro suggests, smiling that familiar easygoing smile that first greeted me after he patched up my arm.

"Prairie Marble," I say, looking towards my arm and smiling when I see my bicep still patched up from before. Glancing up at him timidly, I find both his sleeves are still missing and hold up my arm as proof of his kindness. "Um... You helped me the first time. When I got hurt and sliced my arm coming out of the locker, you cleaned and patched up the gash."

Rantaro blinks in obvious surprise, looking down at his "vest". He'll surely believe me now when I say I know him then, right? After all, it's not like I could have ripped his sleeves off...

"Oh, I didn't even realize my sleeves were missing," he laughs, before I realize a majority of his earlier peculiarities have completely faded at this point, if not all of it. "Hey, do you mind giving me a bit of a rundown on what happened before?"

And so I tell him everything, even down to the people whose names I could remember from their introductions to me. When I tell him about the bear with the strange flashlight, I notice something akin to familiarity in his eyes- along with an edge of alarm that immediately makes me nervous.

"Hold on... Was this bear black and white? Like it's colors were split in half?" Rantaro inquires from the chair of the desk table I'm sitting on, prompting me to frown and shake my head.

"It was dual colored, but this one was red and white. It was even wearing a cape... And to be honest, I don't think there's only one of them..." I explain, noting the serious look on Rantaro's face as he processes my words and stares at me quietly.

"...How many of us were there in total? Do you remember?"

His shift in tone means business, but even though it's not like he's upset with me or anything, I can't help but feel like I've done something wrong under his piercing gaze. It feels like the look he gave me after I almost tried to play off stomping on Kokichi's foot...!

"S-seventeen of us altogether from what I counted. You yourself speculated that there would probably only be sixteen of us in total though..." I inform him, watching as he closes his eyes and rubs his forehead in thought.

"...Shit."

I squeak a little, making Rantaro snap out of his daze and open his eyes to look at me in surprise. I can't help but feel embarrassed as my face heats up, averting my gaze to stutter, "P-profane..."

...

And just like that, Rantaro is laughing, making my face burn even more before I realize I can't handle the feeling of humiliation. Knowing I have no true escape, unless I want to get chased down by one of those mechas out in the hall, I jump off the table of the desk Rantaro is sitting at and dive back into the locker I'd come out of, closing it shut and leaning back against the wall of the now cool metal to calm my stimulated nerves.

"Wait! I'm sorry, I promise I wasn't laughing at you," Rantaro catches his breath on the other side of the locker door, making me shake my head and press my hands against my cheeks in embarrassment. "Prairie?"

"Liar," I whimper, before gathering my dark hair over my face to hide my blushing features and block him out of view when he proceeds to open the locker up himself.

I feel him stare at me, waiting for me to give up and come out of the locker. Instead of being mature, I stay exactly where I am until I hear him sigh in amusement. The sigh makes me shrink back into the locker, but then Rantaro steps in with me a little, wiggling in until I feel him...hug me.

If my nerves weren't stimulated before, they sure are now.

"I promise I really am sorry. It was just really unexpected and reminded me of my little sister," Rantaro admits honestly, resting his chin on my head. It's a good thing he can't see my face, since it's practically on fire at this point. I half expect that resting my cheek on the locker wall would melt the metal.

He probably doesn't mean for it to seem this way, but...he's sort of being attractive on accident.

I count to ten in my head and then force myself to look up so he gets the idea to move back. Since the door's open, it's not too dark in the locker that I can't make out Rantaro giving me a smile before taking my hands and stepping back out of the locker with me in tow.

"Ready to go then? I'm counting on you to lead the way since you know where to go and I don't," Rantaro says, releasing one of my hands but retaining his hold on the other. "We'll run on the count of three."

...

"One...two..."

I steel my muscles for the run, ready to lead Rantaro as best as I can. I do know where to go this time, so this shouldn't be much of a problem. We just have to outrun those machines out there in the halls.

"...Three!"

We open the door and make a beeline down the right side of the hall just as a mecha turns to face us from the far left of the same hallway, revving up an engine that makes my gut twist anxiously. This mecha has blue accents, unlike the green, pink, and red accented machines I'd seen before.

"HAHAHA! Finally some FRESH MEAT! Better speed the HELL up, or I'm gonna turn you both into mushy red stains!" I hear the pilot shout from inside, leading Rantaro around a corner just as it starts to speed after us- much faster than the red machine had in the previous run.

Thankfully, Rantaro and I are both pretty fast, and eventually relief comes to me when I spot the double doors to the gym as we approach it.

"That's the gym...!" I pant as we near it, taking a glance back to see that the machine is getting dangerously close.

We burst through the gym doors and skid to a halt, hands still linked as we glance back and watch the doors close on the blue machine as it comes to a halt.

"HA! Two down for me! Better hurry the HELL up, Monosuke, 'Cause I'm WINNING!" We hear the pilot shout, before the sound of the heavy machine starts heading down the hall away from the gym.

After we catch our breaths, we turn to look at the other four already present, one of them bouncing on his heels in obvious excitement while I search his face for any sign of him recalling who I am. I can't possibly be the only one that remembers, right...?

"Wooow, the first girl! And I was starting to think this would just be full of boring boys," Kokichi blurts out, eyes sparkling as he bounces over to us. "Hey, I'm-!"

"Kokichi Oma," I cut him off, noting the flicker of surprise in his eyes. "Which tells me you don't remember what happened before either..."

"Remember...? What exactly do you speak of?" Korekiyo inquires as he joins the three of us along with Gonta and Kiibo at his sides. "Do you perhaps know what's going on here?"

"Well..." Rantaro thankfully takes over explaining things at this point, much to my relief, leaving me to play with my uniform's tie until I realize someone is staring at me. Looking up, I'm not surprised to see Kokichi observing me quietly, not even averting his gaze when I clearly notice his stare.

Just when I'm about to ask him if he needs anything (like a life), I notice him shuffling one of his feet a little and decide to use it as a topic.

"What's wrong with your foot?" I ask, staring down at it and watching the violet eyed boy shuffle it again slightly. Don't tell me it's from...

"It's sore. I might have banged it against the locker before I woke up or something," Kokichi huffs, looking down at it in annoyance as he wiggles the tip of his shoe against the floor.

A sputter of a laugh makes it past my lips before I can stop it, causing me to pull my hair over my face to keep him from seeing the massive smirk forming across my features. I turn away quickly when I notice him look up at me, although I'm sure I've already given away enough to make me look suspicious. Not like I could help it though, he doesn't remember I stomped on his foot...! That's hilarious!

Seems like he's even keener than I'd previously assumed though, because he begins to stare even more at me. When I finally quell my grin in exchange for timid confusion so I can look back at him, he's got a studious leer trained on me. There's no way he'll figure it out, right...? He's not THAT smart, just mischievous.

"S-Sorry for laughing..." I quickly say since I know that's what's garnered his attention in the first place. Despite this though, Kokichi makes no move to tear his gaze away from me. Eventually, I can feel myself begin to squirm uncomfortably at the piercing stare. What's wrong with him? Is he really that upset that I laughed over his foot? "Fine, look. I don't like you and it made me laugh... You were a creep when we met last time, so e-excuse me for finding your suffering entertaining! I'm only sorry I didn't do it myself!"

There! That should get him off my back, right? I'm only lying about the last part, the rest is totally true... Whatever, it's not like he'll ever figure it out.

...

Kokichi suddenly smiles at me and folds his arms behind his neck in a laid back manner, dropping that terrible stare to finally continue treating me like a human being rather than a specimen under a microscope. At first, I think he's done with me, but of course that's just too much to ask for.

"I think you're cute," he simply states much to my horror. I glare only slightly at him, knowing exactly what to watch out for from last time despite my cheeks growing warm.

Relax, relax... If he irritates you, just walk away. Just like Rantaro said- walk away. Don't waste precious energy on the violet gremlin...

"Buuut, then again, I am a liar... And everyone knows it's usually the cute ones that are terrible rotten souls on the inside~!" Kokichi snickers, before stepping a little closer when I don't immediately react. I don't want a repeat of last time where he managed to get the right response out of me by chasing after me when I retreated, so I force myself to stand there and grit my teeth to the discomfort of his proximity.

I definitely want to say something snippy to him, but I'm definitely not triggered enough to be brave at the moment. Not like when I stomped on his foot before- my fire was at peak heat that time.

Kokichi hums thoughtfully... And then grins wider.

"Good news! I don't see a rotten soul inside you whatsoever," Kokichi brightly informs me much to my surprise. What? He's complimenting me then? Where the heck is that coming from? This is worse than when he was outright insulting me! I mean- "In fact, I don't see anything in there at all~! I guess that makes you a soulless airhead."

I already know everyone else is preoccupied with Rantaro, so I hardly even hesitate to stomp my foot down hard on Kokichi's good foot, jumping back and quickly scurrying behind Rantaro for protection when I hear Kokichi's familiar shout and curse.

"Damn it! I knew it! You're the reason my other foot hurts! You stomped on it the last time we met, didn't you! Come 'ere, I'm gonna-!"

"Kokichi! Gonta no can allow you hurt small one!" Gonta explains, stepping in the violet eyed teen's path so he can't make his way over to Rantaro and I. Kokichi grits his teeth, but eventually seems to calm his temper in a snap- smiling up at Gonta and then looking around him at me.

"Just so you know? This isn't over. I'll get you back, don't worry," Kokichi remarks with a wicked grin, making me shiver just slightly before turning my back and blowing out a quiet breath of relief and satisfaction. Seems like I managed to get away with it without immediate retaliation from Kokichi again...

And that's when I hear Rantaro clear his throat from behind me, prompting my back to straighten up like an arrow. Oh right. Rantaro can see right through me too.

Although I don't really want to face the music, I turn and look up at him guiltily. He raises a single eyebrow at me and I turn bright red in shame, falling apart under his chiding stare.

"...I'm sorry...!" I weakly squeak, before his stare relaxes into a hopeless smile.

"Prairie, from what I gather, I'm almost certain we already had a talk like this before, even if I have happened to forget it. So... What did I tell you?" Rantaro inquires knowingly, crossing his arms.

"...Walk away...and don't stomp on people's toes..." I mumble sheepishly, causing the nearby Korekiyo to cackle in amusement.

"Oh? So she did stomp on Kokichi's foot? It's very big of you to admit where you've gone wrong, miss...?" Korekiyo trails off for me to supply a name.

Relieved that Rantaro is no longer giving me that chastising look, I face Korekiyo with a timid smile.

"Prairie Marble," I answer him, reeling Rantaro gently muss the top of my head warmly. I practically glow at the attention, until I notice Kokichi staring at me again. As soon as our eyes meet, he rolls his obviously. I just turn my gaze back to Korekiyo, preferring not to entertain Kokichi since I know Rantaro would prefer if I ignored his instigations anyways.

"Prairie..." Korekiyo tests the name, before his eyes twinkle. He's probably smiling under his mask, from what I can tell. "That's a rather unique name. I suppose I have no need to give you mine, yes? You probably already know it."

I giggle a little, smiling at the fact. "Yep! You're Korekiyo Shinguji," I answer, just as I turn towards Gonta and Kiibo. "And you two are Gonta Gokuhara and Kiibo."

"Indeed! Thank you for remembering!" Kiibo comments, lifting his face just slightly for me to see the smile he mostly has kept hidden under his jacket collar. I wonder if he's a shy guy too? He doesn't really sound like a shy person... He'd be more like me if that was the case, right?

"Um, makes Gonta happy too, but... Why only Small Prairie remember? Why we forget?" Gonta asks, prompting us to all share mixed looks with one another. I couldn't tell them why either, since it makes about as much sense to me as it does to them.

"Hey, this might be more obvious than we think. I mean... What separates the rest of us from Prairie?" Kiibo queries, prompting Kokichi to finally stroll on back to us, standing to my left much to my mild discomfort.

"Iono. That she's the only one with a set of badonkas?" Kokichi shamelessly blurts out to my horror, prompting me to quickly hide behind Rantaro again with a whine of shame.

"Don't be vulgar, have some respect. Must you honestly pick on a girl in such a way?" Korekiyo quickly comes to my defense while Rantaro rubs the back of my neck to relax me.

"What, that was right though, wasn't it? She's a girl and the rest of us are boys! So maybe that flashlight device you guys mentioned from before doesn't work as well on girls as it does on boys!" Kokichi brushes off the masked teen's words, as if he hadn't been chastised at all. "So in that case, all we would need to do is confirm it! Let's just ask the next girl that comes in!"

"Uh... Prairie, will more girls be appearing in that case...?" Kiibo inquires, making me nod in affirmation after stepping out from behind Rantaro. "How many of us are there in total, if you don't mind me asking?"

"There's seventeen of us. Eight boys and nine girls from what I counted before," I answer, eyeing Rantaro's uneasy shift as he lets out a sigh. I wonder what he knows? He acted funny when I mentioned this before too...

"Guys. I think I have an idea of why we're here," Rantaro says after a moment of contemplative silence. My heart skips a beat at the confirmation of my previous musings. So he does know something... "Have any of you ever heard of two individuals called Monokuma or Junko Enoshima?"

Most of us shake our heads no, which Rantaro seems to expect.

"I figured... I don't really know why I'd be the only one to know this, since it seems the one able to retain their memories so far is Prairie and not me, but... Monokuma is a black and white dual toned robot bear mascot for a game conjured up by a girl named Junko. She's also known as the Ultimate Despair," Rantaro explains, prompting a few confused expressions on the faces of the other four boys.

"What's that got to do with anything though?" Kiibo asks, looking just a little nervous as Rantaro continues his explanation.

"Prairie told me we encountered a robot bear bearing a somewhat similar appearance to that of Monokuma. If we're going by the fact that this robot is here and the fact that seventeen of us are gathered in one place.. That might mean we're here to play that game Junko created."

I blink and look at the other boys for some kind of reaction, but it seems they're just as puzzled as I am. A game? We were shoved in lockers and chased by giant mechs for some type of...game? Whatever game this is supposed to be, I'm not having any fun.

Maybe the fun isn't for us. Maybe it's for someone else spectating... I think, before shaking the thought off. Who would be watching us anyways? Who would want to watch us running for our lives? That's terrible, no way it's possible!

"Oh! Well what kind of game is it? I'll bet I can totally win and-!" Kokichi starts, eyes sparkling energetically with interest until Rantaro cuts him off.

"It's a killing game," Rantaro finishes gravely, causing my stomach to roll.

...I don't think anyone would watch a killing game. That's just...sick... Is that what's really going on here?

...

"Oh." Kokichi has stopped talking entirely, clearly absorbing the news as well as the rest of us do. My stomach is knotting in all these uncomfortable ways, and I can't think of anything to say, let alone even bring myself to open my mouth. I'm pretty sure if I did, I'd only end up losing my lunch.

When was the last time we've eaten anyways? I don't feel hungry... I think curiously, before getting myself on track despite that I really don't want to think about this whole fiasco probably being related to a "killing game".

"Surely you can't be serious... A killing game? For what purpose exactly would anyone want seventeen strangers to participate in a killing game of any sort?" Korekiyo asks, fixing his mask on his face.

"Entertainment. Do you guys know what your Ultimates are? I'm the Ultimate Adventurer from what I can recall," Rantaro states, watching as the other boys seem to contemplate before shaking their heads. Rantaro is an Ultimate? Huh... I guess it's not too surprising.

"I didn't think I was an ultimate anything, to be honest," Kiibo states, scratching a cheek under his coat collar.

"Gonta just Gonta too," Gonta agrees. "Why Ultimate so important?"

"Well, they usually gather only Ultimates for these sort of games. If we're gathered here for a killing game for certain, then it's because we're exceptional in some way or have a certain exceptional talent. I was thinking maybe one of us might have a talent we can counter Monokuma with...if this is a killing game we're being thrown into," Rantaro adds, before looking down at me. "Prairie, do you remember yours?"

I glance up at him and focus on thinking back. Ultimates? I totally forgot they were a thing to begin with, considering the situation that's been going on, but... Yes, I remember I have an Ultimate. It's...

...

No, it's not coming to me right now.

"I know I have an Ultimate, but I can't remember what it is. It's on the tip of my tongue..." I tell them, biting my lip as I try to drag the memory out from under the mess of confusion in my head. Why are my own memories so jumbled up anyhow?

"I'll bet you're the Ultimate Annoyance~!" Kokichi decides to remark, before Kiibo defensively lashes back for me with, "No, I'm one hundred percent certain that title is all yours, Kokichi."

Kokichi's expression drops into vivid melancholy, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. "Th-that's so...mean! It's like none of you even care my toes got assaulted! ...I'm only talking back because she hurt me first...!"

Just like that, crocodile tears erupt from Kokichi, along with the most comical sob I've ever heard a boy his age make. I'm sure I only find it slightly amusing since I've learned my lesson from his fake tears the last time he used them against me...

"WAAAHHH! All of you HATE ME! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" He sobs dramatically, causing my expression to deadpan with Korekiyo's and Rantaro's.

"G-Gonta no hate you! No cry, Kokichi, okay?" Gonta stammers, obviously falling for the act and even gaping in slight surprise when Kokichi suddenly stops and grins- all tears dry as if they were never there to begin with.

"Thanks, Gonta! I feel all better now knowing you've got my back!" Kokichi shoots me a look as he stands next to Gonta, sticking his tongue out. "Ha. My partner could eat your partner for breakfast."

"Huh?" Gonta asks, scratching his cheek in curious confusion.

"Just ignore him, Gonta," Rantaro comments, before running a hand through his hair. It's when he does this that an unfortunate thought pops up in my head. I don't want to ask, but...

"Rantaro, how...does the killing game work? Is there a way we can maybe just all not kill each other and go home?" I ask timidly, not liking the topic but having processed it enough to finally speak up on it.

"Uh, well, we're all trapped here. That much probably isn't obvious yet, but if this is a killing game, then we're guaranteed to have no way out. The only way we're permitted to go home is if we kill a fellow student and get through a class trial without being caught as the murderer," Rantaro explains, causing a dry chuckle lacking amusement from Korekiyo.

"So we need to get away with murder... Interesting. And if we do, our captors send us home? That's much too simple for the grand scheme of things," Korekiyo huffs behind his mask, before earning a nod of agreement from Rantaro.

"Yeah, that's the simple answer. Thing is, the only one that goes home if they aren't caught is the murderer. All the innocents die in that case, which ends the killing game in a less than favorable way. If the killer is caught, they get executed...and then we repeat the process of murdering for freedom. The game ends when a murderer gets away, or when there are two innocents left."

"G-Good god!" Kiibo gasps, obviously horrified by the explanation Rantaro has gone and dropped on us. "Are you absolutely sure this is a killing game ground? Is there even the slightest possibility you could be wrong?"

Rantaro bites his lip and allows his gaze to drop down to me thoughtfully, which I return with a curious look back up at him.

"...Maybe. The only strange things are that the bear Prairie saw was partly red instead of black and the issue that there are seventeen of us rather than the usual sixteen. I really hope I'm wrong and overthinking it all, but I'm not about to lower my guard until I know for sure," Rantaro answers with a frown as he rests his hands on his hips.

Gonta runs a hand through his hair, laughing nervously. "Gonta really hope no killing game happens. Gonta...want to make friends. Not kill friends."

Yeah, me too, Gonta, I agree.

"Well, either way, this sure won't be boring~! Ooh, I'm sort of excited now! It's a good thing you and Prairie Dog know some of the inner workings of all this, or we'd be going in blind otherwise!" Kokichi chirps innocently, making my eyes narrow on him. Why "Prairie Dog"? I hate that nickname...!

I can feel Rantaro watching me, so I simply look the other way so I don't do anything that'll earn me another scolding. Stomping on feet isn't mature.

It's that moment that I look away that things suddenly take a turn for the worse.

"I can't believe it!"

All of us jump from where we're standing, turning around to see the dual toned red and white bear I'd spoken of before standing just a few feet behind Rantaro and I in the middle of the gym. Recalling my earlier description, I hear Kiibo and Gonta shout in panic at it's appearance.

"B-Bear!" Kiibo cries out, pointing at it as if the rest of us somehow can't see it or something.

Ignoring Kiibo, the bear repeats itself with extra emphasis. "I can't believe it!"

"Should Gonta smash?! Gonta can smash!" Gonta announces, preparing himself in defensive fighting position where he's right in the middle between the rest of us and the bear.

"B-Believe what?" I ask timidly as Rantaro steps closer to my side. The bear frowns, eyeing me in obvious disdain.

"I can't believe your boyfriend spoiled everything!" The robotic bear answers me, pointing at Rantaro aggressively enough that it sort of makes me nervous. They aren't gonna hurt him, are they? For extra precaution, I grab on to Rantaro's arm to make sure I can pull him away if anything goes sour.

"Aw, why is Runturdo her boyfriend?" Kokichi complains, much too casual for it to be an honest complaint. "At this rate, Prairie Dog will be like a harem anime protagonist! Nee-hee-hee!"

Is he even on the same  planet  as us?! Why is he still embarrassing me in a moment like this- can't he read the mood?!

"Ah, and speaking of! You, little missy!" The bear is now stabbing his paw in my direction, obviously even more annoyed now. "What the heck is wrong with you?! Why didn't you forget like you did the first time?! You're already a thorn in our side! I knew we should have stuck to only sixteen, adding you was a mistake!"

A mistake? So I wasn't originally meant to be a part of this, but for some reason now I am? ...And does that mean they don't know why their memory erasing flashlight isn't working on me either?

"Wooow, thanks for confirming that for us! Prairie Dog, I hope you're making a mental note of this so you can tell us next time," Kokichi comments, coming up beside me on my other side to give me a grin.

"Huh? What do you...?" I start to ask, before realizing what he means when I look to see the red bear pull out a familiar flashlight. "A-again?!"

"Duh! We can't do anything now that everything has been spoiled for our contestants! Now forget properly this time!" The red bear snaps, aiming it at us. "And no- as a fact of the matter, you won't be telling them anything next time!"

"...Don't you mean 'matter of fact'?" Kokichi asks innocently, causing the red bear to let out a shout of disdain before it clicks something on the flashlight.

I only have time to gasp before the flash blinds me and turns my world a piercing white for the second time.

❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀

❀ End of 1.3 - Take Number Two ❀