Prologue: First Impressions

"…And we're gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn!"

I've experienced some strange stuff in my time, but I don't think there's anything that's going to top waking up to being serenaded by some crazy girl, in English of all things. Actually I don't think she's even noticed I'm awake yet, as she's still warbling away like some demented bird. I groan loudly as my freshly-conscious body stirs, hoping to get the point across and shut this woman up. I'm never letting this happen again if I can help it.

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" she says excitedly. She's right in front of me, blocking my field of vision, so I can't really help but focus on her looks. Her hair is all over the place, long, brown and wavy, and it looks in desperate need of a good brushing. Her dress sense isn't much better, consisting of a very simple red top with grey sleeves poking out from underneath, suggesting another layer, and grey bottoms. And I thought I looked dishevelled. Her left sleeve seems to be a little thicker than the other, but maybe that's just a trick of the light. As for her physique, well, let's just say puberty dealt her a shit hand. Best not actually say anything, though, I can hardly see that going down well.

"Yes, I am awake," I say hoarsely, my throat feeling dry and constricted. Does this always happen when I wake up? Can't really tell, it's been a while. I sit up, bringing myself level with her crouched form, and as I glance downwards briefly I can't help but notice her feet are completely bare, and that she's perched on top of a table. Is that not a health hazard?

Now that I know I'm able to move, I can finally look around this place I've found myself in, and I very quickly note that we're in some kind of waiting room, which is curiously empty. Chairs lie vacated all around, and even the receptionist's chair is bare. I'm laid out across two chairs hastily pushed together to make a less-than-comfortable resting place, and I very quickly turn myself around to face the table. Another odd curiosity I notice is that wherever you'd expect to see a window in an ordinary waiting area, there are giant sheets of metal in place, held into place with huge bolts.

"Sooooooooo, who're you then?" the girl asks, dragging me away from the intrigue. "And more importantly, how come you were just lying on the floor?" That's a damn good question actually, how did I get here? Time to dial it back a bit, to this morning to be precise…

Today marks the first day of a new era for me. Today is my first day at Hope's Peak Academy. Alongside fifteen other students from across the country, I've been chosen to represent the essence of hope, eschewing an ordinary education to become a shining example of the achievements possible for those with exceptional talents. Over the years, many extraordinary individuals have graduated from this school and had huge influences not just in their areas of expertise, but on the entire world. Today, I'll be hoping to become a part of that upper echelon.

My talent might be considered a bit unusual, because it's not something that can really be perfected or refined on its own. It's something that's more innate, more difficult to comprehend how exactly it can be considered 'Ultimate', but nevertheless, it's the reason I'm here. Every year, there's this ballot they hold that lets one lucky student have the chance to join Hope's Peak Academy… but I didn't need that, because I'm the Ultimate Insomniac.

It's funny, because before I got the letter telling me I was accepted to Hope's Peak Academy, I didn't really think it was a talent, it was kind of just who I was, but someone here begged to differ, and I guess I should be thankful. Just means I'll have all the time in the world to improve myself and come out the other side as a symbol of hope.

Being awake for all those extra hours might well give me a bit of an edge. In that time most people spend sleeping, I'm trawling the deepest depths of the internet for all sorts of information, ranging from the hundredth digit of pi to the ancient gods of Mesopotamia (I'm particularly partial to Ereshkigal myself). Maybe it's not quite as impressive as those folks who can reel off dates or memorise a deck of cards while dangling from a rope over a ravine, but it has to count for something, right? One thing's for sure, I'm not about to waste all the time that's been given to me.

It's not all good news, though. A few days without sleep and you start going crazy. The boundaries between dreams and reality blur and you start hallucinating because your brain's not had chance to rest and has no idea what the hell is going on. When that kicks in, you know you're in trouble. And let's not even get started on the soul-crushing boredom of it all; the hours you spend waiting, hoping to fall asleep, before thinking 'screw it' and getting up at 4am to make chocolate pudding. Or that might just be me.

It's almost time. I'm standing outside the front gates, looking up at this famous building, its emblem gleaming in the sunlight of a September morning. I'm not gonna lie, I'm fairly excited to be stood here right now, ready to walk in and become part of something massive. Hell I'm so excited I skipped breakfast, although I could have easily just gone and made some whenever I wanted. It was crazy enough just imagining this place, but actually being here? Doesn't get much better than this. Every kid who knows what's up wants to get into Hope's Peak Academy, and even though my classmates might reckon I kind of cheated to get in here, I know the teachers here have made the right choice scouting me out. This is my big chance to prove to everyone that what I am is totally cool and not some kind of disease to be eradicated.

I exhale as my hand touches the door handle and the big entrance doors swing open. This is the moment everyone dreams of, stepping into the entrance hall and officially becoming enrolled in the greatest school in the country, if not the world. I feel a rush of emotions, elation, curiosity, apprehension, fear, all rolling into one huge wave, melding into something that my mind just can't comprehend. Then my stomach drops, probably because I'm starving and haven't had anything since yesterday. Suddenly I don't feel so great. The world around me goes wobbly and I collapse to the floor, an intense dizziness giving the sensation of a ship out at sea. My eyes close. I'm losing consciousness. I guess I'm so exhausted that I'm about to…

"…pass out?" I hear a voice ask, and I jolt back to reality to find this manic girl perched precariously on the edge of the table, almost right in my face. "Because that's what happened to me, and everyone else, and it was when we all set foot in Hope's Peak…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," I say, raising my hands. This girl talks way too fast for me to be able to keep track. "You're saying you're from Hope's Peak Academy too? And there's other people from there in here too? And everyone else passed out like me?"

"Ding ding ding! Looks like someone's on the ball!" She leaps off the coffee table and practically lands in my lap, sending the chair I'm sitting on tumbling backwards. Now we're both sprawled across the floor in a pile. She springs up off me pretty quickly and flips the chair back up, choosing to continue perching on furniture as I get back to my feet. Since I've only been awake a few minutes, everything actually feels kind of stable for once.

"Okay…" Is it just me, or does this seem just a little bit ridiculous? A bunch of students just randomly collapsing all at once? That's not right, surely? "Anyway, you wanted to know my name. I'm Shinji Yoshida, Ultimate Insomniac." I offer my hand in greeting and as she grabs it and almost yanks it out of its socket with her vigorous handshake. I very quickly regret ever allowing myself to get within twenty feet of this girl.

"Nice to meet ya, Shinji-yoooooooooo! I'm Hikari Himura! Let's blow some stuff up!" For someone with such a boring and common name, she's anything but. Then again, with my name, can I really criticise? I hear something ping in my pocket, and completely unaware that I even had anything in there, I instinctively reach into it and pull out some kind of electronic device. Where the hell'd this come from? Ah, who cares, let's see why it's pinging.

The first thing that flashes up on the screen when I boot it up is my name, then I see my own mug staring back at me with its tired red eyes and dark unkempt hair. The clothing I'm wearing in the photo matches my outfit today as well, a black blazer, white shirt and charcoal trousers, but since that's just a plain old school uniform, that's not too unusual in and of itself. Tired of looking at myself, I swipe at the screen, hoping it'll make my face go away, and it scrolls to some sort of report card on Hikari. The first thing I notice is her title, 'Ultimate Pyrotechnician.'

"You're… an explosives expert?" I ask cautiously. If I was her dad I would never have even dreamed of letting her near any explosives. Wonder how many people she's killed, accidentally or otherwise?

"Yup!" she squeals with delight, sticking a thumb to her rather lacking chest proudly. I check the profile again just to be sure, and it confirms she's a pyrotechnician who, unsurprisingly, likes fire, cooking and music. Sounds like the perfect person to hire for a party, if you really hate all your guests and wish to see them blown to pieces. "You remember the big fireworks display in Tokyo at New Year's? All my own work! Did you see it?"

"Well, yeah…" Is that a joke? Everyone in Japan could probably see those from their window, the amount of pyrotechnics went into that display. You could probably start a war with all those explosives she got through.

"I only know one person who didn't see it, and that's my grandpa, and he's blind, and deaf, and kind of dead as well…" Umm, did you blow him up, by any chance? Did you guys have to pay for a cremation or did you just throw him onto a bonfire? "But anyway, how about I go introduce you to some of the others? They might like you! I know I sure do! Then again, I like everyone!" You know what? I'm really not sure what to make of Hikari. It seems like she's got this infinite well of energy and she's trying her hardest to expel as much of that energy as possible in the shortest feasible timeframe. Even my kid sister's not this hyperactive after eating a whole bag of gummy sweets.

"I suppose that'd be nice," I say reluctantly, and Hikari grabs my left hand in her right hand, practically dragging me out of the waiting room and down a corridor. As we pass through the door, I see a sign indicating the location of various facilities, one of which is a ward. I guess this must be a hospital of some kind.

"This is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!" she screams excitedly as she trots down the corridor, her bare feet slapping against the surface of the floor.

"There's nothing fun about being in hospital," I protest. "I should know." This brings her to a halt, and she spins around to face me. I expect her to have a face like thunder, but she's still grinning like a complete goof.

"Oh, but there is! Did you know that you can make bombs out of simple household chemicals? Well, just imagine what you can do with some of the stuff they've got in here!" I'd rather not, if that's alright. Can I go back to being unconscious? Some of the sedatives they've got in here might do the trick. Before I know it, my arm is being jerked again as Hikari continues to race down the corridor. What is with this girl? I mean, it's nice to see someone who just doesn't give a shit, but there's gotta be boundaries somewhere. Where does this even end?

"Do you even know where you're going?" I ask as we pass what feels like a thousand doors.

"Have faith, Shinji, I know exactly where I'm going!" She refuses to let go, her grip so tight that I'm sure the circulation will close off any minute now. If it does, we're in the right place to sort that. Eventually we stop outside a door with a sign outside it with a crossed set of cutlery, which I take to be a cafeteria of some kind. Makes sense that we'd meet people here. Speaking of people, how come I've not seen anyone else around here? You'd think the corridors would be teeming with doctors transferring patients to different wards, visitors coming in to see their loved ones or someone rushing to make an appointment they completely forgot about. Perhaps they're all in here trying to break the record for the world's biggest lunch break, and Hikari's grand plan involves introducing me to an entire hospital all at the same time.

"Please tell me we're there," I say, and my hand is suddenly released from the vice-like grip of Hikari Himura, the Ultimate Pyrotechnician whose personality seems somewhat ill-suited for such a hazardous occupation. That seems like a good sign. Next time, I'm going to have to ask to be allowed to go at my own pace, lest my arm becomes dislocated.

"Oh, yeah!" she announces, giggling. "You're gonna looooooove this crazy bunch! They're all weirdos like you so you should fit right in!" Did she just… insult me? Frankly I can't even tell, her intonation certainly didn't sound that way inclined, so I might as well let it slide. No point antagonising myself now, is there? Hikari takes the lead, barging through the door with the energy of one of her most potent explosives and I can hear her nattering away at the speed of light. I take some time to collect myself, slightly overwhelmed by everything that's going on here, then turn towards the cafeteria, where I'll be meeting some of my prospective classmates. Perhaps they can shed a bit of light on this whole thing…

A.N.: Welcome to my first attempt at an SYOC fic. Had this idea for quite a while before actually sitting down and writing it, but here it is, at long last. I'll be looking for seven boys and seven girls to bring the numbers up to the usual sixteen students, and they'll most likely be accepted on a first-come first-served basis, so don't hang about, get them in! (Big thanks to my friend IfTimeWasStill for providing me with Hikari Himura. She's gonna be so much fun to write.)

Of course, like the Killing Game itself, there have to be rules in place to stop things getting out of hand, so here they are:

1. OC submission will ONLY be accepted via PM. Anything submitted in the reviews will be rejected, no matter how good it is.

2. Any OC submissions that don't follow the form provided below will also be rejected. Providing additional info is fine, of course, but do try to fit it into the form if you can.

3. Don't submit characters that you've submitted to other SYOC fics. I'll be looking out for anything that sounds familiar, and if it crops up somewhere else (like a certain Czech character I've seen pop up twice in unrelated fics) then it's being rejected.

4. Variants of the Ultimate/SHSL Detective/?/Hope will all be thrown out. We've seen those twists before, and it's highly unlikely that lightning will strike twice.

5. Do try and be original with these. Not strictly a rule as such, but it'd be much appreciated if you can think of exciting new talents that haven't been done to death. This won't be as strictly monitored as the others, but keep it in mind when submitting.

6. No reserving spots in the review section or via PM. I'm not holding up the fic or potentially having to cut a cool character just to give someone time to come up with something. If you want in, then make a submission.

Alright, that should probably do it. I'll be keeping tabs here and in the summary of how many slots remain open, and for every five or so characters, I'll update with a new chapter introducing them to keep the flow going. Plus, I find that trying to introduce everyone in one chapter makes it difficult to memorise who's who, so hopefully by splitting it up it'll help with that. Good luck, and happy submitting!

EDIT: SYOC is now CLOSED! Full list of accepted OCs will be posted at the end of the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who submitted!

OC submission form (once again thanks to IfTimeWasStill for helping put this together)

Name:

Age (15-18):

Gender:

Ultimate/SHSL Talent:

Physical Description (weight, height, appearance, clothing etc.):

Personality:

Speech/Mannerisms:

Background (significant past events, family, secrets):

Likes:

Dislikes:

Possible Motive:

Role during Investigation/Trial: