The Beach Dream and a Desperate Awakening

The gentle lapping of waves echoed in my ears, while the cries of seagulls added a harmonious flourish, like a musician’s exquisite touch.

Curiosity stirring, I opened my eyes, only to be met by a blinding, brilliant sunlight that momentarily forced my eyelids shut.

Shielding my eyes with a small hand, I reopened them to behold golden sands, an endless azure sea, and my companions reveling in their play.

“Anko, hurry up!” The familiar, sweet voice belonged to Katagiri Mimi, who was clad in a sky-blue swimsuit.

‘She… called me Anko-nee…?’ I mused. ‘Could I really be older than her…?’

Beside Katagiri, Nanase also called out loudly to me, her petite figure as eye-catching as ever.

A joyous smile graced my lips, and I was about to rush forward when a strange sensation halted me in my tracks.

A sudden chill swept over me. I glanced down to find myself clad only in a black swimsuit, my ample bosom alluringly exposed, my slender, snow-white waist exquisitely sensual, and a pair of fair, long legs bared to the sun. My waterfall-like long hair cascaded over both my shoulders.

‘Wh-why am I dressed like this?!’ I inwardly shrieked. ‘I need to find a jacket to cover these scars… Wait, what?’

‘My… my scars are gone…?’ I touched the spots where they should have been, but my skin was now uniformly smooth and fair, as if they had never existed.

‘Strange… they were there just before…’ Still, their disappearance from my sight could only be a good thing, couldn’t it?

Uninhibited by my attire, I bounded forward, a joyful lightness in my step.

‘I’m merely a transmigrator, yet why do I cherish their camaraderie so deeply?’ I wondered. ‘It’s as if I regard them as family…’

As I reached them, Nanase pouted, her eyes narrowed as she gazed at me, her focus then settling on my chest.

“Take this!”

“Whoa!” Her sudden ambush startled a soft cry from me.

This little imp’s hands brazenly grabbed and kneaded my chest. How could I tolerate such mischief? I swiftly pried her playful hands away and gently squeezed her soft cheeks in retaliation.

“How do you like that? Hahaha…”

“Mmmph mmmph mmmph!”

In that very instant, the Nanase before me dissolved into a pile of sand.

I froze, my eyes hollow as I stared at the sand clinging to my hands.

The next moment, I frantically turned to look at the others, only to find their bodies also disintegrating into sand, scattering like spirits.

Seeing the dire turn of events, I desperately ran towards them, trying to grasp their bodies with my hands. Yet, it was futile; one by one, they faded away before my eyes.

Even when I tried to embrace them, I was powerless to stop it, only to tumble face-first into the sand.

Lost and bewildered, I struggled to rise from the scorching sand. A single raindrop silently struck my skin. I looked up to see the once dazzling sun now entirely swallowed by immense black clouds.

It felt as though the heavens mirrored my own suffocating despair.

“Boom! Crash!” A streak of purple lightning tore across the sky, immediately followed by deafening thunder.

The rain intensified, steadily growing heavier, until soon a fierce storm raged.

My entire body was mercilessly drenched by the downpour, my smooth, straight hair plastered wetly to my skin.

‘Everyone… where did they go…’

‘Why… did they all leave me without a word…’

‘Such loneliness… a solitude I had never known before.’

This loneliness made me tremble and shiver, the word ‘security’ echoing in my mind.

‘Someone… anyone… please stay with me…’

‘It doesn’t matter who, as long as they’re by my side…’

‘I… I don’t want to be alone…’

‘I’m so afraid I’ll disappear unnoticed into some forgotten place…’

Just then, I caught sight of a lone figure in the distance, by the sea.

‘With my familiarity with that silhouette, there was no mistaking it…’

It was Takagi Masahiko.

“Takagi!!” I screamed his name with all my might, but the pounding rain mercilessly drowned out my voice.

“Takagi!!” Still, I refused to give up, shouting his name again and again until he might hear me.

Unwittingly, I had already ventured into the sea, the water’s depth gradually rising past my waist, while the surging waves around me made it impossible to keep my footing.

“Takagi!!!” In that moment, he seemed to react to my desperate cry.

A wave of exhilaration washed over me as I saw him turn his head, and unable to control my emotions, I surged forward.

Suddenly, a colossal wave surged toward me! Its immense power swept me under, plunging me into the depths of the sea…

Unable to draw breath, I choked in the frigid seawater, desperately yearning for fresh air, no matter how fleeting.

I struggled, swimming upwards, upwards, yet the surface remained elusive… Seeds of despair began to sprout within my heart.

‘Help me… someone, please save me…’

Finally, my lungs emptied of oxygen. I inhaled large gulps of seawater, and the world before my eyes began to blur…

I felt my body slowly descending, utterly powerless to struggle or resist.

‘I’m truly… so tired…’

‘To die like this… wouldn’t be so bad… At least the torment would finally end.’

“No, Kamimura!”

‘Hm…?’ Who’s there…’

“You can’t die! Everyone is still waiting for you!”

‘Is that… Takagi’s… voice…’

“Everyone and I desperately hope you’ll come back to us! You can’t just leave us like this!”

‘What… is this… You… were the ones… who left… me first…’

‘Fine… I suppose I’ll put my all into living, just to show you… Consider it for everyone’s sake…’

I strained with all my might to force a sliver of light from the enveloping darkness. Though the chance was slim, everyone’s hopes, consciously or unconsciously, surged through my body, a stark contrast to the despair I had felt moments ago.

In a flash, a streak of white pierced the gloom, and all darkness was instantly dispelled.

That blurry white image slowly coalesced into… a ceiling…?

‘Where… am I…?’

I turned my head, looking around, and noticed a blanket covering me, a privacy curtain beside the bed, and a medicine cabinet before me.

‘So this is the infirmary…’

‘It’s incredible, I actually survived… Did the culprit spare my life…?’

But even so… I still have to catch this culprit. I can’t let everyone, myself included, be executed one by one.

I slowly sat up, my dark hair falling behind my shoulders.

“Hiss—!” A slight dizziness in my head and a throbbing ache in my abdomen forced me to pause, waiting for the pain to subside…

I gently touched the wound, finding it already bandaged. Then, lifting my clothes, I saw my pristine stomach was now bruised and swollen, looking like a strawberry cream cake!

‘Though the culprit spared my life, they certainly didn’t hold back their blows…! Don’t they have any respect for a woman’s delicate beauty?!’

Once I was settled, I noticed a piece of bread and a cup of milk on the table beside me.

‘I’m thirsty and hungry right now, so I should eat something to regain my strength…’

Beside the food lay my personal key, a red hair tie, and… a student ID?

I picked up the student ID and tried entering the password. Upon successfully unlocking it, I tucked it into my pocket.

‘This student ID truly is mine… Did Takagi pick it up for me…? And… did he also bandage my head…?’

‘Sigh… I truly can never repay such a profound kindness…’

‘Speaking of which, where is everyone…? Why am I the only one left here sleeping alone…?’

As I picked up the cup, I found a note pressed beneath it. Eagerly, I unfolded it to read:

[If you’re reading this and we’re not by your side, it means we’ve already gone to the class trial. You don’t need to worry about us during this time; just take care of yourself. Chisaka Erin]

‘What?! They’ve already started the class trial?!’

‘No, I have to go see what’s happening!’

“Hiss— Ow, ow, ow…” The moment I got out of bed, slipped on my shoes, and stood up, a sudden wave of pain surged through my entire body, making it difficult to move.

Gritting my teeth, I endured the pain, stepping out of the infirmary one painstaking step at a time.

There was no one stirring around me; I stood alone in the empty hall.

‘It seems the class trial hasn’t ended yet… I can still make it!’

I lifted my heavy feet, heading towards the large red door. By the time I reached it, sweat was trickling down my fair neck, and the combined pain and exhaustion made my breathing ragged, my chest heaving with each breath.

“Monokuma…! Are you there?!” I attempted to call out to it, for even if the possibility was slim, I refused to abandon this thread of hope.

My only reply was an unsettling silence…

My heart, which had clung to hope, slowly sank. Just as I was about to turn away in dejection, that familiar voice echoed from behind me.

“Oho?! You’re actually awake?! And you managed to stubbornly make it all the way here?! You truly are… quite the extraordinary girl, fufufufu~”

“Please, you must allow me to participate in this class trial, I beg of you!” I placed my right hand over my chest, signifying my unwavering resolve.

“Begging me won’t do any good~ Class trials throughout history have never allowed someone who missed the start due to an accident to join midway, unless…”

It wore a wicked grin, its gaze sweeping over my body with ill intent, a faint blush dusting its face…

‘C-could it be… it wants me…? I never would have thought! You, with your innocent facade, are a pervert too!!’

‘D-damn it… Am I really going to lose my virtue here?! And to a mechanical bear, of all things! This is… too awful!!’

“Tch! I, I… kno—” A blush crept onto my face, and my quiet murmur was cut short by Monokuma.

“Unless you can guarantee you’ll watch every “Motive” video I send you!”

“A “Motive” video…?”

“That’s right~ You weren’t thinking of something embarrassing, were you? Yohohoho~ I’m not interested in humans, you know~?”

“Um, haha… Could you perhaps change your request…?”

“While the class trial hasn’t ended yet, you wouldn’t want to just stand by and watch your classmates be executed one by one due to the culprit’s cunning tricks, would you?”

“You…! F-fine, I agree…” Faced with its unreasonable demands, I had no choice but to lower my head slightly and reluctantly accept.

“Click!” The red door swung open for me, and I stepped alone into the freight elevator.

As the freight elevator rumbled downwards, its noisy descent stirred my anxious heart…

“Ding!”

Just as I exited the freight elevator, an extremely grating, tearing sound assaulted my ears from ahead. The distortion of the voices made it difficult for me to discern whose it was…

[It seems no matter what, you have no evidence left to accuse me of being the culprit!!]

The harsh female voice and overtly arrogant tone filled me with an inexplicable irritation…

Gritting my teeth, I endured my physical discomfort and slowly walked forward.

“Who said there isn’t any?” I retorted loudly, directly challenging the suspect. The next second, everyone excitedly turned their heads to look in my direction.