001 ☆ video

[hopeslastreward]

This is strange. This is very... strange.

[The feed opens on a teenage boy who honestly doesn't look like the picture of health; his hair is a mess, his skin is pale, and even though he's sitting, his posture has a certain slump that doesn't exactly imply "physical strength". Still, even if Nagito Komaeda's body is frail, his mind is still sharp as a tack. ...Well, usually. Sometimes. Depends on the context? Well, it's sharp right now, and that's all that matters.]

[He's silent for a few moments, apparently in deep thought.]

[The first and most obvious conclusion is that this is another ploy by Monobear. Last night, he'd watched the end of the third trial and went to sleep, troubled somewhat by what had happened... and now, not even twenty-four hours later, Monobear had dropped him in a Pokémon region of all places? Was this the motive? If so, why didn't he wait for someone to commit murder on their own first? Honestly, Komaeda can't think of any possible way Monobear could make despair out of the Pokemon world; even if he tried to corrupt it, it would only affect the people who have a strong emotional attachment to the originals. Komaeda could think of no one who might know them except Nanami and himself -- Nanami didn't seem like the killer type, and Komaeda honestly wasn't attached enough to care one way or the other. He honestly couldn't even recall the name of the bull thing he'd been given as a starter.]

[Speaking of Nanami... where is everyone? Komaeda had already tried looking through the network, which raised even more questions. If, again, it was Monobear who did all this, why would he go to the effort of writing so many different entries? Why were there actual people with varied personalities, and not an army of Monobears?]

[...Actually, the bear hasn't shown his face on anything at all so far. And quite honestly, that alarms Komaeda more than if it had. Had something... happened to them? Komaeda plans to find out. Depending on the reaction of the masses, who may be either Monobear's fabrications or real people, he'll get to the bottom of this mystery, just like all the others. First order of business: figure out what's happened outside.]

Oh, I should probably introduce myself...

Nagito Komaeda. That's my name.

Anyhow... has anyone here heard of Hope's Peak Academy? Please tell me what you know.

Comments

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[hopeslastreward]

Some of them, yes. Thank you for asking.

[Komaeda doesn't yet know anything about a Hope's Peak student named Kyouko Kirigiri, so he assumes that this girl is just another random person on the network.]

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[freshprints]

Only some of them?

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[hopeslastreward]

Yes. Apparently, there are some questions that no one present knows the answer to.

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[freshprints]

In that case, those questions must be "how was I brought to this place", "who brought me here", "is there a way of returning home", "how can a place like this exist", and "for what purpose was I chosen"...

Isn't that right?

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[hopeslastreward]

Among others.

I'm sure those are common responses, though; I can't see how they WOULDN'T be.

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[freshprints]

Which questions did you receive an answer to, then?

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[hopeslastreward]

Why should I tell you?

[Tactful as ever.]

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[freshprints]

You shouldn't.

Which means you're the sort of person who would think to ask that question, rather than just answering it blindly.

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[hopeslastreward]

And likewise, you're the type of person to point out things such as the unanswerable questions. That's quite interesting, actually!

[He likes you, Kirigiri. He likes you. ...He has a feeling you were trying to catch him off-guard with those questions, but considering you picked completely obvious ones, it didn't work.]

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[freshprints]

It's not particularly difficult. Most people who come here ask those questions at one time or another.

Some people continue to ask them because, as you've noticed, no one's found an answer to them yet.

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[hopeslastreward]

Of course it isn't; it's easy, with a little forethought, to figure that they would be natural questions for everyone to ask. However, there are people out there who would not put in the time for that forethought, and instead ask how you can read their minds.

Not to say that was your intention, of course! It's just interesting to note that you would mention them in such precise detail if you weren't trying to make a point.

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[freshprints]

In other words, we've each learned something about the other.

That doesn't make for particularly good conversation, though, does it?

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[hopeslastreward]

No, I suppose it doesn't.

[He's never been terribly good at conversation, though... hm, what to do now.]

What about the question presented in my original video, then? Do you have any thoughts on that?

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[freshprints]

Meaning, "have I heard of Hope's Peak Academy"?

I assume that's where you went to school, and therefore that you're looking for your classmates. That's also a natural reaction to arriving in this place.

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[hopeslastreward]

Also true.

Are you an attendee as well?

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[freshprints]

Why should I tell you?

text; (what even is this conversation omg)

[hopeslastreward]

You don't have to, if you don't want to; I was just changing the topic.

text; (two people being themselves at each other, really)

[freshprints]

People have come here from that school before; I think many people here are familiar with the name, at least.

[All of which is technically true.]

Did you find any of your classmates?

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[hopeslastreward]

Yes, several! There seems to be a lot of us here, even if the timeline changes make the group a little eclectic.

[The timelines seem to be common knowledge here. This 'Kirigiri' has probably seen them herself.]

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[freshprints]

That happens sometimes. For some reason, people with inherent bonds and existing relationships are more susceptible to being brought here than perfect strangers.

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[hopeslastreward]

Well, of course they do!

[Here it comes, Kirigiri.]

Those bonds become the hope that drives them together, which is why they all eventually show up here!